2015-2016 University of Illinois Application Thread

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chocoholicsoxfan said:
Well ****. I feel like that'll deter a lot of people from applying, if they didn't know. I personally only have an anthropology, sociology, and psych class each, but it shouldn't be too difficult to squeeze in abother one, since I have a pretty light course load second semester. Worst comes to worst, I can submit documentation saying that my anthropology class, which was called "the anthropology of social class," should count as another sociology course. Heck, we had to read Bourdieu's entire book, and he's a sociologist! Thing is like 700 pages, and we had two weeks to do it!
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Hey man. Your probably ok. I would just email addmissions. Don't let crazy SDN people mess with your head.
 
chocoholicsoxfan said:
Can I ask you an honest question?

Why are you such an dingus? Like seriously, what the **** is wrong with you? THIS IS A HELP FORUM. People who come here post ABOUT THEMSELVES, sometimes questions, sometimes vents/rants. People like you are the reason why SDN has a reputation of being a cesspool of psychopaths, and the fact that people like you get into medical school is honestly the reason why so many people in America today hate doctors. I mean, you're ****ing jealous of the fact that I got Northwestern's secondaries a week before everyone else on this site, so you post saying that I'm lying? Ooohhh, I don't have a 4.0 and yet a school contacted me before all of the neurotic, pathetic gunners on this site! Can't have anything to do with my name being at the beginning of the alphabet or something, no I must be lying! What did this picture of Jay Cutler contribute to the conversation, seeing as how you're obviously so high and mighty, and every word you say must have more influence on the world than the phrases of Jesus Christ himself!

**** you.

Adieu, mes amis. I will surely be banned after this post, but it was worth it for sure. Not that I'll much miss it here at all. Some of you are a-OK though.

Edit: SDN changes the word for a certain bodily orifice to dingus. But you get my drift.
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Nailed it.
 
gsiegel14 said:
Hey man. Your probably ok. I would just email addmissions. Don't let crazy SDN people mess with your head.
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Well it's the website. It says two of the courses must be in the same field of study (psychology, sociology,economics, gender studies, anthropology).

But yeah, I like the humanities, so it wouldn't be a huge ordeal even if I did have to squeeze in another one!
 
Jealous? No.

Posted that you were lying? No ('Pics or it didn't happen' is basically the equivalent of a meme).

Neurotic, pathetic gunner? No, I merely caved and reached my maximum capacity for pretentious posts by a single individual...My apologies.

*Insert something in French here*


chocoholicsoxfan said:
I took the MCAT, though it was the new one, and I did well on it. I have a high IQ.

I think my natural critical reasoning skills helped me a great deal ... I do believe my "high intelligence" aided me....

It actually almost makes me feel guilty, getting 100th percentile...
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chocoholicsoxfan said:
In all honestly, I don't think everyone has the potential to get a 525, or even a 515. That may make me sound elitist, arrogant, stuck up, cruel, b****y, and narrow-minded, but I can't help how I feel!!
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chocoholicsoxfan said:
I was on the swim team in high school. I was a terrible swimmer, but I was tasked with tutoring a lot of the actual good swimmers who were in danger of getting kicked off the team due to their low grades.

Tell me that the girl who, at the age of 17 in a wealthy (think old money) area (so SES is not a factor), thought photosynthesis was "taking pictures of plants" could break a 30 on the MCAT.
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chocoholicsoxfan said:
All of my friends say I'm the only premed they can stomach being around because I'm "not like the others- not nearly as neurotic, self-obsessed, and weirdly cliquey." My PI said I'd "make a great doc because I actually have social skills."
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chocoholicsoxfan said:
Well yeah. Probably 8-9K. During junior and senior year, 10-15 emails a day was not at all uncommon, plus I got a few after that AND some in sophomore year since I took the PSAT "for practice." A lot of them are duplicates. I'm surprised this seems to be a unique experience here- most of my National Merit Scholar friends had similar volumes. Of course, they are not crazy and actually deleted theirs or had them sent to their school accounts.
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chocoholicsoxfan said:
Heck, we had to read Bourdieu's entire book, and he's a sociologist! Thing is like 700 pages, and we had two weeks to do it!
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My apologies for assuming your keen social skills would allow you to understand internet humor...Especially 'Smokin' Jay Cutler' with you being from Chicago.
 
HarryH00d said:
Jealous? No.

Posted that you were lying? No ('Pics or it didn't happen' is basically the equivalent of a meme).

Neurotic, pathetic gunner? No, I merely caved and reached my maximum capacity for pretentious posts by a single individual...My apologies.

*Insert something in French here*














My apologies for assuming your keen social skills would allow you to understand internet humor...Especially 'Smokin' Jay Cutler' with you being from Chicago.
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OK well I've always had a little bit of a soft spot for Jay until I found out he doesn't vaccinate his kids, so I hate that meme to begin with. So yeah, I hate that whole smoking Jay Cutler website thing, and posting it does nothing to soften my sensibilities.

