So what exactly makes a school reject you?

Started by Ari1584
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Ari1584

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Once someone is offered an interview...i would think that you have to say something totally outrageous to be rejected afterwards. I would assume that if schools like everything they have seen on paper, they are just looking to see how ur communication skills are in person and to get a feel for your passion for medicine. But then i look at CCOM's acceptance rate post interview of 50% and it is making me worried!! I mean, why is it that only 50% of ppl get in after their interview?? What makes them get rejected??😕
 
From what I understand there are two basic formats:

1. Schools like NYCOM, where if you are offered an interview you are essentially accepted. This of course means that they are only looking to see what you are like in person and all other requirements have been satisfied.

2. The majority of other schools meet every month to look over all the applicants that interviewed to re-examine their grades, letters, etc in conjunction with the interview. If the interview went well they may look past a lack of experience or poor grades, if it didn't go so well-- a rejection it is.
 
It's basically the drunk monkey didn't pick your file. Acceptances are really rather a crap shoot and NO, an interview is NOT a "guaranteed acceptance". There are plenty of wonderful, smart, coherent, pleasant, interesting, motivated, perfect candidates that don't get accepted after a wonderful interview. The only one who knows why is a deaf mute who doesn't have any nerve endings to see or communicate and he's kept in a medical coma.
 
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ShyRem said:
It's basically the drunk monkey didn't pick your file. Acceptances are really rather a crap shoot and NO, an interview is NOT a "guaranteed acceptance". There are plenty of wonderful, smart, coherent, pleasant, interesting, motivated, perfect candidates that don't get accepted after a wonderful interview. The only one who knows why is a deaf mute who doesn't have any nerve endings to see or communicate and he's kept in a medical coma.
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very true, at the end of one of my interviews I was told 'congratulations' and ended up rejected!
 
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I got rejected after one of my interviews, which in my opinion was the best out of all the ones I had gone to thus far. They screwed up my interviewers that day as well (doctor was stuck in surgery and the lady that filled in told me that she looks forward to seeing me in the Fall.) That was a shocker when they told me I was rejected. 😱
 
ChiDO said:
I got rejected after one of my interviews, which in my opinion was the best out of all the ones I had gone to thus far. They screwed up my interviewers that day as well (doctor was stuck in surgery and the lady that filled in told me that she looks forward to seeing me in the Fall.) That was a shocker when they told me I was rejected. 😱
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eek.
 
I think part of the issue is that the interviewers a lot of the time arent on the admission committee so even if they score you well everything else still plays an important roll when evaluating your application. But I agree there really is not rime or reason to anything
 
I would say that another thing that affects your interview to acceptance is that some DO schools have very specific mission statements and if you blatantly come across as opposed to that mission it probably won't get you an acceptance. I'm not saying that you have to parrot what they are looking for, but I think you have to sincerely show that you are interested whatever there mission is even if you don't have experience in it.
 
What I will never get, is how you can get a rejection after a wonderful interview. The way I look at it, is that they should only interview people they would be willing to accept. I am not speaking about myself, but in reference to the stories I hear. I do entertain the possibility that some of these interviews don't go as well as the interviewee thinks, but being told congratulations in the interview and rejected is nasty.

What a waste of money, you go to the school, knock their pants off in the interview, and your paper file keeps you out.

WHY INTERVIEW PEOPLE YOU WILL NOT ACCEPT, regardless of how well the interview goes?
 
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Kevon said:
What I will never get, is how you can get a rejection after a wonderful interview. The way I look at it, is that they should only interview people they would be willing to accept. I am not speaking about myself, but in reference to the stories I hear. I do entertain the possibility that some of these interviews don't go as well as the interviewee thinks, but being told congratulations in the interview and rejected is nasty.

What a waste of money, you go to the school, knock their pants off in the interview, and your paper file keeps you out.

WHY INTERVIEW PEOPLE YOU WILL NOT ACCEPT, regardless of how well the interview goes?
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Because a lot of people had good interviews? Additionally, while we may be "sure" we know what a school's looking for, it's unlikely we really know that well enough as applicants to truly rate ourselves & our interviews accurately. Even the interviewer (esp if not an adcom member) may not know entirely what is being looked for, etc.
 
I agree. Getting an interview, at least I thought, means that on paper the school is satisfied with you now it all hinges on what type of person you are. To have a great interview, and lets be honest everyone knows if ones truly goes well, and then getting rejected is a mystery.

I agree with the many posts on SDN saying that there is no way to figure it out. Who knows.
 
apumic said:
Because a lot of people had good interviews? Additionally, while we may be "sure" we know what a school's looking for, it's unlikely we really know that well enough as applicants to truly rate ourselves & our interviews accurately. Even the interviewer (esp if not an adcom member) may not know entirely what is being looked for, etc.
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I agree with this for the most part; however, if the school invites you to interview, then it should mean that on paper you are the kind of applicant they are looking for.

