2015-2016 Virginia Commonwealth University Application Thread

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rachiie01 said:
I appreciate you posting this (a lot) but it kind of adds to my frustration haha. My MCAT is solid and I have tons of clinical experience (literally thousands of hours of 1:1 with patients). I spent a lot of time on my secondary and thought this school and I would be a good fit for each other. My application just hasn't been given the time of day. I understand there is backlog but two months just to review an application that was submitted in the first two weeks- before any backlog- is concerning.
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I am going to guess you're non-traditional? My MCAT is pretty solid (10/section) and i have a 3.7-3.8 GPA. I honestly thought they'd show me some more love because although i don't have as much as you in clinical experience (300 hrs), I make up for it with research and I honestly thought that working at two REUs would tip the scales in my favor.....

I am sorry I shouldn't so neurotic, because it's contagious, but I spent an honest 1.5 weeks 4 hrs/day on the secondary so this is why VCU and Wayne mean so much to me... I probably spent teh mmost time on those two with TCMC, UA-Phoenix, and Crerighton at a close second
 
awetmop said:
I am going to guess you're non-traditional? My MCAT is pretty solid (10/section) and i have a 3.7-3.8 GPA. I honestly thought they'd show me some more love because although i don't have as much as you in clinical experience (300 hrs), I make up for it with research and I honestly thought that working at two REUs would tip the scales in my favor.....

I am sorry I shouldn't so neurotic, because it's contagious, but I spent an honest 1.5 weeks 4 hrs/day on the secondary so this is why VCU and Wayne mean so much to me... I probably spent teh mmost time on those two with TCMC, UA-Phoenix, and Crerighton at a close second
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I graduated a couple of years ago so I guess non-trad? I haven't been out of school that long. I have a few years in bench research from when I was in college but I work in clinical research now. Doesn't seem to matter too much here haha.
 
I wanted to update you guys on my situation because it is so incredibly frustrating and I wanted to see if anyone else is in my boat. I submitted my PRE-secondary (LizzyM ~71) around July 23rd. I have not heard back since then. No word on whether or not I will be receiving a secondary. I called for the second time this morning and the woman I spoke to in admissions was actually extremely rude and condescending. Coming up on 8 weeks without a secondary to even submit to this school is really really unacceptable in my opinion, and given the apparent lack of organization going on here, I'm not sure I even want to apply anymore.
 
maybedeadcat said:
I wanted to update you guys on my situation because it is so incredibly frustrating and I wanted to see if anyone else is in my boat. I submitted my PRE-secondary (LizzyM ~71) around July 23rd. I have not heard back since then. No word on whether or not I will be receiving a secondary. I called for the second time this morning and the woman I spoke to in admissions was actually extremely rude and condescending. Coming up on 8 weeks without a secondary to even submit to this school is really really unacceptable in my opinion, and given the apparent lack of organization going on here, I'm not sure I even want to apply anymore.
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I know they do a holistic pre-secondary screen, so there's a chance you may have been screened out, unfortunately. I'm not sure if they send out notifications to applicants that don't pass the screen. Nevertheless, there are a few people in this thread that have reported that the admissions office has been backlogged pretty severely due to more applications than expected. It's hard to say what might be going on in your case, but I'm not sure if there's anything else to do but sit and wait :/
 
believe <3 said:
For anyone waiting on VCU, I just spoke to Dr. Whitehurst-Cook in person and she gave a few pieces of valuable information which I hope will make some of you less anxious. Basically, VCU tries their hardest to interview every single VA applicant they think is competitive. She said that they unfortunately cannot do the same with out-of-staters, because they get like 7000 apps. Also, she mentioned they currently have ~9000 apps, and the school is experiencing a backlog. That could be why it is taking so long for II invites. Dr. Cook likes to read all essays for herself before II are offered, so she is very busy! In addition, I asked her what MCAT is deemed competitive at their school and she mentioned that VCU considers a 506-507 to be an old 30, and that if an applicant had a 510, they are good to go for their school. They also require SAT scores and she mentioned that if you have a strong SAT score, but a lower MCAT score, it kind of compensates in a way for the low MCAT because at least adcoms know you can handle standardized tests. Also, this school is BIG on clinical experience. They expect their average accepted applicant to have a minimum of ~200 hrs. of hands-on clinical experience and shadowing combined. Apparently, hospice is not considered clinical unless you are actually caring for patients (taking vital signs, feeding, dressing, etc.) instead of simply playing games or chatting with them. Also one thing I found interesting is that when you designate on AMCAS the number of hours spent per week for an activity, it shows up as ZERO on VCU's system. So Dr. Cook said to make sure you write the number of hrs/week in the activity description on your primary so they know for sure.

Hope this helps!
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We indicate total hours on the AMCAS now and not hours/week. So of course hours/week shows as 0 because we don't have the option of filling that out anymore.

