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  • In this space, describe your anticipated coursework for the academic year.
  • Do you have any information that you would like to share with the UCF COM Medical Student Admissions Committee that has not already been addressed in your AMCAS application? You may also use this section to include information about your family, hobbies, and travels, personal interests, interests in the UCF COM, or relationship to Florida, that have not already been discussed in your AMCAS application.
  • Please provide a short essay to help us understand who you are. This essay should be different from your AMCAS Personal Statement. UCF COM places great value on the broad diversity of our students within the classroom. We believe the diverse characteristics of each individual in the class are important factors in serving the educational missions of this school and of our community. Please discuss any unique, personally important and/or challenging experiences in your background that have influenced your goals and preparation for a career in medicine and service to others. These may include experiences such as the quality of your early educational environment, socioeconomic status, cultural background, or other significant events or circumstances that you feel have shaped your character and defined you as an individual. We are also interested on your thoughts about what you can contribute to your class and the medical profession in general.

Good luck to everyone applying!
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Welcome to this thread and to the Lake Nona Medical City. This program has rapidly grown into the leader in the state in M.D. Program outcomes with upper-upper-quartile board scores and very strong matches. These are a product of our very diverse student body that come from around the country (~32 of 120 seats for non-Floridians), our truly integrated curriculum, and collaboration among our students and faculty. We look forward to working with you during this application year as we continue to provide you with transparency throughout the admissions year. The UCF COM won the AAMC award for best Student Affairs Career Advising and Wellness Program in 2016 are the 7th least expensive M.D. program in the nation according to StudentLoanHero. Please visit www.med.ucf.edu/admissions for additional information.
 
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REL said:
Welcome to this thread and to the Lake Nona Medical City. This program has rapidly grown into the leader in the state in M.D. Program outcomes with upper-upper-quartile board scores and very strong matches. These are a product of our very diverse student body that come from around the country (~32 of 120 seats for non-Floridians), our truly integrated curriculum, and collaboration among our students and faculty. We look forward to working with you during this application year as we continue to provide you with transparency throughout the admissions year. Please visit www.med.ucf.edu/admissions for additional information.
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Thank you @REL . Looking forward to this cycle :soexcited:
 
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YAY SO LOOKING FOWARD TO THIS CYCLE AND APPLYING TO MY TOP CHOICE SCHOOL :)
 
I just graduated from UCF COM. Please do not hesitate to contact REL for any admission specific questions as he is the best.

Just to give my .02 cents, try to know the intimate details of each school you are seriously considering before making this decision. With that said, interview day and second looks are staged to make each school to look their best. Not only that, at your stage you really do not know what to look for in a medical school. Here are general topics you should ask: (1) Class schedule, (2) step 1 average, (3) quality of teaching, and (4) reception to student feedback.

(1) Class schedule: During M1/M2 year, Mondays are 8a-noon and 1-3p (M2) or 10am-noon and 1-5p (M1). Tues and Weds are 8a-noon (M1) or 1-5p (M2). Also on a Tues or Weds, you have usually a 45 min time slot for Practice of Medicine / Doctoring course. Thursday is 8a-noon (M1) or 1-5p (M2) except M1s will have some FIRE lectures Thursday afternoon (1-3p) until November of first year. Fridays are 8a-noon for M1s and M2s.
Impression: A+. This schedule is one of the best in the state, if not the best. The curriculum is designed for students to spend the least amount of time in class. In my opinion, this makes the curriculum very efficient as most of learning in medical school occurs on your own time. Also, there is no class during exam weeks in the M1 year, making the transition to medical school easier. Another thing about the curriculum that is great is that we have traditional anatomy with lab for 17 weeks during the first year. This means you are not in anatomy lab in 2nd year, which is a good thing, with some exceptions that are negligible. We also only have ONE EXAM for each block, where other schools in the state have multiple exams in the same week. My best friend is at "the best med school in the state" but they are in class a lot more and have multiple exams in the same week since they have anatomy practicals throughout 1st and 2nd year. They also have a lot of the class fail course exams (upwards of 20% of the class) which really shocked me since at UCF COM I rarely hear of people failing exams. I was not aware of these kinds of differences in medical school curriculums and that is why I am making this post.

