2023-2024 Massachusetts

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As someone who was accepted at "higher ranked" medical schools than UMass, I'm really peeved with how they handled their admissions process. I, like many others in this thread, am an IS applicant who was counting on UMass for reduced tuition. It seems like they handed out way, way too many IIs and couldn't sort through them all in a reasonable time. I hope they realize that it feels much more disrespectful to receive an II and have to wait this long rather than not receiving an II at all. I really feel for the applicants who had to wait forever to know whether they were going to medical school or had to undergo a difficult reapplication process. It sucked having to tell people for so long that I didn't know WHERE I was going to medical school, I can't imagine having to tell people I still didn't know IF I was going to medical school.

Highly unprofessional on UMass to make applicants wait this long, especially because of how many IS applicants they were stringing along. I certainly won't be forgetting this experience any time soon.
 
medmeek said:
As someone who was accepted at "higher ranked" medical schools than UMass, I'm really peeved with how they handled their admissions process. I, like many others in this thread, am an IS applicant who was counting on UMass for reduced tuition. It seems like they handed out way, way too many IIs and couldn't sort through them all in a reasonable time. I hope they realize that it feels much more disrespectful to receive an II and have to wait this long rather than not receiving an II at all. I really feel for the applicants who had to wait forever to know whether they were going to medical school or had to undergo a difficult reapplication process. It sucked having to tell people for so long that I didn't know WHERE I was going to medical school, I can't imagine having to tell people I still didn't know IF I was going to medical school.

Highly unprofessional on UMass to make applicants wait this long, especially because of how many IS applicants they were stringing along. I certainly won't be forgetting this experience any time soon.
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Maybe they felt that you were overqualified, compared to the pool of applicants who tipically matriculate. They probably got a feeling that "higher ranked" medical schools would grab you and offer you a scholarship or most likely that a mid tier med school would offer you a schoolarship and tempt you to accept their offer of acceptance. Schools are very protective of their yield.

I do agree that they should deliver their rejections as they go instead of waiting until the very last day.
 
DocImaynalla said:
Maybe they felt that you were overqualified, compared to the pool of applicants who tipically matriculate. They probably got a feeling that "higher ranked" medical schools would grab you and offer you a scholarship or most likely that a mid tier med school would offer you a schoolarship and tempt you to accept their offer of acceptance. Schools are very protective of their yield.

I do agree that they should deliver their rejections as they go instead of waiting until the very last day.
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State schools don't yield protect, as many applicants, like this one, would choose their state school for financial reasons.
 
ApplicantWishMeLuck said:
Do you have a better explanation as to why me and a lot of my buddies who are 520+ scorers and excellent all around applicants struck out at this school, while a handful of our peers, who have physician parents, with sub 510 MCATs and near zero ECs had so much luck? They only got into UMass, no other schools, while those of us who were rejected got into to tons of other schools. I struggle to find a reason other than them being the child of a physician. But I'm open to listen to your reasons as to how this could happen. Year after year btw, same thing happened last year with a lot of strong applicants that I personally know.
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Perhaps correlation vs causation is at play here. Having physician parents working and practicing in MA may facilitate "more interesting" clinical opportunities in the community. The claim that an institution is unfairly admitting the children of physicians is quite serious. If it were true, a lot of data would be needed to support the claim - a handful of people anecdotally isn’t enough. Hey, n=1 but I come from a medical family and I got rejected. Likely, the admissions process is too opaque to make conclusions like "X got in because of Y."

They're just trying to build their class and that's fine. I believe everyone who got in deserves their acceptance. For me, it's not *that* I was rejected, it's *how* I was rejected.
 
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DocImaynalla said:
Maybe they felt that you were overqualified, compared to the pool of applicants who tipically matriculate. They probably got a feeling that "higher ranked" medical schools would grab you and offer you a scholarship or most likely that a mid tier med school would offer you a schoolarship and tempt you to accept their offer of acceptance. Schools are very protective of their yield.

I do agree that they should deliver their rejections as they go instead of waiting until the very last day.
Click to expand...
As someone who got into a "higher ranked" school that I would've chosen over UMass and got interviews at many other "higher ranked" schools, I personally don't believe I was yield protected and I know of people who are extremely qualified (multiple A's from top schools, ultra-high stats, etc.) who did get in. I think it comes down to a difference in what UMass is looking for vs other schools and my individual performance on different schools' interview days.
 
