Unsure

[Righty123]

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Hey guys, I'm unsure about a current situation I'm in and would appreciate any feedback you guys could give me.

The situation:
I currently do research at my top choice medical school. I'm applying this cycle and will be getting a letter of recommendation from the physician I'm working with who is an attending and associate professor. However, a family aquaintance of mine also works as this medical college and knows about my desire to attend. She is good friends with the secretary of an physician-adcom member and wants me to give her my application so that she can pass it on to that secretary. I'm not sure if I should do this or not even though she assures me that alot of applicants use alternative routes to get their applications through to adcom members. Additionally, the family friend feels that the secretary will be able get the physician adcom member to look favorably on my application.

I really don't want to undermine my chance at this medical school, so I'm not sure if I should go ahead and give her my application.

😕

 

[CavalierMD]

don't do it. if you're good enough to get in, you'll get in without a secretary's daughter's third cousin twice removed... don't make a mess.

 

[Dr.TobiasFünke]

Hey guys, I'm unsure about a current situation I'm in and would appreciate any feedback you guys could give me.

The situation:
I currently do research at my top choice medical school. I'm applying this cycle and will be getting a letter of recommendation from the physician I'm working with who is an attending and associate professor. However, a family aquaintance of mine also works as this medical college and knows about my desire to attend. She is good friends with the secretary of an physician-adcom member and wants me to give her my application so that she can pass it on to that secretary. I'm not sure if I should do this or not even though she assures me that alot of applicants use alternative routes to get their applications through to adcom members. Additionally, the family friend feels that the secretary will be able get the physician adcom member to look favorably on my application.

I really don't want to undermine my chance at this medical school, so I'm not sure if I should go ahead and give her my application.

😕

Hmmm... i think it would help you as long as it doesn’t seem like you are soliciting her to put in the good word for you. Also, I got a rec from a professor at my top choice med school that I did research with. It speaks highly of the applicant if a member of the faculty has confidence in his ability.

 

[Haemulon]

I suggest sending in your application in the traditional route. Your contact may be able to get your name out there, but do the app process by the book. I have a family member that is the director of a department at a med school i'm applying to, but I am still playing it straight. Use the contact for insight and information perhaps, but you want to be able to look back and know that you did it on your own.

 

[MedSchoolFool]

Hmmm....the politics of medicine have already begun.

Within the context of recommendations, the most stable ground you have right now for your application is with the professor you are doing research with. I'm sure that the schools adcom will value the recommendation of one of their own professor's much greater than they will a secretary's. (no offense to secretaries....my wife is one, and I love her)

However, secretaries are very, very influential, especially if they have been around for several years. I hate to say this, but an attractive secretary would probably have more sway than an unattractive one. We are a superficial society, and whether a man or woman, we often go more out of our way to do favors for attractive people than for unattractive ones. I'm sure this is no surprise to anyone. So, there are possible instances in which a beautiful secretary's opinion could trump a disheveled professor's recommendation. And for anyone who wants to argue....I majored in Interpersonal Communication so I'm not relying on anecdotal experience to say this. Tons of research on the subject.

OK...with this being said, there is still a way in which you could use the secretary to your advantage. First, by all means, take the time to go by and see this person for yourself. Have your family friend tell her (or him, as the case may be) about you, and have that friend ask the secretary as a favor to them, not you, to talk with you about the application process. This should be a flattering role for the secretary. Just tell the secretary how badly you want to go to the school, and ask him/her to mention your name to his/her boss. No application. No resume. Nothing more than word of mouth. This is often the most effective advertising, anyway.

The influence of the secretary will be proportional to either their length of employment with the school, or with their attractiveness level, but more likely will be a combination of the two. Skill as a secretary won't matter much, as that secretarial skills are sorely taken for granted.

This all sounds sort of Machiavellian, but I wouldn't think that you will undermine your chance of acceptance at the school by building a relationship with the secretary of an adcom personnel. Just be judicious in how you employ this relationship to your advantage.

 

[Righty123]

bump bump

 

[julie29524]

I say go traditional. If you know you are competitive with your rec letter, why involve family friends and etc. etc. ?

If I were you and went with the 'alternative route' (as you call it), and got in, I would wonder for the rest of my life whether if I would've been accepted without the help of acquaintances. I would doubt myself all the time because of the 'help' I had during applying.

When I get overwhelmed by the thought of how many classmates will probably do better than me, I keep remembering that I applied without any help, and if the admission committee thought I am good enough, then I must be good enough.

It all comes down to confidence, and how you build it up will affect your whole career.

Good Luck.

Hey guys, I'm unsure about a current situation I'm in and would appreciate any feedback you guys could give me.

The situation:
I currently do research at my top choice medical school. I'm applying this cycle and will be getting a letter of recommendation from the physician I'm working with who is an attending and associate professor. However, a family aquaintance of mine also works as this medical college and knows about my desire to attend. She is good friends with the secretary of an physician-adcom member and wants me to give her my application so that she can pass it on to that secretary. I'm not sure if I should do this or not even though she assures me that alot of applicants use alternative routes to get their applications through to adcom members. Additionally, the family friend feels that the secretary will be able get the physician adcom member to look favorably on my application.

I really don't want to undermine my chance at this medical school, so I'm not sure if I should go ahead and give her my application.

😕

 

[Caristra]

If you are going to solicit help then I would suggest giving in the app normally and thenhaving your name mentioned to the secratery. I would hate to see an application lost/misplaced or your LOR's unable to find your app.

I would suggest just giving it in normally and leaving things alone. You might always wonder if you got in on your own or only with the extra help/ it's a lot to have on your mind that you might be somewhere that you otherwise wouldn't be and someone else is not there because of it. Plus from your description of your research ties to the hospital it sounds like you are a great applicant, without any "alternate routes"