unexpected rejection

[kuhlguy]

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so i just got my mail from sat ... rejected from dartmouth ...

this process is sooooooooo random ... i mean come on ... i've gotten some really great interviews ... and then no love from dartmouth ... arg!!!!

 

[Inuranic]

When I interviewed there back in October, my interview group was at least 25% Californian. Maybe they filled their quota.

 

[sc71football]

I got my rejection letter on the same day! This process is really random. I was actually going to withdraw from them today but they rejected me first. Oh well.

 

[jochi1543]

I don't understand the concept of "unexpected rejection." Maybe if it's at your state school that interviews 75% of IS applicants and you have above average numbers or something...but I don't understand what constitutes an "unexpected rejection" at a private or OOS school.

 

[MDRus]

so i just got my mail from sat ... rejected from dartmouth ...

this process is sooooooooo random ... i mean come on ... i've gotten some really great interviews ... and then no love from dartmouth ... arg!!!!

cmon, move on. who cares. you have amazing interviews. dartmouth isn't so great anyway. i was rejected there and didn't bat an eye. hanover's great, but 4 years of your adult life there??? you can and will do better.

and yes, this process is random.

 

[DianaUT06]

Yes, it is random. But did you have to make a thread about it? You have AWESOME interviews that other people would kill for, good luck and don't let it get to you.

 

[Kikaku21]

It may seem random to you and me, because we cannot see what goes on behind the curtains. Schools know what they want. For you, Dartmouth must have been looking for something else.

Don't take it personally. You might have great stats, but they want a circus juggler to round out their class. And you are the acrobat, not the juggler.

Its a black box, which means it seems random to you. But its not random.

Be thankful for your good interviews. You are probably going to get to be a doctor.

 

[silas2642]

so i just got my mail from sat ... rejected from dartmouth ...

this process is sooooooooo random ... i mean come on ... i've gotten some really great interviews ... and then no love from dartmouth ... arg!!!!

It is a really random process, but consider this: although you have excellent stats, they are by no means astronomically special. You've been fortunate during this cycle, and have some awesome interviews at some excellent schools. Also, Dartmouth isn't that great of a school: it's in the middle of nowhere, it's incredibly cold, and you have no patient diversity.

 

[Dendrite]

I think an applicant has to be incredibly qualified to consider a rejection unexpected. From a school like Dartmouth, I would think an acceptance should be considered unexpected (just like any other med school).

 

[MDRus]

I think an applicant has to be incredibly qualified to consider a rejection unexpected. From a school like Dartmouth, I would think an acceptance should be considered unexpected (just like any other med school).

couldn't have said it better. perhaps more bluntly, though: we are all in one big gray area. read these threads and you see 39 MCATers getting rejected in favor of 31s all the time.

be humble, folks. you're gonna need it in this profession.

 

[154241]

kuhlguy, i feel your pain. the one school i thought i had the best chance of getting an acceptance at besides my state schools was tulane. i'm working in katrina relief in new orleans this year and loving it, i'm interested in tropical medicine which they are awesome at, i want to do an mph and they have a great public health school. i made sure they knew all this at interviews. interview day was awesome and i loved it there. then bam, a waitlist. i know it's not a rejection and that's good, but WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT FROM ME, TULANE??? now everytime i see the med school from a distance or see a poydras street address a wave of sadness hits me. they broke my heart. but life goes on and i am very happy to be accepted somewhere.

anyway, i don't think kuhlguy is necessarily being arrogant; it just sucks to get the shaft from one of your top choices. it felt good to bitch a little when it happened to me.

 

[maestro1625]

I can think of a reason why it would be expected... I think your post demonstrates it quite well.