To me, it looks like you have like 97 posts on this site, and 5% of them are chastising/making fun of ONE user- ME. Do you see how that may make it seem as though you have some sort of personal vendetta against me? I have plenty of trolls/people who like to hate on everything I say on reddit as it is (shout out to /u/the_fella, /u/billybeane10, and this new guy who just popped up), so it's easy for me to jump to this conclusion.

My reference to gunners was not specifically directed at you primarily. In the April 2015 MCAT thread, I mentioned I would be applying to Northwestern. I didn't ask for advice or anything. I just said I wanted to apply because it has literally been my dream to go there for medical school since I was 16, and I didn't want to spend the rest of my life wondering what if. At least THREE separate users told me not to even bother. I didn't even ask if I should apply or not! THREE users told me it'd just be a waste of money. Even when I mentioned money was a nonissue, they said it didn't matter, because my shot was literally ZERO. Can you maybe put yourself in my shoes and see why people on this site bother me? I already know that I'm not gonna get in, but let me do what I wanna do! I assumed you were one of those types of people and mad that I got the secondary so early. My bad, I apologize, I see now that you're not.

Sarcasm doesn't always translate the best over the Internet. To me, when I post something and you respond with a meme or joke and you only do it to me and not other users, it can be easy to assume it's a personal attack.

In my secondaries asking about my greatest weakness, I tend to write about my temper, and you can see now why that is.

If you honestly do not hold any malice in your heart, I apologize to you. Still doesn't change my feelings towards other people on this site though.
 
HarryH00d said:
...so like...4 or 5 posts?

Nope...no 'malice' in my heart...It's the internet...and humor (when not misplaced) is a great antidote along this long, stressful journey. Now, relax.....PS....GO! CUBS! GO!.... (that makes it like 6% of my posts)
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Exactly. You don't post much, but when you do, it is to get under my nerves a lot of the time! What's the quote about not having much to say making the said words seem all the more greater?

Anothe quote: quick to anger, quick to forgive! Me in a nutshell. (I've been reading a lot of Anne of Green Gables lately. Can you tell by my signature?)

And yeaaahhhh, about that series last weekend. 😛
 
OK but seriously back to my question. Do you think reading Bourdieu's La Distinction will allow me to group that with my sociology course as two in the same field, even though the title is Anthropology of Social Class? The anthro class is not technically in the anthropology department as it was an Honors Seminar, which, at my school has its own sort of department.

Anthropology classes are generally about, like, evolution and stuff? Right?

I guess what I'm asking is what is anthropology exactly?
 
chocoholicsoxfan said:
OK but seriously back to my question. Do you think reading Bourdieu's La Distinction will allow me to group that with my sociology course as two in the same field, even though the title is Anthropology of Social Class? The anthro class is not technically in the anthropology department as it was an Honors Seminar, which, at my school has its own sort of department.

Anthropology classes are generally about, like, evolution and stuff? Right?

I guess what I'm asking is what is anthropology exactly?
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Call or write the admissions department.
 
Has anyone actually been able to submit? I keep getting this message when I attempt to pay the fee.

HTTP Status 500 - Servlet execution threw an exception

When I email the webmaster to report my issue, my emails bounce back. I guess I'll call tomorrow!
 
Hey guys! I'm just getting to the thread. My application is still in the process of getting verified. Did anyone post the prompts? If not, could anyone help a girl out!?
 
ChicagoGrad55 said:
Hey guys! I'm just getting to the thread. My application is still in the process of getting verified. Did anyone post the prompts? If not, could anyone help a girl out!?
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These were posted on the last page:

1. Describe a situation in which you were really stressed. Tell us how you dealt with it. Please detail your reaction(s), and how it affected you. If this situation, or a similar one, were to happen again, how would you handle it?
(Do not exceed 250 words)

2. Describe a hobby or activity other than something in medicine, in which you have a keen interest. Why?
(Do not exceed 250 words)
 
Wow... I must have skipped right over it. Its so damn short! Thank the lord.
 
Gap year applicants, are you guys using all 3500 characters for the "Current activities and employment" section? I'm working as a full-time phlebotomist right now and I'm having trouble breaking 2500 without feeling like I'm rambling...
 
chocoholicsoxfan said:
Has anyone actually been able to submit? I keep getting this message when I attempt to pay the fee.

HTTP Status 500 - Servlet execution threw an exception

When I email the webmaster to report my issue, my emails bounce back. I guess I'll call tomorrow!
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Same here.
 
Just called. They said they were aware of the issue and have no idea how long it'll be until it's fixed, but just to keep trying.

Fun stuff!
 
For the behavioral science pre req, where two courses have to be in the same field, does that just have to be finished before matriculation or do I need it done to apply? I have all the pre reqs done except the extra behavior science.
 
FYI - for those still waiting to receive a secondary. I just called admissions and asked if they knew when the bulk of the secondaries would be released. The lady I talked to mentioned that some have been released in small batches, but she didn't seem to know what the criteria was. It's definitely not verification date, since I was verified 6/2. Maybe it's by last name or any number of criteria. Most likely your Zodiac sign 🙂.

With over 8,000 applicants last year they probably want to slow down the process.
 
