2018-2019 Indiana University School of Medicine

[premed0431]

It is my understanding that the committee meets on the 15th and acceptances are sent out that day or the next. Last month, people heard back between the 17th and the 21st as far as I know.

I’m going to interview the 14th do you think I’ll be reviewed the next day?

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[VersaceJack]

I’m going to interview the 14th do you think I’ll be reviewed the next day?

I doubt it, because I interviewed the second week of October, and didn’t make it into the Oct 15th review that was done the following week.

 

[premed0431]

I doubt it, because I interviewed the second week of October, and didn’t make it into the Oct 15th review that was done the following week.

So I would have to wait until December?

 

[VersaceJack]

So I would have to wait until December?

I have no inside knowledge so just speculating, but based on what I understand of their process I would assume you’d get reviewed in Dec. But who knows

 

[apurk]

I have no inside knowledge so just speculating, but based on what I understand of their process I would assume you’d get reviewed in Dec. But who knows

Probably but I don't think anything is a guarantee. I interviewed Oct 2 and haven't heard anything since.

 

[toedrag]

Applied here back in late September. Zero comms

 

[Layray]

So I would have to wait until December?

I was told during the interview they take December off and don’t review anyone until the January 15 one.

 

[hoosierdoctor13]

Hey everyone. Current MS1 at IUSM (Bloomington Campus). I had some great help on here last year, so I'm hoping to pay forward any help I can give. PM me or comment on here if you have any questions about anything. I'm Class Representative of the Bloomington Campus.

 

[Layray]

Hey everyone. Current MS1 at IUSM (Bloomington Campus). I had some great help on here last year, so I'm hoping to pay forward any help I can give. PM me or comment on here if you have any questions about anything. I'm Class Representative of the Bloomington Campus.

Can you explain the pass/fail system? How common is the merit based financial aid? I know they consider ED first. Also how likely is it you get first choice for campus placement? I interviewed very early and was accepted from the October 15 review (not early decision). Thanks

 

[hoosierdoctor13]

Can you explain the pass/fail system? How common is the merit based financial aid? I know they consider ED first. Also how likely is it you get first choice for campus placement? I interviewed very early and was accepted from the October 15 review (not early decision). Thanks

okay here goes.

1. IU truly is pass/fail, but not in the way you may think. In order to pass, you have to score within 2 standard deviations of the statewide average (mean). So, that means that only 2.5% (~10 people) of the entire class fails each exam. If you are more than 1.5% below the SD, you basically are on "probation" and have to meet with you campus advisor, get tutoring, etc. You can fail two exams before you have to repeat first year (But don't use this as a crutch, those fails are really designed for people who just have something come up in life, like an illness or some sort of emergency.) For most of our Human Structure exams, passing has been somewhere around 60%. For Molecules to Cells and Tissues (Think biochem, molecular bio, genetics, and a whole bunch of other random things all in one) the passing grade has fluctuated anywhere from 70% to 55% depending on the exam.

Moving to pass/fail is a national trend and one that I'm very happy with. It breeds collaboration rather than competition, trust me.

2. I really can't speak to how common merit-based financial aid is. Some of my classmates gained merit-based, but they are stupid smart. (Think 4.0 and >90th MCAT) I haven't heard that they consider ED first, and in fact that would surprise me, because they have less incentive to give ED applicants an advantage in terms of financial aid since they are already bound to attend IU. They tend to use merit-based to recruit those who might otherwise go to a different school, especially high-stats in-state students. But again, I'm very unsure about scholarship funds, and all of what I just said could be wrong.

Jose Rivera Espada, our financial aid guru, is literally like an oracle. He's honest, quick to respond, and knows more about financial aid, financial planning, and scholarship opportunities than any one single person I met in my entire application process. If you reach out to him, he can answer more completely and will be happy to do it. The guy is incredible.

