2018-2019 University of Miami (Miller)

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
Also, in the video LESS THAN 50% (3459/7128) of applicants filled out a secondary!

Members don't see this ad.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users
Members don't see this ad :)
l still can’t beleive this is a thing. On the bright side adcoms there must be happy
No kidding. That's over $100,000. I'm bout to start my own admissions office. Not a med school. Just the admissions office. Some suckers are going to see it on AMCAS and submit apps anyway
 
  • Like
Reactions: 6 users
How affected was the school during the hurricane, if at all? I'm applying here but dealing with hurricanes sounds like a pain.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

It really just depends where are in your schooling. Folks doing rotations just got that time off. For some of the preclinical students, it hit at an opportune time when the consequences of rescheduling were basically non-existent. For 2nd year MD/MPH students, it was a serious struggle because we essentially had to superimpose two modules. We lost a week of solid studying for new material in Heme/onc (notoriously one of UM's more rigorous 4-week blocks) because we had to simultaneously wrap-up and study for our GI final. But you get past it and we're all fine. Rarely are there any long-term effects to the city itself though, hurricanes aren't anything new to Florida.

But it's such a random occurrence that it's hard to base your school choice on the fact that hurricanes are a thing. You could have blizzards/snow storms in the north, tornadoes in the midwest, wildfires on the west, etc lol
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 users
I was looking at the secondary questions from last year... the optional ones asked about fine arts, sports, student organization involvement, travel, and hobbies. I already mentioned these things in my primary, so should I talk about them again (I'd change my wording)?

I see a lot of people ask about this every year - truth is you mentioned these in your primary, but now they want you to go into more detail. Tell a specific story, or maybe try to tailor which activity/sport/art/whatever to UM. For example I wrote a lot about traveling around Latin America and improving my Spanish when I wrote the app.



Also 2nd what @teeayejay said about the hurricanes. They’re a pain but rare, and the school will do it’s best to accommodate (sometimes better than others - such is that nature of the breakneck speed these curriculums move at). Also, I’ve grown up down here and seen some pretty bad hurricanes - it can be a little scary but the city is built for this. Anyone living in brickell will be in a hurricane proof building so it’s not really a worry for us. The city is much more well constructed than New Orleans or most other coastal cities - so the hurricanes here do less severe damage. Still tons of trees down/power out but nothing like Katrina.
 
Also, in the video LESS THAN 50% (3459/7128) of applicants filled out a secondary!
So basically they interview about 15% of people who fill out the secondary. Not bad chances at all!
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
So basically they interview about 15% of people who fill out the secondary. Not bad chances at all!

Compared to the single digits that I was calculating from MSAR data, that looks like a godsend.
 
Compared to the single digits that I was calculating from MSAR data, that looks like a godsend.
I know right? I interviewed at Drexel last cycle and they interview like 6% of people who apply (based on primary apps on MSAR). Its such a crap shoot. Also didnt get an II from an in state school that interviews 33% of applicants FWIW
 
I know right? I interviewed at Drexel last cycle and they interview like 6% of people who apply (based on primary apps on MSAR). Its such a crap shoot. Also didnt get an II from an in state school that interviews 33% of applicants FWIW

These interview rates are ridiculous. And the irony is that as one goes down the list from the top 20 schools, the rate actually DECREASES due to it being accessible for a larger portion of the applicant pool. As someone that doesn't have the stats for the top 20 schools, a big chunk of my school list has an interview rate under 10%. Just gotta keep the fingers crossed for the "likely" interviews at my state school(s)....
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Members don't see this ad :)
Im contemplating adding UM to my list. I had it but gave it the axe cuz I am not too fond of warm weather (I love the snow....). How much of a beast is the secondary? I have approx 1/2 of my secondaries done (need to look over still) and dont know if its worth adding them if its going to take up all of my time. I know the limits are 500 words but I dont think I will end up hitting the limits for most (probably aim for 250-300 each).
 
Im contemplating adding UM to my list. I had it but gave it the axe cuz I am not too fond of warm weather (I love the snow....). How much of a beast is the secondary? I have approx 1/2 of my secondaries done (need to look over still) and dont know if its worth adding them if its going to take up all of my time. I know the limits are 500 words but I dont think I will end up hitting the limits for most (probably aim for 250-300 each).

