What schools do people simply despise?

[D-Bone]

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What schools have really left a bad taste in your mouth throughout the whole application process? As a re-applicant, I'm pretty turned off by one particular school's handling of my application this year. It's one of the Harvard wanna-be's. I had a very favorable interview last year and was waitlisted, but was subsequently rejected this year...pre-interview. What gives? I know some may ask if I improved my application and what not...I worked as a research assistant at Harvard for the whole year and produced numerous abstracts, three of which should lead to publications in coming months. Oh, I also have two degrees from this school already too.

Just curious who else has felt slighted by schools and what were the circumstances.

 

[baylormed]

I feel Drexel has a horrible system for handling applications. They never respond to e-mails promptly and they won't give out e-mail or snail-mail notifications of interview invites. My application was complete since July, I sent all the paperwork since June, yet it wasn't acknowledged until November or so.

I was not invited for an interview (at least not that I know, since it's been about 4 months since I checked their status page), but their disorganization turned me off completely.

This is just a comment on their administration skills, however, I don't know about anything else.

 

[armybound]

Wake Forest sent me an email saying they received my application, then about 15 minutes later I got an email saying "After careful review..." and they rejected me.

That was some really careful review there.

I don't blame them, though, my stats were low 😉

 

[DrVanNostran]

I despise all schools that don't screen 🙂

 

[HOLDENc]

Stewart School of Medicine. They rejected me pre-interview for no reason. I am still bitter.

 

[baylormed]

Stewart School of Medicine. They rejected me pre-interview for no reason. I am still bitter.

Tell me about it. HMS (Hogwarts Medical School) rejected me right away as well. Something about being a "muggle." Blah. 😡

 

[sara3426]

i feel like vanderbilt b****slapped me. what were they looking for that was sooooo drastically different from what chicago, upenn, harvard, cornell, uwashington, baylor, etc. were looking for? (i received an interview from all of these places and acceptances at 2 of them... i am waiting for the others) I still love you, vanderbilt, and although even if you had accepted me i probably wouldn't go at this point, but i wish you'd given me a chance to interview! maybe we could have been something! maybe we could have fallen in love!

 

[TleilaxuMD]

What schools have really left a bad taste in your mouth throughout the whole application process? As a re-applicant, I'm pretty turned off by one particular school's handling of my application this year. It's one of the Harvard wanna-be's. I had a very favorable interview last year and was waitlisted, but was subsequently rejected this year...pre-interview. What gives? I know some may ask if I improved my application and what not...I worked as a research assistant at Harvard for the whole year and produced numerous abstracts, three of which should lead to publications in coming months. Oh, I also have two degrees from this school already too.

Just curious who else has felt slighted by schools and what were the circumstances.

Apparently they remembered you from last year.....which ended in the same result as expected. If you ask me they saved you travel fees! You should be THANKING THEM!😎

 

[Stolenspatulas]

i feel like vanderbilt b****slapped me. what were they looking for that was sooooo drastically different from what chicago, upenn, harvard, cornell, uwashington, baylor, etc. were looking for? (i received an interview from all of these places and acceptances at 2 of them... i am waiting for the others) I still love you, vanderbilt, and although even if you had accepted me i probably wouldn't go at this point, but i wish you'd given me a chance to interview! maybe we could have been something! maybe we could have fallen in love!

are you from a state school?

nearly all of their students were from top 25 (USNEWS) schools... many from the heavy hitting Ivies.

are you an EC person more than a stat person? it may be hard to get the secondary/iview invite if you have relatively weaker numbers.

 

[sara3426]

mit, baby. really good gpa and mcat. awards for public health policy research and basic science research. WHY, VANDERBILT, WHY??

are you from a state school?

nearly all of their students were from top 25 (USNEWS) schools... many from the heavy hitting Ivies.

 

[Stolenspatulas]

mit, baby. really good gpa and mcat. awards for public health policy research and basic science research. WHY, VANDERBILT, WHY??

if you had a high mcat/gpa from MIT i have no idea why you would not pass the initial screen. maybe they don't like engineers?

maybe you're such a strong applicant that they knew you wouldn't go there, even if you were offered a full-ride 😀

whatever you have a sick list of interview invites. do you know where you want to go?

