2016-2017 Southern Illinois University Application Thread

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Great... Now i regret not applying. But they do place an emphasis on rural IL students right?
 
ncklkrt said:
Not necessary only rural, but they preference applicants who live below the I-80 interstate, mainly.
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I'm in the west suburbs... Naperville/bolingbrook. I mean still an IL resident but i feel dumb for not applying to state school... Fml
 
As someone with average matriculating stats at SIU, I hope I have good news shortly! I'd assume that @Pasmal and @ncklkrt both got in after the batches also. Were you both first time applicants?
 
smalltownkid said:
As someone with average matriculating stats at SIU, I hope I have good news shortly! I'd assume that @Pasmal and @ncklkrt both got in after the batches also. Were you both first time applicants?
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Got in on the multi-accept deadline on the dot. Interviewed in November so it was quite a wait. I was not rural and above I-80 but outside of Chicagoland area (don't wanna get any more specific than that haha), but they do prefer either rural OR a connection to central/southern IL (see their mission statement). I was able to provide convincing reasons for staying in/near central/southern IL in my application so that probably helped. Edit: yes, first time applicant.
 
medschoolplease123 said:
I'm in the west suburbs... Naperville/bolingbrook. I mean still an IL resident but i feel dumb for not applying to state school... Fml
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You have an 11.6% chance of getting in just by being an IL applicant based on last cycle's stats, so even if you don't have either of the above things I mentioned, it's still definitely worth throwing your name in the hat.
 
Pasmal said:
You have an 11.6% chance of getting in just by being an IL applicant based on last cycle's stats, so even if you don't have either of the above things I mentioned, it's still definitely worth throwing your name in the hat.
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Yeah. Thats the reason i wish i applied. But oh well...
 
smalltownkid said:
As someone with average matriculating stats at SIU, I hope I have good news shortly! I'd assume that @Pasmal and @ncklkrt both got in after the batches also. Were you both first time applicants?
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Yes I was a first time applicant, fresh out of college. I interviewed at the very first interview date available sometime in August, got AWPA with the September batch and was accepted in the first batch in December.
 
Hi everyone, I decided to make an account after being a long time lurker. I have been accepted to SIU and really loved the school. Good luck to everyone still waiting to hear back! I wanted to ask when things like the background check happen? I guess I am just paranoid because I will be out of the country for most of June so I do not want to miss anything. And thanks @ncklkrt and @Pasmal for all the info you have already provided.
 
angelsoft1330 said:
Hi everyone, I decided to make an account after being a long time lurker. I have been accepted to SIU and really loved the school. Good luck to everyone still waiting to hear back! I wanted to ask when things like the background check happen? I guess I am just paranoid because I will be out of the country for most of June so I do not want to miss anything. And thanks @ncklkrt and @Pasmal for all the info you have already provided.
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Stats?
 
angelsoft1330 said:
Hi everyone, I decided to make an account after being a long time lurker. I have been accepted to SIU and really loved the school. Good luck to everyone still waiting to hear back! I wanted to ask when things like the background check happen? I guess I am just paranoid because I will be out of the country for most of June so I do not want to miss anything. And thanks @ncklkrt and @Pasmal for all the info you have already provided.
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Background checks are submitted closer to orientation in August. After the multi-accept deadline and the class is pretty much set in early Summer, a huge packed is mailed to your home address with all the background check / vaccination / etc forms. However, if you are out of the country most information can be filled out online and sent to the school via e-mail or one of the numerous online e-Fax sites if needed. Be sure to have someone get your mail in case the packet is sent while you're gone. Wouldn't hurt to send a message to the admissions staff and let them know in case they want to send it earlier/later. The first day of orientation is all the fun stuff as well - PPD tests, drug screens, etc.
 
ncklkrt said:
Background checks are submitted closer to orientation in August. After the multi-accept deadline and the class is pretty much set in early Summer, a huge packed is mailed to your home address with all the background check / vaccination / etc forms. However, if you are out of the country most information can be filled out online and sent to the school via e-mail or one of the numerous online e-Fax sites if needed. Be sure to have someone get your mail in case the packet is sent while you're gone. Wouldn't hurt to send a message to the admissions staff and let them know in case they want to send it earlier/later. The first day of orientation is all the fun stuff as well - PPD tests, drug screens, etc.
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Awesome, thanks for taking the time to reply! I will for sure be emailing admissions to avoid any potential headaches.
 
