2011-2012 Vanderbilt University Application Thread

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Hi Everyone!

I just thought that I would share here on my interview experience at Vandy so future interviewees can be more successful 🙂

A little about my stats: 3.87 science, 3.77 cumulative, 28S (SO DON't GIVE UP If you got low MCAT!!) I also did a Master's in Nutrition. OOS

I submitted my AMCAS June 4th, verified June 10th. Received secondary/interviewee invite on 8/11 🙂 Interviewed on 9-15.

Echoing previous feedback on interviewes, yes Vandy has changed their interviewing process this year. You get a long open file one and a short closed file one. For me, both interviews were in the style of conversations but I heard from other interviewees that this is the not the case for the short closed file one. They get a list of 'hard questions" to challenge you in the short closed file. My interviewee asked the questions in a nice conversation way but she often picked out some things that I said and asked me why I did it this way or why I didn't do it another way. So be prepared to not fall into traps and to hold your grounds confidently but not obnoxiously! Long open file was meant to give you a chance to talk about the things YOU want to focus on and just to get a sense of who you are (hobbies, common things with the interviewer). I find that mock interviews with your friends and significant other are a great way to get you more comfortable to talk about yourself! ASK yourself challenging questions! Good luck!

I stayed at the Hampton Inn on West End and it was a very nice hotel! The staff is oober friendly and they got a shuttle at 7:15 a.m. to drop you off at the medical campus so you don't have to walk! It rained when I was there so it was nice to not have to walk in heels or call a cab. I got it for a deal so you should just check the list of accommodations that Vandy sent you and ask if they give interviewees discount. Hotel gives you free breakfast but so does Vandy. I walked in way before 7:45 a.m. and was glad because I was the lucky one with the short closed file at 8 a.m.! I am from California so this was 6 a.m. for me @_@. Very unexpected. Hahaha.

I interviewed with a group of 10 (ish) and people were from all over the states. Some are still seniors and some were like me, who took a few years off. Like what many said before, faculty and students are just so nice and make you want to go to their school very badly. It's a oober plus that anatomy lab isn't in the basement!! I love this school and WILL definitely go here if I get accepted! Good luck everyone!
 
Thanks for the info, Sabriel. I hope my short interview isn't too intense.

Is anyone else going to be at Vanderbilt this Tuesday (9/20)?
 
You think Vandy would be receptive if I called and asked what could have been strengthened on my app? I got rejected and want to know because I just designated some new schools on AMCAS. Not sure if it's helpful, but it could be. Has anybody tried this?
 
Cinclus said:
So...where the heck do we park when we go to interview?
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South Parking Garage on Childrens Way between 24th and 25th. From the parking garage, walk back to 24th and turn left (away from blakemore ave). Walk past the VA and turn right at the T intersection. Light Hall is the big glass building between the Biomedical Library and the VA. I'm an undergrad at vandy and will be glad to answer any questions about Nashville etc
 
I still haven't heard anything....I got the e-mail saying that Vanderbilt had received my AMCAS on 07/26...this wait is killing me
 
Interview invite via mail today, submitted secondary somewhere in mid to late August...excited to visit Nashville!...35M, 3.8 GPA, significant research experience.
 
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Rejected via mail today.

In state, 34Q/3.9, Significant research/volunteer experience + unique EC's.

Bummer.
 
saveourpens said:
Correct, mid August I submitted the primary.
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lol, my brain stopped working. I meant that, for Vandy, the primary was submitted in mid-August. I got the secondary/interview today....only reason I was checking the mail feverishly the past few weeks was because I knew from this thread that Vandy sends interview invites via regular mail....really excited when I read the first word! "Congratulations..."
 
wacko0500 said:
Rejected via mail today.

In state, 34Q/3.9, Significant research/volunteer experience + unique EC's.

Bummer.
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Don't take it personally. This entire process is so arbitrary. You can get rejected by Meharry pre-interview and land one at Hopkins and Harvard. Seriously, take it in stride and look forward to your other schools. With your stats, you're guaranteed a spot unless you "douche" the interview. ;-)

Good luck!
 
