2015-2016 University of Arizona - Phoenix Application Thread

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runs4chocolate said:
Interviewed here today-- absolutely in love. Shot up way on my list.
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I thought the first interview date wasn't until 9/12?

EDIT: Whoops! I posted in the forum for Phoenix instead of Tucson :laugh:
 
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Just got an interview here today and could not be more excited. OOS from California. I have signed up for the Medical Student Host program and hope that I won't bug the people who I stay with due to my curiosities =). I love to cook though so I will probably make breakfast/dinner for whoever my host is if time permits. For those of you that have interviewed already this year or in the years prior I am really excited about the campus and would love to explore before and after my interview. I currently do transplant/stem cell research at UCSD and was wondering if I could stop by some labs or student-infused clinics in the area. If you have any pointers or insights I would more than appreciate it. Please PM me if you would like! The last thing I want to do is hijack this thread more than I already have.
 
futuredoctor2010 said:
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!
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So I took culture to mean what the school stood offered (I think that it shows what they value) and what made the school unique. Its basically a "why this school" type of question. What stood out to me was the Wesley center and how we could have early clinical experience while still helping the underserved. It was just like what I was doing before med school but obviously I would be doing different tasks as a med student. That made me excited and I spoke about that.

So my question to you now is what stood out to you? What makes you excited about this school and why?

I think you messaged me about this or I answered it earlier...but it popped up on my dash like a current new post so I'll answer it again haha
 
sosoSoCalpreMD said:
Just got an interview here today and could not be more excited. OOS from California. I have signed up for the Medical Student Host program and hope that I won't bug the people who I stay with due to my curiosities =). I love to cook though so I will probably make breakfast/dinner for whoever my host is if time permits. For those of you that have interviewed already this year or in the years prior I am really excited about the campus and would love to explore before and after my interview. I currently do transplant/stem cell research at UCSD and was wondering if I could stop by some labs or student-infused clinics in the area. If you have any pointers or insights I would more than appreciate it. Please PM me if you would like! The last thing I want to do is hijack this thread more than I already have.
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Just wondering if you would mind sharing stats/completion date for a fellow OOSer. Thanks!
 
Yay @Cawolf! Good luck! I'm hoping for one here. IS and from the Phoenix area, so soon? (complete 7/31)
 
Interviewed here yesterday. Loved the experience. Dr. Cunningham and Dean Flynn are really down to earth and friendly. Definitely the type of faculty I want to study under. Also for those of you extremely nervous about the MMI, you can calm down a little bit. I did my fair share of research on MMI and all the websites said "No knowledge necessary." I didn't believe that advice at first but having gone through the process yesterday, it's true. Really they just want to get to know you and how you would deal with different situations. It was actually a really cool experience. I really hope to end up here next year.
 
BamaNicole said:
So I took culture to mean what the school stood offered (I think that it shows what they value) and what made the school unique. Its basically a "why this school" type of question. What stood out to me was the Wesley center and how we could have early clinical experience while still helping the underserved. It was just like what I was doing before med school but obviously I would be doing different tasks as a med student. That made me excited and I spoke about that.

So my question to you now is what stood out to you? What makes you excited about this school and why?

I think you messaged me about this or I answered it earlier...but it popped up on my dash like a current new post so I'll answer it again haha
Click to expand...

Haha however I answered it worked out. I interviewed there yesterday and loved it.
 
futuredoctor2010 said:
Interviewed here yesterday. Loved the experience. Dr. Cunningham and Dean Flynn are really down to earth and friendly. Definitely the type of faculty I want to study under. Also for those of you extremely nervous about the MMI, you can calm down a little bit. I did my fair share of research on MMI and all the websites said "No knowledge necessary." I didn't believe that advice at first but having gone through the process yesterday, it's true. Really they just want to get to know you and how you would deal with different situations. It was actually a really cool experience. I really hope to end up here next year.
Click to expand...

Hands down can guarantee you there is no medical school Dean like Dean Flynn out there. He's one of the leaders of our weekly case based assignment groups, teaches some pathology lectures, and will talk trash with the best of them. Most of the schools I interviewed at last cycle didn't even get us a glimpse of the Dean.
 
Is it too late to apply here? AMCAS is complete from months ago, so it would just be adding another school.

I've got ~3.6 GPA and 29 MCAT and OOS (sad face). Decent ECs and good LOR. Is it worth it? Do I have a shot at II?
 
Mavs88 said:
Is it too late to apply here? AMCAS is complete from months ago, so it would just be adding another school.

I've got ~3.6 GPA and 29 MCAT and OOS (sad face). Decent ECs and good LOR. Is it worth it? Do I have a shot at II?
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Are you my lost long twin? haha I think its fine.
 
