2008-2009 Mount Sinai Secondary Application Thread

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when were you complete?
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My secondary was complete on 7/18 and I think I electronically sent in my LORs like right away, so pretty soon after that??

Roastbeef- why not send a LOI describing your research experience?
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I sent an LOI just saying how I think I fit well with the service goal of the school, and just mentioning my research...for a research LOI, do you think I should just summarize my research experience? how do I frame that as an LOI? Thanks for the advice, I'm encouraged that a lot of your class got off the wait list. Here's hoping 😳
 
well, if you sent a letter saying that you'd come to sinai over any other school, that's kind of a one time deal. however, has anything changed with the research (or your role in the lab/research)? i can't imagine any harm in sending an update. esp if your semester grades are good and you're recently more involved in research. 🙂
 
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i think next meet is next week.. when i interviews, tues nov 11, they said they will meet the following day, wed. and i believe the lady also mentioned that meetings happen once a month, so i assumed a similar date for this month- next wed? lol
 
When I was at the interview a couple of days ago they mentioned that they meet every week and go over each interviewee's application each time but don't make a final decision till the 4th week.
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Okay, I need to book my flight soon for my interview on 12/15 I can save 20 bucks by flying in to JFK at 2:30 (so basically I will get there at 4:laugh:) or I can fly into LGA at 5. Which is better? I don't wanna have to walk around too late at night when it is gonna be cold... and it is NYC, so isn't is a bad location? Also, how long would it take to get back to the airport, and are the lines at JFK really that bad?
 
got to laguardia. jfk is quite a trek, but there is a bus, the M60, that goes from lag to areas in manhattan andis much closer. and no, the neighborhood isnt terrible as long as you are smart about where you go. try to wander alone at night above 101st or so on the east side 🙂
 
ar2388 said:
got to laguardia. jfk is quite a trek, but there is a bus, the M60, that goes from lag to areas in manhattan andis much closer. and no, the neighborhood isnt terrible as long as you are smart about where you go. try to wander alone at night above 101st or so on the east side 🙂
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Do you mean "try NOT to wander alone"? The same common sense applies in NY as anywhere else: try not to be alone late at night, look like you know what you're doing, be aware of your surroundings, don't make yourself a target.

I would also recommend LAG. There is the airtrain from JFK, but it is SUCH a long way to Manhattan.
 
Druzie said:
Do you mean "try NOT to wander alone"? The same common sense applies in NY as anywhere else: try not to be alone late at night, look like you know what you're doing, be aware of your surroundings, don't make yourself a target.
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I don't know; NYC seems like the type of city where if I get into trouble late at night, Spiderman or Batman will come to save me :laugh:
 
I've said this before and I'll say it again:

Avoid JFK at all costs. Worst. Airport. Ever. I was in a similar situation as you, looking to save a couple of bucks by flying into JFK; but honestly, the airport is too far form Manhattan AND it has so much traffic going through it that flights get delayed like whoa. When I flew back home from JFK, my flight got delayed two hours, with no explanation. Meaning, the departure screen still said 'on time', but there was no plane there until 2hrs after the scheduled departure time. Also, while sitting and waiting for my flight, there was a plane that was scheduled to fly from JFK to Syracuse but they could not locate the plane. They lost a freaking plane. I've never heard of that happening before!?!?! Anyway, as you can imagine that flight got delayed too. It may have just been the airline's fault, but still.


On another note, someone in the official rejection thread said that Mt. Sinai was rejecting people already. They had called and found out. Is this true ? I haven't heard of anyone else getting similar news and I was wondering if this was a legit post. Any thoughts ?


AtG
 
I guess I will be flying into LGA then...

Then would it be better if my flight back leaves at 4 or 5? I would prefer 3:55 because then I can fly into SNA rather than LAX, (and I can avoid O'Hare, the worst airport I have ever been to at all costs), but I am not sure if I will be done with the interview by then, and I want adequate amount of time to get back to the airport.

