Talked to an admissions dean today...

[racergirl]

I received a secondary in the mail from a small medical school friday. I had a few questions, so I called the admissions office on monday. All I got was a message saying the office is closed on mondays, but leave a message. I left one, and lo and behold, The dean of admissions returned my call at work today! As long as I had them on the phone, I asked a bunch of questions. Here's what I found out:

--They did indeed receive one-page summaries last week. All they contain are name, address, overall and science gpa, and MCAT scores. They don't even show a year breakdown of the gpa, which sucks for me because I have a STRONG upward trend.

--They have begun receiving unverified full apps in the mail. Today they got THREE! WOW! Three! AMCAS is really on top of things huh?

--We talked for quite a while about the whole AMCAS problem, and believe me, the schools are just as pissed as we are. They are also understanding, and I think they'll do whatever they can to make sure everyone gets a fair shake. The dean also said to make sure and keep calling the schools you applied to to see if they received your materials. I quote: "sure they might get mad and be rude to you, but this year you really don't have any other choice. I guarantee with the mess this year some applications are going to fall through the cracks!"

That's about it. After hanging up with the dean person, I called the other schools I'd sent paper apps to. One had it, the other had my application fee, but no record of anything else yet. They have a back-log, so she told me to "be patient and call back next week" (ie go away!)

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[synite]

good info, racergirl. it's scary about the dean confirming that apps will fall through the cracks. and this game is already so much about luck.....

well, lets keep our fingers crossed and just smile.

 

[hellojed]

That really sucks if applications are going to "fall through the cracks" this year! After everything we've gone through! So we really should call every single school right now and ask if they've received our AMCAS? It's so stressful trying to keep on top of these things that we paid AMCAS to do!

 

[kris]

I keep saying this, but I think it's worth repeating:

I applied twice through AMCAS, and my friends and I never, ever, ever went through such grief in the application process. Those who tell you "it's like this every year" are full of it. There may have been a few applicants with problems, but they were easier to resolve, and AMCAS used to be responsive.

So, I just want to express my sympathies to you all who are enduring this AMCAS hell.

As the dean said, be sure to keep on top of the progress of your application at schools you applied to. I've always double checked on everything, and now is clearly not the time to simply trust that anything will go right.

Don't become bitter, but definitely vent all you want. You wouldn't be normal if you weren't frustrated and worried. Just don't let it consume you.

I'm sure most of you are doing something like this, but here's how I would handle things:

I'd have a sheet of paper dedicated to AMCAS, and a separate sheet for each school I applied to. I'd write the phone numbers and addresses on each respective paper, and all those pages would be my log book.

I'd log all my contact dates, with whom I spoke, what I found out.

e.g., 8-14-01 Jane Doe .... all transcripts received.

I think this kind of system might help you all keep on top of your status at AMCAS and at each school, especially if you applied to many schools! Sometimes it becomes important to be able to reference a phone conversation and contact person.

Well, I really do wish you all the best in this AMCAS hell.

--kris

 

[racergirl]

I've got just such a paper (I guess great minds think alike? ), though it's already getting kinda full...

 

[kris]

Hey racergirl!

Yeah, I guess if you've been calling AMCAS that much, it would be full.

I'm not sure if what I wrote was clear, so I'll change it, but I meant to have one page just for AMCAS, another page for school 1, another page for school 2, etc.

Maybe you need two or three pages just for AMCAS!

--kris

 

[racergirl]

ZUH? I've only called AMCAS once, to confirm they have my one and only transcript. Maybe you're thinking of someone else?

 

[C U in MD school]

racergirl did you call tulane? cuz i called tulane and they said their office was closed bc of white coat.

 

[SMW]

white coat?

 

[Georgey]

SMW, White Coate: It's an honorary day for first year meds.

 

[Jamier2]

Originally posted by kris:
•I think this kind of system might help you all keep on top of your status at AMCAS and at each school, especially if you applied to many schools! Sometimes it becomes important to be able to reference a phone conversation and contact person.•

Thanks for the tip Kris. I'll be using it fer sure.