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their pte deadline is 6/1 so there’s gonna be even more movement after that - they’re moving along pretty quickly but it slowed down a bit. i emailed them last week. keep the faith!
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Yeah just gotta remain patient. REL even said they'd go deeper into the waitlist this cycle. 🙂
IT HAPPENED I GOT THE CALL
nevergonnagiveyouup
Full Member
LAGUNABEACH TO THE MOOOOOONNNNN!!!!!!!
Congrats lagunabeach! Crossing my fingers I'll be joining you soon
Movement this past week slowed down based on prior weeks. There are a handful of recent offers that will be making decisions early in the coming week. Our PTE deadline is also June 1. There will be more movement, it will be more methodical and rhythmical and at a smaller volume. We are still offering to a few in the upper portion of the middle 1/3 and will likely transition into the lower portion of that group in a week or maybe two. As things settle down, I cannot predict whether we will get to the lower 1/3 at this time.
viszlaking
Full Member
Does anyone know if UCF still gives out laptops during orientation, and which model it is?
Last year it was Dell XPS 13".
Edit: And as REL pointed out below, they also include an iPad in that technology package. I can't name the specific model for that though, sorry.
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Unless it changed recently we issued an iPad as well.....verification?
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Thanks for your updates! As somebody in the upper middle third right now, this news definitely makes it seem that an offer will be coming to me this week or next week. I just wanted to ask if I could strongly count on this assumption because a potential UCF admission is the deciding factor between me reapplying this coming cycle or not, and I want to make sure I have everything submitted/uploaded/verified before apps get sent to schools if I end up having to go that route without being delayed.
The group that you are likely in is not large and each would "probably" receive an offer in the next 1-3? weeks. All that I can tell you is that we will make an offer as soon as an opening occurs and that person will have a minimum of 5 days to make a decision per the Protocols.
I’m currently at the “very top” of the bottom 1/3 of the waitlist and wondering how likely my chances are for acceptance. My CTE at my current school is July 1 so I’m wondering if I should be preparing to decide or if it’s unlikely I will be getting an offer....
There is probably a good chance over this month, but of course as noted it will depend upon movement. You can email Laurel with your situation so that she is aware if UCF is your top option at this point. She will make the committee aware.
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I'm in the same boat as you akm, it's so hard planning to reapply while also hoping for an acceptance, especially when we're so close! I'll hope for both of us to get the chance for an offer.
Hi @REL! I'm just curious -- since your PTE deadline is a full month after just about everyone else's, exactly what is your expectation regarding holding more than one A between 4/30 and 6/1? Do you find that the majority of folks not selecting PTE by 4/30 have selected PTE elsewhere, and, if so, are you okay with that even though it violates the so-called protocols? At that point, they are presumably not failing to select PTE at UCF because they are awaiting financial aid decisions, but merely because you allow them to do so until 6/1.
bethedifference
Full Member
@REL Are you in upper middle of both Fl and non - Fl residents ?
I'm sort of in the same boat as you both. I have been accepted at another school, but UCF is my top choice by far. My parents are trying to pressure me to commit to the other school I have an acceptance at because "a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush" and they think if I wait until the last minute on a "pipe dream" (their words, not mine) that I'll end up accepted nowhere... but I know UCF would be the best choice for me, so I'm trying my best to weather the storm of parental drama while we wait for this life altering phone call.
I have faith!
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Do your parents understand how this works?I'm sort of in the same boat as you both. I have been accepted at another school, but UCF is my top choice by far. My parents are trying to pressure me to commit to the other school I have an acceptance at because "a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush" and they think if I wait until the last minute on a "pipe dream" (their words, not mine) that I'll end up accepted nowhere... but I know UCF would be the best choice for me, so I'm trying my best to weather the storm of parental drama while we wait for this life altering phone call.
UCF might or might not be a pipe dream, depending on where you are on the WL, but you are at exactly ZERO risk of losing your A as long as you CTE at the other school by the deadline. There are no prizes for doing so earlier, other than at the unnamed schools that tied scholarships to early CTE selections! 🙂
You already have the bird in hand. It is not at risk before your CTE deadline unless you withdraw.
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Oh believe me I try to explain it to them, but the conversation always ends exactly the same way with them. "They know best". I'm sure there are others here who know what I'm talking about.