3. Campus Placement.....Woof. A lot of what I'm about to write comes from what I've heard from credible sources, but is still just hearsay. They use some sort of algorithm to determine campuses that plugs in gpa, mcat, your personality, and campus ranking (and probably other things). But what I've heard is most important is that the minute you can set your campus preference, set your ranking and then NEVER CHANGE IT (unless you really really change your mind). From what I've been told, the program they use to sort campuses places you in a queue. Your place in that queue determines when the system punches your data into the algorithm. The earlier you set a campus ranking (and thus, one could conclude the earlier you are accepted), the higher up you are in the queue. But if you set your preference in September, and then change your campus preferences the day before they launch the placement system (Late april), you will get bumped to the back of the queue. Will that 100% bump you out of your preferred campus? Probably not, but it won't help.

But if you apply ED this doesn't matter anyway. You get to choose your campus and are guaranteed placement there.

I didn't apply ED because I thought I wanted to get out of Indiana and wanted to test my chances at other schools. Once I decided IU was the place for me, I knew I wanted Bloomington and was terrified I wouldn't get it. Now I'm here. Take that for what you will.

Also, I'm pretty much the biggest advocate you'll find on SDN for choosing a regional campus. I can go into more detail when more people are accepted and choosing campuses, but the cliff-notes version is that going to a small campus means smaller class size, more time with professors, better relationship with staff and TA's, and more collaboration between classmates. Where else in the country can you go through your first two years of medical school with only 25-35 classmates? It makes a huge difference in the educational experience.

 

[Unlimited Apps]

Applied here back in late September. Zero comms

Sorry to break the bad news to you buddy, but you might have A WHILE to go lol.

I sent my primary to IU back in early August and I didn't receive confirmation of my application being complete there till late October. Silence since then (though expecting a R because its hella late now and I am OOS without ties to the state).

You probably won't get that email till end of this month or early December. And god knows how long after that to get a decision.

 

[noisepollution]

I was told during the interview they take December off and don’t review anyone until the January 15 one.

Is this real? They didn’t mention this during our interview

 

[mariposas905]

Sorry to break the bad news to you buddy, but you might have A WHILE to go lol.

I sent my primary to IU back in early August and I didn't receive confirmation of my application being complete there till late October. Silence since then (though expecting a R because its hella late now and I am OOS without ties to the state).

You probably won't get that email till end of this month or early December. And god knows how long after that to get a decision.

I still have not received a complete email. This is just awesome.

 

[Unlimited Apps]

I still have not received a complete email. This is just awesome.

I wonder if not getting the complete email till much later in the cycle (i.e. late October) even with a reasonable submission date (i.e. early August) means that the chances are incredibly slim at getting an interview OOS.

I feel like its the school's fault for taking several months to manually download/upload application and the applicants (especially OOS) are the ones getting screwed.

 

[mariposas905]

I wonder if not getting the complete email till much later in the cycle (i.e. late October) even with a reasonable submission date (i.e. early August) means that the chances are incredibly slim at getting an interview OOS.

I feel like its the school's fault for taking several months to manually download/upload application and the applicants (especially OOS) are the ones getting screwed.

I think so too...when I called them awhile back, they basically said the top OOSers are looked at first and then the rest OOS usually not until late in the cycle (like after the new year). I'm expecting that R especially since my stats are much lower than yours, but it would be nice to at least be looked at.

 

[Layray]

okay here goes.

1. IU truly is pass/fail, but not in the way you may think. In order to pass, you have to score within 2 standard deviations of the statewide average (mean). So, that means that only 2.5% (~10 people) of the entire class fails each exam. If you are more than 1.5% below the SD, you basically are on "probation" and have to meet with you campus advisor, get tutoring, etc. You can fail two exams before you have to repeat first year (But don't use this as a crutch, those fails are really designed for people who just have something come up in life, like an illness or some sort of emergency.) For most of our Human Structure exams, passing has been somewhere around 60%. For Molecules to Cells and Tissues (Think biochem, molecular bio, genetics, and a whole bunch of other random things all in one) the passing grade has fluctuated anywhere from 70% to 55% depending on the exam.