Deutsch Arzt said:
Don't take it personally. This entire process is so arbitrary. You can get rejected by Meharry pre-interview and land one at Hopkins and Harvard. Seriously, take it in stride and look forward to your other schools. With your stats, you're guaranteed a spot unless you "douche" the interview. ;-)

Good luck!
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only if meharry practices yield protection
 
Deutsch Arzt said:
Don't take it personally. This entire process is so arbitrary. You can get rejected by Meharry pre-interview and land one at Hopkins and Harvard. Seriously, take it in stride and look forward to your other schools. With your stats, you're guaranteed a spot unless you "douche" the interview. ;-)

Good luck!
Click to expand...

Yeah, I just really wanted to go somewhere top 20. Not so much for the prestige, but I think that's where more of my "peers" would be. At least more so than my state school. Ie, more nerdy/research types than sports fans, but oh well.

It's just so hard to break into the ivy bubble if you aren't already in it. I've even got some pretty unique EC's (started my own company and created a medical device) but apparently that just comes off as arrogant. Seems schools like BU don't take me seriously, but I'm not good enough for vandy/chicago.

I did get an interview at Pitt, though! Initially I didn't like the idea of pittsburgh (seemed dirty), but now I kinda like the idea of going to school in the city of steel. Maybe I'm a better fit for the "atlas shrugged" esque schools than vandy.

That's what I'm telling myself anyway. Less depressing than the reality of trying my best and coming up short. I didn't really try in high school, but I worked my ass off in college. My best not being good enough is a new experience for me, and it sucks big time.
 
wacko0500 said:
I did get an interview at Pitt, though! Initially I didn't like the idea of pittsburgh (seemed dirty), but now I kinda like the idea of going to school in the city of steel. Maybe I'm a better fit for the "atlas shrugged" esque schools than vandy.
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It seems to me like you're thinking too much about this process. About Pittsburgh, having lived here since I was 6 years old, I can tell you that Pittsburgh is not a "city of steel" (accept when you're talking about the Steelers) or "dirty" or that our med school has an "atlas shrugged" feel to it. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised when you visit. I'll be interviewing at Pitt mid October so maybe see you there!
 
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wacko0500 said:
Yeah, I just really wanted to go somewhere top 20. Not so much for the prestige, but I think that's where more of my "peers" would be. At least more so than my state school. Ie, more nerdy/research types than sports fans, but oh well.
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You make it sound like your state school is full of knuckle dragging gorillas! I think that wherever you end up, you'll probably come across quite a few people who will be just plain better than you in almost every way.

Good luck at Pitt, though. It's a great school, and I'm sure more top 20 invites will be coming.
 
nadaba said:
You make it sound like your state school is full of knuckle dragging gorillas! I think that wherever you end up, you'll probably come across quite a few people who will be just plain better than you in almost every way.

Good luck at Pitt, though. It's a great school, and I'm sure more top 20 invites will be coming.
Click to expand...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRLHXNBqi9s
 
Medical schools often look for a diverse body of applicants in more ways than just ethnicity. I was a college athlete and I love sports. I was also invited to interview at both Pitt (mid-October interview date as well!) and Vandy so I believe that you will find like-minded individuals wherever you end up, regardless of prestige/ rank.
 
nadaba said:
You make it sound like your state school is full of knuckle dragging gorillas! I think that wherever you end up, you'll probably come across quite a few people who will be just plain better than you in almost every way.

Good luck at Pitt, though. It's a great school, and I'm sure more top 20 invites will be coming.
Click to expand...

That's not what I meant, but stereotyping people applying from my university into two groups (obviously this is a gross overgeneralization), there are those who want to be doctors for the lifestyle and those that want to do it more for the science. By lifestyle, I mean they have rather typical interests, they like playing basketball, golfing, watching sports and have little interest in research. Their gpa and mcat scores are usually a little lower, and almost all are hoping to go to state schools. That isn't a bad thing, and they will make fine doctors that will be able to relate (better than I will) to most of their patients.

The other group spends their summers in the lab, studies all weekend, and party quite a bit less. Ie "the nerds." Many will likely end up at state schools, myself included, but I'd say most of us would prefer to go to more research focused institutions.

