Dartmouth?

[Crimson doc]

I interviewed the week before thanksgiving, and heard back today through snail mail (everything they do is in snail mail).

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[Doublecortin]

Interviewed Dec. 4th. Got flushed via snail ail today

ouch, dude!!

I think Dartmouth really likes to reject people rather put on the wait list.

 

[ziggy793]

Interviewed 1/3... accepted snail mail 1/22! I am shocked!!! My stats are not amazing (decent MCAT, strong GPA), but I think having nice, heart felt conversations with my interviewers helped a lot... as corny as that sounds, it worked!

There is hope!!! Good luck everyone

 

[Jamorama]

wow congrats guys....i interviewed in september and have yet to hear from them...

 

[hp540]

Interviewed 1/3... accepted snail mail 1/22! I am shocked!!! My stats are not amazing (decent MCAT, strong GPA), but I think having nice, heart felt conversations with my interviewers helped a lot... as corny as that sounds, it worked!

There is hope!!! Good luck everyone

That's an amazingly fast turn-around time.

Congrats.

 

[ziggy793]

That's an amazingly fast turn-around time.

Congrats.

thanks... it really feels so nice to feel loved And the irony is, I'm not getting much love from the med school/hospital I work in now... oh well, can't really complain much! Time for a change of scene.

 

[1956Goldtop]

This is strange. I interviewed in late October/ early November and still have not heard anything either way. I guess no word is better than a word of rejection though.

 

[dienekes88]

Interviewed 1/3... accepted snail mail 1/22! I am shocked!!! My stats are not amazing (decent MCAT, strong GPA), but I think having nice, heart felt conversations with my interviewers helped a lot... as corny as that sounds, it worked!

There is hope!!! Good luck everyone

Congrats! I loved Dartmouth when I interviewed.

 

[Doublecortin]

Interviewed 1/3... accepted snail mail 1/22! I am shocked!!! My stats are not amazing (decent MCAT, strong GPA), but I think having nice, heart felt conversations with my interviewers helped a lot... as corny as that sounds, it worked!

There is hope!!! Good luck everyone

hey I interviewed 1/3 too, congrats! who were you?

 

[neurofreak]

can someone who remembers their applicant rating system explain it to me again? i vaguely remember dean welsh talking about it, but i forget the details...

 

[[pj]]

can someone who remembers their applicant rating system explain it to me again? i vaguely remember dean welsh talking about it, but i forget the details...

When I was there, the admissions director said he'd try to explain it, but it's wayyy to complicated.

And congratulations to those accepted!

 

[mocha_lvr]

I sort of remember. They discuss our file and our interview and then all of the committee members give us a number. Then those numbers and crunched through some kind of formula to give us a number like a batting average. If you have .800 or higher you are automatically accepted. If you are close, like .780 or something, then you are offered a place on the wait list. But I remember she said something about, if not enough people were over the .800 bar, then it may be lowered until they've accepted enough people. Something like that, right?

 

[1956Goldtop]

Has anyone else interviewed in late october/early november and not heard anything back yet? Since they do everything snail-mail, I wonder if they sent my rejection and it just got lost!

 

[Jamorama]

nope...like i said..i interviewed SEPTEMBER and still haven't heard anything

 

[ziggy793]

Did those of you who were accepted get a little welcome and congratulations note from Andy Welch? I thought it was so personal.

 

[SnoPearl]

Did those of you who were accepted get a little welcome and congratulations note from Andy Welch? I thought it was so personal.

Haha I got that, but he seemed really rushed in writing mine. Instead of starting off with "Congratulations!".... it said "Community!". I swear, I didn't just read it wrong. I kept re-reading the first line because I couldn't understand why it said community haha.

 

[Bonsai]

SnoPearl, that's hilarious. It just made me go back and read my note to see if there were any questionable word choices. My note was from Joseph Schwartzman, not Andy Welch, but that makes sense because Dr. Schwartzman was actually one of my interviewers.

I have to admit, the personal note is right up there with the funny Michigan video in showing off the personality of the school. But, Michigan did send me a birthday e-card, so they might have pulled into the lead...

 

[neurofreak]

Has anyone else interviewed in late october/early november and not heard anything back yet? Since they do everything snail-mail, I wonder if they sent my rejection and it just got lost!

yep, i interviewed in october and haven't heard a peep from them. i'm also kind of worried that i may have had a rejection letter lost in the mail i'm debating on whether to send a LOI, but i'm not sure if it would make any difference at this point...

 

[lorfour]

yep, i interviewed in october and haven't heard a peep from them. i'm also kind of worried that i may have had a rejection letter lost in the mail i'm debating on whether to send a LOI, but i'm not sure if it would make any difference at this point...

