What will it take to get me into UMass Med?

[surely]

I'm a 22-year-old non-traditional student in MA with her heart set on UMass Medical School in Worcester.

Cumulative undergrad GPA: 3.3, potential to graduate with 3.6 from UMass Lowell, IT major with a Business minor. Expected graduation July 2011. (EDIT: Originally posted my GPA as 3.7 before I tallied up my AMCAS-weighted grades including some misadventures at a community college five years ago and came up with 3.3. If I pull perfect A's in every course from here on out, including all of my pre-requisites, I can expect a max cumulative GPA of 3.6. Ouch...)

Math GPA is a solid 4.0 but only has three classes: Pre-Calc (100-level course) Statistics (200-level), Discrete Structures I (300-level). The only other math course available to me as an undergrad is Mathematical Problem Solving (400-level). Would it help to take this as a free elective?

No science GPA. I will be required to take some science classes before graduating, but only the courses "for non-science majors" are available to my program. Will AMCAS care much about these, or should I not count on factoring the grades into my science GPA?

Professional experience: 4 years (Feb 2006 to present) of full-time employment at a medical alarm company that serves senior citizens, plus 19 months (700+ hours, Oct 2008 to present) of part-time internship in IT. I started as a dispatcher in and earned a promotion to a customer service position after about ten months (shows growth!), and in Oct 2008, just after the economy tanked, I convinced my company's IT director to create a paid internship for me in our IT Operations department. So I've been effectively handling two positions while completing my degree. I have the support of management, and letters of recommendation from my supervisors would be glowing.
Skills related to my professional experience: Time management, empathy, patience, oral communication, customer service focus.

The plan at present:
- Continue to work while completing my BS in IT.
- Complete pre-reqs at Framingham State College, a ten-minute walk from my house. They have a formal Pre-Health Studies post-bacc certificate program, or I can go the DIY route.
- Study feverishly, take the MCAT.
- ???
- Get accepted to UMass Medical School in Worcester!


Obstacles:

- My enrollment has been largely part-time, thanks to professional obligations. How much is this going to hurt me? Do the admissions officers only want to see full-time enrollment, or would they appreciate my efforts to support myself while completing my education? Would leaving my job and completing the post-bacc full-time at FSC do much to redeem my part-time undergrad transcript?

- No research or clinical volunteerism. Would it be acceptable if I completed SOME clinical shadowing/volunteering and offset the relative lack of hospital involvement with my work history? How much is recommended? If I'm leaving my job to do the post-bacc full-time, I would rather not have to leave even earlier to start throwing myself into volunteer work as an undergrad.

- I have patience, study skills, and diligence in spades. WhatI don't have is money or the willingness to relocate unless absolutely necessary. Let's say that more expensive SMPs are out of my reach unless they have strong linkage to UMMS, and moving or commuting to Harvard Extension School would be tough. Will my application suffer as a result of my undergrad and post-bacc transcript from two MA state colleges?

- For the purposes of this post, let's assume I'm committing the cardinal sin of marrying myself to a single medical school, one that is difficult for the best applicants in my state. What MCAT/GPA will I need? What does a stellar UMass application look like, and what can I do over the next 2-3 years to make myself a stunning applicant?


To make a long post even longer, I just want to say that the wealth of advice and information here is astounding. A heartfelt thank you to every contributor who's taken the time to share his or her input.

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[mspeedwagon]

I don't know how receptive UMass is to this, but I know a few schools allow you to talk to the medical school admissions to give you a sense of what needs to be done for that particular school and I suggest this (if available). However, it's a little early for this to be useful.

I'd suggest first establishing your GPA with science classes. A 3.8 is great, but with no science classes taken yet it's hard to say what your GPA will be (I was a triple concentrator in college, one of which was business (GPA = 3.9 in business; I struggled to maintain a 3.4 in biology [mainly because of chemistry]). Do your best to keep your GPA at or above 3.7. Also, all biology, chemistry, physics and math classes (including math classes in different departments such as stats which is often offered by social science departments) taken will factor into your GPA (even a class called "biology for the non-science major" or "math for the aspiring poet").

