University of Arizona Questions

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InvitroDerm said:
Hey guys, I skipped out before opening "IT" and went to work. Anyhoo, my future goals:

1. Meet with Tanisha
2. Meet with you guys? Do a group of you want to get together at say Epic Cafe on 4th Ave in Tucson or somewhere to discuss our upcoming plans and ways to strengthen our apps?

The beat goes on...
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I would if I lived in Tucson...
 
InvitroDerm said:
Hey guys, I skipped out before opening "IT" and went to work. Anyhoo, my future goals:

1. Meet with Tanisha
2. Meet with you guys? Do a group of you want to get together at say Epic Cafe on 4th Ave in Tucson or somewhere to discuss our upcoming plans and ways to strengthen our apps?

The beat goes on...
Click to expand...

I could do that. I only live like two blocks from it and I've never been there.
 
I'm curious:
Anyone thinking of applying to Ross for their May class? Last I heard they still had spots open. If you went that route you would be starting your clinicals the same time you would start at UofA (asumming you got in the next round).
 
Proteinpowda said:
I'm curious:
Anyone thinking of applying to Ross for their May class? Last I heard they still had spots open. If you went that route you would be starting your clinicals the same time you would start at UofA (asumming you got in the next round).
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Are you still considering your acceptance at Ross?
 
Well, can anyone make around 7pm at Epic on Tuesday (just Google Epic Cafe on 4th Ave)? It's nice and relaxed. I figured we could brainstorm, for about an hour, EC's, Jobs, how to get new LOR's, if we should take classes and where, and also the specialties that we have in mind and how we can get to meet/know people in those depts.
 
Proteinpowda said:
I'm curious:
Anyone thinking of applying to Ross for their May class? Last I heard they still had spots open. If you went that route you would be starting your clinicals the same time you would start at UofA (asumming you got in the next round).
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Here's a theoretical question for you Protein... if you had an acceptance to SGU, would you take it over AZCOM?

In my case, I have an acceptance at AZCOM, a waitlist at UA, and I should be hearing from SGU soon (as I interviewed there at the end of last year for fall 2009 matriculation). I am pretty much set on going to AZCOM at this point, unless UA comes though, as I want to stay in the US and Arizona especially. After my AZCOM acceptance, I was planning to withdraw my SGU appication... but now I am still questioning the possibility, though I doubt I'd pursue it. I'd be interested in your take though. Obviously if I get rejected then this speculation is of no value, but my stats are quite competitive. I don't know if I'd get in there though, as during the interview the interviewer asked where else I applied, and I told him that I'd applied to about 30 MD and DO schools combined, and SGU was the only foreign school (thus it was clear to him that it was my backup).
 
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rkaz said:
Here's a theoretical question for you Protein... if you had an acceptance to SGU, would you take it over AZCOM?

In my case, I have an acceptance at AZCOM, a waitlist at UA, and I should be hearing from SGU soon (as I interviewed there at the end of last year for fall 2009 matriculation). I am pretty much set on going to AZCOM at this point, unless UA comes though, as I want to stay in the US and Arizona especially. After my AZCOM acceptance, I was planning to withdraw my SGU appication... but now I am still questioning the possibility, though I doubt I'd pursue it. I'd be interested in your take though. Obviously if I get rejected then this speculation is of no value, but my stats are quite competitive. I don't know if I'd get in there though, as during the interview the interviewer asked where else I applied, and I told him that I'd applied to about 30 MD and DO schools combined, and SGU was the only foreign school (thus it was clear to him that it was my backup).
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Depends on the specialty you want and where you want to practice. Also if you want a DO or MD? St. Georges is foreign but almost everyone has heard of it b/c of the med school there. If you want ortho I'd definetly go DO. It's easier to get into that route but it can be done from SGU. Same thing for Derm. But if you want internal medicine....or general surgery or peds or family medicine or emergency medicine...I see little difference between the two. You also get more time to study for the boards at SGU.
It's not that much more in tuition vs AZCOM. And it offers you the chance to do some amazing stuff you would never dream of at AZCOM...international rotations...a semester in Prague. A beautiful campus but set inside a third world country. They have a good clinical situation, good student support, good technology and facilities. And they're match list is none too shabby. I really don't know which place you will do better at. If I had gotten into SGU I probably would not have applied DO.

