2015-2016 University of Arizona - Phoenix Application Thread

[Ismet]

1. I previously applied to the UA COM - Phoenix
Yes No

2. I believe I fit within the UA COM - Phoenix culture because: (required, 350 words max)
Current Word Count: 0/350

3. I feel that the last 12-18 months have confirmed my desire to pursue a career in medicine because: (required, 350 words max)
Current Word Count: 0/350

4. I understand that diversity is defined in many ways at the UA COM - Phoenix and I feel that I would add value to the diverse learning environment and mission because: (required, 350 words max)
Current Word Count: 0/350

5. I feel that the Admissions Committee should know this about me (note: do not repeat any aspect of your primary application or essays provided above): (required, 350 words max)
Current Word Count: 0/350

Good luck to everyone applying!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[hellanutella]

Stats (incoming class of 2018 profile)
4,151 applied
396 interviewed (10% of application pool)
80 matriculated (69% AZ residents, 31% non-residents)

• No less than 50% of the incoming class will be Arizona residents. This includes Native Americans whose reservations are contiguous with Arizona and Montana and Wyoming residents as a part of the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE).
• The incoming class of 2014 had an average MCAT of 31 (range of 23-40) and GPA of 3.67 (range of 2.52 - 4.0).

2014-2015 Secondary (there is a screen, which requires a minimum of a 22 MCAT)
Secondary Application Page

• Have you previously applied to The University of Arizona College of Medicine-Phoenix? If answered yes, why do you feel you are a stronger applicant this year? (required, 350 words max)
• After learning more about our mission and values as a medical school, share how you fit within the UA Phoenix Med culture. (required, 350 words max)
• Elaborate on what has occurred in the last 12-18 months that has influenced your goal and preparation for a career in medicine. (required, 350 words max)
• What unique or challenging factors in your background (childhood/adulthood) have enhanced your character? (required, 350 words max)
• What is important to you that you want to make sure the Admissions Committee knows about you that is not already included in your application? (required, 350 words max)

Important Dates (2014-2015)
First secondary invitation: June 28th, 2014
First interview invitation: August 18th, 2014 via email
First pre-interview rejection: August 20th, 2014 via email
First acceptance: October 17th, 2014 via phone call
First post-interview rejection: October 31st, 2014 via email
As per Dr. Cunningham, the waitlist is generated at the end of February and is unranked.

Interview
UA - Phoenix utilizes the MMI. In the late summer (before formal interviews start) UA - Phoenix has offered a mock MMI for those in the Phoenix area.

Curriculum
Pass/fail 2 year preclinical.

Update Letter Policy
UA – Phoenix does not accept pre or post interview updates.

Notes
- Arizona residents may apply for the Pathway Scholars program

 

[js0811]

Secondary received

 

[zeppelin1293]

Secondary received

Do you have your letters in yet? I applied, but have yet to receive a secondary.

 

[Heisenberg 41]

@js0811 Are the prompts the same as last year? Thanks!

 

[corvettefan]

@js0811 Are the prompts the same as last year? Thanks!

I believe I fit within the UA COM - Phoenix culture because: (required, 350 words max)

I feel that the last 12-18 months have confirmed my desire to pursue a career in medicine because: (required, 350 words max)

I understand that diversity is defined in many ways at the UA COM - Phoenix and I feel that I would add value to the diverse learning environment and mission because: (required, 350 words max)

I feel that the Admissions Committee should know this about me (note: do not repeat any aspect of your primary application or essays provided above): (required, 350 words max)



Does anyone know if a foreign literature class counts under "Humanities-related"?


HUMANITIES-RELATED

• 1 course from the following: art, music, theater, philosophy, religion, literature, ethics, speech and communication, or gender studies.

 

[BamaNicole]

Hi Guys!
I'm an MS2 and if you have any questions feel free to ask I may not be able to answer everything though

 

[js0811]

1. I previously applied to the UA COM - Phoenix
Yes No

2. I believe I fit within the UA COM - Phoenix culture because: (required, 350 words max)
Current Word Count: 0/350

3. I feel that the last 12-18 months have confirmed my desire to pursue a career in medicine because: (required, 350 words max)
Current Word Count: 0/350

4. I understand that diversity is defined in many ways at the UA COM - Phoenix and I feel that I would add value to the diverse learning environment and mission because: (required, 350 words max)
Current Word Count: 0/350

5. I feel that the Admissions Committee should know this about me (note: do not repeat any aspect of your primary application or essays provided above): (required, 350 words max)
Current Word Count: 0/350

 

[js0811]

@js0811 Are the prompts the same as last year? Thanks!

