2012-2013 Vanderbilt University Application Thread

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Interview invite last night! Got the checkmarks mid-November. Still a few dates open!

same here. nothing available until the week of jan 21, i signed up for the Friday. i definitely didnt expect to get an invite late saturday night right before xmas
 
I noticed that Vandy gives out quite a few scholarships, full or 50% of tuition. How many of these are given out and how selective are they, eg. are there only a few for top-notch applicants?


The MSAR states that 38% of the incoming class receives 75% tuition or more. I'm not sure how current or accurate that is, but take it as our only real info on it 🙂
 
So does this mean there was some overlap between your class and the class ahead of you in the wards? Will there be any overlap between curriculums of our class and your class?

Also, if you had the choice, would you be a part of the 2, 1.5, or 1 year pre-clinical curriculum at Vandy, and why?

Forgive me for being so inquisitive, I probably won't get to go to second look 🙁

Thanks, lxz! Can you comment about third and fourth year emphasis and immersion blocks and what most people do during those times? I'd also like to know whether there will be overlap between this year's class and our class. Thanks! 😀

From what I heard, there will be about 6-month overlap between the two classes. To minimize the impact, the school has established a bunch of new clinical sites to accommodate the needs of students. So, overlapping should not be an issue.
Our class would overlap with both current 2nd years and the incoming class. Given that, I would prefer to be part of the 1-year pre-clinical curriculum. In my opinion, two years of preclinical is inefficient and redundant.
Again, I'm no expert on immersion blocks/emphasis, since those are new to me as well. But from my understanding, emphasis gives you a 3-month secured time for research of any kind. Immersions are additional opportunities for students to take classes, clerkships, and personalized studies, etc. I would suggest you come back on second-look. I believe there will be more explanations from the administrators.
 
The MSAR states that 38% of the incoming class receives 75% tuition or more. I'm not sure how current or accurate that is, but take it as our only real info on it 🙂

I received a call recently from Vanderbilt for a 75% tuition scholarship! So psyched, this school just skyrocketed to #1 on my list by a mile 🙂
 
Wow! That's amazing - was the call separate from your admissions call? If so, when did you get accepted and when did you receive the call regarding financial aid. Congratulations!!
 
Yes, it was separate from my admissions call 🙂 I was accepted over a month ago and the call from financial aid came recently
 
Has Vandy rejected anyone post-interview? Does every interviewee receive the "we will be reconsidering your application" letter if they are not initially accepted?
 
Has Vandy rejected anyone post-interview? Does every interviewee receive the "we will be reconsidering your application" letter if they are not initially accepted?

Just got that letter today 🙂 This was definitely my top choice and I thought I did well at the interview, but its outof my control. So heres to hoping that they change their minds :xf:
 
Does anyone know when the next round of decisions is supposed to go out?
 
I've been completed since 8/1 and haven't heard back since (besides occasional emails stating, "We're still reviewing your application...").

Anyone else in the same situation?
 
i've been completed since 8/1 and haven't heard back since (besides occasional emails stating, "we're still reviewing your application...").

Anyone else in the same situation?

+1
 
Has Vanderbilt officially stop sending out interview invites?
 
I was wondering the same..the email said through December 2012..

I'm guessing they are done. Got the thanks for applying letter in the mail today post-secondary and from the pile that got the emails previously. Good luck to everyone! Thankfully I have my top pick in the bag, but it's nice to finally have some closure here.
 
I'm guessing they are done. Got the thanks for applying letter in the mail today post-secondary and from the pile that got the emails previously. Good luck to everyone! Thankfully I have my top pick in the bag, but it's nice to finally have some closure here.

Anyone else get one of these? I find it strange I still haven't heard anything.
 
Is there anyone who has more information about this? I would love to attend but money is going to be a big factor. Is there anything special that needs to be done for the scholarships? Does anyone know more details on how we can hear about them?
 
Anyone else get one of these? I find it strange I still haven't heard anything.

I think they also send snail mail to people who are rejected pre-interview. I haven't gotten a pre-interview rejection yet, but I kind of wish they could just email me the rejection already instead of making me wait for the snail mail...
 
Is there anyone who has more information about this? I would love to attend but money is going to be a big factor. Is there anything special that needs to be done for the scholarships? Does anyone know more details on how we can hear about them?

I received a merit based scholarship about a month ago from Vanderbilt and there was no separate application.
 
Anyone else get one of these? I find it strange I still haven't heard anything.

Mine was mailed on Jan. 4 and only took a day to get to me. It might take longer for those farther from the school.
 
Can a current student talk about housing situations? I can't remember when I asked my host who was living off-campus but is there on-campus housing like dorms/apartments for students or do we have to find our own apartments off-campus?
 
What are immersion blocks? Are they simply electives, away rotations, and dedicated time for research, global health, etc.? Vandy's curriculum seems to offer a lot of time for them.

Also, just curious, where do interviewees get taken for lunch on the day of the interview? Hospital cafeteria?
 
What are immersion blocks? Are they simply electives, away rotations, and dedicated time for research, global health, etc.? Vandy's curriculum seems to offer a lot of time for them.

