Are they even reading applications?

[Mleung39]

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Does anyone know if there is a law that requires schools to read your applications? I figure there isn't one so anyone have an idea of how to get a law enacted on this? I mean seriously, schools take advantage of pre-med students every year, it should stop. These schools are just money hungry punks that take advantage of the fact that we need to apply in order to advance our lives.
Yes... I'm bitter.
I turned in Stanford's Secondary on the 2nd, got a letter today saying that I have been reviewed and turned down! This would have been fine if it were two weeks from now, but the letter was dated the 6th meaning they must have read it the day they got it which i doubt since i'm sure a gang of people are applying to Stanford. This, or they have one hell of an admissions committee that is constantly on top of all their applications. Bastards.
I called and they keep transfering me around since nobody seems to want to answer my question of whether it was actually read or not.
Alright, done venting. Thanks for listening.

 

[somemaybedoc]

How are your stats? Have a violent criminal record? Therein lies your answer. If both are cool, they read it.

 

[bodhisattva]

Sure, they read them. They read your GPA and MCAT score first. The rest is icing on the cake.

So you turned in your secondary on the 2nd of October and they rejected you a few days later? That's harsh. I turned mine in on August 30 and still no word. I guess it really does help to have family who used to be Stanford faculty members. Maybe you can go buy yourself a Stanford daddy? 😀

 

[Rafa]

I've read posts about people having their applications rejected as soon as their secondary checks cleared. I doubt many schools do more than a cursory skim of one's application if the numbers fall below a certain point. Is it robbery? Absolutely. The best you can do (apart from being the best applicant possible) is to not apply to schools you *know* are out of your league. If you've got a 30 and a 3.5 and you apply to your state schools and the top 1/5th of USNWR, you deserve to have those thousands of dollars vaccuumed from your bank account. Apply intelligently, and you'll get screwed over far less often. I don't mean you, OP - this applies to all of us.

 

[alwaysaangel]

No there isn't a law saying that. Which is why a lot of schools that don't screen often tell you their averages so you know if you really stand a chance or are just wasting your time. So unfortunately no, if your stats are significantly below theirs they may not have read your application. They probably looked at your numbers, looked at your race, looked at your disadvanted status, quickly glanced at your ECs to see if there was something spectacular - and then trashed it.

It sucks, but its why in this process you need to either be rich or realistic.

 

[Stolenspatulas]

Sure, they read them. They read your GPA and MCAT score first. The rest is icing on the cake.

So you turned in your secondary on the 2nd of October and they rejected you a few days later? That's harsh. I turned mine in on August 30 and still no word. I guess it really does help to have family who used to be Stanford faculty members. Maybe you can go buy yourself a Stanford daddy? 😀

nice plug for yourself

 

[bodhisattva]

nice plug for yourself

No, just pointing out how ridiculous the legacy issue can get sometimes.

 

[alwaysaangel]

No, just pointing out how ridiculous the legacy issue can get sometimes.

They rejected me for undergrad - and two days after I was rejected they sent my father (undergrad alumni) a letter saying "we're sorry we couldn't accept your daughter, please still send us money." It was great.

 

[dopaminesurge]

Stanford has actually rejected me three times to date. I'm sure number four is on its way over.

Sorry, this has nothing to do with your thread. I hope they read apps, but ultimately, it seems they care far more about stats.

 

[bodhisattva]

They rejected me for undergrad - and two days after I was rejected they sent my father (undergrad alumni) a letter saying "we're sorry we couldn't accept your daughter, please still send us money." It was great.

Legacy doesn't always work to one's favor, but sometimes it does help keep you in the running. When you guys apply for residencies you'll start to see that while board scores, rank, AOA membership, dean's letter etc. matters, knowing people is also a part of the game, which is why a lot of students do away rotations. They don't completely bank on their home institution when it comes to matching. You need to play every angle you can.

But to the OP, maybe you should call Stanford and ask what the deal was with your app? If your numbers didn't fit their average student profile, well, you know what the deal was. If your numbers fell into their averages, you deserve to know why they rejected you. But be prepared for the stock "We had so many excellent applicants, and we can't take them all" answer.

 

[psipsina]

Nothing says they have to read beyond your stats. If they have minimum requirements thats their perogative. If your the type of applicant who might not meet minimum requirements but will make an excellent doc because of your listening skills, compassion, life experience etc would you really want to end up at a school that is so stat oriented? You probably wouldn't fit in with the student body and you wouldn't like the focus of their curriculum. Know that when a school turns you down, its probably not a place you personally would have thrived at anyway. A really amazing doc at my school was talking yesterday about how medstudents aren't accepted for our communication skills or capacity for compassion, yet these are the things that will make us excellent clinicians. The further away from this realization a school is the less I would want to have to do with them. A 38T doesn't make you a great clinician, it makes you a great test taker (which doen't necissarily exclude being a great clinician, but also doesn't predict it at all). If your scores are all a school cares about, would you really want to be trained to be a clinician in an environment with that mentality?

