2018-2019 University of Illinois

i'm in the same situation, does this mean we've been deferred month after month? and is there another meeting this month like people mentioned earlier?

 

I don't think we're deferred, since that would indicate that they've actually looked at our applications. They literally just haven't gotten to us yet.

 

cause i'm worried that they might just be telling us that and we're actually slated to be rejected later...

 

This is SO FRUSTRATING.

I have to make a second deposit at the school I've previously been accepted to (who I would drop in a heartbeat for UIC) by March 1st.

 

Do we know if they have finished putting in decisions from the meeting last Friday?

 

Probably.

 

The amount of contradictory information that comes out of admissions is astonishing. I'm honestly having a hard time believing that they haven't reviewed the applications from those who interviewed in September/October. I would think this is some sort of deferral but not sure.

 

Just called. Still putting in decisions from last Friday.

 

I've got the same concern, but if they wanted to reject us, they would have already. There's literally no benefit to them withholding that information. I honestly believe that this whole ordeal is a combination of them being critically understaffed and dealing with the implications of the new traffic rules - a crappy coincidence but somewhat understandable.

 

If our decisions are being pushed to March (a cool 7 months or so after my interview), can we essentially not apply for any of the special programs? I wanted to apply to GMED, but their deadline is March 1 and the app says you can't submit it until you're accepted..?

 

Honestly you should call them and ask. And then use that as your excuse to also get better clarity about when your decision will be released.

 

Just called admissions. Interviewed early October, and the staff member told me that my application still hasn't gone to committee, and I'd have to wait until early March. I guess there are a still unlucky few who interviewed early still haven't been reviewed by adcoms. How tragic.

 

same situation, I just think its unlikely that they haven't even reviewed my application in the 4-5 months after my interview. I just can't help thinking they're just telling us this and it actually means something else...

 

Has anyone tried calling Leila to get a better idea of what is actually going on with all these "forwarded to the admissions committee" statuses 5 months post-interview?

 

You can submit the application at any time, it just says only admitted students will be reviewed.

 

I interviewed the last week of January and they said to submit the application if interested in any of the special programs. The dean told us that the admissions committee was moving slowly primarily because of the new AAMC rules and they understand that this puts students in a tough situation, especially regarding their special programs. So just throw that application in there.

 

It irks me that they've apparently accepted some people who interviewed in December and November already...

 

Just called. They said they are still inputting decisions. Not holding my breath tho. Going on 6 months of waiting for a decision to my top school

 

BUT WHERE ARE THEY LOL

 

I know we keep mentioning the new AAMC rules, but how exactly are they impacting the acceptance process?

 

Well. See y'all next month?

 

I interviewed at several schools after interviewing at UIC and have recieved final decisions for them all. One of the schools interviews roughly the same amount of applicants. Whatever’s going on with UIC seems like a separate issue from the new AAMC rules.

 

I was actually thinking that no other schools seem to be having these issues
But you know, I was trying that open-minded thing. Guess it, like many other things, doesn't apply to UIC.

 

Did anyone hear any final decision today? or do you know anybody that got a decision today?? It seems like the decision input is really taking a long time, which makes me think that a lot of people would get decisions this round, but nobody seems to be hearing anything. Maybe they will still be inputing info through the rest of the week... Who knows

sending good vibes to anyone who's as frustrated as I am :/

 

Did anyone who got accepted on 1/11 receive their information packet in the mail yet? I am still waiting on more info for what I need to be doing to complete admit requirements and what the timeline is on those.

 

Accepted on 10/19 and still no packet.

 

So I've seen wait until the next meeting and I've seen if you don't get anything then call today... Is there a consensus on what to do? I interviewed 11/29

 

Dang. Have you started gathering info on immunizations? I haven't gotten an email about what I need to fulfill for this either. My portal also says I need proof of graduation-have you heard anything about what to do for this?

 

I just called and was told that decisions are being put in through the end of the week. If we don’t hear anything by Friday, it’s an assumed deferral to March.

I also asked about the difference between hearing “deferred” versus not receiving any sort of communication. Leila said that everyone should be receiving deferral emails and the lack of communication is the result of an error in their databases that their IT department has been trying to fix. Given that this was coming directly from Leila, for those stuck on “forwarded” I would trust that this is the best explanation of what is going on.

 

Blaming all of their problems on "technical issues" seems a little fishy but I guess this is the best info we have as of now. Thanks for calling!

