2015-2016 West Virginia University Application Thread

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I just submitted my secondary/paid the fee. Is there any sort of confirmation email?

Is it usually a quick turn for interview/hold/rejection around after submitting?

Edit: As a side note.. their admission office is incredibly nice/helpful. I called and told them that my secondary had gotten lost in my email (for 12 days) and they were willing to extend the deadline over the weekend for me. Luckily I was able to get it done by today and didn't need it but it was very kind of them to consider that for me! 🙂
 
I just submitted my secondary/paid the fee. Is there any sort of confirmation email?

Is it usually a quick turn for interview/hold/rejection around after submitting?

Edit: As a side note.. their admission office is incredibly nice/helpful. I called and told them that my secondary had gotten lost in my email (for 12 days) and they were willing to extend the deadline over the weekend for me. Luckily I was able to get it done by today and didn't need it but it was very kind of them to consider that for me! 🙂

Insanely quick, once I had my secondary, I knew about my II in like...two or three days after.
 
I just submitted my secondary/paid the fee. Is there any sort of confirmation email?

Is it usually a quick turn for interview/hold/rejection around after submitting?

Edit: As a side note.. their admission office is incredibly nice/helpful. I called and told them that my secondary had gotten lost in my email (for 12 days) and they were willing to extend the deadline over the weekend for me. Luckily I was able to get it done by today and didn't need it but it was very kind of them to consider that for me! 🙂
Got my II less than 24 hours after submitting secondary haha
 
@piii @ciestar I guess I will be checking my email consistently for the next couple of days :nailbiting:

From my understanding (from talking to admissions on the phone), if you receive a secondary and submit it within the time constraint, you will get an interview. They screen so heavily on the primary that they only send 2ndaries to those they want to interview. The woman who sends out the II after the secondary has been submitted has been out of her office so there was a bit of a back up, there might be some delays I'm guessing. Don't hold me to that, but that was how I took it. Hope that takes off the edge a bit.
 
From my understanding (from talking to admissions on the phone), if you receive a secondary and submit it within the time constraint, you will get an interview. They screen so heavily on the primary that they only send 2ndaries to those they want to interview. The woman who sends out the II after the secondary has been submitted has been out of her office so there was a bit of a back up, there might be some delays I'm guessing. Don't hold me to that, but that was how I took it. Hope that takes off the edge a bit.

I really like that they do this- wish all schools would adopt a similar policy haha
 
Quick questions: I know most OOSers are waitlisted before receiving any acceptance but is it possible to get an acceptance right away instead of first being placed on the waitlist? Has this happened in the past with OOSers? Finally, for those accepted OOSers that were placed on the waitlist, when did their status change around (December?.. May?)?

Thanks!
 
Quick questions: I know most OOSers are waitlisted before receiving any acceptance but is it possible to get an acceptance right away instead of first being placed on the waitlist? Has this happened in the past with OOSers? Finally, for those accepted OOSers that were placed on the waitlist, when did their status change around (December?.. May?)?

Thanks!

+1 would like to know as well
 
Someone previously posted on this thread that they received an acceptance without being waitlisted. And they were OOS.
 
Quick questions: I know most OOSers are waitlisted before receiving any acceptance but is it possible to get an acceptance right away instead of first being placed on the waitlist? Has this happened in the past with OOSers? Finally, for those accepted OOSers that were placed on the waitlist, when did their status change around (December?.. May?)?

Thanks!
Yes, it can happen! It's just more the exception that the rule. Most people don't get off the waitlist until May. There have been a few that get off earlier though. They don't stop doing interviews until February-ish so I wouldn't expect anything until after that and probably not until May. Hope this helps!
 
Yes, it can happen! It's just more the exception that the rule. Most people don't get off the waitlist until May. There have been a few that get off earlier though. They don't stop doing interviews until February-ish so I wouldn't expect anything until after that and probably not until May. Hope this helps!

Thanks for letting me know!
 
II today! OOS applicant completed around a week ago.

Jan 15 interview time. One of the earliest options, so I guess they're handing out II like hotcakes
 
II as well! OOS. January 14th was the earliest option.

My committee letter is going to uploaded today so hopefully I will hear back from other schools soon!
 
