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UMVoyager

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Welcome potential MEDPREPers. I made this forum for the Summer 2018 entering class. Soon-to-be SIU SOM M1 here that finished MEDPREP this past May. Overall, this is an AMAZING program and I along with other current MEDPREPers are here to answer as many questions as I can pertaining to the application process and the program itself. The application should be open sometime this month so keep a lookout. I will post the link to the website (SIU SOM recently rebranded so be patient with any kinks they are trying to work out with the new website) Good luck!

Link to website and application --> Medical/Dental Education Preparatory Program (MEDPREP) | SIU School of Medicine

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@UMVoyager Congratulations on your acceptance to SIU SOM! I know you have worked hard and diligent throughout the medprep program to achieve this success!

Although the application cycle has not opened, I have a few general questions.

1. Will there be a section to upload letter of recommendations or do they have to be mailed in?
2. Were you an out-of-state applicant or in-state? Would you say there were as many out-of-state applicants as there were in-state?
3. How were you able to finance the program, if that's not too personal? Loans, scholarships, etc.?
 
@UMVoyager Congratulations on your acceptance to SIU SOM! I know you have worked hard and diligent throughout the medprep program to achieve this success!

Although the application cycle has not opened, I have a few general questions.

1. Will there be a section to upload letter of recommendations or do they have to be mailed in?
2. Were you an out-of-state applicant or in-state? Would you say there were as many out-of-state applicants as there were in-state?
3. How were you able to finance the program, if that's not too personal? Loans, scholarships, etc.?

Sorry about responding to this late. I do not have SDN hooked up to my current email (probably shouldn't as it is a big distractor during the application cycle). First and foremost I want respond to your comment on last years SIU MEDPREP 2017 cycle.

I want to confirm that yes yes and more YES's that SIU MEDPREP has an alliance with SIU School of Medicine which is such a great perk to this program. You are eligible for an automatic seat (no interview, no traveling to Springfield for the interview, no secondary fee, still need to pay the primary fee) if you meet SIU's minimum qualifications by the end the first semester of your application cycle (2.8 overall GPA, 2.8 BCPM, 498 MCAT, Illinois resident, and good standing with the MEDPREP Student Progress Committee). However, those who do not meet the alliance qualifications still do really great in the application cycle and gain multiple acceptances.

In terms of being maxed out with FAFSA, I was maxed out before I even started. A lot of students found themselves in this predicament. I paid for MEDPREP by borrowing from Sallie Mae, which has high rates so I would go with your bank or some other private loan company with lower rates if you can. Otherwise if you qualify for the MBS or MPH then that will allow access to another pool of money through FAFSA. Get into MEDPREP first then worry about that.

In response to your questions about the application cycle:

1. Recommendations will have to be mailed in along with a recommendation form filled out by the recommender. I think Mr. Stevens will actually have you do a consolidated packet with everything inside it (recommendations, reccomendation forms, any signed paper work needed, etc.)
2. I am an in-state student. However, a lot of people come from out-of-state. I would say the majority of my class was out-of-state to be honest. They were able to change their residency to Illinois after Fall semester though.
3. Like previously said I did loans from Sallie Mae. HOWEVER, another perk of MEDPREP is that if you are a traditional MEDPREP student then during the second year almost everyone qualifies for a tuition waiver. If you are a masters student then you do not qualify for a tuition waiver since they can find Teaching Assistantships to pay for tuition and receive stipends. A handful of first year students get a tuition waiver based on need since there is a cap on how many are given and priority is given to second years.

Hope this all helps!
 
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Sorry about responding to this late. I do not have SDN hooked up to my current email (probably shouldn't as it is a big distractor during the application cycle). First and foremost I want respond to your comment on last years SIU MEDPREP 2017 cycle.

I want to confirm that yes yes and more YES's that SIU MEDPREP has an alliance with SIU School of Medicine which is such a great perk to this program. You are eligible for an automatic seat (no interview, no traveling to Springfield for the interview, no secondary fee, still need to pay the primary fee) if you meet SIU's minimum qualifications by the end the first semester of your application cycle (2.8 overall GPA, 2.8 BCPM, 498 MCAT, Illinois resident, and good standing with the MEDPREP Student Progress Committee). However, those who do not meet the alliance qualifications still do really great in the application cycle and gain multiple acceptances.

In terms of being maxed out with FAFSA, I was maxed out before I even started. A lot of students found themselves in this predicament. I paid for MEDPREP by borrowing from Sallie Mae, which has high rates so I would go with your bank or some other private loan company with lower rates if you can. Otherwise if you qualify for the MBS or MPH then that will allow access to another pool of money through FAFSA. Get into MEDPREP first then worry about that.

