Contest a rejection

[audramill]

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Has anyone contested a rejection before? If so, do you have any recommendation of how to go about it? Should I have my pre-med advisor send a packet along with my beautifully written letter?

 

[ti89]

Really you would be fighting such an uphill battle. If it is that worth it then ya I figure you'd have to send quite a bit. Your premed advisor would be the best person to talk to. Maybe you can call the school and talk to them also first.

Good luck.

 

[veenut]

i really don't see how this strategy would work at all. i mean, the whole process is so inexact and vague...how can you even argue that they should take you? i mean, how do you convince a school that they really DO want you? i think a better idea might be to send them a LOI if you like them that much, try to convince them that you love them so much that you'd definitely go if accepted. this might work especially if they turned you away bc they thought your stats were too good for their school or something. who knows...

 

[LizzyM]

LOL. I know a guy ... He didn't get a secondary from a school he really liked. 🙁 His pre-med advisor contested it for him. 🙂 He didn't get an interview 😡 - he contacted the Dean & asked that his application be given a second look. 🙄 His mother's college roommate was on the faculty so a few phone calls were made 😳 (3 degrees of separation) so that the Dean knew that this guy was "worthy" of a second look. 😎 He was interviewed & waitlisted. 😱 He wrote a letter of intent giving some personal reasons why he really wanted to attend. 😍

He graduated from THAT med school last Spring and went into a good residency.

 

[argonana]

LOL. I know a guy ... He didn't get a secondary from a school he really liked. 🙁 His pre-med advisor contested it for him. 🙂 He didn't get an interview 😡 - he contacted the Dean & asked that his application be given a second look. 🙄 His mother's college roommate was on the faculty so a few phone calls were made 😳 (3 degrees of separation) so that the Dean knew that this guy was "worthy" of a second look. 😎 He was interviewed & waitlisted. 😱 He wrote a letter of intent giving some personal reasons why he really wanted to attend. 😍

He graduated from THAT med school last Spring and went into a good residency.

!
Wow.

 

[RayhanS1282]

LOL. I know a guy ... He didn't get a secondary from a school he really liked. 🙁 His pre-med advisor contested it for him. 🙂 He didn't get an interview 😡 - he contacted the Dean & asked that his application be given a second look. 🙄 His mother's college roommate was on the faculty so a few phone calls were made 😳 (3 degrees of separation) so that the Dean knew that this guy was "worthy" of a second look. 😎 He was interviewed & waitlisted. 😱 He wrote a letter of intent giving some personal reasons why he really wanted to attend. 😍

He graduated from THAT med school last Spring and went into a good residency.

To have connections....sigh...one can dream.

 

[ihopetobeado]

I too have witnessed a similar story to LizzyM's. This was a few years ago, but the applicant in question was sent a rejection after her interviews at a local medical school. She worked alongside one of the medical school's faculty members and was able to convince the faculty member to intervene on her behalf in the admissions office. The rejection was rescinded and a a new set of interviews were scheduled. Needless to say, the formerly rejected applicant graduated from the medical school a few years ago. Shows you how political this admissions game is.

 

[LizzyM]

To have connections....sigh...one can dream.

But Jack Shack's mom hadn't graduated from that school - he wasn't a legacy.

His mom's roommate wasn't a grad of that med school either but she was on the faculty.

Jack's mother's college roommate knew someone who was on the admissions committee, asked about Jack's chances and that person asked the Dean "what's up with Jack Shack's application?"

The Dean filed that bit of information away and Jack still got waitlisted.

His letter saying that he really wanted to be in "med town" in order to be near an ailing family member reached the Dean when there was an empty seat to fill. Maybe the Dean remembered that both the pre-med advisor and someone on the admissions committee had made an effort on Jack's behalf (the admission's committee member didn't know Jack -- no surprise there 🙄 -- but respected a fellow faculty member who had known Jack's mom before Jack was born!)

Moral of the Story: Ask around -- you may be four degrees of separation from the Dean.

 

[crazy_cavalier]

LOL. I know a guy ... He didn't get a secondary from a school he really liked. 🙁 His pre-med advisor contested it for him. 🙂 He didn't get an interview 😡 - he contacted the Dean & asked that his application be given a second look. 🙄 His mother's college roommate was on the faculty so a few phone calls were made 😳 (3 degrees of separation) so that the Dean knew that this guy was "worthy" of a second look. 😎 ....

Reading this reminds me of that Kids' magazine, "Highlights". Yeah, you know, that thing you used to read at your pediatrician's office when you were a kid. Anyway there's this one section in there where they use all the symbols but usually I just or 😴 while looking at them 😱

 

[RayhanS1282]

But Jack Shack's mom hadn't graduated from that school - he wasn't a legacy.

His mom's roommate wasn't a grad of that med school either but she was on the faculty.

Jack's mother's college roommate knew someone who was on the admissions committee, asked about Jack's chances and that person asked the Dean "what's up with Jack Shack's application?"

The Dean filed that bit of information away and Jack still got waitlisted.

His letter saying that he really wanted to be in "med town" in order to be near an ailing family member reached the Dean when there was an empty seat to fill. Maybe the Dean remembered that both the pre-med advisor and someone on the admissions committee had made an effort on Jack's behalf (the admission's committee member didn't know Jack -- no surprise there 🙄 -- but respected a fellow faculty member who had known Jack's mom before Jack was born!)

Moral of the Story: Ask around -- you may be four degrees of separation from the Dean.

lol...I really like the made-up names...Jack Shack, Med town.

 

[63768]

ahh if only it were this easy.

 

[Law2Doc]

To have connections....sigh...one can dream.

