MSU-COM Discussion Thread 2012-2013

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all of which, might i add, is documented and valid, and very easy to verify. I served as a volunteer EMT, a Children's Miracle Network Ambassador for the Miss America Organization, organized many fundraising events (walks, runs, 5Ks, etc), candy striper in high school, Clinical Care Extender in College, Certified and Volunteer Lifeguard, and that's about half of em. Don't get me wrong, people will CERTAINLY fabricate their EC's in this process; I've seen it all the time. but having invested SO MANY HOURS amongst community service (this was PRIOR to me even wanting to go to medical school; I was a Drama Major in College at UCI and had Broadway dreams for a very very long time), it does a HUGE disservice to those that are being honest throughout the application service. I must say, do not be quick to judge; I merely had an interest in volunteerism and social activism, and was very happy to continually do so. It's a tenet of my family and my upbringing...it's just how we do 😀

Couldn't agree with this more, and props for being so involved! Also have to concur with you that I don't recommend it, because it DEFINITELY screwed up my undergrad science grades hahaha
 
Aprilgita, That is so impressive of you. I respectfully admire you.

Sigh, I only have 640 volunteer, 630 ec, 3900 work. May your mammoth amount of hours balance my meager ones, so I can ride it to Valhalla with you
 
Aprilgita, That is so impressive of you. I respectfully admire you.

Sigh, I only have 640 volunteer, 630 ec, 3900 work. May your mammoth amount of hours balance my meager ones, so I can ride it to Valhalla with you

I would gladly split 1/2 a seat with you @ MSUCOM 🙂 Trust me, there is hope! 2.9 science GPA (after a TON of remediation at postbacc), and a 3.11 cumulative. EVERYONE. CAN. DO. IT. Grades do not define aptitude. Good luck ya'll.
 
She said she was from UCI, but with those extracurriculars, I can see why. I have completed very unique ECs myself that would set me apart from most applicants, but definitely not 11000 hours worth. 11000 hours scares me actually. Thats insane.
 
Just keep it positive...I am personally impressed. Good job!!
 
She said she was from UCI, but with those extracurriculars, I can see why. I have completed very unique ECs myself that would set me apart from most applicants, but definitely not 11000 hours worth. 11000 hours scares me actually. Thats insane.

u have "very unique ECs" I am sure U'll make it !!!
 
Lol, that did sound ridiculous, but if you read it that way, sorry. I was talking about how she has very unique ECs.. like other applicants. You may not have picked up on that since this isn't in person. At least I know they still maintained some objectivity.
 
Yes, one for everyone of you on this thread, lol, I hope. And there is one spot for me, and there is one for every IS person on this tread too, I hope.
 
By crazy i mean CRAZY lol. I know someone accepted with 11,000 volunteer hours. i didn't type that wrong: eleven. thousand. 😱

I had the same amount of EC last year and had more then her and did not get accepted. I've volunteered for my private middle school for over a period of 7 years and at a local hospital for 5 years (to get free parking for school). I think it depends on your age as well. I'm an old fart.
 
I am a Canadian applicant and my application was complete at the beginning of September. I have not heard anything since. Does that mean I don't have a shot anymore?
 
By crazy i mean CRAZY lol. I know someone accepted with 11,000 volunteer hours. i didn't type that wrong: eleven. thousand. 😱
I had > 10,000 of EC hours AND > 10,000 volunteer hours. 100% genuine and verifiable. Certainly doable with long term commitments!
 
I had > 10,000 of EC hours AND > 10,000 volunteer hours. 100% genuine and verifiable. Certainly doable with long term commitments!


Yeah me too >16,000 EC (paired with low 3.0's GPA and 30's MCAT), all verifiable with references. I had to round it down cause I didn't want it to seem ridiculous, but now that I see all you over achievers, I should have rounded UP.

I do have a question though.

I only have 6000 volunteer, the rest is work and research, does that matter? Do they only care about volunteer, or is it all EC?

Since there is no way I'm going to make the academic average, I'm gonna hope for the best from my EC's... they better not be kidding me with that 40% admission score being EC's
 
I am out of state and was complete at the beginning of September. I think that with the number of applications this year, they just have not gotten to our files yet. I'm sure we will hear something soon.
 
1/3 of application is MCAT/GPA
1/3 of application is volunteer/extracurricular/work
1/3 of application is letters of rec
 
I am out of state and was complete at the beginning of September. I think that with the number of applications this year, they just have not gotten to our files yet. I'm sure we will hear something soon.