Also, get the EK books and pay special attention to the topics listed in them as you take your pre-req coursework. I never really found the time to do this, but it is something that would have helped immensely as I start my prep for the MCAT.

That was general advice... now to your specific questions:


Obstacles:

- My enrollment has been largely part-time, thanks to professional obligations. How much is this going to hurt me? Do the admissions officers only want to see full-time enrollment, or would they appreciate my efforts to support myself while completing my education? Would leaving my job and completing the post-bacc full-time at FSC do much to redeem my part-time undergrad transcript?
- Part-time vs full-time does not matter at all. What matters is that you do well (all As if possible). If you have the luxury to leave your job, it may be advisable, but definitely by no means is it required.

- No research or clinical volunteerism. Would it be acceptable if I completed SOME clinical shadowing/volunteering and offset the relative lack of hospital involvement with my work history? How much is recommended? If I'm leaving my job to do the post-bacc full-time, I would rather not have to leave even earlier to start throwing myself into volunteer work as an undergrad.
- You need some exposure. I'd suggest taking on the minimum number of volunteer hrs at a nearby hospital (often 2 or 3 hrs a week). Often times when you volunteer you can also talk to doctors you meet about shadowing them for a few days.

- I have patience, study skills, and diligence in spades. WhatI don't have is money or the willingness to relocate unless absolutely necessary. Let's say that more expensive SMPs are out of my reach unless they have strong linkage to UMMS, and moving or commuting to Harvard Extension School would be tough. Will my application suffer as a result of my undergrad and post-bacc transcript from two MA state colleges?
- No. A lot of state school students get into medical school. I don't believe UMass discriminates much. State school with a high GPA and high MCAT is better than Harvard with a mediocre GPA and low MCAT. I don't think this will give you any edge.

- For the purposes of this post, let's assume I'm committing the cardinal sin of marrying myself to a single medical school, one that is difficult for the best applicants in my state. What MCAT/GPA will I need? What does a stellar UMass application look like, and what can I do over the next 2-3 years to make myself a stunning applicant?
- UMass has an ED plan. I'm not sure what their outlined numbers for it are. I know their avgs are 32 MCAT and 3.6 GPA. Needless to say, you need to be well above these if you want to be certain. I'd say minimum of 35+ and 3.7+ to even consider this route.

 

[saturngirl]

mspeedwagon, Great post. Are you a blogger? A pre-med blog would be fun to follow, to see your progress from pre-med to med to residency. You write well and share your ideas in a logical manner.

FutureDocs posted a new story on their blog about shadowing doctors. When I saw your post I wanted to send you the link as you did mention shadowing as a pre-med.

Here's the link:
Shadow Doctoring: Tips for Future Docs

 

[mspeedwagon]

I am not much the blogger, though I have thought about blogging about my pre-med experience as a non-traditional applicant so far. I've been waiting to get a little further in the process (at least to the point where I'm submitting applications) to start.

I do my best to share what I know about (my parents are MA residents, and a number of kids from my hs attend UMass med school so I know quite a bit about the school).

Thank you for the link. I will check it out.

mspeedwagon, Great post. Are you a blogger? A pre-med blog would be fun to follow, to see your progress from pre-med to med to residency. You write well and share your ideas in a logical manner.

FutureDocs posted a new story on their blog about shadowing doctors. When I saw your post I wanted to send you the link as you did mention shadowing as a pre-med.

Here's the link:
Shadow Doctoring: Tips for Future Docs

 

[surely]

I don't know how receptive UMass is to this, but I know a few schools allow you to talk to the medical school admissions to give you a sense of what needs to be done for that particular school and I suggest this (if available).

Great advice! UMass' website says, though, that prospective students should confer with their school's pre-med advisors:

May I schedule an appointment with the Dean of Admissions for premedical counseling?

We strongly urge you to meet with your premedical advisor for counseling. Applicants are advised to apply to several medical schools and premedical advisors are the best source for guidance in applying to medical schools.
It is our policy that no member of the school, whether administration or faculty, shall counsel any applicant about his/her application during the time that it is under active consideration by the Admissions Committee. This policy insures complete fairness and equality to all applicants. Again, we emphasize the knowledge and experience that college premedical advisors have had with a variety of medical schools to which their students apply and urge students to continue consulting with them.