What is the deal with the MedStay program people are talking about? I didn't see anything mentioned in the email?

Edit: Nvm
 
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MedStay was great!! I highly recommend it. I think I learned more about the school from my MedStay host than I did from the entire interview day (not that the interview day wasn't informative, just that my host was phenomenal).
 
MedStay was great!! I highly recommend it. I think I learned more about the school from my MedStay host than I did from the entire interview day (not that the interview day wasn't informative, just that my host was phenomenal).


That's good to hear!
 
MedStay was great!! I highly recommend it. I think I learned more about the school from my MedStay host than I did from the entire interview day (not that the interview day wasn't informative, just that my host was phenomenal).
Did you interview today?
 
current news for this cycle: WVU has received 3800 apps for this year so far with 10 weeks to go. last year the total received was 4000. all interview spots are full except for the last 200.

good luck to all
 
I interviewed here recently. Overall, I learned a lot about the school and my experience was very informative and positive. Everyone is really kind and supportive, and that seems to be the culture of West Virginia as a whole. The students seemed pretty happy and like they genuinely cared for one another's well-being, which is what I'm looking for in a medical school. I could definitely see myself attending here.

Pros:
- Exams are every three weeks and are scheduled on Fridays. Second semester of first year is anatomy, with an exam after 5 weeks with a quiz halfway through. There is no class the Thursday before an exam to allow for studying. The weekends after exams usually have "block parties" or some type of social gathering to allow students to unwind and socialize with one another. This seemed like the ideal set up for me.
- Pass/Fail
- Lectures are all recorded via Camtasia and attendance is not required (except for a few classes).
- Rural health rotations allow for a lot more autonomy than you will get in a major hospital where you have to compete with residents and such for assisting on procedures.
- Lots of outdoor activities! Zip-lining, hiking, white water rafting, etc is all available. This is HUGE for me.
- Scholarships are now available for students who perform well academically in their first two years. I think the med students said it was something like $10,000/year, so it's a small dent but it helps nonetheless.
- Excellent clinical rotations if you're interested in primary care or OB/GYN. The Charleston and Eastern campuses are very rural, which means that you're doing a lot more as a med student than you would otherwise expect. For context, one of our tour guides said that she delivered a baby during her rural rotation.
- If you're willing to practice in WV (I think it's primarily family med) for 4 years after your residency, you can receive $20,000/year in scholarship. I believe you can go anywhere you like for residency still, you just have to return post-residency to fulfill your obligation.
- West Virginia has a pretty large drug problem that the medical school is attempting to address. I had no idea that the drug problem was as significant as it is, but I think this is good exposure for medical students. The medical school began a needle exchange program and the students seemed very dedicated to working towards resolution. Everyone was very well oriented to the needs of their local community.

Cons:
- Transplants are not done in West Virginia, except for liver transplants which are only done at one campus (I believe Charleston, but don't quote me on that). This would be a huge drawback for me if I was interested in surgery at all (I'm not lol).
- OOS tuition is pretty high with pretty much no chance or changing to IS once you matriculate.
- Each of the three campuses has its pro's and con's, which left me feeling like none of them was the ideal place to do rotations. Everyone recommended rotating at Morgantown but I like the level of autonomy you get at the other locations. That said, anything critical is going to get transferred to Morgantown, so there's that. As far as Eastern is concerned, it sounded like students were incredibly well-prepared clinically because they had so much responsibility as med students, but they didn't get as much in-patient experience as their Morgantown counterparts (because in-patients are usually transferred).
- While the curriculum is P/F, the students are ranked, which will be known when applying for residencies. 75% on an exam is "passing", but if you're scoring 75-80% it sounds like you'll be in the bottom quartile of the class. You can also get honors for being in the top 1o or 15% of the class, but it sounded like the students that scored honors on the first exam all scored 100% on it lol.
 
