2015-2016 University of Illinois Application Thread

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DaenerysTargaryen said:
Umm, don't hold your breath on that email response. I never got a response to the admissions requirements question I emailed *months* ago, so I tried calling. I was told I could only call with admissions questions on Thursdays between 1 and 4. No joke. Just letting you know so you can plan to call on Thursday p.m. if you want.😉
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Thanks for letting me know! I will try to call them tomorrow then...Heck I'm going downtown tomorrow anyway so if they try to pull any of that date/time availability stuff then I'll just go straight to their admissions office in person.
 
Can someone clarify this statement for me?

"UIC College of Medicine requires a premedical committee evaluation OR three letters from instructors (any field of study) from whom the candidate has taken courses. One of the letters can be from a research mentor. These letters should critically evaluate the candidate's academic ability, strengths and weaknesses, motivation for medicine, maturity, difficulty of coursework and special attributes and assets. Personal letters of recommendation are not acceptable."

I have some letters from MDs I've worked with as a scribe, does this mean they will be ignored? I'm supposed to list only my academic recommenders on the secondary, right? I'm not sure what they define as a personal LOR.
 
frenvedd said:
Can someone clarify this statement for me?

"UIC College of Medicine requires a premedical committee evaluation OR three letters from instructors (any field of study) from whom the candidate has taken courses. One of the letters can be from a research mentor. These letters should critically evaluate the candidate's academic ability, strengths and weaknesses, motivation for medicine, maturity, difficulty of coursework and special attributes and assets. Personal letters of recommendation are not acceptable."

I have some letters from MDs I've worked with as a scribe, does this mean they will be ignored? I'm supposed to list only my academic recommenders on the secondary, right? I'm not sure what they define as a personal LOR.
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Yes, list only the academic ones. I believe that they only review more than 3 letters AFTER the interview, though I might be mixing them up with another school.

Personal letter just means from a friend or family member, I think. A work supervisor does not count as a personal letter, but I think you do have to wait til after you get an interview to submit those.
 
chocoholicsoxfan said:
Yes, list only the academic ones. I believe that they only review more than 3 letters AFTER the interview, though I might be mixing them up with another school.

Personal letter just means from a friend or family member, I think. A work supervisor does not count as a personal letter, but I think you do have to wait til after you get an interview to submit those.
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Damn, really? Even though I've added them all to AMCAS and assigned them to UIC? I feel like those letters are essential to my application
 
frenvedd said:
Damn, really? Even though I've added them all to AMCAS and assigned them to UIC? I feel like those letters are essential to my application
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I think so. Pretty much all the IL schools have odd policies but I'll double check when I get home, just in case I'm mixing things up.
 
So I called the office today and the lady told me that questions regarding the application needed to be directed to the AdComs who are only available on Thursday BUT they'll all be on break this Thursday so to call back in 2 weeks. EXCUSE ME BUT I DON'T WANT MY SECONDARY TO BE SITTING AND WAITING TO BE SUBMITTED FOR TWO WEEKS WHEN IT'S ALREADY COMPLETED UGH.

SO if anyone knows if it's ok to substitute language courses for the behavioral/social science prerequisites, please let me know. I don't want to pay the secondary fee only to find that I'll have to withdraw my app :\
 
rukia013 said:
So I called the office today and the lady told me that questions regarding the application needed to be directed to the AdComs who are only available on Thursday BUT they'll all be on break this Thursday so to call back in 2 weeks. EXCUSE ME BUT I DON'T WANT MY SECONDARY TO BE SITTING AND WAITING TO BE SUBMITTED FOR TWO WEEKS WHEN IT'S ALREADY COMPLETED UGH.

SO if anyone knows if it's ok to substitute language courses for the behavioral/social science prerequisites, please let me know. I don't want to pay the secondary fee only to find that I'll have to withdraw my app :\
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At least you have a secondary
 
rukia013 said:
So I called the office today and the lady told me that questions regarding the application needed to be directed to the AdComs who are only available on Thursday BUT they'll all be on break this Thursday so to call back in 2 weeks. EXCUSE ME BUT I DON'T WANT MY SECONDARY TO BE SITTING AND WAITING TO BE SUBMITTED FOR TWO WEEKS WHEN IT'S ALREADY COMPLETED UGH.

SO if anyone knows if it's ok to substitute language courses for the behavioral/social science prerequisites, please let me know. I don't want to pay the secondary fee only to find that I'll have to withdraw my app :\
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If it didn't count, would you be able to take a social science course this year? Pre-reqs just have to be completed before matriculation.

Also that's such BS that they're making you wait two weeks. =/
 
Lannister said:
If it didn't count, would you be able to take a social science course this year? Pre-reqs just have to be completed before matriculation.

