Stanford decisions and letters of interest

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A Wall

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Anyone know when Stanford will be making its first round of decisions? I interviewed at the beginning of November, and have been thinking of sending a letter letting them know I'm obsessed with the school and would definitely go there. If they're going to be making decisions soon, I'd send it off right away, but if it won't be until March, I figure I can think it through a little more carefully before sending anything. Thoughts? Info? Anyone know whether Stanford in particular actually weighs LOI's and the like when making decisions?
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A Wall said:
Anyone know when Stanford will be making its first round of decisions? I interviewed at the beginning of November, and have been thinking of sending a letter letting them know I'm obsessed with the school and would definitely go there. If they're going to be making decisions soon, I'd send it off right away, but if it won't be until March, I figure I can think it through a little more carefully before sending anything. Thoughts? Info? Anyone know whether Stanford in particular actually weighs LOI's and the like when making decisions?
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I'm under the impression that Stanford is non-rolling (someone correct me if I'm wrong), so that means decisions in March.
 
SnoPearl said:
I'm under the impression that Stanford is non-rolling (someone correct me if I'm wrong), so that means decisions in March.
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Stanford is rolling. They made decisions for the first round of acceptances (anyone who interviewed prior to this date) December 6th. Goodluck!
 
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I fell in love there, too. They're rolling, but they don't start giving decisions out until January. So don't get too antsy too soon. Good luck to you!
 
RandomBlackManX said:
Stanford is rolling. They made decisions for the first round of acceptances (anyone who interviewed prior to this date) December 6th. Goodluck!
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Interesting--that's not what they said on my interview day, back in November. But maybe my interview day was too late to be in the first batch.
 
sanchopanza said:
Interesting--that's not what they said on my interview day, back in November. But maybe my interview day was too late to be in the first batch.
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Ah, I interviewed in early November and they told us the first week of december. I think Dean Garcia calls everyone who was accepted (or maybe a few); in either case, the letters are in the mail and should be arriving soon.
 
Oh thanks for the info guys, and hope you all hear good news:luck:!
 
RandomBlackManX said:
Ah, I interviewed in early November and they told us the first week of december. I think Dean Garcia calls everyone who was accepted (or maybe a few); in either case, the letters are in the mail and should be arriving soon.
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Are you confident about this? They decided on all pre-December 6 interviewees? Because they said either December/Jan when i was there mid-November...
 
I interviewed late October and was also told the committee would meet on Dec 6. From there, though, they said it may take a week or two before decisions reach us by mail (or phone in some cases). Two of my friends applied in previous years and one heard first by phone, the other only by mail. Both got good news though.

Good luck, everyone!
 
MaineMan said:
I can back him up on that. 🙂
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Congrats on your acceptance! Can I ask when you interviewed/when you got accepted? I'm anxiously waiting to hear..I interviewed beginning of November.
 
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Definitely interesting...I was told when I was there that the admission committee was going to be meeting regularly on Thursdays and that those in my day should expect to hear back either during the first two weeks of December or the first two weeks of January (since the committee wouldn't be meeting during the holiday weeks).

Weird that there's that much variability in what people have heard...Would be interesting to hear if anyone from mid-late November has heard back (say after the 20th)?
 
does anyone know if they're cool with you calling in to see if a decision has been made on your file yet? i interviewed in mid-November and was totally not expecting to hear anything until after the holidays...but finding out before then would be incredible if it's good news
 
specialflava said:
does anyone know if they're cool with you calling in to see if a decision has been made on your file yet? i interviewed in mid-November and was totally not expecting to hear anything until after the holidays...but finding out before then would be incredible if it's good news
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I am really curious too. Anyone tried calling?
 
SirOmin0uS said:
Are you confident about this? They decided on all pre-December 6 interviewees? Because they said either December/Jan when i was there mid-November...
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That's what I'm wondering. I interviewed in the later half of November, and I was told that I'd hear a decision in January. So, it sounded to me like they'd let us know in intervals, depending on when we interviewed. Apparently, however, the people who have already heard were told that all decisions have been made for applicants interviewing pre-12/6, which would obviously include us...

I guess we'll see. Good luck, regardless!
 
It's possible that they only decided for a portin of applicants up to a specific interview date in November??

I would go by whatever they told you in your interview date. During my interview, Mrs. Sooter was very specific about when I would hear back.
 
