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imxpandanese

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These past 24 hours was the most action I've seen in my entire pre-med career (which is telling of how lame my own life is) as I saw drama unfold on the Albert Einstein School specific thread. Angry words were typed, my email was refreshed less than normal, the PCR I was running was almost forgotten.

Updating to those who are not aware: Apparently, Albert Einstein had a glitch on their applications portals that allowed applicants to schedule interviews without being invited first. Some SDNers were curious about the glitch and signed up for interviews.

However, the glitch was caught and fixed. The assistant dean of admissions emailed those who were caught scheduling without prior- invite.

To those who are adcom or know the process, how would adcom most likely respond to applicants who are caught doing this?

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They were playing with fire...I can't imagine ever scheduling an interview without seeing the formal invitation! Here was an email the Dean sent an applicant, posted on Reddit, about this whole debacle:
 

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*clicks Albert Einstein School specific thread.*
 
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Dear Dean Kerrigan,
Someone in your office screwed up big-time. Seeing the opportunity present itself, and knowing how much medical schools value students who take initiative and who are ready to seize an opportunity that presents itself, and knowing that once you meet me you'll know how great it would be to have me in the class of 2022, I signed up for an interview. I am looking forward to my visit to Albert Einstein on November 30.
Sincerely....
 
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Unbelievable.

When I was interviewing way back in 2004-2005, I had an interview on Thursday but due to a terrible ice storm the interviews earlier in the week had been cancelled at this particular school. They managed to reschedule a few, but most were put off until later, and the Dean of Admissions told us she got all sorts of emails from people saying they would brave the weather for their interview...to which her response was "one of the things we're considering is your ability to exercise good judgement - willing to risk life and limb for an interview day does not reflect that very well".

With that in mind, I wonder how that bodes for those who scheduled without an invitation...
 
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They were playing with fire...I can't imagine ever scheduling an interview without seeing the formal invitation! Here was an email the Dean sent an applicant, posted on Reddit, about this whole debacle:
LOL holy ****.
 
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I think the debate that went on among the Albert Einstein thread was: from an admissions standpoint, is this something big enough where all students involved would get blacklisted? Does a blacklist exist?

The tone of the email that was posted didn't sound too happy...
 
I think the debate that went on among the Albert Einstein thread was: from an admissions standpoint, is this something big enough where all students involved would get blacklisted? Does a blacklist exist?

The tone of the email that was posted didn't sound too happy...

From Einstein or from med school in general?
 
From Einstein or from med school in general?

From all medical schools in general. There was debate over whether it would be a reportable offense to AMCAS or not.

Haha I don't mean to scare those involved, but now I'm genuinely curious myself
 
From all medical schools in general. There was debate over whether it would be a reportable offense to AMCAS or not.

Haha I don't mean to scare those involved, but now I'm genuinely curious myself
Why would they be blacklisted? If my application portal suddenly allowed me to schedule an interview, I would assume that there was a glitch on the email's side, not the portal, and schedule immediately (assuming that this is how this works). If there's any possibility that a well-meaning student could have done it, then there's no way they would apply sanctions to everyone.
 
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Why would they be blacklisted? If my application portal suddenly allowed me to schedule an interview, I would assume that there was a glitch on the email's side, not the portal, and schedule immediately (assuming that this is how this works). If there's any possibility that a well-meaning student could have done it, then there's no way they would apply sanctions to everyone.

From what I observed, the link wasn't available through the portal. Someone found it outside of the portal, was able to log into the interview scheduler, and thought 'hey I wonder what would happen if I signed up even though I didn't get an II'. And then they shared the link on the thread and chaos ensued. Luckily I didn't see anything until the day after so I didn't get caught up, but I can't say I wouldn't have tried...
 
lol. Duke sending out acceptances to people who were actually rejected a couple of years ago was way worse than this.
And what about the school that missed deadline for submitting their match list for residency last year. I don't recall the details...Wasn't it Columbia...I think surgery or something. THAT was a royal F-up!
 
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These past 24 hours was the most action I've seen in my entire pre-med career (which is telling of how lame my own life is) as I saw drama unfold on the Albert Einstein School specific thread. Angry words were typed, my email was refreshed less than normal, the PCR I was running was almost forgotten.

