2020-2021 Illinois
Started by TheDataKing
Get help with your application
Use all the free resources available to you from SDN: articles, guides, expert advising, forums discussions, and school research.
Prosciutlul
New Member
Is the website down for anyone else?
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
ice cheems
Full Member
What's most surprising to me is that... they aren't addressing any of these errors, at all. No emails, no bright bold updates, nothing. For students who submit apps right away, unless they come back to the application and check it often, they won't see any of the changes that have been made to the application. Ridiculous.
ice cheems
Full Member
Where is that question located? For one of the concentrations?
ice cheems
Full Member
They may have just not finished processing your application yet, sometimes it takes schools a while to change a status to complete even when everything has been received. I didn't select a scholarly concentration either; but I did hit save on that page to be sure; once you select save it says the page is completed, so maybe try that.
I submitted my application 7/16, and I swear I did not see any word count bars at the bottom of my texts boxes. I logged on today, and now there are these word count bars. I guess the stressful situation essay is capped at 500 words, but the one I wrote was 548. I already submitted my application, though. They gonna cut off the last 48 words? My other two essays are well under 500. Anyone else notice this?
Totally didn’t notice. There weren’t any word counts when I submitted mine either
ice cheems
Full Member
Is there any way we can come together and voice our concern over all of these quiet changes to the application? Their admissions email never replies... this is so frustrating.
anyone got an interview invite yet? .....nervously hoping/waiting
Anyone emailed a zoom link? I registered but didn’t get any emails about it
PatricktheSponge
Full Member
Hello! Do we have to complete the scholarly interests section to be considered for an interview?
I have the same question! Please let us know if you find out
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
My app is also still considered incomplete even though I submitted on 7/19. Didn't fill out the scholarly interests section but did save the page.. It didn't even show up until after I submitted my application and went back a week later to check the status.
My app is marked as complete and I did not select a scholarly concentration
Are you able to fill out a scholarly concentration after submitting?
Yeah seems like I can
same thing happened to me as well
for anyone interested, they are doing a webinar series and here is the link to their next one: UICOM OPEN HOUSE
ice cheems
Full Member
They never replied to me when I asked, but it can’t hurt to try. Please let us know if they respond!
OMG OMG OMG!!!!!
I’m sitting here in disbelief and running around my house I can’t believe it I GOT AN INTERVIEW INVITE!!!!!!
Got an email saying I was invited to their virtual interview (even though the interview tab says it’s still in person) and I scheduled for September 10th!!!!
It’s my first interview this cycle!!!
I’m sitting here in disbelief and running around my house I can’t believe it I GOT AN INTERVIEW INVITE!!!!!!
Got an email saying I was invited to their virtual interview (even though the interview tab says it’s still in person) and I scheduled for September 10th!!!!
It’s my first interview this cycle!!!
Congrats!!! IS or OOS, Stats, Complete Date? Haha all the necessary info I suppose
In state, submitted my application 7/14/2020, complete 7/16/2020.
MCAT 509 (retake from a 498 last year) GPA....well I’m a non traditional student so I had to do extensive cGPA repair but my sGPA was 3.6 and I did a DIY post bac at community college. Also thousands of hours of clinical experience since non trad and have been working in the hospitals all throughout Covid.
Honestly I’m the definition of a wholistic applicant for a MD school I’m not anywhere near the best they can get as far as pure MCAT and GPA so it seems like they really do take a whole picture view of their applicants.
Well congrats and you’ll do great on your interview!!!! Also love your pfp hehe! Thanks for the info 🙂
thank you! Part of me still thinks it was sent by accident so I’m trying to ignore that part. I’m going to call on Wednesday as the email specifically said virtual interview and we have to do the VITA interview first before the actual interview, but on the portal it still lays out the typical day for interviews on their campuses. I think they just haven’t updated it yet TBH on the portal.
Haha well don’t let the imposter syndrome get the best of you! You earned this!!
