2015-2016 University of Wisconsin Application Thread

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Ismet

Ismet

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The Admissions Committee takes many factors into consideration when reviewing your application. A successful applicant is frequently one who communicates what makes them exceptional and why they will become an outstanding physician. You are invited but not required to provide additional information in this essay. Some applicants tell us about hardships and challenges that they have faced in their lives and how these experiences have helped them become caring and compassionate individuals. Other applicants use this space to emphasize a particular passion they have related to their future career in medicine. If you are not a resident of Wisconsin, you may want to tell us why you are interested in the University of Wisconsin or about a special connection that you may have to our state or people who live here. Our goal is to gain insight into you as a unique applicant. You may include anything in this essay that you feel is relevant. (Limit response to 500 words.)

Good luck to everyone applying! :luck:
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Love this school but wish they took more OOS. Gonna roll the dice here anyway *fingers crossed*
 
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Hey guys! I am a UWSMPH student currently doing research and traveling (Im btw M1 and M2) so if you have any questions feel free to tag me in a post here and I will answer to the best of my ability! Hopefully a couple of the new M1s can take over Q&A things here during the school year when I'll be buried in more research and books and then board material.

I chose UWSMPH over several other acceptances and have zero regrets in doing so. It is an amazing school that you should all be really excited to apply to. I was really involved last year in student government, curriculum review and transformation, medical mission trip planning, etc. so I have pretty good insight into how the school runs (at least regarding the pre-clinical years). I have also lived in Madison for 5 years now so I should be able to answer most questions about the area and the city in general.

Good luck with the cycle everyone :luck:
 
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Hello everyone! I am an incoming M1 and hope to be of help to you all this cycle. I have not started school yet so I won't be as helpful as @kittykattat, but I would be more than happy to share why I am so excited about this school and why it was by far my #1 choice. Hopefully I can be of more help as the cycle progresses! Tag me in post or PM me with any questions you may have for me. On Wisconsin!
 
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I am not a student at UWSMPH, but I stop in here (the only school I do this for besides my current institution :) ) every year just to say this is a fantastic, well-respected school with a wonderful admissions staff in an affordable AND desirable city. Also, at least when I applied, tuition was amazing.

I had the pleasure of interviewing at this school 3 years ago - and it still leaves me with solid memories of positive vibes.

Good luck.... and on, Wisconsin.
 
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Thinking of applying here OOS from CA. I had a question for current students. How are the opportunities working with underserved populations? How is the diversity? Thanks.
 
brommanders said:
Thinking of applying here OOS from CA. I had a question for current students. How are the opportunities working with underserved populations? How is the diversity? Thanks.
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Hello!

I am an incoming M2 from CA, having worked extensively to continue enhancing diversity within our curriculum and campus overall this past year through my leadership roles. I know this question comes up every year, especially from those who have never been to Wisconsin or are coming from diverse states like NY, CA, etc, so hopefully my 2 cents can encourage a lot of you to seriously give the school a shot/consider even leaving your home state! I apologize in advance for the lengthy read lol

One thing you have to acknowledge first is that the Midwest is different in its diversity issues and health disparities from the west or east coast. The immigrant diaspora is different, as well as its underlying infrastructure, which is reflected in its unique demographic and current underserved concerns. With that being said, the school and state are rich with a history that you may not see when just looking at the surface of numbers/one facet of diversity (e.g. Only Race/ethnicity). You simply cannot compare this school/state to CA and dismiss it as "less diverse" because there is so much intersectionality between race/ethnicity and poverty/class, segregation/differences in health outcomes across diff. Demographics, mental health, chronic health, drug abuse, etc out here.

As a result, there is still an extensive need for providers who can work with various minority and underrepresented communities in WI, which range from immigrant, Spanish speaking, Hmong/Southeast Asian, Native American, and Black populations. They may be present in smaller numbers compared to some states, but they are definitely here throughout WI (esp. Milwaukee and Madison) and need just as many future healthcare leaders devoted to providing culturally sensitive and quality care as any underserved population one can find in CA.

