keep application secret from premed advisor

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choocoman

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my advisor doesnt find me mentally fit to practice medicine. i took two semesters off due to an mental health issue. i dont want my advisor to know that i'm applying to med school. whether or not its true that i am fit for an MD, i dont want my advisor to meddle with my life, and i'd like to leave it up to the adcoms.

note: my school however does not offer a premed letter service.

so my question is,
if i say "no" to question "do you authorize application materials sent to advisor", would the advisor still know that i'm applying?
 
I do not know how much AMCAS sends to the advisors if you you tell them not to send anything, but I can guarantee that your name is not one of the things that they will get.
 
your school cannot legally find out information unless you release it.

if they do, just give them a copy of Patch Adams.
 
choocoman said:
my advisor doesnt find me mentally fit to practice medicine. i took two semesters off due to an mental health issue. i dont want my advisor to know that i'm applying to med school. whether or not its true that i am fit for an MD, i dont want my advisor to meddle with my life, and i'd like to leave it up to the adcoms.

note: my school however does not offer a premed letter service.

so my question is,
if i say "no" to question "do you authorize application materials sent to advisor", would the advisor still know that i'm applying? or would the advisor know i'm applying but not be able to view my mcats, PS, etc.?

when you choose to release information to your advisor, your name IS included.
 
Heh. My advisor isn't evil, but is misguided in much the same way that yours is. He would be setting himself up for a nice lawsuit with regards to slander or libel if he tried to send information about you to AMCAS without your consent. Same with if he sent letters to med schools if you did not authorize this. Thus, even if he/she does know that you are applying, it doesn't matter. If you don't request a letter or assistance, they cannot just dole it out unsolicited. To do so would be career suicide. Just keep a watch on what schools have and don't have on you. Call admissions offices to ask if your file is complete (after secondaries and LOR's sent) and ask who the LOR's are from. And don't worry. It'll be okay.
 
can i ask what ment al health issue? my boyfriend has been hospitalized several times for depression right before attending college and even had shock therapy several times and is applying for med school now, im not sure if his advisor knows about it, im just wondering what mental health problems they think are so "unfit".

dont have to answer if you dont want to. was just curious.
 
EMDream said:
can i ask what ment al health issue? my boyfriend has been hospitalized several times for depression right before attending college and even had shock therapy several times and is applying for med school now, im not sure if his advisor knows about it, im just wondering what mental health problems they think are so "unfit".

dont have to answer if you dont want to. was just curious.

I think if he was going to announce it to the world, he would have done so in his original post.
 
choocoman said:
thanks for the help guys. For your curiousity, I was hospitalized for depression due to life circumstances. I'll refrain from the juicy details.

does anyone else know FOR SURE, that if the advisor would know anything, even simply knowing if i'm applying, if i said "No" to the question: "do you wish to authorize your materials sent to advisor for statistics..."

This sounds to be a short-term condition resulting from stress and not physical disability. Your advisor is a ***** if he/she bases his/her advise on this issue?.

I'd just check the "NO" box and forget about the advisor.... there isn't even a letter service at your school so no loss there either.
 
good question, op. my advisor, too is an idiot. when i was an incoming freshman she looked at my act transcript and told me because my science reasoning portion was low, i should try to find other career.
 
I have a few close friends that have suffered from either depression or from being bipolar. I don't think things should prevent you from applying, but you need to keep on top of everything, like start or continue counseling sessions because this application cycle is hard on everyone. I am not one to keep anyone applying, however I think as a person, you should evaluate yourself. I know an individual that got accepted to a great institution, but does a lot of hard core drugs, despite his/her brillance. I would never go to him/her personally because of that, and really don't think he/she should place himself/herself at the position of taking care of patients, especially when sometimes he/she would not attend or come late into class since he/she was high quite a bit. I don't try to but into other people's lives, but when it affects your schoolwork, realize it could affect your career, and being a doctor involves having people's lives in your hands. You and your counselor know your condition, and if this would affect your career, I would advise against it. If ya'll decide it wouldn't, then apply.
 
hey choocoman,

if you check "no" on the amcas authorization box, then no your advisor will not know you are applying, nothing will released by amcas to them.

good luck!
 
choocoman said:
Me: You want answers?!
GIVING MY .02: : I want the truth!
Me: You can't handle the truth!

my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves lives. YOU DAMN RIGHT I ORDERED THE CODE RED.

🙄

Ahem.....are you OK? I thought you wanted a serious discussion relating to your issue.
 
I would say don't release. I have never seen my premed advisor and I didn't ask for his/her help. I don't know how much they can help your application unless you're a stellar student in the know. In fact, most of them probably don't care about your well being until you get into a med school. After that, they send you email congratulating you and how you're an asset to the school and how coveted you are as an alumni. My buds' experiences with advisors have all been either negative or blase so unless you think that they can absolutely help you get into a school on your list, my advice is to forget it.

My "2 cents"
 
jpeterson99 said:
I would say don't release. I have never seen my premed advisor and I didn't ask for his/her help. I don't know how much they can help your application unless you're a stellar student in the know. In fact, most of them probably don't care about your well being until you get into a med school. After that, they send you email congratulating you and how you're an asset to the school and how coveted you are as an alumni. My buds' experiences with advisors have all been either negative or blase so unless you think that they can absolutely help you get into a school on your list, my advice is to forget it.

My "2 cents"




Thanks sooooooooo much for saying this. Its funny how sometimes I come on this board and people have read my very thoughts almost like a psychic. I feel exactly as you do and think that advisors are the most worthless people on the entire university campus. They only are helpful to the one's who don't really need their help since they already have it all together.
 
i don't have anything against the premed advisors at my ugrad, but every time i was offered the option to transmit data to them i checked the "no" box... i'm just a private person.
 
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