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
PatricktheSponge
Full Member
Congrats!! I hope your interview goes well 🙂 did you fill out the scholarly concentration portion with your secondary?
ice cheems
Full Member
Congrats, that's awesome! Doesn't seem like a mistake, non-trads with high hours usually bring great perspectives to the table. UIC seems to be having... issues... with their portal, haha, but you're right in that you'll have to complete VITA and a virtual interview.
I did not. So fear not if you didn’t it doesn’t seem to be counted against you.
Yeah...now I gotta figure out how to do the VITA thing. I guess we are supposed to wait for an email directly from Hirevue as an invite to complete it but I haven’t gotten that yet I just got the Preparing for the AAMC VITA interview Webinar Recording Now Available email from AAMC earlier today. I have to work tomorrow so I won’t be able to scour the web and figure out how to actual participate in it and do the practice session till Wednesday.
ice cheems
Full Member
Best of luck, hopefully HireVue will email soon!
Just for general information for anyone who has to do a VITA interview for any school. On the AAMC website for VITA: HireVue will send AAMC VITA invitation emails every Thursday (anticipated) from August 2020 through April 30, 2021.
You also only have to do one VITA interview for all schools who are using it. I’ll let everyone know if I get the VITA invite email on Thursday.
Okay so I dont think the scholarly concentration is something that everyone needs to do. I think it's optional. Like you only fill out the prompts for it if you are interested in it. I could be wrong though....
definitely can confirm that it’s not something you need to do. I stayed up till 3 am waiting for an email saying they made a mistake and took my interview invite back but it didn’t happen and I DID NOT pick a scholarly concentration.
I would however read about all of them on their website and see if any of them call to you or interest you. I read all of them carefully and as someone who already knows what specialty I most likely want to go into nothing really stood out to me so I didn’t pick one. I’m sure adcoms prefer someone not picking a concentration rather than someone writing fluff that they can tell someone picked just because they thought they had to and it sounds fake or contrived.
Also on a side note hoping someone else posts today about getting an interview so I can triple confirm it wasn’t a fluke or accident.
Congrats on your interview friend <3
I do like the IMED one and I probably will fill out the additional questions but I'm not prioritizing it over my other secondaries, considering it's not required
ice cheems
Full Member
Yep, they certainly are not required! Not entirely sure, but I think it's like at other schools where they consider you broadly for MD admissions first, and then later they choose people for those concentrations from the admitted pool. I didn't write any myself because I'm pretty set on a certain campus, and was not interested in the scholarly concentration available there.
Yeah. That’s why I’m still worried that it’s not real and a mistake in the portal lol. Their portal has been buggy for a lot of people but I haven’t had any issues with it. But even if it’s a mistake I’m going to be like well I already reserved it might as well let me follow through .
Haha naw, you earned it fam. Hope I wake up to an II soon.
battlegods18
Full Member
So the secondary asks for a breakdown of our ACT/SAT scores....I took the ACT but I graduated high school in 2011. I have no clue what my scores are anymore. Are yall skipping this question or.....?
Haha nice, class of 2011 here as well. Im like 90% certain I remember my overall ACT score so I put that in. That being said, there is no way they are making decisions based on ACT scores from nearly 10 years ago. They probably want it to determine the predictive nature of ACT/SAT scores and med school success as they have a BS/MD program. So if you don't remember it I would presume it is fine to not report it.
Last edited:
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
I skipped it cause there's no way I'd remember my passwords to actually send official scores if they requested it lol
I graduated high school 2006, and I still have my ACT memorized. But, I also remember phone numbers from when I was a little kid, and I can't remember faces of new people I met last week.
Pro tip for people who can't remember their ACT test score/date, go check your undergrad's student portal. Mine has all of the test scores I submitted to them when applying.
battlegods18
Full Member
Is anybody else applying to GMED or UMED? There are no word limits. Do I cap myself at 500? Or say everything I want to say?
