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UMDNJ Discussion thread 2008-2009

Started by mshheaddoc
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When I called yesterday afternoon, she said they were still making calls. This time I gave her my name, but she didn't know anything about my application and to wait until at least today to hear back. It's just so confusing because different people say different things. 🙁
 
Someone must be lying!!! :idea:

lol ... could it be that maybe theyre doing phone calls by alphabetical order?

I'm in the last third so i mean that could be a reasonable explanation...

:luck::luck::luck: Good luck everyone ... just hang in there!
 
andexterouss said:
I have an ~3.5 and mcat is a 28(11,11,6). Paula said she doesn't know why I was waitlisted. She said my stats are great and that I was right within their average but they had so many other great applicants this month.Maybe it's my verbal?
She said I could retake the mcat again and score a 30 😱 .She said my interview was "ok" which was interesting because she used "great" to describe everything else in my application.
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Wow andexterouss, I didn't realize the applicant pool was that competitive already!! I have a 3.6 and 28 (with a pretty balanced distribution) so I must have just slipped in there. I am really not sure why you were waitlisted...the only thing I can think of is that maybe you scored a little bit lower than others on the interview?? It is so hard to tell. I second the advice about the letter of intent if umdnj is your first choice. I would think they would take that into consideration when they re-review your application. Good luck and try to focus on your other interviews, I am confident you will get into one of those schools. :luck::luck:
 
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Hey andexterouss, like others have said, you do have solid stats. Best of luck to you in getting into one of those schools. My best guess as to why you got waitlisted is prolly the verbal section and maybe your interviewer picked up on something he/she didn't like, hence the "ok" answer by Paula. Keep your head up and plug away. Nothing in life worth having comes easy.

For the rest of us, it seems that UMDNJ SOM has become too competitive over these last couple of years. When you have people with 3.5ish GPA and a 28 MCAT get waitlisted relatively early in the process, then you know the applicant pool is sick. Oh wellz, guess it's back to the drawing boards. Good luck ya'll!
 
This may be old news ...

I heard from my friend who attends UMDNJ that their formula takes into account the "competitiveness" of your undergraduate institution with 4 or 5 being the most competitive and 1 being the least. This factor is then multiplied by your GPA or some such business. All that info is complied to give you a numeric score and if you meet a cutoff then youre accepted if you're below then they look at your interview and your interviewer acts in your best interests.

Anyone have anything to report?
 
Thanks dmf2009 and planejane.It seems everyone else is placed on hold or accepted while I was waitlisted outright. I've been parsing very detail in my application and interview to see what I did wrong.Oh well.I'm just gonna focus on my other schools and not worry too much. Thanks again guys.
 
BigBlue4U said:
I believe its the same list (alternate list = hold list)?
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Not sure. Seems like though. There can't be two lists I would presume. Did you speak with her? What did she say?
I'm starting to think a lot of pre-allo students are rigging the system by using this school as a backup.
 
Something is really screwed up if theyre waitlisting all of us. Last year with no clinical exposure or doctor letters i got waitlisted at NJMS which is a much more grade oriented school than SOM. Now I have tons of clinical exposure and letters from healthcare professionals...so my application has only gotten stronger in the past year.

I cant see why SOM would waitlist me unless the kids from Harvard are using it as a safety or the committee is just off its rocker.

In state student with a LizzyM score of 65 gets waitlisted...welcome to the twilight zone, people lol.
 
andexterouss said:
I'm starting to think a lot of pre-allo students are rigging the system by using this school as a backup.
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I think you are right about this, at my interview I asked the others what other DO schools they applied to and this one person (out of the three) said that umdnj was the only DO school they applied to. I didn't really like that person, they seemed really critical of DO's and kept questioning the curriculum and quality of rotations for 3rd and 4th year. I just hope that person didn't get in because they would be an extremely annoying classmate. Anyways, I think for NJ residents umdnj-som is the only DO school they apply to as a back up for njms and robert wood. The upside of that is there would be a lot of movement on the waitlist when those people get into the md schools they applied to.
 
Umm so I still havent gotten a secondary and this is the only school I have not gotten one from yet...and I emailed them....hmm not sure what to do...
 
whateva07 said:
Umm so I still havent gotten a secondary and this is the only school I have not gotten one from yet...and I emailed them....hmm not sure what to do...
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last year when i applied i didnt even get an application at all. Then again, I applied late.
 
