Accepted at Stanford, Rejected at UC Irvine

[spanamit]

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I was talking to this girl yesterday. Apparently she got accepted to Stanford and rejected from UC Irvine, when she applied last year. Now she is attending Stanford.

How is that possible? Was she over-qualified for the latter?

 

[drizzt3117]

Fit is emphasized pretty heavily these days. Maybe she is really research oriented? I don't think people get rejected from UCs for being overqualified.

 

[surfstarj]

Yeah, it could have been any number of things. Interview maybe? How well you "fit" is definitely a big consideration by the adcom, in my opinion. This is somewhat relevant but in undergrad, I was accepted at Yale and rejected from Colgate (Really? Are you serious?)...who knows why schools make some of the decisions they do.

 

[drizzt3117]

I know a guy who got into HMS who got a pre-secondary UC Davis rejection lol

 

[SpartanBlueJay2]

I don't know much about the UCs, but is Irvine one of those that takes few if any OOS students? If this person was not a California resident, that could be why... Irvine may prefer IS students, Stanford is private and it doesn't matter.

 

[gotmeds?]

I was talking to this girl yesterday. Apparently she got accepted to Stanford and rejected from UC Irvine, when she applied last year. Now she is attending Stanford.

How is that possible? Was she over-qualified for the latter?

This isn't all that unusual. I got rejected post-secondary at Rosalind Franklin but got into some "top tier" schools.

 

[riceman04]

I was talking to this girl yesterday. Apparently she got accepted to Stanford and rejected from UC Irvine, when she applied last year. Now she is attending Stanford.

How is that possible? Was she over-qualified for the latter?

😱...that response is actually to you...schools look for different traits in applicants. It's quite possible that adcoms at UC Irvine felt the applicants characteristics did not fit well with their mission statement...it happens all the time and then premeds like you act all weird about it........👎thumbdown👎thumbdown

Today was not a good day and my frustrations have manifested as anger in my posts

I'll apololie tomorrow for my rant

 

[HansSpemann]

Today was not a good day and my frustrations have manifested as anger in my posts

I'll apololie tomorrow for my rant

And you used emoticons; that is so unlike you--you really must be having a bad day

 

[HansSpemann]

Yeah, it could have been any number of things. Interview maybe? How well you "fit" is definitely a big consideration by the adcom, in my opinion. This is somewhat relevant but in undergrad, I was accepted at Yale and rejected from Colgate (Really? Are you serious?)...who knows why schools make some of the decisions they do.

Eh, I think the Colgate/Yale issue is somewhat similar: Colgate and Yale are both excellent (and selective) institutions. It's not as if you got into Yale and got reject from Northeastern or UConn

 

[ghostfoot]

I don't think people get rejected from UCs for being overqualified.

I'm pretty sure they do; and often. Why would Irvine and Davis want to accept all of the applicants that are almost certaintly headed for UCSF, UCLA, UCSD, or Stanford, Hahvud....

Irvine and Davis know that they're a fall-back for a lot of the top CA applicants and it would be a waste to interview these people that are not likely to attend.

Sure, you can call that a mismatch or whatever, but it boils down to overqualification and it's not at all uncommon.

*If adcoms from Davis or Irvine are reading this, I'd be humbled and honored to be offered acceptance.*

 

[TheRealMD]

Once you get over the notion that the kid that got into HMS can be rejected by other schools for another reason besides "he/she's too good for us!", nothing will surprise you.

The perfect med school applicant will NOT get accepted to all the schools they apply to, even if they were to exist (we're talking 4.0, 45, saving babies, nobel prize, etc...)

 

[spanamit]

My friend got into all 20 schools that he applied to. He's currently at Harvard HST.

That's my first choice!!! How does your friend like it there? I am also curious about how many people they interview vs. how many they accepts.

 

[riceman04]

Ok spam....I am apololying for my actions last night!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!🙄

Today is a new day!

 

[drizzt3117]

Once you get over the notion that the kid that got into HMS can be rejected by other schools for another reason besides "he/she's too good for us!", nothing will surprise you.

The perfect med school applicant will NOT get accepted to all the schools they apply to, even if they were to exist (we're talking 4.0, 45, saving babies, nobel prize, etc...)

So you think candidates that are good enough to get into Harvard aren't good enough to get screened secondaries from schools? I can understand feeling after an interview that someone is probably not going to go to your school because they'll get a better offer, but how do you really know? At some point schools need to look out for themselves, sure, but is it really at the pre-secondary or pre-interview stage?

 

[luv2sd]

Ok spam....I am apololying for my actions last night!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!🙄

Today is a new day!

but you still haven't learned how to spell apologize correctly

jk lol

 

[spanamit]

Ok spam....I am apololying for my actions last night!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!🙄

Today is a new day!

