2019-2020 Massachusetts

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Are we able to submit the secondary before our letters are marked received by UMass? I'm trying to get the secondary submitted ASAP. All my letters are already on AMCAS, but I didn't send them to UMass until today... If I do indeed need to wait, how long did it take for your letters to be received by UMass?
 
Took me ~2 days to get my letters populated on the secondary portal after sending from AMCAS. It also says:
Please be aware that it can take up to two weeks from when you submit LOR information through AMCAS for it to be populated here and processed.
Letters of recommendation that have been received and processed will remain a part of your application unless you notify us via email, regardless of any changes you make to your AMCAS application pertaining to your letters/letter writers including removing any. Please note that it will take at least a week for our system to update with any changes.

I'd call to ask just to be sure if you can submit.

Premed'95 said:
Are we able to submit the secondary before our letters are marked received by UMass? I'm trying to get the secondary submitted ASAP. All my letters are already on AMCAS, but I didn't send them to UMass until today... If I do indeed need to wait, how long did it take for your letters to be received by UMass?
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auggie391 said:
Took me ~2 days to get my letters populated on the secondary portal after sending from AMCAS. It also says:
Please be aware that it can take up to two weeks from when you submit LOR information through AMCAS for it to be populated here and processed.
Letters of recommendation that have been received and processed will remain a part of your application unless you notify us via email, regardless of any changes you make to your AMCAS application pertaining to your letters/letter writers including removing any. Please note that it will take at least a week for our system to update with any changes.

I'd call to ask just to be sure if you can submit.
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Thanks for the response! I think it's probably best to wait since on the letter section they want you to specify which 2 letters are from science professors and which are "others." If I don't see them populated in the next couple days though I'll probably go ahead and call
 
I'm thinking about adding this school to my list, OOS. Can someone tell me what secondary fee is? Thank you!
 
​
Q2) Please discuss any part of your application that you feel requires further explanation - for example, grades or MCAT scores that do not reflect your true ability, a gap in time that is not explained elsewhere in your application. If you are reapplying to UMass SOM, highlight how you have strengthened your application. (250 word limit)

Do yall know if this prompt is required? I do not really have anything to talk about here.​
 
TravelingMedicine said:

​
Q2) Please discuss any part of your application that you feel requires further explanation - for example, grades or MCAT scores that do not reflect your true ability, a gap in time that is not explained elsewhere in your application. If you are reapplying to UMass SOM, highlight how you have strengthened your application. (250 word limit)

Do yall know if this prompt is required? I do not really have anything to talk about here.​
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It is not required. It is optional only if an applicant feels any of the situations mentioned apply to them.
 
TravelingMedicine said:

​
Q2) Please discuss any part of your application that you feel requires further explanation - for example, grades or MCAT scores that do not reflect your true ability, a gap in time that is not explained elsewhere in your application. If you are reapplying to UMass SOM, highlight how you have strengthened your application. (250 word limit)

Do yall know if this prompt is required? I do not really have anything to talk about here.​
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I put not applicable and got an II so it isn't necessary!
 
Did anyone ever figure out the log in issue? I'm getting a page that says Login error, an error occured during the secure access login process. Anyone else getting this or know how to fix it?
 
Orangekiwi said:
Did anyone ever figure out the log in issue? I'm getting a page that says Login error, an error occured during the secure access login process. Anyone else getting this or know how to fix it?
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Yes, contact admissions and they will send you instructions. It’s pretty easy but you can’t do it on your own
 
anyone here go to UMass and can tell me about the perks of living in Worcester and going to UMass in general? I'm from cali and the question they're probably going to ask is "Why UMass" and maybe a followup with "why the hell would you move out of california to go here??" lmao
 
cselje said:
anyone here go to UMass and can tell me about the perks of living in Worcester and going to UMass in general? I'm from cali and the question they're probably going to ask is "Why UMass" and maybe a followup with "why the hell would you move out of california to go here??" lmao
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Do you have any connection to MA? UMass has a pretty heavy in-state bias.

