2019-2020 San Juan Bautista

[PapaGuava]

Please tag a pre-allo moderator when the second prompt is posted.

Good luck to everyone applying!

Interview Feedback: San Juan Bautista

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[Drogon22]

Applying OOS from California. Looking forward to hearing from this school, but from previous threads I see it can take quite a while ?

 

[futureneuro7]

Applying OOS from California. Looking forward to hearing from this school, but from previous threads I see it can take quite a while ?

I've seen the same thing. Didn't look like they started posting about interviews until October. Does this school have a secondary or do they go straight to interviews?

 

[Drogon22]

I've seen the same thing. Didn't look like they started posting about interviews until October. Does this school have a secondary or do they go straight to interviews?

After looking at the other application cycles, I think there is a supplemental fee but no essays. Though I'm not sure if they require us to separately deliver transcripts and/or LOR.

 

[futureneuro7]

After looking at the other application cycles, I think there is a supplemental fee but no essays. Though I'm not sure if they require us to separately deliver transcripts and/or LOR.

They go through AMCAS- why would they want separate transcripts/LOR? That's just extra work for the school.

 

[Drogon22]

They go through AMCAS- why would they want separate transcripts/LOR? That's just extra work for the school.

Probably true, I wasn't sure reading the thread. Im assuming the same is true for UCC and Ponce

 

[futureneuro7]

Anyone heard anything from this school? I haven't even received a confirmation of my primary app.

 

[Drogon22]

Anyone heard anything from this school? I haven't even received a confirmation of my primary app.

On their admissions website under "timetable" the receipt of AMCAS application can happen anywhere between between June and December. On the MSAR, it says they do not begin to review applications until August. We will be on here a while waiting :/

 

[jugodeparcha]

Hey everyone. 4th year SJB student here currently applying to residency. I can answer any questions you might have about SJB, so ask away!

 

[futureneuro7]

Hey everyone. 4th year SJB student here currently applying to residency. I can answer any questions you might have about SJB, so ask away!

Hey friend! Can you answer the previous q's about separate transcripts/LOR and the timeline on secondaries/interviews?

 

[PrimaryCare#1]

Yea from the previous threads it says something about having to resend transcripts again, but I thought AMCAS already verified all that?

 

[jugodeparcha]

Yeah I remember having to request an additional transcript to be sent to the school. No idea why but that's what they require. We didn't have to send LORs again, the ones uploaded to AMCAS are enough. There is no secondary but you do have to submit the fee by check or money order. I don't know exactly what the timeline is but I got an interview invitation in November, interviewed at the school in late January, got waitlisted in April and accepted in May. SJB interviews later than UCC and Ponce if I remember correctly. This was in 2015 (for matriculation in 2016) so keep in mind it may have changed and follow the instructions sent by email.

 

[Drogon22]

Yeah I remember having to request an additional transcript to be sent to the school. No idea why but that's what they require. We didn't have to send LORs again, the ones uploaded to AMCAS are enough. There is no secondary but you do have to submit the fee by check or money order. I don't know exactly what the timeline is but I got an interview invitation in November, interviewed at the school in late January, got waitlisted in April and accepted in May. SJB interviews later than UCC and Ponce if I remember correctly. This was in 2015 (for matriculation in 2016) so keep in mind it may have changed and follow the instructions sent by email.

Awesome thanks ! I was wondering how your experience at SJB was? were you OOS ? and would you mind sharing your stats ? DId you update them at all while you were on the waitlist ?

Sorry for all the questions, but the previous threads for this school aren't as informative as many other schools. I appreciate it

 

[MedDoc305]

Hey everyone. 4th year SJB student here currently applying to residency. I can answer any questions you might have about SJB, so ask away!

Do you have any idea if SJB waives the secondary fee for FAP applicants?

 

[futureneuro7]

Do you have any idea if SJB waives the secondary fee for FAP applicants?

Does this school even have a secondary? I haven't heard anything from them since my primary.

