II or R by nudging through an update

[r2med]

Have "A"s that I am very thankful for and will attend one of these if all others are "R". Still waiting to hear from a lot of schools. Early applicant to all schools. From other posts, I gather that there may be four piles of applicants after initial review: (a) Interview right now, (b) Interview eventually, (c) Interview if no one else available, and (d) Interview never. As I have not heard back from several, I am clearly not on Pile (a). If I am Pile (d) - no matter what I do - I am getting an R anyways. However, if I am on Pile (b) or (c), if I nudge them with an update, would that not help get closure either way? If they like the update - they move me to II. If they don't - they move me to R. Update is very good but not a pub yet (needs 6 to 12 months more work).

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[Med Ed]

What's your update?

 

[r2med]

What's your update?

A COVID-related project that can possibly be turned into early identifier other diseases. But currently just a college-level poster. Prof certainly in favor of pub but needs 6-12 months more work to be ready for pub. Clearly, it is not a very significant update at this time. However, instead of remaining in Pile (b) or (c), I would rather move to Pile (a) or (d).

 

[Goro]

A COVID-related project that can possibly be turned into early identifier other diseases. But currently just a college-level poster. Prof certainly in favor of pub but needs 6-12 months more work to be ready for pub. Clearly, it is not a very significant update at this time. However, instead of remaining in Pile (b) or (c), I would rather move to Pile (a) or (d).

Doesn't sound like it's going to move the needle.

Here’s one Adcom member’s thoughts on the matter:

“We only invite amazing students to interview. It is quite unlikely that further good deeds or achievements will have an effect since only the students who have already wowed us are interviewed.”

 

[Med Ed]

A COVID-related project that can possibly be turned into early identifier other diseases. But currently just a college-level poster. Prof certainly in favor of pub but needs 6-12 months more work to be ready for pub. Clearly, it is not a very significant update at this time. However, instead of remaining in Pile (b) or (c), I would rather move to Pile (a) or (d).

Update if you want, but I don't think it's going to nudge anyone to do anything.

If you upload the update directly through a school's online portal then it probably gets attached to your file but may not be noticed if your application has already been screened. If you email it to someone in admissions it will likely get attached to your application, but that won't necessarily trigger any type of special review of your materials.

At this point in the cycle schools are still swimming through thousands of applications, trying to disturb that workflow in your favor is a long shot.

 

[yuhh]

Doesn't sound like it's going to move the needle.

Here’s one Adcom member’s thoughts on the matter:

“We only invite amazing students to interview. It is quite unlikely that further good deeds or achievements will have an effect since only the students who have already wowed us are interviewed.”

i didn't mean to hijack OP's thread, but I was also wondering if I can update schools in case I'm in pile B or C. I figure the update won't hurt my case, only help if anything. I was named the head MA at my job and accrued 781 clinical hours since applying and will plan to end with over 2000 hours once I hopefully matriculate. Is this enough to update schools of?

 

[Med Ed]

i didn't mean to hijack OP's thread, but I was also wondering if I can update schools in case I'm in pile B or C. I figure the update won't hurt my case, only help if anything. I was named the head MA at my job and accrued 781 clinical hours since applying and will plan to end with over 2000 hours once I hopefully matriculate. Is this enough to update schools of?

Sure.

 

[r2med]

Why do people on sdn say in some places that there is still plenty of time, in some places that adcoms go through in piles, in some places that If you have not gotten II you are done? Very inconsistent advice because of the process or lack of knowledge?

 

[KnightDoc]

Why do people on sdn say in some places that there is still plenty of time, in some places that adcoms go through in piles, in some places that If you have not gotten II you are done? Very inconsistent advice because of the process or lack of knowledge?

Or maybe, because different people have different opinions, nothing is black and white, and even the relatively few people here who have actual, inside knowledge only have it for one school, and all schools are not the same?

Everything you just posted is true in one place or another. I can only imagine what it feels like to be in limbo for so many months, but this is the process. The simple fact is, you are very likely already rejected at some schools but will not find out until the end. At other schools, they might not even have looked at you yet. And, as you said in a prior post, at still other schools, you might be in a "maybe" pile as they wait to get through the rest of the apps before deciding what to do with you.

