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So I have to ask, I have applied to 11 schools and only heard back from 2. Both have been IIs but is the lack of communication something I should be concerned about?
 
MarineMDHopeful said:
So I have to ask, I have applied to 11 schools and only heard back from 2. Both have been IIs but is the lack of communication something I should be concerned about?
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So I am new (and kinda old) and keep seeing "II" on forums... what does it stand for? Thanks!
 
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MarineMDHopeful said:
So I have to ask, I have applied to 11 schools and only heard back from 2. Both have been IIs but is the lack of communication something I should be concerned about?
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im in the same boat. i was complete only a few weeks ago tho. its a hurry up.. and then wait kind of game. i think patience is key. i didnt communicate with the other two schools and got IIs i will only contact schools if i dont have IIs from them after mid november. give them a month or more to get to my app
 
_Darknight_ said:
im in the same boat. i was complete only a few weeks ago tho. its a hurry up.. and then wait kind of game. i think patience is key. i didnt communicate with the other two schools and got IIs i will only contact schools if i dont have IIs from them after mid november. give them a month or more to get to my app
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Yeah I won't contact a school but man the silence is deafening. I mean this is my state school and nothing lmao.
 
MarineMDHopeful said:
So I have to ask, I have applied to 11 schools and only heard back from 2. Both have been IIs but is the lack of communication something I should be concerned about?
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Very similar to my situation. I applied to 11 schools as well. I heard back from 2 very quickly and had 2 IIs in early and mid September (Penn State was early September). Then I had like a month long break before I heard anything else and then up to December, I kept receiving IIs every once in a while. In the end, I think I only got complete silence from like 2-3 schools. Give it some time. The two schools that reached out to you probably really like/want you. Doesn't mean that the rest won't reach out to you though and maybe even accept you in the end. This process lasts months. For what it's worth, I got accepted to both of the early II schools (from my experience and experiences of some friends, really early IIs are usually a very good sign).
 
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Received the acceptance letter today........ (Early Assurance Admit Program). All the best to everyone.
 
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Is it too late to submit a secondary here? I have been waiting for my second MCAT score to be released which comes out on Sep 26th.
 
hiei said:
for those that got interviews, what was your non clinical volunteering like? i don't have much, like ~50 hours, so I was wondering if this will be an issue here

i do have 2000 + scribing hours
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I have the same amount of non-clinical volunteering hours. I got an interview invite yesterday (Complete 9/9)
 
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baj2634 said:
I have the same amount of non-clinical volunteering hours. I got an interview invite yesterday (Complete 9/9)
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What would you guys say is the average hours for clinal volunteering and shadowing?
 
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doctorww said:
What would you guys say is the average hours for clinal volunteering and shadowing?
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Since I'm new to this, I don't really know much about the numbers, I'm afraid, but I wouldn't get too bogged down by them. I truly think it's all about what you take away from your experiences that matters. As long as you do something with the time you have (regardless of how much time you have), and can elucidate something meaningful from it, you should be fine. I have 50ish hours of both shadowing and clinical volunteering respectively with a really research heavy background. I just tried to do what I could given my time availability and let it be.

People everywhere say they have hundreds of hours of volunteer or shadowing experience. Don't let that freak you out (I know it freaked me out). Take whatever you end up with and own it, and I think med schools will love you for it. Just my opinion through my experiences thus far.
 
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baj2634 said:
I have the same amount of non-clinical volunteering hours. I got an interview invite yesterday (Complete 9/9)
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Quick turnaround-Congratulations! Are you in IS? Also, what interview date do you have?
 
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atlhelp said:
Quick turnaround-Congratulations! Are you in IS? Also, what interview date do you have?
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I am IS. I live about 40 minutes away from the Hershey site. As far as interview dates, the next available slots that I saw when I scheduled were 10/18 and 10/20. I picked 10/20 because it's easier to call off work on a Friday haha.
 
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What should one expect at the interview?

Can people who have already interviewed tell us what the day was like? Thanks :D Much appreciated!

Feedback from current students is welcome as well.
 
II! IS and went to PSU undergrad. Complete 9/2
 
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Piglet2020 said:
What should one expect at the interview?

Can people who have already interviewed tell us what the day was like? Thanks :D Much appreciated!

