Did you have 'Backups' that did not give you an interview?

[mikeinsd]

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OK - before you read this - here is a preview from post 53... i am putting it up here so people see where this thread goes so people stop thinking i am just an a-hole🙂
disclaimer:
"i was sincerely trying to be helpful... but only to a certain group of people i suppose... my take home point being dont apply to a school unless you would seriously go there, because it seems like somehow they can tell if you are not too serious -

if i was doing it over again and had already read this post, i would have saved myself some money and cut out a few schools

that said
i see your point - i tried as hard as i could to explain myself clearly so as not to come off like a jerk, but in the end you are right. I have a number of friends with only one interview and one with none, and, as you point out, i would never talk about something like this with them, ever. If you knew me you would know i am not an ass, but with these forums you just see what i type, so it is hard to make that come accross.

so sorry if you were offended - that is not why i put up the post - but i see where you are coming from, so, sorry"

now back to the thread...

In the beginning I really had no idea how i would do in this whole application process, and I consider myself very lucky to have the interviews/aceeptances that i have, so please, dont take this the wrong way...

... but some of the lower tiered schools I applied to have not offered me an interview or have waited a long time to do so. I understand that they might be doing this because they are sick of people applying to them as back-up schools and then dropping them upon getting into a 'better' school. (I am not saying all the schools below did this, it is entirely possible that some of them just didn't like me).

this kind of bothers me because they basically took my money and didnt give me a chance... even though i understand why they would do this...

so my point here is this, I thought it might be helpful to put together a makeshift list of places you feel may have not gotten back to you simply because they thought you would likely not matriculate there... this way people might avoid wasting money by throwing them on your application list, like I did...

here is mine...

Einstein
Jefferson
NYMC (finally emailed me last week for an interview in march, which is pretty darn late)
Creighton

also never heard back from tuft or BU, but those are higher ranked schools and i applied there a little late, so they probably just didnt like me.

 

[Doc Martins]

Einstein as a "back up" ? Lol, maybe it's just a reach for me.

 

[ICCONFETTI]

einstein and jefferson are not really backups............

 

[swtiepie711]

I was a little surprised to be waitlisted by Loyola & George Washington and rejected flat out from Georgetown right away.

I figure they must have a reason - something lacking in my app, not what they're looking for in applicants this year, etc. I just don't know what the reason was 🙂

 

[StringerBell]

... but some of the lower tiered schools I applied to have not offered me an interview or have waited a long time to do so. I understand that they might be doing this because they are sick of people applying to them as back-up schools and then dropping them upon getting into a 'better' school.

this kind of bothers me because they basically took my money and didnt give me a chance... even though i understand why they would do this...

As much as you try to temper your comments about "backup" schools, there seems to be a little bit of paranoia involved. You're essentially saying that there are schools out there who think you're "too good" for them, so they're trying to enact revenge on you by making you wait or not responding to you at all?

I, of course, am in the opposite boat. I'm not a great applicant, and am eagerly awaiting any sort of positive response from a school. I'm more concerned about schools that don't do any screening of the AMCAS application and invite you to submit a secondary (and enclose a fee) when they have no intention of going forward with your application. For me, Stanford comes to mind on this list.

I congratulate you on the interviews/acceptances that you have received, but I do sincerely doubt that your backup schools are enacting a measure of revenge by making you wait and/or taking your money.

 

[kevster2001]

haven't heard anything from drexel or NYU...

 

[mikeinsd]

by no means am I using the term 'back up' to mean lesser - i know people at three of the 4 schools on my list and they each like the school they are at a lot... when i was applying i picked 8 schools whos average scores i was on par with, 8 school that had better averages than mine, and 8 with lesser averages than mine, assuming i would hear from the ones where i had better the average...

that was a long time ago, and I realize that schools look at a lot more than that, and i think some can look at an applicant and realize that they are not really excited about going to their school, for whatever reason. I feel like a few schools did this with me, and i am fine with that, because, it is true, they really were not my first picks...

