Is it just me...

[Treg]

Has November to December been a serious interview dry spell? It seems like the admissions offices are just doling out a few crumbs here and there, while most everyone starves.

Here's to a flood of invites in January and February!

Treg


PS-I am not complaining about not getting interviews, as I have gotten several. It just seems with the skewed number of competitive applicants on SDN, you would expect to see more interviews steadily rolling in. Thus, it must be that the offices haven't sent many invites lately.

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[Wiggy73]

Try October to December! My last invite came October 4, and since then, silence. And I know it's not just me because Exhibit A, the interview thread, is practically bare. At least it looks like the adcoms may finally be getting off their duffs, but it seems like there are more rejections than interviews going out!

Treg, I second the hopes for a flood. Does anyone know an interview rain dance?

 

[dogbyte]

I haven't gotten an interview since Oct. 14. I think interviews are coming out, but people aren't posting about them anymore. I don't even check that thread anymore. I'm just waiting on a few schools now. I've also been complete for so long that I'm probably on hold until they get through all the applicants.

 

[Cat's Meow]

All quiet on the Midwestern front here

But to everyone!

Hopefully those adcoms will get their acts together before the holidays

 

[Medikit]

Yeah I haven't heard anything since October

 

[nervouspremed]

Same here, nothing, nada, since Mid-October, and I still have to hear from at least 10 more school. Blah

 

[sunUCB]

got all the interview invites i've gotten so far in a 3 week span in late august and early september. since then, a whole bunch of nothing. and i have yet to hear from 19 schools

 

[Mistress S]

No way! This month has been smokin' for me so far...first invite ever received Monday!

 

[Treg]

No way! This month has been smokin' for me so far...first invite ever received Monday!

Exactly. You got one of those crumbs I was referring to

Treg (starving for a while now, and thinking no crumbs will fall on my plate)

 

[Senor.Frog]

I keep hearing admissions people telling me how the applicant numbers are way up compared to last year.

Maybe thats why these past few months have been soo slow? Just a thought.

 

[UCLAstudent]

Nothing since October for me, either.

 

[Realest]

I think they're going through the batch they invited during August-October, and after they reject a bunch of losers, they'll start shooting them our way again...tip your umbrellas upside down

 

[sockandmittens]

Nothing since October either. Nothing since EARLY October.

 

[Dr. Donkey]

I've got nothing since early September except for a crumb last week. I think whoever mentioned the whole "on hold" thing is right. The place I got the crumb from just recently reviewed my file. My guess is that most schools with a lot of applicants are waiting to sort through the on-holds after they process all of the applicants not yet reviewed (as was already mentioned by someone).

 

[Treg]

So then does anyone feel like an invite from a school you have been complete at for 3+ months would be like, "great, I am one of their passed over, well-I-guess-we-can-invite-them-now-to-waste-their-$$"?

I sort of do. Treg

 

[shawty ya'head]

i think admissions committees saying that 'application numbers are way up' is bull****. first off, there is no way they are 'way up.' fluctutaion never occurs that drastically. they might be relatively a 'little up' or a 'little down.'

i market analyze all day since i am a consultant and i can assure you that the economy in general is very suitable for young college grads to get great positions (much easier to do so this yeah than when i entered last year). Considering this, relatively less grads apply to grad schools right out of college and instead look to work first. This means overall the number of applications should decrease a small amount this year.

admissions committees saying that there is a 'steep increase in applications' is their way of saying they haven't gotten the chance to look at your ish yet and have no good reason but:
1. they were too lazy
2. they work at a lax pace

 

[nervouspremed]

i think admissions committees saying that 'application numbers are way up' is bull****. first off, there is no way they are 'way up.' fluctutaion never occurs that drastically. they might be relatively a 'little up' or a 'little down.'

i market analyze all day since i am a consultant and i can assure you that the economy in general is very suitable for young college grads to get great positions (much easier to do so this yeah than when i entered last year). Considering this, relatively less grads apply to grad schools right out of college and instead look to work first. This means overall the number of applications should decrease a small amount this year.

admissions committees saying that there is a 'steep increase in applications' is their way of saying they haven't gotten the chance to look at your ish yet and have no good reason but:
1. they were too lazy
2. they work at a lax pace

Totally agree, "increase in applications" is their excuse. Anyone noticed that's what they said in most of the rejection letter too, even on those that I got last year.

