*2016-2017 Washington State University Application Thread

Applying to Med School? Get In Or Your Money Back
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huskeec1 said:
Did you just write it to the wsuesfcom admissions email or did you write it to Leila?
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I wrote mine directly to Leila, but I am sure either email address works fine
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Did anyone call yesterday about getting more info for waitlist? I thought we had to be informed by tomorrow?
 
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psychedskier said:
I'm pretty sure we all have that in mind ;) as most of us are in that same boat. I think we are holding out hope that UW picks enough of you guys off, or someone gets scared about the preliminary accreditation thing, or the nontraditional curriculum thing (hint, hint, these things are super scary).
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Aside from the obvious curriculum change/scare, I think the major player in people switching out of ESFCOM would be family and friends. Putting aside reputation of UWSOM or PNW and assuming all schools are equal in status and ranking, ultimately if you have family such as children who lives and goes to school in Seattle or in Yakima, that's going to be the main reason you'd want to stay. I think it is safe to assume that the majority of us are from the west side of WA (such as SEA-TAC area), which if given the opportunity of staying in Seattle would be the biggest incentive (and also the amazing city-life). For me, all of my family currently lives in California and I am a sucker for the Cali-life style. If I got an acceptance to any of the Cali schools as well as ESFCOM, I would like to move back down to be closer to family. Just my opinion, not sure how everyone's life situations are.
 
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II this morning! I guess there's still a chance?
 
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I was about to send in an update - but looks like from their final point they don't want to hear from us unless we make it onto their waitlist? Or am I reading that wrong?
 
Sirloin said:
I was about to send in an update - but looks like from their final point they don't want to hear from us unless we make it onto their waitlist? Or am I reading that wrong?
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I imagine they don't want updates except from those they are still considering. Since some of us don't know our status... maybe wait?
 
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So who is the assistant dean of admissions and recruitment and possible email?
 
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Rejection email - or update on possible wait list email, because the one I got basically was just an update of the status of things and saying there would be a waitlist put together after the last interview


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mavric1298 said:
Rejection email - or update on possible wait list email, because the one I got basically was just an update of the status of things and saying there would be a waitlist put together after the last interview


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile
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Or chance of still being accepted email. It also said that they would fill the remaining spots after 3/24 interview date, and I read it as happening before they make the waitlist, so as far as I can tell, any of us are still in the running.
 
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amdg77 said:
I do wish they would at least let some of us know if we're rejected or not.
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I would think they'd probably want to keep as many options open as possible.
 
I like how they directly addressed the ranking of sites to acceptances issue


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It wasn't a rejection email. It was an update on their process. All it means is we weren't accepted as part of the first 60.
 
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MD4lif3 said:
:claps::bow:

But in all seriousness...Sucks to hear.. Hope you got in somewhere else!
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Thanks dude! It stung pretty bad but that's how it goes. Currently on UW's waitlist and feeling pretty good about my spot. Everyone try to stay positive on here as well! I've been following things on here over the months leading up to the rejection and it has gotten pretty rough at times.
 
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Hawking2017 said:
Thanks dude! It stung pretty bad but that's how it goes. Currently on UW's waitlist and feeling pretty good about my spot. Everyone try to stay positive on here as well! I've been following things on here over the months leading up to the rejection and it has gotten pretty rough at times.
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Agreed. What interview day were you?
 
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Hawking2017 said:
Thanks dude! It stung pretty bad but that's how it goes. Currently on UW's waitlist and feeling pretty good about my spot. Everyone try to stay positive on here as well! I've been following things on here over the months leading up to the rejection and it has gotten pretty rough at times.
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Glad to hear that you're high up on UWSOM's waitlist. Great school (I work there, currently). I guess I didn't realize off the bat that more than one email had been sent out. Do you mind sharing when you interviewed?

Edit: I ask, functioning as Pashinator's apparent echo.
 
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Hawking2017 said:
Thanks dude! It stung pretty bad but that's how it goes. Currently on UW's waitlist and feeling pretty good about my spot. Everyone try to stay positive on here as well! I've been following things on here over the months leading up to the rejection and it has gotten pretty rough at times.
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Head up mate! Even if things don't work out this cycle, nothing is going to stop you from being a doctor! press on!
 
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I know it's late but now being rejected I am unsure if I should retake my mcat? I have a 27 and a ~3.25gpa.7
 
benjicakes said:
Glad to hear that you're high up on UWSOM's waitlist. Great school (I work there, currently). I guess I didn't realize off the bat that more than one email had been sent out. Do you mind sharing when you interviewed?

