Email solicitations from Med Schools?

[girlincogneato]

Is there any rhyme or reason to the email solicitations going out from med schools like Saint Louis or Medical College of Wisconsin?? Even a person I know who got a 29 on the MCAT (and is retaking in August!) is getting them-- does anyone know if they send these out to everyone or just to people they think are competitive??

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Members don't see this ad.

 

[g3pro]

They send out secondaries to all applicants, and they have a $75 or $100 fee for that... coincidence? I think not.

 

[Guile]

There are lots of threads on this:

SLU
MCW
WashU
Another MCW thread

 

[mfpullen]

It amazes me how many people get their panties twisted and start threads because of these e-mails...you have a delete button for a reason. Spam is not a new thing, unless you've been using only snail mail for the past, oh, 15 years or more.

mfpullen

 

[ClockworkDoc]

Yeah, I get those emails too. It's just pathetic that they have to beg for our attention. You know what I'll do just to even things out? Reject them! Ha, how do you like them apples.

 

[Haemulon]

It amazes me how many people get their panties twisted and start threads because of these e-mails...you have a delete button for a reason. Spam is not a new thing, unless you've been using only snail mail for the past, oh, 15 years or more.

mfpullen

True enough, but keep in mind that many applicants are very nervous and unsure about this whole process (me included at times). So getting an email from a medical school is definitely something one would want to find out more about. SDN is meant for people to ask questions exactly like this and to find out if a communication is indeed just a Spam or something to be taken more seriously. Sure, there may be multiple threads posted, but there is no harm in throwing up another one if one cannot initially see something about a question already. (And yes, I do realize that there are search functions)

 

[the12thmd]

If I had never been to SDN, I would not have known that everyone on this site received those emails, and I would have likely been flattered and applied to said schools.

They're probably reeling in some cash.

 

[mfpullen]

True enough, but keep in mind that many applicants are very nervous and unsure about this whole process (me included at times). So getting an email from a medical school is definitely something one would want to find out more about. SDN is meant for people to ask questions exactly like this and to find out if a communication is indeed just a Spam or something to be taken more seriously. Sure, there may be multiple threads posted, but there is no harm in throwing up another one if one cannot initially see something about a question already. (And yes, I do realize that there are search functions)

Hmm...I don't think being a nervous pre-med (I'm one too, trust me) has anything to do with getting an e-mail from a school you didn't apply to, which is written poorly, and taking it seriously.

I highly doubt SLUM (hehe, love the name) and MCW recruit, especially through an automailer e-mail...

mfpullen

 

[Haemulon]

Hmm...I don't think being a nervous pre-med (I'm one too, trust me) has anything to do with getting an e-mail from a school you didn't apply to, which is written poorly, and taking it seriously.

I highly doubt SLUM (hehe, love the name) and MCW recruit, especially through an automailer e-mail...

mfpullen

Thats fine that you doubt the relationship between being nervous and receiving emails, especially since it has nothing to do with what I posted. The gist of my post was that being a nervous pre-med is a good reason to be curious about these emails and want to find out more about them. I am sure those schools would love to hear your expert and valuable critique of their marketing strategy and writing quality. Especially since you are probably much more successful and accomplished than the one's managing those institutions and their programs.

 

[njbmd]

Hmm...I don't think being a nervous pre-med (I'm one too, trust me) has anything to do with getting an e-mail from a school you didn't apply to, which is written poorly, and taking it seriously.

I highly doubt SLUM (hehe, love the name) and MCW recruit, especially through an automailer e-mail...

mfpullen

Hi there,
These schools are recruiting your money not you. Secondary application fees are a huge source of income for many schools.
njbmd

 

[etf]

they should be cited for solicitiation. the fine should be $100M. that would teach them.

 

[mfpullen]

Thats fine that you doubt the relationship between being nervous and receiving emails, especially since it has nothing to do with what I posted. The gist of my post was that being a nervous pre-med is a good reason to be curious about these emails and want to find out more about them. I am sure those schools would love to hear your expert and valuable critique of their marketing strategy and writing quality. Especially since you are probably much more successful and accomplished than the one's managing those institutions and their programs.

I'm sorry for assuming someone working for a medical school/university should have basic English skills. I'm also sorry for finding it humourous that the e-mail, supposedly from the Committee on Admissions contains the most disjointed, incomplete sentences I have ever seen in a "professional" e-mail.

Doesn't that reflect on the school to anyone? Money-grubbery, poor writing, mass e-mails?

mfpullen

 

[etf]

just keep in mind that some of us would gladly take out jumbo-mortgage sized student loans and pay their tuition to have the chance to practice medicine...

 

[Pewl]

SLU isn't pathetic! They just want money. Darn private schools. =P

 

[Matth52]

These are med schools, how bad do they need an extra $50 here and there?