Can't they just do elementary math to figure out hours/week by just dividing our total hours from our total time commitment? Lol VCU, don't reject me... > _> "
 
flather201 said:
I know they do a holistic pre-secondary screen, so there's a chance you may have been screened out, unfortunately. I'm not sure if they send out notifications to applicants that don't pass the screen. Nevertheless, there are a few people in this thread that have reported that the admissions office has been backlogged pretty severely due to more applications than expected. It's hard to say what might be going on in your case, but I'm not sure if there's anything else to do but sit and wait :/
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I'm aware of the holistic screen. When I talked to admissions today I was told that my application has not even been looked at yet and that it could be "another 8 to 12 weeks." So I don't think I've been screened out.
 
I just called.

They are telling applicants that it will take 8-12 weeks to have an application processed because they are backlogged right now. I asked if they were receptive to in the area requests because I will be traveling to Virginia from out of state and I've been holding off on making travel arrangements until my app is reviewed. I was told that they cannot accommodate applicant requests until they've reached the stage of being interviewed.

I'm less than thrilled. I submitted my application within a week of receiving my secondary so that it wouldn't take 2-3 months to have my application looked at. I knew that I would be in the area in 1-2 months from now and I've done everything I can to make sure I had enough time to be reviewed and schedule a potential interview during the time I would be there, so as to minimize travel expenses and time away from work. I feel like my application is nothing more than a number to them.
 
rachiie01 said:
I just called.

They are telling applicants that it will take 8-12 weeks to have an application processed because they are backlogged right now. I asked if they were receptive to in the area requests because I will be traveling to Virginia from out of state and I've been holding off on making travel arrangements until my app is reviewed. I was told that they cannot accommodate applicant requests until they've reached the stage of being interviewed.

I'm less than thrilled. I submitted my application within a week of receiving my secondary so that it wouldn't take 2-3 months to have my application looked at. I knew that I would be in the area in 1-2 months from now and I've done everything I can to make sure I had enough time to be reviewed and schedule a potential interview during the time I would be there, so as to minimize travel expenses and time away from work. I feel like my application is nothing more than a number to them.
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How does it take 3 months to review a one-page personal statement, half-page secondary prompt, and a CV??!

😵->:scared: -->:nailbiting:
 
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rachiie01 said:
I just called.

They are telling applicants that it will take 8-12 weeks to have an application processed because they are backlogged right now. I asked if they were receptive to in the area requests because I will be traveling to Virginia from out of state and I've been holding off on making travel arrangements until my app is reviewed. I was told that they cannot accommodate applicant requests until they've reached the stage of being interviewed.

I'm less than thrilled. I submitted my application within a week of receiving my secondary so that it wouldn't take 2-3 months to have my application looked at. I knew that I would be in the area in 1-2 months from now and I've done everything I can to make sure I had enough time to be reviewed and schedule a potential interview during the time I would be there, so as to minimize travel expenses and time away from work. I feel like my application is nothing more than a number to them.
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Welp,

this makes me not feel bad about lollygagging on returning this secondary.
 
At this point I should just stay away from SDN this is just becoming debilitating and disheartening... I think I am going to be inactive from the forums until my next II or another month.... whichever comes earlier.

At this point... I am not gonna stare blindly at my hotmail for responses - only to be disappointed that my inbox is full of ads from Ebay. I think I'll just enjoy every minute of my senior year and brush up on my judo...

As i say... fuhgeddaboudit

Edit: I'll still lurk from time to time but that's it...
 
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rachiie01 said:
I just called.

They are telling applicants that it will take 8-12 weeks to have an application processed because they are backlogged right now. I asked if they were receptive to in the area requests because I will be traveling to Virginia from out of state and I've been holding off on making travel arrangements until my app is reviewed. I was told that they cannot accommodate applicant requests until they've reached the stage of being interviewed.

I'm less than thrilled. I submitted my application within a week of receiving my secondary so that it wouldn't take 2-3 months to have my application looked at. I knew that I would be in the area in 1-2 months from now and I've done everything I can to make sure I had enough time to be reviewed and schedule a potential interview during the time I would be there, so as to minimize travel expenses and time away from work. I feel like my application is nothing more than a number to them.
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That sucks, I would be pretty upset if I were you 🙁 When were you complete?
 
Coming up on a month now with no secondary... hoping VCU will show me some love sometime soon 🙁
 
catie_jane said:
Coming up on a month now with no secondary... hoping VCU will show me some love sometime soon 🙁
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Wow,they must be really backed up then. For what it's worth, I submitted my primary 8/11 and received the secondary the next day. The rush must have been overwhelming. Btw, good luck fellow July test taker 😉
 
studentdocftw said:
Wow,they must be really backed up then. For what it's worth, I submitted my primary 8/11 and received the secondary the next day. The rush must have been overwhelming. Btw, good luck fellow July test taker 😉
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I submitted mine on 8/19 so I feel like something may be wrong... 🙁

Good luck to you as well 🙂
 
studentdocftw said:
Yeah, 1 week later shouldn't result in a 1 month delay...seems suspicious.
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I already called them and they told me 6-12 weeks so I guess I should just be patient. I already pre-wrote this one though so I was excited to submit!
 
