2015-2016 University of Miami (Miller) Application Thread

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Smack-dab in the middle of my acceptance email: "In addition, you will be receiving a $xxxx per year ($4xxxx total) scholarship."

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Smack-dab in the middle of my acceptance email: "In addition, you will be receiving a $xxxx per year ($4xxxx total) scholarship."
Had you filled out the scholarship application link that they sent in the alternate list notification email before you received your acceptance?
 
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Had you filled out the scholarship application link that they sent in the alternate list notification email before you received your acceptance?

I had not, and was therefore very surprised to see that I received anything.

Nice!! does this mean that I don't get anything if I didn't have that :( :( :( worst

As the roster of students is finalized, I'm sure they'll be doing more scholarship allocations! Don't despair yet! They also have diversity scholarships that you would need to apply for.
 
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Can any current students provide information on books and other materials? I have a friend selling a lot of textbooks for really cheap, and I'm wondering if I should try to take advantage of those.

Also, for current students, what did you think of anatomy lab? It's partially dissection, partially prosection; do you feel that you missed out because there wasn't enough hands-on time?
 
Smack-dab in the middle of my acceptance email: "In addition, you will be receiving a $xxxx per year ($4xxxx total) scholarship."

Did you just get an email upon acceptance, or a phone call as well?
 
Apparently some offers have gone out today, surprised by the lack of activity on this thread. Mixed feelings :) please keep moving waitlist!!!
 
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Can any current students provide information on books and other materials? I have a friend selling a lot of textbooks for really cheap, and I'm wondering if I should try to take advantage of those.

Also, for current students, what did you think of anatomy lab? It's partially dissection, partially prosection; do you feel that you missed out because there wasn't enough hands-on time?
Don't buy textbooks unless you are very much a textbook learner. None are mandatory, and there are so many extra resources available to learn from. The only ones I would recommend are a good atlas (like Netters), and a photo atlas (like Rohens). The combo of both is GREAT for studying for exams (Rohens in particular is especially helpful for the practical portions of the exams).

Anatomy lab wasn't partially prosection. Each dissection had one example prosection done for us to see, and all the rest of the bodies were done by the groups assigned for that dissection. The only thing I can think you might mean is that not every group does each dissection, we alternated. Personally, I don't feel like I missed out at all, and almost kinda sorta wish there were more actual prosections lol. It takes a VERY long time for noob M1s to do a dissection right (most people just butcher the body), and you don't really need to do the actual dissecting to learn. You just need to study the bodies. ALL the bodies, since each one is different (and Rohens helps with that as well). The anatomy lab is literally open 24/7 for you if you want to study the bodies (I was in there many nights that turned into mornings), and that's where you'll do most of your body learning, not during the actual dissecting.
 
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can anyone post the link to the 2020 fb page?
That is not allowed since it is a private fb group. If you were accepted recently and have not been invited to the fb group yet, then PM me with your real name and I'll let our class SG reps know.
 
Anyone who is on the waitlist or sent in a Letter of Intent... Dr. Gervais had told us during my interview that if we send in a LOI that the school would tell us if we are "likely" or "unlikely" to get off the waitlist. I only received an acknowledgement of sending in my LOI. I did respond asking about this, but I've realized the school takes a while to get back to us via email. I was wondering if anyone else found out if they were "likely/unlikely" to get off the list, and who they contacted?
 
Hello everyone I am planning on applying for the next cycle, but I am a little concerned with the financial aspect of going to UM. I by no means come from money and so that is something that of course anyone would be concerned about, with the tuition being around 36,000 for a Florida Resident. When you received your acceptance letter was there any information about financial aid, or scholarships. I have received information from a Sergeant Barmoha in Miami about the Army having a Medical School Scholarship that pays for everything but I really haven't heard much about it. Any advice would help me to make my decision on where to apply to in the coming school year.

Those army-based medical programs are ill-advised on this forum because they don't allow for specialization. Often times, they force you into general care specialities just based on the needs of the armed forces. It is a completely adequate route to be trained in medicine, but you'll have to judge for yourself whether the financial benefit outweighs the lack of control in the future for yourself.

Miami is indeed a difficult city to move to because of the tuition and high cost of living. But, the school has been pretty generous to many applicants this season, and there are many merit-based scholarships you are automatically in contention for and also some diversity-based scholarships anyone who submits a FAFSA can apply for. The chances of getting aid decreases drastically as the year goes on (especially now, as hardly anyone getting pulled off the WL recently is getting aid), but they do distribute it again once the final class is confirmed and people withdraw from the school.

