2016-2017 Loyola University Chicago (Stritch) Application Thread

[WedgeDawg]

Space reserved for prompt.
Please post the essays or lack thereof (in addition to word or character counts) in this thread and tag me and/or @Ismet and we'll update the OP.

Good luck to everyone applying!

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[SpartyParty1992]

I'm an incoming M1 to Loyola in the fall. If any of you have any questions regarding the application cycle, PM me!

 

[Bubbles0523]

I'm a current M1 at Loyola (soon to be M2...eyp!!). Feel free to PM/tag me if you have any questions!

 

[Sahgee]

Also an incoming M1 full of knowledge PM me if you need anything! Good luck to everybody applying this time around!

 

[M.MD]

M3 here, just finished Step 1 so I have some free time. Feel free to ask questions if you have any, this will be my 3rd year lurking around the application thread

 

[GoodWillShunting]

Current student here. Feel free to ask away.

 

[deleted751373]

Is religion a big part of the training/ atmosphere?


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[M.MD]

Is religion a big part of the training/ atmosphere?


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Not really, it'll only be a part of your training if you want it to be. Off the top of my head, there are prayers before big events like graduation and your white coat ceremony. We also had to shadow a hospital chaplain once during M1. Other than that, you are't really exposed to it unless you look for it. I'm not particularly religious and I haven't had any issues fitting in.

 

[Andante12]

Nice there are so many med students already on this thread. Anyway, I found the following essay prompts on prospectivedoctor.com, are they accurate? Moreover, any tips for going about any of them are welcome!

Describe a valuable experience in your personal development. This might be a decision you have made, an achievement of which you are particularly proud of, or a person who has influenced your life. (25 line limit)

Provide in detail an experience of working with individual(s) from diverse background(s). What was the experience? How did it have an impact on you? (25 line limit)

Describe how you have dealt with a personal or academic challenge. Focus on what you learned about yourself and how it will help you during the challenges you might face in medical school. (25 line limit)

Your patient has a rare disease and would be a great candidate for an experimental new treatment. You are the principal investigator for the research project and you and your Chair would like to pursue this experiment with the patient. The parents of your patient are adamant against the treatment. How would you handle this situation? (25 line limit)

If you will not be enrolled as a full-time student during the current academic year, please explain what you will be doing prior to your planned matriculation into medical school? If you are a re-applicant, please tell us how your application has improved since the last time you applied. (25 line limit)

Please use this space to bring the information in your AMCAS application up-to-date. Please indicate additional grades earned, alterations in your proposed coursework or graduation date, address changes, additions to your list of activities, and anything else you feel we should know. (25 line limit)

 

[yellowbottlesippin]

Nice there are so many med students already on this thread. Anyway, I found the following essay prompts on prospectivedoctor.com, are they accurate? Moreover, any tips for going about any of them are welcome!

Describe a valuable experience in your personal development. This might be a decision you have made, an achievement of which you are particularly proud of, or a person who has influenced your life. (25 line limit)

Provide in detail an experience of working with individual(s) from diverse background(s). What was the experience? How did it have an impact on you? (25 line limit)

Describe how you have dealt with a personal or academic challenge. Focus on what you learned about yourself and how it will help you during the challenges you might face in medical school. (25 line limit)

Your patient has a rare disease and would be a great candidate for an experimental new treatment. You are the principal investigator for the research project and you and your Chair would like to pursue this experiment with the patient. The parents of your patient are adamant against the treatment. How would you handle this situation? (25 line limit)

If you will not be enrolled as a full-time student during the current academic year, please explain what you will be doing prior to your planned matriculation into medical school? If you are a re-applicant, please tell us how your application has improved since the last time you applied. (25 line limit)

Please use this space to bring the information in your AMCAS application up-to-date. Please indicate additional grades earned, alterations in your proposed coursework or graduation date, address changes, additions to your list of activities, and anything else you feel we should know. (25 line limit)

As far as I know, secondaries have not been distributed.

 

[Andante12]

I know, that was more directed at the current/recently accepted students, and based on the not-unfounded assumption that the prompts are fairly constant if not identical over multiple years for most schools.

 

[ishiningstar]

Nice there are so many med students already on this thread. Anyway, I found the following essay prompts on prospectivedoctor.com, are they accurate? Moreover, any tips for going about any of them are welcome!

