Wait-list Support Group

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gyngyn said:
Re-applicants are not a homogeneous group. Medical schools are also quite variable regarding re-application.
To answer your second question, the number of applications are limited at many schools. Some will post the maximum number on their website. I can think of a few that limit the number to two applications. Many more have an internal view on this that is not made public. Generally speaking, public schools in smaller states (especially in the South) tend to be more generous in their view of re-applicants. The more selective private schools tend to be less tolerant of application missteps. HMS only allows two applications, for example.
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if my IS NY public schools are generous to re applicants, especially to the students they previously interviewed, i will be very happy
 
Richard_Rooster said:
if my IS NY public schools are generous to re applicants, especially to the students they previously interviewed, i will be very happy
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oh ya i forgot to ask one more quick follow up. do you think schools who interviewed candidates who did not end up getting in have a high chance of being re interviewed if their application improves?
 
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Richard_Rooster said:
oh ya i forgot to ask one more quick follow up. do you think schools who interviewed candidates who did not end up getting in have a high chance of being re interviewed if their application improves?
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It depends on the reason that they didn't get accepted.
Some schools only re-interview for political reasons. Others (often those same public schools in smaller states) will re-interview, but an immediate re-application will often result in a similar outcome...
 
gyngyn said:
It depends on the reason that they didn't get accepted.
Some schools only re-interview for political reasons. Others (often those same public schools in smaller states) will re-interview, but an immediate re-application will often result in a similar outcome...
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what do you mean by political reasons? and ya thats why ive been hesitant about reapplying right away. ive seen many instances of reapplicants placed on the same area of the waitlist when they reapplied
 
Richard_Rooster said:
what do you mean by political reasons? and ya thats why ive been hesitant about reapplying right away. ive seen many instances of reapplicants placed on the same area of the waitlist when they reapplied
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Some people are interviewed because of their connections.
When they re-apply, their supporters are unfazed by the fact that their candidate was originally given a "courtesy" interview and expect a second bite at the apple. As sad as it is, the candidate is often a collaborator and expects another interview, even when they have nothing but their champion's support.

Another form of political interview is a state public school that is required to interview some IS candidates based on statutory parameters.
 
Work experience is always good. You'd be surprised at how many med school grads have residency as their first employment. They bring with them poor work habits. PDs notice these things.

Richard_Rooster said:
@gyngyn if someone chooses to work in the biotech private sector for a year or two after college while reapplying to med school, assuming all EC checkboxes like volunteering/shadowing/research have been previously filled, how will that look to an adcom?
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Goro said:
Work experience is always good. You'd be surprised at how many med school grads have residency as their first employment. They bring with them poor work habits. PDs notice these things.
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No board scores or grades can make up for a **** attitude or laziness. Show up 10 minutes early, take care of your business at work, and don't be a dickhead. When your shift ends, I'm all for running for the door, but while you're there do the work and do it well.


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gyngyn said:
Some people are interviewed because of their connections.
When they re-apply, their supporters are unfazed by the fact that their candidate was originally given a "courtesy" interview and expect a second bite at the apple. As sad as it is, the candidate is often a collaborator and expects another interview, even when they have nothing but their champion's support.

Another form of political interview is a state public school that is required to interview some IS candidates based on statutory parameters.
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to delve in a bit further if you dont mind... do you think there are different types of connections interviews such as people who do academically qualify plus they have a connection versus courtesy interviews? were you implying that the courtesy invites dont benefit anyone because they take up interview spots for qualified candidates, plus majority of the committee will end up voting no anyways?

for the public school statutory parameters, is that saying how by law they have to interview a certain number of people based on location instate, and other demographics, without real intentions of actually accepting some of those applicants? like the school going "we legally have to interview 20 people from this part of the state, even though only 1 or 2 will make the cut?"
 
Richard_Rooster said:
to delve in a bit further if you dont mind... do you think there are different types of connections interviews such as people who do academically qualify plus they have a connection versus courtesy interviews? were you implying that the courtesy invites dont benefit anyone because they take up interview spots for qualified candidates, plus majority of the committee will end up voting no anyways?

for the public school statutory parameters, is that saying how by law they have to interview a certain number of people based on location instate, and other demographics, without real intentions of actually accepting some of those applicants? like the school going "we legally have to interview 20 people from this part of the state, even though only 1 or 2 will make the cut?"
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Donors, trustees and wealthy, powerful people of every type are accustomed to having their wishes granted. Often, the only way to avoid unpleasantness is to interview their candidate (even if the candidate is embarrassingly unsuitable). Sometimes (not usually), these special requests are for wonderful applicants whose applications move smoothly through the process, though.

There are states whose medical schools are required to interview IS candidates if they meet minimum criteria.
 
And candidates like these get a polite interview, followed a polite spot on the wait list, later followed by a polite rejection.

gyngyn said:
Donors, trustees and wealthy, powerful people of every type are accustomed to having their wishes granted. Often, the only way to avoid unpleasantness is to interview their candidate (even if the candidate is embarrassingly unsuitable). Sometimes (not usually), these special requests are for wonderful applicants whose applications move smoothly through the process, though.

There are states whose medical schools are required to interview IS candidates if they meet minimum criteria.
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Goro said:
And candidates like these get a polite interview, followed a polite spot on the wait list, later followed by a polite rejection.
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Followed by an impolite hissy fit from the donor!
This is, by far, my least favorite part of the admissions process.
 
