Adcoms, what is the strategy your school takes with admissions?

[LuluLovesMe]

---

Members do not see this ad.

As I understand it, interviews are a limited resource and giving interviews to only the strongest applicants will result in the class not being filled due to low matriculation rates of stronger applicants.

What's the breakdown of interviews given to each category of applicants? How does this change as the cycle moves forward and the class fills?

Does writing a letter of intent make any difference to an applicant? In which case would it make a difference?

 

[LuluLovesMe]

Anyone? :<

 

[gyngyn]

Does writing a letter of intent make any difference to an applicant? In which case would it make a difference?

LOI's before interviewing are creepy (like offering to be a mail-order bride).
The only possible place where they might be of interest is after April 30th when you are holding an admission at a "better" or cheaper school and would prefer to come off the waitlist at another.

The best applicants are not always the ones with the highest scores.
Identifying the "best" is where we distinguish ourselves as a school.

 

[Goro]

Schools have missions and /or particular things that they want. My own Dean like s high MCATs, but others like high GPAs. Several schools are known to heavily favor service, like SLU, Rush, Gtown, USC. A few seem to like lots of clinical experience (top schools, U Tx)-SA, and some reward reinvention or diversity in background (Yale, Case, UCSF, Columbia).

Wow factors include URM status, compelling life stories, killer ECs, Peace Corp or veterans.

LOIs are the equivalent of any breathing male saying to a buxom pretty girl "Yes, I'll still respect you in the morning." I think you can figure that out.

As I understand it, interviews are a limited resource and giving interviews to only the strongest applicants will result in the class not being filled due to low matriculation rates of stronger applicants.

What's the breakdown of interviews given to each category of applicants? How does this change as the cycle moves forward and the class fills?

Does writing a letter of intent make any difference to an applicant? In which case would it make a difference?

 

[LizzyM]

We believe that everyone is dying to come here although we know in our hearts that we'll get turned down by many applicants who interview here. So we pick the very best and say f--- the yield.

Some schools may recognize that they don't have a chance with the pre-med equivalent of the Prom Queen and they choose the strongest applicants that they believe they'll have a chance of landing.

 

[WingedOx]

We believe that everyone is dying to come here although we know in our hearts that we'll get turned down by many applicants who interview here. So we pick the very best and say f--- the yield.

Some schools may recognize that they don't have a chance with the pre-med equivalent of the Prom Queen and they choose the strongest applicants that they believe they'll have a chance of landing.

Yes, but if you all ignore the blonde...