2017-2018 Virginia Commonwealth University

BU Medical Sciences
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Thompsonj0 said:
Just got an II! No email, just logged into my portal and there was a schedule interview tab!Earliest dates available were in November. IS, LM-70, re-applicant. Super excited!
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Congrats! When were you complete?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Thompsonj0 said:
Just got an II! No email, just logged into my portal and there was a schedule interview tab!Earliest dates available were in November. IS, LM-70, re-applicant. Super excited!
Click to expand...

Congrats! I noticed you are a re applicant to this school? Would you be willing to share what happened the last time you applied?
 
mariposas905 said:
Congrats! I noticed you are a re applicant to this school? Would you be willing to share what happened the last time you applied?
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Last year I had the "committee will review" status for what seemed like forever and got rejected, in what seemed like a large batch of rejections, they sent out in late fall. As far as improvements to my app, I took the MCAT a second time, which I think was the most significant change. However, I also participated in more community outreach volunteering for projects that I was passionate about.
 
Thompsonj0 said:
Just got an II! No email, just logged into my portal and there was a schedule interview tab!Earliest dates available were in November. IS, LM-70, re-applicant. Super excited!
Click to expand...

Did yours switch from the "will review" status first? Complete 7/12 and still waiting on that one :') Although tbh I think I'm gonna be in that large slew of rejections in the fall :bored:
 
Chicks_Money_Power_Chicks said:
There is no method to their madness.
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There is a lot of method. About 6,000 applications received at this point in the season. It literally may take months to sort through all of them. VCU will try to get through all the ones currently in-hand, as well as the three to four thousand yet-to-be-received apps, by the end of the calendar year.
 
Dean Mission said:
There is a lot of method. About 6,000 applications received at this point in the season. It literally may take months to sort through all of them. VCU will try to get through all the ones currently in-hand, as well as the three to four thousand yet-to-be-received apps, by the end of the calendar year.
Click to expand...


Hi Dean Mission,

What are something VCU is looking for in interviews? I was fortunate to get an interview as an OOS student after doing more research on it, this school is one of my top. But I'm also worried about interview day. Also, after interviews, is it interview performance that leads to acceptances or are grades, mcat, primaries and secondaries considered again?
 
Dean Mission said:
There is a lot of method. About 6,000 applications received at this point in the season. It literally may take months to sort through all of them. VCU will try to get through all the ones currently in-hand, as well as the three to four thousand yet-to-be-received apps, by the end of the calendar year.
Click to expand...
According to last year's thread, there are applicants whose status stayed as "The Sub-committee will review you application..." until Feb or March. I have been complete since 07/17, and I am worried that my app will stay like that forever.
 
Dean Mission said:
VCU is a state school. There is a natural preference to prioritize applicants that are from Virginia first. This time of year it is probably 3:1, in terms of applications that are handled from applicants that are in-state vs. out-of-state. Thus, applicants that are not from Virginia may have to wait for what seems like a tortuously long time, but all applications will be dealt with in due time.
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Hello @Dean Mission, thanks for all your help! I was just wondering how you know so much about VCU admissions? Are you a medical student there or involved in their recruiting process?
 
palindromic_sequence2772 said:
Hi Dean Mission,

What are something VCU is looking for in interviews? I was fortunate to get an interview as an OOS student after doing more research on it, this school is one of my top. But I'm also worried about interview day. Also, after interviews, is it interview performance that leads to acceptances or are grades, mcat, primaries and secondaries considered again?
Click to expand...

For interviews....first and foremost, you will know the MMI process demands forthright answers. So, first, answer the questions that are posed. The quickest way to get a bad score is to not answer the question. Lots of prompting by the interviewer is also problematic.
The selection committee will consider your composite interview score. Simultaneously, however, the selection committee will look at your entire application, which means your grades, activity, MCAT, etc... Sometimes, people with great interviews will get discussed at length about their application, while in other circumstances, the interview comments will be discussed at length. The process is dynamic and there is no set formula for how the committee go on any given candidate.
 
toservethesuffering said:
Several thousand hours of clinical experience, several hundred in service, and about 3k hours in research. I am non-trad.
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Wow I'm so sorry, I have no idea why you were rejected without II then...especially as an in-state with that many hours and above minimum stats, I feel like VCU made a mistake 😕
 
Doctor Drizzy said:
I am in state, and no I did not receive the very interested in your candidacy notification.
stats if y'all are curious (bc I know us premeds are)
518 mcat
3.92 overall gpa
Click to expand...

