Ask LizzyM Anything 2013 edition

[LizzyM]

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Sorry, I meant full tuition scholarship. I was hoping to see if you have any experiences with anyone regretting taking the full tuition scholarship over happier environment and better rotations.

Totally a personal decision, but a difficult one!

I took the university with a better reputation and the more familiar environment over a full scholarship. Regretted it every month that I had to make a student loan payment but now, ~30 years later and long paid off, I realize that the school with the better reputation opened more doors for me than the other school would have. YMMV

 

[LizzyM]

LizzyM, what are your pros and cons for students who do HPSP? Would you recommend it to anybody?

@The Buff OP

I would recommend it to anyone who knows coming into medical school that they want a career as a military physician. I think that it is best that you have some exposure to the military before you sign up. This might be as a child raised by a parent in the military, in ROTC in college, or as a service member prior to medical school (either before, during or after college).

 

[LizzyM]

Hey LizzyM, Happy Holidays.

I want to be in academic medicine, how do I do it? Do you need to be a brown-noser?

You get good grades, evaluations and scores in medical school and, one would expect, do some research at every opportunity. You land a residency at a strong program, do very well and do a bit of research on the side. In required for your area of interest, you do a fellowship which may include a year of research. By the end of your fellowship, you should have funding for your research. Next, you land yourself a job in the academic department. You will be expected to support yourself through patient care, research and teaching. Some teaching and committee work is expected as "good citizenship" in exchange for the honor of being a faculty memer and the prestige and patients it brings you.

If you didn't want a job in academic medicine, you'd finish your residency and fellowship and go out and get hired in a medical practice or open a solo practice (very rare these days).

 

[LizzyM]

let's say i want to strengthen my application for a competitive residency or fellowship (cardiology,derm, ortho etc), when would be a good time to take a research year? Between 2nd and 3rd? Between 3rd and 4th if you're still not sure what you want to do (to get a good feel for your options in rotations)? If we're talking about cardiology, would you do it between residency and fellowship?

@jram2323
How should I know? this is a better question to ask a medical school dean of students who deals with this stuff on a regular basis.

 

[LizzyM]

Hello LizzyM,

How does your school and schools of similar caliber look upon a student who spends his whole summer (about 3 months) preparing for the MCAT and not doing much else? Would you look upon it unfavorably since he didn't do anything like research or study abroad? Does taking time off to really focus on the MCAT look bad in the eyes of adcoms?

sunshine02
Well, the applicant won't look as strong as someone who achieved the same score while doing many other things at the same time.

 

[karayaa]

You get good grades, evaluations and scores in medical school and, one would expect, do some research at every opportunity. You land a residency at a strong program, do very well and do a bit of research on the side. In required for your area of interest, you do a fellowship which may include a year of research. By the end of your fellowship, you should have funding for your research. Next, you land yourself a job in the academic department. You will be expected to support yourself through patient care, research and teaching. Some teaching and committee work is expected as "good citizenship" in exchange for the honor of being a faculty memer and the prestige and patients it brings you.

If you didn't want a job in academic medicine, you'd finish your residency and fellowship and go out and get hired in a medical practice or open a solo practice (very rare these days).

Is this also the route to become a clinical instructor/professor? Do clinical faculty have similiar workloads/responsibilities?
(I'm interested in medical education/training but I'm not sure how much I like research)

 

[LizzyM]

Hello LizzyM,

I've looked at several med schools' websites and some schools weren't very clear about their math requirement. Generally, is it okay to just take one semester of Calc I and one semester of Stats? Will that fulfill requirements at most schools, and will that work for your school?

Thanks and Merry Christmas! 🙂

I don't even know my school's math requirement or if we have one. Check the MSAR.

 

[The Buff OP]

@The Buff OP

I would recommend it to anyone who knows coming into medical school that they want a career as a military physician. I think that it is best that you have some exposure to the military before you sign up. This might be as a child raised by a parent in the military, in ROTC in college, or as a service member prior to medical school (either before, during or after college).

