Wishing you the best with all of it, Meg. It sounds like you’ve got a great attitude about the whole thing.
I got rejected from Vanderbilt and I am okay with it 
(but I would have been okay with it even more if they accepted me!).
This year the applications are UP, so do not get too discouraged…
Hello all,
This may be a stupid question, but will all school officially reject all applications? I haven’t heard from four schools. While I am hoping they are waiting to send me secondary invites, how will I know when to give up hope?
Some schools reject people immediately, others wait until after their application deadline has passed, others reject on a rolling basis (much like their admissions process), and others don’t reject people until after they have interviewed you or after they are done sending out interview invites.
A lot of schools send secondaries out to everyone, so you may want to consider calling these schools and asking about secondaries, especially if you feel you should have gotten one. Through a computer glitch, I didn’t get an automatic secondary to the school I am now attending until after I asked them about why I hadn’t gotten one.
…and some schools never reject you! I applied last year, and there’s still one school that hasn’t sent me a rejection, although classes started in August!!! Apparently that particular school really screwed up their admission process this past year, but still - I paid for my secondary, so I expected to get the rejection letter in mail, at least!
Kasia
I got rejected from Wake Forest. I applied to 18 schools and I am feeling I am going to have 18 posts for this topic. So far I am up to two.
The positive I got from this rejection was they didn’t even send me a secondary application so thats a $75.00 saving.
I got rejected by wakeforest and EVMS so far. It is difficult not to get discouraged after viewing SDN especially regarding Texas interviews. I am getting no love from any schools but I am especially surprised that I have heard nothing from Texas schools. My Texas apps were in early but my GPA and MCATs are not stellar. I wanted to stay close to home. I am starting to get discouraged because Texas finishes interviews early December. I am guessing there is not much I can do to get attention from the Texas schools?? Now I am wondering if I should have gone ahead and retaken the MCAT. I was counseled not to because it would hold up my texas application.
I am guessing my chances are greatest with an OOS DO school. The DO application was processed and mailed to the schools last week so I should be getting those secondaries in soon. The hard thing is I have tendonitis in both arms so typing is killing me and I need to type both to fill out apps and to work. so I guess I should stop typing now. Forgive the whiny-ness, I am usually optimistic but lately the process is getting to me.
I have to really be honest with you all but the applications are really up this year with the stats getting better and better…it is really important to apply to as many schools as you possibly and financially can to better your chances.
spread the net widely; you only have to catch one fish. I know someone who was on a wait list until the Friday before classes began then was accepted–had to move 90 miles and start medical school in one weekend! Worst case scenario–you have to reapply the following cycle, meanwhile taking more upper science classes and getting more prepared. I know someone who applied 3 years in a row and is now a surgeon. It can be done so don’t give up hope!
sorry to hear snowgrl but i am sure you still have many more responses to go and you only need one yes to get you on your way.
efex and ttraub - i think everyone agrees w/ you about casting a wide net. here is my question to the both of you - w/ rejections from wake forest and vanderbilt, should i still fill out the secondaries for john hopkins and tufts? i mean, i think both latter schools would be considered better schools than the former ones mentioned (which i was rejected from). i am just curious what your guys response is because it would save me a couple hundred dollars
I think it’s impossible to predict how schools will behave, regardless of how they’re ranked. If you’re truly interested in those schools, drop the cash and the time and complete their apps, I say.
As for me, I’ve cast a wide net through AMCAS, and now I’m chugging away at all of these secondaries. It’s taking a fair bit of my attention - we’ll see how it all works out.
To be honest every school is very unique in how they go about picking applicants…this said, if your numbers are way below their averages then maybe I would consider not sending in the secondaries and maybe adding “other” schools where you will be more competitive. I am not sure of your stats but I do have one question for you…did you apply broadly? and how many schools? Good luck.
Definitely apply to as many schools as you possibly can. OTOH this needs to be judicious and discriminating - you MUST have a reason of some sort. It is perfectly OK to come up with the reason for why you’d like to go to school X after reading school X’s website. But find something specific and positive that appeals to you about a school before you add them to your list.
Mary
Mary made an excellent point…when you apply make sure that IF that was the only school to accept you, you would actually go.
i applied to 18 schools, 15 allopathic and 3 osteopathic. i am probably going to take everyone’s advice and apply to most if not all of them. besides, i have already been rejected by two of them so i really don’t have that many more to finish anyway :p.
I don’t think that’s a very good approach at the end of September when applications have been flying for over three months now. I think you should really thoughtfully research and consider med schools and determine which ones sound like a good fit for you. It is NOT necessary to apply to every last school out there. And it’s just plain stupid to apply, for example, to state schools that accept very few out-of-staters.
I actually had written a much longer note than the one that ended up living long enough to post… let me say that if you are a relatively late applicant in the “2008 entering class” your job now is to figure out how to maximize your chances with what you’ve sent out. Think your strategy through. Don’t just litter the landscape with quickly completed applications.
And for those of you who aren’t applying until 2009 or later, NOW is when to start thinking about your application strategy. It’s way harder to make adjustments in midstream.
Mary
Oh no, I am sorry Mary. I researched all the schools that I applied to and fall w/in their average test scores, and they are all schools that I would be happy to go to. In fact I have filled out some of my secondaries already (my primary didn’t get verified by AMCAS until mid August so I am still getting secondaries). My original question was if I should bother applying to schools which are considered “better” than the ones I have already been rejected from. The applications are done (still have to proof them) its just do I send them in or am I just wasting money? I think I probably will.
Me, I would just send’em out as soon as possible. Worst case is a waste of $50 or $100 or whatever they charge. Best case is you may get an interview or at least some constructive feedback. A rejection can sometimes be informative, especially if they’re willing to talk with you and explain what they didn’t like.
I did get a few rejections, mainly from allopathic schools who were obviously overwhelmed with applicants, saying “please don’t call us, talk to your premed advisor” or similar. I suppose however if you are really interested in a particular school and demonstrate that interest to them, you may get some more feedback.
It seems hypocritical that these schools like Tufts and BU would happily take my money for a secondary and then reject me like a week later or as soon as they could run my file through their rejection letter production line. If I were in the business, I would use the primary to weed out the weaker candidates.
Best of luck,
I was waitlisted at DMU - I’m counting this as a rejection at this point.
Apparently they thought I was a great candidate except I haven’t had enough upper-level bio in their eyes to tell if I’ll be able to handle the rigors of medical school.
I’m a little irritated by this because I’ve taken genetics, A&P I/II, honored both organic courses and handled a pretty rigorous doctoral courseload with neuroscience classes. But, I pretty much expected this when, during my interview, the biochem prof that was interviewing me expressed “concern for my science background” and that I haven’t had biochem yet.
The more I think about it, the more upset I get. Oh well, we’ll see how the CCOM interview panned out and I’m still awaiting my MCAT scores from 9/7 and have all those MD schools to contend with after that.