Letter from Wash U Asking Me to Apply

[CaNEM]

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I wasn't planning on applying to Washington U in St Louis, but I just got a letter from them today, asking me to apply. Did anyone else get this letter? I thought it was strange.

Also, where do these schools get personal info about you (which they mustve had, based on the tone of the letter) if you don't apply there?

 

[mws99]

I got the letter yesterday, two days after submitting their secondary. They must send to everyone in the country with an MCAT above a certain number because the first sentence said "congratulations on your performance on the April 2002 test." I would assume AMCAS made the information available.

 

[kaos]

Really? What's the score, if u know it?

 

[ckent]

I got a letter asking me to apply a few years ago. I did them a favor and went ahead and applied, and they turn around and reject me!

 

[Neuronix]

I got the letter last year after my August MCAT scores came back. It was so late in the season that they sent me a letter a few weeks later saying that if AMCAS wouldn't let you apply there because it was so late, that you could just fill out their secondary and they would consider you.

I'm willing to bet this is just a ploy to get more money in secondary fees. Why else would they do such a thing? I think they have enough qualified applicants (like every other med school) as it is.

 

[Bikini Princess]

i think this reinforces SDNer's assertions that washu is a numbers-oriented school. they want to have high mcat scores, and they want to have high revenue too.

 

[Spiderman [RNA Ladder 2003]]

Originally posted by Neuronix
I got the letter last year after my August MCAT scores came back. It was so late in the season that they sent me a letter a few weeks later saying that if AMCAS wouldn't let you apply there because it was so late, that you could just fill out their secondary and they would consider you.

I'm willing to bet this is just a ploy to get more money in secondary fees. Why else would they do such a thing? I think they have enough qualified applicants (like every other med school) as it is.

Wow. Did you get in there?

 

[Blitzkrieg]

hmm, I haven't gotten a letter, and my MCAT was within range of their avg. Oh well, I wouldnt apply anyway!

 

[Neuronix]

Originally posted by Spiderman [RNA Ladder 2003]


Wow. Did you get in there?

I wasn't applying last year. I was taking August MCATs for this year. I essentially ignored their letter, although my grandmother thought it was wonderful. I am applying there MSTP now, I'll let you know how it goes

 

[Blitzkrieg]

rofl..your grandmother..that reminds me

today:

me: *calls parents*
them: hello?
me: another 2ndary (they love updates)
them: where?
me: harvard..they send one to everyone, though
them: WOOHOO. you ALWAYS say that! we refuse to believe that! hey ____ and ____ (Calling family in), Blitz got a 2ndary to harvard!
me: hmm..well, everyone gets one, but I'll fill it out ASAP.
them: we are so proud of you!
me: love you too!

extend convo


point? fam members get so excited..haha..

 

[owen_osh]

A little off topic, but I just wanted to share some thoughts about WashU.

When I was applying to colleges, I was agressively recruited by WashU, recieving numerous viewbooks, pamphlets, etc. I was impressed but didn't really consider the school because, although it was ranked well, I'd never heard of it. A few weeks ago, a friend and I went to visit. He took a tour of the law school and I took a tour of the med school. I also got to look around the main campus. I was shocked by how different the main campus is from the impression I got from the admissions office propaganda. The school is very small and most of the buildings look brand new. I got the idea that maybe twenty or thirty years ago, WashU was just a small college but then they decided to start agressively recruiting and building a national reputation. Does anyone know the facts about WashU's history and rise to promenance?

This left me wondering how much of the WashU name is just hype. The Barnes-Jewish hospital complex truly is massive and I'm sure they do a lot of great research, but does the undergrad college deserve its reputation?

 

[Hallm_7]

Me and my family were in St. Louis a week ago, and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to go to the medical complex. Barnes-Jewish is huge, and the med school buildings are nice too. The neatest thing about the complex, though, was the area behind the hospital and med school. There were old but refurbished town houses, houses, and apartments lining the streets. I guess this is where most of the med students, pharmacy students, and residents live. It looks like it would be a pretty cool place to live. There are cafes, parks, and little shops all around, the zoo and the science center are close, and all the houses and stuff seem to be kept up pretty nice.

Anyway I really liked WashU after I saw it. It truly is an amazing complex. I'm judging the book by the cover, I know, but it at least looks like a good place to go.

 

[ckent]

Originally posted by owen_osh
A little off topic, but I just wanted to share some thoughts about WashU.

When I was applying to colleges, I was agressively recruited by WashU, recieving numerous viewbooks, pamphlets, etc. I was impressed but didn't really consider the school because, although it was ranked well, I'd never heard of it. A few weeks ago, a friend and I went to visit. He took a tour of the law school and I took a tour of the med school. I also got to look around the main campus. I was shocked by how different the main campus is from the impression I got from the admissions office propaganda. The school is very small and most of the buildings look brand new. I got the idea that maybe twenty or thirty years ago, WashU was just a small college but then they decided to start agressively recruiting and building a national reputation. Does anyone know the facts about WashU's history and rise to promenance?

This left me wondering how much of the WashU name is just hype. The Barnes-Jewish hospital complex truly is massive and I'm sure they do a lot of great research, but does the undergrad college deserve its reputation?