I agree

In the voice of Effie Trinket: "Let's the annual waiting game continue and may the odd be forever in your favor"
 
It means you have to keep on waiting.

I have been completed since August 21 and waiting ever since

+1 - been complete since July 24th. You may not hear until the end of April - that's just how this school is.
 
Finally! Complete as of Nov 5. I am super excited to hear back from this school
 
Canadians and fellow OOS'ers: I've researched/heard of/perused Google and MSUCOM's site for some scholarships to leverage the debt and OOS tuition a bit. Does anyone have some sound and solid advice or stats on how feasible obtaining one/them is/are? I want to start applying but I believe you already have to have a PIN number in order to do so (which I'm guessing isn't given to you unless you've laid down your deposit....*gulp*...so that you can be um, really real big cheese MSUCOM MS1).
If anyone (new or existing MS's) has info on scholarship protocol/likelihood of OOS recipients getting awards, please do share. Meow and thank you.
 
@aprilgita, out of curiousity, over how many years was that 11,000 volunteer hours spread? Does that include work hours too? That just seems out of this world high! 🙂
 
volunteer hours encompassed an 8 year span; all throughout high school and college (which is what is required for reporting). Bear in mind these hours ALSO included extracurricular (but NOT work experience, which is mutually exclusive. Here is an example:
High School Years:
1. St. Vincent de Paul Aug. 2003 June 2006 270 Packaged and delivered bags of nonperishable foods to homeless in Lancaster, CA, as well as conducted food drives, clothing drives, and distribution events through local chapter.
2. Sacred Heart Catholic Church June 2003 Jan. 2005 240 Altar server; assisted priest with mass (setting up altar, preparing gift collections, lighting candles, incense, bearing cross during procession)
3. Sacred Heart Catholic Church June 2004 Sept. 2007 180 Cantor leader, Choir singer; led congregation in songs from hymn book throughout mass.
4. Girl Scouts of America Sept. 2003 April 2004 60 In collaboration with Father Serra Catholic Church, conducted Thanksgiving and Easter food drive and basket delivery to homes of underserved (Lancaster, Palmdale area). Additionally, volunteered at Lent Fish Fry for Knights of Columbus, serving and preparing Friday evening dinners throughout the meat-abstaining Lenten season.
5. Paraclete High School Sept. 2004 May 2007 150 Eucharistic Minister; administered Eucharistic bread and wine at weekly mass service held in high school gymnasium.
6. P.H.S. Drama Club Dec. 2003 Dec. 2006 30 Sang Christmas carols and performed short skits at local Antelope Valley hospices
7. Paraclete High School Dec. 2007 April 2007 40 A.P. Statistics Tutor
8. P.H.S. Drama Club April. 2004 April 2007 50 Performed musicals (The Wiz, Grease, West Side Story, Godspell) among local elementary schools free of charge, often integrating the audience into a modified, more youth-friendly performance to encourage participation in the theater and performance arts
9. P.H.S. Cross County May 2005 May 2006 10 As a team, annually participated and raised funds for Relay for Life for the American Cancer Society

College Years to Present:
1. Mentoring in Medicine & Science
Healthy Ambassador Program Oct. 2011 April 2012 120 Mentor and educator to underserved and socioeconomically disadvantaged youth in Alameda County by making presentations on topics such as nutrition, sexual health, disaster preparedness, cardiac emergencies, and first aid.

2. Black Rock City ESD Aug. 2011 Sept. 2012 80 Provided BLS care as volunteer EMT-Basic to outdoor festival attendees in Black Rock City, NV

3. Miss America Organization March 2009 Feb. 2012 370 Miss Desert Vista, Miss Tustin 1st Runner Up; assisted with community service events affiliated with Kiwanis, Elks, and served as local ambassador for Children's Miracle Network, promoting fundraising through hospital visitations, free public performances, and social advocacy of personal platform.

4. Hoag Hospital: COPE Health Solutions June 2009 Dec. 2010 240 Clinical Care Extender; assisted patients with feeding, bathing, walking, and changing linens

5. Antelope Valley Hospital Nov. 2007 Jan. 2008 100 Emergency Room Volunteer; Patient Sign-in and greeter

1. Delta Delta Delta: Beta Upsilon Chapter Sept. 2009 June 2011 400 Sincerely Yours Letter Writing Campaign Coordinator (to raise money for St. Jude's Children's Hospital); Delta Hop Pancake Annual Philanthropy and Cook-off participant (all proceeds benefit St. Jude's); nominated 2011 Greek Songfest Producer and Director of Hairspray, where our cast donated time towards projects for Habitat for Humanity and our show's proceeds also allocated to the organization; participant/principal actress in Greek Songfest 2010 Grease, where charity of choice was Orange County Food Bank (all show proceeds donated).

