2010-2011 University of Pittsburgh Application Thread

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MedSchoolBeard said:
Accepted this afternoon, no WL, interviewed on 11/3.

IS 37Q/3.5 Non-trad w/ lots of research and pubs.

I'm pulling for the rest of you still waiting, this board has been a real treat. I'm still in disbelief to be on the inside looking out right now. Everybody at my interview seemed smarter than me so I'm sure I'll see y'all again soon.
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Congrats! I was one of the folks who interviewed with you. It seemed like almost everyone there that day came from a big-name prestigious university while I'm attending a small state school. It was a lil' bit intimidating :laugh:.

I loved Pitt and will definitely attend if I'm lucky enough to get off the waitlist.
 
Congrats MedSchoolBeard!!!

Anyone care to share thoughts on their interviews? I had a pretty good idea how my interviews went at other schools but I have no idea how my Pitt interviews went. My faculty interviewer shared a lot about the city of Pitt and sort of just made small talk....so it could go either way. Same thing with the student interview, it didn't go badly but I also didn't leave thinking it was a sure thing.

This waiting is torture....
 
REOTBGBT said:
Congrats MedSchoolBeard!!!

Anyone care to share thoughts on their interviews? I had a pretty good idea how my interviews went at other schools but I have no idea how my Pitt interviews went. My faculty interviewer shared a lot about the city of Pitt and sort of just made small talk....so it could go either way. Same thing with the student interview, it didn't go badly but I also didn't leave thinking it was a sure thing.

This waiting is torture....
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I felt exactly the same way... (still waiting for decision)... I love this school too much. Please love me back.
 
futureMD2015 said:
I felt exactly the same way... (still waiting for decision)... I love this school too much. Please love me back.
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I also love this school and tonight there is much rejoicing. But I was definitely not crazy about the interview. I thought the student interview went great, but the faculty interviewer seemed to be trying to hard to be laid back. I prepared forever for my interview and within five minutes I knew it was all out the window. Maybe that is the point, trying to throw us a curveball, but I take this process more seriously than that.

A bit of encouragement to those fretting the interview. Things were seriously hung up when I was trying to explain why I didn't have a fantasy football team this year. Also, I found myself in a bind after I blurted out my tendency to run red lights while I was a student in Baltimore.

Still got in...
 
MedSchoolBeard said:
A bit of encouragement to those fretting the interview. Things were seriously hung up when I was trying to explain why I didn't have a fantasy football team this year. Also, I found myself in a bind after I blurted out my tendency to run red lights while I was a student in Baltimore.

Still got in...
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Meh, takes more than that to be considered an underdog when you're a 37/in-state/w pubs. Grats to you though--well done.
 
Wermz said:
Meh, takes more than that to be considered an underdog when you're a 37/in-state/w pubs. Grats to you though--well done.
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Truth, but still gives us an idea of how much the interview is weighed vs other creds.
 
MedSchoolBeard said:
Accepted this afternoon, no WL, interviewed on 11/3.

IS 37Q/3.5 Non-trad w/ lots of research and pubs.

I'm pulling for the rest of you still waiting, this board has been a real treat. I'm still in disbelief to be on the inside looking out right now. Everybody at my interview seemed smarter than me so I'm sure I'll see y'all again soon.
Click to expand...

I was also accepted, 11/3 interview date (34/3.9, non-trad, OOS)! I think I remember you, MedSchoolBeard. Congrats on getting in. I thought everyone at the interview that day was smarter than me, too..including you! But yay, we're both in!

Good luck to the rest of you. A friend of mine is at Pitt now and had sit on the admissions board in the past. She told me they pretty much make their decision about you before the interview, so all you have to do is relax and let them know you are the same person they see on the application. My student interviewer and I talked about the underground coal vein fire in Centralia and my faculty interviewer spent the whole time talking about the class he teaches for M1s. It was really chill.
 