Richard_Rooster said:
to delve in a bit further if you dont mind... do you think there are different types of connections interviews such as people who do academically qualify plus they have a connection versus courtesy interviews? were you implying that the courtesy invites dont benefit anyone because they take up interview spots for qualified candidates, plus majority of the committee will end up voting no anyways?

for the public school statutory parameters, is that saying how by law they have to interview a certain number of people based on location instate, and other demographics, without real intentions of actually accepting some of those applicants? like the school going "we legally have to interview 20 people from this part of the state, even though only 1 or 2 will make the cut?"
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I personally know several students at top med schools and other med schools who got in from a combo of their stats and connections. So it definitely happens, but they were qualified applicants. I don't know any children of donors or trustees (that I know of) to comment on that, but I've seen it with children of faculty members/admissions people/and other important people in the medical school

And legacy acceptances happen relatively frequently. Those are situations where someone has a connection (albeit not strong) and the stats to get into that school, where the connection may be the thing that gets them the acceptance over a similar applicant.
 
gyngyn said:
I heard somebody just got into Cornell!
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thanks for sharing! Looking at Cornell's thread, the person who reported getting off the wait list today appeared to not be holding a spot elsewhere. This late in the game, is it common for schools to go for applicants that are not holding current spots to try and minimize the domino effect it could potentiality cause by poaching?
 
jlee10 said:
thanks for sharing! Looking at Cornell's thread, the person who reported getting off the wait list today appeared to not be holding a spot elsewhere. This late in the game, is it common for schools to go for applicants that are not holding current spots to try and minimize the domino effect it could potentiality cause by poaching?
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Not really. It all has to do with the committee's enthusiasm for the candidate.
 
I am trying to get into an NYC area school, any suggestions for how to impress the committees? I already sent in a letter of intent.
 
_hopeful_doc said:
I am trying to get into an NYC area school, any suggestions for how to impress the committees? I already sent in a letter of intent.
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I believe the wisdom going around in the other thread was to mail them a body part on ice to show commitment. At this point, that doesn't seem like a terrible idea to me at least....
 
Does anyone have suggestions on how to write a letter of intent? I'm waitlisted at my state school and am right outside of the range they usually take (they usually accept up around 50 people on the waitlist and I'm mid-60's) so I really want to show continued interest. Any ideas?
 
luckypenny555 said:
Does anyone have suggestions on how to write a letter of intent? I'm waitlisted at my state school and am right outside of the range they usually take (they usually accept up around 50 people on the waitlist and I'm mid-60's) so I really want to show continued interest. Any ideas?
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Are you holding an acceptance somewhere else?
 
luckypenny555 said:
Does anyone have suggestions on how to write a letter of intent? I'm waitlisted at my state school and am right outside of the range they usually take (they usually accept up around 50 people on the waitlist and I'm mid-60's) so I really want to show continued interest. Any ideas?
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Mine have consisted of 'here's why I'm writing to you. Here's what I've done since my interview and/or last update (7 publications). Here's how I fit your mission statement. Here's why I love your school. I'd love to join the class of 2020, blah, blah, blah...'
That seemed to be the general consensus in the other threads about letters of intent. With that being said, I'm still on the wait list. While I've got another acceptance, it's DO, and I'm pretty sure that doesn't carry much bargaining weight....
 
NeuroticPremedGuy said:
Mine have consisted of 'here's why I'm writing to you. Here's what I've done since my interview and/or last update (7 publications). Here's how I fit your mission statement. Here's why I love your school. I'd love to join the class of 2020, blah, blah, blah...'
That seemed to be the general consensus in the other threads about letters of intent. With that being said, I'm still on the wait list. While I've got another acceptance, it's DO, and I'm pretty sure that doesn't carry much bargaining weight....
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This is very helpful, thanks! The missions statement idea is great! And congratulations on your acceptance, that's a major accomplishment! Hope you end up where you want to be!!
 
NeuroticPremedGuy said:
Mine have consisted of 'here's why I'm writing to you. Here's what I've done since my interview and/or last update (7 publications). Here's how I fit your mission statement. Here's why I love your school. I'd love to join the class of 2020, blah, blah, blah...'
That seemed to be the general consensus in the other threads about letters of intent. With that being said, I'm still on the wait list. While I've got another acceptance, it's DO, and I'm pretty sure that doesn't carry much bargaining weight....
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I'd just like to add that sometimes figuring out a school's mission statement can be a bit frustrating. Most schools have very, very similar statements on their websites, so knowing the school and doing some serious research really helps.
 
luckypenny555 said:
This is very helpful, thanks! The missions statement idea is great! And congratulations on your acceptance, that's a major accomplishment! Hope you end up where you want to be!!
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I'm glad I could help. Writing letters of intent is a huge pain, especially this late in the game. I sent one a few days ago. It starts feeling like a fool's errand at some point, but most of us don't get where we want to go without putting in a little effort

And thank you. I'm not wild about the DO school, but if I get to be a doctor in the end, I'm going to go with it.
 
splishsplash2305 said:
Cookie monster is on a diet. He learned about healthy eating habits at the Tulane teaching kitchen. That's the scene I was going for at least.

Why won't they love us Spector? Why????
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I really hope Tulane shows you some love. Come on here the guy clearly wants it. I've given up on that one. My GPA isn't great and they haven't told me anything in months. I wish they would reject us already if they're not going to let us in. Or rank the waitlist so we know if we have a shot. Or communicate in any way. Anyway, good luck to both you and @Spector1 . This cycle has been brutal and I'm glad to see both of you have survived it without turning to the dark side of the waitlist
 
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