Does your planned specialty affect a school's decision to accept/reject you?

[WaitingImpatiently]

In case the title gets cut off, my Q was:

Does your planned specialty affect a school's decision to accept/reject you?

I walked away from my USC interview extremely confident that I would get in, but I still haven't heard from them. Most likely, I'll be put on the waitlist. During the interview, I talked a good deal about my plan to go into psychiatry, perhaps a field that isn't USC's main focus. However, the doc interviewing me did praise the school's neuropsych wing/program, so I didn't think that it would be a problem. Now, I'm not so sure... I guess I'm dwelling here, sigh.

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[daisygirl]

I don't know if it could prevent you from getting in most cases, but I think that if you got other things working against you in your application, that it is plausible to affect the adcom's decision. Some schools that I have interviewed at have made it crystal-clear that they were interested in producing physicians dedicated to primary care. Which, I think may lead to a wait-list or a rejection if they are comparing two candidates of equal qualifications with the exception of career objectives.

I hated the stupid practice vision b/c of this. I interviewed at every SUNY school in NY except Upstate. They did not outright reject me, instead they put me on pre-interview hold (which, this late in the game translates to a rejection). A few people have told me that SUNY Upstate is committed to producing physicians who want to practice rural medicine. In my practice vision, I plainly stated that I wanted to work in an underserved urban area (hey, I grew up in the Bronx and I think I'd like to stay here ). I am sure SUNY Upstate has accepted plenty of people like me, but I don't understand why I did not even get an interview there. My stats were more at par with Upstate then say Stony Brook (Stony Brook is supposedly the hardest SUNY to get into-their gpa and mcat means are much higher than the other SUNY's). I have learned that the only given thing in the med school application process is how unpredictable it seems to be (at times :wink: ).

 

[matthew0126]

i think so... i was @ ucsf and said that ob/gyn was high on my list. so then he asks me about abortion and i said i'm not for it, at which point he says he's not sure if ob/gyn is for me -- he doesn't think it's appropriate for pro-life folks to be in ob/gyn <shrug>, the conversation kinda went downhill from there (it was real good before), ah well... i'd like to think he didn't hold that against me, and i'll believe it, but i'm sure it didn't give him a reason to write up a good evaluation as opposed to an ok one.

•••quote:•••Originally posted by WaitingImpatiently:
•In case the title gets cut off, my Q was:

Does your planned specialty affect a school's decision to accept/reject you?

I walked away from my USC interview extremely confident that I would get in, but I still haven't heard from them. Most likely, I'll be put on the waitlist. During the interview, I talked a good deal about my plan to go into psychiatry, perhaps a field that isn't USC's main focus. However, the doc interviewing me did praise the school's neuropsych wing/program, so I didn't think that it would be a problem. Now, I'm not so sure... I guess I'm dwelling here, sigh.•••••

 

[TommyGunn04]

While interviewing at a school in NY, another interviewee told me a story about his visit to Stanford. He apparently knew his interviewer, so he received some first-hand info about admissions there. Apparently, if you expressed a strong desire to go into primary care, or an aversion to research, you would receive a pre-interview rejection. He said that this was because Stanford was primarily interested in producing physician scientists. Of course, who knows whether or not this is TRUE. But I thought it was interesting nonetheless.

 

[Scooby Doo]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by TommyGunn04:
•While interviewing at a school in NY, another interviewee told me a story about his visit to Stanford. He apparently knew his interviewer, so he received some first-hand info about admissions there. Apparently, if you expressed a strong desire to go into primary care, or an aversion to research, you would receive a pre-interview rejection. He said that this was because Stanford was primarily interested in producing physician scientists. Of course, who knows whether or not this is TRUE. But I thought it was interesting nonetheless.•••••Yep, my buddy also told me the same story...he wouldn't by chance be on this board would he?

 

[MUN2005]

On a related note, on the application for my provincial school, it asks wether or not you want to practice rural/family medicine. I thought it was strange to ask this on paper, and I am unsure how to approach it, be honest or say you do want to do it even if you don't...it may give you more of a chance for an interview...we do have a shortage of family docs here.

 

[TommyGunn04]

• •••quote:•••Yep, my buddy also told me the same story...he wouldn't by chance be on this board would he? •••••Actually, I don't know...I ran into him at Sinai on one of the first days of November. I don't remember his name though. Maybe it's the same guy! Do you know if he was interviewing at Sinai on maybe Nov 2nd or so?

 

[oldman]

one thing it might show is lack of knowledge. the interviewer might question as to how much of a specialty you actually know about to make a decision to specialize in it. i personally am not sure what specialty i would want to go into and that's what i said when i was asked during my interviews.

 

[Scooby Doo]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by TommyGunn04:
•• •••quote:•••Yep, my buddy also told me the same story...he wouldn't by chance be on this board would he? •••••Actually, I don't know...I ran into him at Sinai on one of the first days of November. I don't remember his name though. Maybe it's the same guy! Do you know if he was interviewing at Sinai on maybe Nov 2nd or so?•••••Did you by any chance interview on November 2nd?
hahhaha

If so, that would be hilarious

 

[lyle]

My "practice vision" highlighted the reasons why I want to go into pediatrics and primary care, and I received a rejection letter from Stanford on August 14, 2001! THis rejection came before any of my secondaries did! I think that their policy to reject anyone who may have more detailed career visions is asinine. Stanford can still train and produce "physician scientists" who end up in primary care. Great to know that a medical school endorses judging people before they meet them...or better yet, before they attempt to understand their motives. Now that's a great quality to instill in physicians....

 

[oldman]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by lyle:
•My "practice vision" highlighted the reasons why I want to go into pediatrics and primary care, and I received a rejection letter from Stanford on August 14, 2001! THis rejection came before any of my secondaries did! I think that their policy to reject anyone who may have more detailed career visions is asinine. Stanford can still train and produce "physician scientists" who end up in primary care. Great to know that a medical school endorses judging people before they meet them...or better yet, before they attempt to understand their motives. Now that's a great quality to instill in physicians....•••••hehe, i beat you. i got my rejection in july