Should I worry about this

[md_2020]

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First time applicant to MD and MDPHD

Received 2 Md phd interviews and 1 MD interviews.
Since I completed most secondaries in july I tried to followup with the MD PHD schools. My LM is 70.6. Two of the universities which I tried to follow up told me My LORs were not strong. Is this a red flag in my application. Can I expect more interviews or is this it. Have been rejected by 3 high range MD/PHD schools and one MD(georgetown) reject from my range school.

Is it possible for me to get any more interviews. Only positive is I already got 3 interviews. I have good ECS. Close 3500 hours including research volunteering, leadership.

 

[deleted996731]

I’m in a similar position minus the md/PhD part. I have received 4 iis and it’s been silent for the past 3 weeks. Does that mean that I’ve been passed over by the majority of my other schools? Maybe. But what’s important now is to focus on our current iis which we technically have a lot of (SDN users with 10+ ii are not the norm and usually the average number of ii for an accepted applicant is 4-5). So three schools have shown you love despite the possibility of a weak LOR. I would focus on preparing well for what you have already. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go back to neurotically checking my email.

 

[FreeGibbs]

MD/PhD interviews generally run a little longer, and most matriculants are those that were interviewed later on in the cycle. So it's still possible. If you look on the calendar of MD/PhD interview days, you'll see that most of them continue in to February. Heck, some schools' (e.g Mayo MSTP) first interview dates aren't even until after Christmas. If you still hear nothing by the beginning of December, that's when I'd start being concerned.

 

[Goro]

First time applicant to MD and MDPHD

Received 2 Md phd interviews and 1 MD interviews.
Since I completed most secondaries in july I tried to followup with the MD PHD schools. My LM is 70.6. Two of the universities which I tried to follow up told me My LORs were not strong. Is this a red flag in my application. Can I expect more interviews or is this it. Have been rejected by 3 high range MD/PHD schools and one MD(georgetown) reject from my range school.

Is it possible for me to get any more interviews. Only positive is I already got 3 interviews. I have good ECS. Close 3500 hours including research volunteering, leadership.

The very fact that they would tell you that confidential info is a major red flag in my book. For you, not the schools.

 

[RJ McReady]

The very fact that they would tell you that confidential info is a major red flag in my book. For you, not the schools.

Ouch!

 

[md_2020]

The very fact that they would tell you that confidential info is a major red flag in my book. For you, not the schools.

Goro,
thanks for replying.
Did not understand. can you elaborate.

 

[Goro]

It's a big red flag in your app. Normally, schools are close to mum on the contents of LORs. For them to tell you that yours were weak is a way of saying "GET COMPLETELY NEW LORS!"

 

[md_2020]

Is it possible to receive interviews with such red flags. After I started this thread, I received one more MD II today afternoon. Strong/not strong/reasonable/weak are relative right. May be it is not strong to one adcom can be reasonable to another one as these cannot be quantified. I was told by Lors were not strong by 2 of the adcoms. Many declined to comment.

 

[KnightDoc]

Is it possible to receive interviews with such red flags. After I started this thread, I received one more MD II today afternoon. Strong/not strong/reasonable/weak are relative right. May be it is not strong to one adcom can be reasonable to another one as these cannot be quantified. I was told by Lors were not strong by 2 of the adcoms. Many declined to comment.

Of course it's possible, since you already received 4 IIs. You asked if it's a red flag, and an adcom replied with an emphatic "yes," and now you are arguing with him! 🙂

You are 100% correct; as my grandmother used to like to say, "one person's trash is another person's treasure," and 4 schools want to see you even though 2 told you your LORs sucked. You correctly surmised that 2 schools telling you there is an issue with your LORs might be a problem, notwithstanding the fact that you already received 3 IIs. @Goro confirmed it's a huge red flag, and you are now disputing his response because you received another II.

What do you want from the thread? Either it's a problem because it seems like it might be one, and someone with a lot of experience confirmed that, or it's not because you have 4 IIs! Whatever makes you happy, no?? 🙂

 

[Goro]

Is it possible to receive interviews with such red flags. After I started this thread, I received one more MD II today afternoon. Strong/not strong/reasonable/weak are relative right. May be it is not strong to one adcom can be reasonable to another one as these cannot be quantified. I was told by Lors were not strong by 2 of the adcoms. Many declined to comment.

My take is that the LORs aren't 100% lethal from a screener's perspective, but the Adcom is looking to you to seal the deal. And you didn't.

An alternative is that you were a poor interviewer, and they had to tell you something. No school is going to come out and say that your interviews were terrible.

So, for starters, work on interview skills.

 

[Engrailed]

So many shots fired in this thread tbh.

Whatever you do OP, best of luck to you this cycle! Possibly get new LORs? The choice is yours. With the IIs you have, be sure to do your very best.

 

[narla_hotep]

N = 1, but at one of the schools I interviewed at for MSTP an interviewer made a comment about how one of my letter writers didn't seem to know me well. Later, I discovered that the letter of rec was vague and was actually addressed to a scholarship instead of medical school (!!!). Plus, it was my undergrad research PI which is important in MSTP apps. I guess my other letters were good though, because I got accepted to and currently attend the school which first told me about this awkward LOR issue. I'm not sure if your issue is with ALL your LORs or just one/two, but hopefully you can overcome it this cycle.

 

[notsobabydoc]

My take is that the LORs aren't 100% lethal from a screener's perspective, but the Adcom is looking to you to seal the deal. And you didn't.

An alternative is that you were a poor interviewer, and they had to tell you something. No school is going to come out and say that your interviews were terrible.

So, for starters, work on interview skills.

OP hasn't interviewed yet? He/she is first-time applicant. Super surprised schools already told OP about the LOR's instead of waiting till the end of the cycle.

 

[JustaDO]

Is it possible to receive interviews with such red flags. After I started this thread, I received one more MD II today afternoon.

You literally answered your own question.

May be it is not strong to one adcom can be reasonable to another one as these cannot be quantified. I was told by Lors were not strong by 2 of the adcoms. Many declined to comment.

Think about this, two ADCOMs explicitly told you that your LORs are not strong, and now you are arguing with a third ADCOM about this.

Good luck on the interview trail.