VCU ambiguous application status

[tank you]

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ok, i know this has been asked before but i cant search, so please reply if u have any info.
i received this notice on my application status:


The committee's file review indicates that they would like to consider your file further. We are now in the process of scheduling interviews and will continue to do so through February. Unfortunately, the committee indicates interest in far more candidates than we are able to interview. Since we are dependent on the Committee member's schedules for interview spaces, we are unable to predict when or if we will be able to schedule you this year. Please continue to check this site to learn when further action has been taken.

so does that mean i am in the interview pool or i am on hold? has anyone received this notice, then received an invite? please help, im so confused what that means.

 

[theunderdog]

ok, i know this has been asked before but i cant search, so please reply if u have any info.
i received this notice on my application status:


The committee's file review indicates that they would like to consider your file further. We are now in the process of scheduling interviews and will continue to do so through February. Unfortunately, the committee indicates interest in far more candidates than we are able to interview. Since we are dependent on the Committee member's schedules for interview spaces, we are unable to predict when or if we will be able to schedule you this year. Please continue to check this site to learn when further action has been taken.

so does that mean i am in the interview pool or i am on hold? has anyone received this notice, then received an invite? please help, im so confused what that means.

i got that status also about one month ago. haven't heard jack since.

dont worry. people with this status have gotten interviews. i'm still waiting for mine.

 

[drmota]

ok, i know this has been asked before but i cant search, so please reply if u have any info.
i received this notice on my application status:


The committee's file review indicates that they would like to consider your file further. We are now in the process of scheduling interviews and will continue to do so through February. Unfortunately, the committee indicates interest in far more candidates than we are able to interview. Since we are dependent on the Committee member's schedules for interview spaces, we are unable to predict when or if we will be able to schedule you this year. Please continue to check this site to learn when further action has been taken.

so does that mean i am in the interview pool or i am on hold? has anyone received this notice, then received an invite? please help, im so confused what that means.

yo tank- when were you complete? thanks
-mota

 

[tacrum43]

I received that same message too over a month ago now. I'm hopeful, but not expecting anything.

 

[tank you]

yo tank- when were you complete? thanks
-mota

too long ago, 09.15

 

[tank you]

this is so discouraging, why do they do this crap?!?

 

[theunderdog]

dont owrry, its all about priotity score.

u probably have a higher priority score than me.

 

[tank you]

dont owrry, its all about priotity score.

u probably have a higher priority score than me.

apparantly, there is more than one status msg that u can get, how good of a message is the one i got in terms of possible interview invite??

 

[jj08]

jtank-

I am just speculating here BUT I think that you have a good chance for an interview b/c your file was complete early on. Just to let you know, when I applied last year (as an August MCATer) I received the same message you did and was invited for an interview. This year I sent everything in early and never received any vague message. Good luck!

 

[CalBoi82]

I got that message too and I got the invite four days later. GL!

 

[stansbury]

I also received this ambiguous email, and was put off by it too. But I don’t think VCU is trying to be shady. For me, after receiving the email I was given an interview about a week later. I think a number of schools send out these types of emails where they think you're a good candidate and they interview you depending on your "priority score". I got a similar type of email from MCW also and was given an interview there too. So don't worry about it too much, you guys will get an interview soon.
Best of Luck
Stansbury

 

[Dave_med]

ok, i know this has been asked before but i cant search, so please reply if u have any info.
i received this notice on my application status:


The committee's file review indicates that they would like to consider your file further. We are now in the process of scheduling interviews and will continue to do so through February. Unfortunately, the committee indicates interest in far more candidates than we are able to interview. Since we are dependent on the Committee member's schedules for interview spaces, we are unable to predict when or if we will be able to schedule you this year. Please continue to check this site to learn when further action has been taken.

so does that mean i am in the interview pool or i am on hold? has anyone received this notice, then received an invite? please help, im so confused what that means.

jtank, I got this exact same status on 8/22. There are several different versions. Some say "we are interested in your candidacy", some say "we would like to consider your file further", and I think there is one more. What you have is the one I got. It took a while, but I got an interview invite on 10/17, about two months later. They really are looking at your file further, but it just may take a little longer than the "interested in your candidacy" message. I believe that one is a higher priority score. Good luck.