Assuming this is the case, at some places you are done and at others you still have plenty of time. Very inconsistent because you are in different pools at different schools, and are in a different relative position at each.

Just from looking at your posts, you were accepted at one school that is much higher ranked than another where you are WL, and they are both public schools in the same state. Explain the inconsistency there before you seek consistency in the advice regarding the process everywhere else, or think that people lack knowledge when they post!!!!

 

[r2med]

Or maybe, because different people have different opinions, nothing is black and white, and even the relatively few people here who have actual, inside knowledge only have it for one school, and all schools are not the same?

Everything you just posted is true in one place or another. I can only imagine what it feels like to be in limbo for so many months, but this is the process. The simple fact is, you are very likely already rejected at some schools but will not find out until the end. At other schools, they might even have looked at you yet. And, as you said in a prior post, at still other schools, you might be in a "maybe" pile as they wait to get through the rest of the apps before deciding what to do with you.

Assuming this is the case, at some places you are done and at others you still have plenty of time. Very inconsistent because you are in different pools at different schools, and are in a different relative position at each. Just from looking at your posts, you were accepted at one school that is much higher ranked than another where you are WL. Explain the consistency there before you seek consistency in the advice regarding the process everywhere else!!!!

So, SDN is just a time pass?

 

[KnightDoc]

So, SDN is just a time pass?

Not for me. Like you, I am pretty obsessive about the process and am trying to learn as much as I can before submitting next year. For others, they genuinely want to help. Still others troll, or brag, or neurotically seek advice on every little thing.

I'm not trying to suggest that it's a worthless time pass. I AM trying to suggest that the precise answer you seek to an imprecise process does not exist. You still haven't reconciled the divergent outcomes you received at three very similar schools where you received decisions after IIs with the consistency that you seek from the rest of your school list.

 

[r2med]

Even experts are giving different opinions in different threads. Anyways, I know just like in the medical profession, you go to four people - you will probably get eight diagnosis, I guess we have to live with what we have. And advise in SDN is the best we have available in the market

 

[Isoval]

Even experts are giving different opinions in different threads. Anyways, I know just like in the medical profession, you go to four people - you will probably get eight diagnosis, I guess we have to live with what we have. And advise in SDN is the best we have available in the market

Part of it is because schools don't all go through the admissions process the same way. At some schools, there certainly are several piles. At others, if your application slides past, you're done. It's not a homogenous process, which is why you often will get varying answers even from admissions members.

In this case, what's worth an update at x person's school may not be worth an update at y person's school. It depends on how often files are re-reviewed, how likely the clerical staff are to actually append your file, and a lot of other things that might even vary within the same institution.

Personally, I think this is worth an update, but whether or not it moves people to make a decision on you is up in the air.

 

[EdgeTrimmer]

Even experts are giving different opinions in different threads. Anyways, I know just like in the medical profession, you go to four people - you will probably get eight diagnosis, I guess we have to live with what we have. And advise in SDN is the best we have available in the market

Not every question is same so answers/opinions will be different Again, there is no point in trying to figure why you got an interview or Acceptance at a school and heard nothing from other schools. No one knows what percentage of applications each school reviewed and what exactly each school looks. Since you know that you applied to 33 schools and my kid applied to 20+ schools. SDN experts give advise based on what you post and but actual adcoms see you entire file so outcomes will be different and yes trying to figure out everything on SDN is waste of time

 

[r2med]

Agree but my point is when people categorically answer with "yes do that" or "no don't do that", and they are experts, they are answering for the most likely scenarios, no?

 

[KnightDoc]

Agree but my point is when people categorically answer with "yes do that" or "no don't do that", and they are experts, they are answering for the most likely scenarios, no?

Yes, but you have to allow for the possibility that they might be wrong. Most likely =/= guaranteed correct, unless they have seen your file, and your update, and control all the deciding votes on the adcom at whatever school you are asking about.

How many times have expert interviewers told nervous candidates that they will very likely be admitted, only to see the candidate later WL or R. Maybe they were just being polite, but that's unlikely if the comment was unsolicited. The answer is, even the experts only have an opinion, since admissions are subjective, only know what they value and think, and only have an insight into the process at their school.

