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crazeeaboutcoffee said:
Interview invite today!! So excited, this is one of my top choices.
Any advice on VITA, and on interview day? How long was interview day? any help is much appreciated! Thank you all!
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I don't think I did very well on VITA but practice with the platform as much as you can and try not too stress out too much. Google AAMC VITA practice and register for a sample one. Make sure you know what areas of competencies the AAMC is testing for. This can be found on the VITA website. Dr. Amiri said it doesn't play a huge role in your eval after interview and only used to provide additional info if they need. Interview Day information can be found on your portal.

The interview day is hybrid (mix of MMI and traditional). The admissions team did a fantastic job at really making everyone feel welcome and enjoy the experience. The MMIs were interesting and the tips I would have for MMIs are those that can be found on the internet (making sure to actually answer the question, don't be too extreme, consider other perspectives, etc.). Be on your best foot. Even though it's virtual and the atmosphere is very much informal, do not take any chances and consider this a very much professional environment. Overall, it was not very stressful at all and I really enjoyed my interview day.
 
hola1997 said:
I don't think I did very well on VITA but practice with the platform as much as you can and try not too stress out too much. Google AAMC VITA practice and register for a sample one. Make sure you know what areas of competencies the AAMC is testing for. This can be found on the VITA website. Dr. Amiri said it doesn't play a huge role in your eval after interview and only used to provide additional info if they need. Interview Day information can be found on your portal.

The interview day is hybrid (mix of MMI and traditional). The admissions team did a fantastic job at really making everyone feel welcome and enjoy the experience. The MMIs were interesting and the tips I would have for MMIs are those that can be found on the internet (making sure to actually answer the question, don't be too extreme, consider other perspectives, etc.). Be on your best foot. Even though it's virtual and the atmosphere is very much informal, do not take any chances and consider this a very much professional environment. Overall, it was not very stressful at all and I really enjoyed my interview day.
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thanks so much for your help.
Another question I have is - if the interview says "interview day at Rockford", am I interviewing for the Rockford campus only? I live right by the Chicago campus and would prefer enrollment at that location
 
crazeeaboutcoffee said:
thanks so much for your help.
Another question I have is - if the interview says "interview day at Rockford", am I interviewing for the Rockford campus only? I live right by the Chicago campus and would prefer enrollment at that location
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Your interview campus has no bearing on what site you are assigned to. When you get an acceptance, you will have the option to rank your site.
 
Does anyone know if the word limit for the Global Medicine (GMED) program is the same as the secondary questions, 500 words?

Thank you
 
crazeeaboutcoffee said:
Interview invite today!! So excited, this is one of my top choices.
Any advice on VITA, and on interview day? How long was interview day? any help is much appreciated! Thank you all!
Click to expand...
Interview day was super chill, and the faculty could not have been more welcoming. MMIs are reasonable, and you don't need any outside knowledge to answer them. The 1-1 interview was at first intimidating for me, but just treat it like a regular conversation and not an interview and you'll be fine!
 
I’m full radio silence for this school.... not a peep. ORM, in state, 75 LM and WARS. Complete very early.
Heck I even interviewed for their BS/MD when I was in highschool lol. How did highschool me have a better shot than current me??
 
Tilla01 said:
I’m full radio silence for this school.... not a peep. ORM, in state, 75 LM and WARS. Complete very early.
Heck I even interviewed for their BS/MD when I was in highschool lol. How did highschool me have a better shot than current me??
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Obviously this is just a guess since I have no idea how this whole proccess works, but based off of other high stat students I have seen, the school could be yield protecting. They might think your stats are too high and think you'd go with a higher ranking school instead of them.
 