If i knew they wouldnt even give me a chance, i wouldnt have bothered sending them my extra money, hence the point of this list

(i dont by any stretch of the imagination think they are mad at me/ enacting revenge as above - I just think they can see that I was not really excited about there school somehow, and I think that is a very good reason not to invite me, so actually i guess i agree with them... the point being for anyone else reading this, dont apply to a school unless you actually have an interest in going there, cause I think they can tell, at least sometimes)

loyola
george washington
georgetown
nymc
creighton
jefferson
einstein

 

[mikeinsd]

I'm more concerned about schools that don't do any screening of the AMCAS application and invite you to submit a secondary (and enclose a fee) when they have no intention of going forward with your application. For me, Stanford comes to mind on this list.

If you pick up a copy of the AMSAR, (it is the only book i used i dont know if this info is listed in the princeton/kaplan/other books) you will find that it tells for each school if they screen pre-secondary or not... so as much as I think it sucks that they do this and they do take peoples money, it is already public knowledge that they intend to do so, so it is up to each applicant to decide if they think it is worth the $$$ to try

 

[Doctor~Detroit]

gwu is notorious on sdn for rejecting ppl with high numbers post-secondary.

 

[foofish]

Damn double posting...

 

[foofish]

haven't heard anything from drexel or NYU...

Wow, NYU as a safety school? I'd steer clear of the massive NYU thread if I were you.

 

[cheesegirl]

TOTALLY! I got interviews where I wanted to go and none where I didn't! So from that perspective, it was good. But I wasted my $ on these schools with slightly lower than avg. numbers as "back-ups" (of course there is no back-up but you all know what I mean):

Creighton
Drexel
Jefferson (JUST got an interview invite but declined)
SLU
RFU

interesting process that's for sure...

 

[Law2Doc]

I understand that they might be doing this because they are sick of people applying to them as back-up schools and then dropping them upon getting into a 'better' school. (I am not saying all the schools below did this, it is entirely possible that some of them just didn't like me).

You are making a huge assumption as to why some schools passed on you, and I kind of doubt this is the most plausible understanding. For lots of schools a "good fit" is huge. What you said in your PS and essays makes a difference. It is entirely plausible that these so called "back-up" schools lost interest in you due to something in your app, rather than the inferiority complex approach you are bestowing on them. (Some schools may do this but it is really not likely all the schools on your list did). You also lost a bit of credibility for this argument when you listed Einstein (a top third ranked allo school, in a popular city), in your list of backups. I promise you that a number of the schools on your list will accept many people with equal to or better numerical credentials than you.

Because of the subjective, good fit, portion of med school applications, it is somewhat of a mistake for anyone to assume any school as a back-up. You can have better odds, but never a shoo in.

 

[mikeinsd]

your mention of SLU reinforces the fact that this is by no means a black and white issue - as I happened to get an interview invite from them...

but oh well since when did any of this make perfect sense?

 

[Davjc2009]

Somewhat related story, my friend's brother applied to Harvard Dental (if my memory serves me right) and didn't pay the fee. He got a letter in the mail saying he didn't pay his fee. Paid it by credit card... rejection letter at his house two days later. Oh the irony...

 

[alwaysaangel]

You are making a huge assumption as to why some schools passed on you, and I kind of doubt this is the most plausible understanding. For lots of schools a "good fit" is huge. What you said in your PS and essays makes a difference. It is entirely plausible that these so called "back-up" schools lost interest in you due to something in your app, rather than the inferiority complex approach you are bestowing on them. (Some schools may do this but it is really not likely all the schools on your list did). You also lost a bit of credibility for this argument when you listed Einstein (a top third ranked allo school, in a popular city), in your list of backups. I promise you that a number of the schools on your list will accept many people with equal to or better numerical credentials than you.

Because of the subjective, good fit, portion of med school applications, it is somewhat of a mistake for anyone to assume any school as a back-up. You can have better odds, but never a shoo in.

👍 👍

Definitely agreed. If you look on mdapps you'll find that a lot of people with high numbers do get interviews at those places. The SDN sentiment that back-ups reject people with high numbers because those people are too good for them and won't go there is really just a bunch of neurotic pre-meds making themselves feel better.

