Too early to panic?

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As you may well know, looking at these forums has a way of skewing things, and I wanted to know when it's really time to panic. I had most of my secondaries finished by the third week in August and have only one interview invitation. Some of the schools that many derisively refer to as "safety" schools I am genuinely excited about, but I have heard nothing, and I am told I have a solid application.

When should I really start to feel terror?
 
It's never too early to panic.
 
Thanksgiving. If you are really, really neurotic, Halloween.

I'm serious. It is way early to start worrying.
 
Hmmm, I don't know if there really is a bad time to panic.

You should expect to hear about interviews within two months of the date your application is complete.
 
Still too early.

Did I read your post correctly that you have one invite and zero rejections after four weeks? If so, so far so good.
 
aero four said:
As you may well know, looking at these forums has a way of skewing things, and I wanted to know when it's really time to panic. I had most of my secondaries finished by the third week in August and have only one interview invitation. Some of the schools that many derisively refer to as "safety" schools I am genuinely excited about, but I have heard nothing, and I am told I have a solid application.

When should I really start to feel terror?
Click to expand...


If you are not holding an acceptance letter in your hand, you need to be preparing for what you will do if you do not gain acceptance into medical school this year. The more elaborate your "Plan B" the less likely you will have to use it. If you don't have a "Plan B" you are likely going to NEED a Plan B.
No need to panic if you are prepared. Either you are going to get in or you won't. Prepare for both scenarios.
 
njbmd said:
If you are not holding an acceptance letter in your hand, you need to be preparing for what you will do if you do not gain acceptance into medical school this year. The more elaborate your "Plan B" the less likely you will have to use it. If you don't have a "Plan B" you are likely going to NEED a Plan B.
No need to panic if you are prepared. Either you are going to get in or you won't. Prepare for both scenarios.
Click to expand...

👍👍👍
 
mad early. i still have to send in some secondaries that have just been in my inbox

inbox sounds like a good name for a club
 
If you wait till Halloween or something before panicking, then it will be too late...by then, it is so late in the cycle, even if you add new med schools in your AMCAS, it will be too fricking late to complete their secondaries in time, and then wait in the loooooooong line until your file gets reviewed, for a tiny tiny chance at a waitlist pity interview in March....if that happens, you just sank thousands of dollars in a zero-return investment, and need to do this cr*ppy process all over again. ALL OVER AGAIN

FEAR-mongering is FUN!!! 🙂

PS. Just joking, congrats on your first invite!!! Which one is it????
 
aero four said:
As you may well know, looking at these forums has a way of skewing things, and I wanted to know when it's really time to panic. I had most of my secondaries finished by the third week in August and have only one interview invitation. Some of the schools that many derisively refer to as "safety" schools I am genuinely excited about, but I have heard nothing, and I am told I have a solid application.

When should I really start to feel terror?
Click to expand...

I didn't interview with the school I'm attending until Nov. and Texas is generally ahead of the game time-wise. You are way too early to worry!!
 
The interview is at University of Maryland, presumably because I'm (officially) a Maryland resident. I don't have any rejections, though Drexel did put me on hold.

Thanks for the reassurance, I guess it is too early to be worried - there just aren't a lot of straight answers in this process.
 
aero four said:
the interview is at university of maryland, presumably because i'm (officially) a maryland resident. I don't have any rejections, though drexel did put me on hold.

Thanks for the reassurance, i guess it is too early to be worried - there just aren't a lot of straight answers in this process.
Click to expand...


quick!! Add more schools before it's too late!!!
 
If you're panicking with one interview, what am I (with no interview, completed most applications around mid-end august) supposed to do? :laugh:
 
vinniekan said:
If you're panicking with one interview, what am I (with no interview, completed most applications around mid-end august) supposed to do? :laugh:
Click to expand...

Start cutting yourself.

But for serious, count your blessings OP. I was complete around the same time and have zero invites. It is really really hard to stay positive and not start worrying, especially when you know that people who were complete at the same time as you have received interview invites. It's easy for people sitting on 4 or 5 interviews to tell you to chill out, but in reality they'd probably be sweating bullets too. Hang in there. This is definitely a uniquely stressful process.
 
