Anyone know anything about UMass med school? Good? Bad?
UMass Med School
- Thread starter Kix
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It is an excellent school. I am there now, graduating in June. You certainly can't beat the tuition. There are currently LOTS of renovations to the buildings and structures, which should make things quite nice. Worcester is an OK city to live in, and pretty close to Boston anyway, as well as close to oher places.
You do have to be a MA resident, I belive for 5 years, and I don't think being in college for 4 years counts, unless you legally change your residency. You have to demonstrate this on the application.
In terms of education, there is also no reason to go anywhere else, unless you are so Harvard-obsessed that it will effect you personally if you do not go there. The clinical years education is, in my opinion, equal to or superior to every other school in the commonwealth. Faculty at UMass is genuinely interested in teaching (for the most part) and you have many opportunities to gain experience. In the course of my clinical rotations, I was exposed to students from other schools in the area, and I always found that I and my classmates seemed to be more prepared, especially in terms of clinical skills. Residency directors also recognize this, and you certainly do not get short-shrifted because you go to the state U. The match list is pretty competitive, although many students choose to either stay in worcester or rank non-traditional environments higher. I know some say that you should only go to UMass if you want to go into primary care, but that is garbage. Sure, lots of people from UMass do go into primary care, but it isn't forced on you in any way. You get good exposure to primary care, and thus many people are simply drawn to it. I, for example, am going into pathology.
The only problem I have had with the school is that there has been quite a bit of turnover in terms of the faculty in the past few years. Some professors have either retired or left for places east, but the school is committed to improving this and making it a desirable place to stay. But there are lots of committed faculty members and the effect on students is somewhat negligible.
Any other questions, feel free to ask.
You do have to be a MA resident, I belive for 5 years, and I don't think being in college for 4 years counts, unless you legally change your residency. You have to demonstrate this on the application.
In terms of education, there is also no reason to go anywhere else, unless you are so Harvard-obsessed that it will effect you personally if you do not go there. The clinical years education is, in my opinion, equal to or superior to every other school in the commonwealth. Faculty at UMass is genuinely interested in teaching (for the most part) and you have many opportunities to gain experience. In the course of my clinical rotations, I was exposed to students from other schools in the area, and I always found that I and my classmates seemed to be more prepared, especially in terms of clinical skills. Residency directors also recognize this, and you certainly do not get short-shrifted because you go to the state U. The match list is pretty competitive, although many students choose to either stay in worcester or rank non-traditional environments higher. I know some say that you should only go to UMass if you want to go into primary care, but that is garbage. Sure, lots of people from UMass do go into primary care, but it isn't forced on you in any way. You get good exposure to primary care, and thus many people are simply drawn to it. I, for example, am going into pathology.
The only problem I have had with the school is that there has been quite a bit of turnover in terms of the faculty in the past few years. Some professors have either retired or left for places east, but the school is committed to improving this and making it a desirable place to stay. But there are lots of committed faculty members and the effect on students is somewhat negligible.
Any other questions, feel free to ask.
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Umass has fewer applicants than the other schools in the area, but this is because you have to be a mass. resident. I am not sure how many they interview, but I think it is quite a few, more than 5x the number they accept (ballpark). The accept generally between 120-140 for a 100 person class, eventually, if you include people getting in off the wait list in summer. This was true a couple years ago, anyway, maybe not so much anymore I don't know.
Interviews have already started, they post the list of candidates visiting each day in the lobby, and that has been going on for a few weeks now. I think most acceptances come after the new year. Generally a benign interview day, about a half day. Interviews with 2-3 faculty members, tour with 1st year students. I think all interviews are solo with the faculty member. They like well-rounded students who can communicate and get along with others. Sheer numbers are not going to get you in no matter what they are.
Interviews have already started, they post the list of candidates visiting each day in the lobby, and that has been going on for a few weeks now. I think most acceptances come after the new year. Generally a benign interview day, about a half day. Interviews with 2-3 faculty members, tour with 1st year students. I think all interviews are solo with the faculty member. They like well-rounded students who can communicate and get along with others. Sheer numbers are not going to get you in no matter what they are.