You sound like you're better off spending your time with other apps that would still make a healthy school list but in places that you'd rather be
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
You sound like you're better off spending your time with other apps that would still make a healthy school list but in places that you'd rather be
I may still consider them. Im super pale and the heat kills me but dont think Miami would be a bad place to live. Do you know how accepting they are of LGBTQ+ applicants? Are there groups or ECs? I know Miami has a large LGBTQ+ population and didnt know if thats the case at Miller.
 
I've been pre-writing secondaries and recently finished Miami's secondary. Do any current students know what Miami is looking for with this secondary question:
Please provide a chronological list with dates of your clinical experiences/shadowing. (sentence-long descriptions).

I included a MD, PA, MD, and DO in my primary so these will absolutely be on my secondary. Since I acquired my shadowing experiences over a long time, I also shadowed a RN and Pharm.D. I did not seek out these experiences but they were offered to me by the professionals that I shadowed. They knew I wanted to be a doctor and wanted me to have an understanding of everyone's roles in the hospital. I thought "why not" and went through with it. Should I include the RN and Pharm.D on the secondary? I kept the descriptions short and omitted the above sentences for why I shadowed them when I answered this question.
 
I may still consider them. Im super pale and the heat kills me but dont think Miami would be a bad place to live. Do you know how accepting they are of LGBTQ+ applicants? Are there groups or ECs? I know Miami has a large LGBTQ+ population and didnt know if thats the case at Miller.

Yea, there's a fair share of the community at Miller and the student group is relatively active

I've been pre-writing secondaries and recently finished Miami's secondary. Do any current students know what Miami is looking for with this secondary question:
Please provide a chronological list with dates of your clinical experiences/shadowing. (sentence-long descriptions).

I included a MD, PA, MD, and DO in my primary so these will absolutely be on my secondary. Since I acquired my shadowing experiences over a long time, I also shadowed a RN and Pharm.D. I did not seek out these experiences but they were offered to me by the professionals that I shadowed. They knew I wanted to be a doctor and wanted me to have an understanding of everyone's roles in the hospital. I thought "why not" and went through with it. Should I include the RN and Pharm.D on the secondary? I kept the descriptions short and omitted the above sentences for why I shadowed them when I answered this question.

I'd keep it just to physicians. There are other ways to speak on holistic shadowing in your app. And the list is just that...they don't require that you go into much detail.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users
Not sure if this has been asked, but is it really necessary to go to 500 words for all the questions? I feel like I can answer most of them concisely and compellingly in less than <300 words.
 
Not sure if this has been asked, but is it really necessary to go to 500 words for all the questions? I feel like I can answer most of them concisely and compellingly in less than <300 words.

No. Never is it necessary to max out an essay word count. Make as solid an argument for yourself as possible and only worry about the word count if you go over.

For my own personal experience, my secondary essays for Miller ranged from ~180 to ~450 with 300 being the middle and I’ll be an MS1 at Miller in 5 weeks.

Speaking of which, anyone can feel free to ask me questions through here or PM. I’d be more than willing to share my experiences (albeit somewhat limited) with Miller.

Good luck!
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 users
No. Never is it necessary to max out an essay word count. Make as solid an argument for yourself as possible and only worry about the word count if you go over.

For my own personal experience, my secondary essays for Miller ranged from ~180 to ~450 with 300 being the middle and I’ll be an MS1 at Miller in 5 weeks.

Speaking of which, anyone can feel free to ask me questions through here or PM. I’d be more than willing to share my experiences (albeit somewhat limited) with Miller.

Good luck!

Did your optional essays fall into that range as well? I ask because my word count for the optional essays (fine arts, sports, student orgs, travel, and hobbies) does not exceed 200 haha
 
Did your optional essays fall into that range as well? I ask because my word count for the optional essays (fine arts, sports, student orgs, travel, and hobbies) does not exceed 200 haha

For one essay, I put "NA." For the others, I had one at ~150, two at ~250 and one at ~350.

Most importantly, make a good argument about why you're interesting/fun/intellectually curious. The word count should only be used to pick the breadth of your response when you start and to check that you're within the limits when you're finished.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
For one essay, I put "NA." For the others, I had one at ~150, two at ~250 and one at ~350.

