what do u think about persitence and acceptance?

[quake]

Okay this is just a fun but kinna serious question.
I have noticed that people on this board who have persistently emailed or contacted adcoms have not done well in the application process for that school. ( I know at least 3 or 4 people). Is is possible that adcoms resent it when applicants are too persistent. If this is so, why are they afraid of persistent people? I thought persistence was a good thing ? Anyways, i' simply curious.

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[ValleyGal]

This is definitely a valid question, although I think that we have to distinguish between the two types of persistance.

There is the one persistance where you bug them about your application, call to see you status every other day, beg for an interview, etc, etc, which I am beginning to think is not a good idea.

There is also the persistance where you write them letters stating your interest in the school, updating your application, thanking them for an interview (basically valid topics) which I think is a good idea.

However, I think that all of this will go out the window once the waitlists start moving. To get off a waitlist you need to show interest, so if anytime it is over the summer that you need to contact the admissions office about your application. I had a friend who called a school every other week while waiting to get off a waitlist. I would say this is about the max I would reccomend.

There are rumors that schools like Wake and UVA don't like people to contact them about their applications and actually will penalize you for it. Those answering the phones at many schools are rude, if you can get through to them at all (think Hopkins) So, for me it just depends on the school, but I am going to err on the annoying side and keep writing letters!

 

[gobears]

At my very first interview back in September, the med student I stayed with said that the interview should be no big deal because if you get waitlisted, all you have to do is call them everyday until you get accepted. I was shocked! I thought that was a horrible way to get into med school. Anyway, she seemed to think it would work at Columbia. Personally, I'm totally against it.

If I worked in an admissions office and somebody called me every single day hoping to get an acceptance, I'd be REALLY annoyed.

Think of it this way: when phone companies call you and ask you to change your long distance service or when newspapers call to ask you to subscribe at their new low costs, you usually reject them and hang up, right? What if they called EVERY SINGLE DAY??!! Would you be more likely to accept their offer? If you're like me, you'd be less likely to accept them. Is that any different than a pre-med calling an admissions office everyday?

Hell, if I was an admissions officer, I might be inclined to accidently drop his or her app out the freakin window!

If you feel inclined to express your interest repeatedly, I think Valleygal has a good approach. Just write very polite letters expressing your interest.