2013-2014 Stanford University Application Thread

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Got my rejection letter today. Complete early August, live in Chicago.
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Mike Ross said:
Got my rejection letter today. Complete early August, live in Chicago.
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I am sorry to hear that. Is it preinterview? If you dont mind sharing the date o the letter. Wish you best of luck.
 
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Techerguy said:
May I ask why you choose Stanford over Harvard? Just curious because I'm in the middle of this decision.
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Hey, personally I just feel it is a better fit for me. I think it comes down to the weight you personally assign to various aspects such as prestige, environment, faculty, students, life experiences etc. I am confident Harvard may provide more financially, but I feel that overall Stanford is a better fit for me. A lot of the students I have spoken to at Stanford are incredibly happy, and can provide a ton of reasons why they choose Stanford- whereas a lot of people siding with Harvard say 'Well it's Harvard Med' and mention the prestige/money/research. At both places you are going to get a great education and have an abundance of research opportunities; but, I think that Stanford will be able to provide me with more life experiences and opportunities to explore other areas such as business. Stanford being integrated with the undergrad and other graduate schools will allow me to take classes outside of medicine (which a lot of med students do, especially since the curriculum allows them to do so). Most med schools offer these opportunities, but the number of students actually taking advantage of those opportunities are small- especially at a place like Harvard where the campuses are separated. I just feel overall that it is worth it for me to be in a place I will be happy, and let's face it, going to Stanford over Harvard will not affect your match opportunities.
 
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interviewed end of january. got a waitlist letter in the mail yesterday.
 
I'll be interviewing on the last day, so best case scenario would be waitlisted at this point, but can anyone offer up advice for interview day? I've never done an MMI interview before
 
Is anyone else still up in limbo pending secondary completion. I still haven't received a rejection letter.
 
Tijou said:
Is anyone else still up in limbo pending secondary completion. I still haven't received a rejection letter.
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Same situation. I emailed admissions last week and asked the status of my application -- they replied still under review. Obviously not holding my breath though.
 
This may be is a dumb question, but do they send the rejection letter to your current/mailing address, or your permanent address? Trying to make sure that I haven't been looking in the wrong location .. and otherwise, baffled as to how I'm still under review here when I'm so far from competitive for Stanford.
 
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aspirantmed said:
This may be is a dumb question, but do they send the rejection letter to your current/mailing address, or your permanent address? Trying to make sure that I haven't been looking in the wrong location .. and otherwise, baffled as to how I'm still under review here when I'm so far from competitive for Stanford.
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Not a dumb question, several people were concerned about this before and discussed it. The consensus was that it is sent to your "preferred address" (i.e. current, NOT permanent address on AMCAS--unless, of course, they are the same but if that were your case you wouldn't be asking).
 
Hey everyone!

I'm a med student at Stanford graduating this year. As my last year winds down and my free time increases for a bit, I just wanted to make myself available to answer any questions any of you might have.

I know that I definitely appreciated being able to talk to graduating med students way back when I was making my choice of med schools, so I just figured I'd pay it forward. :)
 
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Isn't there a deadline or something for medical schools to make SOME kind of decision for its applicants? If there is, Stanford is certainly pushing it...
 
Trayshawn said:
Isn't there a deadline or something for medical schools to make SOME kind of decision for its applicants? If there is, Stanford is certainly pushing it...
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Nope. Schools have to accept at least enough applicants to fill their first year class by the end of March. However, they could keep some people in the dark until August if they wanted to. :(
 
mdapp1234 said:
Hey, personally I just feel it is a better fit for me. I think it comes down to the weight you personally assign to various aspects such as prestige, environment, faculty, students, life experiences etc. I am confident Harvard may provide more financially, but I feel that overall Stanford is a better fit for me. A lot of the students I have spoken to at Stanford are incredibly happy, and can provide a ton of reasons why they choose Stanford- whereas a lot of people siding with Harvard say 'Well it's Harvard Med' and mention the prestige/money/research. At both places you are going to get a great education and have an abundance of research opportunities; but, I think that Stanford will be able to provide me with more life experiences and opportunities to explore other areas such as business. Stanford being integrated with the undergrad and other graduate schools will allow me to take classes outside of medicine (which a lot of med students do, especially since the curriculum allows them to do so). Most med schools offer these opportunities, but the number of students actually taking advantage of those opportunities are small- especially at a place like Harvard where the campuses are separated. I just feel overall that it is worth it for me to be in a place I will be happy, and let's face it, going to Stanford over Harvard will not affect your match opportunities.
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Was in the same boat and can't agree more!
 
Absolutely shocked to have just received an II here! I've been complete since September.

I know it's probably a long shot since it's so late in the interview season, but I'm incredibly excited to visit this school!
 
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Can'tShakeThis said:
Absolutely shocked to have just received an II here! I've been complete since September.

I know it's probably a long shot since it's so late in the interview season, but I'm incredibly excited to visit this school!
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Congratulations! What date(s) were available?
 