Good practice for future discussions with stubborn patients, right?I am not an expert on the Match. I am not sure whether brutal is the word for this past year, unless you are considering that from the residency perspective. They saw a huge surge in applications because applicants panicked and decided to submit many more applications per residency than in the past years. This decision overwhelmed residency offices who are always ultra short-staffed. This caused those more serious about a certan specialty to possible get overlooked in the tidal wave. So I hold applicant decisions as the culprit to creating the higher level of chaos, they really should listen to what their program's seasoned leadership is telling them. Not since I was a COM Registrar in the 80's did I see an applicant apply to EVERY residency in a particular specialty. That person applied to every (~120) surgery residency and did not gain an acceptance and did the same the following year and still did not gain a seat. The lesson here is sometimes you want to attend a specialty that you are not competitive for, it is the applicant's choice to select and apply to a residency, but in most instances your med school Student Affairs leadership will be able to advise you of your chances for success. Take their advice and if they think that you are not competitive go ahead and apply, but also listen to them an apply for a backup specialty as well. Med school is expensive, debts are large.
1. I can say tht only the applicant knows their rank/order list so only the applicant would know whether they got their #1 match location. If you knew the top residency locations for a specialty and an applicant matched to one of them there is a good chance that it was likely their top choice but you would never know.
2. Look at a program's recent past Match lists (?3-5 years?) you may be able to discern whether a program is better for matching into certain sepcialties. If a program consistently matches students into the top ~8 traditionally most competitive specialties that means their graduates are doing well. Remember that you have to have exposure to these specialties during your med school curriculum to be able to determine whether it is the best residency selection for you. So if you seleced a medical program that does not regularly match into these areas you may not want to select that program for your medical education.
3. Many medical students put off writing their residency application until the last minute and as a result may eliminate themselves from serious consideration. Reviewing their drafts prior to submission sometimes makes you wonder how they got into medical school. Rushing to meet a deadline rarely garners a good finished product.
4. Dont judge a Match List by the number of students that a class starts with. There are so many reasons why a program will not graduate all (120) together four years later, most MD program's will graduate almost all of their matriculants. There are very few that will not complete the curriculum, and most of those will choose to withdraw for various reasons than will "fail" the curriculum. Many will take an extra year or two throughout medical school for reasons of personal or family support, participate in a combined degree (MD/MS, MD/PhD, etc), or to take a research year to increase match competitiveness for one of those ~8 more difficult to match into specialties.
There is a lot to consider when looking at Match list and the best way to really know anything is to look at the recent past lists and see if they are matching into your area of interest. Also know that you do not REALLY know what your final interest will be until you are in a medical program experiencing all of the various options. I hope that this is helpful in some way.
Has anyone heard if they are in the lower half of the middle third? Curious if waitlist movement grinded to a halt as they got to the end of the upper middle third.
I'm not sure about in state, but I'm in the upper middle third for out of state and still haven't heard anything so I'm assuming they're still in that section. Seems like it's grinded to a halt for now :/
We still have a small number in the upper-middle of both areas. Movement has slowed but I expect it to pick up as we near the CTE deadline later this month; several have not CTE yet. I still do anticipate exhausting the upper-middle groups and maybe skimming the top of the lower-middle before CTE.....only time can confirm my predictions....
Hi @REL! Is there a reason UCF has such a late PTE deadline, as compared to other schools, with a CTE deadline only a few weeks later?
Do you find that most people not selecting PTE by 4/30 wind up dropping off, or do they hold UCF plus a PTE school post-4/30 and end up committing to UCF? I am assuming that anyone holding just the UCF A on 4/30 has no reason not to select PTE by that date.
Basically, if you are able to share, what is the rationale behind giving your students and extra month to select PTE, do you find people use that opportunity to hold two As into the end of May, and does it do anything to enhance your yield, or does it just precipitate more WL movement at the end of May and beginning of June that would otherwise occur at the end of April and beginning of May?
So then I should have said I am absolutely sure that we are done! No More Movement! Does that help?
Yes they are different. At this point, its likely safe to say they will not reach the lower third since they may not even reach the lower half of the middle third. Unfortunately, it would seem that waitlist movement didn't increase that much this cycle. Unless something weird happens in the next ~2.5 weeks that is.
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CTE is the only one that holds any real value and means "I am coming to your program and have taken action to withdraw from all other options." The message that PTE sends is "hey, I am planning to enroll here, but I am not sold on this program so if you have an offer I am listening." There are two main reasons that PTE is selected by applicants:
- 1. The CYMS document defines PTE, but does not tell you HOW and WHEN to use it. So most applicants believe that they must choose it when it becomes available in mid-February or certainly by April 30 as they whittle down to a single acceptance. Applicants dont know that they dont have to use it at all until item 2 occurs.
- 2. A program requires the selection of PTE as defined by their own program's rules by a certain date usually in May or later. Some programs believe that it helps them to gauge those who will CTE later.