RandomBlackManX said:
I would go by whatever they told you in your interview date. During my interview, Mrs. Sooter was very specific about when I would hear back.
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I interviewed 11/5... Does the fact that I haven't gotten a happy phone call mean I haven't been accepted, then? ::sigh:: Have you gotten your official letter yet, Random?
 
I just called Greg Vaughn, who is one of the people I was told to call during my interview for any questions. Anyways, he said that no decisions have been made yet, and all of us will be informed by mid January.

I didn't want to argue with him over the phone and be like... well I saw someone on SDN get in. But the point of the story is that those of us who haven't heard anything from the Nov. interviews should expect a phone call or mail by mid Jan. He said that if I got neither by that date, then I should give him a call again.
 
nutrition said:
I just called Greg Vaughn, who is one of the people I was told to call during my interview for any questions. Anyways, he said that no decisions have been made yet, and all of us will be informed by mid January.

I didn't want to argue with him over the phone and be like... well I saw someone on SDN get in. But the point of the story is that those of us who haven't heard anything from the Nov. interviews should expect a phone call or mail by mid Jan. He said that if I got neither by that date, then I should give him a call again.
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Wow. That is extremely peculiar. The admissions committee definitely met last Thursday evening to decide on at least some of the applicants (though I can't say with certainty that all of them were reviewed). I think Dr. Garcia called whoever they decided upon at that point (he said he only called with good news).

Perhaps they will have multiple meetings until Mid Jan and decided to re-evaluate interviewed applicants they couldn't reach a decision on until then? Maybe I was just hallucinating haha?
 
A Wall said:
I interviewed 11/5... Does the fact that I haven't gotten a happy phone call mean I haven't been accepted, then? ::sigh:: Have you gotten your official letter yet, Random?
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I haven't gotten the letter yet but im also east coast so it could be a while. Also, perhaps they will send the letter out in batches when a good portion of applicants have been accepted in mid-Jan? I'll let you guys know when I get the physical letter.
 
RandomBlackManX said:
I haven't gotten the letter yet but im also east coast so it could be a while. Also, perhaps they will send the letter out in batches when a good portion of applicants have been accepted in mid-Jan? I'll let you guys know when I get the physical letter.
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Thanks for your help!
 
nutrition said:
I just called Greg Vaughn, who is one of the people I was told to call during my interview for any questions. Anyways, he said that no decisions have been made yet, and all of us will be informed by mid January.

I didn't want to argue with him over the phone and be like... well I saw someone on SDN get in. But the point of the story is that those of us who haven't heard anything from the Nov. interviews should expect a phone call or mail by mid Jan. He said that if I got neither by that date, then I should give him a call again.
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Hi Nutrition. When you Spoke to Mr. Vaughn and he mentioned no decisions were made yet, was that only in reference to November interviews or everyone who interviewed up to December 6?

There seem to be so many conflicting stories on this thread. I wonder what's really going on.
 
med007 said:
Hi Nutrition. When you Spoke to Mr. Vaughn and he mentioned no decisions were made yet, was that only in reference to November interviews or everyone who interviewed up to December 6?

There seem to be so many conflicting stories on this thread. I wonder what's really going on.
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He was kinda vague. He first asked for my AAMC ID#. Then after looking it up, he told me that no decisions were made yet for any students, and that I should wait till mid Jan. I have two problems with that response:
1) Clearly people on SDN have been notified. So he was just misleading me.
2) Why would he bother looking up my AAMC ID if he already knew that no decisions were made?

So now I am just keeping my fingers crossed. Hopefully the matter clears up soon.
 
Another Thursday on the horizon. Good luck to everyone. Hopefully we'll get some good news! 🙄
 
So today is Thursday. Anyone with news?
 
How do they notify people of interviews and acceptances?
 
Has everyone who interviewd in October received a final decision yet? Or are things running out of order at this point?
 
I sort of doubt that everyone who interviewed in October has heard, though it's possible. I think only two people on SDN have been accepted, and there's only one on MDapplicants. With Stanford's relatively high acceptance rate from interviews, I have to imagine more people would have gotten the good news if they told everyone. The two SDN folks both received phone calls, I think, and haven't yet gotten a physical letter. Could be wrong on that, though. I interviewed beginning of November and haven't heard anything either way.
 
