2015-2016 University of Alabama Application Thread

BU Medical Sciences
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coldcase331 said:
It isn't related to the acceptance. They just want to have the list so they don't have to nag you later on for the campus preferences. Getting to the interview stage itself already puts people at a high chance of acceptance (75% IS, 70% OOS).
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OK, I guess that's fair enough. People will probably be more willing to make a good impression and fill out the form before acceptance instead of after.

And thanks for those reassuring stats.
 
coldcase331 said:
It isn't related to the acceptance. They just want to have the list so they don't have to nag you later on for the campus preferences. Getting to the interview stage itself already puts people at a high chance of acceptance (75% IS, 70% OOS).
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Not that last year's odds weren't good -- they were -- but they were a little lower than 75%/70%:

67% IS post-interview acceptance rate
54% OOS post-interview acceptance rate

Edit: I've added the source. It also contains admissions data for USA.

Source: http://www.auburn.edu/academic/cosa...AB and USA Medical School Admissions Data.pdf
 
Doxorubicin said:
Not that last year's odds weren't good -- they were -- but they were a little lower than 75%/70%:

67% IS post-interview acceptance rate
54% OOS post-interview acceptance rate

Edit: I've added the source. It also contains admissions data for USA.

Source: http://www.auburn.edu/academic/cosam/departments/student-services/student-organizations/aed/documents/UAB and USA Medical School Admissions Data.pdf
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I was looking at the acceptance rates on their website, and their latest year was 2013
 
Thpinky said:
II too OOS! so when I clicked on schedule an interview, no date showed up? How do I fix this?
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Did you check MD/MPH or anything similar in your amcas? I did and that's what prevented any dates from showing up. Just call the admissions office and they'll fix it! 🙂
 
spaingirl17 said:
Did you check MD/MPH or anything similar in your amcas? I did and that's what prevented any dates from showing up. Just call the admissions office and they'll fix it! 🙂
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No I'm pretty sure I didn't check any box like that. Darn it. I hope this won't push me back too far on interview dates. But thanks!
 
DefySomeGravity said:
@SOMBound13 , wondering if you can speak to the specific points raised by @UABMS4 , whether improvements to the curriculum have been successful, the current role of the module leaders (uabms4 specifically cited msk and neuro being replaced), increased use of NBME exams and success on STEP among your peers. Also curious about the success of incenting ICM preceptors to be more effective.
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DefySomeGravity said:
@SOMBound13 , wondering if you can speak to the specific points raised by @UABMS4 , whether improvements to the curriculum have been successful, the current role of the module leaders (uabms4 specifically cited msk and neuro being replaced), increased use of NBME exams and success on STEP among your peers. Also curious about the success of incenting ICM preceptors to be more effective.
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So my class had first year ICM preceptors who weren't under the incentive program and second year ICM preceptors under the incentive program. I will say that I hated the change. We went from having 4 people per group during first year to having between 5-7 students per group during second year. My second year group had 7 students, and that was waaaaaaaaaay too many for a good educational experience. It made days when we had to do oral presentations especially painful, and eventually we just started having a couple people do oral presentations on those days to compensate. Not good.

I will say, however, that the reason I enjoyed the old system the most was because of sheer dumb luck. I had two amazing preceptors during first year. These guys vetted the patients we saw and helped us navigate the hospital system. Both enjoyed teaching and took some of the more ridiculous ICM activities with a big, whopping grain of salt. I had friends during first year who had awful preceptors. Some didn't bother showing up for meetings at all. Most just set their clueless preclinical students loose in the hospital and hoped for the best in terms of finding an appropriate patient to interview. And that is why they introduced the system change to begin with.

Overall, I'm not a big fan of our ICM course. It accomplishes the bare minimum, teaching preclinical students how to do an okay history (lolz, please don't ever submit an ICM-style write-up to ANY of your clerkships) and a complete physical exam (most of which you won't use in real life). Most of your learning in this course of self-directed. I learned way more from YouTube videos than I did from the horribly filmed physical exam videos and presentations. The quizzes are ridiculous and only test useless details despite what the program director tries to tell you (I'm still waiting on the evidence he spoke of regarding the usefulness of his ridiculous questions, bruh). It's filled with busy work and time wasters. The biggest offender was the senior mentor program. I'm still peeved over the time that stupid program wasted. Basically, I feel like I did well during clerkships in spite of this course... not because of it. Hopefully some of my biggest gripes have been addressed and changed accordingly, but I can't speak to that. I do know that my peers who are serving as ICM CSTAs are attempting to emphasize clinical relevance rather than the stupidity of the ICM agenda.
 
