UNECOM interview

[slindswim]

Just got my first interview of the year, UNECOM 10/24. For those of you wondering, I received the email this morning (09/21) and was complete 09/20. I am coming from Maryland and will probably be flying. Any suggestions for the best place to fly in? Thanks!

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[rgerwin]

Definitely fly into Portland, if you can manage it. After that Boston and Manchester are about equal distances.

 

[Orthodoc40]

There may be a reasonable Amtrak option to Portland, too.

 

[rgerwin]

The train to Portland will be a long-ass ride. You will have to take it to Boston, which from DC is 8 hours (that's the only location I know in your general area off the top of my head. Then, the train to Portland is a different one, and is 3 hours to Portland, and a little less to wells. It will cost about the same as a plane ticket, so why bother?

 

[Orthodoc40]

The train to Portland will be a long-ass ride. You will have to take it to Boston, which from DC is 8 hours (that's the only location I know in your general area off the top of my head. Then, the train to Portland is a different one, and is 3 hours to Portland, and a little less to wells. It will cost about the same as a plane ticket, so why bother?

Well what do I know??
My plan is to drive north on Route 95 for a little over an hour!

 

[slindswim]

thanks for all of the responses. I checked out flight info and manchester was a few hundred cheaper than portland so I went ahead with that. I have never been to Maine so this is pretty exciting. Any must sees in the biddeford area?

 

[Orthodoc40]

thanks for all of the responses. I checked out flight info and manchester was a few hundred cheaper than portland so I went ahead with that. I have never been to Maine so this is pretty exciting. Any must sees in the biddeford area?

No clue - I think there is more info from the M1's though in some of the other UNE forums.

 

[Orthodoc40]

Hmmm...I was complete on 19th and still no interview for me....

I hope you're kidding, right? 2 days ago??

 

[rgerwin]

Great! I'm glad your found good airfare. I was afriad Portland might be too pricey, but sometimes there are good deals. Jet blue does fly into Portland, and they can be pretty reasonable, but don't show up on Orbitz, or anything.

SO, Biddeford itself is a nothing town. Portland is great, and there is plenty of good scenery. Depends on what you like to do.

 

[Sarikate]

I was complete yesterday, but my LORs were sent as "virtual references" (check to see if your undergrad institution uses this new method) and the woman at UNE said the person who processes those is on vacation this week, so it'll at least be a few more days until I hear anything.

 

[rgerwin]

Wow. First, that only one person handles references. 2nd, that she was allowed to go on vacation the week after the secondary came out. Why not go before? THere was plenty of time.

 

[Sarikate]

I'm sure she had a good reason for it. Sometimes you just need a vacation!

 

[wook]

I have never been to Maine so this is pretty exciting. Any must sees in the biddeford area?

Dude/dudette:

What kind of stuff you looking for (ie outdoor must see things, City - Portland type things, etc.)?


Wook

 

[slindswim]

Dude/dudette:

What kind of stuff you looking for (ie outdoor must see things, City - Portland type things, etc.)?


Wook

I am kind of just looking for some cool outdoor places to check out after the interview. I dont fly out until the next day so I might as well take advantage of the time I have.

 

[slindswim]

I had no problems with rec letters. I received email from them on 19th saying that they received everything and my file is complete. Well maybe my stats are not good enough for the interview.

Dont worry too much, its only been a few days. I heard of other people getting interview invites after a week or two following completion.

 

[fozziewan]

