randomness of admissions

[anxiousone]

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ok, i got interviews to evms and wake forest but was put on hold at george washington and vcu (my state school!). what gives? wake forest is ranked higher than all of these schools. let me just underscore the EXTREME randomness of the admissions process to those who haven't received interviews yet. there is no rhyme or reason to any of this. having said all this, i am extremely happy that i at least got one interview.

 

[sacrament]

This is why I recommend that everybody, no matter how good you think your chances are, apply to more schools than you need you need to. Lots of highly-qualified people get bit in the ass every year because they were cocky and only applied to a couple schools. Repeat after me: I'm not that special.

 

[coldchemist]

Originally posted by sacrament
This is why I recommend that everybody, no matter how good you think your chances are, apply to more schools than you need you need to. Lots of highly-qualified people get bit in the ass every year because they were cocky and only applied to a couple schools. Repeat after me: I'm not that special.

Good freakin' advice. I got bit two years in a row and this year I applied to 18 schools. I AM NOT THAT SPECIAL.😎

 

[Eraserhead]

If 18 is alot of schools, then I'm insane and just wasted like all of my savings (my list was over 30). Oh well, at least I might get to choose between two cities versus just having to go to one school that takes me?

And why didn't my mom realize I would be eventually applying to medical school and move my ass to a non-CA state?

I'm feeling the randomness already, it feels like a russian roulette or poker maybe? I guess its kind of like dating, I mean whether they accept or reject me is going to be based on a half hour conversation at some point, and that's super random to me...

 

[anxiousone]

i applied to 31...i'm REALLY not special 😀

 

[VienneseWaltz]

One popular theory says that people who are very well-qualified get turned down at lower-ranked schools b/c the school doesn't want to waste its time interviewing an applicant who will probably go somewhere better. Odd about your state school, though (as even well-qualified applicants might want the low tuition)--perhaps VCU thinks you will go to UVa if you want to stay in-state?

I, too, got a weird rejection pattern. Congratulations and good luck on your interviews! 🙂

 

[SMW]

Originally posted by DoctorKevin
whether they accept or reject me is going to be based on a half hour conversation at some point, and that's super random to me...

Not true, the interview is just another facet of your application, albeit a necessary one. Otherwise, Amen to the thought that there's no real rhyme or reason to the process, so do apply to lots of schools from all tiers.

 

[Eraserhead]

Yeah, so far my lowest ranked school (NYMC) and one very highly ranked school (Georgetown) have asked me to come. For people with mid range stats I guess it can go either way.

But seriously if all candidates invited for an interview are qualified on paper, and you chat with someone for 25-60 minutes and they jot down notes about you, and then they look at all the apps again, what changes besides the notes? And what do the notes really say about you?- It depends on the interviewer and your questions and alot of randomness I think. And don't they really look over the whole app again with the interview data added? At that point they must start rejecting people for more picky reasons, which must be chosen randomly...

 

[VienneseWaltz]

Originally posted by DoctorKevin
But seriously if all candidates invited for an interview are qualified on paper, and you chat with someone for 25-60 minutes and they jot down notes about you, and then they look at all the apps again, what changes besides the notes? And what do the notes really say about you?- It depends on the interviewer and your questions and alot of randomness I think. And don't they really look over the whole app again with the interview data added? At that point they must start rejecting people for more picky reasons, which must be chosen randomly...

Sometimes the interview is just a formality. As long as you don't do something like tell the interviewer to kiss your a$$, in some cases they've already decided they will offer you admission.

 

[Eraserhead]

Hmmm, yeah you are right Vienesse, I think its mainly a test of sanity, social skills, and patience. I'm probably reading into it too much....

 

[VienneseWaltz]

It's so tempting to overanalyze. I drove my husband crazy in January, trying to figure out why I got admitted in Dec. to School X but lower-ranked School Y hadn't invited me for an interview and what this meant for my chances of getting into more-favored School Z ... You will not be able to find a reliable pattern. Most of my classmates at Hopkins were rejected from several much-lower-ranked schools along the way ...

I know this is impossible advice, but try not to think about it too much. It will drive you crazy. 😱

 

[Eraserhead]

Amen! As I go off to enjoy my evening away from the computer...