 

[Drogon22]

Secondary email received today

 

[MedDoc305]

Secondary email received today

Same. I wonder how strict they are on the volunteer letter >.<

 

[futureneuro7]

Same. I wonder how strict they are on the volunteer letter >.<

Is it just me, or when AMCAS open did they not stipulate the volunteer letter requirement? And is it even a requirement? Their website has recently been updated and it says, "One (1) letter of recommendation from a community leader specifying any community and/or volunteer work sent via the AMCAS Letter Service." That sounds like an option, not a requirement to me.

 

[MedDoc305]

Is it just me, or when AMCAS open did they not stipulate the volunteer letter requirement? And is it even a requirement? Their website has recently been updated and it says, "One (1) letter of recommendation from a community leader specifying any community and/or volunteer work sent via the AMCAS Letter Service." That sounds like an option, not a requirement to me.

I dont remember. The listing is on the website is under required letters, I personally don't have one so it would be to my benefit that they do not require it. However, since they do not waive the fee for fap recipients I may not continue as paying $100 is pretty steep to not have your application viewed.

 

[futureneuro7]

I dont remember. The listing is on the website is under required letters, I personally don't have one so it would be to my benefit that they do not require it. However, since they do not waive the fee for fap recipients I may not continue as paying $100 is pretty steep to not have your application viewed.

Yeah, I can't believe there is a fee in addition to the one we already paid to submit our primary application.
And the fact that we have to do all this before they will *maybe* give us a secondary....

 

[MedDoc305]

Please tag a pre-allo moderator when the second prompt is posted.

Good luck to everyone applying!

Interview Feedback: San Juan Bautista

Hi, below are the questions for the secondary prompts. They all have a maximum of 600 character limit. Thank you

Why have you selected the San Juan Bautista School of Medicine for your medical education?

Describe yourself. How do your unique personal characteristics and background contribute to the school’s educational mission of creating a diverse entering class? Which points of your character would you like to highlight to the Admissions Committee?

Describe any circumstances indicative of some hardship, such as, but not limited to, academic or financial difficulties, personal or family illness, a medical condition, a death in the immediate family or educational disadvantage?

Describe a difficult situation you have had to overcome in your life or during your college academic experience. How do you feel this will prepare you for a career in medicine?

While there is great emphasis on the physician-patient relationship, San Juan Bautista School of Medicine also emphasizes the importance of training culturally and linguistical diverse generation of physicians to care for underserved communities. Describe how your experiences would contribute to this aspect of the mission of the school.

 

[futureneuro7]

Hi, below are the questions for the secondary prompts. They all have a maximum of 600 character limit. Thank you

Why have you selected the San Juan Bautista School of Medicine for your medical education?

Describe yourself. How do your unique personal characteristics and background contribute to the school’s educational mission of creating a diverse entering class? Which points of your character would you like to highlight to the Admissions Committee?

Describe any circumstances indicative of some hardship, such as, but not limited to, academic or financial difficulties, personal or family illness, a medical condition, a death in the immediate family or educational disadvantage?

Describe a difficult situation you have had to overcome in your life or during your college academic experience. How do you feel this will prepare you for a career in medicine?

While there is great emphasis on the physician-patient relationship, San Juan Bautista School of Medicine also emphasizes the importance of training culturally and linguistical diverse generation of physicians to care for underserved communities. Describe how your experiences would contribute to this aspect of the mission of the school.

Did you get both the "Receipt of your application" and the supplemental application today? I only received "This e-mail is to confirm the receipt of your AMCAS processed application for the 2020 -2021 academic year."

 

[MedDoc305]

Did you get both the "Receipt of your application" and the supplemental application today? I only received "This e-mail is to confirm the receipt of your AMCAS processed application for the 2020 -2021 academic year."

Yes I received one, and then the other an hour later.

 

[futureneuro7]

Yes I received one, and then the other an hour later.

Interesting...guess I'll wait and see if the second one comes through.

 

[Drogon22]

Interesting...guess I'll wait and see if the second one comes through.

Mine came about 5 minutes apart, but the secondary was in spam, just a heads up

 

[Drogon22]

Why do we need to mail the transcripts separately ? I have 6 :/ kind of redundant no ?

