Has anyone who is applying for the first time introduced themselved to adcoms?

[Tofurkey]

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Hello,

I am a first-time applicant who is applying this June. My pre-med advisor suggested that since I'm only applying to the Chicago schools, I make appointments with the adcoms before I apply--like in April or May--and introduce myself, because she said that having a face to match with an application before the whole process starts can only be a positive in my favor.

However, if this was the case I'd think all applicants would be doing this.

Has anyone tried this--chatting with an adcom and asking them, "what do you look for in a competitive applicant" before applying for the first time? I know it's common for people who are rejected to ask the adcoms why they were rejected.

Thanks,

Tofurkey

 

[Paws]

Well, when I first started this journey I took alot of advice literalyy and I actually did call and email different Admissions Directors directly. I know, I didn't know any better ...

What happened is that NO ONE ever responded. Ok, so maybe I didn't call/write too many schools but my top school (UMinn) didn't even reply at all. Ouch.

Your experience might be different especially if you have some sort of "in" at the school. But don't take it personally if no one responds. 7,500 applicants can take alot of time to sift through and so a humble pre-med pre-applicant might not even get up to bat.

 

[youcandoit]

a better idea might be to see if any of the schools are coming to your undergrad school or to a nearby undergrad school or post-bac program to make a presentation. The contacts I made at these presentations (just going up to the school representative afterwards, introducing yourself and perhaps asking a question if you have one) were very helpful. Also, some schools might have open houses for prospective applicants and this was useful too. There were at least 4 instances of "Oh, I remember you from our (visit/presentation/open house) on x/03" and I think it helped.

youcandoit.