2015-2016 University of Utah Application Thread

Discover Your Odds of Getting into Medical School
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ScentOfPeace

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Secondary essays (2015-2016):

Please discuss the concept of professionalism. (2000 characters)

If you are reapplying to the University of Utah School of Medicine, list the significant changes e.g., degree(s), activities, etc. since your previous application in the space below. (2000 characters)

If you do not intend to enroll in any courses, explain the learning pursuits in which you will be involved in the space below. (2000 characters)

Good luck everyone! :pigeon:

UUSOM Admissions website:
http://medicine.utah.edu/admissions/
UUSOM social media pages:
https://www.facebook.com/UUSOMOfficeofAdmissions
https://twitter.com/UUSOMAdmissions
Members don't see this ad.
 
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From UUSOM's Facebook page:

"NEW CHANGES FOR THE 2016 APPLICATION CYCLE:

1. We will no longer require a diversity course.

2. The letters of recommendation requirements have been reduced from 6 to 4. The required letters are as follows:

• 1 Science Professor – Letter must be from a faculty member who taught the applicant in a traditional lecture classroom setting and assigned them a grade in chemistry, biology or physics.

• 1 Professor – Letter must be from a faculty member who taught the applicant and assigned them a grade. May include science, and non-science courses including music, labs, dance, etc.

• 1 Other Supervisor or Research – Letter must be from a research supervisor or supervisor of the applicant’s choice.

• 1 Community Service or Patient Exposure – Letter must address the applicant’s community service and/or patient exposure.

NOTE: One letter may not be used to fulfill two requirements

3. Activities

Community/Volunteer Service hours have been adjusted.

Min: 36 hours completed within the last 4 years
Ave: 100 hours completed within the last 4 years

Research

Min: Part of a class where applicant answered or tested a hypothesis and received a grade.
Examples: A writing project, laboratory work, etc.

NOTE: Research completed as part of a premedical course requirement will not be accepted.

Ave: Hypothesis based research that is supervised by an individual with verifiable research credentials. May include independent research or senior thesis.

4. MCAT

Scores will be accepted for tests taken in 2015, 2014, and 2013. For tests taken in 2013 and 2014 only, the best score for each section will be considered. If the 2015 test was taken, only the scores from this test will be accepted."
 
Hey everyone! MS1 here at the U (soon to be finishing MS1 anyway). Let me know if there is any questions I can help with! Good luck to everyone this cycle!
 
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Thoughts on chances for OOS applicants?

MSAR reports about 20% OOS, but with a class size of 102 it is hard to gauge if I should give it a shot.
 
Cawolf said:
Thoughts on chances for OOS applicants?

MSAR reports about 20% OOS, but with a class size of 102 it is hard to gauge if I should give it a shot.
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Lots of factors that go into that of course, but it is tough for the OOS, no doubt about it. They have opened up the requirements a little though. It depends a lot on you (stats, what you bring to the table, etc) of course more than anything. If you are really interested I would just say go for it personally, I applied to OHSU when I was applying even though the chances of getting in were pretty slim as an OOS student, it was the first school I was accepted to, so you just never know :) Perhaps someone who has gone through the process as an OOS student here could shed some further light.
 
Thanks @zhopv10.

I have stats that make it difficult to compare myself to average matriculants. I am looking for a school on the "left" half of the country, and though I have no ties to Salt Lake City, I loved it every time I visited.

I would appreciate a response if any OOS matriculants or acceptees happen to stop by.
 
Will be a part of the E2015 class. Feel free to ask me any questions! I'm an Idahoan, if that means anything of you all. Good luck!!
 
I'm also wondering about OOS chances... Accoridng to MSAR 355 interiews IS, 200 interviews OOS - not too bad, but is that not a good indicator?
 
It isn't a good indicator because Utah has an agreement with Idaho for 8 seats. So with a class size of barely over 100, over 400 IS applicants and 8 seats for Idaho I think chances for OOS are very low. The OOS% are inflated because of the Idaho deal.
 
From the admissions fb page:

"Announcement: For our secondary application this upcoming cycle (2015-2016), there will only be one essay. There will be a 2000 character limit.

Here is the essay prompt:

Please discuss the concept of professionalism.

We are releasing the prompt now so all those applying this next cycle can start working on their secondary essays.

