Too early to panic?

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pOrtEnt said:
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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Disagree a bit here...OP applied broadly, and did not overdo the dream schools at all...and it is kind of late to be adding any schools - a waste of money at this point. Possible exception: NYMC - a staple "safety" school for east coasters.

Too early for the OP to panic, and frankly not much the OP can do for now except to wait for more interviews, go to all of them, and only stop when he gets an acceptance in hand.
 
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?
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Well obviously worrying won't help. But relaxing when your future is at stake is easier said than done. They probably wish they would/could have relaxed in retrospect, and we'll probably feel the same.

slowbutsteady said:
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)?
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I don't know if you can qualify or disqualify somebody for sound advice based upon being a pre-med. It's not like the only valid life experiences are those of medical students and beyond. You've been through the cycle and that is something to consider, but that doesn't mean that, say, a pre-med who applied and failed can't reflect on what went wrong. Or that everybody will have the same kind of experience as you applying.
 
pOrtEnt said:
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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I only think I applied to two real dream schools - Hopkins and Penn. I know Sinai, AECOM & Pitt are higher up there and while my odds are less I don't really consider them dream schools. The rest of my schools - Jefferson, Temple, Drexel, Maryland, Tulane, Georgetown, and GWU - are all brusquely considered "safety" level by the collective SDN mind, though I would happily go to any of them. Do you feel that these aren't enough?
 
aero four said:
I only think I applied to two real dream schools - Hopkins and Penn. I know Sinai, AECOM & Pitt are higher up there and while my odds are less I don't really consider them dream schools. The rest of my schools - Jefferson, Temple, Drexel, Maryland, Tulane, Georgetown, and GWU - are all brusquely considered "safety" level by the collective SDN mind, though I would happily go to any of them. Do you feel that these aren't enough?
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It can't hurt to add a few more.
 
aero four said:
You seriously don't think it's too late to do that?
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I applied to all my dream schools with the idea that heck, if I get rejected at least I tried (the UCSF rejection letter stung already, I'm sure there will be many more to come). You can check my MDapps for the list, but as long you have your mid-levels/safeties and are willing to pay the money...go to the AMCAS site now and just do it. I basically applied to many of the same schools as you, only adding about 8 or so more dreams/reaches. I figured I'd rather know I wasn't good enough for these schools, then wonder if I could have gotten in if I applied. The whole admissions game is so unpredictable. It's getting late (but far from too late)...applying now and getting quick turnarounds on the secondaries (get the prompts now so you can submit them right when you get the emails) will put you in the middle of the pack....not the tail end. You could probably be complete at most places within a few weeks. If money is no issue, I see no reason why not to.

Personally, I can say I have good, but by no means stellar stats (mediocre by SDN standards) and I already got invites to Sinai and Penn. Give it a go. And good luck, I hope it turns out well!
 
Yeah, I'm adding a few right now - I think it's fine.
 
Maybe it's not a bad idea then. I am just having trouble deciding on cities that I'd like to spend the next four years in - the reason I applied to so few in the first place was that I decided early on where I wanted to live and went from there.
 
aero four said:
Maybe it's not a bad idea then. I am just having trouble deciding on cities that I'd like to spend the next four years in - the reason I applied to so few in the first place was that I decided early on where I wanted to live and went from there.
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For me the city doesn't matter. I just need to get into a school period.
 
1 rejection, 4 holds and 0 interview invites = I'm officially panicking. I'm also annoyed/pissed off/perplexed. Totally perplexed.
 
TheDuder said:
1 rejection, 4 holds and 0 interview invites = I'm officially panicking. I'm also annoyed/pissed off/perplexed. Totally perplexed.
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You're not the only one man. I know I shouldn't say anything because I still have 1 interview, but that's no different from my 1 interview last year. It's like history is repeating itself this year and I really wasn't expecting it!
 
I fully approve of and appreciate this thread. Browsing the School-Specific Threads can definitely build a mountain of stress and worry. In many ways, I wish this was in SST just so I didn't have to search through Pre-Allopathic every time the former has crushed my confidence, hah.
 
anyone know the rationale behind the admissions committee process with regards to invites and acceptances. do they send invites in chronological order based on date of submission if you fit a certain threshhold or do they send invites to those with the highest stats first or is it a mix of both??? for instance, if i've applied early and havent heard anything from certain schools when they have started inviting others, should i chalk it up as a rejection? this process is driving me crazy because it seems so random. anyone have insider info?
 
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ichewu said:
anyone know the rationale behind the admissions committee process with regards to invites and acceptances. do they send invites in chronological order based on date of submission if you fit a certain threshhold or do they send invites to those with the highest stats first or is it a mix of both??? for instance, if i've applied early and havent heard anything from certain schools when they have started inviting others, should i chalk it up as a rejection? this process is driving me crazy because it seems so random. anyone have insider info?
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Pretty sure each school is different, but honestly, it's only September! Don't start over thinking it and trying to get inside their head, you're just going to freak yourself out. :luck:
 
slowbutsteady said:
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)?
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Just feels like some millionaire telling a homeless guy that things will be alright and to stop panicking about their situation. It's like the people who never had to be in the situation (I'm naively assuming the current med students are the typical superstar SDN applicants who received interviews during the summer and acceptances on Oct 15) are the most vocal about being patient. I'm just saying is all as a pessimistic applicant. Your advice is certainly more optimistic than mine: it's never too early to panic especially if you're the type of person that reads SDN
 
OP I'm in your situation almost exactly: submitted AMCAS late July and have only one interview invite. I know that this is mostly my fault because I was out of the country for a few weeks in August/Sept and am going to submit my last secondary today.

I am particularly panicked because I am going abroad starting in mid-December and thus need to get all of my interviews in before that...ahhhh!!!!!! Not sure if I should contact the admissions offices of the schools I applied to in order to let them know my plans.

So I'm totally feeling your pain...sigh.....
 
Breathe. At one school I was complete in the middle of July. It took a full month and a half for me to get a status update, while I kept seeing people who had been complete for two weeks get a status update. Three weeks after that, I got an interview invite. Just because you haven't heard anything yet doesn't mean you're rejected... it's only the beginning of the invite season.
 
I'd say start worrying 3-4 months after you are complete with secondaries and have nada
 
Annnnnd I have officially sent in my application to the Harvard Med Health Science Extension School Program.

Hooray for Plan B!
 
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