2021-2022 Vanderbilt

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KnightDoc said:
On their website, they say everyone does. Since everyone has been delayed from the very beginning of the cycle (earliest secondaries didn't go out until 7/14) there is no way to know for certain that this really happens, but they also have no reason to lie about it. Of course, I'm sure the secondary review for the 3.9/518 applicant is a little less holistic than for the 3.5/512 one, but, still....

I think it's a little premature to worry, since they reportedly already have over 4,000 applications to work through. OTOH, and I don't mean to sound glib here, if you are at the low end of their stat range and they don't send you a secondary, you really should send them a thank you note, because all they are doing is saving you time and money without changing your outcome. It's honestly a kindness I wish all schools would extend to us, as opposed to the common practice of having us write essays, taking our money, and then ghosting us for months on end before rejecting us.

Check your spam filter and then try to take it easy for another few weeks, focusing on schools that are focusing on you. Good luck!!!
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It's so sad that we have to be grateful for this type of attitude, but I get it.
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Has there ever been any high stat applicant (e.g. >3.8, >515) who did not get a secondary (including in previous years)? Trying to get an idea of what "holistic" really means.
 
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I received an email from Vanderbilt acknowledging they received my application on July 27th. How long should I expect it to take to receive a secondary?
 
lte009 said:
I received an email from Vanderbilt acknowledging they received my application on July 27th. How long should I expect it to take to receive a secondary?
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It takes as long as it takes. They don't commit to a timeline and, unfortunately, you only know you were screened out if you don't receive a secondary. I do not believe you receive any formal notification beyond that because, if you don't return a secondary, you are not paying a fee or having an opportunity to be marked complete.

It's worth noting that the earliest applications were transmitted at the end of June, and secondaries did not begin going out until mid-July, so two weeks is not crazy. My advice is to sit tight and not worry. So far, 3600 out of 5100 applicants have received secondaries, so the odds are high that you are probably fine. If not, they are just saving you some time and money, and that's not the worst thing in the world, as compared to putting in the time and effort to submit a secondary and then being ghosted for the rest of the cycle.
 
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Waiting on vandy to make a move like
62DB452C-AEA5-4A6F-980F-DFE294243C32.jpeg
 
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The latest I saw secondary invites in the 2020-2021 thread was late August. So fingers crossed
 
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gabid2b said:
The latest I saw secondary invites in the 2020-2021 thread was late August. So fingers crossed
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You can't really go by that due to last year's COVID delays. I think a better indicator is the fact that they took over two weeks with the first submissions this year, so it seems reasonable to give it at least that long before stressing.

If you submitted on 6/25 and haven't received anything yet, it's very possible that you are not receiving a secondary, since they started going out on 7/15 and it's now 8/11. But if you first submitted on 7/27, you definitely need to give it a few more weeks.
 
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KnightDoc said:
You can't really go by that due to last year's COVID delays. I think a better indicator is the fact that they took over two weeks with the first submissions this year, so it seems reasonable to give it at least that long before stressing.

If you submitted on 6/25 and haven't received anything yet, it's very possible that you are not receiving a secondary, since they started going out on 7/15 and it's now 8/11. But if you first submitted on 7/27, you definitely need to give it a few more weeks.
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I submitted 6/15 but was not verified until 7/15
 
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gabid2b said:
I submitted 6/15 but was not verified until 7/15
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Okay, but, until you are verified you are not transmitted to any schools. Was Vandy on your school list on 7/15? If so, that's the date they would have received your primary, not before. If not, then obviously they won't receive your secondary until you add them to the list.

Have you received a acknowledgement that they received your primary yet? To my knowledge, everyone receives that, and you need to allow several weeks from that date, because they are slammed and they claim that every application is subject to a holistic review prior to receiving a secondary. No one knows how involved that actually is, but it's certainly more than perfunctory based on the delay everyone seems to be experiencing between primary transmission and secondary receipt.
 
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KnightDoc said:
Okay, but, until you are verified you are not transmitted to any schools. Was Vandy on your school list on 7/15? If so, that's the date they would have received your primary, not before. If not, then obviously they won't receive your secondary until you add them to the list.

Have you received a acknowledgement that they received your primary yet? To my knowledge, everyone receives that, and you need to allow several weeks from that date, because they are slammed and they claim that every application is subject to a holistic review prior to receiving a secondary. No one knows how involved that actually is, but it's certainly more than perfunctory based on the delay everyone seems to be experiencing between primary transmission and secondary receipt.
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I got the acknowledgement of my primary on 7/16. And yes, Vandy was on my initial school list when I submitted my primary 6/15
 
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I was verified after July 27th and received a secondary within a week.
 
gabid2b said:
I got the acknowledgement of my primary on 7/16. And yes, Vandy was on my initial school list when I submitted my primary 6/15
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Then I'll tell you what I've been telling other people. Yes, 4 weeks is now pushing it. Their review is definitely holistic, and you could absolutely still receive an II.

OTOH, if it doesn't happen, and it might not, based on people submitting after you having a much faster turnaround, you have to look at it as they did you a favor by saving you time and money that most other schools will not go to the trouble to do pre-secondary. I honestly have absolutely no idea how my cycle is going to turn out, but I really would have appreciated it if every school that is going to end up rejecting me would have taken some time to do a preliminary review before inviting me to send them $100 and to craft a few essays just for them, and then later casting me aside.
 