 

[mikeinsd]

You are making a huge assumption as to why some schools passed on you, and I kind of doubt this is the most plausible understanding. For lots of schools a "good fit" is huge. What you said in your PS and essays makes a difference. It is entirely plausible that these so called "back-up" schools lost interest in you due to something in your app, rather than the inferiority complex approach you are bestowing on them. (Some schools may do this but it is really not likely all the schools on your list did). You also lost a bit of credibility for this argument when you listed Einstein (a top third ranked allo school, in a popular city), in your list of backups. I promise you that a number of the schools on your list will accept many people with equal to or better numerical credentials than you.

Because of the subjective, good fit, portion of med school applications, it is somewhat of a mistake for anyone to assume any school as a back-up. You can have better odds, but never a shoo in.

perhaps you would like to to refer back to the portion of my original post that you actually quoted... "it is entirely possible that some of these schools just dont like me" I believe in what I said and I meant it. Nowhere do I claim to be a stellar applicant, there are tons of people on these boards with far better numbers than I... in fact I have been rather stunned by the opportunities I have had so far!

as far as einstein, I put that in my lower third 8 choices based only on numbers, because the fact is mine are a little higher, I am sure it is a great school...

I do not doubt for a second that many people with higher scores will go to some of these schools, and I am willing to bet many of them will have had a stronger desire than I (for any number of reasons) to do so.

so instead of showing up and trying to preach to me about how wrong i am, maybe read my post, understand what I am saying, and, if you arent really adding to the thread, dont bother 🙂

 

[QuantumMechanic]

You are making a huge assumption as to why some schools passed on you, and I kind of doubt this is the most plausible understanding. For lots of schools a "good fit" is huge. What you said in your PS and essays makes a difference. It is entirely plausible that these so called "back-up" schools lost interest in you due to something in your app, rather than the inferiority complex approach you are bestowing on them. (Some schools may do this but it is really not likely all the schools on your list did). You also lost a bit of credibility for this argument when you listed Einstein (a top third ranked allo school, in a popular city), in your list of backups. I promise you that a number of the schools on your list will accept many people with equal to or better numerical credentials than you.

Because of the subjective, good fit, portion of med school applications, it is somewhat of a mistake for anyone to assume any school as a back-up. You can have better odds, but never a shoo in.

right, no adcom has ever publicly come out and said, "our school will reject some of the better applicants since we think they won't come here." no adcom can truly know that an applicant is applying to their school as a backup or as a school where they really want to go.

 

[mikeinsd]

alwaysaangel - i thought you might want to know the only reason I started this thread was after reading your very helpful thread 'if i knew then what i knew now' which I would have added too but it seems pretty full of info at this point... One main sentiment is that you shouldnt apply to school that you wouldnt really want to go to - so i thought about the schools i applied to but didnt really feel excited about (some of the schools I mentioned above)

this is not a neurotic pre-med trying to feel better about myself, it is a neurotic pre-med who agrees with you and was only trying to be helpful, but people seem to take things the wrong way...

 

[Chulito]

You are making a huge assumption as to why some schools passed on you, and I kind of doubt this is the most plausible understanding. For lots of schools a "good fit" is huge. What you said in your PS and essays makes a difference. It is entirely plausible that these so called "back-up" schools lost interest in you due to something in your app, rather than the inferiority complex approach you are bestowing on them. (Some schools may do this but it is really not likely all the schools on your list did). You also lost a bit of credibility for this argument when you listed Einstein (a top third ranked allo school, in a popular city), in your list of backups. I promise you that a number of the schools on your list will accept many people with equal to or better numerical credentials than you.

Because of the subjective, good fit, portion of med school applications, it is somewhat of a mistake for anyone to assume any school as a back-up. You can have better odds, but never a shoo in.

👍 👍

Definitely agreed. If you look on mdapps you'll find that a lot of people with high numbers do get interviews at those places. The SDN sentiment that back-ups reject people with high numbers because those people are too good for them and won't go there is really just a bunch of neurotic pre-meds making themselves feel better.