Thank you for replying, LizzyM. The more I learn about this, the more it sounds like a good idea. I did tried to join the Marine Corps when I was 18, but I decided on school first. I do have family members who were in the Marines, but they told me if ever wanted to join go for officer. I'll see what happens when the time comes. I heard it is 4 years of active duty and 4 years reserve, by any chance do you know if those years are included while doing residency?

 

[LizzyM]

Is this also the route to become a clinical instructor/professor? Do clinical faculty have similiar workloads/responsibilities?
(I'm interested in medical education/training but I'm not sure how much I like research)

@karayaa If you are at a research heavy school, the administration want to see you bring in research funding. Some faculty can get away without this if they take on a greater academic/administrative role such as residency director, clerkship director, Division Chief, etc but then you are trading one form of torture for another (if you don't like paperwork and meetings). Research can also be in the form of clinical trials if the area of medicine lends itself to the testing of drugs and devices to treat, cure or prevent disease. This is not bench research as you may have done in college but it does require attention to detail, supervision of research staff, and paperwork. however, it can blend nicely with clinical care as you offer your patients the opportunity to receive experimental drugs or devices as part of a research study.
Clinical faculty may be expected to help recruit subjects for research and provide clinical services. Some (all?) schools also have "contributed service" faculty which means in exchange for a faculty appointment, whereby you are permitted to admit your patients to the affiliated hospital and identify yourself as a faculty member (which carries some prestige in the eyes of patients), you are expected to contribute some service to the medical school -- supervising residents "on service" a couple months per year, teaching a small group of medical students as a PBL tutor or a teacher of physical exam skills, etc. Contributed service faculty don't get a paycheck from the medical school but support themselves through the provision of clinical services.

 

[karayaa]

@karayya If you are at a research heavy school, the administration want to see you bring in research funding. Some faculty can get away without this if they take on a greater academic/administrative role such as residency director, clerkship director, Division Chief, etc but then you are trading one form of torture for another (if you don't like paperwork and meetings). Research can also be in the form of clinical trials if the area of medicine lends itself to the testing of drugs and devices to treat, cure or prevent disease. This is not bench research as you may have done in college but it does require attention to detail, supervision of research staff, and paperwork. however, it can blend nicely with clinical care as you offer your patients the opportunity to receive experimental drugs or devices as part of a research study.
Clinical faculty may be expected to help recruit subjects for research and provide clinical services. Some (all?) schools also have "contributed service" faculty which means in exchange for a faculty appointment, whereby you are permitted to admit your patients to the affiliated hospital and identify yourself as a faculty member (which carries some prestige in the eyes of patients), you are expected to contribute some service to the medical school -- supervising residents "on service" a couple months per year, teaching a small group of medical students as a PBL tutor or a teacher of physical exam skills, etc. Contributed service faculty don't get a paycheck from the medical school but support themselves through the provision of clinical services.

I see. thanks! 🙂

 

[LizzyM]

Thank you for replying, LizzyM. The more I learn about this, the more it sounds like a good idea. I did tried to join the Marine Corps when I was 18, but I decided on school first. I do have family members who were in the Marines, but they told me if ever wanted to join go for officer. I'll see what happens when the time comes. I heard it is 4 years of active duty and 4 years reserve, by any chance do you know if those years are included while doing residency?

@The Buff OP
Pose this question about the years of payback in the military medicine forum. Also, I think that Navy physicians cover the Marine Corps. As best I recall based on someone who did this, your residency does not count toward your payback. Also, based on a few people I know IRL, the Navy is well known for having people do one year of residency (enough to be licensed) and then sending them out as primary care providers for a couple years before they are allowed to finish their residency. Also, many services for the dependents of service members are now being delivered by private sector physicians meaning that the need for physicians stateside is shrinking.