Hey is anybody having a hard time making a payment via credit card? I cannot access the payment. It just says I am not authorized. What do I do?
 
sosoSoCalpreMD said:
Just got an interview here today and could not be more excited. OOS from California. I have signed up for the Medical Student Host program and hope that I won't bug the people who I stay with due to my curiosities =). I love to cook though so I will probably make breakfast/dinner for whoever my host is if time permits. For those of you that have interviewed already this year or in the years prior I am really excited about the campus and would love to explore before and after my interview. I currently do transplant/stem cell research at UCSD and was wondering if I could stop by some labs or student-infused clinics in the area. If you have any pointers or insights I would more than appreciate it. Please PM me if you would like! The last thing I want to do is hijack this thread more than I already have.
Click to expand...
What is the medical student host program? I'm trying to look it up but can't find infor on it. Thanks!
 
BirdiePutt said:
Is anyone worried about the recent accreditation visit at all? Maybe some current students can speak to this?

http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/...ty-of-arizona-medical-school-accredition.html
Click to expand...

Think about it like this....when they visited the ink wasn't even dry on the Banner agreement. That's one of the main issues because there were questions about it. Of course, they are going to have questions. I'm glad they have questions.

Do I have any worries at all that this will be an issue? Absolutely not. We've already passed the hardest step in the processes and we will keep moving forward. Parts have literally already been addressed. They're very transparent with us about everything.
 
BirdiePutt said:
Is anyone worried about the recent accreditation visit at all? Maybe some current students can speak to this?

http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/...ty-of-arizona-medical-school-accredition.html
Click to expand...

Our Dean has held two town hall meetings for students only about this issue. We asked every question you could possibly come up with, and we're all pretty confident here.

The LCME took issue with purely administrative items--the curriculum, facility, student resources, student well-being, etc were all found to be excellent.

1) They wanted a bylaws change to how voting procedures on the admissions committee works. This has already been taken care of. It doesn't actually change how the committee was voting, it just codified it explicitly into the bylaws.

2) The school did not have a department chair for every speciality. For each of the clerkship specialties and some of the others, there was a chair. This is being rectified, and chairs are being appointed.

3) With the Banner agreement, a governing body was created that consisted of 6 people. 3 representatives from Banner, and 3 representatives from the University of Arizona. It happens that none of the 3 members from the UA are directly representative of the UA COM-P. The LCME wants us to have direct representation on this governing body. This issue arose because the LCME visit and the Banner deal were inked within days of each other, so the school didn't have time to review the deal or anticipate any issues.

I cannot stress this enough, however. We have every reason to believe the school will move on to the next stage in the next few months. Furthermore, we are still accredited and not even on probation. You know who is on probation? Baylor and McGill in Canada. It's in the University and Banner's best interest to comply with the LCME's issues. Dean Flynn has been very open and transparent with us. We students were aware of this a long time before someone went to the media to negatively sensationalize the story.
 
Does anyone know if/when the admissions stats for the Class of 2019 will be posted? Not expecting anything dramatically different, but I'm still curious. Thanks in advance!
 
Looks like Dr. Cunningham doesn't participate in this thread anymore :/? Her insight in previous year's forums was great.
 
I got really excited when I looked at my secondary application status today because it says there is a new application category that says interview and the status is "Not scheduled yet." I am pretty sure this is the first time I've seen it have an application category "Interview" since I submitted my secondary...so I am thinking this means they will be sending me an II soon. Or maybe we all have that as our status? Can anyone chime in on on if they have an interview category too?
 
BOS22 said:
I got really excited when I looked at my secondary application status today because it says there is a new application category that says interview and the status is "Not scheduled yet." I am pretty sure this is the first time I've seen it have an application category "Interview" since I submitted my secondary...so I am thinking this means they will be sending me an II soon. Or maybe we all have that as our status? Can anyone chime in on on if they have an interview category too?
Click to expand...

You mean underneath "app complete *checkmark* Your application is ready!"? And there's a little blue lock next to where it says not scheduled yet? I've had that for ages 🙁
 
Bummer! Oh well. Thanks for your input guys!
 
@BOS22

If you get an interview, an "Interview" tab appears on top. This is similar to how all the secondaries with the "amp" icon function.
 
Hiiii everyone! Have they rejected anyone yet? I feel like I got rejected pretty quickly last year. Congrats to everyone who has gotten IIs so far🙂
 
Rejected as well...was really hoping to get an II. UA Phoenix was one of my top choices.
I'm bummed out. Good luck to the rest of you!
 
Hi SDNers. The formerly used SDN profile (UA Phoenix Med) is linked to a decommissioned email address (and I had forgotten my password - retrieving it failed), leaving me to create a new profile. Please let me introduce myself and why I am on SDN.

I am Dr. Tara K Cunningham, associate dean for admissions and recruitment at UA COM - Phoenix. I am also the co-chief diversity officer and an assistant professor, teaching the first block for both the MD and Pathway students, and just hit my 9-year anniversary mark with the medical school. This is my third or fourth year contributing to the Phoenix-specific thread and I do so as a way to communicate our process, policies, information and school in the space that so many of our future students rely on for accurate information. We have amazing students who also contribute and have really helped out in my electronic absence! I use to passively observe the angst and frustration of SDNers until I just couldn't stand it any more. So. My purpose in participating is to help you. I will try to check this thread and any PMs daily, but it is like a part-time job, so forgive me if I am slower some days. I will also encourage you to reach out to our amazing staff any time you have a question - we are approachable, helpful and if you ever experience something different, let me know! You can write us at [email protected] or call at 602.827.2005.

