No interview invites two months??????
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I completely agree. There are a lot of people trying to make us feel bad for not applying on June 2nd in this thread. But I just spoke to a friend of mine who applied last year -- he did not receive any invites AT ALL (he was complete at most places in August and September) and then, all at once, he received invited 7 invites (ALL IN NOVEMBER). He is now at NYU medical school.
no giving up.
no giving up.
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Even when one applies on June 2/3 as I did, and returns the secondaries ASAP in July, while I was marked complete at a few schools in July, I was not complete at all schools until August and in a couple of cases September.
Applying early is just smart - it gives you the best shot at the first wave of invites that starts in August and dies down in September. And for rolling schools, you are undeniably better off interviewing as early as possible - is anybody still confused about this?
Nobody is trying to make you feel bad, or convince you to give up, either.
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come on guys this is common sense. if you apply early (to rolling schools), your application is reviewed earlier and you are possibly granted interviews earlier.*
*this is assuming you have a solid application. applying early with a crappy application wont do anything for you.
*this is assuming you have a solid application. applying early with a crappy application wont do anything for you.
Of course-- you are all correct. Applying early gives you an advantage for sure. The point I am trying to make is that none of us have time machines and all of us have already applied. This thread is about determining who else is waiting for more interviews (or their first interviews). This thread is not meant to make us feel bad about something we did not do and can no longer control -- applying early.
There are plenty of places on the SDN to wax philosophical about the advantages of applying early and certainly that is helpful for those who are applying next year so thank you to all those who advocate for applying super early (it will help others in the future). But for all of us on this thread who will (hopefully) not be applying next year, it might be more helpful for us to hear we are not alone and not that we could have done something different (even if the truth is we could have).
There are plenty of places on the SDN to wax philosophical about the advantages of applying early and certainly that is helpful for those who are applying next year so thank you to all those who advocate for applying super early (it will help others in the future). But for all of us on this thread who will (hopefully) not be applying next year, it might be more helpful for us to hear we are not alone and not that we could have done something different (even if the truth is we could have).
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Hi folks! Just wanted to give the perspective of someone who went through this last year:
I applied in mid-June and was complete by mid-July (my college's premed committee thing took a while) almost everywhere. In total, of the 27 schools I applied to, I received 6 interview invites (although to be fair, I withdrew from like 15ish schools as soon as I got in on Oct 15).
The interview invites were spread out as follows: I got 4 in August, 1 in early September, 1 in early October, and 1 in early November. Again, I withdrew from most places except for my highest reaches and/or stuff in cities I wanted to visit by mid-October, but as you see the invites were definitely strangely spread out.
I think it's accurate to think that rolling schools go through the applications more than once, which is why there seems to be a delay for the people who applied early with a lot of the schools. So, say you applied to 20 schools in June/July. Depending on what kind of applicant you are, you might get 5ish interviews in the beginning of those schools' cycles because they really want to meet you and everyone agrees on it. Some schools may decide you're not a good fit for them at all and dismiss you altogether. Other schools may be sort of torn and decide to revisit your file once they see what the whole applicant pool looks like- those are the interviews you'll probably get in October or November or even beyond.
Also, a lot of people end up doing what I did and just withdraw from a bunch of places after the first acceptance, while remaining in the applicant pool only for their top (and often most competitive) choices. Because those tend to be the hardest to get into, though, they're also the ones that are least likely to interview you, which means that if you follow this approach you might not get any interviews at all after that mass withdrawal.
Hope this makes sense!
I applied in mid-June and was complete by mid-July (my college's premed committee thing took a while) almost everywhere. In total, of the 27 schools I applied to, I received 6 interview invites (although to be fair, I withdrew from like 15ish schools as soon as I got in on Oct 15).
The interview invites were spread out as follows: I got 4 in August, 1 in early September, 1 in early October, and 1 in early November. Again, I withdrew from most places except for my highest reaches and/or stuff in cities I wanted to visit by mid-October, but as you see the invites were definitely strangely spread out.
I think it's accurate to think that rolling schools go through the applications more than once, which is why there seems to be a delay for the people who applied early with a lot of the schools. So, say you applied to 20 schools in June/July. Depending on what kind of applicant you are, you might get 5ish interviews in the beginning of those schools' cycles because they really want to meet you and everyone agrees on it. Some schools may decide you're not a good fit for them at all and dismiss you altogether. Other schools may be sort of torn and decide to revisit your file once they see what the whole applicant pool looks like- those are the interviews you'll probably get in October or November or even beyond.
Also, a lot of people end up doing what I did and just withdraw from a bunch of places after the first acceptance, while remaining in the applicant pool only for their top (and often most competitive) choices. Because those tend to be the hardest to get into, though, they're also the ones that are least likely to interview you, which means that if you follow this approach you might not get any interviews at all after that mass withdrawal.
Hope this makes sense!
I applied late (early September). I think it was a huge mistake. I think I have a fairly decent application but only 6 interview invites so far. It's quite pathetic actually. I have a feeling that had I applied earlier I would have more invites.
Only 6. Making us feel a lot better.
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Are you being serious? If so, go away. Nobody wants to listen to someone complaining that they only have SIX interviews. 😛
Applying early can't really be a bad thing, but it doesn't offer much of an advantage except for STRICTLY rolling admissions schools. Most schools are semi-rolling ones and for them, it doesn't make much of a difference in terms of probability of accepted. In fact, one of these semi-rolling schools specifically told me NOT to apply in June so I wouldn't "get lost in the shuffle."
Also, the interview invite cycle isn't dying down. It's dying down for you because you applied early. The schools who really want you have already invited you. For competitive applicants who applied late, it's just gearing up.
Also, I'd like to note that applying early tend to make a bigger difference for people who do not have stand-out aspects in their applications. Part of the reason is that generally, the strictly rolling schools are lower-tier schools and they're the schools that non-standout applicants have the best chance of getting into.
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Oops it seems like I pissed some people off. Sorry. I guess six would be a great number if the interviews were all (or at least a couple) at top-tier schools. All of mine are either in-state or low to mid tier. That's probably why I'm not all that excited about my invites. Moreover, I applied to many schools. Regardless of what anyone else may say, 6 out of 20 is kind of a small number. And finally, I have no acceptances yet. That's probably another reason six seems like a small number to me. Until I get that first acceptance any number of interviews is going to be inadequate.
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For every in-state or low to mid tier interview that you get that you're "not all that excited about", just realize how many people would kill for your interview spot. And 6/20 is 30%. That's huge. I recall reading a thread where people posted their interview % rate, and some were in the 20's % range with many being much lower. Be happy. You're very blessed. You have absolutely nothing to complain about.
The average rate is about 15%
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Can I haz interviewz?
Seriously though, seeing that empty inbox week after week is pretty demoralizing. It makes me want to slip further into the dark world of substance abuse.
Seriously though, seeing that empty inbox week after week is pretty demoralizing. It makes me want to slip further into the dark world of substance abuse.
Don't give up, Dr. Wake N Bake. Schools will be interviewing until March. Moreover, I have friends who applied last year who did not receive invites at all until November. You are not alone. Plenty of people are still waiting-- some for the their first invites, some for their 2nd or 3rd after a dearth of invites in September and October.
