2017-2018 Virginia Commonwealth University

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Is there a GPA screen?
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ihadahamsandwich said:
Me too, I'm gonna just trust their system
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I know a lot of schools are having issues with AMCAS sending LORs. Your app won't be complete until those are received so that's probably the reason for the lag in completion emails. Nothing to fret about, though. Everyone is having the same issues. You'll get your completion email soon


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Update on the portal log in issues, in case anyone else is having the same problem: I talked to someone on the phone, and it turns out that passwords need to be 10 characters or less, and can only include numbers or letters. If the password you choose is too long or has invalid characters, you won't get an error when you set it, but you won't be able to use it to log in. Now that I've set a password within those parameters, everything works fine! The admissions folks were super helpful, and it sounds like they're trying to get these instructions added to the portal for the future.
 
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Received 07/05/2017

Submitted 07/06/2017
 
Are we supposed to answer this with our personal details entwined in the answer, or is this supposed to be a purely situational response question? First time applying to VCU, any advice appreciated!
 
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Rejected this morning. IS. Complete 07/06. Shocked
 
I didn't think there was any way that they would have reviewed apps and rejected someone yet.
 
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Potentia Virtus said:
I didn't think there was any way that they would have reviewed apps and rejected someone yet.
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Yeah it seems surreal. I thought I would have just been screened out pre-secondary. Oh well! Best of luck to those in the game.
 
Overthink said:
Yeah it seems surreal. I thought I would have just been screened out pre-secondary. Oh well! Best of luck to those in the game.
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But you had a 510, right? Screen is like 503. Any chance that it's a mistake?
 
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Potentia Virtus said:
But you had a 510, right? Screen is like 503. Any chance that it's a mistake?
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My problem is actually reversed. I have a 3.15 GPA and 516 MCAT, ORM. Last year, their website didn't say they had a minimum GPA, but this year, it says their minimum acceptable GPA is a 3.3.
 
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Potentia Virtus said:
But you had a 510, right? Screen is like 503. Any chance that it's a mistake?
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Sounds to me like the 503 screen was just for receiving the secondary in the first place. Seems like once Overthink submitted his/her secondary, there was another screen, this time including GPA.
 
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Overthink said:
My problem is actually reversed. I have a 3.15 GPA and 516 MCAT, ORM. Last year, their website didn't say they had a minimum GPA, but this year, it says their minimum acceptable GPA is a 3.3.
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As a side note, where did you find the information that the minimum acceptable GPA is a 3.3? I looked on their website, and could only find a minimum of a 3.3 GPA for applicants to their undergrad school.
 
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CyrusHabs7695 said:
I just did shortly as well. You didnt get a confirmation email or anything right?
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You will get an email saying there is a status change for your application. Submitted last night and got the email this morning.
 
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Oh man, now I wonder if I'll get a secondary with my 503 afterall...
 
Did anyone upload there photo and nothing showed up? I keep uploading my headshot and saving it but it looks the exact same and doesn't have a check mark or uploaded image tag or anything.
 
cke11 said:
Did anyone upload there photo and nothing showed up? I keep uploading my headshot and saving it but it looks the exact same and doesn't have a check mark or uploaded image tag or anything.
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Mine just uploaded fine and saved -- did you hit "upload image" after choosing your image? It kind of took several steps. Or maybe it's just glitchy :confused:
 
twentyeightmiles said:
Mine just uploaded fine and saved -- did you hit "upload image" after choosing your image? It kind of took several steps. Or maybe it's just glitchy :confused:
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Yeah I clicked upload image and the screen loaded and nothing appeared lol I may call and ask if it's optional to have a photo
 
Submitted! I enjoyed writing their essay. Much better than "Describe yourself":confused: or something like that
 
H_Scheck said:
Submitted! I enjoyed writing their essay. Much better than "Describe yourself":confused: or something like that
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Same! It's arbitrarily become one of my top schools just because it was a fun secondary to write
 
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Is the UW Bioethics site the best resource to help answer the secondary question/prompt? I've never taken any bioethics courses so I'm fairly unfamiliar with how to best tackle these.
 
Stumpyman said:
Is the UW Bioethics site the best resource to help answer the secondary question/prompt? I've never taken any bioethics courses so I'm fairly unfamiliar with how to best tackle these.
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I didn't use the UW site, so I don't know if it's the most helpful. But here are some generic tips I have for tackling this kind of prompt, which might be helpful to others?
  1. Start with your gut. What initially stands out to you that may be "wrong" or unusual about this situation? What would make you pause? Take note of that gut feeling, it's probably something you should address.
  2. Look at each line of the prompt. Why is it there? Each piece of information is usually important. Occasionally you might run into some red herrings, but this prompt specifically seems pretty straightforward.
  3. For an "approach" prompt like this, write out your actual approach! you can skip the "ethics" side at first, just figure out what you would actually do from what you already know.
  4. A few concepts that are relevant to this (and pretty much any bioethics prompt): Cultural context. power dynamics. personal autonomy. professional responsibility. legal precedent. privacy. empathy. probably a lot of other things. Pick a couple concepts that seem most relevant and important to address thoroughly. This is a pretty short character limit, so it's unlikely you'll be able to address every possible angle (I could have written a lot more than I did). Look these concepts up in various resources (like the UW site), maybe see if you can find case studies of similar scenarios.
  5. Go back to your original approach. With your new information, what might you change? If you were your supervisor, how might you criticize your approach? address these points.
  6. At this point, you've probably identified several key issues, and seen a few sides of them. write about these issues in your preferred writing style! Make sure to address both sides of anything controversial, and be open to changing your ways.
Did any of this make sense? quite possibly not, feel free to ignore it if that's the case :)
 
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504, 3.65 cGPA and sGPA (3.93 in my last three years of undergrad), Canadian. I fulfill all of their EC requirements. Should I apply?
 
tennisgurl said:
Do they send the secondaries out in batches?
Also, did people get an email saying that VCU got their primary app before receiving the secondary?
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I received this email, and was wondering how soon receiving this email people got secondaries or rejections.
 
I had a W in undergrad, but I also graduated this May. Should I write about the W or my activities since graduation for the question about "lapses in education"?
 
DoubleTrouble3428 said:
I had a W in undergrad, but I also graduated this May. Should I write about the W or my activities since graduation for the question about "lapses in education"?
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I dont think lapses in education include the time after graduation otherwise they will specially state that, and receiving a W isnt a lapse either.
 
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IWillMakeIt1 said:
I dont think lapses in education include the time after graduation otherwise they will specially state that, and receiving a W isnt a lapse either.
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Gotcha. So a "lapse" means more than simply the three months between graduation and submitting an application? In that case, I guess I'll leave it unanswered.
 
docchocolate said:
I received this email, and was wondering how soon receiving this email people got secondaries or rejections.
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tennisgurl said:
Do they send the secondaries out in batches?
Also, did people get an email saying that VCU got their primary app before receiving the secondary?
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Have you received the secondary yet? I also received the email saying they have my primary, but nothing since then :confused:
 
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MedicalMermaid said:
Have you received the secondary yet? I also received the email saying they have my primary, but nothing since then :confused:
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docchocolate said:
Radio silence...
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Do your portals say "Your application has been received by the VCU School of Medicine and now will begin the process of evaluation. There will be a preliminary review of your application prior to receipt of a supplemental application. Please be aware that all applicants are not invited to complete a supplemental application. You may check the status of your application at any point during this process using the applicant website. Please allow 4-6 weeks for processing of your application"? I was verified 6/7 btw.
 
COMMANDER CLOWN said:
Do your portals say "Your application has been received by the VCU School of Medicine and now will begin the process of evaluation. There will be a preliminary review of your application prior to receipt of a supplemental application. Please be aware that all applicants are not invited to complete a supplemental application. You may check the status of your application at any point during this process using the applicant website. Please allow 4-6 weeks for processing of your application"? I was verified 6/7 btw.
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That's all very odd. My first email from them was "we received your primary application... check your status here" and the supplemental essay was automatically there my first login. They might automatically grant it to some demographics and/or number cut-off though.
 
DrDwayneJohnson said:
That's all very odd. My first email from them was "we received your primary application... check your status here" and the supplemental essay was automatically there my first login. They might automatically grant it to some demographics and/or number cut-off though.
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When I logged in, there were only instructions for how to submit the secondary app, but not the actual app itself. I guess we will just have to wait and see if anything changes.
 
COMMANDER CLOWN said:
Do your portals say "Your application has been received by the VCU School of Medicine and now will begin the process of evaluation. There will be a preliminary review of your application prior to receipt of a supplemental application. Please be aware that all applicants are not invited to complete a supplemental application. You may check the status of your application at any point during this process using the applicant website. Please allow 4-6 weeks for processing of your application"? I was verified 6/7 btw.
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DrDwayneJohnson said:
That's all very odd. My first email from them was "we received your primary application... check your status here" and the supplemental essay was automatically there my first login. They might automatically grant it to some demographics and/or number cut-off though.
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I got the email and my portal mentions that the application has been received, but no secondary. Hopefully it comes sometime this week. Verified 6/6.
 
I got an application status update that says my file is now complete and will be reviewed by the sub-committee.
 
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Just to clarify, are the "what kind of a doctor you want to be" and "describe the concept of Family Medicine" questions optional? Or is everyone required to answer them?

Also, what is the reapplicant Q? Is it basically, "what have you done to improve your application"?
 
Secondary received 7/5/17 and submitted 7/9/17.

MD95 said:
Just to clarify, are the "what kind of a doctor you want to be" and "describe the concept of Family Medicine" questions optional? Or is everyone required to answer them?

Also, what is the reapplicant Q? Is it basically, "what have you done to improve your application"?
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There is a section of the application where you basically select three specialties that would interest you after medical school. I don't remember a question about describing family medicine, though.
 
MD95 said:
Just to clarify, are the "what kind of a doctor you want to be" and "describe the concept of Family Medicine" questions optional? Or is everyone required to answer them?

Also, what is the reapplicant Q? Is it basically, "what have you done to improve your application"?
Click to expand...
The what kind of doctor you want to be is selecting three specialties from a drop-down menu. The family medicine questions are only if you're applying to their family med program, otherwise you don't fill them out.
 
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twentyeightmiles said:
The what kind of doctor you want to be is selecting three specialties from a drop-down menu. The family medicine questions are only if you're applying to their family med program, otherwise you don't fill them out.
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So essentially the only essay question they have is the scenario based question?
 
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