Farmerboy said:
Thank you for posting this - I find the information very interesting! I was wondering though about two things. In regards to the research opportunities, what would your comparison be if you considered Stanford versus both HMS and MIT? Obviously in many fields of engineering and drug delivery design, the inclusion of MIT considerably adds to the potential list of research opportunities... Secondly, in regards to business interests, what kind of entrepreneurship training does Stanford offer? I know MIT offers seed funding, business plan competitions, and pairing with mentors who have experience with start-ups; I do not know much about the equivalent at Stanford in fields other than computer science/IT/smartphones. Does Stanford have any training programs for biotech innovation? Thank you kindly for your time and help!
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Don't know too much about HMS/MIT resources, as I'm not a student there. I will say, my old PI, a respected basic scientist who did residency at Harvard and medical school at Stanford, always told me, "Harvard is a place that fills itself with the leading researchers in established fields of study. Stanford is a place where researchers go to create new fields. Its a different philosophy."

Most medical students interested in biotech innovation either take courses through the Graduate School of Business (GSB) or the Design School (d.School). There's also a fair amount of courses in the biosciences departments and even some of the undergraduate schools that you have access to as a medical student. It's a lot of time commitment (to be honest) but many students still take advantage. There's also a Start-up Incubator StartX with funding and office space available to students from any school. Stanford benefits from having all graduate programs on one campus, so you have a lot of interaction with similarly "innovation"-focused individuals from the business, law, engineering, masters, and undergraduate programs. We actually have a few students every year who fore-go residency training to enter the business start-up or consulting world from these experiences.

I've included links to some of the more popular programs below, if you're interested in health or bio-tech related innovation:

Design for Extreme Affordability, Stanford School of Design (d.School)
Project course jointly offered by School of Engineering and Graduate School of Business. Students apply engineering and business skills to design product prototypes, distribution systems, and business plans for entrepreneurial ventures in developing countries for a specified challenge faced by the world's poor. Topics include user empathy, appropriate technology design, rapid prototype engineering and testing, social technology entrepreneurship, business modeling, and project management.
http://extreme.stanford.edu

Biodesign Innovation, Stanford GSB.
In this course, students learn how to develop comprehensive solutions (most commonly medical devices) to some of the most significant medical problems. The first quarter includes an introduction to needs finding methods, brainstorming and concept creation. Students learn strategies for understanding and interpreting clinical needs, researching literature and searching patents. Working in small entrepreneurial multidisciplinary teams, students gain exposure to clinical and scientific literature review, techniques of intellectual property analysis and feasibility, basic prototyping and market assessment. Students create, analyze and screen medical technology ideas, and select projects for future development.
http://biodesign.stanford.edu/bdn/courses/
 
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Got the call. Dr. Garcia is calling people on the waitlist TODAY. Now I have a tough decision to make...crap. I never, ever thought I would be in this position.

Edit: Interviewed 10/16, so please don't panic if you interviewed later and don't get a call today. :)
 
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Voicemail from Dean Garcia asking me to call him back. Gahhhhh. I haven't heard anything since interviewing in October. Let the phone tag commence!!

EDIT: holy moly. I'm IN. What is this feeling!!?!?! :biglove:
 
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Meanwhile no pre-interview letter :/ Looks like it's coming down to the wire though if they're already going to the waitlist.
 
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So, they're taking people off of the waitlist without yet having gotten back to all applicants?
Strange system.

Anyway, CONGRATULATIONS GUYS! This is the last school I'm waiting for. Fingers crossed that the rest of us hear something soon.
 
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I think they are going to reject people waiting pre- interview
 
For those of you who now have the difficult decision about whether or not to come to Stanford, I thought I'd file a Friday report. The weather is very nice, and some people are out having an early Friday happy hour in prep for St Patrick's Day. The 1st & 2nd years are in the middle of exams, but that doesn't mean it's all misery. Pictures attached.

Have a great weekend!
 

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That's all well and good but there's more to a place than its weather....that being said, Stanford has a lot to offer apart from the perpetual sunshine.
 
alamo4 said:
For those of you who now have the difficult decision about whether or not to come to Stanford, I thought I'd file a Friday report. The weather is very nice, and some people are out having an early Friday happy hour in prep for St Patrick's Day. The 1st & 2nd years are in the middle of exams, but that doesn't mean it's all misery. Pictures attached.

Have a great weekend!
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Yup, I live in the area - don't need to convince me. I wish we had more rain so our agricultural sector doesn't collapse this summer! :/
 
You got off the waitlist?! Exciting! I'm stuck on the waitlist trying to decide where I'd go if I didn't get off the waitlist at Stanford. By any chance did you write Stanford a letter or intent or anything along those lines?




sebastopublican said:
Got the call. Dr. Garcia is calling people on the waitlist TODAY. Now I have a tough decision to make...crap. I never, ever thought I would be in this position.

Edit: Interviewed 10/16, so please don't panic if you interviewed later and don't get a call today. :)
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does anyone have any tips on getting a hold of the admissions office? I've tried calling and emailing the office and my interview coordinator but no one seems to respond...

congrats to all who have been accepted!
 