One thing I do want to point out is that all of the problems I've talked about are problems you're going to find at every medical school. No school is going to be perfect. It doesn't matter how highly they're ranked according to US NewsWeek (which has little to no relevance). The best you can ask for is that your voice is heard and changes are implemented accordingly. And I do feel like UAB has done this, even if maybe they were a little bit slow in doing so.

Fourth year is amazing, by the way. I've got tons of time for interviews and Step 2 studying. On top of that, there are many options for electives that will free up even more time for interviews: research blocks, co-enrolled courses during preclinical, evidence-based medicine, EKG lab, etc. You'd think these sort of things would be a given at any medical school, but that's most definitely not the case.

You're going to get a good education at UAB, and the UAB name will help you in scoring interviews. You'll meet some amazing clinicians. Though there will always be exceptions, my classmates are awesome people. I never once got gunned during clinical rotations. Everyone I worked with attempted to do their best, obviously, but never at the expense of our team. You can't beat in state tuition. If I could do it all over again, I'd still pick UAB.
 
QUESTION:

I'm interviewing next week (12/03) at UAB. Should or can I expect to hear something back from them before January 18th (my birthday)???
 
hiiiworld said:
How generous is UAB with scholarships? They said they're available for OOS too but how many and how much are typically given out?
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I can only speak for my own experiences and one of my close friends, as most people don't really discuss money openly. I've been a scholarship recipient all four years. How much I got ranged from a couple grand to around $5k. Not a lot in the grand scheme of things, but considering the interest that money would have been earning I was more than thankful for the money. I feel like most of the people I saw at the scholarship dinners filled a specific niche of UAB's interest: the OOS talent, the AOA crowd, the researchers, and the rural medicine people. I have a friend who fell into the OOS talent group, and they got a nice chunk of change to bring down that ridiculously high OOS tuition. But keep in mind that this person is a superstar that could have gone to a number of top schools. And while there were a few of our OOSers at the annual scholarship dinner, it wasn't all of our OOSers by any stretch. Take that for what you will.

Traygus said:
QUESTION:
I'm interviewing next week (12/03) at UAB. Should or can I expect to hear something back from them before January 18th (my birthday)???
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You might. Or you might not. I was accepted after a couple weeks. A friend was accepted the next day. Another friend was accepted at the end of interview season. The order of being accepted had no bearing on our abilities as students. You just can't predict it. Plus UAB saves a lot of their decisions to the end of the interview season. If you look at years past, sometime around late March UAB sends out a large number of acceptances... shortly followed by waitlists and rejections. You'll drive yourself nuts trying to predict what UAB will do. Relax. If medical school has taught me nothing else, it's that lowering your expectations almost always leads to a pleasant surprise. The opposite... not so much.
 
I submitted my secondary at the end of September and my file says that my application is still "in process." It says that it could remain that way for an extended period of time but I'm wondering if there is something holding up my application. I'm OOS. Anyone else having the same issue? What is the usual turn-around time from "in process" to "under review"?
 
thetabear said:
I submitted my secondary at the end of September and my file says that my application is still "in process." It says that it could remain that way for an extended period of time but I'm wondering if there is something holding up my application. I'm OOS. Anyone else having the same issue? What is the usual turn-around time from "in process" to "under review"?
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If you are a reapplicant, they don't review your file until after Jan 1. So it could be a matter of formality
 
IS, complete 10/12
Status changed to remain under consideration on 11/02
Still no II...
 
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thetabear said:
I submitted my secondary at the end of September and my file says that my application is still "in process." It says that it could remain that way for an extended period of time but I'm wondering if there is something holding up my application. I'm OOS. Anyone else having the same issue? What is the usual turn-around time from "in process" to "under review"?
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Same here. I emailed them and asked about it and was told to be patient
 
Just checked my status on the portal and my status is interview requested! However, I haven't gotten an email for the interview yet. Has anyone else experienced this?

Edit: I was able to schedule an interview through the portal for 1/14 and got a confirmation email.
 
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Are thank you notes "mandatory" for this school?
 
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Has anyone's status changed in the portal system, from campus selection received to alternate, yet??
 
