2012-2013 Vanderbilt University Application Thread

[med144]

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congrats everyone with interviews!! around when were all your materials in??

 

[Tots]

Scheduled on 10/8! It is cool how they tell you who your interviewer will be....

Edit: My interviewer looks like a cool guy but he is a chair of some department and looks super important. /terrified

 

[DCSB6]

Anyone get an interview that was in the second wave of secondary invites?

 

[Neurophage]

congrats everyone with interviews!! around when were all your materials in??

I submitted on 7/22.

 

[Neurophage]

Scheduled on 10/8! It is cool how they tell you who your interviewer will be....

Edit: My interviewer looks like a cool guy but he is a chair of some department and looks super important. /terrified

Mine is a hospital chief of staff. Pretty intimidating.

 

[DCSB6]

Thanks! Submitted 8/2 here. Hoping to hear back soon!

 

[PreMedOrDead]

Mine is a hospital chief of staff. Pretty intimidating.

Good morning, Neurophage! I am going to be your interviewer today.

*Door busts open, lifeless body flies into the room, clearly asphyxiated*

"NEUROPHAGE, HIS AIRWAY IS BLOCKED, INTUBATE HIM IMMEDIATELY"

 

[eggs13]

yay, got the secondary today!!

 

[Nymphicus]

Best of luck to everyone .

Seems like you guys didn't even need the .

(You don't think I timed it then by coincidence do you...heh.)

 

[Neurophage]

Good morning, Neurophage! I am going to be your interviewer today.

*Door busts open, lifeless body flies into the room, clearly asphyxiated*

"NEUROPHAGE, HIS AIRWAY IS BLOCKED, INTUBATE HIM IMMEDIATELY"

I'd actually be happy if that was my interview. I'm more confident about my intubation skills than talking to a chief of staff at a prestigious med school. 😛

 

[PreMedOrDead]

I'd actually be happy if that was my interview. I'm more confident about my intubation skills than talking to a chief of staff at a prestigious med school. 😛

Psh, on the inside, they're all teddy bears.

[YOUTUBE]Ma-QeFxlNx8[/YOUTUBE]

 

[Neurophage]

Psh, on the inside, they're all teddy bears.

You mean like that one? 😛

 

[Nymphicus]

As interviews approach, feel free to ask me questions you might have about Vanderbilt and I will do my best to provide some good information.

 

[Neurophage]

As interviews approach, feel free to ask me questions you might have about Vanderbilt and I will do my best to provide some good information.

Thanks, Nymphicus - how common are true nontrads at Vanderbilt?

 

[carramrod06]

@Nymphicus I was wondering how we would go about finding a student to host us for interviews.

 

[NewYorker9]

Interview Invite!

 

[NewYorker9]

As interviews approach, feel free to ask me questions you might have about Vanderbilt and I will do my best to provide some good information.

Thanks for the offer, I'll be sure to take you up on that

@Nymphicus I was wondering how we would go about finding a student to host us for interviews.

On the website and in one of the interview invite/confirmation emails it provides the form to submit to ask for a student host

 

[Nymphicus]

Thanks, Nymphicus - how common are true nontrads at Vanderbilt?

I was personally surprised at the amount of people here who had taken time off between, but most of them had 1-3 years off, whether it be research at the NIH (or somewhere else), living abroad, professional athletics, military service, working in another field, or pursuing another degree. There are not a lot of older nontrads in particular. There are some people who are married as well.

Keep in mind this is mainly based on my experience with the classes of 2015 and 2016.

 

[Nymphicus]

@Nymphicus I was wondering how we would go about finding a student to host us for interviews.

On the website and in one of the interview invite/confirmation emails it provides the form to submit to ask for a student host

Correct. You should receive the link to the form to request a student host in one of your interview information emails.

 

[NewYorker9]

As interviews approach, feel free to ask me questions you might have about Vanderbilt and I will do my best to provide some good information.

My first of many questions: The email/portal indicate that the interview will end at about 3 PM, was this your experience? I ask because I'm trying to determine if a 5:30 PM flight out of BNA may be cutting it too close in terms of time, even though mapquest indicates it is only 20 minutes from VUSM.

 

[Nymphicus]

My first of many questions: The email/portal indicate that the interview will end at about 3 PM, was this your experience? I ask because I'm trying to determine if a 5:30 PM flight out of BNA may be cutting it too close in terms of time, even though mapquest indicates it is only 20 minutes from VUSM.

