Acceptances

[jimi]

I am waiting to hear from many schools that I have interviewed at. So to ease the angst of wondering if I've been reviewed yet or not, I wanted to start this topic so that everyone can share where they have been accepted to and when they interviewed. I think it would help us all out.

So far I've been accepted to

GW (interviewed 9/15)
Dartmouth-Brown (interv: 11/2)
Georgetown (interv: 10-30)
UCI (interv: 11/16)

I hope to hear from the rest of you out there! I am especially waiting for UCSF, Stanford, and Cornell.

Good luck to all and please post!

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[together]

jimi,

If you do not mind my asking, what were your stats (GPA, MCAT, extracurriculars)?

Congrats on the acceptances!

Together

 

[jimi]

Actually, compared to some of the applicants who have been posting my stats are not incredibly impressive.

I forget the exact numbers but I think my total GPA is a little higher than 3.7, my science is almost 3.7 and my MCAT is B12, P12, V10, Writing R.

I have tons of community service and volunteering just because I've always leaned towards activities that involve it. I've already graduated and am now working as a teacher in foster homes.

I have two study abroad experiences, and double major.

I hope this helps. If anything, I hope it shows you that you DON'T need a 4.0 and perfect MCAT to get into med school. (To tell you the truth, I got a C in the third quarter of Organic Chem and it was never mentioned in any of my 16 interviews).

I really think med schools are trying to look at us as more than numbers.

GOOD LUCK!

 

[mvalento]

accepted at loyola mid-october, interviewed there end of september. now playing the post-interview waiting game with yale, rochester, duke, wash u, NYU, dartmouth. don't expect to hear much until march, except maybe from dartmouth. haven't heard word one from cornell, emory, penn, and michigan, and sure ain't countin' on much there! oh well.

 

[gower]

One of the great things about premedical students as compared to other preprofessional students looking to law, engineering, B shools, other professions, is that premeds are selfless, ethical and motivated only by the desire to help others. They will give the shirts off their backs if others are in need. Prestige, income as motivators lag far behind.
That is why I can never understand the phenomenon of applicants holding two, three, four acceptances until they are eventually forced by the med schools, usually fairly late in the application cycle, to make a choice or be dropped, to, pardon the expression, **** or get off the pot. Meanwhile, waitlisted applicants are in anguish, chewing their fingernails until a spot is freed up. This comes usually late in the application cycle, sometimes the day before classes begin.
"I am waiting to hear about financial aid" is one justification. If financial aid forms are submitted in timely fashion after the first acceptance a general idea of costs will already be in hand. Financial aid forms can be shifted from one school to another.
"I can't make up my mind." After the first two acceptances a dichotomous decision should be made: accept one offer, drop the other. If more acceptances may be in the works, when the next acceptance comes in a choice should be made again between the two. All the information needed to make decisions should already be available; if not, the student didn't do the homework. But that seldom happens. Acceptances are hoarded as if a bracelet were being constructed for display, or they are going to be mounted and framed for showing off to friends, relatives, visitors.
I once knew a student who went to an interview she had no interest in after she had her acceptance to her first choice school. "I had nothing better to do that day." She created uneccessary work for the interviewer, the med school, blocked someone else's chance for an interview and couldn't see anything wrong. Ethical? Considerate? Selfish? Others have done the same thing just to see if they could get in.
So, all of you out there vilifying the medical schools for being slow in letting you know if you have a spot, consider the possiblity that some of your fellow altruists may be gumming up the works.
Pardon my cynicism.

 

[WingZero]

"One of the great things about premedical students as compared to other preprofessional students looking to law, engineering, B shools, other professions, is that premeds are selfless, ethical and motivated only by the desire to help others. They will give the shirts off their backs if others are in need. Prestige, income as motivators lag far behind."

You're joking, right?

 

[KMorris3]

gower,

Many of your comments are accurate. However, I think your remarks are out of place; you would have been better off creating a new topic.

I would like to know who you are (e.g. medical student, pre-medical student). I have noticed that you answer many of the questions on this board and especially on the board at medicalgold. Are you some type of professional advisor? I don't usually ask things like this but your constant posts almost necessitate it.

[This message has been edited by KMorris3 (edited 01-03-2001).]

 

[lilycat]

Actually, I was kind of wondering the same thing -- I assume that those of you with multiple acceptances are dropping them (or at least some of them) as you go along?

 

[puffy1]

I've been frequenting this and other premed boards and have begun to post here on a consistent basis. One of the most common posts is the perceived "hoarding" of acceptances by other people who will be going to med school. The post by "gower" is typical of the frustration that is expressed in these messages.

I, myself, withdrew pending applications, wait-lists, and interviews when I got into my first choice med school. However, you can't blame those who hold all of their acceptances until the May 15th deadline. Sure, other folks with not as good grades oo MCAT scores or extracurriculars may have to sweat it out until the very end, with some getting the acceptance call on the first day of orientation.