Also, just generally note that taking loans for medical school is a very common practice. Most people heavily weigh overall debt when deciding between schools, but that is something to think about post-acceptance. Personally, I think you should focus on which schools you would like to send your primaries to for now and think about cost of living and tuition when you are deciding between acceptances since there's no promise you will even interview at such high-cost schools
 
Anyone who is on the waitlist or sent in a Letter of Intent... Dr. Gervais had told us during my interview that if we send in a LOI that the school would tell us if we are "likely" or "unlikely" to get off the waitlist. I only received an acknowledgement of sending in my LOI. I did respond asking about this, but I've realized the school takes a while to get back to us via email. I was wondering if anyone else found out if they were "likely/unlikely" to get off the list, and who they contacted?

I think it's still a bit early since WL movement varies drastically every year and people were still regularly getting accepted around this time last year. I'm planning to send an email last week of May/early June as WL movement will likely be much less active around that time so they'll have a better understanding of how many more spots may open up in the coming weeks.
 
I mean I understand where you are coming from but I must have missed something when you said that people are generally forced into general care specialties. Doesn't the Army have a 95% match placement rating where as others have a 77%. I get that I might just be looking too far ahead, but that's why I asked individuals at UM because I figured they would have the best knowledge when it comes to these sort of things.

I don't want to detract from the UM discussion, so here is a thread with a lot of useful information that might help guide your decision: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/military-medicine-pros-cons-and-opinions.277310/
 
I think it's still a bit early since WL movement varies drastically every year and people were still regularly getting accepted around this time last year. I'm planning to send an email last week of May/early June as WL movement will likely be much less active around that time so they'll have a better understanding of how many more spots may open up in the coming weeks.
I guess I'm just anxious to hear back. But I figure most schools have a waitlist movement within about 10 people or so. Or if you're near the bottom or top of the list the answer would be a little more obvious. I'm just trying to figure out how long to wait on Miami, since I have another acceptance and have to figure out where/when to move since either way I'm moving across the country for school.
 
I guess I'm just anxious to hear back. But I figure most schools have a waitlist movement within about 10 people or so. Or if you're near the bottom or top of the list the answer would be a little more obvious. I'm just trying to figure out how long to wait on Miami, since I have another acceptance and have to figure out where/when to move since either way I'm moving across the country for school.

Yeah, it's been pretty killer on this end as well. Most people are advising those of us in WL flux to start seriously considering plan B, so I would start looking into matriculating to your other school just as I am starting to think to think about reapplying. It really doesn't help that what seemed like every poster on last year's thread ended up getting into UM by the end of May, so we can't do much but hope to see that kind of movement in the next 2-3 weeks. With how slow it has moved this week though, that doesn't look likely :\
 
Just wanted to point out that our MS-4's are graduating this Saturday, so most of UM's efforts will be focused on that this week.
 
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Anyone who is on the waitlist or sent in a Letter of Intent... Dr. Gervais had told us during my interview that if we send in a LOI that the school would tell us if we are "likely" or "unlikely" to get off the waitlist. I only received an acknowledgement of sending in my LOI. I did respond asking about this, but I've realized the school takes a while to get back to us via email. I was wondering if anyone else found out if they were "likely/unlikely" to get off the list, and who they contacted?

I interviewed for MD only and applied to the MD/MPH after the fact. I was then waitlisted for MD-only and had a pending decision for dual degree. I sent in a LOI/update without a decision having been made on MD/MPH. I was then accepted to that program a few weeks later. I can't say for sure that my LOI made a difference but I'd like to think it did. The only correspondence that I got was them notifying me that they received my LOI.

I'll note that my letter was of true intent though. I essentially told them that I was commited to them and only them.
 
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For those of you who were accepted off of WL on or after the multiple accept deadline - how long did they give you to make a decision? They accepted pretty regularly up to June last year so I'm not incredibly worried, but they had also accepted way more people by now, so I'm not really sure what to think at this point.
 
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Called the Admission's Office this morning asking about the Alternative List process. According to the woman I spoke with they will not answer any requests at any time about one's location (general or specific) on the Alternative List (including after June). She also said there are no set dates for expected movement and that it can happen at any time between now and the first day of classes. Just swell, lol.
 