Moving to pass/fail is a national trend and one that I'm very happy with. It breeds collaboration rather than competition, trust me.

2. I really can't speak to how common merit-based financial aid is. Some of my classmates gained merit-based, but they are stupid smart. (Think 4.0 and >90th MCAT) I haven't heard that they consider ED first, and in fact that would surprise me, because they have less incentive to give ED applicants an advantage in terms of financial aid since they are already bound to attend IU. They tend to use merit-based to recruit those who might otherwise go to a different school, especially high-stats in-state students. But again, I'm very unsure about scholarship funds, and all of what I just said could be wrong.

Jose Rivera Espada, our financial aid guru, is literally like an oracle. He's honest, quick to respond, and knows more about financial aid, financial planning, and scholarship opportunities than any one single person I met in my entire application process. If you reach out to him, he can answer more completely and will be happy to do it. The guy is incredible.

3. Campus Placement.....Woof. A lot of what I'm about to write comes from what I've heard from credible sources, but is still just hearsay. They use some sort of algorithm to determine campuses that plugs in gpa, mcat, your personality, and campus ranking (and probably other things). But what I've heard is most important is that the minute you can set your campus preference, set your ranking and then NEVER CHANGE IT (unless you really really change your mind). From what I've been told, the program they use to sort campuses places you in a queue. Your place in that queue determines when the system punches your data into the algorithm. The earlier you set a campus ranking (and thus, one could conclude the earlier you are accepted), the higher up you are in the queue. But if you set your preference in September, and then change your campus preferences the day before they launch the placement system (Late april), you will get bumped to the back of the queue. Will that 100% bump you out of your preferred campus? Probably not, but it won't help.

But if you apply ED this doesn't matter anyway. You get to choose your campus and are guaranteed placement there.

I didn't apply ED because I thought I wanted to get out of Indiana and wanted to test my chances at other schools. Once I decided IU was the place for me, I knew I wanted Bloomington and was terrified I wouldn't get it. Now I'm here. Take that for what you will.

Also, I'm pretty much the biggest advocate you'll find on SDN for choosing a regional campus. I can go into more detail when more people are accepted and choosing campuses, but the cliff-notes version is that going to a small campus means smaller class size, more time with professors, better relationship with staff and TA's, and more collaboration between classmates. Where else in the country can you go through your first two years of medical school with only 25-35 classmates? It makes a huge difference in the educational experience.

Thanks for the extensive reply! So are you saying 97.5% of the people score above the passing score?

 

[hoosierdoctor13]

Thanks for the extensive reply! So are you saying 97.5% of the people score above the passing score?

It does sound crazy when you write it like that. But we're continually told that "passing" = better than two standard deviations below the average.

 

[Layray]

It does sound crazy when you write it like that. But we're continually told that "passing" = better than two standard deviations below the average.

Ok. You also said that if you score between 1.5 and 2 SD below the mean, you pass but are on probation. So for anyone who’s reading and doesn’t want to find a table, about 86% pass and are in the green zone

 

[toedrag]

Sorry to break the bad news to you buddy, but you might have A WHILE to go lol.

I sent my primary to IU back in early August and I didn't receive confirmation of my application being complete there till late October. Silence since then (though expecting a R because its hella late now and I am OOS without ties to the state).

You probably won't get that email till end of this month or early December. And god knows how long after that to get a decision.

I'm cool with waiting. I know it was most likely a $39 donation. When I was selecting schools on AMCAS, my logic for including IU was "why not?"

 

[PureLife12]

I was told during the interview they take December off and don’t review anyone until the January 15 one.

I just looked at last year's thread and people did get acceptances in December. I know they don't interview in December, so it might have been a break from that aspect of it to catch up on other people that have already interviewed.

