Hey guys!
Just wanted to check in for a minute and see how things are going. Congrats again to everyone who has gotten the prized interview invites! This definitely makes me feel old, but it's so exciting to watch the process happen from the much better other side. To those who haven't gotten anything yet: no news is just no news. Don't try to over-interpret things cause you're gonna go crazy in this process if you try to read stuff into everything the adcoms do. Just wait for the mail to arrive and see what happens. The one good thing about snail mail is that you don't have to refresh your email all day- the few seconds it takes to open that mailbox are gut-wrenching, but after that, you either have something or you don't, and you can't do anything about it for another 24 hours. Notice how I put a lot of thought into this 😛
Now, I usually get annoyed by all the veteran SDNers gushing about their schools on these threads like "zomg my school is better than all the other schools and there's nowhere better ever!!!". The truth is, I'm a believer in the idea of adaptation, and I truly think that we'd all be quite happy doing what we love just about anywhere. You meet people you get along with, and ultimately study the same stuff, regardless of where you go. So please don't get all upset if your first choice gives you the cold shoulder. It's just not worth all the grief.
That being said, I've been here at Vandy for about a week now (we're in class already!) and so far it's been absolutely amazing. The school emphasized both during interviews and second look that they're unique in the access you have to mentors, the friendliness of the professors, etc. Let's just say that thus far I've been swimming in the vice-chancellor's pool with the dean of students, we have all personally met just about every bigwig in this place, and everyone has been absolutely inordinately kind. I met someone at said pool party who remembered me by name after having read my application, and she told me how excited she was to see me. People absolutely bend over backwards to make your life easier and more pleasant here. They want to maintain the reputation of having the happiest students in the nation, and they do just about everything they can think of to keep us that way. The students in my class are fun, kind, unique people and I can't wait to really watch them in action. It's really a pretty special place, and while I'm sure I would have been happy anywhere, I am really glad I'm here.
And that's my Vandy advertisement for the day!
Now, to address a couple of things in this thread: I have received a few requests for my couch during interview days. I'd be more than happy to do that, but they haven't told us anything about hosting yet. Once we find that out, I'm sure I'll be able to take some of you.
There are pros and cons to the morning interview slot vs afternoon. Morning ones are great if you tend to get very nervous just sitting around before an interview, cause you do get to get it over with before the tour. I did this and I'm glad I did because it was my first interview and I was FREAKING OUT. Basically, you interview in the morning, then you have some downtime when you can sit in lecture, or tour the campus, or do whatever you want, and then you have a lunch meeting with a dean or professor or something who gives you an overview of the school and the admission process, then a tour, then you go home. The afternoon interview people would come in before lunch I believe, do that, then the tour, then an interview, and then go home. I definitely found the downtime for the morning interview to be a tad excessive, although I did enjoy sitting in lecture for a bit, and I got to know some of my co-interviewees and toured the undergrad campus with them, plus I had more time to ask questions of the first and second years. If you're a Vandy undergrad you'll probably want to take the afternoon slot since you can presumably do all that stuff on your own time. Totally up to you, but as I said, there are pros and cons for either option.
And yes, you'll have to wear a suit. I interviewed in the end of August/beginning of September I think (?) and it was painfully hot out and I wore a full suit and everyone else did too. Bring whatever you need to bring to freshen up in between things if you don't want to be a totally sloppy sweaty mess by the time lunch rolls around.
Vandy interviews are notoriously chill (again, remember they have the reputation of being a really nice school...mean interviewers would kinda defeat that) so try not to stress too much. Have fun with it, joke with your interviewer, be a real person. Don't sit there stiffly and mutter a few things about your research. That's why they want to see your autobiography: they want to know who you are, not as a pre-med student, but as a person. Enjoy telling them both through the essays and through the interview. Be yourselves.
Please feel free to PM me and let me know if you have any questions. I'll also check this thread periodically. Good luck!