University Of Minnesota Application Thread

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magnumxto said:
for all those who have interviewed... can you tell me how long i can expect the whole interview to be? (ie. does it begin in the morning and last until the afternoon?) i JUST received an invitation to interview on march 21st and it's REALLY hard to find flight tickets from CA to MSP...
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I found the interview absolutely fantastic. *Very* low pressure. If you start getting nervous (which I always do during interviews), take a deep breath and think about what you'll say before you say it. They were really good at trying to relax us and make us do our best.

As others said, the interview itself could range from about 30 min - 1 hour. There are tours and informational panels as well, so the entire time period is about 4 hours. I understand there's a morning and an afternoon session.

I think the key to the interview is to really know why you want to be in pharmacy and what you bring to the table. I was asked a lot of questions about my personal experience in pharmacy and my volunteer experiences; it was actually very enlightening and I felt like I learned a lot about the potential of my own goals during the interview. It also gave me the opportunity to ask how the school of pharmacy could help me meet my personal goals. Definitely worthwhile!

Good luck!
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The wait is killing me. Anybody knows exactly when they will give us the ranking numbers? I sux in patience.. my hopes are fading away. :confused:
 
Pharm001 said:
The wait is killing me. Anybody knows exactly when they will give us the ranking numbers? I sux in patience.. my hopes are fading away. :confused:
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Good luck, Pharm001!

I noticed at my interview the other day that almost everybody had pharm experience. You might try to get some experience in the meantime to up your chances for next year in case this year doesn't work out. It looked like maybe they were selecting applicants based in part on their experiences [Deleted: over, Added: as well] as well as grades and PCAT.
 
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I agree, it was very low key; granted I did get nervous at the beginning and could feel the adrenaline surging but once the interview got underway, I settled right into it.

It seemed like they really just wanted to learn more about you, your motivations for pharmacy, your goals, understanding of the profession, etc. There were a couple questions that made me think, but that's what makes interviewing fun. (I was scared to death beforehand, don't get me wrong!)

I already knew I wanted to go to the Duluth campus, but after the interview process I was even more resolved in that decision - I think what I especially like is the small campus feel of having only 60 students on the Duluth site.

Someone had asked about ranking...I think they mentioned that they would send them out at the end of April, beginning of May (If my memory serves me well). I can't recall if I mentioned this earlier or not, but they said they were about 80% full right now and that they were interviewing 52 people on March 11. If there are interviewing a similar number on March 21st, that would mean approximately 100 interview and 30 spots to fill! Given it's the end of enrollment, I think that's a very positive thing; I was actually thinking they might only have 5-10 spots available this late in the year, if I was lucky! She did mention that they went through 40+ people on the rank list right up until a couple days before orientations (some people on the rank list had pre-req's they didn't complete so they had to bypass a couple people).

Something I didn't realize until doing the supplemental, was that you have to have a full Hep B series of vaccinations which takes 6 months to complete...so if you haven't done it already, might be good to go to a walk-in clinic and start the series, already a bit late as it has to be completed by Sept 6th, but they might let you do the last titer a week early (never know). I found out I have already had mine, but was having nightmares about not being admitted because of it!! Even if you're looking at applying next year, wouldn't hurt to do it now =)
 
I was accepted with only 3 months of experience, but a decent GPA and PCAT scores, so they definitely look at everything you have to offer.
 
I was accepted and I didn't have any pharmacy experience so don't give up hope. I think they really look at everything you have to offer and if you can show them how much you want to be a pharmacist, regardless of your experience, it will do a lot for you.
 
Something I didn't realize until doing the supplemental, was that you have to have a full Hep B series of vaccinations which takes 6 months to complete...so if you haven't done it already, might be good to go to a walk-in clinic and start the series, already a bit late as it has to be completed by Sept 6th, but they might let you do the last titer a week early (never know).
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Don't worry too much about the Hep B series. I didn't have mine done when school started and it wasn't a huge problem. If you can get it done before that would be the best, but as long as you communicate with the school and have it in progress it should not be a problem.

I'm a first year student at the TC campus if anyone has any questions!
 
