2020-2021 Wake Forest
Started by TheDataKing
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deleted1061754
if last year first invites went out July 31 I would expect they start sending stuff out within the next week (literally just a guess tho)
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premedbanana
Full Member
IIRC, Wake Forest isn't sending out IIs until early September
Nah not from Wake Forest. i've only received one VITA invite and it was for UMass who apparently sends to everyone who's complete. Not sure what Wake Forest's policy is on this
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deleted1061754
Where did you see this?
Yes, there is DEAC (Delivering Equal Access to Care, all student run Wake affiliated free clinic + mobile clinics), Shalom Clinic (free/sliding scale clinic in Winston Salem), SHAG (Sexual Health Awareness Group, partners with the county dept. of health to provide free STI screening for the 3 local colleges and at health fairs).
Wake students also organize and staff the Share the Health Fair (largest community health fair in the state of North Carolina). There are plenty of ways to get engaged in community health at Wake. Our emergency department is very involved in state wide disaster assistance so if you are interested in that you can get involved.
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deleted776417
That is so awesome and exciting, thank you so much for this information! Can medical students get involved with the disaster assistance? I tried digging through the SOM website at it looks like it is a residence program
I know that when I was an M1 and the coast was hit pretty bad by a hurricane that there were volunteer activities associated with going and helping with supply chain for mobile disaster clinics, but I do not know what the "standing" activities might be that students can get involved with. The Wake faculty really enjoys being engaged with students and so if that is a particular interest of yours I am sure that you can get involved. Also, the Wilderness Medicine Group at Wake is super active and they do workshops including a camping weekend with in the field simulations, which would be directly applicable to disaster assistance medicine.
premedbanana
Full Member
MSAR!
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deleted1040408
this is correct!! Sept 2020, according to MSAR
inked.cuse
Full Member
Has anyone received a VITA invite yet ?
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deleted1040408
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deleted1061754
Yes only Thursday’s!
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deleted1040408
thank you!
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I know y'all are still waiting for IIs and dealing with VITA and such... but here are some reasons why you should choose Wake:
1) pass/fail preclinical with no internal ranking = less stress
2) remediation process makes it almost impossible to fail a course
3) the faculty are approachable and everyone who works here is friendly
4) students are broken up into 4 houses (a la Harry Potter style)- it doesn't really mean much right now with COVID but the houses compete throughout the year. Each house has its own separate part of the med student lounge (that is stocked with fridges, microwaves, etc). For example, the blue house has a treadmill desk and a room with a massage chair. The yellow house has a music room with 2 guitars and 2 pianos, the red house has a napping room with a hammock. I'm not positive what's in the green house but they've got something haha
5) abundance of research opportunities - my first week here I was able to publish a case study in the department I'm interested in pursuing
6) the medical school building itself was built in 2016 and is full of huge windows with natural sunlight
7) the cadaver lab has its own HVAC system with downward draft tables = you don't have to deal with smell as much and there are so many big windows still.
8) there is a student interest group or student group for almost everything. If there isn't, there is ample opportunity and funding to make one yourself
9) they want you to succeed. You're given Sketchy, Pathoma, USMLE-Rx, and UWorld subscriptions (well they're part of tuition but it feels nice)
10) free parking at both the medical school and hospital that isn't far away at all
11) free unlimited color printing if that's your thing - it's been nice during anatomy.
12) you're given a laptop or in the case of the M1s this year, they were given $1200 to buy whatever laptop they wanted as long as it met specifications
Things I'd like to see improved:
1) diversity - more of an emphasis on recruiting students from diverse racial backgrounds
2) less cliquey environment - this may be due to COVID but it feels like high school again (I've heard this echoed from friends at other schools from Jefferson to Vandy to Emory to UCLA, though, so it's likely more a med school thing than a Wake thing)
1) pass/fail preclinical with no internal ranking = less stress
2) remediation process makes it almost impossible to fail a course
3) the faculty are approachable and everyone who works here is friendly
4) students are broken up into 4 houses (a la Harry Potter style)- it doesn't really mean much right now with COVID but the houses compete throughout the year. Each house has its own separate part of the med student lounge (that is stocked with fridges, microwaves, etc). For example, the blue house has a treadmill desk and a room with a massage chair. The yellow house has a music room with 2 guitars and 2 pianos, the red house has a napping room with a hammock. I'm not positive what's in the green house but they've got something haha
5) abundance of research opportunities - my first week here I was able to publish a case study in the department I'm interested in pursuing
6) the medical school building itself was built in 2016 and is full of huge windows with natural sunlight
7) the cadaver lab has its own HVAC system with downward draft tables = you don't have to deal with smell as much and there are so many big windows still.