Yes I have my letters in

 

[futuredoctor2010]

Hi Guys!
I'm an MS2 and if you have any questions feel free to ask I may not be able to answer everything though

I'd love to hear what you opinion of how to best answer Q2 "how I fit within the UA COM - COM Phoenix Culture" - I have read the mission statement and researched the school quite a bit but I am struggling to understand what "Culture" means. One part talks about serving in medically underserved areas throughout AZ. This is something that I feel strongly about but is that sufficient? or am I missing the meat of the question? What other things would be part of the "culture" there.
Thanks!

 

[BamaNicole]

I'd love to hear what you opinion of how to best answer Q2 "how I fit within the UA COM - COM Phoenix Culture" - I have read the mission statement and researched the school quite a bit but I am struggling to understand what "Culture" means. One part talks about serving in medically underserved areas throughout AZ. This is something that I feel strongly about but is that sufficient? or am I missing the meat of the question? What other things would be part of the "culture" there.
Thanks!

You know....its really writing about how you see yourself fitting in with UA. What speaks to you that is at our school? Is there any outreach program or anything that is particular to the campus that speaks to you? I think you're on track with the medically underserved idea. Why not take another look at the website and see if anything about that or anything else speaks to you?

 

[futuredoctor2010]

You know....its really writing about how you see yourself fitting in with UA. What speaks to you that is at our school? Is there any outreach program or anything that is particular to the campus that speaks to you? I think you're on track with the medically underserved idea. Why not take another look at the website and see if anything about that or anything else speaks to you?

Thanks! It's honestly very nice of you to spend the time to help out the applying class.

 

[TheLionheart]

Hello everyone! I'm a current MS1 (almost done with the first week, woo!) and am happy to answer questions as well. Good luck in the coming months--this is a fantastic school that is unique in many ways!

 

[Heisenberg 41]

Hello everyone! I'm a current MS1 (almost done with the first week, woo!) and am happy to answer questions as well. Good luck in the coming months--this is a fantastic school that is unique in many ways!

Thanks for helping us out, it would be interesting to hear from a new student! How would you describe the 'culture' at UA-Phoenix?

 

[TheLionheart]

Thanks for helping us out, it would be interesting to hear from a new student! How would you describe the 'culture' at UA-Phoenix?

Unique. I think it all starts at the top with our Dean--Dean Flynn, who you will meet at the interview day if they keep it similar to last years. He's hilarious, intelligent, and has done a great job recruiting faculty that buy into the mission of student centricism, which is not a joke here, but a way of life. The faculty truly care about the students, and it shows in a number of ways. If the students want something changed, administration actually listens and changed things. A subset of students evaluate every single lecture and lecturer, so poor lectures are changed, poor lecturers are not invited back, etc. The students wanted longer library hours, so they extended it.

As far as the students go, out of all the interviews I attended, these students were the happiest by far. On interview day, I wasn't just exposed to student ambassadors--random students approached us to tell us about how great the school and everyone is, and this was reinforced even more when I met more of them at second look. Since the class size is only 80, the school can be pretty selective. As a result, you end up with a class composition that so far is mostly very social, friendly, and intelligent people. Also, true pass fail, unranked.

Our M1 class just played the annual Dean's Bowling Challenge, in which the M1s play against the faculty. Dean Flynn spent the whole week talking a lot of smack because the faculty won last year, and unfortunately we lost again.. So we're probably going to get more of it over the next few months. The M2s just planned a big night out for our class so our two classes to get to know each other, and it was a ton of fun. I just was assigned my "Big Sibs", who are M2s, M3s, M4s who will mentor, hang out, etc. with my small M1 group.

UA-Phx was not my pre interview first choice. Post interview though, it definitely was. I imagine many of you who interview will have similar thoughts.