We will interview 330 students this year over 10 applicant visit days (just finished the 2nd day yesterday). We did send out the first round of final decisions today (pre-interview releases) and as I said in the email message, the news is hard to share. It is not a message that I like to send and hope that telling you today will allow you to fully focus your energy elsewhere. We will send these decisions monthly (no specific date). Interview Invitations are sent every two weeks (no specific date). I and a few other committee members are kept to a very tight schedule by my staff who works hard to ensure your file is thoroughly (THOROUGHLY) reviewed. In fact, a file is reviewed three times before an interview decision is made.

Often I am asked about prerequisite courses: which courses will work, where should you take them, etc. We are purposely broad in our coursework approach and I encourage you to review our website for those details. If we receive your application and have a question, we will reach out to you.

I do hope you continue to bring positive energy to the thread. It is sad to see some others filled with anger, rudeness or just good ole' fashion unprofessionalism. The medical education world is small and it does absolutely no good to be mean. Just doesn't. So, be brave, bold and always humble.
 
Hi Dr. Cunningham, thank you so much for posting here and your transparency. It really helps us during this uncertain time. I hope to have the honor to interview with UA Phoenix in the near future.

I have a couple of questions. You mentioned that the plan is to interview 330 students this year. This looks to be lower than the previous years. The class profile on the website shows just under 400 were interviewed for the entering class of 2014, and a year or two before then, the number of interviews were close to 500. Can you shed some light on the reduction? Is it because of the Pathway Scholar program that is reducing the number of students that will be admitted from the regular pool? With the Pathway Scholars program, how big will the entering class of 2016 be? Is it still 80 (meaning there will be fewer seats available from the regular pool)?
 
Sorry to re-post this message, but I was not sure if Dr. Cunningham read through the whole thread. Dr. Cunningham, Will the admissions "stats" be posted for the class of 2015? Not expecting anything dramatically different, but I am curious.
 
PhoenixAZ said:
Hi Dr. Cunningham, thank you so much for posting here and your transparency. It really helps us during this uncertain time. I hope to have the honor to interview with UA Phoenix in the near future.

I have a couple of questions. You mentioned that the plan is to interview 330 students this year. This looks to be lower than the previous years. The class profile on the website shows just under 400 were interviewed for the entering class of 2014, and a year or two before then, the number of interviews were close to 500. Can you shed some light on the reduction? Is it because of the Pathway Scholar program that is reducing the number of students that will be admitted from the regular pool? With the Pathway Scholars program, how big will the entering class of 2016 be? Is it still 80 (meaning there will be fewer seats available from the regular pool)?
Click to expand...

The general rule of thumb is to interview 4x the size of your incoming class, so this would put us at 320 and yes, with 10 seats held for Pathway Scholars, this reduces our numbers even more. We also gain more "experience" in understanding our yield success from interviews and this means we are retaining more of our offers and still feel comfortable with the depth of our waitlist. Our inaugural year, back in 2006, we interviewed almost EVERY SINGLE applicant (shared the process with Tucson, so we didn't have an option to do things differently). But, there is an element of "fit" and mission-specific criteria that we have evolved into over these past 9 years. Just because someone applies does not make them a fit.

Now, here's the challenge. We have amazing applicants and we know this means we will not interview everyone. Of course we "could," but I really feel passionate that we should not do something just because we can...an interview is a very positive signal that you are an acceptable candidate and it cost you MONEY. Nearly 1/2 of our interviewees will receive an offer (outright or over the waitlist period), so to interview more than this seems, to me, very unfair and misleading.

I just wrote to my staff a list of things "not to do" on your supplemental essays. This is where I start my review for interviews and I just find it so unfortunate when students ignore the essay prompts and use the time to tell an elaborate story. We want you to answer the essay. If you do not, we will not invite you to interview. The supplemental is the only part of the application that is specific to us and if the student does not take advantage of this, it suggests we are just one of many schools they have applied and the interest is not genuine.
 
thephoenixrises said:
Sorry to re-post this message, but I was not sure if Dr. Cunningham read through the whole thread. Dr. Cunningham, Will the admissions "stats" be posted for the class of 2015? Not expecting anything dramatically different, but I am curious.
Click to expand...

Our webmaster recently returned from personal leave - we will get this posted soon.
 
Dr. Cunningham, I got a secondary application on Aug 31st. Does this mean that I passed the screening process? I mean will admissions just process my whole application, in terms of personal statement and activities when I submit my secondaries and I won't be screened out because of grades issues?

Thank you. I really appreciate your help and effort.
 
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