8) there is a student interest group or student group for almost everything. If there isn't, there is ample opportunity and funding to make one yourself
9) they want you to succeed. You're given Sketchy, Pathoma, USMLE-Rx, and UWorld subscriptions (well they're part of tuition but it feels nice)
10) free parking at both the medical school and hospital that isn't far away at all
11) free unlimited color printing if that's your thing - it's been nice during anatomy.
12) you're given a laptop or in the case of the M1s this year, they were given $1200 to buy whatever laptop they wanted as long as it met specifications
Things I'd like to see improved:
1) diversity - more of an emphasis on recruiting students from diverse racial backgrounds
2) less cliquey environment - this may be due to COVID but it feels like high school again (I've heard this echoed from friends at other schools from Jefferson to Vandy to Emory to UCLA, though, so it's likely more a med school thing than a Wake thing)
I agree with all the positives listed here, but I just want to give some perspective on the clique aspect since I do not think Wake has that atmosphere at all. I think it is easy to feel that way at the beginning after Launch (Wake's orientation) and especially during COVID where social gatherings are limited (and if they are not being limited, they should be), but the atmosphere at Wake is extremely collegial. Maybe its because I am a non-trad, but medical school is not college or high school, it is a job. At work you are not going to socially jive with everyone, but you should be able to work with everyone. As a M3, you will be randomly assigned to groups to work with and I have yet to work with a student who is not working towards the same goals of being a good practitioner, a strong academic, and a supportive colleague. Even the gunners do not gun that hard because that type of attitude is not rewarded at Wake.
No worries. I do have a social life, but in all honesty it took me almost a year to find "my people". It takes time to meet all 140+ people.
Gonna have to respectfully disagree with this. Of course everyone is an adult and if you get paired with someone they’ll be friendly and work with you, but people congregate into small friend groups, thats just the way it is. You’ll find your people, but don’t expect the class to be all buddy buddy and everyone to be friends, that has very much not been my experience, and friend groups congregate quickly. I know for a fact that Thedataking and I are not alone in feeling this way, I’ve heard a lot of people express the same thing. Honestly though it’s a reality of all medical schools from what I’ve heard, not just Wake.
This has been my experience as well. Of course you have a limited amount of time, so there are going to be people you choose to spend that time with and become really close to, and those who you may only see at class/interclass socials (RIP, although the social chairs really are working HARD to create opportunities) or in an academic setting. But honestly I can't think of a single person in my class that I wouldn't feel comfortable asking to grab a coffee or a drink with if I wanted to and had that kind of time.
With that being said, it seems at least some people in the new class haven't had this experience so far (@TheDataKing and @Orangekiwi, I'm guessing from your posts you are M1s, correct me if I'm wrong). I don't know if that's because it's more difficult to get to know people because of COVID restrictions, because a lot of people got here really really early (literally like a month out) and maybe already bonded with other people already there, etc. But whatever it is, definitely keep your heads up. I don't think it's out of the norm for people to want to find a friend group early on so they don't feel left out, but friend groups definitely shift around pretty consistently in first year and beyond as everyone gets more interactions. I know it feels like forever because you are in anatomy, but it's really only been about a month and a half. People are still adjusting to medical school, and you will see a lot of growth in your classmates as time progresses. Also, as you all become more involved in activities (i.e. volunteering, research, certificate programs, interest groups), there will be more interconnectedness among the class. Unless you always sign up with the same people I guess, but at that point it's really up to you.
Good luck everyone!
SpreadKindness20
Full Member
This has been an insightful exchange, for me at least. Not to derail too much from the topic of Wake specifically, but I wonder @GoofyGubernaculum @Orangekiwi @<3ClinicalResearch @TheDataKing what advice you might offer to new M1s about how to meet people, make friendships, and find community early on.
We have internal rankings because we have AOA.
Advice to everyone applying: look into whether or not the school you're interested in has AOA (alpha omega alpha honors society) because that just means that they rank students internally. Most schools don't explicitly state that they rank students because they know it deters people from attending their schools.
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I'm a M3 here so I"ve looked a little more into AOA. Wake has some sort of internal ranking but the criteria is not entirely known or published. What we do know is that the top 25 percent of the class are invited to submit their CVs. Based on talking to prior AOA people the top 25 percentile is determined by objective data but clinical grades are weighted significantly more than preclinical grades. One thing I would change about Wake is that they either define AOA criteria or completely remove it.
But all in all, Wake is fantastic place yall. Med school has been a blast and not super stressful as long as you prioritize your time and work 🙂
I also have "file complete."