 

[GonnaBeMD19]

Hello! I, too, am a current MS1 and would love to provide any help I can to those applying. UA-PHX is a terrific school, and I can't imagine myself anywhere else! Good luck to you all, and I look forward to helping you through the process as best as I can! Side note: it seems like yesterday I was in your same boat reading this same page and hoping to get in! Don't stress too much! Just remember, especially at UA-PHX, the admissions committee WANTS to accept you! So, just let them get to know as much about you as they can and be relaxed!

 

[waterwave10]

Just got a secondary!

 

[Hopefullstudent317]

Still no secondary... OOS

 

[Cawolf]

Submitted OOS!

Spending some time reading about the curriculum at UA - Phoenix has made me really excited about this application.

 

[sharkbyte]

Hm. Still haven't received the secondary. Is there a screen?

 

[sandshifter]

A heads up for anyone who hasn't submitted - I wasn't able to access the payment page via Firefox but it works on Chrome

 

[sharkbyte]

Just received the secondary! Yay for Sunday action!

 

[Dro133]

Does anyone know if a graduate-level human gross anatomy course would fulfill the A&P requirement?

 

[desertrat12]

Anyone know if secondaries are conditional on receipt of MCAT scores? I haven't received a secondary yet, still waiting on my MCAT scores to come out

 

[db673]

Still hoping to get the secondary soon. Do you think being a counselor for the summer scrubs program will help getting into this school? This is my top choice in schools!

 

[BamaNicole]

Anyone know if secondaries are conditional on receipt of MCAT scores? I haven't received a secondary yet, still waiting on my MCAT scores to come out

I believe there is a requirement of a minimum of 22 on the old MCAT. I have no idea what that is in the new scoring system. You may need that MCAT before getting a secondary.

 

[Thoracic Bean]

I just realized there is a physiology requirement. Does anyone know if they are lenient with this specific course? Could a gross anatomy course fulfill this requirement? I just finished all of the essays and then saw the physio requirement

 

[swimmer06]

Do any of you know if you click Yes for "have you previously applied to UA" if it gives you another prompt to complete?

 

[TheLionheart]

I just realized there is a physiology requirement. Does anyone know if they are lenient with this specific course? Could a gross anatomy course fulfill this requirement? I just finished all of the essays and then saw the physio requirement

Your best bet is to email or call admissions. Very friendly folks.

And as a side note, you wouldn't need the class to apply, just to matriculate if accepted.

 

[runs4chocolate]

Do any of you know if you click Yes for "have you previously applied to UA" if it gives you another prompt to complete?

yes it does.

 

[DRJOJOH]

Hey guys, I've submitted my secondary a little over a week ago. I just had a question regarding their LORs. On their website they require three letters, but my school has a pre-med committee that writes the letter for me. They have uploaded this one on AMCAS and was sent to the school. Does anyone know if the committee letter can be accepted in place of the 3 individual letters?

 

[Thoracic Bean]

Your best bet is to email or call admissions. Very friendly folks.

And as a side note, you wouldn't need the class to apply, just to matriculate if accepted.

Ended up calling them today and they were very helpful! Submitted the secondary and crossing fingers now!

 

[Hopefullstudent317]

Finally received a secondary today, OOS

 

[Hopefullstudent317]

So I submitted my secondary and fee, but my LORs are marked incomplete even though they should have them. Did anyone else have this problem?

 

[corvettefan]

So I submitted my secondary and fee, but my LORs are marked incomplete even though they should have them. Did anyone else have this problem?

Nope, it says they received my LORs a while back!

 

[Cawolf]

So I submitted my secondary and fee, but my LORs are marked incomplete even though they should have them. Did anyone else have this problem?

My letters show as received on the day I submitted AMCAS.

 

[DrRow]

Hey everyone,

I didn't do my due diligence and properly research UA's requirements before applying. For their physiology requirement, do you think an upper division Physiology of Nutrition would satisfy their requirement? The class didn't really focus on anatomy but it had lots of physiology related to metabolism, how the body converts food to adipose tissue, etc..

I also have a question about the final essay (the one that says not to repeat anything from primary statement). Is it asking for something completely new or is it okay to talk about an activity in the primary, but expand into an area or experience I had not mentioned? If its something completely new, I'm having trouble coming up with anything besides "I'm just began binge watching Scrubs and it makes me both excited and terrified for my Internship."

Thanks!

