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Someone said that after the interview, they don't look at your application, i.e. set aside your #'s when they make the decision? True/false?
2008-2009 University of Pittsburgh Secondary Application Thread
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False. It's a common misconception if you think about it, why should all applicants be on even footing after the interview? Is it really fair to say someone who got a 3.9, 39 should be treated with equal admissions consideration as someone with a 3.6 34? Of course medical schools are going to look at the whole application when making a decision.
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For people who already interviewed, are there any hotels that have shuttles to and from the school?
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Stay at the Holiday Inn express. Get their rewards program. Get their Pitt interview rate. You'll be 5 minutes from campus.
Both my student and faculty interviewer (at Pitt) said they didn't think the interview really matters. They write up a report and submit it to the admissions committee. My faculty interview told me he thinks it's mostly a numbers thing and the interview is just to see if you're crazy/erratic.
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When we interview (at least as student interviewers), we have no idea what your application said. So the review I write up has nothing to do with your numbers...it's all about the interview.
The impression I've gotten is that once you make it to the interview stage, things do even out pretty well. As part of our write up, we rate you to say whether you should be accepted, waitlisted, or rejected. If both your interviewers say you should be rejected, it's likely not going to matter that you have a 39 and 3.9. And you don't have to be crazy to get rejected...we know what we're looking for here and it's definitely not just numbers.
And about the thank you notes...you don't necessarily have to write an actual thank you card, but it's nice to send an email or something if you can. A lot of the time, it takes me a week or so to finish my write up and submit it, so if you're super nice in the email to me, it might affect you positively!
The impression I've gotten is that once you make it to the interview stage, things do even out pretty well. As part of our write up, we rate you to say whether you should be accepted, waitlisted, or rejected. If both your interviewers say you should be rejected, it's likely not going to matter that you have a 39 and 3.9. And you don't have to be crazy to get rejected...we know what we're looking for here and it's definitely not just numbers.
And about the thank you notes...you don't necessarily have to write an actual thank you card, but it's nice to send an email or something if you can. A lot of the time, it takes me a week or so to finish my write up and submit it, so if you're super nice in the email to me, it might affect you positively!
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Thanks a lot for the info, Erina. It's nice to get some information straight from the source! BTW, I am just wondering, is it pretty clear from the website what kind of students that Pitt is considered a "good fit"? Just curious to see if it is some secret proprietary thing, or not...
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Looking around the website may help you figure it out...you can look at all the programs that Pitt has to offer and learn more about the scholarly project requirement. In terms of other things we look for...people who actually have a reason to want to come to Pitt. If you get an interview, please come up with good reasons. Your best bet is to convince us that no other school can possibly give you what Pitt can haha. I know that's hard, but I think interviewers can tell when someone really wants to come here and when someone just listened to the presentations earlier in the interview day to come up with reasons.
And other things...we want creative people who have shown that they know how to think. We want people who are motivated. Research interest is an awesome plus. Show that you've put a lot of time into thinking about medicine...for example, I don't really want to hear that you just decided a few months ago to take the MCAT and apply. It's hard to believe you're serious if that's the case.
Most of all, though, be friendly. If you make a good impression and get along really well with your interviewers, it's a huuuuuge plus. Don't be fake, admit your weaknesses, and emphasize your strengths. And show that you're capable of talking to a stranger without totally freezing up...after all, you're going to be thrown into talking to patient right away when you start at Pitt.
Specific questions? PM me 🙂
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I really want to echo you on this. Pitt's on top of my list and I've been complete since mid August too. I've been told that a lot of people applied "early" this year so I'm guessing they've been swamped and it'll just take longer but I'm glad the interview season extends into/maybe even thru February. Good luck to you and all those waiting.
I am going to second what Erina has said, with a few stipulations. The student interviewer does not have any information about the applicant aside from their name and school. The faculty interviewer, however, has all of your information and will ask you about what you have written. While applicants who have made it to the interview stage all have a good shot at admission, I have heard that scores are still looked at when admissions decisions are made. Honestly, Pitt is looking for the kind of candidates a lot of schools are looking for: bright, friendly, interesting, passionate about medicine, etc. There is no magic formula. On the other hand, we are known for having a lot of (very interesting) non-trads and students with unique backgrounds.
When I interview, it's really important that the applicant be able to hold a normal, honest conversation and have interesting things to say. I had one applicant complain because their interview was so short...well, if I get three word answers to all of my questions for a half hour and the applicant has nothing to say when I ask them to tell me what they would like me to report to the admissions committee....how can I interview for more than a half hour? Please, just be honest and interesting and normal...I really think that's what all med schools are looking for.
When I interview, it's really important that the applicant be able to hold a normal, honest conversation and have interesting things to say. I had one applicant complain because their interview was so short...well, if I get three word answers to all of my questions for a half hour and the applicant has nothing to say when I ask them to tell me what they would like me to report to the admissions committee....how can I interview for more than a half hour? Please, just be honest and interesting and normal...I really think that's what all med schools are looking for.
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Got my interview invite today! Was complete on Oct. 4...definitely didn't expect to get an invite so fast!
Congrats. It is a RIDICULOUS school.
-I 😍Pitt
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Thanks!
If anyone has used the student hosting program, did you email one of the hosts on the list directly and see if they can host you on the dates you are coming to interview? Or does the school set you up with one of the hosts?