University of Utah School of Medicine Office of Admissions"

https://www.facebook.com/UUSOMOfficeofAdmissions
 
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Aaaaaand... I'm baaaaack! What's a University of Utah application page without me, right? ;) Here's hoping that third time's the charm!! @ScentOfPeace, good to see you old friend!
 
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"Excuse me - Could you tell me how to get to the medical school? I’m supposed to be giving a lecture in 20 minutes, and my driver’s a bit lost." It's the best quote I could find for now. Good luck to everybody applying.
 
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Per UUSOM's Twitter:

Sorry Utah, but we don't share your excitement for climbing admissions numbers ;)
 
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Ginred said:
Per UUSOM's Twitter:

Sorry Utah, but we don't share your excitement for climbing admissions numbers ;)
Click to expand...


Yeah, most of those application are probably from BYU students who now qualify as in-state. While attending BYU, it got old really quick listening to out of state people badmouth Utah. It's now even more old many as many of these out of state BYU graduates are putting Utah down as a backup which they are willing to "put up with" for a few more years in order to get a medical degree. Good luck to those applying to the U of U who actually love the great state of Utah and its people.
 
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desertrat12 said:
Anyone received an invite for a secondary yet?
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no, not yet. My AMCAS application was completed (reviewed by AMCAS) on July 8th. :(
Anyone else receive one? What is their MCAT cut off? 27 and higher?
 
Their minimum MCAT is 21. Secondaries are going out at the end of the month (according to the UUSOM Facebook page). Everyone who applies should receive one. They do not screen application prior to the secondary.
 
How bias is Utah to its in-state students? As an OOS, I am contemplated whether it is worthwhile to pursue Utah. And what is everyone opinion on SLC? I've never been there but the LDS culture reputation kinda scare me...
 
Dr.Smexy said:
How bias is Utah to its in-state students? As an OOS, I am contemplated whether it is worthwhile to pursue Utah. And what is everyone opinion on SLC? I've never been there but the LDS culture reputation kinda scare me...
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For a class of 122, 14 are OOS.
 
Dr.Smexy said:
How bias is Utah to its in-state students? As an OOS, I am contemplated whether it is worthwhile to pursue Utah. And what is everyone opinion on SLC? I've never been there but the LDS culture reputation kinda scare me...
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19 OOS accepted out of 1000 applicants according to MSAR. Living in SLC it is possible to avoid most of the LDS culture if you want to. What about it bothers you? (Not trying to start any religion discussions but maybe we can provide some insight)
 
At the risk of sounding completely ignorant, from what I've heard, LDS people are quite judgmental toward people with different religions or atheist. They have strange rules that don't make senses (i.e., coffee is toxic, you better not be productive on Sunday, alcohol is the devil drink.) A non-LDS man would also has limited dating pool (mormon girls are neither receptive to or is desirable to a non-LDS man). On the flip side, they have a reputation for trying to be nice to all people though
 
Dr.Smexy said:
At the risk of sounding completely ignorant, from what I've heard, LDS people are quite judgmental toward people with different religions or atheist. They have strange rules that don't make senses (i.e., coffee is toxic, you better not be productive on Sunday, alcohol is the devil drink.) A non-LDS man would also has limited dating pool (mormon girls are neither receptive to or is desirable to a non-LDS man). On the flip side, they have a reputation for trying to be nice to all people though
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While there is some truth in all of that, Salt Lake City is the least like that of anywhere in the state. While you might find some judgemental people, anyone with that kind of attitude probably isn't mature enough to be in medical school. LDS people don't drink coffee or alcohol but there are tons and tons of bars in Salt Lake. It might be tough for a non-LDS man to find love at Brigham Young University in Provo (82% LDS in the county), but not in Salt Lake (51% LDS in the county). Overall I think it's a good balance. You can have either experience if that's what you want.
 
swolesoul said:
While there is some truth in all of that, Salt Lake City is the least like that of anywhere in the state. While you might find some judgemental people, anyone with that kind of attitude probably isn't mature enough to be in medical school. LDS people don't drink coffee or alcohol but there are tons and tons of bars in Salt Lake. It might be tough for a non-LDS man to find love at Brigham Young University in Provo (82% LDS in the county), but not in Salt Lake (51% LDS in the county). Overall I think it's a good balance. You can have either experience if that's what you want.
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Thanks for the detailed information. I appreciate your input. Coming from the golden state, SLC is just on another atmosphere hence my hesitation. I'll give Utah a shot and see what happens. Best of luck to you.
 