I am glad to hear that you are having a better day today Rice.

 

[luv2sd]

So you think candidates that are good enough to get into Harvard aren't good enough to get screened secondaries from schools? I can understand feeling after an interview that someone is probably not going to go to your school because they'll get a better offer, but how do you really know? At some point schools need to look out for themselves, sure, but is it really at the pre-secondary or pre-interview stage?

I'm sure they just roll the dice

1 yes
2 no
3 no
4 no
5 maybe (aka waitlist)
6 reject

 

[Bartelby]

My friend got into all 20 schools that he applied to. He's currently at Harvard HST.

!! He actually went to all twenty interviews? Or was he so good they didn't need to meet him ?

Also, in response to RealMD, if the perfect applicant did not get into every school wouldn't that show that schools reject people who they are confident will not matriculate? What other reason would there be? It seems like your "perfect applicant will still get rejections" comment completely contradicts your "schools don't reject people because they are overqualified" comment.

 

[surfstarj]

Eh, I think the Colgate/Yale issue is somewhat similar: Colgate and Yale are both excellent (and selective) institutions. It's not as if you got into Yale and got reject from Northeastern or UConn

True. I think UCI and Stanford are also both excellent schools. In my case, I'll blame it on not having an (undergrad) interview at Colgate. Obviously, if they'd have met me, they would've loved me and thus let me in...................guess i'll just use that as my denial "card" when I get some med school rejection letters!

 

[surfstarj]

Actually, now that I think about it, I was waitlisted at Colgate. Same difference...I think as somebody else said, maybe schools don't accept someone based on confidence they'll go somewhere else if/when accepted...oh well!

 

[SeventhSon]

😱...that response is actually to you...schools look for different traits in applicants. It's quite possible that adcoms at UC Irvine felt the applicants characteristics did not fit well with their mission statement...it happens all the time and then premeds like you act all weird about it........👎thumbdown👎thumbdown

Today was not a good day and my frustrations have manifested as anger in my posts

I'll apololie tomorrow for my rant

people say that in pre-allo, but it's not really true. There is variance in what schools look for, as well as variance between different admissions committee members at the same school. However, students who get into UCSF, Harvard, hopkins, etc. almost invariably have incredible applications without any glaring weakness, and rejection at "lower-ranked" schools is more likely attributable to the randomness of the process, not the "lack of fitting in" with some mission statement

 

[Foghorn]

I was talking to this girl yesterday. Apparently she got accepted to Stanford and rejected from UC Irvine, when she applied last year. Now she is attending Stanford.

How is that possible? Was she over-qualified for the latter?

Is she a CA resident or OOS applicant? Private COM, Stanford; public COM = UCI. 98% of last years M1s for UCI were CA residents, only 36% at Stanford according to the MSAR.

 

[riceman04]

people say that in pre-allo, but it's not really true. There is variance in what schools look for, as well as variance between different admissions committee members at the same school. However, students who get into UCSF, Harvard, hopkins, etc. almost invariably have incredible applications without any glaring weakness, and rejection at "lower-ranked" schools is more likely attributable to the randomness of the process, not the "lack of fitting in" with some mission statement

If you disagree with me then maybe you should talk to the Deans of Admissions' who told me that

 

[alwaysaangel]

I was talking to this girl yesterday. Apparently she got accepted to Stanford and rejected from UC Irvine, when she applied last year. Now she is attending Stanford.

How is that possible? Was she over-qualified for the latter?

Not over-qualified. Unfit or uninterested.

The so called "lower tier" med schools aren't stupid. If they can get people with better stats and thereby increase their rank then they will. But they also aren't going to waste acceptance offers on people who they don't think will attend.

But its not the 4.0 and 40 that tells them they won't attend. Its the poor fit (they wouldn't be happy there, and wouldn't fit into the class well) or the disinterest (poorly done secondary, or arrogance at interview).

Or as someone else said it could be attributed to the minor randomness in the process. Schools like variable classes because it helps the dynamics of the class. They actually make an effort to make a class of people from different backgrounds.

So it could be that they already had someone from a background similar to that girls, or with interests similar to hers, but with better stats. So they didn't need another person like that.

There's a million reasons people don't get accepted into medical school - and I understand why pre-meds want to simplify it down to numbers, but thats not the full story. There are plenty of people with amazing stats who got into other UCs in my class. They chose UCI. They didn't get rejected for being "overqualified."

 

[BrokenGlass]

Not over-qualified. Unfit or uninterested.

The so called "lower tier" med schools aren't stupid. If they can get people with better stats and thereby increase their rank then they will. But they also aren't going to waste acceptance offers on people who they don't think will attend.