Called the Admission's Office this morning asking about the Alternative List process. According to the woman I spoke with they will not answer any requests at any time about one's location (general or specific) on the Alternative List (including after June). She also said there are no set dates for expected movement and that it can happen at any time between now and the first day of classes. Just swell, lol.
I had the same thing happen yesterday. I love Miami, but I need to decide where to move across the country to :(
 
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I had the same thing happen yesterday. I love Miami, but I need to decide where to move across the country to :(
I have a bad feeling about WL movement this year. Seem very unlikely that there'll be movement. I am fortunate enough to have another acceptance to a school that I also like, but Miami was/is my first choice
 
I have a bad feeling about WL movement this year. Seem very unlikely that there'll be movement. I am fortunate enough to have another acceptance to a school that I also like, but Miami was/is my first choice

Not looking good whatsoever, which is especially annoying since last year there was a ton of it. I'm thinking there will be a final burst this Friday or Monday which fall 2 weeks after the day the 3-4 people who were accepted at or around multiple accept posted, and that's pretty standard for making a decision for most schools :sorry: please show me some love Miami
 
Miami has definitely established itself as a superior mid-tier school. That coupled with the location and the attractive OOS tuition (plenty of schools are 55k+) - I'm not too surprised that WL spots are more scarce this year, though this does seem a significant decrease just from last year. It may be that the SDN population this year is not well-represented with WL acceptances or, or... that soon we will be showered in a glorious plethora of WL acceptances unlike anything that's ever been seen on SDN before.
 
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Miami has definitely established itself as a superior mid-tier school. That coupled with the location and the attractive OOS tuition (plenty of schools are 55k+) - I'm not too surprised that WL spots are more scarce this year, though this does seem a significant decrease just from last year. It may be that the SDN population this year is not well-represented with WL acceptances or, or... that soon we will be showered in a glorious plethora of WL acceptances unlike anything that's ever been seen on SDN before.
Yeah this is what I'm assuming. The tuition is only a couple K more than my state school...
 
Withdrew my acceptance & scholarship - hope one of you guys gets it!


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Just withdrew my acceptance and scholarship as well. I love UMMSM and I'm sad to withdraw, but I was recently accepted from the waitlist at my top choice. Good luck to everyone on the waitlist!
 
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Just withdrew my acceptance and scholarship as well. I love UMMSM and I'm sad to withdraw, but I was recently accepted from the waitlist at my top choice. Good luck to everyone on the waitlist!
Fingers crossed to get your spot, but best of luck to you at your top choice school!
 
What are everyone's thoughts regarding UMiami's graded evaluations as opposed to pass/fail, with students vying for the top quartile rank in their class. Would love for those who accepted their offers, current students, or even those who have interviewed at other schools with this evaluation scale to voice their input!

I view it as a positive for myself. I think you can approach the quartile ranking system in many ways:
  • Ignore it, since it doesn't affect anything other than AOA and a word or two in your Dean's letter (if I remember correctly). If you don't like the idea of rankings and you aren't interested in super-competitive specialties then I doubt there is a reason to pay attention to it at all.
  • Be a gunner. Screw over your classmates in order to get into that top quartile. I sincerely hope that the admissions process at UMiami has weeded out anyone with these tendencies.
  • Use it for motivation. This is my approach. I work best when there is some competitive aspect to the things I do, but that competition can be a friendly one with myself. I know that I will work harder if I can aim for the top quartile than I will if grading is purely pass/fail. If I don't make it to the top quartile then oh well, at least I will have maximized my efforts.
 
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I view it as a positive for myself. I think you can approach the quartile ranking system in many ways:
  • Ignore it, since it doesn't affect anything other than AOA and a word or two in your Dean's letter (if I remember correctly). If you don't like the idea of rankings and you aren't interested in super-competitive specialties then I doubt there is a reason to pay attention to it at all.
  • Be a gunner. Screw over your classmates in order to get into that top quartile. I sincerely hope that the admissions process at UMiami has weeded out anyone with these tendencies.
  • Use it for motivation. This is my approach. I work best when there is some competitive aspect to the things I do, but that competition can be a friendly one with myself. I know that I will work harder if I can aim for the top quartile than I will if grading is purely pass/fail. If I don't make it to the top quartile then oh well, at least I will have maximized my efforts.
Although you pointed out some pros about it, I did hear some students complaining that the overall range of scores is so tight, that it's a little frustrating at times to be in a lower quartile because of an insignificant point or two.
 
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Although you pointed out some pros about it, I did hear some students complaining that the overall range of scores is so tight, that it's a little frustrating at times to be in a lower quartile because of an insignificant point or two.

Everyone is different. UMiami's grading system will be fine for me, but it may not be for others. If you believe that you will be upset for a long time if you miss the quartile cutoff by a tiny fraction then perhaps a true pass/fail school would be a better fit for your personality. Nothing wrong with that!
 
Everyone is different. UMiami's grading system will be fine for me, but it may not be for others. If you believe that you will be upset for a long time if you miss the quartile cutoff by a tiny fraction then perhaps a true pass/fail school would be a better fit for your personality. Nothing wrong with that!

Does that mean you weren't able to go to BU like you wanted? Sorry to hear about that, hope you and your husband were able to figure it out!
 