If you're cool with going outside the country....then it's a tough call. It's an experience you will never get elsewhere. And unlike the other Caribbean schools you don't need to worry about your education. As of the last time I knew it's more traditional (not organ based). Is that your style? Also large classes..450-500 or so. And they teach you to the boards.

Here are the two things I would do to make your decision:
Read the manual they send you that looks like a phone book. That goes over a lot of stuff.
Read ALL The Rumors Were True

http://rumorsweretrue.wordpress.com/

Start here though:

http://rumorsweretrue.wordpress.com/2005/02/

that's the feb 2005 archives. Then work up month to month. See what type of feel you get....and you'll really enjoy reading it and my advice...don't eat while you read. It's hilarious so you might choke on your food.


Also forgot to mention: Where do you want to live? You'll be in the Caribbean for two years then NY and NJ for your rotations and stuff most likely or the UK if you want (Way cool). With AZCOM you'll be in AZ at least 2 more years. While I'd love the international experience being in AZ amongst friends and family is a big deal to me.

And just for reference: When I asked the doc I worked with that went to St. Georges he'd go DO now just for the red tape issue. No Green-book stuff to worry about.
But then no "splaining" what a DO is either.
 
Thanks Protein. 🙂 I am about 99% sure about AZCOM at this point (unless I get some very good news from UA-Phoenix!). But if an SGU acceptance comes through and I have some moments of doubt, then I'll go check out the sites you recommend for further reading. I am really interested in OMM, preventive medicine etc, so I know I would REALLY like AZCOM... and especially the location can't be beat! The only thing that gives me some hesitation is that having the 'MD' degree would open more doors for me, especially if I wanted to do some medical work abroad (although I do know that DOs are licensed in many countries, and can work in most medical missions). Actually, it seems from what I've read on SDN that US-trained DOs are actually licensed in more countries than SGU grads; however, in the particular country I'm interested in, DOs are not yet recognized.

Last year I knew very little about DO, and that time I would certainly have gone to the Caribbean if US schools didn't work out... but the more I have learned about DO schools since then, the more positive my impression. Being close to family and friends in Arizona means a whole lot to me as well.
 
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lovemed04 said:
I just called Phoenix and the woman said the WL is coming out the week of March 23rd... feels so far away!!!
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Wow...that does seem so far away...but since Tucson gave me the reject stamp, I imagine Phoenix will too. AMCAS will be here soon enough for round two.

Quick question. Have any of you that have applied lived outside of AZ post undergraduate graduation? I go to school in St. Louis, and grad in May. My family currently lives in Flagstaff. I'd like to stay in St. Louis one more year before I move back to AZ. You guys think this will disqualify me for next year?
 
Billiken09 said:
Wow...that does seem so far away...but since Tucson gave me the reject stamp, I imagine Phoenix will too. AMCAS will be here soon enough for round two.

Quick question. Have any of you that have applied lived outside of AZ post undergraduate graduation? I go to school in St. Louis, and grad in May. My family currently lives in Flagstaff. I'd like to stay in St. Louis one more year before I move back to AZ. You guys think this will disqualify me for next year?
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If your parents live in AZ you could still be considered a resident if they claim you as a dependent. To make sure though, call Abram Lares in the residency classification office at 520-621-3636.
 
No, the waitlists for both schools is different. Everything about the two schools is separate (admission committees, acceptance batches, waitlist, etc.). It's basically like two separate schools or two branches of one school (The University of Arizona College of Medicine). Kind of like Texas Tech which has a few medical school branches throughout Texas.
 
ThankGod said:
No, the waitlists for both schools is different. Everything about the two schools is separate (admission committees, acceptance batches, waitlist, etc.). It's basically like two separate schools or two branches of one school (The University of Arizona College of Medicine). Kind of like Texas Tech which has a few medical school branches throughout Texas.
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Thank you. I just thought they might share like they do with the acceptances.
 
rkells said:
Shouldn't hurt, but I got into both campuses without taking a single spanish or any other language class in college.
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I'm fairly conversational... I actually use it at work every once in a while. I'm hoping to become fluent after a trip or two more to central/south america.

I'm sure the adcoms for both campuses look favorably upon it. But, I was waitlisted at #64, so it's not going to make or break you as an applicant.
 
Does anyone know if, and when, U of A is having a second look day?
 