Conjecture Alert: I suspect that using PTE may reduce the chances of an applicant to receive offers in some cases. Depending upon the flexibility of their wait list a program may elect to by-pass an applicant on their list if they have PTE'd to another program to select an applicant that may have strongly indicated that they would like to matriculate that has not yet selected PTE.
Based on a quick review of the MSAR, many programs do not require the use of PTE. This is the first year we have used it just to see if there is any difference in the bahaviours of applicants in it's use. We set it for June 1 to allow applicants some time to wade through the month of May which is often a busy month for offers. Acccording to the MSAR only 3 Florida MD Programs require PTE: UF and FIU on April 30, and UCF on 6/1.
If true, I (and I'm sure many others) have been laboring under a HUGE misperception. Notwithstanding what is shown on MSAR (it fails to map to schools' websites so often that I find it totally unreliable), if schools don't actually require use of PTE on 4/30, how does anyone enforce the "requirement" to drop to one A by that date? From anecdotal evidence on SDN, it sure looks like many schools do in fact require this. Florida schools might be an exception here.
As for discriminating against WL candidates holding an A at a school that requires PTE by 4/30, I sure hope this isn't the case. Adcoms on SDN have indicated this isn't a consideration until very close to orientation. If you are right and they are wrong (at UCF, for example), it would totally suck that someone holding an A somewhere else would be passed over by your adcom because it is "easier" to accept someone either with no other As, or at least with no other As at schools that require PTE selection before you are ready to make a call off the WL.
Hey KnightDoc,
I was curious about this and looked into it through various resources, and most of what I found was (intentionally or not) very vague in terms of what is required vs. what is suggested on limiting down acceptances to one. Though if it's any consolation, in the end I don't think it makes a huge difference. When on the waitlist we are unfortunately at the mercy of our fellow applicants' decisions, and our fate is essentially in their hands haha. Ideally most would be understanding of how it feels to be on a wait-list and try to make their choice in a timely manner (which I think tends to be the case). This is assuming applicants can even hold multiple acceptances for a long period. In the event they've already narrowed down to one decision on the April 30th "deadline", then we are still effectively dependent on their decision to go to the school or not go to medical school at all. OR (if everyone involved is lucky) the accepted individual will experience a trickle down effect of getting off of a wait-list of their own due to someone else's decision, whatever it may be.
Though now that I've typed this out, I'm almost hoping there is NO requirement for narrowing down acceptances, as the alternative is not the best outlook for us still on the waitlists at this point haha.
We're on the same page -- narrowing down acceptances to one on 4/30 is an AAMC suggestion that most schools adopt. The question becomes one of enforcement. Requiring selection of PTE on the CYMS tool is their only vehicle. If they don't require that, they cannot enforce, because PTE or CTE on CYMS, after 4/30, is the only thing they can see. They can never otherwise see other As. Believe me, although there are many well-meaning, understanding people out there, there are plenty who are selfish and self centered, and would carry multiple As right into orientation if no one stopped them.
Hey everyone! Is there a particular format that UCFCOM wants the two page essay? Is is it maximum of two pages single spaced Times New Roman 12 pt font? And say that if we have 1 page single spaced, is it fine if we double space it to two pages so that it's easier for ADCOMs to read it?
govols12345
New Member
@REL Has there been any WL movement for the Non-Fl people in the last couple of weeks? Do you expect there to be more movement? Thanks!
Can any current UCF-COM students comment about the medical equipment you had to purchase for school? I am currently on the waitlist here (but good odds at a late acceptance, hopefully), but the deadline to buy equipment at another school I've been accepted to is approaching. I'm wondering if the medical equipment I purchase for this other school's curriculum is going to be usable for UCF's purposes as well. I assume that it will be, but you never know what sort of deals the schools work out with their equipment providers to try and get bulk discounts for students. This other school's equipment package is about $1,000 for everything. Thanks in advance!
I understand being anxious and all, but what's the difference? What are you going to do at the deadline if someone tells you the equipment is all different (worst case scenario) and you are still on the UCF WL with "good odds"? Not buy it?
Best case, you're good. Worst case, you're out $1,000, or you turn down UCF. Seriously, how does the answer to your question change anything for you?
Good for budgetary purposes. I'm working with savings + credit cards until a week or two into the start of the semester (until those federal loans get disbursed). Every dollar counts. Being out $1,000 the month prior to school could be the difference between having money for furniture. And future forum readers might be looking for this info as well.
I totally get it. My point is that, until you have the UCF A, you don't have a choice, other than to wait until the very last minute and then take the plunge. As a result, it doesn't matter whether or not you will be able to use it at UCF, because you can't count on an A from UCF until you have it, so you can't blow the deadline.