Granted, I'm not even close to the point where my application would be under active consideration, so I will try to find at least a generic UMMS mailbox to send questions to. In the meantime, I have emailed the pre-med advisor at UMass Lowell, who has answered a bunch of my questions, and I have sent an email to the FSC pre-health studies advising mailbox.

Also, all biology, chemistry, physics and math classes (including math classes in different departments such as stats which is often offered by social science departments) taken will factor into your GPA (even a class called "biology for the non-science major" or "math for the aspiring poet").

Really? That's excellent news for me, since the one science credit I have is an A in "Applied Chemistry for the Non-Scientist," and I certainly plan to do well in the other two mandated science courses. Assuming a 3.7-4.0 science GPA after completing the pre-reqs, is it recommended that I do any additional upper division BCPM courses to increase my chances as a candidate?

Part-time vs full-time does not matter at all. What matters is that you do well (all As if possible). If you have the luxury to leave your job, it may be advisable, but definitely by no means is it required.

Excellent news, once again. Thank you for allaying my concerns on this one and thanks for the volunteering advice.

UMass has an ED plan. I'm not sure what their outlined numbers for it are. I know their avgs are 32 MCAT and 3.6 GPA. Needless to say, you need to be well above these if you want to be certain. I'd say minimum of 35+ and 3.7+ to even consider this route.

Can you explain more about what an ED plan is? I've done a quick search around the site, the UMMS site, and the interwebs in general without much luck.

Thanks again! Your information is very encouraging.

 

[mspeedwagon]

Here is the link: http://www.umassmed.edu/som/admissions/apps.aspx#decision.

Close to the end they have information about their Early Decision Plan.

I strongly discourage this unless you have very good reason to apply only to UMass (you have a dying mom you have to take care of, your spouse has a job and it's the only school you could attend etc.). However, if you could only see yourself at UMass, it may be worthwhile.

The reason I strongly discourage this is because if UMass rejects you, you are pretty much out of luck at all other schools (you'll be applying fairly late in the cycle). You cannot apply to multiple school while you are considered an ED applicant. It's putting all your eggs in one basket.

Can you explain more about what an ED plan is? I've done a quick search around the site, the UMMS site, and the interwebs in general without much luck.

Thanks again! Your information is very encouraging.

 

[mspeedwagon]

If you have a 3.7 - 4.0 and are scoring fairly well on practice MCATs, I would not recommend taking any additional courses (the only exception to this would be biochem, which is required by a few schools; however, you can take it after you are accepted and before you matriculate). I would use your time to build your clinical experience instead.

I have struggled a bit with the BS section of the MCAT (rather ironic since I have a degree in biology) so decided to take more upper-level coursework. This should not be your case (the reason for my struggle is that I took general biology in 2002, so it has been a while for me).

Assuming a 3.7-4.0 science GPA after completing the pre-reqs, is it recommended that I do any additional upper division BCPM courses to increase my chances as a candidate?

 

[surely]

OH! Early Decision! Right, right. We'll see where I stand when the pre-reqs are done and the MCAT scores are in. Do ED applicants receive special consideration? The website doesn't state that as the case, but if it is, I'd go the ED route just to boost my chances - Plus, an Oct 1st initial rejection gives me several months to work on my qualifications for the next cycle in case I don't make it in with the regular applicants.

Thanks for letting me know about the upper-level coursework being less important than MCAT, GPA, interview, and clinical experience.

EDIT: If I did not get accepted by the Oct 1 EDP deadline, do they then release me from the EDP agreement stating I won't apply elsewhere? Oct 1 is not too late to send in applications to other schools, right?

Here is the link: http://www.umassmed.edu/som/admissions/apps.aspx#decision.

Close to the end they have information about their Early Decision Plan.

I strongly discourage this unless you have very good reason to apply only to UMass (you have a dying mom you have to take care of, your spouse has a job and it's the only school you could attend etc.). However, if you could only see yourself at UMass, it may be worthwhile.

