2014-2015 Vanderbilt University Application Thread

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Senor Pez said:
II submitted July 20th. How awesome would medical school in Nashville be. Any word on interviews?
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I'm assuming you meant secondary submitted on the 20th? II=Interview Invite. And yes; a batch was sent out on the 4th with Mondays and Fridays open from September through November.
 
Abstractions said:
I'm assuming you meant secondary submitted on the 20th? II=Interview Invite. And yes; a batch was sent out on the 4th with Mondays and Fridays open from September through November.
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Haha well we should we change that so it doesn't look like roman numerals. But thanks (actually submitted the 26th just checked)
 
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Senor Pez said:
II submitted July 20th. How awesome would medical school in Nashville be. Any word on interviews?
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A bunch of interviews posted back one page. There is also a search bar up top to the right where you can select to only search in this tread for "II".
 
So I'm kind of late to the party. Like not even fashionably late. I received my secondary in the first week of July (3.9+/37) and I'm planning on submitting later today or tomorrow, over 5 weeks later. Aside from the subjective impression that I must not have prioritized this school (but I do! I've just been busy with work), is turnover time an actual selection factor?

I appreciate the support guys! And/or any tough love...
 
betabarrel said:
So I'm kind of late to the party. Like not even fashionably late. I received my secondary in the first week of July (3.9+/37) and I'm planning on submitting later today or tomorrow, over 5 weeks later. Aside from the subjective impression that I must not have prioritized this school (but I do! I've just been busy with work), is turnover time an actual selection factor?

I appreciate the support guys! And/or any tough love...
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The mind games we play with ourselves about how every move we make is going to reflect on our application are crazy. I don't think anyone knows exactly how the reviewers and adcom go through their routines. Obviously it's good to submit earlier to avoid getting caught in the giant pile of files that starts to stack up, but I don't see them going: Ha! I caught you taking too long on your secondary, no love for you. Anyways, best of luck!
 
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39 MCAT, 3.8 GPA, no secondary.

At this point, I'm kinda happy either way. If they send me one, then there's another potential school on the table, but if not, no more essays! All my other schools sent me secondaries a while ago, so I'm otherwise done.
 
cookie-monster.gif

II... holy cow. I'm comin' for ya, Nashville. Glad my autobiography wasn't all for naught.

I was complete around 7/16, so I thought I had been passed over due to the first II batch. Guess Vanderbilt goes back through their apps! Good luck to all you folks waiting.

mjhhockey98 said:
I submitted my secondary on 7/18, but they didn't get my letters until 7/21.
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It's been a good day for you, @mjhhockey98! Congrats on Chicago as well!
 
II today. For those of you with less than spectacular stats, there's definitely a chance as long as you stay hopeful! My stats were posted before. Hope to see some of you there!
 
For everyone who already did the secondary, how did you approach the autobiography exactly? Did you pick a few big events throughout your life and discuss how you handled them/they affected you? How much did you talk about stuff that was already in your primary?
 
wolverine2013 said:
For everyone who already did the secondary, how did you approach the autobiography exactly? Did you pick a few big events throughout your life and discuss how you handled them/they affected you? How much did you talk about stuff that was already in your primary?
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I don't think there is a single "correct" way to do it. I focused on events not covered in my primary. I talked a little bit more about my childhood/formative events that got me interested in science/medicine. I did discuss my college career and touched on my "most meaningful experiences," but I didn't go that deep into them because there are covered in my AMCAS. I also included a paragraph on what I have been doing since graduating. Hope this helps!
 
II! Submitted 8/9 .. only 6 days after! I am assuming this is a good sign?
 
wolverine2013 said:
For everyone who already did the secondary, how did you approach the autobiography exactly? Did you pick a few big events throughout your life and discuss how you handled them/they affected you? How much did you talk about stuff that was already in your primary?
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This was the easiest essay to write for me. You know when you are sitting around a group of friends and you get so passionate about a topic that you cut your mate off to tell your story and the reason why you shared it? That's what you write about. What defines you? What events and experiences are you a product of? Don't overcomplicate your answer and it doesn't have tosay why medicine. Describe your character. Good luck!
 
bsmd14 said:
II today. For those of you with less than spectacular stats, there's definitely a chance as long as you stay hopeful! My stats were posted before. Hope to see some of you there!
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Would you mind sharing your completed dates? thanks so much!
 