ApplicantWishMeLuck said:
Do you have a better explanation as to why me and a lot of my buddies who are 520+ scorers and excellent all around applicants struck out at this school, while a handful of our peers, who have physician parents, with sub 510 MCATs and near zero ECs had so much luck? They only got into UMass, no other schools, while those of us who were rejected got into to tons of other schools. I struggle to find a reason other than them being the child of a physician. But I'm open to listen to your reasons as to how this could happen. Year after year btw, same thing happened last year with a lot of strong applicants that I personally know.
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I’m curious what proportion of those who were rejected today are males.

UMass clearly discriminates against males. 55 men and 143 women in the most recent class, and pretty close to that ratio in the few years before that too. That isn’t by chance.

Edit: don’t want to come across as sexist. However I do believe that med school classes shouldn’t be more than 60% of one particular gender.
 
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YodaPineapple said:
I’m curious what proportion of those who were rejected today are males.

UMass clearly discriminates against males. 55 men and 143 females in the most recent class, and pretty close to that ratio in the few years before that too. That isn’t by chance.

Edit: don’t want to come across as sexist. However I do believe that med school classes shouldn’t be more than 60% of one particular gender.
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55 men and 143 ***women***

Diverse and balanced classes are statistically more effective in educating informed and culturally competent physicians. I'm sure class demographics are taken into account with UMass' emphasis on social values. Many other factors are in play, however, that might skew the gender ratios, such as CASPER testing, interview performance, experiences/understanding of social determinants of health. I'd find it hard to believe that UMass is discriminating against males, when they probably have enough difficulty in turning thousands of applications into a few hundred acceptances.
 
YodaPineapple said:
I’m curious what proportion of those who were rejected today are males.

UMass clearly discriminates against males. 55 men and 143 women in the most recent class, and pretty close to that ratio in the few years before that too. That isn’t by chance.

Edit: don’t want to come across as sexist. However I do believe that med school classes shouldn’t be more than 60% of one particular gender.
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This is the trend across the board not just at UMass. Not 100% sure but I remember hearing somewhere that women nowadays are generally performing better than men in higher Ed (saying this as a guy)
 
219 days post interview for an R yesterday lol. Don’t care that I got rejected, I get it, you can’t get into every school, but the way they’ve handled this is incredibly disrespectful and unprofessional. So much for “wanting to be respectful of our time and aiming to get back decisions in 4-6 weeks.”
 
Does anyone know when the actual deadline for UMass to narrow to one acceptance is? Like when can WL folks expect to start hearing news? Ik some schools have their CTE deadline as after May 1st which is why I’m asking
 
BitofNothin said:
Does anyone know when the actual deadline for UMass to narrow to one acceptance is? Like when can WL folks expect to start hearing news? Ik some schools have their CTE deadline as after May 1st which is why I’m asking
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www.umassmed.edu

Acceptance, Deferral, & Withdrawal Policy

Acceptance, Deferral, & Withdrawal Policy
www.umassmed.edu www.umassmed.edu

On their website, they say it's 4/30 (or the next business day if 4/30 is a weekend/holiday, which in this case it's not) to narrow down to one acceptance (i.e., the PTE deadline). To officially CTE, that's July 15.
 
chidorichampion said:
just wondering -- if we have only 1 A by 4/30 and 1 WL, what happens if we are by chance later offered a second A through that WL. would we just notify schools and pick 1 school to commit to immediately?
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AAMC traffic rules dictate that you can only hold down one acceptance after 4/30.

From my understanding...
Let's say you have an A from School A and a WL from School B. On 4/30, you selected PTE for School A. At some point after that, you received an A from School B. If you prefer School B over School A, you can change your PTE selection to School B; however, that will mean that you would need to turn down the A from School A.

Folks here can correct me if I'm wrong. For some reason, this was a doozy concept for me to grasp.
 
studentordoctor said:


AAMC traffic rules dictate that you can only hold down one acceptance after 4/30.

From my understanding...
Let's say you have an A from School A and a WL from School B. On 4/30, you selected PTE for School A. At some point after that, you received an A from School B. If you prefer School B over School A, you can change your PTE selection to School B; however, that will mean that you would need to turn down the A from School A.

Folks here can correct me if I'm wrong. For some reason, this was a doozy concept for me to grasp.
Click to expand...

