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Please feel free to tag a pre-medical moderator when the secondary prompt is posted.

Good luck to everyone applying!

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Hey I got my “We’ve received your verified amcas application” email today on 7/12 and the email says that it takes 4-6 weeks to get a secondary? Is anyone else in the same boat? Does it really take that long to get a secondary?
 
Hey I got my “We’ve received your verified amcas application” email today on 7/12 and the email says that it takes 4-6 weeks to get a secondary? Is anyone else in the same boat? Does it really take that long to get a secondary?
I guess so. My email said "please allow about six weeks from the date of this email" for them to make a decision about sending out a secondary
 
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Hey I got my “We’ve received your verified amcas application” email today on 7/12 and the email says that it takes 4-6 weeks to get a secondary? Is anyone else in the same boat? Does it really take that long to get a secondary?
I also got the email awhile back, no secondary yet. I think it takes longer for SIU to send secondary apps than others because of their residential screening, as they prioritize Illinois students from central and southern Illinois and probably only give secondary apps to those they would genuinely accept, unlike other schools.
 
I also got the email awhile back, no secondary yet. I think it takes longer for SIU to send secondary apps than others because of their residential screening, as they prioritize Illinois students from central and southern Illinois and probably only give secondary apps to those they would genuinely accept, unlike other schools.
Same boat re: email. SIU secondaries take awhile due to heavy/discerning primary screening, like you said.
 
Same here. This is currently my top choice school. I knew they review applications before sending out secondary invites and that not everyone will get one. When I saw an email notification from SIUMED my mood got mega elevated before getting smacked back to reality after realizing the email was just a acknowledgment that they received my application.
 
Same here. This is currently my top choice school. I knew they review applications before sending out secondary invites and that not everyone will get one. When I saw an email notification from SIUMED my mood got mega elevated before getting smacked back to reality after realizing the email was just a acknowledgment that they received my application.
Hang in there, rooting for you!
 
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Hang in there, rooting for you!
Thanks! If I don't get in this year I'll just assess, improve, and reapply next year.
 
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I checked the SIU thread on this website from last year. A few things I picked up are
1) the first person to even mention getting a secondary was on July 30, so we most likely have a few more weeks
and 2) it sounds like you automatically get an interview if you submit the secondary, hence their strict screening from the primaries
 
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Applicant from Northern Illinois. Figured I would try my luck here anyways. Good luck everybody!
 
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I checked the SIU thread on this website from last year. A few things I picked up are
1) the first person to even mention getting a secondary was on July 30, so we most likely have a few more weeks
and 2) it sounds like you automatically get an interview if you submit the secondary, hence their strict screening from the primaries
Oh wow, really banking on this school to come through. It was the first secondary that I pre-wrote but is taking the longest amount of time to get the actually secondary 😩😩
 
Does anyone know the criteria they screen for? Assuming 3.0 GPA cutoff and 49X MCAT but what else?
 
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Does anyone know the criteria they screen for? Assuming 3.0 GPA cutoff and 49X MCAT but what else?
I think they also screen based on residency/address, so they can prioritize southern and central illinoisans
 
Does anyone know the criteria they screen for? Assuming 3.0 GPA cutoff and 49X MCAT but what else?
It sounds like they interview everyone who submits a secondary, so they are screening for a much more rigorous criteria, as well as assuring they are only taking in-state applicants, generally from central and southern IL with some exceptions.
 
It sounds like they interview everyone who submits a secondary, so they are screening for a much more rigorous criteria, as well as assuring they are only taking in-state applicants, generally from central and southern IL with some exceptions.
Thank you and thank you @jmr14, without trying to dox myself I wonder if I will be fine considering I am from the west suburbs of IL
 
Thank you and thank you @jmr14, without trying to dox myself I wonder if I will be fine considering I am from the west suburbs of IL
I know someone from the suburbs of St. Louis who was accepted and starting this fall, so don't count yourself out!
 
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Received secondary today! I'm from Chicago.
 