Most importantly, make a good argument about why you're interesting/fun/intellectually curious. The word count should only be used to pick the breadth of your response when you start and to check that you're within the limits when you're finished.

Agree with all of this. I wrote something for every essay I think, but some were very short. Some, I filled out the entire document.

I found this secondary helpful to do, because it covered pretty much anything I needed for other secondaries. Getting those lists all worked out, essays on public health, research, etc., was very useful to refer back to later on when preparing for interviews or writing other secondaries.
 
For one essay, I put "NA." For the others, I had one at ~150, two at ~250 and one at ~350.

Most importantly, make a good argument about why you're interesting/fun/intellectually curious. The word count should only be used to pick the breadth of your response when you start and to check that you're within the limits when you're finished.
How important do you think the optional essays are? A lot of them apply to me as Im basically an art school kid and I have a bunch of hobbies outside of school.
 
Are there research opportunities or other programs for students to be involved with? I'm interested in continuing research in medical school if possible.

Also, for the secondary, when answering the listing questions, is any description required, or just make a list? And should I give specific experiencs for the fine arts and sports questions? Like I like sports because of strategy or just briefly discuss my involvement? or i like watching x sport for y reason, and here is z experience to show that. Like is "show don't tell" as important for those optional questions? I don't want to provide unnecessary information if its bad.
 
How important do you think the optional essays are? A lot of them apply to me as Im basically an art school kid and I have a bunch of hobbies outside of school.
I think the way they give your app points for your essays and experiences make them pretty meaningful. They wouldn't ask the questions if they didn't care, and I would certainly write about all of your hobbies and experiences. The grading rubric posted above indicates that experiences and ECs make up a large portion of the total score which gets you an invite and/or acceptance. So I would def do it!! (My app was EC heavy and it worked out for me)

Are there research opportunities or other programs for students to be involved with? I'm interested in continuing research in medical school if possible.
There's definitely tons of research opportunities at UM, and even a research with distinction track (Along with several other scholarly pathways with built in research and project requirements). I think UM is pretty hands off about research, meaning you can opt to do no research, or you can spend your entire day doing research and watch lectures in down-time or at night (Literally met a student when I was there who does this and works full-time in a lab). From following some of the UM pages, there really is a large amount of research being done there, especially in optho, cardiology, stem cells, genetics, infectious diseases, spine/neurosurg/ortho etc. (This isn't comprehensive, just some things I've recently noticed).

Also, for the secondary, when answering the listing questions, is any description required, or just make a list? And should I give specific experiencs for the fine arts and sports questions? Like I like sports because of strategy or just briefly discuss my involvement? or i like watching x sport for y reason, and here is z experience to show that. Like is "show don't tell" as important for those optional questions? I don't want to provide unnecessary information if its bad.
For mine, if I had extra room after I listed everything I added a brief description. I don't think it will hurt you to add more context if you have room. Regarding the sports and fine arts stuff, I say go as in depth as you want. I mentioned things I was involved in and then talked a bit deeper about how that relates to my experiences and desire to go to med school. I say if you have the space, go for it.
 
There's definitely tons of research opportunities at UM, and even a research with distinction track (Along with several other scholarly pathways with built in research and project requirements). I think UM is pretty hands off about research, meaning you can opt to do no research, or you can spend your entire day doing research and watch lectures in down-time or at night (Literally met a student when I was there who does this and works full-time in a lab). From following some of the UM pages, there really is a large amount of research being done there, especially in optho, cardiology, stem cells, genetics, infectious diseases, spine/neurosurg/ortho etc. (This isn't comprehensive, just some things I've recently noticed).

I kind of like the hands off approach. Could be better to seek out your own opportunities rather than being forced to participate. For other "why this school" essays I looked into a lot of research specific programs as well as other programs that might interest me. I didn't see too much on Miami's website, but other things appeal to me about the medical school...the large city and they emphasize all the opportunities (over 90 healthcare facilities to do clinicals, etc.). In your experience, is it actually practical to think you get experience at all different kinds of clinics, outpatient facilities and the different hospitals?
 
