2017-2018 University of Central Florida

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Dr. Meliodas said:
How do they decide who to interview from the EFI pool? Is it like a ranked list or random?
Click to expand...

Of course it's not random.
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REL said:
Groups of AORTA members will review and rank all facets of an application and then provide groups of applicants to the Admissions Office for interview invitations.
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What types of updates are worthy of sending in?
 
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@REL Is the 3.0 criteria a hard cutoff for an interview? Any special circumstances allowed? My GPA until 2009 was abysmal. I left school and returned in 2014. My GPA after my return until graduation (~3.7) was almost double what it was before. Unfortunately, I had 128 credits by 2009. As a result, the 55 credits from 2014 until graduation do not make that big of an impact. I'm afraid the lackadaisical attitude towards my education nearly ten years ago will give the false impression of lacking academic proficiency and preclude the possibility of an interview.
 
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JovialQuokka said:
@REL Is the 3.0 criteria a hard cutoff for an interview? Any special circumstances allowed? My GPA until 2009 was abysmal. I left school and returned in 2014. My GPA after my return until graduation (~3.7) was almost double what it was before. Unfortunately, I had 128 credits by 2009. As a result, the 55 credits from 2014 until graduation do not make that big of an impact. I'm afraid the lackadaisical attitude towards my education nearly ten years ago will give the false impression of lacking academic proficiency and preclude the possibility of an interview.
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I was worried about this too so I called the school to ask and they said if you got a secondary then you meet the minimum requirements already. And if it makes you feel better - I don't have an interview at this school but I have 4 others and I have a super low UG GPA (~2.3). I did a post bacc, of course so it's a lot better now but still sub 3.0. You killed your post bacc and this school definitely takes that into consideration. The guy I spoke with said that that's what they look at and it "basically erases the GPA before it". Idk if he was exaggerating, but that is what he said! Definitely made me feel better and more confident.
 
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Baby Got Post-Bacc said:
I was worried about this too so I called the school to ask and they said if you got a secondary then you meet the minimum requirements already. And if it makes you feel better - I don't have an interview at this school but I have 4 others and I have a super low UG GPA (~2.3). I did a post bacc, of course so it's a lot better now but still sub 3.0. You killed your post bacc and this school definitely takes that into consideration. The guy I spoke with said that that's what they look at and it "basically erases the GPA before it". Idk if he was exaggerating, but that is what he said! Definitely made me feel better and more confident.
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Well that makes me feel better! My return wasn't post-bacc work, it was still undergraduate. As a result AMCAS ended up putting 110 credits into my Senior GPA, almost half of which were from the abysmal period in my life. I fear the turnaround isn't readily apparent unless the coursework is looked at individually.
 
Has anyone who is trying to go to dinner with current med students this Thursday before the interview heard back? I emailed the address they gave in the interview confirmation email a few days ago but haven't gotten any more info about it.


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mas13b said:
Has anyone who is trying to go to dinner with current med students this Thursday before the interview heard back? I emailed the address they gave in the interview confirmation email a few days ago but haven't gotten any more info about it.
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Hi! I interviewed here last year, hopefully I can help ease your concerns.

That form is pretty much just an RSVP, the host and night-before dinner info should get sent about 1 week before your interview day. If you're really concerned, go ahead and follow up with them! The whole thing is student-run (I believe) and they're all very nice and understand that the interviewees like to get an understanding of the schedule, especially since we're all so stressed out during the cycle :)

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notreallymyname said:
Hi! I interviewed here last year, hopefully I can help ease your concerns.

That form is pretty much just an RSVP, the host and night-before dinner info should get sent about 1 week before your interview day. If you're really concerned, go ahead and follow up with them! The whole thing is student-run (I believe) and they're all very nice and understand that the interviewees like to get an understanding of the schedule, especially since we're all so stressed out during the cycle :)

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Click to expand...

Great thank you!


