Waitlisted at SIU...Sort Of...

[rxfudd]

---

Members don't see this ad.

I have officially been waitlisted by SIU. Not waitlisted to get an acceptance - waitlisted to just receive a secondary! Their letter says that I have not been officially rejected (my file is still considered active) - my status is "screener's alternate" - if they need to review more files as the year goes on, they may use mine. They say themselves it's not a very good thing to be on this list. To be perfectly honest, I had forgotten about them since I was told I wouldn't receive anything at all (being from Chicago). I guess it's better than a rejection.

So if people ask, do I say I'm waitlisted? Rejected? Purgatory?

 

[md2be06]

Ah, forget about em. If they don't want you, who cares? What the hell is SIU thinking screening for secondaries, anyway? Last time I checked, applicants weren't bending over backwards trying to get in there. Can anyone tell me why SIU is recruiting certain applicants based on what geographic region they're from within Illinois?

 

[Wasabi]

Originally posted by md2be06:
•Ah, forget about em. If they don't want you, who cares? What the hell is SIU thinking screening for secondaries, anyway? Last time I checked, applicants weren't bending over backwards trying to get in there. Can anyone tell me why SIU is recruiting certain applicants based on what geographic region they're from within Illinois?•

i'm guessing they would prefer students who are familiar with the rural environment and may consider to work around there in the future. it all makes sense.

 

[Wasabi]

"This alternate status does not have a high probability of eventual accepatnace; however, your file does remain active."

Haha, does this translate to..

"Send a $100 check addressed to 'Southern Illinois University School of Medicine' and we'll promptly reply with a rejection letter sent to your home address. Thank you?"

 

[quaileggs]

Don't worry about it rxfudd. I know you will get into some place that deserves you 😛

 

[sandflea]

oh yeah, i forgot about the 'screeners alternate' letter! THAT will be the last thing you ever hear from them, rxfudd. i had forgotten that i got that letter. was it a poor-quality photocopy? mine was. not to be a pessimist here, but i think it's safe to say that you've probably been rejected by SIU. everyone i know who's gotten into SIU--besides being from small-town IL--heard from the school right away. there was no 'screeners alternate' business involved.

yeah, i agree with wasabi: i've heard the same thing about SIU's preference for rural students, that they want to accept rural IL students because they're the most likely to practice in rural IL.

 

[aisha]

dont worry rxfuddd. just think that school didnt deserve.. u are too goo d for them 🙂

thats what i am thinking about UCs.. screw em' right 🙂?

 

[rxfudd]

Originally posted by sandflea:
•was it a poor-quality photocopy? •

No, but there's a typo in the first line. "The Admissions Committee of Southern Illinois University School of Medicine has how completed its assessment of your application to the entering class of 2002."

I better not find out I was pseudo-waitlisted for a typo in my essays...

 

[rxfudd]

Originally posted by Wasabi:
•"This alternate status does not have a high probability of eventual accepatnace; however, your file does remain active."

Haha, does this translate to..

"Send a $100 check addressed to 'Southern Illinois University School of Medicine' and we'll promptly reply with a rejection letter sent to your home address. Thank you?"•

Yes, and the line:

"Should it become necessary to interview additional candidates later in the year, you will be notified immediately of any change in your status."

roughly translates to:

"In the event that we mistakenly reject 99% of the applicants to our medical school, we will grudgingly consider a city-slicker such as yourself."

 

[Jamier2]

I doubt a typo did it. If you had one, you would fit in. 😉

Also, thanks for deserting me in the chat room. I was reading some of the forums only to return and see the evidence of your visit. 😉

 

[Spang]

Originally posted by Jamier2:
•I doubt a typo did it. If you had one, you would fit in. 😉 •

Hey! I resemble that remark! (Interviewing in Springfield on the 15th) 😛

 

[Jamier2]

Originally posted by Spang:
•Hey! I resemble that remark! (Interviewing in Springfield on the 15th) 😛•

Hey now! I wasn't talking about the school, just the typoed letter rxfudd got. 🙂

Please don't insult my ignorance, I'd never badmouth your school. 😀

 

[nochaser]

I have officially been waitlisted by SIU

rx, I have been officialy rejected by SIU. When I got the letter, I had to laugh, I was thinking "those guys told me so"! Even though the letter states that they came to this decision after considering my "entire application and supporting materials" (what on earth could those be? SIU had no verified AMCAS, no secondary, no MCAT scores--I know, they used the old "let's-get-a-look-at-the-permanent-residence").At least they were gracious enough to reject me w/o the secondary app fee!