 

[bodhisattva]

Nothing says they have to read beyond your stats. If they have minimum requirements thats their perogative. If your the type of applicant who might not meet minimum requirements but will make an excellent doc because of your listening skills, compassion, life experience etc would you really want to end up at a school that is so stat oriented? You probably wouldn't fit in with the student body and you wouldn't like the focus of their curriculum. Know that when a school turns you down, its probably not a place you personally would have thrived at anyway. A really amazing doc at my school was talking yesterday about how medstudents aren't accepted for our communication skills or capacity for compassion, yet these are the things that will make us excellent clinicians. The further away from this realization a school is the less I would want to have to do with them. A 38T doesn't make you a great clinician, it makes you a great test taker (which doen't necissarily exclude being a great clinician, but also doesn't predict it at all). If your scores are all a school cares about, would you really want to be trained to be a clinician in an environment with that mentality?

I agree with part of what you said. Yes, it takes compassion and excellent listening skills to be a doctor, but you also have to pass tests along the way in order to become a doctor. Schools are using MCAT scores as a predictor for board pass rates. I don't think schools are accepting 4.0/38T students who are also socially inept because they think the numbers matter more. Sometimes the soft skills can make up for borderline/mediocre stats. Sometimes they're just not enough either because they're just simply not enough or based on your essays, they feel you're not a good fit for their school. And who would know that better than the people at that school? Maybe there is some magic formula only ADCOM members are privy to. But remember, these top 20's are getting the best of the best applying, and sometimes, while it sucks, the best of the best don't get in because of sheer volume.

 

[45408]

nice plug for yourself

Au contraire. I turned in my secondary (last year) in August, only to have them thoroughly, thoroughly review it and reject me nicely in March. I doubt their screening cut-off is a score that's worth bragging about.

 

[45408]

Nothing says they have to read beyond your stats. If they have minimum requirements thats their perogative. If your the type of applicant who might not meet minimum requirements but will make an excellent doc because of your listening skills, compassion, life experience etc would you really want to end up at a school that is so stat oriented? You probably wouldn't fit in with the student body and you wouldn't like the focus of their curriculum. Know that when a school turns you down, its probably not a place you personally would have thrived at anyway. A really amazing doc at my school was talking yesterday about how medstudents aren't accepted for our communication skills or capacity for compassion, yet these are the things that will make us excellent clinicians. The further away from this realization a school is the less I would want to have to do with them. A 38T doesn't make you a great clinician, it makes you a great test taker (which doen't necissarily exclude being a great clinician, but also doesn't predict it at all). If your scores are all a school cares about, would you really want to be trained to be a clinician in an environment with that mentality?

Do you have a better idea? I don't disagree with what you're saying, but now that I'm in med school, I get to see all kinds of behavior from students that *might* have kept them out of school if they'd acted like that in an interview (not that I didn't put on my bestest behavior for my interview as well - it's all part of the game). They have only one or two interviews to assess what you're like as a person, but they have a four year track record of your grades and testing ability. See the problem?

 

[63768]

stanford rejects early. it happens. who knows whether they read or not.

 

[Stolenspatulas]

Au contraire. I turned in my secondary (last year) in August, only to have them thoroughly, thoroughly review it and reject me nicely in March. I doubt their screening cut-off is a score that's worth bragging about.

he plugged himself by informing us that he has relations at stanford now or before... giving a potential reason for him still being considered as an applicant. that likely did not make the OP feel good about the rejection. thats why i said it.

i've still yet to hear, but hey, snail mail is slow and im an outtastater!

 

[DrVanNostran]

he plugged himself by informing us that he has relations at stanford now or before... giving a potential reason for him still being considered as an applicant. that likely did not make the OP feel good about the rejection. thats why i said it.

i've still yet to hear, but hey, snail mail is slow and im an outtastater!

I am assuming rejection as well--ooser with slower than usual snail mai 😴

 

[bodhisattva]

he plugged himself by informing us that he has relations at stanford now or before... giving a potential reason for him still being considered as an applicant. that likely did not make the OP feel good about the rejection. thats why i said it.

i've still yet to hear, but hey, snail mail is slow and im an outtastater!

I object. I'm a girl. 😡

And I wasn't trying to make the OP feel bad. Hence, the 😀 at the end and the remark about the fast turn around being harsh and the subsequent posts.

