Depends on the school, where you were on the waitlist and the reasons for the decision.
sorry, maybe i wasn't clear. I did have an interview but there was no waitlist and no deliberation on their part. They accepted me like right away 3 weeks post interview.
Exactly! If the school screens effectively, all the fixable reasons for rejection (except timing) have been considered before a first interview is granted.
I can only imagine that the screener made an error or had a significant difference of opinion regarding sufficiency of experience. It could also happen if schools don't use human screeners.
The interview.
Sure. As long as the applicant isn't two SD's from the norm. No admissions dean can ever be completely sure how deeply into the waitlist he may have to dip.
There are degrees of dud (dudness?) that can be consistent with any admissions outcome.
Depends on the school
Tell us how it goes!
Stats?
I'll be writing an article about it soon, but the key is to practice, practice, practice. Just like you can practice for the MCAT (despite what anyone else begs to differ on this topic), you can practice for the MMI. You can start by reading the NY Times more regularly and stay current on some of the hot topics that may be relevant to health care. As you read these articles, outline in your head pros and cons to each argument. Jump in the shower and start verbalizing the debate by yourself. Be sure to get feedback from people you can trust, so you can improve quickly. As for standardized actors... that's another story!
Depends on the school (and the reasons for the non-acceptance last year).
It seems very possible. Some states have a mandate to interview a significant proportion of IS candidates.
Thanks for the reply! According to MSAR, my state school interviewed 48% of its residents. I honestly think that I definitely could have done a lot better on my interviews both cycles... like a lot better, I got so nervous both times:-/ I have been working on my interviewing skills, so hopefully I will do better this time around🙂 I have really improved my EC's and letters of recommendations every cycle. This year I published a manuscript as a first author, presented at a national scientific meeting, added some decent clinical experiences and a few other activities. Also, although I have a decent GPA (> 3.7) my MCAT Scores are < 27. Do you think it's more likely the interview or my MCAT that are keeping me from getting accepted? Again, thanks for your advice🙂
Without being familiar with your state school's preferences it's hard to say. If they are "required" to interview you and both your MCAT and interview are marginal it seems likely that you would be waitlisted. Can you tell us which is your state of residence?
Im an Arizona resident. Up to 50% of my state school can comprise of OOS residents. And last year, they only interviewed 48% of their in-state applicants.
Ouch! AZ matriculates almost as few of their IS applicants (16.8%) as CA (15.6%). Do you know if the AZ schools have a state mandate for interviewing IS applicants?
I'm not sure if they have a mandate for interviewing IS applicants. All I know is that up to 50% of their class can be OOS residents. They interviewed less than 50% of their IS applicants last year. I hope the fact that they have interviewed me twice (and now a third time this cycle) means that they like me...at least a little. 🙂Would you agree?!?!?!
I hope so!
They did not have communication or interpersonal skills.
You'd be surprised how often this happens.
Meaningful explanations for non-interview are uncommon in my experience, no matter who gives them.
As others have already said, it really depends on the school.