Hmmm, but what if the people with high numbers have ties to those schools or their locations? I could imagine that a school like Rush, with a heavy preference for Illinois residents, would happily interview students with 40+ MCAT scores and 3.9 GPA from Illinois, but would hesitate to interview people from Boston, Seattle or anywhere in California with the same numbers. I don't mean to imply that I do or do not believe that Rush or any other schools do this. But it would be perfectly reasonable for them to do so, given that they want to minimize the number of offers they have to make in order to fill their class. Unusually high OOS numbers probably at least cause some suspicion that they are being used as a back-up school, and thus negatively influence their decision to invite people to interview.

 

[alwaysaangel]

alwaysaangel - i thought you might want to know the only reason I started this thread was after reading your very helpful thread 'if i knew then what i knew now' which I would have added too but it seems pretty full of info at this point... One main sentiment is that you shouldnt apply to school that you wouldnt really want to go to - so i thought about the schools i applied to but didnt really feel excited about (some of the schools I mentioned above)

this is not a neurotic pre-med trying to feel better about myself, it is a neurotic pre-med who agrees with you and was only trying to be helpful, but people seem to take things the wrong way...

People usual will take things the wrong way. But saying "don't apply to schools you aren't really excited about" is very different than "don't apply to too many back-up schools." The key is that "excited about" part. If you don't like the curriculum, mission, and general idea of a school - they're probably not going to find you a good fit either.

So people need to look closely into all aspects of a school before applying. Not just numbers. I guarantee you if a 'back-up' (meaning a school with average numbers much lower than yours) thought that your extracurriculars and future goals matched theirs then they would offer you a spot in no time. If you didn't get an interview from a back-up school you don't have to feel bad - it has nothing to do with your numbers being too good or too bad. They just didn't think you would be a good fit.

 

[pjl2505]

can we cut the OP some slack? he/she is not doing anything wrong and i don't find the post offensive in any way, yet people are attacking for some reason. nor does this person sound as if they think they are superior to these schools.

 

[alwaysaangel]

Hmmm, but what if the people with high numbers have ties to those schools or their locations? I could imagine that a school like Rush, with a heavy preference for Illinois residents, would happily interview students with 40+ MCAT scores and 3.9 GPA from Illinois, but would hesitate to interview people from Boston, Seattle or anywhere in California with the same numbers. I don't mean to imply that I do or do not believe that Rush or any other schools do this. But it would be perfectly reasonable for them to do so, given that they want to minimize the number of offers they have to make in order to fill their class. Unusually high OOS numbers are probably at least a factor in their decision to invite people to interview.

Again - its a better fit thing.

So yeah, use numbers for your preliminary screen and then look at the other aspects of the school.

Does their general mission and feel of the school match your goals? (e.g. some schools are very research oriented some arent. If you have tons of research and write about how you want to do research as a physician - those schools that aren't reseach driven aren't going to really consider you. You won't be happy there.)

Would you be happy there location-wise? And can you convince them of that...

Theres a million factors that are looked at before offering interviews. Numbers is just one of them. If soneome with high numbers matched the attitude of the schools, and seemed likely to go there based on location - I guarantee you they would interview that person.

 

[Chulito]

Theres a million factors that are looked at before offering interviews. Numbers is just one of them. If soneome with high numbers matched the attitude of the schools, and seemed likely to go there based on location - I guarantee you they would interview that person.

Agreed. But do you agree (as it appears that you do) that very good numbers COULD work against you being invited to interview at certain schools when taken along with all of those other factors?

 

[Frankie.A]

med schools overaccept because they know some people won't matriculate - this suggests that they interview everyone that interests them and don't pass on someone who is unlikely to come.

personally, i got interviews at some schools whose averages were higher than mine (suggesting that they were looking at something other than my #s) and didn't get interviews at some schools where i have "better" numbers (suggesting that they were looking at something other than my #s).

i think the only thing that not getting interviews at "back up schools" teaches is that there aren't any back up schools for anyone!! you should apply to a bunch of schools that you think would be a good fit for you and hope for the best through this very humbling process!

 

[mikeinsd]

But saying "don't apply to schools you aren't really excited about" is very different than "don't apply to too many back-up schools."

