2014-2015 Western Michigan University Application Thread

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BMExican92 said:
For the question: "1.Describe why you wish to enroll at Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine. You should describe any connection that you have to southwest Michigan." How have OOS applicants approached this?
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My significant other lives south of Grand Rapids. We've been together for 5 years and will probably get married.
 
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Anybody have an idea how rigorous the prescreen is?
 
how is the online assessment? do the questions have long stems?
 
adimelon said:
how is the online assessment? do the questions have long stems?
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It's really straightforward. The questions are the type you'd see on a personality test. I had plenty of time to read and think about each one but sometimes it was really hard to pick an answer. Nothing to worry about though.
 
.
 
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hoihaie said:
Did you guys receive any sort of "app complete" email after you did the online interview? I finished it but it isn't showing up on my status page or anything.
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I never received an email but it'll say: Holistic Review Began or something like that on your status page.
 
Achjayz said:
I never received an email but it'll say: Holistic Review Began or something like that on your status page.
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Where?? I don't see that
I did get a "complete" email 5 days ago:

Thank you for completing the Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine supplemental application for the 2015 entering class. We will review all components of your application and be in touch via email soon regarding the next steps in the process.
 
jjtheairplane said:
Where?? I don't see that
I did get a "complete" email 5 days ago:

Thank you for completing the Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine supplemental application for the 2015 entering class. We will review all components of your application and be in touch via email soon regarding the next steps in the process.
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I got that email too after I submitted secondary, then you have to go to the website to check your application status, and I see it says:
Holistic Review Started07/28/2014 10:04 am

The webpage is https://wmed.empower-xl.com/fusebox.cfm
 
that was an interesting assessment...i don't think there were any right or wrong answers but I am curious to know how they use it in their evaluation for interviews..
 
CharmanderMD said:
It's really straightforward. The questions are the type you'd see on a personality test. I had plenty of time to read and think about each one but sometimes it was really hard to pick an answer. Nothing to worry about though.
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adimelon said:
that was an interesting assessment...i don't think there were any right or wrong answers but I am curious to know how they use it in their evaluation for interviews..
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I think the important thing to note (from the perspective of an admitted student) is that there aren't any "wrong" answers. The screener is pretty much like you guys are describing it - a personality test, meant to give some insight into what *you're* looking for in a medical school, and how you might fit into the culture being built at WMed. It's like an extra chance to show off what makes you good candidate beyond the grade point average and the MCAT score.

If you think about it, this process is actually advantageous to the applicants. You get to give more information about yourself than a few numbers.
 
tellme_areyoufree said:
I think the important thing to note (from the perspective of an admitted student) is that there aren't any "wrong" answers. The screener is pretty much like you guys are describing it - a personality test, meant to give some insight into what *you're* looking for in a medical school, and how you might fit into the culture being built at WMed. It's like an extra chance to show off what makes you good candidate beyond the grade point average and the MCAT score.

If you think about it, this process is actually advantageous to the applicants. You get to give more information about yourself than a few numbers.
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agreed.

This gives them a chance to get to know you better. Assuming you are not a psychopath, it should work to your advantage.

Imho, I think the thing you should be worried about more is your interviewing skills, not some personality test. I know some great applicants that were very smart, but they interviewed poorly. They ended up not getting into their top choices for med school or matching into their desired specialties.
 
Just a tip about the phone interview.

If you are a talkative person, you may want to schedule your phone interview no later than 2 hours before they close. That way, if you are talkative, then you have some extra time.
 
hmm, no "holistic review" status yet. Anyone else not have it either? Complete 7/24
 
completed 7/30 and holistic review started 7/31.

Anyone know how long the holistic review takes?
 
adimelon said:
completed 7/30 and holistic review started 7/31.

Anyone know how long the holistic review takes?
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When I applied last year, I seem to remember it taking 1.5-2 months before getting a phone interview. I believe I heard others indicate different time frames. I think a lot of it depends on when you complete. I do believe the school is receiving FAR more applications this year, based on conversations with admissions staff - so it may very well take a little while. The best thing you can do for yourself is be patient and keep your fingers crossed. No use going into interview season any more stressed out than you need to be 🙂

I'm an incoming 1st year student, so don't hesitate to ask any questions I might be able to answer!
 
Phone interviews came out around this time last year. Hoping for the best
 
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Does anybody's status show "Holistic Review Completed"? I don't know if I should be expecting a good news or bad news from this...
 
Oh Boy, I see the holistic review completed status too. Hopefully some good news soon!
 
Ugh, I got the supplemental app complete status 7/24 and it STILL hasn't switched to holistic review started. I don't know if I should be concerned or not.
 
CharmanderMD said:
Ugh, I got the supplemental app complete status 7/24 and it STILL hasn't switched to holistic review started. I don't know if I should be concerned or not.
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maybe it's based on stats. I got the complete notice 7/30 and holistic review began 7/31
 
Calm down people. I wasn't invited until the middle of the application cycle. Relax.

hoihaie said:
maybe it's based on stats. I got the complete notice 7/30 and holistic review began 7/31
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Trust me, at Stryker, stats are only a piece of the puzzle. They really do consider your whole app. Why else would they consider your secondaries, online interview, phone interview, onsite interview, and etc? When I interviewed, they remembered specific things from my file and from my letter of recs, not just numbers.
 
Captain Toad said:
Calm down people. I wasn't invited until the middle of the application cycle. Relax.


Trust me, at Stryker, stats are only a piece of the puzzle. They really do consider your whole app. Why else would they consider your secondaries, online interview, phone interview, onsite interview, and etc? When I interviewed, they remembered specific things from my file and from my letter of recs, not just numbers.
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I just want to second what Captain Toad is saying. I wasn't interviewed until February. I was still offered admission shortly after the interview.

Relax, stress is NOT your friend in this process. Be relaxed, and go into your interviews feeling like a champ!
 
tellme_areyoufree said:
I just want to second what Captain Toad is saying. I wasn't interviewed until February. I was still offered admission shortly after the interview.
Relax, stress is NOT your friend in this process. Be relaxed, and go into your interviews feeling like a champ!
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agreed. Stress can only make things worst.

Bbroush said:
Just submitted! Hope I'm not too late to the party!
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You are right on time.

Just a FYI, there is a strong representation of Mormons in our class. Don't know if you are, but I thought I'd just let you know.
 
Captain Toad said:
agreed. Stress can only make things worst.


You are right on time.

Just a FYI, there is a strong representation of Mormons in our class. Don't know if you are, but I thought I'd just let you know.
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Haha, what gave it away!!??? 🙂 yeah I had heard that. That's pretty cool.
 
Holistic review started 7/28 and completed on 8/7. Hopefully my significant other hasn't been calling the admissions office trying to get me an II.
 
LAtoDavis said:
Holistic review started 7/28 and completed on 8/7. Hopefully my significant other hasn't been calling the admissions office trying to get me an II.
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your so is in the class? or on the committee?
 
I have been complete since the 24th. Where does it list your status, nothing comes up on my status page.
 
Post secondary. Holistic review complete august 4
 
31 MCAT balanced
3.96 GPA
OOS
No ties to Michigan
research heavy application
 
I haven't gotten the holistic review started status yet. How long did it take to begin after completing the secondary?
 
noleknight16 said:
I haven't gotten the holistic review started status yet. How long did it take to begin after completing the secondary?
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I was complete 7/24 and still haven't gotten that status. Others have said their holistic review started the day after they submitted the secondary.
 
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