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PapaGuava

PapaGuava

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Secondary prompts:
1) Describe your motivation for applying to the CMU College of Medicine. Include how your motivation has influenced your preparation for your future career in medicine. Finally, describe how your preparation and background will contribute to the mission of the CMU College of Medicine. (1500 word limit)
2) [REAPP ONLY]: If you have applied to any medical school in previous cycles, what have you done since your last application to prepare yourself for a career in medicine? If you have not applied to medical school previously, write “N/A” in the box. (500 world limit)

And then a space for gap year activities (250 words) and a space to explain your affiliation with a Michigan county in which you've lived (250 words)
Click to expand...

Good luck to everyone applying!

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Last edited:
star.buck said:
Current M4 at CMU, let me know if you have any questions! Good luck this application cycle, I'm rooting for you!!
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Hey thanks for your willingness to answer questions! I have a couple:

1. How did you personally feel about your research opportunities since the med school is still fairly new? Do you think it made it harder or easier to work research into your education/resume?
2. As somebody who's interested in working with undeserved communities but not super sure how I'd get along in a rural setting, I'm curious if you ever felt shoehorned into rural medicine at all? Were there opportunities to work with refugee or international populations?
3. How did you feel about Mt. Pleasant as a place to study? I've always heard it's kind of isolated but have always heard that might be a good thing for med school, fewer distractions an all that.

Thanks again~
 
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meepdog said:
Hey thanks for your willingness to answer questions! I have a couple:

1. How did you personally feel about your research opportunities since the med school is still fairly new? Do you think it made it harder or easier to work research into your education/resume?
2. As somebody who's interested in working with undeserved communities but not super sure how I'd get along in a rural setting, I'm curious if you ever felt shoehorned into rural medicine at all? Were there opportunities to work with refugee or international populations?
3. How did you feel about Mt. Pleasant as a place to study? I've always heard it's kind of isolated but have always heard that might be a good thing for med school, fewer distractions an all that.

Thanks again~
Click to expand...

1. There are LOTS of research opportunities in many different fields. You can look up the profiles of a lot of the professors and they are all willing to work with students on existing projects or new projects that interest the students. I personally didn’t do any research outside the requirements, but I know many of my peers published works during their first few years here.

2. You’re definitely not pushed into rural, or family medicine. You can check the previous year’s thread for match lists and see how diverse the residencies are - which speaks greatly to the education and encouragement to follow what paths we desire. You will get a fantastic rural experience with the longitudinal community clerkship. This places you in a rural Michigan community with a primary care doc that has volunteered to teach you.

3. I loved Mt Pleasant for studying, as I like the rural quiet places, the natural areas to walk, and the small town feel. If that’s not your thing - Saginaw and the tricities (with Midland and Bay City) are only 45 minutes away. We spend the first 2 years in Mt Pleasant, the 3rd and 4th we move to Saginaw, Midland, Detroit, or St Joseph (I believe this is reality now), for clinical experiences and our core rotations.

Hope this helps!!
 
Hello and welcome! Another CMED M4 here to answer any questions. 🙂 Best of luck to all!
 
Secondary received

Prompts @PapaGuava :
1) Describe your motivation for applying to the CMU College of Medicine. Include how your motivation has influenced your preparation for your future career in medicine. Finally, describe how your preparation and background will contribute to the mission of the CMU College of Medicine. (1500 word limit)
2) [REAPP ONLY]: If you have applied to any medical school in previous cycles, what have you done since your last application to prepare yourself for a career in medicine? If you have not applied to medical school previously, write “N/A” in the box. (500 world limit)

And then a space for gap year activities (250 words) and a space to explain your affiliation with a Michigan county in which you've lived (250 words)
 
Are you guys treating that first question as a "why us + diversity" in one?
 
Dang they really changed the prompts this year.
 
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Wrote a beautiful 484 words and was happy to submit it until I realized it was 1500 words and not 500. Brb while I ***
 
I don't think they actually want an essay which is twice as long as your PS. Well they better not, because that's not what they're going to be getting from me. Gonna shoot for 500 words and if I feel like it still has fluff I'll cut it down further
 
Also, did people send CA$Per to this school? It says it's optional on the website but I'm being neurotic about it.
 
meepdog said:
Also, did people send CA$Per to this school? It says it's optional on the website but I'm being neurotic about it.
Click to expand...

