2015-2016 Case Western Reserve University Application Thread

[Ismet]

Space reserved for prompt.

Please PM the essays or lack thereof to me when the secondary is available and I will update this.

Good luck to everyone applying!

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[bikerunner123]

not relevant

 

[DrHart]

Mad love for this school - almost went here for undergrad. Hoping for some in-state luck and that my research pulls some weight. Is it possible to apply to both the University track and the College track (Lerner) or do you have to choose one or the other?

 

[toostressful]

Mad love for this school - almost went here for undergrad. Hoping for some in-state luck and that my research pulls some weight. Is it possible to apply to both the University track and the College track (Lerner) or do you have to choose one or the other?

You can apply for both. And it's actually the same price (2 for 1) if you do. Good luck!

 

[crazylilazn]

2 rejections for the price of 1! Oh baby

(I kid, I kid)

 

[musicalscientists]

Totally applying here!

The director of my work-place used to be on the ADCOM for the MD-PhD program and was an advisor for the students.
I definitely had him read my personal statement

 

[Lannister]

I go to CWRU for undergrad, and it's my dream med school. I would love to spend another four years in Cleveland!

 

[holymolee]

I just got an email from Case Western "The Admissions Team here at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine has reviewed your recent MCAT performance and feels that you could be a very competitive applicant to our School.*"

My MCAT score is a 29.... on msar their 10th %ile is a 32.....

Are they really just sending out these emails randomly to people they have no intention of accepting so that they can get money from me for primary and secondary applications?

 

[justadream]

I just got an email from Case Western "The Admissions Team here at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine has reviewed your recent MCAT performance and feels that you could be a very competitive applicant to our School.*"

My MCAT score is a 29.... on msar their 10th %ile is a 32.....

Are they really just sending out these emails randomly to people they have no intention of accepting so that they can get money from me for primary and secondary applications?

Increased number of applicants ===> decreased acceptance rate ===> better ranking

I never got such an email though.

 

[Affiche]

Ugh....the awfulness of being above everyone's 10th percentiles but below their medians!

 

[Rainbow Zebra]

Ugh....the awfulness of being above everyone's 10th percentiles but below their medians!

Watch the 90th percentile for verbal. My brother had all the stats and research, but a 9 on verbal, and didn't get an interview AT all for CCLM/CASE. Currently an M1 at U Of Michigan. They seem to be picky of us folks with unbalanced MCAT scores.

 

[Derikulus]

Surely a reach, but such a great school. Really interested in finding out more information about their bioethics program. Anyone here have any experience or insight into the program/ the school's diverse education opportunities in general?

 

[Paperbackwriter1356]

So many feels looking at this thread. Good luck guys!

 

[phuynh94]

Applying! Good luck everyone!

 

[derrick rose]

So I am pre-writing secondaries and I am having trouble with the one previous prompt:


"Please describe the hypothesis of your research, why the methods were

selected to answer that hypothesis, your results and interpretation of

your results with respect to future findings. If you have not

participated in research or scholarly work, please indicate so in the

text area below. (3500 char)"


I have been involved with one laboratory for the past year and a half, but have only been doing testing of participants and some pre-liminary data analyses. On top of that, the project has been on-going for a little over 2 years now and is still in midst of being complete for data collection. Clearly I am participating in the research, but I am not part of the process in selecting the hypothesis and how we interpret the results. Would I just leave the area blank or should I mention that I am participating in research to a certain extent?

 

[phuynh94]

So I am pre-writing secondaries and I am having trouble with the one previous prompt:
"Please describe the hypothesis of your research, why the methods were

selected to answer that hypothesis, your results and interpretation of

your results with respect to future findings. If you have not

participated in research or scholarly work, please indicate so in the

text area below. (3500 char)"


I have been involved with one laboratory for the past year and a half, but have only been doing testing of participants and some pre-liminary data analyses. On top of that, the project has been on-going for a little over 2 years now and is still in midst of being complete for data collection. Clearly I am participating in the research, but I am not part of the process in selecting the hypothesis and how we interpret the results. Would I just leave the area blank or should I mention that I am participating in research to a certain extent?

I think it would be good to preface your essay by stating that you were involved in a project, but that the project wasn't truly "your own." Even so, you should be able to explain what the lab is trying to find out and what it was expecting in terms of a hypothesis. Answer what you can. Good luck!

 

[Dr. Retractor]

So I am pre-writing secondaries and I am having trouble with the one previous prompt:


"Please describe the hypothesis of your research, why the methods were

selected to answer that hypothesis, your results and interpretation of

your results with respect to future findings. If you have not

participated in research or scholarly work, please indicate so in the

text area below. (3500 char)"


I have been involved with one laboratory for the past year and a half, but have only been doing testing of participants and some pre-liminary data analyses. On top of that, the project has been on-going for a little over 2 years now and is still in midst of being complete for data collection. Clearly I am participating in the research, but I am not part of the process in selecting the hypothesis and how we interpret the results. Would I just leave the area blank or should I mention that I am participating in research to a certain extent?

