2018-2019 University of Washington

BU Medical Sciences
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Sheiko said:
Based on last years thread looks like II might start coming out for the MD program next week, here's hoping
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MSAR says they send out interviews starting in September but that would be nice if it was earlier!
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We'll see soon enough!

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Secondary received 8/20! WWAMI applicant. Still deciding on whether to apply TRUST or not.
 
OOR received a "AMCAS received" email. Glad to know it's not an instant rejection, and I am still hopeful for a possible secondary!
 
I am working on the secondary as a white male from the west site of the cascades so this question is a bit difficult:
How have societal inequities in the U.S. affected you or patients you’ve worked with?
I am not exactly sure how to approach this. I really want to go into addiction medicine and I could talk about the social inequalities that face addicts, though I have not had any patients in that category. I am currently shadowing a psychiatrist but he deals mainly with depression and anxiety. I am also bilingual with a year abroad in SA if that helps at all, I could talk about that...
 
DrOakBerries said:
I am working on the secondary as a white male from the west site of the cascades so this question is a bit difficult:
How have societal inequities in the U.S. affected you or patients you’ve worked with?
I am not exactly sure how to approach this. I really want to go into addiction medicine and I could talk about the social inequalities that face addicts, though I have not had any patients in that category. I am currently shadowing a psychiatrist but he deals mainly with depression and anxiety. I am also bilingual with a year abroad in SA if that helps at all, I could talk about that...
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If SA means South Africa or South America then no because the question specifically mentions the USA. You could talk about the stigma around mental health issues since the psychiatrist you shadow will no doubt have patients dealing with that
 
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ltownson said:
If SA means South Africa or South America then no because the question specifically mentions the USA. You could talk about the stigma around mental health issues since the psychiatrist you shadow will no doubt have patients dealing with that
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Thanks, I went down that route. Also, does anyone know much about the TRUST program? Does it help your application in any way to apply to that? I am interested in rural medicine.
 
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Anyone mind to share the prompt and word count for the pre-secondary essay for OOR?
 
DrOakBerries said:
Thanks, I went down that route. Also, does anyone know much about the TRUST program? Does it help your application in any way to apply to that? I am interested in rural medicine.
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TRUST is a very significant and specific commitment. I would read about it on their website before applying. UWSOM knows exactly what they are looking for when people apply for TRUST and they know that people will say they are interested in rural medicine because they think it helps their chances of getting in (same thing with primary care). I think that if you want to claim that you are interested in rural medicine you need to provide them with evidence. Otherwise (and others correct me if I am wrong) you get sent to the TRUST pool first and if rejected go to the main MD pool and your app will be later than if you had just not done TRUST in the first place.
 
schborke said:
TRUST is a very significant and specific commitment. I would read about it on their website before applying. UWSOM knows exactly what they are looking for when people apply for TRUST and they know that people will say they are interested in rural medicine because they think it helps their chances of getting in (same thing with primary care). I think that if you want to claim that you are interested in rural medicine you need to provide them with evidence. Otherwise (and others correct me if I am wrong) you get sent to the TRUST pool first and if rejected go to the main MD pool and your app will be later than if you had just not done TRUST in the first place.
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Thank you, I am interested in rural medicine but I don't know how great my evidence is. I want to do psychiatry and an addiction specialty after that to hopefully work with rural communities suffering from the opioid crisis, but I don't have a whole lot of experience in rural areas. I have a lot of experience pertaining to addiction though so I'll try and talk about the addiction problem in Seattle and Tacoma.
 
Anyone from OOR get secondaries yet? I submitted the mission statement request since late July. My friend submitted mission statement around the same time and just got the rejection yesterday, so I'm not sure what that means.
 
DrOakBerries said:
Thank you, I am interested in rural medicine but I don't know how great my evidence is. I want to do psychiatry and an addiction specialty after that to hopefully work with rural communities suffering from the opioid crisis, but I don't have a whole lot of experience in rural areas. I have a lot of experience pertaining to addiction though so I'll try and talk about the addiction problem in Seattle and Tacoma.
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This paragraph alone convinced me that you should not apply TRUST
 
UWIdahoan said:
I just saw this, but I’ll throw in my input as an Idaho student. I think that overall, they would like your application. I feel fairly confident that you would get an interview (as long as your PS and activity reflections aren’t a disaster).