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mas13b said:
Has anyone who is trying to go to dinner with current med students this Thursday before the interview heard back? I emailed the address they gave in the interview confirmation email a few days ago but haven't gotten any more info about it.


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Click to expand...

Hi there! I'm a current student at UCF COM. That's odd that your email never got through, message me privately and I can give you the info you need if you still need it :)
 
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Two questions:
1) does UCF conduct interviews during the week of Thanksgiving and
2) is UCF responsive to in-the-area requests?
 
REL said:
2) Yes
1) We often will schedule the Monday before and after Thanksgiving
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I am going to be in he area towards the end of October. What would be the best way to phrase an "in the area" request without sounding impatient/needy?
 
Did anyone try to log in and get redirected to a page to reset your password because it was expired?
 
For the academic peer does anyone know if this has to be on official letterhead/how do we even get official letterhead if they aren't a professor or anything?
 
gasparitis895 said:
For the academic peer does anyone know if this has to be on official letterhead/how do we even get official letterhead if they aren't a professor or anything?
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For a peer, neighbor, etc. they simply need to sign and provide some contact information so that we may verify if we choose to do so.
 
REL said:
For a peer, neighbor, etc. they simply need to sign and provide some contact information so that we may verify if we choose to do so.
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I just realized we needed two individual character references letters in addition to the other letters we provided. I never had these but I am in the Eligible for Interview Selection pool. Should I add these now or do they not really matter?
 
Dr. Meliodas said:
I just realized we needed two individual character references letters in addition to the other letters we provided. I never had these but I am in the Eligible for Interview Selection pool. Should I add these now or do they not really matter?
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I submitted 5 letters and didn't realize one wasn't considered a 'character' letter until logging into my system a week later and saw that my application wasn't complete. When I called they said that it's not always who the letter is from but what they say in the text. So my guess is, if you're EFI then your letters met their requirements.
 
REL said:
FYI - The state of Florida has closed all state Universities on Friday and Monday due to the hurricane. Presumably we will all reopen on Tuesday.
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Understandably so... Stay safe @REL! Our thoughts are with everyone down in Florida!
 
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UCF has just updated their closure information. Faculty and staff will return on Friday, Sep 15. Students return on Monday, September 18. The COM at Lake Nona has suffered a few small trees down and nothing more that I can tell. Due to the mandatory closures we have had to cancel and reschedule our first two interview dates (9/8, and 9/15). God is good!
 
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REL said:
UCF has just updated their closure information. Faculty and staff will return on Friday, Sep 15. Students return on Monday, September 18. The COM at Lake Nona has suffered a few small trees down and nothing more that I can tell. Due to the mandatory closures we have had to cancel and reschedule our first two interview dates (9/8, and 9/15). God is good!
Click to expand...
So glad everyone is safe and seems to be unharmed. Thank you for keeping us updated!
 
REL said:
UCF has just updated their closure information. Faculty and staff will return on Friday, Sep 15. Students return on Monday, September 18. The COM at Lake Nona has suffered a few small trees down and nothing more that I can tell. Due to the mandatory closures we have had to cancel and reschedule our first two interview dates (9/8, and 9/15). God is good!
Click to expand...
My best to you and the entire UCF community. I hope you all and your families got through OK!
 
Hey everyone, I'm a long time lurker on SDN and finally decided to cave and make an account.

II here a couple weeks ago, IS!
 
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@REL I submitted my secondary a week ago and was notified that I was missing a science letter, my science prof just uploaded the letter, will admissions update my account on their own or should I notify admissions? Thank you for your help :)
 
Portal seems to have changed. I no longer see the "AORTA - eligible for interview" status.
 
mamadrama said:
@REL I submitted my secondary a week ago and was notified that I was missing a science letter, my science prof just uploaded the letter, will admissions update my account on their own or should I notify admissions? Thank you for your help :)
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Always good to send a short email for letter updates. We will eventually get to it...an email may speed it up.
 
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Looking at MSAR class profile for all Florida schools, I noticed the MCAT score for UCF as a whole class is slipping.