Feedback from current students is welcome as well.
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I had my interview a few days ago, I was in the afternoon group so the itinerary consisted of a general presentation at the start of the day, lunch with current second year med students, a tour of the medical school facilities, and then two interviews with faculty members that lasted from 20 to 40 minutes. The interviews themselves were very relaxed, both of my interviewers had reviewed my application beforehand and selected a handful of topics like my research and clinical volunteer work that they wanted to know more about. Overall, it was very conversational and it seemed like they genuinely just wanted to learn more about me while also answering any questions I had about the school. All in all, it was a pretty fun and informative experience!
 
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How long does it take to be marked complete after submission? Was thinking about finishing one last secondary here before October 1st but given the huge number of applicants (9500+) I'm not sure if it's worth it.
 
MareNostrummm said:
How long does it take to be marked complete after submission? Was thinking about finishing one last secondary here before October 1st but given the huge number of applicants (9500+) I'm not sure if it's worth it.
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I submitted my secondary on 9/20 and was complete on 9/20. LORs were received on 9/8. Hope this helps!
 
Did anyone on here apply for either of the neurosurg or ortho guarantee spot? I didnt, but am just curious what kind of stats you need for that, it seems crazy hard
 
anyone understand how some applicants are reviewed so quickly while others go for months without hearing anything? what is the review process like?
 
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doctorww said:
anyone understand how some applicants are reviewed so quickly while others go for months without hearing anything? what is the review process like?
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This is a question I can get behind as well. I've done research with the school and got a LoR from a department head and have not heard anything. I feel like I need to brand @Goro quote, "patience is a virtue, the need for instant gratification is not" on my arm or something.
 
YCP Pre-Med said:
This is a question I can get behind as well. I've done research with the school and got a LoR from a department head and have not heard anything. I feel like I need to brand @Goro quote, "patience is a virtue, the need for instant gratification is not" on my arm or something.
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Schools stratify the apps as they come in and don't send out IIs merely in chronological order.
 
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Goro said:
Schools stratify the apps as they come in and don't send out IIs merely in chronological order.
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If the post about patience was on my left arm, this statement would be on my right.

Being in the top 10 for applications received certainly lengthens the process as well.
 
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Goro said:
Schools stratify the apps as they come in and don't send out IIs merely in chronological order.
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does sending update letters guarantee the app being pushed ahead?
 
IWillMakeIt1 said:
does sending update letters guarantee the app being pushed ahead?
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No. While some schools are excessively needy or like seeing candidates grovel, most updates are worthless (as witnessed by the the thousands of SDN posts about wanting to update about a new job).

I just posted this in another thread about LOI, but the thought is still the same:
From the wise Med Ed: [What med schools…] accept and desire are two different things. My institution, for instance, will accept practically anything a given applicant wants to forward along, but only rarely do we consider it a worthwhile addition to the package.

It's generally not burdensome for an applicant to upload something to the portal, and once in a great while it does tip us off with some useful info. I can think of one individual who had a stellar application, like Harvard/Yale/Stanford-worthy, and a superb interview, who sent us several updates and a LOI. We were somewhat perplexed by this person's tenacious interest in our program. Turns out there were family/geographical reasons behind the whole thing, the applicant just never felt comfortable directly playing that card.

When it comes down to waitlist time I will scan through what folks have uploaded post-interview. The vast majority of times it has no impact. Occasionally I have seen it hurt people's chances. Come to think of it, in my experience this is probably more likely, than such correspondence having a positive impact.

The only things I think are worth updating about are a semester full of great grades, a publication, or a talk or poster presentation at a major meeting
 
Goro said:
No. While some schools are excessively needy or like seeing candidates grovel, most updates are worthless (as witnessed by the the thousands of SDN posts about wanting to update about a new job).

I just posted this in another thread about LOI, but the thought is still the same:
From the wise Med Ed: [What med schools…] accept and desire are two different things. My institution, for instance, will accept practically anything a given applicant wants to forward along, but only rarely do we consider it a worthwhile addition to the package.

It's generally not burdensome for an applicant to upload something to the portal, and once in a great while it does tip us off with some useful info. I can think of one individual who had a stellar application, like Harvard/Yale/Stanford-worthy, and a superb interview, who sent us several updates and a LOI. We were somewhat perplexed by this person's tenacious interest in our program. Turns out there were family/geographical reasons behind the whole thing, the applicant just never felt comfortable directly playing that card.

