Shadowing Adcom members?????

[Amit1]

I have an oppertunity to shadow some of the physicians on my adcom. Is this a good idea? If they know I know they are on the adcom they might think me a sneaky bastard.

What do yall think?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[finney]

let's think about probablilties:

in one interaction you could really impress

in one interaction you could really screw-up

increase the number of interactions and thus more opportunities for you to lose potential..........this is the general advise they give to forth year medical students who want to do an away rotation at the residency they are aiming for--generally advised against.

 

[Darth Vader]

well, you can really be a sneaky bastard and act all surprised when they tell you that they are on the adcom. Just make sure that you can act. If you are one of those people that makes good impressions on people, then go for it. Don't over do it, don't try to kiss up while you are doing it either (if you were planning on doing this and kissing up, you are probably not one of those people that makes good impressions on people even though you think that you are, so I wouldn't do this), and don't do it for too long; just give them a taste and leave them wanting more, that's called good showmanship. Anyways, if you think you look better on paper like I always thought that I did, then no sense in endangering your chances by doing this and just shadow another prof. Actually, now that I think about it, shadowing another prof not on the adcom might be a better idea because if they get to know you, they can write a letter of rec for you. I don't think that an adcom can write a letter for you, and you never know if an adcom will speak up for you or even be there that day that they are looking at your app.

 

[Amit1]

Well, I wasn't planning on kissing ass! What I am scared of is that I think I have a good chance of getting in regardless of making a good impression on an adcom member. If I give a bad vibe then I will screwed! But I think as long as I am careful it will be in my favor.

The prospective student coordinator and I are relatively close so she told me who a couple of adcom members are and that I can shadow them.

She also said as long as I give a good interview that I can "walk right through that door"

 

[Gradient Echo]

I'd definitely go for it

 

[Dr/\/\om]

I'd go ahead and do it.

I knew 3 Drs on my adcom (went to grad school with 2 of them, 3rd is the sister of a friend of mine). I shadowed my friend's sister.

The one thing that can be a problem when you shadow/know Drs on the adcom...most schools won't let them interview you. Usually the adcoms catch this before interviews, but I ran into one person whose interview had to be rescheduled at the last minute because they had assigned her to be interviewed by someone she knew.

 

[Trek]

Nah you gonna run into this stuff where the rest of the committee thinks that the guys you know are "in" with you and go really hard on you. ie. they think you were trying to get on the inside track. I wouldn't, you will most prolly end up shooting yourself in the foot. --Trek