Regarding perks, it's probably cheaper than where you are now. Small city so there's stuff to do without it being overwhelming huge like NYC (although tbh Boston is probably better at this). Reasonably easy access to Boston, also plenty of exposure to rural populations if thats what you're looking for via their affiliation with Baystate.

Maybe someone who actually goes to UMass can help. I would rather be in Boston than Worcester, and the Boston schools are much friendlier to OOS students though tbf they do have generally higher stats. Why did you apply to UMass?
 
cselje said:
anyone here go to UMass and can tell me about the perks of living in Worcester and going to UMass in general? I'm from cali and the question they're probably going to ask is "Why UMass" and maybe a followup with "why the hell would you move out of california to go here??" lmao
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Relax Tupac. If you can't come up with the answer independently, it likely wouldn't come across as passionate in an interview.
 
Hey y'all. I'm a fourth year med student at UMass, happy to answer any questions about the school if anyone has them! I used SDN pretty religiously during my application cycle forever ago, so it's only fair to pay it back. Feel free to message me!
 
ChymeofPassion said:
Relax Tupac. If you can't come up with the answer independently, it likely wouldn't come across as passionate in an interview.
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lol damn chill dude it was just a question. let's be honest, no one really knows what it's like to live in a given city unless you've been there/know people who live there/lived there yourself. It's totally ok for someone to ask how it is in that city just to have a general idea. I'm obviously going to explore the city before my interview just wanted some insider info on how it's like.
 
Wolvvs said:
Do you have any connection to MA? UMass has a pretty heavy in-state bias.

Regarding perks, it's probably cheaper than where you are now. Small city so there's stuff to do without it being overwhelming huge like NYC (although tbh Boston is probably better at this). Reasonably easy access to Boston, also plenty of exposure to rural populations if thats what you're looking for via their affiliation with Baystate.

Maybe someone who actually goes to UMass can help. I would rather be in Boston than Worcester, and the Boston schools are much friendlier to OOS students though tbf they do have generally higher stats. Why did you apply to UMass?
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applied because they have a very specific program im interested in. Just wanted to know how the city was in general becasue that is another important factor to me. Thanks!
 
cselje said:
lol damn chill dude it was just a question. let's be honest, no one really knows what it's like to live in a given city unless you've been there/know people who live there/lived there yourself. It's totally ok for someone to ask how it is in that city just to have a general idea. I'm obviously going to explore the city before my interview just wanted some insider info on how it's like.
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Worcester isn't a great town, although its on the come up. Definitely lots of opportunity to work with the underserved. 1.5 hr train, 1-1.5 hr drive from Boston. The surrounding towns (Shrewsbury/Westborough) are very nice (if I'm admitted, I'll be living there). I live 20 minutes from Worcester, have for 8 years.
 
ChymeofPassion said:
Worcester isn't a great town, although its on the come up. Definitely lots of opportunity to work with the underserved. 1.5 hr train, 1-1.5 hr drive from Boston. The surrounding towns (Shrewsbury/Westborough) are very nice (if I'm admitted, I'll be living there). I live 20 minutes from Worcester, have for 8 years.
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thanks for being civil, appreciate it!
 
Wolvvs said:
Do you have any connection to MA? UMass has a pretty heavy in-state bias.

Regarding perks, it's probably cheaper than where you are now. Small city so there's stuff to do without it being overwhelming huge like NYC (although tbh Boston is probably better at this). Reasonably easy access to Boston, also plenty of exposure to rural populations if thats what you're looking for via their affiliation with Baystate.