@REL has already said the school gives you a laptop and iPad, so, even if the equipment is different, you very well might not have to spend another $1,000. Again, it's not an issue until it becomes one, and the answer can't possibly drive your decision. The same holds true for future readers.
The point is you are forced to play the hand you are dealt, even if it means you don't have money for furniture. The alternative could very well be starting school without needed equipment. You could always avoid the problem by turning down UCF if being out the money creates such a hardship.
Keep replies helpful and relevant please.
How is it not relevant or helpful to point out that one must meet the deadlines of the school where they hold an A while remaining on WLs, even if it costs money, and the only alternative to possibly losing the money is to withdraw from the WL? Maybe not what people want to hear, but, it's a universal truth.
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Argumentative and unhelpful in my opinion because they asked someone in the school to give them specific information.
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deleted1054719
There can certainly be cases where equipment may not be transferrable or vice versa. Even if they have to buy stuff for School A, they can at least plan ahead and set aside a sum of money in case it is needed for UCF's equipment requirements. Respectfully, the question was addressed to current UCF-COM students which you are not. Nor were you an applicant/matriculant for the class of 2025. You have good advice on things but it is best to step back in other situations and let others answer.
To @Highland Laddie , this is the UCF equipment list and they also mention an AMSA discount here. Definitely speak to students at your current school - oftentimes a lot of equipment is listed as necessary but in reality, it is provided in some shape or form or they have hand-me-downs.
Other Requirements & Technology Information
In the below sections you will find information about the required medical instruments for all UCF College of Medicine M.D. program students, as well as...
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nevergonnagiveyouup
Full Member
Hey man, don’t listen to any of the noise on here! Some people are very interesting in how they communicate. I’m an accepted student and I’d be happy to share with you what we’ve been discussing in our class group chat.
For UCF, it isn’t necessary to buy all the equipment right away. Most people start out with a stethoscope and a few of the smaller tools. You can work your way up to the more expensive stuff like sphyg and oto/optho later on. Most exam rooms have this in them any way. I’ve talked to M2’s that haven’t even touched that equipment yet, so you’ve got time! Feel free to PM me if I can be of more help.
Thanks for that link. I probably should have just checked the website myself before asking and saved everyone the hassle.There can certainly be cases where equipment may not be transferrable or vice versa. Even if they have to buy stuff for School A, they can at least plan ahead and set aside a sum of money in case it is needed for UCF's equipment requirements. Respectfully, the question was addressed to current UCF-COM students which you are not. Nor were you an applicant/matriculant for the class of 2025. You have good advice on things but it is best to step back in other situations and let others answer.
To @Highland Laddie , this is the UCF equipment list and they also mention an AMSA discount here. Definitely speak to students at your current school - oftentimes a lot of equipment is listed as necessary but in reality, it is provided in some shape or form or they have hand-me-downs.
Other Requirements & Technology Information
In the below sections you will find information about the required medical instruments for all UCF College of Medicine M.D. program students, as well as...med.ucf.edu
But this is great to know, thank you again.Thank you as well for the offer @nevergonnagiveyouup I might take you up on that offer if there's something else I think up and don't see on the website first
Fair enough! I wasn't trying to provide school specific information. I was merely trying to point out that it was irrelevant until the A was received, and that, in the meantime, the other school's deadline had to be met, even if it was going to cost extra money.
But, you are correct -- it's not my issue, and I should have just stayed out of it.
nevergonnagiveyouup
Full Member
@KnightDoc seriously dude! Have a few of your friends or colleagues look at how you respond to people on here and give you feedback. I’ve worked in healthcare for several years, and I can tell you right now if you respond to people like that in real life it isn’t going to serve you well at all. I’m not sure if the intention you have is to be condescending, but I can guarantee you that is the impact you have. This isn’t the first time I’ve read your comments on here that leave me scratching my head.
Our brother Highland Laddie out here just asking a simple question and you delve into saying he might as well turn UCF down… what? You speak of “universal truth”…. Universal truth to who? You?
We all have room for learning and growth and it’s our duty to constantly be introspective as future healthcare practitioners. Be well my friend, I wish you the best in applying this coming year.
Thanks for keeping discussions on solid ground. Sorry I wasnt on the site earlier. As noted above you will have a list of things that you can purchase, some needed, some recommended. There will be a bit of a grace period before you have to have it and I think I also remember that one of the student org's also can offer you a deal on the majority of the equipment. This is the last I know, and being remote for a year + had me away from all the details. NGGYU probably has the best info for now.