 

[noisepollution]

I just looked at last year's thread and people did get acceptances in December. I know they don't interview in December, so it might have been a break from that aspect of it to catch up on other people that have already interviewed.

Do they interview just once a month or? Cause at my interview day one of the presenters made a comment about it being only one of the first(ish) interview days out of supposedly 10 days

 

[stofferd99]

I was told they only interview students on the first two Wednesdays of each month and on the 15th of each month the committee meets to send out acceptances.

 

[californiadreaming93]

Has anyone who received an II in September received a date?

 

[Can'tStandCars]

Has anyone who received an II in September received a date?

Opps I meant to say I did't get a date lol

 

[californiadreaming93]

Opps I meant to say I did't get a date lol

lol okay

 

[stine97]

Who else interviewed in October and is hoping this is the month!!! Lol

 

[DeadlyWarbler]

Who else interviewed in October and is hoping this is the month!!! Lol

Supposedly most of us who interviewed in October should be reviewed today. Maybe hear by mail in a few days?

 

[kinjin24]

Supposedly most of us who interviewed in October should be reviewed today. Maybe hear by mail in a few days?

Will the portal be updated first??

 

[duckdocgoose]

Will the portal be updated first??

I believe it depends on how long it takes you to get the mail

 

[kinjin24]

I believe it depends on how long it takes you to get the mail

Hopefully the 10/10 applicants get decisions

 

[TopSpent]

Wish I knew whether to stay a couple more days and get some Fortnite hours in at my campus address or head home and guard the mail to hopefully surprise the parents

 

[apurk]

Wish I knew whether to stay a couple more days and get some Fortnite hours in at my campus address or head home and guard the mail to hopefully surprise the parents

I heard that they get sent to your address from the AMCAS application so wherever that is for you. I have my fingers crossed they come by Thanksgiving

 

[duckdocgoose]

I am guessing Monday is probably the earliest anyone will hear back

 

[Squirel_Boii]

Wish I knew whether to stay a couple more days and get some Fortnite hours in at my campus address or head home and guard the mail to hopefully surprise the parents

Dude this is literally my life rn hahaha wanna run it some time?

 

[WavyPotter]

Hey, I'm interviewing here soon. I was wondering if anybody would be open to letting me PM them about their experience? Thanks!

 

[apurk]

Hey, I'm interviewing here soon. I was wondering if anybody would be open to letting me PM them about their experience? Thanks!

I would be happy to answer any questions you have about the IU interview process

 

[scuba_cat]

Hey, I'm interviewing here soon. I was wondering if anybody would be open to letting me PM them about their experience? Thanks!

you're welcome to PM me as well

 

[thepotentialdoc]

okay here goes.

1. IU truly is pass/fail, but not in the way you may think. In order to pass, you have to score within 2 standard deviations of the statewide average (mean). So, that means that only 2.5% (~10 people) of the entire class fails each exam. If you are more than 1.5% below the SD, you basically are on "probation" and have to meet with you campus advisor, get tutoring, etc. You can fail two exams before you have to repeat first year (But don't use this as a crutch, those fails are really designed for people who just have something come up in life, like an illness or some sort of emergency.) For most of our Human Structure exams, passing has been somewhere around 60%. For Molecules to Cells and Tissues (Think biochem, molecular bio, genetics, and a whole bunch of other random things all in one) the passing grade has fluctuated anywhere from 70% to 55% depending on the exam.

Moving to pass/fail is a national trend and one that I'm very happy with. It breeds collaboration rather than competition, trust me.

2. I really can't speak to how common merit-based financial aid is. Some of my classmates gained merit-based, but they are stupid smart. (Think 4.0 and >90th MCAT) I haven't heard that they consider ED first, and in fact that would surprise me, because they have less incentive to give ED applicants an advantage in terms of financial aid since they are already bound to attend IU. They tend to use merit-based to recruit those who might otherwise go to a different school, especially high-stats in-state students. But again, I'm very unsure about scholarship funds, and all of what I just said could be wrong.