Hey everyone,
Congrats to those who have rec'd and interview invite already!!! To those who haven't: relax, be patient it is still VERY early in the interview season and yes it is easier said than done. We are officially kicking off our interviews here at UNECOM a lil later than normal b/c of problems already mentioned before in previous forums. Plus, I'm sure most of you have heard the reasons why from e-mails and phone calls to the admissions office.
Couple topics I'd like to address:
Flying: Portland is very close, Manchester and Boston are not. So, plan accordingly and rent a car. Taxi fare would be almost worth another airline ticket from Boston or Manchester up here to Biddo.
Driving: If you are planning on driving up here and staying a night or two look for places in Saco right off of I-95. I can look up the names of a couple places and post them.
Points of Interest: In Biddo: there are some nice locally owned restaurants, the beaches are lovely, and most importantly: UNECOM!
Saco: (pronounced Socko) a Starbucks with a drive-thru(!), Rattigan's (a locally owned restaurant/bar)
up the highway from Saco is a town callled Scarborough, there is a cool candy place called Len Libby which boasts a life-size chocolate moose. Google it. My wife and I went there and loved it.
Portland: There is a lot to do up there. Really nice places to eat, walk around, and shop if you like. I could list a lot of great places to eat.
OKay, so, this is just a quick and dirty of this area.
If anyone has anything else they'd like to ask PM me or post up on here.
Good luck everyone! Look forward to meeting you on your interview days.
Cheers,
Steve

 

[slindswim]

Hey everyone,
Congrats to those who have rec'd and interview invite already!!! To those who haven't: relax, be patient it is still VERY early in the interview season and yes it is easier said than done. We are officially kicking off our interviews here at UNECOM a lil later than normal b/c of problems already mentioned before in previous forums. Plus, I'm sure most of you have heard the reasons why from e-mails and phone calls to the admissions office.
Couple topics I'd like to address:
Flying: Portland is very close, Manchester and Boston are not. So, plan accordingly and rent a car. Taxi fare would be almost worth another airline ticket from Boston or Manchester up here to Biddo.
Driving: If you are planning on driving up here and staying a night or two look for places in Saco right off of I-95. I can look up the names of a couple places and post them.
Points of Interest: In Biddo: there are some nice locally owned restaurants, the beaches are lovely, and most importantly: UNECOM!
Saco: (pronounced Socko) a Starbucks with a drive-thru(!), Rattigan's (a locally owned restaurant/bar)
up the highway from Saco is a town callled Scarborough, there is a cool candy place called Len Libby which boasts a life-size chocolate moose. Google it. My wife and I went there and loved it.
Portland: There is a lot to do up there. Really nice places to eat, walk around, and shop if you like. I could list a lot of great places to eat.
OKay, so, this is just a quick and dirty of this area.
If anyone has anything else they'd like to ask PM me or post up on here.
Good luck everyone! Look forward to meeting you on your interview days.
Cheers,
Steve

Thanks Steve, that definately gives me some ideas. I cant wait!

 

[theraball]

I was complete yesterday, but my LORs were sent as "virtual references" (check to see if your undergrad institution uses this new method) and the woman at UNE said the person who processes those is on vacation this week, so it'll at least be a few more days until I hear anything.

glad to hear that; I'm "virtual" as well!

 

[theraball]

Points of Interest: In Biddo: there are some nice locally owned restaurants, the beaches are lovely, and most importantly: UNECOM!
Saco: (pronounced Socko) a Starbucks with a drive-thru(!), Rattigan's (a locally owned restaurant/bar)
up the highway from Saco is a town callled Scarborough, there is a cool candy place called Len Libby which boasts a life-size chocolate moose. Google it. My wife and I went there and loved it.
Portland: There is a lot to do up there. Really nice places to eat, walk around, and shop if you like. I could list a lot of great places to eat.
OKay, so, this is just a quick and dirty of this area.
If anyone has anything else they'd like to ask PM me or post up on here.
Good luck everyone! Look forward to meeting you on your interview days.
Cheers,
Steve

Hi Steve,

Where do most students live up there? I hear that Saco is preferred over Biddeford, unless you can snag a seaside unit right next to UNE. Would you agree?
I have a wife and child and would probably want to rent a 2-3 bedroom place in a child-safe neighborhood--is there an area that might be family friendly, low crime, etc? I have heard Biddeford is kinda down-and-out in some neighborhoods. My wife would prefer to live in Portland because of its big city amenities but I don't relish having to drive 30-40 minutes each way, 5x/week. Thanks for any advice!