 

[The Buff OP]

@The Buff OP
Pose this question about the years of payback in the military medicine forum. Also, I think that Navy physicians cover the Marine Corps. As best I recall based on someone who did this, your residency does not count toward your payback. Also, based on a few people I know IRL, the Navy is well known for having people do one year of residency (enough to be licensed) and then sending them out as primary care providers for a couple years before they are allowed to finish their residency. Also, many services for the dependents of service members are now being delivered by private sector physicians meaning that the need for physicians stateside is shrinking.

Oh, okay. I will keep learning more about this. I was actually looking into the Air Force or Army. The Navy part that's crazy I think they called it the GMO tour.

 

[LuciusVorenus]

This is kind of a silly question, but my hair is always kinda messy no matter how much I comb it unless I put stuff in it and hair product just makes me really itchy and sad so I usually just leave it the way it is (it's not too long though). How bad of a thing is this during interviews? Would you every reject/waitlist someone based just on their hair?

 

[matt612]

In what has become an end of the year tradition (we've done it twice before, so isn't it tradition?), here's the 2013 edition of Ask LizzyM Anything.

However, I will not answer :
•"what are my chances?" (there's a separate place for that)
•"will you read my personal statement?"
•"where do you work?"
or hypothetical questions

Keep in mind that there may be 100 different ways to do med school admissions and I'm familiar with only one and at a top tier private school so take what I say with a grain of salt.

I will be answering over the next 10 days or so but I'll also be baking, cooking, singing, sleeping, doing some volunteer work, feasting and drinking 😀 so it may take a few hours to get to you. Thank you for your patience.

And don't forget to check out LizzyM's Elf on the Shelf, another SDN tradition.
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=877807

 

[matt612]

Thank you so much for your time and help for all of us. A few questions please:
1.) What is your opinion on the value of international service or medical immersion programs? Is it a "must have" on an application? So many of my peers are attending these programs, but there are cost and risks involved. I also don't know how to find a safe and reputable program.
2.) Can you share what the cGPA and sGPA application cutoffs are (to pass the first computer screening round)? I know they differ at each school, so a general range would be fine and appreciated.
3.) I have an old "Lizzy score" excel file (circa 2009). Can you post a link to the latest version?

 

[jetsfan1234]

Hi LizzyM,

Thanks so much for taking the time to answer our questions.

What is your opinion re: pre and/or post-interview letters of interest? In your experience, do they have any influence? If so, what kind of information do you like to see in these letters? Snail mail or email to the adcom?

Thanks!

 

[darkjedi]

Thank you so much for your time and help for all of us. A few questions please:
1.) What is your opinion on the value of international service or medical immersion programs? Is it a "must have" on an application? So many of my peers are attending these programs, but there are cost and risks involved. I also don't know how to find a safe and reputable program.
2.) Can you share what the cGPA and sGPA application cutoffs are (to pass the first computer screening round)? I know they differ at each school, so a general range would be fine and appreciated.
3.) I have an old "Lizzy score" excel file (circa 2009). Can you post a link to the latest version?

LizzyM is not actually the one that makes the excel documents. The documents are just named after her since she was the one that 'created' the LizzyM formula of MCAT+(10*GPA) to help people figure out where they are most likely to get interviews.

 

[smarts1]

What is the most rewarding part of your job for you and how did you end up reading apps and interviewing in the admissions office at your school?

 

[LizzyM]

This is kind of a silly question, but my hair is always kinda messy no matter how much I comb it unless I put stuff in it and hair product just makes me really itchy and sad so I usually just leave it the way it is (it's not too long though). How bad of a thing is this during interviews? Would you every reject/waitlist someone based just on their hair?

I have downgraded applicants who do the "peek-a-boo, side part, hair over the eye"s thing. It's a girl thing for the most part. I can see adcoms being unimpressed with someone with bed head; it is just not going to look professional when they have you in their clinical office or on the wards. Could you experiment with other products and find one that isn't itchy. If you put it on your hair & not on your scalp it might not itch. Put yourself in the hands of a good stylist, even just once, and get some professional advice.

