@Officer Farva, I wonder how many are thrown off by your screen name and avatar. Not sure they reflect the exact vibe you might want to convey, or, maybe they do, and that's part of the issue. This is an aside, but I'm always fascinated by the power of the signifiers we put out, and how once one reads a few posts by someone with the avatar/name very alive in the mind how quickly pretty fixed ideas set in.
I think you are getting at some real issues that deserve discussion and should be addressed, but I think the bitter taste you exude from your overall experience over two cycles is impacting responses to you.
At any rate, the system as is seems a little out of control (and I've seen the same thing in undergrad admissions too). Very tough to get in, so everyone is told to apply broadly, major overlap, and an overwhelmed system. In theory at least, you are correct. Based on the trouble of applying, completing secondaries, and paying for your apps to be reviewed, one would think that the schools should presume you are interested (at least untold told you aren't interested anymore). But I can also see that these schools getting 12K-15K+ apps have to use some tools at their disposal to work their way through all those apps and of course in the end their job is to protect
their interests (i.e. the interests of their particular med school). What disturbs me the most observing closely are schools like UVM that keep applicants in the dark and "incomplete" for 4-5 months or more, finally send a notice that you are complete and "under review," and then 2 hours later you get a rejection. Whether totally unfair or not, it is difficult to not reach a conclusion that the school is overwhelmed, already full without getting through all the apps, and then briskly paying lip-service to reviewing one's app to give the appearance of being truly reviewed. Aside from wanting one's money back, I would assume living through this is very disturbing for candidates who have no interviews and/or no acceptances.
