VCU Application status on "Hold"

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nsxracingy2k

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I just received an email from VCU stating that:

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.

I have a feeling it's gonna be a long wait. Anyone else got this email?
 
Sounds like you might spend a good half a year without an update. If you are interested in the school, I would continue to check your status every 3 weeks or so, and if you have added new activities or accomplishments, send them update letters to give your file a boost. Out of curiousity, as I am also applying there - what are your stats?
 
got this last year around sept.

long story short, it never once updated.. 🙁
 
You got this message today??? If so, they have really odd times for updating. weird.
 
jochi1543 said:
Sounds like you might spend a good half a year without an update. If you are interested in the school, I would continue to check your status every 3 weeks or so, and if you have added new activities or accomplishments, send them update letters to give your file a boost. Out of curiousity, as I am also applying there - what are your stats?
Click to expand...

My numbers are not that competitive. Biochem major, BCPM = 3.78, OA = 3.81, MCAT = 28M. What's yours?
 
nsxracingy2k said:
My numbers are not that competitive. Biochem major, BCPM = 3.78, OA = 3.81, MCAT = 28M. What's yours?
Click to expand...
3.52 cumulative (big upward trend), 3.35 BCPM (big upward trend, the C+ and B were in non-prereqs 5 years ago), 32 T. I went to HS in MD, so maybe an extra point for that, but I don't know. Sounds like I'll probably end up in the same pool.
 
nsxracingy2k said:
My application was completed on July 24th. I was quite surprised to receive the email today, on a Saturday.
Click to expand...

VCU's computer system updates on Saturday mornings...I was offered my interview on a Saturday morning last year. Acceptances, on the other hand, come at 6:04pm ET on planned weekdays.
 
nka1985 said:
VCU's computer system updates on Saturday mornings...I was offered my interview on a Saturday morning last year. Acceptances, on the other hand, come at 6:04pm ET on planned weekdays.
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Did VCU put your application on "hold" after you've completed it. When did they offer you the interview?
 
nsxracingy2k said:
Did VCU put your application on "hold" after you've completed it. When did they offer you the interview?
Click to expand...

No, I was complete there on 7/11/06 and offered an interview on 8/22/06. Sorry, "hold" at most schools is often bad news. If you really want to go to VCU, you can try writing/emailing a letter to the Dean telling her why you want to go there and why you think your a good fit for the school. Dr. WC is awesome, so it might help you. It can't hurt to try.
 
I got that message too. My stats are 3.7/35 OSS. I thought my essays were pretty good, too. Rough start to the process...
 
I am not a 100% sure, but I think I got that message then got an interview. I know I had some kind of message from the time I was complete last year in August to when I got my interview in December. Don't worry too much. Keep writing them with updates. Good luck!
 
So I'm guessing my message is worse?
VCU:
The committee's file review indicates that they wish to consider your file over the next several weeks before making a decision about interview. Since they have some reservations about granting an interview, your file will be reviewed again by a small sub-committee before making a final decision. Please continue to check this site to learn when further action has been taken.

GPA 3.51/ BCPM 3.5
MCAT 32O
 
Doctorverardoll said:
So I'm guessing my message is worse?
VCU:
The committee's file review indicates that they wish to consider your file over the next several weeks before making a decision about interview. Since they have some reservations about granting an interview, your file will be reviewed again by a small sub-committee before making a final decision. Please continue to check this site to learn when further action has been taken.

GPA 3.51/ BCPM 3.5
MCAT 32O
Click to expand...

My guess is they have some sort of rating/ranking system, which determines which of these messages you get:

Level 1 = interview
Level 2 = we like you but we need to compare you to more candidates
Level 3 = we found some weaknesses, so we'll review you again later
Level 4 = rejection
 
Doctorverardoll said:
So I'm guessing my message is worse?
VCU:
The committee's file review indicates that they wish to consider your file over the next several weeks before making a decision about interview. Since they have some reservations about granting an interview, your file will be reviewed again by a small sub-committee before making a final decision. Please continue to check this site to learn when further action has been taken.