Describe a valuable experience in your personal development. This might be a decision you have made, an achievement of which you are particularly proud of, or a person who has influenced your life. (25 line limit)

Provide in detail an experience of working with individual(s) from diverse background(s). What was the experience? How did it have an impact on you? (25 line limit)

Describe how you have dealt with a personal or academic challenge. Focus on what you learned about yourself and how it will help you during the challenges you might face in medical school. (25 line limit)

Your patient has a rare disease and would be a great candidate for an experimental new treatment. You are the principal investigator for the research project and you and your Chair would like to pursue this experiment with the patient. The parents of your patient are adamant against the treatment. How would you handle this situation? (25 line limit)

If you will not be enrolled as a full-time student during the current academic year, please explain what you will be doing prior to your planned matriculation into medical school? If you are a re-applicant, please tell us how your application has improved since the last time you applied. (25 line limit)

Please use this space to bring the information in your AMCAS application up-to-date. Please indicate additional grades earned, alterations in your proposed coursework or graduation date, address changes, additions to your list of activities, and anything else you feel we should know. (25 line limit)

These prompts don't seem right , I had seen different ones on last year's thread on sdn.

 

[PHgeek123]

Can current students comment on what they like and don't like about this school? Or why you chose to go here? Thank you.

 

[LilMermaid1]

Can current students tell us more about the special values of this school? I know there is a strong desire that students show a commitment to service, but can you think of anything else that makes this school unique? Thank you!

 

[yellowbottlesippin]

Received Secondary. For the time being, I am not going to open this one yet.

 

[SkubaDuba]

+1 secondary

 

[PHgeek123]

+2

 

[deleted781806]

+1 secondary, also leaving this one alone for a little while. (Application clock starts ticking after your first log-in)

 

[clippers50fan]

+1 secondary, also leaving this one alone for a little while. (Application clock starts ticking after your first log-in)

The hell is an application clock haha

 

[deleted781806]

The mythical timepiece that schools have determining how long it took you to return their secondaries. If you submit within four weeks of your initial log-in you get priority consideration at Loyola.

 

[clippers50fan]

The mythical timepiece that schools have determining how long it took you to return their secondaries. If you submit within four weeks of your initial log-in you get priority consideration at Loyola.

lol 4 weeks? I've been turning my secondaries in 1-3 days after getting them. Do people wait 4 weeks?!?

 

[deleted781806]

The four weeks also considers receipt of LoR, which I know are a week or two away from completion for some of my classmates due to the committee letter system.

I'm aiming to turn my secondaries in under a week, thankfully I had a lot of pre-writing done before getting invites.

 

[iris11]

Secondary received

Becoming a person for others is a core Jesuit value. Please describe your own development in becoming a person for others. How have you demonstrated this value? (500 words max)

Please describe a personal challenge that required resiliency or adaptability (and the skills, resources and strategies you employed to take on the challenge). DO NOT write about the MCAT, a course, or an academic issue. (500 words max)

How will you contribute to the diversity of the Stritch student body and community? Specifically, what unique traits, identities, experiences, skills and perspectives will you contribute? (500 words max)

Please use the space below to further explain anything in your application that may help us in our review of your candidacy-gaps or delays in education, academic missteps, or personal challenges not listed elsewhere, etc. (this is an optional response limited to 1500 characters)

 

[LutGholein]

+2

+3

 

[PHgeek123]

@WedgeDawg ^

 

[narvik2016]

"Please use this space to bring the information in your AMCAS application up-to-date. Please indicate additional grades earned, alterations in your proposed coursework or graduation date, address changes, additions to your list of activities, and anything else you feel we should know. If you have not been enrolled in coursework, please let us know what you have been doing since coursework ended."

Is this for if we have started doing something recently that we couldn't list on AMCAS? The last sentence is confusing me. I graduated several years ago, but my AMCAS has all the work/activities I am currently doing. Do I still need to explain what I've been doing since I finished college, or is this more so for people who just graduated or are on summer break? Thoughts?

 

[WatchHowISoar]

The four weeks also considers receipt of LoR, which I know are a week or two away from completion for some of my classmates due to the committee letter system.

I'm aiming to turn my secondaries in under a week, thankfully I had a lot of pre-writing done before getting invites.

It looks like there are some pretty significant changes from last year's prompts - was the "becoming a person" one posted elsewhere?