Nice, looks like VCU does not do yield protection like some schools do. I kept hearing that VCU tends to reject very high stat applicants (unless they are applying MD/PhD
b/c it is assumed they will go to UVA.
 
Dean Mission said:
For interviews....first and foremost, you will know the MMI process demands forthright answers. So, first, answer the questions that are posed. The quickest way to get a bad score is to not answer the question. Lots of prompting by the interviewer is also problematic.
The selection committee will consider your composite interview score. Simultaneously, however, the selection committee will look at your entire application, which means your grades, activity, MCAT, etc... Sometimes, people with great interviews will get discussed at length about their application, while in other circumstances, the interview comments will be discussed at length. The process is dynamic and there is no set formula for how the committee go on any given candidate.
Click to expand...

Hi Dean Mission,

Thank you for your response. Can you please clarify or expand on how its expected for students to answer MMI questions? We have 8 minutes to answer them so should we be focused on spending that 8 mins or should we just come up with a solution even if it doesn't utilize the whole time?
 
dhovaking said:
Did yours switch from the "will review" status first? Complete 7/12 and still waiting on that one :') Although tbh I think I'm gonna be in that large slew of rejections in the fall :bored:
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My status went from "committee will review" directly to the interview status. I was never on any hold. Don't lose hope, VCU gets a lot of applications and there are plenty of interview slots left to give out.
 
Thompsonj0 said:
Last year I had the "committee will review" status for what seemed like forever and got rejected, in what seemed like a large batch of rejections, they sent out in late fall. As far as improvements to my app, I took the MCAT a second time, which I think was the most significant change. However, I also participated in more community outreach volunteering for projects that I was passionate about.
Click to expand...

Oh wait so they didn't even review you? Or do you mean they reviewed your app late and then rejected you? Did you get a secondary?
 
palindromic_sequence2772 said:
Hi Dean Mission,

Thank you for your response. Can you please clarify or expand on how its expected for students to answer MMI questions? We have 8 minutes to answer them so should we be focused on spending that 8 mins or should we just come up with a solution even if it doesn't utilize the whole time?
Click to expand...
The time will be 7 minutes this year. You should answer with an appropriately long response, but you should not take up the whole time. Allow time for follow-up; a back-and-forth should ideally arise.
 
mariposas905 said:
Oh wait so they didn't even review you? Or do you mean they reviewed your app late and then rejected you? Did you get a secondary?
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I am sure they reviewed me last year, but my status never change to a hold. So, I am assuming they looked at my file and rejected, as opposed to putting me on hold and rejecting me later. I applied early last year, but from what I have seen on this thread there is an initial screening and sorting of applicants into priority piles before a full review takes place. I assume I was in a lower priority pile last year accounting for a rejection later in the season...again I can only speculate how it works.
 
Sixsuit said:
According to the MSAR they interviewed about 950 last year, so there are about 50% remaining.
Click to expand...
Last year, 637 interviews. This year it will be about 600.

VCU class size is dropping from 216 (where it has been for a number of years) to 184 next year.
 
Dean Mission said:
Last year, 637 interviews. This year it will be about 600.

VCU class size is dropping from 216 (where it has been for a number of years) to 184 next year.
Click to expand...

Oh no, one reason I liked VCU was because of their large class size and b/c that offered more options to get accepted and meet lots of people. Why would they reduce it? Don't medical schools look to increase their class sizes... :lame:
 
Last edited:
Dean Mission said:
Last year, 637 interviews. This year it will be about 600.

VCU class size is dropping from 216 (where it has been for a number of years) to 184 next year.
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How long does it take back to hear from VCU? Should I assume I am rejected if its almost a month?
 
