2015-2016 Loma Linda University Application Thread

Discover Your Odds of Getting into Medical School
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On Eagle's Wings said:
I can take a look at this one as well![/QUOTE)
Thank you so much for your willingness to review our essay questions. For my part, I sent it to my English professor and I submitted my application this past Sunday. Fingers crossed ! 🙂
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I was curious how important it is to include a pastor's name (and phone number) for the church you attend regularly. Long story short, the pastor of the church I regularly attend does not know me super well.
 
21341234 said:
if you have the fee waiver from AMCAS, is possible that this school could waive your secondary app fee?
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I just called the school today and if you have an amcas fap they'll waive it for you but they need to finish reviewing primaries in order to apply the waiver. She said it could be another two weeks or so...🙁
 
Anyone??


vantheman said:
I was curious how important it is to include a pastor's name (and phone number) for the church you attend regularly. Long story short, the pastor of the church I regularly attend does not know me super well.
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vantheman said:
Anyone??
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I am not sure if they actually contact the pastor. I would at least put one- it would look odd if you don't list a pastor. As I said in an earlier post, it does not necessarily have to be a senior pastor. If there are other pastors at your church that you know better, feel free to use them.
 
If anyone wants someone to look at their LLU secondaries, feel free to send them to me in a PM. School doesn't start here until August 6, so I am happy to take a look at them.
 
So I have an AAMC fee waiver and I completed the secondary. However, when I go to submit it, there's no option to select a fee waiver. Googled LLU's policy for it, they also waive the fee, but theres no option when attempting to submit the secondary. Anyone else have this issue?
 
how long does it take to hear back for non-sdn applicants?
 
Is it worth doing the secondary if I don't have a religion? After you answer no to the question "Do you regularly attend or participate in the services of a church or religious group?" and leave the essay question "Describe your involvement with your religious group" blank, will they still consider you? I just feel so uncompetitive compared to other Christian applicants and don't know if I should still spend the time to write all those essays.
 
ktwang said:
Is it worth doing the secondary if I don't have a religion? After you answer no to the question "Do you regularly attend or participate in the services of a church or religious group?" and leave the essay question "Describe your involvement with your religious group" blank, will they still consider you? I just feel so uncompetitive compared to other Christian applicants and don't know if I should still spend the time to write all those essays.
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If you are genuinely interested in this school, don't let that stop you! I know several people who have been offered spots here in the past, despite not being religious at all. I think what you can do instead is stress how important morals are in your life, adn how you are willing to live by the very strict rules of the school. If you come across as genuine, they will definitely keep your app for further review.
 
Do you guys know how holistic they are in reviewing Non-SDA applicants when it comes to interview invitations? I just want to know if they are just emphasizing MCAT score versus other factors.
Thanks.
 
thenewed said:
Do you guys know how holistic they are in reviewing Non-SDA applicants when it comes to interview invitations? I just want to know if they are just emphasizing MCAT score versus other factors.
Thanks.
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They will be very holistic regardless of your SDA/non-SDA status. A medical student explained the application like this to me, and even though they went to another school, I think its a fair explanation.

Imagine you're on a 100 point scale, and the highest "scores" get accepted. Your MCAT and GPA combined can give you a total of 50 points. Your Personal Statement, experiences, written application, and interview are the other 50 points. They then look at all the scores, and invite the top (400?) to interview. After the interview, they look at the top (250?) people and give them acceptances. Lastly, you have to give them the impression that you're a good fit for this school, which is very possible to do even if you're not SDA.

TLDR: Your MCAT is very important. As are your grades and everything else. As a fun fact, I am a non-SDA, and had a killer stats (36/4.0) but was waitlisted the first time I applied because my written application and interview weren't fantastic. I had to overhaul all of that before I got accepted this year. Hope this helps! You can PM me if you have other questions.
 
I'm still waiting on a LOR from my pastor, should I just submit my application without it and send the letter in later? Or just wait? I'm past the "2-week" secondary rule.
 
iDOliveinMD said:
I'm still waiting on a LOR from my pastor, should I just submit my application without it and send the letter in later? Or just wait? I'm past the "2-week" secondary rule.
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Either or, your app won't b reviewed without the letter. If you're ready to submit go ahead and then they'll download your pastor's letter when it's available. After that they can review your file 🙂,
 
Finally submitted my secondary! Letters writers took forever, but it's in there! Praying God opens the door for this med school
 
Btw, anyone know how many people actually fill out the secondaries (guestimate)?? I'd imagine those secondary questions are intimidating for some..
 
Pickle808 said:
Btw, anyone know how many people actually fill out the secondaries (guestimate)?? I'd imagine those secondary questions are intimidating for some..
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I am not sure, although Dr. Roddy said that not everyone fills it out because of the type of questions in the secondary. The only related stat I know is that only about 400 people get interviewed for the 168 seats.
 