-Thera

 

[wook]

Hi Steve,

Where do most students live up there? I hear that Saco is preferred over Biddeford, unless you can snag a seaside unit right next to UNE. Would you agree?
I have a wife and child and would probably want to rent a 2-3 bedroom place in a child-safe neighborhood--is there an area that might be family friendly, low crime, etc? I have heard Biddeford is kinda down-and-out in some neighborhoods. My wife would prefer to live in Portland because of its big city amenities but I don't relish having to drive 30-40 minutes each way, 5x/week. Thanks for any advice!

-Thera

How old is your child? Are school systems going to be a factor into the equation?



Wook

 

[ShyRem]

There are places in Biddeford that are (very) nice; and like EVERYWHERE else, there are places in every single town here that are definitely not so nice. I also have 2 kids, and we found purchasing a home MUCH cheaper than renting. Problem with renting a house in the area is many of them are "seasonal" rentals -- you only have them from Labor Day until Memorial Day (there are exceptions that are year-round). I caution you about realtors here: the realtor fees are OUT-FREEKIN'-RAGEOUS. Realtor.com and FSBO.com were my best friends when looking for a place to buy.

Biddeford and Saco both have relatively low crime rates... with a few exceptions in certain categories. This information should be readily available on the web (I forget where I looked it up).

As for school systems, the testing results from maine education admin (or something) are also available online. I was appalled by the results, but they are rather similar for many school systems. Best advice: go talk to the schools. I found them to be quite forthcoming about their shortcomings and also forthcoming about programs to challenge advanced children. The biggest problem schools have here is that many parents don't want to be involved, and the kids are involved in too much other stuff to devote appropriate time to homework. Same problem everywhere else is having.

Overall, I'd wait to see if you actually choose to go to UNE before you worry about housing. The housing bubble here is bursting, which will only work to your advantage, and if you end up choosing UNE (and they choose you), I'd recommend taking several weekends, or an entire week if you have it, to come up, drive around, explore the area, and look at housing then.

Good luck at your interview. I am very happy with my choice to attend UNE... but I'm also quite aware of the shortcomings for families. There are shortcomings no matter where you go, and no place will be absolutely idyllic for an entire family. There will always be worries, explorations, and extra time for plans to make when you have more than yourself in tow. Overall, Biddeford is, so far, a really great place got my kids and my husband. And Portland really isn't that far away for weekend trips with the family - only 20 minutes or so. I'd rather drive up there once a week than drive down to school every single day. Don't forget -- during things like anatomy you may want/need to spend extra time in lab, which would entail making the drive more than 5x/week.

You can drive yourself nuts worrying about stuff too far in advance. One thing at a time. Personally I found worrying about the interview MORE than enough! Hope I didn't scare you too much here. Back up: one thing at a time, and good luck at your interview!!!!!!!

 

[edge_of_me]

I'm having some trouble with formating my responses to the UNECOM secondary. I was told that for question 3 about reflecting on experiences, that it was best to keep it real clean and to not worry about paragraph form. Right now i have very short paragraphs without sentences to open or string them together (one "paragraph" is only 2 sentences long). This is the school I'd really like to get into so I want to do the best I can with this secondary. Any suggestions?

ps sorry to crash the forum, but I couldn't figure out a way to do my own post... Congrats to all those interviewing at UNECOM

 

[theraball]

Shy Rem,
Thanks for your informative comments. You're right; it's jumping the gun to be thinking about living situations this early--but, it's fun! By the way, regarding purchasing a place, how does this fit with 3rd and 4th year clinicals in other parts of Maine or the Northeast? Is it pretty common for UNE students to sell a house after two years?

 

[ShyRem]

theraball, i'm not sure how that'll work. From what I understand, there is a lottery system for 3 & 4 year clinicals. There are a limited number of spots in Portland, and others speckled about not too far away. We bought a house to give the children stability. I really didn't want to uproot them every two years. I can still come home on weekends and stuff, and who knows - I might end up in Portland and be able to see my family every night. And yes, it is common for UNE students to sell a house after 2, 3, or 4 years - for those that buy a house. Not that many with families that need morethan a 2BR apartment, but I have two elementary/middle school kids and two dogs. Not easy to find a rental for that. And the rentals I *did* find were horrifically expensive and seasonal (not to mention that little problem with taxable gains/income from the sale of our old home). Condos or duplexes are plentiful if that's not out of the picture. Look around.