 

[twister]

SIUSM has a policy - rather, it was partially the grounds which the school was started on - to train doctors of and for the southern Illinois region (or something to that extent). They are not allowed (or so they say) to accept people from out of state, it is in their "policy." Furthermore, becuase southern Illinois is mostly rural anyway (no offense intended), they are going to take people from that area or people who have a major connection but live elsewhere (i.e., Chicago).
I am not arguing for or against, I'm just reiterating the glut of the major argument I had with people in the admissions office. Basically, it boils down to the foundation and purpose for which the school was started on... which (IMHO) may no longer be applicable in today's world, where people are often moving around.
(In fact, if you're an out-of-stater, they will toss your app out first, before they toss out the sub-2.5 GPAs of the in-staters).
the only exception for out-of-staters is if they are applying to the MD-JD program.

 

[MedPuck]

I am proud to be a "Screener's Alternate". I just got my letter today and my official induction into this elite club. 😎

 

[gg]

I've received a secondary application from SIU and along with that a letter stating that: "Upon file completion you will be invited for personal interviews in your choice of either Springfield or Carbondale. You will also have the opportunity to meet witha financial aid officer and tour the facility."
I want to say that I am from Chicago with no affiliations to southern part of the state.
Greg

 

[rxfudd]

Then you may not be a part of our elite, coveted Screener's Alternate Club. Sorry.

Best of luck on the interview!

 

[sandflea]

Originally posted by gg:
•I've received a secondary application from SIU and along with that a letter stating that: "Upon file completion you will be invited for personal interviews in your choice of either Springfield or Carbondale. You will also have the opportunity to meet witha financial aid officer and tour the facility."
I want to say that I am from Chicago with no affiliations to southern part of the state.
Greg•

okay, gg, you defy all scientific explanations that form the basis of the screeners' alternate club. i feel like you should automatically be admitted due to your chicago background but nonetheless believe that your SIU secondary precludes you from any potential membership into this club. i sincerely hope for your own sake that your social life can successfully rebound from this devastating setback.

seriously though, do you have an interest in rural health, and did you write about it in your AMCAS essay? if the school has a policy about the types of students it admits, then it would be very interesting if you don't have any of these characteristics but managed to get a secondary anyway. i'm not attacking you at all--i'm just very curious. i knew people in college whose stats were impressive enough to get them into duke, harvard, etc, etc, yet they were also esteemed members of the screeners alternate club due to the fact that they were from chicago.

 

[gg]

I was a member of the Screener's Alternate Club when I applied to SIU three years ago - without any success. This is my second time I am applying to medical school(s), after improving most of my academic and non-academic records.

I was really suprised to receive this letter from SIU. I thought that they have to screen your secondary first to know if you are going to be offered interview.

I did not write anything about wanting to practice in the rural area in the Personal Comments and Vision Essay on my AMCAS application. I don't really have such interests, although I would like to move to a less urban area - I hate traffic in Chicago!

 

[sandflea]

interesting. this too is my second time applying. i first applied to a couple of schools two years ago, and SIU was one of them. it was at this time that i joined the ranks of the screeners alternate club. membership was great and all, but i opted not to renew it by leaving SIU off my list of schools this time around, figuring one-time membership was enough to teach me a lesson. but your experience indicates that perhaps i should have pursued a renewal. then again, i want to stay in the big city anyway so maybe SIU wouldn't have been the school for me.

did you talk about your desire to get out of the city in your AMCAS app? again, i'm just curious....our club constitution clearly needs to be amended....

at any rate, good luck!

 

[gg]

Thanks for good wishes.

I mentioned my desires to move into a smaller city on SIU's secondary application since it asked why I want to study there. However, I did not write about such intentions on my AMCAS application, so they really did not have any SIU-preferred-applicant info on me.

What I really like about SIU is their tuition. I think it's about $13,200 for one year, so I would really consider it vs. some other med school with $30,000 tutition. Of course, if everything goes as planned.

Good luck to you too!