Honestly the most annoying aspect for me personally are the draconian alcohol laws. Just seems like it is overly prohibitive especially when you consider the juxtaposition that one state to the east, you can buy marijuana legally but here you can't buy decent beer in a grocery store.

Not a huge issue in the grand scheme of things however and I have been extremely happy here in Salt Lake.
 
swolesoul said:
While there is some truth in all of that, Salt Lake City is the least like that of anywhere in the state. While you might find some judgemental people, anyone with that kind of attitude probably isn't mature enough to be in medical school. LDS people don't drink coffee or alcohol but there are tons and tons of bars in Salt Lake. It might be tough for a non-LDS man to find love at Brigham Young University in Provo (82% LDS in the county), but not in Salt Lake (51% LDS in the county). Overall I think it's a good balance. You can have either experience if that's what you want.
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^^ as a SLC resident, I just want to reiterate that this comment is pretty accurate. There's a pretty big rivalry between BYU and Utah, and Utah almost prides itself on being nonreligious and completely different from ultra-religious BYU and Provo. It also boasts national top 10 percentage of people identifying as LGTB among the largest 50 metropolitan areas in the US. Additionally, I honestly think you won't find a better location/campus is you're into the outdoors. Just minutes from world-class skiing/snowboarding, hiking, lots of boating, beautiful mountain ranges, etc. It has a lot of opportunities to work with underserved, homeless, ethnic minorities and non-english speakers. Most people in SLC are actually very nice (LDS or not), though you'll occasionally find the 'judgmental' ones (LDS or not), just like any other major city.
 
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Anyone know how the admissions process works? I was told they rate you in 7 categories (GPA, MCAT, patient care hours, research hours, leadership, service, shadowing) and you'll get an interview if you're above average in 5/7 of the categories. Also, once minimum/average GPA and MCAT scores are obtained, they play a relatively small part in getting an acceptance. The idea is that if you can hit these averages, you'll probably be fine in med school and they'd rather base an acceptance on your ECs.

Anyone else know anything about this, or have any thoughts?
 
judb16 said:
Anyone know how the admissions process works? I was told they rate you in 7 categories (GPA, MCAT, patient care hours, research hours, leadership, service, shadowing) and you'll get an interview if you're above average in 5/7 of the categories. Also, once minimum/average GPA and MCAT scores are obtained, they play a relatively small part in getting an acceptance. The idea is that if you can hit these averages, you'll probably be fine in med school and they'd rather base an acceptance on your ECs.

Anyone else know anything about this, or have any thoughts?
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In-state applicants are given an interview if they are "above average" in five of the seven categories. The U calls their interview day Assessment Day. On Assessment Day, you do two 30 minute traditional interviews, six MMIs, and take a Moral and Ethical Problem Exam.

When calculating your final ranking MCAT/GPA make up 30%, Assessment Day performance makes up 30%, and the Selection Committee vote makes up 40% of your final ranking.
 
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Yeah. I was really surprised to hear how important the application and secondary essays were in the grand scheme.
 
I wonder if Utah will stick with their 500 interview cap for the applicants that they had last year. As we surmised in last year's thread, 350 of these interview spots are probably going to go to IS students. If this is the case, then @Patagonico 's comment about BYU students being able to apply as IS (and thus contributing to bigger application numbers) is quite interesting as there will now be an even bigger struggle for interview spots.

Last year the number of IS applicants was 503, and OOS was 1,004 (per MSAR), making a grand total of 1,523 applicants. As of this morning, the number of applications for this cycle is at 2,300+, with more to come (including mine, which is still awaiting verification.) I think we may see a bit of a squeeze this year for interview invites, and I suspect the point brought up in @judb16 's most recent post about being competitive in 5/7 categories will hold more weight this year for getting an interview spot.
 
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The importance of the essays and secondary was brought up earlier... I just want to reiterate that that is extremely important here! Make sure yours are proofread multiple times, free from errors, and directly addresses the prompts! Dr Chan has talked about this a couple times but just wanted to make sure it was emphasizes here!
 
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zhopv10 said:
The importance of the essays and secondary was brought up earlier... I just want to reiterate that that is extremely important here! Make sure yours are proofread multiple times, free from errors, and directly addresses the prompts! Dr Chan has talked about this a couple times but just wanted to make sure it was emphasizes here!
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@zhopv10 - I say this purely in good fun, but you have a grammatical error in your post about proof reading and being error free ;):playful:

In all seriousness though, when I met with my pre-med advisor about what things I needed to improve for my application next year, one of the points of feedback from the U of U was that I had a few grammatical errors in my application materials- the fact that they mentioned this is telling of how important it is to them.
 