As for pitt, I've never really been north of DC I'm not sure what to expect. I choose my interview date just before thanksgiving so I could spend several days exploring the city after my interview.
 
wacko0500 said:
That's not what I meant, but stereotyping people applying from my university into two groups (obviously this is a gross overgeneralization), there are those who want to be doctors for the lifestyle and those that want to do it more for the science. By lifestyle, I mean they have rather typical interests, they like playing basketball, golfing, watching sports and have little interest in research. Their gpa and mcat scores are usually a little lower, and almost all are hoping to go to state schools. That isn't a bad thing, and they will make fine doctors that will be able to relate (better than I will) to most of their patients.

The other group spends their summers in the lab, studies all weekend, and party quite a bit less. Ie "the nerds." Many will likely end up at state schools, myself included, but I'd say most of us would prefer to go to more research focused institutions.
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lol you make it sound as if a passion for sports and a passion for research are completely incompatible. I've been playing hockey, snowboarding, and tennis since I was 10. My research projects have ranged from interviewing people to study political motivations to planning organic syntheses.
 
saveourpens said:
lol you make it sound as if a passion for sports and a passion for research are completely incompatible. I've been playing hockey, snowboarding, and tennis since I was 10. My research projects have ranged from interviewing people to study political motivations to planning organic syntheses.
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Agreed. Why can't someone like sports AND research? Not to mention the implication that someone HAS to be doing this for the lifestyle if they're not super into research like you are. Seems like you're generalizing and belittling your peers to justify only wanting to go to top tier schools.
 
DDX2k said:
Agreed. Why can't someone like sports AND research? Not to mention the implication that someone HAS to be doing this for the lifestyle if they're not super into research like you are. Seems like you're generalizing and belittling your peers to justify only wanting to go to top tier schools.
Click to expand...

Sounds rather familiar... oh wait.

...That's not what I meant, but stereotyping people applying from my university into two groups (obviously this is a gross overgeneralization),...

I play tennis as well, I was making generalizations to try and draw some overall differences between statistical distributions of students at top twenty medical schools vs state schools.

Based on MSAR statistics, top 20 matriculants are more likely to have research experience. In fact, "top 20" usually refers to research institutions.

Most medical students probably do like some form of running/sports/whatever. My point was that if 80% of medical students at a state school played some form of intramural sport in college, I suspect that number would be lower for a top twenty school. Maybe only down to 70%, but lower. Do I have any data to actually support that? No.

My stereotypes are mostly based off of my friends who are really into sports. They spend so much time working out that it literally detracts from study time to the point they make lower grades. This specific person is actually now pre dentistry (from premed).

Don't take things so personally. I didn't intended to imply that sports and research were mutually exclusive, merely from my observations that this tends to often be the case.


EDIT

I did find some data supporting my stereotypes, though I doubt you'll find them conclusive enough. Basically it shows socioeconomic and educational factors in predicating interests. People tend to "go out" more as education increases until a certain level, then it decreases. Competitive sports playing is determined by educational background ground. Leisure activities based on socioeconomic background.

Entertainment:
Inspection of Table 1 indicates that the respondents' level of education was significantly related to participation in 20 of the 25 entertainments listed. The rate of participation increased with education for 18 of the 20 significant items, while visits to a nightclub, lounge or bar appeared to increase to middle levels of education, then decrease for higher levels. The relationship between education and visiting a swap meet was inverse; the higher the level of education, the less likely the respondent would participate.


Competitive Sports:
The pattern of relationships revealed by Table 2 indicates that the demographic items were much more strongly related to participation in these sports activities than were the social strata items, by a ratio of 87 to 37. Nearly half of the significant associations were with education, while both income and occupational group each accounted for only 5, and occupational class was the least effective predictor of activity with 4 systematic relationships to the 21 dependent variables. As with the previous table, these results provide support for both of the hypotheses...
...

Leisure Activities:
Considering only those independent variables associated with social status, the educational level of the respondent was by far the most effective determinant of leisure activity, with significant relationships with 65 of the 91 activities listed. In descending order of effect, the other variables were occupational group with 24 relationships, income with 22, self-rated social class with 21, and occupational class with the least number, 17. The total number of significant associations was 149 of a possible 455. At the .05 alpha level, one would expect only about 23 to be significant purely by chance. These results provide support for the first hypothesis, that the patterns of leisure activity will be significantly influenced by variables associated with social status. It was also hypothesized that education would provide the best single predictor of participation in the leisure activities, while income would be the least effective predictor. This hypothesis received only partial support. While education was the best predictor, both occupational class membership and self-rated social class proved to have fewer relationships to the dependent variables than did income....

