2018-2019 University of Miami (Miller)

[NinjasAtMyDoor]

yeah i was verified day 1 and got their "we received your app and will make a decision about sending you a secondary shortly" July 2..
trying to think it just gives me leeway on how soon I need to submit (with the multitude of other secondaries I'm writing) but still fond of this school and wanted to be complete early...

I received the initial e-mail the same day as you, but got my secondary on the 11th. Not really sure how they are screening... Miami's secondary was by far the longest I've ever seen. I made sure to put something in every box just to try and get some points. Not sure how many points we'll get for watching football or playing guitar lol.

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[The Knife & Gun Club]

Yeah mine was a little about clinical but mostly about advocacy so I think this is why they do it. But also Im guessing many people have a most meaningful experience related to clinical medicine so idk. Are they asking more along the lines of 1 specific experience within an EC or just the EC in general?

That’s gonna be out of my wheel house since I’m just a student - I have no contact with anyone on admissions lol.

Your guess is as good as mine, however I generally believe there’s more than one correct way to interpret and answer these questions .

 

[futuredoc1020]

My application says it has been reviewed! wonder if that means we will be hearing about interviews soon!

 

[futuredoc1020]

application has been reviewed!

+1!

 

[NinjasAtMyDoor]

My application says it has been reviewed! wonder if that means we will be hearing about interviews soon!

Can I ask when did you submit? And is your CASPer in yet?

 

[futuredoc1020]

Can I ask when did you submit? And is your CASPer in yet?

I submitted 5 days ago so on the 12th. Yes, my CASPer score has been released to my schools.

 

[volacrity]

Anyone have average stats for MD program only? I’m afraid now that the median posted (513) might be deceivingly low to MD applicants only because it includes md/mph applicants

 

[medschoolzombie]

Anyone have average stats for MD program only? I’m afraid now that the median posted (513) might be deceivingly low to MD applicants only because it includes md/mph applicants

Wait do the mph people get a lower bar set for them?

 

[theKingLT]

Anyone have average stats for MD program only? I’m afraid now that the median posted (513) might be deceivingly low to MD applicants only because it includes md/mph applicants

Wait do the mph people get a lower bar set for them?

I hadn't heard this. Maybe because they are looking more for experiences and goals aligned with public health they value a good fit to the program more than stats? It would surprise me that they would care less about the academic strength of their MD/MPH applicants given that the curriculum is more rigorous (I would think) since they have to complete both degrees in four years.

 

[volacrity]

MD/MPH matriculant stats are slightly lower for the MCAT (85%tile vs MD-only 88%tile) and much lower for GPA. I don't know if anyone knows what MD MCAT only is median-wise.

edit: Exact numbers are on the website

edit2: For clarity, the accepted MD + MD/MPH median is 513. The matriculant median for MD + MD/MPH is 512 (88%tile), as is the matriculant average of MD only. The matriculant average percentile of MD/MPH is 85%tile.

 

[Reader88]

I'm working on my answer to the most meaningful clinical experience and I feel like I'm writing another mini personal statement. . .

 

[936117]

Should I be worried if I haven't received a secondary by now..?

 

[volacrity]

What is everyone doing about the lack of paragraph spacing/breaks? If you don't already know, try to press enter on multiple-paragraph essays, and then preview the secondary.

 

[Hirro]

What is everyone doing about the lack of paragraph spacing/breaks? If you don't already know, try to press enter on multiple-paragraph essays, and then preview the secondary.

Submitting and only noticing this happened post-submission upon reading your post, of course. Heh.

In all honesty, though, it's fine. It just made my app harder to read. The paragraphs were there for UMMSM's convenience. If the system turns my paragraph spacing into regular spaces, there's nothing I can do about it. I think it looks fine but I'll admit it made it a lot more tedious to read through.

 

[volacrity]

Anyone else having trouble obtaining a payment confirmation?

edit: Also where do we submit a photo? I couldn't find that either.

 

[FamousLinen]

Anyone else having trouble obtaining a payment confirmation?

edit: Also where do we submit a photo? I couldn't find that either.

You submit the photo after you pay and submit

 

[volacrity]

Yeah the payment looks like it isn’t working. Also not sure if it’s getting charged to my card or not :/. Looks like I’ll have to check my credit card statement tomorrow...

 

[936117]

how does one indent for paragraphs... mine is all jumboed into 1 big paragraph ...

 

[Lactobacillus_acidophilus]

For the clinical experience question, it says don't repeat your personal statement. I talked about mine as one of my most meaningful essays. I don't want to repeat myself too much from the primary but that was my most impactful clinical experience sooo...
Anyone else struggling with this? Thoughts?

 

[JugglesMed]

This secondary is killing me...

 

[there-goes-my-sanity]

For the clinical experience question, it says don't repeat your personal statement. I talked about mine as one of my most meaningful essays. I don't want to repeat myself too much from the primary but that was my most impactful clinical experience sooo...
Anyone else struggling with this? Thoughts?

I basically wrote about the same topic as my primary but gave more insight about it and how it really affected me since I had more characters to do so. Paint the picture of why it was more important because now you are able to talk about the background and your connection to the impact it made on you. I hope that helps!

