2020-2021 Michigan

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TheDataKing

TheDataKing

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2020 Prompts:

We understand this is a particularly stressful time for applicants so we have published our Secondary essay prompts early this cycle to allow more time for reflection. To ensure applicants have plenty of opportunity to share their unique stories and to enhance our holistic review as we shift to virtual interviews, we have also added two additional questions.

Essay 1
Comment on how you hope to impact medicine in the future. If examples are needed, feel free to refer to our eight Paths of Excellence. Do not exceed 1500 characters (about 250 words).

Essay 2
At the University of Michigan Medical School, we are committed to building a superb educational community with students of diverse talents, experiences, opinions, and backgrounds. What would you as an individual bring to our medical school community? Do not exceed 1500 characters (about 250 words).

Essay 3
Tell us something you are passionate about and why. Do not exceed 1500 characters (about 250 words).

Essay 4
Describe your experience in a leadership position, the challenges that presented themselves in that position and what you did to contribute to the success of the team or project. Do not exceed 1500 characters (about 250 words).

Please note you do not need to use the entire word count.

Good luck to everyone applying!

Interview Feedback: University of Michigan
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Hey all! I'm an incoming M0 in Michigan's MSTP program and just wanted to make myself available if anyone has any specific questions regarding the application or interview process for MD or MSTP here. As a student who just went through the cycle I could answer questions regarding that process, as well as any other questions prospective applicants might have about UM! Of course my perspective is limited by my position as an incoming M1, but nonetheless, I'd be happy to help... and one last thing... GO BLUE!
 
I keep forgetting, does UMich have a strong in-state bias / prefer OOS candidates to have strong state ties?
 
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ofmiceandwomen said:
I keep forgetting, does UMich have a strong in-state bias / prefer OOS candidates to have strong state ties?
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About half of enrolling students at Michigan are IS and the other half OOS. For OOS students, I don't believe that strong ties to Michigan played a major role in the interview or acceptance selection process. Many of us from OOS are from all over the country, from the South-East to the West Coast, to New England. I myself came from the South-East and had never set foot in the Mid-west, let alone Ann Arbor, but was never questioned on my ties to the region.

You can find more details about the enrolled class profiles here (Admitted Class Profile).
 
A note for future applicants: Michigan was informed that a student they accepted this year had sexually harassed multiple women, and pretended to be a black woman on the internet (they are actually a white male) and used the N word. They did nothing. There is more information about this on a reddit post. Just something to consider when making your list.
 
Blueyonder2 said:
A note for future applicants: Michigan was informed that a student they accepted this year had sexually harassed multiple women, and pretended to be a black woman on the internet (they are actually a white male) and used the N word. They did nothing. There is more information about this on a reddit post. Just something to consider when making your list.
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This isn't a justification for those actions, but realistically their hands would be tied unless there were legal ramifications. There is probably too much speculation involved without enough concrete information to merit rescinding the acceptance. I honestly believe any school, and not just Michigan, would respond in the same way, unfortunately. Imagine the consequences if they did withdraw the acceptance but were incorrect or relied on falsified information. I'm not saying that is the case in this scenario, but it isn't something to ignore.

If anything, you should tell someone not to apply to UMich so that don't have to interact with He Who Must Not Be Named.
 
Idahomie said:
This isn't a justification for those actions, but realistically their hands would be tied unless there were legal ramifications. There is probably too much speculation involved without enough concrete information to merit rescinding the acceptance. I honestly believe any school, and not just Michigan, would respond in the same way, unfortunately. Imagine the consequences if they did withdraw the acceptance but were incorrect or relied on falsified information. I'm not saying that is the case in this scenario, but it isn't something to ignore.

If anything, you should tell someone not to apply to UMich so that don't have to interact with He Who Must Not Be Named.
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That's a very fair reason not to apply– also the fact that their interview process failed to catch such a raging narcissist. With regard to the legal ramifications, there is tons of proof online that he at the very least acted incredibly unprofessionally, plus the testimonies of multiple girls with regard to the sexual harassment. I was always under the impression that schools explicitly state that they can drop an acceptance at any time for any reason in case of this exact scenario. I think its much more difficult legally to expel someone from medical school rather than simply rescind their acceptance before matriculation.
 
Blueyonder2 said:
That's a very fair reason not to apply– also the fact that their interview process failed to catch such a raging narcissist. With regard to the legal ramifications, there is tons of proof online that he at the very least acted incredibly unprofessionally, plus the testimonies of multiple girls with regard to the sexual harassment. I was always under the impression that schools explicitly state that they can drop an acceptance at any time for any reason in case of this exact scenario. I think its much more difficult legally to expel someone from medical school rather than simply rescind their acceptance before matriculation.
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So much for MMIs and CA$Per weeding out the nutcases lmao
 
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ItAintEasyBeingCheesy said:
So much for MMIs and CASPER weeding out the nutcases lmao
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Seriously, the CASPER sociopath threshold is only for serial killers. Just the mere fact that Michigan was his dream school has really soured me about applying there...
 
