Iowa decision

[Lochmoor]

---

Members do not see this ad.

How long does it usually take to hear back from U of Iowa if you are accepted through rolling? 2 weeks.....1 month?

I just want to know if I should stop waiting to hear back until Mar. 15.

Thanks

 

[DannGee]

i interviewed there in october (2nd week they were interviewing regular decision MD people), and i haven't heard anything yet. someone i know interviewed there a couple weeks after me, and when she called last week they told her that her application hadn't been before the committee- i'm not sure if mine has yet, either (though i need to call for something else soon and i'm going to ask then). what i was told that being put into rolling admissions doesn't necessarily mean you'll be accepted right away- it just means you might hear before early-mid march. i kind of get the feeling that they don't take too many people early in the process, at least not for in-state people- the same is probably true of out of state to an extent, also.

 

[greggth]

Hi,
I have to decide whether to drop my U of Iowa or Ohio State acceptance on May 15. Any advice?

 

[Lochmoor]

Hey, this is just my opinion. Iowa has a better reputation and several top residencies ie surgury, anest, ENT (top 5 program). The only problems with Iowa are that it's in Iowa and the high primary care focus.

I've gotten over the primary care issue. Iowa has a handful of matches to residency programs that are top 3 in their respective category. And then a good 20 or so match to good specialties. (side note: I dont think it really matters too much what the rank of a program is if you want to just do private practice. For academic medicine, it becomes a big factor.)

something else that may be a factor is the rising tuition. I think tuition has been rising about 7-10% over the last two years. I'm not sure how that affects out of state tuition (you're out of state, right?).

So that's my personal take on Iowa. Did you go to the 2nd look weekend/day? If so, how was it? I'm sure you've looked around the Iowa website quite a bit, but just in case http://www.medicine.uiowa.edu/osac/admissions/ Look under the "Admitted Students" and the "Why Iowa?" those have a log of general information and match lists.

I dont know anything about Ohio State except that it's rank is in the same range. Let me know if you have a specific question about Iowa and let us/me know of your decision. Either way, I dont think you'll go wrong. Good luck and congratulations!

Things you may want to compare: class schedule (Iowa more traditional 9-5), location (city life, family), class size (Iowa ~150), how clincal rotations are structured (not sure what to look for)

 

[Lochmoor]

You could email a current Iowa student. I dont know if you still have that list of people that Iowa had. If not, just call the school and tell them your situation and ask if they could put you in touch with a student. I think I still have that list somewhere if you want it.