Edit: I ask, functioning as Pashinator's apparent echo.
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Haha, yeah that's why i thought i would speak up. I realized that there was some different information in your inboxes and thought I would speak up. In the same spirit of you all becoming the pioneers of a new medical school, I thought I would pioneer the first rejection of WSU's post-II SDN thread. Let it be recorded. Best of luck guys/gals :thumbup:

II on 2/10.
 
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Odd Doc said:
I know it's late but now being rejected I am unsure if I should retake my mcat? I have a 27 and a ~3.25gpa.7
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If you study for it and take a bunch of practice tests, I doubt it will hurt. You might want to think about DO schools too, they are usually more accepting of these things, DO is my backup plan, and honestly if the world of medicine looked at DOs the same as MDs, it probably wouldn't be my backup.
 
psychedskier said:
If you study for it and take a bunch of practice tests, I doubt it will hurt. You might want to think about DO schools too, they are usually more accepting of these things, DO is my backup plan, and honestly if the world of medicine looked at DOs the same as MDs, it probably wouldn't be my backup.
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For me I took a bunch of practice tests to study for the MCAT. I did not take any prep course. When I first began taking practice tests I was scoring in the high 20s until I got the hang of the style of test questions. When I took the real thing I scored a 32. I can attest that practice and studying does help. Never give up. You can always do better if you put the effort in.
 
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hopefuldoc24 said:
For me I took a bunch of practice tests to study for the MCAT. I did not take any prep course. When I first began taking practice tests I was scoring in the high 20s until I got the hang of the style of test questions. When I took the real thing I scored a 32. I can attest that practice and studying does help. Never give up. You can always do better if you put the effort in.
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I can attest to this; I didn't take a prep course and relied mostly on taking practice tests and reviewing mistakes. I knew many of my peers that took courses and scored lower than I did. It's all a matter of how much you want it ,so don't neglect putting the hours of work in. Good luck
 
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I think the thing a lot of people miss is that mcat isn't just about material. The easiest problem to fix is context gaps, the harder thing to correct is the test taking strategies required. You need to keep a log and spend 2x the time going over practice tests to assess WHY you are missing things. And not just "put the wrong answer" or "didn't know". But figure out are you reading too quickly and missing details, or missing the negatives of "which one does NOT...". I think that's where prep classes have a benefit, they are great at working the ststem


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I got the email. First interview date (1/6). 504 MCAT (128/127/125/124), GPA ~ 3.76 (some bad grades when I was much younger, though). 48 years old.

Was neither accepted, nor made the wait list. The game is up for my medical school hopes.
 
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Odd Doc said:
I know it's late but now being rejected I am unsure if I should retake my mcat? I have a 27 and a ~3.25gpa.7
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Not necessarily, your MCAT looks good. I got in with a 24 MCAT (also have other acceptances too). I would gain more rural/underserved experience and bring it out in my application, then make sure to address it many times during the interview. Keep your head up and let me know if you need any tips! I also went through a cycle where I was rejected before, so I know the feeling.
 
Odd Doc said:
I know it's late but now being rejected I am unsure if I should retake my mcat? I have a 27 and a ~3.25gpa.7
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Cirio said:
Not necessarily, your MCAT looks good. I got in with a 24 MCAT (also have other acceptances too). I would gain more rural/underserved experience and bring it out in my application, then make sure to address it many times during the interview. Keep your head up and let me know if you need any tips! I also went through a cycle where I was rejected before, so I know the feeling.
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Clearly ESFCOM puts a huge (I would even perhaps the use the word, unusual) emphasis on your experiences and commitment to their mission. If you are trying to maximize your chances for attending this school, clearly this approach bears fruit. I'm pleased that ESFCOM cares so deeply about its trainees being well-equipped to work side-by-side real people.

That said, if you are interested in being competitive at other institutions, I would say that your chances decline precipitously as the MCAT falls, all else being equal.

https://www.aamc.org/download/321508/data/factstablea23.pdf
 
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tluedeke said:
I got the email. First interview date (1/6). 504 MCAT (128/127/125/124), GPA ~ 3.76 (some bad grades when I was much younger, though). 48 years old.

Was neither accepted, nor made the wait list. The game is up for my medical school hopes.
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So did they send multiple emails out? Clear rejections to some and just a status update to others?
 
It looks like they sent a status update as well as rejections
 
benjicakes said:
Clearly ESFCOM puts a huge (I would even perhaps the use the word, unusual) emphasis on your experiences and commitment to their mission. If you are trying to maximize your chances for attending this school, clearly this approach bears fruit. I'm pleased that ESFCOM cares so deeply about its trainees being well-equipped to work side-by-side real people.