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^ Just as a heads up so no one gets too excited haha, I wouldn't bet on the $10,000 scholarship. I'm in top quartile and I've never even heard of it lol. Not to say it doesn't exist, but it's probably very, very selective. Theres a $10,000 loan you can take out through the school that has less interest, is that what they were talking about? Everything else is spot on! Honors is indeed very hard to get. I've only gotten it once in a small class that doesn't mean much haha and I've had As in I think all other classes except one. I think the honors average is usually over 95%. Students are not very competitive though, I literally have no idea who gets honors and who is at the bottom of the class. I think that says a lot about the relaxed environment at WVU. I'm glad you have a good interview day! 🙂
 
^ Just as a heads up so no one gets too excited haha, I wouldn't bet on the $10,000 scholarship. I'm in top quartile and I've never even heard of it lol. Not to say it doesn't exist, but it's probably very, very selective. Theres a $10,000 loan you can take out through the school that has less interest, is that what they were talking about? Everything else is spot on! Honors is indeed very hard to get. I've only gotten it once in a small class that doesn't mean much haha and I've had As in I think all other classes except one. I think the honors average is usually over 95%. Students are not very competitive though, I literally have no idea who gets honors and who is at the bottom of the class. I think that says a lot about the relaxed environment at WVU. I'm glad you have a good interview day! 🙂
Actually I think I bombed my interview but thanks! Haha.
It sounded like there were only about 10 scholarships handed out to students, and since you've never heard of it I'm guessing that's total and not per class.
@Mountaineer12 can elaborate on the different campuses at all?
 
@Mountaineer12 can elaborate on the different campuses at all?
Morgantown is the main campus. Pros: you don't have to move!, it's a pretty big hospital. Cons: there's a lot of residents, interns, 4th years, etc. that you have to compete with to get to do anything.

Charlestown is the second biggest. Pros: not a college town, less people so you get to do more. Cons: you have to move, there's not as much to do as there is in Morgantown, the hospitals are spread around the city.

Martinsburg is small, only like 10 people go there. Pros: very small so you get to do a lot, near DC, Hagerstown, Wincester. Cons: have to move, not many classmates there, very small hospital.

Hope that helps!
 
Actually I think I bombed my interview but thanks! Haha.
It sounded like there were only about 10 scholarships handed out to students, and since you've never heard of it I'm guessing that's total and not per class.
@Mountaineer12 can elaborate on the different campuses at all?

Why do you think you bombed it?? Unexpected questions?
 
Actually I think I bombed my interview but thanks! Haha.
It sounded like there were only about 10 scholarships handed out to students, and since you've never heard of it I'm guessing that's total and not per class.
@Mountaineer12 can elaborate on the different campuses at all?

Would like to know why you think you bombed the interview as well, interview coming up here soon and would appreciate any advice
 
Actually I think I bombed my interview but thanks! Haha.
It sounded like there were only about 10 scholarships handed out to students, and since you've never heard of it I'm guessing that's total and not per class.
@Mountaineer12 can elaborate on the different campuses at all?
I'm sure you did fine!

Sure, I can talk about the campuses! Like you said, Morgantown is the biggest. It gets people from all of the state and neighboring states. We do pretty much everything, except transplants likes you said. There's also fellows, residents, interns, and 4th year med students so you are low man on the totem pole. There's also visiting students and PA students so it gets busy. I can't compare it to another campus because it's the only thing I've experienced, but I don't think I'm missing out of anything. It gets frustrating to essentially shadow in some clinics, but I think that's more the attending's preference than Morgantown campus as a whole. Takes about 60 students.

Charleston is still pretty large. It's the biggest or second biggest city in WV so it's no really rural. The hospital there is also fairly big. You have less residents and a few less med students and visiting students. The hospitals are spread throughout the city (within a few miles though). Usually people get put in Charleston because Morgantown is full. Not that it's bad, that's just kind of the way it goes. Takes about 30-40 students.

Eastern is in Martinsburg, which is still a large city for WV. It's just a small hospital. It's near DC, Winchester VA, and Hagerstown MD, which is really nice. You will get more one on one time with attendings because I don't believe there are any residents. Most people who go to eastern are either in the rural health track or very interested in rural medicine. Takes about 10 students.

I told my tour group that when in doubt pick Morgantown unless you absolutely want to go to one of the others. No one likes moving so Morgantown spots are a hot commodity. A few people in my class offered $5,000 for a Morgantown spot. A lot of people also pick to go where their friends go so having a Morgantown spot will give you the ability to switch later on if you want to. Just my two cents!
 