I'm in the same position. Finished pretty much all of my secondaries 3rd week of August and added a few more that I finished up until the beginning of the month.

~23 schools

0 invites.
0 rejections.
1 hold. (Thanks GWU for 'holding' me before my new MCAT even came in -_-)

I'm glad to read some of these reassuring responses (especially Medical Students).
 
yea I have no interviews yet. I applied to about 30 schools (DO and MD). finished all my secondaries by the 2nd week of august and have decent stats
 
I'm pretty much panicking. It's been about a month since my apps went in, and 1 interview. I haven't even heard anything from the school that interviewed me last year, so I'm definitely a little scared because of that. Anyway yeah, I'm starting to prepare my backup options for next year. I think I'm perfectly justified in being a little over-anxious since I'm a re-applicant.
 
Panicking is not useful. Be as prepared as possible for all scenarios. You have an interview. It probably won't be your only one but it could be. But it only takes one, so make it count. No pressure. 😀
 
It's ok to feel anxious.:scared:


Just don't let it drive you crazy or over the edge.😎
 
LiveUninhibited said:
Panicking is not useful. Be as prepared as possible for all scenarios. You have an interview. It probably won't be your only one but it could be. But it only takes one, so make it count. No pressure. 😀
Click to expand...

Haha...well I already attended that interview. I feel like I made a couple mistakes 🙁
 
Yeah, I'm starting to get some anxiety myself. It's only been anywhere from 2 to 4 weeks since submitting secondaries though. Just keeping my :xf: right now.

I think I have solid stats and solid EC's....
 
Food said:
Haha...well I already attended that interview. I feel like I made a couple mistakes 🙁
Click to expand...

only a couple? it seems like you did pretty well!


But seriously folks, this is waaaayyy too early to be panicking. Having one interview right now is good anyways! You definitely should consider what you'll do just in case things don't turn out as expected but dont get all anxious just yet. Wait till January 2010.
 
If it makes you feel any better, I'm right there with you :scared:
 
I've only heard from about a quarter of schools so far, some good some bad (one rejection, two pre-interview holds, one small pool, and two inteviews scheduled).

I'm really happy about that so far, but even without early interviews, don't most of you have a lot of schools left to hear back from like I do?
 
njbmd said:
If you are not holding an acceptance letter in your hand, you need to be preparing for what you will do if you do not gain acceptance into medical school this year. The more elaborate your "Plan B" the less likely you will have to use it. If you don't have a "Plan B" you are likely going to NEED a Plan B.
No need to panic if you are prepared. Either you are going to get in or you won't. Prepare for both scenarios.
Click to expand...

Since no acceptances go out until October 15, no one has an acceptance "in hand."

No need to panic yet and no need to have anything but a vague idea about what you will do if you do not get accepted.

And no, the level of detail in your Plan B will not increase your chances of acceptance, nor will the reverse increase your chances of rejection.

Why must people say crap like this? It helps no one.
 
ok, then this should make you feel better, I hope.

Two cycles ago the first interview invitation I received, right out of the box, was at Rochester, and I think I interviewed there at the very beginning of their interview schedule. Outcome: waitlist and then rejection.

Another school that I didn't hear from until late November, interviewed in December: accepted and now attend. And LOVE!!!!!

And a bunch of others in between and after with a variety of results.
 
slowbutsteady said:
ok, then this should make you feel better, I hope.

Two cycles ago the first interview invitation I received, right out of the box, was at Rochester, and I think I interviewed there at the very beginning of their interview schedule. Outcome: waitlist and then rejection.

Another school that I didn't hear from until late November, interviewed in December: accepted and now attend. And LOVE!!!!!

And a bunch of others in between and after with a variety of results.
Click to expand...

Was it obvious to you why one rejected you and the other did not? Did you have different kinds of interviewers, or was it your performance? Or just your ap?
 
LiveUninhibited said:
Was it obvious to you why one rejected you and the other did not? Did you have different kinds of interviewers, or was it your performance? Or just your ap?
Click to expand...

Very hard to say. I didn't get outright rejected at any place I interviewed, so I think my interview performance was pretty consistent, tho certainly I felt better about some than others.

I do think that the schools I really liked ended up liking me. The concept of "fit," tho elusive, is true, I think.