I kind of like the hands off approach. Could be better to seek out your own opportunities rather than being forced to participate. For other "why this school" essays I looked into a lot of research specific programs as well as other programs that might interest me. I didn't see too much on Miami's website, but other things appeal to me about the medical school...the large city and they emphasize all the opportunities (over 90 healthcare facilities to do clinicals, etc.). In your experience, is it actually practical to think you get experience at all different kinds of clinics, outpatient facilities and the different hospitals?
I think that's a very good point to write about. There is a ton of diversity in patients and clinics, from UMH, JMH, to smaller clinics and DOCS clinics, and satellite campuses. The health system is huge, and JMH in particular is a huge reason why I wanted to go to UM. I think the DOCS program is pretty unique as well, and like you said, Miami presents a whole wealth of opportunities to get involved in any number of clinical, volunteer, or extracurricular experiences.
 
Where is the grading rubric? I keep seeing 120/300 for GPA and MCAT and 180/300 for everything else, but I'm not sure if there's more to it.
 
@teeayejay
I know you had talked about this in an earlier Miami thread but could you specify how the school-supported patient interactions work? There are the health fairs and the student-led (?) clinics. Also, something to do with societies? Does the society patient interaction happen weekly at a set time? Or how is the spaced out? I am just trying to understand the frequency of patient interaction early on.

Also, in terms of international opportunities, I see the Global Institute? Is that something students participate in? Do students go on international trips to observe/participate between M1 and M2? Or international electives? Where can I find more information about the global aspect of the schooling?
 
Heads up, Miami is now requiring CASPer. Lovely that they decided on this AFTER taking our primary money.
 
Heads up, Miami is now requiring CASPer. Lovely that they decided on this AFTER taking our primary money.
Yup. Just saw their email notifying us to check out the changes to the program. I'm really glad I already took it for other schools now.
 
Miami is not even in the CASPer system yet to add it as a school for results distribution.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users
Just recently got the email regarding potential invitation to the secondary and the recent changes. Bummer to hear about Miami requiring CASPer now. Although I am already scheduled to take it on July 8th for ~3-4 other schools (this list is growing!). Atleast now I get more time to work on this monstrous secondary considering my CASPer results won't get transmitted till the end of July anyways.
 
Yeah, not cool. Was not planning to take CASPer this cycle but they already took my money. If I am going to take it, I might as well have sent primaries to the other few schools I was interested in that require it.
It's not too late to add the others to your primary list. But I agree it's a pain in the a**. I would be upset if it wasn't for other schools on my list adding it this year as well. Makes it seem like the test is going to be somewhat of a requirement from now on for anyone with a fairly broad school list
 
It's not too late to add the others to your primary list. But I agree it's a pain in the a**. I would be upset if it wasn't for other schools on my list adding it this year as well. Makes it seem like the test is going to be somewhat of a requirement from now on for anyone with a fairly broad school list

Not to mention, even some top schools like UMich are creeping into CASPer territory. CASPer requirement definitely feels like the move for medical schools with rising # of applicants and the need for another way to "weed" out or "screen" out a significant chunk.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Not to mention, even some top schools like UMich are creeping into CASPer territory. CASPer requirement definitely feels like the move for medical schools with rising # of applicants and the need for another way to "weed" out or "screen" out a significant chunk.
Question is how are they gonna use it? Results are sent to schools on a percentile rank, so it’s more likely that they’ll eventually adopt a system where anyone below x percentile are screened out
 
Question is how are they gonna use it? Results are sent to schools on a percentile rank, so it’s more likely that they’ll eventually adopt a system where anyone below x percentile are screened out

Yea I would imagine that any kind of screening would involve usage of the percentile scores and a "cut-off" (whether its hard or soft might depend on the school). But I find it hard to believe that CASPer results (if even used for the first few cycles of a particular school that newly adopts it) will be used significantly to choose interview invites (apart from the screening).

On a side note, I think that most people shouldn't be too worried by CASPer. In fact, it might help screen out the high stat applicants that have no business interviewing at schools due to lack of maturity and lack of real world experience (that CASPer tests pretty well with its ethical and "real-world" scenarios).
 
Yea I would imagine that any kind of screening would involve usage of the percentile scores and a "cut-off" (whether its hard or soft might depend on the school). But I find it hard to believe that CASPer results (if even used for the first few cycles of a particular school that newly adopts it) will be used significantly to choose interview invites (apart from the screening).