...don't think i ever said that, if i intimated it, and that is why people are offended, i didnt mean to. When I applied I didnt have the word 'back up' in my vocabulary. At the time i was thinking I had a small shot at california and would likely leave the state, I have been very lucky since, and am grateful for that.

i dont think it would be hard to imagine that someone at, say, jefferson, looked at my app, my semi-competative numbers (by no means great, do not get me wrong), and then see that I am from california and that I have no connection with Philly at all, and just from that decide they perhaps dont need to see me? If i was on an ADCOM i would do the same thing, and i think it is entirely justified...

and to pjl2505 - thanks, people taking things the wrong way is kind of becoming the norm on sdn - and it kind of gets on my nerves. I guess i expected it, which is why i am sitting here trying to calmy explain myself 🙂

 

[alwaysaangel]

Agreed. But do you agree (as it appears that you do) that very good numbers COULD work against you being invited to interview at certain schools when taken along with all of those other factors?

No I don't. I think if an adcomm had two applicants, both very similar ECs that match the schools ideals, very similar personal statements, and very similar future goals. But one had a 40 3.9 and the other had a 32 3.7. I think they would invite the 40 3.9 before the lower numbered person.

So I don't think the numbers work against you once all other factors are taken into account.

 

[mikeinsd]

med schools overaccept because they know some people won't matriculate - this suggests that they interview everyone that interests them and don't pass on someone who is unlikely to come.

i think that is surely an overstatement, if they interviewed everyone interesting they would never finish and it would take years to apply...

i agree with everything else you said though 😉

 

[notdeadyet]

No I don't. I think if an adcomm had two applicants, both very similar ECs that match the schools ideals, very similar personal statements, and very similar future goals. But one had a 40 3.9 and the other had a 32 3.7. I think they would invite the 40 3.9 before the lower numbered person.

I agree. I think where the folks with 40/3.9 get shot down is when they send in a secondary that is obviously boilerplate. Schools can get a pretty good idea if you're dialing it in. If you consider a school a lowly safety, don't bother to research it, and pursue an acceptance without passion, they can sometimes tell.

 

[mikeinsd]

If you consider a school a lowly safety, don't bother to research it, and pursue an acceptance without passion, they can sometimes tell.

to use jefferson as an example again, they have no secondary (it is just a do you have any relatives who went here? question and then send them the money) - i submitted it the day i got it, because it was that simple...

i would be curious as to how you would address such a situation?

and, btw, I never though about any school in the terms you used above - I have respect for anywhere, as long as they grant you the coveted MD, cause that is what it is about in the end anyhow...

oh and notdead yet - I just looked at your mdapps - congrats on getting that interview at UCSF, that is huge! They didnt like me enough, so I got a very nice letter after 8 weeks of checking the status page that said no thanks 🙁

 

[Law2Doc]

nor does this person sound as if they think they are superior to these schools.

I think the OP may have set the tone in a way he may not have intended with the use of the word "backups" in the heading, and this phrase, "I understand that they might be doing this because they are sick of people applying to them as back-up schools and then dropping them upon getting into a 'better' school." (even though he somewhat backed off this claim with respect to these specific schools in his parenthetical). Regardless of whether folks are misconstruing the OPs tone here, I think the take home message is clear-

There isn't really such a thing as a backup or safety. There are places where your odds are better. But as long as there are subjective components, you cannot really know how your application is going to be regarded.

 

[notdeadyet]

to use jefferson as an example again, they have no secondary (it is just a do you have any relatives who went here? question and then send them the money) - i submitted it the day i got it, because it was that simple...

Actually, there is the portion that reads:

"If there is any additional information you would like to provide please include it in the box below. (*** Please limit your response to 500 characters and do not cut and paste. ***)"

You can't write Moby Dick, but at least you can show that you did your homework.

 

[DblHelix]

You also lost a bit of credibility for this argument when you listed Einstein (a top third ranked allo school, in a popular city), in your list of backups.

Right on brotha'

Georgetown, GW, Einstein, NYU as back ups???

i think the only thing that not getting interviews at "back up schools" teaches is that there aren't any back up schools for anyone!! you should apply to a bunch of schools that you think would be a good fit for you and hope for the best through this very humbling process!

Very very true. 👍

 

[swtiepie711]

Georgetown, GW, Einstein, NYU as back ups???