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we should get a facebook page goin, i would but im not very tech savy lol, either for the class or for the school, unless there is one already??, getting excited its coming fast, anyone have advice on housing, i have a family(wife, son, and my mother) and moving from out of state, what's an affordable area?
 
rwillia said:
we should get a facebook page goin, i would but im not very tech savy lol, either for the class or for the school, unless there is one already??, getting excited its coming fast, anyone have advice on housing, i have a family(wife, son, and my mother) and moving from out of state, what's an affordable area?
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UMN has family housing, but I think it might be a bit spendy. I don't know too much about housing in that region as I don't live too close to the Cities, but I'd start searching in St Paul; I think it's a bit cheaper than Minneapolis. Make sure to choose a safe area. I think the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood (Minneapolis) is known for being cheap and nearby, but it's often considered a bit sketchy. I'm not sure if it actually deserves this reputation or not.

Not a cheap area, but my favorite place in St Paul is Mac-Groveland. Not super close, but a beautiful, cute and friendly neighborhood.

One note, rwillia: I noticed you were told 60% residency placement at UMN. I was told it was about 33% for the class of 2010. Both are good numbers....but something to think about.
 
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rwillia said:
we should get a facebook page goin, i would but im not very tech savy lol, either for the class or for the school, unless there is one already??, getting excited its coming fast, anyone have advice on housing, i have a family(wife, son, and my mother) and moving from out of state, what's an affordable area?
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A lot of undergraduate students live around the 15th and 5th street-8th street area (ie Dinkytown) as well as on Como Ave. SE (a little north of campus) between 12th ave. and 22nd ave. I would try to avoid those areas since you have a family as they can (not always, but can) be noisy on weekends/full of undergrad party-goers. They are, however, walking distance from campus which is nice - especially the dinkytown area which is very close. And yes, avoid cedar-riverside.

Once you go down Como Ave. (eastbound) past 22nd ave. you start getting to less undergrads and nicer areas. The closer you get to St. Paul the cheaper housing tends to be. The bus route "3" connects St. Paul to downtown Minneapolis and stops in two places on the U campus. Much of the route is Como so if you live anywhere near Como you will have no problems getting to campus.

The bussing system is good in the Twin Cities and students have an option for an unlimited bus card for ~$90/semester. Parking can also be quite expensive on campus.. so looking up bus routes on metrotransit.org is another thing to consider while house hunting.

There are a lot of nicer/affordable areas in the twin cities. I'm sure you could probably google this topic and find some detailed responses. Hope this helped a bit.. Good luck!
 
I will add my two cents on locations also, as I went to school there and lived in the area for about 10 years (of course as a college student/single person). If you have a family, I would agree that Como is a great area as well as Mac-Groveland (a little pricier, but depends on where). Dinkytown is nice as it is right in the middle of all the activity, but you need to like/want true urban living for the entire family for that to be a good fit. Como and Mac Groveland are older neighborhoods which are more residential in make-up.

I think the facebook idea is a great one...but alas, I am not tech savvy either!
 
I am getting ahead of myself - only just interviewed! I will hopefully be joining the facebook group when I hear back from admissions =)...unless of course you want committed followers, but I think that is more what this site is for.

Awsome that you were able to get it up so fast! I am excited to join
 
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Rwillia,

I'd definitely listen to the posters about places to live, especially with a family. I know some people also like South Minneapolis in some parts and I'll agree with the suggestions for the Como/St. Paul areas.

I currently live in the SE Como neighborhood and its a nice distance away, but you're definitely in mainly undergrad territory unless you go East of 22nd towards St. Anthony's Village/Falcon Heights (both nice areas).

And if you SDN name is similar to your actual name, I believe we had our UC Denver interview the same day. Hopefully it is and maybe we'll both be in Minnesota next year (still deciding on my end).

Congrats.
 
pharmschooler said:
UMN has family housing, but I think it might be a bit spendy.
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My family lives in the U of M family housing - they let us in early because they had an open spot. We really love it - it is nice, clean, and quiet. There is a playground outside everyone's back door (you have a front and back door - they are townhomes with two levels). All utilities, including cable, are included with the exception of internet and phone. The campus bus system runs right through here, so we plan on getting rid of one of our cars next year because I will just take the bus to school.