GPA 3.51/ BCPM 3.5
MCAT 32O
Click to expand...
Ahahaha, well, there's me, lol.:laugh:
 
Tropicana100 said:
I got that message too. My stats are 3.7/35 OSS. I thought my essays were pretty good, too. Rough start to the process...
Click to expand...

Are you sure that you got the same message? Your numbers are excellent.
 
nsxracingy2k said:
Are you sure that you got the same message? Your numbers are excellent.
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Yeah, it's true. I'm a reapplicant, and I've had interviews at top 10 schools last year. This process is very random. That's why I'm applying to >30 schools this time.
 
armybound said:
dang, looks like I probably wasted my money.
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It's way to early to judge. VCU probably doesn't want to give out a too many interviews during the cycle (which would look bad in MSAR). The overall trend for every school nowadays is that they're getting more applicants, which doesn't necessary mean more total pre-meds. It's more a reflection of people expanding their list of schools. As a result, applicants have to compensate for this trend by applying to more schools themselves, thus perpetuating the cycle of too many applications. Despite this trend, schools still limit the amount of interviews they give out. This results in the apparent "randomness" of the process in which competitive applicants get turned down for reasons like "fit" and "diversity," which are completely subjective opinions of the adcom members.
 
don't worry about this update. i think everyone gets some soft of hold update, last year i think there were three different ones. i got this one and got an interview invite in the next few days actually. and now i'm starting at vcu in a few weeks! however, there also seems to be people who got this and never got a further update. so, i guess don't worry about it too much. who knows, you could get an interview update very soon!
 
I'm not sure that VCU is number hungry. I mean I've got lower numbers than a lot of you guys and I got a message saying that they want to interview me as soon as possible and that I should wait for an e-mail with a possible interview date.

My stats are 3.62, 34. Check my MDapp for more info.
 
Jolie South said:
I'm not sure that VCU is number hungry. I mean I've got lower numbers than a lot of you guys and I got a message saying that they want to interview me as soon as possible and that I should wait for an e-mail with a possible interview date.

My stats are 3.62, 34. Check my MDapp for more info.
Click to expand...

Congratulations! Keep us posted on the status of the VCU interview offer. But with your stats though, I don't think you need to leave the state of Texas for med school.
 
I got the standard post-secondary "hold message":


"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."

Plus, my application is on hold for grades (I have sent an updated transcript with spring grades). Beat that.😱
 
NBCDTT said:
I got the standard post-secondary "hold message":


"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."

Plus, my application is on hold for grades (I have sent an updated transcript with spring grades). Beat that.😱
Click to expand...


hmmm, is it just me or are these hold emails mostly being sent to OOS applicants?
 
hehe ok. Looks like there are now 5 possible messages, 3 of which are some kind of "hold."

-interview, you will get an email soon
-we like you, but we're not sure if we want to waste an interview spot
-we are neutral about you, so we'll look at you later
-we found something wrong with you, but we'll keep you around just in case
-rejection

It's kinda nice that these messages are somewhat more informative about your status than other schools.
 
I was an OOS applicant to VCU last cycle, and was complete around the beginning of Sept, but I got put on hold and really late in the season (mid-February) I got the same message a lot of people got at that time that said "We're interested in you, but we don't have enough interview spots to interview everyone at your priority score." At that point I figured I was screwed since their interview season only goes through the end of February, but figured I'd give it a shot and updated them on my interest - you can PM me if you want details - and they offered me essentially the last interview they had open. I got accepted outright two weeks later. So my advice if you are put on hold is the same as other posters have given: update them periodically on your continued interest. Based on my experience and that of a few others, it seems like they take expressions of interest in the school from OOS applicants seriously.
 
Update -- after being placed on "hold" on July 28th, VCU emailed me an interview invitation today! It was really unexpected. Phewww....
 
nsxracingy2k said:
Update -- after being placed on "hold" on July 28th, VCU emailed me an interview invitation today! It was really unexpected. Phewww....
Click to expand...


same thing happened to me! i got the invite message today. congrats!
 
I've been complete at VCU since the 26th- I'm getting worried that since I haven't heard anything, and there's been no status change that a post-secondary rejection will be gracing my email box on saturday 🙁
 
Tropicana100 said:
My guess is they have some sort of rating/ranking system, which determines which of these messages you get:

Level 1 = interview
Level 2 = we like you but we need to compare you to more candidates
Level 3 = we found some weaknesses, so we'll review you again later
Level 4 = rejection
Click to expand...


