Official Northwestern Notification Thread 2005

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waitlisted
status changed wed. feb. 23.
oh well... i guess there is still a chance
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I just got the waitlist letter from NU today. My status changed Tuesday, Feb 22 in the afternoon. My letter was dated Wednesday, Feb 23.

I'm not feeling bad about this at all, since I'd rather go to Pritzker if I decide to go to a Chicago area med school anyway.
 
Dei gratia kicked in, got an e-mail indicating I was accepted today.
Status change was on Monday, of course the letter will take forever to get to Canada. This was my first accept, so everything is ethereal right now. To all those who were rejected or waitlisted: I hope muchly that you will be accepted somewhere and can live your dreams. To those who were accepted: I'll see you on second look!!!

To all my SDN brethren, you have been with me through my darkest hour. I will never forget it.

_________________________________________
Ceterum Censeo Carthaginem Delenda Est
 
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2/28 my first rejection.
NU wasn't even my top choice, but it still hurt like a b*tch.
oh well, congrats to those who were accepted!
 
Croatalus_atrox said:
I just got the waitlist letter from NU today. My status changed Tuesday, Feb 22 in the afternoon. My letter was dated Wednesday, Feb 23.

I'm not feeling bad about this at all, since I'd rather go to Pritzker if I decide to go to a Chicago area med school anyway.
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Croatalus_atrox, you have a kick a** signature! Donde ellos entran?
 
waah waitlisted. :(

come on, pritzker!!!! :luck: :luck:
 
starfruit said:
are you planning on writing anything in the "Reasons:" portion of the waitlist declaration page? Seems sort of weird.
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they want a reason why you want to stay on the waitlist?? are they crazy? anyway, i also got a rejection today...and what really, i mean REALLY pissed me off was the computer generated signature. they cant even sign our rejections in person? oh well...i'm off to a better school anyway. byebye northwestern.
 
yeah, the waitlist letters also were computer signed.
 
rejected, wed status change, letter dated feb 23. yeah, rejection hurts... hope is shriveling for my first acceptance, waiting is a biatch...
 
Finally, after 6 months of waiting, I get a post-secondary rejection. I must say that letting me know by locking me out of the status site is completely rude. I realize I'm hardly the first to say this, but B O G U S. :thumbdown:
 
REEEJEEEECT
status change = wed 23rd
kind of relieved, since i didnt wanna have to pick between another school and BU, easier when others make decisions for u :D
 
letter: Big fat rejection
Status page: changed wed the 23rd
Feeling: hurt pride (c'mon the interview wasn't THAT bad) but but feeling somewhat consoled by the fact that other great applicants on here got rejected too. I'm also somewhat relieved that I can now make a decision between the schools that I am accepted to and not have to wait in alternate list hell.
 
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rockstar2525 said:
letter: Big fat rejection
Status page: changed wed the 23rd
Feeling: hurt pride (c'mon the interview wasn't THAT bad) but but feeling somewhat consoled by the fact that other great applicants on here got rejected too. I'm also somewhat relieved that I can now make a decision between the schools that I am accepted to and not have to wait in alternate list hell.
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sorry dude. I think NU is a good school in a great neighborhood. But seeing the way they rejected applicants really left a bad taste in my mouth.

That said, my rejection letter is STILL not here. :rolleyes:
 
seems like a lot of rejections here. someone earlier commented that there were only 30 some rejections last year, that most people got waitlists. are there more big R's this year or are we really the bottom of the barrel?
 
So in response to the myriad of discussions going on about whether the "final decision forthcoming" thing on the website means anything...it doesn't. I have had that message for more than a week now and yesterday got notified that I'm an alternate. Which really, if you think about it, isn't a final decision at all. Unless they have plans to leave me on the waitlist for the rest of my life (who knows), I assume that my status as an alternate is not actually the final decision. So I have fondly been placed on the "meh" list of people they don't really care one way or the other about--not good enough to let in, not bad enough to reject outright.
Here's to rejecting them!
 
starfruit said:
I think NU tends to be more on the elusive side, since it has an unranked waitlist. In the past there have been anywhere from 2-3 to 30 people coming off the waitlist (or so I read in an old thread). Given the popularity of the school these days, though, there probably won't be much movement. But who knows.

Absps1983 - are you planning on writing anything in the "Reasons:" portion of the waitlist declaration page? Seems sort of weird.