Bromine89 said:
FYI - for those still waiting to receive a secondary. I just called admissions and asked if they knew when the bulk of the secondaries would be released. The lady I talked to mentioned that some have been released in small batches, but she didn't seem to know what the criteria was. It's definitely not verification date, since I was verified 6/2. Maybe it's by last name or any number of criteria. Most likely your Zodiac sign 🙂.

With over 8,000 applicants last year they probably want to slow down the process.
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I feel like it's not last name, since I was verified on 6/5 and my last name starts with F, and I still haven't received one.
 
housemouse said:
OOS here, have yet to receive anything -- but it seems I'm out of the running anyway because I don't have three behavioral science
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Not having those courses done by the time you submit your applications isn't a deterrent in your successful admission...you have a year to meet those requirements before matriculating.

Why not enroll in a couple classes next spring?
 
housemouse said:
*Edit: Does anyone know if non-social science humanities would count for this requirement? I've taken a lot of intensive writing courses. If not, I'll e-mail the school about it if I receive a secondary...
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It says sociology, anthropology, gender studies, economics, and psychology. Weird that they include econ
 
Weird, indeed - Although, I can't complain - Micro and Macro save the day for that '2 humanities in the same department' requirement.
 
HarryH00d said:
Weird, indeed - Although, I can't complain - Micro and Macro save the day for that '2 humanities in the same department' requirement.
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Same! I never thought my business major would come in handy here.

On the other hand, I would not put too much thought into needing to fulfill requirements beyond the standard pre-med science courses. I know a few current medical students that were accepted into schools that "require" biochemistry, but they did not have biochemistry themselves. If it is that important to know in medical school, they will teach it to you in medical school.
 
So for the essay about the time you were stressed, is talking about a hard semester a bad look? Like I didnt have any extenuating circumstances or anything, I just tried to do too much between a full courseload, mcat, volunteering, research etc

I dont want to come off as your quintessential power nerd but I dont really get too stressed for most non-academic stuff
 
heywhatsuphello said:
So for the essay about the time you were stressed, is talking about a hard semester a bad look? Like I didnt have any extenuating circumstances or anything, I just tried to do too much between a full courseload, mcat, volunteering, research etc

I dont want to come off as your quintessential power nerd but I dont really get too stressed for most non-academic stuff
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That would be a 'safe' essay. I'm sure you can think of times where you were under emotional stress, or perhaps a stressful situation outside of academia?

Ever had a bad manager or boss?

Ever gone on vacation and gotten lost?

Ever gone on a hiking trip only to get stuck in a lightning storm above the tree line?

Be creative...And make sure you include your coping skills.
 
heywhatsuphello said:
So for the essay about the time you were stressed, is talking about a hard semester a bad look? Like I didnt have any extenuating circumstances or anything, I just tried to do too much between a full courseload, mcat, volunteering, research etc

I dont want to come off as your quintessential power nerd but I dont really get too stressed for most non-academic stuff
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All of the adcom posts I see advise NOT to write about school/MCAT/academic issues and to think of something either more creative or more emotional. These types of experiences give you an opportunity to show your coping skills in a more unique way, seeing as how we ALL dealt with that same stress you are describing throughout pre-med. Best of luck!
 
Still pretty early I think... Pretty surprised I haven't gotten one yet though. I don't think they screen. Idk what their method of sending secondaries out is.
 
HybridEarth said:
Any idea what it is?
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Not a clue. The website just says this.

Do you send supplemental applications to everyone?
No, since there is a fee associated with the supplemental application, we send it only to applicants we are seriously considering for admission.

And then here's the text of the email they sent.

Dear chocoholicsoxfan,

We are delighted that you are interested in pursuing your medical studies at the University of Illinois College of Medicine. We have completed an initial review of your American Medical College Application Services (AMCAS) application and would like to invite you to submit additional information, so that the Committee on Admissions will have as complete a record as possible before considering your application.
 
Awesome, thank you!! Confident in my app, so I'll just continue playing the waiting game hah
 
Yeah, I'm sure you're fine. If I got it with a 3.5 GPA, the screening criteria can't be too strict.
 
What do you guys think of this for the stressed essay?
I decided to work in an ecology lab for my first research experience, because I really wanted to learn more about ecology and was genuinely interested in the project I would be working on. However, I knew absolutely nothing about ecology at the time. I was super nervous about starting work because I knew all the other students in the lab were bio majors with a focus on ecology, so they were all super knowledgeable and I felt really dumb by comparison. It ended up working out very well, and I love my job and have learned tons. Can I write about this situation and how I was able to deal with feeling like an idiot, basically? Or is this too closely related to academics, since it's about research?
 
If my school does a letter packet can I just list that under the composite recommendation under the letter section? I have been trying to get a hold of admissions but they won't answer. I just have a packet, not a letter from a premedical committee. Usually with schools that are unclear I've been calling them but not sure what others are doing for this.
 
I am a student at UIUC and I have not yet received a secondary. I have a 3.85 GPA, 32 MCAT, and what I consider to be very good experiences, including a great deal of research at the University of Illinois. I also have letters of recommendation from people that are influential in the admissions department, and I am getting anxious. This is my first choice school and I would hate for the dream to end so early.
 
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