Advice to 2004 Applicants

[Doctor Octopus]

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Apply to U. Pitt. You will love it. If you get accepted, go to the second look weekend.

 

[Lpgovard]

UPITT really is a great school! Wish I had had a better interview experience! Damn it...I can't stop thinking about the school! What is wrong with me! Its like a failed relationship!
AHH I interviewed mid March..when do ya'll think I'll hear from them? The wait is killing me!

Congratulations to all those accepted!

 

[JM.]

Apply early to a wide range of schools! Do your secondaries as soon as you get them. Don't post your stats and ask if you have a chance - we don't know, and we will just guess the answer (as will adcoms).

Doc oct - you are going to be going to school where I grew up-ish. I can tell you all about some of the finer establisments in Oakland!

 

[Street Philosopher]

Take time to write a good personal statement. This is one of the x-factors that can put you over the top.

 

[uclabruins47]

apply early! early = more time for secondaries = earlier interviews = earlier and greater chance of acceptances. i sent my amcas in mid june and was accepted late november. if i had turned in amcas later, the chances of getting in will be more slim.

 

[IOE]

Apply to a wide range of schools.....do not get discouraged by stats and scores.....if there is only a 0.0001% chance of u getting into a school u really want to attend, APPLY TO IT!!! I did that mistake and now i keep getting such thoughts as "why didn't I send that secondary to school Y? and Why didn't I go to that interview at school X? etc etc.. "

Also..VERY IMPORTANT....SEND UR SECONDARIES AS SOON AS U CAN!!!!!!!!!! FOLLOW UP ON UR LORs....i had my letters lost a couple of times!!

my $0.02

peace

 

[kiping]

get your LORs NOW
and as said before, do things EARLY
apply to schools that you really think you can see yourself.

 

[wisdom2000]

A lot of the major points have already been touch upon. I just want to add that you can send your transcripts to AMCAS before you complete or submit the actual application, and before you get you scores. They will keep them in a file for you and use them as soon as they need to. This is especially important if you are planning on taking the August MCAT. Do not worry about whether your scores will be good enough to apply. Having your transcripts in early can never hurt.

 

[wisdom2000]

A couple of things I forgot to say. Start saving, the process is quite costly, and best of all "GET ADDICTED TO SDN" but take every advice with a grain of salt. Remember, you are smart peole...😉

 

[Adcadet]

call your schools frequently. Call to make sure they've received all your LORs and that your application is complete. Then even after you're told that everything is complete, call back once more ~ 3 weeks later just to make sure. Every now and then a school will tell you that everything is complete then much later you find out that it is not. Be proactive to prevent this.

If applying to Wake Forest, it is important to show interest. So show interest at every stage of the app cycle.

 

[kaos]

Don't be discouraged by waitlists; however, do everything humanly possible to get ur stuff in early.

 

[Chieka]

Aww, this is such a sweet and friendly thread. I like it. 😀

For Canadian students, make sure the schools that you apply to will accept Canadians. You will probably not find this info on their website or other school material. I suggest purchasing the Medical School Admission Requirement Book. Spend the couple bucks - don't be cheap like me, then find out that half the schools you applied to don't take Canadians.

Best!

C.

 

[kito]

buuuuuuuuuummmmmmmmmmmmmmp

and on behalf of the '04 folk, thanks a million to all of you who were so kind and giving with your thoughts...

 

[DW]

if you have an interview in one city and want to coordinate interviews with another school while in the area, you're within your rights to call and ask if a school can squeeze you in for an interview. the worst they can tell you is "no". schools that i can think of that were particularly accomodating in my case were GW and Einstein.

contact your student hosts as early as possible, and make sure you're clear on date of arrival. have written instructions on how you will get from airport/bus terminal/train station to the school. if push comes to shove and your host becomes MIA, ask someone on sdn. you might get some help in a bind. if you dont mind sleeping on a floor, i've got a place in nyc this fall 😉

remember to offer your host a cheap dinner or something, most will gracefully decline but i think its a courtesy since they've taken the time to house you.

a couple reiterations. get your secondaries in quickly. be thorough with your PS. and, remember the universal limiting reagent on completing your application.......

GET YOUR LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION NOW!!!!

this is a good time to have a frequent flyer mile plan

make sure you have at least two interview quality suits/outfits

budget tightly. try to lay off dipping into credit.

if you're applying to USUHS, time is of the essence here more than any other school. they accept dam near everyone who interviews early and those kids get their choice of branch with little hassle.

most of all, dont let applying to medical school dominate your life. try to have fun (while not spending lots of $ of course 😉 ), and keep your interests active

 

[Woots32]

After you interview somewhere, WRITE DOWN YOUR IMPRESSIONS AND ANY RELEVANT INFORMATION!!!

You'll be amazed how much you can forget about a school you've researched and spent hours at after a couple of months. You're so pumped up on adrenaline and nerves at your interview, it'll all be a blur in April when you're trying to make decisions. So go to second-look events if at all possible. One interview day isn't long enough to decide where you want to live for the next four years.

 

[Yogi Bear]

here's some potentially useful stuff to have along while interviewig:

-spare ones/change: you don't want to spend $5 bill on subway/vending machine that doesn't give change.
-print out a map to the school/host's house just in case cab driver or you get lost
-if taking a cab, negotiate w/ the driver ahead of tim what the price is (i got billed $40 once for cab that got lost)
-bring along a few cereal bars/pop tarts for moments when you're hungry, esp. when hosts don't eat breakfast
-if u have e-ticket, use the automatic touch-screen counters for quicker access to your boarding pass
-if you must check your baggage, take out your suit and carry it w/ u in case your baggage gets misplaced.
-bring a sheet w/ phone number to all the admissions office so (if u have a cell phone), u can call them if needed while waiting for your flight.
-when flying into a city, make sure you know other airports w/in the area for cases of cancelled/missed flights. i.e. if u absolutely didn't want to miss an interview and had an evening to spare but u had missed ur flight, u might consider flying to an airport a few hours away and taking greyhound or renting a car.

 

[irlandesa]

don't feel too overwhelmed or discouraged by applicants on SDN or at your interviews who have amazing #'s, a background that totally stands out in a good but strong way (i.e. a lawyer with a lovely wife and 3 beautiful children), and/or an Ivy League/high-profile education. it is totally possible for "ordinary" people to get into med school and to become good doctors.

keep in touch with schools to show your interest on a regular basis, but keep away from annoying daily phone calls and letters.

ladies: bring at least 2 pairs of pantyhose to the interview! I learned the hard way about this one.. and to both sexes, know where to get a replacement suit/outfit wherever you're interviewing in case of disasters with lost luggage, etc.

be yourself and be honest in the interview; interviewers don't tend to like people who sound robotic and rehearsed. For example, instead of saying something like, "oh, I'm too nice to people", or "I'm too caring" when asked your biggest flaw, be true to yourself and don't give the same BS answers that interviewers have heard all the time.

g'luck..

 

[manta]

APPLY EARLY! i've been told a number of times that i wouldn't be in my current yucky situation (wait-lists, have an interview tomorrow!) if i didn't wait until sept. to apply. if you are a more borderline applicant, get it in in june, or whenever AMCAS goes online (and works!)
(oh wait...maybe i shouldn't be saying this in case i need to reapply...😉)

Good luck!!

 

[spumoni620]

this is so nice of y'all....you guys are true mentors and make this forum what it is. bump for those in my boat--struggling with amcas 2004....

🙂