I didnt get waitlisted or a rejection letter. What does that mean? I see that everyone on here got one of those two. anyone know whats up?
 
himas123 said:
I didnt get waitlisted or a rejection letter. What does that mean? I see that everyone on here got one of those two. anyone know whats up?
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Hmm, well assuming you didn't already get a letter of acceptance from Tucson campus, you need to call them and ask them that same question.
 
himas123 said:
I didnt get waitlisted or a rejection letter. What does that mean? I see that everyone on here got one of those two. anyone know whats up?
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Either your file was incomplete and thrown out (which I am sure they would have emailed you that it was not complete at a certain point) OR they sent the WL/Rejection/Acceptance to an email that you either do not check or isn't working anymore. Either way just give them a call and you will find out right away I am sure. Good luck!
 
Should we take turns calling in for the Tucson waitlist movement, and then posting it here?

nonlocality
 
nonlocality said:
Should we take turns calling in for the Tucson waitlist movement, and then posting it here?

nonlocality
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Just mine opinion here.... at this point, I would leave them alone.

Instead, people who get accepted off the waitlist could post their number to this thread. Please do. There should be enough info from that to keep people informed.

If you can't control yourself and do call, please post the number here.

If you have been accepted or waitlisted and have no intention of going, please withdraw your application for sake of the waitlistees. Is there no other reason to hang on than ego?

Regardless of knowing what the number is, it is completely out of your hands. Watching the count serves no purpose, especially this early, except to fuel anxiety. If that's your thing, go for it. Even if you're one number away from being next, there's never a guarantee, so why create all this unnecessary drama for yourself and tire the admissions staff. You'll get a call or e-mail on acceptance off the WL, regardless, and it will come as a pleasant surprise.

There should be a lot of movement in the two weeks after Phoenix makes their decisions, and then perhaps another spike in the first two weeks of May. If you are close to making a commitment to another school but have Arizona as your first choice, that would be a good reason to call.

btw, I followed ProteinPowda's link to the rumorsaretrue blog. Great stuff. It led me to read other blogs, Pandabear then Medschoolhell. wow. My disdains are shared. I also found a completely lame and worthless med student blog out there that raises my self-esteem. I'm glad I'm not that douche! - rather be a non-med student me* than a med student douche. (* slightly less douchey, hopefully)
 
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For those willing to participate, I think we should try and get an update every week or so to help those interested follow the waitlist.

Important decisions will need to be made based on its movement, such as going through the application process again, or going with your alternate choice.

They did a good job tracking it last year and it was very helpful.

I created a plot based on last years waitlist movement (I will post it later). It can be used to see how this year tracks with last. It also has a little info from 07 in it.

nonlocality
 
Suppose you were #48 on the torturous waitlist.

If Admissions just called in #47, would you make any decision or change anything you were doing versus if they had just called in #30?

The biggest decision I can think of having to make a commitment to another school. Even though applicants are able to hold multiple acceptances until April 15th, the schools might require a non-refundable deposit to hold your spot in class. In the worst case situation I can think of, Admissions is on #47, and you're 48, and the deadline for sending a $300 commitment deposit is today. I bet what most people would do is call Admissions and ask if they thought the waitlist is going to move. They have no idea.

Personally, I would take the sure thing and mail in the check on time and not assume movement of the waitlist late in the cycle. If you get in shortly after the check's mailed out, you could immediately place a stop order on the check. :laugh:

Better to take action on a certain acceptance than on waitlist movement or near-acceptance. To each, his/her own.
-----
This reminds me of the time a friend returned home in the UA area to see a burglar run out. Stuff was stolen. Upon another friend's recommendation, she bought a gun. It sorta compensated for a feeling of loss of security, but how would having a gun in the original situation have helped her at all? The gun would have probably gotten stolen, too. It would have been better to start better habits of locking the door. Yes, it sucks to feel helpless and not in control of your situation, but...
 
Even if the best thing is to just wait and not torture ourselves with the WL movement, I am impatient and like to have as much information as I can about everything..SO..if we take turns calling every week and posting what we know..that would be great! I am also interested in your plot nonlocality...Obviously none of us want to become overly obsessed with this but knowing each week where the WL stands is more comforting for me than not knowing. Oh well!

Also, where does everyones stand for the WL? 20's, 30's, 40's, etc? Just wondering..Im in the 30's.
 
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The gun may have been stolen if she were not in the house, but if she were in the house and a burglar broke in...well, there would be two possible outcomes: burglar runs away empty-handed or the burglar gets shot. Having the gun while in the house gives your friend control (assuming she knows how to use it properly and that the burglar is not armed with a gun). Also, merely thinking you have some sort of control over your safety and well-being can prevent you from going insane.