Once again, you seek certainty in an inherently uncertain process and keep asking "black or white?" when the only answer is "grey"!!!!!

 

[r2med]

Yes, but you have to allow for the possibility that they might be wrong. Most likely =/= guaranteed correct, unless they have seen your file, and your update, and control all the deciding votes on the adcom at whatever school you are asking about.

How many times have expert interviewers told nervous candidates that they will very likely be admitted, only to see the candidate later WL or R. Maybe they were just being polite, but that's unlikely if the comment was unsolicited. The answer is, even the experts only have an opinion, since admissions are subjective, only know what they value and think, and only have an insight into the process at their school.

Once again, you seek certainty in an inherently uncertain process and keep asking "black or white?" when the only answer is "grey"!!!!!

If the only answer is gray, then SDN is definitely time pass. But I believe in the expert in SDN that most of them are experienced and are offering useful advice rather than gray-area.

 

[KnightDoc]

If the only answer is gray, then SDN is definitely time pass. But I believe in the expert in SDN that most of them are experienced and are offering useful advice rather than gray-area.

Great, so you know exactly what to do, what to expect, and what will happen with the rest of your cycle. Congratulations!!!

Ironically, I've had the opposite experience here. As time goes on and I learn more, I have come to realize that the "experts" who offer strong, unequivocal advice often are offering one-size-fits-all opinions that apparently work in their world, or at some time in the past, and is very hit or miss today, while other experts who offer more nuanced advice seem to have better idea of what they are talking. As with everything else on an anonymous forum, YMMV.

 

[EdgeTrimmer]

If the only answer is gray, then SDN is definitely time pass. But I believe in the expert in SDN that most of them are experienced and are offering useful advice rather than gray-area.

Again they are express their opinion based on their experience and also based on what you told them. They are not deciding authority at every medical school in the country so assuming that they are 100% correct is your fault You need to figure out which ones to take.

 

[r2med]

Anyways, I believe the answer to my question is - go ahead and submit an update. It may be reviewed or it may not be. It may be looked at favorably or it may be looked at unfavorably. It may result in II or it may result in R.

Similar to hurricane may come or may not come. If it comes it may come to Florida or to Texas or Louisiana. If it comes to one of these places, it may bring rain or wind. Rain and wind may be heavy or moderate or low.

I am not hearing a definite "it will result in R" like I heard when I asked a similar question earlier. Even if it does, I am anyways rejected till accepted, so I guess I got my answer. Thank you all.

 

[r2med]

Great, so you know exactly what to do, what to expect, and what will happen with the rest of your cycle. Congratulations!!!

Buddy - like I said, I am very thankful for my As from wonderful schools. So, yes, I know what will happen if all other schools reject. So, good luck with your application, whenever that happens.

 

[EdgeTrimmer]

Anyways, I believe the answer to my question is - go ahead and submit an update. It may be reviewed or it may not be. It may be looked at favorably or it may be looked at unfavorably. It may result in II or it may result in R.

Similar to hurricane may come or may not come. If it comes it may come to Florida or to Texas or Louisiana. If it comes to one of these places, it may bring rain or wind. Rain and wind may be heavy or moderate or low.

I am not hearing a definite "it will result in R" like I heard when I asked a similar question earlier. Even if it does, I am anyways rejected till accepted, so I guess I got my answer. Thank you all.

If your update looks frivolous and/or ridden with typos you may get a R However you seems to have enough material for an update and I would say go ahead and send the update.

 

[r2med]

If your update looks frivolous and/or ridden with typos you may get a R However you seems to have enough material for an update and I would say go ahead and send the update.

Is that 100%? No

 

[KnightDoc]

Is that 100%? No

Of course not. Nothing is ever 100%. I'm very sure some people have sent garbage updates that were never looked at, and they might have eventually had success. But it's as certain as anything in this process, given the extreme level of competition, that adcoms are looking for reasons to eliminate people from the pool, and frivolous, typo-ridden communications reflect pretty poorly on a candidate and are as good a reason as any to issue a R. If you don't think that's true, then you probably also think submitting poorly written essays isn't the end of the world either.

