2012-2013 George Washington University Application Thread

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Guero said:
1. Lectures include video (to the best of my knowledge).
2. Printouts provided, may also be online.
3. I highly doubt that. I've only seen one (D.O.) school to do something so absurd.

I hope a current student can debunk what you heard... Anyone?
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I think that the "video" is the powerpoint only, not the presenter or the class. Like the screen itself records, so only what is on the screen is captured. Don't quote me, but I think I remember her saying that.
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Annalisa89 said:
I think that the "video" is the powerpoint only, not the presenter or the class. Like the screen itself records, so only what is on the screen is captured. Don't quote me, but I think I remember her saying that.
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Thanks. That sounds right. I think they might have been working on making them video. I can email my student host from my informal second look if no one else answers.
 
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hmm they don't send you an email confirmation and when you click on the link to the form again it sends you to another blank form.....might need to call them to make sure they have received it. I mean, you'd think this would warrant a confirmation email.
 
I love how they describe the alternate list as being "organic". What does that even mean?
 
Reaction said:
I am just updating them on what I have been doing.. I dunno about the "why I'm still interested in GW" as it is not really an update..

Hopefully we all make it off this list
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Thank you for your response. I was able to write about some minor updates (but updates nonetheless).

Here's hoping the best for everyone :xf:
 
I got a lot of messages about GW over the last two months. I'm sorry for not responding to all of your messages, but I have not been on SDN for a long time. I thought it would be better to respond to your questions in this thread so everyone can benefit.

1) Waitlist

I'm not sure how large this year's waitlist is, but there was a lot of waitlist movement last year. People that were "high up" on the waitlist received an email in early May informing them that the admissions committee was likely to give them an offer. They were asked to write a final letter of interest, and they received official offers a couple days later.

What can you do to get off the waitlist? I'm not exactly sure how that works. I think that your best bet would be to submit many letters of interest. Letters of interest don't have to include application updates. I would recommend going through the GW SMHS website and looking for things that make the GW program special. GW is all about diversity and teamwork; tell the admissions committee about what you can add to the GW community.

2) Curriculum

The administration will be revamping the curriculum during the next few years so take what I say with a grain of salt. The current curriculum is very lecture heavy. A lot of people don't like that, but I love it because it keeps me focused and on track. We are in class from 9-5 MWF and sometimes we'll have a lecture or two on Thursday. The first semester is run on a block schedule; you have all of your exams staggered in one week. Tuesday and Thursday are reserved for POM (practice of medicine) class sessions. POM consists of a couple of smaller sub-courses. POM serves to help you master your interviewing and physical diagnosis skills. Lectures are recorded (audio only). I wouldn't worry about attending lecture because we have a pretty adequate notetaking program. Each lecturer will also provide you with a noteset that includes the vast majority of the information you need to know.

Grading is H/P/F for the first two years and H/HP/P/LP/F for the last two years. The classes are not curved. Honoring a class requires breaking a certain threshold (usually 90%).

Everyone at GW is extremely helpful. You will form a close group of friends after a couple weeks of starting your first semester. There is quite a bit of competition between classmates, but I wouldn't say that it is cut-throat.

GW students do extremely well on the boards. The class of 2014 had a 235 mean step I score! GW is also known for producing excellent clinicians.

3) Track program

I'm currently enrolled in the research track program. I don't really like it because I feel like it limits my choices. Nonetheless, research track participants are given priority in the competitive summer fellowship program that GW offers.

I don't know much about the other track programs, but the global health track seems pretty legit. People in that program are doing awesome things (e.g. going to Peru for 8 weeks).

4) Canadians

GW is a private school so they don't differentiate between Canadian and American applicants. There are a handful of Canadian students in each class. A word of warning: GW is very expensive and it's going to be very difficult to get student loans as a Canadian! I couldn't get a loan in Canada, so I was forced to take out a private American loan with an American cosigner.

5) Cost of attendance

Tuition is around $50K. Housing is a b!tch; at least 10 K. You will be lucky to find a small studio for $1300. Even my friends from LA complain about DC housing prices. Rooming with someone can greatly reduce your housing costs. Starting your housing search as soon as you are accepted would be a great idea. Everything is really expensive in DC. If you don't want to eat canned beans and cup noodles (I did that for a week or two), expect to pay at least $20/day on food.

I would put the total cost of attendance at around $70K.
 
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One last thing. You should be really proud if you received an offer from GW. A huge portion of our class (~50) got accepted through GW's various guaranteed acceptance programs (e.g. BA/MD program). That means that the actual acceptance rate is a lot lower than the official rate declared by GW. 15000 applicants for 100 seats lol...
 
Thanks Chemdude!

One clarification, is attendance required?
 
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TheShaker said:
Thanks Chemdude!

One clarification, is attendance required?
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In case he has signed off, it looks like he mentioned the answer to your question:

Chemdude said:
I wouldn't worry about attending lecture because we have a pretty adequate notetaking program. Each lecturer will also provide you with a noteset that includes the vast majority of the information you need to know.
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TheShaker said:
Thanks Chemdude!