Congratulations to all the II's and recent secondary invites!!! Still anxiously waiting for a secondary :whistle: and I basically wrote an autobiography for Duke so I'm all ready for Vandy :happy:

OOS, 36 MCAT, mid-3.8 cGPA and an upcoming graduate degree.
This school is of course one of the best, and for me it is close to family and sorta kinda reminds me of Hogwarts 😉:owle: Hoping Vandy considers me for a secondary soon! :luck: to all those waiting like me
 
teefero said:
This was the easiest essay to write for me. You know when you are sitting around a group of friends and you get so passionate about a topic that you cut your mate off to tell your story and the reason why you shared it? That's what you write about. What defines you? What events and experiences are you a product of? Don't overcomplicate your answer and it doesn't have tosay why medicine. Describe your character. Good luck!
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This is definitely the best approach to take.

If you're like most applicants, you've already talked about why you're interested in medicine in your personal statement. Use this essay as an opportunity to really discuss who you are and shed light on your character in ways that your other essays or activity descriptions might not reveal.
 
Anyone else having problems with the payment submission system?
 
WeCanOnlyTry said:
Anyone else having problems with the payment submission system?
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Yes... They haven't even given me a secondary yet which has made it quite hard to pay them. Hopefully they will quickly rectify this glitch.

But really, sorry. Can't be of help, but I wish you the best of luck!
 
does anyone know how late they've sent out secondaries in years before? (or called the admissions department and asked that question) I will look through last years thread but thought id ask if anyone has that info
 
I received an email from Vanderbilt encouraging me to apply. I've received similar letters from DO schools and podiatry schools, but this is the first one from an MD school, and a prestigious one at that. Vanderbilt was the last school I cut from my primary application list with the sole reason being that I'm out west and I was trying to cut down on long, more expensive flights. So does the email actually mean they have interest or is it more of a spam email meant to drum up more secondary application fees? My MCAT and GPA are both slightly above the average for last year's incoming class, according to their website. Would sending my primary application over there this late put me at too big of a disadvantage anyway?
 
treyballa said:
I received an email from Vanderbilt encouraging me to apply. I've received similar letters from DO schools and podiatry schools, but this is the first one from an MD school, and a prestigious one at that. Vanderbilt was the last school I cut from my primary application list with the sole reason being that I'm out west and I was trying to cut down on long, more expensive flights. So does the email actually mean they have interest or is it more of a spam email meant to drum up more secondary application fees? My MCAT and GPA are both slightly above the average for last year's incoming class, according to their website. Would sending my primary application over there this late put me at too big of a disadvantage anyway?
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I'm not sure whether the emails actually hint at interest from the school (I'd have to say no TBH), but their secondary is a reasonable $50. If you're willing to part with $86 then definitely send them an application. Disadvantage for applying late or not, it can't hurt right?... especially if you've already applied to UCSD since they both use the autobiography prompt. Not sure if you applied to UCSD or not but you said you were out west 🙂
 
horsie234 said:
does anyone know how late they've sent out secondaries in years before? (or called the admissions department and asked that question) I will look through last years thread but thought id ask if anyone has that info
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i was saying earlier that i have a friend who got one in september last cycle. there's still hope lol
 
Best of luck to all of you applying to Vanderbilt! I like to check in on this thread once in a while. I'm a Vandy Med alum currently in rad onc residency; I loved my time there and would be happy to answer any questions y'all have (although I wasn't there during the new curriculum...). Cheers!
 
Member392 said:
Best of luck to all of you applying to Vanderbilt! I like to check in on this thread once in a while. I'm a Vandy Med alum currently in rad onc residency; I loved my time there and would be happy to answer any questions y'all have (although I wasn't there during the new curriculum...). Cheers!
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How well did you like the clinical training at Vanderbilt in terms of preparing you for residency? Were you given a lot of responsibility and hands-on learning opportunities as a med student? Thanks for doing this!
 
Like many things, medical school and the clinical training you get is a lot about what you invest in the experience. However, for reference, I did a rigorous internal medicine internship at the Brigham (more applicable than residency for me, as radonc is a bit of a different beast that med school isn't going to prepare you for), and felt that my ward months in 3rd and 4th year at Vanderbilt more than adequately prepared me.
 
did any of you guys get a complete email upon submission?
 
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