2019-2020 Washington State

Discover Your Odds of Getting into Medical School
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enchantments said:
II! Guess I'll be visiting Spokane again! 😀

Edit: For anyone curious, the only upcoming dates available (so far) were on 8/26 and 9/9. I'm sure they add more as the weeks pass.
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Just curious when you were complete? 7/12 for me, so I hope they get to my application soon!
 
MrsDrDr said:
Just curious when you were complete? 7/12 for me, so I hope they get to my application soon!
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I was complete on 7/5, so I'm sure they'll get to yours pretty soon! They may be reviewing them out-of-order/prioritizing certain apps though, as the second person in the thread to get an invite was complete several days after I was.
 
enchantments said:
I was complete on 7/5, so I'm sure they'll get to yours pretty soon! They may be reviewing them out-of-order/prioritizing certain apps though, as the second person in the thread to get an invite was complete several days after I was.
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And I was complete 7/1, so that is likely why I was in there first. Since they don't tier stats or anything, II are likely purely chronological.
 
AdductorMagnus said:
Well crap, I was complete on 7/3 ... sure hope I get one!
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I wouldn’t be overly worried if you haven’t heard back yet. Like I mentioned, several of the II’s are already out of order - the other person who got their II today was complete on 7/2; I was complete on 7/5. And the person who got an II on Monday of this week was complete 7/9 (later than all of us).

Looking through last year’s thread, the trend is generally chronological, but there were also a fair number of students who were complete in mid-July and got invited several months later.
 
enchantments said:
I wouldn’t be overly worried if you haven’t heard back yet. Like I mentioned, several of the II’s are already out of order - the other person who got their II today was complete on 7/2; I was complete on 7/5. And the person who got an II on Monday of this week was complete 7/9 (later than all of us).

Looking through last year’s thread, the trend is generally chronological, but there were also a fair number of students who were complete in mid-July and got invited several months later.
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OMG, I love that I'm not alone in my anxiety. I submitted 7/9, and I was wait listed last year. I love this program. I really want to interview early.
 
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bluerock said:
OMG, I love that I'm not alone in my anxiety. I submitted 7/9, and I was wait listed last year. I love this program. I really want to interview early.
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If it might assuage any anxiety, I went over the past years’ threads, and it’s very apparent that interviewing early here does you no favors. In fact, a solid handful of applicants that interviewed the first day last year ended up being rejected/WL’ed several months later. I think WSU does their best to give every applicant an equal shot, regardless of submission time (barring those past the deadline, obviously).
 
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I was taking a second look through the Interview link on my portal, and the Suggested Hotels subsection actually displays all of WSU's available interview dates since they offer discounts for local hotels associated with each date. Hope this helps people with future planning! 🙂

2019:
August: 26th
September: 9th, 13th, 16th
October: 4th, 7th, 25th, 28th
November: 4th, 15th, 18th
December: 9th, 16th

2020
January: 13th, 17th, 31st
February: 3rd, 10th, 21st
 
SeaHusky said:
I was taking a second look through the Interview link on my portal, and the Suggested Hotels subsection actually displays all of WSU's available interview dates since they offer discounts for local hotels associated with each date. Hope this helps people with future planning! 🙂

2019:
August: 26th
September: 9th, 13th, 16th
October: 4th, 7th, 25th, 28th
November: 4th, 15th, 18th
December: 9th, 16th

2020
January: 13th, 17th, 31st
February: 3rd, 10th, 21st
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Bruh, superb find
 
Got my invite a couple days ago. As a reapplicant who got no interviews last cycle, I know it sucks to play the waiting game. My suggestion is if you have any doubts in your app to try alleviating them. Like I added scribing to my application and I went from 0 to 4 interviews so far. Good luck to you all and go cougs
 
Sky138 said:
Got my invite a couple days ago. As a reapplicant who got no interviews last cycle, I know it sucks to play the waiting game. My suggestion is if you have any doubts in your app to try alleviating them. Like I added scribing to my application and I went from 0 to 4 interviews so far. Good luck to you all and go cougs
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Congrats on the success so far! You mind if I ask your stats?
 
