2020-2021 Mayo Clinic (Alix), Minnesota

[TheDataKing]

Please tag a pre-allo moderator when the second prompt is posted.

Good luck to everyone applying!

Interview Feedback: Mayo Clinic

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[Med16484]

With there only being one app for both Minnesota and Arizona, do you think there will be two separate "why us" essays or only one?

 

[doctorBsquared]

Anyone received a secondary? I've yet to get one.

With there only being one app for both Minnesota and Arizona, do you think there will be two separate "why us" essays or only one?

And to answer this, my guess would be that there won't be two separate ones. I have heard that they have two distinct admissions committees anyway, so unless you have a desire for one that is linked to the geographic location (like weather), then you could probably use the same essay for each.

 

[SiberianIris]

Anyone received a secondary? I've yet to get one.

On the MSAR advisor report, it says they won't begin reviewing applications until August 3. Not sure if that means they won't send secondaries until then, but it seems like a possibility.

 

[doctorBsquared]

On the MSAR advisor report, it says they won't begin reviewing applications until August 3. Not sure if that means they won't send secondaries until then, but it seems like a possibility.

Hmmm interesting. Do you know if they prescreen? If not, then it wouldn't make sense for them to be waiting until Aug 3 to send secondaries.

 

[SiberianIris]

Hmmm interesting. Do you know if they prescreen? If not, then it wouldn't make sense for them to be waiting until Aug 3 to send secondaries.

They screen below a 75th percentile MCAT for secondaries, not sure if they also do a more intensive manual screen.

(under the MCAT tab under prerequisites: Prerequisites and Requirements)

Edit: looking again, the phrasing "will be considered to receive our secondary application" makes me think they must do a manual screen.

 

[doctorBsquared]

They screen below a 75th percentile MCAT for secondaries, not sure if they also do a more intensive manual screen.

(under the MCAT tab under prerequisites: Prerequisites and Requirements)

Edit: looking again, the phrasing "will be considered to receive our secondary application" makes me think they must do a manual screen.

Wow, they're one of the few then haha. Thank you for digging into that!

 

[joshuamarcus]

Secondary oos

 

[r2med]

Secondary oos

Prompts please

 

[joshuamarcus]

Prompts please

why mayo over other schools (500 word)
how diversity manifests personal and professional life (500 words)
relevance of diverse learning environment for medicine

Edit: aka same as last year.

Do people not tend to apply here? this thread hasnt been as active as the other schools.

 

[r2med]

why mayo over other schools (500 word)
how diversity manifests personal and professional life (500 words)
relevance of diverse learning environment for medicine

Edit: aka same as last year.

Do people not tend to apply here? this thread hasnt been as active as the other schools.

Thanks. Not sure why activity is lower on this thread. We know from stats that quite a few people apply.

 

[joshuamarcus]

Thanks. Not sure why activity is lower on this thread. We know from stats that quite a few people apply.

seems like they changed the first question to be why mayo, answer in a few sentences.

 

[deleted1009115]

Thanks. Not sure why activity is lower on this thread. We know from stats that quite a few people apply.

maybe people are scared after last year's debacle

 

[hopper98]

maybe people are scared after last year's debacle

What happened last year?

 

[Med16484]

Still no secondary

 

[stayathomemom]

What happened last year?

If I remember correctly, something about a large number of accidental (and invalid) admission offers.

 

[jjame]

What happened last year?

2019-2020 Mayo Clinic (Alix), Minnesota

The thread is a lot of fun. They sent acceptance emails out...to everyone who interviewed. Had to revoke some later, but did their best to help out students who withdrew from other schools. 'Twas not smooth sailing for Mayo.

 

[prufrock2891]

Do any current students have insight on any of the following questions? Things that are lingering for me..

1. In a given week, how many times are you required to attend events? Did they change the lecture attendance policy?

2. Thoughts on the area around the school -- What is the city like? Do you have a lot of friends from outside the medical school? What are the major neighborhoods like and where do people live?

 

[deleted1009115]

Do any current students have insight on any of the following questions? Things that are lingering for me..