For example, I loved Yale, but I recognized at the time of the interview, and now, that it wasn't the best fit for me. And they waitlisted me into oblivion. They knew too.

There is a reason that so many people say, "I can't imagine going to any other med school than the one I attend." Lesson of that: Don't get too caught up in "first choice dream school" stuff.

Oh, and of the schools that accepted me, I did not choose the one highest on the USNews list!!
 
Dude, if you look on MDapps plenty of people that completed early get invited way late into the year. Not everyone's got superstar stats (including me). Chill out wait around late October and DON'T PANIC... make sure you applied DO too if you're in any doubt.
 
n618ft said:
Dude, if you look on MDapps plenty of people that completed early get invited way late into the year. Not everyone's got superstar stats (including me). Chill out wait around late October and DON'T PANIC... make sure you applied DO too if you're in any doubt.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I'd say wait until October at the very least before going crazy.
 
n618ft said:
make sure you applied DO too if you're in any doubt.
Click to expand...

Is it true that it's not worth applying to DO schools if you don't have LOR from a DO? I was going to apply to some (probably too late now..), but having no DO letter stopped me.
 
Yeah, just wait until the beginning of November before you start freaking out. Though if you have an interview this early in the cycle, you'll likely get more. Last time I applied, I had interview invites anywhere from the end of July (shortly after I was complete) through October. Trust me, it's more nerve racking waiting after your interview, when you'll doubt yourself 10 million times as to whether the interview was good, bad, mediocre, etc.
 
mvenus929 said:
Yeah, just wait until the beginning of November before you start freaking out. Though if you have an interview this early in the cycle, you'll likely get more. Last time I applied, I had interview invites anywhere from the end of July (shortly after I was complete) through October. Trust me, it's more nerve racking waiting after your interview, when you'll doubt yourself 10 million times as to whether the interview was good, bad, mediocre, etc.
Click to expand...

Very true.
 
...
 
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imer said:
You might be the only one who didn't, it's a well known fact that sdn posters are incapable of making a decision without consulting either usnews or a magic 8 ball.
Click to expand...

There are plenty of people on SDN who would choose their state schools over a US News top 20 school that's in a different state for personal reasons (generally significant others and family).
 
Is it just me or are all the people saying not to worry either current medical students or is a current applicant already with both interviews lined up and attended?
 
doctoct said:
Is it just me or are all the people saying not to worry either current medical students or is a current applicant already with both interviews lined up and attended?
Click to expand...

Considering the OP already has an interview lined up, he is in much the same position as the rest of us.
 
...
 
Last edited:
doctoct said:
Is it just me or are all the people saying not to worry either current medical students or is a current applicant already with both interviews lined up and attended?
Click to expand...

Current med students are exactly the people who have something useful to say on this topic. They have been through an entire cycle and can tell you how the process evolves.

Why would anyone listen to the musings of a premed on this (or anything for that matter)?
 
In my opinion, yes it is way too early to start panicking. The season is still very early. A lot of my classmates didnt even interview until after january. Plus like someone said earlier, the hard wait is after you interview. I interviewed here in december and didnt get accepted until march. At another school I interviewed in the first group in november and then didnt hear a peep until I was rejected in june. This process is al about patience and endurance. As I am sure you have heard before, it is a marathon, not a sprint. The same goes for medical school! Well, I hope I helped a little bit. Good luck to you all and God bless!
 
aero four said:
As you may well know, looking at these forums has a way of skewing things, and I wanted to know when it's really time to panic. I had most of my secondaries finished by the third week in August and have only one interview invitation. Some of the schools that many derisively refer to as "safety" schools I am genuinely excited about, but I have heard nothing, and I am told I have a solid application.

When should I really start to feel terror?
Click to expand...

I actually think you should add 3 more schools to your list where your stats are average to above average. You applied to 12, while that seems a reasonable number the process can be very unpredictable. Up your odds if you can. Some schools on your list (Sinai, Penn, etc) are hard to get in even for people with totally killer applications. Do yourself a favor and add some more non dream schools. Even if you get an interview at a place like Penn you still only up your odds of getting in to 1 in 4. Get an interview at most schools where your stats are avg to above avg, your chances are around 50% or better for most of these schools.
 
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