 

[Si Se Puede]

What is your view on NIH IRTA? Do you think there is any point (besides the sheer love of the experience and knowledge gained) to participating in the programs after being accepted or while in the application cycle? I'm thinking it could be a good way to add to one's research credentials for residency apps (only diff being it is done prior to ms1 as opposed to like between ms2/3).

 

[LizzyM]

Thank you so much for your time and help for all of us. A few questions please:
1.) What is your opinion on the value of international service or medical immersion programs? Is it a "must have" on an application? So many of my peers are attending these programs, but there are cost and risks involved. I also don't know how to find a safe and reputable program.
2.) Can you share what the cGPA and sGPA application cutoffs are (to pass the first computer screening round)? I know they differ at each school, so a general range would be fine and appreciated.
3.) I have an old "Lizzy score" excel file (circa 2009). Can you post a link to the latest version?

1) Long term international service such as Peace Corps is a plus on an application but certainly not a must have. Short-term programs (a week or two) are considered "medical tourism" and are garnering more criticism with every passing year.
2) I'm not privy to that information at my own school let alone to be able to give you a general range.
3) I don't have a link to one of those beautiful files but I did a Google search on LizzyM school selector and found this https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet...Ex2MjlBTDE0bXFXNGFZczZqYTZKb2c&hl=en_US#gid=0 consider the link my Christmas gift to you.

 

[LizzyM]

Hi LizzyM,

Thanks so much for taking the time to answer our questions.

What is your opinion re: pre and/or post-interview letters of interest? In your experience, do they have any influence? If so, what kind of information do you like to see in these letters? Snail mail or email to the adcom?

Thanks!

Pre-interview letter of interest... how can you be more interested than the interest you showed by completing the secondary and paying the fee? I can't really see the point.
Post-interview, this makes a bit of sense. Given the way everything is electronic now, I'd suggest email as it makes it easier to upload than a snail mail letter that has to be scanned first and then uploaded. That said, my committee rarely hears about these letters but they might come into play when deciding who to call from the waitlist.

 

[LizzyM]

What is the most rewarding part of your job for you and how did you end up reading apps and interviewing in the admissions office at your school?

@smarts1 The most rewarding part of my job is seeing students get excited about learning. My day job is teaching and doing administrative work. Adcom is a volunteer position that I do as a good citizen of the university. I was appointed to the committee by the Dean, and I indicated my willingness to be appointed because I enjoyed working with students and felt that I could contribute in a positive manner to the selection of the next class.

 

[LizzyM]

What is your view on NIH IRTA? Do you think there is any point (besides the sheer love of the experience and knowledge gained) to participating in the programs after being accepted or while in the application cycle? I'm thinking it could be a good way to add to one's research credentials for residency apps (only diff being it is done prior to ms1 as opposed to like between ms2/3).

@Si Se Puede It is a good experience to have, I suppose, if you like that sort of thing. I don't know much about the application process for the IRTA or if one is committed to a year's service (in other words, would it be sketchy to bow out mid-year after getting an acceptance to med school ).

 

[LuciusVorenus]

I have downgraded applicants who do the "peek-a-boo, side part, hair over the eye"s thing. It's a girl thing for the most part. I can see adcoms being unimpressed with someone with bed head; it is just not going to look professional when they have you in their clinical office or on the wards. Could you experiment with other products and find one that isn't itchy. If you put it on your hair & not on your scalp it might not itch. Put yourself in the hands of a good stylist, even just once, and get some professional advice.

Oh gawd I've already done so many interviews like this. I forgot that I've just gotten used to it so it looks perfectly "normal" to me. We'll see what happens I guess 😀

 

[Davida]

@Davida I hope that this cycle has worked out for you. I'd still go with "target of a violent crime" and the need for a change of scenery after that happened. "Personal reasons" sounds like it might be an inability to get along with others at your old school. But, if "personal reasons" as an explanation worked out for you, I'm happy for you.