A Wall said:
I sort of doubt that everyone who interviewed in October has heard, though it's possible. I think only two people on SDN have been accepted, and there's only one on MDapplicants. With Stanford's relatively high acceptance rate from interviews, I have to imagine more people would have gotten the good news if they told everyone. The two SDN folks both received phone calls, I think, and haven't yet gotten a physical letter. Could be wrong on that, though. I interviewed beginning of November and haven't heard anything either way.
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Does anyone know their acceptance rate from the interview point?
 
I think last year it was close to 40%, from US News and World reports.
 
So no one's heard anything since those two people who got calls last week, huh? Did either of you two receive your snail mail acceptances yet? I was fine with waiting until March until I heard that some people had gotten phone calls... Argh.
 
Well, to be honest, I'm quite confused. In the email I received after submitting my supplemental application (which also corroborates with the Stanford admissions website), this is what I read:

Thank you for completing the application to the Stanford School of Medicine
Medical Doctor or Medical Scientist Training programs. Your application is
complete with the supplemental application, the fee, and the letters of recommendation.
You may check the receipt dates of those items on the application website.
Please keep in mind the following points about our application process.
1. The review completion of your application is not only based on
when it is received.
2. The process for a final decision to be made can take
up to 4-5 months.
3. Our interview season is from December through April.
4. Invitations to interview will be sent beginning at the
end of October and will continue through April.


Granted they say that decisions may take 4 to 5 months, I was invited in September to interview for October, so that nulls number 3 and 4. Things are obviously running differently this year and I feel as though we're all at a loss for what's really going on. Any thoughts on this? Has anyone received this same information first-hand from Stanford as well?
 
Guess we gotta chill. Guess it's a California thing.
 
I agree on the chill thing. Can't put all my hopes in this one. When I was there, my host informed me that, because an unusually large number of admitted students chose to defer last cycle, we are all vying for much fewer than 86 seats...perhaps in the ballpark of 70.

It's a totally awesome place, but they really need to be super-selective. I don't know if that's why it feels like this is taking forever, but hopefully it will work out for the best.

Good luck everyone!!!:luck:
 
med007 said:
Well, to be honest, I'm quite confused. In the email I received after submitting my supplemental application (which also corroborates with the Stanford admissions website), this is what I read:

Thank you for completing the application to the Stanford School of Medicine
Medical Doctor or Medical Scientist Training programs. Your application is
complete with the supplemental application, the fee, and the letters of recommendation.
You may check the receipt dates of those items on the application website.
Please keep in mind the following points about our application process.
1. The review completion of your application is not only based on
when it is received.
2. The process for a final decision to be made can take
up to 4-5 months.
3. Our interview season is from December through April.
4. Invitations to interview will be sent beginning at the
end of October and will continue through April.


Granted they say that decisions may take 4 to 5 months, I was invited in September to interview for October, so that nulls number 3 and 4. Things are obviously running differently this year and I feel as though we're all at a loss for what's really going on. Any thoughts on this? Has anyone received this same information first-hand from Stanford as well?
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I interviewed on November 1st and two of my friends, who are student interviewers at the med school told me I would be lucky if I heard back by January. They basically informed me that the Stanford admissions committee does pretty much whatever they want, at their own pace. They run through applicants in the order that all of their information was submitted, including interview feedback, so if your interviewer didn't turn in his/her forms promply, that could set you back on the list. In additions, having a small class, they are very selective and tend to defer a lot of people who they consider competitive, but are not ready to commit to. That is why they say a final decision can take 4-5 months. They send decisions the second week of every month and it's pretty arbitrary who they respond to. So Stanford's definitely one I would recommend not waiting by the mailbox for. Hopefully a few of us will just be pleasantly surprised one day, whether by mail or call from Dr. Garcia.
 
AlaskaGrown said:
I interviewed on November 1st and two of my friends, who are student interviewers at the med school told me I would be lucky if I heard back by January. They basically informed me that the Stanford admissions committee does pretty much whatever they want, at their own pace. They run through applicants in the order that all of their information was submitted, including interview feedback, so if your interviewer didn't turn in his/her forms promply, that could set you back on the list. In additions, having a small class, they are very selective and tend to defer a lot of people who they consider competitive, but are not ready to commit to. That is why they say a final decision can take 4-5 months. They send decisions the second week of every month and it's pretty arbitrary who they respond to. So Stanford's definitely one I would recommend not waiting by the mailbox for. Hopefully a few of us will just be pleasantly surprised one day, whether by mail or call from Dr. Garcia.
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Gah :scared:.
 
Nothing new? Any of those people who got phone calls get a physical acceptance packet yet?
 
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