GPA- this is great, well done
MCAT- I’m sure you don’t know your score yet, but if you hit your predicted range, you should be fine. Honestly, even if this is a little lower than you predict you still have a very good shot
Research- more than good enough
Volunteering- I agree that this is a little on the low side. What are you doing and how long have you been doing it? Did you just start two months ago? If so, that’s not good. This is my first of two concerns about your application.
Shadowing- definitely adequate
Tutoring- this is nice. I wish you had been doing it a little longer, but I’ll let it slide.
Orientation leader- basically fluff. I doubt it will be impressive, but it’s not bad.
Dedication to underserved areas- this is my second concern about your application. This is a great statement to make and I believe that it’s probably true. But I only see one part of your application that shows me you really mean it (tutoring disadvantaged students). Most of their applicants say they want to work in rural/underserved areas because they think it’s what they want to hear. You have to prove it. Did you shadow in an underserved area and reflect about that in the activities section? Are you volunteering with the underserved? Do you have some other connection that you made in your personal statement that you didn’t mention here? If so, that could end up squashing this concern and your application would look quite a bit stronger to me.

On the plus side, I can see a good story somewhere in here about being disadvantaged and having a desire to serve those from a similar background. If you can convey that story to them, I think that will be and impressive and unique part of your application. If you have a different story than all the basic white kids in Idaho (myself included), you will be very memorable and I think that will serve you well.

Let me know if you have any other questions. I found it was kind of difficult getting state specific answers about logistics, etc., so if I can help with that, I’m happy to.
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Hey thank you for your response! So I ended up scoring a 510 on the MCAT with low CARS (124).

As for volunteering, i started volunteering in January of 2018. I've been going in every sunday for 4 hours doing patient safety and helping out in the emergency department. I also participate in a program that serves the elderly who are at risk for dementia and hospital injuries. Basically I spend time in their rooms and just talk with them.

As far as serving the underserved population. I work as a Peer Support Specialist and basically its a job serving in the mental health field. My job is to guide and support them while they deal with this mental illness.

So honestly, what do you think my chances are for getting in?
 
medical.balla said:
Hey thank you for your response! So I ended up scoring a 510 on the MCAT with low CARS (124).

As for volunteering, i started volunteering in January of 2018. I've been going in every sunday for 4 hours doing patient safety and helping out in the emergency department. I also participate in a program that serves the elderly who are at risk for dementia and hospital injuries. Basically I spend time in their rooms and just talk with them.

As far as serving the underserved population. I work as a Peer Support Specialist and basically its a job serving in the mental health field. My job is to guide and support them while they deal with this mental illness.

So honestly, what do you think my chances are for getting in?
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Hey not from Idaho so can't speak to that component but are you applying this cycle or next? If you are applying next cycle I would take time to make sure you can back up saying: "I have a dedication to serve underserved areas (I want to one day bring my knowledge as MD to my home country of Afghanistan)". What I mean is look for some opportunities to work with underserved patient populations ie find a free clinic or work in a shelter. Your job sounds great but mental health patients aren't in themselves an underserved group. You should think about homeless, impoverished, addict, or migrant/immigrant populations as a start. I just don't think from your resume you shared there is sufficient evidence that you have a dedication to serving underserved areas. It would seem from an admissions perspective that you are just saying what they want to hear. I think spending time in underserved areas and being able to speak knowledgeably about your time there would help you immensely and help you clarify why or why you actually want to work with underserved populations. I also would think more about saying you want to practice in Afghanistan. I am not sure what you mean by that and it could be confusing to adcoms.
 
medical.balla said:
Hey thank you for your response! So I ended up scoring a 510 on the MCAT with low CARS (124).

As for volunteering, i started volunteering in January of 2018. I've been going in every sunday for 4 hours doing patient safety and helping out in the emergency department. I also participate in a program that serves the elderly who are at risk for dementia and hospital injuries. Basically I spend time in their rooms and just talk with them.

As far as serving the underserved population. I work as a Peer Support Specialist and basically its a job serving in the mental health field. My job is to guide and support them while they deal with this mental illness.

So honestly, what do you think my chances are for getting in?
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I’m feeling a little like you could be a wait lister/borderline to be honest. I feel that way mostly because of your explanation of your motivation to be in medicine. It’s a good explanation, and I’m not suggesting you change it or lie about it, but I’m not seeing it backed up in your application. Your GPA and MCAT are fine. You have a clear bit of diversity that Idaho really needs and wants to encourage. You have checked all the boxes for sure. But what is your motivation and what in your application shows them that that is true? That application is all they really know about you. Your PS and interview presence should match up to what they see in you activities section. It should all align, and I feel like yours is a bit more of a random spattering. Tie in all you experiences (research, clinical experience, volunteering, hobbies, etc.) into your motivation for medicine, and yes, I think you’ll get it.