In another note, what is a good hotel to stay at that is not too expensive? I do not want to stay with a student host because I prefer to have my own bed.
 
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funkydrmonkey said:
I guess I will be flying into LGA then...

Then would it be better if my flight back leaves at 5 or 6? I would prefer 5, but I am not sure if I will be done with the interview by then, and I want adequate amount of time to get back to the airport.

In another note, what is a good hotel to stay at that is not too expensive? I do not want to stay with a student host because I prefer to have my own bed.
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Mount Sinai's website has a list of hotels:

http://www.mountsinai.org/Visiting Us/Hospital & Area Services/Area Accommodations

I'm doing the Marriott hotel discount; I got a freaking king suite (it was the only room left available for the discount when I called) in Manhattan for only $250 a night! Crazy! I'm going to roll all around the room when I get there 🙂
 
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funkydrmonkey said:
Then would it be better if my flight back leaves at 4 or 5? I would prefer 3:55 because then I can fly into SNA rather than LAX, (and I can avoid O'Hare, the worst airport I have ever been to at all costs), but I am not sure if I will be done with the interview by then, and I want adequate amount of time to get back to the airport.
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So does anyone know if this is possible?
 
funkydrmonkey said:
In another note, what is a good hotel to stay at that is not too expensive? I do not want to stay with a student host because I prefer to have my own bed.
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whoa, have you stayed with a student where you had to sleep in the same bed?????
 
ami1983 said:
whoa, have you stayed with a student where you had to sleep in the same bed?????
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A few times... and let me tell you, it got AWKWARD...😱













:laugh::laugh::laugh:

No...I have never stayed with a student host. I mean I do not want to sleep on the floor or a couch. I want a nice, soft and comfy bed.
 
funkydrmonkey said:
I guess I will be flying into LGA then...

Then would it be better if my flight back leaves at 4 or 5? I would prefer 3:55 because then I can fly into SNA rather than LAX, (and I can avoid O'Hare, the worst airport I have ever been to at all costs), but I am not sure if I will be done with the interview by then, and I want adequate amount of time to get back to the airport.

In another note, what is a good hotel to stay at that is not too expensive? I do not want to stay with a student host because I prefer to have my own bed.
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Our day was over by around 2:30. All Interviews pretty much done by noon. If you bring your stuff and catch a cab on Madison you could probably get to Laguardia in 15-20 minutes. Maybe a close call for 3:55 depending on lines, but definitely doable. For me, sleeping on a couch isn't ideal, but it's not that bad and it beats the $200+ you'll pay for ANY hotel in Manhattan. I hear ya though.
 
funkydrmonkey said:
:laugh::laugh::laugh:

No...I have never stayed with a student host. I mean I do not want to sleep on the floor or a couch. I want a nice, soft and comfy bed.
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i rented an apartment through craigslist for part of the time i was staying in NYC for interviews (my bf came with me), it was very convenient and cheaper than a hotel. if you are only staying one night it might not be the best option, but another option nevertheless.
 
so, im dying for a MSSM interview, but been waiting 2+ months. has anyone had luck/feedback from sending a LOI (interest)? and who should i send it to? I don't have much to update on, anyone care to share what else they write in it? thanks!! :xf:
 
so I was wondering, for anyone on the waitlist: if you sent in an update, did you get any kind of acknowledgment? I sent in an update and a transcript about a month ago and never heard anything, is that typical??
 
Yeah, I sent an update/letter of interest email on the week that I was waitlisted, but didn't get any response back.
I just assumed they received it.
BTW, does anyone know when the waitlist actually starts moving?
I had always thought that waitlists didn't move at all until the very end of the application process,
but from this forum, I've seen some schools accept some people off the waitlist already, rarely yes, but still.
I wonder how Mount Sinai works.
 