 

[EdgeTrimmer]

Is that 100%? No

I revised my comment to say you have enough to send an update but do with no expectations.

 

[r2med]

I revised my comment to say you have enough to send an update but do with no expectations.

Sorry to have replied before the edit. Thank you for your advice.

 

[gonnif]

The one thing I say about any communication that an applicant may have with a medical school, be it update or LOI, is that they are poorly written.
1) Be coherent and concise.
2) Be professional and grammatically correct
3) Please dont whine or beg, adcoms already know you want to come to school
4) Please have it proof-read by somebody else
5) have some actually content, be it a worthy update or several smaller ones
6) if you are writing an LOI, please make specific points related to why you are a fit for the school and why the school is a fit for you. Again, dont beg.

 

[r2med]

The one thing I say about any communication that an applicant may have with a medical school, be it update or LOI, is that they are poorly written.
1) Be coherent and concise.
2) Be professional and grammatically correct
3) Please dont whine or beg, adcoms already know you want to come to school
4) Please have it proof-read by somebody else
5) have some actually content, be it a worthy update or several smaller ones
6) if you are writing an LOI, please make specific points related to why you are a fit for the school and why the school is a fit for you. Again, dont beg.

Thank you for the pointers. Very useful

 

[Talldoctor96]

Even experts are giving different opinions in different threads. Anyways, I know just like in the medical profession, you go to four people - you will probably get eight diagnosis, I guess we have to live with what we have. And advise in SDN is the best we have available in the market

It’s because you’re asking the experts to generalize 150 MD schools that all have very different review processes. This idea of four “piles” is just a simplistic to generalization. I promise you those piles don’t exist at my school. The different advice you are seeing in different threats are because each applicant is different, each school is different.

 

[r2med]

It’s because you’re asking the experts to generalize 150 MD schools that all have very different review processes. This idea of four “piles” is just a simplistic to generalization. I promise you those piles don’t exist at my school. The different advice you are seeing in different threats are because each applicant is different, each school is different.

I understand. In your school, do you go back to each application or do you just never go back?

 

[gonnif]

Of course not. Nothing is ever 100%. I'm very sure some people have sent garbage updates that were never looked at, and they might have eventually had success. But it's as certain as anything in this process, given the extreme level of competition, that adcoms are looking for reasons to eliminate people from the pool, and frivolous, typo-ridden communications reflect pretty poorly on a candidate and are as good a reason as any to issue a R. If you don't think that's true, then you probably also think submitting poorly written essays isn't the end of the world either.

Just to add to this, an admissions director at one of the very top schools has told me on more than one occasion, medical admissions is a negative process. Any individual school must "reject" at least 80% of the applications pre-II. However, medical schools also work on making sure that every seat is filled. So taking my standard rule of thumb of 5000 applications per school with 1000 interview slots per school, generally reducing by 50% (5000 to 2500) is easy. However, now you have to reduce 2500 to 1000 slots. Often a large fraction of the leftover 1500 non II applicants are left on "hold," with rejections coming in April or never. All applicants start as unaccepted/rejected. As school is solely deciding acceptance and is under no obligation to notify you of any action other than an II or acceptance.

As for timing, reiterating @KnightDoc, there is no absolute timing figure here other than the general correlation that as the cycle goes on, your chances get reduced. While most II have been sent out, there will be a fraction (somewhere in the neighborhood of 10%-20%) in the aggregate of schools still be out passed the new year

 

[Talldoctor96]

I understand. In your school, do you go back to each application or do you just never go back?

It’s just a numbers game. Your file has a number. And the II threshold may change as the year goes along. I wouldn’t be surprised if it wasn’t a numbers game at most schools. I mean without rubrics and number systems this stuff wouldn’t be possible. A LOT goes into that number so your total score is very comprehensive. “Never go back” is strong but like you’re not gonna get a new score. Someone in admissions might take a glance at the score and the comments but they’re not gonna do a whole file review again.

