2020-2021 Vanderbilt

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apoc117 said:
Anyone else struggling with this autobiography? It's a very interesting and open-ended prompt, which makes it tough to determine which parts of my life I want to emphasize.
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I definitely struggled big time at first, but I decided to just sit down, clear my mind, stop trying to find ways that I could incorporate things from other secondary essays, and just write about my life. And it ended up being one of my most genuine, well thought out essays.

Just start writing. The best advice I ever received wrt writing was even if what you write sucks at first, it's a lot easier to edit the poorly written words than to edit nothing. Even if the proper words are evading you at first, just write. It'll come to you once you begin editing.
 
Is anyone reusing anything from their personal statement? I have a good paragraph in my PS where I explain my transition from music to medicine, but I'm not sure if it would be okay to reuse it for the autobiography. It's probably best to try and rewrite it, but I don't wannnnnnnnnnaaaaaaaa
 
Maybedoc1 said:
Is anyone reusing anything from their personal statement? I have a good paragraph in my PS where I explain my transition from music to medicine, but I'm not sure if it would be okay to reuse it for the autobiography. It's probably best to try and rewrite it, but I don't wannnnnnnnnnaaaaaaaa
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I only reuse stuff if necessary for context and I only use the minimum amount of detail. I wouldn't consider it reusing if you talk about the same events but approach it from a different angle.
 
At what point should I be concerned about a silent rejection? Verified on 6/2, OOS, high MCAT, low GPA. No secondary yet.
 
Gentle_Scientist said:
I definitely struggled big time at first, but I decided to just sit down, clear my mind, stop trying to find ways that I could incorporate things from other secondary essays, and just write about my life. And it ended up being one of my most genuine, well thought out essays.

Just start writing. The best advice I ever received wrt writing was even if what you write sucks at first, it's a lot easier to edit the poorly written words than to edit nothing. Even if the proper words are evading you at first, just write. It'll come to you once you begin editing.
Click to expand...

Thank you! I'm going to have to just sit down and type and get past my mental roadblock.
 
viralhiker said:
At what point should I be concerned about a silent rejection? Verified on 6/2, OOS, high MCAT, low GPA. No secondary yet.
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How low is low GPA? I could be wrong but I don’t think Vanderbilt publishes their screening metrics. If you think you have a good shot and a compelling reason it couldn’t hurt to shoot them an email or call and ask if you could have a secondary maybe?
 
ripmysociallife said:
How low is low GPA? I could be wrong but I don’t think Vanderbilt publishes their screening metrics. If you think you have a good shot and a compelling reason it couldn’t hurt to shoot them an email or call and ask if you could have a secondary maybe?
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524 MCAT, 3.14 uGPA (upward trend), 3.97 SMP GPA
Idk about emailing them. I feel like that’s a bad look.
 
viralhiker said:
524 MCAT, 3.14 uGPA (upward trend), 3.97 SMP GPA
Idk about emailing them. I feel like that’s a bad look.
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At this point though it's either keep waiting or reach out and see if something happens. You obviously have a great MCAT and SMP GPA, the worst that can happen if you email them is a) they tell you you were screened out from a secondary or b) you get a secondary and they might *MIGHT* think you're over-zealous for emailing but tbh on Monday it'll have been a month since transmission and I would shoot my shot if Vandy is one of your top schools
 
ripmysociallife said:
At this point though it's either keep waiting or reach out and see if something happens. You obviously have a great MCAT and SMP GPA, the worst that can happen if you email them is a) they tell you you were screened out from a secondary or b) you get a secondary and they might *MIGHT* think you're over-zealous for emailing but tbh on Monday it'll have been a month since transmission and I would shoot my shot if Vandy is one of your top schools
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Concur. What have you got to lose? They might have screened you out based on the GPA, but with a properly worded inquiry/request they might send you one. Obviously, your MCAT is top-notch, but the GPA is substantially below the range they admitted last year. What have you got to lose?
1596859654175.png
 
BUSM does not pre-screen everyone will receive a secondary, so relax a little, once you get into med school there be no much time for relaxing!
 
ChemEtoMD23 said:
Vanderbilt does pre-screen before sending secondaries, actually.

medschool.vanderbilt.edu

Admission Process

Vanderbilt University School of Medicine participates in the American Medical College Application Service. All application materials may be obtained through AMCAS. As you are getting ready to start applying we recommend you review and reference the AMCAS Application Guide throughout the cycle...
medschool.vanderbilt.edu medschool.vanderbilt.edu
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I'm fairly certain Unconditionalloves conflated this thread with a Boston University thread lol
 
Gentle_Scientist said:
Their website says July 31st was the first day to receive an II. Obviously they didn't start then, but I bring it up because the 31st was on a Friday.
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The one thing I'd say is that date could have been arbitrary. For example, Miami Miller's website says August 15th (tomorrow), and that's a Saturday, which seems unlikely. I'd bet a lot of schools arbitrarily say the first/middle/last dates of the month just to make things cleaner.
 
doobopshedoo said:
The one thing I'd say is that date could have been arbitrary. For example, Miami Miller's website says August 15th (tomorrow), and that's a Saturday, which seems unlikely. I'd bet a lot of schools arbitrarily say the first/middle/last dates of the month just to make things cleaner.
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Fair point! Or...alternatively, Miami is gonna very strictly start sending IIs on a Saturday haha jk
 
erenyeager said:
Could someone post the optional COVID prompt? What does it ask and how many words?
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"If applicable, please describe how the COVID-19 outbreak affected your pathway to medical school. You may discuss any academic, personal, financial, or professional alterations to your plans. NOTE: Disclosing certain hardships or obstacles that have been faced during this time will not negatively affect an application." 500 words
 
Added to my primary last night and received secondary this morning, OOS
 
Just added Vandy to my Primary. Submitted July 1st and finally got verified last Wednesday. Let's see if I make the cut for a secondary with a sub-par MCAT.
 
Woah there are suddenly a ton of entries for II's for Vanderbilt. Nobody has posted here yet...?
 
doobopshedoo said:
Woah there are suddenly a ton of entries for II's for Vanderbilt. Nobody has posted here yet...?
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Its getting spammed is my guess. You can look at the timestamps of the entries and you can see like 20 new entries all entered consecutively across different schools (like a minute apart). Pretty certain it was a troll hoping to get a rise out of us.
 
And the fact that it was so many different schools at the same time...yeah, I'm confident there's some spamming and trolling going on.
 
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