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Haha love it! Funny thing about that is as I was writing that post I was totally thinking to myself "I bet this is replete with errors" haha Ya that's probably why I went through about 30+ drafts of my essays for the U though... I need the oversight :0
 
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It's tough. I'm not sure exactly what I'm going to write about. Have you received it yet?
 
LloydChristmas90 said:
It's tough. I'm not sure exactly what I'm going to write about. Have you received it yet?
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I thought they didn't come out until later this month. I'm verified, and still have nothing.

Whoever gets one first, be sure to post!
 
zhopv10 said:
Haha love it! Funny thing about that is as I was writing that post I was totally thinking to myself "I bet this is replete with errors" haha Ya that's probably why I went through about 30+ drafts of my essays for the U though... I need the oversight :0
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Well, it definitely worked for you! By the way, how was your first year? What has been the biggest surprise of medical school so far?
 
First year was great! For me I was a little surprised by how manageable it was honestly... Before coming here I was working in a lab full time, working in a call center full time, volunteering, yada yada, going from that to just doing school and research was awesome! I actually was able to spend more time with my wife than in undergrad haha. Not to say that it isn't hard or time consuming, I just really like how focused it is and I think the U's curriculum helps with that. It feels streamlined which makes studying easier I think. I'll also say that it is surprising how much info you take in and can actually retain, probably because it is more interesting and focused than undergrad often was (IMO). It's been great though overall, the U is a fantastic school, I feel that the experience has been first rate so far for sure!
 
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zhopv10 said:
First year was great! For me I was a little surprised by how manageable it was honestly... Before coming here I was working in a lab full time, working in a call center full time, volunteering, yada yada, going from that to just doing school and research was awesome! I actually was able to spend more time with my wife than in undergrad haha. Not to say that it isn't hard or time consuming, I just really like how focused it is and I think the U's curriculum helps with that. It feels streamlined which makes studying easier I think. I'll also say that it is surprising how much info you take in and can actually retain, probably because it is more interesting and focused than undergrad often was (IMO). It's been great though overall, the U is a fantastic school, I feel that the experience has been first rate so far for sure!
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Thanks for sharing your experience! I'm hoping my medical student life will be similar. Really looking forward to putting all my focus into school, instead of spreading myself so thin. Hope I get accepted and see ya around campus next year!
 
Utah had admissions podcasts last year (not sure if they still do, but probably). They were very good to listen too, just to get a sense of the school. Dr. Chan makes them pretty interesting to listen to, and there were lots of informative topics.

They also have an admissions Facebook page. It should go without saying that if you are serious about this school to "like" it. I liked getting updates about my top choice and really got me excited to apply/interview/attend etc etc.
 
zhopv10 said:
First year was great! For me I was a little surprised by how manageable it was honestly... Before coming here I was working in a lab full time, working in a call center full time, volunteering, yada yada, going from that to just doing school and research was awesome! I actually was able to spend more time with my wife than in undergrad haha. Not to say that it isn't hard or time consuming, I just really like how focused it is and I think the U's curriculum helps with that. It feels streamlined which makes studying easier I think. I'll also say that it is surprising how much info you take in and can actually retain, probably because it is more interesting and focused than undergrad often was (IMO). It's been great though overall, the U is a fantastic school, I feel that the experience has been first rate so far for sure!
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That's really cool! I realize that you aren't saying it's a breeze, but that it is easier in the fact that your efforts are focused on just a few things rather than on the litany of balls/clubs/chainsaws involved in the pre-med juggling act. I like the sound of that a lot and can't wait to get out of this pre-med circus and into my career training, i.e. medical school.
 
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They must be processing a lot of primary applications. Still no secondaries? Also, does anybody know what additional essays re-applicants can expect?
 
LloydChristmas90 said:
They must be processing a lot of primary applications. Still no secondaries? Also, does anybody know what additional essays re-applicants can expect?
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Dr. Chan posted on fb/twitter saying that they would be sent out in the next couple weeks. I don't know the exact prompt for re-applicants, but I believe it something along the lines of "What have you done since your last application?" I think it is 2000 characters as well. @Ginred might know the specific wording.
 
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