So, knowing how fast the WL is moving can give people an idea of what to do. Of course, don't put all your eggs in one basket and just wait for UA and ignore other acceptances, but I think it's good to be well-informed about all your options. So, just checking once in a while and seeing movement on the WL can also make us feel better (or worse, but let's be positive).

I know I'll be asking them a few times, and I will definitely post it on here.

Stay sane, fellow WL-ers.

biteMeAdCom said:
Suppose you were #48 on the torturous waitlist.

If Admissions just called in #47, would you make any decision or change anything you were doing versus if they had just called in #30?

The biggest decision I can think of having to make a commitment to another school. Even though applicants are able to hold multiple acceptances until April 15th, the schools might require a non-refundable deposit to hold your spot in class. In the worst case situation I can think of, Admissions is on #47, and you're 48, and the deadline for sending a $300 commitment deposit is today. I bet what most people would do is call Admissions and ask if they thought the waitlist is going to move. They have no idea.

Personally, I would take the sure thing and mail in the check on time and not assume movement of the waitlist late in the cycle. If you get in shortly after the check's mailed out, you could immediately place a stop order on the check. :laugh:

Better to take action on a certain acceptance than on waitlist movement or near-acceptance. To each, his/her own.
-----
This reminds me of the time a friend returned home in the UA area to see a burglar run out. Stuff was stolen. Upon another friend's recommendation, she bought a gun. It sorta compensated for a feeling of loss of security, but how would having a gun in the original situation have helped her at all? The gun would have probably gotten stolen, too. It would have been better to start better habits of locking the door. Yes, it sucks to feel helpless and not in control of your situation, but...
Click to expand...
 
Here is the plot, I hope it is readable.

nonlocality
 
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Wow, that was a really impressive plot. I am in the 70's in terms of the WL so this will probably not affect me, but good luck to everyone else!
 
nonlocality said:
Here is the plot, I hope it is readable.

nonlocality
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I don't understand that graph very well. I think it would be more helpful if the x-axis was incrementally quantitative, not randomly qualitative. Each dash on the x-axis should be an equal amount of days.
 
That was pretty impressive that you went through the thread and were able to make a graph out of it, though. And, I do agree that we should track the waitlist... but, I think #64 is the worst number I could have been given. It's a likely no, but a very slight chance of a yes (possibly the day before classes start).
 
Looking at last years results for tucson I am thinking that they had a:
1. Direct yield rate (matriculants/offers) of about 60%
2. Waitlist yield rate (matriculants/offers) of about 75-80%

So last year I think they filled about 65 seats with the first/only round of direct offers and then filled about 45 seats off of their waitlist.

These yield rates are averages. For the waitlist yield rate, I believe that the lower waitlist numbers probably have a lower yield rate since they are typically more qualified and more likely to have other offers that they will choose instead. Deeper in the waitlist the yield rate goes up, until you get near the top then it is probably about 95%

I am thinking that this year due to the rolling admissions they will probably lose about 20 people off of the offered waitlist number. I also think that the poor economy might cause a few to choose the tucson school versus a higher cost private or OOS public school.

So my best guess is that they will probably get to 35-40 this year off of the waitlist.

By using the 08 plot we will be able to follow the trend as it compares to last year. By mid-april we should have a good sense of it.

nonlocality
 
You are rght about the x axis and I will redo it this weekend.

Hopefully we will have our 2nd or 3rd data point.

nonlocality
 
nonlocality said:
So my best guess is that they will probably get to 35-40 this year off of the waitlist.

By using the 08 plot we will be able to follow the trend as it compares to last year. By mid-april we should have a good sense of it.

nonlocality
Click to expand...

I predict the same. Where are you on the WL nonlocality?
 
I am in the 30's.

I am thinking that my 35-40 estimate is conservative and that we are likely to go to the high side of this.

nonlocality
 
nonlocality said:
I am in the 30's.

I am thinking that my 35-40 estimate is realistic and that we are unlikely to go to the high side of this.

nonlocality
Click to expand...

Fixed.

Call me a Debbie Downer, but I'd be very surprised to see it go past 50.
 
Thanks for the plot-- that's really impressive. I agree with the estimation of 35-40, maybe into the mid-40's... I'm in the early 50's so I'm not holding my breath. I think we'll get the best indication of where we are in comparison to last year once the deadline for putting down a deposit occurs (may 15th??)
 
