2015-2016 University of Washington Application Thread

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There are reserved seats for TRUST. Don't worry about it. Plus, they haven't accepted that many students yet. About half the class comes from the March acceptance before the waitlist is created.

Do you have any idea how many seats TRUST has?
 
@BABSstudent What options do students have for housing? Most of the places near the campus seem prohibitively expensive
 
@BABSstudent What options do students have for housing? Most of the places near the campus seem prohibitively expensive
You put up with it to be honest. Most students do not live super near the school but on a bus route within a few miles. Rent will be close to $1,000 per month. Yes, I know that is $48,000 for housing your 4 years.

Seattle is not a cheap location. Some students try to live together but realistically you don't save a ton by doing that.
 
Patiently awaiting my SUC email to arrive (last 2 SUCs have been on Saturday every 2 weeks)
 
You put up with it to be honest. Most students do not live super near the school but on a bus route within a few miles. Rent will be close to $1,000 per month. Yes, I know that is $48,000 for housing your 4 years.

Seattle is not a cheap location. Some students try to live together but realistically you don't save a ton by doing that.

Yeah. I live sort of adjacent to the U District and it's definitely true there are no budget options around here. There are pre-furnished "Apodments" in a few places that are like dorms and run $600/mo or so for a bedroom, but when I looked into those I found the company to be so hellacious to deal with that I don't know if I would recommend it. Studios will run you over a grand a month and the complexes rarely have any amenities, and no utilities included typically. And utilities here are expensive.

The cost of getting a place with multiple rooms or bedrooms is so much more, splitting it doesn't even end up costing much less than renting a studio alone. The cheapest option is probably to rent a single room in a larger place from someone.

For some perspective, I have a dog so most of the cheaper places won't rent to me. A tiny bedroom sized studio in a building that accepts dogs around UW runs $1400+ plus utilities per month, and will charge $500 for the dog non refundable plus two months rent deposit to move in, plus another $25-50/mo in "pet rent." They opened up a new building here that was meant to be "affordable housing for professionals" at UW and the cheapest studios were $1450 no utilities included. So that's what's considered a bargain around there.
 
Yeah. I live sort of adjacent to the U District and it's definitely true there are no budget options around here. There are pre-furnished "Apodments" in a few places that are like dorms and run $600/mo or so for a bedroom, but when I looked into those I found the company to be so hellacious to deal with that I don't know if I would recommend it. Studios will run you over a grand a month and the complexes rarely have any amenities, and no utilities included typically. And utilities here are expensive.

The cost of getting a place with multiple rooms or bedrooms is so much more, splitting it doesn't even end up costing much less than renting a studio alone. The cheapest option is probably to rent a single room in a larger place from someone.

For some perspective, I have a dog so most of the cheaper places won't rent to me. A tiny bedroom sized studio in a building that accepts dogs around UW runs $1400+ plus utilities per month, and will charge $500 for the dog non refundable plus two months rent deposit to move in, plus another $25-50/mo in "pet rent." They opened up a new building here that was meant to be "affordable housing for professionals" at UW and the cheapest studios were $1450 no utilities included. So that's what's considered a bargain around there.
One positive thing though is the UW family housing is apparently quite reasonable, and the daycare is right there. So for those with kids, it's very convenient. It can take quite a while to get an apartment there though.
 
One positive thing though is the UW family housing is apparently quite reasonable, and the daycare is right there. So for those with kids, it's very convenient. It can take quite a while to get an apartment there though.
Oh yeah, the family housing is good. I know some folks who live there and like it a lot. But getting in isn't easy so I wouldn't assume you'll be able to just go there instead. There are some other student options that I'm less familiar with.

This is more for people who were hoping to score cheap off campus housing or don't like living in student housing or whatever. It's not like a lot of university areas where it's easy to just go nearby for a low price.
 
Yeah. I live sort of adjacent to the U District and it's definitely true there are no budget options around here. There are pre-furnished "Apodments" in a few places that are like dorms and run $600/mo or so for a bedroom, but when I looked into those I found the company to be so hellacious to deal with that I don't know if I would recommend it. Studios will run you over a grand a month and the complexes rarely have any amenities, and no utilities included typically. And utilities here are expensive.