But its not the 4.0 and 40 that tells them they won't attend. Its the poor fit (they wouldn't be happy there, and wouldn't fit into the class well) or the disinterest (poorly done secondary, or arrogance at interview).

Or as someone else said it could be attributed to the minor randomness in the process. Schools like variable classes because it helps the dynamics of the class. They actually make an effort to make a class of people from different backgrounds.

So it could be that they already had someone from a background similar to that girls, or with interests similar to hers, but with better stats. So they didn't need another person like that.

There's a million reasons people don't get accepted into medical school - and I understand why pre-meds want to simplify it down to numbers, but thats not the full story. There are plenty of people with amazing stats who got into other UCs in my class. They chose UCI. They didn't get rejected for being "overqualified."

alwaysaangel, do you see a lot of people interviewing at UCI lately? How long does it take to get a decision about being granted or not being granted an interview there after being complete? Thank you!

 

[alwaysaangel]

alwaysaangel, do you see a lot of people interviewing at UCI lately? How long does it take to get a decision about being granted or not being granted an interview there after being complete? Thank you!

They interview about 40 people every two weeks.

The amount of time from complete to interview really varies. Last year it was like 8 months wait for me. So it could be any amount of time. If you're really interested in UCI send a letter of interest.

 

[notdeadyet]

I'm pretty sure they do; and often. Why would Irvine and Davis want to accept all of the applicants that are almost certaintly headed for UCSF, UCLA, UCSD, or Stanford, Hahvud....

Irvine and Davis know that they're a fall-back for a lot of the top CA applicants and it would be a waste to interview these people that are not likely to attend.

Sure, you can call that a mismatch or whatever, but it boils down to overqualification and it's not at all uncommon.

Nonsense. The word "overqualified" is used by premeds trying to rock their egos to sleep.

Schools have no way of knowing where you will and won't get in. No one does. If you bothered to apply to a school and have what they're looking for, they'll give you a nod. Your stellar MCAT and rocking GPA isn't going to intimidate anyone.

I interviewed at UC Davis after a solid UCSF interview. Davis knew this. They still interviewed and accepted me. In fact, it's where i ended up.

 

[pyrois]

I was talking to this girl yesterday. Apparently she got accepted to Stanford and rejected from UC Irvine, when she applied last year. Now she is attending Stanford.

How is that possible? Was she over-qualified for the latter?

It's not really possible to get rejected for being over-qualified, but it is definitely possible to get rejected because a school doesn't think you will attend if accepted.

This is definitely tied into the concept of "fit," since if you aren't a good fit for a school, you probably wouldn't be interested in attending either (whether you know it or not).

 

[lemon tree]

Actually, now that I think about it, I was waitlisted at Colgate. Same difference...I think as somebody else said, maybe schools don't accept someone based on confidence they'll go somewhere else if/when accepted...oh well!

did you go to Yale? if so, why didn't you apply to their med school?

 

[EGNC dr]

I was talking to this girl yesterday. Apparently she got accepted to Stanford and rejected from UC Irvine, when she applied last year. Now she is attending Stanford.

How is that possible? Was she over-qualified for the latter?

Probably. The same thing happened to me when i applied (last year). I got accepted to USC and UCSF, and was rejected to uc Irvine and Davis. I had some pretty good scores and didnt even get a secondary/ interview. I guess they knew that i wouldnt go to there schools since my numbers were above theirs. THEY WERE RIGHT!

btw. My friend goes to stanford and loves it there!

 

[BrokenGlass]

Probably. The same thing happened to me when i applied (last year). I got accepted to USC and UCSF, and was rejected to uc Irvine and Davis. I had some pretty good scores and didnt even get a secondary/ interview. I guess they knew that i wouldnt go to there schools since my numbers were above theirs. THEY WERE RIGHT!

btw. My friend goes to stanford and loves it there!

Were you in or out of state? Also, is UCSF everything you thought it would be?

 

[taponthecloud]

Accepted at Stanford, Rejected at UC Irvine

Hmm. It's interesting how no one here has mentioned the obvious... UCI is better than Stanford.👍

 

[EGNC dr]

Were you in or out of state? Also, is UCSF everything you thought it would be?

In state! weird huh? UCSF is totally awesome, except really windy!👍

 

[EGNC dr]

Hmm. It's interesting how no one here has mentioned the obvious... UCI is better than Stanford.👍

wow its like i am at a comdey club!

 

[ghostfoot]

Nonsense. The word "overqualified" is used by premeds trying to rock their egos to sleep.

Schools have no way of knowing where you will and won't get in. No one does. If you bothered to apply to a school and have what they're looking for, they'll give you a nod. Your stellar MCAT and rocking GPA isn't going to intimidate anyone.