Lost in Translation said:
Are thank you notes "mandatory" for this school?
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It definitely wouldn't hurt, in a way it shows your interested in the school and appreciative of the time it took the interviewers to meet with you. But I don't think "thank you notes" are ever mandatory.
 
Has anyone who interviewed prior to 12/03 received an update? When I interviewed, we were told the committee was meeting that afternoon and that emails would be sent the next day. That did not happen as far as I know. I'm curious if they pushed back the meeting and my interview group will possibly be considered in the upcoming batch of acceptances.
 
CONGRATS!!!!!!! To all Acceptances so far!!!!! I'd assume this thread will go quiet until the first of the new year?? Or does anyone anticipate the committee will meet again before the Holidays??
 
No problem. I sure wish it was sooner! But I'm hoping to hear back the first week or so of January
 
For those of you who have interviewed, any feedback on the hotels around the area? I looked at the list but was curious as to what you guys thought about where you stayed and how easy it was to get to the campus. I'll be interviewing on 1/14 and will be looking to book a room in the next couple days.
 
They changed the login for their secondary/check status page and now I can't log in?

Nevermind found the page again.
 
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C3H6O3 said:
For those of you who have interviewed, any feedback on the hotels around the area? I looked at the list but was curious as to what you guys thought about where you stayed and how easy it was to get to the campus. I'll be interviewing on 1/14 and will be looking to book a room in the next couple days.
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I'm not sure what they listed for hotels, I live in Birmingham, but all of the following are within walking distance of Volker Hall: Courtyard Marriott (off 5th Ave S), Double Tree (off University), Springhill Marriott (off 4th Ave S.). I'm sure, the further you get outside the downtown area the better your rates would be but those are three that come to mind. Hope that helps.....
 
C3H6O3 said:
For those of you who have interviewed, any feedback on the hotels around the area? I looked at the list but was curious as to what you guys thought about where you stayed and how easy it was to get to the campus. I'll be interviewing on 1/14 and will be looking to book a room in the next couple days.
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I stayed at Country Inn and Suites, which is only a few exits from UAB. Takes maybe 10-15 min to get to the lot. The hotel was pretty nice, room clean, and the staff were great and super helpful when I had forgotten my charger. And a decent hot breakfast too. I stayed two nights for $130 I think? I'd definitely recommend. Compared to many of the hotels in the area, I think it has the best bang for your buck.
 
I stayed at the springhill suites in colonnade and it was a great experience! They had complementary parking, breakfast and internet! It was about 15 min from campus, but would deff recommend!
Best of luck!
 
Hi all,

I just wanted to gain some insight. I know per reading this thread that chances of matriculation post interview IS are about 75%. To my understanding, the committee weighs all areas equally on a spread sheet. My question is, if you interview in the Fall, have your stats already been deemed competitive and acceptable, and the next step is to do well at the interview stage? Or is everything compiled and re-reviewed as a whole post interview to meet some sort of threshold? If i am concerned with my stats but received an interview, can I relax about my stats? AHHH.

Thanks everyone and goodluck!
 
sciencenerd1441 said:
Hi all,

I just wanted to gain some insight. I know per reading this thread that chances of matriculation post interview IS are about 75%. To my understanding, the committee weighs all areas equally on a spread sheet. My question is, if you interview in the Fall, have your stats already been deemed competitive and acceptable, and the next step is to do well at the interview stage? Or is everything compiled and re-reviewed as a whole post interview to meet some sort of threshold? If i am concerned with my stats but received an interview, can I relax about my stats? AHHH.

Thanks everyone and goodluck!
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It's my understanding that stats are still important, but they make up much less of the overall picture post interview. I have seen people who received post interview rejections for low MCAT, but I don't think that's terribly normal either.
 
Can anyone who has already interviewed access the select campus preferences tool on the secondary page? I'm wanting to change what I put, and the admissions office told me to do it through the secondary page, but I can't find the option on there anymore.
 
Anybody at UA receive their final grades and wanting to send an update to UAB? I got A's in Janna's & Secor's classes and I'm pretty stoked..

Do they take updates?
 
msaggio said:
Anybody at UA receive their final grades and wanting to send an update to UAB? I got A's in Janna's & Secor's classes and I'm pretty stoked..

Do they take updates?
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Yeah they do. Says so in the info for applicants.
 
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