The cost of getting a place with multiple rooms or bedrooms is so much more, splitting it doesn't even end up costing much less than renting a studio alone. The cheapest option is probably to rent a single room in a larger place from someone.

For some perspective, I have a dog so most of the cheaper places won't rent to me. A tiny bedroom sized studio in a building that accepts dogs around UW runs $1400+ plus utilities per month, and will charge $500 for the dog non refundable plus two months rent deposit to move in, plus another $25-50/mo in "pet rent." They opened up a new building here that was meant to be "affordable housing for professionals" at UW and the cheapest studios were $1450 no utilities included. So that's what's considered a bargain around there.
And to put it even more into perspective, Spokane housing is a bargain in comparison. Living right beside campus will cost $300-600 depending if you want roommates or not.

Going to Spokane, being there for all 4 years with roommates costs $15k. That's saving you $35k on your MD and doesn't show up as any different for residency/beyond.

I'm only in Seattle because my wife has a job here. Otherwise Spokane would be the financial winner in the long run.
 
And to put it even more into perspective, Spokane housing is a bargain in comparison. Living right beside campus will cost $300-600 depending if you want roommates or not.

Going to Spokane, being there for all 4 years with roommates costs $15k. That's saving you $35k on your MD and doesn't show up as any different for residency/beyond.

I'm only in Seattle because my wife has a job here. Otherwise Spokane would be the financial winner in the long run.

Oh yeah, I was looking at apartments there when I was considering site preference and you can have your own nice 1BR right next to campus for under $700 easily, and way cheaper if you don't mind studios or roommates or whatever. I'm also in Seattle proper because I have a tech partner who works here, otherwise I'd be out somewhere smaller and more affordable. Studying in Seattle is better for me because we are comfortable on just my partner's income so it won't be debt for us to stay here- if that weren't the case is be in Spokane in a heartbeat.
 
After acceptance, can you change your site preference?
 
Could a current student comment on the social dynamic at the school (Seattle specifically)? I came to UW undergrad OOS and found the Seattle freeze to be very real. People had their social groups and stuck to them, period. I love UW academically, but since med school will be the ages 24-28 for me, I want to be certain that building lasting friendships will be possible. (Just to prevent trollers, yes, I do know that you need to put an effort into making friends. Please take my question seriously!!!)

I'm asking BC of what some of the students on my interview day mentioned, but wanted to see a broader view from other students.
 
After acceptance, can you change your site preference?
You can request to change it, but know that they may not be able to fulfill your request.

Could a current student comment on the social dynamic at the school (Seattle specifically)? I came to UW undergrad OOS and found the Seattle freeze to be very real. People had their social groups and stuck to them, period. I love UW academically, but since med school will be the ages 24-28 for me, I want to be certain that building lasting friendships will be possible. (Just to prevent trollers, yes, I do know that you need to put an effort into making friends. Please take my question seriously!!!)

I'm asking BC of what some of the students on my interview day mentioned, but wanted to see a broader view from other students.
For me, I didn't notice much of a Seattle freeze for the medical school class. Lots of people did already have friends in Seattle and stuck to their groups from outside of medical school. From my experience it was mostly the UW alumni. But that makes sense since they had been there for multiple years. The other students had come to Seattle fresh and were open to making new friends to establish themselves. For second year, everyone pretty much had their group of friends.

However, I did specifically remember that making friends in my first year was a little more difficult than anticipated. I bounced around a little trying to feel people out and see who I actually was similar to. Personality wise everyone is a high achiever and you will be able to get along with. The school does a great job selecting people that can interact well together. The school does a decent job of making sure you have a small group of students that will stick together. Now I have my own little small group but we don't see each other as often due to 3rd year travel and time constraints.
 
Does anyone know the likelihood of getting the location you selected for the Foundations Phase?
 
Yeah. I live sort of adjacent to the U District and it's definitely true there are no budget options around here. There are pre-furnished "Apodments" in a few places that are like dorms and run $600/mo or so for a bedroom, but when I looked into those I found the company to be so hellacious to deal with that I don't know if I would recommend it. Studios will run you over a grand a month and the complexes rarely have any amenities, and no utilities included typically. And utilities here are expensive.