Sorry about the rejections folks, but at least you're not left in limbo.
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I know the question wasn't for me but I was also a bit put off that they wanted a reason that we would decline their little limbo there. How about "because you want me to sit there and chew my nails until you validate my existence"?? I just said I'd been accepted at other schools and had decided to matriculate elsewhere. Sound stuffy enough?
 
opinionkitten said:
seems like a lot of rejections here. someone earlier commented that there were only 30 some rejections last year, that most people got waitlists. are there more big R's this year or are we really the bottom of the barrel?
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I can't imagine that we are really the bottom of the barrel. My stats are on par with their averages, and I got into four other schools (not to brag, just saying I don't think it was lack of academic abilty that caused the scarlet R). Although I thought my interview went ok, I left feeling like I wouldn't really fit in there, maybe the adcom sensed that? Really who knows? Look at RunMimi's profile; this is all a crapshoot, clearly!
I for one appreciate a definitive rejection rather than a waitlist that has a very slim chance of moving. Really, maybe NU this year NU is utilizing the waitlist in the way it was intended; students that are just below the cut and may actually have a shot at getting in. I hope so, for their sake. ;)
 
BravaItaliana said:
I know the question wasn't for me but I was also a bit put off that they wanted a reason that we would decline their little limbo there. How about "because you want me to sit there and chew my nails until you validate my existence"?? I just said I'd been accepted at other schools and had decided to matriculate elsewhere. Sound stuffy enough?
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Oh, that makes more sense. A "reason" why you are declining the waitlist, rather than a "reason" you are accepting a place on the alternate list.
I still think the form is ambiguous, though.

Also, I agree that there seem to be a lot of rejections this year. I can't imagine that the SDN population just happens to include the majority of those rejected. Possible, but not probable.
 
Alternate, shmalternate. And I have no idea when my status was set to "forthcoming".
 
Has anyone else NOT gotten anything in the mail yet?? Sheesh! Checked the mail today and STILL nothing. I called them and they said they couldn't just tell me over the phone. :mad:
 
rosa said:
Has anyone else NOT gotten anything in the mail yet?? Sheesh! Checked the mail today and STILL nothing. I called them and they said they couldn't just tell me over the phone. :mad:
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Did you change your address in AMCAS at any time since you first applied? NW sent mine to my 'old' address - even though it was updated last August in AMCAS. If this is the case, maybe you can ask them to verify the current address they have on file and resend if they sent the original letter to the old address.
 
RunMimi said:
Aww...thanks. Actually I know a lot of over-qualified people that were flat out rejected. I was talking about it to some of them. Their hypothesis was that since NU is trying to raise their rankings, they would only accept people that they thought they had a high likelihood of retaining. Its a thought. Anyways, no point in dwelling :)
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Sounds a lot like sour grapes. What, pray tell, does it mean to be "over qualified" to be accepted to NU? Aren't you still in school? Do you have the clinical experience they look for here? I mean last year they REQUIRED one year of clinical experience to get in. Do these "over qualified" people have that? Obviously these people are not "over qualified" or else they would have gotten in.

And if they wanted to raise their rankings so bad with numbers, why would they be rejecting these "over qualified" applicants with high stats? Wouldn't they want to do the opposite? Why not just accept them and if they don't enroll, pull the rest off the wait list.

Either way, face it. Applications were up 17% this year. You got 7000 applicants and about 110 spots to fill. Do the math.

Edit: Looked over my materials and was mistaken about the full time work experience. It reads "one year of clinical experience" which I imagine obviously does not have to be full time.
 
RunMimi said:
Aww...thanks. Actually I know a lot of over-qualified people that were flat out rejected. I was talking about it to some of them. Their hypothesis was that since NU is trying to raise their rankings, they would only accept people that they thought they had a high likelihood of retaining. Its a thought. Anyways, no point in dwelling :)
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You're welcome ;) I remember seeing you had some great options, congrats on your most recent acceptance too!