Source: http://www.acrwebsite.org/volumes/display.asp?id=9547
 
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saveourpens said:
It seems to me like you're thinking too much about this process. About Pittsburgh, having lived here since I was 6 years old, I can tell you that Pittsburgh is not a "city of steel" (accept when you're talking about the Steelers) or "dirty" or that our med school has an "atlas shrugged" feel to it. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised when you visit. I'll be interviewing at Pitt mid October so maybe see you there!
Click to expand...

And how big is pittsburgh relative to DC? Atlanta? etc...? Is there a lot to do downtown? I've never been north of DC, so I don't really know what to expect.
 
wacko0500 said:
And how big is pittsburgh relative to DC? Atlanta? etc...? Is there a lot to do downtown? I've never been north of DC, so I don't really know what to expect.
Click to expand...

Much smaller than either Atlanta or DC. I remember there was an article talking about a European soccer team who spent hours wandering downtown looking for things to do....they were in the wrong place...no, although Downtown has Point State Park, the Strip District, and Consol Energy Center (where the Pens play), people generally don't go there to have fun. It's an office park. The lively parts of Pittsburgh are the South Side and the North Side. Pitt's campus (including where the med school is) is also not located in Downtown...it's basically in a small city 5 minutes away called Oakland. The thing I love about Pittsburgh is how it's small, yet there are still plenty of things to do (just not in Downtown to answer your question).
 
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I interviewed at Vanderbilt this week and absolutely loved it. There were two interviews: one short and one long. The short interview was structured to give the interviewer a better grasp of your personality. The interviewer had no information about you except your name and undergraduate institution. The other applicants thought the short interview was difficult, but I actually liked it. Yes, the questions were abstract, but once you thought of something to say, it was easy to talk for an extended period of time. An example of the type of questions they asked was "Describe a time when you wanted to accomplish something but encountered resistance. What did you do? Did you accomplish your goal? How did it impact you?" Very much like secondary essay questions. This interview lasted 30 minutes

The second interview was one hour long and was basically a conversation. My interviewer only asked one question (What is your vision of your career in 10 years?) and then opened the floor for my questions. That led to a one-hour conversation.

I just loved the intense involvement of the students, how happy and friendly they were, the emphasis on athletics and staying active, the research opportunities, and its setting in Nashville. I'm hoping for some good news from them!
 
wacko0500 said:
Sounds rather familiar... oh wait.

...That's not what I meant, but stereotyping people applying from my university into two groups (obviously this is a gross overgeneralization),...

I play tennis as well, I was making generalizations to try and draw some overall differences between statistical distributions of students at top twenty medical schools vs state schools.

Based on MSAR statistics, top 20 matriculants are more likely to have research experience. In fact, "top 20" usually refers to research institutions.

Most medical students probably do like some form of running/sports/whatever. My point was that if 80% of medical students at a state school played some form of intramural sport in college, I suspect that number would be lower for a top twenty school. Maybe only down to 70%, but lower. Do I have any data to actually support that? No.

My stereotypes are mostly based off of my friends who are really into sports. They spend so much time working out that it literally detracts from study time to the point they make lower grades. This specific person is actually now pre dentistry (from premed).

Don't take things so personally. I didn't intended to imply that sports and research were mutually exclusive, merely from my observations that this tends to often be the case.


EDIT

I did find some data supporting my stereotypes, though I doubt you'll find them conclusive enough. Basically it shows socioeconomic and educational factors in predicating interests. People tend to "go out" more as education increases until a certain level, then it decreases. Competitive sports playing is determined by educational background ground. Leisure activities based on socioeconomic background.

Entertainment:
Inspection of Table 1 indicates that the respondents' level of education was significantly related to participation in 20 of the 25 entertainments listed. The rate of participation increased with education for 18 of the 20 significant items, while visits to a nightclub, lounge or bar appeared to increase to middle levels of education, then decrease for higher levels. The relationship between education and visiting a swap meet was inverse; the higher the level of education, the less likely the respondent would participate.


