Application feedback from schools?

[eartharte]

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I've heard of previous applicants who ask their respective schools for feedback as to which aspects of their application they recommended that they work on. Is this only appropriate when the cycle is over or if you get rejected? Asking because I got waitlisted at two schools I interviewed at and I thought the interviews were great, so I'm really curious as to what was the determining factor of my application that made me get a waitlist instead of an acceptance. Would it be appropriate to ask them now, or is it better to wait until after this whole cycle and if I don't actually end up with an acceptance?

 

[Lifeblood_20]

Sorry about your waitlists, but they do not necessarily mean that your application was lacking in any aspect. Schools make their acceptance v.s. waitlist decisions on many reasons out of your control (e.g. demographics of the class, prioritizing in-state residents, waitlisting a lot of people so they can choose later, etc). Waitlisting means they think you are good enough to be admitted but not at the moment for whatever reason. Since they didn't reject you, they probably did not find anything detrimental in your application, and wouldn't be able to give you a definitive answer. I would ask only if you get rejected everywhere at the end of the cycle. Hang in there and good luck.

 

[Goro]

I've heard of previous applicants who ask their respective schools for feedback as to which aspects of their application they recommended that they work on. Is this only appropriate when the cycle is over or if you get rejected? Asking because I got waitlisted at two schools I interviewed at and I thought the interviews were great, so I'm really curious as to what was the determining factor of my application that made me get a waitlist instead of an acceptance. Would it be appropriate to ask them now, or is it better to wait until after this whole cycle and if I don't actually end up with an acceptance?

People are terrible judges of their own interview performance.

For feedback, you have to until the end of the cycle.

 

[KendallJennerSniperLady69]

People are terrible judges of their own interview performance.

For feedback, you have to until the end of the cycle.

Sorry to hijack this thread, but how would you suggest a candidate find weaknesses in their interviewing skills then? I have done mock interviews, written down answers to more common questions, and made sure to know my application and the schools I interview at well.

I was recently waitlisted at a school I thought I did well on during the interview (both interviewers thought I was great, student interviewer said she hoped to see me on campus next year). My MCAT/GPA are well above their means, and my ECs are not lacking either from what I can see.

I have been rejected pre-II at 2/5 of my top 5 choices, interviewed at 2 more (one interview I felt was terrible, one felt great), and I have my last interview of my top 5 choices coming up next month.

Given my recent waitlist, I am terrified by how interviews may have gone these past 2-3 months, and I don't want to drop the ball on my next interview 🙁!

 

[Goro]

Sorry to hijack this thread, but how would you suggest a candidate find weaknesses in their interviewing skills then? I have done mock interviews, written down answers to more common questions, and made sure to know my application and the schools I interview at well.

I was recently waitlisted at a school I thought I did well on during the interview (both interviewers thought I was great, student interviewer said she hoped to see me on campus next year). My MCAT/GPA are well above their means, and my ECs are not lacking either from what I can see.

I have been rejected pre-II at 2/5 of my top 5 choices, interviewed at 2 more (one interview I felt was terrible, one felt great), and I have my last interview of my top 5 choices coming up next month.

Given my recent waitlist, I am terrified by how interviews may have gone these past 2-3 months, and I don't want to drop the ball on my next interview 🙁!

Practice makes perfect!!!

 

[EdgeTrimmer]

Sorry to hijack this thread, but how would you suggest a candidate find weaknesses in their interviewing skills then? I have done mock interviews, written down answers to more common questions, and made sure to know my application and the schools I interview at well.

I was recently waitlisted at a school I thought I did well on during the interview (both interviewers thought I was great, student interviewer said she hoped to see me on campus next year). My MCAT/GPA are well above their means, and my ECs are not lacking either from what I can see.

I have been rejected pre-II at 2/5 of my top 5 choices, interviewed at 2 more (one interview I felt was terrible, one felt great), and I have my last interview of my top 5 choices coming up next month.

Given my recent waitlist, I am terrified by how interviews may have gone these past 2-3 months, and I don't want to drop the ball on my next interview 🙁!

Interview performance may not be the reason for waitlist. One theory is unless you did bad or extremely well, interviews may not be the deciding factor. Check LizzyM staircase analogy.

 

[KendallJennerSniperLady69]

Interview performance may not be the reason for waitlist. One theory is unless you did bad or extremely well, interviews may not be the deciding factor. Check LizzyM staircase analogy.

I don’t think I did bad or extremely well, but my ECs and scores/grades are probably better than the average applicant and possibly even matriculant at that school.

HOWEVER, my secondary was probably one of the poorest quality secondaries I’ve turned into a school. Although, it was not terrible. Could my secondary have put me lower on the staircase? I did realize I got my interview invite later than other ppl who had submitted around the same time as me. Despite my ECs/scores, my invite came a month or maybe even more than it did for some other ppl who submitted at the same time as me.

 

[EdgeTrimmer]

I don’t think I did bad or extremely well, but my ECs and scores/grades are probably better than the average applicant and possibly even matriculant at that school.

HOWEVER, my secondary was probably one of the poorest quality secondaries I’ve turned into a school. Although, it was not terrible. Could my secondary have put me lower on the staircase? I did realize I got my interview invite later than other ppl who had submitted around the same time as me. Despite my ECs/scores, my invite came a month or maybe even more than it did for some other ppl who submitted at the same time as me.

You can't tell from II date either. Why do you think your secondary is poorly written?

 

[KnightDoc]

I don’t think I did bad or extremely well, but my ECs and scores/grades are probably better than the average applicant and possibly even matriculant at that school.

HOWEVER, my secondary was probably one of the poorest quality secondaries I’ve turned into a school. Although, it was not terrible. Could my secondary have put me lower on the staircase? I did realize I got my interview invite later than other ppl who had submitted around the same time as me. Despite my ECs/scores, my invite came a month or maybe even more than it did for some other ppl who submitted at the same time as me.

Sure! If you received positive feedback from your interviewers, interviews are probably not your issue. And, of course, if your secondaries weren't great, they are as likely as anything else to hurt you. If they were irrelevant, schools wouldn't waste your time making you write them, and, more importantly, wouldn't waste their time reading them.

Try not to fall into the trap of trying to rationalize outcomes based on when you submitted, when you received an II, etc. Too many random variables.

It's easy for me to say, since I didn't apply this cycle, but there really is nothing for you to do at this point other than to wait and see what happens. It's too late to anything now, other than to try to relax so as not to mess up your remaining interviews. It should go without saying that your secondary was good enough to not stop you from receiving the II. Beyond that, if it wasn't as good as it could have been, that is 100% on you, and the advice would be not to submit "poor" quality secondaries, ever, anywhere, if you have to go through this again.