2024-2025 Colorado

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for Colorado Springs branch, does anyone else have two questions that seem pretty similar? want to make sure that it's not a glitch or something on my end!

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+ IS secondary, LM 63 cumulative gpa, LM 67 w/ post bacc GPA (I’m new here idk which to put but still wanna contribute if it helps)
 
do you all have any suggestions for the rural program prompt? I have no ties to colorado...
 
+1 OOS no ties.
I'm not sure how to answer the second part of this question, "The pillars of our curriculum are Leadership, Curiosity, and Commitment. Tell us about how you have embodied one or more of these attributes in your path to medicine thus far. In which of these areas do you see the most opportunity for personal growth and why? Limit this response to 500 words."
For this Q, I am writing how I embody leadership through one of my activities. However, I am not sure what to write about for an "area I can grow in." I feel I have exemplified curiosity beyond science through my coursework (I have a liberal arts major + humanities/foreign language minors), and I am a committed person as well (as is anyone who is pursuing medicine). Even though I have chosen to write about how I embody leadership, I still feel like I can grow more as a leader. Would it be bad to talk about both leadership as my strength and as a place I can grow more in?
 
+1 OOS no ties.
I'm not sure how to answer the second part of this question, "The pillars of our curriculum are Leadership, Curiosity, and Commitment. Tell us about how you have embodied one or more of these attributes in your path to medicine thus far. In which of these areas do you see the most opportunity for personal growth and why? Limit this response to 500 words."
For this Q, I am writing how I embody leadership through one of my activities. However, I am not sure what to write about for an "area I can grow in." I feel I have exemplified curiosity beyond science through my coursework (I have a liberal arts major + humanities/foreign language minors), and I am a committed person as well (as is anyone who is pursuing medicine). Even though I have chosen to write about how I embody leadership, I still feel like I can grow more as a leader. Would it be bad to talk about both leadership as my strength and as a place I can grow more in?
I would try to find another quality, maybe talking about further research as how you want to improve your curiosity (I feel like that is something that can always be improved upon)... I don’t know I'm not adcom so take that as you will (you could note how your curiosity is strong as exemplified by being a liberal arts major, but how you want to improve it further...)
 
I would try to find another quality, maybe talking about further research as how you want to improve your curiosity (I feel like that is something that can always be improved upon)... I don’t know I'm not adcom so take that as you will (you could note how your curiosity is strong as exemplified by being a liberal arts major, but how you want to improve it further...)
thank you! i'll keep this in mind
 
According to Acuity Insights, for Colorado "Duet is not required for the 2024/2025 Cycle" so if my understanding is correct duet scores will not be sent to the school as acuity only sends duet scores to schools requiring the test. I've been confused about this as well though
They had Duet on the "Status" Section for secondaries but removed it since. My app is complete and I did not do Duet.
 
Does anyone know if Colorado will review our applications before receiving CASPer scores?
 
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I'm interested in applying to the Colorado Springs program. If not selected for this program, do I have lower odds for the main campus? Like would it be in my favor to just primarily apply to the main campus?
 
I'm interested in applying to the Colorado Springs program. If not selected for this program, do I have lower odds for the main campus? Like would it be in my favor to just primarily apply to the main campus?
No. In the secondary, it states: " If you receive an invitation to interview, you will be initially considered for whichever program(s) you apply to here. All applicants will also be considered for the main Anschutz Medical Campus. If your preference is to be placed at the Anschutz Medical Campus, please select that option (no additional essay is necessary). Applying to one of the optional programs below does not increase or decrease your likelihood of acceptance to CUSOM. " You would be fine to apply to one of the branches if that is something you want to pursue.
 
hey everyone. Current MS2 just wrapping up clerkships, about to go into MS3. Happy to talk about the school overall either here or via DMs. Can also talk about the general admissions process as well.
 
hey everyone. Current MS2 just wrapping up clerkships, about to go into MS3. Happy to talk about the school overall either here or via DMs. Can also talk about the general admissions process as well.
Thank you for being willing to answer questions! I have a few general questions if you wouldn't mind -

1) How has your experience been at UC? Any surprises or things you didn't expect?
2) Any advice for interviewing at UC?
3) What has been your favorite part of medical school so far?
 
If I had to quantify it, I'd probably say I'm around a 6.5/10. Medical school is always gonna be tough and it's not always smooth sailing. Additionally, there's a lot of random stuff in the curriculum that doesn't really make sense from a student perspective, especially since it often feels like you're not given full agency over a lot of things. I will say that despite preclinical year being a ton of classroom time, I generally agree with the MS2 clerkship model overall.

I believe there's still a group component to the interview. I personally don't love group interviews but Colorado does a good job with the format compared to other experiences I had at schools like Rochester. Can't really share too much more, both for overall privacy and also because I'm pretty sure the format has changed quite a bit.

I'd probably say my favorite part is looking back and seeing how I've grown as a clinician. I'm very self-deprecating in general and the entirety of my time in med school so far has been just realizing how much knowledge is really out there. However, when I really do take time to take it all in, I am genuinely proud of how much I've accomplished overall.
 