catie_jane said:
I already called them and they told me 6-12 weeks so I guess I should just be patient. I already pre-wrote this one though so I was excited to submit!
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I'm assuming some sort of infrastructure failure...maybe with the secondary submission portal? Idk...even with an influx of applicants, I could see delaying the review process post secondary submission, but just to get the secondary out? hmm...but all you can do is be patient, considering the post secondary people haven't really heard much either.
 
catie_jane said:
I submitted mine on 8/19 so I feel like something may be wrong... 🙁

Good luck to you as well 🙂
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I mean, there's clearly something wrong, but it's not specific to you...we're all in the same boat, so hold tight! 😛
 
mehc012 said:
I mean, there's clearly something wrong, but it's not specific to you...we're all in the same boat, so hold tight! 😛
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I made it through all my other heavy screening schools (except 1), so hopefully I'll make it through theirs as well!
 
Hello everyone, I would like to share my application experience so far.

OOS, non traditional, average MCAT, strong EC

Submitted primary application to VCU on Sept 1st, received secondary invitation on Sept 9th, secondary application submitted on Sept 15th. Looking forward to hearing from the program soon!
 
Jay_W said:
Hello everyone, I would like to share my application experience so far.

OOS, non traditional, average MCAT, strong EC

Submitted primary application to VCU on Sept 1st, received secondary invitation on Sept 9th, secondary application submitted on Sept 15th. Looking forward to hearing from the program soon!
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@catie_jane Not a good sign.
 
I applied 8/19 and got my secondary on 8/28. It came as an email and all it said was that I had a status update. Then the secondary was in the student portal to fill out.
 
Yes, I noticed that as well so I called the admissions office today. She states that they work after hours and that as soon as someone "touches" my file I will have an update on my portal. Made it seem that no one has even reviewed it yet

@studentdocftw
 
catie_jane said:
Yes, I noticed that as well so I called the admissions office today. She states that they work after hours and that as soon as someone "touches" my file I will have an update on my portal. Made it seem that no one has even reviewed it yet

@studentdocftw
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"Oops" @catie_jane I know it's unlikely, but you may want to do a search for "VCU" in your email. It is possible you may have overlooked or missed the email?
 
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studentdocftw said:
"Oops" @catie_jane I know it's unlikely, but you may want to do a search for "VCU" in your email. It is possible you may have overlooked or missed the email?
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Trust me, I've tried that as well. That happened to me with WVU secondary and I almost missed the deadline. No luck for VCU unfortunately 🙁
 
catie_jane said:
Trust me, I've tried that as well. That happened to me with WVU secondary and I almost missed the deadline. No luck for VCU unfortunately 🙁
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It it makes you feel any better, I'm in the same boat as you-- IS with a 508 MCAT, 3.79 AMCAS GPA, and 2,000+ patient contact clinical hours. My primary was verified 8/13 and I'm still waiting for a secondary. I would be really surprised if I was screened out!
 
Has anyone OOS gotten an interview or even had their file reviewed after submitting the secondary?
 
mcatjelly said:
It it makes you feel any better, I'm in the same boat as you-- IS with a 508 MCAT, 3.79 AMCAS GPA, and 2,000+ patient contact clinical hours. My primary was verified 8/13 and I'm still waiting for a secondary. I would be really surprised if I was screened out!
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509 MCAt, 3.96 GPA, research/publications, and just about the same amount of patient care/clinical hours. Hopefully they will get to us soon
 
From the portal:

"09/17/2015
VCU SOM is processing all primary applications and supplemental applications received so far. Do to the very large volume received and the time taken to review each application at each stage it may take a few weeks to catch up. Thank you for your continued interest in VCU and for your patience."
 
mcatjelly said:
From the portal:

"09/17/2015
VCU SOM is processing all primary applications and supplemental applications received so far. Do to the very large volume received and the time taken to review each application at each stage it may take a few weeks to catch up. Thank you for your continued interest in VCU and for your patience."
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I still don't even have that message 🙁 hahah
 
mcatjelly said:
From the portal:

"09/17/2015
VCU SOM is processing all primary applications and supplemental applications received so far. Do to the very large volume received and the time taken to review each application at each stage it may take a few weeks to catch up. Thank you for your continued interest in VCU and for your patience."
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lol they spelled due wrong? :laugh:
Real talk: I appreciate the update though and the effort to provide some transparency.
 
I have to say, VCU isn't any farther behind than the other schools on my list, to my knowledge...except that they made the effort to be transparent. I haven't heard anything from 20 other schools, either, but at those schools there are no updates from 'complete' to 'interview/reject!' so I don't worry about it.

I guess what I'm saying is, I am officially going to stop being impatient and @#$@ing here, and that maybe I feel bad for being harder on VCU when they actually put more effort into transparency on the process than most of the other places I've seen. :shrug:
 
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