Updating to those who are not aware: Apparently, Albert Einstein had a glitch on their applications portals that allowed applicants to schedule interviews without being invited first. Some SDNers were curious about the glitch and signed up for interviews.

However, the glitch was caught and fixed. The assistant dean of admissions emailed those who were caught scheduling without prior- invite.

To those who are adcom or know the process, how would adcom most likely respond to applicants who are caught doing this?
Much ado about nothing. Glitches happen. I'd even give the benefit of the doubt to people who were ignorant about the process. It would be hard to prove malicious intent.

Anyone who deliberately thought "hey, now's my chance" must think that the folks in the Admission office at Einstein are incredibly stupid not to notice something like this.
 
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must think that the folks in the Admission office at Einstein are incredibly stupid not to notice something like this.

They ARE Einstein after all. :rolleyes:
 
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Definition of chutzpah
:supreme self-confidence :nerve, gall
  • It took a lot of chutzpah to sign up for an interview before receiving an interview invitation.
You mean to say signing up without an invite wasn't Kosher?
 
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From all medical schools in general. There was debate over whether it would be a reportable offense to AMCAS or not.
My dear fellow, even if you put all medical schools in a room together they probably could not agree that pizza is delicious, let alone figure out whom to put on a secret blacklist
 
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So where exactly was the link to schedule an interview? Was it after logging into the portal?

I don't blame people if they saw the option to schedule and assumed that meant they had been given an II. Sometimes portals get updated before emails go out, and slots can fill up. It's different if the link to sign-up wasn't readily available though
 
So where exactly was the link to schedule an interview? Was it after logging into the portal?

I don't blame people if they saw the option to schedule and assumed that meant they had been given an II. Sometimes portals get updated before emails go out, and slots can fill up. It's different if the link to sign-up wasn't readily available though


Seemed like someone posted a link to the interview scheduler, which isn't generally available through the application portal. The post with the link was deleted, so if someone can confirm...
 
The interview scheduler was under 'application process' on the general info website of the school, which is obviously accessible to the public. Einstein does not really have a traditional portal like many other schools do.
 
The interview scheduler was under 'application process' on the general info website of the school, which is obviously accessible to the public. Einstein does not really have a traditional portal like many other schools do.
If it's just a publicly available link, I guess you can't really say you misunderstood seeing the option as meaning an II was going to be offered. I'd totally get why the Dean would be upset in that case
 
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They were playing with fire...I can't imagine ever scheduling an interview without seeing the formal invitation! Here was an email the Dean sent an applicant, posted on Reddit, about this whole debacle:

Lol, sounds like the dean's problem, not the applicant's.
 
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If it's just a publicly available link, I guess you can't really say you misunderstood seeing the option as meaning an II was going to be offered. I'd totally get why the Dean would be upset in that case
Not necessarily. Other schools' schedulers don't let you sign in and sign up for an interview unless you have been granted access to it by admissions (which means an II has been offered).
 
Lol all that speculation into what the adcoms would do + all the moral superiority was quite over-the-top. I think what really got people really curious to try it was that only some people were able to log in to the portal and only some people were able to schedule one successfully even after logging in. But we are definitely making this a much bigger deal than it is. Chill out folks. Don't amp up the drama. There really is no need to layout the stupidity of others so you can feel better about yourself.
 
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Maybe I'm just clueless because a lot of people are saying it's not a big deal or that it's the school's problem for having a glitch in their portal system, but I still think this is a monumentally stupid thing to do. It seems to me that the best possible outcome of this scenario is making yourself look like an idiot to the admissions committee, the realistic scenario is that your application will be tossed in the trash, and the nightmare (albeit highly unlikely) scenario is that someone at the school decides to send your name to AMCAS.
 
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this is how the original student who found the glitch should've responded

 
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They were playing with fire...I can't imagine ever scheduling an interview without seeing the formal invitation! Here was an email the Dean sent an applicant, posted on Reddit, about this whole debacle:

lol at the "can you please explain" part... yeah dude I'm incredibly neurotic, I've memorized every part of your portal from the hours I've spent waiting for it to change, and when it did change I WAS THERE.
 
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Just remember kids: play stupid games, win stupid prizes.
 
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Anyone know what happened to these folks who invited themselves? Feels bad :\
 
how do you get to be a med school dean with just an mpa though?

There is a huge difference between being the dean of a medical school and being an associate dean of admissions.
 
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