On a side note, I think that most people shouldn't be too worried by CASPer. In fact, it might help screen out the high stat applicants that have no business interviewing at schools due to lack of maturity and lack of real world experience (that CASPer tests pretty well with its ethical and "real-world" scenarios).

It really depends on the school. Most schools who've recently adopted it seem to be using it mostly for their accepted applicants, to see what metrics/percentiles they get. I'm imagining this school will do the same for a couple of years. After that, it's likely it may be used to screen out applicants for II. That's basically what it's designed for

I don't know how well that would work out.
 
It really depends on the school. Most schools who've recently adopted it seem to be using it mostly for their accepted applicants, to see what metrics/percentiles they get. I'm imagining this school will do the same for a couple of years. After that, it's likely it may be used to screen out applicants for II. That's basically what it's designed for

I don't know how well that would work out.
I think they are using it right now to see what the avg is for the students that happen to get accepted. So in the future they may be like "oh hey this person has the same as our avg. It is likely that they will be kinda what we are looking for" or whatever. I dont think many school use it as an explicit screening tool tho I know some do (I believe UVM and RFU do)
 
I think they are using it right now to see what the avg is for the students that happen to get accepted. So in the future they may be like "oh hey this person has the same as our avg. It is likely that they will be kinda what we are looking for" or whatever. I dont think many school use it as an explicit screening tool tho I know some do (I believe UVM and RFU do)

Yea I am pretty sure that schools that newly adopt it probably don't use it for admissions for ATLEAST the first year and probably not for the first few cycles.

In other words, we shouldn't stress too much about the CASPer being a new requirement for certain schools but in all likelihood it literally will not make a difference (other than it being an annoying thing we have to do).
 
I think they are using it right now to see what the avg is for the students that happen to get accepted. So in the future they may be like "oh hey this person has the same as our avg. It is likely that they will be kinda what we are looking for" or whatever. I dont think many school use it as an explicit screening tool tho I know some do (I believe UVM and RFU do)

Yea I am pretty sure that schools that newly adopt it probably don't use it for admissions for ATLEAST the first year and probably not for the first few cycles.

In other words, we shouldn't stress too much about the CASPer being a new requirement for certain schools but in all likelihood it literally will not make a difference (other than it being an annoying thing we have to do).

Very true. It also doesn't look like there's a screen at all judging from the website. I'm guessing all applicants are gonna get a secondary and they'll leave it up to us as to whether we fill it out or not
 
I know only about 1/2 of people fill out the secondary. And with CASPer now, even less will because I know people who have actively avoided schools who use it. I already took it but I think that will give a better chance to those of us who still plan on applying with the new requirement
 
I know only about 1/2 of people fill out the secondary. And with CASPer now, even less will because I know people who have actively avoided schools who use it. I already took it but I think that will give a better chance to those of us who still plan on applying with the new requirement

How do you about 1/2 filling out the secondary? Did you get that from conversation earlier in this thread?

Either way, I am not complaining about this. I was already scheduled to take it in a week for a few schools that require it. If it means less applicants that we are competing with, lol better for us. Though I still need to start that crazy secondary!
 
How do you about 1/2 filling out the secondary? Did you get that from conversation earlier in this thread?

Either way, I am not complaining about this. I was already scheduled to take it in a week for a few schools that require it. If it means less applicants that we are competing with, lol better for us. Though I still need to start that crazy secondary!

Also, in the video LESS THAN 50% (3459/7128) of applicants filled out a secondary!

This was earlier. I wasnt thinking about applying to UM because I honestly melt in the heat but with CASPer and this info, it may be a good shot!
 
This was earlier. I wasnt thinking about applying to UM because I honestly melt in the heat but with CASPer and this info, it may be a good shot!

Lol, I hope Duke's breakdown from primary applications to secondary applications completes is as favorable as UM.
 
Do they have a video that explains it like UM does?

Duke is one of my top choices and I have done some pretty in-depth research and found nothing even close to the UM video that breaks it down. My guess is that the # of secondary applications completed is ~70-80% of the # of primary applications. My reasoning is that applicants are more likely to be serious about a Duke application and thus more likely to submit (and the ones that don't are probably the reach applications anyways).
 
Top