 

[Quentin Quinn]

admissions committees saying that there is a 'steep increase in applications' is their way of saying they haven't gotten the chance to look at your ish yet and have no good reason but:
1. they were too lazy
2. they work at a lax pace

Remember that y'all are dealing with governmental or otherwise bureaucratic academic institutions, which basically cease functioning between Thanksgiving and New Year's. Not that I am defending them, but it is just reality.

 

[RaistlinMajere]

The adcoms likely are trying to break it to us gently by saying applications are way up. Med school has always been, and always will be ultra competitive. Supply of applicants is simply much greater than spots, as everyone knows. This year it might be skewed a little more on the supply side, but the real reason we are getting rejected from the school is that they just didn't have enough interest in us. I'm cool with that. Hopefully one school will be interested enough to let me in.

Treg, I agree with your comment mostly. It is my understanding that med schools like to fill their class with diversity, if possible. They may pass on us initially, but find our background interesting for their needs upon review later. Hopefully this happens to the majority of people who haven't heard much yet.

 

[PBMaxx]

I have noticed a marked dry spell between Oct and Jan. I got a "crumb" from SIU which was getting off their "screeners alternate" list and submitting a secondary app. Other than that I haven't heard anything. Not a rejection, not a hold, nothin'.

 

[Wiggy73]

Some people have to get invites in the spring. It might as well be us!

 

[Mistress S]

Exactly. You got one of those crumbs I was referring to

Treg (starving for a while now, and thinking no crumbs will fall on my plate)

I prefer to think of it as an appetizer.

In any case, some of us are in no position to be complaining about crumbs--they're a lot better than nothing.

 

[lightnk102]

don't forget that the August MCAT scores came in around Oct. 15, so the schools had a new batch of applications that were suddenly all "complete" at the same time. maybe they're sorting through those so they can step back and look at the applicant pool as a whole before starting the next round of interviews. it seems like most schools have a round in the fall, pre-holidays, and then 1 or 2 more rounds of interviews in the spring.

 

[jdovez]

i think admissions committees saying that 'application numbers are way up' is bull****. first off, there is no way they are 'way up.' fluctutaion never occurs that drastically. they might be relatively a 'little up' or a 'little down.'

i market analyze all day since i am a consultant and i can assure you that the economy in general is very suitable for young college grads to get great positions (much easier to do so this yeah than when i entered last year). Considering this, relatively less grads apply to grad schools right out of college and instead look to work first. This means overall the number of applications should decrease a small amount this year.

admissions committees saying that there is a 'steep increase in applications' is their way of saying they haven't gotten the chance to look at your ish yet and have no good reason but:
1. they were too lazy
2. they work at a lax pace

You make some very interesting points. However, although I don't remember where on aamc I read this, I did see that the number of people sitting for the April MCAT this past year was up 17%. I am unsure of how that has translated into a change in the number of applicants, but it would stand to reason that the adcoms are not pulling any legs (I still fail to see what they would gain from misinforming us.....they do try to be nice, but I do not think they would make stuff up in order to spare feelings). It is probably true that the number of applicants is up some significant % over last year (which was still way down from about 10-15 years ago when there were about 30% more applicants than there have been in the past couple of years. That's just my 2 cents for what its worth.

 

[pushkin]

Has November to December been a serious interview dry spell? It seems like the admissions offices are just doling out a few crumbs here and there, while most everyone starves.

Here's to a flood of invites in January and February!

Treg


PS-I am not complaining about not getting interviews, as I have gotten several. It just seems with the skewed number of competitive applicants on SDN, you would expect to see more interviews steadily rolling in. Thus, it must be that the offices haven't sent many invites lately.

Treg, I feel exactly like you do! I think I remember from the "haven't heard a word" thread that we are waiting to hear from most of the same schools, even. I can't complain either because I've been to several interviews, and September and October seemed to be bringing me numerous invites. But now it has all dried up. I would love a crumb or two right now!

Does anyone know how consistent the flow is of applicants coming in for interviews at schools? Like, if they're interviewing 800 people between September and March, do they spread them out evenly, or do they go in spurts? Have all the schools passed their application deadlines, so that they should be well into their reviews by now? I'm just trying to speculate as to whether my remaining applications are in the unreviewed category or the on-hold limbo...

 

[Treg]

Treg, I feel exactly like you do! I think I remember from the "haven't heard a word" thread that we are waiting to hear from most of the same schools, even. I can't complain either because I've been to several interviews, and September and October seemed to be bringing me numerous invites. But now it has all dried up. I would love a crumb or two right now!

Yeah, I think we are waiting on the same schools pretty much, although I am waiting on Alberta vs. U of T or McGill! I hate how slow the canadian system is...