To make a long story short, you will have countless opportunities to pursue experiences in this direction, work alongside like minded faculty, physicians, and peers through free student run clinics, student orgs/interest groups, preceptorship, curriculum programs such as TRIUMPH and PRIME, and so forth. UWSMPH allows you the flexibility to be as involved as you can/want with the surrounding community, and the potential to be the first of many "trailblazers" to help address an issue or need that others haven't previously considered. I can speak about this for hours, so feel free to PM me if you all have other questions!
 
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Frazier said:
I am not a student at UWSMPH, but I stop in here (the only school I do this for besides my current institution :) ) every year just to say this is a fantastic, well-respected school with a wonderful admissions staff in an affordable AND desirable city. Also, at least when I applied, tuition was amazing.

I had the pleasure of interviewing at this school 3 years ago - and it still leaves me with solid memories of positive vibes.

Good luck.... and on, Wisconsin.
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Thanks @Frazier !! Also great to get endorsement from students at other institutions. You definitely deserve honorary member of the UWSMPH community status ;) And hey, if you want to come to Madison there's always residency !!

For those of you wondering, tuition went up 2k for IS and 3k for OOS in the last 10 years, and this was after Frazier interviewed, so slightly higher but still one of the most affordable schools in the country (probably the cheapest after the Texas publics, UNC and UMass if I remember correctly).

Also, to echo @Jennyfishy above, for those of you interested in working with diverse and/or underserved communities, there are many more opportunities to do so than one might assume just looking at Wisconsin from the surface. Jennyfishy and I are great examples that if you ONLY want to do extracurriculars, volunteering, shadowing, etc. in the realm of diverse populations you can totally do that and still won't have enough hours in the day to take advantage of all of the orgs and opportunities here. If this sounds like you too, definitely consider applying here because like most medical schools, UW could always use more students dedicated to serving the underserved (and our admissions committee knows this too ;))
 
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secondary submitted, hoping for some OOS love with an early submission! good luck to everyone
 
prompts: have to put all work/activities/life events done since high school (basically repeat of work /activities from AMCAS)

and the optional prompt

The Admissions Committee takes many factors into consideration when reviewing your application. A successful applicant is frequently one who communicates what makes them exceptional and why they will become an outstanding physician. You are invited but not required to provide additional information in this essay. Some applicants tell us about hardships and challenges that they have faced in their lives and how these experiences have helped them become caring and compassionate individuals. Other applicants use this space to emphasize a particular passion they have related to their future career in medicine. If you are not a resident of Wisconsin, you may want to tell us why you are interested in the University of Wisconsin or about a special connection that you may have to our state or people who live here. Our goal is to gain insight into you as a unique applicant. You may include anything in this essay that you feel is relevant. (Limit response to 500 words.)

@Heisenberg 41
 
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Is it true that in-state residents can only submit their secondary application starting August 15...?
 
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For the work/activities prompt, are y'all doing it as a narrative where you explain what you learned from each activity, or more of a bare-bones, resume style?
 
starlite911 said:
For the work/activities prompt, are y'all doing it as a narrative where you explain what you learned from each activity, or more of a bare-bones, resume style?
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In the attached info section (or maybe faq) they state that they would like a list. It's basically like a rehash of your amcas.
 
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Hupsty said:
In the attached info section (or maybe faq) they state that they would like a list. It's basically like a rehash of your amcas.
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Thanks so much! I did not catch this
 
Hupsty said:
In the attached info section (or maybe faq) they state that they would like a list. It's basically like a rehash of your amcas.
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So just copy and paste the titles of our activities from AMCAS?
Or a list, with a paragraph for each entry? (From AMCAS?)
 