Nvrgiveup01 said:
Obviously this is just a guess since I have no idea how this whole proccess works, but based off of other high stat students I have seen, the school could be yield protecting. They might think your stats are too high and think you'd go with a higher ranking school instead of them.
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N = 1 but my LM is 74.5 so I don't think they were yield protecting when they offered me an II and acceptance. I think it has to do with who reviewed your file (as far as I know, there's a lot of apps but not a lot of staff to read them) and your "fit" within 1 of the 3 areas in their mission.
 
hola1997 said:
N = 1 but my LM is 74.5 so I don't think they were yield protecting when they offered me an II and acceptance. I think it has to do with who reviewed your file (as far as I know, there's a lot of apps but not a lot of staff to read them) and your "fit" within 1 of the 3 areas in their mission.
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Great point here. So many applicants and few people reviewing. In general, we are all just more likely to get an II if the person reading our app can connect to it. I've had a good amount of rejections so far. I know it has to be either my stats, or maybe the person simply wasn't interested in my story.
 
Nvrgiveup01 said:
Great point here. So many applicants and few people reviewing. In general, we are all just more likely to get an II if the person reading our app can connect to it. I've had a good amount of rejections so far. I know it has to be either my stats, or maybe the person simply wasn't interested in my story.
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This. So much of it can be out of our control (when they read your app, what is their mood, are they exhausted, did you remind them of a candidate from that school that they like, etc.) and i certainly feel the randomness as i have yet to have any other IIs and filled with Rs thus far. Super grateful as UIC is my only A thus far.

I think that one of the important things about UIC that Dr. Amiri said on our interview day is that there's actually no quota for IS or OOS students. So there aren't a set number of seats for IS, though I think being IS is still advantageous. There are a lot more IS students due to the better tuition than OOS and the desire for most IS to stay in Chicago or Illinois. I guess the only advice I can give is if your app fits with their mission, as UIC is a very mission-heavy school, and you have an authentic story to tell, you will probably have an II in the near future. Good luck!
 
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hola1997 said:
This. So much of it can be out of our control (when they read your app, what is their mood, are they exhausted, did you remind them of a candidate from that school that they like, etc.) and i certainly feel the randomness as i have yet to have any other IIs and filled with Rs thus far. Super grateful as UIC is my only A thus far.

I think that one of the important things about UIC that Dr. Amiri said on our interview day is that there's actually no quota for IS or OOS students so there aren't a set number of seats for IS though I think being IS is still advantageous. Though there are a lot more IS students due to the better tuition than OOS and the desire for most IS to stay in Chicago or Illinois. I guess the only advice I can give is if your app fits with their mission, as UIC is a very mission-heavy school, and you have an authentic story to tell, you will probably have an II in the near future. Good luck!
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This. My stats are not bad, but they certainly are a lot less than many people applying. But I do heavily fit in their mission statement, working in underserved communities, working the front line during Covid in a major hospital system, and overcoming adversity with a compelling story.
 
Maybe today is the day those campus selections are posted
 
Rumham said:
Maybe today is the day those campus selections are posted
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I have a feeling that they will be delayed this year, maybe not until January because of the extension on deadline for the focuses.
 
Rumham said:
Maybe today is the day those campus selections are posted
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Rapsidy said:
I have a feeling that they will be delayed this year, maybe not until January because of the extension on deadline for the focuses.
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It would be sooo wonderful if today was the day!!! I’m kind of afraid they’ll be delayed too. But that doesn’t stop me from checking constantly! Hahaha
 
Tilla01 said:
I’m full radio silence for this school.... not a peep. ORM, in state, 75 LM and WARS. Complete very early.
Heck I even interviewed for their BS/MD when I was in highschool lol. How did highschool me have a better shot than current me??
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Just wanted to say I'm in the same boat, have received tons of pre-II rejections this cycle and it's been very discouraging. Gotta try to keep up hope and remember that there can be so many reasons for rejection (or complete silence) and that it often says more about the school than you 🙂 But yes still hoping that I will get more love from my IS applications... :'(
 
ice cheems said:
Just wanted to say I'm in the same boat, have received tons of pre-II rejections this cycle and it's been very discouraging. Gotta try to keep up hope and remember that there can be so many reasons for rejection (or complete silence) and that it often says more about the school than you 🙂 But yes still hoping that I will get more love from my IS applications... :'(
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IDK just hoping I hear something. I've only had 2 interviews and one resulted in a WL and the other an R. So despite applying 30 schools with a pretty balanced list... my cycle has not been going great. Hope we both hear back soon! I've heard back from 8 schools this cycle and 6 of them have been R's and the other two have been a hold and a WL.
 
