Can I directly network with a school via email?

[yokiguz]

I am an international/Canadian who will be applying to MD and DO schools next year. I was wondering if it would be a good idea to send emails out to some schools now. I have found 2-3 that I think I would be a great fit at and I am in the ~90%ile stat-wise according to the MSAR. I'd simply express my interest, reasons why I think I would be a great fit, and inquire about what it takes as an international/Canadian to get into their school. These schools all take 5-10 international students/year.

I am just curious is this is something that can be done and is something that admission committees would be receptive to.

Thank you!

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[deleted1005514]

I am an international/Canadian who will be applying to MD and DO schools next year. I was wondering if it would be a good idea to send emails out to some schools now. I have found 2-3 that I think I would be a great fit at and I am in the ~90%ile stat-wise according to the MSAR. I'd simply express my interest, reasons why I think I would be a great fit, and inquire about what it takes as an international/Canadian to get into their school. These schools all take 5-10 international students/year.

I am just curious is this is something that can be done and is something that admission committees would be receptive to.

Thank you!

I would not recommend doing this. Instead I would watch for online opportunities to show your interest in appropriate ways: virtual open house, Med school fair, etc.

 

[gyngyn]

I was wondering if it would be a good idea to send emails out to some schools now.

No.

 

[yokiguz]

I would not recommend doing this. Instead I would watch for online opportunities to show your interest in appropriate ways: virtual open house, Med school fair, etc.

Thank you! Will be watching for these opportunities. Missed the fair last year unfortunately

 

[yokiguz]

No.

Thanks for the advice. Is it ever appropriate?

 

[gyngyn]

Thanks for the advice. Is it ever appropriate?

It's hard for me to think of a situation in which cold calling the admissions office for the purpose of "networking" is a good idea.
Let the MSAR be your guide.

 

[yokiguz]

Doing so would make you the best seem overconfident at worst arrogant saying you have the stats And the fit for the school. It is kind of shocking the numver students who try this every year. Interestingly if you were a weak student with issues Asking for guidance How to improve you would more likely get a receptive audience.

Sorry to be clear I wouldn't mention my stats at all in the email.

I was just going to point out some parts of the curriculum and local hospitals that genuinely appeal to me and relate my goals to their mission statement. I would also inquire about what they look for in an international applicant and how I could make myself a good candidate for their school.

 

[KnightDoc]

Thanks for the advice. Is it ever appropriate?

Basically, you are asking if it is acceptable to try to get a leg up on thousands of other candidates by reaching out to staff whose job it is to process those thousands of applications, attempting to make a personal connection over information that is publicly available while also conveying information that will be asked for in a formal application.

When it is put like that, do you think it would be appropriate, or that anyone on the other end would be receptive? If the answer is yes, don't you think thousands of other anxious candidates would engage in the exact same conduct, thereby negating any advantage you would hope to obtain????

 

[Teletubby]

Sorry to be clear I wouldn't mention my stats at all in the email.

I was just going to point out some parts of the curriculum and local hospitals that genuinely appeal to me and relate my goals to their mission statement. I would also inquire about what they look for in an international applicant and how I could make myself a good candidate for their school.

This is what secondaries are for. I fear going this route would come off as "cutthroat" and "competitive", as you would essentially be saying "Hey look at me! Consider me! I'm better than the other candidates!" Just wait, you will have your time to show off come application season on the primary and secondaries.

 

[KnightDoc]

This is what secondaries are for. I fear going this route would come off as "cutthroat" and "competitive", as you would essentially be saying "Hey look at me! Consider me! I'm better than the other candidates!" Just wait, you will have your time to show off come application season on the primary and secondaries.

Not only that, but staff simply would refuse to engage. If they did engage, the schools would have to hire staff just to deal with this, otherwise nothing else would get done given the thousands of calls and e-mails that would have to be handled every cycle, in addition to all the inquiries they deal with regarding applications as it is.

 

[yokiguz]

This is what secondaries are for. I fear going this route would come off as "cutthroat" and "competitive", as you would essentially be saying "Hey look at me! Consider me! I'm better than the other candidates!" Just wait, you will have your time to show off come application season on the primary and secondaries.

Very good point and I hear you. It makes sense to me when you put it that way.