Phenol312 said:
Something is really screwed up if theyre waitlisting all of us. Last year with no clinical exposure or doctor letters i got waitlisted at NJMS which is a much more grade oriented school than SOM. Now I have tons of clinical exposure and letters from healthcare professionals...so my application has only gotten stronger in the past year.

I cant see why SOM would waitlist me unless the kids from Harvard are using it as a safety or the committee is just off its rocker.

In state student with a LizzyM score of 65 gets waitlisted...welcome to the twilight zone, people lol.
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It is a bit screwy this year. The thing is, they are on a record pace of applicants this year (already 2000+ for 108 seats), hence a lot more overqualified students. There is a silver lining to all this however.

As it comes time to finally select their schools, the wait/alternate list should move much more considering a lot of the overqualified students who are only using it as a backup, end up going to their top picks. I know a TON of people who applied only to UMDNJ SOM and all other schools were allopathic. 🙄

On the flip side, you have to look at it from the school's perspective. They want those overqualified students. What institution wouldn't want those who have amazing stats? And even though I don't particularly like those people who use UMDNJ SOM as a backup, I will admit that they do have that right since they worked their asses off to get those stats.

In the end, the only thing you can do is keep trying and put 100% effort into it. Getting into med school is only gonna get tougher from here on out. So let's D.O. this! 🙂
 
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whateva07 said:
Umm so I still havent gotten a secondary and this is the only school I have not gotten one from yet...and I emailed them....hmm not sure what to do...
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Go to their website, download the secondary, fill it out and send it in.
 
about secondaries -- i called yesterday and the woman said that the email account of the person who is supposed to contact applicants about secondaries isn't working and that i should just fill out the application and mail it in. it is available online. hope that helps some people out.

good luck!
 
i was waitlisted too, it's now sinking in....

andexterouss said:
Thanks dmf2009 and planejane.It seems everyone else is placed on hold or accepted while I was waitlisted outright. I've been parsing very detail in my application and interview to see what I did wrong.Oh well.I'm just gonna focus on my other schools and not worry too much. Thanks again guys.
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Hm... did anyone get flatout rejected? Or does anyone who didn't get accepted get placed on the alternate/waitlist?
 
Hey chocolate bear and everyone else I was wondering if you heard of any changes in your status i still have not heard anything and as far as a cutoff my GPA is a 3.9 and my MCAT is a 25 so i would think i meet it but if anyone has further insight let me know.
 
cliquesh said:
Are they still giving out interview invites? I sent out my stuff at the end of sept.
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I do know that the interview well into next year. I also know that people were still getting invites. The fact that you sent out your stuff at the end of September is probably what will hold you up considering alot of people applied well before that.
 
atallcosts said:
Hey chocolate bear and everyone else I was wondering if you heard of any changes in your status i still have not heard anything and as far as a cutoff my GPA is a 3.9 and my MCAT is a 25 so i would think i meet it but if anyone has further insight let me know.
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Your stats should meet their cutoffs. Your MCAT is a wee bit under but your GPA mos def makes up for it. Also take into account your letters of recs, your extracurriculars, your background, and when you applied.
 
While I was at LECOM today a piece of certified mail came from UMDNJ...no on was home to sign for it though. Do they send waitlist notifications via certified mail??? Last year when i was waitlisted at NJMS the notification came through regular mail...so im thinking...maybe acceptance???
 
I got a letter that says I was placed on the "Alternative list". Is that the same thing as being waitlisted? I know some schools have a high priority waitlist and a normal one, so I wasn't sure if UMDNJ did something similar.
 
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andexterouss said:
Damn. Certified letter for rejection? Talk about rubbing it in...I guess they do reject people afterall.
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Yeah this totally ruined my weekend. I really want to find out what the hell is going on here...does anyone have Paula Watkins direct email or phone number? This just doesn't make any sense...how could i get waitlisted at NJMS last cycle but get flat out rejected by SOM?
 
Phenol312 said:
Yeah this totally ruined my weekend. I really want to find out what the hell is going on here...does anyone have Paula Watkins direct email or phone number? This just doesn't make any sense...how could i get waitlisted at NJMS last cycle but get flat out rejected by SOM?
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Call Rachel and ask to speak with Paula and you'll be transferred. She doesn't really have a direct line.I'm curious,what your stats by the way?
 