That said, if you are interested in being competitive at other institutions, I would say that your chances decline precipitously as the MCAT falls, all else being equal.

https://www.aamc.org/download/321508/data/factstablea23.pdf
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I don't think it is as simple as that. I'm from Port Angeles, lived in rural Eastern WA for years and years, and my whole motivation for medicine was to go into rural primary care in E. WA. I made that abundantly clear to ESFCOM in my essays and interview, and my fit with their mission felt unbelievably good. I should have had a competetive MCAT/GPA combo, and it *still* didn't matter (at all, as far as I can tell). Granted, I'm unusually old for a candidate, which at a lot of allopathic schools is a show-stopper.
 
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hopefuldoc24 said:
So did they send multiple emails out? Clear rejections to some and just a status update to others?
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I didn't get anything at all until an email late yesterday afternoon (3/14). No update emails/letters, notices, or anything else.
 
tluedeke said:
I didn't get anything at all until an email late yesterday afternoon (3/14). No update emails/letters, notices, or anything else.
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I'm sorry my friend, these things aren't fair sometimes... as I have said before, you may want to look at DO schools next year, they will be more interested in older candidates, and you will get every privilege that MDs get in practicing medicine. Given your desire to practice in rural areas you could also apply for the NHSC scholarship, and get your entire education paid for. I used to work in an ER where one of the docs said they didn't start meds school till they were 50. You still have time.
 
Hawking2017 said:
Thanks dude! It stung pretty bad but that's how it goes. Currently on UW's waitlist and feeling pretty good about my spot. Everyone try to stay positive on here as well! I've been following things on here over the months leading up to the rejection and it has gotten pretty rough at times.
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You should read the UW thread right now....SDN folks in Washington are just having a rough time in general I think right now, I wonder if this is actually a trend that happens every year (someone else can do that research).
 
psychedskier said:
You should read the UW thread right now....SDN folks in Washington are just having a rough time in general I think right now, I wonder if this is actually a trend that happens every year (someone else can do that research).
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It seems like everyone is extra angsty this year. I blame it on the fact that we've only had 3 mild sunny days in Seattle since October (seriously don't read that KOMO article about this unless you want to feel extra sad about life).
 
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Whyamionhere said:
It seems like everyone is extra angsty this year. I blame it on the fact that we've only had 3 mild sunny days in Seattle since October (seriously don't read that KOMO article about this unless you want to feel extra sad about life).
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Portland had a sunny day on Sunday and the entire city was outside. It was insane. I think everyone is feeling it.
 
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tluedeke said:
I don't think it is as simple as that. I'm from Port Angeles, lived in rural Eastern WA for years and years, and my whole motivation for medicine was to go into rural primary care in E. WA. I made that abundantly clear to ESFCOM in my essays and interview, and my fit with their mission felt unbelievably good. I should have had a competetive MCAT/GPA combo, and it *still* didn't matter (at all, as far as I can tell). Granted, I'm unusually old for a candidate, which at a lot of allopathic schools is a show-stopper.
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You've clearly done much to prepare for med school. I'm sorry about this year's result. And you highlight what I should have said a bit more succinctly in my post: ESFCOM clearly places a great emphasis on non-quantitative attributes. From the outside, I can't truly know how they are weighed or integrated into their particular version of a holistic review.

As for the age bias, I have had a number of faculty at UW argue as much for medical schools generally, with them going so far as to give me pointers as to how to make myself appear 'more youthful' in appearance (seriously). I try to tell myself that I don't get to pick the jury in this pursuit, but it still stings. I am sorry again. Please don't give up.
 
benjicakes said:
You've clearly done much to prepare for med school. I'm sorry about this year's result. And you highlight what I should have said a bit more succinctly in my post: ESFCOM clearly places a great emphasis on non-quantitative attributes. From the outside, I can't truly know how they are weighed or integrated into their particular version of a holistic review.

As for the age bias, I have had a number of faculty at UW argue as much for medical schools generally, with them going so far as to give me pointers as to how to make myself appear 'more youthful' in appearance (seriously). I try to tell myself that I don't get to pick the jury in this pursuit, but it still stings. I am sorry again. Please don't give up.
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Don't give up yet. I am a non-trad applicant who was accepted this round. I work clinically and in my experience, many providers welcome more seasoned applicants. If you reapply, I would suggest focusing on life experience vs. age, because in the grand scheme of things age is fairly arbitrary. There are a lot of young people who've experienced a lot (and gained wisdom), and an equal number of older people who've lived sheltered lives. What have your extra years of *life experience* provided?
 
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3.8, 35 mcat, thousands of hours working in rural healthcare. Didn't make wait list. Feels bad.
 
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