The location is perfect for us - we are close to everything. There are two family housing sites, and the one we are in is in the Saint Anthony Park area. We are on the Saint Paul campus and behind the State Fair grounds (a MN institution - pretty much everyone goes and eats themselves to death with fried food :hardy:).

We pay $786 for two bedrooms, which isn't bad given the location and utilities included. We have two adults and three children, and it does not seem cramped at all. We were in a two bedroom apt before, though, so this seems luxurious to us.:)

The housing is a cooperative. You buy a share and pay reduced rent. If the place turns a profit, they refund money to the members. There are a lot activities organized by the board for families, there is a daycare on site, a study center, and things like tennis and basketball courts, a little ice rink in the winter, and a playroom for little kids.

Here is a link to the coop website.

Feel free to PM me if you have questions!
 
finnfarmer, are you by chance the guy from Minnesota that was in my group during the group project at the CU-Denver interview? and yes my name is very similar, hope this is you, and hope you end up with me up in the twin cities. thanks everyone for the input on housing, super nervous about move, but very excited.
 
rwillia said:
finnfarmer, are you by chance the guy from Minnesota that was in my group during the group project at the CU-Denver interview? and yes my name is very similar, hope this is you, and hope you end up with me up in the twin cities. thanks everyone for the input on housing, super nervous about move, but very excited.
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The very same lanky guy. I'll probably join the Facebook group once I'm solid to Minnesota, but congrats again.
 
ledin029 said:
I was accepted and I didn't have any pharmacy experience so don't give up hope. I think they really look at everything you have to offer and if you can show them how much you want to be a pharmacist, regardless of your experience, it will do a lot for you.
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I agree. I had no pharmacy experience when I submitted my pharmCAS in August but still got accepted after their November interview.
 
heatheld said:
i am certainly not tech savvy at all either but i shall try to make the group...hopefully my efforts will prove successful haha.

i will post the group on here if it works.


EDIT: here is the group:

University of Minnesota College of Pharmacy - Class of 2015

please come join me so i am not the sole member haha
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Hey I am joining you. I have been trying to search for our class on facebook but never came across anything for UMN.
 
honeybee763 said:
Don't worry too much about the Hep B series. I didn't have mine done when school started and it wasn't a huge problem. If you can get it done before that would be the best, but as long as you communicate with the school and have it in progress it should not be a problem.

I'm a first year student at the TC campus if anyone has any questions!
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Hi,

I remember from my student panel session on the interview day regarding a link that Peter Haeg will send to us for classmates and jobs. I don't quite remember the exact details but I am just wondering if you were told the same thing last year, and if yes, when do I expect to get an email from him? Thanks!
 
Pharm001 said:
I Interviewed on 01/28 and I was placed on ranked waitlist... :mad::mad:
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Hi I was interviewed in November. Don't worry if you are on the ranked waitlist. I remember from the statistics they showed us, you should have a very good chance of getting in.
 
rwillia said:
From Colorado , so ill have a little bit of winter time experience, but not quite to the extent. Does anyone know when they offer the Deans nonresident scholarship? or has anyone already been offered?
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Hi rwillia,

I am also out-of-state, if you didn't get anything regarding the nonresident scholarship in your admissions package, that would mean they didn't offer you one. I was interviewed in November and actually had actually called in December because they misplaced my admissions package. What I got from them was that all nonresident scholarships had already been offered to other out-of-state students.

Congrats!
 
so i got on the unranked waitlist for TC. how likely am i to get in? and how does the whole ranked vs unranked process work again?
 
I was taking a look at the U of M thread from last year and it was interesting; they starting working their way down the ranked wait list 3/29/10 before the admissions committee had a chance to review the 3/12 and 3/22 interview applicants (this year it was 3/11 and 3/21). The people who interviewed in March started hearing back by email April 6th timeframe.

