2015-2016 Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences Application Thread

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i'm just gonna be logical about this and go off of their page
https://www.usuhs.edu/content/how-apply

it asks fsor a committee letter and a clinical letter

i don't see why my letter from the committee + the letter from the doc i shadowed (that is enclosed in its entirety within the committee letter packet) wont fulfill the requirements
 
Jimmy Jones said:
i'm just gonna be logical about this and go off of their page
https://www.usuhs.edu/content/how-apply

it asks fsor a committee letter and a clinical letter

i don't see why my letter from the committee + the letter from the doc i shadowed (that is enclosed in its entirety within the committee letter packet) wont fulfill the requirements
Click to expand...

It should not be an issue, but I will default to saying the admissions folks are very good at USUHS, call and ask if you're concerned.

In the secondary app when it asks you who wrote what letters it should clarify it anyways.
 
Glycereine said:
It should not be an issue, but I will default to saying the admissions folks are very good at USUHS, call and ask if you're concerned.

In the secondary app when it asks you who wrote what letters it should clarify it anyways.
Click to expand...
thanks Glycereine

i didn't see anything regarding IAs or letter clarification in last year's secondary prompts.. do those show up?

do you mind sharing what the interview day(s) is like
 
Jimmy Jones said:
thanks Glycereine

i didn't see anything regarding IAs or letter clarification in last year's secondary prompts.. do those show up?

do you mind sharing what the interview day(s) is like
Click to expand...

In the secondary there is part of the form that has you list the LOA writers (like Science #1, Science #2, non Science, Clinical, etc.) The prompts are there and you just put in the people's names. I think it even says to list them separately even if included in a committee packet (not 100% certain on that, but I do remember the prompts).

The interview day is great! You get an introduction to USUHS, a VERY good tour of the place, Q&A session with LtCol Saguil, as well as some current students, and then your two interviews.

The interviews were very friendly and the whole day gave a great feel. I also highly recommend doing the student sponsor option and staying with a current student as well as going to the dinner the night before the interview. It helped make me more relaxed for sure.
 
Jimmy Jones said:
piggybacking on mheard's question: my committee letter attaches the individual LoRs that i was required to submit as part of the committee application process. i asked a doc i shadowed to write a Lor for me and its in that packet. do i need to write a statement to look in the committee packet for the clinical letter or will they figure it out
Click to expand...

I'm in the same boat. I imagine that they'll figure it out.
 
Just checked my secondary materials from last year- @Glycereine is correct. The form's directions indicate to list the clinical letter even if it's included in the committee packet. You won't need to write a statement asking them to look for it.
 
Hello all! Submitted my primaries 0602-2015 and was wondering if anyone has received any secondaries?
Navy hopeful here with no prior service or family background, just a strong desire to serve and treat

Thanks!
 
heysamsung said:
Hello all! Submitted my primaries 0602-2015 and was wondering if anyone has received any secondaries?
Navy hopeful here with no prior service or family background, just a strong desire to serve and treat

Thanks!
Click to expand...
not till july bro
 
heysamsung said:
Hello all! Submitted my primaries 0602-2015 and was wondering if anyone has received any secondaries?
Navy hopeful here with no prior service or family background, just a strong desire to serve and treat

Thanks!
Click to expand...
AMCAS has a set date (July this year) that they make applications available to schools. Before that no one will hear anything.

Submitting early is good though 🙂


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
One of my dream schools is USUHS that is the miliary medical school. I plan on joining the Navy and being a surgeon for them. I heard that USU is pretty competitive. So for people who got accepted what do you think helped you the most?
 