Would any current students or applicants who have interviewed here be down to chat (preferably via phone call so that we don't end up DM-ing all day)? Even just a few minutes would be so helpful! This will be my first interview, and given that it is 1:1, MMI, and VITA combined, I'd really appreciate just being able to touch base with someone, generally speaking. If so, please DM me!
 
Tilla01 said:
IDK just hoping I hear something. I've only had 2 interviews and one resulted in a WL and the other an R. So despite applying 30 schools with a pretty balanced list... my cycle has not been going great. Hope we both hear back soon! I've heard back from 8 schools this cycle and 6 of them have been R's and the other two have been a hold and a WL.
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I didn't apply to quite as many as you, 24 myself, but I'm in a similar boat. One interview with a DO school, which was an acceptance, and 0 interviews with MD. I have gotten 5 pre-II rejections already as well and radio silence from the rest. It is a long and difficult process and more so now than ever. There was a large increase in applicants this year so I think we will see an increase in average stats across the board once that is published. That being said, you still have lot's of schools on the table and we can still hold out hope. We have to remember that the cycle was delayed as well
 
2021Hope said:
I didn't apply to quite as many as you, 24 myself, but I'm in a similar boat. One interview with a DO school, which was an acceptance, and 0 interviews with MD. I have gotten 5 pre-II rejections already as well and radio silence from the rest. It is a long and difficult process and more so now than ever. There was a large increase in applicants this year so I think we will see an increase in average stats across the board once that is published. That being said, you still have lot's of schools on the table and we can still hold out hope. We have to remember that the cycle was delayed as well
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do you think theres a reason for the manyyy silences? I'm sitting here on 30 applications, 4 pre-II rejections, 2 pre-II holds, and 24 complete silences so losing hope fast but also curious to know what silence really means :/
 
Alive_Orange_8169 said:
Would any current students or applicants who have interviewed here be down to chat (preferably via phone call so that we don't end up DM-ing all day)? Even just a few minutes would be so helpful! This will be my first interview, and given that it is 1:1, MMI, and VITA combined, I'd really appreciate just being able to touch base with someone, generally speaking. If so, please DM me!
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Sure I interviewed last week and wouldn’t mind offering some tips and advice!!☺️
 
I got an interview for the innovation medicine program, but I have not interviewed for the MD or MSTP (I applied for MSTP). Do you think this might be a mistake? Or is my interview for the med school coming?
 
justmedschooltingz said:
do you think theres a reason for the manyyy silences? I'm sitting here on 30 applications, 4 pre-II rejections, 2 pre-II holds, and 24 complete silences so losing hope fast but also curious to know what silence really means :/
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It's because interviews are online. Nobody has to fly across the country to interview, take up 2-3 days of their time, book a hotel, etc. Which means it's the cheapest it's ever been to apply technically. So people with tons of interviews and A's are holding on to ones they normally wouldn't for this long. Makes med schools have to hold off on giving more II's and A's (also why holds and wait lists are wayyyyy higher).
 
avgapp54 said:
It's because interviews are online. Nobody has to fly across the country to interview, take up 2-3 days of their time, book a hotel, etc. Which means it's the cheapest it's ever been to apply technically. So people with tons of interviews and A's are holding on to ones they normally wouldn't for this long. Makes med schools have to hold off on giving more II's and A's (also why holds and wait lists are wayyyyy higher).
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That makes total sense, its definitely a little frustrating but guess all i can do is keep on holding out. Thank you for your thoughtful reply!
 