 

[DrVanNostran]

mit, baby. really good gpa and mcat. awards for public health policy research and basic science research. WHY, VANDERBILT, WHY??

Overqualified 😕

I am no where near your numbers or caliber, but I am still pissed at UIC. 3.6 UG, 4.0 MPH, 30 MCAT, IL resident, decent ECs--rejected pre-secondary 😡

 

[TleilaxuMD]

if you had a high mcat/gpa from MIT i have no idea why you would not pass the initial screen. maybe they don't like engineers?

maybe you're such a strong applicant that they knew you wouldn't go there, even if you were offered a full-ride 😀

whatever you have a sick list of interview invites. do you know where you want to go?

I am betting a CArribean one!

 

[Falco2525]

NYMC left a bad taste in my mouth...although i had the first interview date possible they were very unwlecoming and made me feel as if I should be groveling at their feet for giving me an interview...it was so bad i withdrew post-interview without an acceptance...i personally disliked it that much

 

[D-Bone]

Apparently they remembered you from last year.....which ended in the same result as expected. If you ask me they saved you travel fees! You should be THANKING THEM!😎

If they remembered me from last year, they would not have waitlisted me then if I gave them a bad impression. I also received direct feedback from another faculty member at the school that my interview went well. My only guess is my numbers are not spectacular, and this school really is pushing for Harvard-like stature. Oh well. And travel fees - I live two blocks from the school. How much ATP would that be?

 

[sara3426]

def have no idea but i fell in love with upenn/philly on the interview (i expected to HATE it, and i swear i'm not a name ***** cause i really didn't feel like harvard was all that great) and i'm getting progressively more nervous as it comes closer to march. so maybe that is giving me a clue.... i don't know....

you?

whatever you have a sick list of interview invites. do you know where you want to go?

 

[baylormed]

If they remembered me from last year, they would not have waitlisted me then if I gave them a bad impression. I also received direct feedback from another faculty member at the school that my interview went well. My only guess is my numbers are not spectacular, and this school really is pushing for Harvard-like stature. Oh well. And travel fees - I live two blocks from the school. How much ATP would that be?

Stanford?

 

[TleilaxuMD]

If they remembered me from last year, they would not have waitlisted me then if I gave them a bad impression. I also received direct feedback from another faculty member at the school that my interview went well. My only guess is my numbers are not spectacular, and this school really is pushing for Harvard-like stature. Oh well. And travel fees - I live two blocks from the school. How much ATP would that be?

Obviously he/she was lying.🙁

 

[Stolenspatulas]

def have no idea but i fell in love with upenn/philly on the interview (i expected to HATE it, and i swear i'm not a name ***** cause i really didn't feel like harvard was all that great) and i'm getting progressively more nervous as it comes closer to march. so maybe that is giving me a clue.... i don't know....

you?

1.penn
2.hopkins
3.columbia

i just want an acceptance to one of these babies! I loved these three (after that I'm thinking 4. Vandy 5. Duke 6. Pitt 7. Pritzker... but it'll ALL prob depend on money).

im itching to hear back from penn. im pretty pessimistic. I dont think im as qualified as other applicants. I dont have the sexy ECs. However I am very attractive physically.... though I have an awkward gait.

 

[Falco2525]

1.penn
2.hopkins
3.columbia

i just want an acceptance to one of these babies! I loved these three (after that I'm thinking 4. Vandy 5. Duke 6. Pitt 7. Pritzker... but it'll ALL prob depend on money).

im itching to hear back from penn. im pretty pessimistic. I dont think im as qualified as other applicants. I dont have the sexy ECs. However I am very attractive physically.... though I have an awkward gait.

nice...

 

[Hednej]

I hate Penn and Hopkins for not being more slutty.

 

[degoo_]

for a canadian twist, OttawaU.

 

[Meeher]

I was admitted into Vandy, and to say you EXPECTED to get interviewed based on the decisions of different schools is premature thinking for med school admissions. I don't think you can ever be "overqualified" for Vandy, and at this point of the game, it's quite obvious med school admissions has an element of randomness--every school looks for different things. I was interviewed at Harvard (and other top schools) but rejected by UC Davis, my state school. Vandy just might have wanted something else than all these other good schools, and that may be why. Who knows?