Gower, let me ask you this question. If you had four to five months to choose where you will live, get educated and develop into the professional of your choice, would you take it? Consider the fact how hard you worked in college, what you went through during the application and interviewing process, and how much you invested, both from a personal and financial standpoint, don't you think you DESERVE to have as much time as GIVEN BY AAMC to make possibly the MOST important decision of your life to that point?

As for your friend who went on that interview with no intent to go to that school, well, there will always be people like that to spoil the batch. However, while some people may have gotten in to their first choice med school before taking all interviews, it stands to reason that perhaps their initial first choice may not turn out to be their first choice after they take all of their interviews. It happened to me; I was waitlisted at my first choice when I decided to interview at the school I will eventually go to. After my interview, I fell in love with the school and when i got my acceptance letter, I eventually withdrew from the wait-list from my "first" first-choice.

Some people will have to ask themselves plenty of questions, and it may take weeks to months to answer. A person may have gotten into his first choice school, but it may be thousands of miles away and could end up costing him well over $150,000 after all is said and done. "Do I want to be that far away from my family afterall?"..."Do I want to spend that much money on my education?"..."Can I strike it out on my own?"

Just go out and ask people who got into their first choice and see how many of those decided against it in the long run after thinking about it.

I can relate to those who have to sweat it out till the last minute. But hey, if it's meant to be, it's meant to be. If anything, those who do get that acceptance letter late in the game probably appreciate it more than those who get in early and end up working a little harder in med school...maybe, I don't know. All of that built up frustration turns into joyous enthusiasm and exhilaration when it does happen. Remember, just because one person gets accepted into 5 med schools, it doesn't mean there are 4 less spots for others. And for those who still can't decide where to go after May 15th, they lose quite a bit in deposit money.

 

[jimi]

Dear Gower,

From your post it sounds like you are very frustrated by this whole application process. I'm sorry you feel this way.

Personally, I have only held spots at the schools I am seriously considering. However, you have to realize that medical school doesn't just affect the lives of medical students, it affects the lives of their families. So when an applicant is fortunate enough to have choices it can in some cases take months of thinking and dwelling to take everyone's needs into consideration. If you have a spouse who has to move with you, chances are you owe it to them just as much as yourself to provide some choice. And if you have ever been in a serious relationship you know that moving your whole life together to a new state is a HUGE decision that takes a lot of time and compromise.

Also, schools usually have a call-back weekend in the spring when accepted students can go and visit again to make up their mind. At that point they can see who are their possible future classmates and whether the personality of the school and the class matches their own personality. So that is why some students hold on to acceptances. At least that's why I'm holding on to one of mine. I really want to go back to see if my initial impression of the school was accurate.

Anyway, I hope you have some faith in the rest of us and trust that the majority of applicants try to go about this whole process in a rational and considerate manner.

Good luck with everything.

 

[drfermin]

Originally posted by jimi:
However, you have to realize that medical school doesn't just affect the lives of medical students, it affects the lives of their families. So when an applicant is fortunate enough to have choices it can in some cases take months of thinking and dwelling to take everyone's needs into consideration.

Very true, but you also have to remember that the same is true of many of the people you are addressing. If they have spouses/families, it would be very difficult to sit around until July with no idea of where their spouse might have to find a job, or where they may need to find a house (it's not as easy as finding an apt. to share on a bulletin board). Holding two acceptances is fine, maybe even three if you have difficult financial aid/family decisions, but those with multiple acceptances should be realistic and expeditious in making their decisions.

 

[Katie]

gower,
I know others on here don't completly agree with you, but I do. While I think that it is important for applicants to make a thoughtful decision about where they want to go I agree that it is ridiculous for people who get into schools like Hopkins and Harvard and intend to go there to hold on to spots at numerous other schools. I even knew one girl who got into U Penn who held onto a position on the Dartmouth waitlist even though she had every intention of going to Penn and had already started MD/PhD research there. That waitlist position could have gone to someone who would have gone to Dartmouth if they had gotten off the waitlist, but she held on to it for the ego boost. Just something to think about..

 

[VAD]

I have to agree with Jimi. I don't think it's fair or accurate to use a few anecdotal scenarios of students holding on to several acceptances to make a generalization that all students with two+ acceptances are selfish and should relinquish all but a few immediately. I won't share my own anecdotal information, but I will say that being married and trying to relocate two people with two different career paths, geographic preferences, and goals is not an easy thing to do. It requires compromise, and adding all of this to the financial considerations, I'm in no rush to make a rash decision. I would also like to add that as a nontraditional student, submitting my financial aid info. in a timely fashion is no problem for me. But getting my parents to do so is another issue altogether!

Let me just state for the record that I only have one acceptance, and I'm very happy to have it

. I have (and I know others also) canceled interviews at schools I know I wouldn't be interested in attending over my current acceptance. If my situation changes and I receive another acceptance, I will act responsibly, which may take some time. And I think that there are more premeds out there with this point of view than that of getting the maximum number of notches on their belt w/holding as many acceptances as they can.

Just my $.02

VAD

[This message has been edited by VAD (edited 01-04-2001).]