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For that first question, does it have to tie in with medicine or academics? Or can I talk about my non-clinical job and how I learned leadership through that?
 
what does the LM and WARS mean underneath your name?
LM is the LizzyM score. It’s based purely on your stats. WARS is the Wedgedog Applicant Rating System, which includes things like extracurriculars, undergrad prestige, etc. that also factor into admissions.
 
LM is the LizzyM score. It’s based purely on your stats. WARS is the Wedgedog Applicant Rating System, which includes things like extracurriculars, undergrad prestige, etc. that also factor into admissions.
LizzyM score can be found in the SDN Calculators tab. Here is a link to the WARS workbook that any applicant can edit to determine the WARS number: https://forums.studentdoctor.net/at...ng-system-v-1-3-1-2017-protected-xlsx.213197/
. Keep in mind: both LizzyM and the creator of WARS have indicated that there are limitations of how much someone can depend solely on any of these tools to predict med school application success. They are useful, but don't place too much emphasis on any one evaluative tool.
 
OOS II complete 7/29 (pls don't ask my LM bc idk). I'm trying to schedule an interview but I only see one date, August 23rd?? Is that correct? I was assuming they'd have more dates and into September, I wasn't even thinking much about interviews at this point so I'm worried I won't have time to prepare...
 
Im OOS with a LizzyM of 73, do ya'll think its too late for me to shoot my shot for Colorado or will it be a donation at this point?
 
Now that I’m thinking about it, i don’t remember my colorado mstp secondary having any prompts about research (like naming potential investigators or asking about areas im interested in).

Can any other mstp applicants back this up? Hopefully I didn’t miss something or my secondary portal glitched lmao
 
Now that I’m thinking about it, i don’t remember my colorado mstp secondary having any prompts about research (like naming potential investigators or asking about areas im interested in).

Can any other mstp applicants back this up? Hopefully I didn’t miss something or my secondary portal glitched lmao

Mine didn't either
 
If I had to quantify it, I'd probably say I'm around a 6.5/10. Medical school is always gonna be tough and it's not always smooth sailing. Additionally, there's a lot of random stuff in the curriculum that doesn't really make sense from a student perspective, especially since it often feels like you're not given full agency over a lot of things. I will say that despite preclinical year being a ton of classroom time, I generally agree with the MS2 clerkship model overall.

I believe there's still a group component to the interview. I personally don't love group interviews but Colorado does a good job with the format compared to other experiences I had at schools like Rochester. Can't really share too much more, both for overall privacy and also because I'm pretty sure the format has changed quite a bit.

I'd probably say my favorite part is looking back and seeing how I've grown as a clinician. I'm very self-deprecating in general and the entirety of my time in med school so far has been just realizing how much knowledge is really out there. However, when I really do take time to take it all in, I am genuinely proud of how much I've accomplished overall.
Is there something you feel is special about CUSOM?
How is the student/school culture there?
It seems people like doing outdoor activities in their free time, I love mountain landscapes and also visited Colorado couple times on trips and loved it. How is the overall culture around the area?
Is there anything you would want a current applicant to know about CUSOM?

Thank you so much for being open to answer questions!
 
Is there something you feel is special about CUSOM?
How is the student/school culture there?
It seems people like doing outdoor activities in their free time, I love mountain landscapes and also visited Colorado couple times on trips and loved it. How is the overall culture around the area?
Is there anything you would want a current applicant to know about CUSOM?

Thank you so much for being open to answer questions!

I can’t speak to CUSOM, but I can speak to the state. Colorado is an outdoors state. If you don’t like going outside then you’re gonna need to learn to like going outside lol. Lots of people are into fitness and healthy living, but also partying. It’s snowy half the year and Fall weather there is the best. Sunsets are to die for. People are mostly friendly, at least to your face. Coloradans love their sports teams. Just because they’re dissing their team because they suck it doesn’t mean you can diss their team. Overall, I love the state. Denver (like most other cities) is kind of getting taken over by bums which is sad, but it’s really a charming city and a lot bigger than most people realize.

Lots of out of staters have taken over the state since they legalized MaryJ in 2015, so the culture has probably changed a lot since I lived there growing up.
 
Is there something you feel is special about CUSOM?
How is the student/school culture there?
It seems people like doing outdoor activities in their free time, I love mountain landscapes and also visited Colorado couple times on trips and loved it. How is the overall culture around the area?
Is there anything you would want a current applicant to know about CUSOM?

Thank you so much for being open to answer questions!
Student culture IMO starts out very open but can be extremely cliquey as time passes. School culture is weird because they do a good job of trying to incorporate feedback over things like attendance. However, there are several departments that are nationally known for being extremely malignant, which can translate to a tough clerkship experience.

Colorado is extremely active - lots of opportunities to get outside. The wilderness medicine field is very strong here and it helps that the school gets half off an IKON pass.

Culture around the area is tough. Not much to do unless you go more south into aurora or downtown.

Honestly for applicants, everything you need to know can be found online. There's no secret sauce - just try to really be familiar with your own application and why you see yourself here.
 
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