Lurker here lol:

So if they've already made a decision about you before the interview, WHY INVITE CANDIDATES TO INTERVIEWS?
Just curious because of course, every student interviewed at Pitt does not get into Pitt
 
thalia142 said:
I was also accepted, 11/3 interview date (34/3.9, non-trad, OOS)! I think I remember you, MedSchoolBeard. Congrats on getting in. I thought everyone at the interview that day was smarter than me, too..including you! But yay, we're both in!

Good luck to the rest of you. A friend of mine is at Pitt now and had sit on the admissions board in the past. She told me they pretty much make their decision about you before the interview, so all you have to do is relax and let them know you are the same person they see on the application. My student interviewer and I talked about the underground coal vein fire in Centralia and my faculty interviewer spent the whole time talking about the class he teaches for M1s. It was really chill.
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Congrats! But you are obviously smarter if you've got me pegged. I can only speculate. Did we perhaps chat during lunch? And, if so, was my shock and dismay at finding mushrooms in my ravioli clearly evident?

I'm dissappointed to hear this about the interview. But oh well, it's their business to run a medical school and ours to get ourselves in.

11/3 is representing well, let's hope the success continues for EpicBearMan.
 
SpaceDoc18 said:
Lurker here lol:

So if they've already made a decision about you before the interview, WHY INVITE CANDIDATES TO INTERVIEWS?
Just curious because of course, every student interviewed at Pitt does not get into Pitt
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I mean, they've made a decision, but if they see red flags during the interview, then it's important to take note of that. It's really hard to get something substantial out of the interview besides all the extensive information provided via AMCAS and secondaries - other than updates and see how passionate you are about medicine and certain accomplishments. They also know that each interviewee might have a different experience and that interview ratings can be biased. So while saying that they've made a decision prior to the interview might be an exaggeration, the weighting can be much heavier on pre-interview evaluation.
 
Pitt student here, I can definitely tell you that the interview does matter. An extremely positive impression or a very negative impression can have a huge impact on whether you get into Pitt or not.

The reason it seems like the interview doesn't always matter is that the majority of interviewees fall somewhere in the middle, in that they neither completely blow you away but seem likable enough and you'd be happy to see them at pitt. That is when the things that got you the interview in the first place come back into play (the GPA, the MCAT, the extracurriculars, demonstrated interest in Pitt, etc.)
 
I was looking over last year's thread a lil bit today. It appears that they finished interviewing in January last year, and started pulling from the waitlist in mid March. Nobody knew if the waitlist was ranked, but a very significant number of people were accepted from it, all the way up into July.

Somebody earlier mentioned that they plan on accepting more people from the waitlist this year. Did that mean a higher percentage? And where did the information come from?
 
EpicBearMan said:
I was looking over last year's thread a lil bit today. It appears that they finished interviewing in January last year, and started pulling from the waitlist in mid March. Nobody knew if the waitlist was ranked, but a very significant number of people were accepted from it, all the way up into July.

Somebody earlier mentioned that they plan on accepting more people from the waitlist this year. Did that mean a higher percentage? And where did the information come from?
Click to expand...

On the snail mail waitlist letters, Pitt says they plan to accept fewer ppl outright and will instead be pulling many from the waitlist in the spring.
 
Wermz said:
On the snail mail waitlist letters, Pitt says they plan to accept fewer ppl outright and will instead be pulling many from the waitlist in the spring.
Click to expand...

Ah, thanks. I still haven't gotten my snail mail letter. I'm just hungry for info.
 
EpicBearMan said:
I was looking over last year's thread a lil bit today. It appears that they finished interviewing in January last year, and started pulling from the waitlist in mid March. Nobody knew if the waitlist was ranked, but a very significant number of people were accepted from it, all the way up into July.
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Not sure if it'll change the timeline of events this year, but the last interviews were in December. I, for one, am hoping that means their could be some movement from the waitlist before March :xf:
 
Sent in my pstp stuff..but heard they dont interview till Apr. >.< :xf:
 
Anyone know how often the adcom meets? Or perhaps when the next one is? The waiting is killing me, even though I expect the best response I will get to be a waitlist and I will probably have to wait some more...
 
