Please help the PelicanMan

[PelicanMan]

I just got rejected from Wake Forest.

I am left with two schools, Emory and Pritzker.

I was wondering what you people think about me flying to Chicago and to try to talk to the Dean of Admission?

I am afraid that it may make me look to desperate. In addition everyone I have talked to is sure that I have been accepted somewhere which isn't the case. I have not told them this fact but I think that if I fly to Chicago that they will ask me where I am accepted and if I tell them nowhere they will think that I am trying to go to Pritzker just because I have no acceptances, but the fact is that it is my number one choice school.

I don't know what to do?

Any help would be appreciated. Thank you.

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[SMW]

What is your status at these two schools? Schools know where you have been accepted, so both these schools know that you have no acceptances. Have you written a letter of intent to either of them?

 

[Doctora Foxy]

****! I cursed for you Pelican Man Stupid Wake Forest doesn't know what they are missing! I'm sorry. That made me so mad.

About the no-acceptance thing, I think most schools know who has multiple acceptances and who doesn't, so don't worry too much about that. If you plan to fly to Chicago to meet with a dean, you need to call and ask if you can even do that first. Maybe asking for a second interview would help? And keep writing those letters of intent!

I really hope you get in, my fingers are crossed so hard for you that it hurts!

Best of luck

p.s. Don't forget to show Emory some love also, just in case they end up working out for you....

 

[MTORMENTME]

P,

Iam kinda knew to SDN but I hope you take my advice. What do you have to lose. Med schools aren't high school girls...they aren't going to drop you just because your persistent. Would you rather take a chance making a fool out of yourself or regret that you didn't for the rest of your life. Good luck man...and I wish I was a passionate as you.

T

 

[HanSolo]

I think you should GO. If you are in love with the school, and kind of in a "tight" situation, then by all means pull all the stops, do everything and anything (well, short of selling yourself) to increase the odds in your favor. So that down the road, you wont have to wonder the "what if, should have, could have"

 

[MTORMENTME]

Y ou got 3 replies in the time it took my wasted but to write 1...good luck man...but ya you should probably check first

 

[PelicanMan]

I'm on the waitlist at Emory and Pritzker

I have sent a letter of intent to Pritzker.
I have updated Emory.

I know they can find out if i have acceptances but I think that they haven't looking into my file assuming that if i got on their waitlist that I got accepted somewhere else.

 

[darkmatter]

Someone posted about schools knowing where you got accepted, so there's nothing to lose. Honesty beats desperation anytime, so I think it is sound to go and state your intentions at your number one choice. Try contacting your interviewer and explain your case. Do not forget talking to your interviewer at Emory too. If you have your tour guide's e-mail address, try speaking to them too.

Wake Forest is foolish to pass you by. Having been invited to good schools indicates that you are high on their want list. I'm confident that you'll hear good news.

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[dr. momo]

hi pelicanman~

try contacting the dean of admissions directly. say how much you love the school, and that you're interested in coming out to meet with him/her. if the person seems hesitant just say that you will be in the area and would really like to stop by. hopefully you'll get a chance to meet and kiss-up in person. :wink:

i hope you get in! you deserve it with that kind of dedication... =)

 

[otter]

Hi Pelicanman, I really feel for you and we all know how much you've been wanting to get into Pritzker.

Part of me says go to Chicago and show just how you're interested in them by any means possible. The other part of me says don't overdo it because you may be setting yourself up for disappointment.

You see, there was this one school that I was gungho about getting into probably just as much as you want to get into Pritzker. I went out of my way like crazy just for that one school. Well, I got rejected anyways for the 2nd straight year and, in retrospect, I was just allowing myself to be toyed around. And in the end, I was really hurt.

This was my second time applying there. After my first rejection, the dean told me to do this and this and that if I wanted to get in as a reapplicant. I followed up on every single suggestion he made, including one that was very difficult. I'm sorry, I don't want to go into details, but I'll just say that what he suggested strained my relationship with my parents and cost me an opportunity to improve my standings with some of the other med schools I was gonna apply to. I followed his advice anyways, because that's how badly I wanted to get in there. So I interviewed there late last year for the second time. During the interview, I talked about how the dean gave me several suggestions and I followed up on every one of them. This time I felt good about my chances; how could possibly they reject me after all this? Well, I was rejected anyways. Today, I talked to the dean, the same guy. He says to me that the interviewers' inputs were that they felt I'm too laidback and don't smile enough. They said in the report that I should go back to engineering (I quit engineering 3 years ago to try to get into med school), given my personality. (What do they know about engineering?! To be a successful engineer, you need to have a lot of the same intagible skills as doctors.)