AdductorMagnus said:
Congrats on the success so far! You mind if I ask your stats?
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3.7 and 508. I do have an obscene amount of extracurriculars. If I had slightly better stats, I’m sure I could get into a med school only using a third of what I have. For privacy reasons I won’t say more than that. Stats aren’t everything and WSU looks for primary care so like if you don’t look convincingly like a future pcp. Might be your issue
 
Sky138 said:
3.7 and 508. I do have an obscene amount of extracurriculars. If I had slightly better stats, I’m sure I could get into a med school only using a third of what I have. For privacy reasons I won’t say more than that. Stats aren’t everything and WSU looks for primary care so like if you don’t look convincingly like a future pcp. Might be your issue
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So what would make someone look convincingly like a future pcp? I'm still kind of wondering why I haven't received an interview yet when I feel like I fit what they're looking for. My stats are above their averages and my extracurriculars are pretty strong, at least I believe so. Over 4,000 leadership hours, over a thousand volunteer hours (most of which came from free clinics, teaching diet/exercise in elementary schools, and some humanitarian), over a thousand clinical employment hours (working as a caregiver for disabled individuals and time as a phlebotomist), ample research experience studying metabolic disorders, and close to 100 hours of shadowing, mostly with pcp's. It's most likely that they just haven't gotten to me yet, but I'm starting to get antsy haha.
 
AdductorMagnus said:
So what would make someone look convincingly like a future pcp? I'm still kind of wondering why I haven't received an interview yet when I feel like I fit what they're looking for. My stats are above their averages and my extracurriculars are pretty strong, at least I believe so. Over 4,000 leadership hours, over a thousand volunteer hours (most of which came from free clinics, teaching diet/exercise in elementary schools, and some humanitarian), over a thousand clinical employment hours (working as a caregiver for disabled individuals and time as a phlebotomist), ample research experience studying metabolic disorders, and close to 100 hours of shadowing, mostly with pcp's. It's most likely that they just haven't gotten to me yet, but I'm starting to get antsy haha.
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They don’t look at stats after you receive a secondary so stats don’t matter at all for WSU. Also, they REALLY want to see rural care experience and interest, do you have that?
 
MemeLord said:
They don’t look at stats after you receive a secondary so stats don’t matter at all for WSU. Also, they REALLY want to see rural care experience and interest, do you have that?
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I don't specifically have any rural care experience, but made my interest known in the secondary, having lived in rural areas growing up. Do all of you who have received secondaries have rural care experience?
 
AdductorMagnus said:
I don't specifically have any rural care experience, but made my interest known in the secondary, having lived in rural areas growing up. Do all of you who have received secondaries have rural care experience?
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I do not have specifically rural care experience, but some rural other (engineering to be specific) experience. Also, I was pretty clear in my secondary that I want to go into neurology, not primary care, and I still got an II. I would just take a deep breath and remember it is still WAY early in the process. If you haven't got an R, you are still being considered!
 
AdductorMagnus said:
I don't specifically have any rural care experience, but made my interest known in the secondary, having lived in rural areas growing up. Do all of you who have received secondaries have rural care experience?
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Like you, I have a lot of clinical and volunteer experiences including a **** ton of shadowing and scribing that show I’m interested in medicine In general. I think what made my application stand out wasn’t the boxes I checked it’s how I presented it in my application. If you say you did all these great things that’s great but if you can’t tie it together in a way that says, this is our guy/gal or can’t answer why you want to go to this school specifically. That might be your issue. Like did you do any research on the school and do you have any clear reasons why you want to go here other than it’s an instate md school? If so, did you articulate that and was your application well written?
 
Sky138 said:
Like you, I have a lot of clinical and volunteer experiences including a **** ton of shadowing and scribing that show I’m interested in medicine In general. I think what made my application stand out wasn’t the boxes I checked it’s how I presented it in my application. If you say you did all these great things that’s great but if you can’t tie it together in a way that says, this is our guy/gal or can’t answer why you want to go to this school specifically. That might be your issue. Like did you do any research on the school and do you have any clear reasons why you want to go here other than it’s an instate md school? If so, did you articulate that and was your application well written?
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This is a great way of presenting it, for all schools but ESPECIALLY WSU because they are keen on the individual narrative.
 