 

[drmota]

has anyone gotten an interview at VCU straight off the bat without any of these intermediary vague e-mails comin first?
-mota

 

[Tristy]

has anyone gotten an interview at VCU straight off the bat without any of these intermediary vague e-mails comin first?
-mota

I did DaMota, I went from "complete" to "bla bla bla priority score"(nothing ambiguous nor vague) to "interview". I'm OOS with crappy stats (according to SDN standards 🙄 ), hope that helps.

PS: I was complete 08/29 and received the invite on 10/30

 

[drmota]

I did DaMota, I went from "complete" to "bla bla bla priority score"(nothing ambiguous nor vague) to "interview". I'm OOS with crappy stats (according to SDN standards 🙄 ), hope that helps.

PS: I was complete 08/29 and received the invite on 10/30

sweet. from what i know VCU is into full package applicants. congrats.
-mota

 

[Tristy]

sweet. from what i know VCU is into full package applicants. congrats.
-mota

Thanks 🙂 I guess they are. I think the rest of my application is what gets me interviews, because if they were into MCAT alone....well, you know. I'm excited about the interview, but the plane ticket is costing me an arm, a leg, a kidney and one of my corneas 😉 Looks like hubby and I will be eating ramen noodles for 2 weeks.

 

[ShyRem]

has anyone gotten an interview at VCU straight off the bat without any of these intermediary vague e-mails comin first?
-mota

I did, mota. Average stats, fabulous medical experience. I was invited labor day weekend, interviewed 9/26. Am now in the 'hold for further action' pool (which means I passed the interview).

It's been my only interview, and I'm an oos applicant.

 

[goinverted]

has anyone gotten an interview at VCU straight off the bat without any of these intermediary vague e-mails comin first?
-mota

yeah, I interview this coming Monday and I never got a vague e-mail. It went straight from complete to schedule and interview.

 

[firebird69guy]

I just got this vague email that is a little bit different:

The committee's file review indicates that they are interested in your candidacy. However, due to the increase in the applicant pool this year, it is clear we MAY be unable to interview all the candidates at your priority score. If we do find that we are able to grant an interview you will be notified by e-mail.


Hmm...


Oh well.

 

[ShyRem]

firebird, I think it's been determined by others that your particular message puts your priority score on the lower side, but still above rejection level. There have been folks who have gotten interview invites after your message - don't lose hope.

 

[theunderdog]

I just got this vague email that is a little bit different:

The committee's file review indicates that they are interested in your candidacy. However, due to the increase in the applicant pool this year, it is clear we MAY be unable to interview all the candidates at your priority score. If we do find that we are able to grant an interview you will be notified by e-mail.


Hmm...


Oh well.

shyrem, where did u hear that from?

don't worry firebyrd... i personally KNOW two people who got that same message about a month ago and already got interviews.

 

[ShyRem]

underdog, didn't I say that there have been folks with that same message who got invites?

 

[theunderdog]

sorry shyrem, i didn't mean to be mean.. please forgive me.....

i edited my post... i'm sorry.

 

[DesiMcatAcer]

can anyone explain how they determine priority score and what is the score out of and what is competitive? thanks...

 

[ShyRem]

Not mad underdog... a little grumpy I spose. Sorry.... 🙁. Been painting and painting and painting. Moved the entertainment center yesterday. Have a headache all day (I think my contacts prescription needs adjustment), and I'm not generally a patient person and I STILL have only one interview (grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr) and I'm sick and tired of waiting. (picture the girl in Willy Wonka screaming and throwing a tantrum.)

Wow. That felt good. Ok. Better.

Desi, I don't know how they determine priority scores - but I know they look at the whole package. They like to see commitment in your app, they like to see medical experience, and they DEFINITELY look at your courses and course load (that came up in my interview). From what Dr. H said, they rank you from 1-5, 1 being the best. Below a 3 they reject you flat out. After that, everything is by priority scores whether you get an interview, and then after the interview you're ranked by the adcom board.

 

[Gentle]

I just got this vague email that is a little bit different:

The committee's file review indicates that they are interested in your candidacy. However, due to the increase in the applicant pool this year, it is clear we MAY be unable to interview all the candidates at your priority score. If we do find that we are able to grant an interview you will be notified by e-mail.


