2023-2024 Southern Illinois

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2023-2024 Southern Illinois Secondary Essay Prompts

The mission of SIU School of Medicine is to assist the people of central and southern Illinois in meeting their health care needs through education, patient care, research and service to the community.

  • Preference is given to established residents of central and southern Illinois who intend to practice medicine in the state.
  • Applicants should have a good foundation in the natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities.
  • Applicants are expected to demonstrate facility in writing and speaking the English language.
  • Preference is given to applicants who will have earned a baccalaureate degree by the time of matriculation.
  • Preference is given to applicants who have had sufficient recent academic activity to demonstrate potential for successful completion of medical school.
  • Although the Admissions Committee establishes no quotas, active efforts are made to recruit qualified applicants from groups who have been under-represented in the medical profession.
1. SIU School of Medicine uses a holistic approach to identify students who best fulfill its mission: to assist the people of central and southern Illinois in meeting their health care needs through education, patient care, research and service to the community. In what ways do you believe you would contribute to SIU’s mission and what barriers have you overcome in your life’s circumstances to reach this point in applying to medical school? Please limit your response to 300 words or less.

2. Tell us about your lived experiences that will make you a better physician? Please limit your response to 300 words or less.

3. To be successful as a student at SIU School of Medicine and as a practicing physician, you must be flexible and committed to cultivating and employing critical interactive and learning skills. Describe your experiences that demonstrate: contribution in a teamwork setting; engagement in self-directed and life-long learning (taking personal initiative to identify and address your learning goals and needs); and exposure to the small group tutorial process used in a problem-based learning environment. Please limit your answer to 500 words or less.

4. If you have previously applied to SIU School of Medicine, please describe how you feel you have strengthened your credentials since that application. Please limit your answer to 300 words or less.

5. Have you ever been convicted of a felony? Have you ever been convicted with a misdemeanor other than a minor traffic offense? Have you ever been charged with a felony or a misdemeanor other than a minor traffic offense, or with misconduct on any college campus? If you answered 'YES' to any of the three preceding questions, please explain the relevant circumstances. (no character limit given)


Good luck to everyone applying!

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Does anybody know how they screen for secondaries? Is it as simple as a GPA/MCAT cutoff and checking for downstate residency, or what other factors are they looking for?
 
Secondary received just now! WOOHOO! I will post the questions momentarily.

About me: stats in signature, I'm also from central IL.

I've read in previous threads that they interview everyone who completes the secondary; does anyone have a reputable source for this, or is it just hearsay? It would be awesome to interview for this incredible school!
 
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Members don't see this ad :)
The mission of SIU School of Medicine is to assist the people of central and southern Illinois in meeting their health care needs through education, patient care, research and service to the community.
  • Preference is given to established residents of central and southern Illinois who intend to practice medicine in the state.
  • Applicants should have a good foundation in the natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities.
  • Applicants are expected to demonstrate facility in writing and speaking the English language.
  • Preference is given to applicants who will have earned a baccalaureate degree by the time of matriculation.
  • Preference is given to applicants who have had sufficient recent academic activity to demonstrate potential for successful completion of medical school.
  • Although the Admissions Committee establishes no quotas, active efforts are made to recruit qualified applicants from groups who have been under-represented in the medical profession.
1. SIU School of Medicine uses a holistic approach to identify students who best fulfill its mission: to assist the people of central and southern Illinois in meeting their health care needs through education, patient care, research and service to the community. In what ways do you believe you would contribute to SIU’s mission and what barriers have you overcome in your life’s circumstances to reach this point in applying to medical school? Please limit your response to 300 words or less.

2. Tell us about your lived experiences that will make you a better physician? Please limit your response to 300 words or less.

3. To be successful as a student at SIU School of Medicine and as a practicing physician, you must be flexible and committed to cultivating and employing critical interactive and learning skills. Describe your experiences that demonstrate: contribution in a teamwork setting; engagement in self-directed and life-long learning (taking personal initiative to identify and address your learning goals and needs); and exposure to the small group tutorial process used in a problem-based learning environment. Please limit your answer to 500 words or less.

4. If you have previously applied to SIU School of Medicine, please describe how you feel you have strengthened your credentials since that application. Please limit your answer to 300 words or less.

5. Have you ever been convicted of a felony? Have you ever been convicted with a misdemeanor other than a minor traffic offense? Have you ever been charged with a felony or a misdemeanor other than a minor traffic offense, or with misconduct on any college campus? If you answered 'YES' to any of the three preceding questions, please explain the relevant circumstances. (no character limit given)
 
For the people that have received their secondary, when did you guys get the application acknowledgement?
I got mine July 10th and silence so far so I’m getting pretty nervous that I might have gotten screened out- Central Illinois resident
 
For the people that have received their secondary, when did you guys get the application acknowledgement?
I got mine July 10th and silence so far so I’m getting pretty nervous that I might have gotten screened out- Central Illinois resident
July 10 as well - I imagine they will be sending more secondary invites over the next couple weeks.
 
For the people that have received their secondary, when did you guys get the application acknowledgement?
I got mine July 10th and silence so far so I’m getting pretty nervous that I might have gotten screened out- Central Illinois resident

Didn’t you already get your secondary? What are you nervous about?
 