Maybe someone who actually goes to UMass can help. I would rather be in Boston than Worcester, and the Boston schools are much friendlier to OOS students though tbf they do have generally higher stats. Why did you apply to UMass?
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I thought I would offer that there is exposure to both urban and rural populations at Baystate. While it is much smaller than Boston, Springfield is only slightly smaller than Worcester. When you add in the populations of Chicopee, Holyoke, and West Springfield which are served by Baystate, you exceed the size of Worcester. The acronym of the PURCH program which UMass offers via Baystate indicates Urban and Rural populations.
 
cselje said:
anyone here go to UMass and can tell me about the perks of living in Worcester and going to UMass in general? I'm from cali and the question they're probably going to ask is "Why UMass" and maybe a followup with "why the hell would you move out of california to go here??" lmao
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The "they" that you are referring to are the interviewers I am assuming, interviewers who live in Massachusetts. Why would you assume that they would be incredulous that you are leaving CA? As someone who was born and raised in MA and who chooses to stay here, I wouldn't have that thought occur to me.

If presented with this question, here a few thoughts to get you started: A benefit of living in MA is that within a couple of hours in different directions, you can be skiing in VT, you can be at the beach on the Cape, you can enjoy the cities of Boston and NY, you can be in the Berkshires hiking or attending a concert at Tanglewood, or you could be hiking in the White Mountains of NH. We have four appreciably and enjoyable disctinct seasons. Or, you could try telling them you want to escape wildfires and earthquakes.

I don't think they will be laser focused on geography. They will likely want to know why you want to attend the school. For that, I would suggest you spend time digging deep into the website. When I was applying, I spent quite a bit of time by researching each school's site before I wrote up my secondaries, so I could fine tune them to be appropriate for each submission.
 
NeuroSurgeo said:
The "they" that you are referring to are the interviewers I am assuming, interviewers who live in Massachusetts. Why would you assume that they would be incredulous that you are leaving CA? As someone who was born and raised in MA and who chooses to stay here, I wouldn't have that thought occur to me.

If presented with this question, here a few thoughts to get you started: A benefit of living in MA is that within a couple of hours in different directions, you can be skiing in VT, you can be at the beach on the Cape, you can enjoy the cities of Boston and NY, you can be in the Berkshires hiking or attending a concert at Tanglewood, or you could be hiking in the White Mountains of NH. We have four appreciably and enjoyable disctinct seasons. Or, you could try telling them you want to escape wildfires and earthquakes.

I don't think they will be laser focused on geography. They will likely want to know why you want to attend the school. For that, I would suggest you spend time digging deep into the website. When I was applying, I spent quite a bit of time by researching each school's site before I wrote up my secondaries, so I could fine tune them to be appropriate for each submission.
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Thanks! only reason I mentioned that they would ask me about leaving CA is that quite a few friends of mine received this question from east coast interviewers.
 
cselje said:
anyone here go to UMass and can tell me about the perks of living in Worcester and going to UMass in general? I'm from cali and the question they're probably going to ask is "Why UMass" and maybe a followup with "why the hell would you move out of california to go here??" lmao
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they do scenario-based MMI
 
A_Sentient_Ape said:
Is the "Please discuss any part of your application that you feel requires further explanation" prompt optional? I don't have anything that matches their given descriptions and I feel like I don't have anything else to explain? This doesn't seem like an "additional comments" essay....or is this how others are approaching it regardless of the different wording?
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how did you address this? I am stuck on this question. I am not sure if I want to highlight my flaws
 
PalmiticAcid said:
how did you address this? I am stuck on this question. I am not sure if I want to highlight my flaws
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If you have a flaw that you did something about to successfully address it or overcome it, then you should use this opportunity. Think about it as highlighting your success and not the flaw.
 
II received just now :happy:!!!

My email gave me a date for my MMI (I didn't choose the date). My question for the gallery is: does UMASS usually assign II dates for applicants or, way back in the July secondary haze, did I pick a date while filling in the app and just don't remember now. I'm trying to see if I can get it changed...
 
AMCASTuesdays said:
II received just now :happy:!!!

My email gave me a date for my MMI (I didn't choose the date). My question for the gallery is: does UMASS usually assign II dates for applicants or, way back in the July secondary haze, did I pick a date while filling in the app and just don't remember now. I'm trying to see if I can get it changed...
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Hi Amcas,
They assign the interview date. I would only request a change if there is something urgent/unavoidable. e.g. another interview already scheduled for same date with a different school.
 