Sky138 said:
Like you, I have a lot of clinical and volunteer experiences including a **** ton of shadowing and scribing that show I’m interested in medicine In general. I think what made my application stand out wasn’t the boxes I checked it’s how I presented it in my application. If you say you did all these great things that’s great but if you can’t tie it together in a way that says, this is our guy/gal or can’t answer why you want to go to this school specifically. That might be your issue. Like did you do any research on the school and do you have any clear reasons why you want to go here other than it’s an instate md school? If so, did you articulate that and was your application well written?
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I don’t have rural experience either tbh. But I’m kinda of an oddball. Like I grew up in a very privileged background but I also have the experiences that makes me identify with underserved and marginalize populations. My personal statement makes for an interesting read. Point is, how you presented yourself is super important and no I’m not being fake. Knowing how it feels to be marginalized and discredited aren’t experiences limited to disadvantaged persons so.... there’s that.
 
MemeLord said:
How did you answer that question on the secondary?

I do have it, yes.
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I spoke about my life experiences that inspired me to pursue medicine because they are what makes me want to serve the underserved. I then proceeded to back up my statements with proof and then tied it back into how I will not only be a compassionate doctor, I will be a great classmate. The calling that compels me to help the needy is the same that will help foster a more positive and inclusive school culture
 
Sky138 said:
Like you, I have a lot of clinical and volunteer experiences including a **** ton of shadowing and scribing that show I’m interested in medicine In general. I think what made my application stand out wasn’t the boxes I checked it’s how I presented it in my application. If you say you did all these great things that’s great but if you can’t tie it together in a way that says, this is our guy/gal or can’t answer why you want to go to this school specifically. That might be your issue. Like did you do any research on the school and do you have any clear reasons why you want to go here other than it’s an instate md school? If so, did you articulate that and was your application well written?
Click to expand...

Sky138 said:
Like you, I have a lot of clinical and volunteer experiences including a **** ton of shadowing and scribing that show I’m interested in medicine In general. I think what made my application stand out wasn’t the boxes I checked it’s how I presented it in my application. If you say you did all these great things that’s great but if you can’t tie it together in a way that says, this is our guy/gal or can’t answer why you want to go to this school specifically. That might be your issue. Like did you do any research on the school and do you have any clear reasons why you want to go here other than it’s an instate md school? If so, did you articulate that and was your application well written?
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I feel like I articulated all of this well. Of all of my secondaries, I gave my state schools the most attention, as they are my top choices. My application has a pretty strong theme, as I have focused much of my studies, volunteer, clinical, research and shadowing experiences on chronic disease, as it is one of my biggest interests in medicine. I have family connections to diabetes and heart disease, and the general population (especially the underserved) struggle with these issues, so I have focused my activities over the past five years around this interest. My primary and secondary applications demonstrate this theme. Specifically for the ESFCOM secondary, I focused on my experiences working with the underserved in free clinics, abroad in a third-world country, and I talked about teaching the younger generations (I taught in elementary schools in the inner-city). I tied all of this back to specific reasons why I believed ESFCOM would help me achieve the career goals that I have in these areas.
 
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AdductorMagnus said:
I do feel like I articulated all of this very well. Of all of my secondaries, I gave my state schools the most attention, as they are my top choices. My application has a pretty strong theme, having focused my studies, volunteer, clinical, research and shadowing experiences on chronic disease, as it is one of my biggest interests in medicine. I have family connections to diabetes and heart disease, and the general population (especially the underserved) struggle with these issues, so I have focused my activities over the past five years around this interest. My primary and secondary applications demonstrate this theme, and specifically for the ESFCOM secondary, I focused on my experiences working with the underserved in free clinics, abroad, and I talked about teaching the younger generations (I taught in elementary schools in the inner-city).
I feel like I articulated all of this well. Of all of my secondaries, I gave my state schools the most attention, as they are my top choices. My application has a pretty strong theme, as I have focused much of my studies, volunteer, clinical, research and shadowing experiences on chronic disease, as it is one of my biggest interests in medicine. I have family connections to diabetes and heart disease, and the general population (especially the underserved) struggle with these issues, so I have focused my activities over the past five years around this interest. My primary and secondary applications demonstrate this theme. Specifically for the ESFCOM secondary, I focused on my experiences working with the underserved in free clinics, abroad in a third-world country, and I talked about teaching the younger generations (I taught in elementary schools in the inner-city). I tied all of this back to specific reasons why I believed ESFCOM would help me achieve the career goals that I have in these areas.
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That sounds great but like in your personal statement did these come off as a genuine rather than simply checking off boxes? I don’t doubt you have a strong application but one piece of advice I got from an ex-adcom for uw was that if you check off all the boxes, one thing i should worry about is if people think I’m checking boxes simply for the sake of checking boxes. Other than that, I really don’t know... if I were you I’d trust your app and get off sdn. You have a lot going for you and if you stay here you’ll go insane. Oh also did you come off as a balanced applicant? In terms of extracurriculars, hobbies and etc?
 