 

[KnightDoc]

It’s just a numbers game. Your file has a number. And the II threshold may change as the year goes along. I wouldn’t be surprised if it wasn’t a numbers game at most schools. I mean without rubrics and number systems this stuff wouldn’t be possible. A LOT goes into that number so your total score is very comprehensive. “Never go back” is strong but like you’re not gonna get a new score. Someone in admissions might take a glance at the score and the comments but they’re not gonna do a whole file review again.

Put another way, what I'm pretty sure @Talldoctor96 is saying, and this is my understanding of how it works at other schools as well, is that all schools leave some IIs for people who are reviewed later, just so they don't miss excellent candidates who might have submitted late, but before the deadline, or who, for one reason or another, are reviewed late (maybe placed in a low priority pile, but then it turns out the app is really good once someone reads it).

As the cycle drags on, the adcom get more visibility into how many IIs are left, and whether a score that was good but not good enough in September or October is now good enough in December or January as they get closer to the end. So, it's not like they are reading your file again, or scrutinizing your update with a few extra hours of some activity and now deciding they have to meet you, but they are going back and calling people with top scores who missed prior II cutoffs. At some schools, this happens each and every time the adcom meets.

 

[gonnif]

It’s because you’re asking the experts to generalize 150 MD schools that all have very different review processes. This idea of four “piles” is just a simplistic to generalization. I promise you those piles don’t exist at my school. The different advice you are seeing in different threats are because each applicant is different, each school is different.

It’s just a numbers game. Your file has a number. And the II threshold may change as the year goes along. I wouldn’t be surprised if it wasn’t a numbers game at most schools. I mean without rubrics and number systems this stuff wouldn’t be possible. A LOT goes into that number so your total score is very comprehensive. “Never go back” is strong but like you’re not gonna get a new score. Someone in admissions might take a glance at the score and the comments but they’re not gonna do a whole file review again.

to extend this further, you have to go back further in the process to even get any high level generalization. And that would be:
1) some sort of initial screening/evaluation (mostly for "priority" of where you get placed in eval queue
2) then a full evaluation which has some sort of "summary / classification / scoring / recommendation" often referred to as the "cover / summary / top" sheet as it was the "top" sheet in a paper file
3) then a review for II, which can be by individual evaluators, a team (meaning recommendation power), a subcommittee (meaning voting power), or the full adcom.
All of the above could have strong formal policy and guidance or general / informal policies.

Even if an application is held after eval and review, it all depends on how many interview slots, how many acceptances (and PTE/CTE responses) and where you are in however than organize the holds, which could be anywhere from specific evaluation scores to high, medium, low or any system you can think of.

 

[Talldoctor96]

to extend this further, you have to go back further in the process to even get any high level generalization. And that would be:
1) some sort of initial screening/evaluation (mostly for "priority" of where you get placed in eval queue
2) then a full evaluation which has some sort of "summary / classification / scoring / recommendation" often referred to as the "cover / summary / top" sheet as it was the "top" sheet in a paper file
3) then a review for II, which can be by individual evaluators, a team (meaning recommendation power), a subcommittee (meaning voting power), or the full adcom.
All of the above could have strong formal policy and guidance or general / informal policies.

Even if an application is held after eval and review, it all depends on how many interview slots, how many acceptances (and PTE/CTE responses) and where you are in however than organize the holds, which could be anywhere from specific evaluation scores to high, medium, low or any system you can think of.

Yes at my school there is a committee for II, for interview, for final review and then the executive committee which votes. Its incredibly extensive. Agreed was just trying to give a simplistic view of an incredibly complex system. Which just furthers my point, and I agree with everything you say, That it is impossible to give general advice but the adcoms on here do the best they CAN.

 

[r2med]

It’s just a numbers game. Your file has a number. And the II threshold may change as the year goes along. I wouldn’t be surprised if it wasn’t a numbers game at most schools. I mean without rubrics and number systems this stuff wouldn’t be possible. A LOT goes into that number so your total score is very comprehensive. “Never go back” is strong but like you’re not gonna get a new score. Someone in admissions might take a glance at the score and the comments but they’re not gonna do a whole file review again.

Thanks. So I am scored. My score did not qualify for an interview when first scored. What scenario would my score magically qualify for interview at a later time?