Also, just curious, where do interviewees get taken for lunch on the day of the interview? Hospital cafeteria?

Lunch is brought to the admissions office for you. It's a boxed lunch (sandwich, chips, usual).

+1 about immersion blocks. From what I understand, the emphasis period is for research and those blocks are for other interests? Not sure.
 
Blast from the past! (aka September)

Immersion blocks are basically electives that normally will be used for one of the following:

- elective clinical rotations

- "immersion courses"
The idea behind this is to learn/relearn the basic science behind what you are applying in clinic. For example, an immersion course in cardiac drugs might have you go over the pharm and physio of the heart and applicable target drugs as a didactic portion while also rotating with the cardiology service in the hospital. These immersion courses would be selected from a list of course offerings.

- research elective time

- global health elective

Also to note--these are all movable within the last two years, so you can individualize when and where you do what.
The course map found here is one example layout: https://medschool.vanderbilt.edu/ume/curriculum-2-schematic
 
Can a current student talk about housing situations? I can't remember when I asked my host who was living off-campus but is there on-campus housing like dorms/apartments for students or do we have to find our own apartments off-campus?

Vanderbilt does not offer on-campus housing for any of their graduate programs. The majority of my class lives in close proximity to the medical school and I would say at least half walk or bike to campus. I walk there everyday, personally. A good number live together in apartments, condos, or houses as well.
 
anyone else interview on 12/10 and hear anything yet? they told us when we should expect to hear back but i forgot what they said...

also, anyone have any idea whether decisions are released via snail mail or email? thank you!
 
I think all decisions have been by phone call, and then a follow-up letter in the mail. Sorry I'm not sure about 12/10 decisions!
 
anyone else interview on 12/10 and hear anything yet? they told us when we should expect to hear back but i forgot what they said...

also, anyone have any idea whether decisions are released via snail mail or email? thank you!

I interviewed on the same date and haven't heard back yet.
 
I'm pretty sure they said that we could expect to hear back from them in 4-6 weeks. However, given the holiday in between, it might take longer for them to get back to us.
 
anyone else interview on 12/10 and hear anything yet? they told us when we should expect to hear back but i forgot what they said...

also, anyone have any idea whether decisions are released via snail mail or email? thank you!

I heard a little over a month after my interview date. It's via phone call with a letter to follow in the mail, and my call came on a Saturday morning if that helps.

For a 12/10 interview date, I'd suggest pushing your hopes back a week or two because of the holiday break. But Vanderbilt surprised me before, so who knows -- they may be way up on their game!
 
Rejected via snail mail as well (pre-interview rejection).
 
II 01/11/13. Complete 10/20/12. Super excited right now! I can't wait to visit this awesome school!

Hang in there everyone waiting to hear for an II. Good luck to all those still in the running.
 
does anyone from a past year know the approximate schedule for second look weekend? specifically, around when on friday it begins and when on sunday it ends?
i'm trying to look up flights before they get too expensive...thanks a lot!
 
does anyone from a past year know the approximate schedule for second look weekend? specifically, around when on friday it begins and when on sunday it ends?
i'm trying to look up flights before they get too expensive...thanks a lot!

+1 - and does Vandy pay for flights/hotel? I think I remember reading on past years' threads that it did, but I could be wrong.
 
Any ideas about when the next batch of acceptances might be coming out? Has anyone been accepted after receiving the post-interview continuing review letter?
 
+1 - and does Vandy pay for flights/hotel? I think I remember reading on past years' threads that it did, but I could be wrong.
I heard they house you but i dont think they pay for transportation.
 
Any ideas about when the next batch of acceptances might be coming out? Has anyone been accepted after receiving the post-interview continuing review letter?

Not sure about when the next batch comes out, but someone a few pages back said they were accepted after getting that letter! I was glad to hear it since I got the letter mid-November 🙂
 
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+1 - and does Vandy pay for flights/hotel? I think I remember reading on past years' threads that it did, but I could be wrong.

Traditionally for MD candidates (MSTP pretty much get everything covered) you have to get your own transportation to Nashville. Once you're here everything is covered, including hotel, food, events, and even shuttle fare from the airport to the hotel if you flew or parking if you drove yourself.

Edit: This refers to the second look weekend. 😳
 
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Traditionally for MD candidates (MSTP pretty much get everything covered) you have to get your own transportation to Nashville. Once you're here everything is covered, including hotel, food, events, and even shuttle fare from the airport to the hotel if you flew or parking if you drove yourself.

Do you contact the admissions office about getting reimbursed for a hotel? Or does Vanderbilt SOM send you an email before your interview date explaining this? Thank you for the info!
 
Do you contact the admissions office about getting reimbursed for a hotel? Or does Vanderbilt SOM send you an email before your interview date explaining this? Thank you for the info!

Unfortunately, he was referring to Second Look weekend, not interviews. The cheapest option is to try to get a student host.
 
Do you contact the admissions office about getting reimbursed for a hotel? Or does Vanderbilt SOM send you an email before your interview date explaining this? Thank you for the info!

The post you quoted was in reference to second look weekend, not the interview
 
Does Vanderbilt accept post-interview updates/letters of interest? Do we just email them?
 
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