Interview Myths

[dpark74]

Just got off the phone with the medical school admissions chair at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and she told me some interesting stuff. (I called since I graduated in '96 and wanted to describe my situation.)

The timing of interviews is not that important, even for rolling admissions (at least within the first few months sept-nov). She said that once they interview a certain number of people, then then the committee reviews many files at a later date for a final decision. So...she said if you interviewed in Sept. you may not receive a decision letter until December! (of course she said that it ultimately depends on the school, but that it was what she found to be a normal procedure.)

I hope she is wrong because I just had my interview at UIC yesterday and felt satisfied with it. I would love to go there but I've heard that even a great interview may not grant you admission. (Who knows about this whole process? not rhetorical, respond if you feel the need to.)

Anyway, I will be camping out in front of my mailbox until the 15th of October. Some may call the police, though, since I live in an apartment complex.

On a side note: As for everyone else complaining that this SDN network is getting boring, understand that not everyone in this world has the charm, sense of humor, and personality that you all claim to have. It takes more than a line or two to make a person. I hope you don't judge your patients in the same way, i.e. on the first impression.

 

[Mixmaster]

hey, congrats on the uic interview.. would you mind sharing your stats.. Im curious to whether or not they only interview high number people in the beginning.
thanks!

 

[kaos]

Originally posted by dpark74

The timing of interviews is not that important, even for rolling admissions (at least within the first few months sept-nov). She said that once they interview a certain number of people, then then the committee reviews many files at a later date for a final decision. So...she said if you interviewed in Sept. you may not receive a decision letter until December! (of course she said that it ultimately depends on the school, but that it was what she found to be a normal procedure.)

I actually heard kind of the same thing. The admissions office guy @ GW told me when I went to the interview that those people who get interviewed in Sept. in a school that does rolling admissions are much more likely than those interviewed in Nov-Dec to be accepted. Those interviewed in the winter are usually the wait-list people.

 

[katem]

wait a minute - kaos and dpark74 have actually said quite different things re: oct-nov vs. september interviews...

Originally posted by kaos
I actually heard kind of the same thing. The admissions office guy @ GW told me when I went to the interview that those people who get interviewed in Sept. in a school that does rolling admissions are much more likely than those interviewed in Nov-Dec to be accepted. Those interviewed in the winter are usually the wait-list people.

 

[DW]

the take home message.....
it depends on the school

 

[SMW]

My thought, exactly! I'm with kaos, although I do think the distinction is more between Sept - Dec. interviews and Jan - March interviews.

 

[GoodMonkey]

because of job constraints, i can't schedule a whole slew of interviews all in a short time frame (i.e. all sept/oct) even tho i turned in my stuff and app was complete pretty early. as it is, i'm having to space them out like one every two weeks or so. i heard from one school last week and had to schedule the interview nov 1st out of necessity. yick.

so i'm hoping that the sept-dec and jan-march time frames are more in my favor. but either way, i guess it's all good to be getting interviews at this point, right?

i agree w/the earlier take home message: it depends on the school. for instance, the yale lady told me they don't even start reviewing the files/interview feedback until the beginning of next year and don't make any decisions till march. on the other hand, msu and umich will have their decisions for the sept interviews w/in a few weeks (msu over the phone in 2-3 wks, umich by mail, ~oct 15th).

 

[relatively prime]

It's different for each school... for instance, one school I interviewed at told me that they made decisions that VERY DAY... but wouldn't send them out until Oct 15 per AMCAS rules. Another school told me that theyaccept enough for an entire class from their first 3 interview sessions... then for each additional interview session they only accept enough to fill open slots left my students who turned down the acceptance.

EACH SCHOOL DOES IT DIFFERENTLY. If you're really curious then you should ask the school(s) you are interviewing at how they do things.

 

[Yogi Bear]

Originally posted by relatively prime
It's different for each school... for instance, one school I interviewed at told me that they made decisions that VERY DAY... but wouldn't send them out until Oct 15 per AMCAS rules. Another school told me that theyaccept enough for an entire class from their first 3 interview sessions... then for each additional interview session they only accept enough to fill open slots left my students who turned down the acceptance.

EACH SCHOOL DOES IT DIFFERENTLY. If you're really curious then you should ask the school(s) you are interviewing at how they do things.

which schools are these?

 

[Woots32]

Ok - I don't know if this is helpful, but my premed advisor told me that since overall apps are down, the med schools are kinda "competing" to get the top students. This means inviting them to inverview early in the fall, sometimes w/out recieving their secondaries.

The only school I've interviewd @ so far if U Mich, and they said that they usually notify people of their status (accepted/wait/declined) w/in about a month of the interview.

Good luck everyone!

 

[laviddee]

hey dpark,
i think for uic, it's pretty laid back and they just want to make sure you're not crazy.

if you did ok, then most likely you'll get in, especially since they are indeed rolling admissions! plus they have 300 spots open so they are much more liberal in filling those spots earlier on than later.

anyways, i have my uic interview coming up on the 30th... should be fun!

as for some of the other schools- tulane said that they meet every tuesday and yes they can have a decision as soon as a week after the interview. i had mine last week but they didn't make their decision on me when i called yesterday.

so i wrote a letter to the dean today and sent it out.... you can indeed find out before oct 15th if you're in.. but yes, based on the school.

 

[relatively prime]

Originally posted by Yogi Bear
which schools are these?

OSU/Baylor respectively

 

[kaos]

Originally posted by SMW
My thought, exactly! I'm with kaos, although I do think the distinction is more between Sept - Dec. interviews and Jan - March interviews.

Hey, I'm just telling y'all what the admissions office guy from GW told me.

 

[Random Access]

Originally posted by relatively prime
Another school told me that theyaccept enough for an entire class from their first 3 interview sessions... then for each additional interview session they only accept enough to fill open slots left my students who turned down the acceptance.

EACH SCHOOL DOES IT DIFFERENTLY. If you're really curious then you should ask the school(s) you are interviewing at how they do things.

I had a friend who got told at her Harvard interview that she was basically in...I think the Rhodes had something to do with it, but nonetheless... This was well into the winter too (maybe Feb?)...

-RA

 

[SMW]

bump

 

[Samoa]

Originally posted by relatively prime
OSU/Baylor respectively

I thought it was Baylor that decided the same day, not OSU.

 

[Random Access]

Originally posted by Samoa
I thought it was Baylor that decided the same day, not OSU.

Baylor also ranks people pre-interview (don't remember criteria) and decides on them every Friday. I think they throw the people who didn't get in into next Friday's pool.

The other thing they do is to let people see the interviewers' eval form...

 

[oldman]

some schools are fast, so early interviews are good

MCW gives results 2 weeks after interviews, so an early interview means an early admission to a slot at their school.

i interviewed in sept at U of MN and was notified in october with my acceptance.

 

[carmenrosie]

I just got an interview from U Cincinnati (in-stater) without having sent them my LORs...go figure.

 

[perrum365]

hey carmenrosie, me too (interview offer w/o LORs). I'll be there at UC 9/23. i read that so will Doctor Octopus. ( a true SDN celeb!!)when is your interview?