Sigh, 20-30 yrs ago Wash U was a small college? Oh well, at least you didn't say that it was in DC or anything. Wash U undergrad has remained a wonderful place for people to go for over a hundred years, I don't remember when it opened but it did start as a small college named Eliot University. Then some idiot decided to re-name the school Wash U after George Washington, never mind that he had nothing to do with the school, they probably hadn't even discovered St. Louis when he was around. It's rise has always been hindered by it's name (confusing for everyone, even people in the medical field despite it's prominence, everyone knows what the Washington Manual is, but if you ask physicians where Wash U is you get 3 different answers). Another thing holding it back is the lack of major sports teams to get it's name out there, a difficult task for any school in the midwest. The undergrad deserves it's reputation and then some. It's a good size for undergrad (5,000), and the facilities and campus is great, probably the best campus that I've ever seen and I've seen a few.

 

[owen_osh]

ok ckent, this may be sort of what I'm getting at:

"<B>When Washington University was founded it was a commuter school, and it remained so until post-World War II period.</B> The passing of the G.I. Bill, which financed college educations for untold numbers of returning war veterans, created a surge in student enrollment, both at Washington University and at colleges nationwide. Washington University, like many schools, was not prepared to meet the new demand. Beginning in 1951, the federal government provided money for low-interest loans to colleges and universities for the construction of student housing through Title IV of the Housing Act of 1950.

In 1953, the University celebrated its 100th birthday and began planning for its second century. One of the conclusions reached by the planning committee was that the building of undergraduate dormitories was crucial to the University's future development. The development of more on-campus housing was seen as necessary in order to keep up with other private schools with whom Washington University competed for students. <B>On campus housing would also allow the University to recruit for the best students from all over the country, which, in turn would help attract outstanding faculty.</B>"

from http://www.wustl.edu/tour/hilltop/south40.html

Sounds like WashU was not a national university until after 1953.

 

[Hallm_7]

How low do you think the average pay will go? I know that even though physician salaries have declined in recent years they still make a very good living. But if the number of applicants drops as the average salary drops, isn't there a point where that will severly hurt the medical care? In fact, we may already be at that point. It would make sense that med school can find better applicants out of 50,000 people instead of 35,000 people. I think there needs to be some serious overhauls to the medical industry in order to keep it attractive to potential applicants.

Does everyone agree or am I totally off base here?

 

[none]

Once you release your MCAT scores, they are actually released to all AMCAS schools interested in looking at them, regardless of whether you applied to the school or expressed any interest.

 

[Hallm_7]

Sorry, i posted the wrong reply to this thread. My last reply was supposed to go to another thread. I bet everyone is wondering why I wrote about the number of people applying to med school and how that corresponds to salary.

 

[DW]

are any of you guys URMs out of curiosity? I got something like that too, i guess its the "minority" version of the letter. I was like, hey, they must have liked my 35, i'm so cool Then I look at their stats from last year, and the AVERAGE mcat was a 36.6!!!!!

yes, i'd love to waste my 50 bucks applying to your insanely competitive med school the tone of the letter was extremely condascending i thought, basically walking you through the steps of applying to med school (in mid august after taking the mcat in april, you'd think I'd have figured it out by now)

 

[mws99]

DW,

I am not a URM, so I guess we got different versions of the letter. Mine mentions a bunch of the features of the school but it doesn't have directions on how to apply. I only applied because the acceptance rate is 10.9% and thats pretty high.

 

[DW]

Originally posted by mws99
I only applied because the acceptance rate is 10.9% and thats pretty high.

am i the only one who finds this statement depressing?

 

[mws99]

I think its very depressing. Only 15 schools in the top 50 accept greater than 10% of their applicants. That scares the hell out of me.

 

[jot]

i just got one of them - i dunno why, but for some completely irrational reason its a bit of a turn off. are students happy there? can any wustl med student speak to this? what kind of class atmosphere does this numbers heavy emphasis admissions breed? curious ...

 

[efex101]

I visited Wash U and will be applying next year, and from my impression the students (the few that I did meet) did not seem to bright eyed and bushy tailed if you know what I mean. The school is good my friend is getting her Ph.D there but maybe it is a little competitive. They really focus on admitting those with very high numbers so maybe it's a bunch of gunners there...I am still applying because the opportunities for research there are huge and I really like St. Louis.

 

[mws99]

Judging by the viewbook, all of the students seem very happy.

 

[CaNEM]

Originally posted by mws99
Judging by the viewbook, all of the students seem very happy.

Especially that blonde girl on the cover!

 

[Sonya]

Originally posted by Bikini Princess
i think this reinforces SDNer's assertions that washu is a numbers-oriented school. they want to have high mcat scores, and they want to have high revenue too.

yes, defienetly washU is very nu mbers oriented interms of wanting high GPA's and MCATs. That's more than just SDN opinion. But, WashU has got TONS of funding, seriously (I was a student there). They was they would in ways seem to splurge funding, makes me higly doubt they are trying to get money off secondaries.