 

[Dr.TobiasFünke]

I have a policy… I don’t consider schools that advertise.

 

[DrBowtie]

These are med schools, how bad do they need an extra $50 here and there?

$50 isn't here and there. There is a total applicant pool of 30000+

 

[mfpullen]

I have a policy… I don’t consider schools that advertise.

I couldn't agree more. It just reeks of greed and impersonal capitalist ideals.

::coughcouhaynrandcoughcough::

mfpullen

 

[Haemulon]

I couldn't agree more. It just reeks of greed and impersonal capitalist ideals.

::coughcouhaynrandcoughcough::

mfpullen

Um ..... our whole society is based on capitalism. Including your future physician salary. And by the way the vast majority of schools don't screen primaries and simply want you to send the secondary check before screening you out (again, mostly as a money maker similar to the solicitations). So I'd be interested to see if your super-principles and aloof judgement of med-school recruitment will prohibit you from applying to all schools except those that pre-screen. Good luck with that.

 

[jackieMD2007]

Um ..... our whole society is based on capitalism. Including your future physician salary. And by the way the vast majority of schools don't screen primaries, and simply want you to send the secondary check before screening you out (again, mostly as a money maker). So I'd be interested to see if your super-principles and aloof judgement of med-school recruitment will prohibit you from applying to all schools except those that pre-screen. Good luck with that.

Strong work here, Hae.

 

[Looque]

Hi there,
These schools are recruiting your money not you. Secondary application fees are a huge source of income for many schools.
njbmd

Well yeah. I'm not sure how many applications they typically receive in a year, but say they get 3,000. There's $300,000 right there. I should start my own med school.

Oh wait, isn't there some new crappy movie like that?

 

[mfpullen]

Um ..... our whole society is based on capitalism. Including your future physician salary. And by the way the vast majority of schools don't screen primaries and simply want you to send the secondary check before screening you out (again, mostly as a money maker similar to the solicitations). So I'd be interested to see if your super-principles and aloof judgement of med-school recruitment will prohibit you from applying to all schools except those that pre-screen. Good luck with that.

No, I'll be in public health. Very little to do with capitolism there. Also, you're right, almost all schools send out secondaries prior to screening, but they also don't mass e-mail people. They limit it typically to those who applied in the first place. Blatant money-grubbery is horribly embarassing for institutions that really do a lot of good work, such as SLUM, I would imagine.

Also, just because capitolism is the basis of YOUR society, doesn't mean all the others out there are. Look at China. They own a good portion of American defense industries now. Wonder why....

 

[Haemulon]

No, I'll be in public health. Very little to do with capitolism there. Also, you're right, almost all schools send out secondaries prior to screening, but they also don't mass e-mail people. They limit it typically to those who applied in the first place. Blatant money-grubbery is horribly embarassing for institutions that really do a lot of good work, such as SLUM, I would imagine.

Also, just because capitolism is the basis of YOUR society, doesn't mean all the others out there are. Look at China. They own a good portion of American defense industries now. Wonder why....

Oh yeh, and China is a real role model for what the U.S. society should be. Give me a break. This is not a debate about the socioeconomic systems of countries around the world. We are talking about American medical education recruitment.

And by the way, public health funding here is very much a product of capitalism. Where do you think all those tax dollars come from?

 

[Haemulon]

No, I'll be in public health. Very little to do with capitolism there. Also, you're right, almost all schools send out secondaries prior to screening, but they also don't mass e-mail people. They limit it typically to those who applied in the first place. Blatant money-grubbery is horribly embarassing for institutions that really do a lot of good work, such as SLUM, I would imagine.

Also, just because capitolism is the basis of YOUR society, doesn't mean all the others out there are. Look at China. They own a good portion of American defense industries now. Wonder why....

Also, have you ever considered that there may be different motives for email recruitment? Such as increasing numbers in the applicant pool so that they may have a more diverse group from which to select applicants? Or perhaps higher applicant numbers will make acceptance criteria look more stringent and enhance some of their stats. The email does not cost cost you anything. It is advertisement, plain and simple. So to extend your equating advertisement with "money-grubbery" would be to also condem virtually all forms of organizations that utilize mass advertizing, including SDN itsself (which you seem to be perfectly willing to use). Also keep in mind that you submitted your email information when you registered for the MCAT. I don't see how you can complain about them actually contacting you with the contact information that you provided. Bottom line, if you don't want to apply to their school, then don't apply. Seems to pretty much end the problem right there.

 

[Dr.TobiasFünke]

Well yeah. I'm not sure how many applications they typically receive in a year, but say they get 3,000. There's $300,000 right there. I should start my own med school.

Oh wait, isn't there some new crappy movie like that?