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Can anyone let me know when any of y’all get an interview please?
 
For the people that have received their secondary, when did you guys get the application acknowledgement?
I got mine July 10th and silence so far so I’m getting pretty nervous that I might have gotten screened out- Central Illinois resident
I got my acknowledgement on the 17th and secondary on the 24th. This may have been accelerated since I'm a reapplicant. They don't seem to screen out Northern or Central residents for the secondaries - at least not at this stage. My interview group from last year had two people from Chicago, and myself from North-Central. It's to my understanding that their preference tends to come in later, such as pulling people off their waitlists, though I do not have strict evidence for this besides ✨vibes✨
 
I got my acknowledgement on the 17th and secondary on the 24th. This may have been accelerated since I'm a reapplicant. They don't seem to screen out Northern or Central residents for the secondaries - at least not at this stage. My interview group from last year had two people from Chicago, and myself from North-Central. It's to my understanding that their preference tends to come in later, such as pulling people off their waitlists, though I do not have strict evidence for this besides ✨vibes✨
My understanding is that they interview 99% of people who receive a secondary. This is based on a pamphlet they gave me, which states that "selected applicants are sent a supplementary application... after a file is complete, applicants are interviewed by an admissions committee member (open) and a faculty member (partially-open)". This also lines up with people in previous years' threads saying that all secondaries are interviewed. I couldn't find anyone on any previous threads that said they did NOT receive an II after getting a secondary.

They also accept about 140 people for their 80 spots, so the interview-to-A ratio is about 55%.
 
My understanding is that they interview 99% of people who receive a secondary. This is based on a pamphlet they gave me, which states that "selected applicants are sent a supplementary application... after a file is complete, applicants are interviewed by an admissions committee member (open) and a faculty member (partially-open)". This also lines up with people in previous years' threads saying that all secondaries are interviewed. I couldn't find anyone on any previous threads that said they did NOT receive an II after getting a secondary.

They also accept about 140 people for their 80 spots, so the interview-to-A ratio is about 55%.

What do you mean they accept about 140 people for their 80 spots?? For the interview?
I think as of last year, it was 260 people who interviewed. So interview-to-A ration is around 30% :(
 
What do you mean they accept about 140 people for their 80 spots?? For the interview?
I think as of last year, it was 260 people who interviewed. So interview-to-A ration is around 30% :(
No, they give A's to 140 people. Approximately 60 people each year end up matriculating elsewhere, resulting in a class size of 80. So your chances are better than you think :)! All med schools do this, btw.
 
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Has anyone else received the application acknowledgement around July 10th and have not received a secondary? Just want to see if anyone else is in the same boat lol
 
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No, they give A's to 140 people. Approximately 60 people each year end up matriculating elsewhere, resulting in a class size of 80. So your chances are better than you think :)! All med schools do this, btw.

Are you serious?!!!!!! That’s freakin amazingggg!!!! If you don’t mind, could you please tell me where you got this info?
 
Is “ranked alternate” given only after interviews or does this happen before interviews?
 
application acknowledgement on 7/10... still no secondary (I'm from Hinsdale, Westmont, Downers Grove, Lisle, Naperville) area
 
Has anyone else received a secondary lately? They confirmed my primary on 8/14 but I'm still waiting for secondary.
 
How long did it take for you to receive acknowledgment of your application after it was verified by AMCAS?
 
How long did it take for you to receive acknowledgment of your application after it was verified by AMCAS?
Submitted Primary on 7/6 and was verified on 8/11. Primary app was acknowledged by SIU on 8/14, so about three days.
 
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Screeners alternative just now. Basically a soft R. Good luck to you guys!
 
I’m sorry what’s a +1

Depends on the context. If someone says that they got an II, a “+1” from others after that post means they also got an II.
Likewise if someone says they got a rejection, and others after post +1, that means they also got rejections. Hope that helps!
 
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Is anyone still waiting to have their II date scheduled? I sent in my available dates but am still waiting to hear back. The email says they will try to give 3 weeks notice but my first date given is 2 weeks away. Thoughts?
 
Is anyone still waiting to have their II date scheduled? I sent in my available dates but am still waiting to hear back. The email says they will try to give 3 weeks notice but my first date given is 2 weeks away. Thoughts?
Did you pay the fee online?

Edit:never mind, that would have happened before II. It took me until about 2 weeks before my eventual interview date to get the date confirmation, I wouldn’t sweat it yet but maybe call by the end of the week
 
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Is anyone still waiting to have their II date scheduled? I sent in my available dates but am still waiting to hear back. The email says they will try to give 3 weeks notice but my first date given is 2 weeks away. Thoughts?

The same thing is happening for me. I think I’m going to wait until the end of the week and then call
 
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Do you have to resubmit letters of rec for SIU’s secondary to their portal if you already had all your letters sent from the initial AMCAS primary submission? I don’t think that’s the case but I just want to be sure.
 
Do you have to resubmit letters of rec for SIU’s secondary to their portal if you already had all your letters sent from the initial AMCAS primary submission? I don’t think that’s the case but I just want to be sure.
I didn't have to do anything like this for my LORs
 
Do any screeners alternate end up getting interviews? like an interview waitlist or is it pretty much a guaranteed R already
 
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