 

[r2med]

Put another way, what I'm pretty sure @Talldoctor96 is saying, and this is my understanding of how it works at other schools as well, is that all schools leave some IIs for people who are reviewed later, just so they don't miss excellent candidates who might have submitted late, but before the deadline, or who, for one reason or another, are reviewed late (maybe placed in a low priority pile, but then it turns out the app is really good once someone reads it).

As the cycle drags on, the adcom get more visibility into how many IIs are left, and whether a score that was good but not good enough in September or October is now good enough in December or January as they get closer to the end. So, it's not like they are reading your file again, or scrutinizing your update with a few extra hours of some activity and now deciding they have to meet you, but they are going back and calling people with top scores who missed prior II cutoffs. At some schools, this happens each and every time the adcom meets.

I've seen this in at least one school's thread here (UCF) that they classify their WL in this fashion. Anyways, if this theory is correct for say a few or a bunch of schools, my theory of nudging with an update should help those candidates in the borderline, especially if there are say 10 applicants in the same score and the adcom needs to pick just one for the next available II slot. No?

 

[r2med]

to extend this further, you have to go back further in the process to even get any high level generalization. And that would be:
1) some sort of initial screening/evaluation (mostly for "priority" of where you get placed in eval queue
2) then a full evaluation which has some sort of "summary / classification / scoring / recommendation" often referred to as the "cover / summary / top" sheet as it was the "top" sheet in a paper file
3) then a review for II, which can be by individual evaluators, a team (meaning recommendation power), a subcommittee (meaning voting power), or the full adcom.
All of the above could have strong formal policy and guidance or general / informal policies.

Even if an application is held after eval and review, it all depends on how many interview slots, how many acceptances (and PTE/CTE responses) and where you are in however than organize the holds, which could be anywhere from specific evaluation scores to high, medium, low or any system you can think of.

The initial review is what I summarized in the original post as different piles. I am told it may exist or not. If it exists, it may exist in the form I described or not. I understand there is tremendous variability, but if they don't have a process like this, it will be near impossible (like @Talldoctor96 said) for adcoms to perform their function.

 

[r2med]

In general, we seem to be agreeing that each school has a scoring system. Yes?

 

[Talldoctor96]

In general, we seem to be agreeing that each school has a scoring system. Yes?

Yes every admissions from undergrad to grad and maybe even some high school uses a scoring system. Its just impossible without it.

 

[KnightDoc]

Thanks. So I am scored. My score did not qualify for an interview when first scored. What scenario would my score magically qualify for interview at a later time?

The scenario in which you are near the top of those who didn't make it, they get near the end of their reviews, and they realize they aren't going to have enough people at or above the prior cut off to fill the remaining slots, so they lower the cutoff and now you magically qualify if you are at or above the new cutoff.

 

[KnightDoc]

I've seen this in at least one school's thread here (UCF) that they classify their WL in this fashion. Anyways, if this theory is correct for say a few or a bunch of schools, my theory of nudging with an update should help those candidates in the borderline, especially if there are say 10 applicants in the same score and the adcom needs to pick just one for the next available II slot. No?

Only if they actually use the update to rescore your application, which very few schools actually do. An update will help if you haven't been reviewed yet. otherwise, in most cases, they are a placebo to make you feel better, but they don't help you get an II.

You have to understand schools literally interview hundreds to over a thousand candidates to fill anywhere between 50 and maybe 200 spots. No school is sweating picking a single person to interview out of 10. That dynamic happens to fill a single vacancy off the WL later in the cycle, but some schools interview literally dozens of applicants per day. They'd never need to pick just one. They wouldn't bother, since a few IIs one way or the other isn't going to move the needle on their cycle. If they have slots, they'd bring a bunch of people in, and telling them you virtually shadowed a few dozen extra hours, or submitted a pub as a 16th author isn't going to make the difference for anyone.

Updates can certainly help later to get you an A or move you off the WL, but that is another matter entirely, which is why some schools, like Stanford, don't even accept them pre-II. To be fair to everyone, most schools just base IIs on your app, rather than rewarding the neurotic among us who feel the need to update every time anything happens in their lives.

 

[r2med]

Only if they actually use the update to rescore your application, which very few schools actually do. An update will help if you haven't been reviewed yet. otherwise, in most cases, they are a placebo to make you feel better, but they don't help you get an II.