Phenol312 said:
31R (9PS, 10VR, 12BS)
3.37 overall
3.19 BCPM

rest is in my MDapps.
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Awesome stats men. Not sure why you got rejected!What other schools are you looking at? I just got accepted to Touro-NY so that's taking some pressure off me.
 
clipMag said:
phenol, can u give us the link? thanx
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it's in the newspaper...like the physical paper that has mass and leaves ink on your fingers when you flip the pages 😛. There's also a very nice article on the RU vs Pitt game 😀

Anyhow i was a little disappointed that the UMDNJ article got the front page...its bad press no matter how you look at it.
 
oh ok, thanks...i will look for it tomorrow.

Phenol312 said:
it's in the newspaper...like the physical paper that has mass and leaves ink on your fingers when you flip the pages 😛. There's also a very nice article on the RU vs Pitt game 😀

Anyhow i was a little disappointed that the UMDNJ article got the front page...its bad press no matter how you look at it.
Click to expand...
 
1cupofcoffee said:
are you talking about this article?

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2008/10/oversight_didnt_halt_abuses_at.html

doen't mention UMDNJ SOM😍
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Yep thats the one. It's just bad press. People are gonna see "UMDNJ" and "abuses" and think the worst...using such general terms in a headline hurts the UMDNJ system as a whole.

It's important that people know whats going on here in jersey because these are issues we will all have to face in the future out in the field.
 
Hi all,
I applied to this school a month ago and have not heard back. So, I called them the other day and the lady who answered the phone was like- "oh, just send the secondary in anyway. We just got your primary." Are you all filling out the secondary w/o actually getting the email invite?😕
 
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Deepa100 said:
Hi all,
I applied to this school a month ago and have not heard back. So, I called them the other day and the lady who answered the phone was like- "oh, just send the secondary in anyway. We just got your primary." Are you all filling out the secondary w/o actually getting the email invite?😕
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yes!! just fill it out and send it. That is all I did and then I got an email saying I was complete...haha well this was almost 2 months ago and I still haven't heard anything else! ouch!😱
 
rugger14 said:
yes!! just fill it out and send it. That is all I did and then I got an email saying I was complete...haha well this was almost 2 months ago and I still haven't heard anything else! ouch!😱
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Rugger, I am in the same boat, u mind sharing the general range of your stats? I don't know what to think, based on my stats I thought I would have gotten an interview if they interview based on a scoring system like I was told. Who knows though.
 
4Health said:
Rugger, I am in the same boat, u mind sharing the general range of your stats? I don't know what to think, based on my stats I thought I would have gotten an interview if they interview based on a scoring system like I was told. Who knows though.
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sure- 3.4 undergrad, 3.8 postbac at LECOM, 26Q most recent MCAT (28 if u add up the best scores haha), various EC's-service trips, rugby, nursing assistant.. i think my MCAT may be the issue based on what I have been reading with this thread. I have one acceptance, 2 interviews and turned down an interview..based on deadlines I suppose I will be making a decision b4 even hearing back from them! u?
 
Should I even apply to UMDNJ <-- first choice 😱

MCAT 6 VR 11 PS 12 BS O WS (English as 2nd language, 3 yrs in the states >.<)
GPA: 3.67 Overall, 3.7 Science, Bio major (Emory, ATL)

other aspects such as ECs and LORs are good and competitive. I am very concerned abt the ONE I highlighted in red ~.~"""

Thank you
 
PipiChen said:
Should I even apply to UMDNJ <-- first choice 😱

MCAT 6 VR 11 PS 12 BS O WS (English as 2nd language, 3 yrs in the states >.<)
GPA: 3.67 Overall, 3.7 Science, Bio major (Emory, ATL)

other aspects such as ECs and LORs are good and competitive. I am very concerned abt the ONE I highlighted in red ~.~"""

Thank you
Click to expand...

I think you should apply, specially if it is your "first choice". I believe that getting into UMDNJ goes beyong just numbers, you have to show them that you really want to go there. If you havent sent your secondary do it now, and week from now call and find out where you stand in the process after the secondary. And maybe a week after the call send a letter of interest telling the adm comm how important it is to you to attend UMDNJ, and that they should "get to know you". I was writting my letter the day they called me for an interview🙂
 
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