I was not accepted anywhere last year. I even interviewed at JHop - pretty frightening, huh? Fortunately, I've been accepted have some great choices so far as a reapplicant. Now I can just hope to get an interview at Duke and let them know how much I still care
Huh... I'm not sure how you didn't get in last cycle, you seem like a superstar candidate... 6 acceptances by 11/15
nice smiley, too. congrats on UWisc - i know someone who met you when you interviewed on the first date.Sorry I did not read the rest of this thread to see if someone corrected this. I was at Duke today and was told there were 18 people taken off the WL. Still, that's very little movement and Duke has an excellent yield. They initially accepted 174 for ~105 spots.
Wow, thanks. Very helpful. Doesn't seem like LOI's or anything would have much effect then?
After being waitlisted, I wrote an LOI and asked a professor to write to Dr. Armstrong. Still no good. In retrospect, however, I did sound a bit desperate. I plan to write Duke in a month if I don't get an interview. I plan write a better letter and convert that desperation into infatuation - that's the only way our relationship will work out.
haha I should've retaken the MCAT again. Duke definitely has an intense first year, but on the bright side, when its done it's done. Then you get a full year reinforce basic sciences while doing clinical. how awesome is that? Come on Duke! interview me 
hey trop, I wouldn't wait a month to write your letter if they haven't interviewed you yet. The secondary due date is usually around December 1, and the last interviews usually go out within 3 weeks after that. So waiting a month might be too late.
So you're writing a letter of intent rather than a letter of interest? I would consider writing a strong letter of interest rather than a letter of intent, since I think it could be considered sort of desperate to make the commitment to a school you haven't interviewed at yet (though I know you did last year). I would personally say that you were extremely impressed last year, and despite your success during this year's cycle, you still feel that Duke is the best fit for you. Then say how/what you would contribute to Duke.
Alright! Finished my letter of interest. Many thanks to Mr. Burns for reading my drafts. Sending it out snail mail on Saturday.
I'll give your questions a shot. The biggest point that I would like to emphasize is that medical school is only as stressful as you make it. Obviously, any medical school is going to be stressful from time to time and Duke is no different. But I'd say a good 75% of it depends on how you are...if you tend to be of the type A neurotic faction who needs to get honors or you'll question your self-worth, then first year will be more stressful for you. If you decide to never study and slack off completely, first year will be stressful when you're not passing the tests. If you decide that you're going to do your best, but you're not going to worry about how you do (as long as you pass) or how your friends do, then you'll have a lot more relaxation and fun time. Now, there will be people in your class (or heck, it could be you) that don't have to study that much and still ace every test. They're annoying as hell and we want to punch them sometimes, but whether we like it or not, they exist. And, more often than not, we're even friends with them! It's crucial to never compare yourself to others (but very hard not to do) because all you're going to end up doing is making yourself feel bad. Believe me, I speak from experience. Do your best, go out with your friends the weekends you don't have a test (which my class did a lot of last year), and I promise you'll manage the stress just fine. October-November was the worst 6-7 week stretch in my opinion when you have a test almost every monday, but other than that it's not so bad.
. good luck!