Just bear in mind that out of the thousands of applicants who get rejected each year, it is extremely rare for a rejection to be rescinded. Sadly, In most cases the best tactic tends to be to arrange a meeting with the dean to talk about how you can improve your application for next year, as a reapplicant. I think it is telling that all the examples described in this thread occurred over four years ago (as those applicants have since graduated from the med school). Given the rise in applications in recent years, the rescinded rejection scenario is probably even rarer now.

 

[astrife]

Maybe it's just me, but unless the rejection is extrodinarily out of place with regards to your stats, then does a school not have the right to reject anyone it wants (except with regards to the usual political correct stuff) for any reason it wants. It kind of defeats the point of the whole application system for people to contest the decisons made. The medical schools are really the rulers of their domains and there is not much a person can do about it. Try harder and apply again.

 

[RayhanS1282]

Just bear in mind that out of the thousands of applicants who get rejected each year, it is extremely rare for a rejection to be rescinded. Sadly, In most cases the best tactic tends to be to arrange a meeting with the dean to talk about how you can improve your application for next year, as a reapplicant. I think it is telling that all the examples described in this thread occurred over four years ago (as those applicants have since graduated from the med school). Given the rise in applications in recent years, the rescinded rejection scenario is probably even rarer now.

That's good advice. I did the same after I was placed on hold at Upstate and the admissions lady was very helpful and honest. However, not all school do this. I called Albany to ask and they said they were backed up and I should reapply. I could picture the lady's face once I told her this is my third time applying and being rejected from Albany.

 

[totalcommand]

LOL. I know a guy ... He didn't get a secondary from a school he really liked. 🙁 His pre-med advisor contested it for him. 🙂 He didn't get an interview 😡 - he contacted the Dean & asked that his application be given a second look. 🙄 His mother's college roommate was on the faculty so a few phone calls were made 😳 (3 degrees of separation) so that the Dean knew that this guy was "worthy" of a second look. 😎 He was interviewed & waitlisted. 😱 He wrote a letter of intent giving some personal reasons why he really wanted to attend. 😍

He graduated from THAT med school last Spring and went into a good residency.

excellent use of smiley faces.

 

[LizzyM]

Just bear in mind that out of the thousands of applicants who get rejected each year, it is extremely rare for a rejection to be rescinded. Sadly, In most cases the best tactic tends to be to arrange a meeting with the dean to talk about how you can improve your application for next year, as a reapplicant.
QUOTE]

Agreed. In this case, it was a decision not to invite the applicant to make a supplemental application that was recinded and later a decision not to interview that was recinded.

The guy was never declined admission. The Dean took the guy off the waitlist perhaps because he seemed to keep coming back -- really showed determination in wanting to matriculate at "Med-town".

 

[Mutt]

I worked with a doctor that contested his initial rejection at the med school where his undergrad was. This was pre-interview and he said the only reason they considered him was because he had really good numbers. I think it starts with a letter to the dean.

 

[audramill]

I worked with a doctor that contested his initial rejection at the med school where his undergrad was. This was pre-interview and he said the only reason they considered him was because he had really good numbers. I think it starts with a letter to the dean.

yeah... the doctor i worked with contested his rejection at northwestern medical school, where his girlfriend was accepted. and they changed their mind let him in! now married, both of them are practicing in california. 😍

 

[dreamcrusher]

You got rejected. Get over it and move on.

 

[jbrice1639]

You got rejected. Get over it and move on.

yeah, i can only imagine if i were on an admissions committee and got a letter from someone requesting an "unrejection" that i would probably just giggle a little and toss it in the trash. this process already takes the better part of a year, it will only get longer and worse if applicants start challenging decisions...

 

[RayhanS1282]

yeah, i can only imagine if i were on an admissions committee and got a letter from someone requesting an "unrejection" that i would probably just giggle a little and toss it in the trash. this process already takes the better part of a year, it will only get longer and worse if applicants start challenging decisions...

I agree. The best thing to do after a rejection is hopefully get an honest assessment from the admissions people if they are willing to spend the time.

 

[jbrice1639]

totally unrelated to anything...but i just noticed i have 500+ posts! man...i need to find a hobby...i just joined SDN the night april MCAT scores came out, there's no excuse to be posting that much....

 

[RayhanS1282]

totally unrelated to anything...but i just noticed i have 500+ posts! man...i need to find a hobby...i just joined SDN the night april MCAT scores came out, there's no excuse to be posting that much....

lol....now you can put that down as one of your ECs.

 

[prana_md]

If it's important to you, what could it hurt? The very worst that could happen is they could reject you again. But if you're just trophy-hunting, put your energy into the schools you still are being considered at.

PS - I love those freaky, seat-of-your-pants stories!

 

[BMW M3]

It couldn't hurt to fight a rejection once you are rejected... I mean whats the worst a school can do... reject you again?

Jbrice, maybe you should get out more?

haha .. i keeed, i keeed!

I'm averaging about 25 posts a week, so i should catch up pretty soon!

 

[BMW M3]

If it's important to you, what could it hurt? The very worst that could happen is they could reject you again. But if you're just trophy-hunting, put your energy into the schools you still are being considered at.

PS - I love those freaky, seat-of-your-pants stories!

1/2 a second faster than me... brilliant minds think alike!

 

[jbrice1639]

Jbrice, maybe you should get out more?

haha .. i keeed, i keeed!

I'm averaging about 25 posts a week, so i should catch up pretty soon!

dude...i wish i could...however, as long as i'm stuck in my office at work all day, i can at least close my door and sit on SDN and hope no one even remembers i work here so i don't get any new assignments... 😉