2016-2017 University of Minnesota Application Thread

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
----x---- said:
Secondary Received 8/6
Secondary Complete 8/8
Interview Invite ~8/20 (didn't catch it until 8/30, was in spam!)
Interview Date 10/20
Accepted 12/20

This was 8 weeks 5 days from interview to acceptance.

In-state.
Lizzy-M: ~71.5 (weighted toward MCAT)
I have good to great ECs. 3+ years out from undergrad.
I felt like I did extremely well on most of the MMI stations; I thought I could have improved one or two things but otherwise wouldn't change my answers. I think MMI interviews play to my strengths.
This has been my only interview thus far (applied 27 MD only, rejected 7, silence 19)
I will be attending, likely not attending any further interviews even if I get them because U of MN was my top choice.
Click to expand...

Congratulations!!!! 🙂
 
Got the call from Dean Patel this morning: ACCEPTED! 😀

OOS, interviewed in late October. We were told to anticipate decisions in 6-8 weeks, so heard back right around the 7-7.5 week mark. Yay!

Bythelightofthemoon14 said:
Congratulations!!!! 🙂
Click to expand...
Congrats!! 🙂

medskol4 said:
Rejected today. OOS LM 68
Click to expand...
Aw, bud, sorry to hear that! But glad to see you've been accepted elsewhere 🙂
 
shine with me said:
Got the call from Dean Patel this morning: ACCEPTED! 😀

OOS, interviewed in late October. We were told to anticipate decisions in 6-8 weeks, so heard back right around the 7-7.5 week mark. Yay!


Congrats!! 🙂


Aw, bud, sorry to hear that! But glad to see you've been accepted elsewhere 🙂
Click to expand...

Yeah no hard feelings! Out of state so didn't expect anything much anyways 🙂 good luck to everyone else!!
 
Hello again everyone!

Congrats on everyone who has been accepted so far, and good luck to everyone who is still in the interview process! Now that my first semester of medical school is over I thought I would post my thoughts about the U of M to help anyone who is still deciding where they want to go to med school.

Disclaimer 1: I am only one person (n=1) so other people surely have had different experiences than I have this semester. Plus it is possible that I am wrong about some of this info - I would believe the U of M's official website over my understanding.
Disclaimer 2: The U of M adjusts things each year based on comments from previous years, so it is likely that some of this will be different for next year.
Disclaimer 3: I really like the U of M overall, so I am definitely biased. I am not affiliated with the admissions department/university at all though so this is all my honest opinion 🙂

Things that I like about the U of M's first semester:
- For the first two years of school we only have three possible grades in each class: NP (no pass), P (pass), and H (honors). Last semester, Honors was determined simply by if you got over 90% of the points in the class (or over 93% of points in our Science of Medical Practice course). There is also no class rank at the U of M. Thus all of the med students helped each other to succeed in each class (there was no "cost" for helping other students since theoretically every student could get honors) which fostered a super collaborative, friendly environment in all of our classes.
- Everyone takes the same classes at the same time. Thus you are all stressed about the same things at the same time, and are studying the same things at the same time. The idea that "misery loves company" (with regard to medical school studying) is totally true.
- Traveling around campus is super easy. The Metro Transit green-line train's east bank stop is literally right across the street from the main Washington Ave. entrance to the medical school (cost for unlimited bus/train rides anywhere in the metro = $100 per semester as a student). Even when it's 5 degrees out you don't get cold walking such a short distance between the heated train and the heated building.
- The adytum student lounge is super nice to study in (I think they will show you this on the campus tour). Only med students have access to this room (key-code access) so it is always quiet and full of friends. Plus MS2s (second year students) hang out in there too and are super willing to give you advice on your first year classes.
- There are a ton of medical student clubs (probably 20-30 active ones that I have seen) on campus. Most of them are interest groups (ex. surgery interest group, infectious disease interest group, PIG (pediatrics interest group), etc.) but there are some volunteering and activism clubs as well which people enjoy.
- Just FYI: during your first semester you take four main classes: SMP (the Science of Medical Practice, which is basically just biochemistry and genetics mashed into a 7 credit course), Gross anatomy/embryology, Histo (human histology, which is basically looking at a bunch of cells/tissues/organs under a microscope), and ECM part I (the first part of Essentials of Clinical Medicine, where you learn how to interview patients and perform a ~60 part physical exam. This class is pass/no pass only). You also take a few other seminar-like courses like FIPCC (Foundations of Interprofessional Communication and Collaboration), Community Teacher (talk to someone in the community with a health concern to learn their story), and FCT (Fundamentals of Critical Thinking, one of my favorite courses, where you actually start to solve mock-clinical cases as a small group of other med students).
- The administration cares about how we are doing. Even during the semester they made some changes to help us (for example, they offered the SMP final exam to be taken 1 week later than scheduled because people were nervous about their grade).

Thinks that were ok, but weren't perfect:
- I didn't have a Facebook account until med school, but the Facebook group for each class is an important source of information/resource sharing/announcements so I created a Facebook account to have access to this info
- This semester was tough compared to undergrad, and not everyone passed all of their courses. I am not super familiar with the particulars, but I think that the people who didn't pass a course have to take the course again but they aren't kicked out of the school or anything crazy like that. In order to pass a class you need 70% of the points and need a 70% on the final exam (it sounds easy, especially when as pre-meds we got basically all As, but then again these are med school classes).