Sky138 said:
That sounds great but like in your personal statement did these come off as a genuine rather than simply checking off boxes? I don’t doubt you have a strong application but one piece of advice I got from an ex-adcom for uw was that if you check off all the boxes, one thing i should worry about is if people think I’m checking boxes simply for the sake of checking boxes. Other than that, I really don’t know... if I were you I’d trust your app and get off sdn. You have a lot going for you and if you stay here you’ll go insane. Oh also did you come off as a balanced applicant? In terms of extracurriculars, hobbies and etc?
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As my friend/writing coach once told me, it’s not necessarily what you right. It’s all the execution. If you had a bunch of independent people look over your app then I don’t know what else to say. Just to be clear, I’m not considered a minority by amcas so it’s not that either.
 
Sky138 said:
As my friend/writing coach once told me, it’s not necessarily what you right. It’s all the execution. If you had a bunch of independent people look over your app then I don’t know what else to say. Just to be clear, I’m not considered a minority by amcas so it’s not that either.
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Yeah, I'm not a minority either. I had my PS edited and reviewed by a former adcom from a prestigious medical school, as well as my father who is a high school English teacher (Masters in English), so I don't think it could have been too terribly executed, but who knows. I'll keep waiting then! I'm happy for those who have already gotten II's so far, just hope to have my number called soon too!
 
@AdductorMagnus

Couple things:
1) As someone mentioned it is still super early in the process. You may be delayed for another reason. Its easy to over analyze.
2) If you end up being delayed/rejected it could be due to them doubting your commitment to WA medicine and service. Working internationally is not a good alternative experience to rural/regional medicine. The rural component is less important than the commitment to the region in general. If you have rural experience then great but if not you need to be able to clearly convey your experiences serving WA patients as a whole. I think many people fall into the trap of saying they want to do rural medicine/primary care since that is what they think UW/WSU wants to hear.
3) Again, just give it some time. I was surprised how quickly WSU turned around interview invites since it is still early.
 
AdductorMagnus said:
Yeah, I'm not a minority either. I had my PS edited and reviewed by a former adcom from a prestigious medical school, as well as my father who is a high school English teacher (Masters in English), so I don't think it could have been too terribly executed, but who knows. I'll keep waiting then! I'm happy for those who have already gotten II's so far, just hope to have my number called soon too!
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I really wish you the best. Did you by any chance apply do too? I also applied to a couple schools I consider to be my “canaries in the coal mine” so I could get a general feel if I’m coming off as primary care based. Just something to think about
 
Sky138 said:
I really wish you the best. Did you by any chance apply do too? I also applied to a couple schools I consider to be my “canaries in the coal mine” so I could get a general feel if I’m coming off as primary care based. Just something to think about
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I also applied to a handful of DO schools. I've gotten one DO II so far and one MD. Hoping for more!
 
Then there you go! No need to even worry lol. You’ll get into WSU or if not, there are other schools. I don’t even know why you’re worrying then lol
 
n=1, but I had virtually zero rural experience and got an II. My rural experience amounted to eight hours shadowing the medical director of a rural Native American clinic lol.

I've lived in WA all my life and have a ton of experience working with urban underserved communities. In my secondary, I highlighted how such experiences and my extensive research experience could add a unique element to WSU (since it's rural-focused and trying to expand their research capabilities).

Are they interested in students with rural experience/interest? Yes, but I think they're interested in other aspects as well. Being committed to serving in WA, whether rural or urban, and having extensive experiences working with the underserved is bigger imo.
 