Well that's not cool at all. Looks like I was wrong, this was kind of a shizzy response.
 
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Yeah thats very telling about how Michigan views the safety of their students...
 
Idahomie said:
This isn't a justification for those actions, but realistically their hands would be tied unless there were legal ramifications. There is probably too much speculation involved without enough concrete information to merit rescinding the acceptance. I honestly believe any school, and not just Michigan, would respond in the same way, unfortunately. Imagine the consequences if they did withdraw the acceptance but were incorrect or relied on falsified information. I'm not saying that is the case in this scenario, but it isn't something to ignore.

If anything, you should tell someone not to apply to UMich so that don't have to interact with He Who Must Not Be Named.
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Holy hell, that expose was a crazy ride. But I agree with you. Unless schools have concrete proof that the real person is connected to the online accounts, there's nothing they can really do. Precedence for rescinding acceptance (I'm more familiar with UG cases) have usually involved group chats or messages with a person's real name attached.

I am also not sure how many applicants will actually be deterred due to the presence of one narcissist in the class above them. I often say, the med school app process is very good at screening for people who are smart/have good work ethics, but not actually very good at screening for character. There will be narcissists and dinguses, no matter where you go.
 
ofmiceandwomen said:
Holy hell, that expose was a crazy ride. But I agree with you. Unless schools have concrete proof that the real person is connected to the online accounts, there's nothing they can really do. Precedence for rescinding acceptance (I'm more familiar with UG cases) have usually involved group chats or messages with a person's real name attached.

I am also not sure how many applicants will actually be deterred due to the presence of one narcissist in the class above them. I often say, the med school app process is very good at screening for people who are smart/have good work ethics, but not actually very good at screening for character. There will be narcissists and dinguses, no matter where you go.
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I disagree. I think the fact that this person originally used their full name as their sdn username, combined with the fact that this user had information that only this individual would know (date they were accepted to Michigan, their entire AMCAS pdf, knowledge about military experience, wife/kid, their interview date, etc.) there is irrefutable evidence that the person using the SDN and reddit account under the username Memelord was in fact that individual that will be attending Michigan in the fall. While the evidence that they were also on reddit pretending to be a black woman is very strong, it is not irrefutable. But I think this person did enough damage under the MemeLord persona to definitely warrant a rescinding.
 
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tellmeourstory said:
Did they even look into it at all or did they just say "okay" and move on? I've been back and forth about the possibility of applying here because of regional preferences but this is making me lean further towards not wanting to
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According to a now deleted post, officials at the school apparently suggested that the victim to drop the complaint and that they would speak to the student about acting professionally (AKA would do nothing). But this was based only on the sexual harassment complaint, not the more recent developments like the impersonating a black woman and using the N word situation.
 
Blueyonder2 said:
A note for future applicants: Michigan was informed that a student they accepted this year had sexually harassed multiple women, and pretended to be a black woman on the internet (they are actually a white male) and used the N word. They did nothing. There is more information about this on a reddit post. Just something to consider when making your list.
Click to expand...
As alluded to in the 2019-2020 thread, this person is no longer in the admitted students FB group, about as public of a marker UMich can officially make to demonstrate they addressed the situation. Any such concerns are taken very seriously by UMMS. Source: a current med student who loves UMich and doesn't want its reputation unfairly tarnished. Good luck to incoming students and those in the application process.
 
UMich is a great school and was easily one of my favorites when I applied here MD-PhD. As a note, all MD-PhD applicants interview alongside MD applicants, but MSTP funded programs (of which Michigan is one) don't have any preference for state of residence for MD-PhD applicants.

Most of the people I interviewed with on my MD day were out of state; I wouldn't let not being a Michigan resident hold you back from applying.
 
TheDataKing said:
Tell us something you are passionate about and why. Do not exceed 1500 characters (about 250 words)
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How are people writing about this? Do you think it’s more of a personal/fun passion or a passion which is medicine related/what makes us interested in medicine?
 
FishingPole95 said:
How are people writing about this? Do you think it’s more of a personal/fun passion or a passion which is medicine related/what makes us interested in medicine?
Click to expand...

I've got a few ideas personally.

My first idea is about science-based medicine. It is obviously important; just look around at the garbage happening right now with homeopathy and other fake "medicines." I could talk about how it is important to blend that with patient-centered medicine by understanding what they actually want. A lot of patients would literally rather die than take a pill for the rest of their lives. I don't agree with that, but it's not my job to "fix" my patients, and that's an important distinction. It's a little bland, but it is at least medicine based.