NeuroSurgeo said:
Hi Amcas,
They assign the interview date. I would only request a change if there is something urgent/unavoidable. e.g. another interview already scheduled for same date with a different school.
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Thank you very much!
 
AMCASTuesdays said:
I applied PURCH,
- didnt say in my email whether theyre considering me for that too or not.
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Hi Amcas,
They only consider an applicant for the track applied to. The tracks are MD, MD/PURCH, or MD/PhD. If one applies MD/PURCH, the school is assuming that is the career path you are choosing, and so only considers you for that. If one applied MD, they would not be considered for PURCH, nor would they be considered for MD/PhD.
 
II!!! in state, super excited. Anyone know how they choose what interview date you are selected for? From what I know, they sent out a huge batch of II's today, but some in September, others in october...?
 
NeuroSurgeo said:
Hi Amcas,
They only consider an applicant for the track applied to. The tracks are MD, MD/PURCH, or MD/PhD. If one applies MD/PURCH, the school is assuming that is the career path you are choosing, and so only considers you for that. If one applied MD, they would not be considered for PURCH, nor would they be considered for MD/PhD.
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I thought that umass does two interview days if you are being considered for purch- one at the bay state campus and one at the Worcester campus. If @AMCASTuesdays doesn't have two interview days, wouldn’t that mean they aren’t being considered for purch?
 
almostthere2024 said:
I thought that umass does two interview days if you are being considered for purch- one at the bay state campus and one at the Worcester campus. If @AMCASTuesdays doesn't have two interview days, wouldn’t that mean they aren’t being considered for purch?
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Yes this is what I was also thinking/wondering ^
 
AMCASTuesdays said:
Yes this is what I was also thinking/wondering ^
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I apologize if I misspoke. Yes, they have a separate interview day at Baystate (one word). So, it is a good question if it wasn't mentioned in Amcas' interview invite. I did not apply to Purch, so I am sorry that I don't know how they communicate the Baystate interview day info.
 
AMCASTuesdays said:
Yes this is what I was also thinking/wondering ^
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Amcas - I would write to admissions to clarify. Also, from the website: "You will receive detailed information about the PURCH Track with your secondary application materials." Did this happen for you?

However, maybe I am confused now that I look back. Did you just receive your secondary application, or have you submitted your secondary and have received an interview invitation?
 
NeuroSurgeo said:
Amcas - I would write to admissions to clarify. Also, from the website: "You will receive detailed information about the PURCH Track with your secondary application materials." Did this happen for you?

However, maybe I am confused now that I look back. Did you just receive your secondary application, or have you submitted your secondary and have received an interview invitation?
Click to expand...

My understanding is that they received an interview invite after indicating on their secondary that they are interested in PURCH. As far as I knew, PURCH interviews are the day following your MD interview. I actually figured that was one of the reasons they assigned dates, so that PURCH kids are put on days that correspond with when they are interviewing at bay state. You should reach out, because I'm pretty sure everybody who says they are interested in PURCH and are invited to interview for MD are also invited for PURCH
 
So I just got my residency switched up on my very last minute (long story, thought I was solid as a resident in my home state, but turns out that isn't the case and I'm actually one in MA, as a very recent transplant). With a LizzyM of 69 and a weakness factor of GPA.. would it be worth throwing an application this late in the pile? How quick is the secondary/completion turnaround? What is more enticing to this school - residency or superstar stats?
 
Hi everyone,
I'm filling out the secondary for UMASS now. It's insane ! How many drafts did you guys go through for it, I feel like this secondary may take 3-4 drafts to write out.

How long do you guys feel like secondaries took you? How many drafts did you do?

Honestly, I'm only applying here because it's my state school. I'm in range for the school, but I really don't feel like I'm as good as other Mass applicants. Anybody else feel this way? Like this is the most reach program on your list?
 
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