Looking back at the 2008cycle, which admission office was the rudest?

[coralfangs]

From my experience (out of the 8 schools that I completed), I'd say it's NYU.
I wrote to them about one of my references (who was the director of my graduate program) and they wrote me back "Sorry, we do not accept teaching assistant as reference"
We went back and forth til I withdrew my application.
worst $100 ever spent


What about you folks?

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[Handy388]

From my experience (out of the 8 schools that I completed), I'd say it's NYU.
I wrote to them about one of my references (who was the director of my graduate program) and they wrote me back "Sorry, we do not accept teaching assistant as reference"
We went back and forth til I withdrew my application.
worst $100 ever spent


What about you folks?

Really? I have one letter that's written by a TA but cosigned by a professor.

 

[seraph524]

Case Western. The lady laughed at me for a good 10 seconds when I tried to reschedule my interview, saying "Sureeeee you can reschedule your interview, if spots exist."

 

[Picklesali]

From my experience (out of the 8 schools that I completed), I'd say it's NYU.
I wrote to them about one of my references (who was the director of my graduate program) and they wrote me back "Sorry, we do not accept teaching assistant as reference"
We went back and forth til I withdrew my application.
worst $100 ever spent


What about you folks?

I don't think that's a rudeness issue - more like a stringent policy issue. I'm not surprised that they have that rule anyway.

 

[MilkmanAl]

I dunno if it counts as rudeness, but Tulane's was definitely the most annoying. EMAIL REMINDER YOUR APPLICATION IS CURRENTLY UNDER REVIEW. WE'RE WRITING YOU AGAIN IN CASE YOU MISSED THE MESSAGE LAST WEEK AND EACH WEEK FOR THE 20 WEEKS BEFORE THAT. WHY ARE ALL OUR MESSAGES IN CAPS? CAPS LOCK IS CRUISE CONTROL FOR AWESOME.

 

[xanthomondo]

jefferson sucked

 

[neurofreak]

i dont know about rudest, but UCLA's was definitely the most unorganized and inefficient one i encountered. out of all 20ish schools i applied to, they were by far the worst to deal with.

heck, even the schools that rejected me upfront were nicer and more with their **** than UCLA.

 

[bcat85]

Loyola Chicago was so rude I didn't even bother finishing my second.

I called to ask if a research advisor would suffice as a non-science LOR, to which they replied: "NO! You have to have a letter from a professor you didn't take a science class with."

I said "Well I didn't take a science class with this professor."

They said "Well too bad. We need a letter from a professor at your school."

Whatever.

 

[medisaur]

I dunno if it counts as rudeness, but Tulane's was definitely the most annoying. EMAIL REMINDER YOUR APPLICATION IS CURRENTLY UNDER REVIEW. WE'RE WRITING YOU AGAIN IN CASE YOU MISSED THE MESSAGE LAST WEEK AND EACH WEEK FOR THE 20 WEEKS BEFORE THAT. WHY ARE ALL OUR MESSAGES IN CAPS? CAPS LOCK IS CRUISE CONTROL FOR AWESOME.

lmao i second this. they didn't even have the courtesy to send me a YOU'RE REJECTED, THANK YOU email.

 

[drcrabber]

Loyola Chicago was so rude I didn't even bother finishing my second.

I called to ask if a research advisor would suffice as a non-science LOR, to which they replied: "NO! You have to have a letter from a professor you didn't take a science class with."

I said "Well I didn't take a science class with this professor."

They said "Well too bad. We need a letter from a professor at your school."

Whatever.

really? I called them a few weeks ago and they mentioned must have non-science. I was like "umm, i really only took science courses in college." they said "nonscience means it can be from ANYONE. it can be someone who knew you growing up, a family friend, etc. it doesn't have to be a professor." haha you got screwed!

