Creighton..

[ohandfj]

Drugdoc, what is your normal day looks like as a distance student? I am not sure how you take those tests, you have to go to some places to take them or you can take them at anytime at home?

Omnione, what is the good applicants for Creighton in your opinion?

Thanks!

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[omnione]

Omnione, what is the good applicants for Creighton in your opinion?

Thanks!

In your opinion, Omnione, what is the profile of a Creighton dream-student?

Of course, I can only speak out of experience being around Creighton applicants and students and not that of anyone associated with the admissions office or admissions committee. That is a key disclaimer that you ought to note. I speak from experience and opinion so don't go telling on me to the school.

Creighton is less "stats"-based than those 3.7 GPA average schools and they do look for the total package. I suppose that one could say that for many other schools, but it has proven true with my schoolmates and its a common theme for my friends who were rejected multiple times.

One common theme I recognize is that everyone I've encountered is proficient at verbal communication. Many of my friends who were rejected had low PCAT verbal scores that set off a red flag to the admissions committee. That theme of excellent verbal communication parlays into the need for good interpersonal communication. Comparing my school to nearby University of Nebraska Medical Center, Creighton implements more activities associated with one-on-one contact like patient counseling, medication management interviews, physician interaction. There's a communication course during the first semester with a stringent professor who seems to be there to give us a full crash course on all things interpersonal communication. I haven't come across a sociopath or stereotypical "nerd" yet at Creighton. Though I consider myself to be a shy guy, I am assertive when interrogated about my values.

An applicant gets tested a little in the interview. While my other interviews prodded more about my interests and plans in the future, Creighton's interview had more conflict resolution hypothetical questions and questions about my leadership abilities. I suppose it's a test of being able to convey one's thoughts and beliefs in a clear and concise manner verbally.

Take the supplemental application questions seriously. As odd as they were relative to other schools supplemental questions, Creighton does look for those attributes referred to in those questions. They ran those qualities (cura personalis and the rest) at my fellow students and I during orientation and the issue popped up multiple times during the semester. They also like a person who's more concerned about treating a patient than simply doing the job efficiently. I would try to show that you care about those you served through past experiences as opposed to simply caring about serving others for the sake of serving.

Though there are always competitive students at any school including Creighton, a competitive student isn't the main emphasis. I've come across plenty of people with lower GPAs than mine (3.4 at time of application) but get in because of better personal attributes. Many of my reject friends had 3.7 GPAs but didn't get in for one reason or another but they got into UNMC. Many people care about doing well in classes but many don't really compete with each other. Creighton officials made it a point that they don't keep a class rank (which is a little bit of a farce b/c the academic fraternity Rho Chi has to use something as a basis for inducting new members) to convey that the competition ended after being accepted. My advice: you might not want to be cocky, arrogant, House M.D like, and/or god-complexed when doing the interview.

 

[ajh88]

Drugdoc, what is your normal day looks like as a distance student? I am not sure how you take those tests, you have to go to some places to take them or you can take them at anytime at home?

I'm not DrugDoc, but a classmate, so I'll toss in my 2 cents for what they're worth.

I work Mon, Tue, and Wed mornings at a hospital from 7 am to 1 pm. I get home around 1:30 on those days and listen to or watch lectures for about 2 hours, until I pick my daughter up from school. I hit the books again around 7 pm or so until I've finished what I need for the day. I don't work Thur or Fri at all, so I usually spend all day on lectures and assignments as necessary. I'm usually online for at least a couple of hours a day (usually more!) on both Sat and Sun, depending on workload. For fall, we seemed to go a couple of weeks with no exams/assignments, etc. and then we would have 8 exams in 3 weeks. I have found that I do better prioritizing on a week to week basis depending on upcoming assignments as opposed to having a rigid pre-set time for each class.

For exams, we go to a proctored, 3rd party site (like a testing center at a college or a Sylvan learning center). All major exams are at the testing site, but we do have some quizzes that are on your honor at home. You typically get a timeframe of 24-36 hours in which to schedule and take the exam (say from 8 am on Monday until 5 pm on Tuesday) and we get our exam schedules at the beginning of the semester for planning purposes.

And finally, great insights (as always!) from Ominone - I second everything he said!