The reason I strongly discourage this is because if UMass rejects you, you are pretty much out of luck at all other schools (you'll be applying fairly late in the cycle). You cannot apply to multiple school while you are considered an ED applicant. It's putting all your eggs in one basket.

 

[MiniMoo]

EDIT: If I did not get accepted by the Oct 1 EDP deadline, do they then release me from the EDP agreement stating I won't apply elsewhere? Oct 1 is not too late to send in applications to other schools, right?

October, unfortunately, is very late to be applying and submitting secondaries. I'm not saying that people haven't applied around that time and gotten in, but it could put you at a big disadvantage. The majority of schools operate on a rolling admissions basis. People have caught on and applicants seem to be turning in their applications earlier and earlier according to many schools that I interviewed with. But that's the risk you take when you apply ED. You can get first dibs on a school, but if you don't get accepted, then your application to others schools is going to be at the bottom of a very large pile. This is why people don't recommend you apply ED unless your stats, EC's, etc. are very solid.

 

[surely]

October, unfortunately, is very late to be applying and submitting secondaries. I'm not saying that people haven't applied around that time and gotten in, but it could put you at a big disadvantage.

Hey, as long as there's a chance! But I hear what you're saying and you're obviously not the only one saying it - I'm reading the other early decision threads on SDN for more background, and it looks like the consensus is pretty anti-EDP. Did I mention this site is a fantastic resource?! I almost can't believe it.

 

[ChE04]

I'd suggest first establishing your GPA with science classes. A 3.8 is great, but with no science classes taken yet it's hard to say what your GPA will be (I was a triple concentrator in college, one of which was business (GPA = 3.9 in business; I struggled to maintain a 3.4 in biology [mainly because of chemistry]). Do your best to keep your GPA at or above 3.7. Also, all biology, chemistry, physics and math classes (including math classes in different departments such as stats which is often offered by social science departments) taken will factor into your GPA (even a class called "biology for the non-science major" or "math for the aspiring poet").

I got curious about this after you mentioned it, and according to the AMCAS 2010 Instructions (p43), the only departments that are included in BCPM GPA are Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and Mathematics. Any course in, for example, "business calculus" offered by the business department count towards the AO (all other) GPA, not BCPM. Maybe that's what you meant, and I misunderstood?

Also, not sure if this applies for AMCAS (couldn't find anything about it) but for TMDSAS--as far as biology, chemistry, and physics courses--to satisfy pre-req requirements these courses have to be the ones taken by science majors. Similarly, the math courses have to be offered by the Math or Statistics departments. Maybe someone can clear this up for the OP, if necessary?

 

[ChE04]

if the course can be taken to satisfy a requirement for someone majoring in that subject, it will satisfy the pre-req for premed. They differ on a spectrum on difficulty and rigor

So in many schools they will offer a simpler non majors version of a course, a medium level of a course and a rigorous majors level. But it can very confusing. Some will use the term General for less rigorous, others just the opposite. And then there are sometimes "life sciences" or "pre-health" versions which may for premed or may be for nursing and allied health.

So for example, at the state school I went to there was

Introductory Biology for non-majors
General Biology for nursing/allied health
Introductory Biology for majors

seems simple until you got to inorganic/general chem

Introductory chem for non-majors
general chem for nursing/allied health
Introductory chem for majors

gets worse

Introductory physics non majors
General Physics
Life Sciences Physics
Introductory Physics for majors w/calculus


Some medical schools have statements where there is a choice of courses, the admissions committee prefers the more rigorous course

So would a non-calculus based "life sciences" physics satisfy the Texas requirment? I don't know

Yeah, my school did the same thing. TMDSAS says, "Courses for non-science majors or for health career majors (nursing, pharmacy, allied health sciences, etc.) will NOT satisfy the required coursework. All required coursework must be applicable towards a traditional science degree." ( http://www.utsystem.edu/tmdsas/medical/education_Requirements.html ). In other words, for Texas, you need to take the science major class even if it's not required by your major.
Just couldn't find anything from AMCAS about it, so I was wondering if it was the same. Would suck for the OP to do all that coursework and find out he/she hasn't met the requirements!