In response to your questions about the application cycle:

1. Recommendations will have to be mailed in along with a recommendation form filled out by the recommender. I think Mr. Stevens will actually have you do a consolidated packet with everything inside it (recommendations, reccomendation forms, any signed paper work needed, etc.)
2. I am an in-state student. However, a lot of people come from out-of-state. I would say the majority of my class was out-of-state to be honest. They were able to change their residency to Illinois after Fall semester though.
3. Like previously said I did loans from Sallie Mae. HOWEVER, another perk of MEDPREP is that if you are a traditional MEDPREP student then during the second year almost everyone qualifies for a tuition waiver. If you are a masters student then you do not qualify for a tuition waiver since they can find Teaching Assistantships to pay for tuition and receive stipends. A handful of first year students get a tuition waiver based on need since there is a cap on how many are given and priority is given to second years.

Hope this all helps!

Does the automatic SOM seat apply to those in the master's program?
 
Does the automatic SOM seat apply to those in the master's program?

Yes! As long as your are a part of the MEDPREP Program (Tradition, MBS, or MPH) you are eligible for the alliance as long as you meet that criteria by the end of the program (not the first semester of your second year btw <--- I say this because I did not reach one of the GPA requirements until after the first semester of the second year during the application cycle and I was still accepted. Idk if the admissions committee would wait until the very last semester of the program but the majority would already have met those requirements.)
 
@UMVoyager Ok. I hate to keep asking about this but I want to make sure I understand. If the program end in May and you meet the criteria and siu medical school starts in August, does one still qualify for the alliance?
 
@UMVoyager Ok. I hate to keep asking about this but I want to make sure I understand. If the program end in May and you meet the criteria and siu medical school starts in August, does one still qualify for the alliance?

MEDPREP is set up to have you apply during your second year there. They usually never have that problem unless the admissions committee
@UMVoyager Ok. I hate to keep asking about this but I want to make sure I understand. If the program end in May and you meet the criteria and siu medical school starts in August, does one still qualify for the alliance?

No worries. It is what I am here for. It is not usually common for students that apply after the first year (the year of MCAT prep) and try to work towards those requirements during the second year (application cycle). If you are admitted and are pretty far from those requirements then they might advise you to apply after you are completely done with MEDPREP (after the second year). Or use the summer after the first year to take more classes (Get As) and update SIU SOM of the classes you took. Also how much groundwork you will have to cover to just meet SIU's minimums might be taken into consideration with the committee. But if you do not give them a reason to (Kill the entry exams) then that might sway them to take a chance and all types of people gain admission into this program. It is definitely not everyone who only needed to work on the MCAT. I definitely had some ground work to cover on the MCAT and my GPA and I was able to do it! Make sure you tell them how dedicated and serious you are at your interviews during admissions day.
 
Sorry I did not mean to have the first reply to you sent haha
 
Sorry I did not mean to have the first reply to you sent haha

Hey,
Is it hard to get into the med prep program? Also, how does the Medprep admission committee verify IL residence?
 
Sorry about responding to this late. I do not have SDN hooked up to my current email (probably shouldn't as it is a big distractor during the application cycle). First and foremost I want respond to your comment on last years SIU MEDPREP 2017 cycle.

I want to confirm that yes yes and more YES's that SIU MEDPREP has an alliance with SIU School of Medicine which is such a great perk to this program. You are eligible for an automatic seat (no interview, no traveling to Springfield for the interview, no secondary fee, still need to pay the primary fee) if you meet SIU's minimum qualifications by the end the first semester of your application cycle (2.8 overall GPA, 2.8 BCPM, 498 MCAT, Illinois resident, and good standing with the MEDPREP Student Progress Committee). However, those who do not meet the alliance qualifications still do really great in the application cycle and gain multiple acceptances.

In terms of being maxed out with FAFSA, I was maxed out before I even started. A lot of students found themselves in this predicament. I paid for MEDPREP by borrowing from Sallie Mae, which has high rates so I would go with your bank or some other private loan company with lower rates if you can. Otherwise if you qualify for the MBS or MPH then that will allow access to another pool of money through FAFSA. Get into MEDPREP first then worry about that.