That was my experience, however I can't say for sure that yours will follow. I was scheduled for a 7:50pm flight and that was much too late. I was able to get on an earlier flight out which was either 6:50ish or 5:50ish (can't remember). The Nashville airport is fairly quick, surprisingly so.

You might be best off giving the admissions office a call or email to see what they recommend.

 

[NewYorker9]

That was my experience, however I can't say for sure that yours will follow. I was scheduled for a 7:50pm flight and that was much too late. I was able to get on an earlier flight out which was either 6:50ish or 5:50ish (can't remember). The Nashville airport is fairly quick, surprisingly so.

You might be best off giving the admissions office a call or email to see what they recommend.

That thought never crossed my mind, I appreciate it!

 

[jvela]

Hi everyone! I wanted to jump in here and say congratulations to everyone who received interview invites today!

I'm a current VMS I and am happy to answer any questions you have about Vandy. (Feel free to PM me for individual questions.) I poked around in these forums over the last two years, and know how helpful it can be to have current students offering their two cents. Anyway, you all have made a great choice in applying to Vandy and best of luck wherever you are in the application process!

 

[Guero]

Mine is a hospital chief of staff. Pretty intimidating.

Does the last name start with a K? If so, PM me. It's probably one of my former PIs with whom I'm pretty close.

Psh, on the inside, they're all teddy bears.

[YOUTUBE]Ma-QeFxlNx8[/YOUTUBE]

Bwuahaha. Loved that show and clip. Funny how my current Chief's name is Bob .

You mean like that one? 😛

Precisely.

I was personally surprised at the amount of people here who had taken time off between, but most of them had 1-3 years off, whether it be research at the NIH (or somewhere else), living abroad, professional athletics, military service, working in another field, or pursuing another degree. There are not a lot of older nontrads in particular. There are some people who are married as well.

Keep in mind this is mainly based on my experience with the classes of 2015 and 2016.

I'd say there are many more non-trad residents here than med students.

As I said at the beginning of this thread, I'm also here to answer questions, especially those related to the hospital and research facilities. I'll defer any MS related questions to the current students. Thank you all for keeping an eye on the thread.

I've been doing research here since 2006. I applied last year as a non-trad and didn't get in on account of a horrible MCAT experience. I retook on 8/4 and am in the process of reapplying much more broadly as I await scores. I haven't decided if I want to stay, being a native Californian wanting to head back. It'll depend on my score.

Anyway, good luck to everyone. It's an amazing school with a particularly awesome clinical curriculum and collegial atmosphere IMHO. And when you get accepted, you'll likely be getting a call from our dean himself. Cheers.

 

[carramrod06]

Correct. You should receive the link to the form to request a student host in one of your interview information emails.

Thanks NewYorker9 & Nymphicus.

 

[Tots]

Woah got a student host assigned within like 10 minutes of submitting the form. 👍

 

[Nymphicus]

Woah got a student host assigned within like 10 minutes of submitting the form. 👍

Good to hear! They are all pretty friendly and interesting people.

 

[deleted472157]

Woah got a student host assigned within like 10 minutes of submitting the form. 👍

😱 Wow Vandy is on top of things!

...or maybe there were just a ton of MS1's clamoring to host the famous Tatertots

 

[MD22412]

Whyyyyyyyyyyyuy
-Thanks 🙂

 

[NewYorker9]

Woah got a student host assigned within like 10 minutes of submitting the form. 👍

Mine took about 20 minutes, talk about slacking . . . but seriously it's making a great first impression for me, if the students are that excited about hosting a prospective classmate I can hardly wait to see what things are like once I'm in Nashville.

 

[Tots]

Mine took about 20 minutes, talk about slacking . . . but seriously it's making a great first impression for me, if the students are that excited about hosting a prospective classmate I can hardly wait to see what things are like once I'm in Nashville.

Agreed. I also checked one of those boxes indicating I wanted to learn more about a certain organization and I got a response 6 minutes after submitting the interview form and another response 2 hours later. Excited to visit!

 

[NewYorker9]

Agreed. I also checked one of those boxes indicating I wanted to learn more about a certain organization and I got a response 6 minutes after submitting the interview form and another response 2 hours later. Excited to visit!

Your fortune is phenomenal, it's too bad we won't cross paths interviewing at Vandy

 

[Classof2013PreM]

Just submitted my secondary!

 

[follicle]

I got the "application received" e-mail on 7/25. Did anyone receive that e-mail after and get a secondary? Or should I take this as a silent rejection?

 

[jvela]

Mine took about 20 minutes, talk about slacking . . . but seriously it's making a great first impression for me, if the students are that excited about hosting a prospective classmate I can hardly wait to see what things are like once I'm in Nashville.