SeaHusky said:
n=1, but I had virtually zero rural experience and got an II. My rural experience amounted to eight hours shadowing the medical director of a rural Native American clinic lol.

I've lived in WA all my life and have a ton of experience working with urban underserved communities. In my secondary, I highlighted how such experiences and my extensive research experience could add a unique element to WSU (since it's rural-focused and trying to expand their research capabilities).

Are they interested in students with rural experience/interest? Yes, but I think they're interested in other aspects as well. Being committed to serving in WA, whether rural or urban, and having extensive experiences working with the underserved is bigger imo.
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Thank you, that was my point exactly. Sounds like our extracurriculars were very comparable.
 
SeaHusky said:
n=1, but I had virtually zero rural experience and got an II. My rural experience amounted to eight hours shadowing the medical director of a rural Native American clinic lol.

I've lived in WA all my life and have a ton of experience working with urban underserved communities. In my secondary, I highlighted how such experiences and my extensive research experience could add a unique element to WSU (since it's rural-focused and trying to expand their research capabilities).

Are they interested in students with rural experience/interest? Yes, but I think they're interested in other aspects as well. Being committed to serving in WA, whether rural or urban, and having extensive experiences working with the underserved is bigger imo.
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Maybe it’s the research aspect? I have 6 clinical research publications with early author ships in all but 1. Makes me wonder how many people who got interviews early had a research heavy application
 
schborke said:
Thank you, that was my point exactly. Sounds like our extracurriculars were very comparable.
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Yep! I also didn’t lie or try to spin like I was interested in rural medicine. I think that’s important. People who try and bull**** are incredibly obvious imo
 
Sky138 said:
Maybe it’s the research aspect? I have 6 clinical research publications with early author ships in all but 1. Makes me wonder how many people who got interviews early had a research heavy application
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Wow, that's a lot of pubs!

Maybe! I have 4-5 years of research experience (including my current position now), but only 1 third-author basic science pub. Honestly, I think it's my experiences with the underserved that helped a lot. The combination of both clearly doesn't hurt! 🙂
 
SeaHusky said:
Wow, that's a lot of pubs!

Maybe! I have 4-5 years of research experience (including my current position now), but only 1 third-author basic science pub. Honestly, I think it's my experiences with the underserved that helped a lot. The combination of both clearly doesn't hurt! 🙂
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I had maybe 700ish hours of research with 3 posters...but also like 400 hours with veterans mental health, 200 hours with military travel pay volunteering, 150ish hours peer science tutoring, like 5000 hours clinical/non clinical employment as a lab tech, and then all of my military stuff (leadership, awards, phlebotomy etc.)

I think what got my application noticed day one of sending out II is that I am really well rounded but not standing out an excessive amount in anything that looks check-boxy. Like all of my stuff (except research and shadowing) I started before I was formally ‘premed’
 
AdductorMagnus said:
I also applied to a handful of DO schools. I've gotten one DO II so far and one MD. Hoping for more!
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Given how early in the season it is, don't be so quick to be disappointed. I interviewed at WSU in March and got waitlisted. I improved my application in almost every way they suggested, and I still haven't been offered an interview date this year.

Apart from not coming off as someone absolutely committed to being a cosmetic dermatologist, I don't really think you need to demonstrate your interest in primary care. Most students change their minds a dozen times in school. Their theory about getting more primary care doctors is that they'll get there by giving students more experience in primary care. Their theory about getting more rural doctors is much the same - give students more rural experience and recruit students with rural backgrounds.

In general though, they care about altruism. They want doctors who want to serve the under-served.
 
I wouldn't worry about having being a FM/IM primary care focused doc being a focal point of your application. My application was heavily surg oriented. It's more about serving or your ties to the state of WA.

Off the top of my head, I can only think of 10 folks in my cohort that are super gung ho about pursuing primary care. We have a bunch of different interest groups (ortho, surg, obgyn, peds, etc etc) with full support from faculty. It's about service as previously mentioned by folks above.
 
Do we know if the 13-minute one-on-one portion of the interview with an Adcom member is closed-file/blind? I'll be prepared to answer questions regardless, but it would help to know if I need to provide more background info if they haven't had access to my file.
 
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