I totally know the feeling. I was interviewed in early October and I haven't heard a thing. If you call, they will tell you whether they are "still reviewing" your file.

I am also debating a letter of intent/update letter. I feel like my interviews really didn't go all that well, so I am not sure that it will help, but....I guess it can't hurt. Have you heard of anyone who has said that a LOI helped?

 

[neurofreak]

bump

 

[ruraldr]

any of you want to take up some of your time waiting to hear by lending thoughts on your actual interview day experience to an upcoming interviewee?

The interview feedback database is a little light on info about this from this season.

Any thoughts/feedback would be appreciated.

 

[bola]

I totally know the feeling. I was interviewed in early October and I haven't heard a thing. If you call, they will tell you whether they are "still reviewing" your file.

I am also debating a letter of intent/update letter. I feel like my interviews really didn't go all that well, so I am not sure that it will help, but....I guess it can't hurt. Have you heard of anyone who has said that a LOI helped?

I am currently a first year student at Dartmouth and I got off the waitlist on May 16th(yes, I remember the date and could tell u the time too...). Andy Welch specifically referred to my LOI during the phone call. I know you're hoping you don't end up on the waitlist and I hope you don't have to go thru that too but just letting you know that Dartmouth actually appreciates interest letters.

 

[RySerr21]

any one read The Scalpel and the Silver Bear by Lori Alvord? i believe shes the associate dean of minority and student affairs now at dartmouth...

its a pretty amazing book. i reccommend the read!

 

[ziggy793]

any of you want to take up some of your time waiting to hear by lending thoughts on your actual interview day experience to an upcoming interviewee?

The interview feedback database is a little light on info about this from this season.

Any thoughts/feedback would be appreciated.

I'd be happy to share! This is the exact schedule:
Interview Day Schedule

8:45-9:00 Check in Time
​

9:00-10:30 Group Session
​

Admissions & Financial Aid
​

10:40-11:00 Shuttle to Medical Center
​

• • 11:00-12:30 Student Led Tour of the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center and Lunch
    ​

1:00-3:30 Two Half-Hour Interviews
​

3:30-4:00 Student Led Tour of the Hanover Campus

You have some downtime after the tour until you interviews start so you lounge around in the lobby area of the admissions office. There are two fireplaces which is nice. All of the staff are very pleasant so strike up a good conversation!

The interview itself is very casual and more of a conversation to get to know you. I did not get any ethic questions or pressure questions. One interviewer made fun of the pressure questions and flat out said she is not like that and explained how she interviews so there were no surprises.

Nothing out of the norm basically. Years 1 and 2 are spent primarily on the Hanover (University) campus and 3 & 4 are spent at the hitchock medical center-- hence the two tours. Not too much student interaction, but you might bump into a few. The tours are usually given by students.

There is ice/snow lingering around in the area and it is cold (it was 9F when I went). I suggest bringing flats for the tour and in case you have to walk outside to your interview. Or, bring some boots/sneakers. No one cares if you are wearing boots because they wearing heels in snow would not be a good idea! Bring gloves, scarf, hat, and warm jacket! That is about all.

And, GPS does not track a lot of the area so make sure you scope out the area early on if you can.

 

[ruraldr]

thanks Ziggy.

any thoughts on what you liked the best/least about the school from your experience?

 

[ziggy793]

thanks Ziggy.

any thoughts on what you liked the best/least about the school from your experience?

A few of my personal thoughts...
Pros:
Small class, very intimate setting. Staff know students well and you know the entire community-- not just school. As my interviewer said, a 5 min trip to the grocery store always turns into a 1 hr run since you always bump into someone you know and end up gabbing.

Strong Matches

More faculty for students since such a small class size

Beautiful area-- it is breath taking. After living in the city for a while, I find myself wondering why I look outside and see nothing but streets and gray buildings as opposed to nature and clear skies.

Recreation-- lots of outdoors sports to stay healthy rather than being a gym rat. I am bored of the elliptical machine and would rather go boating or hiking any day.

Hospital is new, bright, and the on call rooms are SO CUTE. There are little single on call rooms for both med students and residents with unique quilts in each room. It's very personal and doesn't feel cold and sterile.

Cons:
Location- it is far from big towns. However, you have everything you need. I am just not looking forward to driving 4 hrs during holiday rushes and if an emergency arose at home. But, on the flip side, its beautiful and relaxing.

Older facilities- the facilities are old, but well kept. Even though it is old, it is very clean -- cleaner than the newer facilities where I work which is a very popular school too. I guess its bc its rural in Hanover.