In response to your questions about the application cycle:

1. Recommendations will have to be mailed in along with a recommendation form filled out by the recommender. I think Mr. Stevens will actually have you do a consolidated packet with everything inside it (recommendations, reccomendation forms, any signed paper work needed, etc.)
2. I am an in-state student. However, a lot of people come from out-of-state. I would say the majority of my class was out-of-state to be honest. They were able to change their residency to Illinois after Fall semester though.
3. Like previously said I did loans from Sallie Mae. HOWEVER, another perk of MEDPREP is that if you are a traditional MEDPREP student then during the second year almost everyone qualifies for a tuition waiver. If you are a masters student then you do not qualify for a tuition waiver since they can find Teaching Assistantships to pay for tuition and receive stipends. A handful of first year students get a tuition waiver based on need since there is a cap on how many are given and priority is given to second years.

Hope this all helps!
How many LOR do we need or what's the max?
 
Will be applying first cycle! Very excited!
 
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Hey,
Is it hard to get into the med prep program? Also, how does the Medprep admission committee verify IL residence?
I would say it depend on the application year. Most people come for the MCAT. Since there was a recent change to the MCAT then the program got a little more competitive since no one knew how the new one was going to be. But now people are adjusting to the new one so it could not be that competitive but its pretty unpredictable. There is a maximum of 36 seats. But there are less admissions days and people applying for cycle 1 so it is "easier" to get in if you apply cycle 1.
 
How many LOR do we need or what's the max?
I think it is around three. 2 science professors and 1 a clinical/volunteer/research one. But that could change this cycle. Look out for when the application becomes open.
 
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@UMVoyager is there a way to find out what schools MEDPREP alum have applied/been accepted to?
Well MEDPREP alum have been to accepted to a large amount of schools all over the country. All types of schools such as Ivy's, HBCUs, Big 10 schools, etc. all love MEDPREP students. MEDPREP is nationally renowned for how successful the students are and a lot of them know about this program. We even call some schools "MEDPREP friendly schools" as they come visit MEDPREP every year to give a presentation on their school and maybe even do mock interviews with the students. These certain schools include Loyola Stritch SOM, Dartmouth Geisel SOM (they hold a certain amount of seats for MEDPREP students each year), Wright State Boonshoft, Medical College of Wisconsin, Case Western, University of Iowa Carver, Rush University in Chicago, University of Chicago Pritzker, and Saint Louis University. Schools that do not come to visit but are fond to MEDPREP and give out interviews/admitted us include University of Illinois COM, Wayne State in Detroit, Michigan State, Indiana University, Rosalind Franklin, etc. Those who are not too fond of us still like admit us because of the improvements we have made on our MCAT and the amount of preparation we have done for the application cycle.
 
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Well MEDPREP alum have been to accepted to a large amount of schools all over the country. All types of schools such as Ivy's, HBCUs, Big 10 schools, etc. all love MEDPREP students. MEDPREP is nationally renowned for how successful the students are and a lot of them know about this program. We even call some schools "MEDPREP friendly schools" as they come visit MEDPREP every year to give a presentation on their school and maybe even do mock interviews with the students. These certain schools include Loyola Stritch SOM, Dartmouth Geisel SOM (they hold a certain amount of seats for MEDPREP students each year), Wright State Boonshoft, Medical College of Wisconsin, Case Western, University of Iowa Carver, Rush University in Chicago, University of Chicago Pritzker, and Saint Louis University. Schools that do not come to visit but are fond to MEDPREP and give out interviews/admitted us include University of Illinois COM, Wayne State in Detroit, Michigan State, Indiana University, Rosalind Franklin, etc. Those who are not too fond of us still like admit us because of the improvements we have made on our MCAT and the amount of preparation we have done for the application cycle.
That's great!!! Thank you so much for the info :) this makes me even more excited to apply!
 
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Updated the apply page but it says app will open very soon!
 
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1. Any recommendation of all the MEDPREP staffs, who would be a good person to send my college final transcript to for evaluations before I submit my application? I want to be sure that I qualify for the program before putting all the work in.
2. What are living situations for MEDPREP students? or do they stay on campus in a dormitory or off campus houses?


Thanks in advance!
 
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Has anyone tried to download the PDF Supplemental Form? Every time I click the link, it says 404-Not Found
 
1. Any recommendation of all the MEDPREP staffs, who would be a good person to send my college final transcript to for evaluations before I submit my application? I want to be sure that I qualify for the program before putting all the work in.
2. What are living situations for MEDPREP students? or do they stay on campus in a dormitory or off campus houses?


Thanks in advance!