 

[MDRus]

kuhlguy, i feel your pain. the one school i thought i had the best chance of getting an acceptance at besides my state schools was tulane. i'm working in katrina relief in new orleans this year and loving it, i'm interested in tropical medicine which they are awesome at, i want to do an mph and they have a great public health school. i made sure they knew all this at interviews. interview day was awesome and i loved it there. then bam, a waitlist. i know it's not a rejection and that's good, but WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT FROM ME, TULANE??? now everytime i see the med school from a distance or see a poydras street address a wave of sadness hits me. they broke my heart. but life goes on and i am very happy to be accepted somewhere.

anyway, i don't think kuhlguy is necessarily being arrogant; it just sucks to get the shaft from one of your top choices. it felt good to bitch a little when it happened to me.

i never heard him say that it was one of his top choices. only that he didn't like the rejection.

 

[Law2Doc]

I think an applicant has to be incredibly qualified to consider a rejection unexpected. From a school like Dartmouth, I would think an acceptance should be considered unexpected (just like any other med school).

Agree with this. OP, you should be looking at the interviews you did get as unexpected, and rejections as the norm. These days schools get 10,000 applications, 50% of all applicants don't get into med school at all, and lots of people in the application pool are always going to be better qualified than you. So when things go well, it is unexpected, and when one gets rejected by a private med school ranked in the top 30, it shouldn't really surprise anyone.

As for random, I think kikaku nailed it. There is method to this madness. But you are looking at it from outside and so are unable to tell how it works. You can't know what various adcoms are looking for in term of good fit, and you can't know what the other applications they are looking at are like. So with no facts, sure it seems random. But if you had all the facts, you might see it as a no brainer obvious decision.

 

[BigMDT]

i received an interview from dartmouth but decided to withdraw.....for personal reasons (not wanting to live in the middle of nowhere) and also bc i really have no interest in rural medicine.

i believe that stats can help you very much....but in the end you must be a good fit for the medical school. i know that i do not fit in very well with dartmouth's main goals as a medical school.

 

[154241]

i never heard him say that it was one of his top choices. only that he didn't like the rejection.

oops. well, still. if you can't vent about this stuff on sdn, then where can you?

 

[MDRus]

oops. well, still. if you can't vent about this stuff on sdn, then where can you?

there is a "rejected" thread where all the mere mortals post their rejections and say a few boohoos. what if we all posted a new thread whenever we are rejected or accepted or had a great bowel movement.

SDN would fall apart if we were all that self absorbed about our "venting."

 

[postbacker]

i received an interview from dartmouth but decided to withdraw.....for personal reasons (not wanting to live in the middle of nowhere) and also bc i really have no interest in rural medicine.

i believe that stats can help you very much....but in the end you must be a good fit for the medical school. i know that i do not fit in very well with dartmouth's main goals as a medical school.

I think the mission of Dartmouth Medical School goes a bit beyond "rural medicine." Are you really familiar with the school, its facilities, its departments, research, etc? It doesn't sound like it from what you have written here...

 

[BigMDT]

I think the mission of Dartmouth Medical School goes a bit beyond "rural medicine." Are you really familiar with the school, its facilities, its departments, research, etc? It doesn't sound like it from what you have written here...

yes i have extensively researched the school, and know they do go beyond this.....mostly i have no desire to live in new hampshire. im a city boy. there are many schools which are just as good as dartmouth and are located in metropolitan areas, serving a a far more diverse and dynamic population. (this decision was made after a first acceptance, of course.)

 

[Candlestick Man]

well, I'm sure they appreciate your contribution anyway

 

[MDRus]

late, redundant, but right on the money. Necco scoooorrreeesssssss!!!!!!!!

 

[BigMDT]

being rejected at one of the best and one of the toughest schools to get into should not be labeled "unexpected'

one of the best??? its a good school, very good......but not a top 20 school.

 

[MDRus]

it is barely in the Ivy League as an undergrad school.

 

[MDRus]

brown's barely in the ivy league too.

but med schools are a separate deal.

but having two in your top 3? did you get rejected undergrad by these schools and are still clinging to adding it to your resume??

 

[Just Joshin]

one of the best??? its a good school, very good......but not a top 20 school.