1. In a given week, how many times are you required to attend events? Did they change the lecture attendance policy?

2. Thoughts on the area around the school -- What is the city like? Do you have a lot of friends from outside the medical school? What are the major neighborhoods like and where do people live?

Not a current student, but I have a friend who is an M2 and I’m from Minnesota. I can speak more to the second question. Rochester is a small city that essentially IS Mayo Clinic. There isn’t a ton to do in the city (e.g. there are a few bars that people typically avoid). If people have a free weekend, they venture out to do outdoor activities like camping, or take the hour drive up to the twin cities. There are quite a few young people in the city between the various professional schools and people that work at Mayo! It sounds like my friend’s class mostly sticks to themselves though. Most people live in apartments in the city or quiet residential areas surrounding it.

 

[spottedcory]

Did everyone get an encouraging email from Mayo to apply based on MCAT scores, like is this an actual sign or is this just blasted to every one lol

 

[IDapplicant]

Do any current students have insight on any of the following questions? Things that are lingering for me..

1. In a given week, how many times are you required to attend events? Did they change the lecture attendance policy?

2. Thoughts on the area around the school -- What is the city like? Do you have a lot of friends from outside the medical school? What are the major neighborhoods like and where do people live?

New M1 here, they changed the attendance policy so lectures are no longer mandatory. So mandatory things are the same as most schools now, small group, tests, simulations. In our first (online) block we do have small groups every day.

The area around the school is mostly hospital with some restraints and nice outdoor spaces.Downtown Rochester is basically Mayo with some newer development to make the city more appealing. There are some really nice apartment buildings downtown that a lot of students live in. Then some are spread through the rest of Rochester.

 

[Lawlify]

Did everyone get an encouraging email from Mayo to apply based on MCAT scores, like is this an actual sign or is this just blasted to every one lol

are you URM? My email also encouraged me to apply

 

[Med16484]

Got the email as well encouraging me to apply. Idk why I got it bc I’m not URM (and my MCAT wasn’t that good by their standards)

 

[squids82]

No email and I got a 519

 

[Med16484]

Have others received their secondary? I'm still waiting but I guess they mistakenly sent me that email

 

[spottedcory]

are you URM? My email also encouraged me to apply

Not URM

No email and I got a 519

Did you already have it on your list? Maybe that's why?

 

[Med16484]

I have still not received a secondary. MCAT 520+, GPA 3.9+, good letters and decent ECs. Have other people still been getting radio silence?

+1

 

[luluwild]

I have still not received a secondary. MCAT 520+, GPA 3.9+, good letters and decent ECs. Have other people still been getting radio silence?

+2

 

[SiberianIris]

I have still not received a secondary. MCAT 520+, GPA 3.9+, good letters and decent ECs. Have other people still been getting radio silence?

+3; I'm pretty sure Mayo screens manually, though, so that's likely a contributing factor.

 

[rep_the_don]

I have still not received a secondary. MCAT 520+, GPA 3.9+, good letters and decent ECs. Have other people still been getting radio silence?

+4

 

[deleted785419]

+3; I'm pretty sure Mayo screens manually, though, so that's likely a contributing factor.

Do that? I thought they just do 75th mcat percentile

 

[SiberianIris]

Do that? I thought they just do 75th mcat percentile

The phrasing on their website that above 75th percentile MCAT applicants "will be considered to receive a secondary" really makes it sound like they do. In the past it seems like they did a pretty intense manual screen, though it seems to have been much less restrictive in recent years.

 

[migioramen]

secondary received!

 

[deleted838019]

secondary received!

+1

 

[dindjarin87]

secondary received!

+2

 

[finn1234]

secondary received!

+3

 

[deleted785419]

got one too. So, im guessing its sent to everyone with above a 508 right? Not necessarily pre screened?

 

[rep_the_don]

secondary received!

+4

 

[deleted1062667]

got one too. So, im guessing its sent to everyone with above a 508 right? Not necessarily pre screened?

Yes, that is the only screening the mention.

 

[TabbyTuxy]

Secondary received this morning.

