- Joined
- Feb 13, 2008
- Messages
- 948
- Reaction score
- 10
Something that's been bugging me as I've been waiting to hear back from schools is the variation that exists in terms of different schools' modes of operation & preferred means of communication. Without habitually checking the school-specific threads or status pages, it'd be nice to know how different schools communicate with applicants, as well as other habits of their respective admissions depts.
This may be a bit ambitious, but I think it might be useful to assemble a sort of quick reference guide that lays out a general idea of how each school runs its admissions process. I dunno about anyone else, but I think it would do a good deal to cut down on stress levels. I mean, at the very least people would know what to expect from their respective schools.
So, if people who have already had experience with the process could help group schools based on the following criteria, or suggest their own, I (or whoever), could create & submit a spreadsheet that condenses everything into a useful form.
The criteria/categories I have so far are:
1. Notification method (Email, Snail mail, Phone):
a. Interview
i. Email:
ii. Reg. Mail:
b. Acceptance (Official notification)
i. Email:
ii. Snail Mail:
iii. Phone call:
c. Rejection
i. Email:
ii. Snail Mail:
2. Speed of admissions process (Didn't know how to break this one down, since it obviously varies a good deal, even between apps to the same school, so for now I just have "Normal" or reasonable, and "Slow" (OHSU, for example, would fall into the slow category🙄). If anyone has any suggestions for this one, def. speak up!
a. Normal/Standard:
b. Historically slow: OHSU;
3. Status page? (Maybe even include URL's for different schools too?)
a. Full status page, listing application status and committee decision:
b. Partial status page w/ application status only (Complete, letters, etc):
c. No status page: UAMS;
4. Secondary type (still not sure about this one, could be useful early in the cycle when people are still getting their material in)
a. Full electronic secondary (payment, pic. submitted online): NYMC;
b. Partial electronic (Online component + required mailing of check, pic, etc): Drexel;
c. PDF/Full paper, requires mailing of all components: UAMS;
5. Communication strategy:
a: Direct notification: VCU;
c: "Hold-based post-secondary purgatory" (i.e most applicants placed on hold very quickly, rejections occur in May or later): George Washington;
b: Silent Rejectors: Jefferson;
I've tried to get things started with the little info I know.
For now, if people wanted to contribute by quoting the text in bold, removing the brackets, and adding schools to each category, that'd be awesome. Or go ahead and suggest another criteria...
Anyway, hopefully we can pool our collective knowledge and come up with another useful resource for people!
Thanks everyone!
This may be a bit ambitious, but I think it might be useful to assemble a sort of quick reference guide that lays out a general idea of how each school runs its admissions process. I dunno about anyone else, but I think it would do a good deal to cut down on stress levels. I mean, at the very least people would know what to expect from their respective schools.
So, if people who have already had experience with the process could help group schools based on the following criteria, or suggest their own, I (or whoever), could create & submit a spreadsheet that condenses everything into a useful form.
The criteria/categories I have so far are:
1. Notification method (Email, Snail mail, Phone):
a. Interview
i. Email:
ii. Reg. Mail:
b. Acceptance (Official notification)
i. Email:
ii. Snail Mail:
iii. Phone call:
c. Rejection
i. Email:
ii. Snail Mail:
2. Speed of admissions process (Didn't know how to break this one down, since it obviously varies a good deal, even between apps to the same school, so for now I just have "Normal" or reasonable, and "Slow" (OHSU, for example, would fall into the slow category🙄). If anyone has any suggestions for this one, def. speak up!
a. Normal/Standard:
b. Historically slow: OHSU;
3. Status page? (Maybe even include URL's for different schools too?)
a. Full status page, listing application status and committee decision:
b. Partial status page w/ application status only (Complete, letters, etc):
c. No status page: UAMS;
4. Secondary type (still not sure about this one, could be useful early in the cycle when people are still getting their material in)
a. Full electronic secondary (payment, pic. submitted online): NYMC;
b. Partial electronic (Online component + required mailing of check, pic, etc): Drexel;
c. PDF/Full paper, requires mailing of all components: UAMS;
5. Communication strategy:
a: Direct notification: VCU;
c: "Hold-based post-secondary purgatory" (i.e most applicants placed on hold very quickly, rejections occur in May or later): George Washington;
b: Silent Rejectors: Jefferson;
I've tried to get things started with the little info I know.
For now, if people wanted to contribute by quoting the text in bold, removing the brackets, and adding schools to each category, that'd be awesome. Or go ahead and suggest another criteria...
Anyway, hopefully we can pool our collective knowledge and come up with another useful resource for people!
Thanks everyone!
Last edited:
