Problems with VCU!

[dpill]

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I was granted a VCU secondary on Nov 30th, and the VCU online status page indicated I had until Dec 30th to complete my file. I sent my LORs right away (priority mail), but after several weeks, the status page still showed the admissions office had not received them. The status page instructs applicants, "if an item does not show up after two weeks of mailing, email "X" address." So, I did. No response. After a few more days, I sent another email to several admissions "contacts," including the address on the status page- still no response. On the 18th I finally called and got a voice message that the office would be closed until the first week of Jan. Just to be safe- before the 30th, I arranged to have my LORs sent a second time (I am using Interfolio- so I knew the LORs would arrive before they opened again). I also emailed the admissions office (again multiple addresses) to notify them I had sent my LORs once again, and that my file still indicated that I was incomplete. On Thursday the 6th of Jan, my status still hadn't changed and I still hadn't received a reply to ANY of my previous emails, so I called and talked to some person at the admissions office. He told me not to worry- they had a backlog of mail from the Christmas break and were sorting through it. I mentioned that their status page indicates that candidates will “automatically” be rejected if all materials aren't received by the complete-no-later-than date. He told me that they manually update the page and again, not to worry. Well, guess what- I received a notification on Saturday that I have been rejected, since my file was not complete by the required date. Are you kidding me?! What kind of system is this? Maybe they should consider not having a "must be complete by" date that falls in the middle of winter break, when the office is closed! 😡 So, I guess I will call back on Monday and hope they can reopen my file. I was just wondering if anyone else has had a similar experience...

 

[americanidiot]

He told me that they manually update the page and again, not to worry.

Take this advice to heart - their computer system is programmed to send out emails automatically. If there is a legitimate error - as indicated by your situation, they will take care of it. Their staff is quite reasonable, so to reiterate, "not to worry." 🙂

 

[ShyRem]

Wow. I had a completely different experience. I was going through the LOR thing in October, and every one of my emails was answered within 24 hours (once within 20 minutes). I was given fax numbers, extensions, and nothing but the greatest courtesy. I was finally complete Nov. 3 (after two extensions for my LORs).

Wish I could say the same about other med schools. I feel your pain - nothing more frustrating than speaking to a black hole that doesn't even echo.

 

[bigbassinbob]

Back in August and September, a lot of people on SDN had the problem with LORs not being received or them losing the LORs. They lost mine twice, and I had to send them 3 times until they eventually acknowledged having received them. This was roughly a month after I was "required" to have them in. Now, I'm on a pre-interview hold, and I personally think it's because of the incompetence of their staff. Do a search and you'll find a few threads in the past addressing the same problem you're having.