Scheduling a Visit to a School (benefits)

[yanks26dmb]

Is there any real benefit from going to visit a med school you plan to apply to? I'm just thinking, perhaps allowing the people in admissions to put a face to your name, having a chance to demonstrate your enthusiasm for their program, etc could work in your favor come application time.

Or does it not really make a difference at all. Maybe @Goro could chime in?

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[tmn]

Is there any real benefit from going to visit a med school you plan to apply to? I'm just thinking, perhaps allowing the people in admissions to put a face to your name, having a chance to demonstrate your enthusiasm for their program, etc could work in your favor come application time.

Or does it not really make a difference at all. Maybe @Goro could chime in?

I doubt the admissions office will remember the face of that one kid who came to visit that one time.

 

[mvenus929]

No. Chances are the people reviewing your application won't be the same people working the front of the admissions office, and they probably won't remember your name anyway. And it looks weird.

 

[Finches]

No. Chances are the people reviewing your application won't be the same people working the front of the admissions office, and they probably won't remember your name anyway. And it looks weird.

 

[yanks26dmb]

Message received - thanks for the feedback!

 

[gyngyn]

Or does it not really make a difference at all.

Yes, it makes no difference at all (at my school).

 

[BamaNicole]

its a good way to ask questions, see the campus and see if that's a place you would want to attend. Its not going to give you an edge.

 

[Goro]

Here's where being on the inside looking out has its advantages over being outside looking in. At least at our school, with our Admissions dean and my faculty colleagues who are on the AdCom, paying a visit does pay dividends with four different sets of people.

1) Actual interviewers, if they know you've visited the campus.
2) The Dean...he would convey the fact that you went above and beyond the call of duty to the AdCom.
3) Other faculty who are on the AdCom, who will also convey your interest, especially if they're DO faculty
4) Most important: YOU. You get to see the place and get a candid and unscripted view.

No. Chances are the people reviewing your application won't be the same people working the front of the admissions office, and they probably won't remember your name anyway. And it looks weird.

At our school, borderline interviewees have been rescued to accept by coming and paying a visit. Conversely, people who live in our home town who have never set foot on campus until interview day get wait listed, especially if they've never met a DO.

Is there any real benefit from going to visit a med school you plan to apply to? I'm just thinking, perhaps allowing the people in admissions to put a face to your name, having a chance to demonstrate your enthusiasm for their program, etc could work in your favor come application time.

Or does it not really make a difference at all. Maybe @Goro could chime in?

 

[DokterMom]

Valuable insight @Goro And it makes sense. If you visit a school, then apply, the presumption is that you are genuinely interested in that particular school, the reasoning being that if you didn't like it, you would know, having seen the school, and would not be applying. Beats throwing darts. I would suspect however, that the positive dividends decrease somewhat as you move up the 'prestige chain' and the schools just assume you will want to go there.

 

[Bovary]

You can also visit a med school without telling their staff, so the benefit would be all yours. However, I wonder how much you can really learn about a school's facilities from an un-guided walk through campus. On the other hand, there's no better way to scope out a school's location and whether you could see yourself living there for 4 years.

 

[darkjedi]

I did this once at Stony Brook becuase my brother was moving there for undergrad, but the admissions office were actually kind of rude to me, which turned me off from the school a bit. It seems like it can vary quite a bit.