EDIT: I found these on the 2015-2016 Loyola thread. For some reason, they were never updated on Prospective Doctor's website.

 

[EAGLESK93]

Anyone have any insight about their leniency with the LOR in the past? I know you can explain in the secondary, just curious if anyone had any past experiences with this

 

[Anxious Affect]

"It is VERY important that all letters of recommendation include your full name and AMCAS ID#. "

I am confused. My LORs were transferred to AMCAS from Interfolio, and the letters themselves do not contain my AMCAS ID, only my name... I called AMCAS about this awhile back and was told our letter writers do not need to include AMCAS IDs.

Someone enlighten me please?

 

[yellowbottlesippin]

"It is VERY important that all letters of recommendation include your full name and AMCAS ID#. "

I am confused. My LORs were transferred to AMCAS from Interfolio, and the letters themselves do not contain my AMCAS ID, only my name... I called AMCAS about this awhile back and was told our letter writers do not need to include AMCAS IDs.

Someone enlighten me please?

Same situation. I think if you are in a committee letter, you are fine.

 

[clippers50fan]

"It is VERY important that all letters of recommendation include your full name and AMCAS ID#. "

I am confused. My LORs were transferred to AMCAS from Interfolio, and the letters themselves do not contain my AMCAS ID, only my name... I called AMCAS about this awhile back and was told our letter writers do not need to include AMCAS IDs.

Someone enlighten me please?

I honestly doubt it'll be a big deal. It's ridiculous, really. I got 3 of my letters a full year before I used amcas. How would I have ever known my ID? To be frank the amount of students that have their ID on their LOR are probably a large minority.

 

[blacksweater]

"It is VERY important that all letters of recommendation include your full name and AMCAS ID#. "

I am confused. My LORs were transferred to AMCAS from Interfolio, and the letters themselves do not contain my AMCAS ID, only my name... I called AMCAS about this awhile back and was told our letter writers do not need to include AMCAS IDs.

Someone enlighten me please?

Doesn't AMCAS include our AMCAS ID# and name when schools download our LORs?

 

[Ecdysiast]

Hey ya'll
If you’re having trouble setting up your password for Loyola’s supplemental, I got the following tips from the admissions office: the password needs to be 8-10 characters, lower-case letters and numbers only. I’ve had success setting up passwords as stritch16, so something similar to that should work.

PS-- I'm also an M3 at Stritch.

 

[narvik2016]

"It is VERY important that all letters of recommendation include your full name and AMCAS ID#. "

I am confused. My LORs were transferred to AMCAS from Interfolio, and the letters themselves do not contain my AMCAS ID, only my name... I called AMCAS about this awhile back and was told our letter writers do not need to include AMCAS IDs.

Someone enlighten me please?

I believe Interfolio adds your AMCAS ID to your letters. When you made a "delivery submission" in Interfolio, it would have made you add that number- so should be all good! I think this is how it works... wouldn't worry about it.

 

[Ecdysiast]

Can current students comment on what they like and don't like about this school? Or why you chose to go here? Thank you.

By year 3, I've narrowed it down:
Like: the administrative support -- if you're having trouble academically, personally, etc there are plenty of receptive ppl ready to help figure it out with you

Dislike: the bureaucracy of business-- Loyola has to answer to higher powers like everyone else. This means a lot of checking boxes and performing tasks that seem pointless. Just gotta do em.


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[apple16]

I need some fellow applicant advice. I am taking a gap year, and have a brief summary of what I am doing in that time (full-time job, a few classes, volunteering, etc.) Should I put that in the optional essay (Please use the space below to further explain anything in your application that may help us in our review of your candidacy-gaps or delays in education, academic missteps, or personal challenges not listed elsewhere, etc.) or in the space where it wants additional information outside of the primary (Please use this space to bring the information in your AMCAS application up-to-date.)

I'm sure it isn't *really* that big of a deal, but I'm just curious about how other gap year people are doing that.

 

[Inspector JacquesClouseau]

I need some fellow applicant advice. I am taking a gap year, and have a brief summary of what I am doing in that time (full-time job, a few classes, volunteering, etc.) Should I put that in the optional essay (Please use the space below to further explain anything in your application that may help us in our review of your candidacy-gaps or delays in education, academic missteps, or personal challenges not listed elsewhere, etc.) or in the space where it wants additional information outside of the primary (Please use this space to bring the information in your AMCAS application up-to-date.)