I don't really think I'm "over-qualified" for NU, but for the sake of this thread, let's pretend like you are right and it's my extraordinary life experiences, outstanding intellect, and strong personality that caused them to be intimidated by me . . .therefore reject me.
 
ctwickman said:
No offense but your post reeks of self-elitism and your "over qualified" comment is an underhanded way of putting down the school and the people in here that got in, so of course you have to expect a response, especially when you try and surmise that the school is trying to increase their rankings via numbers, which is ironic coming from someone who is probably going to go to Duke.
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wow, i didnt know med students got so defensive about their schools
thats CRAAAAAAAAAZYYYYYYYYYY
 
RunMimi said:
Geez, I knew someone on here was going to get uptight about my comments. Trust me: only happy grapes here. I got into my FIRST CHOICE SCHOOL yesterday. No reason for bitterness, just an observation.
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Runmimi is such an angel. Well, I'm not. I think it is absolutely clear that Northwestern is trying to ensure that less people decline as did last year. Some weird calculation into some cryptic alogorithm they've concocted to raise their rank. Otherwise, how dare they reject so many of the truly wonderful applicants I know. I have yet to receive my letter, but I suspect it is a rejection. At least, I hope it is. If it were anything else, I'd feel insulted. I'd like to think I am one of the "overqualified."

Good luck to those for whom this is a first choice (and why that would be the case is beyond me). One must never argue on matters of taste.
 
All this debate about cachet is really tiresome. Maybe I'm being idealistic, but having been accepted to NU I wouldn't dream of wasting my time rationalizing why lower ranked schools waitlisted me. Maybe it's naivete, or maybe it's the superior time management skills we acceptees were selected for! (I'm really just joking, get your gloves back on!)
 
so, back on topic...
anybody know what last years wait list statistics are? how many on the waitlist? how many accepted from the waitlist?
how many declined being on the waitlist?
anything else you can think of...
 
i was talking to a friend whos a ms1 this year at nu, and she said that the hpme class for this upcoming year is larger than usual (~70). with this and the huge number of people who have applied this year, i wonder if the movement off the waitlist will be significantly different from previous years. :scared:
 
I called the admissions office today and asked and they said that "hundreds of people" had been offered the waitlist and that in years past 7-30 people had been taken off the waitlist. I'm not sure what that means for this years class though.
 
I was weirded out by RunMimi's comments about "overqualification" so I was curious what she thought an "over qualified" applicant looked like, so I checked out her profile and saw there was no full time clinical work experience in her app. I was like WTF how did she even get an interview if she didn't meet the basic requirements for admission. So I went on over to the admissions site and found out something that should be of huge interest to you guys on the waitlist, and then a light bulb went off. :idea: Basically it turns out we have something here that was required as a qualification to be considered last year, and now this year is absent. However, the admissions committee has not changed and this qualification is, I'm sure, still in the minds of the committee--i.e., the very same people that made up and formed this rule in the first place.

And that is, CLINICAL WORK EXPERIENCE.

I specifically remember this because I was scared to death because I did not have it, and therefore would not get in, so I went out and got it as soon as I submitted my AMCAS. I got a job at a local hospital as a Medical Scribe after reading through Northwestern's "General Admissions Policies and Requirements" on the web site and saw I was completely missing a minimum requirement for admission. Now, this required qualification for admission, which was precisely "ONE YEAR of clinical work experience," is now gone from the General Admissions Policies and Requirements. But it certainly can't be gone from the minds of the committee because just a year ago it was their policy!

Northwestern is BIG on clinical experience, and them making one full year of it as a REQUIREMENT for admission really shows this. I bet you this requirement turned off a LOT of applications in previous years--it nearly turned me off from even applying to Feinberg in the first place because I did not even meet the basic reqs. And then just now a light bulb went off and the huge increase in applications this year over last year all made sense when I put two and two together: This requirement was now GONE in this application cycle. How else do you explain an almost 20% jump in applications when med school applications are up only 2.5%? It's not like Northwestern is some new school people are starting to find out about. Instead, a minimum (and pretty drastic IMO) requirement, which was a huge barrier for applications, was removed this year.

Now obviously it is too late for you guys to start now and get a full year of clinical work under your belts, but I believe 100% you will have a HUGE advantage in the minds of the committee here if, while on the waitlist, you get a part-time position or something related to CLINICAL (not research) work, and send them update letters regarding your new experiences in the clinics. You will be effectively doing something that was required of us last year for admission which many of your fellow peers applying this year do not even know about, but yet is obviously extremely important to the people running the show here. I hope this information is useful to you. :thumbup:
 
This is pure speculation, and I don't believe you. Why would any school choose to interview applicants that do not meet their supposed requirements? How can any fulltime student take on fulltime clinical experience? You should lay off Runmimi as she is entitled to her rather reasonable supposition. Yours is just silly. And that is my opinion.
 
