2015-2016 University of Iowa (Carver) Application Thread

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Sorry if this is a dumb question, but the "Case Based Learning Session" is not an MMI right?

I gather it is a class type, but I just wanted to confirm as I have only had traditional interviews so far. If that is the case, the only interview is a single 25 minute interview with two adcoms?
 
Cawolf said:
Sorry if this is a dumb question, but the "Case Based Learning Session" is not an MMI right?

I gather it is a class type, but I just wanted to confirm as I have only had traditional interviews so far. If that is the case, the only interview is a single 25 minute interview with two adcoms?
Click to expand...

IDK what MMI means but I interviewed here last year and the Case Based Learning Session was super relaxed and kind of fun. It was led my 2 M4s (maybe M3s?) and it was just a problem based learning kind of thing. It was with half the people who were interviewing that day. Other than that its just the 30 minute interview with 2 people at the same time. The scripted part is scaryish because they can't react or nod or say anything and just say "are you ready for the next question" when you finish your answer but after those 3 its relaxed and nice and conversational.
 
II! IS with relatively low stats but pretty good experiences. Does this mean my GPA and MCAT are not a problem for them, or does Iowa just offer interviews to most of the in-state applicants?
 
premed4097 said:
II! IS with relatively low stats but pretty good experiences. Does this mean my GPA and MCAT are not a problem for them, or does Iowa just offer interviews to most of the in-state applicants?
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It seems like they interview 84% of instate applicants of which roughly 33% matriculate.

This can be compared to them interviewing 13% of OOS applicants with 15% matriculating.
 
Cawolf said:
It seems like they interview 84% of instate applicants of which roughly 33% matriculate.

This can be compared to them interviewing 13% of OOS applicants with 15% matriculating.
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Well at least I have a shot!
 
For the medically related experiences, how do you think we define "5 years"? January 2010 or August 2010?
 
my 2nd research paper was recently accepted. do I need to wait until its printed so it has a volume and page number or can I just attach the link the biological psychiatry when filling out the update info tab?
 
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Did anybody receive an email like this today?
"Dear teh_pwnerer:

We have learned of your interest in a medical career from the Association of American Medical Colleges Medical Minority Applicant Registry (Med-MAR) and, based on your MCAT scores, we encourage you to take a look at the University of Iowa Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine."
 
teh_pwnerer said:
Did anybody receive an email like this today?
"Dear teh_pwnerer:

We have learned of your interest in a medical career from the Association of American Medical Colleges Medical Minority Applicant Registry (Med-MAR) and, based on your MCAT scores, we encourage you to take a look at the University of Iowa Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine."
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Have you already applied? This may sound like a dumb question, but I have received correspondence from schools to which I have already applied that encouraged me to send them my application...
 
teh_pwnerer said:
Did anybody receive an email like this today?
"Dear teh_pwnerer:

We have learned of your interest in a medical career from the Association of American Medical Colleges Medical Minority Applicant Registry (Med-MAR) and, based on your MCAT scores, we encourage you to take a look at the University of Iowa Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine."
Click to expand...

I got this message as well! I havent applied to this school and I really wasnt looking at it till I got the email today.
 
Yeah, I haven't applied here yet, I'm just trying to figure out if it's going to be worth it since I don't know if it's spam or actual interest...
 
Are you in state or out of state? If you're in state, definitely apply. If you're out of state, I don't know, it depends. They interview 12.7% of out of state applicants, so these odds aren't terrible, but they aren't great. That email might indicate that you're within range, but it probably doesn't mean that you're for sure getting an interview. Only apply if you actually like Iowa a lot. Don't just apply because of this email.
 
teh_pwnerer said:
Yeah, I haven't applied here yet, I'm just trying to figure out if it's going to be worth it since I don't know if it's spam or actual interest...
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Lots of schools send these. It's spam unfortunately. Some people have said that they got a similar email from a school that they had already applied to that cycle
 
Okazaki Frag Grenade said:
Lots of schools send these. It's spam unfortunately. Some people have said that they got a similar email from a school that they had already applied to that cycle
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Actually, last year, some schools sent folks this spam after they already rejected them. OUCH!! Don't read too much into it.
 