avgapp54 said:
It's because interviews are online. Nobody has to fly across the country to interview, take up 2-3 days of their time, book a hotel, etc. Which means it's the cheapest it's ever been to apply technically. So people with tons of interviews and A's are holding on to ones they normally wouldn't for this long. Makes med schools have to hold off on giving more II's and A's (also why holds and wait lists are wayyyyy higher).
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Great points. I was also thinking about this. Do you think med schools will end up having a lot of movement come spring when applicants that got a lot of acceptances finally have to narrow down their choices?
 
NeedAnotherNap said:
Great points. I was also thinking about this. Do you think med schools will end up having a lot of movement come spring when applicants that got a lot of acceptances finally have to narrow down their choices?
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I could see a couple things happening (this is just my best guess). They'll probably interview much later than normal, so we may see the normal "late" wave toward the end of January with the ACTUAL late wave of panic interviews in march and early April...when schools realize they've all just interviewed the same people. If you think this will happen, you should be super confident in wait list movement because that's where they'll go first.

I could also see schools capping it off on who they've already interviewed come march and just offer more A's to increase the odds of filling the class size and not losing out on millions in tuition.

Either way: this cycle truly is a nightmare for everyone that isnt in the top 20% of apps.
justmedschooltingz said:
That makes total sense, its definitely a little frustrating but guess all i can do is keep on holding out. Thank you for your thoughtful reply!
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Don't worry, I'm in your boat as well. Best of luck to you!
 
justmedschooltingz said:
do you think theres a reason for the manyyy silences? I'm sitting here on 30 applications, 4 pre-II rejections, 2 pre-II holds, and 24 complete silences so losing hope fast but also curious to know what silence really means :/
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I would also like to add that it is normal for some people to be getting their first interviews at this time during normal cycles and this cycle was delayed by a month. In addition to that, adcoms are being flooded with extra applications which would just take longer to process. I heard that, across the board, there was an increase of 17% from last year, worse at certain schools.
 
BullBearMan said:
This is your II for the school as well. Mine came through in the same manner.
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Thanks for that info! So am I going to get an email about scheduling the MD interviews? I don't see anything in the portal
 
seamilk said:
Thanks for that info! So am I going to get an email about scheduling the MD interviews? I don't see anything in the portal
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Yeah I received it a day or two after the IMED II. It wasn't reflected in the portal until I got the email from admissions. That being said if you applied MD/PhD the process might be a tad different.
 
Tilla01 said:
I’m full radio silence for this school.... not a peep. ORM, in state, 75 LM and WARS. Complete very early.
Heck I even interviewed for their BS/MD when I was in highschool lol. How did highschool me have a better shot than current me??
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LITERALLY SAME. I'm emo about it.
 
I just wanna say thank you guys for all the rational discussion about why this cycle is so tough and how we can hope to see more movement come spring, I’m sitting at 9 pre-II rejections out of 20 schools now and it’s pretty discouraging to think about. It’s good to be reminded that plenty of others are in the same boat, and hey if it doesn’t work out in my favor maybe it’s just not meant to be!
 
crazeeaboutcoffee said:
how long did it take for the admissions committee to get back to everyone post-interview?
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I was accepted a week after my interview. The admissions committee meets the 3rd Thursday of each month though, so it could vary based on when your interview falls.
 
Has anybody in this thread participated in or know anybody that has participated in the PAP pre MD program here? I'm not sure if it's worth doing that versus starting right away next year at MCW.
 
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bigshockshawn said:
Has anybody in this thread participated in or know anybody that has participated in the PAP pre MD program here? I'm not sure if it's worth doing that versus starting right away next year at MCW.
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I know a few people who participated. All have expressed gratitude for the program and are currently med students. However, they were not offered acceptances anywhere else. Do what's best for you!
 
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