# interviews/application

[snuggles]

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I check my email like 6 + times a day 🙁 .. and waiting to hear from schools is killing me (ok not literally)


Does anyone know the interview/application ratio, if I apply to 15 schools how many interviews should I realistically hope to get? I've heard from 6 schools already, and i finished most of my applications by the end of september.

Do people really turn interviews down, how many are ya'll getting?

... just curious, thanks

 

[AverageMan]

I hear ya. I know exactly when the mailman comes and I check the mail at that time every day 😛 As for how many interviews you can hope to get, I would say you could expect to hear from anywhere between 0-15 schools. Seriously though, as much as the process is a crap shoot, higher stats can load the dice in your favor. You've heard from 6 which is really good. We're leaving the phase of the process that could be considered early and I would say we're in the middle of the interview cycle now (Sept-oct = early, nov - Jan = middle, feb - mar = late). You could realistically expect to hear from a few more schools before the application cycle ends. I've gotten 11 interviews thus far and believe me, it's as much of a curse as it is a blessing. I've missed almost a month of school so far and my GPA is going to hurt for it (think 2.9 😱 ). If I got into a certain school (UVA, simply awesome😉) I would easily drop 3 interviews that I have scheduled for late november and december. Interviews are great and all, but too much of a good thing, ya know?

 

[exmike]

Interview/App ratio is totally a function of 1) your strength as an applicant, and 2) what schools you apply to, so its not really a good way to judge success. For example, if i applied to the top 12 schools, id probably have a 0/12 interview/app ratio.

People turn down interviews all the time, especially after they get in a school they're happy with. I turned down 3 of my 11 so far. I applied to nearly 40 schools, and most of the remaining schools I would turn down too if they offered me an interview.

Bottom line, you still have plenty of chances, so just hang in there! Good luck!

Originally posted by snuggles
I check my email like 6 + times a day 🙁 .. and waiting to hear from schools is killing me (ok not literally)


Does anyone know the interview/application ratio, if I apply to 15 schools how many interviews should I realistically hope to get? I've heard from 6 schools already, and i finished most of my applications by the end of september.

Do people really turn interviews down, how many are ya'll getting?

... just curious, thanks

 

[periodic]

Originally posted by exmike
I turned down 3 of my 11 so far. I applied to nearly 40 schools, and most of the remaining schools I would turn down too if they offered me an interview.

Why not withdraw your app from those schools you're sure you'd turn down for an interview? Save them some time, effort, and money reviewing your app..

Congrats on your acceptance, that's a nice place to be! 🙂

 

[Giving My .02]

I have had 8 interviews out of 19 schools.

I have had one rejection, so that leaves 10 more schools.

I figure there might be a couple more rejections out there, so I wouldn't turn down any interviews if I got anymore. I really was more impressed by three schools I went to, just by their interview.

 

[PianoGirl04]

I agree...the interview/application ratio depends completely on the applicant, particularly because each applicant picks a different set of schools to apply to. If you pick all top-tier schools, your ratio might be vary low, but if you pick a broader mix, you might get interviews at half of your schools or more. For what it's worth, I picked a pretty broad mix of schools...I applied to 11 and have gotten 6 interviews so far.

 

[exmike]

Considering I paid these schools a lot of money to apply, I dont think I am obligated to put out MORE effort just to tell them I paid them to do work they no longer need to do. I'm sure BU really spent 100 dollars worth of effort reviewing my app.
The least I want for my effort in completing all those secondaries is to know if I was worthy of an interview, or to get a rejection letter. Thats not much to ask for $130.

That said, I don't know if ill change my mind on not wanting to go to a different school, so I have to keep my options open.

Also, if I have no intention of going, I'll turn down my interview right away as to not hinder anyone else that really wants to go there.

Might not be the way some people would do it, but its how I'm going to do it.

Thanks for the congrats btw.

Originally posted by periodic
Why not withdraw your app from those schools you're sure you'd turn down for an interview? Save them some time, effort, and money reviewing your app..

Congrats on your acceptance, that's a nice place to be! 🙂

 

[efex101]

Applied to 28, received 22 interviews, went on 11 interviews, withdrew application from the rest.

 

[periodic]

Fair enough - I can't argue with that (damn $100 fees). Keeping your options open is good too. And who knows, maybe you'll like a school you didn't think you would have.

Originally posted by exmike
Considering I paid these schools a lot of money to apply, I dont think I am obligated to put out MORE effort just to tell them I paid them to do work they no longer need to do. I'm sure BU really spent 100 dollars worth of effort reviewing my app.
The least I want for my effort in completing all those secondaries is to know if I was worthy of an interview, or to get a rejection letter. Thats not much to ask for $130.

That said, I don't know if ill change my mind on not wanting to go to a different school, so I have to keep my options open.

Also, if I have no intention of going, I'll turn down my interview right away as to not hinder anyone else that really wants to go there.

Might not be the way some people would do it, but its how I'm going to do it.

Thanks for the congrats btw.

 

[soonerpillow]

I applied to 18 schools. Rejected by 2 pre-interview. I've had 7 interviews, and I haven't heard from the other 9. But, 5 of the 9 are top ten, and 1 other one hasn't started interviewing yet. Puzzled about the other 3, though. *shrug*

 

[Bones2008]

Originally posted by exmike
Considering I paid these schools a lot of money to apply, I dont think I am obligated to put out MORE effort just to tell them I paid them to do work they no longer need to do.