One clarification, is attendance required?
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Attendance is not required. I would say that only 1/2 of the class regularly attends classes. There are some mandatory class sessions, but 95% of class sessions are not required.
 
long time lurker here... ill be interviewing on the 21st, my flight will be in by 2:00 on the 20th so I'd like to do some sightseeing, i actually paid for a tour since I've never seen DC before..... If youre also coming early PM me and we should meet up!
 
wickedcool said:
long time lurker here... ill be interviewing on the 21st, my flight will be in by 2:00 on the 20th so I'd like to do some sightseeing, i actually paid for a tour since I've never seen DC before..... If youre also coming early PM me and we should meet up!
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With an interview this late, I think you may be the only one, or one of a very small group interviewing that day. Hopefully you can connect with someone, and have great weather!

You may want to check out tidal basin (west end of national mall) as there may be some cherry blossoms already. Peak will not be for a week or so after you visit, but it's a nice area to walk around anyways and you'll see some of the monuments as well.
 
mdart said:
With an interview this late, I think you may be the only one, or one of a very small group interviewing that day. Hopefully you can connect with someone, and have great weather!

You may want to check out tidal basin (west end of national mall) as there may be some cherry blossoms already. Peak will not be for a week or so after you visit, but it's a nice area to walk around anyways and you'll see some of the monuments as well.
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I hope you're not the only one! That'd make for a pretty boring day haha :( I interviewed ~10 days ago and there were over 20 people on my interview day, but it is a little later now so who knows! Anyhow I just wanted to throw in my two cents and say that the OP could always walk to the Georgetown shopping district and look around/get a cupcake.
 
Goobs said:
I hope you're not the only one! That'd make for a pretty boring day haha :( I interviewed ~10 days ago and there were over 20 people on my interview day, but it is a little later now so who knows! Anyhow I just wanted to throw in my two cents and say that the OP could always walk to the Georgetown shopping district and look around/get a cupcake.
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haha "get a cupcake". I'm so happy I got an invite, I would 100% go here if accepted (and also won the lottery). I dont think I'll be the only one though, I mean, I managed to stay away from SDN (because I knew I'd get paranoid if I started posting) until now so there must be others lurking as well.

is the metro reliable? I got a cheapo hotel near the crystal city metro stop and I plan on taking it on the day of the interview, I downloaded that android app that lists the metro times but I just wanted to know from others if it is reliable if I say miss the early train and will need to cut it close.
 
wickedcool said:
haha "get a cupcake". I'm so happy I got an invite, I would 100% go here if accepted (and also won the lottery). I dont think I'll be the only one though, I mean, I managed to stay away from SDN (because I knew I'd get paranoid if I started posting) until now so there must be others lurking as well.

is the metro reliable? I got a cheapo hotel near the crystal city metro stop and I plan on taking it on the day of the interview, I downloaded that android app that lists the metro times but I just wanted to know from others if it is reliable if I say miss the early train and will need to cut it close.
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I ALWAYS use the metro but ensure I leave two stops ahead in case I miss my train or something goes wrong, neither of which has happened yet. Good luck!!
 
wickedcool said:
haha "get a cupcake". I'm so happy I got an invite, I would 100% go here if accepted (and also won the lottery). I dont think I'll be the only one though, I mean, I managed to stay away from SDN (because I knew I'd get paranoid if I started posting) until now so there must be others lurking as well.

is the metro reliable? I got a cheapo hotel near the crystal city metro stop and I plan on taking it on the day of the interview, I downloaded that android app that lists the metro times but I just wanted to know from others if it is reliable if I say miss the early train and will need to cut it close.
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Metro seemed to be pretty reliable when I rode it, granted I only used it once. The medical school/hospital are directly to your right and left when you exit the metro station respectively. If you walk straight for 2-3 minutes you'll also run into a whole foods in case you're into that stuff. I love how the school is on the undergrad campus so you get all the things that make a college campus so great! Right about now I wish I applied to more schools that were like this :(

Also heads up as of January? theres a new director of admissions, but he isn't playing a factor in our cycle since he came in midway.
 
whoever the new director is, let him/her know I want to get in haha. thanks for the feedback guys, hope the weather isnt bad, its supposed to be partly cloudy but I dont trust the weather until the day before.. gw fits with exactly what i want to do with an MD, I hope interviewing in march doesnt completely kill my chances of being accepted.
 
wickedcool said:
haha "get a cupcake". I'm so happy I got an invite, I would 100% go here if accepted (and also won the lottery). I dont think I'll be the only one though, I mean, I managed to stay away from SDN (because I knew I'd get paranoid if I started posting) until now so there must be others lurking as well.

is the metro reliable? I got a cheapo hotel near the crystal city metro stop and I plan on taking it on the day of the interview, I downloaded that android app that lists the metro times but I just wanted to know from others if it is reliable if I say miss the early train and will need to cut it close.
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I did the same thing (stayed in crystal city and took the metro), and it was fine. I actually 15 minutes or so to kill when I got to foggy bottom, and I definitely didn't leave super early or anything. Metro is known to be very reliable in DC.
 