The cost of getting a place with multiple rooms or bedrooms is so much more, splitting it doesn't even end up costing much less than renting a studio alone. The cheapest option is probably to rent a single room in a larger place from someone.

For some perspective, I have a dog so most of the cheaper places won't rent to me. A tiny bedroom sized studio in a building that accepts dogs around UW runs $1400+ plus utilities per month, and will charge $500 for the dog non refundable plus two months rent deposit to move in, plus another $25-50/mo in "pet rent." They opened up a new building here that was meant to be "affordable housing for professionals" at UW and the cheapest studios were $1450 no utilities included. So that's what's considered a bargain around there.
So do you find that the budget they give you for COA covers that? It seems they give you just over $14k/year (1 and 2) for room and board.
 
So do you find that the budget they give you for COA covers that? It seems they give you just over $14k/year (1 and 2) for room and board.
I can't reliably answer that as I'm neither a current student nor living single (@BABSstudent is currently attending but is also in a shared household) but you would definitely need to scrap to make that budget work I would guess. Not sure what students normally do to make it fit other than roommates.
 
I can't reliably answer that as I'm neither a current student nor living single (@BABSstudent is currently attending but is also in a shared household) but you would definitely need to scrap to make that budget work I would guess. Not sure what students normally do to make it fit other than roommates.
It's tough. You only get financial aid for while you are in school. That means we got no aid for summer time except during 3rd/4th year since there is no summer break. Yet you still have rent due during those month so budgeting is key.

Obviously you have to find somewhere you can afford. If I remember correctly the budget is split into even thirds despite fall quarter being longer than the other quarters by 2 months, Aug-Dec which is 5 months. Money was super tight then. So you take all that into consideration.

And I did and still do have a roommate in addition to living with my wife. It's kind of a necessity for money purposes. Try to save money somehow since we are going to pay all this back with closer to 10% interest with the current fed rates.
 
A SUC email?
I take it you also don't have anything and are getting anxious? Because that's my situation and I've been obsessively checking to see if anyone else got SUCed all day.
 
I take it you also don't have anything and are getting anxious? Because that's my situation and I've been obsessively checking to see if anyone else got SUCed all day.

Yep, that's exactly where I'm at.
 
Yep, that's exactly where I'm at.
It's an anxious place. I keep checking here hoping some other people will chime in as having received/not received emails so I can get a sense for what's going on, but it's awfully quiet around here.
 
I mean, that's true and all, but let me know when you find a way to not think about things you can't change along with instructions for where I can send your Nobel prize.
 
I'll take one Nobel Peace Prize please 😀
Detail_StraightBourbon.png

I mean, that's true and all, but let me know when you find a way to not think about things you can't change along with instructions for where I can send your Nobel prize.
 
There may not be much that woodinville is known for, but our bourbon and wine does give us a wee sense of hometown pride.
 
There may not be much that woodinville is known for, but our bourbon and wine does give us a wee sense of hometown pride.
I am also a BIG fan of the barrel-aged maple syrup from the whisky distillery!
 
@timsk we might be neighbors!

Do you still live in woodinville? Are you from there? I was born and raised, graduated in 05, then moved to the "big" city to attend UW and have lived here (nearly) ever since 🙂

I am also a BIG fan of the barrel-aged maple syrup from the whisky distillery!

Soo good. And soo expensive. But that's what christmas stockings are for!
 
Do you still live in woodinville? Are you from there? I was born and raised, graduated in 05, then moved to the "big" city to attend UW and have lived here (nearly) ever since 🙂



Soo good. And soo expensive. But that's what christmas stockings are for!
Technically not in Woodinville but I live less than 5 minutes away from the whiskey company. I moved to the Eastside 5 years ago and met my husband in Woodinville so Woodinville is pretty special 🙂
 
That's funny, rumors must have already been going around because our med student guide said there were 40-50 seats in Spokane and I remembered thinking "there are only 20 seats in Spokane?" but didn't say anything.

They'd been rather tight on info about number of seats (I only knew from it being in the news last year) so I guess this explains why.


+Edit: anyone get any emails today? SUCs or otherwise?