And I agree -- looking for housing *is* fun. Unless you're under the gun and have to get it done in two days. (don't ask).

 

[wook]

theraball, i'm not sure how that'll work. From what I understand, there is a lottery system for 3 & 4 year clinicals. There are a limited number of spots in Portland, and others speckled about not too far away. We bought a house to give the children stability. I really didn't want to uproot them every two years. I can still come home on weekends and stuff, and who knows - I might end up in Portland and be able to see my family every night. And yes, it is common for UNE students to sell a house after 2, 3, or 4 years - for those that buy a house.

Several people in my class bought houses (I was one of them). Several of them sold their places as Shy said after two years, when they started their clinicals elsewhere. I chose to stay in Maine and was able to do the majority of my 3rd year rotations in Southern Maine. I did one in New York about an hour south of Albany and another in the center of Maine.

For 4th year, YOU decide where you will do your rotations. I opted to do 3-4 rotations out of State (one was 8-11 hour drive home...depending on traffic around DC and NYC).

We had no problem selling the house after completing school. However, we chose a house that we liked, but felt would sell easily after completing school. So, no matter where you decide to go to school, buy a house that will sell easily down the road (ie the old adage "location, location, location). We chose the same philosophy when we bought our current for residency. We are country folk, but opted for a house in the typical "suburbia" that most folks would like. I'll let you know if that game plan works as well as it did for the previous house.

I would not buy house where the mortgage would add significantly more to your monthly payment than rental. You don't want to end up mortgage tight (ie all your money goes into the mortgage and you have no fun money or money for anything else), IMO.


Wook

 

[rgerwin]

Just my 2 cents. I would be living in Portland should I get in. Yes, there is a drive, but that's also Maine. I think everyone's situation is different. I've lived in Portland and loved it. The rent really isn't that bad. Buying is a different story.

 

[Rachael07]

Several people in my class bought houses (I was one of them). Several of them sold their places as Shy said after two years, when they started their clinicals elsewhere. I chose to stay in Maine and was able to do the majority of my 3rd year rotations in Southern Maine. I did one in New York about an hour south of Albany and another in the center of Maine.

For 4th year, YOU decide where you will do your rotations. I opted to do 3-4 rotations out of State (one was 8-11 hour drive home...depending on traffic around DC and NYC).

We had no problem selling the house after completing school. However, we chose a house that we liked, but felt would sell easily after completing school. So, no matter where you decide to go to school, buy a house that will sell easily down the road (ie the old adage "location, location, location). We chose the same philosophy when we bought our current for residency. We are country folk, but opted for a house in the typical "suburbia" that most folks would like. I'll let you know if that game plan works as well as it did for the previous house.

I would not buy house where the mortgage would add significantly more to your monthly payment than rental. You don't want to end up mortgage tight (ie all your money goes into the mortgage and you have no fun money or money for anything else), IMO.


Wook

Hey where did you do your rotations when you were an hr south of albany? I go to SUNY Albany, and have an interview on 10/10 with UNECOM. I am originally from the Hudson Valley, so I am curious to what hospital you were at.

 

[wook]

Hey where did you do your rotations when you were an hr south of albany? I go to SUNY Albany, and have an interview on 10/10 with UNECOM. I am originally from the Hudson Valley, so I am curious to what hospital you were at.

I did my OB/GYN rotation at Kingston, NY. The preceptor there was great!


Wook

 

[Orthodoc40]

UNE just sent out an applicant newsletter.
Cool idea!

http://www.une.edu/com/admissions/expresssept06.asp

 

[Kuba]

Anyone else interviewing with me on October 28th? weird that it is a Saturday.

 

[jonb12997]

yep... we do saturday interviews like once or twice a month I believe. It's to help us interview people easier. some of us 2nd years help interview so it's to allow more us to help out without missing class...