As for the numerical issue of many individuals having good interview, I would think that this is the benefit of applying early. They have room for all the good applicants.
 
I have no idea!!! at one of my interviews last cycle they told me I was exactly the kind of student they were looking for (the interview went great)... the admissions director also made it a point to tell us that since we were offered interviews, we are not all on the same footing (grades and MCAT dont matter anymore). I was pretty sure I was accepted after the interview. I ended up getting waitlisted. When I called for feedback they told me they would like to see me take more science classes since I wasnt a science major... WTF!!!!!!
 
They interview candidates they think might be a good fit for the school. You get an awful lot of information from meeting someone in person, and not all of it good, or not all of it appropriate for the situation/place. Also, all applicants apply to many programs and look for a good "fit" for them. I know personally my rank list changed dramatically during interviews for med school. Applicants interview at schools they later withdraw from - why can't the schools interview folks they may later deem to be not a good fit for the school and reject them?
 
ShyRem said:
They interview candidates they think might be a good fit for the school. You get an awful lot of information from meeting someone in person, and not all of it good, or not all of it appropriate for the situation/place. Also, all applicants apply to many programs and look for a good "fit" for them. I know personally my rank list changed dramatically during interviews for med school. Applicants interview at schools they later withdraw from - why can't the schools interview folks they may later deem to be not a good fit for the school and reject them?
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I have no problem with the school deciding I am not a good fit from my interview. My beef is inviting someone for an interview and deciding not to accept them based on their paper file. It is not like the paper file changed after the interview. These are things that should have made the adcom decide not to interview in the first place.

Of course this is all based on the preconception that the interviewers liked the applicant and the interview went well.

This would be akin to me going to an interview and getting accepted, then deciding I didn't want to go because the school is too far away. Why would I even go to the interview if I thought the school was too far away?

Although this comparison breaks down because most students only have a few schools to choose from, and schools have many spots to fill. For instance, I may be totally willing to go to school X, until I get an acceptance from school Y; the schools are not in this predicament to this extent.
 
redrumi said:
very true, at the end of one of my interviews I was told 'congratulations' and ended up rejected!
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oh geez....that sucks. I sure hope I don't get a congratulations in my interview coming up.

as to the OP, I think a person on paper and in person are completely different things. a little anecdotal story: the vice pres of the pre-med club where I go to school is the biggest butt kisser, tell ya he loves ya to your face, ask the dumbest questions in class to draw the professors attention kind of guy. Last semester I watched him cheat his way through our physics final...I shoulda turned him in but I just wanted to get the heck outta there and start my summer. bottom line....after talking to this guy for 5 minutes you want to punch him in the face because he thinks hes the shizzle and I can only imagine how he makes himself sound and look on paper. I sure hope that anyone that interviews him can see through his bull crap.
some one can say all they want and have an awesome application, but if they suck at communicating in person theres a problem. reason enough to get rejected after being invited for an interview.
 
Let's start with WHY did you get an interview: well you have the right MCAT score, your grades look good, your LORs were nice, and if you applied to a state school you are in-state.

Now you have your interview: let's see what the adcoms are looking at while you are in with them.

1) your demeanor. Do you come off as a real sincere person or do you come off as pompous and arrogant. DO you think that because you scored a 35 on your MCAT that a DO school will be thankful to have you in their school or are you thankful that you were considered?
2) What do you know about osteopathy other than A.T. Still came up with it and that it involves a whole body approach?
3) Let's talk about your personal statement. If the interviewer asks you something specific about your personal statement and you have no clue what they are talking about, is this a clue that what you wrote was actually made up? Did you really take the time to find out what medicine was like or did you get enamored by what you saw on television?
4) Why do you want to come to our school? Are there specific reasons? Did you research the school and say, hey that is the place for me? Or did you throw darts and applied to wherever they landed.
5) Were you rude to anyone? Cleaning staff, secretaries?
6) During the tour given by a student, did you say something that made the student tour guide let the adcom know that they do not want to see you in their school? Remember, you are ON the ENTIRE day.
7) If you had bad grades was it because of a life event or were you just lazy?
8) Do you seem like you care?
9) If you are applying to a state school, do you sound like you are going to stay in state to practice?
 
EMT2ER-DOC said:
Let's start with WHY did you get an interview: well you have the right MCAT score, your grades look good, your LORs were nice, and if you applied to a state school you are in-state.

Now you have your interview: let's see what the adcoms are looking at while you are in with them.