Maybe they filled their 'quota' for MIT kids before they got to your application? =)

 

[sara3426]

I was admitted into Vandy, and to say you EXPECTED to get interviewed based on the decisions of different schools is premature thinking for med school admissions. I don't think you can ever be "overqualified" for Vandy, and at this point of the game, you should know med school admissions has an element of randomness--every school looks for different things. I was interviewed at Harvard (and other top schools) but rejected by UC Davis, my state school. Vandy just might have wanted something else than all these other good schools, and that may be why. Who knows?

That's exactly what I said. No one said I expected to be interviewed.

Why is it always someone who was admitted into a specific school that's pushing the idea that that school is looking for something completely unique to all other schools? No one was diminishing your accomplishment. Congratulations on your acceptance.
Feel better?

EDIT: This isn't a personal attack on you, but I'm getting really sick of what seems to be a bunch of overcompetitive, very insecure gunners making passive-aggressive comments (which this borders on) when they think a comment on a school is a comment on they themselves - like people who claim that rankings don't mean anything and then call someone a troll for asking a question about Harvard. Everyone should be able to say "Damn you UCSF!" without someone getting pissed and feeling they need to defend UCSF and their honor.

 

[DuckHunter]

Wisconsin can suck it for waitlisting an in-state applicant with a 41 MCAT.

 

[Meeher]

I wasn't trying to make myself "feel better" or "defending my honor" (admission into any med school is an honor, so why should I not be anything but humble). I don't care what others think about any of the schools as long as they fit for me (i.e. I would have said the same thing about any school, even the ones that rejected me). All I was trying to say was you came to this forum expressing anger that a school was so different from other schools you got interviews at, as if you expected them to interview you, and that's simply not how it always works. Sorry if it didn't sound like that. You can cuss out Vandy as much as you want for all I care--I won't mind...I was trying to make a general point, not one just for Vandy. But whatever--to each his own.

 

[gotmeds?]

Wisconsin can suck it for waitlisting an in-state applicant with a 41 MCAT.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that it may have had something to do with your interview.

 

[FizbanZymogen]

Wisconsin can suck it for waitlisting an in-state applicant with a 41 MCAT.

Dude, what happened there? Bad interview?

 

[mavery]

Honestly, any school that's rejected me 😉

 

[undrcovrgunner]

Apparently they remembered you from last year.....which ended in the same result as expected. If you ask me they saved you travel fees! You should be THANKING THEM!😎

God, you're such a troll...

 

[sendwich]

surprised no one's mentioned BU. seems like a lot of people had complaints as to how they've been running admissions.

 

[DoctorB]

Stewart School of Medicine. They rejected me pre-interview for no reason. I am still bitter.

Did you see that new lady they hired for financial aid? She a hottttieeee!!!

 

[HumbleMD]

Back to the original post...

After interviewing, I realized how much I dislike:
Michigan State CHM
UPitt (but most people already know this...)
Duke (bad interview experience...I don't want to talk about it)

 

[PeripateticMD]

The only place that I interviewed at that I knew I wouldn't want to attend after being interviewed was GWU. It wasn't well organized. The students were actually whiny, and they scheduled us for "15 minute interviews" - they generally went long, but who does that? Yeah, I just thought, these students need to stop whining, the admissions people need to organize themselves (the poor woman who did our tour and everything else is way overworked), and yeah... I just couldn't go there...

 

[WCGee]

NYMC left a bad taste in my mouth...although i had the first interview date possible they were very unwlecoming and made me feel as if I should be groveling at their feet for giving me an interview...it was so bad i withdrew post-interview without an acceptance...i personally disliked it that much

I also did not care for NYMC--I knew I would be miserable there and withdrew post-interview as soon as I got back home.

 

[D-Bone]

surprised no one's mentioned BU. seems like a lot of people had complaints as to how they've been running admissions.

I started this posting. BU's the school I'm indirectly referring to. I knew someone would eventually hit the nail on the head. Then again, I've given my two cents to the new posting about BU today. Anyways, thanks everyone else for contributing to this posting. I initially had some guilt in starting it, but whatever. Good fodder, I guess!!