 

[tckc]

for those of you preparing for an interview with creighton, i would recommend going over the interview feedback section found above under "databases". i am a first year distance student and interviewed jan of last year. many of the interviewees there mentioned having questions exactly like those posted in the feedback section. although my interview went a little differently (they basically just asked me to share more about myself...) i walked in prepared and a little more confident because i had at least thought about how i would respond to particular questions. i also did a lot of perusing on creighton's website - i read up on the school, their philosophy *big*, and tried to match up my experiences and personal beliefs to theirs. so, although there is no way to avoid sweaty palms and unsettled nerves...a little preparation goes a long way...good luck to you all

 

[FutureRxDr]

I got my letter in December and I'm on the alternate list as well... Good luck to everyone that interviews (and to my buddies on the alternate list)! Pray for a miracle for me!

 

[ohandfj]

thanks for omnione and ajh88's input, very helpful!

 

[imount]

Is the distance pathway more competitive? I would really like to do that method. It really fits with my learning style. But Creighton is one of my top choices and so would applying for campus be better choice, I wouldn't mind doing it but again distance is best for me. Any suggestions?

 

[drugdoc]

If you look at the stats on both classes, the distance class does have higher GPAs and PCAT. But, they also take much more into consideration other than those stats that may qualify the campus students over the distance students.

Not sure how many spots per applicant per each pathway. I think omnione said 8:1, but not sure if that was for both averaged or just campus. I don't remember them telling us distance students.

 

[imount]

so you're saying that they tend to look at the student more as a whole instead of just stats for the distance pathway??

 

[drugdoc]

For both pathways. They want a certain type of student at Creighton, as shown from omnione's comments above. They are big into emotional intelligence and maturity. As well, being in the health field for the right reasons.

 

[omnione]

They are big into emotional intelligence

INTP baby!

 

[Gracie93402]

Thanks a million to Omnione and tckc, great advice! I really appreciate it

 

[ajh88]

Congrats to all who are interviewing - as tckc mentioned, definitely review the feedback in the interview section here. I would also recommend looking through a few behaviorial based interview guides (I had one from my former job) - this is the type of interview where they say, "Tell me about a time when X happened - how did you deal with it?" If nothing else, it may help you to find some questions you feel comfortable (or uncomfortable) with and you can practice some answers. Good luck to all!

 

[imount]

i can't decide which pathway to apply arrrr!!

 

[drugdoc]

If you really want to be at CU no matter what, keep in mind that 110 students are accepted to campus pathway and 55 to distance, so your chances may be twice as good there (considering the number of applicants per each).

 

[SeniorNewbie]

I'm not DrugDoc, but a classmate, so I'll toss in my 2 cents for what they're worth.

I work Mon, Tue, and Wed mornings at a hospital from 7 am to 1 pm. I get home around 1:30 on those days and listen to or watch lectures for about 2 hours, until I pick my daughter up from school. I hit the books again around 7 pm or so until I've finished what I need for the day. I don't work Thur or Fri at all, so I usually spend all day on lectures and assignments as necessary. I'm usually online for at least a couple of hours a day (usually more!) on both Sat and Sun, depending on workload. For fall, we seemed to go a couple of weeks with no exams/assignments, etc. and then we would have 8 exams in 3 weeks. I have found that I do better prioritizing on a week to week basis depending on upcoming assignments as opposed to having a rigid pre-set time for each class.

For exams, we go to a proctored, 3rd party site (like a testing center at a college or a Sylvan learning center). All major exams are at the testing site, but we do have some quizzes that are on your honor at home. You typically get a timeframe of 24-36 hours in which to schedule and take the exam (say from 8 am on Monday until 5 pm on Tuesday) and we get our exam schedules at the beginning of the semester for planning purposes.

And finally, great insights (as always!) from Ominone - I second everything he said!

Thanks for your comments, ajh88 and others -- I, like some others here, am strongly considering Creighton's distance program. I have a some additional questions...maybe I'll start another thread -- "Creighton Distance: Networking, teaming, lectures?." I'd appreciate if those in the know, either at the school's distance program, or with firsthand knowledge of it could take a look and respond -- for those interested in the program. Thank you!