You're going by rankings based on research. Dartmouth has one of the best names out there (along with the other Ivy Leagues and your usual Johns Hopkins, etc), whether or not U.S. News ranks it in research, and name does matter when it comes down to it, whether or not you want to admit it. Not to say you won't have people from the Caribbean or Podunk State School matching into neurosurg, but you'll see a lot more Dartmouth applicants getting their first or second choice residency than you will most other schools.

 

[Candlestick Man]

an unexpected rejection would be if they gave you an invite, you called to schedule, and they said "Sorry, we meant to reject you"

 

[MDRus]

i'm just jerking your chain!!!

fortunately, i don't have a top 3. any school in the top half of my list will be fine with me.

 

[Just Joshin]

it is barely in the Ivy League as an undergrad school.

What does that mean anyway? Barely in the Ivy League? LOL

 

[Candlestick Man]

ivy doesn't grow well at that latitude

 

[BigMDT]

You're going by rankings based on research. Dartmouth has one of the best names out there (along with the other Ivy Leagues and your usual Johns Hopkins, etc), whether or not U.S. News ranks it in research, and name does matter when it comes down to it, whether or not you want to admit it. Not to say you won't have people from the Caribbean or Podunk State School matching into neurosurg, but you'll see a lot more Dartmouth applicants getting their first or second choice residency than you will most other schools.

yes....since dart is ranked in the 30s or so, the other 100 or so med schools perhaps wouldnt match their students as well. i think the key thing is with research at a school, is that the more research funds going in to the school means you have very knowledgable professors AND more opportunities to do your own research in medical school. the most competitive specialties require most medical students to publish something. and that is why a great medical school is often ranked according to research. (this is what a ucsf surgeon has told me for years)

 

[MDRus]

UCSF was my #1 choice but i never got a secondary
i also applied to washu, harvard, cornell, stanford, and upenn

haven't heard from them and they're REALLY hard to get into

holy crap!! have we been fraternizing with a statsomaniac??

 

[A Wall]

I don't post too much, but from reading the occasional post, this MDRus fellow doesn't seem too nice. Why would you choose to spend your presumedly valuable time perusing this site, finding people you disagreed with, and then viciously putting down their comments and personal choices? Aren't there better forums for that kind of flaming than SDN?

brown's barely in the ivy league too.

but med schools are a separate deal.

but having two in your top 3? did you get rejected undergrad by these schools and are still clinging to adding it to your resume??

 

[kuhlguy]

wow ... didnt know this thread would take off like this ...

honestly ... i was just trying to vent frustration ...

no matter what you guys say ... what adcom committees look for etc ... this process is sooo random ...

which is why i applied to so many schools ... but yea ... not trying to say that i deserve an interview to dartmouth ... just saying that i cant figure out how i got some of the interviews i got and not one from dartmouth ... didnt mean for it to be taken wrongly ... srry!

 

[Jamorama]

check out dartmouth's match list and you'll see they match just as well as any other top 10 school.

 

[Candlestick Man]

this MDRus fellow doesn't seem too nice

yeah, and I don't even think he is a real MD

 

[MDRus]

you're right. i have my laptop in my lap when i watch tv and throw out some sarcasm as the mood strikes.

i'm sorry. it's really losery of me, i know. sometimes i'm funny gut ususaly i just piss people off.

but i actually learn some useful stuff along the way. my posts just keep me amused while i'm reading.

i'm really nice in my non-virtual life. i guess non-virtual would be "real."😳

 

[MDRus]

wow ... didnt know this thread would take off like this ...

honestly ... i was just trying to vent frustration ...

no matter what you guys say ... what adcom committees look for etc ... this process is sooo random ...

which is why i applied to so many schools ... but yea ... not trying to say that i deserve an interview to dartmouth ... just saying that i cant figure out how i got some of the interviews i got and not one from dartmouth ... didnt mean for it to be taken wrongly ... srry!

we totally forgive you. for real. i, too, have suffered from being misunderstood here on SDN. and it hurts, it really does. just trying to bring some joy into my own pathetic life. biding my time until i can cut people open, legally, and without killing them.

i am so sorry. i won't bother any of you again. promise.

signing off. tonight and forever.