 

[45408]

I was ticked off at two schools nearby that didn't bother to interview me, despite the fact that another (much better) school in the same city interviewed and waitlisted me.

 

[yobynaes]

1. stanford
2. harvard
3. washu
4.....

am i listing all the top notch med schools? i think im just bitter....

 

[Dr.Watson]

Wake Forest sent me an email saying they received my application, then about 15 minutes later I got an email saying "After careful review..." and they rejected me.

That was some really careful review there.

I don't blame them, though, my stats were low 😉

*sigh* Oh, Wake. Thanks for destroying my self-esteem and a lot of hope back in July by being my first rejection/response from any school for 2 months. However, it did make that first interview (a top 20) in late September and that first acceptance (a top 10) in December a bit sweeter. Those 2 months before did suck though.

 

[pepper&salt]

mit, baby. really good gpa and mcat. awards for public health policy research and basic science research. WHY, VANDERBILT, WHY??

One of the things I've learned about Vanderbilt is that even the brightest medical students (as well as many undergrads for that matter) have some sort of family connection to the school as alumni, faculty, former faculty, golfing buddies, etc. It's a good old boys club and will be forever unless it uproots itself to somewhere above the mason-dixon line.

 

[sara3426]

Also I hate vanderbilt for beating the gators the other night. WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE???? vanderwho? THE GATORS?! life could not be any more unfair and unexpected....🙄


also, humble... you don't want to talk about it (duke)? maybe talking about it would make you feel better? you made me really curious with that comment.....

 

[Dookter]

Also I hate vanderbilt for beating the gators the other night. WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE???? vanderwho? THE GATORS?! life could not be any more unfair and unexpected....🙄


also, humble... you don't want to talk about it (duke)? maybe talking about it would make you feel better? you made me really curious with that comment.....

I am not sure, but I think Humble hated Duke b/c his interviewer told him that if he wanted to work with poor people he should go somewhere else. That isn't really even true about Duke, but hey, Humble doesn't have to ever know the difference I guess....

 

[DoctaJay]

I truly hate Vanderbilt. I hate them because I didn't even know they were a good school (i'm from the north, and I had never heard of vanderbilt), but then when I got there they "MADE" me love them...then they wailtlisted me. And they dont' review their waitlist until May 15!!!! Bloody hell, I would have chosen a school by then. meh, lol, i'm over it now

 

[patzan]

One of the things I've learned about Vanderbilt is that even the brightest medical students (as well as many undergrads for that matter) have some sort of family connection to the school as alumni, faculty, former faculty, golfing buddies, etc. It's a good old boys club and will be forever unless it uproots itself to somewhere above the mason-dixon line.

I have to disagree. Although we have a couple of children of faculty, they are often some of the best students. I feel like those couple probably could have gone to higher ranked places but decided to stay because of family. But for the other 97%...got in with no connections.

 

[Critical Mass]

Any school that makes you swim to the interview sight is particularly despicable in my view.

 

[stiffany]

I've been really annoyed with the Philly schools. As a PA resident with a stated interest in staying in Philly I guess I expected to hear at least something within four months of being complete, especially after getting in to a much higher ranked school and a school with a severe OOS bias. Instead, it took Temple over four months to send me my rejection letter and I still haven't heard a peep from Drexel and Jefferson. Drexel was also incredibly rude to me when I was clearing up a completion problem back in September. 🙄 😡

 

[Doctor~Detroit]

Any school that makes you swim to the interview sight is particularly despicable in my view.

tulane?

 

[Karrisma117]

Back to the original post...

After interviewing, I realized how much I dislike:
Michigan State CHM
UPitt (but most people already know this...)
Duke (bad interview experience...I don't want to talk about it)

What's wrong with Pitt? Is it just the area or is there something else that turns you off about it?

 

[Bernie3144]

What's wrong with Pitt? Is it just the area or is there something else that turns you off about it?

I would share my $0.02 here but as a PSU alum, it probably would be a very biased opinion

 

[Karrisma117]

LOL trust me I have my opinions about state college too.... what kind of major university stops running buses at 8pm? hahaha joe pa stinkssss

but no seriously a lot of people say that pitt is underrated... just wondering why it would be disliked