So I noticed that ND does not participate in AMCAS and have sent asking for an application. Has anyone ever applied here or have any experience with them?
I received an automated reply stating that if I am not a resident of ND or WICHE states or american indian my chances were very slim.
- misscompassion Said:
I received an automated reply stating that if I am not a resident of ND or WICHE states or american indian my chances were very slim.
Slim to nill... If you could go there for a visit you would understand. In spite of being a big state, ND is sparsely populated, and most of the population are Native Americans. As a state school, they obviously take their mission to serve the local population very seriously. I imagine that they have a limited budget relative to most other public schools, and that each class is probably very small. I can also imagine that being the rationale for not participating in AMCAS. They likely get more local applications than they can accept without having to look farther abroad. I probably wouldn't waste my application dollars here unless I decide I really want to live in near-complete isolation from the rest of society for a year before applying. (Which honestly doesn't sound that bad sometimes...)
Tim
I agree with Tim’s assessment as to the likelihood of your gaining acceptance to UND’s medical school. Not to say this is your reasoning at all, but I think UND probably gets a lot of first looks by applicants because students tend to view it as one of their “safe” schools due to its average student scores being lower than the majority of medical schools. 
(Admittedly, I was one of those people who briefly considered it.) However, I’m certain they graduate top quality doctors, for as we all know and has been proven time and again, scores are only a partial predictor as to the future success of a doctor.
Although sparsely populated, there are some regional centers of higher population. I would disagree with Tim’s contention that “most of the population are Native Americans”. Native Americans are still a small minority group within the larger population, and as other states do with common minority populations found in their larger whole, North Dakota (as well as a few other states) encourages Native Americans to apply to its medical school.
I believe UND’s entering class approximates 50 each year, and as Tim pointed out, they probably get enough qualified applicants from within their guidelines to be able to fill their class each year. In fact, they specifically state: “Due to the large number of qualified applicants from North Dakota, other non-North Dakota citizens are discouraged from applying.” For me that would seal the deal. That being said, we each bring something unique to the table for a medical school, and perhaps you have that “special something” that UND sees will add to its diversity and enhance the education of its other students. This is one of those tough decisions each applicant must make as to whether to spend the money to apply to school X.
- MD2B2010 Said:
I would disagree with Tim's contention that "most of the population are Native Americans". Native Americans are still a small minority group within the larger population, and as other states do with common minority populations found in their larger whole, North Dakota (as well as a few other states) encourages Native Americans to apply to its medical school.
I'm sorry, that was a careless generalization on my part. Native Americans are indeed a minority, but relative to other places in the country there are quite a few. Sioux, Dakotoa, Chippewa, and Mandan are particularly well represented (and I'm sure there are others that I am forgetting). If you get a chance to travel to ND, you should check out Turtle mountain, Spirit lake, and Standing rock which are some rather beautiful, if remote, protected indigenous population areas (reservations). The fairly large Three Tribes reservation is located in central ND as well. I didn't intend to slight the rest of the state's population. I just happen to think that the Native American population is woefuly underserved and deserves to be well-represented when it comes to Medical School admission.
I seem to remember another thread regarding rural and underserved populations, but I'll make the comment here. I think Medical Schools have a particular duty (especially public ones) to attempt to train doctors who demonstrate motivation to serve rural or underserved populations. If you are a person who feels a calling toward this area of medicine & have expressed it by working in such an area, there are probably more than a few good medical schools who would love to have you.
Tim