How do you find out status details from schools?

[Galen1]

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From reading this forum a lot of people say that if you're a relatively "late" applicant with good stats, you have to in a sense work your charm with the admissions people on the phone for them to review your application or for them to take notice of you... Now I don't know about anyone else, but whenever I call a school to check my status, it is usually office staff who are swamped with work who do not give room for any discussions to develop.

I've never attempted to establish a "rapport" with these people, because I realize they are very busy and I also don't feel like bothering the hell out of them. Can any of you share some ways that you can get more insight regarding application status??? It seems that every school I contact just tells me, "Your application is complete and you are under review". How can I even tell that it's been looked at!!! I'm stressed too, because for NYU for example, I know people who applied after me with much much lower stats have already gotten in without an interview.

Any help would be much appreciated... Every day that goes by I just get more and more depressed! I'm losing faith in the system fast!!!!

 

[PDizzle]

Well, that depends on what you really want to do. Do you just want to know the status because you're anxious and freak'n out? Or do you want to increase your chances of getting noticed/accepted by calling them and letting them know you are interested in their school.

If its the first thing,...don't call! I know waiting sucks, but just suck it up.

As for the second, I'm really not sure that there is anything you can do at this point. I know that annoying them is a very real possibility and you can hurt your chances by bugging them (especially NYU with all those apps!).

If you think there is an error in your app and that is the reason why you aren't getting a response, then call.

 

[Galen1]

Well that's the thing right, NYU is one of my top choices, I love the city and their facilities seem impressive. I'm also a fan of big classes, I'm used to it in undergrad and I like the competition of it all. How does one get that message through though!!! How can I let the adcom know that I'm not just another guy applying to NYU as a
back-up? (without pissing anyone off LOL)

 

[PDizzle]

Hmmmm...that's tough. I remember having great difficulty getting through to a "live" person at UCSF. Even if I did, I'm not sure what effect I could have made. When you do make it through and talk to someone, often it is someone with no direct control over your acceptance. I mean, it's not like they have your app right there and jot down notes about you. Maybe they do at NYU.

You might want to try to post this on the dental forums (current students, not dumb a$$ pre-dents, myself included) or PM someone who interviewed there.

Good luck, I know the wait if painful