 

[youngking]

I'm having trouble logging in - I created an account using their instructions but when I try to actually login the site just refreshes and doesn't let me in. I'm on Chrome and I've tried resetting my password a couple times and no luck, does anyone else have this problem or is it just me?

 

[TabbyTuxy]

The first prompt also asks why we selected our top choice track. How much are you talking about that track/location? I basically have no preference, so I'm worried that if I talk too much about why I want to be in X location, the Y location admissions committee will take me less seriously -- when I'm genuinely interested in both!

 

[rep_the_don]

Posting this year's secondary essay prompts (500 words maximum each) below. Only the first question is different from last year's prompts based on its second sentence. @TheDataKing

1. Why are you specifically interested in pursuing your medical education at Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine? Please tell us in a few sentences why you are interested in the top choice track you indicated.

2. We are all differentiated from or connected to one another by individual inflections that constitute our diversity. Explain how your relationship with your own diversity and to the diversities of others manifests in your personal and professional activities.

3. Share with us your thoughts about the relevance – or not – of diverse learning environments in which you wish to learn medicine.

 

[SiberianIris]

I wish these schools were more explicit about what they're doing! It's frustrating to have to dig around on websites to try and figure out if there's a screen.

Anyway, secondary received this morning

 

[whiteraspberry]

Posting this year's secondary essay prompts (500 words maximum each) below. Only the first question is different from last year's prompts based on its second sentence. @TheDataKing

1. Why are you specifically interested in pursuing your medical education at Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine? Please tell us in a few sentences why you are interested in the top choice track you indicated.

the limit for this is 500 words, if they say in the question "please answer in a few sentences" is that going to be part of the screening for interview invites if you use more than like 75-100 words / few sentences?

like i'm applying in state, mayo is a bit out of my reach (515 mcat, 3.75 gpa) but with strong essays i might be able to sway an interview

 

[rep_the_don]

the limit for this is 500 words, if they say in the question "please answer in a few sentences" is that going to be part of the screening for interview invites if you use more than like 75-100 words / few sentences?

like i'm applying in state, mayo is a bit out of my reach (515 mcat, 3.75 gpa) but with strong essays i might be able to sway an interview

I might be misunderstanding your concern, but the way I read the first question is that they want us to focus on "Why Mayo?" more than on why the specific top choice track. So most of your writing would ideally be on the overall Mayo Clinic School of Medicine and then you'd spend a few sentences detailing why you picked their Minnesota campus, Arizona campus, or one of the 2+2 programs.

 

[whiteraspberry]

I might be misunderstanding your concern, but the way I read the first question is that they want us to focus on "Why Mayo?" more than on why the specific top choice track. So most of your writing would ideally be on the overall Mayo Clinic School of Medicine and then you'd spend a few sentences detailing why you picked their Minnesota campus, Arizona campus, or one of the 2+2 programs.

ohhhh thanks, 90th percentile for cars but can't understand a question hah

 

[plantmom]

Wow I'm pretty stumped on how to elaborate on the "diverse learning environments" question past 300 words...mainly because a lot of the things I'd use as examples are already referenced in my diversity essay :'( How close are y'all getting to the word limit on this one??

 

[whiteraspberry]

Wow I'm pretty stumped on how to elaborate on the "diverse learning environments" question past 300 words...mainly because a lot of the things I'd use as examples are already referenced in my diversity essay :'( How close are y'all getting to the word limit on this one??

for every claim you post about yourself or reason why you want to be in a diverse learning environment, include a story, usually takes up 100 words

 

[mpmp3233]

Does this secondary allow for an optional text box for IAs or allow for updates after submission? To make a long story short, I have pre-written all my secondaries but still waiting for my primary to be reviewed (hopefully in a few more days!), but when I submitted my primary I indicated I had no IAs because what I thought were not violations actually were. After talking to a few admissions departments I have learned my best bet is to 1)email the admissions office and dean of admissions, 2) explain in the optional text box why I did not report it on my primary, and 3)update my application with the details if allowed.

Therefore, does this secondary have an optional text box or allow for resubmission where I would have the opportunity to explain this situation?