Here is the tucson WL plot with the x axis fixed.

The two gold ellipses are the only data points from the 07 waitlist.

The green square is the current 09 waitlist number (4) from 3/11/09.

The small blue dots are the data points from the 08 waitlist posts.

The vertical line labeled (Multiple Offers Must Choose One) marks the May 15th date when people holding multiple offers must downselect to one. They typically have a week or so to execute that choice and inform the schools that they are declining.

Since the waitlist for 09 has come out about the same time as 08 we should be able to use the x axis Days From Release of Waitlist without change.

The points out around x = 140 -150 are the waitlist numbers just before the med school class was set to convene (about Aug 1st)

nonlocality
 

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Though PHX has not released the WL yet, does anyone think they have already filled it? The reason I ask is that I was accepted at Tucson but have yet to hear from PHX. Well, I have decided that I am going to Tucson for sure. I want to take my name out of the running for the WL at PHX so that perhaps one person who would otherwise be rejected can get put on the WL (if in fact I would have made the WL). This would only work if PHX has not settled on who will be on the WL yet.

With that in mind, for those of you who have been accepted to both and chose Tucson, did you email PHX of your decision or write them a letter?
 
I've been browsing for a bit now and ended up reading almost this entire thread. First of all I want to say congrats and I'm proud of all the people who have been accepted as well as everyone who had the courage to apply. This process seems to be filled with both high moments as well as some of the lowest; and the light at the end of the tunnel is rarely visible. I know that my whole experience has left me with little to rejoice about thus far and has now placed me in a state of perpetual prayer and constant wondering about my future. Not knowing can be one of the hardest feelings to deal with and a pat on the back to those going through the exact same reality.

I know that I should be somewhat happy about my place on the Tucson WL when in fact it worries me tremendously. I got upper 20s. At first glance it may seem like a good number esp. when you compare it to like 100 (sorry #100). This number isnt really that low. Its in a maybe position. Under 20 is almost def like an acceptance but 25-35 is like yikes especially with the comment earlier about someone who knew a few members of the ADCOM and they stated that it was believed AZ would only go 20-30 deep. What if they only get to like lower 20s????? That would be the biggest kick in the **** one could possibly get. Im hoping that they will go deep like in previous years but dont know what to expect with the state of the econ as well as AZ doing this whole rolling admissions. Couldnt they just have waited till next year to implement a new admissions policy 😛. Anyway I would love more people to give input (based on reason) on how deep they feel the WL will go this year.


Oh yea and all you phx & tucson seat holders out there please opt for phoenix 😍. Lord knows I have no desire to repeat this ugly process.
 
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I already presented my guess of 35-40 but I think I am conservative and the real number will be higher. So those between 40-55 stay tuned because we will be able to make a good guess by mid-april.

I think the intent of what the adcom people are trying to accomplish with their applicant selection this year has not changed from prior years (and I can speak to this later if people are interested).

I believe that with rolling admissions they were trying to capture the same kind of applicants only sooner in the acceptance process. Therefore I think my guesstimated direct offer yield rate is the same about 60%. Perhaps a little lower.

I think what happened differently though was that as they received declines from offers made in the first few rounds, they added more offers in the later rounds. So I think that they probably made offers to about 130 applicants already. Last year in one round they only did 110.

So that is why I think the ultimate offered waitlist number is down 20 from last year since they already have made an additional 20 offers prior to the waitlist coming out.

If I am right about these yield numbers then I believe they can expect to fill 130*.60 seats (78) from these offers. That leaves about 32 left to fill. Assuming an 80% yield on their waitlist that means about 40 deep in the waitlist pool.

The big factor I think will be the overlap between the phx and tucson pool offered/waitlist. Since the vast majority of az's population lies in the phx area going north then there are probably lots of folks that might want to leave their tucson seat and choose phx. Phx is definitely a very good choice much better than say 2 years ago.

The other big factor is how many more offers beyond 110 did they make prior to the waitlist coming out.

Hang tough.

nonlocality
 
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Damn I miss posting my novels on this thread. But with no love from Tucson I can only assume I'll get the same from Phoenix.

Best of luck to those of you on the wait-list and see a bunch of you guys at Midwestern in August.

Crack my back and I'll crack yours 🙂
 
Well they already pulled 4 off the waitlist so it seems that whoever they offered beyond 110 wouldnt matter correct? So now they are just taking people off the waitlist as people decline?
 
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