Michigan State University (MSUCOM) Discussion Thread 2013 - 2014
Started by BB8730
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My app was released on 6/21 and I was in the first batch to receive secondaries on 7/1.
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Did everybody that already received a secondary did u guys have a Mcat score already?
No, I don't take the MCAT until Aug 22
In the email from MSU, it states that everyone who applies receives a secondary.
Personally, I wouldn't relist any achievements that are on your primary.
I put a few volunteer positions that I will be beginning soon. Don't feel obligated to fill the space with repetitive information. Better to list a few points of new information than a whole bunch of things they already have seen on your primary.
Personal opinion though, do as you please.
If you are serious about getting in this cycle you need to submit your primary ASAP! The app process has been open for about 1 month so that is a lot of applicants in front you waiting to get verified.
I know AMCAS opened up June 10th and they still verifying June 10th applicants. Not good!
😱 They are still verifying June 10th applicants?!? I think that I submitted early that day but can't remember now. It still took a while to get verified.
I've been verified for a while received apps from other schools but nothing from here. I take my Mcat July 13 but would submit the secondary if I received it ;( should I call?
I just checked again, they are on June 11th! Now there rolling!
With your gpa being very slightly above their average and the mcat being 2 points below: It will all come down to your volunteer hours (high school + college). I would say if you have a good amount of volunteer hours (1,000+) then go for it. btw the avg number of hours is 850.
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Yes, call them. Not sure if they want you to wait until you are complete in all other areas to submit
I uploaded one, but it doesn't show up. It gives me the option to delete so I am assuming its there.
Did you already submit?
Yes. I figure if its missing, I will hear about it.
I had trouble at first. I then resized the photo and then uploaded, and it took it then. 🙂
hm i have over 2100..would i be fine then?
considering you have almost TRIPLED the average of 800, I think you'll be golden hahah
I think you'll have a good shot! Now submit that secondary!
I spoke to a few MSUCOM medical students; they said 850 is only the average. If you want to stick out you should have >1,500 hours. Also, you will find 850 in almost every msucom thread from the past years.
Can anyone find it explicitly stated at MSUCOM's website?
Is this for the Volunteer page? It looks like from the sample we can put things like TA etc and bulk up the hours from that....
Anything that we helped with from HS onward that we didn't get paid for. For instance, I used to TA for the physics and computer science teacher while on my lunch breaks during high school. These hours accumulate quickly. I had long forgotten about this, but now it is important.
Think hard. You'd be suprised about how you have helped others without even really noticing! 🙂
800ish is the magic number that I've seen on previous MSUCOM threads. If someone can find where it is on their website or if it is just speculation, that would be great to know where people stand.
I'm guessing it is hard to say how much it will hurt your chances to only have half of this magic number? I mean, how heavily is this weighted in terms of your overall application?
From last year, it seemed like it was one of the top things that they look at: MCAT, GPA, and volunteer hours.
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If we were running in a volunteer org, would the hours accumulate from any time we put into it? There isn't really an hour count on this stuff like blatant hospital volunteering...
I assume we can just pick and choose activities that are considered "helping others" from our AACOMAS and add up the hours.
Only if you volunteered as a TA. I have >1,000 hours of TAing but couldnt put them bc I was paid for them
I've heard on numerous occasions its 60% GPA/MCAT & 40% volunteer hours/extracirculars
I submitted my letters via interfolio July 5th but it still shows incomplete on the MSU app site. Did anyone else see a delay in delivering letters?
haha alright thanks!
yes i did this past week! before i found out that they don't do interviews!
hm i might be at a disadvantage here then, depending on how i do on the mcat this month.
Good luck! I am rooting for you. >27 and your golden
Looking forward to this school
cGPA:3.27
MCAT:32
with couple thousands of volunteer hrs
hopefully the mcat and EA can forgive my GPA
cGPA:3.27
MCAT:32
with couple thousands of volunteer hrs
hopefully the mcat and EA can forgive my GPA
My GPA and MCAT are about the same as yours, but I don't have the volunteer hours, between the two of us you've got the better shot.
wondering this as well!
Good luck man!
Hopefully we both will get a interview 🙄
PS just called in, there's a issue with the photo upload. They told me to wait before submit :T
That's a lot of TA hours. Mine were unpaid, but I learned tons!
This is good to know.
I think that both of you have great chances.
I agree. Happy secondaries to everyone! 🙂
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Personally, I would not include shadowing since you are only supposed to be observing. Really, you are the one benefiting most from the interaction although from most people's perspective. Likewise, I did not include the time that I spent in paramedic and nursing although I felt like a slave at times, lol. Volunteering is a type of EC, but I agree, it can be hard to distinguish the difference in terms of what MSU is specifically asking for.
I would definitely say for those less than 850 volunteer hours to apply to the school if they are interested especially if their MCAT/GPA are higher and they are passionate about MSUCOM.
Couldn't agree more. MSUCOM defines volunteer experiences as positions one held that benefited others. I know that I was the one who heavily benefited from my shadowing experiences.
If you have <850 volunteer hours, as StudyShy said: it needs to be compensated somewhere else in your application.
How detailed was everyone's "duties/responsibilities" under volunteer?
There is a character limit of 200 for each entry I believe, and I think I used almost all of that on each entry.
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