 

[Kuba]

I emailed them back about setting up a student host. Did anyone try that yet this year? Have any advice? I'll be driving up form CT so i wont be depending on my host for anything other than a bed(or futon/couch.)

 

[Orthodoc40]

I'm not going to stay over. Just drive up, do the whole interview experience, stay as long as I can, and then drive home. But it must be doable. I'm hoping the travel experience is waaaay better than what just happened getting to Iowa and back!! (3 re-routes = 14 hr trip, no luggage = no suit for interview...) But really, it wasn't stressful!!

 

[toothless rufus]

(3 re-routes = 14 hr trip, no luggage = no suit for interview...) But really, it wasn't stressful!!

So, how did your naked interview go?

 

[redsoxfan]

I'm not going to stay over. Just drive up, do the whole interview experience, stay as long as I can, and then drive home. But it must be doable. I'm hoping the travel experience is waaaay better than what just happened getting to Iowa and back!! (3 re-routes = 14 hr trip, no luggage = no suit for interview...) But really, it wasn't stressful!!

omg, that's awful! i hope your interviewers understood..

 

[Orthodoc40]

LOL!!

Well they have something in Iowa that I haven't seen here in MA.
An all night Walmart. So I took a taxi there & at around midnight bought something "reasonable" to wear besides the T shirt & casual pants I had worn on the plane. The interviewers knew my situation. When I apologized they actually said, "Its a nice change from the black suits, believe us!" It was just a big distraction and I lost some focus because of it. Oh well. Makes me think I should get a different suit, though, not that they come in so many colors in the first place...

 

[NjD00]

Just got my first interview of the year, UNECOM 10/24. For those of you wondering, I received the email this morning (09/21) and was complete 09/20. I am coming from Maryland and will probably be flying. Any suggestions for the best place to fly in? Thanks!

I'll see ya on the 24th.

 

[Kuba]

anyone else for the 28th?

 

[theraball]

anyone else for the 28th?

I'm Nov. 9. Given that you're close to Halloween, are you planning to wear a costume?

 

[kiddingme]

Anyone else interviewing with me on October 28th? weird that it is a Saturday.

Not interviewing on the 28th, but I have a saturday interview too....Veteran's Day! Really weird but cool!

 

[MountainEM]

Interview on Nov 11th-saturday. My parents live an hour away so I will stay with them.

Lisa was so nice on the phone and was encouraging b/c I have a letter of rec from a UNECOM grad....I would like to get in to this school bad!

if anyone else is on the 11th-let me know
dave

 

[kiddingme]

Interview on Nov 11th-saturday. My parents live an hour away so I will stay with them.

Lisa was so nice on the phone and was encouraging b/c I have a letter of rec from a UNECOM grad....I would like to get in to this school bad!

if anyone else is on the 11th-let me know
dave

dgriss i'm on the 11th too!!

 

[MountainEM]

Sweet kiddingme!
My real name is dave and I will be the one looking awkward in my first suit. Also, I will be remedying my hair situation (see avatar) so I may look a little different. When are you flying in? see you there? Whats your first name?
dave

 

[kiddingme]

Sweet kiddingme!
My real name is dave and I will be the one looking awkward in my first suit. Also, I will be remedying my hair situation (see avatar) so I may look a little different. When are you flying in? see you there? Whats your first name?
dave

I think i'll be flying in sometime on the 10th, not sure if i'm going to rent a car though. Are you going to stay at a hotel or stay with a student?

Suzanne

 

[MountainEM]

my parents live an hour away and I will be staying with them and using their car- I would give you a ride but I will be coming in a few days early to visit them and I wont be in portland on the 10th. see you the 11th
dave

are you an international student? where from?
dave

 

[HemaOncoDoc]

Excited to be able to interview somewhere closer to home. See you guys there.

 

[RImike]

I have an interview on Saturday, October 28th.

 

[Kuba]

I have an interview on Saturday, October 28th.

ill see you there

 

[Orthodoc40]

Sooo - how were the interviews last week?? Anybody??

 

[NjD00]

hey orthodoc, good luck on thursday! lemme know all the super secret inside tips