When it comes down to waitlist time I will scan through what folks have uploaded post-interview. The vast majority of times it has no impact. Occasionally I have seen it hurt people's chances. Come to think of it, in my experience this is probably more likely, than such correspondence having a positive impact.

The only things I think are worth updating about are a semester full of great grades, a publication, or a talk or poster presentation at a major meeting
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I thought of that too. I updated all the schools I applied to since I was promoted and I started a hands-on clinical volunteering experience (I was lacking that in my primary). I thought I wont lose anything, and either they will read it or not.
 
II yesterday morning! Lizzy M 66.5 OOS Complete back in mid July. Earliest date for Interview was Oct 31st. I'll be here in November.
 
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II today! :D LM~69, complete 8/1. Earliest available was 11/5, picked the one after that.
 
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OOS. I submitted my secondary and all other materials to Penn State on 7/25 except for ONE letter of recommendation from a professor that I had listed on AMCAS that had not yet been submitted. I was not marked complete until 8/28 when the LOR finally went through.

Every other school that I applied to still marked me complete even though I had 1 LOR that still needed to be submitted. Penn State was the only school that kept me on hold for this. Unfortunately, this probably moved me farther back in line even though I submitted all of my stuff very early :(
 
BeatsByLobot said:
OOS. I submitted my secondary and all other materials to Penn State on 7/25 except for ONE letter of recommendation from a professor that I had listed on AMCAS that had not yet been submitted. I was not marked complete until 8/28 when the LOR finally went through.

Every other school that I applied to still marked me complete even though I had 1 LOR that still needed to be submitted. Penn State was the only school that kept me on hold for this. Unfortunately, this probably moved me farther back in line even though I submitted all of my stuff very early :(
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don't worry! i was complete after you (first week of sept) due to almost the same issue and got an II in a reasonable amount of time (sept 20th) :)
 
BeatsByLobot said:
OOS. I submitted my secondary and all other materials to Penn State on 7/25 except for ONE letter of recommendation from a professor that I had listed on AMCAS that had not yet been submitted. I was not marked complete until 8/28 when the LOR finally went through.

Every other school that I applied to still marked me complete even though I had 1 LOR that still needed to be submitted. Penn State was the only school that kept me on hold for this. Unfortunately, this probably moved me farther back in line even though I submitted all of my stuff very early :(
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Complete in July and I am not the only one
 
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Got a really sweet breakup letter from Penn State this morning. Complete 3-Aug, rejected this morning (12-OCT). Thought I was in good shape having an Alum LOR. Oh well, guess it's a Sandusky free education for me :/
 
BombsAway said:
Got a really sweet breakup letter from Penn State this morning. Complete 3-Aug, rejected this morning (12-OCT). Thought I was in good shape having an Alum LOR. Oh well, guess it's a Sandusky free education for me :/
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What a great look for you bringing up a scandal that happened over 5 years ago and had nothing to do with the medical school, or the vast majority of penn state students/faculty/alum/ for that matter, because you got rejected!
 
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mk059 said:
What a great look for you bringing up a scandal that happened over 5 years ago and had nothing to do with the medical school, or the vast majority of penn state students/faculty/alum/ for that matter, because you got rejected!
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Chill, pretty sure it was just a joke, if he didn't like the place he probably would not have applied...
 
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breachnkd said:
Chill, pretty sure it was just a joke, if he didn't like the place he probably would not have applied...
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It honestly doesn't matter. The Sandusky scandal, or any sexual abuse situation, is simply not something to make jokes about. Do you often make sexual assault jokes? I hope not. Extremely distasteful, especially for someone who wants to enter the medical field.
 
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mk059 said:
What a great look for you bringing up a scandal that happened over 5 years ago and had nothing to do with the medical school, or the vast majority of penn state students/faculty/alum/ for that matter, because you got rejected!
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mk059 said:
It honestly doesn't matter. The Sandusky scandal, or any sexual abuse situation, is simply not something to make jokes about. Do you often make sexual assault jokes? I hope not. Extremely distasteful, especially for someone who wants to enter the medical field.
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Do you not make inappropriate jokes? What is that even like?!
 
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mk059 said:
It honestly doesn't matter. The Sandusky scandal, or any sexual abuse situation, is simply not something to make jokes about. Do you often make sexual assault jokes? I hope not. Extremely distasteful, especially for someone who wants to enter the medical field.
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.....chill.
 
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