Hope this helps!
 
Current student. Just finished first semester. Happy to answer questions. I'll be on here transiently tho.
 
I can't seem to find this information anywhere, but does anyone know if they're receptive to pre-II updates (fall grades)? Please and thank you! 🙂
 
Quick question for those who were accepted recently: how long after the phone call did you get the official acceptance email? I was told to expect it within a day or so of the call but it's been nearly a week and I haven't received it yet.
 
Congrats to all those who have been accepted! I'm hoping to hear the same news (interviewed 11/18).
 
shine with me said:
Quick question for those who were accepted recently: how long after the phone call did you get the official acceptance email? I was told to expect it within a day or so of the call but it's been nearly a week and I haven't received it yet.
Click to expand...

I was accepted 12/20 but haven't gotten the official e-mail or a portal change, just the small congratulations e-mail and the voicemail. This is likely due to the holiday season. Fall term for undergrads at the U of M ended on 12/22 so it's possible we heard right before everyone went on break. Remember, the "pay within 2 weeks" starts with your e-mail acceptance, so time isn't counting down for you. I'm sure there was a flurry of activity to get a lot of communications out before the break, and it's possible those who were accepted just this week were pushed to later.
 
Last edited:
----x---- said:
I was accepted 12/20 but haven't gotten the official e-mail or a portal change, just the small congratulations e-mail and the voicemail. This is likely due to the holiday season. Fall term for undergrads at the U of M ended on 12/22 so it's possible we heard right before everyone went on break. Remember, the "pay within 2 weeks" starts with your e-mail acceptance, so time isn't counting down for you. I'm sure there was a flurry of activity to get a lot of communications out before the break, and it's possible those who were accepted just this week were pushed to later.
Click to expand...
Awesome, thanks so much for letting me know! And good point about the 2-week deadline: that is what I was most worried about. 🙂
 
Are there any other traditional applicants that have been accepted? I'm just curious how many fellow classmates will be coming straight from undergrad!
 
To anyone who was accepted..

Did the payment portal prompt you to enter your SSN before you made payment? Mine did and then said "fatal error"

Wondering if I just got phished
 
Last edited:
Rabbit145 said:
To anyone who was accepted..

Did the payment portal prompt you to enter your SSN before you made payment? Mine did and then said "fatal error"

Wondering if I just got phished
Click to expand...
+1; I'm hoping it's just that our acceptances haven't been processed through the system yet.
 
----x---- said:
No worries. Do remember my comment is just based on looking at the U of M website and thinking how things likely are playing out, I'm not an official source and haven't spoken with U of M staff about it.

The comment about the 2 week deadline relating to the acceptance email is based on this page:
https://www.med.umn.edu/admissions/...s-entering-class/next-steps-accepted-students
Click to expand...
Of course, but thanks again; it definitely helped to know if someone else was in the same boat. And all that worry for naught: received the acceptance email/letter about two hours ago! 😀

Rabbit145 said:
Okay that's good to hear.
Click to expand...
🙂
 
Interviewed 10/20, have not received any communication since then (phone call or email), anyone else in the same boat? Worried I missed an email in spam/ trash but there is nothing there.
 
Regarding fatal error messages, I got this when trying to pay via mobile but it worked fine doing from a laptop
 
Rabbit145 said:
To anyone who was accepted..

Did the payment portal prompt you to enter your SSN before you made payment? Mine did and then said "fatal error"

Wondering if I just got phished
Click to expand...
----x---- said:
Regarding fatal error messages, I got this when trying to pay via mobile but it worked fine doing from a laptop
Click to expand...
Deposit payment successfully went through this afternoon.
 
Seems like the last IIs went out in November? Hoping there's a few more still trickling out... I know that there have been pre-II rejections. Any late applicants (mid/late October) had any news?
 
valenceoctet said:
Seems like the last IIs went out in November? Hoping there's a few more still trickling out... I know that there have been pre-II rejections. Any late applicants (mid/late October) had any news?
Click to expand...

I was complete in early November and received an II.
 
valenceoctet said:
Seems like the last IIs went out in November? Hoping there's a few more still trickling out... I know that there have been pre-II rejections. Any late applicants (mid/late October) had any news?
Click to expand...

I recently received an interview invite! I turned in my secondary in late August, OOS, some past ties to MN, non-trad, mid-60's LizzyM. Keep your chin up!
 
To those who have already interviewed or who are current students, I am planning my travels to MN for my interview at the Twin Cities campus and have some boring logistical questions:

Any recommendations on places to stay? The Commons is a bit out of my price range (no one returned my call about the med school interview rate...) and the Days Hotel looks a little expensive for what you get. If I stayed downtown, would morning transport to campus be a headache? Did y'all rent a car or rely on public transportation and/or uber to get around? Any good dinner places for the night before my interview?

Thanks for any input anyone has!
 