I think you should understand the basis of your research beyond what you are directly involved in and write about that. If not, just ask your PI for an explanation of the project and read up on some literature about the project. E.g. What are you testing participants for? Why? What data are you collecting and how are you collecting it? What do you expect to find from that data? Based on your results, what do they mean in the larger context of medicine (or whatever field your research is in)?

 

[Glazedonutlove]

For the research secondary essay (for this school or in general), are you guys citing sources for background info?

 

[Banco]

In case anyone is wondering, if the research essay for UT is optional this year, then it really IS optional. I applied last cycle and I didn't fill that essay out at all, because I talked about research extensively in my activities section (most meaningful experience). I was accepted here outright and never asked about not filling this essay out. My stats were average for CWRU.

So yeah, it is probably a good idea to fill it out, but if you feel that you've said enough in other parts of the application I don't think you HAVE to repeat yourself.

Edit: Supposedly it is not optional this year, so disregard.

 

[Glazedonutlove]

In case anyone is wondering, if the research essay for UT is optional this year, then it really IS optional. I applied last cycle and I didn't fill that essay out at all, because I talked about research extensively in my activities section (most meaningful experience). I was accepted here outright and never asked about not filling this essay out. My stats were average for CWRU.

So yeah, it is probably a good idea to fill it out, but if you feel that you've said enough in other parts of the application I don't think you HAVE to repeat yourself.

So did you cite sources

 

[Banco]

So did you cite sources

No...since I never wrote it.

 

[Glazedonutlove]

No...since I never wrote it.

good point

 

[taco152]

What were the secondary prompts last year?

 

[HarryH00d]

University Track

Please describe the greatest personal challenge you have faced, one which you feel has helped to shape you as a person. Examples may include a time when you felt you were "in over your head," or a time when you felt personally criticized. You may also discuss a moral or ethical dilemma, a situation of personal adversity, or a hurdle in your life that you worked hard to overcome. Please include how you got through the experience and what you may have learned about yourself as a result. (3500ch)


Please describe the hypothesis of your research, why the methods were selected to answer that hypothesis, your results and interpretation of your results with respect to future findings. If you have not participated in research or scholarly work, please indicate so in the text area below. (3500ch)


Is there any further information that you wish to share with the Admissions Committee? This could include information about your academic history, personal life or any other area that is of importance to you.


If you were working on a small group project and you thought that another student wasn't carrying his/her load, how would you handle it? (300-1000ch)




College Track

Each year our students target for themselves areas of improvement. Other than the acquisition of new knowledge, what personal area do you think you have that could use strengthening? Design a plan as to how you could improve it. (500-1000 char)


Tell us about a time when you received unexpected criticism or negative feedback. How did you react? What did you do? (500-1000 char)


How do you see your career ten years from now? (500-1000 char)

 

[taco152]

Thank you. College track is regular MD while university is MD/PhD?

 

[phuynh94]

Thank you. College track is regular MD while university is MD/PhD?

Both are just MD. College track is a 5-year program with extra emphasis on research. It has only 32 students per class, and is tuition-free.

 

[taco152]

University Track

Is there any further information that you wish to share with the Admissions Committee? This could include information about your academic history, personal life or any other area that is of importance to you.
[/QUOTE]
Are they looking for reason why your application might be lacking in an area? (ie bad semester) Or more a is there anything else you would like to add section? Also, is there a character limit?

 

[TurkDorian]

What are they looking for in responses to this question. I can't think of any major challenges that I feel would answer this question.


Please describe the greatest personal challenge you have faced, one which you feel has helped to shape you as a person. Examples may include a time when you felt you were "in over your head," or a time when you felt personally criticized. You may also discuss a moral or ethical dilemma, a situation of personal adversity, or a hurdle in your life that you worked hard to overcome. Please include how you got through the experience and what you may have learned about yourself as a result. (3500ch)

 

[nih15hopeful]

Do you guys think it would be all right to use a PI letter to satisfy one of the two "science advisor or professor" requirements? I have two letters from science professors ready on AMCAS/reserved for schools that won't budge on the matter, but I'm not sure how strong one of them truly is.

 

[doc_mcd94]

Do you guys think it would be all right to use a PI letter to satisfy one of the two "science advisor or professor" requirements? I have two letters from science professors ready on AMCAS/reserved for schools that won't budge on the matter, but I'm not sure how strong one of them truly is.