 

[Hercules]

OK. I'm going to go ahead and post my opinion which will not be popular in the least. I have one acceptance and am waiting patiently to hear back from another school I'm really interested in. It's looking more and more like a waitlist situation to me. That's not a good thing for me, but I'm not angry with anyone who has a spot and may choose to let it go later.

My basic thoughts on all of this are that we are all "competing" for spots in the med schools. They won; I lost. However long it takes them to decide is none of my business. They are more qualified (as judged by the schools) than I am. I have no claim to the spot they're holding. They earned it. I didn't. I'm afraid that by the time we're on the waitlist we're just waiting for the leftovers, and we can't get too angry about how long it takes for the scraps to be thrown down to us.

------------------
Hercules

But there is also a time for sleeping.
-Odysseus in the Odyssey 11.330-331

 

[jimi]

Something else just occurred to me today...I have been tallying the amount of money I have spent on this application process (including interview costs) and it is easily a few thousand dollars. (And let me tell you, as a teacher that really puts a dent in my little bank account.)

So I ask you...have I not at the very least bought myself some time to think?

 

[Katie]

Jimi,

You have an excellent point, but there are also many others that have spent a fortune on this process who are still waiting to hear and have also bought their time. I personally applied to 21 schools, have gone to several interviews at this point, and know others who applied to even more schools. Holding onto a few acceptances is all right at this point, but to the people who have gotten in at UCSF, Harvard, Hopkins, Penn; would you really attend Finch/CMS(for example) over those schools? I'm pretty sure the answer is no, although there are exceptions here and there. I realize that most of the people who are holding onto more than one acceptance at this point are not in this situation, but when this type of situation occurs it can be problematic for other applicants. I'm sure people will respond with "well, you are responsible for your own application and if you don't get in it's your problem." There is some truth to this, but the application process is enough of a crapshoot that plenty of qualified, hard working applicants who would make excellent physicians do not get in, even if they reapply.. oh, well, time to go play the waiting game again here on my end.. best of luck to all

 

[Doc Oc]

I know that some people think they have to wait longer for interviews and acceptances because of this. But to be frank, if 600 people interview for 100 spots, then half of those people who interviewed won't get accepted anyway, even being in the top 10% or so in the eyes of the adcom. So if someone turns down an interview invite, the person chosen is probably someone who would have interviewed anyway, but a little later. The real openings from this person dropping their invite wouldn't open till the end of the interview season, when choice # 601 gets their chance. It's not like if I decline my interview, someone who wouldn't have got a chance to interview is suddenly interviewing in October. It's more like, someone who would have been offered Nov. 1 is offered Oct 16. So by dropping my spot, the person who will benefit isn't going to notice a difference in their wait time.

[This message has been edited by Doc Oc (edited 01-08-2001).]

 

[Mustafa]

I don't know how much water Gower's gripes hold for those multiaccepts applying to the top 10s (I don't speak for them, as I am NOT one, but it might be valid to raise the point just the same).

I mean, let's just say you're holding a few acceptances to the top 10s. It's likely that those who interviewed but not yet accepted have likely been accepted at other schools, given their selection of schools to which they've applied.

For example, at Mayo, the admissions staff already congratulated me for admission to med school BEFORE my interview there. This on the basis that everyone who interviewed there in past years got accepted to med school, though NOT necessarily at Mayo.

Thus these wait-listed applicants to these schools, few as they may be, are likely NOT to be in anguish or chewing their fingernails, etc. They've already probably gotten in somewhere desirable, I would hope.

But I do agree with the chap on the issue in which multiaccepts hoard acceptances just for ego. That's not healthy regardless of schools you've applied.

[This message has been edited by Mustafa (edited 01-10-2001).]

 

[rikkitikki]

I wanted to respond to both the main and subthread begun here. I am accepted to GWU, Georgetown, UMD(my state school),and NYU. All of the acceptances came about a month after my interviews as the interviewers had told me. My NYU interview was December 10 and the others in October and November. I think schools such as Columbia, Penn, and Yale have standardized acceptance dates in mid FEb or early March. I'm not sure about Cornell. AS far as hoarding acceptances. I have already turned down two of my accepted schools and had earlier at my first acceptance withdrawn applications from schools in the same general 'category"but in places I felt were less desirable geographically. I do believe it is important to withdraw from places you know you won't attend both for the school's information and more importantly for the benefit of those who might then "Move up" in the scheme of things-whatever that is- and hopefully have their aspirations fulfilled. I was very grateful for my first acceptance because then I knew that I would be going to med school somewhere and that was a tremendous relief. (especially since it came the day before a verrry bad interview at a different school). So when people talk of multiple acceptances it doesn't necessarily mean they're hanging onto all of them friviously.

 

[goza1]

I was accepted at: Indiana, Cincinnati, Case Western, Stanford, and Mayo. I interviewed at Harvard in November and turned down an interview at Duke after I got into Stanford and Mayo, which are the spots I am currently holding. I found out exactly six weeks after at Stanford (which you asked about), about two months after for Mayo, and about a month after for the others. Good luck and congrats on all acceptances!