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Good Luck!. When did you receive your initial Application Acknowledgement for primary application?

Verified 7/6, received application acknowledgement on 7/12
 
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Application acknowledgement from SIU on 6/28. I am from northwest suburbs of Chicago but I have strong family connections to Southern Illinois. Does it sound like I am not getting a secondary at this point?
 
My Application acknowledgement from SIU is also on 6/28. I am also from northwest suburbs of Chicago with no family connections to Southern Illinois. No Secondary invitation yet.
 
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Did they not even tell you that you weren’t getting a secondary last time?
First time applying here but I got no love last cycle so there is the fear that my app is poisoned.
 
First time applying here but I got no love last cycle so there is the fear that my app is poisoned.
I gotcha. This is my 1a school so I’m really hoping for a secondary invite.
 
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I gotcha. This is my 1a school so I’m really hoping for a secondary invite.
This is my 1b, I got too scared away by the priority for southern residents to apply last cycle,
 
This is my 1b, I got too scared away by the priority for southern residents to apply last cycle,
Yeah I’m from central/southern Illinois so I’m hoping that helps
 
+1

Do we have to put our AMCAS ID on the check we mail to them? I wish they just had online payment system lol
I have the fee waiver, but I just emailed them back with my AMCAS ID so I would add it on
 
Maybe there are more secondary invites going out. I have a hard time believing only 2 people on here were invited to fill out secondaries.
 
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Good Luck!. When did you receive your initial Application Acknowledgement for primary application?
primary verified on 6/3; initial application acknowledgement July 21st (got my MCAT score on July 20.)
 
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Southern Illinoisan applicant here, good stats and completed my post-bachelor pre-requisites at SIU. No secondary for me yet, but I'm still holding out hope!
 
Does SIU send all of the secondaries at once or do they do it in waves?
 
Does SIU send all of the secondaries at once or do they do it in waves?
I'm assuming they do it in waves since some people have already received secondaries beginning of August and others are still receiving them
 
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IS secondary received! Southern Illinois resident
 
Got the email to schedule an interview! Handed in secondary on 8/3. Right now they're scheduling post-August 23. Only in-person interviews unless the pandemic worsens.
 
Has anyone received a secondary that isn't from southern/central Illinois? I'm near the Chicagoland area.
 
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From the posts in this forum, I'm seeing SIU's process doesn't seem to be on schedule with other schools. Any current SIU students that can provide some insight into SIU's admissions process/schedule?
 
I'm from Central Illinois but live in Chicago area right now, and I have not received a secondary yet either. Last week was 6 weeks since they sent the primary submission acknowledgment email... Anybody in the same boat waiting past 6 weeks?
 
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I'm from Central Illinois but live in Chicago area right now, and I have not received a secondary yet either. Last week was 6 weeks since they sent the primary submission acknowledgment email... Anybody in the same boat waiting past 6 weeks?
Tomorrow will be 7 weeks since they confirmed receiving AMCAS app. I guess I'm technically a Chicago burbanite, south of I-80 though. I reached out to a SIU med grad I know to see if they can offer any insight into their schedule, but they have been out for several years so not sure how helpful they will be.
 
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I'm from Central Illinois but live in Chicago area right now, and I have not received a secondary yet either. Last week was 6 weeks since they sent the primary submission acknowledgment email... Anybody in the same boat waiting past 6 weeks?
Southern IL, alum of a southern IL school as well and nothing yet, was acknowledged on 6/28. I’m worried because last cycle I intended to apply, but then a lot happened in my life and I didn’t get to withdraw before it was verified. I honestly forgot I had sent them a primary. I’m hoping I’m not poisoned, but being a reapplicant to one school is not necessarily the end of the world.
 
I'm from Central Illinois but live in Chicago area right now, and I have not received a secondary yet either. Last week was 6 weeks since they sent the primary submission acknowledgment email... Anybody in the same boat waiting past 6 weeks?
+1
 
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