I am a devote Jewish person. Is it a waste of time to apply to Loma Linda? Religion plays a large role in my life, and I'd hope Loma Linda would appreciate that but if I have no chance then I won't bother applying.
 
vcalum said:
I am a devote Jewish person. Is it a waste of time to apply to Loma Linda? Religion plays a large role in my life, and I'd hope Loma Linda would appreciate that but if I have no chance then I won't bother applying.
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Read the mission statement and lifestyle guidelines. If you feel like you would be a good fit at this school and that you would enjoy it here, by all means apply!
 
In the mission statement they explicitly write their goal is to "foster the formation of Christian physicians". Their lifestyle guidelines I can adhere to but if their mission statement explicitly uses the word Christian then I'm not sure I stand a chance...
 
From the website, "It is a firm policy of the Admissions Committee to admit each year a number of non Seventh-day Adventist applicants who have demonstrated a commitment to Christian principles and are best suited to meet the educational goals of the School." I think that as long as you are dedicated to the principles of the school, you'll be fine.

I think they'll look at your app just like any other app. The real question is if you like the school and what makes this school attractive to you. Take a look at the secondary questions and see if you can answer them. The secondary questions are heavily used to decide interview invites.
 
swolesoul said:
How many seats would you guess are available for non-SDA?
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My understanding was that they don't exactly reserve a set number for SDA students. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong but I think roughly 50% of the students are actual SDAs
 
tran106 said:
I just called the school today and if you have an amcas fap they'll waive it for you but they need to finish reviewing primaries in order to apply the waiver. She said it could be another two weeks or so...🙁
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Midnight Schemes said:
So I have an AAMC fee waiver and I completed the secondary. However, when I go to submit it, there's no option to select a fee waiver. Googled LLU's policy for it, they also waive the fee, but theres no option when attempting to submit the secondary. Anyone else have this issue?
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To build on the fee waiver uncertainty:

"Thank you for your inquiry. Supplementary application fee waivers are granted to those who have received a fee waiver from AMCAS. No action is required by the applicant who has received an approved AMCAS fee waiver. Requests for refunds will notbe considered after the application fee has been paid. This process can take 2-3 weeks to be added into the system."
 
So it looks like IIs dont start rolling around until October?
 
Oh man! I just got an email from LLUSM. My heart skipped a beat...until I opened it and realized that it was just an informational email because I selected the option to receive more information about the school.
 
LloydChristmas90 said:
Oh man! I just got an email from LLUSM. My heart skipped a beat...until I opened it and realized that it was just an informational email because I selected the option to receive more information about the school.
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Me too. And ironically enough, I got it while I was at LLUMC doing research -_- what a tease
 
LloydChristmas90 said:
Oh man! I just got an email from LLUSM. My heart skipped a beat...until I opened it and realized that it was just an informational email because I selected the option to receive more information about the school.
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musicalfeet said:
Me too. And ironically enough, I got it while I was at LLUMC doing research -_- what a tease
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These happened all the time during last year's application cycle. They come every month or so. They have all sorts of info about the school.

The email you want to come (II) will come from the admissions dean, not Loma Linda University. It will say "Invitation to interview at Loma Linda University School of Medicine". FYI, I got one of the first II, and it came on 10/14.
 
how does loma linda look at applicants with heavy research? is it an advantage here?


and is the median mcat a 31?
 
On Eagle's Wings said:
These happened all the time during last year's application cycle. They come every month or so. They have all sorts of info about the school.

The email you want to come (II) will come from the admissions dean, not Loma Linda University. It will say "Invitation to interview at Loma Linda University School of Medicine". FYI, I got one of the first II, and it came on 10/14.
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are you SDA?
 
khrisskhoras said:
how does loma linda look at applicants with heavy research? is it an advantage here?


and is the median mcat a 31?
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Research can only help. We have lots of research opportunities over the summer here. FYI: at the white coat ceremony for the class of 2019, people in my class have done research in everything from molecular biology, cancer research, stem cells, microbiology, etc.

Median MCAT is around 30-31, with an average of 10 in each section.
 
childofmercy said:
are you SDA?
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Non-SDA Christian.

FYI: Orientation and the white coat ceremony here is heavily faith-based. We have devotions every morning of orientation, and we began our first religion class this morning. In case you thought you could ditch essays at medical school, our first homework assignments are writing essays on a personal illness and a narrative on what you learned from reading the story of the Good Samaritan. There are probably as many Bible studies offered here as at a seminary. The good thing is that they make it comfortable to both SDA's and non-SDA's.
Non-Christians would likely have a tough time here though.

We also must take at least one theology-based class during the first year.
 