1. I would just go ahead and apply. It's free to apply and they have a minimum requirement of a 2.2 overall and 2.2 BCPM. I have seen them take chances on people, like they did me haha, but I was able to do really well in MEDPREP. But it depends on your individual situation and background. The worst they could do is say no and sometimes they even give those rejected suggestions on how to strengthen your application for the next application cycle. But overall do not sell yourself short. A couple of my friends in my class were surprised they were accepted.

2. All MEDPREP students live in apartments. The most popular being the Reserve at Saluki Pointe. I do not think any live in dormitories since there are none for graduate students. There are dorm-like apartments with community kitchens like saluki hall and ambassador.
 
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Has anyone tried to download the PDF Supplemental Form? Every time I click the link, it says 404-Not Found

For anyone having problems with the online application please call/email Mr. Stevens. But obviously calling will be more direct and effective. Also if you send any application materials, make sure it is to MEDPREP at wheeler hall and NOT SIU the undergraduate admissions office. Everything should going to MEDPREP before you are admitted.
 
An email was just sent from Mr. Stevens with the 2018 Supplemental Form attached.
 
"Please be advised that the current Cycle deadline dates of Oct 1 Early Cycle and Feb 1 Main Cycle are incorrect and need to read September 18, 2017 Early Cycle and January 16, 2018 Main Cycle." from Mr. Stevens
 
2018 Supplemental form
 

Attachments

  • 2018 Supplemental.pdf
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1. I would just go ahead and apply. It's free to apply and they have a minimum requirement of a 2.2 overall and 2.2 BCPM. I have seen them take chances on people, like they did me haha, but I was able to do really well in MEDPREP. But it depends on your individual situation and background. The worst they could do is say no and sometimes they even give those rejected suggestions on how to strengthen your application for the next application cycle. But overall do not sell yourself short. A couple of my friends in my class were surprised they were accepted.

2. All MEDPREP students live in apartments. The most popular being the Reserve at Saluki Pointe. I do not think any live in dormitories since there are none for graduate students. There are dorm-like apartments with community kitchens like saluki hall and ambassador.
1. I would just go ahead and apply. It's free to apply and they have a minimum requirement of a 2.2 overall and 2.2 BCPM. I have seen them take chances on people, like they did me haha, but I was able to do really well in MEDPREP. But it depends on your individual situation and background. The worst they could do is say no and sometimes they even give those rejected suggestions on how to strengthen your application for the next application cycle. But overall do not sell yourself short. A couple of my friends in my class were surprised they were accepted.

2. All MEDPREP students live in apartments. The most popular being the Reserve at Saluki Pointe. I do not think any live in dormitories since there are none for graduate students. There are dorm-like apartments with community kitchens like saluki hall and ambassador.

HI UMVoyager, Thank you so much for all your encouragement, I'll definitely apply. I am working on the essay questions and everything else.
 
Is anyone else having an issue with sections of their application being marked "incomplete" when you've finished them??
 
I know this may be an obvious question, but when logging back into your application do you type your email address only when the authentication box pop up or do you provide your email address and password at that time? I provided my email and password and it didn't let me in but when I only insert my email address I gained access. I just don't want to create duplicate applications.
 
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@drhopeful2018 Do you mean you will be taking classes the spring of next year, 2018? If so, on the supplemental form there's a spot for you to put the term(spring) for the course that you will be taking before starting medprep. For example, if you plan to take cell bio spring 2018 you can add that on there. Hope this helps.
 
@drhopeful2018 Do you mean you will be taking classes the spring of next year, 2018? If so, on the supplemental form there's a spot for you to put the term(spring) for the course that you will be taking before starting medprep. For example, if you plan to take cell bio spring 2018 you can add that on there. Hope this helps.
Figured it out, thanks! Just felt weird adding it since I haven't enrolled in the school yet.
 
How long does it take to have your packet marked as received?
 
Hi I would like to find out people's experience pertaining to the Admission day/interview day. I curious to know what that day was like and what it entailed.:)
 
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How long does it take to have your packet marked as received?
I think it depends on where you are sending your packet from. I sent my packets on a Saturday and they let me know they received it on a Friday. I am from out of state.
 
I think it depends on where you are sending your packet from. I sent my packets on a Saturday and they let me know they received it on a Friday. I am from out of state.
I'm out of state as well sent it over a week ago and still have not heard back.
 
Does getting invited to admissions day means you are accepted to the program? Or after the admissions day, they select some people to be accepted to the program?
 
Does getting invited to admissions day means you are accepted to the program? Or after the admissions day, they select some people to be accepted to the program?
After admissions day they'd select people to be accepted
 
Please which airport is in Carbondale, IL?
 
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