Is there a word/character limit for the box about including updates, in the form they sent out to alternates?
 
It's been a month since my interview. Come on GW, I'm sitting on pins and needles here! :xf:
 
TheShaker said:
It's been a month since my interview. Come on GW, I'm sitting on pins and needles here! :xf:
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Best of luck! Let us know when you hear back :) I interviewed 2 weeks after you so it'll give me a general timeline!
 
ACCEPTED!!! I finally got into my dream school after being rejected over and over and over by other schools!

3.5/28 OOS, interviewed 2/14, just heard back an hour ago via email! Wooohoo! :soexcited:

I really think the key is to write sincere and specific letters of interest as to why GW and you are perfect for each other. Best of luck to everyone else applying!
 
rubsomedirtinit said:
ACCEPTED!!! I finally got into my dream school after being rejected over and over and over by other schools!

3.5/28 OOS, interviewed 2/14, just heard back an hour ago via email! Wooohoo! :soexcited:

I really think the key is to write sincere and specific letters of interest as to why GW and you are perfect for each other. Best of luck to everyone else applying!
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Congrats!!!!
.would you mind telling us when did you interview?
 
rubsomedirtinit said:
ACCEPTED!!! I finally got into my dream school after being rejected over and over and over by other schools!

3.5/28 OOS, interviewed 2/14, just heard back an hour ago via email! Wooohoo! :soexcited:

I really think the key is to write sincere and specific letters of interest as to why GW and you are perfect for each other. Best of luck to everyone else applying!
Click to expand...

Congrats! See ya this August!
 
rubsomedirtinit said:
ACCEPTED!!! I finally got into my dream school after being rejected over and over and over by other schools!

3.5/28 OOS, interviewed 2/14, just heard back an hour ago via email! Wooohoo! :soexcited:

I really think the key is to write sincere and specific letters of interest as to why GW and you are perfect for each other. Best of luck to everyone else applying!
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HOLY CRAP! Congrats!!!
 
Anybody else who interviewed in Feb. hear back one way or the other?
 
I've been a long time lurker of this thread and I just wanted to say how much I appreciate it. It's really helped me get through this application process.

Anyone making back-up plans if they don't get in off the waitlist? It's hard to commit to a job or anything of the sort without really knowing......

However, I'm also afraid I won't be able to find a job if I wait till July...
 
Daynnight said:
Anybody else who interviewed in Feb. hear back one way or the other?
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Also wondering this. I interviewed the last week of Feb and haven't heard anything yet, although I hadn't really expected anything as it's only been 4 weeks for me.
 
ericksonj15 said:
Also wondering this. I interviewed the last week of Feb and haven't heard anything yet, although I hadn't really expected anything as it's only been 4 weeks for me.
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Interviewed on the 21st and still waiting.
 
On the itinerary from interview day, it says that Diane McQauil is the chair of the adcom, but somewhere on this thread I remember reading that there are some new deans/chairs/something like that. Can anybody confirm that she still holds this position? Thank you!!
 
Annalisa89 said:
On the itinerary from interview day, it says that Diane McQauil is the chair of the adcom, but somewhere on this thread I remember reading that there are some new deans/chairs/something like that. Can anybody confirm that she still holds this position? Thank you!!
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Yes, McQuail is the dean of admissions and is who you should address any letters of interest to.
 
Accepted!!! Just got the email from Dean McQuail this morning. Interviewed February 26.
 
Huskies88 said:
Accepted!!! Just got the email from Dean McQuail this morning. Interviewed February 26.
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Wow, it's crazy how different everyone's process is, even at the same school. I interviewed in September and won't be hearing until after May since I was waitlisted (9+ months). You went through the process (more successfully) in about 1 month! So nuts. Congrats, nevertheless!
 
tulipan said:
congratulations!!!.
Did your status page change?
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Thanks!!! I actually didn't check my status post-interview until I received the acceptance email today. My status now says that an email has been sent regarding my decision.

doorbell said:
Wow, it's crazy how different everyone's process is, even at the same school. I interviewed in September and won't be hearing until after May since I was waitlisted (9+ months). You went through the process (more successfully) in about 1 month! So nuts. Congrats, nevertheless!
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Yeah, this whole process is nuts. I was in your situation last year... not at GW, but at a few other med schools. I wish the best of luck to you! :luck:
 
I never thought I'd be the guy who asks this, but why are they taking longer with my decision?? :scared:
 
Withdrew my GWU waitlist spot for my OHSU acceptance today. Good luck to all! I hope to see some of you interviewing for residency here. Lord knows I will!
 
Guero said:
Withdrew my GWU waitlist spot for my OHSU acceptance today. Good luck to all! I hope to see some of you interviewing for residency here. Lord knows I will!
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My sister lived in Portland for 5 years and I shadowed a bit at their Physician's Pavilion (if you meet Dr. Girard, he is a hilarious man). It is a GORGEOUS campus. Feels like you're in an Elvish forest!

Sorry to see you go Guero; good luck!
 
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