Juggs Gotcha said:
does anyone have any tips on getting a hold of the admissions office? I've tried calling and emailing the office and my interview coordinator but no one seems to respond...

congrats to all who have been accepted!
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Haha, hands down the WORST admissions office in the country in my honest opinion. Have you tried leaving a voice message for Mr. Perez? That seems to work on occassion.

On another note, if we haven't heard back by now, should we just assume waitlist?
 
Juggs Gotcha said:
does anyone have any tips on getting a hold of the admissions office? I've tried calling and emailing the office and my interview coordinator but no one seems to respond...

congrats to all who have been accepted!
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I've called a couple times in the past few months, and each time following the phone menu seemed to get me to a real person, once even with Dean Garcia :eek: Maybe try calling at a different time? I've called around 11AM PST and that has worked well.
 
Trayshawn said:
Haha, hands down the WORST admissions office in the country in my honest opinion. Have you tried leaving a voice message for Mr. Perez? That seems to work on occassion.

On another note, if we haven't heard back by now, should we just assume waitlist?
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I haaaaddd to jinx it. Waitlisted today hahaha. Considering whether or not to withdraw...
 
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jeghaber said:
I've called a couple times in the past few months, and each time following the phone menu seemed to get me to a real person, once even with Dean Garcia :eek: Maybe try calling at a different time? I've called around 11AM PST and that has worked well.
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Thanks - I'll try at 11. I have been calling in the afternoons for weeks with no reply and they haven't replied to my emails either haha
 
Hey everyone. Any calls today? Did anyone from the Feb 28th interview group get a decision yet?
 
Does anyone know when Stanford's last interview date for the cycle is?


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Interviewed early October, and have heard absolutely nothing. Anybody else in the same boat?

I find it pretty ridiculous that they told us on the interview day that we would hear back in December, and there's been silence through late March!
 
I just received an interview invite... but there are no available dates to select. Has this happened to anyone else?
 
KMR63 said:
I just received an interview invite... but there are no available dates to select. Has this happened to anyone else?
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Maybe they're adding another interview day?
 
Did anyone get rejection letter?
 
Guys, any of you have any idea how Stanford deals with their wait list? Kind of confused that people have already been accepted from the WL
 
ChadMaster said:
Hey everyone. Any calls today? Did anyone from the Feb 28th interview group get a decision yet?
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nemo123 said:
Nothing here, though I imagine someone probably already got a call.
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Nope, and i know one other person from our group who hasn't heard anything either. Statistically speaking 1 or two of the four of us should have gotten a call so i'm hoping that they just haven't decided yet...
 
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java64 said:
Nope, and i know one other person from our group who hasn't heard anything either. Statistically speaking 1 or two of the four of us should have gotten a call so i'm hoping that they just haven't decided yet...
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I sure hope that's the case. o_O

I do somewhat recall Dr. Garcia mentioning that we would probably find out near the end of March.
 
java64 said:
Nope, and i know one other person from our group who hasn't heard anything either. Statistically speaking 1 or two of the four of us should have gotten a call so i'm hoping that they just haven't decided yet...
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A bit of good news/bad news. For my interview group (late October), only one person posted on SDN about an acceptance during the initial round of acceptance calls (mid-December, which is when we were told we'd all hear back). A ton of people were wait listed/rejected in mid-February. I heard nothing throughout all this until a few weeks ago when Dean Garcia called (the same day a previously waitlisted interviewee from my interview day was also accepted).

From this, it seems only a select few get the initial seal of approval while the rest go into a pool of continuous review until you're rejected. That being said, I have no idea if they review no-decision and wait listed applicants with the same frequency (my instincts tell me they review previously waitlisted applicants at a lower frequency). So don't despair if you don't get a call right away -- I know April/May is fast approaching, but my guess is that if you're not rejected, you'll still be in the running, regardless of when you hear back.
 
jeghaber said:
A bit of good news/bad news. For my interview group (late October), only one person posted on SDN about an acceptance during the initial round of acceptance calls (mid-December, which is when we were told we'd all hear back). A ton of people were wait listed/rejected in mid-February. I heard nothing throughout all this until a few weeks ago when Dean Garcia called (the same day a previously waitlisted interviewee from my interview day was also accepted).

From this, it seems only a select few get the initial seal of approval while the rest go into a pool of continuous review until you're rejected. That being said, I have no idea if they review no-decision and wait listed applicants with the same frequency (my instincts tell me they review previously waitlisted applicants at a lower frequency). So don't despair if you don't get a call right away -- I know April/May is fast approaching, but my guess is that if you're not rejected, you'll still be in the running, regardless of when you hear back.
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oh interesting (grats btw!), that makes sense. So i guess it's basically the same way they did interview invites then. It just feels weird that they'd go to the waitlist so soon, while there are still people who haven't heard anything yet! I'd think that a so-called "continuous review" applicant would be in line ahead of someone who had already been put on a waiting list. But i guess that doesn't account for the fact that the earlier invitees were probably stronger overall than later ones. And I suppose they are kind of similar categories in that they haven't really made a final decision on either
 
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