After a post-II rejection, interview feedback indicated that one of my LoRs said negative things about me

[Slapprs]

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I recently was rejected from a school after their interview and they gave me clear feedback on what happened. They said that I met their standards for everything, but told me that, to my surprise, one of my letter writers mentioned I "struggled with emotional stability and time management." For reference, this is from working on a CT surgery unit, of which we see codes, death, and very sick pts frequently. I reached out to the writer (my nurse team lead) and she said she wouldn't budge on what she wrote. So I reached out to the AAMC and my schools (I submitted the letter to 23 of the 24) and they all said that they can't remove the letter once submitted.

I received an II from an MD school recently and I interview on the 24th. I know that I need to prep for the interviewer to ask about the letter. Should I add more schools without her letter in the meantime? Or would that be a fool's errand since it's so late (For reference: LM 69, WARS 70).

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Darn. Sorry to hear that.

We do not have a WAMC profile for you, but it seems you have multiple II's. We don't know what happened with your interview, but something could have happened which raised a similar concern as the negative comment, so that is why you got chopped (sorry, watching the food competition network again). How do you answer questions about situations where time management was a challenge? Some schools will reject candidates so they have a smaller number they can manage on waitlists, so I don't know if this school does this. Many others will only reject applicants that don't do well on interview day PLUS they find something extra in their file that they feel is a red flag to reject. Again, who knows.

LOE stands for "letter of evaluation," not "letter of endorsement." You should have had a very clear impression of how strong the writer's reference will be for your application. You can't withdraw it, and throwing in more schools at this late a date (without designating that letter) puts you at "late" for those programs.

I presume this letter was included as the only evidence of health care experience and you actually did something clinical. We don't know if such a letter were required for all 24 of your schools (since we have no WAMC and we trust you read the requirements).

By the way, we continue to praise any admissions process that will give actionable, specific, and timely advice to rejected applicants. Too often, rejected applicants get ghosted and are left wondering "what happened?"

 

[Slapprs]

Darn. Sorry to hear that.

We do not have a WAMC profile for you, but it seems you have multiple II's. We don't know what happened with your interview, but something could have happened which raised a similar concern as the negative comment, so that is why you got chopped (sorry, watching the food competition network again). How do you answer questions about situations where time management was a challenge? Some schools will reject candidates so they have a smaller number they can manage on waitlists, so I don't know if this school does this. Many others will only reject applicants that don't do well on interview day PLUS they find something extra in their file that they feel is a red flag to reject. Again, who knows.

LOE stands for "letter of evaluation," not "letter of endorsement." You should have had a very clear impression of how strong the writer's reference will be for your application. You can't withdraw it, and throwing in more schools at this late a date (without designating that letter) puts you at "late" for those programs.

I presume this letter was included as the only evidence of health care experience and you actually did something clinical. We don't know if such a letter were required for all 24 of your schools (since we have no WAMC and we trust you read the requirements).

By the way, we continue to praise any admissions process that will give actionable, specific, and timely advice to rejected applicants. Too often, rejected applicants get ghosted and are left wondering "what happened?"

Thank you for the feedback. I have about 3000 hours as a CST and I generally see myself as a fairly mild tempered guy. I would have my disagreements with my letter writer in the clinical setting, but I thought that’s what led us to have a great and honest work relationship (I guess not lol). I don’t attribute malice to her, from what she said she believed that it meant I would have an “honest evaluation.” I would explain these shortcomings as opportunities to improve and build on in my interviews. For instance with time management, I started making detailed plans, calendars, and charted in a more timely manner.

The interview feedback I got was: GPA and MCAT were great, essays were great, interview was “above average. Not the best interview we had, but well above the average.” The adcom isolated the negative section in the letter as the sole reason for rejection. I really appreciate that they gave such timely feedback as they seemed to be very encouraging for my growth and success with other programs.

 

[chilly_md]

This sounds like the only negative part of your application. For MD, you could always add a new school that opens later in the cycle. I do not know the latest status of Methodist. Alice Walton is in its 2nd year, so they may still be open to later applications, but you will need to check.

The DO cycle runs later if you wish to apply to more schools, but you do appear to be a good candidate for MD otherwise.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Suffice to say, you are doing the right thing by being proactive. Understanding we lack significant details, consider the reaction from this admissions committee as not typical (frankly, one should never predict committee behavior). Focus on the next interview and trust the process.

 

[Goro]

It's unusual for an admissions office to out a letter writer with a bad letter. What I perceive is they found that you were a good candidate, but the letter was a red flag.

So they want you to be successful at other interviews once you get that letter removed.

 

[LizzyM]

As a cautionary tale to others, be very careful about asking for letters from those outside of academia, particularly nurses and allied health professionals. They don't know the etiquette and they can be brutal because they think that they need to give some negatives along with the positives whereas academics and physicians won't do that and know that it is the kiss of death. They aren't being malicious, they just come from a different culture, if you will. I've seen this with grad applicants too and I have to talk to fellow committee members to avoid having a letter from someone with a bachelor's degree deep six an otherwise very promising applicant.

I suspect that there is little that can be done now, but if OP winds up needing to reapply, he knows not to ask that letter writer next time. In that regard, the school that rejected him has done him a solid.