Backstory:
Like many others here, I am a reapplicant. I was sending an update to a medical school admissions office to let them know I got a new healthcare experience that I believed was relevant and that I wanted the to be aware of. In my eagerness, I made the rookie mistake of not attaching the file to the email. When I realized it a few minutes later, I frantically started composing an apology message with my attachment. While that was happening, I started getting these emails from a staff member at the admissions office. Clearly they weren't meant for me.
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I was so shocked at the two messages I just received I didn't know what to do. Then I noticed that I had a two missed phone calls from that same staff member. Additionally, I started receiving these "email recall" messages (I received 2 in total):
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Before I even knew what to think, I get this message (this was after I had sent an email and apologized for not including the attachment).
I decided to call her. I knew that anything said over the phone would be a "he said/she said" situation, but I still wanted to give her the benefit-of-the-doubt and hear what she had to say. Immediately, she said she wanted to talk because she realized the email she sent was "confusing". She then, without me prompting or asking, went through my file and talked about my potential saying "they like upward trends" and so on, as well as some of the more negative aspects of my application. This would have been really well appreciated if it was solicited advice. Instead, I just saw this as her attempt to appease me for what was a clear breach of applicant trust. The best part of this conversation was when I bluntly asked her if those emails were intended for someone other than myself. She then very adamantly said they were intended for me, not anyone else. She reiterated this. However, her email refers to me as "she". Why would anyone use a third-person pronoun when talking to that same individual? It makes no sense.
The last thing any applicant wants is for their file to be ridiculed or mocked so callously. We work *damn* hard to get where we are. The sacrifices, mental fortitude, and precious time to be an applicant are enormous. Needless to say, I was gutted. I sent an email to a Dean and also the Director of Student Affairs, and got no response from them. A whole day passes and then this morning I get this email from the staff member.
I am not a petty person...but this did not seem genuine. It was clear the Dean/Director I sent the email to on Monday forwarded it to her, because she cc'd them in the email and used specific verbiage I used in the email.
This was my response:
I know that perhaps I was being a little too emotional, but I feel it is a reasonable response given everything that has happened this year. This application cycle has been brutal. I can't speak for everyone, but it has taken everything in me to keep pushing forward when the world surrounding me is filled with bleak uncertainty. To have someone who is supposed to be an aid to applicants reveal themselves to be rude and careless is disheartening.
For the record, yes, I have taken the MCAT 5 times. And each time I went through that grueling process of content review and practice, and then that anxiety-riddled waiting period after the exam. This is not a joke to me; so for it to be a source of snide entertainment for someone is disappointing.
Has anyone else had such interactions?
Dude don’t sweat it, another perspective is that Debbie is most likely some unhappy generic greyscale office cubicle 9-5 worker bee secretary... if it makes you feel better, consider her words to hold no value
