Advertising MD/PhD programs

[gschl1234]

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I possed this on another forum and didn't get many replies. Someone suggested I post my question here.

Did any of you receive letters inviting you to apply to MD/PhD programs at a Case Western affiliate and at U. of Illinois-Urbana-Campaign? I am completely puzzled because:
1. I didn't apply to either med school on my AMCAS ap.
2. I'm still waiting for my AMCAS ap. to be verified/processed.
3. Each alludes to my MCAT performance. I'm extremely puzzled because it was my understanding that none of the schools get information about you until they've verified your transcripts etc...

My questions are the following:
1. Do all med schools get your stats even before verification by AMCAS?
2. Do all med schools get other information about you such as where you've been to school and what classes you took?
3. Are these particular MD/PhD programs desperate for applicants? If not, why are they advertising?
4. Does advertising mean that the quality of the school is questionable?

I'm not very knowledgeable about the application process and many of you seem very familiar so I would be very grateful for any explanations.

Thanks

 

[Primate]

Waaaaay back when I was an applicant (insert story about walking through snow here), the only place that I got an unsolicited advert from was Wash U (it was a glossy brochure and personal letter talking about money they had available for scholarships). Of course, it was one of the only places I didn't apply to (it seems), so others might have done so had I not applied. Not sure about that. I'm told it was based on my MCAT scores and believe this to be true, as I never sent them any other information.

So, yes, programs at least used to get all scores, and, yes, some programs will try to get you to take a look. As for quality, I certainly wouldn't suggest Wash U is anything but top notch.

As a post-script, once you've applied, it is certainly the case that many schools will try to woo you if you fit what they're looking for that cycle.

 

[Neuronix]

The CWRU + Cleveland Clinic program is new this year, so they're trying to generate applicants. I don't even think that is a MD/PhD program, unless they decided to add some MD/PhD spots to it.

As for U of IL., I wouldn't doubt they're not getting enough applicants. I don't hear much good about their program.

I think WashU advertises primarily to draw the top applicants to apply there. Their location is not prime and it pushes alot of people away. Nevertheless, they have tons of money, a large program, and a huge number of research opportunities.

Now how they know your MCAT score... That's a real good question. I got the WashU thing the year before last, and I think med schools get a list of all those over a certain score on request. That's the only good explanation because the WashU invitation came in the year before I even applied. So there's no way AMCAS could have had more info than my MCAT score.

 

[Primate]

The Cleveland Clinic/CWRU program grants an MD with a year of study about how to conduct quality clinical research ('bout time someone did this, too, IMO).

The CWRU MSTP, however, is a long-standing and well regarded MD/PhD program. It remains separate from the above program and I'm not aware of any plans to change that. Did the MSTP advertise, or was it the Clinic/CWRU program??

 

[Spacekat]

gschl1234,

I got advertisements from both the Urbana-Champaign and the Washington University program, too. It's based completely on your MCAT score, not your AMCAS application.

I think for all of us the MCAT paperwork is one big sucking black hole of erased memory at this point, but if you dig in there somewhere you may remember that you had to check a little box to allow AAMC to distribute your scores to schools who might be interested in students of your performance level. Of course we probably all said yes. That's where these things are coming from.

With that in mind - congratulations! You must have rocked the test or you wouldn't be hearing from these folks. Nice work!

 

[jankanator]

I got the Cleveland Clinic, Wash U, and UIUC info too. I also got the infamous MCW email. It's got to be completely attached to MCAT because I have not submitted my AMCAS yet. Anyone heard of any other mailings?

 

[gschl1234]

Originally posted by Spacekat
gschl1234,


I think for all of us the MCAT paperwork is one big sucking black hole of erased memory at this point, but if you dig in there somewhere you may remember that you had to check a little box to allow AAMC to distribute your scores to schools who might be interested in students of your performance level. Of course we probably all said yes. That's where these things are coming from.
:

Good point! I remember clicking a box that distributed my score to my university but maybe I didn't read carefully and it distributed it to all universities. Thanks, Spacekat. I have two more questions:

1. Do all the schools I indicated on my AMCAS application know that I've indicated them? I'm still waiting for verification of my AMCAS but have gotten some secondaries.
2. I've turned in one secondary. Does the school even read it or do they wait till verification? What I mean is, is there any point in getting the secondaries back to them right away?