I got an interview in EVMS, December 8th.
People!!! Call the admissions offices of the school you’ve applied to and bug them all the time. Here is why!
I got a note (via snail mail) at the beginning of September from EVMS that my file is complete and I have to wait to hear from them, which may take few months.
On Tuesday, as a part of ‘pre-med week’ organized by pre-med society in my college, we have the Dean of Admissions from EVMS. After his talk I stayed just to say ‘Hi’ to him and ask when I should hear something. He gave me his business card and told me to e-mail him and he’ll check it for me. I e-mailed him today in the am, and in few minutes I got a response from the Admissions office that they sent me an e-mail invitation to the interview way back in September and never heard back from me! I called them right away, and we fixed the whole thing and I’m interviewing in less than a month. But I wouldn’t have known about that if I hadn’t e-mailed the guy…
So people!!! Call/ or e-mail the admissions offices from time to time, so you are sure that you’re not missing anything!
Kasia
ps. I still haven’t heard from Penn State. I interviewed there on Septemeber 21st. I e-mailed them last week but haven’t heard back. Should I send them another e-mail/ call, or just wait?
I now have a third interview at Touro-MI, scheduled for 1/9.
Kasia is right, be sure to check in with the committees. I had recently moved, had updated AACOMAS, but most schools still think I am at my old address. Touro actually called me becuase my invite got returned to them! I ended up calling or emailing all the schools and found out that PCOM-GA had sent my decision to my old address! They are fedexeing it to me as we speak!
- madkasia Said:
CALL THEM, KASIA!!! Call them first thing Monday morning.
And if there are any other 'strays' in anyone's portfolios.... calling DOES NOT HURT YOU. Well, I suppose calling every. single. day. -- and being a demanding annoying caller to boot -- might hurt you, but a friendly, "Hi this is Susie Candidate and I'm calling for a status check on my application," is NOT a problem. The support services of the AdCom are funded by your application fee, don't forget....
Mary
Thank you Mary!!! I’m going to do it first thing in the morning tomorrow! Even if I’m not going to hear anything good, I’d rather know…b/c this waiting is driving me crazy .
Kasia
Add my fourth interview:
PCOM 12/11
Still to go:
Unecom 11/16
Touro-MI 1/9
Results
PCOM-Ga, 10/21, accepted 11/8
Now I have one with Nova!!!
So I still haven’t heard from Penn State, although it’s been over 2 months/ heck, almost 3 months since I interviewed there. Last week though I got a hold of a very nice lady in the admissions office, who actually even punched my name into computer to check if I hadn’t missed anything (when I called before, all they told me was a standard advice to wait one more week - without even asking my name). Anyway, she said that unfortunatelly it’s not uncommon, and since there is no rigid timeframe, all she can tell me is try to be patient and wait. Easier said than done!
Meanwhile I have another interview coming up this Friday in EVMS. Although at the beginning I treated this school as a ‘just-in-case’ option, the more I’m researching on it, the more I like it. They are very strict on American Healthcare system, insurances, uninsured people + ETHICS, ETHICS and one more time ETHICS. So I’ve been reading a lot and doing my best to prepare. I also had a good chat with one of the doctors I work for about the healhcare system + he offered me that he would be more than happy to have a mock interview with me on Thursday. I feel pretty confident and prepared for Friday.
So everyone, please keep you fingers crossed for me!
Kasia
Good luck, Kasia!
So…I had my second interview yesterday at EVMS. I really think it went well. And they said I will hear back from them within 3-4 weeks (good to know that this school has some time frames 
).
I had a male student interviewer (M2) and a female psychiatrist. The student did most of the talking/ asking. The atmosphere was quite relaxed, but I guess the fact that there were two of them against me alone, kept me a little bit tensed (but I think little tension is OK - really helps to stay focused). Plenty of questions about medical exposure + how to fix American Healthcare system, long talk about my hospice experience, a little bit about Alzheimer’s research I did before, 1 ethical question about physician assisted suicide (and it wasn’t explicitly stated in the questions). I guess the ethical part was the one I dreaded most! The question I really did not expect was if I applied to many schools. I was not going to lie and say that EVMS was my only one b/c they were not going to believe it. But I found a good way to phrase my answer, and the student’s answer was: ‘We truly hope that you will give our school serious consideration’. It made me feel good about the whole interview.