A big reason why I wanted to do this was to inquire about the expectations for internationals/Canadians to be competitive at their schools. Ive heard it can be crapshoot for us even with the stats/ECs. Would it be appropriate to ask about this? I am mostly trying to gauge how to be a competitive international applicant at these few schools that are "friendly" to us.

 

[deleted1005514]

Very good point and I hear you. It makes sense to me when you put it that way.

A big reason why I wanted to do this was to inquire about the expectations for internationals/Canadians to be competitive at their schools. Ive heard it can be crapshoot for us even with the stats/ECs. Would it be appropriate to ask about this? I am mostly trying to gauge how to be a competitive international applicant at these few schools that are "friendly" to us.

The schools don’t have this information in the MSAR or on their website? Have you tried reaching out to current international students via the school specific application threads, or direct messaging current international students who might be on SDN?

The receptionist who has to field your phone calls will probably be polite, but her job is to gate-keep eager applicants from getting through to the ADCOMs.

 

[yokiguz]

The schools don’t have this information in the MSAR or on their website? Have you tried reaching out to current international students via the school specific application threads, or direct messaging current international students who might be on SDN?

The receptionist who has to field your phone calls will probably be polite, but her job is to gate-keep eager applicants from getting through to the ADCOMs.

I have been using the MSAR to find these international friendly schools and I've been messaging several matriculants on SDN but haven't got any responses over the last week.

Maybe I will keep asking around since it doesn't seem like the best idea to reach out to the schools directly.

 

[KnightDoc]

I have been using the MSAR to find these international friendly schools and I've been messaging several matriculants on SDN but haven't got any responses over the last week.

Maybe I will keep asking around since it doesn't seem like the best idea to reach out to the schools directly.

Basically, you're between a rock and a hard place. You are correct -- it is more difficult for international. But you are not going to get what you want by reaching out to any admissions offices. Nobody in any office is going to discourage you from applying, no matter how marginal a candidate you might be. You're not going to get a leg up, are not going to receive actionable advice on expectations beyond what they publish, and are not going to receive any guidance on how competitive you are.

You would actually receive much more candid advice from the adcoms who participate in SDN, since it's anonymous. The more knowledgeable among them are very familiar with many different schools besides their own.

 

[yokiguz]

Basically, you're between a rock and a hard place. You are correct -- it is more difficult for international. But you are not going to get what you want by reaching out to any admissions offices. Nobody in any office is going to discourage you from applying, no matter how marginal a candidate you might be. You're not going to get a leg up, are not going to receive actionable advice on expectations beyond what they publish, and are not going to receive any guidance on how competitive you are.

You would actually receive much more candid advice from the adcoms who participate in SDN, since it's anonymous. The more knowledgeable among them are very familiar with many different schools besides their own.

Thank you for the advice. I will maybe make a post if I can't find any stats of other international students who matriculated. I am just trying to see if Im competitive and if not what I could do to make myself more competitive.

 

[KnightDoc]

Thank you for the advice. I will maybe make a post if I can't find any stats of other international students who matriculated. I am just trying to see if Im competitive and if not what I could do to make myself more competitive.

No problem. I think you'd get better advice if you post your stats and ECs, and your target schools, and then ask the adcoms for advice on whether you are competitive, and, if, not, for suggestions on where you would be, as well as for advice on what you might need to improve.

Easier for them if you put your info out there, since you are the one seeking help, rather than asking people who don't need you to give you their info!

 

[yokiguz]

No problem. I think you'd get better advice if you post your stats and ECs, and your target schools, and then ask the adcoms for advice on whether you are competitive, and, if, not, for suggestions on where you would be, as well as for advice on what you might need to improve.

Easier for them if you put your info out there, since you are the one seeking help, rather than asking people who don't need you to give you their info!

I see. Maybe I should post another WAMC thread since I got a more competitive amount of clinical and non-clinical hours now. But I still need to rewrite my MCAT and that will be a big factor I'm sure.

 

[Goro]

Sorry to be clear I wouldn't mention my stats at all in the email.

I was just going to point out some parts of the curriculum and local hospitals that genuinely appeal to me and relate my goals to their mission statement. I would also inquire about what they look for in an international applicant and how I could make myself a good candidate for their school.

It's not their job to tell you that. In fact, it's your job to figure that out.