Between PTE (4/30) and CTE (7/15), you can turn down the A, and you can't after CTE,
 
chidorichampion said:
just wondering -- if we have only 1 A by 4/30 and 1 WL, what happens if we are by chance later offered a second A through that WL. would we just notify schools and pick 1 school to commit to immediately?
Click to expand...
same situation and thats how I understand it. Right now i chose PTE for my only A (school A). With this option i can still stay on WL for school B. If you get accepted to School B and thats where you prefer, choose CTE for school B which will automatically withdraw your A from School A (but i think you still need to communicate that w/ school A). But pay attention to school specific ddl which can be different from the CYMS ddl
 
studentordoctor said:
Do we know when we'll start hearing back about us WL folks?
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Based on last year's forum, it looks like initial WL movement began the Wednesday after PTE deadline (May 3rd). If that is any indication, any day beyond this point is fair game. So I wouldn't hold my breath and just let the decisions come. Manifesting for you to hear some good news!
 
Does anyone know how hard it is to become an in-state resident in Mass? For example if we started out of state at this school is it possible to eventually become an in-state resident during their 2nd year forward?
 
lobsterroll said:
Does anyone know how hard it is to become an in-state resident in Mass? For example if we started out of state at this school is it possible to eventually become an in-state resident during their 2nd year forward?
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www.umassmed.edu

Massachusetts Residency Classification information

Massachusetts Residency Classification
www.umassmed.edu www.umassmed.edu

You can become a resident of MA whenever you want - all it takes is a change of address to one in MA. However, you would still be charged OOS tuition by UMass, regardless of whether you hit that 7-year mark during your time as a student at UMass Chan. The 7 years of residency needs to be fulfilled prior to enrollment in order to be considered IS.

Hopefully that answers your question?
 
Does anyone know if there is a separate waitlist for people waitlisted for MD and PURCH?
 
They are probably delayed due to the FAFSA issues. Some schools are giving accepted students an extension for a financial aid offer
 
Supposedly it has to do with FAFSA delays.

The latest delay for the 2024-2025 FAFSA is the result of errors in updating the indexing formula for the Student Aid Index (SAI), a figure used to determine how much aid students qualify for. Starting with the 2024-2025 school year, the SAI replaced the Expected Family Contribution calculation and is supposed to reflect cost changes by adjusting for inflation.

However, in its initial calculation, the Department of Education didn't account for inflation (welp go figure). Without that adjustment, students would be qualifying for much less assistance. The fix is estimated to open up an additional $1.8 billion in student aid.

So basically:
A federal error means some applications are now having to be reprocessed --> This delays accurate student financial information being reported to institutions --> Institutions will be significantly delayed creating financial aid packages for students --> Currently accepted students' decisions to matriculate/decline acceptance are delayed until they can receive and review financial aid offers --> WL movement is delayed
(woohoo domino effect)

FAFSA apps generally take up to 3 weeks to process, the wave of WL-->A may well be delayed to later this month 😕

I do agree though - the wait is rough.
 
studentordoctor said:
Supposedly it has to do with FAFSA delays.

The latest delay for the 2024-2025 FAFSA is the result of errors in updating the indexing formula for the Student Aid Index (SAI), a figure used to determine how much aid students qualify for. Starting with the 2024-2025 school year, the SAI replaced the Expected Family Contribution calculation and is supposed to reflect cost changes by adjusting for inflation.

However, in its initial calculation, the Department of Education didn't account for inflation (welp go figure). Without that adjustment, students would be qualifying for much less assistance. The fix is estimated to open up an additional $1.8 billion in student aid.

So basically:
A federal error means some applications are now having to be reprocessed --> This delays accurate student financial information being reported to institutions --> Institutions will be significantly delayed creating financial aid packages for students --> Currently accepted students' decisions to matriculate/decline acceptance are delayed until they can receive and review financial aid offers --> WL movement is delayed
(woohoo domino effect)

FAFSA apps generally take up to 3 weeks to process, the wave of WL-->A may well be delayed to later this month 😕

I do agree though - the wait is rough.
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Thanks so much for laying this all out in detail, it's very appreciated! I feel like I can (anxiously) relax and check my portal less frequently.
 
Have any accepted students received financial aid? I know delays in FAFSA processing have resulted in no WL movement but looking at the other school’s threads, a lot of accepted applicants have received FA already.
 
Have accepted students heard back any news from the school about next steps? Just wanted to make sure it wasn't just me who hasn't received any emails
 
sillygigglegirl said:
Have any accepted students received financial aid? I know delays in FAFSA processing have resulted in no WL movement but looking at the other school’s threads, a lot of accepted applicants have received FA already.
Click to expand...
I received my aid on April 29th after emailing the FA office.

nosleeponlyschool said:
Have accepted students heard back any news from the school about next steps? Just wanted to make sure it wasn't just me who hasn't received any emails
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I haven't heard anything yet either about next steps
 
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