The way that VCU/MCV gives out interviews:
Your file is read by an initial file reviewer who reads through your PS, secondary experiences and Grades/MCAT. From that review, he/she gives you a priority score from 1-5. 1 is the best meaning your are the best possible candidate that they could hope for and 5 is the worst. A 3.5 is an automatic rejection. From there they rank the list offering interviews based on priority score. Unless you got a rejection, those messages mean pretty much nothing. Sometimes I feel VCU just picks the message you get out of a hat just to mess w/ the applicants.

Once you get an interview the 30 member committee meets to discuss you. Your numbers and application are put up on an overhead projection and they begin to discuss you. Your interviewer and your file reviewer are your 'advocates.' So someone will say, look at that C in orgo lab. And the file reviewer will say, "well he discussed that in his PS and this is what he said" and the interviewer would talk about how you addressed that issue in the interview. They are trying to get you in. Well in the end, each member will give you a ranking just like the previous one. The high and low numbers are thrown out and the rest are averaged. The averaged number, to 2 decimal places, is your score. You again are ranked based on this score. The tie breaker is undergrad GPA and then MCAT but it is pretty rare that both are taken into account.

This early in the game, a hold means very little.
 
Instatewaiter said:
The way that VCU/MCV gives out interviews:
Your file is read by an initial file reviewer who reads through your PS, secondary experiences and Grades/MCAT. From that review, he/she gives you a priority score from 1-5. 1 is the best meaning your are the best possible candidate that they could hope for and 5 is the worst. A 3.5 is an automatic rejection. From there they rank the list offering interviews based on priority score. Unless you got a rejection, those messages mean pretty much nothing. Sometimes I feel VCU just picks the message you get out of a hat just to mess w/ the applicants.

Once you get an interview the 30 member committee meets to discuss you. Your numbers and application are put up on an overhead projection and they begin to discuss you. Your interviewer and your file reviewer are your 'advocates.' So someone will say, look at that C in orgo lab. And the file reviewer will say, "well he discussed that in his PS and this is what he said" and the interviewer would talk about how you addressed that issue in the interview. They are trying to get you in. Well in the end, each member will give you a ranking just like the previous one. The high and low numbers are thrown out and the rest are averaged. The averaged number, to 2 decimal places, is your score. You again are ranked based on this score. The tie breaker is undergrad GPA and then MCAT but it is pretty rare that both are taken into account.

This early in the game, a hold means very little.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the 411. Are there many post-secondary rejections or is it just holds?
 
does VCU email you each time your status changes or do you have to login and check for yourself online?
 
Jolie South said:
got the invite yesterday. I'm scheduled for 9/12. yay!!

hopefully, some of you guys will see status changes as well! 😀
Click to expand...

And I'm scheduled for 9/10. Anyone else scheduled on this date?
 
I was complete on 7/20. My status has not changed since then. Should I be worried??
 
armybound said:
it hasn't even been 2 weeks yet

does their online system say it's under review or anything?
Click to expand...

When you say complete? Does that mean your secondary App or primary app, because I am still under review to see if they will give me a secondary or not.
 
armybound said:
it hasn't even been 2 weeks yet

does their online system say it's under review or anything?
Click to expand...


it says my application is complete and it will be reviewed and prioritized for an interview. Since people after me are already receiving interviews and have complete dates after mine, I'm thinking they decided not to give me an interview?
 
I got my interview invite from VCU yesterday, no "hold" message. Scheduled for 9/10. I'm in-state with a 36S (11PS, 11BS, 14VR) and 3.5 GPA.
 
I'm one of those on hold that need to be looked at again. The wording on the site changed, but only by a few words. I just mailed a letter today outlining my specific interest in the school and Richmond (I'm OOS). I hope it helps and not harms.
 
I got the hold message (we're interested in you, but may or may not be able to interview you) early last week and by friday I had an interview offer. I am very much OOS and check out my MDApps for numbers if you are interested. Definately not a number hungry school (at least not GPA!!).
 
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