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gabid2b said:
I got the acknowledgement of my primary on 7/16. And yes, Vandy was on my initial school list when I submitted my primary 6/15
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Just an anecdote, but I got the acknowledgement around the same time and got the secondary the next day. LM ~82, so maybe I just got the secondary due to stats alone.
 
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My acknowledgement was on 7/8 and I got the secondary on 7/15.
 
acknowledgement email 7/8, secondary received 7/15, completed 7/21
 
Hi is anyone still waiting on a secondary?
 
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lte009 said:
They just sent out 80 more!
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And apparently received another 300 applications, so now there are 1700 people waiting for secondaries.

I'm afraid things aren't going to get any easier from here. They initially said they'd screen around 1/3 out pre-secondary, but they only screened out around 1/4 early on.

In this latest batch, they only sent out 80 while receiving an additional 320 applications, so they screened out 3/4 of them. I realize the people getting secondaries aren't strictly from the pool of new applications, but still, it definitely looks like secondaries are slowing down. Probably because, like at most schools, the early applications tend to be better than the later ones.
 
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3.81 + 525 + no red flags that I know of and no secondary yet :-(
 
doglova said:
3.81 + 525 + no red flags that I know of and no secondary yet :-(
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Did you previously apply? If so, and if they didn't see whatever improvement they might have been looking for, that could be your red flag.

And, as I have saying to others, if this is the case, they really are doing you a favor by letting you know now rather than taking your money, making you write the essays, and then ghosting you. Given how low most of our II rates will be in general, I really wish all schools would do a more thorough review pre-secondary, saving us all a ton of time and money.
 
I applied previously and didn’t get in but got a secondary and II. My app got worse and I got a secondary so don’t think it’s that
 
II received for MSTP program just now!
 
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puppymcpupperson said:
omg this makes me so nervous I'm an MSTP applicant too- mind sharing when you were complete? I ask because they say 6-8 weeks for review and it's been about 4 for me
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Complete on 7/23. I was surprised to get the II because of the 6-8 week statement on the website. Maybe they sort by stats?
 
Not trying to be too neurotic, but according to the Vanderbilt SOM tracker, they've sent out 12 interview invites. Is the consensus that these are for MD/PhD students or have MD interview invites also been sent?
 
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nucleofied said:
Not trying to be too neurotic, but according to the Vanderbilt SOM tracker, they've sent out 12 interview invites. Is the consensus that these are for MD/PhD students or have MD interview invites also been sent?
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I’d guess MD-PhD, but that’s my self-preserving side hoping for the best 🤡
 
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For the document upload, what kind of documents should be classified as "Additional Documents", "Original Work", and "Other/Misc"?
 
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I just got a secondary! I was hoping, but not expecting. I just got verified on 8/17.
 
How long for them to review primaries before sending out a secondary or R? I was verified by AMCAS yesterday. My stats are kinda low for this school 512 3.9 URM IS, but I figured I might as well apply since they're only an hour away.
 
souvlaki said:
How long for them to review primaries before sending out a secondary or R? I was verified by AMCAS yesterday. My stats are kinda low for this school 512 3.9 URM IS, but I figured I might as well apply since they're only an hour away.
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Mine took about a week. Yours may take longer or shorter depending on how many primary apps are in their queue right now (probably not that many based on their tracker). Their website recommends being complete by mid August if possible so if you are interested in applying then make sure to get your app in quick! You probably wont be too late being complete by end of August since their actual deadline is much later.

Also your MCAT isn't that low. It's 88th percentile (their range is 74th - 100th percentile). So don't be too discouraged if this is one of your top choices. Good luck!
 
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quarterdollar said:
Mine took about a week. Yours may take longer or shorter depending on how many primary apps are in their queue right now (probably not that many based on their tracker). Their website recommends being complete by mid August if possible so if you are interested in applying then make sure to get your app in quick! You probably wont be too late being complete by end of August since their actual deadline is much later.

Also your MCAT isn't that low. It's 88th percentile (their range is 74th - 100th percentile). So don't be too discouraged if this is one of your top choices. Good luck!
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Thanks for the motivation. But I thought they screen at <515 or something like that?
 
II yesterday, but all the dates to schedule appear greyed out. Will more be added?
 
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RicklePick8 said:
II yesterday, but all the dates to schedule appear greyed out. Will more be added?
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Oh man, this is somewhat reassuring. I also had the same issue and emailed admissions about it. My guess is that they haven’t loaded any of the dates into the calendar yet. I also wasn’t able to select anything despite finishing the pre-interview survey.
 
nucleofied said:
Oh man, this is somewhat reassuring. I also had the same issue and emailed admissions about it. My guess is that they haven’t loaded any of the dates into the calendar yet. I also wasn’t able to select anything despite finishing the pre-interview survey.
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I was able to select from two dates in mid September but that was it, so there were at least dates on the calendar at some point, probably they didn't upload enough dates and will do soon
 
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Would using 450/600 word limit be considered inadequate? I am content with what I wrote but am not sure how strict the word limit suggesting are
 
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