U of Utah's needs 6 L.O.R.?

[Kingfish]

University of Utah apparently requires 3 academic and three supervisor letters. What does this mean supervisor letters? I can get letters from the vice-president of my school, my scholarship supervisor, and the sponsor of a club I am in. Is this what they mean? Only one of them have their doctorate. I have been all over their website and can't find an answer.

Also, I would like to use a letter from the head TA of my service learning internship. Although it was a class I took for credit, it really had an impact on me and I think she would write an awesome letter. Could this be a community letter?

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[TheAmazingGOB]

Yeah, they are brutal with their letter requirements. Two of the six letters should come from science professors and one should come from a non-science. The three supervisor letters need to come from people who supervised you in 3 areas: research, community/volunteer service, and clinical experience/job shadowing.

I'm positive you can't count your service learning internship for community service because you received credit for the class. You should call the admissions office and ask, but their requirements are very strict and anything you received payment or class credit for cannot be counted as community/volunteer service.

Also, if you are OOS you have to show you have ties to the state of Utah (used to live there, family there, etc.) in order to be considered.

If you have any other questions or concerns, feel free to PM me.

 

[coral]

Also, if you are OOS you have to show you have ties to the state of Utah (used to live there, family there, etc.) in order to be considered.

Or be a M.D./Ph.D. candidate or a minority.

 

[Kingfish]

Thanks, thats exactly the info I needed. I am not a PhD/MD candidate or a minority but my aunt and uncle are both professors at the university. Any idea what kind of stats I would need to be considered competitive?

 

[TheAmazingGOB]

That's a tough question to answer with the U because people with MCAT scores and GPAs all over the place get in. If you are a white male, you need to score 30+ otherwise high 20s will suffice (obviously aim high with the MCAT, but a stellar score is not absolutely required with the U as it is with some schools). Then again, you are OOS and the competition is more fierce (10-15 spots) so shoot for 32+. 3.7 GPA should be fine. The U is looking for two main qualities: humanitarian characteristics and diversity of experience. If you can cover those two points in your essays and the activities in which you participated, you will be competitive (though it's still a big crapshoot).

 

[Taliesinrk]

Yeah, they are brutal with their letter requirements. Two of the six letters should come from science professors and one should come from a non-science. The three supervisor letters need to come from people who supervised you in 3 areas: research, community/volunteer service, and clinical experience/job shadowing.

I'm positive you can't count your service learning internship for community service because you received credit for the class. You should call the admissions office and ask, but their requirements are very strict and anything you received payment or class credit for cannot be counted as community/volunteer service.

Also, if you are OOS you have to show you have ties to the state of Utah (used to live there, family there, etc.) in order to be considered.

If you have any other questions or concerns, feel free to PM me.

So I did a lot of volunteer work my freshman and sophomore years of college, but now am no longer in touch with those supervisors. Is it possible to get a letter from another individual rather than a community/volunteer service supervisor?

 

[ryandote]

So I did a lot of volunteer work my freshman and sophomore years of college, but now am no longer in touch with those supervisors. Is it possible to get a letter from another individual rather than a community/volunteer service supervisor?

I applied instate this year and was rejected in January (apparently I sucked so bad that they were able to tell me MONTHS before everybody else found out). I believe they are fairly strict with the letter requirements, and I certainly wouldn't plan on sliding past on the the letters without written consent.

As for competitiveness, I was above average in each of the self-evaluation areas, I did a summer research program directed by somebody on the admissions committee who I developed a good relationship with, my PI for the summer was a department chair who wrote me a great LoR and was positive that he had "written me in." ( rather than toot my own horn, I'm trying to illustrate how prepared I felt to attend Utah).

I double majored in Econ and Biology with a ~3.6 GPA and a 37 MCAT. Didn't even make the waitlist.

 

[Taliesinrk]

I applied instate this year and was rejected in January (apparently I sucked so bad that they were able to tell me MONTHS before everybody else found out). I believe they are fairly strict with the letter requirements, and I certainly wouldn't plan on sliding past on the the letters without written consent.

As for competitiveness, I was above average in each of the self-evaluation areas, I did a summer research program directed by somebody on the admissions committee who I developed a good relationship with, my PI for the summer was a department chair who wrote me a great LoR and was positive that he had "written me in." ( rather than toot my own horn, I'm trying to illustrate how prepared I felt to attend Utah).

