2018-2019 Southern Illinois University

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applicantstopthebeat said:
What was your interview like? Can you remember any interesting/off the wall questions you were asked?
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My interview day was extremely relaxed and low stress. SIU SOM really just wants to get to know the applicants and find the people who fit the most with the school! The interviews themselves were extremely conversational and nothing too "off the wall" was thrown at me. I was asked what book I had read the most recently, which I thought was interesting. I also was asked how I felt about my MCAT score. Nothing too scary, and nothing too crazy in my opinion 🙂
 
UMVoyager said:
Hey M2 here popping back into SDN! In terms of M1, once orientation is over you will begin a case the following Monday. You work on these cases in small groups called "tutor group" every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for 3 hours per session. Once you transition to M2 year tutor group decreases to twice a week for two hours per session. Lectures, or "resource sessions" as SIU SOM calls them, are also incorporated into the curriculum. Resource sessions are known to be held on Thursdays but usually there are some scattered randomly throughout the week as well. The majority of the lectures are optional.
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Awesome! Thank you very much for the details. I had my interview today and the entire experience was phenomenal.
 
premed618 said:
Yeah, of course! So our orientation was August 8-11, which ended with our White Coat Ceremony of the 11th. We started classes on the next Monday, so the 13th. Our first case was opened on this day, and we actually saw a standardized patient to practice history taking the next day. So you kind of do get thrown in at the beginning - although it's not as scary as it sounds because our whole class was doing it together 🙂 At this point, we are about to wrap up our third case, and we have now seen two standardized patients and have started learning how to do a physical exam. There are also lectures throughout the week. Most of them are optional, some are strongly recommended, and case wraps from our patients in tutor group and for our standardized patients are always required. Overall, the curriculum is very unique, and I really do feel like it helps me learn better. It's extremely different and weird at first because it's so self directed, but it's definitely worth it! Let me know if you have any more questions 🙂
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Thank you very much! I just had my interview today and I loved everything about SIU! I’m hoping for good news!
 
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Does anyone know if the admissions department meet on Sep 11th to make decisions? I was reading last years blogs. They meet in Sep second week and send AWAP this week.
 
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VikMed1790 said:
Awesome! Thank you very much for the details. I had my interview today and the entire experience was phenomenal.
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Can you share the details of your interview, if you don't mind? Was it two one-on-one interviews with the faculty or was one of them a committee interview? Did you get any "unusual" questions?
Btw, congrats!
 
she-doctorwannabe said:
Can you share the details of your interview, if you don't mind? Was it two one-on-one interviews with the faculty or was one of them a committee interview? Did you get any "unusual" questions?
Btw, congrats!
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I don’t mind at all. Once you get your itinerary for your interview, it will tell you who you will interview with. My interview was two, one-on-ones, with a faculty member and a committee member. I’m not sure if everyone’s was like mine, but I can say that the interview was low pressure and actually fun. The overall experience was laid back and everyone wants to make sure that you have a great interview. I would say just be yourself and you’ll be fine! When do you interview?
 
Hey, guys! Just seeing some interview questions so since we're kind of in that time I wanted to let you know that everyone will have two one on one interviews at SIU. One is a faculty member and one is on the committee. I couldn't have wanted a better interview experience than what I had at SIU and that's a pretty solid consensus that's it's laid back and you feel very welcomed. You always hear this but truly be yourself. If you're personable and can have a conversation with your interviewers so they can see you and get to know as a person and no longer just your application then that's really the goal. You'll also get a tour from a current student so use that opportunity to ask them anything you can think of that you've been wanting to know. We all hope that you have a really great day and realize that the SIU environment is very friendly and collaborative. Best of luck everyone! As always, feel free to PM me with specific questions or post them here
 
VikMed1790 said:
I don’t mind at all. Once you get your itinerary for your interview, it will tell you who you will interview with. My interview was two, one-on-ones, with a faculty member and a committee member. I’m not sure if everyone’s was like mine, but I can say that the interview was low pressure and actually fun. The overall experience was laid back and everyone wants to make sure that you have a great interview. I would say just be yourself and you’ll be fine! When do you interview?
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Thank you!! My interview is on October 22!
How do you know which interviewer is the committee member? I assume that the committee member has an access to my application whereas the faculty member might not.
 
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applicantstopthebeat said:
Do all the AWPA for those interviewed in September go out at the same time? I interviewed towards the end of the month and haven't received anything in the mail yet 🙁
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That
she-doctorwannabe said:
Thank you!! My interview is on October 22!
How do you know which interviewer is the committee member? I assume that the committee member has an access to my application whereas the faculty member might not.
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Awesome! I’m sure you’ll do great! We were told the day of the interview who was on the committee and who was faculty. Yes, you’re right. One will have access to your file and the other won’t. I hope this helps! The interview was one of the most relaxing that I’ve been to. They really make you feel welcome.
 
VikMed1790 said:
That



Awesome! I’m sure you’ll do great! We were told the day of the interview who was on the committee and who was faculty. Yes, you’re right. One will have access to your file and the other won’t. I hope this helps! The interview was one of the most relaxing that I’ve been to. They really make you feel welcome.
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Glad to hear that!! Thank you!!
 
Congratulations on the AWPA! I have one IMPORTANT question for all. Do all AWPA's get an admission offer, at least by March or so (December, January, and March...)? Can there be lots of applicants who get AWPA's but not final admissions offer at SIU? Could you post whatever info you might have about this? Thank you very much, good luck, everyone, and have a good rest of the weekend.
 