Why do you think you bombed it?? Unexpected questions?
Would like to know why you think you bombed the interview as well, interview coming up here soon and would appreciate any advice
No, the questions were pretty expected lol. It was my first interview and I was nervous. I also got wrapped up in how laid back everyone hyped this up to be and didn't prepare as much as I should have. They really do just ask about your activities and such but our conversation took a turn to an area of my application that I would have rather stayed away from. It ended up being a focal point of my interview and I hadn't prepared to talk as much about the subject as much as they would have liked, so I ended up not saying things I should have and saying a few things I probably shouldn't have (or should have been phrased better for clarity's sake).

It was a great learning experience and I'm trying to learn from it so I'm better prepared for my next interview (next week!). If you have any further questions you can definitely PM me 🙂
 
I need advice from you guys. I just got the secondary. I have II from a few schools already but want to know if submitting this secondary fee is worth it. OOS 4.0 gpa, 512 mcat. how much of a realistic chance do I have at getting an interview at this time if I submit?
 
I need advice from you guys. I just got the secondary. I have II from a few schools already but want to know if submitting this secondary fee is worth it. OOS 4.0 gpa, 512 mcat. how much of a realistic chance do I have at getting an interview at this time if I submit?
If they give you a secondary you will get an interview, but if you interview as an OOS student you will likely be waitlisted.
 
If they give you a secondary you will get an interview, but if you interview as an OOS student you will likely be waitlisted.
how about the significant ties to west virginia? i don't have any. anyone get an interview without ties?
 
- While the curriculum is P/F, the students are ranked, which will be known when applying for residencies. 75% on an exam is "passing", but if you're scoring 75-80% it sounds like you'll be in the bottom quartile of the class. You can also get honors for being in the top 1o or 15% of the class, but it sounded like the students that scored honors on the first exam all scored 100% on it lol.

Across the first two years of school, most of our averages center around the mid-80's and the bell curve is pretty steep: 3 points is the usual standard deviation. Most of our honors revolved around a 92, +/- 2 points. Honors is usually designated to the top 15% (typically your class will be about 100 students, so you can estimate honors being in the top 15) with only one or two classes using 10% as a cutoff. Outside awards, the benefits for getting Honors vs earning "bottom quartile" is minimal unless you are aiming for AOA and/or a competitive residency where class rank can come into play.
 
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Interviewed here last week. Im OOS and honestly I fell in love. If you are looking for a nice town with nicer people, with a cool college feel this is a school you would love. This school is now easily my #1, even above my state school and all I can say is its going to be a long few weeks waiting to know if they felt the same about me. Interview and the day was just as laid back as everyone says. Everyone is so friendly, and so welcoming. I don't have enough good things to say about this school and or the community of Morgantown.
 
Sure you did well man! Common knowledge seems to say most OOSers get thrown on the hold list for a while so don't take this as a bad sign if that's the email you get in a few weeks. If you liked it that much I'm sure they liked you a lot too. Best of luck!


Gah this makes me so excited to interview, too bad i have to wait until freaking JANUARY! On the waitlist for a date in October with one person ahead of me, anybody know if there is any realistic chance that I might get into this date or is the waitlist feature for interviews pretty much moot? Nor sure how often people reschedule IIs as this is my first cycle applying

I am sure most of the movement with interviews will occur after 10/15
 
Sure you did well man! Common knowledge seems to say most OOSers get thrown on the hold list for a while so don't take this as a bad sign if that's the email you get in a few weeks. If you liked it that much I'm sure they liked you a lot too. Best of luck!


Gah this makes me so excited to interview, too bad i have to wait until freaking JANUARY! On the waitlist for a date in October with one person ahead of me, anybody know if there is any realistic chance that I might get into this date or is the waitlist feature for interviews pretty much moot? Nor sure how often people reschedule IIs as this is my first cycle applying

Thank you!!!! I feel great about the interview, and felt I gave them my best so no regrets. And I was supposed to be in october but got bumped up to septemeber so it happens!
 
So what time does interview day start?
 
Interviewing here this Friday!!! So excited.! Any tips or suggestions Would be appreciated!!
 
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