2024-2025 Carle-Illinois

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chilly_md

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2024-2025 Carle-Illinois Secondary Prompts

Everything looks similar to previous years, although the three separate artifact descriptions have been merged into one. Note, this is not a standard essay-based secondary.



In the three artifacts we ask you to SHOW US how compassion, curiosity, and creativity have played out in your life, and how you exemplify these values. Each artifact should be uploaded as a PDF (one page for each value, formatted no larger than 8.5" x 11"). No hyperlinks or embedded videos are allowed. We encourage you to make your artifacts image focused but captions or other brief notes can be included on the artifact to help us understand the context of your images. Your artifacts will be most powerful if you include multiple activities for each and clearly indicate the quality and depth of your experience, but only include that which is meaningful for the value. The artifacts should be somewhat reflective in nature so share your thoughts and insights. You may repeat experiences listed on your AMCAS application and/or include new ones. Our screeners will evaluate your portfolio independently BEFORE they evaluate your AMCAS application so do not assume the screeners are aware of any of the information in your AMCAS. Please do not include activities from high school or earlier unless they are of very high quality or impact (an example would be achieving Eagle Scout rank). Family interactions/relationships ("spending time with family") are unlikely to score well unless you can show how they are unusual or significant (an example would be full-time caregiver for a family member for a period). Please make your role clear. Was the activity you are presenting part of a class for credit or something you did on your own? Was this part of a team? If so, what was YOUR role?

For example, if you did or are still doing work in a research lab, we are less interested in a detailed description of the science and more interested in learning what you did, how YOU contributed, and if you were able to be innovative. While the content of your portfolio is of primary importance, our reviewers are also evaluating your presentation. This does not mean you have to be "artistic", but it is valuable to show an innovative approach. Instead of thinking about what WE want, include what YOU want to share. What drives you? What do you want us to know? Show us who you are, and why you are uniquely suited to our school.

In the impact statement we ask you to TELL US more. This statement will provide meaningful context and scope for your artifacts and tell us the impact of what you are showing us. The impact statement is not intended to explain your artifacts, but rather to expand on and supplement them; to demonstrate the impact of the experiences you included. Think of this statement being like an abstract, a synopsis, or a legend for a figure in a paper. You have a maximum of 250 words.

Compassion


We believe in creating physicians who, in addition to solving healthcare's most complex problems, are also tender, kind, and warm. From day one, you will be working with patients.
Show Us - How have you changed the lives of others? What have you experienced that has fostered a deep sense of compassion? For example, have you had a moving volunteer experience? Have you learned through adversity and shared those lessons with others in need? Share with us the ways you’ve impacted a larger population and help us see how you will be the type of physician we would entrust with our most beloved community members.

Curiosity


Carle Illinois College of Medicine values lifelong learners. We want to see your passion for learning and growing!
Show Us - How have you explored new interests, cultures, or people? Have you identified a need and taken the initiative to respond to that need? For example, is there a research project or work experience you’d like to share? Has your curiosity fostered a deeper sense of vulnerability, resilience, or life-long learning? If so, how? Let us see where your curiosity has taken you.

Creativity


The dictionary tells us that innovation is a new method, idea, or product. Often there is an outcome, a clearly defined result, or a new thing is discovered. The introduction of something new requires dynamic thinking and creative solutions. Creativity is key to innovation. Help us see your creativity and potential for innovation!
Show Us - What are the ways you demonstrate you have an active mind? What are you really proud of? For example, have you used technology in novel or distinct ways? What innovative solutions have you employed in your work, healthcare, or hobbies? Have you taken a risk to respond to a problem, to express yourself, or to achieve your goals? Describe how you live and lead a creative life.

Impact Statement



Tell Us - In 250 words or less, create an abstract-style narrative describing the impact of the experiences you included in your portfolio artifacts and how they have shaped your understanding of and connection to the Carle Illinois values of Compassion, Curiosity, and Creativity. The narrative should provide context and scope to the stories told in your artifacts and the value and impact these Carle Illinois values have in your life.


Good luck to all applying!

Interview feedback:

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Received the competency checklist this morning.
 