Weather- C O L D!! And, longer winter. But, you drive most places so it is different from walking 20 min outside in an urban city area in the NE area.

Social scene- for ppl who are single, it may be harder to meet people as its not really a big bar area or night life town. However, do people ever really meet significant others there anyway? Maybe for some quick frills and mingling, but the bar scene to me is basically that.

Good luck! Feel free to PM me.

 

[lacrossefiend73]

Does anyone know the name of anyone like the Dean of Admissions that I could send an update letter to? I would love to interview at Dartmouth and figured this might be my last chance. Is there a specific person to send it to, or do I just address it to the admissions office?

 

[ziggy793]

Does anyone know the name of anyone like the Dean of Admissions that I could send an update letter to? I would love to interview at Dartmouth and figured this might be my last chance. Is there a specific person to send it to, or do I just address it to the admissions office?

Andrew Welch is the director of admissions. He gave us the introduction talk.

 

[lacrossefiend73]

Andrew Welch is the director of admissions. He gave us the introduction talk.

Thanks... I dunno how much this letter will help, but its a last ditch effort.

 

[physicsnerd42]

Thanks... I dunno how much this letter will help, but its a last ditch effort.

DMS interviewed until about a week into April last year, so you've still got a shot. Remember that DMS gets about 5000 applications for 73 spots, so if you submitted your secondary and letters a bit later in the app season, they may just not have to gotten to your file yet in the admissions office.

Good luck!

 

[lacrossefiend73]

DMS interviewed until about a week into April last year, so you've still got a shot. Remember that DMS gets about 5000 applications for 73 spots, so if you submitted your secondary and letters a bit later in the app season, they may just not have to gotten to your file yet in the admissions office.

Good luck!

I've been complete since mid-Sept., so just about 4.5 months now. I just finished writing the letter and will send it off tomorrow... hopefully it at least gets me looked at again. My MCATs not the greatest so I can see why I would be skipped over... but I think there are plenty of other things in my application that would make up for it.

 

[dienekes88]

I'm pretty sure Dartmouth has their meetings every other Thursday. I'm pretty sure the next one is... tomorrow. *cue intense music*

 

[yojustice]

BAH! Do they send out decisions every two weeks? Or do they just calculate your numerical "score"?

 

[neurofreak]

just curious, but how many of ya'll have sent an update letter/letter of interest to them?

 

[Vihsadas]

I'd also love to know if there are any late DMS applicants out there (ie complete November or later) who received recent news, whether a rejection or an interview invite. I was complete in late November and still nothing yet.

Me too. Still heard nothing...complete around Nov.

 

[sirrileydog]

just curious, but how many of ya'll have sent an update letter/letter of interest to them?

so, i wrote 1/2 a dozen thank yous to people i interviewed with at the program i'm not sure that stuff matters until you get waitlisted or denied.

i called in to ask about decisions statuses and was told that the're a big committee meetig February 4 to look at the whole bunch of resent interviews in 2008. she said that they'd mail stuff out at the end of the week. i'm thinking Feb 7th is giong to be a bigger day in the dartmouth mail room.

 

[mocha_lvr]

so, i wrote 1/2 a dozen thank yous to people i interviewed with at the program i'm not sure that stuff matters until you get waitlisted or denied.

i called in to ask about decisions statuses and was told that the're a big committee meetig February 4 to look at the whole bunch of resent interviews in 2008. she said that they'd mail stuff out at the end of the week. i'm thinking Feb 7th is giong to be a bigger day in the dartmouth mail room.

"Resent interviews in 2008"? Does that mean that if we interviewed recently they will be making a decision on us? Or only people who interviewed since the new year? I guess I am just confused by what you mean here...

 

[wjustice]

"Resent interviews in 2008"? Does that mean that if we interviewed recently they will be making a decision on us? Or only people who interviewed since the new year? I guess I am just confused by what you mean here...

My guess is that it's a committee meeting for the people who interviewed most recently (in Jan. 2008) to get scored by the committee. At least that's how I interpretted it after thinking about it for a while.

I wonder if the "no news is good news" adage still holds true. I've had three months of no news, and I almost want to call the admissions office and ask if no news really is still good news. But I also don't want to be a pest.

Moch lvr. . . do you check out the Dirt Cowboy Cafe when you were there? I thought they had pretty good coffee.

 

[mocha_lvr]

My guess is that it's a committee meeting for the people who interviewed most recently (in Jan. 2008) to get scored by the committee. At least that's how I interpretted it after thinking about it for a while.

I wonder if the "no news is good news" adage still holds true. I've had three months of no news, and I almost want to call the admissions office and ask if no news really is still good news. But I also don't want to be a pest.