Interviewed 11/9, status update today - waitlisted. Can't say I'm surprised, my faculty interview was mildly catastrophic and I never quite got the feel I was a good fit for Pittsburgh.

Good luck to everyone else who finds out today!
 
nicolemeooow said:
Sent in my pstp stuff..but heard they dont interview till Apr. >.< :xf:
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The applications are reviewed the first week of February, and interviews are offered after that on an individual basis. Decisions will be made late March or early April. This information is from the program administrator of the PSTP program. Hope that helps!!
 
interviewed 11/8...status update today to "waitlisted." could be worse, i suppose 🙄
 
Interviewed 11/10, Waitlisted today- *sigh*, and I thought my interview went SO well too. Oh well, fingers crossed.

Does anyone know when waitlist movement started last year? Would any of it start before May 15th?
 
Ah just checked my my status. Waitlisted. Interviewed 11/2
 
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Cpck said:
The applications are reviewed the first week of February, and interviews are offered after that on an individual basis. Decisions will be made late March or early April. This information is from the program administrator of the PSTP program. Hope that helps!!
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ah, thanks a lot! I thought I was totally late 😛
 
Does anyone know the best way to send post-interview updates to Pitt? I emailed [email protected], but didn't get a confirmation from them. I havd emailed them before and gotten a response from that address. Should I just assume they have my update on file?
 
r1012 said:
Does anyone know the best way to send post-interview updates to Pitt? I emailed [email protected], but didn't get a confirmation from them. I havd emailed them before and gotten a response from that address. Should I just assume they have my update on file?
Click to expand...

Yep, Pitt doesn't acknowledge the receipt of updates.
 
Has anyone had to wait beyond the 8 weeks to learn of their status?
It's been 9 for me, just wondering if anyone else is anxious lol
 
SpaceDoc18 said:
Has anyone had to wait beyond the 8 weeks to learn of their status?
It's been 9 for me, just wondering if anyone else is anxious lol
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yeah same here, been checking status page everyday first thing in the morning 😕
 
Good point! I literally blitzed them (Pittsburgh steel curtain style) with updates this past week in efforts to gain an outright acceptance. :laugh:

theshellyb said:
If you'll notice upthread they're averaging about 9 weeks +/- a few days to give out decisions. I waited 9 weeks and 1 day. The Holiday threw things off, I think.
Click to expand...
 
SpaceDoc18 said:
Good point! I literally blitzed them (Pittsburgh steel curtain style) with updates this past week in efforts to gain an outright acceptance. :laugh:
Click to expand...

Steel Curtain was made up of 2 DTs and 2 DEs... they don't blitz. In fact, on blitz plays they'd drop back into coverage. But good try 👍
 
That's debateable and for another forum 😎
Still anxious about learning of my decision!

tlaloc87 said:
Steel Curtain was made up of 2 DTs and 2 DEs... they don't blitz. In fact, on blitz plays they'd drop back into coverage. But good try 👍
Click to expand...
 
Still waiting on a decision post interview.

I just wanted to float this question since the issue has been bothering me since I interviewed. I interviewed with a really nice older gentleman who was very hard of hearing. I don't think he heard most of what I said and I spent the entire time yelling (no exaggeration) so it was hard to give answers longer than a couple of sentences. I may laugh at this situation one day but not quite yet 😳

Should I call the admissions office and let them know of my concerns??
 
REOTBGBT said:
Still waiting on a decision post interview.

I just wanted to float this question since the issue has been bothering me since I interviewed. I interviewed with a really nice older gentleman who was very hard of hearing. I don't think he heard most of what I said and I spent the entire time yelling (no exaggeration) so it was hard to give answers longer than a couple of sentences. I may laugh at this situation one day but not quite yet 😳

Should I call the admissions office and let them know of my concerns??
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That does not sound like a good decision to me at all... If there's something that you wanted to convey in your interview that you feel is important for the admissions committee to know, then I would write a letter of intent/update letter and include that information on there. Just my 2cs
 
futureMD2015 said:
That does not sound like a good decision to me at all... If there's something that you wanted to convey in your interview that you feel is important for the admissions committee to know, then I would write a letter of intent/update letter and include that information on there. Just my 2cs
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Ditto this completely, and I would make sure this letter is about YOU and not mention the interviewer at all.
 
are they sending out waitlist letters in the mail too? or is it just the online status? tnx
 
futureMD2015 said:
That does not sound like a good decision to me at all... If there's something that you wanted to convey in your interview that you feel is important for the admissions committee to know, then I would write a letter of intent/update letter and include that information on there. Just my 2cs
Click to expand...