 

[coralfangs]

my letters:
1. program director of my undergrad program (MD/PhD) who taught me in 3 courses
2. senior research project PI
3. program director of my graduate program (PhD) who taught me in 1 course

no TA whatsoever

hence I felt offended when the guys from NYU commented, "no we do not accept teaching assistant as reference"

I've also worked extensively with the directors and they have taught me in courses too, how are they different from a professor who taught me in ONE course

I know I shouldn't have asked but I just want to make sure that all my letters are adequate since they might have signed "Program Director" and not "Professor"


As soon as I got couple of interviews from my other schools, I withdrew from NYU, "meh, not worth my hassle" I said
so I wrote, "I withdraw my application. I cannot tolerate your lack of concern for the applicants. PS: Just what makes you think that a teaching assistant can be the program director at an Ivy league institution"
I'm still bitter cuz I paid the fees

was your TA recommendation included in a packet?

My school sends a packet with a letter from the advisor, and includes 3-6 letters written by profs/TAs/whoever else is writing..is that ok for NYU?

is the TA thing a problem at other schools? I thought most of them accept TA recs?

 

[NJDIF]

einsteins "dont call us, we'll call you" was delightful.

 

[Bacchus]

Those that have not yet begun to apply or are reapplying should not comment in this thread, for your own privacy, of course.

 

[aunt ethel]

This wasn't for an MD program, but I got a rejection letter from Harvard's MPH program and it had a typo, which someone had crossed out, but not corrected. And then they forgot to sign it at the bottom.

Wow. They really didn't want me, or give a rat's a$$ about me. I think I actually laughed out loud when I got it, and I kept the letter for sh*ts and giggles.

 

[jelly476]

jefferson sucked

I have to second this. While the deans at jefferson are good people, the regular admissions staff were the rudest by far. They would answer the phone in a huff and then make it sound like you were really putting them out by making them answer any questions. Many people complain about these people. They need to retool their staff.

 

[iduwanna]

I know I shouldn't have asked but I just want to make sure that all my letters are adequate since they might have signed "Program Director" and not "Professor"


As soon as I got couple of interviews from my other schools, I withdrew from NYU, "meh, not worth my hassle" I said
so I wrote, "I withdraw my application. I cannot tolerate your lack of concern for the applicants. PS: Just what makes you think that a teaching assistant can be the program director at an Ivy league institution"
I'm still bitter cuz I paid the fees

Yeah, you shouldn't have asked them that.

 

[Margaux1985]

einsteins "dont call us, we'll call you" was delightful.

Yes exactly, I don't remember them ever sending me confirmation that my application was complete, but the only way that I was able to confirm that my application was received was when they cashed my check.

 

[Margaux1985]

This wasn't for an MD program, but I got a rejection letter from Harvard's MPH program and it had a typo, which someone had crossed out, but not corrected. And then they forgot to sign it at the bottom.

Wow. They really didn't want me, or give a rat's a$$ about me. I think I actually laughed out loud when I got it, and I kept the letter for sh*ts and giggles.

On the upside, I think Harvard had the nicest rejection letter of any the schools. They even suggested that you might consider them for residency later on - how thoughful. I'm gonna keep it and frame it just because I think it was an honor for them to dignify me with a rejection.

 

[TheRealMD]

Applying to only 5 places means I didn't have much to pick from... That said, UT San Antonio never gave me an interview, so as Keith Olbermann might say "they are this year's worst med school IN THE WORLD!!!!"

 

[172858]

nicest - texas a&m... by far. filo maldonado is probably the nicest, most caring dean of admissions in the country. "here's my personal cell phone and home phone number. if you have any questions at all, you call me... any time."

meanest - ucla geffen, by far. although, it's funny how things eventually work out. lol

 

[janderson001]

From my friend's friend's experience:

She had a really bad interview and she ended up crying during the interview because she felt so overwhelmed and embarrassed in front of the interviewer....
After the interview she came out of the interviewer's room alone. Then while she was walking towards the exit of the building, she came across an admission office person in the hallway. At the time her face was distraught with dry tears and red eyes. What the admission person had to say to her was, "So.... how did the interview go?" with a mocking look. In response, she just ignored him and walked past him.