Fran0412 said:
To those who have already interviewed or who are current students, I am planning my travels to MN for my interview at the Twin Cities campus and have some boring logistical questions:

Any recommendations on places to stay? The Commons is a bit out of my price range (no one returned my call about the med school interview rate...) and the Days Hotel looks a little expensive for what you get. If I stayed downtown, would morning transport to campus be a headache? Did y'all rent a car or rely on public transportation and/or uber to get around? Any good dinner places for the night before my interview?

Thanks for any input anyone has!
Click to expand...

There are a lot of AirBnB's in the Twin Cities--you could try that. It's quite easy taking the light rail from downtown to campus, and there is the skyway so you don't have to walk too far outside. With that being said, Ubers are also pretty cheap from downtown to campus (8-9 bucks for me, usually). The biggest/most expensive hiccup for transportation would be getting from the airport in Bloomington to downtown Minneapolis, but I'm sure there are shuttles. There's a lot of good food in Minneapolis. Zelo, Republic, Sanctuary, Young Joni, Black Sheep, The Parlour, and Poncho Villa are a few of my favorites.
 
Fran0412 said:
To those who have already interviewed or who are current students, I am planning my travels to MN for my interview at the Twin Cities campus and have some boring logistical questions:

Any recommendations on places to stay? The Commons is a bit out of my price range (no one returned my call about the med school interview rate...) and the Days Hotel looks a little expensive for what you get. If I stayed downtown, would morning transport to campus be a headache? Did y'all rent a car or rely on public transportation and/or uber to get around? Any good dinner places for the night before my interview?

Thanks for any input anyone has!
Click to expand...


Read Karishnikov's post, and I'd just like to point out two additional things: 1) always take the train from the airport into the cities. 2) Only restaurant you need to be hitting up is Bar La Grassa (bring a couple friends tho otherwise it ain't worth it).
 
Fran0412 said:
Any recommendations on places to stay? The Commons is a bit out of my price range (no one returned my call about the med school interview rate...) and the Days Hotel looks a little expensive for what you get. If I stayed downtown, would morning transport to campus be a headache? Did y'all rent a car or rely on public transportation and/or uber to get around? Any good dinner places for the night before my interview?
Click to expand...

Personally I'd stick to a hotel on the light rail. Simplest, most reliable and affordable public transportation option, especially in the winter.

saywhat1699 said:
Only restaurant you need to be hitting up is Bar La Grassa (bring a couple friends tho otherwise it ain't worth it).
Click to expand...

There's a lot more than one good restaurant in Minneapolis but I suppose tastes vary. 😉
 
GopherMD said:
1) agree with above, take the light rail from MSP airport to campus (just involves one transfer)

2) soooo many good food options in the area: Red Cow, Black Sheep Pizza, Freehouse, Surly Brewery (great beer and food, located near campus), Bar La Grassa, Butcher and Boar, Bachelor Farmer. Loring Pasta Bar and Annie's Parlour are great campus options.
Click to expand...

Thanks to all of you for the great suggestions! I took your advice and am staying downtown close to the light rail. And I took an extra day so I could have some time to check out the area and eat some good food. Looking forward to it!
 
brunodude said:
Anyone else waiting awhile to hear back after interview? They said 6-8 weeks and made a comment about hearing before Christmas and it's been 10 weeks
Click to expand...
+3. Has anyone called? I was considering it just because it's been so long since they said they'd get back.
 
whoanellyK said:
+3. Has anyone called? I was considering it just because it's been so long since they said they'd get back.
Click to expand...
I just called actually. They said my file will be "going to the committee next week". So I guess early November people will hear soon 🙂
 
minnesotapremed said:
Are there any other traditional applicants that have been accepted? I'm just curious how many fellow classmates will be coming straight from undergrad!
Click to expand...
Just accepted! Not sure the exact date as I am out of the country, but received the e-mail yesterday! I'll be coming straight from undergrad as well. though I graduated a semester early so I've got 8 months to mentally and emotionally prepare 🙂
 
Just got a congratulatory e-mail yesterday that I was accepted woohoo (IS, interviewed 10/28)! I am currently out of the country with no cell service so I did not get the call, and won't receive the voicemail until February. Does anyone know what we have to do to formally accept? I haven't gotten any additional information, and it's even harder being out of the country!
 
II just now! Secondary received in July. Sent end of December(!!!) Tried super hard on the essays bc I realized I really love this school and city. I am tentatively scheduling an interview for now, but might cancel if I get into top choice mid feb. Interviews offered to me were in mid and late feb. (OOS)
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

wysdoc
2024-2025 Minnesota
13 14 15 16 17
Replies
810
Views
191K
Eulersfan
E
wysdoc
2024-2025 Mayo Clinic - Minnesota
9 10 11 12 13
Replies
618
Views
155K
bobolee
B
wysdoc
2024-2025 University of Washington
10 11 12 13 14
Replies
680
Views
145K
stew_md
S
wysdoc
2024-2025 University of Chicago (Pritzker)
12 13 14 15 16
Replies
778
Views
205K
X0001234
X0001234
wysdoc
2024-2025 Medical University of South Carolina
3 4 5 6 7
Replies
302
Views
58K
hbic2025
H
Top