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Has anyone here heard from UMASS yet? I saw maybe one person with an interview but no other news. I got an email from them weeks ago saying I was complete and under review. I would LOVE an interview!!!
Any news?
greenie
Any news?
greenie
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yea i haven't heard from UMASS either
and i know couple of friends who have
interviewed already..........
i actually thought umass would be my first interview..
don't get it, my file was completed mid-august
and so the waitin continues..........
and i know couple of friends who have
interviewed already..........
i actually thought umass would be my first interview..
don't get it, my file was completed mid-august
and so the waitin continues..........
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I interviewed at UMass a couple of weeks ago. I am probably the person you thought you saw listed. Somehow my interviews keep disappearing from the interview thread, so I've given up on it. My app was complete in late august and I got the invite about ten days later. there were only 6 interviewees there that day though, so maybe they just haven't interviewed that many people yet. (I also have some theory that there is an alphabetical order to the process - the colleges of the people there that day were all between A and G, but maybe that was just random)
Anyways, I think it is a great school. Their research funding has increased by like 50% in the last 5 years (which means it's a fast growing program, which is exciting) and apparently Worcester County is a nearly perfect representation of national demographics (wealth and distribution of wealth, racial diversity, etc.) The students seem really happy, say they have a life beyond studying, etc. Plus the cost of living is amazing compared to Boston.
When you get an interview, the tour is really short (ours was about 10 mins) and the lunch is sub-par (but with the tuition, who can complain?) One of my high school classmates was interviewing there, too, so that was pretty cool.
Oh, Mass residency is really easy IF you graduated from high school in Mass. All you need is the school and year, and you don't have to prove continuous residency or anything (although you have to fill out the form anyway.)
Good luck!
-Sarah
Anyways, I think it is a great school. Their research funding has increased by like 50% in the last 5 years (which means it's a fast growing program, which is exciting) and apparently Worcester County is a nearly perfect representation of national demographics (wealth and distribution of wealth, racial diversity, etc.) The students seem really happy, say they have a life beyond studying, etc. Plus the cost of living is amazing compared to Boston.
When you get an interview, the tour is really short (ours was about 10 mins) and the lunch is sub-par (but with the tuition, who can complain?) One of my high school classmates was interviewing there, too, so that was pretty cool.
Oh, Mass residency is really easy IF you graduated from high school in Mass. All you need is the school and year, and you don't have to prove continuous residency or anything (although you have to fill out the form anyway.)
Good luck!
-Sarah
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Umass screens amcas before allowing you to complete a secondary, right? I've been all over the website, and I didn't see any links to a secondary.
I'm kind of late in the game, as you can probably tell🙂
I'm kind of late in the game, as you can probably tell🙂
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You can read the exact text from their website, if you want, but I sent an email to clarify, with all of my details (I do live in Mass now, but I only moved here this summer and my parents haven't in a long time, and I didn't while I was in college), and they wrote back, "since you graduated from high school in MA, you can be considered a Mass resident for our medical school purposes."
If you want to make sure that this is true in your case, email the admissions office with all of your info, and they will let you know.
The only catch is that you can only pick one state of residence on your AMCAS app (i.e. you can only apply to one state school in-state), so if you apply to UMass, you can't apply to your current state school in-state.
If you want to make sure that this is true in your case, email the admissions office with all of your info, and they will let you know.
The only catch is that you can only pick one state of residence on your AMCAS app (i.e. you can only apply to one state school in-state), so if you apply to UMass, you can't apply to your current state school in-state.
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hey, i got offered an interview on 9/30 scheduled for 10/28. this interview invitation came via email two wks after my file was complete. for those of you who have already interviewed there, would you mind telling me how it went? was it pretty lax? did they ask any tough questions? any healthcare policy q's?
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I'm working on secondaries now, and hopefully I'll get into UMass at the end of all this. It's my clear top choice, mostly for the reasons that other people have listed in this thread.
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Interview at UMass on October 21. Secondary was in by beginning of August. Notified by email in mid-September.