Hmm.

Firebird...I received that same message yesterday and pretty much have my hopes on the lower side. Thank God my confidence level had been raised today by an invite from UMSOM.

Goodluck Firebird....hoping they'll get to us from what underdog says...

 

[tacrum43]

Not mad underdog... a little grumpy I spose. Sorry.... 🙁. Been painting and painting and painting. Moved the entertainment center yesterday. Have a headache all day (I think my contacts prescription needs adjustment), and I'm not generally a patient person and I STILL have only one interview (grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr) and I'm sick and tired of waiting. (picture the girl in Willy Wonka screaming and throwing a tantrum.)

Wow. That felt good. Ok. Better.

Desi, I don't know how they determine priority scores - but I know they look at the whole package. They like to see commitment in your app, they like to see medical experience, and they DEFINITELY look at your courses and course load (that came up in my interview). From what Dr. H said, they rank you from 1-5, 1 being the best. Below a 3 they reject you flat out. After that, everything is by priority scores whether you get an interview, and then after the interview you're ranked by the adcom board.

If 1 is the best, then wouldn't that mean they reject those above a 3? Sorry, not trying to make your headache worse, just curious.

 

[ShyRem]

below being a relative term here, not in the mathematical sense, tacrum. 🙂 As 5 is the lower score (even though it is a higher mathematical number), 5 is below 3 on the scale. In the purely mathematical sense 5 is above 3, but not when the scale is 1=high and 5=low. Confusing, isn't it? 🙂 🙂 🙂

Amazing what 1g of ibuprofen can do for a headache.

 

[jbone]

If 1 is the best, then wouldn't that mean they reject those above a 3? Sorry, not trying to make your headache worse, just curious.

You are correct. Sorry shyrem, BUT the LOWER the score, the better your chances are. They (committee) rate you on a scale from 1-5. 1 being the best and 5 being the worst. 32 committee members rate you on this scale and they then average your scores (throw out the highest and lowest) and that is YOUR score. It cannot be changed no matter what you do from that point on. They told me that anybody ABOVE a 3.5 average is rejected. They also said that last year, they didn't accept anybody off of the wait list higher than a 2.3. (but that changes from year to year). So the correct statement is...the lower...the better chance you have. Good luck. Please don't hurt me.

 

[tank you]

jbone: thx for the info, so, is there any way i can find out what score i have?

 

[jbone]

jbone: thx for the info, so, is there any way i can find out what score i have?

No!!! 😡 I already tried (by phone) and they shot me down. They claimed that MY information was "confidential". Just freakin tell me!!! Sorry, this process really sucks. I'm sure you're fine. I probably ended up with a 3.4 rating. A hopeless cause who is led on and on and on... only to be dumped in July . Good luck.

 

[Gentle]

Firebird.. I think we had thesame vague emails from VCU. However, I received an email yesterday that indicated that my status had been updated. well, I was ready to read something like...."sorry, you've been rejected..." eventhough, I know I'm not worth rejection.

It turned out that I was being invited to schedule an interview! This is actually a day after I got the vague email. ShyRem...I know you said that those applicants whose emails read like Firebird and mine are on a lower scale of getting interviews. Well, maybe it changes yearly or it's really not the case. Firebird....have you also heard from them? Hope you do if you haven't.

Good luck

 

[ShyRem]

Gentle, I don't know and you may be right. I was giving information from the enormous VCU Central thread that is now buried probably on page 375. I know I didn't get any vage status message pre-interview. I know folks who got the stronger message waited perhaps one or two days for an interview invite, and some with your message waited for weeks before getting an invite (and in some cases not getting an invite).

What I do know with certainty is if you get a vague message you have NOT been rejected until the interview season is over. As long as you get a message, any message other than 'see ya', hope is alive to get an interview - it just depends on how long you may wait. Just because you get one of the "less strong" messages doesn't mean you won't get an interview. It means you might not get an interview.

Gentle, enjoy your interview day! Firebird, I hope you get good news soon. I really loved VCU and hope to get favorable news in December. The only school I would choose over VCU is my state school (mainly for financial reasons).