Hi, you should join the USUHS school-specific forum if you haven't already. I am starting at USUHS this fall, and I think that my clinical experience and motivation to join the military were major factors in my admission to the program. Like most med schools with "holistic" review, USUHS will consider all parts of your application, including MCAT, GPA, research, clinical experience, and volunteer experience when making a decision to interview. Most importantly, you will need to carefully craft your answer to the question "why military medicine?", as your career path, lifestyle, and patient population will be different from those of a civilian physician. I only recommend that people apply to USUHS if they are genuinely interested in a lifelong (20+ years) career as a military physician. The tuition and pay benefits are nice, but there are other ways to pay for med school with shorter service commitments (HPSP and NHSC scholarships, for example). It sounds like you have the right motivations for joining the military but it's just something to consider if you're not aware!
 
cardio7 said:
Hi, you should join the USUHS school-specific forum if you haven't already. I am starting at USUHS this fall, and I think that my clinical experience and motivation to join the military were major factors in my admission to the program. Like most med schools with "holistic" review, USUHS will consider all parts of your application, including MCAT, GPA, research, clinical experience, and volunteer experience when making a decision to interview. Most importantly, you will need to carefully craft your answer to the question "why military medicine?", as your career path, lifestyle, and patient population will be different from those of a civilian physician. I only recommend that people apply to USUHS if they are genuinely interested in a lifelong (20+ years) career as a military physician. The tuition and pay benefits are nice, but there are other ways to pay for med school with shorter service commitments (HPSP and NHSC scholarships, for example). It sounds like you have the right motivations for joining the military but it's just something to consider if you're not aware!
Click to expand...
Was your MCAT above 30? I heard it's really rare to get in if its below 30. Did you already attend ODS?
 
browneyes124 said:
Was your MCAT above 30? I heard it's really rare to get in if its below 30. Did you already attend ODS?
Click to expand...

I guess the mods moved our thread from the main school discussions page to here? Anyway, my MCAT was 32 which is one point above USUHS's average last year. I'm not sure if they have a true MCAT cutoff. USUHS admissions contacted one of my friends who was applying with a 28 MCAT, and they asked him for a statement on whether or not he planned to retake the exam. He decided to not retake it and was not interviewed. He also had some GPA issues, though, so I doubt the MCAT sunk his application singlehandedly. Do consider a retake if you're below 30, but it also depends on the other strengths of your application. I keep hearing that USUHS is getting significantly more competitive each year, so I wouldn't be surprised if their MCAT average inches up this cycle.

Summer training is separated by branch and they all have different names. Navy has ODS and Air Force has COT. I am Army and currently attending BOLC (Basic Officer Leadership Course) in San Antonio, TX. Similar to Navy ODS but a few weeks longer. We also get a bit of down time in the evenings and free wi-fi (for now, until we move out to field training)!
 
browneyes124 said:
One of my dream schools is USUHS that is the miliary medical school. I plan on joining the Navy and being a surgeon for them. I heard that USU is pretty competitive. So for people who got accepted what do you think helped you the most?
Click to expand...

They look at your whole experience, grades, background, etc. It's competitive, but they interview roughly 20% of applicants, which is high for a school and admit 30% of those interviewed.

If you want to go Navy, I would suggest applying early and getting things in ASAP. It is usually the first branch to fill up. The unique thing about USUHS is that the number of seats is mandated by Congress, so they are held to a very strict cap. Once they admit 173 (which was last year's limit) any other students they would want to accept are waitlisted. They then fill off the waitlist as the year continues and folks withdraw.

That happened to me last year. I interviewed in late 2014, received a conditional acceptance, but was medically disqualified due to a pre-existing condition.

But like I said, if this is your top choice, apply ASAP. It's free so there should be no delay.
 
I have a feeling navy spots are going to fill up much faster this year if other applicants like myself are addicted to "The Last Ship" XD

In all seriousness...
 
BearGrylls said:
I have a feeling navy spots are going to fill up much faster this year if other applicants like myself are addicted to "The Last Ship" XD

In all seriousness...
Click to expand...
Huh that's kind of surprising because everytime I tell someone I want to be a Navy doctor they always tell me that Airforce is better and it's the hardest branch to get into ( except maybe Marines)
 
cardio7 said:
I guess the mods moved our thread from the main school discussions page to here? Anyway, my MCAT was 32 which is one point above USUHS's average last year. I'm not sure if they have a true MCAT cutoff. USUHS admissions contacted one of my friends who was applying with a 28 MCAT, and they asked him for a statement on whether or not he planned to retake the exam. He decided to not retake it and was not interviewed. He also had some GPA issues, though, so I doubt the MCAT sunk his application singlehandedly. Do consider a retake if you're below 30, but it also depends on the other strengths of your application. I keep hearing that USUHS is getting significantly more competitive each year, so I wouldn't be surprised if their MCAT average inches up this cycle.