Also that's such BS that they're making you wait two weeks. =/
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I graduated in 2014 before the new MCAT rolled out and required people to take behavioral & social sciences and I don't plan to take anymore classes, especially if this is the only school that requires it... A lot of the other med schools are really lenient about this requirement and accept any humanities/non-science courses to fulfill the requirement; UIC is just really anal about it -- "must take 3 social/behavioral science courses, 2 of which must be within the same field." T_____T
 
rukia013 said:
I graduated in 2014 before the new MCAT rolled out and required people to take behavioral & social sciences and I don't plan to take anymore classes, especially if this is the only school that requires it... A lot of the other med schools are really lenient about this requirement and accept any humanities/non-science courses to fulfill the requirement; UIC is just really anal about it -- "must take 3 social/behavioral science courses, 2 of which must be within the same field." T_____T
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Ah okay =/ that really stinks. I wonder why they include that two of them have to be within the same field.
 
frenvedd said:
Can someone clarify this statement for me?

"UIC College of Medicine requires a premedical committee evaluation OR three letters from instructors (any field of study) from whom the candidate has taken courses. One of the letters can be from a research mentor. These letters should critically evaluate the candidate's academic ability, strengths and weaknesses, motivation for medicine, maturity, difficulty of coursework and special attributes and assets. Personal letters of recommendation are not acceptable."

I have some letters from MDs I've worked with as a scribe, does this mean they will be ignored? I'm supposed to list only my academic recommenders on the secondary, right? I'm not sure what they define as a personal LOR.
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I was mistaken. For some reason I had Northwestern and UIC's policies mixed up on my spreadsheet. Send all the letters you have, as long as they're not personal!
 
Lannister said:
Yep =/
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im IS and didn't get mine until late last week. there have been a lot of problems with the website for the secondary, so they may be trying to work that out before sending out more batches. I also find it strange that they sent them out to a lot of OOS applicants first, but who knows. I wouldn't worry too much about it! I'm sure it will come soon!
 
I just received the secondary as well (IS). I filled out all the extracurriculars section, then was told my session had expired so all that information disappeared. 😡 I didn't even go away from the computer or anything. Ah well. At least I finally have the secondary. 🙂
 
Just got their secondary, OOS.

The website says the advanced biology courses must be 200 level, but my institution defines upper-division as 100 level courses. Anything above 200 at my institution is for graduate/medical school courses. Not quite sure what to do here.

I called them and they told me to email instead, or wait to call the counselor, who is available NEXT Thursday. And judging from the thread, email responses aren't replied to in a timely manner.

Anyone have insight on this?
 
TwitchBeGone said:
Just got their secondary, OOS.

The website says the advanced biology courses must be 200 level, but my institution defines upper-division as 100 level courses. Anything above 200 at my institution is for graduate/medical school courses. Not quite sure what to do here.

I called them and they told me to email instead, or wait to call the counselor, who is available NEXT Thursday. And judging from the thread, email responses aren't replied to in a timely manner.

Anyone have insight on this?
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I think they will probably be able to figure it out, when they see that you've taken more than two 100-level bios. Every school is different, like at my school, 100 level bio is intro bio for nurses, and 200 level bio is intro bio for everyone else.
 
I got an email in 5 minutes haha. They said it's fine and that they'll refer to my AMCAS application for more questions 🙂
 
So if I am taking an upper level biology courses this coming semester, do I just not list anything for the upper level bio requirement, or do I list the course that I plan to take?
 
Just looked at the MSAR data because I was surprised by so many OOS applicants.

Really interesting!

On average, they interview 600/2000 in-state applicants, and 300/6000 out of state applicants! They matriculate 238 IS and 59 OOS.

I wonder how many secondaries they send out though.
 
chocoholicsoxfan said:
Just looked at the MSAR data because I was surprised by so many OOS applicants.

Really interesting!

On average, they interview 600/2000 in-state applicants, and 300/6000 out of state applicants! They matriculate 238 IS and 59 OOS.

I wonder how many secondaries they send out though.
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Wow that's more OOS than I thought. I would never apply to Illinois as an OOS student, it's so freaking expensive.
 
TwitchBeGone said:
I got an email in 5 minutes haha. They said it's fine and that they'll refer to my AMCAS application for more questions 🙂
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Which email did you send to? I tried contacting them via email yesterday and they never responded even though it was a simple question about the secondary pre-reqs... :/
 
chocoholicsoxfan said:
Just looked at the MSAR data because I was surprised by so many OOS applicants.

Really interesting!

On average, they interview 600/2000 in-state applicants, and 300/6000 out of state applicants! They matriculate 238 IS and 59 OOS.

I wonder how many secondaries they send out though.
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Not a bad shot from OOS as long as you get interviewed.
 
Hanz93 said:
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.
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My school also does a letter packet. Did you find out whether you enter school for premedical committee letter option or enter 3 separate letter witters?
 
Ok, so it looks like the reason I was able to call on a Monday and Friday is because I didn't have questions regarding the status of my application- I just had general admissions questions. Thursday is when you can call for status checks. Here's what it says.