Thanks for the response! My cycle is basically done and everything worked out really well, so my answer apparently didn't hurt me. (Actually, at my top choice school, I led with the "personal reasons" response and was actually going to explain a little further, and my interviewer stopped me and basically said "that's all I need to know." The way they said it made me wonder if they'd encountered my situation in the past.)

 

[LizzyM]

Thanks for the response! My cycle is basically done and everything worked out really well, so my answer apparently didn't hurt me. (Actually, at my top choice school, I led with the "personal reasons" response and was actually going to explain a little further, and my interviewer stopped me and basically said "that's all I need to know." The way they said it made me wonder if they'd encountered my situation in the past.)

@Davida That's weird. What reason would someone have for transferring that wasn't "personal". Did anyone ever transfer for an impersonal reason? Very weird and almost lacking in curiosity.

 

[HopefulReapp]

Hi!
I hoped to update a few schools on what I've been up to recently. A nurse that I have worked with a lot in the hospital wants to write me a letter of recommendation about how I treat patients as a pca and work well in a team environment. Do you think that this will help my application? I mainly don't want to waste her time if it won't benefit me. I don't work directly with any doctors, just very sick patients, other pcas, and nurses.

As always thank you LizzyM


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[LizzyM]

Hi!
I hoped to update a few schools on what I've been up to recently. A nurse that I have worked with a lot in the hospital wants to write me a letter of recommendation about how I treat patients as a pca and work well in a team environment. Do you think that this will help my application? I mainly don't want to waste her time if it won't benefit me. I don't work directly with any doctors, just very sick patients, other pcas, and nurses.

As always thank you LizzyM


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk - now Free

@HopefulReapp
Why do you think your application is hung up and an offer has not arrived? Is it because the adcom has doubts about how well you interact with patients and work in a team environment? Is that a huge concern in their minds? If you think that it might be then a letter such as you describe might help, if anyone actually digs into your file and finds the letter. If your application has been reviewed, the letter might not even be seen by the decision makers.

If what is holding you back is a wait for the superstars to decline offers before folks like yourself get the nod, or if there is concern about your academic fitness for medical school, or if the school issues all decisions at once so as not to even give the appearance of a disadvantage to those who interview late in the season, then a letter from a kind nurse who sees your potential as a clinician is not going to help. It won't hurt but it won't help.

 

[slickwillbo]

Hi LizzyM,

Do you get many applicants who are applying after a PhD program? What aspects of the application are more or less important than those for traditional students?

Thanks!

 

[LizzyM]

Hi LizzyM,

Do you get many applicants who are applying after a PhD program? What aspects of the application are more or less important than those for traditional students?

Thanks!

@slickwillbo
we don't get many... I've seen a few this year.
I think that undergrad record and undergrad activities fade into the background, particularly if they were >4 years ago.
Research becomes more important because it becomes obvious that this might be a future medical research scientist/clinician (at least we hope so) and so the applicant gets judge more along the lines of a MD/PhD with the (happy) realization that the PhD was earned on someone else's dime. If the PhD is in an area of inquiry that is hot at our school, then that would be considered a major plus.

I'd also be looking for some exposure to real patients and some desire to do hands on care of the sick and some evidence that the applicant has worked or volunteered in a clinical setting.

 

[mehc012]

Thank you for replying, LizzyM. The more I learn about this, the more it sounds like a good idea. I did tried to join the Marine Corps when I was 18, but I decided on school first. I do have family members who were in the Marines, but they told me if ever wanted to join go for officer. I'll see what happens when the time comes. I heard it is 4 years of active duty and 4 years reserve, by any chance do you know if those years are included while doing residency?

Personally, after looking through all of the options and perusing the MilMed forum at length, I would do FAP eons before I would do HPSP. The big danger with HPSP is not the commitment, it's the risk of not getting the specialty you want. FAP you can enter AFTER matching your specialty. Whether or not to do the military is one decision, but I would hate to make any commitment 4 years in advance that could limit my future career options when there's a perfectly analogous program without the risk.