Jose Rivera Espada, our financial aid guru, is literally like an oracle. He's honest, quick to respond, and knows more about financial aid, financial planning, and scholarship opportunities than any one single person I met in my entire application process. If you reach out to him, he can answer more completely and will be happy to do it. The guy is incredible.

3. Campus Placement.....Woof. A lot of what I'm about to write comes from what I've heard from credible sources, but is still just hearsay. They use some sort of algorithm to determine campuses that plugs in gpa, mcat, your personality, and campus ranking (and probably other things). But what I've heard is most important is that the minute you can set your campus preference, set your ranking and then NEVER CHANGE IT (unless you really really change your mind). From what I've been told, the program they use to sort campuses places you in a queue. Your place in that queue determines when the system punches your data into the algorithm. The earlier you set a campus ranking (and thus, one could conclude the earlier you are accepted), the higher up you are in the queue. But if you set your preference in September, and then change your campus preferences the day before they launch the placement system (Late april), you will get bumped to the back of the queue. Will that 100% bump you out of your preferred campus? Probably not, but it won't help.

But if you apply ED this doesn't matter anyway. You get to choose your campus and are guaranteed placement there.

I didn't apply ED because I thought I wanted to get out of Indiana and wanted to test my chances at other schools. Once I decided IU was the place for me, I knew I wanted Bloomington and was terrified I wouldn't get it. Now I'm here. Take that for what you will.

Also, I'm pretty much the biggest advocate you'll find on SDN for choosing a regional campus. I can go into more detail when more people are accepted and choosing campuses, but the cliff-notes version is that going to a small campus means smaller class size, more time with professors, better relationship with staff and TA's, and more collaboration between classmates. Where else in the country can you go through your first two years of medical school with only 25-35 classmates? It makes a huge difference in the educational experience.

Hey, thanks for this information. Do you remember when they let students know if they received any scholarships?

 

[mdhabibi]

okay here goes.

1. IU truly is pass/fail, but not in the way you may think. In order to pass, you have to score within 2 standard deviations of the statewide average (mean). So, that means that only 2.5% (~10 people) of the entire class fails each exam. If you are more than 1.5% below the SD, you basically are on "probation" and have to meet with you campus advisor, get tutoring, etc. You can fail two exams before you have to repeat first year (But don't use this as a crutch, those fails are really designed for people who just have something come up in life, like an illness or some sort of emergency.) For most of our Human Structure exams, passing has been somewhere around 60%. For Molecules to Cells and Tissues (Think biochem, molecular bio, genetics, and a whole bunch of other random things all in one) the passing grade has fluctuated anywhere from 70% to 55% depending on the exam.

Moving to pass/fail is a national trend and one that I'm very happy with. It breeds collaboration rather than competition, trust me.

2. I really can't speak to how common merit-based financial aid is. Some of my classmates gained merit-based, but they are stupid smart. (Think 4.0 and >90th MCAT) I haven't heard that they consider ED first, and in fact that would surprise me, because they have less incentive to give ED applicants an advantage in terms of financial aid since they are already bound to attend IU. They tend to use merit-based to recruit those who might otherwise go to a different school, especially high-stats in-state students. But again, I'm very unsure about scholarship funds, and all of what I just said could be wrong.

Jose Rivera Espada, our financial aid guru, is literally like an oracle. He's honest, quick to respond, and knows more about financial aid, financial planning, and scholarship opportunities than any one single person I met in my entire application process. If you reach out to him, he can answer more completely and will be happy to do it. The guy is incredible.