**Will add and edit post later**
*DM for questions*
 
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If anyone has received the secondary could you post it? Thanks!
 
Secondary:

"Please provide a short essay to help us understand who you are. This essay should be different from your AMCAS Personal Statement. UCF COM places great value on the broad diversity of our students within the classroom. We believe the diverse characteristics of each individual in the class are important factors in serving the educational missions of this school and of our community. Please discuss any unique, personally important and/or challenging experiences in your background that have influenced your goals and preparation for a career in medicine and service to others. These may include experiences such as the quality of your early educational environment, socioeconomic status, cultural background, or other significant events or circumstances that you feel have shaped your character and defined you as an individual. We are also interested on your thoughts about what you can contribute to your class and the medical profession in general.

Instructions:
  • You are encouraged to prepare this essay in WORD or a similar program and apply your final version via the copy and paste option.
  • This essay should be NO MORE THAN two pages, single spaced, with one inch margins.
  • Descriptions should be entered using a 10 to 12 point Times New Roman or similarly easy-to-read font.
 
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Are anybody else's instructions cut off for the online courses part of the application?
 
I'm OOS but my stats aren't too great - hoping I get a secondary from UCF. I've heard some great things so here's to waiting and wishing for the best!

Good luck everyone who's received a secondary so far :)
 
Was in the process of filling out the secondary and the application window refreshed due to "technical difficulties". Ahh, at least I wasn't at the essays yet.
 
fldoctorgirl said:
Was in the process of filling out the secondary and the application window refreshed due to "technical difficulties". Ahh, at least I wasn't at the essays yet.
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Yeah this has been happening to me. Happens every time I try to move on to a new section.
 
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Secondary received at 11:45 AM, Good luck everyone!
 
The LOR requirement is certainly interesting. A letter from a peer?


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile
 
SirCourageWolf said:
Secondary:

"Please provide a short essay to help us understand who you are. This essay should be different from your AMCAS Personal Statement. UCF COM places great value on the broad diversity of our students within the classroom. We believe the diverse characteristics of each individual in the class are important factors in serving the educational missions of this school and of our community. Please discuss any unique, personally important and/or challenging experiences in your background that have influenced your goals and preparation for a career in medicine and service to others. These may include experiences such as the quality of your early educational environment, socioeconomic status, cultural background, or other significant events or circumstances that you feel have shaped your character and defined you as an individual. We are also interested on your thoughts about what you can contribute to your class and the medical profession in general.

Instructions:
  • You are encouraged to prepare this essay in WORD or a similar program and apply your final version via the copy and paste option.
  • This essay should be NO MORE THAN two pages, single spaced, with one inch margins.
  • Descriptions should be entered using a 10 to 12 point Times New Roman or similarly easy-to-read font.
Click to expand...

Can't tell if this is an autobiography or diversity essay!
 
Tennisgrl46 said:
Have secondaries been sent out yet?
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All Secondary Apps sent to those who currently meet minimum 3.0, 3.0, and 500 that are U.S. Citizens, INS Perm Rez, or INS Asylee. We have not yet sent out to those appear to qualify but have not yet taken the MCAT, or those who do not yet qualify because of a lower MCAT score (make sure that you edit the future MCAT test date in your AMCAS app.)
 
fldoctorgirl said:
Was in the process of filling out the secondary and the application window refreshed due to "technical difficulties". Ahh, at least I wasn't at the essays yet.
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In this case we were adjusting the on-line course question text. With our system you may see various "status" statements like this when you log in.
 
REL said:
All Secondary Apps sent to those who currently meet minimum 3.0, 3.0, and 500 that are U.S. Citizens, INS Perm Rez, or INS Asylee. We have not yet sent out to those appear to qualify but have not yet taken the MCAT, or those who do not yet qualify because of a lower MCAT score (make sure that you edit the future MCAT test date in your AMCAS app.)
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so if I take the MCAT 8/3, will I not receive a secondary until my scores come in?
 