They can certainly help later to get you an A or move you off the WL, but that is another matter entirely, which is why some schools, like Stanford, don't even accept them pre-II. To be fair to everyone, most schools just base IIs on your app, rather than rewarding the neurotic among us who feel the need to update every time anything happens in their lives.

Update helping just before being reviewed makes no sense - sorry I am not trying to be rude - but I believe applications donot sit unreviewed for say 6 months prior to which no one has any (good) updates. Understand that may help more after WL but am contending your other statement

 

[KnightDoc]

Update helping just before being reviewed makes no sense - sorry I am not trying to be rude - but I believe applications donot sit unreviewed for say 6 months prior to which no one has any (good) updates. Understand that may help more after WL but am contending your other statement

Again, we'll have to agree to disagree. If you think everyone gets a fresh look every time they send something in, then the process never ends. I think an update received after a file is reviewed goes into a black hole, because, yeah, schools have thousands upon thousands of apps to get through, and once you are reviewed your app sits untouched until you receive an II or an R. You don't get a new review every time you send them something.

You don't believe me? I see from your sig you are still waiting on 19 apps. Feel free to send an update and see what happens. My bet is nothing will happen that wasn't going to happen anyway, but it won't cost you anything to try, and maybe you're right and I'm wrong.

 

[r2med]

Again, we'll have to agree to disagree. If you think everyone gets a fresh look every time they send something in, then the process never ends. I think an update received after a file is reviewed goes into a black hole, because, yeah, schools have thousands upon thousands of apps to get through, and once you are reviewed your app sits untouched until you receive an II or an R. You don't get a new review every time you send them something.

No. You are not getting the point. Imagine this scenario : There are 100 applications and 1 interview slot. I am the only one with an update. All others are still with original app only. So...

 

[r2med]

Again, we'll have to agree to disagree. If you think everyone gets a fresh look every time they send something in, then the process never ends. I think an update received after a file is reviewed goes into a black hole, because, yeah, schools have thousands upon thousands of apps to get through, and once you are reviewed your app sits untouched until you receive an II or an R. You don't get a new review every time you send them something.

You don't believe me? I see from your sig you are still waiting on 19 apps. Feel free to send an update and see what happens. My bet is nothing will happen that wasn't going to happen anyway, but it won't cost you anything to try, and maybe you're right and I'm wrong.

Or your score is 90, your update makes your score 92, with no need to recheck your entire file.

 

[KnightDoc]

No. You are not getting the point. Imagine this scenario : There are 100 applications and 1 interview slot. I am the only one with an update. All others are still with original app only. So...

I'm getting the point. I'm saying there is never just one interview slot. No school cares whether they interview 576 people or 577.

 

[KnightDoc]

Or your score is 90, your update makes your score 92, with no need to recheck your entire file.

No, your update score is still 90, because to make it 92 means someone has to recheck it and rescore it, which doesn't happen. I see you don't believe me, so ask @Talldoctor96, or anyone else on the inside who actually sees this every year. He already said as much in a prior post!!!

 

[r2med]

No, your update score is still 90, because to make it 92 means someone has to recheck it and rescore it, which doesn't happen. I see you don't believe me, so ask @Talldoctor96, or anyone else on the inside who actually sees this every year. He already said as much in a prior post!!!

I have got nothing for or against you. In fact, your SDN-based knowledge is much higher than mine. And my arguments are not with you or about your statements at all. So, don't get me wrong. I am not sure if anyone ever said anything with clarity on scoring after an update. They did say adcoms don't have time to recheck every application. They said some updates may not get checked at all. But at least I have no memory of reading how an update is used if and when it is actually reviewed. If not used at all, the schools should be kind enough to say (like some of them actually do) - "No Updates allowed Period".

 

[r2med]

I'm getting the point. I'm saying there is never just one interview slot. No school cares whether they interview 576 people or 577.

IMHO, late in the cycle 10s of interview slots do not normally open up, but let's say there are 10 and there are 100 applications, my theory still holds the same status. One with update will get the spot (assuming the update is meaningful, of course).