I interviewed at UC Davis after a solid UCSF interview. Davis knew this. They still interviewed and accepted me. In fact, it's where i ended up.

Obviously, schools accept more students than they expect to matriculate. But they also have a set number of seats that they want to adhere to. The more they accept, the harder this becomes (espescially when they accept students that are likely to be accepted to much higher-ranked schools).

Isn't this common sense? I've appreciated all of your insighteful posts over the years, and I hope that you are willing to expand a bit on your belief here (it seems to go against the conventional wisdom).

BTW, were you accepted by UCSF?

 

[Doublecortin]

wow its like i am at a comdey club!

the reason you didn't get into uci because uci has a VERY good nose for gunners like you, and their #1 mission is to weed out as many gunners as they can detect and create a really chill, lay back environment in their class

 

[EGNC dr]

Obviously, schools accept more students than they expect to matriculate. But they also have a set number of seats that they want to adhere to. The more they accept, the harder this becomes (espescially when they accept students that are likely to be accepted to much higher-ranked schools).

Isn't this common sense? I've appreciated all of your insighteful posts over the years, and I hope that you are willing to expand a bit on your belief here (it seems to go against the conventional wisdom).

BTW, were you accepted by UCSF?

Do you really need to ask that. He/she said that they had a "solid" interview there. so it really isnt the same context we are talking about. You must be accpeted at a better school..... to be able to say you are over qualified for the lower schools. Not the other way around. And i dont think that was the case with that poster!

 

[EGNC dr]

the reason you didn't get into uci because uci has a VERY good nose for gunners like you, and their #1 mission is to weed out as many gunners as they can detect and create a really chill, lay back environment in their class

Perhaps......Oh by the way....where HAVE you been ACCEPTED?😴

 

[notdeadyet]

Obviously, schools accept more students than they expect to matriculate. But they also have a set number of seats that they want to adhere to. The more they accept, the harder this becomes (espescially when they accept students that are likely to be accepted to much higher-ranked schools).

If I understand what you're saying here (and correct me if I'm not), you're saying that schools will have a problem adhering to the # of seats they have available if they accept too many students that are likely to be accepted to much higher ranked schools?

That's not the case. I guarantee you that UCI could lose half of its entering class two weeks before classes were scheduled to start and would still not have a problem filling those seats. The only problem I've ever heard of a med school adhering to the number of enrollments is that occassionally schools over-enroll. Which is rare and an error in administrivia.

I see your logic, but med school admissions are not as lumbering as you might think. You accept the best class you possibly can and hope all your acceptees attend your school. If someone says no and heads to Harvard, you go down to the next person on the list.

Here at UCD, we have about 5 folks that I personally know of that were accepted in the 2 weeks before classes started. This is not unusual.

I hope that you are willing to expand a bit on your belief here (it seems to go against the conventional wisdom).

I don't actually think it really goes against conventional wisdom. The idea of "overqualified" just doesn't apply to medical schools. It's too subjective a process to assume you have a sure thing anywhere, even for great applicants.

BTW, were you accepted by UCSF?

Nope. They shot me down.

I was overqualified. They were worried I'd attend UC Davis instead. Looks like they were right... ;-)

 

[ghostfoot]

If I understand what you're saying here (and correct me if I'm not), you're saying that schools will have a problem adhering to the # of seats they have available if they accept too many students that are likely to be accepted to much higher ranked schools?

That's not the case. I guarantee you that UCI could lose half of its entering class two weeks before classes were scheduled to start and would still not have a problem filling those seats. The only problem I've ever heard of a med school adhering to the number of enrollments is that occassionally schools over-enroll. Which is rare and an error in administrivia.

I see your logic, but med school admissions are not as lumbering as you might think. You accept the best class you possibly can and hope all your acceptees attend your school. If someone says no and heads to Harvard, you go down to the next person on the list.

Here at UCD, we have about 5 folks that I personally know of that were accepted in the 2 weeks before classes started. This is not unusual.

I don't actually think it really goes against conventional wisdom. The idea of "overqualified" just doesn't apply to medical schools. It's too subjective a process to assume you have a sure thing anywhere, even for great applicants.

Nope. They shot me down.

I was overqualified. They were worried I'd attend UC Davis instead. Looks like they were right... ;-)

Thank you for your reply.

 

[mterp45]

Thank you for your reply.

👍

 

[notdeadyet]

Thank you for your reply.

No sweat. Best of luck to all of you. The application process may be overwhelming, but it's well worth it in the end.

 

[Doublecortin]

Perhaps......Oh by the way....where HAVE you been ACCEPTED?😴

How come a dude that's been banned can still post on this board 😱😕😱

oh, and I've been accepted to a top CA school 😀