I double majored in Econ and Biology with a ~3.6 GPA and a 37 MCAT. Didn't even make the waitlist.

Wow.. that's rough. Perhaps I shouldn't even apply. I guess my question was more along the lines of, does it specifically say that each of the non-academic letters should be from the three individuals the previous poster listed? I don't know just because I haven't seen their secondary yet.

 

[ryandote]

Wow.. that's rough. Perhaps I shouldn't even apply. I guess my question was more along the lines of, does it specifically say that each of the non-academic letters should be from the three individuals the previous poster listed? I don't know just because I haven't seen their secondary yet.

Yes, quite specifically.

 

[GoodDoctor]

Wow.. that's rough. Perhaps I shouldn't even apply. I guess my question was more along the lines of, does it specifically say that each of the non-academic letters should be from the three individuals the previous poster listed? I don't know just because I haven't seen their secondary yet.

They have a "self evaluation" that is almost exacly like the secondary. It gives you an idea what they are looking for. You can find a link to the .pdf on the admissions site:
http://uuhsc.utah.edu/som/admissions/index.html

The previous poster was corret about the LOR requirements:
3 Academic (2 science & 1 non-science is recommended to work with other schoots)
3 Extracurricular
-1 Research
-1 Community Service/Volunteering
-1 Patient Exposure (volunteer, shadowing)

You must meet minimum requirements or hours in 8 areas. You must hit the average in 5 of the 8 areas. To get in you need to excel in at least 1 or more of the 8 areas. Here they are (check the admissions site for specific min/ave):

Academic Requirements:
-GPA
-MCAT Scores

Required Activities:
-Extra-curricular Activities
-Community/Volunteer Service
-Leadership Ability
-Research
-Physician Shadowing
-Patient Exposure

The Dean of Admissions told us that GPA and MCAT are each only 10% of your application (total of 20%). 80% of your app comes from activities, LORs, essays, and interview.

Don't give up because of what RyanDote said. I was surpised at the number of my friends with solid stats and great activities who did not get in. Like any shcool, people get rejected simply becuase there aren't enough spots. Utah does not care much about GPA and MCAT. As TheAmazingGOB said, humanitarian characteristics and diversity of experience are what they are looking for.

 

[alwaysaangel]

They have a "self evaluation" that is almost exacly like the secondary. It gives you an idea what they are looking for. You can find a link to the .pdf on the admissions site:
http://uuhsc.utah.edu/som/admissions/index.html

The previous poster was corret about the LOR requirements:
3 Academic (2 science & 1 non-science is recommended to work with other schoots)
3 Extracurricular
-1 Research
-1 Community Service/Volunteering
-1 Patient Exposure (volunteer, shadowing)

You must meet minimum requirements or hours in 8 areas. You must hit the average in 5 of the 8 areas. To get in you need to excel in at least 1 or more of the 8 areas. Here they are (check the admissions site for specific min/ave):

Academic Requirements:
-GPA
-MCAT Scores

Required Activities:
-Extra-curricular Activities
-Community/Volunteer Service
-Leadership Ability
-Research
-Physician Shadowing
-Patient Exposure

The Dean of Admissions told us that GPA and MCAT are each only 10% of your application (total of 20%). 80% of your app comes from activities, LORs, essays, and interview.

Don't give up because of what RyanDote said. I was surpised at the number of my friends with solid stats and great activities who did not get in. Like any shcool, people get rejected simply becuase there aren't enough spots. Utah does not care much about GPA and MCAT. As TheAmazingGOB said, humanitarian characteristics and diversity of experience are what they are looking for.

Wow thats got to be the most brutal requirements I've ever seen - but I guess if you lived in Utah you would know it and be prepping for it.

But seriously, so inflexible thats ridiculous!

 

[ryandote]

Don't give up because of what RyanDote said. I was surpised at the number of my friends with solid stats and great activities who did not get in. Like any shcool, people get rejected simply becuase there aren't enough spots. Utah does not care much about GPA and MCAT. As TheAmazingGOB said, humanitarian characteristics and diversity of experience are what they are looking for.

Sorry, I hope I didn't give anybody the impression that they shouldn't try. I think Utah is an awesome school, and if I had been accepted I very well may have ended up there.

I'd echo what the GoodDoctor says: There aren't enough spots for everybody, and I get the feeling GPA and MCAT are far from everything at Utah. I think they try really hard to put together a diverse group and they DO focus on extracurriculars.