 

[deez4life]

Originally posted by anxiousone
ok, i got interviews to evms and wake forest but was put on hold at george washington and vcu (my state school!). what gives? wake forest is ranked higher than all of these schools. let me just underscore the EXTREME randomness of the admissions process to those who haven't received interviews yet. there is no rhyme or reason to any of this. having said all this, i am extremely happy that i at least got one interview.

hey anxious,

sorry to hear about vcu man. i'm sure they'll come to their senses and offer that interview soon enough. when/how did you find out about their decision by the way?

deez

 

[edfig99]

med school admissions is purely random and arbitrary

it's an aritrary formula that screens based on gpa and mcat
with further arbitrary scoring sheets used by a human being to give you a score, which someone will randomly decide to invite everyone above some random cutoff...

you come in two interview with at least one and likely two random people who each have their own spin and their own agenda.

it's a miracle anyone gets in at all 🙂

 

[DW]

yup, edfig99 pretty much says it like it is (being a very reliable source and all 😉 )

One thing i would suggest to you on top of the usual fare of applying to many schools is NOT TO TAKE THINGS THAT HAPPEN IN THIS PROCESS PERSONALLY. The overwhelming majority of applicants are not going to get all the interviews they want or get waitlisted at schools they thought they should have gotten into, but you just present yourself as best you can and take advantage of the opportunities you ARE presented with. I know some of you have your hopes up for particular schools, but do realize there are soooo many people out there applying to all ranges of schools, and the selection process is so far from objective, that it pretty much kills the notion of a "sure" or even a "likely" thing in this process.

take your lickins and keep on tickin 😀

good luck everyone 🙂 back to biochem.........

 

[anxiousone]

deez4life,

vcu told me to check my status online and this is what it said:

The committee's file review indicates that they would like to consider your file further. We are now in the process of scheduling interviews and will continue to do so through February. Unfortunately, the committee indicates interest in far more candidates than we are able to interview. Since we are dependent on the Committee member's schedules for interview spaces, we are unable to predict when or if we will be able to schedule you this year. Please continue to check this site to learn when further action has been taken.

 

[idq1i]

That's one verbose way of saying "your application is on hold"😱

 

[Violinrose]

Originally posted by anxiousone
deez4life,

vcu told me to check my status online and this is what it said:

The committee's file review indicates that they would like to consider your file further. We are now in the process of scheduling interviews and will continue to do so through February. Unfortunately, the committee indicates interest in far more candidates than we are able to interview. Since we are dependent on the Committee member's schedules for interview spaces, we are unable to predict when or if we will be able to schedule you this year. Please continue to check this site to learn when further action has been taken.

Unbelievable. Instead of wasting time writing such verbiage, they could spend the time conducting more interviews with applicants.

 

[edfig99]

Originally posted by Violinrose
Unbelievable. Instead of wasting time writing such verbiage, they could spend the time conducting more interviews with applicants.

nah...it's just cut and paste.... 1.75 seconds 😉

the thing with admissions offices is that they know there are some really good applicants who DON'T apply early - so they don't want to fill up all the spots with people who are pretty good, but not probably as good as what's coming down the pipe -- so they have to parse out their interview spots. sure, the person whose pretty good applied early and shouldn't be penalized for that, but that's just part of the whole randomness.

 

[MDmiracle]

Originally posted by anxiousone
i applied to 31...i'm REALLY not special 😀

Same here. 2 rejections, no interviews, 1 hold. I am not special Although hopefully someone will have the heart to let me in.

 

[coldchemist]

I personally think your persistence will pay off in the end. Instead of applying to 30+ schools, I saved a little money and applied to 19 MD/PhD programs. I figure that by raising the bar for myself, I will be forced to work harder on my applications. Then if I don't get into an MD/PhD program, I still have a chance at getting into a good MD program, and I can always apply for the combined degree after my first or second year in med school. That was my strategy, but I think yours will turn out to be just as effective, if not more...no way I could have afforded that many app fees, though.

 

[lisa13579]

Think credit card with 0% APR....

 

[calebho501]

Originally posted by VienneseWaltz
It's so tempting to overanalyze.

Yea, cause sometimes it also depends on who reviews your paper app and who interviews you. As much as we want this process to be totally objective, it's simply impossible.

 

[Eraserhead]

What does the 0 APR get me? I talked to an accountant and he said you have to pay those back at the end of the month right? Or within a few months?

I'm in debt 6000 on one credit card, and no saving left, so would that help me out, assuming I can't pay it back until maybe January?

 

[beastmaster]

I'm not that special.

 

[lisa13579]

Bank One has a credit card right now which has 0% financing on balance transfers (fee for balance transfers that can't exceed $50-I would have racked up $50 in finance charges on my old card very quickly) and on new purchases/charges for one year. That means $0 in interest charges until next summer, woo woo! Not that I've been able to put all my secondary fees on a credit card, but it still helps.

go to www.bankone.com

 

[Jonkst]

I used to think i was special... First two real communications from schools were asking me to interview, and both were top 15. Then I got word from my unranked state school saying I, too, was on hold. i don't even know if random is a strong enough word to describe this stuff sometimes.

 

[blackbird03]

Let's say I've had a credit card with 0% for one year with $2000 balance and want to transfer balance to another new 0% card, is that possible to do?

 

[lisa13579]

I would think so....just call bank one and try to do the transfer.