 

[medschoolzombie]

This secondary is killing me...

I still need to start lol. I finally opened up the secondary today and I already hate the format of it which makes me want to put it off even more

 

[FigmundSreud]

@The Knife & Gun Club

Does early submission help here? My presumption is that it does, because so few people can get through the secondary and do it well before mid-late July, also because their queueing system is based on who is in it at some given point in time. A lot easier to be in that top 20 or whatever when there are fewer people in the pot.

 

[wesleysnipes]

@The Knife & Gun Club

Does early submission help here? My presumption is that it does, because so few people can get through the secondary and do it well before mid-late July, also because their queueing system is based on who is in it at some given point in time. A lot easier to be in that top 20 or whatever when there are fewer people in the pot.

This is exactly how it was explained to me by an adcom. However, you can submit in december and still get an II if you are in the top 20 but you would face competition from a larger pool of applicants.

 

[volacrity]

I've also just put two things together:

In wesleysnipes' video of Dr. Weisman (UM Miller Dean), Weisman said that in terms of MCAT, they like to see at least an 8 in each section, and they care the most about CARS. This probably means that there is a semi-hard screenout of any subscore 124 and below.

With that said, the 10% percentile of CARS of out-of-state admission is 124, but no other score gets that low. The other 3 non-CARS sections have 10% tile bounds of 126 and 127 for all applicants, in-state, and OOS.

Anyone else have more info about Miami caring a lot more about CARS?

 

[medschoolzombie]

I've also just put two things together:

In wesleysnipes' video of Dr. Weisman (UM Miller Dean), Weisman said that in terms of MCAT, they like to see at least an 8 in each section, and they care the most about CARS. This probably means that there is a semi-hard screenout of any subscore 124 and below.

With that said, the 10% percentile of CARS of out-of-state admission is 124, but no other score gets that low. The other 3 non-CARS sections have 10% tile bounds of 126 and 127 for all applicants, in-state, and OOS.

Anyone else have more info about Miami caring a lot more about CARS?

I’m wondering if it’s lower than that for cars. I have a 124 in cars and I still got that secondary. If there is a ‘screen’ maybe it’ll be right before the II

 

[FigmundSreud]

I’m wondering if it’s lower than that for cars. I have a 124 in cars and I still got that secondary. If there is a ‘screen’ maybe it’ll be right before the II

I hope not for your sake

 

[medschoolzombie]

I hope not for your sake

Lol me too man. God I would be so sad if I filled out this secondary only to realize I had no chance at all

But then again if they have a 10th %ile for cars that low then that should mean they don’t care about it as much as the others

 

[FigmundSreud]

Lol me too man. God I would be so sad if I filled out this secondary only to realize I had no chance at all

But then again if they have a 10th %ile for cars that low then that should mean they don’t care about it as much as the others

Their 124 10th percentile for OOS CARS is honestly an enigma, for how much they care about CARS

 

[The Knife & Gun Club]

@The Knife & Gun Club

Does early submission help here? My presumption is that it does, because so few people can get through the secondary and do it well before mid-late July, also because their queueing system is based on who is in it at some given point in time. A lot easier to be in that top 20 or whatever when there are fewer people in the pot.

Yes that’s the logic for submitting early, and this holds true for most med schools.

It’s also the reason to try to get an interview early, as it gives you more chances to get an acceptance.

But really it’s alwasy better to write a good secondary - if that takes you an extra week that’s ok

I've also just put two things together:

In wesleysnipes' video of Dr. Weisman (UM Miller Dean), Weisman said that in terms of MCAT, they like to see at least an 8 in each section, and they care the most about CARS. This probably means that there is a semi-hard screenout of any subscore 124 and below.

With that said, the 10% percentile of CARS of out-of-state admission is 124, but no other score gets that low. The other 3 non-CARS sections have 10% tile bounds of 126 and 127 for all applicants, in-state, and OOS.

Anyone else have more info about Miami caring a lot more about CARS?

Yea not UM specific but I recall reading years ago that CARS was a very strong predictor of performance in med school. Don’t have the data on hand at the moment though.

 

[theKingLT]

Their 124 10th percentile for OOS CARS is honestly an enigma, for how much they care about CARS

Just spit balling here but could be due to it being Miami they may get lots of ESL applicants that get extra leniency on CARS given how notoriously hard it is for non-native english speakers

 

[volacrity]

Just spit balling here but could be due to it being Miami they may get lots of ESL applicants that get extra leniency on CARS given how notoriously hard it is for non-native english speakers

Alright, I hope to God that they stick with this soft purported cutoff of 125 for first-langauge speakers.

 

[FigmundSreud]

Yes that’s the logic for submitting early, and this holds true for most med schools.

It’s also the reason to try to get an interview early, as it gives you more chances to get an acceptance.

But really it’s alwasy better to write a good secondary - if that takes you an extra week that’s ok



Yea not UM specific but I recall reading years ago that CARS was a very strong predictor of performance in med school. Don’t have the data on hand at the moment though.