 

[AgentQuestion]

Random question: Does the status portal for everyone say:
App Complete: Your application is ready!
Interview: Not scheduled yet
I haven't heard anything from them so I'm assuming the interview thing is standard and will change if you get invited?

 

[GonnaBeMD19]

Hi Dr. Row: To begin, I am 99% sure you'd be fine with the Physiology of Nutrition - I don't think it has to be anatomy based, as long as there's physiology in there too. That said, your best bet would be to contact admissions. They are really good about getting back to you as quick as possible, so they will let you know! As for your other question, I'm not exactly sure what you mean by expanding into another area? The advice I was given was to not repeat any experiences in secondaries. Basically, you want to let them know everything they can know about you, which means using the secondaries as an opportunity to say something you didn't say in your primary. However, if you do "expand into an area" that you didn't mention before, just make sure it's a completely new realm that you haven't discussed with them yet and maybe talk about the qualities/skills/etc. that this particular event instilled in you. For example, if you wrote about basketball in your primary, you might also talk about that in your secondary but as long as you bring up points that you didn't mention the first time around! Hope that helped!

 

[GonnaBeMD19]

Random question: Does the status portal for everyone say:
App Complete: Your application is ready!
Interview: Not scheduled yet
I haven't heard anything from them so I'm assuming the interview thing is standard and will change if you get invited?

I think you're fine. If I remember correctly, my portal said that exact same thing. Once you get offered an interview, I think it might say "Schedule your interview" or something to that nature.

 

[BamaNicole]

Hey everyone,

I didn't do my due diligence and properly research UA's requirements before applying. For their physiology requirement, do you think an upper division Physiology of Nutrition would satisfy their requirement? The class didn't really focus on anatomy but it had lots of physiology related to metabolism, how the body converts food to adipose tissue, etc..

I also have a question about the final essay (the one that says not to repeat anything from primary statement). Is it asking for something completely new or is it okay to talk about an activity in the primary, but expand into an area or experience I had not mentioned? If its something completely new, I'm having trouble coming up with anything besides "I'm just began binge watching Scrubs and it makes me both excited and terrified for my Internship."

Thanks!

Make sure to call admissions to see if your physiology of nutrition would be acceptable. They're the ones that can clear that.

If it doesn't you can always make plans to do it before you matriculate if accepted.

I was always told to try to not rehash things that can be found else where but perhaps if you can offer another perspective of it then that could be okay.

 

[AndrésBay]

Hey friends! I'm OOS, but my primary was verified June 4 and I have yet to receive a secondary. Has anyone else waited this long? I'll probably just give them a call tomorrow, as others have suggested.

 

[Dr.Pilot]

Hey friends! I'm OOS, but my primary was verified June 4 and I have yet to receive a secondary. Has anyone else waited this long? I'll probably just give them a call tomorrow, as others have suggested.

I was verified on June 2nd and I received my secondary on Thursday. I think you should get it pretty soon. good luck!

 

[Thoracic Bean]

Hey everyone,

I didn't do my due diligence and properly research UA's requirements before applying. For their physiology requirement, do you think an upper division Physiology of Nutrition would satisfy their requirement? The class didn't really focus on anatomy but it had lots of physiology related to metabolism, how the body converts food to adipose tissue, etc..

I also have a question about the final essay (the one that says not to repeat anything from primary statement). Is it asking for something completely new or is it okay to talk about an activity in the primary, but expand into an area or experience I had not mentioned? If its something completely new, I'm having trouble coming up with anything besides "I'm just began binge watching Scrubs and it makes me both excited and terrified for my Internship."

Thanks!

Call them. I didn't take physiology but they told me that a class I had taken can fulfill the requirement. Also, on the app there is a place that you can state if you believe a course is comparable to one of thee prereqs. Best of luck!

 

[DrRow]

Thanks for the replies BamaNicole and Thoracic Bean! I'll call tomorrow.

 

[aztlannation]

Hi Guys!
I'm an MS2 and if you have any questions feel free to ask I may not be able to answer everything though

Is there a high Hispanic population in the surrounding area? What about underserved communities in general?