I asked that same question to a current Mount Sinai student, and he said he hadn't heard of anyone getting off the list before May 15th...so take that for what it is. It sure would be amazing if they let us know sooner though! Here's hoping, good luck to all fellow waitlisters! 😀
 
Has anyone heard anything about when the next committee meeting is or when we should expect to hear back from Sinai if we interviewed in November? I thought the committee was supposed to meet this week, but doesn't look like anyone's heard anything yet...

Thanks!
 
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Brewsky said:
Has anyone heard anything about when the next committee meeting is or when we should expect to hear back from Sinai if we interviewed in November? I thought the committee was supposed to meet this week, but doesn't look like anyone's heard anything yet...

Thanks!
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brewsky, same quesstion here.. interviewd nov 11th. someone has said that the committee meets every week but you need to be reviewed during 4 meetings before a final decision is made. so i guess this week or next week would be my fourth week. hopfully by christmas
 
Brewsky said:
Has anyone heard anything about when the next committee meeting is or when we should expect to hear back from Sinai if we interviewed in November? I thought the committee was supposed to meet this week, but doesn't look like anyone's heard anything yet...

Thanks!
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The MSSM adcom will meet next week.
 
bluesmd said:
has anyone gotten an interview invite recently? when is the interview for?
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Hello Blues. I recently got an interview for the middle of January, and I was complete at the very beginning of October. Was totally not expecting to hear from Mount Sinai, so I guess I got lucky. Good luck! 😀
 
ive been complete since mid-september and still havent heard back from mssm.....is it safe for me to assume that im not getting an interview? does anyone know when their interview season ends?
 
franniemeow07 said:
Hello Blues. I recently got an interview for the middle of January, and I was complete at the very beginning of October. Was totally not expecting to hear from Mount Sinai, so I guess I got lucky. Good luck! 😀
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congrats and thanks franniemeow, good luck for your interview! now all i need to know is when do they stop interviewing?
 
ar2388 said:
brewsky, same quesstion here.. interviewd nov 11th. someone has said that the committee meets every week but you need to be reviewed during 4 meetings before a final decision is made. so i guess this week or next week would be my fourth week. hopfully by christmas
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I bet they meet every week but only have a decision-making meeting once every 4 weeks...at least so far it seems that everyone found out last month around the second week of nov and no one (at least on SDN) has heard since then. This also matches what they said at my interview (Nov. 19). Anyway, as fizzle mentioned above, maybe the meeting will be this week...so, another week of too much email-checking for me. Hopefully we get good news!
 
my premed advisor told me that Mt Sinai is very focused on numbers. I applied anyway because I love the school, but has anyone else heard this or got that feeling from interviewing?
 
DRLyss said:
my premed advisor told me that Mt Sinai is very focused on numbers. I applied anyway because I love the school, but has anyone else heard this or got that feeling from interviewing?
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I don't know about numbers, but I did definitely get the feeling that Mt. Sinai is very focused on finding people who really want to go there. It seems like letters of intent would carry much more weight there than at some other schools; when I interviewed there, they even strongly encouraged sending such letters, especially if we get waitlisted.
 
From their stats, it looks like they have a very high average mcat score while the average GPA isn't as competitive. Had I known this, I wouldn't have waited to apply here...

From the website:

ENTERING CLASS OF 2008 STATISTICS Average Total MCAT 34.8 Average GPA 3.66
 
DRLyss said:
my premed advisor told me that Mt Sinai is very focused on numbers. I applied anyway because I love the school, but has anyone else heard this or got that feeling from interviewing?
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You know, I really didn't get that impression at all. Not that there's really a way to know for sure, since the interviews are closed-file, but I did have the feeling that Sinai is one of those true "fit schools" where they look for a very specific type of applicant. Numbers of course are a big deal, but definitely not as much as they are in other schools you've been interviewed at (NYU comes to mind...sorry I mdapps-stalked you 😀) so if they're fine for the pickier schools, I'm sure they're fine for Sinai. I have noticed that they tend to like high Verbal scores, for whatever reason, but that's just my observation which may or may not be based in reality.
I wouldn't give up hope either way, but I genuinely don't think that numbers are the main point of contention for Sinai.
 