Starting to get excited now...excited for those who may be pulled from the ranked wait list VERY shortly too!!! For those who have been ranked previously this year, the first ranked wait list acceptances may go out the equivalent of what will be this Monday March 28th (2 days away!!) and the acceptances for the March interviews may go out the equivalent of a week from Monday April 4th! ... assuming last year is a guage for this year! (of course a number of people received interview emails on a Wednesday, so the committee could be meeting on Wednesdays this year which would push these dates back by 2 days)

I would have thought they would have evaluated all interview candidates before starting down the ranked wait list but apparently they must start early knowing there will be a lot of change in the admissions statuses.

GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE:)
 
fturepharmD said:
I was taking a look at the U of M thread from last year and it was interesting; they starting working their way down the ranked wait list 3/29/10 before the admissions committee had a chance to review the 3/12 and 3/22 interview applicants (this year it was 3/11 and 3/21). The people who interviewed in March started hearing back by email April 6th timeframe.

Starting to get excited now...excited for those who may be pulled from the ranked wait list VERY shortly too!!! For those who have been ranked previously this year, the first ranked wait list acceptances may go out the equivalent of what will be this Monday March 28th (2 days away!!) and the acceptances for the March interviews may go out the equivalent of a week from Monday April 4th! ... assuming last year is a guage for this year! (of course a number of people received interview emails on a Wednesday, so the committee could be meeting on Wednesdays this year which would push these dates back by 2 days)

I would have thought they would have evaluated all interview candidates before starting down the ranked wait list but apparently they must start early knowing there will be a lot of change in the admissions statuses.

GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE:)
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I am on the ranked waitlist, and i just got accepted to an out of state school which requires deposit. I hope to hear soon from the UMN.
 
Congrats to everyone. I'm anxiously awaiting my letter, as many of you are. :)
 
Anyone planning on doing the dual-career or dual-degree pharmd/MBA?
 
anyone on the ranked waitlist hear anything about their specific rank number or acceptance yet?

the wait is killing me! haha
 
Here is the link to last years thread, about this time! If you're like me, you just want something aside from homework to entertain you while you wait...

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=682111&page=4

So there went my prediction of us hearing something from SOMEBODY by now, lol.

This waiting is killing me! - It so hard not to keeping checking my email like 5 times a day, is that not ridiculous!?

I'm trying to think of it like I did christmas as kid...it was the love-hate of anticipation. I never actually wanted to open the presents early, just wanted to shake em and try to guess what was in em. It better not be like the year we went to relatives and got home to find no presents yet...my parents said Santa must have missed us on his first trip around. At this point, just hoping there is no lump of coal coming my way!
 
shhortstuf said:
Yeah I know but I was just asking since this time last year people from the ranked waitlist were being accepted. :)
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oh i see, yea i believe there were around 15 people that were pulled off the ranked waitlist last year in April so you might not even have to wait to hear your number in May. Good luck and no worries, if you are on the ranked wait list you should be fine. :)
 
fturepharmD said:
Here is the link to last years thread, about this time! If you're like me, you just want something aside from homework to entertain you while you wait...

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=682111&page=4

So there went my prediction of us hearing something from SOMEBODY by now, lol.

This waiting is killing me! - It so hard not to keeping checking my email like 5 times a day, is that not ridiculous!?

I'm trying to think of it like I did christmas as kid...it was the love-hate of anticipation. I never actually wanted to open the presents early, just wanted to shake em and try to guess what was in em. It better not be like the year we went to relatives and got home to find no presents yet...my parents said Santa must have missed us on his first trip around. At this point, just hoping there is no lump of coal coming my way!
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Only 5 times a day? :D
 
shhortstuf said:
Yeah I know but I was just asking since this time last year people from the ranked waitlist were being accepted. :)
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You right, but i heard last year this time they under admitted students and that is why they pulled out people from the waiting list earlier.
 
atpsynthase said:
Only 5 times a day? :D
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Ok, maybe I left off a "1"...15 is perhaps more accurate, or would it be 51?!:p

Pharm001 said:
You right, but i heard last year this time they under admitted students and that is why they pulled out people from the waiting list earlier. :D
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You're right, that might be the reason...I think someone had posted saying there were 100 spots open when they first updated the admissions stats this time last year. When I interviewed in early March, they said there were 20% (30+) spots avail. I guess when application numbers dropped from 1000+ to 800+, they could have been pretty conservative on admissions and then realized they had a lot of spots to fill yet.
 
atpsynthase said:
Ranked waitlist here... :\
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At least you're ranked! When was your interview? Did you just find out today? Email or snail mail? (sorry to be so nosy! I think ranked waitlisters do stand a good chance of getting in though...obviously waiting isn't my personal strong point, though...)
 