My second idea was about disadvantaged populations. I've done some volunteering in that, and it's important. Also pretty bland, but it's definitely a zeitgeist right now (rightfully so).

Another one was to talk about my hobby. I like playing D&D, and, without just writing the essay here, I like using it to explore ethical scenarios. Think Star Trek, but fantasy rather than sci-fi. It sounds like hyperbole, but it was huge in helping my sister to become more confident after she role-played as confident characters, and has helped me overcome grief and frustrations, as well as connecting me with friends. It's pretty different and not medical, but it might make my app stand out a little.

It probably should depend on your app. If you have a ton of medical experience and not much else, maybe throw in something you do for fun to make you less of a cookie-cut applicant? I don't know what they are looking for, but those are my initial thoughts in my really early planning stages.
 
Rosiris Fleetfoot said:
I've got a few ideas personally.

My first idea is about science-based medicine. It is obviously important; just look around at the garbage happening right now with homeopathy and other fake "medicines." I could talk about how it is important to blend that with patient-centered medicine by understanding what they actually want. A lot of patients would literally rather die than take a pill for the rest of their lives. I don't agree with that, but it's not my job to "fix" my patients, and that's an important distinction. It's a little bland, but it is at least medicine based.

My second idea was about disadvantaged populations. I've done some volunteering in that, and it's important. Also pretty bland, but it's definitely a zeitgeist right now (rightfully so).

Another one was to talk about my hobby. I like playing D&D, and, without just writing the essay here, I like using it to explore ethical scenarios. Think Star Trek, but fantasy rather than sci-fi. It sounds like hyperbole, but it was huge in helping my sister to become more confident after she role-played as confident characters, and has helped me overcome grief and frustrations, as well as connecting me with friends. It's pretty different and not medical, but it might make my app stand out a little.

It probably should depend on your app. If you have a ton of medical experience and not much else, maybe throw in something you do for fun to make you less of a cookie-cut applicant? I don't know what they are looking for, but those are my initial thoughts in my really early planning stages.
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I agree, I went on previous cycles' forums and most said to just avoid saying stuff like you have a passion for learning. I'm leaning towards discussing more personable/fun stuff
 
FishingPole95 said:
How are people writing about this? Do you think it’s more of a personal/fun passion or a passion which is medicine related/what makes us interested in medicine?
Click to expand...

I am writing about a personal/fun interest of mine. I think when a school asks a question regarding your "passion" it is asking about something that you are genuinely interested in, whether it is clinically relevant or not. Either way, I think it is a good idea to discuss the positive ways the passion has benefited your character. This may be a good place to show that you are well-rounded and have interests and passions outside of medicine.
 
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Is the first wave of secondaries going to those with high stats? Wanted to confirm with ppl who got the mich secondary already
 
I submitted my app right when it opened on the first day and was verified the next day. Still haven't heard.
BullBearMan said:
No, I doubt they break it out in that way, more likely earliest verified apps.
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"If you worked to finance your undergraduate education, on average, how many hours per week did you work? Please average your hours, considering the academic year and summer work, over the course of your undergraduate career."

Does anyone know - if I worked for only two out of four years of college, do I average across the two years I worked or across all four years?
 
Anyone not so far along the process, you are not alone. I submitted on 6/23 so gotta wait for a few more weeks to get verified.
 
Flying Penguin said:
Anyone not so far along the process, you are not alone. I submitted on 6/23 so gotta wait for a few more weeks to get verified.
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Same here! Submitted early but my last transcript wasn’t in until 7/1. Still feels good to see the secondary conversations starting!
 
Everyone will get a secondary, so don't worry if it takes longer than others to receive one. It is completely random, and is not based on stats, submission/verification date, etc. If you end up receiving the secondary a week from now, do not worry, it will not impact your chances of getting an interview this cycle 😉
 
katiecat213 said:
"If you worked to finance your undergraduate education, on average, how many hours per week did you work? Please average your hours, considering the academic year and summer work, over the course of your undergraduate career."

Does anyone know - if I worked for only two out of four years of college, do I average across the two years I worked or across all four years?
Click to expand...
Same question
 
katiecat213 said:
"If you worked to finance your undergraduate education, on average, how many hours per week did you work? Please average your hours, considering the academic year and summer work, over the course of your undergraduate career."

Does anyone know - if I worked for only two out of four years of college, do I average across the two years I worked or across all four years?
Click to expand...
bbbmamba said:
Same question
Click to expand...

Average it over the 4 years.
 
mb98 said:
so basically add up total hours worked and divide by 208 (52 weeks *4 years)?
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Yeah, as long as it is a rough estimate, you will be fine. If your employment is listed with the correct time frames on your amcas, the hours should ideally line up.
 
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