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ice cheems said:
Most likely both! FWIW I received an interview invite this past Monday and interviewed on Thursday. From this it seems like they're sending out IIs very close to the interview dates, so there is hope!
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Hi, I was wondering how the interview experience went for you since you just had it recently? I have one upcoming very soon and I am not really sure what to expect.
 
Anyone know how generous UIC is with regards to in state grants/scholarships? Seems like they’re trying to be more generous, esp with the in state tuition for Native American students... not sure if this means they’re trying to make it more accessible for people.
 
Premedstudent149 said:
Hi, I was wondering how the interview experience went for you since you just had it recently? I have one upcoming very soon and I am not really sure what to expect.
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Congrats on your upcoming interview! To prep for my interview I actually went through this whole SDN thread to read what others had said about the interview haha, I'll throw these anecdotes below:
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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illini32 said:
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!
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davethebarbarian said:
I started prepping when IIs started landing in. UIC wasn't my first II but I was roughly prepping like an hr a day for a month before my first II. Make sure you don't script yourself -> know your main points you want to talk about and you should start getting a ghist of what you want to say for the common traditional questions. Afterwards, I just lightly prepped 2x a week and focused on the classic Why Us and changed my Why Med to try to cater to each schools mission. Know the typical questions asked in a traditional sense: WHY MED/WHY US/WHY DOC vs. OTHER FIELDS/Greatest Weakness/Greatest Strenghts/Tell us about yourself/What you see 10 years from now/What you do if you can't do med etc (should be easily found online). Ethical questions and healthcare issues. I felt that UIC was super friendly and really wanted you to show WHO YOU ARE and they were very supportive.

The MMI: Watch youtube videos and make sure you can formulate an argument and focus on what they are asking for. I believe UIC is one of the exceptions where they let you write down notes during the time the question is being shown on the display. Remember that even if you bomb one question, you can make up for it with the other stations, and you'll always get mixed vibes from each different person so don't let that throw you off guard.

happy prepping!
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In addition to these tips, I would recommend checking out the r/premed wiki's interview section where they have some nice online resources with example MMI questions. Try answering these with a friend or peer listening so that you can get some feedback on your responses. Best of luck!
 
ice cheems said:
Congrats on your upcoming interview! To prep for my interview I actually went through this whole SDN thread to read what others had said about the interview haha, I'll throw these anecdotes below:





In addition to these tips, I would recommend checking out the r/premed wiki's interview section where they have some nice online resources with example MMI questions. Try answering these with a friend or peer listening so that you can get some feedback on your responses. Best of luck!
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Thank you so much for taking the time to compile all this for me! Wishing you all the best as well!
 
ice cheems said:
If you have anything of substance to update them on, like new experiences or publications, then go for it. But if you're just going to write a letter of interest, personally I'd say don't. They already know you're interested by the fact that you applied.
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Thanks!
 
Has anyone heard anything regarding campus placements?
 
stylishstudentdoc said:
Can someone explain what we are supposed to do for the choose your medical school tool that's opening on Feb 19th, if we plan to come here? just select plan to enroll? Its not binding though (yet), right?
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Yes I think just plan to enroll, up to 3 of your top choices (plus however many waitlists you may be on). The later date in April(?) is when you select "commit" to enroll which is only your final top choice.
 
PaladinX said:
Got my II yesterday at around 3pmish. Complete early Sept.

Question, when do they send me my interview time and do they tell you who I'm interviewing with?
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Congrats! From what I remembered, I got to choose my date and time on the secondary app. And they do not tell you who you are interviewing with.
 
doyouknow_ed said:
We will hear by the end of the day, right?

(even though I’m asking, I’ll be obsessively checking my emails at all hours today)
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Not that I've obsessively gone back through every month on this thread but if I did... I would be able to share that it seems on Thursday evenings people get an email with the photo from their interview day. Then people have posted acceptance/delayed decision as early as 3:30pm CST Friday all the way through 9:30pm on Saturday evening. There was one post from the following Wednesday when someone found out they were accepted. So.... that.
 
yogadoc23 said:
Not that I've obsessively gone back through every month on this thread but if I did... I would be able to share that it seems on Thursday evenings people get an email with the photo from their interview day. Then people have posted acceptance/delayed decision as early as 3:30pm CST Friday all the way through 9:30pm on Saturday evening. There was one post from the following Wednesday when someone found out they were accepted. So.... that.
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Hmmm well we got our picture 2 days ago so maybe the pattern will fail us... s/o neuroticism/anxiety 🙃
 
doyouknow_ed said:
We will hear by the end of the day, right?

(even though I’m asking, I’ll be obsessively checking my emails at all hours today)
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They said during the interview day that we will more likely hear tomorrow, but there’s a chance today!
 
For those accepted or interviewed, do we need to do another background check other than certiphi? If so is it paid for by the school?
 
akl529 said:
They said to call the Monday after you were supposed to hear if you never got anything
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Just called and they said my app is still being brought up at every committee meeting but they just haven't made a final decision yet. I guess they just met today so maybe I will hear something today or tomorrow? I just can't believe its been 4 months with no decision.
 
Nvrgiveup01 said:
Just called and they said my app is still being brought up at every committee meeting but they just haven't made a final decision yet. I guess they just met today so maybe I will hear something today or tomorrow? I just can't believe its been 4 months with no decision.
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Oh so you’re on deferred decision then!! That’s good 🙂
 
akl529 said:
Oh so you’re on deferred decision then!! That’s good 🙂
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4 months is such a long time to wait, I’m dealing with that at another school (6 months right now) so I get your pain. Hopefully tomorrow brings good news
 
Nvrgiveup01 said:
Just called and they said my app is still being brought up at every committee meeting but they just haven't made a final decision yet. I guess they just met today so maybe I will hear something today or tomorrow? I just can't believe its been 4 months with no decision.
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In a similar position with delayed decision. Looks like they don't reject post-II until the very end of the cycle, but keeping fingers crossed for us.
 
Anyone have any idea when we'll get our campus placements? I know they said sometime in Spring, but just curious if someone knows an estimated date. I was accepted in Mid-January if that helps. Same for our financial aid letter; anyone know when we get those? TIA!
 
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