Summer training is separated by branch and they all have different names. Navy has ODS and Air Force has COT. I am Army and currently attending BOLC (Basic Officer Leadership Course) in San Antonio, TX. Similar to Navy ODS but a few weeks longer. We also get a bit of down time in the evenings and free wi-fi (for now, until we move out to field training)!
Click to expand...
Congratulations on your acceptance! I know that MCAT prep Is different for everyone but any tips on how to get above a 30 or anything that you did that you thought really helped prepare you? My school has free MCAT practice tests from previous years and they have Kaplan summer sessions but idk if that helps because I heard people say that Kaplan is overpriced and not that helpful
 
browneyes124 said:
Huh that's kind of surprising because everytime I tell someone I want to be a Navy doctor they always tell me that Airforce is better and it's the hardest branch to get into ( except maybe Marines)
Click to expand...
The Marines don't have doctors, they use Navy for that in addition to some other fields such as Chaplains.

As far as getting into a given branch, it's not usually "hard" unless you are talking about a scholarship of some kind, an academy, or USUHS. As for USUHS, unless I've been misinformed, Navy has filled first for the past several years.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Last edited:
BearGrylls said:
I have a feeling navy spots are going to fill up much faster this year if other applicants like myself are addicted to "The Last Ship" XD

In all seriousness...
Click to expand...
I definitely can't say that's the worst way to pick your service but it certainly isn't the best. Lol


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Anyone receive a secondary yet? By the looks of last years thread, USU was one of the first schools to send them out.
 
dtom76 said:
Anyone receive a secondary yet? By the looks of last years thread, USU was one of the first schools to send them out.
Click to expand...
They haven't sent them yet, but I "believe" they don't prescreen for secondaries, so expect it within a day or 2 most likely.
 
Secondary just popped up in my inbox. Same prompts as last year.
 
Hey guys! I'd like some advice about applying to usuhs.

I just got my mcat score back and confirmed my fear that I didn't do well. My score is a 497, which I know is terrible. I did not study nearly enough but have been putting in work for my retake 7/17.

However, I am a URM (African American) with a solid gpa (3.53) and great ec's (div. 1 athlete, research, clinical/non experience).

I am curious about if I should go ahead and submit my primary to usuhs. I have pre written secondaries but don't want to be screened out because of my mcat. I am retaking July 17 and the score wil be available August 16. Is that too late?

am I competitive/ will I be competitive if I raise my score?

Send help haha and good luck to you guys!
 
are we just supposed to send the secondaries to our Admissions counselor via email?
 
Lark27 said:
Hey guys! I'd like some advice about applying to usuhs.

I just got my mcat score back and confirmed my fear that I didn't do well. My score is a 497, which I know is terrible. I did not study nearly enough but have been putting in work for my retake 7/17.

However, I am a URM (African American) with a solid gpa (3.53) and great ec's (div. 1 athlete, research, clinical/non experience).

I am curious about if I should go ahead and submit my primary to usuhs. I have pre written secondaries but don't want to be screened out because of my mcat. I am retaking July 17 and the score wil be available August 16. Is that too late?

am I competitive/ will I be competitive if I raise my score?

Send help haha and good luck to you guys!
Click to expand...
I don't know the score cutoffs and recommendations from the new MCAT. Do you know roughly what your score equates to? The USUHS secondary is not prescreened and you can put in your retake date.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I don't remember which year it was but someone had mentioned that during the screening of an application/secondary, the ADCOM messaged an individual asking if the applicant was planning on retaking. If it's true and still the case, it would give you an idea if you need to retake if it is early enough.
 
Thanks for the info. My current score of 497 is roughly 24 on the old mcat. Like I said I know it's bad even as a URM and I'm planning to retake in July and have been studying my butt off.

Any other advice about maximizing my chances to usuhs would be appreciated
 
Got that USUHS secondary email. I guess its time to work on those essays and find a nice suit for the picture.
 