I'll just clarify:

I didn't really pay much mind to when the OP said "back-ups." When I posted about GW/Georgetown/etc, I meant this:

When this process started, I was prepared for the worst. All of the pre-med horror stories of 40/4.0s getting rejected left me just praying for 1 interview, 1 acceptance (any more would be GREAT!). As a result, I applied broadly, in rank & region to schools I would be interested in attending.

Simply getting rejected from Georgetown and on hold at Loyola & GW didn't alarm or surprise me. It's just when you consider where I did get interviews, it seems kind of odd to have been rejected by others. Just to illustrate, I was put on indefinite hold post-secondary from Loyola; however, I was interviewed & accepted at WashU. It gives the illusion that this is a whole crapshoot.

HOWEVER, like I said above, I don't think it is. I think that blindly looking at what I said above might look crapshootish, but who knows what the school was looking for? Who knows if what I said in a secondary at WashU struck a chord where what I said for Loyola didn't ring true for them? You never know. I believe there is a reason we get rejected, waitlisted, not offered an interview, etc. I just think we might never know what it was about our apps that looked good to some schools & not as good to others.

Anyways, this is just my little 2 cents 😉

 

[mikeinsd]

don't put me in the same boat as the person who listed nyu - thinking that is a backup is insane

i guess i was wrong about jefferson - it was so long ago that i did the app that I plain forgot about the possible addition section... so you got me there

I really dont like the trend on sdn where people feel like they have to rip into or attack people (i am guilty of this myself I am sure, but who is perfect). It seems some people just love reading there own posts back to themselves more than paying attention to peoples actual intentions.

I am sorry if the term 'backup' pisses you off, and i think i did a decent job describing what it meant to me, so i am not sure why some people cannot accept that what i mean by that word is different than what another person might mean if they use it

if i wrote my own dictionary... backup (for me) = is a school that, after looking at it on paper, i was not extremely excited about, but that i certainly liked enough to apply to because I had better numbers and thought it would be good to apply to some schools where i would be above average

now - i agree with above, he took the ideas from my mouth - based on where I did get interviews (at some fairly decent schools) and where i didnt (many of the schools with lesser averages) i just thought it was interesting - i put plenty of effort into those secondaries, because at the time i had no idea i would be so lucky as to be where i am now...

the way you are using 'back up' is more like the term i would call 'safety' a school that you are just sure you can get in to - now those, i agree with you all - i do not think those exist

 

[maestro1625]

Actually, there is the portion that reads:

"If there is any additional information you would like to provide please include it in the box below. (*** Please limit your response to 500 characters and do not cut and paste. ***)"

You can't write Moby Dick, but at least you can show that you did your homework.

I'm about 90% sure that filling in that section got me an interview there. I really only put that Jeff was my only east coast school I applied to and that my cousin was a graduate, but it was clearly SOMETHING.

 

[Astrithir]

Hmmm, but what if the people with high numbers have ties to those schools or their locations? I could imagine that a school like Rush, with a heavy preference for Illinois residents, would happily interview students with 40+ MCAT scores and 3.9 GPA from Illinois, but would hesitate to interview people from Boston, Seattle or anywhere in California with the same numbers. I don't mean to imply that I do or do not believe that Rush or any other schools do this. But it would be perfectly reasonable for them to do so, given that they want to minimize the number of offers they have to make in order to fill their class. Unusually high OOS numbers probably at least cause some suspicion that they are being used as a back-up school, and thus negatively influence their decision to invite people to interview.

What if one is a Californian and just really wants to get out of the state? This is just a hypothetical question since I didn't apply to Rush. But I did apply to Jefferson -- my friend goes there and she loves the school. I had visited her a while ago and got a tour of UPenn and Jefferson, as well as downtown Philadelphia.

I applied to Jefferson as a "safety" -- a school that I would really love to go to, but one that I felt I had a good chance at getting into (as opposed to, say, Harvard). I haven't gotten an interview there. Why? Who the hell knows? I understand what the OP is saying, because I did find it surprising to have never heard from Jefferson when I got interview invites at "higher" places like Duke and Hopkins. *shrug* Maybe they just hated my extracurriculars, or they have a personal grudge against one of my recommenders.