Our class is that excited to have you all here to interview and visit!

 

[Soapybubbles]

Interview on 9/17. Any other Canadians coming to the South?

 

[Taranis]

Interview on 9/17. Any other Canadians coming to the South?

Hopefully, but I still haven't submitted my secondary yet (Aiming to submit Sunday), when were you complete?

 

[Soapybubbles]

hopefully, but i still haven't submitted my secondary yet (aiming to submit sunday), when were you complete?

7/22

 

[medschoolpleez]

I got the "application received" e-mail on 7/25. Did anyone receive that e-mail after and get a secondary? Or should I take this as a silent rejection?

I got that email as well and haven't heard back, but my stats might just be too low for Vandy

 

[Nymphicus]

Just so you guys know, the secondary screen is not just numbers but is actually reviewed all-around by a committee. That's one of the reasons why it might take a while.

 

[DokDakotaDok]

I got that email as well and haven't heard back, but my stats might just be too low for Vandy

I got that email back in early/mid July. They start screening your application then. If they like your application, they'll give you a secondary application. I got my secondary application last week around midweek. That means it took about a month to get from the review to the application stage for me.

Hold onto your pants guys, it's a long process. Their screen isn't that stringent, though they aren't going to waste their time with you, I'm sure.

Just so you guys know, the secondary screen is not just numbers but is actually reviewed all-around by a committee. That's one of the reasons why it might take a while.

Thanks Nymphicus! I'm glad you said that, because that gives me a bit of a confidence boost that they actually reviewed it and didn't just like my numbers. 👍 Hope your first couple of weeks at Vandy are going wonderfully!

Edit: I do have a question though, is there any way you could find out how stringent the Secondary screen actually is? I know in the past a secondary meant you got an II, but now that it isn't, what's the cutoff of each of the screens?

eg

Primary ----SECONDARY SCREEN----> Secondary -----INTERVIEW SCREEN-----> Interview -----ACCEPTANCE SCREEN-----> Acceptance

If that's beyond what you can/should state, I understand 🙂

 

[NewYorker9]

Just a heads up for anyone scheduling flights, Nashville is CST. I was a little surprised when I saw my arrival flight only took two hours but the return was four, and then I realized the time zone difference.

 

[deleted472157]

Just got the interview invite!!!

 

[DCSB6]

Congrats! Complete date?

 

[Cheezhead]

INTERVIEWINVITEI'MSOEXCITEDAHHHHHHH!

But actually, I'm stoked about this interview. Complete around the 8/14 😀😀😀😀😀

 

[markyb03]

INTERVIEWINVITEI'MSOEXCITEDAHHHHHHH!

But actually, I'm stoked about this interview. Complete around the 8/14 😀😀😀😀😀

Can you ask them to send me a secondary while you're there 🙂 but seriously congrats!!!

 

[deleted472157]

Congrats! Complete date?

July 25 or so. I'll be there 9/21!

 

[DCSB6]

Congrats guys! It appears that those of us receiving secondaries in the second wave (8/1) still have some waiting to do! At least from SDN I don't think anyone from this wave have reported an II.

 

[follicle]

Congrats guys! It appears that those of us receiving secondaries in the second wave (8/1) still have some waiting to do! At least from SDN I don't think anyone from this wave have reported an II.

My friend submitted to AMCAS last Tuesday and got a LOR request on Friday, but he's applying MD/PhD so I don't know if that makes a difference.

I submitted 7/25 and heard nothing. I am taking this as my first rejection. 👎

 

[Nymphicus]

Thanks Nymphicus! I'm glad you said that, because that gives me a bit of a confidence boost that they actually reviewed it and didn't just like my numbers. 👍 Hope your first couple of weeks at Vandy are going wonderfully!

Edit: I do have a question though, is there any way you could find out how stringent the Secondary screen actually is? I know in the past a secondary meant you got an II, but now that it isn't, what's the cutoff of each of the screens?

eg

Primary ----SECONDARY SCREEN----> Secondary -----INTERVIEW SCREEN-----> Interview -----ACCEPTANCE SCREEN-----> Acceptance

If that's beyond what you can/should state, I understand 🙂

Sorry I am not able to elucidate the actual screens. I can say that the primary AMCAS application is reviewed first by a faculty, and then by a whole committee before receiving a secondary. This is a new addition from last year, meaning that it is likely that someone who gets a secondary this year would have most likely received an interview already last year. So consider the secondaries heavily screened.