Pelicanman, the advice I'm trying to give you is do your best within a reasonable extent to draw Pritzker's interest. A letter of intent is definitely good. You definitely need to maintain regular contact with them and send them any updates you have. However, you must keep in mind that adcoms at most schools are not a sympathetic bunch. Their bottomline is that they want students who have the best stats and the most favourable interview impressions in that cycle. They will not be made to feel like they owe you something just because you bent over backward for their school. Med schools receive thousands of applications and I really believe that each school is like some machine without feelings, only adhering to its bottomline (whatever that may be).

I really hope you get into Pritzker. But I don't want you to get burned, either. I think you should fly out to Chicago to do this, only if you think that it will give you the necessary peace of mind knowing you'll really have done all you could to convince them.

 

[gel1]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by PelicanMan:
•I was wondering what you people think about me flying to Chicago and to try to talk to the Dean of Admission?•••••Well, of the two deans at U of C that you would be meeting with, I suppose that Sylvia Robertson would be the person that you should plead your case to. When I went to revisit the school on my own, she was extremely helpful. She seems to care a lot about your personal well-being, and one of her jobs is understanding people's problems and providing a supportive environment for med students. She also has a lot of power/pull with admissions.

I think that you need to understand that even if you go, you still have a high chance of not getting in. Are there still like 300 people waiting for 20 spots?? Do Not go if it will cripple you financially or hurt your life in any other way. But if you have the free time, then make sure you spend plenty of time with students and in the neighborhood too. You never know what your second impressions will become.

•••quote:•••Originally posted by otter:•Their bottomline is that they want students who have the best stats and the most favourable interview impressions in that cycle. They will not be made to feel like they owe you something just because you bent over backward for their school. Med schools receive thousands of applications and I really believe that each school is like some machine without feelings, only adhering to its bottomline (whatever that may be).•••••One thing that is different about Pritzker is that they are really not about the numbers, but they really stress personal characteristics. Plus your numbers are great for them anyway. Otter's story is really interesting (and a tragedy), but I want to highlight that your personality really needs to shine through if and when you go back. You can't just be groveling or grateful. I don't mean to sound harsh, but I wonder if you could call Wake Forest and ask if they rejected you because their class was full--or if it was really because they were getting some kind of strange vibe or whatever during the interview. They may not tell you that info either. I don't know, just a suggestion.

 

[whoanelly]

How was your interview there? Do you know how to contact any of your interviewers? If so, I would contact one or more, expressing again your intense desire to go to med school there, and asking for their advice as to the best approach to take. They tend to know how the system works and may even be on the ADCOM committee.

 

[Schubie]

Pelican Man,

I just posted this in the other thread that I started, but I'll tell you here too. If you have the opportunity, go to Chicago and talk to Sylvia in person. I did that two weeks ago, and she told me exactly what I needed to do to improve my application. She was very straightforward, and she said exactly what the problems were. I wrote her a letter addressing these issues, and when I got in, she said that the letter made a huge difference in their decision. I think going there only helps, because it shows your interest, and it gives them a chance to see you as a person, and not just some name of a sheet on paper. Also, it doesn't matter that you haven't gotten in anywhere else, because they don't really care what other schools think. I hadn't gotten in anywhere else, and I was being waitlisted at SLU and Penn State. Also, I think that AMCASS lets them know who has been accepted, and where, because it gives them an idea of how many people will take their offers instead of offers from other schools. That is how they figure out how to do the waitlist. They make a number of initial acceptances off of the waitlist (I assume that I was in this list) and then they go one-by-one as people with acceptances choose to go elsewhere. Good Luck! I'm praying for you!

 

[dynamic02]

Hey P,

I agree with the positive encouragements that other people were speaking of-- it might be helpful to call before you decide to venture out to chicago.... just to make sure the deans are in town and have available times to meet with you.
Also, do you have any new recommendations from professors or anyone else that could be sent in and update your file? i know recommendations from others can take time, but if you explain your case to that prof or new person, there is a possibility they might hurry and get it done for you.
hope it helps! hang in there and good luck!

 

[otter]

Pelicanman,
It seems that, based on reading some of the above posts, Pritzker is a lot more receptive to your actions than most other schools. So, I take back what I said above. You should probably go to Chicago and do what Schubie did. Good luck!

 

[commymommy]

GO FOR IT! A friend of mine was desperate about this time 7 YEARS ago....and he called and talked to them honestly...and he was admitted...they said that one of the things that put him into the admit pile was his persistance and genuine interest!!!!

Good LUCK...We've all got our fingers crossed for you!

Kris

 

[shorrin]

hey P,

I have spoken with sylvia and she is a very helpful and kind person. Perhaps you can (if financially feasible) make an appt. to see her. I work on campus so if you have any questions anything I can do I'll go down there and ask for you...

 

[Tweetie_bird]

gosh...you people (eg: shorrin) are so nice!

I haven't applied yet, so I don't have much advice besides--follow your gut instinct. if you feel like that ONE thing will make you feel like you gave it your BEST SHOT and that there isn't anything else you would change if you had to do it all over again, DO IT. Being persistent and passionate can only open up more doors for you. My best wishes to you, I hope you get in.

Tweetie

 

[vyc]

not sure if flying over there is going to even make a difference. it smells desperate. i would restrict all my efforts to snail mail, telephone, and email.

best of luck, pelican!

 

[oldman]

my buddy did that for ugrad and it worked. i'm not sure if med school would be better.

 

[PelicanMan]

Thanks for all the advice people.

However I think that if I go it will make me seem too desperate.

Gower told me that it would just be a waste of time and money.

The good news is that I am going to get another strong letter of recommendation.

I talked to Sylvia and explained to her why Pritzker is perfect for me and she said that it seems to her that I have really put in a lot of thought into Pritzker which makes me feel good. I sent a letter of recommendation a few weeks ago and she couldn't find it. After 5 minutes she found the letter so I think the committee hasn't seen this new letter. I have a good feeling about Pritzker and I hope that what happened to otter doesn't happen to me. Thank you guys.

I will keep you posted of anything new.

 

[SarahL]

PelicanMan, I really hope this works out for you. You may remember that I was obsessed with UCSF in the same way. As a matter of fact, you sent me an email about it and I didn't respond because I was interviewing at other schools and when I got back SDN was down.

For everyone who doesn't know, I work at UCSF and love it here. They sent me a secondary but didn't invite me for an interview. My appeal was rejected and I dropped by the Associate Dean of Admissions Office to talk to him about it.

It didn't work. By the time I got the letter rejecting my application, there were only a few days of interviews left. They didn't have the chance to review my appeal until interviewing was over. My sense is that they probably wouldn't have offered me an interview anyway; who knows? But I feel better for having done it.

Then I got a full ride from Pitt! And they waived a course requirement for me (second semester organic chemistry, with lab), so this summer I'm going on a fabulous vacation. It looks like all roads are leading to Pittsburgh for me at this point. I'm very happy.

I sure hope they let you in -- they'd be mad not to -- but remember that you can be happy anywhere.

Good luck!!

 

[otter]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by PelicanMan:
•I talked to Sylvia and explained to her why Pritzker is perfect for me and she said that it seems to her that I have really put in a lot of thought into Pritzker which makes me feel good. I sent a letter of recommendation a few weeks ago and she couldn't find it. After 5 minutes she found the letter so I think the committee hasn't seen this new letter. I have a good feeling about Pritzker and I hope that what happened to otter doesn't happen to me. Thank you guys.
•••••Pelicanman, I hope the same thing for you. I presented my story partly to make you aware of the dangers of putting all the eggs in one basket and then setting yourself up for disappointment. But I now have a different feeling about Pritzker from everything that I've read in the posts subsequent to my first one. I know nothing about Pritzker, but it just seems like they are unusually caring and responsive to applicants. An applicant advocate like this Sylvia person (whoever she is) doesn't exist at any of the schools I applied to. I now have a feeling that all your efforts are going to pay off for you. Good luck!!

 

[vyc]

hmm.

i too have something to say about "putting all eggs into one basket"

while i totally admire pelicanman's dedication to Pritzker and sincerely hope for a positive outcome, a part of me is also thinking...

we all need to learn our limits, accept our defeats, cope with our disappointments, etc.
life is full of them and there is no ONE right path.

every school has to turn down a ton of overly qualified wonderful applicants. it's not a question of whether or not one school wants you or not. it's just that they simply may not have the ability to accept everyone they want...

 

[nylee]

I e-mailed Sylvia the other day and she responded so warmly! She's awesome! I don't think she really gets bothered by waitlistees contacting her 24-7. Actually, she says it's really good to continuously show your interest.

good luck, everyone!

 

[nylee]

by the way,
Sylvia also told me that she's not expected anything to start with the waitlist until beginning of June. So I think coop was right about Schubie getting off the alternate pool instead of the official wait list.