Moch lvr. . . do you check out the Dirt Cowboy Cafe when you were there? I thought they had pretty good coffee.

Ha ha...nope I didn't get a chance to check that place out--had to settle for hotel coffee.

So what about people who interviewed before January and still haven't heard back? I don't understand why some people hear back right away and others do not.

 

[neurofreak]

Ha ha...nope I didn't get a chance to check that place out--had to settle for hotel coffee.

So what about people who interviewed before January and still haven't heard back? I don't understand why some people hear back right away and others do not.

im also in the same boat. im pretty sure the ones who haven't heard back right away didnt have the "score" to beat the threshold for acceptance, but also didn't have a low enough score to be rejected right away. it looks like we're sitting somewhere in the middle (ugh, story of my med school application life!)

 

[neurofreak]

on another note, i was searching the web and found this article:

http://dartmed.dartmouth.edu/spring00/html/vs_admissions.shtml

it's a little old, but it gives some info as to dartmouth's admission selection process.

 

[wjustice]

im also in the same boat. im pretty sure the ones who haven't heard back right away didnt have the "score" to beat the threshold for acceptance, but also didn't have a low enough score to be rejected right away. it looks like we're sitting somewhere in the middle (ugh, story of my med school application life!)

Yeah, I'm not too surprised to be in the middle. I guess I just wish I knew what percentage of applicants exceed the initial threshold for acceptance. I remember getting the impression that it was fairly low listening to Andrew Welch. . . I was guessing 25% of acceptances would go out to people exceeding the initial threshold. I wish I could get a hold of that number, just a ballpark figure, but I suppose the threshold changes each committee meeting anyway.

 

[mocha_lvr]

on another note, i was searching the web and found this article:

http://dartmed.dartmouth.edu/spring00/html/vs_admissions.shtml

it's a little old, but it gives some info as to dartmouth's admission selection process.

Thanks for posting that article man! Say, the part about them selecting a batch of applicants to present to the committee...what??!! Don't they go over all of us after the interview? Maybe I'm just being paranoid, but I don't understand how that would work...

 

[SnoPearl]

Thanks for posting that article man! Say, the part about them selecting a batch of applicants to present to the committee...what??!! Don't they go over all of us after the interview? Maybe I'm just being paranoid, but I don't understand how that would work...

I'm thinking that it just means that they don't necessarily go in chronological order of interviews. One day they'll pull this bunch of people, the next day they'll pull a different bunch.

 

[neurofreak]

I'm thinking that it just means that they don't necessarily go in chronological order of interviews. One day they'll pull this bunch of people, the next day they'll pull a difference bunch.

Hmm this is interesting. Have there been a lot of post-interview rejections from October/November interviewees?

 

[mocha_lvr]

I'm thinking that it just means that they don't necessarily go in chronological order of interviews. One day they'll pull this bunch of people, the next day they'll pull a different bunch.

That seems kind of strange...and inefficient. I wonder why they do it that way?

 

[Dayne]

Hey mocha_lvr, I interviewed on the same day as you at Dartmouth (Dec 13). And I recall talking to someone during that day that was from Minnesota....

And I haven't heard from Dartmouth either. The waiting game just sucks.

 

[mocha_lvr]

Hey mocha_lvr, I interviewed on the same day as you at Dartmouth (Dec 13). And I recall talking to someone during that day that was from Minnesota....

And I haven't heard from Dartmouth either. The waiting game just sucks.

I'm pretty sure I was the only one from MN that day. Yes the waiting is definately hard. In all honesty I don't really think I have a shot at getting in, but I'm just anxious to know the final decision. If you get word, please post ok? Good luck to you!!

 

[kanu9]

Hi
I have applied to Dartmouth. My file was complete in the middle of october. I have not heard anything. Is that normal for Dartmouth! Also are there any non trads interviewing/interviewed there. I am a non trad with PhD and my MCAT is not great(27) but my GPA is 3.81 and 5 pubs. and 4 years of post doc research. Anyone with similar background applied to Dartmouth?

 

[Inuranic]

Hi
I have applied to Dartmouth. My file was complete in the middle of october. I have not heard anything. Is that normal for Dartmouth! Also are there any non trads interviewing/interviewed there. I am a non trad with PhD and my MCAT is not great(27) but my GPA is 3.81 and 5 pubs. and 4 years of post doc research. Anyone with similar background applied to Dartmouth?

I don't want to be too discouraging, but with an application later in the season and your MCAT score, I wouldn't put much stock in interviewing at Dartmouth (especially if you haven't heard anything by now). The effect of advanced degrees on the admissions process as been discussed endlessly here, so I won't touch on it. Where else did you apply? Have you had any other interviews?