 

[HopefulReapp]

@HopefulReapp
Why do you think your application is hung up and an offer has not arrived? Is it because the adcom has doubts about how well you interact with patients and work in a team environment? Is that a huge concern in their minds? If you think that it might be then a letter such as you describe might help, if anyone actually digs into your file and finds the letter. If your application has been reviewed, the letter might not even be seen by the decision makers.

If what is holding you back is a wait for the superstars to decline offers before folks like yourself get the nod, or if there is concern about your academic fitness for medical school, or if the school issues all decisions at once so as not to even give the appearance of a disadvantage to those who interview late in the season, then a letter from a kind nurse who sees your potential as a clinician is not going to help. It won't hurt but it won't help.

It was more for interviews that I have in the future. Last year I was told by one dean that I was waitlisted for not having enough clinical experience, so the way that you responded does show me that it is something that will help. I was mostly concerned with any questions it may bring up with a nurse writing it rather than a physician from a clinical setting (ie- if he's so good with patients why doesn't he want to be a nurse?)


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[LizzyM]

@HopefulReapp Is this work experience on your application this year? If so, a LOR doesn't add more to the fact that you have more experience than you did last year. Again, with interviews you have in the future, does this LOR add something that will change people's minds about your fitness for medical school.

It can't hurt but I can't see that it will help. If you have the grades and scores to do well in medical school and you have the desire to be a leader of the health care team then I can't see why it should matter who endorses you for admission to medical school with regard to your "bedside manner". Any adcom worth his salt would know that the nurse has far more time seeing you in action that a doc would.

 

[Got Heem]

1) How much do update letters help an applicant, pre/post interview? I assume it would be more helpful for schools that specifically request or provide steps for the update? I assisted in the writing of a textbook chapter (mostly just formatting, typing, and a little research) and have recently been hired part time in a cancer research lab, not sure if either of these are worth sending letters for.

2) How late is an application for you to consider it "late" and how does it affect an applicant's chances at your school? Is it based at all on when the primary application was completed?

Thanks for your help.

 

[Davida]

@Davida That's weird. What reason would someone have for transferring that wasn't "personal". Did anyone ever transfer for an impersonal reason? Very weird and almost lacking in curiosity.

Perhaps? It's possible that something in my tone (correctly) told this person that "personal" was code for "private and would rather not discuss that here." They may have just been reading my reaction to the question, and decided that it looked like it was a fairly sensitive subject.

I will say that, for me, the interviewer's response was a huge relief. Interviewing is a high-pressure environment, and it's a difficult enough conversation with close friends and family (and really, even anonymously on the internet). Since the whole business worked out well for me, I'm certainly not going to complain!

Happy holidays!

 

[Great White Buffalo]

@The Buff OP
Pose this question about the years of payback in the military medicine forum. Also, I think that Navy physicians cover the Marine Corps. As best I recall based on someone who did this, your residency does not count toward your payback. Also, based on a few people I know IRL, the Navy is well known for having people do one year of residency (enough to be licensed) and then sending them out as primary care providers for a couple years before they are allowed to finish their residency. Also, many services for the dependents of service members are now being delivered by private sector physicians meaning that the need for physicians stateside is shrinking.

I know of 3 physicians who were called up from the Reserves and sent to Iraq/Afghan. for 9 months - 1 year. Be careful that you truly understand the sacrifices you will make. One is an EM doc, and a Captain in the Navy Reserves, in his mid 50s, was in reserves for 20 years or so. Came within 6 months of retirement when he was called up. Another is a Child Psy (which is a subspecialty, all are Adult boarded too). Again, in Naval Reserves, called up 3 times, last one in Iraq. I certainly appreciate their service and sacrifice, but per my conversations with them, it was truly unexpected, and not really what they signed up for 25 years ago. Go in with your eyes open on the actual risks. It is a new world out there.

 

[LizzyM]

Perhaps? It's possible that something in my tone (correctly) told this person that "personal" was code for "private and would rather not discuss that here." They may have just been reading my reaction to the question, and decided that it looked like it was a fairly sensitive subject.