GENERAL INFORMATION
General Office Hours: Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
Counseling Appointments: Tuesdays, 8:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Call (312) 996-5635 to schedule an appointment.
Application Status Check: Thursdays, 8:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Call (312) 996-5635 for a status check.
Email: College of Medicine, Office of Admissions
Mailing Address:
Office of Medical College Admissions (MC 783)
UIC College of Medicine, 808 South Wood Street, Room 165 CME
Chicago, Illinois 60612-7302
 
GoGreen2014 said:
Does anyone know if there is any leniency for Non-Trad applicants with no third academic letter? (But with current work supervisor letters (physicians) and a slew of volunteering letters)
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I just got off the phone with the admissions department. What we need to do is submit the secondary application then write an email to the admissions department explaining why we are not able to meet the LOR requirements. They will determine whether or not the reason as acceptable. On the phone the woman indicated that they "see this all the time with nontraditional applicants", but I'm not sure if this is seen as a negative in terms of our application package.
 
rukia013 said:
I graduated in 2014 before the new MCAT rolled out and required people to take behavioral & social sciences and I don't plan to take anymore classes, especially if this is the only school that requires it... A lot of the other med schools are really lenient about this requirement and accept any humanities/non-science courses to fulfill the requirement; UIC is just really anal about it -- "must take 3 social/behavioral science courses, 2 of which must be within the same field." T_____T
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Did you ever get a response to this question? I'm in a similar situation. I graduated several years ago and took 3 behavioral science courses, but none of them are within the same field. I can take another one next semester at the community college if necessary. But, I would rather not do it if I don't have to, and I would rather not leave that prereq blank on the secondary.
 
andyrayy said:
Did you ever get a response to this question? I'm in a similar situation. I graduated several years ago and took 3 behavioral science courses, but none of them are within the same field. I can take another one next semester at the community college if necessary. But, I would rather not do it if I don't have to, and I would rather not leave that prereq blank on the secondary.
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They never responded to my email and told me to call them next Thursday because their office is on break today, whatever that means. T____T But rest assured I will definitely let you guys know once I get a response! It's just frustrating since I could have already submitted my app when I received it but this pre-req thing is really holding me up :I
 
I actually have 4 courses that appear in the drop down. 3 that I took as an undergrad, but they are all three from different departments. I also have a course that I listed on AMCAS as planning to take, because I was aware of this requirement when I submitted my AMCAS. It shows up in the drop down, but the instructions say to leave a course blank if it has not been completed.
 
GoGreen2014 said:
When you guys ran into this issue, were the courses not listed as drop down boxes ?
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My issue is that I did not take specific behavioral/social science courses when I was in college because the MCAT didn't require such a few years back. I have a lot of humanity/non-science courses but they don't fall under the general sociology/psychology/anthropology categories. UIC also requires that 2 of the 3 pre-reqs are within the same field so I'm hoping that I can substitute this with my two semesters of Japanese language. If UIC does not honor that substitution, then I will be withdrawing my app so I just want to check before having to submit and pay the fee.
 
I got a mailer daemon response when I tried to email the admissions office at: [email protected]

Is anyone experience the same problem?

Is there an alternative email address I can email them at?

Thanks
 
Hanz93 said:
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.
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This is my question, too. My school does a letter packet with a cover letter. I have 5 letters in the packet, and for that reason I don't want to list only three (and risk that they ignore the others). On the other hand, I do not have a Committee Letter, which is what I think they mean by one Composite Letter. Any new info?
 
Hmm, these pre-reqs sound pretty stressful. Can anyone direct me to where these are explained on the UIC website (if they're explained at all outside the secondary)? I'm considering adding UIC to my AMCAS.
 
When they ask if you are currently employed, are they asking if you are currently a full time employee? Or does a part time tutoring gig with the University count?
 
iluvmedicine2 said:
Thanks a lot!...Looks like I can use this $35 elsewhere smh. Too bad too since I'm IS, but I don't have 2 courses in the same field of study 🙄
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Yeah I'm IS too and I'm gonna call the office next Thursday to see if my language courses would count...if not, then I'm just gonna withdraw my app. The reason they want social/behavioral science classes is because they want people to already be somewhat culturally competent but I don't see why two classes must be from the same field of study. >___>
 
rukia013 said:
Yeah I'm IS too and I'm gonna call the office next Thursday to see if my language courses would count...if not, then I'm just gonna withdraw my app. The reason they want social/behavioral science classes is because they want people to already be somewhat culturally competent but I don't see why two classes must be from the same field of study. >___>
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I'm interested to know this as well. Please keep us updated. If they won't accept substitutions, I will be withdrawing my application. It's a bit strange to accept the old MCAT, but implement the "new" requirements suddenly (considering non-trad premeds like myself weren't subject to these requirements while still in undergrad).
 
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