Does anyone know about the medical disqualifications? I'm thinking about getting laser eye surgery or ICL because my vision is terrible and has gotten worse with contact lense use. They irritate my eyes a lot so they have created a lot of inflammation and discomfort when they're in. I was doing research and it said that it was mostly a medical disqualifier for entering people but some people might be able to get waivers if they are already active. As for the Navy I've only heard that's its a definite disqualifyer for aviation but do you think they would give more leinancy to an officer/ phusician ?
 
browneyes124 said:
Does anyone know about the medical disqualifications? I'm thinking about getting laser eye surgery or ICL because my vision is terrible and has gotten worse with contact lense use. They irritate my eyes a lot so they have created a lot of inflammation and discomfort when they're in. I was doing research and it said that it was mostly a medical disqualifier for entering people but some people might be able to get waivers if they are already active. As for the Navy I've only heard that's its a definite disqualifyer for aviation but do you think they would give more leinancy to an officer/ phusician ?
Click to expand...
I know current Navy pilots who had eye surgery before joining so it's definitely not 100% disqualifying. That said I don't know how hard the waiver is.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
browneyes124 said:
Does anyone know about the medical disqualifications? I'm thinking about getting laser eye surgery or ICL because my vision is terrible and has gotten worse with contact lense use. They irritate my eyes a lot so they have created a lot of inflammation and discomfort when they're in. I was doing research and it said that it was mostly a medical disqualifier for entering people but some people might be able to get waivers if they are already active. As for the Navy I've only heard that's its a definite disqualifyer for aviation but do you think they would give more leinancy to an officer/ phusician ?
Click to expand...

Terrible is a relative term. I was a -4.00 in both eyes and there was no issue with my vision in the Navy's eyes. However, I only have myopia so if you have greater issues, that may play in. Also, in order to have Lasik, you normally need to show no vision degradation over a one year period. So if your vision is getting worse, you may not be able to have it done.
 
Lark27 said:
Hey guys! I'd like some advice about applying to usuhs.

I just got my mcat score back and confirmed my fear that I didn't do well. My score is a 497, which I know is terrible. I did not study nearly enough but have been putting in work for my retake 7/17.

However, I am a URM (African American) with a solid gpa (3.53) and great ec's (div. 1 athlete, research, clinical/non experience).

I am curious about if I should go ahead and submit my primary to usuhs. I have pre written secondaries but don't want to be screened out because of my mcat. I am retaking July 17 and the score wil be available August 16. Is that too late?

am I competitive/ will I be competitive if I raise my score?

Send help haha and good luck to you guys!
Click to expand...

If you're planning to take it over, does your Primary indicate that? If so, then submit. They'll keep your file around until they get the new score. Realize that the average score at USUHS has bene steadily increasing every year, so you should get off SDN and focus on killing the MCAT in two weeks 😉

Good luck!!
 
Anyone know what to do with the ACT score? Do we add as part of section 9 on the primary app? Do we mail the paper score report to their address?
 
Lark27 said:
Hey guys! I'd like some advice about applying to usuhs.

I just got my mcat score back and confirmed my fear that I didn't do well. My score is a 497, which I know is terrible. I did not study nearly enough but have been putting in work for my retake 7/17.

However, I am a URM (African American) with a solid gpa (3.53) and great ec's (div. 1 athlete, research, clinical/non experience).

I am curious about if I should go ahead and submit my primary to usuhs. I have pre written secondaries but don't want to be screened out because of my mcat. I am retaking July 17 and the score wil be available August 16. Is that too late?

am I competitive/ will I be competitive if I raise my score?

Send help haha and good luck to you guys!
Click to expand...

This is purely anecdotal, but I went to the open house in on June 4th at USUHS and Dr Saguil mentioned that they are looking at a broader range of scores this year because of the new format of the MCAT, I believe he mentioned they are expanding the range to include 496+. That is just something I remembered him saying because I was taking the MCAT a few weeks later. Don't base your decision to apply on that, but if you do apply hopefully it make you feel better!
 