I think the above poster had some good points about your volunteering. I’m getting the feeling from your story that you want to work with a specific type of underserved populations (racial/ethnic/cultural groups) but you are working with a different type of underserved group (mental health). I would suggest trying to make those line up a little more if you end up not being successful this cycle. And this doesn’t have to be medicine related. You could work with local refugee kids by volunteering as a coach for a sports team or organizing a summer camp for them or working with a local school (I don’t know, these are half baked ideas, but I’m sure there are real programs out there). Helping out in the ED and being a Peer Support Specialist both sound great and I wouldn’t dump them because they have clear value in other ways, but you might try some volunteering that is more fun where you work with the kind of population you hope to serve in the future.
 
schborke said:
Hey not from Idaho so can't speak to that component but are you applying this cycle or next? If you are applying next cycle I would take time to make sure you can back up saying: "I have a dedication to serve underserved areas (I want to one day bring my knowledge as MD to my home country of Afghanistan)". What I mean is look for some opportunities to work with underserved patient populations ie find a free clinic or work in a shelter. Your job sounds great but mental health patients aren't in themselves an underserved group. You should think about homeless, impoverished, addict, or migrant/immigrant populations as a start. I just don't think from your resume you shared there is sufficient evidence that you have a dedication to serving underserved areas. It would seem from an admissions perspective that you are just saying what they want to hear. I think spending time in underserved areas and being able to speak knowledgeably about your time there would help you immensely and help you clarify why or why you actually want to work with underserved populations. I also would think more about saying you want to practice in Afghanistan. I am not sure what you mean by that and it could be confusing to adcoms.
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I see, so with my job I actually work with many homeless, impoverished, addict, and migrant/immigrant populations. Maybe I could tie that in to my experience working as a Peer Support Specialist. Maybe that will portray my dedication for serving the underserved areas/groups?

Also, I know that UW mission statement has a focus on underserved populations, does that mean that they will not consider applicants who don't truly have a dedication to serving such populations? Or is your answer more tailored to what I said in my original post?
 
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I was asked to do residency verification probably because I went to college oos. It takes 4-6 weeks and they won't consider my application complete until they have the verification. They are so crazy strict about residency.
 
II received just a few minutes ago!
 
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Got invited to interview for MD this morning!

Washington resident, 3.78 519
Complete 7/23
 
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schborke said:
Congrats! I think you are one of the first! I was complete 8/2 so here we go...
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Thanks! I'm super excited! Unfortunately it seems like we won't be able to actually schedule interviews for another week or two, so I have to be patient just a little bit longer :p
 
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Also got the II this morning! Sooooo excited!!!!
 
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II today! IS, 4.0 GPA, 516 MCAT. Going to be going for the November 19-21st Spokane interview slots when they open up. So excited!!!!
 
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CallMeMulan said:
II today! IS, 4.0 GPA, 516 MCAT. Going to be going for the November 19-21st Spokane interview slots when they open up. So excited!!!!
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Do they tell you whether you interview for the Spokane or Seattle campus?
 
Ah now I'm getting nervous since I haven't received an II yet.
 
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Got an II this morning! Though there is no scheduling, just an invite.
Put Seattle as my choice in secondary.
 
II this morning as well, IS ORM, lizzy M 79. Same deal, no scheduling, just "hey we're gonna interview you". Only put Seattle campus as my interest in Secondary
 
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kepler16b said:
I'm wondering if anyone thinks this is true. My invitations to complete the prelim and secondary both seemed to be automated- both had fast turnovers, one over the weekend- so I don't really think that anyone has looked at my app yet.

If this is true, then thats super exciting! But I feel like more than 150 people get an invitation to complete the secondary.

Edit: I'm also not a superstar applicant, so I don't think my app was flagged early on.
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Can't see why he would lie and considering the amount of rejections pre-secondary and how short the real secondary is, I think it is accurate.
 
II just now :)

Edit: Submitted -7/21 Complete - 8/9
 
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II today!!! submitted and complete 7/30
 
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Just received my first R from here.

They heavily emphasized that my OOS (WWAMI) status meant that I'd have to be significantly more competitive.
Best of luck to everyone else! Cheers
 
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II this morning! Submitted and complete on 7/30. IS
 
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