 

[mspeedwagon]

Sorry, I'm a tad bit confused. Classes for non-science majors will NOT fulfill the requirements. However, they will count against BPCM GPA. I was not suggesting to the OP that she take any science classes for non-majors in lieu or the requirements, but answering the question about whether the one class she took for non-science majors would factor into her BPCM GPA.

It is always best to take the track for science majors (or pre-meds if that is separate) as these normally cover all the topics that could be tested on the MCAT. I do not ever recommend taking any of the classes for non-science majors to fulfill requirements.

Yeah, my school did the same thing. TMDSAS says, "Courses for non-science majors or for health career majors (nursing, pharmacy, allied health sciences, etc.) will NOT satisfy the required coursework. All required coursework must be applicable towards a traditional science degree." ( http://www.utsystem.edu/tmdsas/medical/education_Requirements.html ). In other words, for Texas, you need to take the science major class even if it's not required by your major.
Just couldn't find anything from AMCAS about it, so I was wondering if it was the same. Would suck for the OP to do all that coursework and find out he/she hasn't met the requirements!

 

[ChE04]

Sorry, I'm a tad bit confused. Classes for non-science majors will NOT fulfill the requirements. However, they will count against BPCM GPA. I was not suggesting to the OP that she take any science classes for non-majors in lieu or the requirements, but answering the question about whether the one class she took for non-science majors would factor into her BPCM GPA.

It is always best to take the track for science majors (or pre-meds if that is separate) as these normally cover all the topics that could be tested on the MCAT. I do not ever recommend taking any of the classes for non-science majors to fulfill requirements.

It's cool. I guess I was the one who was confused.

 

[jannyc]

i applied to UMass this year and found their admissions office to be very difficult to work with. granted, i may be a little bitter because i ultimately didn't get in, but the fact is that i interviewed in November and then heard nothing until mid-May. when i called in April to find out what was going on, the person who answered the phone was very rude and uninterested. she said, "you'll hear from us by May 15th," and hung up.

i'm happy to say i'll be enrolling at Columbia this fall. i hope you have a better experience with UMass admissions than i did.

 

[surely]

i applied to UMass this year and found their admissions office to be very difficult to work with. granted, i may be a little bitter because i ultimately didn't get in, but the fact is that i interviewed in November and then heard nothing until mid-May. when i called in April to find out what was going on, the person who answered the phone was very rude and uninterested. she said, "you'll hear from us by May 15th," and hung up.

i'm happy to say i'll be enrolling at Columbia this fall. i hope you have a better experience with UMass admissions than i did.

First of all, congrats on Columbia 🙂 And I know exactly what you're talking about - In reading the admissions thread for UMass this year, I hear a lot of frustration from applicants. Two or three years from now when I've rocked my MCAT, gotten straight A's, and been elected Town Mayor for my involvement in community service, it's entirely possible I'll want to apply somewhere other than UMass.

mspeedwagon, your posts continue to be illuminating. Thanks again.

Just as another data point, gonnif, Framingham State College offers "General Chemistry, CHEM 103" as their non-majors course, and "Principles of Chemistry, CHEM 107" as the majors course. Not the naming convention I personally would have chosen, but what're you gonna do.

 

[montessori2md]

I am sure AMCAS does accept the life-sciences courses that are acceptable for say a biology major but not for nursing/allied health. Let me try to explain my point.

At some state schools in NY, if you are a regular biology major, there are/were physics and calculus courses specifically called "life-sciences physics" and "life sciences calculus" that were acceptable for the biology major. There was a "lower" level group of courses called general physics, general chem, etc that were for nursing and allied health.

I have known/advised far too many premed biology majors who have taken those "life-sciences" courses for AMCAS to regularly deny them. The issue is in some schools use introductory and general for different meanings.

The rule of thumb is if that a course is acceptable for a regular biology major (BS not BA degree) at a school in chemistry, physics or math, it is acceptable by AMCAS. Remember some schools like to see the more rigorous courses but that is recommended not required. But we all know what recommended means...take it!