2. YMCA Embarcadero Nov. 2011 Nov. 2011 10 Organized and participated in annual swim-a-thon, swimming over 4000 meters while raising over 500 dollars individually and over 3000 dollars cumulatively for the YMCA youth aquatics team .








This isn't everything, but pretty near close. I didn't want to make people's eyes bleed. But you get the idea 🙂
 
volunteer hours encompassed an 8 year span; all throughout high school and college (which is what is required for reporting). Bear in mind these hours ALSO included extracurricular (but NOT work experience, which is mutually exclusive. Here is an example:
High School Years:
1. St. Vincent de Paul Aug. 2003 June 2006 270 Packaged and delivered bags of nonperishable foods to homeless in Lancaster, CA, as well as conducted food drives, clothing drives, and distribution events through local chapter.
2. Sacred Heart Catholic Church June 2003 Jan. 2005 240 Altar server; assisted priest with mass (setting up altar, preparing gift collections, lighting candles, incense, bearing cross during procession)
3. Sacred Heart Catholic Church June 2004 Sept. 2007 180 Cantor leader, Choir singer; led congregation in songs from hymn book throughout mass.
4. Girl Scouts of America Sept. 2003 April 2004 60 In collaboration with Father Serra Catholic Church, conducted Thanksgiving and Easter food drive and basket delivery to homes of underserved (Lancaster, Palmdale area). Additionally, volunteered at Lent Fish Fry for Knights of Columbus, serving and preparing Friday evening dinners throughout the meat-abstaining Lenten season.
5. Paraclete High School Sept. 2004 May 2007 150 Eucharistic Minister; administered Eucharistic bread and wine at weekly mass service held in high school gymnasium.
6. P.H.S. Drama Club Dec. 2003 Dec. 2006 30 Sang Christmas carols and performed short skits at local Antelope Valley hospices
7. Paraclete High School Dec. 2007 April 2007 40 A.P. Statistics Tutor
8. P.H.S. Drama Club April. 2004 April 2007 50 Performed musicals (The Wiz, Grease, West Side Story, Godspell) among local elementary schools free of charge, often integrating the audience into a modified, more youth-friendly performance to encourage participation in the theater and performance arts
9. P.H.S. Cross County May 2005 May 2006 10 As a team, annually participated and raised funds for Relay for Life for the American Cancer Society

College Years to Present:
1. Mentoring in Medicine & Science
Healthy Ambassador Program Oct. 2011 April 2012 120 Mentor and educator to underserved and socioeconomically disadvantaged youth in Alameda County by making presentations on topics such as nutrition, sexual health, disaster preparedness, cardiac emergencies, and first aid.

2. Black Rock City ESD Aug. 2011 Sept. 2012 80 Provided BLS care as volunteer EMT-Basic to outdoor festival attendees in Black Rock City, NV

3. Miss America Organization March 2009 Feb. 2012 370 Miss Desert Vista, Miss Tustin 1st Runner Up; assisted with community service events affiliated with Kiwanis, Elks, and served as local ambassador for Children's Miracle Network, promoting fundraising through hospital visitations, free public performances, and social advocacy of personal platform.

4. Hoag Hospital: COPE Health Solutions June 2009 Dec. 2010 240 Clinical Care Extender; assisted patients with feeding, bathing, walking, and changing linens

5. Antelope Valley Hospital Nov. 2007 Jan. 2008 100 Emergency Room Volunteer; Patient Sign-in and greeter

1. Delta Delta Delta: Beta Upsilon Chapter Sept. 2009 June 2011 400 Sincerely Yours Letter Writing Campaign Coordinator (to raise money for St. Jude's Children's Hospital); Delta Hop Pancake Annual Philanthropy and Cook-off participant (all proceeds benefit St. Jude's); nominated 2011 Greek Songfest Producer and Director of Hairspray, where our cast donated time towards projects for Habitat for Humanity and our show's proceeds also allocated to the organization; participant/principal actress in Greek Songfest 2010 Grease, where charity of choice was Orange County Food Bank (all show proceeds donated).

2. YMCA Embarcadero Nov. 2011 Nov. 2011 10 Organized and participated in annual swim-a-thon, swimming over 4000 meters while raising over 500 dollars individually and over 3000 dollars cumulatively for the YMCA youth aquatics team .