^

Did you even read the post before replying? It is NOT a requirement this year. It was LAST year. So obviously they will interview people this year without this one year of clinical experience because it is no longer a requirement. It's moot. The only thing I am speculating about is that this requirement removal ties into the huge increase in applications this year. I can't prove this, though it makes total sense. The one year of clinical experience requirement last year was a fact though and that I can prove--we could meet up during 2nd look and I'll show you my application file and print outs from last year.

And I'm not laying on RunMimi and that post wasn't even about her. Yes I was offended (and surprised) by her comments but she has been mature enough to apologize to me about them and I hold no grudge--she has been one of the most wonderful posters in here and I am sad to see her go.
 
Um, hi. ::meekly raises hand:: Quiet NU student here.

I'm an M1 at NU, in ctwickman's class, and I can vouch that something's mighty different with the interview process this year, and he's right about the requirements being altered.

I don't know precisely what's going on. But! I do know that this clinical work experience requirement was listed during my interview period (I satisfied it through volunteering with patients at a tactile art gallery in an eye clinic). It's apparently no longer a requirement, which would explain a fairly big change in the applicant pool from my year. At least when I was applying with fellow 'premeds' at Duke, one of the reasons why people said 'ugh, no,' to NU was either 1) the panel interview seemed too intimidating or weird and/or 2) the realization that 'oh, crap, I didn't get my volunteering or clinical work time in.' Things are different now, and I'm out of the loop, but it's interesting to see how NU keeps changing their application dynamics.

Anyways, hope to see some of y'all visiting us for Second Look. Don't let the bizarre and often frustrating application procedure/wait tarnish the school for you. I'm enjoying it, to the degree that anyone can 'enjoy' med school!

::heads back to Netter flashcards::

04DukeBio
 
ctwickman said:
^

Did you even read the post before replying? It is NOT a requirement this year. It was LAST year. So obviously they will interview people this year without this one year of clinical experience because it is no longer a requirement. It's moot. The only thing I am speculating about is that this requirement removal ties into the huge increase in applications this year. I can't prove this, though it makes total sense. The one year of clinical experience requirement last year was a fact though and that I can prove--we could meet up during 2nd look and I'll show you my application file and print outs from last year.

And I'm not laying on RunMimi and that post wasn't even about her. Yes I was offended (and surprised) by her comments but she has been mature enough to apologize to me about them and I hold no grudge--she has been one of the most wonderful posters in here and I am sad to see her go.
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I quite liked this quote when it included harsh words for me. Call me pseudo-masochistic, but I seem to thrive on hate. It nourishes my blood (I have venom coursing through my veins). I am impressed with your patriotism to NU. It is very charming, and it almost completely disarms me against you.

I have always maintained that NU is a very good school. I have a friend who was recently accepted, and who is a much, much better person/student than I am. He ranks NU on his list of top schools, and while this has never been the case for me, I understand his reasoning. I was at the school myself and was impressed with the commitment to research - which is why all this talk of clinical this and that is just a little strange to me.

To answer your edited-out question of why I am still hanging out on this thread: well, it's simply because I can. I have yet to receive my letter. With the amount of rumor that NU lends itself to inspiring, I imagined the lack of a letter could be found to mean something by imaginative SDN-ers. I am lurking to see what mystery is to be drawn from that. One of my greatest dislikes about NU is their very odd admissions process: shutting people out of the website, the very strange meeting with the dean at the interview, the forthcoming or pending weirdness. It's all just so silly for a school that should be above such pettiness.

I continue to wish well to those who can look past these complaints and see a fine research institution that NU undoubtedly is. My best wishes also extend to those who have gotten in and those still waiting.

And please, keep the hate alive.
 
full time clinical experience? are you kidding? wouldn't that automatically disqualify anyone still in school?
 
beep said:
full time clinical experience? are you kidding? wouldn't that automatically disqualify anyone still in school?
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This is an issue I already raised with the questionable NU ambassador.
 
beep said:
full time clinical experience? are you kidding? wouldn't that automatically disqualify anyone still in school?
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I made an initial mistake in my statement of "full time" but I corrected that a while ago. I looked at my application materials, and it reads "one year of clinical experience." This was a minimum requirement for admission for my class (2008). I imagine this can be spread over the four/five years of college and no where does it read "full time," though that's what I did myself. This requirement is no longer there for your entering class. A perfectly good explanation of why there is a 20% jump in applications this year.

Good information to know for those on the waitlist looking for to add some extra "ummph" for their application that the committee would certainly be impressed with.