Is anyone traveling from the Cedar Rapids airport for an interview on Sept. 23rd? Carpooling would be great.
 
jmpatt29 said:
my 2nd research paper was recently accepted. do I need to wait until its printed so it has a volume and page number or can I just attach the link the biological psychiatry when filling out the update info tab?
Click to expand...

You cite it without the volume/page - you do not need a link, nor do you need to wait until the print version comes out. 🙂 congratulations on the pub!
 
Amelie. said:
You cite it without the volume/page - you do not need a link, nor do you need to wait until the print version comes out. 🙂 congratulations on the pub!
Click to expand...
thanks hopefully it'll help get me an II! good luck to you!
 
Does anyone know how much the interviewers will know about us? Their website says that the interviewers WON'T know your academic record or MCAT. However, they're rather mum on if they will know about our extracurriculars, research, experiences, PS, secondary answers, etc.

If someone who is a current student/staff or someone who has interviewed could shed some light, it would be much appreciated!
 
Anomandaris said:
Does anyone know how much the interviewers will know about us? Their website says that the interviewers WON'T know your academic record or MCAT. However, they're rather mum on if they will know about our extracurriculars, research, experiences, PS, secondary answers, etc.

If someone who is a current student/staff or someone who has interviewed could shed some light, it would be much appreciated!
Click to expand...

If they are still doing interviews the same way they did 3 years ago, then yes they will know the rest of your app. There is a structured portion in which they ask everyone the same questions, and then an unstructured portion that is more of a discussion about who you are as a person and will likely reference things you mentioned in your app. The interviews are too short for them to spend a lot of time going over every detail, but they want to see how your experiences have shaped you and may pick out a couple of things to ask you about.
 
Kantanan said:
If they are still doing interviews the same way they did 3 years ago, then yes they will know the rest of your app. There is a structured portion in which they ask everyone the same questions, and then an unstructured portion that is more of a discussion about who you are as a person and will likely reference things you mentioned in your app. The interviews are too short for them to spend a lot of time going over every detail, but they want to see how your experiences have shaped you and may pick out a couple of things to ask you about.
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Okay, great! I think they're still doing it the same way as 3 years ago since still break it down into the structured-unstructured portions. This is really helpful, thank you.

If you interviewed here before, do you recall if you felt like they actually got a good sense of who you are after the structured portion? I'm assuming 15-20 minutes for the unstructured portion and that really doesn't seem very long...
 
Anomandaris said:
Okay, great! I think they're still doing it the same way as 3 years ago since still break it down into the structured-unstructured portions. This is really helpful, thank you.

If you interviewed here before, do you recall if you felt like they actually got a good sense of who you are after the structured portion? I'm assuming 15-20 minutes for the unstructured portion and that really doesn't seem very long...
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I think whether or not it is enough time depends on your specific app and how well you use your time. It does go by very quickly. There are a ton of activities on each app, but usually just a couple that really reflect you and your goals best. In most of my interviews I went in with a couple of key points that I wanted to get across and looked for opportunities to convey them. That said, I felt pretty awful coming out of my Iowa one because I was super nervous and kind of stumbled all over myself for most of it, but fortunately recovered at the end when I got to talk about what I really care about. I'm an M3 here so I guess it was OK. Just remember that if they invited you, they like your app. And the interviewers here tend to be really nice people who enjoy working with students.
 