 

[futureneuro7]

Mine came about 5 minutes apart, but the secondary was in spam, just a heads up

Yeah, checked spam and junk, no dice

 

[MedDoc305]

Why do we need to mail the transcripts separately ? I have 6 :/ kind of redundant no ?

It seems like all the schools in Puerto Rico asked for it so I guess it has to be done :/ Damn, that's a hefty sum after you submit them all

 

[Drogon22]

Yeah, checked spam and junk, no dice

I’m sure it’s coming! You can always email and ask if you meet their requirements and didn’t receive the link.

 

[Drogon22]

Secondary submitted, waiting on payment to be processed and transcripts to be delivered. Fingers crossed

 

[MedDoc305]

Secondary submitted, waiting on payment to be processed and transcripts to be delivered. Fingers crossed

Good luck!!

 

[Petrofilda]

Does anyone know how long after you submit the secondaries they send interview invites?

 

[Drogon22]

Does anyone know how long after you submit the secondaries they send interview invites?

The timetable online says interviews start in November.
I was wondering if they confirm when our secondary is complete and that our transcripts have been received.

 

[Petrofilda]

The timetable online says interviews start in November.
I was wondering if they confirm when our secondary is complete and that our transcripts have been received.

Same here.

 

[The Last Ankibender]

what are your stats for applying? I finish my secondary but I dont know if I am competitive enough to pay the fee because is a huge amount and if I will not get consider maybe I should wait for next cycle. I got 4.0 and 498
some research, hundreds of hours of community service and one clinical experience and shadowing
I am instate

 

[oppProto]

what are your stats for applying? I finish my secondary but I dont know if I am competitive enough to pay the fee because is a huge amount and if I will not get consider maybe I should wait for next cycle. I got 4.0 and 498
some research, hundreds of hours of community service and one clinical experience and shadowing
I am instate

You are fine. You have decent experience, are instate, a great GPA and your MCAT while low is still above the median for those accepted last (or this?) year.

 

[Petrofilda]

Is it just me, or when AMCAS open did they not stipulate the volunteer letter requirement? And is it even a requirement? Their website has recently been updated and it says, "One (1) letter of recommendation from a community leader specifying any community and/or volunteer work sent via the AMCAS Letter Service." That sounds like an option, not a requirement to me.

A friend of mine asked admissions about this and they said it IS a requirement. We need to send that letter or else our applications will not be evaluated.

 

[Drogon22]

They emailed me back today after I emailed them saying they had received all my transcripts and have everything they need to begin an initial application review.

 

[bDawk4ever]

I'm a current student at SJB

My group was one of the first to interview last year and we interviewed on Nov 2nd so i would think that you guys should start getting interviews sooner rather than later.

 

[Drogon22]

I'm a current student at SJB

My group was one of the first to interview last year and we interviewed on Nov 2nd so i would think that you guys should start getting interviews sooner rather than later.

How has your experience been at SJB?


Sent from my iPhone using SDN

 

[bDawk4ever]

How has your experience been at SJB?


Sent from my iPhone using SDN

I honestly think it’s the same as an small medical school in the States. Lots of resources are given to you so you can succeed. It’s extremely small but is run by people with good hearts and good intentions. It’s a private non profit which actually means a lot everyone is working there not to get rich. Money that you pay is inverted back into the school. Idk what you are looking for specifically for me to tell you but I think it’s a well run school that really wants it’s students to succeed there are only 64 per class so it’s pretty tight knit. Not that you have a ton of time to socialize with all of the material.

The hardest thing I’ve found as a student is the fact that there are no in house tests (excluding anatomy) there are small 10 question quizzes but the main thing that determines your grades are 3.5 hour long tests given every other Friday. These tests are written by the same company who writes the usmle. So they are very hard but also very good for helping you learn however your professors don’t see the tests until this company gives them back after grading them. Sooooooo lectures are useful but they cannot spoon feed you what’s going to be on the test like how they can for an in house test that the professor writes. Personally although they are hard and we complain a little bit about them we understand that they are very useful and that our careers and the step tests are not tests were we can be spoon fed information.