Are we able to send in updates, new letters of recommendation, or letters of intent? I interviewed way back in September, SIU has been my top choice since my visit and I've been adding a lot of experience to my resume.
 
HalfManHalfBirdman said:
Are we able to send in updates, new letters of recommendation, or letters of intent? I interviewed way back in September, SIU has been my top choice since my visit and I've been adding a lot of experience to my resume.
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I've been told from Beth that nothing will change your placement on the AWPA list, but that you're free to send in what you want.
 
Does the admissions office send out an email letting the accepted students know that the multi-accept deadline is approaching? If so, when? Just trying to see when we should start seeing some AWPA movement.
 
smalltownkid said:
Does the admissions office send out an email letting the accepted students know that the multi-accept deadline is approaching? If so, when? Just trying to see when we should start seeing some AWPA movement.
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Yes they do. Movement generally peaks the last week in April and the first week of May.
 
angelsoft1330 said:
Can anyone comment as to where students go for housing in Carbondale?
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Once the Facebook group opens up, there are usually lots of students posting where they will be living / looking for roommates. We had people all over the city - some in 1 bedroom, 2 bedrooms, some in 4 bedrooms; we had a couple people rent pre-fab houses. Some people lived further away and others closer. It's up to you in terms of location - you will pay more the closer you are to campus and if the apartment is labeled 'student'. There are also numerous houses available for rent as well. One thing to watch out for is the cheaper, closer places usually are full of undergraduates. I advise to stay away from the SIU housing apartments as that's usually the loudest properties.

The Pointe, G&R, Evolve, University Village, Aspen Court, The Reserve, and Sun Valley are some pretty common areas.
 
angelsoft1330 said:
Can anyone comment as to where students go for housing in Carbondale?
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The equation for selecting housing is as follows:

H = housing score = (400/R) + D + h(P/40) + (15/T) + A - V

R = rent
D = avg puppies/resident
h = 1.5 heated pool coefficient
P = pool size in feet
T = time to campus in minutes
A = 1.0 if air conditioned
V = avg vomit stains/hallway

These are the only factors you should consider. Highest score is where you should live. You're welcome.

Edit: @ncklkrt 's advice should probably be taken more seriously than mine. Also check if places have "grad student" areas away from the hordes of undergrads, generally a bit more expensive but more quiet/peaceful.
 
Can someone explain how the classes work in detail. I understand that it is not lecture based and independent. Could you give detail of how a week would look like? Thanks!
 
Lamar1307 said:
Can someone explain how the classes work in detail. I understand that it is not lecture based and independent. Could you give detail of how a week would look like? Thanks!
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There is more detail about this in prior threads, but basic rundown:

M1 - 3 units in the year (CRR-cardio/resp/renal, SSB-neuro/psych, ERG-endocrine/repro/GI). 3 hour tutor group sessions 3x/week, times/days vary by group. Anatomy and histo run all year as well so you'll have that every week, can't remember frequency/length though. Required clinical activities vary, some weeks you have none and some you may have a lot, either in the form of practice patients, group review with an educator (in which students usually take turns performing various exams on one another) or lectures on a specific topic (how to write xyz part of a history or conduct xyz physical exam). The proportion of required to optional lectures is higher than it will be in any subsequent year, but depending on when your group meets you may end up with 1-2 days/week with only a couple hours of required time on campus, or even no required time. You also have a mentor you'll have to schedule time in clinic with for I think like 10 hrs/unit (not that difficult and a nice change of pace), essentially shadowing and helping where you can. I scrubbed in on a couple surgeries first year as I was working with an ENT doc and was actually able to help with dissecting around the thyroid in one case, which was pretty cool.

Summer - take time off or do some research (MPEE/CARE projects, a good number of students get pubs out of these).