 

Haven't heard anything about anything and still in school so no proof of graduation yet and haven't had time to gather immunizations. I'm waiting until I get info from them.

 

Does this mean if we interviewed months ago, we’ve been getting deferred each month? And does this mean for the people who posted yesterday saying that their application is being sent to the March meeting after calling might have a chance to hear back at the end of this week? So much conflicting info...

 

That was what she insinuated to me over the phone, yes. I unfortunately was not able to explicitly verify that my file had been reviewed at a committee meeting. With all the different explanations that are coming out, it's anybody's guess what is going on.

I’m just trying to take comfort in the fact that by March 15th, they have to fill their class of 300 according to AAMC rules. It doesn’t seem like they’ve gotten that far yet so hopefully we’ll all hear something before that day.

 

Yeah, if it makes y'all feel any better the accepted FB group only has 59 people.

 

Could you please explain the March 15th rule? Also, if you know what the traffic rules actually mean - it's that there's less transparency by med schools into where/if folks have been accepted?

 

Per AAMC rules, by March 15 schools have to offer at least as many acceptances as there are spots in their first year class. So for UIC, they have to give out 180 (Chicago) + 60 (Rockford) + 60 (Peoria) =300 acceptances by March 15. They don't have to finalize the class by this point, only send out the acceptances.

And yes, the lack of transparency makes it harder for UIC to know who they should send acceptances to because they don't know where else people got in. For example, if they were reviewing an app and could see the person already got in at Northwestern, UChicago, Harvard, etc., odds are good that person would end up choosing one of those other schools and it probably wouldn't even be worth it to offer them a spot. Likewise, if a person holds no other acceptances, UIC could be pretty sure that person would take the spot if offered and might wait until the end of the cycle when they need to fill the class to actually send out the acceptance to that person. Remember, schools are trying to fill the class with who they feel are the best possible applicants. Since they can no longer see other acceptances, this "will they/won't they attend" game has become much more ambiguous for adcoms.

This doesn't necessarily help those of us who are stuck here in the middle trying to chase our dream of med school, but that's the game and it's the life we chose.

 

That's really helpful on both fronts, thank you. So prior to this year, they could see exactly where a person's been accepted or if they haven't been accepted at all -- and now they have zero insight into that? Leila had explained the traffic stuff but I wanted to be sure I got it.

 

Can anyone comment on opportunities in Rockford vs Chicago? I was placed in Rockford this week which was my second preference and I don’t really have all the scoop on what makes Rockford the same as or different than Chicago.

 

Since Rockford, like Peoria has a class size of around 60, I am sure the small class size will definitely be a plus since you can get more individualized mentorship. I heard Rockford is good for family medicine and rural medicine. I also heard from past threads that you can get clinical experience you can't get on the other two campuses because Rockford hospitals apparently do not have residents so medical students learn from attending physicians who let you do IVs and central lines.

 

ACCEPTED! OOS, interviewed 10/22.

 

Thanks for the comment. Aside from rural health and family medicine and clinical opportunities, are there similar research opportunities and specialty rotations opportunities here as in Chicago? I want to know if I can build an equally competitive application from Rockford as I can in Chicago. I’m not that interested in primary care (except addiction medicine) or rural health unfortunately

 

I got placed into Peoria and I was also wondering the same thing. I talked to an M1 in Peoria who said that initially, resources were uneven between the three campuses with Chicago having more but recently students at Peoria have gained a lot more resources than before due to student feedback. I'd figure Rockford would be in the same footing. I'd presume there would be less research opportunities in Rockford or Peoria compared to Chicago for obvious reasons but because we're medical students, I'd bet if we were proactive in securing research positions, there will be opportunities available albeit maybe not in a sub-field you desire. Good luck to the both of us, I'm sure Rockford and Peoria present a lot of good opportunities we do not know of yet.

 

Looking at the AOA list it definitely looks like it's possible to be in the top of the UICOM class from Rockford or Peoria, although this year's AOA results are a bit discouraging for Rockford...

 

Congrats!! Were you just accepted today?

 

did they just notify u? damn does this mean i can't stop checking after 5pm haha

 

Yep, nothing when I checked at 5 pm PST, saw it when I checked my portal again at around 7 pm.

 

Has anyone who interviewed 10/26 heard back yet?

 

I interviewed on 10/18 and haven’t heard anything yet

 

Ughhhhhh