I sent it without knowing it was optional or not, but I doubt it'll hurt you if you don't send it. They might just be using it as data for now before they start actually using it in the admissions process


Also, what are you guys writing for the county affiliation? I've literally lived basically my entire life in this one county, what else do they want me to write lol
 
Jappa said:
I sent it without knowing it was optional or not, but I doubt it'll hurt you if you don't send it. They might just be using it as data for now before they start actually using it in the admissions process


Also, what are you guys writing for the county affiliation? I've literally lived basically my entire life in this one county, what else do they want me to write lol
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I basically wrote that I grew up there, left for college, then came back for a little bit. I don't think you have to say too much
 
Anyone else having the issue that shows a red exclamation point next to letters of rec as if they haven't received it, but if you go to document status it shows they have all of my letters? Can I just assume that it'll update soon enough or should I call (submitted early today)
 
Jappa said:
Anyone else having the issue that shows a red exclamation point next to letters of rec as if they haven't received it, but if you go to document status it shows they have all of my letters? Can I just assume that it'll update soon enough or should I call (submitted early today)
Click to expand...
I have the same thing. I would assume it's a manual check since they haven't sent any sort of error message
 
meepdog said:
I have the same thing. I would assume it's a manual check since they haven't sent any sort of error message
Click to expand...

Just fyi I just checked the portal and it shows that I'm complete and under review, without receiving any type of email letting me know. Check your portals!
 
Jappa said:
Just fyi I just checked the portal and it shows that I'm complete and under review, without receiving any type of email letting me know. Check your portals!
Click to expand...
+1
 
Anyone know what the average GPA/MCAT is here? Couldn't find it anywhere. Someone on last year's thread said they don't consider GPA/MCAT when selecting people to interview....which I do not believe....
 
futureneuro7 said:
Anyone know what the average GPA/MCAT is here? Couldn't find it anywhere. Someone on last year's thread said they don't consider GPA/MCAT when selecting people to interview....which I do not believe....
Click to expand...

Based on MSAR, their median MCAT is 509 (127 Chem/Phys, 126 CARS, 127 Bio, 128 Psych/Soc) and their median cGPA is 3.71 and sGPA is 3.62.
 
Is anyone actually using up all 1500 words? I was thinking closer to 500 lol.
 
Just got a secondary! So relieved. Not planning on using all 1500 words, that seems excessive. Ill probably stick to <500.
 
fdizzle12 said:
Okay, good to hear I'm not the only one that doesn't want to write a three page paper hahaha. I'll just be BSing most of it if I had to, and that would sound horrible.
Click to expand...
Who in admissions wants to read a 3 pg essay from an applicant anyway? Think of how much paperwork they have to go through.
 
Why does it show incomplete and not green check mark even after you save your essays and click next? Do we need to write whole 1000 words? The word count was 500 on my first essay.
 
bigmoney said:
Why does it show incomplete and not green check mark even after you save your essays and click next? Do we need to write whole 1000 words? The word count was 500 on my first essay.
Click to expand...
you have to click submit on each page.
 
Should we approach the prompt as an extended why us question? What I understood from the prompt was:
1) My motivation for entering CMU;
2) How said motivation has influenced my preparation (i.e., activities); and
3) How my preparation and background will contribute to the CMU mission

How did everyone approach theirs?
 
HouseM.D. said:
Should we approach the prompt as an extended why us question? What I understood from the prompt was:
1) My motivation for entering CMU;
2) How said motivation has influenced my preparation (i.e., activities); and
3) How my preparation and background will contribute to the CMU mission

How did everyone approach theirs?
Click to expand...

I did a why us + diversity essay
 
Glad I'm not the only one surprised by the 1000 words. Seems excessive. Will aim for around 600.
 
GT_Deen said:
What the heck... Am I crazy? Is the word count now 1000 words? I guess my 900 words doesn't look that bad anymore.
Click to expand...

You’re not crazy! The word limit definitely changed sometime in the past week... guess they realized they didnt want to read full on research papers lol
For the “describe your affiliation with so and so county” prompt they also changed the world limit from 500 to 250
 
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