Kantanan said:
I think whether or not it is enough time depends on your specific app and how well you use your time. It does go by very quickly. There are a ton of activities on each app, but usually just a couple that really reflect you and your goals best. In most of my interviews I went in with a couple of key points that I wanted to get across and looked for opportunities to convey them. That said, I felt pretty awful coming out of my Iowa one because I was super nervous and kind of stumbled all over myself for most of it, but fortunately recovered at the end when I got to talk about what I really care about. I'm an M3 here so I guess it was OK. Just remember that if they invited you, they like your app. And the interviewers here tend to be really nice people who enjoy working with students.
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Hm I see. I'll be going through my app a few times more before the actual interview so I'll look for a few things that I'd really like to talk about given the chance.

Do you have any advice on how an OOS student might approach the Why Iowa question (barring the obvious excellence of the school)? I'm from the West Coast with zero ties to Iowa apart from the fact that the city I lived in for college is remarkably similar to Iowa City (on paper at least).

Thanks for your time and advice; it is very much appreciated.
 
Hey all,

M3 here just stopping in to say if you have any questions feel free to PM me or post them here. I'll try to answer as much as I can but alas my classroom days are done so computer time is more limited. I'm more removed from the application process but if yall have any questions about step, rotations, etc. I'll definitely chime in
 
Anomandaris said:
Hm I see. I'll be going through my app a few times more before the actual interview so I'll look for a few things that I'd really like to talk about given the chance.

Do you have any advice on how an OOS student might approach the Why Iowa question (barring the obvious excellence of the school)? I'm from the West Coast with zero ties to Iowa apart from the fact that the city I lived in for college is remarkably similar to Iowa City (on paper at least).

Thanks for your time and advice; it is very much appreciated.
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I had trouble with that one too, since I am also OOS and had no ties to the state either. I would just try to read about the program and pick a couple of things to mention that appeal to you. And it would be fine to mention that you like Iowa City for a location. It doesn't have to be an extraordinarily compelling statement, just something that tells them they aren't just one of 50 random schools you picked. Personally I think they use that question for future marketing ideas as much as for individual assessment of applicants. They want to know what people find appealing.
 
Kantanan said:
I had trouble with that one too, since I am also OOS and had no ties to the state either. I would just try to read about the program and pick a couple of things to mention that appeal to you. And it would be fine to mention that you like Iowa City for a location. It doesn't have to be an extraordinarily compelling statement, just something that tells them they aren't just one of 50 random schools you picked. Personally I think they use that question for future marketing ideas as much as for individual assessment of applicants. They want to know what people find appealing.
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Gotcha. That's a nice sigh of relief for me. Wasn't sure if Carver was one of those schools who were super intense about ties to Iowa. Thanks for all your help!
 
Anomandaris said:
Does anyone know how much the interviewers will know about us? Their website says that the interviewers WON'T know your academic record or MCAT. However, they're rather mum on if they will know about our extracurriculars, research, experiences, PS, secondary answers, etc.

If someone who is a current student/staff or someone who has interviewed could shed some light, it would be much appreciated!
Click to expand...

The interview is actually completely closed file. The interview invite email says "Your interviewers will not have seen your academic record, MCAT scores, or any part of your AMCAS or secondary applications"

I have also heard the same from current med students at Iowa.
 
OK they may have changed it then, or I am not remembering correctly 3 years later. Regardless, definitely pick out a couple of things you feel are important to discuss beforehand because you will have opportunity to steer the conversation.
 
kangakewl1993 said:
The interview is actually completely closed file. The interview invite email says "Your interviewers will not have seen your academic record, MCAT scores, or any part of your AMCAS or secondary applications"

I have also heard the same from current med students at Iowa.
Click to expand...

Whoops. Really need to read the damn things more carefully. Thanks!
 
II! OOS.
Secondary received 8/24
Submitted 8/31
Completed email 9/1
Interview received 9/4
Go Hawkeyes!
 
oshanimalia said:
That is an insane turnover time. Congrats!
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Thanks! I think it just worked in my favor, the school feels like a great fit for me and my interests 🙂

Does anyone have intel about whether or not we have student host options? Or has everyone booked hotels?
 
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