It was 510 last year, on par with FIU.

UF 514, USF 514, UM 513, FAU 512, FIU/UCF 510, FSU 506

Looks like some school is surging forward on MCAT score, and UCF is sliding down?

In pecking order of all Florida schools, I hope UCF will not slide further in face of surging scores from other schools. It does not look good if my beloved UCF beats out only FSU on this pecking order.
 
SteyrFWB said:
Looking at MSAR class profile for all Florida schools, I noticed the MCAT score for UCF as a whole class is slipping.

It was 510 last year, on par with FIU.

UF 514, USF 514, UM 513, FAU 512, FIU/UCF 510, FSU 506

Looks like some school is surging forward on MCAT score, and UCF is sliding down?

In pecking order of all Florida schools, I hope UCF will not slide further in face of surging scores from other schools. It does not look good if my beloved UCF beats out only FSU on this pecking order.
Click to expand...
This means that UCF looks at applicants holistically and consider MCAT as just one of the components of the applicant credentials.
 
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SteyrFWB said:
Looking at MSAR class profile for all Florida schools, I noticed the MCAT score for UCF as a whole class is slipping.

It was 510 last year, on par with FIU.

UF 514, USF 514, UM 513, FAU 512, FIU/UCF 510, FSU 506

Looks like some school is surging forward on MCAT score, and UCF is sliding down?

In pecking order of all Florida schools, I hope UCF will not slide further in face of surging scores from other schools. It does not look good if my beloved UCF beats out only FSU on this pecking order.
Click to expand...


I think it is natural for the average to deviate by a few points each year, especially with only ~120 students per class. Is the MCAT average really that important to you in a school? I love UCF and appreciate their willingness to look at the whole package a candidate brings instead of solely focusing on metrics.
 
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SteyrFWB said:
Looking at MSAR class profile for all Florida schools, I noticed the MCAT score for UCF as a whole class is slipping.

It was 510 last year, on par with FIU.

UF 514, USF 514, UM 513, FAU 512, FIU/UCF 510, FSU 506

Looks like some school is surging forward on MCAT score, and UCF is sliding down?

In pecking order of all Florida schools, I hope UCF will not slide further in face of surging scores from other schools. It does not look good if my beloved UCF beats out only FSU on this pecking order.
Click to expand...

I for one am glad that UCF is not like some of the other stat ***** school. The MCAT is just a number and does not reflect on the quality of the school or its students. Just look at UCLA its average MCAT for matriculants was a 505. UCLA is ranked 11th in the country.
 
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Every Florida state school is holistic now a day. Every body. I just hope it is not holistic as in the direction of FSU.

UCLA is interesting. If you look at their numbers carefully, most students are still in the same league as UCSD and UCSF. But admission office do take more chances on a few students with very low scores. An established school like UCLA can afford to feel lucky on a few outlier students.

But can UCF afford to be another FSU?

As for UCLA 505, much discussion on that number. Most conclusion points to a reporting error. If 25% 517 or higher, it would take a whole boat load of <500 to make that a 505 average. Most discussion points to a reporting error.
 
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SteyrFWB said:
Every Florida state school is holistic now a day. Every body. I just hope it is not holistic as in the direction of FSU.

UCLA is interesting. If you look at their numbers carefully, most students are still in the same league as UCSD and UCSF. But admission office do take more chances on a few students with very low scores. An established school like UCLA can afford to feel lucky on a few outlier students.

But can UCF afford to be another FSU?
Click to expand...

Taking a chance on a "few" students would not make the average MCAT for matriculants a 505 from a 34 in previous years (516 equivalents) with an entering class of around 170 students.
 
UCLA top 25% 517 or higher. Yes, they can afford to feel lucky.
 
Isn't it more important to look at if a program is capable of producing physicians who are well prepared to enter the field, and are able to match into their desired fields?

If a program accomplishes this, what difference does it make if it has a lower MCAT average in its matriculants, other than not looking elite?
 
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