What was your CARS, just out of curiosity, and what was your MCAT?

 

[The Knife & Gun Club]

What was your CARS, just out of curiosity, and what was your MCAT?

I could tell you, but I’d have to kill you

But seriously I think my CARS was towards the top of Miami’s range for the year I applied. But my GPA was pretty bad, so it was sort of a toss up.

I wouldn’t obsess too much about the numbers, it’s not like you can change your scores anyway. Just do the app and try to convince UM you’d be a good fit for our community. The Adcom is looking for people who will contribute to The dynamics of the class, not standardized test robots.

 

[Hirro]

I wouldn’t obsess too much about the numbers, it’s not like you can change your scores anyway. Just do the app and try to convince UM you’d be a good fit for our community. The Adcom is looking for people who will contribute to The dynamics of the class, not standardized test robots.

Just curious. When you interviewed at schools, were other applicants asking about your stats a lot? I'm interested to know if this is different school-to-school or if it's just a toss up.

 

[liutimot]

I’m wondering if it’s lower than that for cars. I have a 124 in cars and I still got that secondary. If there is a ‘screen’ maybe it’ll be right before the II

I have 123 CARS but still received secondary. But I did see on their website that they value CARS rip..

 

[FigmundSreud]

I have 123 CARS but still received secondary. But I did see on their website that they value CARS rip..

I’ve gathered intel that some have interviewed there with 125 CARS, but I’ve also seen people get waitlisted with higher-than-median (i.e. 513) scores and 125 CARS or below. So it’ll be an uphill battle.

edit: should read ORMs

 

[FigmundSreud]

I could tell you, but I’d have to kill you

But seriously I think my CARS was towards the top of Miami’s range for the year I applied. But my GPA was pretty bad, so it was sort of a toss up.

I wouldn’t obsess too much about the numbers, it’s not like you can change your scores anyway. Just do the app and try to convince UM you’d be a good fit for our community. The Adcom is looking for people who will contribute to The dynamics of the class, not standardized test robots.

Yeah, if Weisman’s rubric from 4 years ago in that video is true today, UMMSM is probably one of the most holistic MD schools in the country.

 

[Boola Boy]

Submitted 7/19. Really excited about this school and the service opportunities here.

 

[Reader88]

I have 123 CARS but still received secondary. But I did see on their website that they value CARS rip..

Where is everyone seeing that they value CARS so much?

 

[Lucky Day]

Where is everyone seeing that they value CARS so much?

At this point in the year, the tea leaves are read a million different ways. I did it. People here will do it. People next year will do it. Almost always it’s a meaningless exercise.

 

[medschoolzombie]

At this point in the year, the tea leaves are read a million different ways. I did it. People here will do it. People next year will do it. Almost always it’s a meaningless exercise.

It also doesn't fit into their holistic vibe

 

[icedude2010]

Does early submission help here? My presumption is that it does, because so few people can get through the secondary and do it well before mid-late July, also because their queueing system is based on who is in it at some given point in time. A lot easier to be in that top 20 or whatever when there are fewer people in the pot.

Also keep in mind that you could be like me and submit in July, get an interview for the end of February and an acceptance in late march.

Like @Lucky Day said, it's like reading tea leaves trying to understand how this works. But it's ideal to be complete earlier!

 

[pmcojm]

No secondary yet for me with 516 MCAT (127 cars), c3.73/s3.74. Submitted several weeks ago. But I haven't taken CASPER yet. Could that be why?

 

[volacrity]

Guys the CARS explanation is right here. No tea leaves neceesary:

MCAT Questions - Miller School of Medicine Admissions

 

[theKingLT]

No secondary yet for me with 516 MCAT (127 cars), c3.73/s3.74. Submitted several weeks ago. But I haven't taken CASPER yet. Could that be why?

Probably not. I submitted 7/5 and received secondary 7/11 but don't take CASPER until next week. Just be patient, it will come. Since you haven't taken CASPER yet it will be at least 3 weeks until after your test date anyways to be complete so just pre-write your secondary and try not to worry

 

[liutimot]

Where is everyone seeing that they value CARS so much?

Link: MCAT Questions - Miller School of Medicine Admissions

 

[WerbenJaegerman]

Yeah, if Weisman’s rubric from 4 years ago in that video is true today, UMMSM is probably one of the most holistic MD schools in the country.

Where can I find this video?

 

[FigmundSreud]

Where can I find this video?

Last post of page 1 of this thread

 

[Unlimited Apps]

"Committees look particularly carefully at the verbal reasoning score because that is something that is not taught in medical school and medical school involves tons of reading and fast comprehension."

The above doesn't necessarily mean that they value CARS more. It could just be (as others have pointed out) that they want to see evidence of you doing well enough in CARS to succeed in medical school. It is not like someone scoring 130 vs 127 on CARS will get more of an "advantage" than somebody else scoring 130 vs 127 on C/P. At-least that is what makes sense to me and what I think Miami's attitude towards CARS is.

Though, on a side note, I hope they give CARS extra weightage because somehow the section ended up being my best score on the real thing and the worst thing on all my practice tests.