I would definitely think that is fine. As long as your research is in one of the approved sciences. A PI is basically the advisor to whatever science you are researching.

 

[taco152]

What are they looking for in responses to this question. I can't think of any major challenges that I feel would answer this question.


Please describe the greatest personal challenge you have faced, one which you feel has helped to shape you as a person. Examples may include a time when you felt you were "in over your head," or a time when you felt personally criticized. You may also discuss a moral or ethical dilemma, a situation of personal adversity, or a hurdle in your life that you worked hard to overcome. Please include how you got through the experience and what you may have learned about yourself as a result. (3500ch)

Treated it basically like a challenge you over came essay, just tweaked it from the generic a little.

 

[HybridEarth]

Secondary received a few hours ago. will post prompts!

 

[Lannister]

Secondary prompts are the same as last year for UT!

Just submitted my secondary! Definitely the best secondary I've written so far in terms of quality, but also the most stressful to submit, since Case is my dream school.

 

[justadream]

Secondary received a few hours ago. will post prompts!

Secondary prompts are the same as last year for UT!

Just submitted my secondary! Definitely the best secondary I've written so far in terms of quality, but also the most stressful to submit, since Case is my dream school.

Were you guys verified early?

 

[Lannister]

Were you guys verified early?

Yeah I was verified on June 5th. But I haven't gotten secondaries for some schools that I know people who got verified two weeks after me have already gotten secondaries from. So I don't even know if verification date matters.

 

[TurkDorian]

Does Case Western pre-screen before sending out secondaries?

 

[Lannister]

Does Case Western pre-screen before sending out secondaries?

No. For future reference, if you have the MSAR, it's listed on there whether the school screens pre-secondary or not.

 

[TurkDorian]

No. For future reference, if you have the MSAR, it's listed on there whether the school screens pre-secondary or not.

Thanks! I never noticed that

 

[Hupsty]

So... I also marked research as MM on my AMCAS, but it doesn't really look like the research essay is optional, correct? I am a bit confused as to how I will fill this out if it isn't optional, as I have had many small projects in my lab - is it asking for just one? Most of mine just plain didn't pan out well, or are currently ongoing and I haven't made much headway (so no results).

Any thoughts for this one?

EDIT: My apologies, it says optional in the secondary (I copy and pasted into word incorrectly)

 

[Hupsty]

Actually now I am confused. Is it only optional in that people who haven't done research don't need to answer it?

 

[doc_mcd94]

No the research essay is 100% not optional, the only thing is that if you have not done research then you must indicate that. I would guess that indicating that you have not done research will have at least a slightly negative impact on any applications they receive though.

To answer your first questions though, if you have done a bunch of small projects for your lab, it is likely that most of them are all working towards a similar goal. Talk about what the broad goal or hypothesis is of your research team and some of the results you have found (results do not need to be positive ones) and where you plan on going from there (since you say you are currently working on more projects).

Actually now I am confused. Is it only optional in that people who haven't done research don't need to answer it?

 

[taco152]

For the any further information, what are examples of what you guys are adding? I'm not sure what to put if anything.

 

[Hupsty]

First time in my life I needed more space for an essay... The research one I have explained alot, but haven't answered "the most significant" part about what the experience means to me. Already over the suggested character count.

 

[TurkDorian]

For the secondary application, can we submit the university track questions first and then submit the college track ones later? Or do they all have to be submitted at the same time?

 

[doc_mcd94]

For the secondary application, can we submit the university track questions first and then submit the college track ones later? Or do they all have to be submitted at the same time?

I don't think there is a way to do that separately.

 

[PatrickStarMDPHD]

Yeah I was verified on June 5th. But I haven't gotten secondaries for some schools that I know people who got verified two weeks after me have already gotten secondaries from. So I don't even know if verification date matters.

Same, I am convinced a lot of schools that I applied to send secondaries out in batches.

 

[dktr_butt]

First time in my life I needed more space for an essay... The research one I have explained alot, but haven't answered "the most significant" part about what the experience means to me. Already over the suggested character count.

They are polite by not enforcing a cut off. But I wouldn't consider the character counts as suggestions

 

[Hupsty]

They are polite by not enforcing a cut off. But I wouldn't consider the character counts as suggestions

Suggested limits? What are you saying exactly?

 

[dktr_butt]

Suggested limits? What are you saying exactly?

I would avoid going outside of the 500-1,000 character lengths in the essays..at all costs.

 

[doc_mcd94]

I would avoid going outside of the 500-1,000 character lengths in the essays..at all costs.

This. They didn't leave out a mechanism stopping you from exceeding the limit because they don't mind if you go over. They will mind if the length is too long and while it might not be a big deciding factor, it will not look good.