3. Campus Placement.....Woof. A lot of what I'm about to write comes from what I've heard from credible sources, but is still just hearsay. They use some sort of algorithm to determine campuses that plugs in gpa, mcat, your personality, and campus ranking (and probably other things). But what I've heard is most important is that the minute you can set your campus preference, set your ranking and then NEVER CHANGE IT (unless you really really change your mind). From what I've been told, the program they use to sort campuses places you in a queue. Your place in that queue determines when the system punches your data into the algorithm. The earlier you set a campus ranking (and thus, one could conclude the earlier you are accepted), the higher up you are in the queue. But if you set your preference in September, and then change your campus preferences the day before they launch the placement system (Late april), you will get bumped to the back of the queue. Will that 100% bump you out of your preferred campus? Probably not, but it won't help.

But if you apply ED this doesn't matter anyway. You get to choose your campus and are guaranteed placement there.

I didn't apply ED because I thought I wanted to get out of Indiana and wanted to test my chances at other schools. Once I decided IU was the place for me, I knew I wanted Bloomington and was terrified I wouldn't get it. Now I'm here. Take that for what you will.

Also, I'm pretty much the biggest advocate you'll find on SDN for choosing a regional campus. I can go into more detail when more people are accepted and choosing campuses, but the cliff-notes version is that going to a small campus means smaller class size, more time with professors, better relationship with staff and TA's, and more collaboration between classmates. Where else in the country can you go through your first two years of medical school with only 25-35 classmates? It makes a huge difference in the educational experience.

Do you think going to a regional campus gives you more opportunities for research or do you think the Indianapolis campus would be best for that?

 

[Tatg0822]

Interviewed here in September but haven’t heard anything. Are decisions currently going out or will it be in December?

 

[VersaceJack]

Interviewed here in September but haven’t heard anything. Are decisions currently going out or will it be in December?

Most recent decisions should be coming in the mail any day now

 

[californiadreaming93]

I would be happy to answer any questions you have about the IU interview process

how did it take you to get an interview date?

 

[scuba_cat]

Has anyone who interviewed in september/october/november had a status change from "in process"? In other words, does the portal status change at all prior to receiving something in the mail? I've seen some posts here stating their status changed to "under consideration" prior to receiving something in the mail.

 

[noisepollution]

Has anyone who interviewed in september/october/november had a status change from "in process"? In other words, does the portal status change at all prior to receiving something in the mail? I've seen some posts here stating their status changed to "under consideration" prior to receiving something in the mail.

We were told on interview day that it’s suppsed to change to under consideration once you’ve hit the committee stage and they’re deciding on you

 

[TopSpent]

Has anyone who interviewed in september/october/november had a status change from "in process"? In other words, does the portal status change at all prior to receiving something in the mail? I've seen some posts here stating their status changed to "under consideration" prior to receiving something in the mail.

Mine changed to under consideration after my October interview. Typically changes when you have all your paperwork in and your interview is done.

 

[TopSpent]

how did it take you to get an interview date?

It took me about 4 weeks after my II for them to send a date. They send it pretty much exactly 4 weeks before your interview.

 

[californiadreaming93]

It took me about 4 weeks after my II for them to send a date. They send it pretty much exactly 4 weeks before your interview.

Cool. I've been waiting for a date since September and I've just been told to "be patient". Sigh

 

[scuba_cat]

We were told on interview day that it’s suppsed to change to under consideration once you’ve hit the committee stage and they’re deciding on you

Mine changed to under consideration after my October interview. Typically changes when you have all your paperwork in and your interview is done.

Got it. I interviewed 11/7, and though I have all the green check marks, I'm still "In process." Fingers crossed I hear something in December then!

 

[kinjin24]

Cool. I've been waiting for a date since September and I've just been told to "be patient". Sigh

I received my II in August and my interview was scheduled for 10/10 just to give you some sort of time frame. I received my the email on my interview date 9/13 so 4 weeks in advance

 

[noisepollution]

Got it. I interviewed 11/7, and though I have all the green check marks, I'm still "In process." Fingers crossed I hear something in December then!

I interviewed the same day!! I too have all the green check marks and in process. Really really hoping we hear in December!!!