Sonya

 

[guitarguy]

I don't think Wash U is merely trying to increase their revenue from secondary apps--their secondary fee is one of the cheapest I've had--only $50, about half the price of some others. While it is a genuinely strong medical school, Wash U doesn't have the name recognition of most of the other top-tiered schools. They are not sending out these letters with ill-intentions, but rather just to draw attention to themselves for people who may otherwise know very little about their school. As for their extremely high average gpa and mcats--i think much of this is due to their excellent and large mstp program, which draws brilliant students from around the world, along with several generous merit-based scholarships awarded to some highly qualified applicants. As for students there...I've spent some time in a lab affiliated with their medical school and the students I've met have been very normal and happy people. Some spent a lot of time studying, some spent a lot of time involved in their own research, while others spent their time at bars and clubs in the Central West End. I was actually impressed by how much time they spend away from classes, especially during their first year which is pass/fail, with various volunteer projects. They are probably not very different than students anywhere else.

 

[warpath]

I'm a first year student at Wash U. I got the same letter last year (a few weeks after I applied there, apparently they just sent the letters blindly to people who did well on the MCAT). I wasn't really planning to go to Wash U. I wasn't even planning on going to an American school (I'm Canadian). I changed my mind when I went there for my interview. The students were (and still are) very friendly. The first year students were very laid back (some students were playing video games for 5 hrs. the day I arrived for my interview). The school has a lot of funding, and I mean a lot. There's ample research opportunity. And the faculty and administration listen to students. The administration actually reorganize courses each year using info they get from student feed. Even the Student-run free clinic started as a suggestion from 3 students about 6 or 7 years ago. I know a lot of people here who were not originally planning to go to Wash U, but who applied because of the invitation letter they got.

To the guy who was asking about his chances with a 35 on the MCAT, I had a 35 and I got in, with a full-tuition scholarship.
To the guy who said that they just want more application money: Wash U gives 12 merit-based full-tuition scholarships (in additon to other need-based scholarships and an attractive financial aid package). 8 out of their 25 MSTP positions are actually sponsored by the school, and not by the government. Also, check the USnew rankings for NIH funding. Does this sound like a school that really needs you $50 applicaton fee?

My advice, don't pass up the chance to get in. The worst that can happen is that they will reject you. Other schools reject applicants too, remember?

 

[none]

It's all about being in the Midwest. The Midwestern schools must HEAVILY recruit to get strong people to come.

 

[Riot Boy]

Originally posted by warpath
I'm a first year student at Wash U. I got the same letter last year (a few weeks after I applied there, apparently they just sent the letters blindly to people who did well on the MCAT). I wasn't really planning to go to Wash U. I wasn't even planning on going to an American school (I'm Canadian). I changed my mind when I went there for my interview. The students were (and still are) very friendly. The first year students were very laid back (some students were playing video games for 5 hrs. the day I arrived for my interview). The school has a lot of funding, and I mean a lot. There's ample research opportunity. And the faculty and administration listen to students. The administration actually reorganize courses each year using info they get from student feed. Even the Student-run free clinic started as a suggestion from 3 students about 6 or 7 years ago. I know a lot of people here who were not originally planning to go to Wash U, but who applied because of the invitation letter they got.

To the guy who was asking about his chances with a 35 on the MCAT, I had a 35 and I got in, with a full-tuition scholarship.
To the guy who said that they just want more application money: Wash U gives 12 merit-based full-tuition scholarships (in additon to other need-based scholarships and an attractive financial aid package). 8 out of their 25 MSTP positions are actually sponsored by the school, and not by the government. Also, check the USnew rankings for NIH funding. Does this sound like a school that really needs you $50 applicaton fee?

My advice, don't pass up the chance to get in. The worst that can happen is that they will reject you. Other schools reject applicants too, remember?

Word to what warpath said. I'm also a 1st year Wash U student, and I love it. I got the same letter, applied, and got in (albeit off the waitlist). The class is INCREDIBLY diverse: geographically, ethnically and racially, interest-wise, and the list goes on. I like everyone I've met so far, and I can tell you that the people are very social, outgoing, and fun. The school is very open to student input. To go off of what warpath said, in anatomy, for example, the previous class complained about the number of exams, and for this year, the very next year, another exam was added to the course calendar. The administration totally caters to the students, everything from a pass/fail first year to level the playing field to a totally elective fourth year. I am quite impressed with the school overall.

Best of luck if you decide to apply here.

 

[physicsMD]

I got a letter as well, also addressing that wash u is a great place for women in medicine. I didn't apply there because while my MCAT is high, my ugrad GPA is not. Also, I have no desire to live in the midwest for 5 years.

 

[Epi]

I'm a first year at wash u. i've been having a lot of fun so far, and think the class is great. St. Louis isn't too bad, there are still a lot of things to do around town. Lots of pple have diff interests, but you can always find something to do with a couple of people who have the same interests as you.
I'm glad that I am here, and good luck to those who apply. Maybe I'll even see some of you around later this year when you interview.

 

[jot]

whoa - i just saw what their library is like - and damn. that school has some money, really nice facilities it looks like. do they have ties to industries in the area (monsanto etc...), is the olin foundation seperate from the schools endowment?