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Interview was March 11th. Just found out today via email. I hope I stand a good chance because I was accepted to a school in Chicago today as well... and I'm sure the deposit will be due before I learn of my ranked WL position. :confused:
 
atpsynthase said:
Interview was March 11th. Just found out today via email. I hope I stand a good chance because I was accepted to a school in Chicago today as well... and I'm sure the deposit will be due before I learn of my ranked WL position. :confused:
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I'm exactly on the same boat, but i decided to pay the deposit to chicago and wait from the UMN as well. I interviewed on 01/28 at UMN (placed on ranked list) and accepted at MWU a week ago.
 
Ranked WL is not a bad place to be...hopefully you will hear back soon on your status or acceptance; I empathize with the waiting.

I interviewed March 11th also, just confused and don't know what to think; are there more people that interviewed in March who have heard some news but just haven't posted yet?? Acceptance, WL, or rejection??

Hoping to hear something soon, and praying the reason isn't because they are mailing a rejection letter:eek:
 
fturepharmD said:
I interviewed March 11th also, just confused and don't know what to think; are there more people that interviewed in March who have heard some news but just haven't posted yet?? Acceptance, WL, or rejection??
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I interviewed mar 11 as well and haven't heard anything yet either!
 
I just called Sarah, and she said for those who interviewed on March 11th will receive their notices via email/mail on April 11th, possibly a bit earlier than that for some.
 
Thanks for sharing Daisy and Luc...

Wow, that's great you were able to get to the scoop on timeframes!

I'm curious to know where the U of M ranks on everyones choices? Did people choose one campus only or "either" and will the campus be a significant factor in choosing the U of M?

The U of M is the only school I applied to, so it's #1 on my list!
I chose "Duluth Only" for my campus selection.
 
Hey Magnum, I'm headed to UM Pharm this Fall and have been seriously considering the PharmD/MBA option...have you heard anything from anybody that's had any experience with the program or knows anything about it? Sounds like a really intriguing avenue
 
I was considering the MBA combo program. It's through Carlson, which is a well respected program. As of right now, I am thinking I would rather just focus on the PharmD without the MBA. The reasons were
1. It's an extra year - and I think I would prefer to do a residency program instead (for me it would be difficult to do both, as it would mean 1 extra year for the residency and 1 year for the MBA).
2. It's additional cost, which isn't the biggest factor...it's more about getting a return on your investment. (I'm a bit older so my tradeoff is different than someone in their 20's), so I was considering doing it, but the reality is I have worked in the business arena for 10 years and have a wealth of personal experience to draw on.
3. If someone were going to go into management, hospital administration, or work in pharma industry it would be helpful...I'm interested in this, but am just balancing my own personal demands.
4. It means going to school every summer, which is not a big deal but I have some other business endeavors I'm invested in which need some additional time investment from me in the summers
5. I don't want to preclude my ability to get involved in other research or clinical experiences by overcommitting myself upfront.

That being said, if I were in my 20's and interested in business or management I would whole heartedly consider it...the more options the better - you never know what doors may open up for you, and it definitely will give you a competitive edge, depending on the setting.
 
I wish the U of M offered a dual degree with the school of public health! I think if that were an option, I'd take it! An MBA doesn't interest me that much...
 
pharmschooler said:
I wish the U of M offered a dual degree with the school of public health! I think if that were an option, I'd take it! An MBA doesn't interest me that much...
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All i need is to get accepted for the PharmD program....... :laugh:
 
Pharm001 said:
All i need is to get accepted for the PharmD program....... :laugh:
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Agreed!

I also put a deposit down for MWU but in AZ. I'm hoping to get into UMN before June 1st (when class starts at MWU).
 
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