I was under the impression that they were increasing the class size from 40 to 60 this year at the Spokane campus. One of my old professors teaches a few weeks in the Fall at the Spokane campus and he told me that they were trying to go for 60 this year but had not been approved yet. Also last year when I interviewed, I am fairly certain there were ~40 people in the Freshman class. I'm pumped for a larger size! Better odds of getting in!! :-D
 
I was under the impression that they were increasing the class size from 40 to 60 this year at the Spokane campus. One of my old professors teaches a few weeks in the Fall at the Spokane campus and he told me that they were trying to go for 60 this year but had not been approved yet. Also last year when I interviewed, I am fairly certain there were ~40 people in the Freshman class. I'm pumped for a larger size! Better odds of getting in!! :-D
Director of admissions, Stella Yee, confirmed last week that there will be 60 slots available in Spokane next year. 🙂
 
So funny story.... I received a secondary application today. No joke. Anyone else in my boat or am I all alone?? Great school, but I'm just staring at this thing like where did it come from and is it real? I'll probably call tomorrow and ask if it's even worth filling out, only to be eagerly assured that yes, of course I still have a shot! Because what else would they say.
 
Director of admissions, Stella Yee, confirmed last week that there will be 60 slots available in Spokane next year. 🙂
Dang, when I filled out my supplemental in August I was going back and forth between choosing Seattle vs spokane as my primary foundational site. Looks like I made the wrong decision! (at least in terms of admissions odds)
 
Does anyone remember when school starts in the fall? I couldn't find an academic calendar online that is specific to the med school. Trying to plan my final summer vacation as a free man!

EDIT: Hmm, looks like i was able to find it after all. According to this link it was August 24th in 2015. Assuming it'll be something similar in 2016. Guess that means i won't be returning to the playa this summer :'(

http://www.uwmedicine.org/education/md-program/current-students/student-affairs/orientation
 
Does anyone remember when school starts in the fall? I couldn't find an academic calendar online that is specific to the med school. Trying to plan my final summer vacation as a free man!

EDIT: Hmm, looks like i was able to find it after all. According to this link it was August 24th in 2015. Assuming it'll be something similar in 2016. Guess that means i won't be returning to the playa this summer :'(

http://www.uwmedicine.org/education/md-program/current-students/student-affairs/orientation

@timsk from what I can tell UW starts way later than many other schools (Case Western and Hawaii come to mind as a couple that start in early July, with many others starting in early August) so you actually have it way better than most of the country. I hope you are able to get your playa vacation anyway! If Seattle has another summer like this year's, you may even be sick of the sun come the end of August 🤣
 
@timsk from what I can tell UW starts way later than many other schools (Case Western and Hawaii come to mind as a couple that start in early July, with many others starting in early August) so you actually have it way better than most of the country. I hope you are able to get your playa vacation anyway! If Seattle has another summer like this year's, you may even be sick of the sun come the end of August 🤣
Yep. UW is one of the latest medical schools to start. So going here actually maximizes your summer!
 
Still in limbo after doing the mission statment back in sept. I'm OOR so not sure what's up timing wise. I got the email back in November saying 8-10 weeks to review them with a secondary offer or rejection at that point. Pushing into week 12. When did you submit your mission statement or are you in state?


Jlimbo post: 17232045 said:
So funny story.... I received a secondary application today. No joke. Anyone else in my boat or am I all alone?? Great school, but I'm just staring at this thing like where did it come from and is it real? I'll probably call tomorrow and ask if it's even worth filling out, only to be eagerly assured that yes, of course I still have a shot! Because what else would they say.
 
Dang, when I filled out my supplemental in August I was going back and forth between choosing Seattle vs spokane as my primary foundational site. Looks like I made the wrong decision! (at least in terms of admissions odds)
Well the irony is if you get interviewed in Seattle, you can still get waitlisted for Spokane. Plus, I have heard that if you get waitlisted in Seattle you are guaranteed to get in even though they may only have a spot for you at the Spokane campus.... But if you pick Spokane for phase one on your app or "no preference", you will NOT get waitlisted for the Seattle cohort, actually I'm not even sure if you can get waitlisted at all since they have promised that they will have a response for people who have interviewed in Spokane within a week of their most recent interview. Hope that makes sense. The point is, it's still really tough to get an acceptance call no matter which location you pick. Each site has its own nuisances and the culture of each is very unique.
 
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