So a colleague of one of my parents is a member of the admissions board at one of my top choice med schools. When she heard I was applying she told me to send her a copy of my resume and transcripts, and she would get me an interview asap.
As it is my application is certainly at the average for acceptance at the school, if not higher, and there was no mention of pushing for an actual acceptance, just the interview.
What are the ethics of accepting her help? Is there any way that her trying to intervene could backfire on me and lower my chances? Is this sort of backchannel help common, especially for applicants with parents that know other physicians?
As it is my application is certainly at the average for acceptance at the school, if not higher, and there was no mention of pushing for an actual acceptance, just the interview.
What are the ethics of accepting her help? Is there any way that her trying to intervene could backfire on me and lower my chances? Is this sort of backchannel help common, especially for applicants with parents that know other physicians?