Dean Mission said:
637 is the exact number that interviewed. 654 were scheduled. More than that (not 900+) were offered an interview, some of whom declined.
Click to expand...

Dean Mission,

Why the drop in class size? Is there a reason or just because?

Also, can you please tell us how many interviewees are subject to get accepted out of the 600?
 
palindromic_sequence2772 said:
Dean Mission,

Why the drop in class size? Is there a reason or just because?

Also, can you please tell us how many interviewees are subject to get accepted out of the 600?
Click to expand...
The class of 2021, which just started, will be the last where the affiliation with INOVA Fairfax will be in play. For the last number of years, 30 M3 students were selected to spend their final two years there, and that will no longer happen.

Maybe 300ish.
 
mariposas905 said:
Nice, looks like VCU does not do yield protection like some schools do. I kept hearing that VCU tends to reject very high stat applicants (unless they are applying MD/PhD
b/c it is assumed they will go to UVA.
Click to expand...
If your experiential profile is not consistent with the student VCU is looking for, it does not matter if you have a high MCAT score and/or GPA. Simply put, UVA and VCU are generally looking for different students; VCU takes a back seat to no institution. There is NO high metric rejection at VCU.
 
Does anyone know if it takes a while for VCU to decide whether or not to send you a secondary? I received an email a few days ago saying they received my application but my portal tells me wait for a preliminary review. Dunno what's going on.
 
chowder92 said:
Does anyone know if it takes a while for VCU to decide whether or not to send you a secondary? I received an email a few days ago saying they received my application but my portal tells me wait for a preliminary review. Dunno what's going on.
Click to expand...

They did take a little longer than the majority of my schools since they do have a pre-secondary screen. If I remember correctly I think it took 1-1.5 weeks for me to get it, but other people got theirs earlier than mine.
 
Dean Mission said:
If your experiential profile is not consistent with the student VCU is looking for, it does not matter if you have a high MCAT score and/or GPA. Simply put, UVA and VCU are generally looking for different students; VCU takes a back seat to no institution. There is NO high metric rejection at VCU.
Click to expand...

Thanks for sharing! What kind of student would you say VCU is looking for?
 
Dean Mission said:
The class of 2021, which just started, will be the last where the affiliation with INOVA Fairfax will be in play. For the last number of years, 30 M3 students were selected to spend their final two years there, and that will no longer happen.

Maybe 300ish.
Click to expand...

If 2021 was the last class, does that mean that this year, they are only recruiting for 184 students as well? (since students matriculating in 2018 for the 2022 class will not have the INOVA option?)
 
@Dean Mission is it also true that Dr. Whitehurst-Cook will be retiring next year and hence, will not be admissions director anymore? I heard this recently at my university but wasn't sure if the changes to the admissions committee was happening so soon
 
mariposas905 said:
@Dean Mission is it also true that Dr. Whitehurst-Cook will be retiring next year and hence, will not be admissions director anymore? I heard this recently at my university but wasn't sure if the changes to the admissions committee was happening so soon
Click to expand...
Nothing has been announced. She is still in charge.
 
As soon as I hit "send" on my secondary, the page got stuck "loading," and I had to refresh. I never got to anything saying "completed."
Now my portal is showing this:

You have been granted a supplemental application. You have 60 days from the date of this notice to complete your file. Be certain to read the "Supplemental Instructions" carefully before filling out your application. A complete file consists of your supplemental application, your letters of recommendation, payment of the supplemental fee, and a copy of your US or Canadian green card if you are not a citizen of either country. Applicants who are not citizens of the US or Canada, must submit an electronic copy of your Green Card using the “applicant portal” before a full review can proceed. Once your supplemental application requirements have been completed, your profile will then be forwarded to the subcommittee for review.

Please be aware that it may take up to 48 hours to receive confirmation of your submitted supplemental application. Please DO NOT CALL THE ADMISSIONS OFFICE.

Nothing showing my application was completed, and no email confirmation either. Any one who submitted earlier have this too?
 
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