Also received competency today. Anyone know typically how long they take to approve and send out secondaries if they accept your competency
 
Members don't see this ad :)
Got the secondary today. I knew it was weird but holy **** lol. Gonna have to dig deep for those pictures of me being compassionate that don’t exist 😭
 
@chilly_md
Everything looks similar to previous years, although the three separate artifact descriptions have been merged into one



In the three artifacts we ask you to SHOW US how compassion, curiosity, and creativity have played out in your life, and how you exemplify these values. Each artifact should be uploaded as a PDF (one page for each value, formatted no larger than 8.5" x 11"). No hyperlinks or embedded videos are allowed. We encourage you to make your artifacts image focused but captions or other brief notes can be included on the artifact to help us understand the context of your images. Your artifacts will be most powerful if you include multiple activities for each and clearly indicate the quality and depth of your experience, but only include that which is meaningful for the value. The artifacts should be somewhat reflective in nature so share your thoughts and insights. You may repeat experiences listed on your AMCAS application and/or include new ones. Our screeners will evaluate your portfolio independently BEFORE they evaluate your AMCAS application so do not assume the screeners are aware of any of the information in your AMCAS. Please do not include activities from high school or earlier unless they are of very high quality or impact (an example would be achieving Eagle Scout rank). Family interactions/relationships ("spending time with family") are unlikely to score well unless you can show how they are unusual or significant (an example would be full-time caregiver for a family member for a period). Please make your role clear. Was the activity you are presenting part of a class for credit or something you did on your own? Was this part of a team? If so, what was YOUR role?

For example, if you did or are still doing work in a research lab, we are less interested in a detailed description of the science and more interested in learning what you did, how YOU contributed, and if you were able to be innovative. While the content of your portfolio is of primary importance, our reviewers are also evaluating your presentation. This does not mean you have to be "artistic", but it is valuable to show an innovative approach. Instead of thinking about what WE want, include what YOU want to share. What drives you? What do you want us to know? Show us who you are, and why you are uniquely suited to our school.

In the impact statement we ask you to TELL US more. This statement will provide meaningful context and scope for your artifacts and tell us the impact of what you are showing us. The impact statement is not intended to explain your artifacts, but rather to expand on and supplement them; to demonstrate the impact of the experiences you included. Think of this statement being like an abstract, a synopsis, or a legend for a figure in a paper. You have a maximum of 250 words.

Compassion

We believe in creating physicians who, in addition to solving healthcare's most complex problems, are also tender, kind, and warm. From day one, you will be working with patients.
Show Us - How have you changed the lives of others? What have you experienced that has fostered a deep sense of compassion? For example, have you had a moving volunteer experience? Have you learned through adversity and shared those lessons with others in need? Share with us the ways you’ve impacted a larger population and help us see how you will be the type of physician we would entrust with our most beloved community members.

Curiosity

Carle Illinois College of Medicine values lifelong learners. We want to see your passion for learning and growing!
Show Us - How have you explored new interests, cultures, or people? Have you identified a need and taken the initiative to respond to that need? For example, is there a research project or work experience you’d like to share? Has your curiosity fostered a deeper sense of vulnerability, resilience, or life-long learning? If so, how? Let us see where your curiosity has taken you.

Creativity

The dictionary tells us that innovation is a new method, idea, or product. Often there is an outcome, a clearly defined result, or a new thing is discovered. The introduction of something new requires dynamic thinking and creative solutions. Creativity is key to innovation. Help us see your creativity and potential for innovation!
Show Us - What are the ways you demonstrate you have an active mind? What are you really proud of? For example, have you used technology in novel or distinct ways? What innovative solutions have you employed in your work, healthcare, or hobbies? Have you taken a risk to respond to a problem, to express yourself, or to achieve your goals? Describe how you live and lead a creative life.

Impact Statement



Tell Us - In 250 words or less, create an abstract-style narrative describing the impact of the experiences you included in your portfolio artifacts and how they have shaped your understanding of and connection to the Carle Illinois values of Compassion, Curiosity, and Creativity. The narrative should provide context and scope to the stories told in your artifacts and the value and impact these Carle Illinois values have in your life.
 
Do you guys think its ok to use a capstone project for curiosity and a research project for creativity?
 
Currently doing a Coursera for linear algebra, anyone know if they’ll even accept this in place of an actual class? If not i’m just gonna drop it lol
 
Currently doing a Coursera for linear algebra, anyone know if they’ll even accept this in place of an actual class? If not i’m just gonna drop it lol
there's no harm in submitting the thing and arguing your case. i was able to make some data science class count for stats
 
How have people gone about doing their artifacts? I am honestly pretty lost. I am planning to use some photos of myself and then some stock photos for activities where I don't have any images of myself working in that role and just making a powerpoint slide for each of the artifacts. Are other people planning to do something similar to that?
 
How have people gone about doing their artifacts? I am honestly pretty lost. I am planning to use some photos of myself and then some stock photos for activities where I don't have any images of myself working in that role and just making a powerpoint slide for each of the artifacts. Are other people planning to do something similar to that?
I’ve honestly been saving this secondary for last because I’m so lost….probably going to do a collage thing that’s a mix of photos/drawings?
 