Competitive Sports:
The pattern of relationships revealed by Table 2 indicates that the demographic items were much more strongly related to participation in these sports activities than were the social strata items, by a ratio of 87 to 37. Nearly half of the significant associations were with education, while both income and occupational group each accounted for only 5, and occupational class was the least effective predictor of activity with 4 systematic relationships to the 21 dependent variables. As with the previous table, these results provide support for both of the hypotheses...
...

Leisure Activities:
Considering only those independent variables associated with social status, the educational level of the respondent was by far the most effective determinant of leisure activity, with significant relationships with 65 of the 91 activities listed. In descending order of effect, the other variables were occupational group with 24 relationships, income with 22, self-rated social class with 21, and occupational class with the least number, 17. The total number of significant associations was 149 of a possible 455. At the .05 alpha level, one would expect only about 23 to be significant purely by chance. These results provide support for the first hypothesis, that the patterns of leisure activity will be significantly influenced by variables associated with social status. It was also hypothesized that education would provide the best single predictor of participation in the leisure activities, while income would be the least effective predictor. This hypothesis received only partial support. While education was the best predictor, both occupational class membership and self-rated social class proved to have fewer relationships to the dependent variables than did income....

Source: http://www.acrwebsite.org/volumes/display.asp?id=9547
Click to expand...

I'm not taking this personally at all. I just don't think the kind of stereotyping that you're doing is right. I'm well aware you admitted it to it previously, but that doesn't mean it's right. It's pretty ridiculous to try to look up papers on this stuff, especially if it's just papers that state the obvious (Hey, as we get older and go to really tough grad programs, we'll go out less -....um, of course??). This'll happen at all med schools too, so it's not like your state school is full of people partying all the time. Why be so dead-set on looking down on those who want to have fun in their lives? Anyway, I don't wanna get into a huge argument and derail this thread, I just wish you'd have a bit more of an open mind with this process, especially since there's a lot of advantages to going to your state school ($$) and I doubt your class is going to be like your prediction.

I'd also like to point out that the plural form of 'anecdote' is not 'data'.
 
Hey all! Just received interview invite to Vandy in the mail! Lower MCAT scores don't be discouraged....28 here...Excited to see the school, anyone else have impressions who have interviewed already?
 
Soilworkgmbh said:
Hey all! Just received interview invite to Vandy in the mail! Lower MCAT scores don't be discouraged....28 here...Excited to see the school, anyone else have impressions who have interviewed already?
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Congrats Soilworkgmbh! When did you get the e-mail from Vandy saying they received your AMCAS app?
 
isabella1 said:
Congrats Soilworkgmbh! When did you get the e-mail from Vandy saying they received your AMCAS app?
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I got the email August 16th, interview letter marked almost exactly 1 month after that! Hope that helps. I'll cross my fingers for ya! :xf:
 
Heading for Nashville on Monday, interview on Tuesday 9/27. PM me if you are going there too!
 
Can anyone who recently scheduled an interview see what dates are still available? I know November was available about a week and a half ago, hopefully there's still dates there...
 
I'm kind of surprised my rejection hasn't arrived yet.
 
ugh, I'm so behind! have not finished even one of the secondary essays yet.
 
Have any MSTP applicants out there received a secondary?

I'm curious to know if there are any additional questions not on the regular-MD secondary... I've written responses to the MD prompts while waiting for my MCAT scores to post...tomorrow! ACK!

Also, is there a spot to list our research project-by-project like on Emory's secondary? I loved that!

Good luck everyone.
 
At this stage the essays should be pretty simple, just recycle your previous stuff.
 
Rejection came in the mail today. Not surprising, but still disappointing.

Good luck, everybody else!
 
I just scheduled an interview. Did anyone find it helpful read up on the interviewer (like their publications) for the interview?
 
saveourpens said:
I just scheduled an interview. Did anyone find it helpful read up on the interviewer (like their publications) for the interview?
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Eh - I think it's unnecessary. My interviewer and I talked a bit about his work after a patient called him during the interview. It was helpful to know his specialty beforehand, but in retrospect all the google stalking I did was unnecessary. Just knowing their specialty/how long they've been at vandy/if they went to med school at vandy is probably enough. You definitely don't need to read publications 🙂
 
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