Was in the process of filling out the secondary and the application window refreshed due to "technical difficulties".
 
konare law said:
Was in the process of filling out the secondary and the application window refreshed due to "technical difficulties".
Click to expand...
konare law said:
Was in the process of filling out the secondary and the application window refreshed due to "technical difficulties".
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IF this continues to happen please let us know at [email protected] and provide time, page working on, etc. This has not been a problem in the past....we will look into this if it is a problem. Thanks.
 
REL said:
IF this continues to happen please let us know at [email protected] and provide time, page working on, etc. This has not been a problem in the past....we will look into this if it is a problem. Thanks.
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It is better for me today! No technical difficulties error messages thus far :)
 
REL said:
Peer letters can be interesting in-deed. Letters from physicians that you have shadowed may be a better option.
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I was hoping to use one LOR from a doctor that I observed and another from my PI. I believe this would be my strongest option. Would this satisfy the requirement?


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Secondary all done. Good luck everyone!
 
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I submitted my application on July 3rd, and my Application Status is "HOLD FOR INFORMATION." Has anyone progressed to "Ready for Review"?
 
BillaBeaver said:
I submitted my application on July 3rd, and my Application Status is "HOLD FOR INFORMATION." Has anyone progressed to "Ready for Review"?
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Nope. Submitted on 7/7 and still on the same status.
 
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Secondary submitted! Good luck everyone!

(Mine also says "HOLD FOR INFORMATION" BTW)
 
Submitted! Super excited about this school. Good luck everyone :)
 
Secondary submitted! Let's go!
 
Anyone having a hard time getting two pages of valuable thoughts down for the secondary? Two pages double spaced seems like quite a bit, and none of my diversity essays have been this long.
 
MCATISEZ said:
Anyone having a hard time getting two pages of valuable thoughts down for the secondary? Two pages double spaced seems like quite a bit, and none of my diversity essays have been this long.
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It doesn't have to be two pages, it just says that's the maximum. Just write until you feel it is enough, otherwise it'll sound like fluff. Short and to the point is always better than drawn out and fluffed.

Also, the limit is single-spaced, not double: "This essay should be NO MORE THAN two pages, single spaced, with one inch margins."
 
MCATISEZ said:
Anyone having a hard time getting two pages of valuable thoughts down for the secondary? Two pages double spaced seems like quite a bit, and none of my diversity essays have been this long.
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This one took a couple days because of this essay, mine turned out well but it basically sounded like another personal statement lolol
 
fldoctorgirl said:
It doesn't have to be two pages, it just says that's the maximum. Just write until you feel it is enough, otherwise it'll sound like fluff. Short and to the point is always better than drawn out and fluffed.

Also, the limit is single-spaced, not double: "This essay should be NO MORE THAN two pages, single spaced, with one inch margins."
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I mistyped that! 2 pages double spaced isn't that bad.

I like to be concise, but I do gauge my writing based on the maximum length. When two schools have the same prompt, one with 500 characters and the other with 4 double spaced pages, they likely are looking for different things (or just have a lot of time on their hand... which I doubt).
 
What address can I send a peer recommendation to?
 
submitted this morning! really excited about this school and hoping it shows me some love. good luck to everyone!
 
Received an email and status changed to FILE COMPLETE-READY FOR REVIEW.
 
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@REL Would it be okay to submit a PI letter in place of one of the science faculty letters? I have two science faculty letters that have taught me but I feel as if my PI letter would have a lot more to add (in addition to two other character letters).

Thanks!!
 
EarnestErnest said:
@REL Would it be okay to submit a PI letter in place of one of the science faculty letters? I have two science faculty letters that have taught me but I feel as if my PI letter would have a lot more to add (in addition to two other character letters).

Thanks!!
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We will often use a PI letter in many ways depending upon the letter package need. Remember that we have a 5 letter minimum, but can accept up to 7 letters.
 
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echo5050 said:
Secondary submitted! Good luck everyone!

(Mine also says "HOLD FOR INFORMATION" BTW)
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I don't see the hold for information or ready for review part anywhere on my app... Am I blind? lol
 
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