Agree w/ all that and you should always confirm w/ your premed advisor.

I'm not understanding how OP is non-trad at the grand old age of 22. Is that a typo?

Either you ONLY want to go to UMass, and would wait a year for an acceptance to say so, or you want to be a medical student badly enough in the next cycle to apply broadly. I came very close to applying ED, then changed my mind and decided to apply to 3 schools in geographic range, and couldn't be happier that I am not at my first choice school. The only reason I would apply ED would be 1) I truly have no other choice or 2) I have a deep personal relationship with that MEDICAL school (not the university)/ have a research position w/ the faculty at that school which I need to maintain/ I'm guaranteed an accept, why waste my time?

ED is not common at any school, and the odds of an accept as ED range from 1:6 to 1:3. Compare that to overall odds, which are around 1:2.

Good luck!

 

[surely]

I'm not understanding how OP is non-trad at the grand old age of 22. Is that a typo?

Age isn't the only mitigating factor when determining if someone is trad or non-trad. Educational background (read: undergrad major) has a lot to do with it, too. In either case, I'll be 23 when I finish my Bachelors in IT... Add about two years to take my pre-reqs as a post-bacc student and rock the MCAT and I'll be 25 when I apply, 26 when I begin med school.

Either you ONLY want to go to UMass, and would wait a year for an acceptance to say so, or you want to be a medical student badly enough in the next cycle to apply broadly.

I'm extremely debt-averse, and there are no other New England schools with tuition under 40k/year (keeping in mind I'd pay out-of-state rates anywhere outside of MA). If you told me right now that I'd be accepted to Tufts and BU but not UMass during the first cycle, wouldn't I be better off turning both schools down and reapplying to UMass the following year? The alternative is going to Tufts/BU, racking up tons of debt compared to what I'd be responsible for at UMass, and being miserable as I try to budget for living expenses and minimum payments during residency.

If I don't get into UMass on the second go-round, I'd probably end up settling for a more expensive education. My task at this point is to work hard enough to make sure it doesn't come to that.

 

[mspeedwagon]

As someone that was once worked at Merrill Lynch, the highlighed makes absolutely no sense to me unless in the year you would be re-applying to UMass you are making $200,000 or more (and I'm not sure how you plan to do that).

You are loosing a year of income as a physician by starting one year later (this would be about $200k of lost income, on the low end assuming you don't take on another high paying job). Holding off because you are debt-adverse makes absolutely no sense. You have one less year where you would be making $200,000. There are good reasons to hold-off applying or apply to only one school, but this isn't one of them. You are much better off going to Tufts or BU one year earlier, than UMass one year later (the cost will be about the same for either path if you do primary care; or may actually favor the Tufts/BU path for other specialities).

Further, you often don't need to pay off loans while you are a resident. You would start paying them off once you complete your residency, so don't worry about making ends meat as a resident. Also, most people can easily live on $40-50k (salary of most residents). It's really not that hard to budget living expenses on that salary. People can support families on less than that. Most residents I know are apply to support their families and begin to tackle their loans as well (albeit to a small degree if they have familieis).

Finally, if you really want to go down the path of down the path of not taking on debt, there are loan forgiveness programs for rural physicians and other similars programs that you should look into.

Your reasons for ONLY considering UMass are pretty poor if it is solely because you are debt-adverse.

Edit: A side recommendation, consider reading (if you have not) Suze Orman's book "For the Young, Fabulous and Broke" and "Rich Dad Poor Dad" to make sure you have a sound understanding of finance. No matter what profession you go into, you need to have a very solid understanding of how to properly weigh the cost/benefit aspects of your decisions in order to be successful.

I'm extremely debt-averse, and there are no other New England schools with tuition under 40k/year (keeping in mind I'd pay out-of-state rates anywhere outside of MA). If you told me right now that I'd be accepted to Tufts and BU but not UMass during the first cycle, wouldn't I be better off turning both schools down and reapplying to UMass the following year? The alternative is going to Tufts/BU, racking up tons of debt compared to what I'd be responsible for at UMass, and being miserable as I try to budget for living expenses and minimum payments during residency.