MedSchoolBeard said:
Ditto this completely, and I would make sure this letter is about YOU and not mention the interviewer at all.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice, my gut tells me the same. It's just sort of upsetting because I feel like it is sort of unnecessary to expose applicants to this kind of stress and variability during the interview. I also feel like a letter doesn't quite convey the intangibles of an interview. That's just the messiness of the process I guess.
 
09grad said:
are they sending out waitlist letters in the mail too? or is it just the online status? tnx
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letter comes in the mail a few days later. hand-signed too IIRC, which was a nice touch.


RE: waitlistees... chin up y'all. keep your head up. don't let up. just keep slayin' 'em.
 
just checked my status. also waitlisted. its a shame, I really would have preferred this school over BU.
 
REOTBGBT said:
Still waiting on a decision post interview.

I just wanted to float this question since the issue has been bothering me since I interviewed. I interviewed with a really nice older gentleman who was very hard of hearing. I don't think he heard most of what I said and I spent the entire time yelling (no exaggeration) so it was hard to give answers longer than a couple of sentences. I may laugh at this situation one day but not quite yet 😳

Should I call the admissions office and let them know of my concerns??
Click to expand...

I know how you feel because I had a similar kind of weird situation at another interview (not Pitt). My interviewer barely asked me anything about myself, and when he heard I was currently working in marketing, went on a 30 minute rant about how marketing had ruined medicine and how he wished we could go back to the days before doctors had billboards and ads in in-flight magazines (seriously). I was so disappointed after the interview because he hadn't given me a chance to SAY anything (except the "uh-huhs" and "yeahs" I managed to pepper into the rant) and I felt there was no way for me to have made an actual impression on this guy. And that was my ONLY interview at that school so it was all they had to go on.

I thought about calling the admissions office but ultimately decided against it after talking to some very well-respected mentors. The only situation in which it's appropriate to contact the admissions office about your interviewer is if they ask something illegal. Otherwise, that's just the luck of the draw and that bit of unfairness about the process. You'll click with some interviewers and not with others. It sucks, especially if you like the school a lot, but that's life. You don't want to come off as whiny to the admissions office because then you went from "Maybe this interviewer might hurt my chances" to "My whininess DEFINITELY hurt my chances". At least that's how I see it.
 
for those of you who heard back today, when were your interview dates?
 
theshellyb said:
I know how you feel because I had a similar kind of weird situation at another interview (not Pitt). My interviewer barely asked me anything about myself, and when he heard I was currently working in marketing, went on a 30 minute rant about how marketing had ruined medicine and how he wished we could go back to the days before doctors had billboards and ads in in-flight magazines (seriously). I was so disappointed after the interview because he hadn't given me a chance to SAY anything (except the "uh-huhs" and "yeahs" I managed to pepper into the rant) and I felt there was no way for me to have made an actual impression on this guy. And that was my ONLY interview at that school so it was all they had to go on.

I thought about calling the admissions office but ultimately decided against it after talking to some very well-respected mentors. The only situation in which it's appropriate to contact the admissions office about your interviewer is if they ask something illegal. Otherwise, that's just the luck of the draw and that bit of unfairness about the process. You'll click with some interviewers and not with others. It sucks, especially if you like the school a lot, but that's life. You don't want to come off as whiny to the admissions office because then you went from "Maybe this interviewer might hurt my chances" to "My whininess DEFINITELY hurt my chances". At least that's how I see it.
Click to expand...