I will say that, for me, the interviewer's response was a huge relief. Interviewing is a high-pressure environment, and it's a difficult enough conversation with close friends and family (and really, even anonymously on the internet). Since the whole business worked out well for me, I'm certainly not going to complain!

Happy holidays!

@Davida Ahh! that makes sense. Written words don't convey the tone and the body language with which they are communicated. Congratulations on your successful admission cycle!

 

[LizzyM]

1) How much do update letters help an applicant, pre/post interview? I assume it would be more helpful for schools that specifically request or provide steps for the update? I assisted in the writing of a textbook chapter (mostly just formatting, typing, and a little research) and have recently been hired part time in a cancer research lab, not sure if either of these are worth sending letters for.

2) How late is an application for you to consider it "late" and how does it affect an applicant's chances at your school? Is it based at all on when the primary application was completed?

Thanks for your help.

@Got Heem
As I mentioned yesterday:
Pre-interview letter of interest... how can you be more interested than the interest you showed by completing the secondary and paying the fee? I can't really see the point.
Post-interview, this makes a bit of sense. Given the way everything is electronic now, I'd suggest email as it makes it easier to upload than a snail mail letter that has to be scanned first and then uploaded. That said, my committee rarely hears about these letters but they might come into play when deciding who to call from the waitlist.
Any pretext for an update doesn't hurt.
Submitting the secondary after Sept 30 is late. Submitting the AMCAS after July 15 is late. There are a limited number of interview slots... We try to save some spots for exceptional applicants who apply late but it gets harder to impress us as the season wears on.

 

[chem4ever]

@chem4ever Letters of intent are bull s ***. My school does not take them seriously. I do not know if writing one would have any impact on the offering of a merit based scholarship but I would highly doubt that anyone writing one would be in the running for a merit based scholarship. (Writing a letter of intent suggests to me that you have not yet been admitted whereas schools make merit based offer after offering their top choice candidates an offer of admission.)

Thanks for your reply.

I was referring to a letter of intent for a non-rolling school. So basically, I would send one a month or so before decisions come out.

 

[Youknowgo]

Dear Lizzy M,

What does it mean if an interview goes undertime and overtime? Which one is usually a better indicator that they like likr you?

 

[Apollo1]

LizzieM:

Some schools mention that they won't take online coursework into consideration. With the MCAT being updated in 2015, do you think taking psychology/sociology/math online would be met with greater scrutiny than taking them physically, even though said courses don't have attached labs? As a non-trad, the option of completing these prereq's virtually would help me out quite a bit.

Thanks for taking the time to answer questions.

 

[LizzyM]

Thanks for your reply.

I was referring to a letter of intent for a non-rolling school. So basically, I would send one a month or so before decisions come out.

@chem4ever

I doubt it will make a difference. Too many people send those letters and then dump their first choice for a full ride elsewhere; consequently, decision-makers don't believe it when you say you will enroll if admitted.

 

[LizzyM]

Dear Lizzy M,

What does it mean if an interview goes undertime and overtime? Which one is usually a better indicator that they like you?

@Youknowgo
You can't make any assumptions based on the length of the interview. It could be that you talked too much, were hard to engage, or were boring. It could mean that the interviewer had a stomach ache, a headache or needed a drink. 😉 It could mean that the interviewer enjoyed talking to you, talked too much about herself and you happily listened thus creating a good vibe with the interviewer, or that the battery on the interviewer's clock went dead.

 

[LizzyM]

LizzieM:

Some schools mention that they won't take online coursework into consideration. With the MCAT being updated in 2015, do you think taking psychology/sociology/math online would be met with greater scrutiny than taking them physically, even though said courses don't have attached labs? As a non-trad, the option of completing these prereq's virtually would help me out quite a bit.

Thanks for taking the time to answer questions.