ChillDawg said:
So just copy and paste the titles of our activities from AMCAS?
Or a list, with a paragraph for each entry? (From AMCAS?)
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If you look at the actual application, it looks very similar to AMCAS, with a place to enter a "brief description" about each activity you add. It's not a huge narrative box, which I would have known had I made it that far before asking my question!
 
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starlite911 said:
If you look at the actual application, it looks very similar to AMCAS, with a place to enter a "brief description" about each activity you add. It's not a huge narrative box, which I would have known had I made it that far before asking my question!
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Sorry, I haven't seen it yet because I haven't added MCW to my school list yet.

Are people just copy and pasting from their AMCAS? Is that okay?
 
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No apology necessary, I did the same thing! I think it depends on how you phrased your descriptions on AMCAS. Wisconsin says a 2-4 sentence description, which makes it seem like they want the bare bones of what you did, not necessarily how it impacted you. I know some people include the latter on their AMCAS descriptions.

EDIT: In the FAQ, it also says they are aware there will be repetition
 
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Is the optional essay really optional? I've seen other posts talk about how optional essays are a place to discuss somethings like a really bad semester or something along those lines. I don't have too much else to say, and I don't want to waste the admission committee's times. But I definitely don't want to submit if they are expecting an essay.
 
Pleasantly surprised the fee was only $56. You go, WisCo-Co :cool:
 
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Submitted! Hopefully they'll get my letter put in soon!
 
Applying OOS, but to MD/PhD, as a Marquette undergrad, and with strong family ties so hopefully that won't be the reason my app is shot down. Madison is an absolutely amazing city and the school is one of the best.
 
Starting school in august here
The admission committee hasn't even processed our transcripts yet...so be patient yall ;)

off the facebook page:
Hi all, we are trying hard to finish things up with your class, and new apps are rolling in for the next class. If you haven't been in OASIS to put your pre-med courses in please do so. It is extremely helpful for us as we try to figure out all of these different transcripts and course numbers. Thanks so much. Have a great weekend!
 
I'm applying OOS (Illinois), 34 MCAT, 3.92 GPA
They seem to have a relatively low number of applicants (5000), is this because it's a state school? Do I have much of a chance as OOS?
 
TurknJDandJD said:
I'm applying OOS (Illinois), 34 MCAT, 3.92 GPA
They seem to have a relatively low number of applicants (5000), is this because it's a state school? Do I have much of a chance as OOS?
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5000 is pretty similar to a lot of schools unless you're comparing to schools like Drexel, GWU, Temple...

But you're right about the low OOS acceptance rate - 4000/5000 is OOS and that has to be then cut down to about 200 IIs. In other words, we have to look for other reasons beyond stats to consider for OOSers. You'll never know unless you apply ;)
 
I'm applying OOS from Florida with stats on the lower end. Is it significantly more competitive for OOS? Is it even worth it?
 
Elizabeth Bennet said:
I'm applying OOS from Florida with stats on the lower end. Is it significantly more competitive for OOS? Is it even worth it?
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50% of IS applicants receive an interview, and that number is about 5% for OOS applicants.

Edit: My stats are on the higher end, and my advisor urged me not to apply, but I did anyways :shrug:. If you really like the school, I'd go ahead and give it a shot! But if you're merely looking to add more schools, I'd focus on ones that are more OOS friendly.
 
Just received an II as an OOS applicant!
 
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Also received an II this morning! OOS as well. Just finished my last secondary yesterday, so I guess it's time to start preparing for interview questions!
 
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Getting ready to submit this bad boy on Saturday as IS and pumped because it's my state school and number 1 choice!
 
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Pastamahn said:
Getting ready to submit this bad boy on Saturday as IS and pumped because it's my state school and number 1 choice!
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Right -same here! The only IIs to date would have been OOS, since IS applicants cannot submit until 8/15. I'll be checking at midnight!
 
What are you guys thinking to put/have put for the additional information essay?
 
Congrats to all you OOS folks who got interviews! Sitting here in WI anxiously waiting to submit.........
 
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