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You have to email the hosts. I suggest you try to stay with as senior a student as possible, as they have more experience at the school to go off of, especially if you have clinical year questions. If they're not available, I'm sure that us first years can make up for it in enthusiasm 🙂
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I've interviewed a person like that this year, and it was quite painful. Since I also like to do the whole conversation/one thing leading to another type interview, if you give me absolutely nothing, I have to come up with questions to fill the time since I don't want to have to interview end after 10 minutes and those questions are the ones that put you on the spot the most. So definitely, be able to hold a conversation and talk about something interesting in your life. And I second the "why Pitt" being a huge thing to have an answer to. I hate when people give me very generic answers that can be used for pretty much every school in the nation.
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Got my interview invite today! Was complete on Oct. 4...definitely didn't expect to get an invite so fast!
Congrats to you!
But "Ah damn" for me. This means that I've probably been reviewed once already. 🙁
Good luck at your interview, pitt is a great school.
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Did Pitt just screw around with anyone else's head with their "Hey it's a couple days before October 15th, but we just wanted you to know how awesome we were so here's some excerpts from Time Magazine about us" email?
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Did Pitt just screw around with anyone else's head with their "Hey it's a couple days before October 15th, but we just wanted you to know how awesome we were so here's some excerpts from Time Magazine about us" email?
I got that too. Did everyone who interviewed get this? If not, that could mean that.... jk, im sure everyone got it.
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Heh, hence the screwing around with our heads part of my post
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I'm pretty sure everyone did. They seemed indiscriminate with their recruiting at the interview... they talked to all of us about the city and school as if we'd already been accepted and had to make up our minds within a day. That said, it definitely worked on me and I'm hoping the email is a good sign.
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I just got it somewhat later than you guys...maybe the fact that I got it later means I'm on the waitlist? 😕
Just to clarify: None of us will be finding out about Pitt on the 15th/16th right?
8 weeks is going to be quite a while for me.
Just to clarify: None of us will be finding out about Pitt on the 15th/16th right?
8 weeks is going to be quite a while for me.
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I bet youre right. I just thought that since they will be sending acceptances in a few days, that maybe they sorted our e-mails into an "accepted" list that they then used to send this e-mail out. This would be a sly way around the AAMC's "no notification until Oct 15" rule. Chances are I put way too much thought into this and that everyone got it (maybe even people who haven't interviewed yet).
It could mean that you are on a different list, but these lists need not correspond to acceptance. It could be alphabetical, etc. I think that those of use who interviewed in September will hear from Pitt sometime in October.
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I guess I don't know this for sure. At my interivew, (early sept) they did say that we would hear from them in october though. oct 15th or thereabouts seems like a natural day to send them out (speculation).
Did anyone not get an e-mail from Pittsburgh today?
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At my interview (the week after you, I think), they said "don't hold your breath"
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Well I interviewed around 4 weeks ago...so yeah. Probably gonna be nothing on the 15th/16th for me. Let the analyzing continue lol
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At the interview today, they said that it takes about 6 weeks. They also said that if we get waitlisted, then they do not look at our file again until May 15th🙁
😡
😡
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Pitt sends out letters of acceptance via snail mail. When I interviewed, it was September 15, 2006 (yes, I remember the date...so long ago) and I got my letter the week of October 16.
Many of you will probably find out very soon. But remember, interviewing early doesn't always guarantee your application gets reviewed by the admissions committee just as early. We interviewers can be slow with filling out our evaluations...they ask us to fill them out within a few days of the interview, but both students and faculty members are busy and get distracted.
Good luck! I can't wait to see how it turns out for all of you!
Many of you will probably find out very soon. But remember, interviewing early doesn't always guarantee your application gets reviewed by the admissions committee just as early. We interviewers can be slow with filling out our evaluations...they ask us to fill them out within a few days of the interview, but both students and faculty members are busy and get distracted.
Good luck! I can't wait to see how it turns out for all of you!
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wow. they seem to be really fast! i received an interview invite within 5 days of submitting my secondary!
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Sooo...dumb question and I know I'm really late in the game...
But is my application going to sink like a lead balloon to the bottom of the application pile considering I don't have research experience? Has anyone with an interview NOT had research this cycle?
I'd appreciate your input.
But is my application going to sink like a lead balloon to the bottom of the application pile considering I don't have research experience? Has anyone with an interview NOT had research this cycle?
I'd appreciate your input.
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Yeah I was looking into that question too. From the looks of last year's acceptance thread, looks like it's postal mail. However, it does appear as if some people were emailed by their interviewer about their acceptance before they got the official acceptance in the mail. Not sure if there's an official email that goes out too, though...
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I don't suppose anyone has called the office have they? 🙄
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The year I applied (2 years ago), our interviewers were notified of our acceptances before we received the official letter in the mail (only like a day or two before). So if they wanted to, they could email us and let us know that we were accepted. That's how I found out.
Last year, though, we interviewers did not find out if the people we interviewed were accepted until the end of the year--so we couldn't congratulate them via email.
So far this year, I haven't heard anything about the people I've interviewed. I'm assuming they aren't giving us the acceptance information until later--so you guys will probably have to wait for the snail mail acceptance letter. Sorry! I really wish I could find out ahead of time as an interviewer...I think it'd be awesome to be able to give you guys the news.
Last year, though, we interviewers did not find out if the people we interviewed were accepted until the end of the year--so we couldn't congratulate them via email.
So far this year, I haven't heard anything about the people I've interviewed. I'm assuming they aren't giving us the acceptance information until later--so you guys will probably have to wait for the snail mail acceptance letter. Sorry! I really wish I could find out ahead of time as an interviewer...I think it'd be awesome to be able to give you guys the news.
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Thanks, Erina! I'll be sure to email my student interviewer if I hear back one way or the other, so he's not left in the dark.
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