 

[surely]

As someone that was once worked at Merrill Lynch, the highlighed makes absolutely no sense to me unless in the year you would be re-applying to UMass you are making $200,000 or more (and I'm not sure how you plan to do that).

Making 200k would be nice, but you're right: That's just not happening. And you're certainly right that I can live comfortably on less than 40k a year - I'm doing that right now. However, from looking over the posts in the Financial Aid section of SDN, my understanding is that residents do need to make payments on their loans. Deferral is no longer an option. Residents are left with the choice between enrolling in income-based repayment (IBR) plans or forbearing their loans while making interest-only payments. Am I missing something?

While it's true that I'll still be able to afford living as a resident while making the required loan payments, part of me would rather trade one year on the front end as a pre-med than risk compromising my cash flow as a resident. But I will say that your point is well-taken. I need to get comfortable with the idea of financing my education instead of looking at debt as a roadblock.

 

[mspeedwagon]

You are correct that deferral is no longer an option, but there is a cap on how much you can pay. The regulation states "your payments during residency will be capped at 15% of your income above 150% of the federal poverty line." It works out for most to roughly $350/month, which is about a car payment and can easily be done even on a residents salary.

Maybe it's just me, but I don't see why $350 a month would be a big enough deal to consider re-applying to UMass a second cycle especially since $350 would be the EXACT same if you went to UMass, BU or Tufts or pretty close to it.

So, no, you would not save any money during residency going down either path (remember that we are working off your income and not the total cost of the school to calculate these payments as that normally ends up as the deciding factor) and if you did, the magnitude of savings we're talking about would allow you to buy you one latte from Starbucks (and no, you can't afford the soy milk) a month.

Also, note that your chances as a re-applicant to the same school are not very good (definitely worse than they were the first time around).

However, from looking over the posts in the Financial Aid section of SDN, my understanding is that residents do need to make payments on their loans. Deferral is no longer an option. Residents are left with the choice between enrolling in income-based repayment (IBR) plans or forbearing their loans while making interest-only payments. Am I missing something?

While it's true that I'll still be able to afford living as a resident while making the required loan payments, part of me would rather trade one year on the front end as a pre-med than risk compromising my cash flow as a resident. But I will say that your point is well-taken. I need to get comfortable with the idea of financing my education instead of looking at debt as a roadblock.

 

[surely]

So the advice comes down to "Work hard, apply broadly, take the best acceptance you can get, and you'll be fine." I'm game for that. But I will say, if anyone has any UMass-specific advice/information for me, I'd love to hear it.

 

[mds44]

I went to UMass Med via the early decision option and can offer the following advice: when you are ready to apply, have your pre-med advisor contact the office of admissions to get their "opinion" given your numbers and credentials. This does not break their rule (they are not advising YOU specifically), yet it should still give you a sense of whether or not it is worth applying early. My premed advisor did this for me, and then she informed me that the school "encouraged my application". It worked out nicely and I was able to enjoy a very stress-free year.

If you are not accepted early, then you automatically get put in the "regular" pool and your application will continue to be considered all year just as if you had applied regular. Like everyone has already mentioned, if you do not get accepted early, you will be late in the game for applying elsewhere. However, you could have your applications ready to go in case UMass doesn't work out (eg have the essays written, etc.). I didn't do this, but it would have been smart. I also had my heart set on UMass, though.

To be accepted ED, you basically have to be an applicant who would most likely be accepted anyways. This usually translates into having an MCAT and GPA that is above the UMass averages, in addition to having the volunteer experiences (etc., etc.) that most med school applicants have on their resumes. That said, I agree with many of the posts that argue that applying ED is not for everyone. Most applicants do NOT apply ED, and it certainly has its risks as you know. I would only consider it if your premed advisor thinks you have a good chance and if you are sure UMass is your #1 choice.

I think your work experience and your ability to balance college with full-time employment will make you a unique applicant and this will likely prove to be beneficial in the application process.

Good luck and let me know if you have other questions about applying to UMass ED or about UMass in general.