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deleted1040408
@Cords of Bilroth I spoke with Dr. Hu and others and they told me that the objective criteria for junior AOA at Wake were the top (3? or 5?) step 1 scores each year and then for senior AOA it consists of clinical grades/step 1/CV review. They stopped calculating class rank with the class of 2019. That said, I could always be wrong
I've heard many adcoms that share this opinion. Some think it shows test-taking anxiety and worry if you'll be able to handle STEP exams. As a fellow retaker, I think it shows a lot of persistence and I imagine some schools will see it this way too. Basically, if Wake doesn't take you, you'll end up at a school that values your persistence! At least this is what I tell myself. Then again, Wake may just like you a lot as an applicant and look past the retaking twice. You never know!
does this school have a two week deadline or something of the sort
Not that I can see...but they do take their time reviewing. Anyone receive an II yet ?
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My understanding is that they’re working on something like this, and I think the admissions office is trying to figure out a way for some of us students to interact with applicants virtually, like you would do at lunch at a normal in person interview. I’m not sure if it’s feasible or if they’ll succeed, but I think they’re trying
Hi! Sorry for the late response, I don't keep these notifications on so it takes me a little time to see them. Honestly, just keep yourself open to new people and having social time (whatever that may look like these days). I know personally I would turn down invites to hangout because I felt behind in school, but it turns out there's always something you could be working on and if you keep putting your social life on hold until you feel "caught up" then it may never happen. An hour to grab lunch or a few hours working a little slower in a group setting isn't going to make or break your education, but it will help create connections with your class.
When I say keep yourself open to other people, it doesn't have to be some grand gesture. Simply making yourself approachable (i.e. waving when you see someone you know, striking up conversation when waiting for a classroom to open) is a great way to let people know that you are friendly and open to making new connections. Think about it, are you more likely to try to be friends with someone who always walks around/studies/goes to lunch with the same people and has never said a word to you, or someone who talks to you while you are both heating up your food in the break room and asks if you want to sit outside? They may both be really friendly, but I'm definitely more likely to approach the second one when I see them around.
Also, try to keep a positive attitude. There will be times when you need to vent or have a serious conversation or just sit there and cry on someone's shoulder, but if you are constantly talking about how anxious school makes you or venting about interactions with other students/professors/SOs/etc every single time someone interacts with you then they likely will shy away from that relationship. You'll find that a lot of people have a lot on their plates, and as much as they want to help they'll need to be protective over their own stress levels as well (as they should be).
I know that's a long post, but it's a super important subject so I hope it's helpful! Let me know if you have any questions. I'm happy to chat privately too!
Tacocalifornia
Full Member
Congrats? IS/Oos and orm/urm?
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deleted1057987
congrats! when were you complete?
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deleted1040408
stats?
VITA interview invite received!
Do you mean you got the email from HireVue today?
Okazaki2021
Full Member
II! Let’s see if I understand correctly. VITA will be sent to us Thursday which we have 2 business days to complete. Then there is no formal interview with the med school? Just some Q & A With students/faculty and info sessions? Also does anyone know if those are 1:1?
Did you just get the invite or earlier today?
will scott
Full Member
2 days?? I thought we had two weeks...
Okazaki2021
Full Member
Yes today around 3pm est.
definitely_not_an_athlete
Full Member
When was your application complete?
Okazaki2021
Full Member
I apologize, I think I phrased it wrong. After you submit VITA, WFSOM will get our responses in 2 business days. So get it done ASAP. VITA invitation 9/3, they receive our VITA ~9/5, and for example I interview 9/10 3-5pm (the only option they gave me).
Okazaki2021
Full Member
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will scott
Full Member
Oh I see! Thank you, I was going to take as long as possible to prepare but now I see I shouldn’t dilly dally.
Okazaki2021
Full Member
So VITA replaces our interview, and we have a zoom meeting or something with a batch of applicants on our “interview date”?
Can someone post the secondary prompts in their entirety? I see that someone posted them here but they don't exactly align with the prompts for WFU posted on MedSchoolInsiders and ProspectiveDoctor.
Here you go:
1. We seek to train physicians who can connect with diverse patient populations with whom they may not share a similar background. Tell us one experience that enhanced your ability to understand those unlike yourself and what you learned from it. (200 words or less)
2. Describe a non-academic challenge you have faced and explain how you overcame it.
(200 words or less)
3. From your list of "most meaningful experiences" on the AMCAS application, choose one that has been the most formative in terms of your desire for a career in medicine. Why did that experience have such meaning for you in your decision-making process?
(200 words or less)
4. Tell us about any specific reason(s) (personal, educational, etc.) why you see yourself here at the Wake Forest School of Medicine.
(150 words or less)
5. Please tell us an interesting fact about yourself that a casual acquaintance may find surprising or interesting.
(50 words or less)
6. Have you previously applied to any MD programs during a previous admission cycle (Yes or No.) If 'Yes,' please describe if you have made any significant changes or improvements to your previous application (200 words or less)
7. If you have received a C+ grade or lower in any coursework, please explain (200 words or less)
8. Optional Essay Question.
If there is anything specific that you would like for us to know regarding how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected you and your application you may do so here (200 words or less)