Although you pointed out some pros about it, I did hear some students complaining that the overall range of scores is so tight, that it's a little frustrating at times to be in a lower quartile because of an insignificant point or two.
Honestly, @gyrfalcon laid it out very well. If you aren't gunning for ortho, derm, plastics, ENT, etc. then class ranking/AOA isn't super important. Even if you are, there are other factors that are much more important. We tend not to worry about it very much, and if anything let it push us towards excellence ;).

Although you bring up a fair point - some people do complain about the feeling of frustration from being in a "lower quartile" due to a few measly points. One of our recent exams had an average of ~94. Just so that sinks in: even if you got a 93 (a terrific grade on a med school exam) you were below average for the class! Ridiculous. But like I said before, there's really not much reason to stress out over these things. Also, we brought this point up to the administration, and they agreed to seriously consider changing to true pass/fail. No guarantee they will though.

Bottom line: I wouldn't let pass/fail vs ranked determine where you attend school.
 
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What are everyone's thoughts regarding UMiami's graded evaluations as opposed to pass/fail, with students vying for the top quartile rank in their class. It was the only non-pass/fail school that I interviewed at and couldn't get a clear sense of how it affected students individually and as a body, as well as how it plays out later on when students are striving for competitive residencies. Would love for those who accepted their offers, current students, or even those who have interviewed at other schools with this evaluation scale to voice their input!
As a current MS-1 (and about to be MS-2!), let me tell you my opinion on our grading system. It's called "pass/fail+" meaning P or F with a number grade will show up for every module you take on your transcript. On your dean's letter, you'll get a codeword that corresponds with 4th quartile, 3rd quartile or 4th quartile with significant contributions, 2nd quartile or 3rd quartile with sig cont, 1st quartile or 2nd quartile with sig cont, and 1st quartile with sig cont. Those significant contributions are basically EC's, leadership, research, whatever non-academic things you've done at or for Miller.

Grades are important for AOA. No one will contest that. Grades are still important even if you don't get AOA, IMHO, because it motivates (or should motivate) you to study hard and actually try to learn the material. Sure, you won't be able to memorize every single little detail, but that's not necessary to do well on exams here. As long as you learn the material well enough the first time (aka when you're still in that module), you'll be fine when it's time to start seriously studying for step 1 (which you shouldn't be doing in first year anyway according to all the upperclassmen I've talked to). And yes, step 1 is always important; you need to prep yourself well so that you increase your chances of crushing it.

All that being said, I don't feel like I'm being screwed over by my classmates. Quite the opposite, actually. We always have people posting in our class fb group about study guides, online resources, or whatever else they found helpful. People still study in groups even tho we're way past anatomy now. We're all willing to help each other. And there's very few true gunners here, if any, so you wouldn't have to worry about that (and even if there were, you wouldn't ever see them or interact with them anyway).
 
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does the quartile system combine MD and MD/MPH? Or do they have seperate ones? Also I'm assuming the MPH classes have regular grades and are not pass/fail? :)
 
does the quartile system combine MD and MD/MPH? Or do they have seperate ones? Also I'm assuming the MPH classes have regular grades and are not pass/fail? :)
MD and MD/MPH are not combined since they are separate curricula. Idk for sure, but I think pass/fail+ applies to everyone.
 
Has anyone heard of any movement on the waitlist? It's been 2 weeks since the first batch of acceptances, so I was hoping to see some activity today.
 
Has anyone heard of any movement on the waitlist? It's been 2 weeks since the first batch of acceptances, so I was hoping to see some activity today.

I was hoping for the same. Although if today is the two week deadline maybe there will be some movement tomorrow? I'm afraid that if nothing happens by the end of the week the odds of more movement may be pretty low..


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I'm generally curious to roughly how many people ended up on the waitlist. I've heard rumors that about 30 were taken off of it last year. However, the admissions office doesn't seem very willing to disclose anything on the phone.
 
Got in off the alternate list today !! Sorry for just now posting. Was called around 3PM after sending a LOI. Good luck everyone !


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Got in off the alternate list today !! Sorry for just now posting. Was called around 3PM after sending a LOI. Good luck everyone !


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Congrats!!! I also sent one about that time today too so hopefully they send me some love tomorrow :D
 
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Got in off the alternate list today !! Sorry for just now posting. Was called around 3PM after sending a LOI. Good luck everyone !


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Congrats! Super envious, but having staring contests with my phone willing it to ring every day.
 
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Can anyone help me out - I'm looking for the page that lists some of the things we should have when we start, I remember it saying like stethoscope, blood pressure cuff, tuning fork...I can't find the page again and it's driving me crazy.
 
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