To GuyLaroche: The problem with you is you attack people personally, calling my credibility into complete question for no reason other than "you don't believe me." No offense, but that's your problem. I have effectively been called a "liar" and "questionable" by you in this thread, and I did nothing to deserve it. I'm just trying to help people out here with some useful information they otherwise would not have.
 
ok, really people, enough bickering already. I have no interest in checking this thread and finding the latest messages in a verbal brawl between SDNers (ctwickman, larouche, etc). Either start ignoring each other or share your comments through PM.
 
ctwickman said:
To GuyLaroche: The problem with you is you attack people personally, calling my credibility into complete question for no reason other than "you don't believe me." No offense, but that's your problem. I have effectively been called a "liar" and "questionable" by you in this thread, and I did nothing to deserve it. I'm just trying to help people out here with some useful information they otherwise would not have.
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Hey, I happen to like you. I will never dream of attacking you - just a little nudge here and there. Plus Runmimi is a princess, and I will defend her honor if ever I feel it is being attacked. ;) In other news (I just love using this expression - makes me feel like an anchorman) I was waitlisted. I wonder if it matters if I respond to the alternate accept or not. I think they'll take my silence to mean complete and utter disinterest. And they would be right!

Good luck all.
 
Anyone else surprised by the reject. why not just waitlist me. I have a MCAT 40, 3.6 gpa, 3.9 science, and 3 years of full time hospital experience, I would like to think that would get me a waitlist at least.
 
Benjiii said:
Anyone else surprised by the reject. why not just waitlist me. I have a MCAT 40, 3.6 gpa, 3.9 science, and 3 years of full time hospital experience, I would like to think that would get me a waitlist at least.
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sometimes admissions is fickle... :/ sorry to hear that
 
XoQo said:
sometimes admissions is fickle... :/ sorry to hear that
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XoQo, don't you feel bad for me? Stalking from Jenny just ain't gonna cut it. :D

Ah . . wish I could have gone to chicago, we could all have ended up in the same city, but it looks like its off to Cleveland I go.

By the way, how many ppl in your class came from the waitlist? Give us all some hope. :)

Bri
 
So I was waitlisted also. Today I marched myself over to the admissions office (because I live 4 blocks away and have for the last three years and the thought of moving torments me day and night) to hand deliver a letter of interest/intent. I asked the woman to clearly explain to me what an unranked waitlist is. My idea that it is a contest to see who writes the most letters and makes the most calls was confirmed. But what I still don't get is: everyone who wants to go there will do this. And someone has to get picked first. How? Who? When?
 
lol Bri...yes i do feel sorry for you hehe.

not too much hope to offer. I honestly don't know what this admissions season will pan out to be in terms of the waitlist. I do have statistics on max/min:

The most taken off the waitlist was in the 1998-1999 school year (39 from waitlist were given spots) and the minimum was in the 2002-2003 school year (3 were given spots).
 
i got rejected. i really liked that place, so it's too bad, but i was pretty sure i was going to end up at umich anyway, so i guess it's just making my decision easier. it still sux, though, especially since i thought i did well on my interview.
 
XoQo said:
lol Bri...yes i do feel sorry for you hehe.

not too much hope to offer. I honestly don't know what this admissions season will pan out to be in terms of the waitlist. I do have statistics on max/min:

The most taken off the waitlist was in the 1998-1999 school year (39 from waitlist were given spots) and the minimum was in the 2002-2003 school year (3 were given spots).
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how many for the 04-05?
 
ctwickman said:
At LEAST 4, that's all I can tell you because that's about how many I know. :)
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Thats cool...
I got a couple more rec letters coming, and i wrote a letter of intent. Im hopefully getting a promotion in april, so i can mention that. I guess thats about all i can do, i hope its enough to get off the alternate list
 
Writing to apologize to all Northwestern hopefuls and enthusiasts. I have reflected very deeply on the admissions process, and I have come to the conclusion that there are always going to be the people who get in everywhere and these fall in the very small minority. I have slowly come to the terms that along with having great stats, there is the luck factor and I just wasn't lucky with Northwestern.

There is also something that is troubling to me: this idea that one has to get into every possible school. I am trying to rid myself of this ridiculous notion as the number of schools you get into will only be an anecdote you can reflect on proudly in the future but will never have any material influence of your career. My impending rejection from Harvard and my waitlist from Northwestern have been very positive things. For a brief moment, I forgot that there are many equally qualified applicants out there - and grudgingly, I admit - even a few that are even more so.

So, I am sorry I for my Northwestern derision. How did I think I was!
 
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