1) your demeanor. Do you come off as a real sincere person or do you come off as pompous and arrogant. DO you think that because you scored a 35 on your MCAT that a DO school will be thankful to have you in their school or are you thankful that you were considered?
2) What do you know about osteopathy other than A.T. Still came up with it and that it involves a whole body approach?
3) Let's talk about your personal statement. If the interviewer asks you something specific about your personal statement and you have no clue what they are talking about, is this a clue that what you wrote was actually made up? Did you really take the time to find out what medicine was like or did you get enamored by what you saw on television?
4) Why do you want to come to our school? Are there specific reasons? Did you research the school and say, hey that is the place for me? Or did you throw darts and applied to wherever they landed.
5) Were you rude to anyone? Cleaning staff, secretaries?
6) During the tour given by a student, did you say something that made the student tour guide let the adcom know that they do not want to see you in their school? Remember, you are ON the ENTIRE day.
7) If you had bad grades was it because of a life event or were you just lazy?
8) Do you seem like you care?
9) If you are applying to a state school, do you sound like you are going to stay in state to practice?
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wow..that was all actually VERY helpful! thanks for that!
 
EMT2ER-DOC said:
Let's start with WHY did you get an interview: well you have the right MCAT score, your grades look good, your LORs were nice, and if you applied to a state school you are in-state.

Now you have your interview: let's see what the adcoms are looking at while you are in with them.

1) your demeanor. Do you come off as a real sincere person or do you come off as pompous and arrogant. DO you think that because you scored a 35 on your MCAT that a DO school will be thankful to have you in their school or are you thankful that you were considered?
2) What do you know about osteopathy other than A.T. Still came up with it and that it involves a whole body approach?
3) Let's talk about your personal statement. If the interviewer asks you something specific about your personal statement and you have no clue what they are talking about, is this a clue that what you wrote was actually made up? Did you really take the time to find out what medicine was like or did you get enamored by what you saw on television?
4) Why do you want to come to our school? Are there specific reasons? Did you research the school and say, hey that is the place for me? Or did you throw darts and applied to wherever they landed.
5) Were you rude to anyone? Cleaning staff, secretaries?
6) During the tour given by a student, did you say something that made the student tour guide let the adcom know that they do not want to see you in their school? Remember, you are ON the ENTIRE day.
7) If you had bad grades was it because of a life event or were you just lazy?
8) Do you seem like you care?
9) If you are applying to a state school, do you sound like you are going to stay in state to practice?
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Awesome! I'm going to make sure that I can answer each one these...thanks!
 
EMT2ER-DOC said:
Let's start with WHY did you get an interview: well you have the right MCAT score, your grades look good, your LORs were nice, and if you applied to a state school you are in-state.

Now you have your interview: let's see what the adcoms are looking at while you are in with them.

1) your demeanor. Do you come off as a real sincere person or do you come off as pompous and arrogant. DO you think that because you scored a 35 on your MCAT that a DO school will be thankful to have you in their school or are you thankful that you were considered?
2) What do you know about osteopathy other than A.T. Still came up with it and that it involves a whole body approach?
3) Let's talk about your personal statement. If the interviewer asks you something specific about your personal statement and you have no clue what they are talking about, is this a clue that what you wrote was actually made up? Did you really take the time to find out what medicine was like or did you get enamored by what you saw on television?
4) Why do you want to come to our school? Are there specific reasons? Did you research the school and say, hey that is the place for me? Or did you throw darts and applied to wherever they landed.
5) Were you rude to anyone? Cleaning staff, secretaries?
6) During the tour given by a student, did you say something that made the student tour guide let the adcom know that they do not want to see you in their school? Remember, you are ON the ENTIRE day.
7) If you had bad grades was it because of a life event or were you just lazy?
8) Do you seem like you care?
9) If you are applying to a state school, do you sound like you are going to stay in state to practice?
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Good advice.

This is all pretty standard stuff though. Other students who are planning on working after their undergrad get all these pointers during workshops in school that prepare them to interview for internships and permanent positions. The same principles apply whether you're interviewing for medical schools or a job.

I think it might be helpful if pre-meds would go to some of these workshops, so that they're more prepared by the time they apply to medical schools.
 
From my understanding, MD schools try to find bad things in your application so they can reject you

DO schools on the other hand look for the good things that make them want to accept you(even if it means ignoring a medicore GPA and or MCAT)
 
ronmillsey said:
From my understanding, MD schools try to find bad things in your application so they can reject you

DO schools on the other hand look for the good things that make them want to accept you(even if it means ignoring a medicore GPA and or MCAT)
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Except many MD schools have closed-file interviews. :ninja:
 
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