 

[JacktheRipper]

good luck to everyone applying. Ran across 2014 data from AAMC on people applying to MD medical schools from different states (https://www.aamc.org/download/321466/data/factstable5.pdf). It seems people applying as Arizona resident have the highest rejection rate for medical school out of all of the states (69.9%). They also have the third highest number of applicants applying in the West Region. I have seen complaints from many people during the past few years on how many qualified people are not considered by U of A in Phoenix and Tucson and many fail to apply to enough schools. According to data set only 15% matriculated in stated and 16% matriculated out of state. Compared to other states it is quite obvious that people applying from Arizona are not applying to enough out of state schools and I urge everyone to not take this lightly and apply broadly. Last thing anyone wants is to not get into a medical school due to not applying to enough places. In addition, the other issue is there are only 2 MD schools in Arizona accepting <200 students out of ~900 students applying as opposed to other states where they have a better spots:applicant ratios. There are just not enough medical schools and number of spots for the amount of demand in this state. Main reason is lack of funding and we as a community are not doing a good enough job of talking to our representatives in this state to invest and fund more of these schools and encourage more medical schools to meet this demand.

 

[BamaNicole]

Is there a high Hispanic population in the surrounding area? What about underserved communities in general?

Actually there is. At the Wesley Center, the population we see is mostly Hispanic. You could see patients here even as a 1st or 2nd year. Its one of my favorite activities. Also, our program SHOT is opening a clinic to try to give services to the homeless population in Phoenix. We also have opportunities in the summer where you can take a rural rotation for 6 weeks to help underserved areas. My friend went to Fort Defiance, New Mexico near the Navajo reservation and did a rotation. You can also work with Native children for a week at a diabetes preventation summer camp.

good luck to everyone applying. Ran across 2014 data from AAMC on people applying to MD medical schools from different states (https://www.aamc.org/download/321466/data/factstable5.pdf). It seems people applying as Arizona resident have the highest rejection rate for medical school out of all of the states (69.9%). They also have the third highest number of applicants applying in the West Region. I have seen complaints from many people during the past few years on how many qualified people are not considered by U of A in Phoenix and Tucson and many fail to apply to enough schools. According to data set only 15% matriculated in stated and 16% matriculated out of state. Compared to other states it is quite obvious that people applying from Arizona are not applying to enough out of state schools and I urge everyone to not take this lightly and apply broadly. Last thing anyone wants is to not get into a medical school due to not applying to enough places. In addition, the other issue is there are only 2 MD schools in Arizona accepting <200 students out of ~900 students applying as opposed to other states where they have a better spots:applicant ratios. There are just not enough medical schools and number of spots for the amount of demand in this state. Main reason is lack of funding and we as a community are not doing a good enough job of talking to our representatives in this state to invest and fund more of these schools and encourage more medical schools to meet this demand.

That's a really good point, however, if you chose to increase the number of schools we must also consider the increase in residency spots. You can train doctors all day and give them a degree but in the US that's meaningless without a residency spot.

Also, schools and programs are sensitive to the needs of the population in terms of healthcare not in terms of the demand for medical school spots.

 

[gkberger]

good luck to everyone applying. Ran across 2014 data from AAMC on people applying to MD medical schools from different states (https://www.aamc.org/download/321466/data/factstable5.pdf). It seems people applying as Arizona resident have the highest rejection rate for medical school out of all of the states (69.9%). They also have the third highest number of applicants applying in the West Region. I have seen complaints from many people during the past few years on how many qualified people are not considered by U of A in Phoenix and Tucson and many fail to apply to enough schools. According to data set only 15% matriculated in stated and 16% matriculated out of state. Compared to other states it is quite obvious that people applying from Arizona are not applying to enough out of state schools and I urge everyone to not take this lightly and apply broadly. Last thing anyone wants is to not get into a medical school due to not applying to enough places. In addition, the other issue is there are only 2 MD schools in Arizona accepting <200 students out of ~900 students applying as opposed to other states where they have a better spots:applicant ratios. There are just not enough medical schools and number of spots for the amount of demand in this state. Main reason is lack of funding and we as a community are not doing a good enough job of talking to our representatives in this state to invest and fund more of these schools and encourage more medical schools to meet this demand.

Good thing Mayo is building a satellite brach in Scottsdale for entering class of 2017. @BamaNicole has a good point regarding residency though

 

[vantheman]

Is there a fair number of CA residents in the class? I am a CA resident and I am highly interested in this school!