I'm sure it isn't *really* that big of a deal, but I'm just curious about how other gap year people are doing that.

So I'v been involved in my activities during my gap year for a couple years, so they were already in my primary. So I won't be including it in the second option. The first refers to gaps, so leaving school for some reason and returning to finish a degree. Not a gap year IMO. So I won't be putting gap year summaries in either of those optional essays.

 

[apple16]

I've always been fuzzy on what constituted a gap in education. Thanks for the input, @Inspector JacquesClouseau!

 

[Andante12]

I need some fellow applicant advice. I am taking a gap year, and have a brief summary of what I am doing in that time (full-time job, a few classes, volunteering, etc.) Should I put that in the optional essay (Please use the space below to further explain anything in your application that may help us in our review of your candidacy-gaps or delays in education, academic missteps, or personal challenges not listed elsewhere, etc.) or in the space where it wants additional information outside of the primary (Please use this space to bring the information in your AMCAS application up-to-date.)

I'm sure it isn't *really* that big of a deal, but I'm just curious about how other gap year people are doing that.

So I'v been involved in my activities during my gap year for a couple years, so they were already in my primary. So I won't be including it in the second option. The first refers to gaps, so leaving school for some reason and returning to finish a degree. Not a gap year IMO. So I won't be putting gap year summaries in either of those optional essays.

I'm same as you, apple16. No gaps during my education, but I am taking a gap year and want to mention what I'll be doing then. I'm tempted to interpret "gaps...in education" to include a gap between undergrad and medical education since I don't think the wording necessarily precludes that, but JacquesClouseau seems to differ.

That last "up-to-date" prompt though, I found that on a different source than this year's application. @iris11 That one isn't on there, is it?

Edit: Forgot to mention, my secondary came yesterday 7/1, primary verified 6/29.

 

[banana_phone]

For the "person for others" essay, do people tend to focus on volunteer efforts?

 

[smolbirb]

Gonna break out that Safari like it's 2009

 

[WatchHowISoar]

Gonna break out that Safari like it's 2009

It worked for me on Chrome but not IE

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[yellowbottlesippin]

For the "person for others" essay, do people tend to focus on volunteer efforts?

Yeah a Jesuit core value is service. So that usually tends to be volunteer service

 

[blacksweater]

"It is VERY important that all letters of recommendation include your full name and AMCAS ID#. "

I am confused. My LORs were transferred to AMCAS from Interfolio, and the letters themselves do not contain my AMCAS ID, only my name... I called AMCAS about this awhile back and was told our letter writers do not need to include AMCAS IDs.

Someone enlighten me please?

So AMCAS told me that our AMCAS ID# and full name will not appear on the letters if our letter writers did not include it in. It will appear on our primary app, so hopefully that should be enough. Honestly, I doubt most letters will include the ID#, and if they do, I don't see where our letter writers can put it without blatantly mentioning it.

 

[drm5t]

Anyone know if this school offers any merit based scholarships? Received an invite to apply because of minority status. Application fee waived.

 

[SydSing]

Anyone know if this school offers any merit based scholarships? Received an invite to apply because of minority status. Application fee waived.

I wonder if they'll refund my fee. I already paid and received the same email.


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[softballNRG]

Applying and just checking in!

 

[AshSLAY]

For the "person for others" essay, do people tend to focus on volunteer efforts?

Yeah, I'm really not sure how to go about answering this prompt. I feel like it can be written in various ways but I am still drawing a blank. I talked about various volunteer experiences in the diversity question and I don't want to repeat myself. I attempted to just write about my overall volunteer experiences and how it helped me to become a person for others but it sounded so philosophical. Lol

 

[AshSLAY]

Anyone know if this school offers any merit based scholarships? Received an invite to apply because of minority status. Application fee waived.

You received an invite without adding them to your school list on AMCAS?

 

[banana_phone]

Yeah, I'm really not sure how to go about answering this prompt. I feel like it can be written in various ways but I am still drawing a blank. I talked about various volunteer experiences in the diversity question and I don't want to repeat myself. I attempted to just write about my overall volunteer experiences and how it helped me to become a person for others but it sounded so philosophical. Lol

Exactly. I have talked extensively about my volunteering stuff in ECs and personal statement. I'm afraid of sounding repetitive, and I have the rest of th essays done so I just want to submit!