And I really liked the school and the students. The children hospital next door is amazing. And I think I would really fit in there. The only problem is that Norfolk is so far from here and my husband and I haven’t still worked out the scenario for us if I get accepted and decide to attend the school. But I guess we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.
Everyone have a nice weekend.
Kasia
Kasia, it sounds like you did a GOOD job.
You encountered something that often bemuses pre-meds at the applicant stage: the sales pitch. I know that at Georgetown, I got a strong sales pitch and I thought - WTF? They interview 800 people for 180 slots, why do they need to sell so strongly?
Well, there are a couple of answers. First, everyone loves to be loved. Schools like to hear that they’re your first choice even if YOU are not THEIR first choice, for example. Second, anyone who is interviewed has been found “worthy enough” to attend a medical school. And schools spend a lot of money evaluating applications and doing interviews. It’s an investment - and they’d like to do well on that investment. Remember that about 1/3 of applicants or more (I don’t know what the current statistics are) get in overall. An awful lot happens when the waitlists start moving, for example.
Just as you are hoping they don’t cross you off YOUR list, THEY are hoping that you don’t cross them off yours!
I’m glad it went well!
Mary
Kasia, sounds like you’re doing well on the interview trail. I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you on Penn State, too.
j
Just to keep this topic alive…
I just got an interview invite from NSU Nova Osteopathic college in south Florida, and a rejection from Boston University (no big surprise).
I hope everyone else is on track as the post-holiday activities pick up.
Have two coming in quick succession over the next few weeks: University of Rochester (which for some indefinable reason I’m really excited about) and SUNY-Buffalo (my second year of interviewing with them.) Tulane is still undecided about my case four months after interviewing! C’est la vie, mes amis.
My beloved mother sent a great summary of 2007’s hottest medical issues, a nice preparation for current affairs questions here:
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/550486?sr c=mp
The weather in São Paulo is a bit gray but with flecks of blue sky and warm sun peaking through the clouds. Temps should be 80 or 81 all weekend long so I should spend a lot of time wandering around the city taking pictures, going to galleries and as always, gawking at gorgeous people. Okay, maybe life in med school limbo could be worse. 
Lots of Love!
Matt Corey
I’ve spied on this thread for the past couple years, but for some reason, I’ve been too distracted to actual post to it when it’s my turn.
I was really late in this process, because I couldn’t get a committee letter until October, and then the school didn’t send it until December. I gave up on a lot of schools during this process, so I was excited to get any interviews at all.
I have two upcoming interviews:
U. Pitt: 2/9 (this Friday!)
Einstein: 3/8
I’m still waiting to hear from almost all the schools I applied to. I’m getting less and less optimistic as time goes on.
I’m really excited about University of Pittsburgh. Hopefully it will live up to my expectations!
Erica
Good work Erica, those are great schools.
best of luck on those interviews!
Erica;
As Terry mentioned - best of luck to you.
Yes, you did start a bit late in the process…sufficiently late that it may be detrimental to your application efforts this cycle. However, do not despair!!! Pursue the opportunities that present themselves this cycle, as I see you are doing already. AND, begin preparing for your reapplication cycle.
No, before you even ask, this is not sign of surrender. It is an indication of your level of dedication and, even more cathartic, the feeling of taking an ownership/assertive position is empowering and does wonders to chase away those application blues brought about by the perpetual waiting around for someone else to make what are apparently life-altering decision in your stead.
OMG OUch!!
I’m tachycardic, BP 160/90.
A call to interview just came in by email - UMontreal - for matriculation August 2007.
The timeline may seem ‘late’ compared to the US, but that’s simply how things work up here. I have yet to hear from the two other universities I applied to. But I’m keeping my fingers crossed for those two schools also!
Ron
Terry, Have you gone to the NSU interview? Let me know what you think…
I declined the interview. I read the student handbook–too many high school-ish rules about dress code, class attendance, no food in classrooms, etc. I prefer a more laid back atmosphere. Don’t get me wrong–if it were my only option, I’d have gone gladly. Florida’s a nice place
Thank you Dave and Terry for the kind words.
I am pleased to announce that I got two more interviews!
I got an interview at Tufts on 3/15 and SUNY-Stony Brook TBA.
I just can’t believe I’m doing this well - I expected maybe one interview. Now I wish I had left my options open and that I hadn’t withdrawn so many applications.
I loved Pittsburgh, although my fiance is a little concerned about moving there.