@Apollo
I can forgive you for misspelling my name. 😉
If you have the option of taking these courses in a traditional classroom, that might be the best choice. If online is your only option, some schools will allow this on a case by case basis and you'll need to petition to have your classes count. In other cases, the school will not accept those credits and you'll just have to scratch those schools from your list just as you will for schools that are not friendly to OOS students. I guess it all comes down to whether you want to limit your choices or not.

 

[MyDogIsRiley]

LizzyM, I'm about to send an update letter to a couple non-rolling schools I had very pleasant interviews at early in the fall. I think it'll make for a pretty good letter, as it includes a 4.0 semester and I'm in the freshman year grade repair club, a lengthy publication from a reputable think tank, and a moderately prestigious award that demonstrates collegiality in addition to excellent performance. Although I plan to send it regardless of the answer, do you think my file will be re-debated by the AdCom after receipt of the letter? I'm guessing they made a preliminary decision shortly after my interview and are just waiting until release day. Will the letter possibly change the decision, or just be one more thing to look at this spring if I happen to be in the waitlist bin?

 

[LizzyM]

LizzyM, I'm about to send an update letter to a couple non-rolling schools I had very pleasant interviews at early in the fall. I think it'll make for a pretty good letter, as it includes a 4.0 semester and I'm in the freshman year grade repair club, a lengthy publication from a reputable think tank, and a moderately prestigious award that demonstrates collegiality in addition to excellent performance. Although I plan to send it regardless of the answer, do you think my file will be re-debated by the AdCom after receipt of the letter? I'm guessing they made a preliminary decision shortly after my interview and are just waiting until release day. Will the letter possibly change the decision, or just be one more thing to look at this spring if I happen to be in the waitlist bin?

@MyDogIsRiley
As far as I know, the non-rolling schools categorize or rank applicants as they go along and then release offers all at once after they have evaluated everyone in the pool. Given the work load of evaluating hundreds of interviewed applicants, I doubt that an adcom would go back and re-evaluate an applicant who has already been reviewed and "scored". At this point the letter is only going to change your situation from reject to waitlist or waitlist to admission. (or reject to admission but I doubt that). Do you really think that you'd be waitlisted (or rejected) because your current grades, publications (or lack of them) and evidence of collegiality is not enough to get admitted but the letter would push you over the top? I'm not convinced. On the other hand, it can't hurt.

 

[lazyindy]

Dear LizzyM,

I recently just discovered a volunteer program near me to help children victims of domestic violence and child abuse. The problem is that I will be applying this June to MD schools. Will volunteering at a new program at this stage be looked as a negative? I'm absolutely not doing this to check off a box, this was something that I had first-hand experience with when I was younger and is one of my main reasons for going into medicine. It's just unfortunate I found a volunteer program like this so late in the game.

How do I convince Adcoms that I didn't just do this last minute to gain a non-clinical volunteer experience?

 

[LizzyM]

Dear LizzyM,

I recently just discovered a volunteer program near me to help children victims of domestic violence and child abuse. The problem is that I will be applying this June to MD schools. Will volunteering at a new program at this stage be looked as a negative? I'm absolutely not doing this to check off a box, this was something that I had first-hand experience with when I was younger and is one of my main reasons for going into medicine. It's just unfortunate I found a volunteer program like this so late in the game.

How do I convince Adcoms that I didn't just do this last minute to gain a non-clinical volunteer experience?

@lazyindy
If you have done other non-clinical volunteering in the past 3 years, no one will look down on our for adding another activity of that kind. If you haven't done anything else of that sort (helping people in a non-clinical setting) up until now, it does look like box checking. that said, if you write a nice description saying that you discovered this group in late 2013 and started volunteering as quickly as you could because you are passionate about services to this population, then it could be okay.

 

[dododo121]

You have said before that a long time ago, the system at your school failed and sent interview invitations to a couple of applicants when they were supposed to get pre-interview rejections. Does that still happen today? If so, is it because the director of admissions accidentally clicked the wrong button on her screen?

Also, when these applicants interviewed, were they really that bad?