Hardly anyone will get into every school he/she applied to unless he/she applied and got accepted via early decision. So, OP, I'm making this loud and clear: DON'T FEEL BAD. If you cast the net far and wide, you're bound to get in somewhere.

 

[SoCuteMD]

Does anyone know if there is a law that requires schools to read your applications? I figure there isn't one so anyone have an idea of how to get a law enacted on this? I mean seriously, schools take advantage of pre-med students every year, it should stop. These schools are just money hungry punks that take advantage of the fact that we need to apply in order to advance our lives.
Yes... I'm bitter.
I turned in Stanford's Secondary on the 2nd, got a letter today saying that I have been reviewed and turned down! This would have been fine if it were two weeks from now, but the letter was dated the 6th meaning they must have read it the day they got it which i doubt since i'm sure a gang of people are applying to Stanford. This, or they have one hell of an admissions committee that is constantly on top of all their applications. Bastards.
I called and they keep transfering me around since nobody seems to want to answer my question of whether it was actually read or not.
Alright, done venting. Thanks for listening.

 

[breck]

I've read posts about people having their applications rejected as soon as their secondary checks cleared..........Apply intelligently, and you'll get screwed over far less often. I

The bold faced words are key here. It is certainly possible to apply to a school or schools intelligently and get screwed. For example, I applied to Iowa last year with an MCAT in the low 30's but a 9 in Verbal. I didn't think I was going out on a limb here, it wasn't like I was applying to WashU or anything. Anyway, Iowa supposedly screens before they send out secondaries and I got a secondary. So what do I do?? I fill out the secondary and send it back. Shortly thereafter I got my rejection saying I should feel free to call them to get feedback/constructive criticism. This is way better than most schools do, so I'll definitely give them that. So I get some lady from the adcom on the phone and what does she tell me, "You must have at least a 10 on each subsection of the test in order to get an interview as an out of stater, and this is why you didn't get one, and won't get one next year unless you retake." You've got to be fuc--ng kidding me. If this is the bar that was set then why did I get a secondary from a school that says they screen when they know I didn't meet their criteria😕 So Mleung39 I can really identify with the pain of feeling like we're bending over for some of the schools. It sucks but give me no other option and I can make wonderful things happen. Good luck with the rest of your application process

 

[baylormed]

Sure, they read them. They read your GPA and MCAT score first. The rest is icing on the cake.

So you turned in your secondary on the 2nd of October and they rejected you a few days later? That's harsh. I turned mine in on August 30 and still no word. I guess it really does help to have family who used to be Stanford faculty members. Maybe you can go buy yourself a Stanford daddy? 😀

I have no alumni in my family and I haven't been turned down (yet...I hope not). I submitted late August and I haven't heard anything yet. No, I don't have a 4.0/35+ scores.

I'm not sure why you were turned down. Maybe I just got lucky with the coin-flip.

 

[somemaybedoc]

Does anyone know if there is a law that requires schools to read your applications? I figure there isn't one so anyone have an idea of how to get a law enacted on this? I mean seriously, schools take advantage of pre-med students every year, it should stop. These schools are just money hungry punks that take advantage of the fact that we need to apply in order to advance our lives.
Yes... I'm bitter.
I turned in Stanford's Secondary on the 2nd, got a letter today saying that I have been reviewed and turned down! This would have been fine if it were two weeks from now, but the letter was dated the 6th meaning they must have read it the day they got it which i doubt since i'm sure a gang of people are applying to Stanford. This, or they have one hell of an admissions committee that is constantly on top of all their applications. Bastards.
I called and they keep transfering me around since nobody seems to want to answer my question of whether it was actually read or not.
Alright, done venting. Thanks for listening.

I've never heard of such a brutal and shocking injustice that I cared so little about!

with the rest

 

[psipsina]

Do you have a better idea? I don't disagree with what you're saying, but now that I'm in med school, I get to see all kinds of behavior from students that *might* have kept them out of school if they'd acted like that in an interview (not that I didn't put on my bestest behavior for my interview as well - it's all part of the game). They have only one or two interviews to assess what you're like as a person, but they have a four year track record of your grades and testing ability. See the problem?

I totally agree with you and the poster above you. Of course you have to be able to take tests and of course the interviews are so brief they really don't give an opportunity to get to know the student. My point was that they type of aspiring physician who doesn't have stellar stats but may have many other characteristics that would make them a good doc probably wouldn't be happy at a school that prioritizes stats above everything else. My stats were below average, but the schools who took the time to read my essays and get to know me ended up realizing my potential, and the schools that didn't see the potential were focusing on other stuff so I probably wouldn't have been happy there anyway. Schools select students that fit their goals/curriculum/atmosphere. If they are selecting you out, you probably wouldn't have been happy there anyway.