If nothing else, read all the posts on SDN and use that as motivation to withdraw from all these schools. By not withdrawing, you are potentially preventing people who are desperately in need of interviews from getting them. It just seems like you're waiting on all these (30) schools to give yourself an ego rub, to see how many offer you an interview. If you're in at a school that you know you will go to over 20 of those no matter what, why not withdraw? I'm trying not to get on a soapbox, so I'm sorry if I've misinterpreted what you're saying. There is no shame in withdrawing from school before your interview decision if you know you're not gonna go. Your money's gone, and getting the pat on the back that you got an interview at that school is not gonna bring it back. Considering how many people post here about waiting for interview decisions, etc., I personally wouldn't be able to look at my myself in the mirror if I knew I was keeping them from getting interviews at schools to which I had absolutely no intention of going. It just seems selfish. Just my opinion, and I realize it's open to debate.

 

[exmike]

If I receive an interview and decline it, its like the interview was never granted. I dont see how that would hamper any other applicant. The school will just offer my interview to the next person. Holding on to acceptances, now that would hamper others. Believe me, I've considered this b/c I felt I would get waitlisted everywhere with my stats, and I wouldn't do something that I didn't want others to do.

As an aside, I've been wholely honest about my shoddy academic past on SDN mainly because I want to help/encourage out other people in my situation. Part of me wants to see what places I'm considered a competitive applicant at so I can pass that knowledge down to others in my situation. Lets say you were an applicant like me (3.01 BMCP). Wouldn't you want to know where you had a chance at? This is a way to find out.

My ego rub was getting into medical school, and an interview from a school I dont plan to go to isnt going to boost that at all. But you're entitled to your own opinion as well.

Originally posted by Bones2008
If nothing else, read all the posts on SDN and use that as motivation to withdraw from all these schools. By not withdrawing, you are potentially preventing people who are desperately in need of interviews from getting them. It just seems like you're waiting on all these (30) schools to give yourself an ego rub, to see how many offer you an interview. If you're in at a school that you know you will go to over 20 of those no matter what, why not withdraw? I'm trying not to get on a soapbox, so I'm sorry if I've misinterpreted what you're saying. There is no shame in withdrawing from school before your interview decision if you know you're not gonna go. Your money's gone, and getting the pat on the back that you got an interview at that school is not gonna bring it back. Considering how many people post here about waiting for interview decisions, etc., I personally wouldn't be able to look at my myself in the mirror if I knew I was keeping them from getting interviews at schools to which I had absolutely no intention of going. It just seems selfish. Just my opinion, and I realize it's open to debate.

 

[Tezzie]

I think i overdid it 🙄

25 applications : 25 interviews

I didn't withdraw from any of them. My mistake was my stupid insecurities and now i pay the price. The airline tickets didn't hurt as much but i lost wayyyyyy too many classes even with the ultra light schedule that i have this semester. I would be ultra happy if i get Bs this semester.

Snuggles don't worry. 6 interviews is great. It can lead to 6 acceptances. Once you get your first acceptance everything else becomes easy. Plus a lot of people haven't heard from all of the places they applied to yet. I am pretty sure that both more interviews and acceptances for you will be rolling in soon.

 

[efex101]

Holy crap tezzie! are you planning on going to all of them?

 

[Tezzie]

I went to all of them with the exception of Stanford/UCSF which is coming up ...

Also not done yet is the NYU one which is a weekend one and i am thinking about going to NYC one more time (it's the same weekend with my dads b-day).

I know i am stupid 😛

 

[loomis]

hi
applied to 12 schools; 10 interviews, 1 unofficial preinterview rejection (hopkins), and 1 school that i haven't heard from yet (hms). schools took anywhere from 1 day(!) to over a month and a half to get back to me. hope this info helps!!

 

[exmike]

Tezzie and efex are my idols. wow.

Originally posted by efex101
Holy crap tezzie! are you planning on going to all of them?

 

[markus21]

You guys mind putting your MCAT scores and GPA while relating to your interview/application ratios? because it just seems like you guys all must have had extremely good credentials to go along with your high interview/application ratio.

 

[markus21]

I've had the dubious honor of being 0 for 26 last year. 🙁

 

[twinklz]

I applied to a whopping 5 schools (cost and # of days off from work being the key limiting factors). So far 3 interviews and one rejection. I got into my second choice, so I turned down the third interview, and I'm currently awaiting the decision from my first choice school.

 

[Brickhouse]

Originally posted by Tezzie

I know i am stupid 😛

Or.....not? 25/25 perfect score!? You're amazing and I love your signature quote.

I applied to 32 schools, got three rejections, withdrew two pre-secondary and have 2 interviews. And three UC schools haven't offered my secondaries so I think I might as well add them to the rejections list. I have 3 secondaries I'm dragging my feet on.....(whine!)

So I guess that's like 19 schools I'm still waiting on? WTF?

In like 8 months when this is all over, we'll all be like "hey remember when we were freaking out because it was November 6 and we hadn't heard from half our schools? yeah...haha, those were the days, weren't we silly, ha...ha....."

 

[exmike]

wow, thats called efficiency right there.

Originally posted by twinklz
I applied to a whopping 5 schools (cost and # of days off from work being the key limiting factors). So far 3 interviews and one rejection. I got into my second choice, so I turned down the third interview, and I'm currently awaiting the decision from my first choice school.