ButImLETired said:
You know, I really didn't get that impression at all. Not that there's really a way to know for sure, since the interviews are closed-file, but I did have the feeling that Sinai is one of those true "fit schools" where they look for a very specific type of applicant. Numbers of course are a big deal, but definitely not as much as they are in other schools you've been interviewed at (NYU comes to mind...sorry I mdapps-stalked you 😀) so if they're fine for the pickier schools, I'm sure they're fine for Sinai. I have noticed that they tend to like high Verbal scores, for whatever reason, but that's just my observation which may or may not be based in reality.
I wouldn't give up hope either way, but I genuinely don't think that numbers are the main point of contention for Sinai.
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The interviews at Mt. Sinai are open-file. At least, they were when I interviewed.
 
fizzle said:
The interviews at Mt. Sinai are open-file. At least, they were when I interviewed.
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Seriously?! Weird. Nothing regarding my grades or MCAT score or even my choice in classes was mentioned at all so I just kind of assumed (when I interviewed at another school with open-file interviews, I was questioned about my gpa by both interviewers). Ah well, I stand corrected.
 
ButImLETired said:
You know, I really didn't get that impression at all. Not that there's really a way to know for sure, since the interviews are closed-file, but I did have the feeling that Sinai is one of those true "fit schools" where they look for a very specific type of applicant. Numbers of course are a big deal, but definitely not as much as they are in other schools you've been interviewed at (NYU comes to mind...sorry I mdapps-stalked you 😀) so if they're fine for the pickier schools, I'm sure they're fine for Sinai. I have noticed that they tend to like high Verbal scores, for whatever reason, but that's just my observation which may or may not be based in reality.
I wouldn't give up hope either way, but I genuinely don't think that numbers are the main point of contention for Sinai.
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haha you can mdapp stalk me anytime! Yea I was just surprised by how many people talk about how they are a "fit" school since my advisor painted such a different picture -- but then I remember he is an advisor =) thanks for the advice tho
 
Brewsky said:
I bet they meet every week but only have a decision-making meeting once every 4 weeks...at least so far it seems that everyone found out last month around the second week of nov and no one (at least on SDN) has heard since then. This also matches what they said at my interview (Nov. 19). Anyway, as fizzle mentioned above, maybe the meeting will be this week...so, another week of too much email-checking for me. Hopefully we get good news!
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I interviewed at Sinai on 11/10. I just called during their status-check open hours, and the lady told me there was no decision yet on my application. She said they were not holding a decision meeting this week, and she "wasn't sure about next week." Lame.
 
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HRUNTING said:
I interviewed at Sinai on 11/10. I just called during their status-check open hours, and the lady told me there was no decision yet on my application. She said they were not holding a decision meeting this week, and she "wasn't sure about next week." Lame.
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HMmm...when I asked last week, they said that they were making decisions sometime this week...I actually got an email back from admissions saying that sooo
 
HRUNTING said:
I interviewed at Sinai on 11/10. I just called during their status-check open hours, and the lady told me there was no decision yet on my application. She said they were not holding a decision meeting this week, and she "wasn't sure about next week." Lame.
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I was at the interview yesterday and they said that they were having a meeting this week.
 
ButImLETired said:
Seriously?! Weird. Nothing regarding my grades or MCAT score or even my choice in classes was mentioned at all so I just kind of assumed (when I interviewed at another school with open-file interviews, I was questioned about my gpa by both interviewers). Ah well, I stand corrected.
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The interviewer had a copy of my AMCAS in front of his desk when I interviewed yesterday....
 
funkydrmonkey,

With UT south west in Dallas already in hand you should just wait for any California interview or acceptance. UT south west Dallas is very highly ranked and in relatively good weather city. Just my opinion, no matter what you do you are in good position.
 
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