1Chicago1 said:
Congratulations on the AWPA! I have one IMPORTANT question for all. Do all AWPA's get an admission offer, at least by March or so (December, January, and March...)? Can there be lots of applicants who get AWPA's but not final admissions offer at SIU? Could you post whatever info you might have about this? Thank you very much, good luck, everyone, and have a good rest of the weekend.
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On the letter it states that AWPA is not guaranteed admissions. When I was there for my interview, the second year student that gave us the tour said he was given AWPA and then around March, he was not given a spot. It’s important that if you have offers at other schools to take a spot, if you have not gotten an official acceptance from SIU, so that you have a guaranteed seat. From what he said, he decided to reject other offers and not secure a seat and the rejected from SIU (even though he got AWPA) forced him to wait for the next cycle and reapply.

I know this is a tough decision because these applications and deposits are expensive, but my plan is to secure a spot elsewhere before their deadline if I haven’t gotten an official acceptance from SIU. I’d rather lose some money than another year and thousands of dollars reapplying, IMO.

I hope this helps! SIU is my top choice.
 
VikMed1790 said:
On the letter it states that AWPA is not guaranteed admissions. When I was there for my interview, the second year student that gave us the tour said he was given AWPA and then around March, he was not given a spot. It’s important that if you have offers at other schools to take a spot, if you have not gotten an official acceptance from SIU, so that you have a guaranteed seat. From what he said, he decided to reject other offers and not secure a seat and the rejected from SIU (even though he got AWPA) forced him to wait for the next cycle and reapply.

I know this is a tough decision because these applications and deposits are expensive, but my plan is to secure a spot elsewhere before their deadline if I haven’t gotten an official acceptance from SIU. I’d rather lose some money than another year and thousands of dollars reapplying, IMO.

I hope this helps! SIU is my top choice.
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THANK YOU, VikMed1790.
 
VikMed1790 said:
On the letter it states that AWPA is not guaranteed admissions. When I was there for my interview, the second year student that gave us the tour said he was given AWPA and then around March, he was not given a spot. It’s important that if you have offers at other schools to take a spot, if you have not gotten an official acceptance from SIU, so that you have a guaranteed seat. From what he said, he decided to reject other offers and not secure a seat and the rejected from SIU (even though he got AWPA) forced him to wait for the next cycle and reapply.

I know this is a tough decision because these applications and deposits are expensive, but my plan is to secure a spot elsewhere before their deadline if I haven’t gotten an official acceptance from SIU. I’d rather lose some money than another year and thousands of dollars reapplying, IMO.

I hope this helps! SIU is my top choice.
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I will confirm this and add more information! Yes AWPA does not guarantee you a spot for the class but it is good news because this means that you are being highly considered. Historically around 80-90% do get pulled off of the AWPA list. I do not believe they pull from the other list at all. Also the trend is that at first 75 applicants get offered a spot throughout the regular cycle. Usually everyone holds those spots until traffic day. Then once traffic day hits then there will be a lot more movement. I say this because on average around 120 in total are accepted each year which means a good 40-50 do not hold their spot. However, just take those stats with a grain of salt since times might have changed with medical school admissions within the past couple of years.
 
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UMVoyager said:
I will confirm this and add more information! Yes AWPA does not guarantee you a spot for the class but it is good news because this means that you are being highly considered. Historically around 80-90% do get pulled off of the AWPA list. I do not believe they pull from the other list at all. Also the trend is that at first 75 applicants get offered a spot throughout the regular cycle. Usually everyone holds those spots until traffic day. Then once traffic day hits then there will be a lot more movement. I say this because on average around 120 in total are accepted each year which means a good 40-50 do not hold their spot. However, just take those stats with a grain of salt since times might have changed with medical school admissions within the past couple of years.
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I heard that the first round of offer letters could go around Thanksgiving. They have clearly stated that it will happen in December, January and March, though.
 
soillpremed said:
I was actually placed on the AWPA list in early October and offered an acceptance on Oct 24th! So they are already sending out acceptances!
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So are they just abandoning what they told us in they are sending acceptances in December, January and March like they told us on the AWPA letter? I got my AWPA in September and am praying to get in here as it is my top choice!
 
dmerutuf69 said:
So are they just abandoning what they told us in they are sending acceptances in December, January and March like they told us on the AWPA letter? I got my AWPA in September and am praying to get in here as it is my top choice!
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CONGRATULATIONS, EVERYONE WHO ALREADY GOT THE ADMISSIONS OFFERS. PLEASE KINDLY POST IF OTHERS ALSO GOT THE ADMISSIONS OFFERS.
 
For any current students what is the research like on campus? How early can you get involved? Is there research in any specialty or do you have to rely on summer programs at other medical schools for research in some of the competitive specialty’s?
 
dmerutuf69 said:
For any current students what is the research like on campus? How early can you get involved? Is there research in any specialty or do you have to rely on summer programs at other medical schools for research in some of the competitive specialty’s?
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MS1 here in Carbondale weighing in with my $0.02. As for research, we were given an optional session months ago regarding the opportunity to do eight weeks of research over the summer between MS1 and MS2, but it didn't look like many students were interested because of the stipulations they have. Some students choose to do this, others choose to enjoy the summer (probably the last summer we'll ever get). The school is very strict about the time commitment in regard to this research opportunity, but they don't regulate outside research experience.

As long as you can find a faculty member or lab to work in, it is my understanding that you can do research at any point between MS1-MS4. I haven't heard of anyone in our current MS1 class being involved with a project at the moment, and I'm sure that's because we'll be wrapping up our first block this week and everyone is still trying to find their groove and successful study habits. It's also worth mentioning that the faculty overseeing your grades will yank you off of a research project if they see that your grades are suffering.

A few of the upperclassmen have also been working on compiling a list of faculty members in Springfield who are currently working on projects and I'm sure that document will be shared with next year's incoming class as well.
 
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