Strange Phone Call to UIC

[gschl1234]

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Has anyone here called in there before? I was assigned to the Rockford campus and wrote a letter to appeal for a re-assignment. I called this morning to make sure they received it. I said my name, the reason I called and asked:

"Did you receive my letter?"
and with no pause she said:
"It was received."

I was surprised cause she didn't take any time to look it up. Do you think she was just blowing me off or do the admission staffers have files memorized by heart? I wasn't sure what else to say so I just said "thanks" and hung up. Is this typical?

 

[ZekeMD]

She probably remembered it. They probably have to go through the mail and put things in your file. She may have done it 10 seconds before you called and thats why she could blurt it out like that. I wouldn't worry about it. I don't think someone would just lie to you in order to get you off her back.

 

[Daiphon]

hey... i might also add that unless you have very very compelling reasons (read: your grandmother is dying and you're the only one left in your family to take care of her, and she absolutely cannot leave chicago - not a true story, but an indicator of the level of difficulty we're talking here) you will not be able to switch to chicago....

once you're in the UPR track, you can switch all you want between rockford-peoria-urbana (and Dr. Kies will explain this during your m1 orientation in urbana)... but to get transferred to the chicago campus will take an act of divine intervention.

plus, why would you want to go to chicago (except for the obvious reasons)? rockford's only an hour away, and even though we don't have the prestige of UIC proper, there's also a few things we do have: more clinical experience, cheaper cost of living (i have a 2000 sq ft. apt for $600 - that in chicago would be a $3000 place), and NO RESIDENTS! (except for FP)... yes, that means that 99% of your time on the wards during m3/m4 will be spent with attendings - more learning, better relationships... you're effectively an intern up here...

that said, if you're dead set on the chicago campus, i wish you luck - they'll fill any spaces off their waiting list based on need (see above)... but i think you'll find urbana-rockford is better than you may now believe it is...

my $.02,
-tim, m3

 

[gschl1234]

I posted my reasons a while back in another thread. I think if you click on my profile you can view all my posts and find the one. To give a bit of background, I don't care about which school for myself. My husband's applying to work in Chicago. Anyhow, he's applying to a faculty position at UIC (engineering dept) so hopefully if he gets an offer from them that might help out my case. If it weren't for the fact that he has a Ph.D., we'd just move wherever I get accepted and he'd find a job but being highly specialized, it is very difficult for him to find a job. I don't want to be responsible for his career going down the toilet. We are hoping that he'll get a job offer somehwere in Chicago soon so that I can send the info to UIC. Hopefully that would strengthen my case. When I spoke with the lady who answers the phone at UIC, she said there was a lot of movement after May 15 but since you're actually a student there, your info is probably more accurate.

ps-If I were single I would probably have chosen Urbana-Urbana as my first choice because I prefer living in a smaller college town than a concrete jungle.

 

[lotanna]

well last yr, a friend got into UIC and they assigned her to Rockford or something, but then she sent a letter and eventually was given Chicago in April even though she didnt go there

 

[Daiphon]

this is true... i didn't say it wasn't possible, only that they give preference to people with very good reasons...

that said, gschl's reasons seem like the kind of thing the admissions office told me they look for in terms of ranking the waiting list... knowing this now, i think you'll have a chance of getting switched. also, the amount of slots that open in chicago is a function of how many people they admit... i think i read somewhere on SDN that UIC is admitting less people this year b/c they overbooked last year... if enough people decline admission, more slots might open up.

one other thing that i'm curious about - why not choose urbana-urbana? if your husband's an engineer looking for a faculty position, UIUC has a fantastic engineering department; or did you look and not find anything... you don't have to answer, i'm just an m3 finely honed to seek out histories (as you hopefully will be very very soon).

good luck!

-tim

 

[moonieromance]

I agree with Daiphon -- UIUC has one of the best (read: top 5) engineering schools in the entire nation. Why didn't your husband apply here? Or perhaps he got rejected?

I've been assigned the UPR (Rockford) track. Having already attending the Urbana campus for college for four years, I really don't mind.

As it turns out, my fiancee has been assigned a high-paying job in Chicago after he graduates next year (he's already working for them, though). I will still go to Rockford. I believe that medical education always comes first. When the day comes that I can make a choice between medicine and my loved one, I will choose my loved one.

 

[gschl1234]

Originally posted by Daiphon
one other thing that i'm curious about - why not choose urbana-urbana? if your husband's an engineer looking for a faculty position, UIUC has a fantastic engineering department; or did you look and not find anything... you don't have to answer, i'm just an m3 finely honed to seek out histories (as you hopefully will be very very soon).

good luck!

-tim

Urbana has one of the very best EE depts. in the country. My husband has no chance of getting a faculty position there because he went into industry directly after finishing his Ph.D. He has no post-doc experience meaning that he's not as established as lot of other first-faculty-position-seeking-applicants. Besides, their department is so good that when they hire, sometimes they just pluck away established faculty members from other schools. We would LOVE it if he could actually get an offer from them but I think he didn't bother sending in an application beucase 1. the advertised position is not exactly in his field and 2. he is not well established in his field thus he's not exactly qualified to seek a position at UIUC. Thanks for the thought though.