You must know and dominate Spanish do not bother applying if you are not 90-100% fluent by this I mean you need to understand lectures in Spanish with English slides. Your interviews and patient exposure will be in Spanish. I can still remember my interview last year were 4 of the other 5 people in my MMI went deathly pale when they heard that their interview was going to be in Spanish. From that point on everything was in Spanish and needless to say those 4 people are not in my class. I can almost guarantee you that if you are a OOS applicant one of your rotations during the interviews in MMI is purely to ascertain if you can speak Spanish at a high level. If you speak good Spanish don’t sweat it my guy ran out of stuff for me to talk about in Spanish so I started asking him about beaches and places I needed to see when I brought my wife down for school he laughed and said well you won’t have time with how much you will be studying...... he was right. Haha

Anything else was that what you were looking for.

 

[Drogon22]

I honestly think it’s the same as an small medical school in the States. Lots of resources are given to you so you can succeed. It’s extremely small but is run by people with good hearts and good intentions. It’s a private non profit which actually means a lot everyone is working there not to get rich. Money that you pay is inverted back into the school. Idk what you are looking for specifically for me to tell you but I think it’s a well run school that really wants it’s students to succeed there are only 64 per class so it’s pretty tight knit. Not that you have a ton of time to socialize with all of the material.

The hardest thing I’ve found as a student is the fact that there are no in house tests (excluding anatomy) there are small 10 question quizzes but the main thing that determines your grades are 3.5 hour long tests given every other Friday. These tests are written by the same company who writes the usmle. So they are very hard but also very good for helping you learn however your professors don’t see the tests until this company gives them back after grading them. Sooooooo lectures are useful but they cannot spoon feed you what’s going to be on the test like how they can for an in house test that the professor writes. Personally although they are hard and we complain a little bit about them we understand that they are very useful and that our careers and the step tests are not tests were we can be spoon fed information.

You must know and dominate Spanish do not bother applying if you are not 90-100% fluent by this I mean you need to understand lectures in Spanish with English slides. Your interviews and patient exposure will be in Spanish. I can still remember my interview last year were 4 of the other 5 people in my MMI went deathly pale when they heard that their interview was going to be in Spanish. From that point on everything was in Spanish and needless to say those 4 people are not in my class. I can almost guarantee you that if you are a OOS applicant one of your rotations during the interviews in MMI is purely to ascertain if you can speak Spanish at a high level. If you speak good Spanish don’t sweat it my guy ran out of stuff for me to talk about in Spanish so I started asking him about beaches and places I needed to see when I brought my wife down for school he laughed and said well you won’t have time with how much you will be studying...... he was right. Haha

Anything else was that what you were looking for.

This was probably the most insightful post I've read on the school. I appreciate it thanks man

 

[bDawk4ever]

This was probably the most insightful post I've read on the school. I appreciate it thanks man

Definitely wasn't my first choice but I am extremely grateful I was accepted and making the best of it. Definitely a low end MD school but it's a US MD school none the less. Let me know if you have any more questions happy to help if it will answer anyones doubts.

 

[Subpoena guy]

FYI just today LCME announced that San Juan Bautista is fully accredited until 2026-2027.

Accredited U.S. Programs | LCME

lcme.org

Puerto Rico	Ponce Health Sciences University School of Medicine	Ponce	2023-24	Full	1977
Puerto Rico	San Juan Bautista School of Medicine	San Juan	2026-27	Full	2007
Puerto Rico	Universidad Central del Caribe School of Medicine	Bayamon	Pending	Full, on probation	1979
Puerto Rico	University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine	San Juan	2024-25	Full	1954

 

[Petrofilda]

Has anyone received an interview invitation yet?

 

[Drogon22]

Has anyone received an interview invitation yet?

Looking at previous threads and the timeline on their website, interviews start being sent out in November-January


Sent from my iPhone using SDN

 

[Petrofilda]

Looking at previous threads and the timeline on their website, interviews start being sent out in November-January


Sent from my iPhone using SDN

Thank you lots!!

 

[LMed2020]

II received today. Can't wait to interview at this school!

 

[The Last Ankibender]

Interview Invited received

 

[Petrofilda]

II received today!! Thanks everyone for clarifying my doubts.