 

[xylem29]

yea - i got rejected from cornell and bostonU

 

[mikeinsd]

yea - i got rejected from cornell and bostonU

...and then there are the people who completely miss the point...

 

[Stolenspatulas]

I got rejected from UCSF and stanford post-secondary.

jk, of course they weren't ''back-ups'' but if I get into Hopkins or Penn I'll refer to them as such 🙂

I was put on hold at UF early, but then after I talked to the director after some emailing I was given an interview. I ended up cancelling the interview after acceptances to Vandy and Pitt. so blah!

I think the best strategy for schools is to make sure ''overqualified'' applicants are serious about their school. Its stupid for them to make a gpa/mcat cut-off for awesome-number people. They should just make sure the applicant is sincerely interested. One way, as UF did, was to entice me to talk with the director. Too bad I still cancelled 😀

 

[deleted103644]

I'm a bit confused too because I've received invites to 4/5 of the Ivies I applied to plus a few other schools I'd be very happy with, but none from Drexel or NYMC. As I'm really not certain about getting an acceptance from the better schools, it would be nice to at least have an interview at places I might have a more certain shot.

 

[GoinBack2Cali?]

I'm from SoCal and no love from USC or UCLA

 

[Depakote]

SDN never ceases to amaze me with its sense of entitlement.

 

[Stolenspatulas]

SDN never ceases to amaze me with its sense of entitlement.

I agree that this thread is definitely abrasive and made in bad taste.

However, wouldn't you say that an applicant who has busted his/her a$$ in ugrad, got stellar recs, high mcat, high gpa, awesome ECs is at least somewhat entitled to expect an MD acceptance somewhere?

I agree that most SDNers can learn some humility (this is especially the case when I see "OMG I GOT ACCEPTED to _____ YAY!" threads which drive me nuts.......its got to be so damn painful for re-applicants to see some annoynmous person gloat). At the same time, if you feel you are deserving due to what you know medical schools tend to assess applicants on, then yes, I think its safe to say you deserve a sense of entitlement. From then on, its just logic. If you are getting interviews/acceptances at tougher schools to get into.... why wouldn't you be confused if a less reputable school doesn't want you?

 

[KaraKiz]

So what "back-up" schools did you guys apply to?

I guess I didn't apply to any back-up schools. I applied to 7 top ten/incredible schools, my state school, and Temple. I didnt have the money to apply to 36 schools will-nilly, and I didnt really want to go anywhere else. Yes, I am fully aware that this may very well screw me over. I'll reapply if it doesnt work out.

 

[Stolenspatulas]

So what "back-up" schools did you guys apply to?

I guess I didn't apply to any back-up schools. I applied to 7 top ten/incredible schools, my state school, and Temple. I didnt have the money to apply to 36 schools will-nilly, and I didnt really want to go anywhere else.

I sincerely didnt really apply to back-ups. I applied to top schools + my in-state school thats still difficult to get into (UF).

 

[kerplunk112]

ok medical schools arent stupid they know when a applicant has a 37 mcat and is applying to drexel that they may be the applicants backup school. i didnt hear from any of my "backup" schools and got invites/1 acceptance to my top 2 schools

 

[xylem29]

...and then there are the people who completely miss the point...

lol - no one got the joke?

 

[mikeinsd]

I agree that this thread is definitely abrasive and made in bad taste...

...If you are getting interviews/acceptances at tougher schools to get into.... why wouldn't you be confused if a less reputable school doesn't want you?

In response to the first bit - i find it hilarious that people get so angry by some of the things said here on sdn - look at all my posts in this thread, I have done nothing but explain and re-explain my position and my motivation for talking about this subject. I honestly do not think it was made in bad taste. I am not trying to put any school down or say that I should have gotten this or that... all I am saying is basically summed up in the second part of your comment perfectly - I dont think that it is such a stretch of the imagination to think that way...

but instead of paying attention to the motivation behind the thread, which was in essence to suggest people not apply to places they dont really want to go, people take things way out of context and get pissy, and I dont see a reason for that

 

[mikeinsd]

lol - no one got the joke?

sorry i saw it right when i got out of bed - my funny center hadnt woken up yet...

it is funny but good luck getting a joke in with this crowd - they are a little rough...