CyrilFiggis said:
Terrible is a relative term. I was a -4.00 in both eyes and there was no issue with my vision in the Navy's eyes. However, I only have myopia so if you have greater issues, that may play in. Also, in order to have Lasik, you normally need to show no vision degradation over a one year period. So if your vision is getting worse, you may not be able to have it done.
Click to expand...
Mine never goes above 2.00 but my left eye fluctuates anywhere from 1.50-2.00 within a 3-4 month period. My right eye usually stays 1.5 but contacts always irritate my eyes and it always creates inflammation
 
I got an email from USUHS regarding my secondary on 7/1/15. Their email says "Supplemental material must be returned within three weeks from the date of this email notification." Does that mean I have to submit my secondary by 7/22/15?
 
I'm thinking about air force and public health services... can someone help me???
 
Applied here! Really excited about this school. @rlarudtjs332 I wasn't aware of the public health branch...where did you read that? I thought the only options were Navy/AF/Army?
 
Very interesting. I don't even know where to begin about the different branches...so many pros/cons to each :/.
 
Hi all, I am currently working on the secondary. Does anyone know if USUHS accepts inorganic chemistry exemption letters? I couldn't find a mention of it on their site. Thanks!
 
The public health "branch" has a very limited number of students, I think it's two so if you're interested in that I'd make sure you're interviewed on the first day or at least very early; it's a very different life from the other three so maybe people don't gravitate towards it though
 
Good luck to everyone applying! My application should have just completed today (secondaries and all) with my last LOR hitting AMCAS, so the waiting begins...
 
Hi guys,

Can I submit the secondary without a clinical letter? I've been an EMT for 2 years but just recently got hired as an ER tech. I haven't asked a doc to write me a letter yet, and to be honest, I have a few people in mind but I haven't even picked out a doc yet. I've finished all my essays and am ready to submit. Should I just put down a doc's name and go from there? Or should I wait till I've got someone to agree to write me the letter? I just want to submit it asap but it seems like they won't even look at my app till all the letters are in anyway? Thanks!
 
rlarudtjs332 said:
I got an email from USUHS regarding my secondary on 7/1/15. Their email says "Supplemental material must be returned within three weeks from the date of this email notification." Does that mean I have to submit my secondary by 7/22/15?
Click to expand...
Yes, it does.

ktwang said:
Hi guys,

Can I submit the secondary without a clinical letter? I've been an EMT for 2 years but just recently got hired as an ER tech. I haven't asked a doc to write me a letter yet, and to be honest, I have a few people in mind but I haven't even picked out a doc yet. I've finished all my essays and am ready to submit. Should I just put down a doc's name and go from there? Or should I wait till I've got someone to agree to write me the letter? I just want to submit it asap but it seems like they won't even look at my app till all the letters are in anyway? Thanks!
Click to expand...
Your application will not be reviewed until all LORs are in, so submitting your secondary before that letter gets there doesn't buy you anything, you are correct.
 
**** i submitted my secondary and accidentally exited the window without reading the final confirmation message. I thought I read something about jpg file or something? Can someone verify this? Is this for our passport photo?
 
rlarudtjs332 said:
**** i submitted my secondary and accidentally exited the window without reading the final confirmation message. I thought I read something about jpg file or something? Can someone verify this? Is this for our passport photo?
Click to expand...


Uniformed Services University
Thank you for applying to the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. Your Secondary Application has been submitted to the Office of Recruitment and Admissions. If you have any questions during the application cycle, you may contact your Admissions Counselor, by last names, at:
A – E Ms. Mayo - [email protected]
F – L Ms. Romero - [email protected]
M – R Ms. Baker - [email protected]
S – Z Ms. Ferrell - [email protected]
All potential students must submit a digital photograph to their admissions counselor. Photographs may be submitted in JPG (preferred), PNG, BMP, GIF, or TIF format. Your picture should show you in professional dress and should focus on your head and shoulders against a neutral background (like a passport photo). DO NOT SUBMIT FULL BODY PHOTOS. Please do not take a picture of a picture—they do not turn out very well. Make sure your picture has enough resolution to clearly identify you, but please limit the size of your picture to no more than 1 MB (1024 KB). Label your picture file as follows: “Lastname.Firstname.AMCAS ID.Photograph.” When you email your picture to us, please put “Lastname.Firstname.AMCAS ID.Photograph” in the subject line.
 
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