Thanks for sharing that experience, I hope it turns out well despite the rant. 🙂 I don't mean to whine, I've had my fair share of good interviews and not so good interviews just based on interviewer personality etc so I totally get that part of the process. The Pitt experience threw me because I'm not sure the interviewer actually heard what I was saying since I'm pretty sure he was deaf. But you're right -- I'll just let it go 🙂
 
REOTBGBT said:
Thanks for sharing that experience, I hope it turns out well despite the rant. 🙂 I don't mean to whine, I've had my fair share of good interviews and not so good interviews just based on interviewer personality etc so I totally get that part of the process. The Pitt experience threw me because I'm not sure the interviewer actually heard what I was saying since I'm pretty sure he was deaf. But you're right -- I'll just let it go 🙂
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You totally didn't sound whiny, by the way. I didn't mean that to be aimed at YOU. I just used to work in admissions (undergrad) and sometimes kids would call up with the most inane complaints and freak out over the smallest little thing, and it pissed off the admissions officers to no end. I never understood why kids did this- why are you annoying the people who hold your fate in their hands?

Not saying this is as inane as the stuff that high school seniors would bug our office about, but at the end of the day you're unlikely to come off as sounding anything other than defensive, and that never helps. There's just no good way to bring this up because in the end, the admissions office can't really do anything about it. And you never know who in that office has that interviewer as their grandfather or something.

At my school I'm just going to write a letter of interest and tell them how much I loved the school when I was there for my interview day. It's positive, and leaves a good impression for the admissions officers.
 
theshellyb said:
I know how you feel because I had a similar kind of weird situation at another interview (not Pitt). My interviewer barely asked me anything about myself, and when he heard I was currently working in marketing, went on a 30 minute rant about how marketing had ruined medicine and how he wished we could go back to the days before doctors had billboards and ads in in-flight magazines (seriously). I was so disappointed after the interview because he hadn't given me a chance to SAY anything (except the "uh-huhs" and "yeahs" I managed to pepper into the rant) and I felt there was no way for me to have made an actual impression on this guy. And that was my ONLY interview at that school so it was all they had to go on.

I thought about calling the admissions office but ultimately decided against it after talking to some very well-respected mentors. The only situation in which it's appropriate to contact the admissions office about your interviewer is if they ask something illegal. Otherwise, that's just the luck of the draw and that bit of unfairness about the process. You'll click with some interviewers and not with others. It sucks, especially if you like the school a lot, but that's life. You don't want to come off as whiny to the admissions office because then you went from "Maybe this interviewer might hurt my chances" to "My whininess DEFINITELY hurt my chances". At least that's how I see it.
Click to expand...

Maybe a little late for the situation now, but when you get in an interview and don't feel like you were heard - whether due to ranting or old age - a good chance to make up for it is the thank you letter. I had a not quite as bad but still disappointing situation at an interview.
I had gotten a publication as an undergrad and had quite a bit of research under my belt, so all the interviewer wanted to talk about was research. This was disappointing because I said on my secondary that even though I appreciated research I was more interested in primary care and the actual practice of medicine. I did not want to talk about research, but that's all he wanted to talk about. In the last MINUTE of the interview he mentioned something about the rewards of patient care, and I didn't have a chance to respond to the topic that really interested me. I walked away hating the interview.
Anyway, I used my thank you letter as a way to respond. "In the last part of our meeting you mentioned....." If you think you weren't heard you could just say "I want to reemphasize what I said in our meeting about ...." or whatever. I'm guessing it's too late for this now, but something to think about for next time.
 
johndoe417 said:
for those of you who heard back today, when were your interview dates?
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I believe they released decisions for people who interviewed the week of November the 15th.

Woo at this rate, 4 more weeks and they'll be done reviewing everyone.

Does anyone know if the chances of getting accepted/rejected vs waitlisted become higher towards the end of the review process since the committee would have already reviewed a large majority of the applications?
 
Wermz said:
Naaah, not debatable. You got owned son, admit it!
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Fine! I'll own up to the fact I was wrong on that one :idea:
I shouldv'e said "ZONE BLITZ'd" like the 90s- present Steelers, not the Steel Curtain of old
I'm a Redskins fan anyways LMAO 😛
 
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