M2 - 4 units (same as first year + HII-heme/immuno/infxn at the beginning) in the year. You're more efficient, tutor group runs faster. I think we met 2x/week for 2 hrs, sometimes we were out of there in 1.5 depending on the material and the tutor (MS4 tutors are the bomb). Most lectures are optional, all are video recorded and uploaded online. I never went after the first unit, just ripped them from the website and played them 1.5-2.0x on VLC. You can also download them from a school computer IIRC. You'll get a couple tutor group cases per unit that start out as standardized patients, so each student interviews them one on one, then has a group discussion with a faculty member about the case and then they go meet as a tutor group to work through learning issues. There are other clinical lectures and activities that are required, but as I said not as much of a time commitment overall as in M1. HII is a challenge, most people buckle down pretty seriously for this unit. We actually got them to give this unit an extra week because it was so much info in such a short period of time in addition to the M1>M2 learning curve, so that has made things a little less hectic. CRR is great, not as bad as HII material-wise and not quite time for boards studying yet, definitely the least stressful unit. NMB/ERG are when boards studying goes on. You'll have less and less free time as this part of the year goes on until you take step 1.
 
Also, could someone comment on what we actually need to purchase before classes begin in August and some things that are nice to have? Would a Littmann Cardiology IV be ridiculous to purchase at this stage?

And in an unrelated question, what is the parking situation like on campus? Do people typically drive to class/campus etc?
 
JoyeuxOrage said:
Also, could someone comment on what we actually need to purchase before classes begin in August and some things that are nice to have? Would a Littmann Cardiology IV be ridiculous to purchase at this stage?

And in an unrelated question, what is the parking situation like on campus? Do people typically drive to class/campus etc?
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You really only need regular school supplies or however you study best. You will get an optional extra loan to purchase a new laptop or tablet if you so desire. During orientation week the medical supplies people come and sell anything and everything from stethoscopes to otoscopes. You can purchase one beforehand or at their little shop, which most people do as they let you try out all the different types to see what you prefer. Most people in our class have the Cardiology III, but many others have ones handed down from friends / relatives. As long as you can hear a heartbeat and lung sounds you're golden. However, the digitally-enhanced stethoscopes that you see ads for now are NOT ALLOWED in any testing environment.

You get a free gym membership during M1 - the best thing to purchase is a rewards / loyalty card for your favorite grocery store in Carbondale.

You share parking with the undergrads, so it gets crazy any time after 9am; there's always a spot to park but the later you have to be on campus the worse the spot will be. Half the people drive and the other half live close enough to walk or ride bikes.

I would highly recommend AGAINST purchasing any textbooks or study materials beforehand. During orientation you will receive a list of the most commonly used resources at SIU and have a chance to see most of them that week before purchasing them.
 
ncklkrt said:
I would highly recommend AGAINST purchasing any textbooks or study materials beforehand.
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I bought lots of books from upperclassmen. They remain largely untouched on my shelf.

Don't buy the books.
 
Can someone comment on printing as a resource? Or do we have to do our own printing?
 
I just got an email about joining a class mailing list? Is this something people still do or is this old and Facebook is the new "mailing list" that students use?
 
Dr Bball said:
I just got an email about joining a class mailing list? Is this something people still do or is this old and Facebook is the new "mailing list" that students use?
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Both. They like to have your home address on file if they need to send you stuff before you start and will be updated when you move to Carbondale. Facebook is used primarily for the students to talk to one another and the mailing list more for faculty-student communication.
 
HalfManHalfBirdman said:
Received an acceptance email today! I am so excited, and will definitely be attending in the fall!
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I am glad that you got accepted, congratulations! I was wondering if you had sent in some letters of recommendations, letters of intent or anything else? I was planning on sending in some things also. I have really loved SIU and it is my top choice for furthering my medical education so if there is anything I can do to increase my chances of acceptance this year, please feel to share. I will definitely attend if I am accepted also!
 
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PB11 said:
I am glad that you got accepted, congratulations! I was wondering if you had sent in some letters of recommendations, letters of intent or anything else. I was planning on sending in some things also.
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Thanks! And no I did not.

Sent from my SM-G935R4 using SDN mobile
 
Would the accepted students let us know when they email and notify you guys about the multi accept deadline approaching? Thank you!
 
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