It gives you a specific prompt for each interest with a max of 500 words to answer. For instance, if you select simulation, the prompt is "Simulation – Why is simulation in medical education important? How do you anticipate simulation will affect your medical education? Where do you see simulation playing a role in your medical career?" You can prewrite a little bit but I wouldn't do too much in case the questions go a different direction than what you were thinking.
Even if there are no word limits, it's still a good idea to be as succinct as possible. Aim for 500 unless you actually have more to say (not including fluff).
I am applying to GMED. And I have no idea about the word limits. When I submitted my secondary, these tabs with GMED and IMED essay prompts were not there. Does that mean I can go back and fill out these parts? Because I definitely submitted my application without writing any essays for GMED/IMED under the "scholarly concentration" tab. And, I got an application complete e-mail. Are they going to start processing my secondary without GMED/IMED essays writen? When are these due? Sorry, lots of confusion here on my end
I am applying to GMED. And I have no idea about the word limits. When I submitted my secondary, these tabs with GMED and IMED essay prompts were not there. Does that mean I can go back and fill out these parts? Because I definitely submitted my application without writing any essays for GMED/IMED under the "scholarly concentration" tab. And, I got an application complete e-mail. Are they going to start processing my secondary without GMED/IMED essays writen? When are these due? Sorry, lots of confusion here on my end
View attachment 316186
The scholarly concentrations are completely extra. Think of them like a tertiary application; they can be submitted completely independently of your secondary. I really don't think they come into play until after you are already given an II or admitted to the school; from there they will take a look to try to fill these programs.
Lmao same
What open house email?
Yeah they were always there. The scholarly concentration doesn't matter for admittance. You can still apply for them after submitting secondary and getting accepted.
They were always there but the question stems for the Scholarly Concentrations didn't show up at first, maybe that's why you didn't do it. Don't worry about filling them out unless you're truly interested in one of the programs.
I also photoshopped the background on my headshot! (It was originally in front of some Christmas lights so kind of a distracting background.) As long as you make it look plain and professional I don't think they'll notice or care!
Congrats! Would you mind sharing your stats? I’m in IS and completed mid. July but still waiting
Sure! What specific stats would you like to know?
Regarding the additional interest essays (science research/innovation medicine, etc.), did you discuss UIC/specific aspects of UIC in the essay or solely talk about your experiences and interests?
I have the same issue, did yours get resolved?
I first talked about my interests/experiences and then related it back to a program/extracurricular UIC offered in my reflection paragraph.
I'd be more comfortable disclosing this in private tbh- feel free to PM me!
I would recommend reaching out to them about this! When I submitted my secondary, my application was not complete because my LOR's were not complete, despite all 3 of my letters being marked as received (you can check this in your portal by clicking the Status -> Document Status). I emailed them about this after waiting for 1 week and found out that the letters I submitted didn't meet their qualifications. I quickly fixed this and my application was marked complete the next day.
It depends! Are all 4 faculty letters? And if they are, is there one letter that you think may be weaker compared to the others? (If yes, then I would email and ask whether you could clarify which letters you want them to consider). For me, I submitted 4 letters, but 1 was invalid because it was written by a doctor I work with and not a faculty member.
I would say feel free to take it in the direction you want. Healthcare disparities is a contributor to health disparities and can thus be discussed, but I would say discuss whichever aspects are important to you or you have involvement in.
I'd say go with whatever area of healthcare you want to talk about. I focused on socioeconomic/racial disparities.
I'm sure if the enthusiasm you share here for the school shined through during the interview, you'll be a shoo-in. Don't forget to send thank you emails if you havn't already!
I think as long as you can stay relatively "objective" about the experience and talk more about how it was a difficult time in your life, how those feelings (and potentially extra responsibilities you had to take on) had an impact in your life and how you learned to manage those feelings etc. If you can additionally tie it in to how you are empathetic towards difficult situations that others have experienced as well as recognizing that as a physician you will have to deal with death of patients and how you have learned to cope, I would say that it's a good topic. I'm rambling a bit, but I think as long as you can explain how it was stressful and how you managed that stress and what you've learned that the topic should be fine.