 

[BigMDT]

we totally forgive you. for real. i, too, have suffered from being misunderstood here on SDN. and it hurts, it really does. just trying to bring some joy into my own pathetic life. biding my time until i can cut people open, legally, and without killing them.

i am so sorry. i won't bother any of you again. promise.

signing off. tonight and forever.

 

[MDRus]

you'll be back, just like herpes

thanks necco, i appreciate that. but no, i'm leaving. i've caused too much hurt. we all need to heal.

 

[Candlestick Man]

you'll be back, just like herpes

Don't jinx it man, I think its gone (edit: I mean the herp, not MDRus)

Rus, I will light a candlestick in your memory

 

[Just Joshin]

just saying that i cant figure out how i got some of the interviews i got and not one from dartmouth ... didnt mean for it to be taken wrongly ... srry!

I think what people are saying is that you shouldn't be so surprised you didn't get an interview at Dartmouth. "Can't figure out how I got some interviews and not one from Dartmouth" implies that Dartmouth was on a lower rung than the other schools that extended you invite when, in fact, Dartmouth is just as selective and in most cases, MORE selective than the schools that have given you an interview. Don't forget, Dartmouth has a very small class size -- 80 students -- of which many are non-traditional.

 

[MDRus]

Don't jinx it man, I think its gone (edit: I mean the herp, not MDRus)

Rus, I will light a candlestick in your memory

thanks for that edit, man.

now, i'm really serious. this is my last post. i've outworn my welcome and need to move on. so don't try to talk me out of it because there is really nothing you can say that will change my mind. we had good times. really good times.

 

[Candlestick Man]

at least post why you want to become a doctor!

 

[Drogba]

it is barely in the Ivy League as an undergrad school.

What does barely in the ivy league mean? here i thought you were one of the 8 schools or you weren't.

Also what is up with MDRus's histrionics? He should audition for a mexican soap opera.

 

[154465]

You have 12 interviews and only 2 rejections. I swear, I'm trying not to lash out at you but its hard. You have NO right to complain, much less start a thread about it.


MDRus is gone?

 

[MDRus]

You have 12 interviews and only 2 rejections. I swear, I'm trying not to lash out at you but its hard. You have NO right to complain, much less start a thread about it.


MDRus is gone?

😴

 

[MDRus]

oh, you're back? is this another breakout?

no, someone must have hijacked my username!!!!!

come to think of it, i haven't posted for like, a month.

have there been posts using my name during that time period? OMG, i hope they were all helpful and courteous.

😱😱

 

[erica31]

Well spoken about the circus statement.

It may seem random to you and me, because we cannot see what goes on behind the curtains. Schools know what they want. For you, Dartmouth must have been looking for something else.

Don't take it personally. You might have great stats, but they want a circus juggler to round out their class. And you are the acrobat, not the juggler.

Its a black box, which means it seems random to you. But its not random.

Be thankful for your good interviews. You are probably going to get to be a doctor.

 

[Phoenix.]

Don't take it personally. You might have great stats, but they want a circus juggler to round out their class. And you are the acrobat, not the juggler.

My Loyola interviewer told me that I was their "tuba player" this year (he was making a reference to my non-trad lawyer background). Back in the admin office, the other interviewee heard the secretary tell me that she heard that I was their tuba player. So, while we were on our tour of the school later, the other interviewee leaned in and whispered (are you really a tuba player)? Priceless.

Phoenix aka PTP ("Proud Tuba Player")

 

[erica31]

I am at work (in a pretty cutthroat research laboratory in Orange County where humor is NOT allowed) and your comment just made me burst into peals of laughter and throw my head on my desk because you are hilarious.

Thanks for the comment -- you to deserve to get accepted to ALL schools.

the wart is back, someone grab the cream