This isn't everything, but pretty near close. I didn't want to make people's eyes bleed. But you get the idea 🙂

That is flipping amazing, congrats! Slightly jealous
 
I'm blown away by your record! I will continue my commenting when I find my way back, lol.
 
Are the numbers beside the activites, per year values or total? You've done amazing work!! I'm just genuinely curious cause it seems like im missing something doing the math of the hours haha. If those numbers are the total, then thats about 2000 hours, just curious where the other 9000 were?

Don't get me wrong in anyway, I think you're beyond amazing, just curious!
 
so, who's going to the visit day at the end of this month 🙂
 
Am I the only one who still has trouble sleeping on Tuesday nights? I know its silly, I know I will not hear anything before 12pm, and yet I still have hope for good news.
 
so, who's going to the visit day at the end of this month 🙂

Is it only for accepted applicants? Is it the same thing that was a couple weeks ago: the "see the sites" event? Or is it in East Lansing?
 
Is it only for accepted applicants? Is it the same thing that was a couple weeks ago: the "see the sites" event? Or is it in East Lansing?

I think it's for accepted/waitlisted applicants. I'm not too sure.
 
I would say it depends on your previous experiences. I have a strong background in anatomy and breezed through the 1st semester. I literally would read the course pack 2 days prior to our exam and do fine. However, I am obviously NOT recommending this approach. These study habits carried over into semester 2 and put me into a big hole to start. Halfway through the semester I have finally caught up. The 2nd semester has been much more challenging for most of us. We reminisce of the "easy" days of anatomy ha. I do basically study now from 8 am-11pm. The best advice I can offer is keep up...every day! And as far as anatomy goes, 70% of your grade will come from lab exams (ie. Identifying muscles, bones, various soft tissue structures, etc.) Basically, kill your lab exams and you won't have so much pressure on you for the lecture based exam portion. Most of our class did very well in anatomy, so don't fret over it. Also, don't worry about the remediation policies right now...focus on succeeding. MSU wouldn't have accepted you if they didn't believe you would succeed. You'll will have tons of support here. Faculty are great, students are great, even the janitorial staff are friendly! Congrats to those already accepted and best of luck to those waiting to hear. My apologies for the single paragraph. My phone isn't very sdn friendly.

Yeah I agree with you, it just all depends on what you like or what you're used to. For me personally I found anatomy to be way harder than second semester, cause in anatomy it was just brute memorization like "this structure is there" or "it is supplied by this lymph node"...and you really had to put your time in lab on top of that. Second semester has been pretty chills though, It's more pathway based and understanding based rather than brute memorization. The exams are every three weeks (two sometimes), and I've been taking the first 1 1/2 weeks off and studying the second 1 1/2 week before the exam, and that too about 3 to 5 hours max a day (except last days, which is when I went all out). And I know other people in my class who feel the exact way I do. If its one thing I don't miss, its the "hard" days of anatomy.
 
Am I the only one who still has trouble sleeping on Tuesday nights? I know its silly, I know I will not hear anything before 12pm, and yet I still have hope for good news.

I try to meditate to reach that serene place somewhere on the back of my mind where there exists nothing but faith and hope for the best outcome regardless of the circumstance.

It is hard. Just know you are not alone. I feel you.

Love and light upon us!:meanie:
 
So...no one has good news today?

I wonder if election day threw the schedule off? I doubt that it would but I'm tired and looking for excuses.
 
So...no one has good news today?

I wonder if election day threw the schedule off? I doubt that it would but I'm tired and looking for excuses.

Hoping u get the good news man! I just express mailed my final letter of eval so hopefully I'm complete by tm or Friday and can wait with everyone else lol
 
Hoping u get the good news man! I just express mailed my final letter of eval so hopefully I'm complete by tm or Friday and can wait with everyone else lol

Thank you! It feels great to be complete and it makes you feel impatient too, lol.
 
I'm praying the election slowed them down....none of my friends heard back today either so maybe.
 
I'm praying the election slowed them down....none of my friends heard back today either so maybe.

Well, that's cool if they it slowed them down. It would be nice if they would post the days they review so we could be slightly less neurotic.
 
The only email I received today is from a local supermarket wanting to hire me as a cashier!

My life is so fabulous, y'all.
 
Marked complete today!! The email scared me though it was a rejection yikes but luckily not
 
So it is obvious that nobody heard anything this week?
 
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