On Eagle's Wings said:
Non-SDA Christian.

FYI: Orientation and the white coat ceremony here is heavily faith-based. We have devotions every morning of orientation, and we began our first religion class this morning. In case you thought you could ditch essays at medical school, our first homework assignments are writing essays on a personal illness and a narrative on what you learned from reading the story of the Good Samaritan. There are probably as many Bible studies offered here as at a seminary. The good thing is that they make it comfortable to both SDA's and non-SDA's.
Non-Christians would likely have a tough time here though.

We also must take at least one theology-based class during the first year.
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wow :heckyeah:...praying and hoping for good news from LLU!!
 
More interesting tidbits for all of you applicants. (I hope I get to meet some of you on interview day, but I am not sure if we first year's will get to help this year or not)

Info on the class of 2019:
-Average age: 22 (Big surprise for most of us).
-Our class plays almost every musical instrument imaginable. So for all of you musicians out there, playing music is seen as a good thing!
-Our class plays almost every sport and physical activity out there, including sky-diving.
-Our class has been on mission trips to almost every developing or third world country imaginable (It took Dr. Roddy a couple minutes to list all the countries). If you have been on missions, again, this is a good thing!
-Our class has done a lot of research.
- Our class is around 55% male.
-46% of us are CA residents

We begin with 2 weeks of wards in the clinics. We are required to interview a patient during these two weeks.
One of the few class choices you get in deciding your classes is in which religion and ethics classes you want to take. They actually give you a list of classes to pick from.
We are required to do 20 hours of service-learning during the 4 years we are at LLU.

The second-years are extremely helpful toward the first-years. They actually have a Big Sibling program here where you can be paired up with a second-year who will help you get through your first year. They can help you with study strategies and be a source of support. The second-years will also set up mock lab practicals for us. They gave us a 15 page guide on how to get though first year. It even included details on high-yield study items and things that always show up on exams for every single class we will take and tips on succeeding in each class. This document is like the ultimate survival guide for basic science classes. 🙂 Second years also organize social events for the first year students during the 2 weeks of ward experiences.

They also have a physician-mentoring program where you can pair up with a physician to serve as your mentor for your first year.

Bottom line: LLU provides a lot of support for the first-years, which I am extremely grateful for. Hopefully, this motivates you to want to come here even more.
 
So, I got an email just now stating that they have received my secondary and application fee which I submitted on 7/3 and received a confirmation email as well. Has anyonehad anything similar happen and has anyone been marked complete yet? Or is LLU just really slow at receiving things?
 
I seem to have plenty of time on my hands even in medical school right now- mainly because LLU starts you out nice and slow for 2 weeks before ramping it up once basic science classes start. Some more info from our first few days of medical school.

-LLU provides a specialty panel for MS1's where a doctor from almost every specialty in medicine comes an gives a 10 minute presentation on what their specialty is about. This includes pay range, quality of life, basic job description, type of people who go into that specialty, and the qualities that make up a good resident or physician in that specialty. They also gave us all their contact info and you are allowed to contact any department you want to shadow a physician in begin gaining valuable connections. This is a huge plus of LLU's program, since they said some specialties are very competitive and you need to decide early in your medical school career if you want to go into it and begin forming connections that will get you needed letters of rec, mentoring, and so forth.

Bottom line: LLU begins preparing you for your residency application almost immediately, and their 800+ clinical faculty are very helpful.

-LLU has less lectures and more patient care time than a lot of other medical schools. This is partly because the first two weeks and last 4 weeks of your first year are all clinical wards, where you join a medical team and participate in what they do. This is great for seeing patient care firsthand an not getting lost in books for 2 years without ever seeing a patient! We also have religion courses and chapel time, which further reduces the science lecture time. Believe me, there is still plenty of science lectures and labs, but it is more manageable to keep you sane.

For all of you who will be INTERVIEWING at LLU this year:
-LLU has a Home-stay program run by guess who? The medical students themselves. We offer interviewees the opportunity to contact one of us to stay in our abodes for the night before your interview. We are also available if you want to talk to us about life as medical student. Something to consider when you get that II. The information will be in your II email, but do not fear about finding a place to stay the night when you come here for your II.

-The LLU is Awesome motivation posts by On Eagle's Wings
 
Did anyone get a complete e-mail? This is where I got on Friday: "
This is to advise that all of your recommendations have been received and your file is now complete.


When your file has been reviewed, you will be notified of our decision by postal mail.


Office of Admissions

School of Medicine

Loma Linda University

Loma Linda, CA 92350

909-558-4467
 
I just called the admissions office and I had submitted my secondary on July 9th but apparently mine hasn't been processed yet for completion but all materials have been received. Guess I'll just have to sit tight and wait for that completion email!

EDIT: Got the email today 8/26!
 
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