I’ve honestly been saving this secondary for last because I’m so lost….probably going to do a collage thing that’s a mix of photos/drawings?
Literally the exact same thing I am doing. I have had their secondary for like 2.5 weeks but I have no idea what to do for it. I have until Aug 5th so I have to get moving on it
 
I feel like I just failed the video portion so bad... Does anyone have any insights on how much weight Carle puts on the video interview? Is it as significant as screwing up an interview at traditional schools?
 
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i'm waiting on one letter and the guy's being super slow. if it's not in by the personalized deadline am i cooked for carle?
 
the website says we can move forward with listing "no experience" for 2 of the competencies. Does this mean we can still be approved for admission to the school with only 9 of 11 competencies done?
 
Are you allowed to use prewritten notes in the video interview?
You can't "prewrite" since you do not know the questions until you start it, but if you mean writing notes during the 6 minutes of brainstorming then yes. I'd imagine it would be very difficult to remember your answers to all 4 questions coherently without any notes. Just try to maintain eye contact with the camera and not look down too often.
 
FYI for all procrastinators: deadline is 11:59 PM CT (or potentially even EST), not whatever your personal timezone is

side note: met the deadline in PST but not CT, is it joever?
I emailed them about it and their response was: "Your submission is just fine. We don’t pay attention to the dates of submission. It would not let you submit your application if you were past the deadline." so you're fine!
 
I have all the answers and ideas for the “artifacts” but I don’t have the photos! I mean, I didn’t think to take selfies or photos of the stuff I’m working on when I was working. I’ve certainly talked about it in my secondaries but I never thought this type of secondary “essay”. I only have less than a week left to come up with 3 artifacts, creatively.
My current MCAT score isn’t competitive, should I even bother???
 
I have all the answers and ideas for the “artifacts” but I don’t have the photos! I mean, I didn’t think to take selfies or photos of the stuff I’m working on when I was working. I’ve certainly talked about it in my secondaries but I never thought this type of secondary “essay”. I only have less than a week left to come up with 3 artifacts, creatively.
My current MCAT score isn’t competitive, should I even bother???
It's free to submit, so you might as well give it a shot. I think most people don't anticipate taking photos of themselves doing these things so everyone else is in the same position as you are!
 
anyone know roughly when they start sending their version of IIs? looking from last years thread it seems that they don't typically do a normal interview and rather just invite students for a visit day/info session from what I saw
 
anyone know roughly when they start sending their version of IIs? looking from last years thread it seems that they don't typically do a normal interview and rather just invite students for a visit day/info session from what I saw
They run pretty late, I believe they send first wave of invites around October
 
They run pretty late, I believe they send first wave of invites around October
awesome thank you! id be shocked to get one after the garbage I submitted as my artifacts but I feel like not many people were prepared for their artifact questions with photos and images ready to go lol
 
does anyone know if the artifacts NEED captions? or is that an optional thing, depending on how you show stuff?
 
Currently doing a Coursera for linear algebra, anyone know if they’ll even accept this in place of an actual class? If not i’m just gonna drop it lol
hi, did this end up working for you? I had put "plan to enroll" for multivariate, and if something like this works I would rather do that
 
hi, did this end up working for you? I had put "plan to enroll" for multivariate, and if something like this works I would rather do that
I ended up not finishing the course before my 2 weeks were up so I’ll never know. Sorry, hope you can make something work!
 
Hi everyone—I’m an MS1 at Carle Illinois so feel free to ask me any questions if you have them.

Is there anything different in the curriculum as to why they require higher math classes which is not usually required on a premed track?
 
hi, did this end up working for you? I had put "plan to enroll" for multivariate, and if something like this works I would rather do that

Did they ask you to pledge to complete the required math course by a certain date? So, if they ask you if you would pledge, does that mean you’ve been offered a seat (with conditions)?
 
Did they ask you to pledge to complete the required math course by a certain date? So, if they ask you if you would pledge, does that mean you’ve been offered a seat (with conditions)?
if you’re currently taking classes then you will be required to show on your transcripts that you have taken the required courses. If you have not met their requirements, that is grounds for taking back the spot yes.
 
Got a mid-cycle update. at least they are transparent albeit slow as hell. why can't all schools be this transparent and just let us know where they are in the cycyle
 
Yeah, strange that they aren't doing it but still no formal interview. Guessing Spring Visit will be in person
that would be cool, and I don't dislike them not having an interview but it seems pretty strange to do admissions essentially based off the applications and their weird version of a secondary alone
 
that would be cool, and I don't dislike them not having an interview but it seems pretty strange to do admissions essentially based off the applications and their weird version of a secondary alone
To be fair, even when they had the showcase invite, based on last year's thread, I don't think they were really evaluating people then. It was moreso just an opportunity for applicants more likely to be admitted to learn more about the school
 
Thanks to posts from this and previous school-specific threads on Carle, we have published this article.


Student profile
 
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