It is also frustrating to be picked amongst the first at some "top" schools and to be so obviously passed over by others. People ask me how that happens and I just don't have an answer. I wish I knew the reason myself! Also, a lot of these schools send out all the acceptances/waitlists/rejections at once, in the spring. I wish that they would just reject the ones obviously in the reject pile now, rather than dragging everything out. At this point, my feelings won't be hurt, since I am nearly past the point of caring.

Treg

 

[pushkin]

I hate how slow the canadian system is...

Yep, me too. I just got my OMSAS verification (Ontario's version of AMCAS) and it had a huge, gaping error in it which was already sent on to Toronto. They actually inserted someone else's entire mediocre transcript into my coursework section! So now, on top of my already slim chances at UT, I have to deal with that.

It is also frustrating to be picked amongst the first at some "top" schools and to be so obviously passed over by others. People ask me how that happens and I just don't have an answer. I wish I knew the reason myself! Also, a lot of these schools send out all the acceptances/waitlists/rejections at once, in the spring. I wish that they would just reject the ones obviously in the reject pile now, rather than dragging everything out. At this point, my feelings won't be hurt, since I am nearly past the point of caring.

I know. I can't get through to the reasoning behind any of it. Why would some schools be so positive about my application and others be left cold by it? This makes me think admissions must be all up to the whim of some very fickle people. I would also rather get rejected right now too. That way, I could, if I was really feeling desperate, write please-reconsider-me letters before interviewing season ended. There is maybe only 1 school where I would do that, but I might.

Having submitted most of my apps by September, I'm not sure how enthused I will feel about getting interview invites in March, if I do get any then...

 

[Addicted To SDN]

I haven't heard a word since the beginning of October. I still have to hear from 15 schools. Anyway, I have a couple of friends at several of the schools I am applying to and they informed me that the entering class of 2005 at their school is either 50 to 75 percent full. What? Do you guys think this is true? I am really getting worried.

 

[faradayampere]

I haven't heard a word since the beginning of October. I still have to hear from 15 schools. Anyway, I have a couple of friends at several of the schools I am applying to and they informed me that the entering class of 2005 at their school is either 50 to 75 percent full. What? Do you guys think this is true? I am really getting worried.

Can you tellme what schools are 50-75% filled already? I'm worrying

 

[Treg]

I have resorted to checking useless status pages on a daily basis. It will be nice to have a break over the holidays...

Treg

 

[pushkin]

Has anyone tried calling a school and just asking what stage their application is in? Would a school be willing to come clean and just say, "yep, you're in limbo," or "you're on the brink of rejection?" Or would they just say you were "in review"?

And those status pages are horrible! What is the point of them??

 

[RaistlinMajere]

I think the only point of the status page is to let you know when you are complete.

 

[Mistress S]

Has anyone tried calling a school and just asking what stage their application is in? Would a school be willing to come clean and just say, "yep, you're in limbo," or "you're on the brink of rejection?" Or would they just say you were "in review"?

And those status pages are horrible! What is the point of them??

I have tried calling schools a couple of times to check on status...they all just say you're "under review". Some people have reported finding out about interview invites this way, but I have never been that fortunate.

 

[Bap2qwrq7]

Yeah, I can definately relate. I haven't heard a peep from the 20 schools I have been complete at for awhile. It's a bit annoying and with this Winter break coming up, who knows how slow these schools will run, especially with letters for interviews and stuff.

I wish they'd quit jerking us around and just straight up tell us their decisions with interviews. I'm starting to hate this BS with, "oh you're in the interview pool but you probably won't get interviewed."

What the hell is that!

Oh well, I'm hoping stuff will pick up and hopefully if interview invites do come in, it won't be for waitlist spots.

But as the interview season gets later and later, I get this bad feeling that classes are filling up quickly. Ahh, damn it.

 

[Kazema]

Ah, the routine.

I come home and eagerly open my mailbox, hoping to find some good news.

Failing that, I walk into my apartment and turn on my computer to check my e-mail.

Nope. Oh well.

 

[Code Brown]

Ah, the routine.

I come home and eagerly open my mailbox, hoping to find some good news.

Failing that, I walk into my apartment and turn on my computer to check my e-mail.

Nope. Oh well.

No kidding, I actually checked my mailbox a couple of Sundays ago.

 

[Fed Meat]

All 5 of my interviews have been in November/December.

Given, I heard about most of them in October or early November.

All the same, I have two interviews this week.

I wish Colorado would get going.