Getting into the U
4 September 2009 - 9:28am
Word on the street is that getting into the U is nearly impossible if you're from BYU - or Utah, for that matter. Can anyone back this up?
17 September 2009 - 8:16am
#2
Getting into the U
The U of U is a state-funded school, but they sure don't behave like one. Most other state-funded schools in the states around us (Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, for example) will take maybe 5% of their class from out of state, where the U will take something like 20% from out of state. Utah, like other states, is facing an upcoming physician shortage, but the U of U doesn't appear to be doing much to help.
That having been said, I've heard from people who were accepted there that the main focus of the application should be centered around their 6 areas of preparation (patient exposure, research, etc...), and that if someone has strong experience in those areas, it helps substantially because most applicants don't have the minimums in those areas. I also heard from someone close to their admissions committee that you should NOT talk about your mission during your interview, so take that for what its worth.
24 September 2009 - 2:37pm
#3
One current medical school
One current medical school student (at Nova, not the U of U) who was a Utah resident told me that the U tried to play games with him because he was an "average applicant" (by his own admission). They wanted him to apply to their Masters of Public Health program, then apply again in a year. He made it sound like this was common practice for them.
23 December 2009 - 4:43pm
#4
Getting into the U
I was just trying to contact somebody at BYU and came across this site so I thought I'd add my 2 cents as I went to BYU and am a current Utah medical student. It is not impossible. The majority of my class either went to Utah or BYU so do not despair if you are a Cougar.
A big issue affecting you at this point is the reduced class size at the school of medicine. They now have around 80 instead of 100 seats so competition will be much worse... In general, excellence in research is a good way to get your foot in the door. I took an extra year off between BYU and med school and did research at a prestigious research institution. This helped set myself apart from all of the other BYU grads who looked basically the same as me on paper. I even got in with slightly lower MCAT scores than many my friends who did not get into Utah. It is good advice to apply widely to many levels of programs--some above your qualifications, most right where you are qualified, and a few that should be a sure bet and you cannot predict whether you will or won't get into the U even if your stats are exceptional or below average. Just maximize your application, apply broadly and see what happens.
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I don't think so. I just think that it's difficult to get all the way through the application process. Remember, the U is a public school, so something like 80% of their seats are reserved for Utah residents. And for some reason I don't think that a lot of medical students come out of SUU, UVU, etc. But maybe they favor their own and only go for their undergrads. I know a couple BYU grads that have gone there.
But who would want to become a Yewt anyway?