itimebomb2 Posted December 17, 2009 Report Share Posted December 17, 2009 Gotta love basking in each other's misery. I've got a couple. Last year, as a 3rd yr applicant, I applied to meds. I had a lot going for me... my referees were especially strong - one guy who I've worked/volunteered with for 3 years was happy to write my letter - even offered to before I asked... I find out after I was rejected from all schools (WL at Q) that for his "letter", all he did was write comments on the edge of the OMSAS evaluation form (the one line you get after each quality...)... HE DIDN'T WRITE AN ACTUAL LETTER. So it shows up as received on my online application but really, there was no reference letter. fml. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nemesis Posted December 17, 2009 Report Share Posted December 17, 2009 Gotta love basking in each other's misery. I've got a couple. Last year, as a 3rd yr applicant, I applied to meds. I had a lot going for me... my referees were especially strong - one guy who I've worked/volunteered with for 3 years was happy to write my letter - even offered to before I asked... I find out after I was rejected from all schools (WL at Q) that for his "letter", all he did was write comments on the edge of the OMSAS evaluation form (the one line you get after each quality...)... HE DIDN'T WRITE AN ACTUAL LETTER. So it shows up as received on my online application but really, there was no reference letter. fml. Wow, pure sabotage/stupidity! It clearly states on the Confidential Assessment Form that an attached letter is required!. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HBP Posted December 17, 2009 Report Share Posted December 17, 2009 Shouldn't you detail what you want put in the letter, so it's painfully obvious there should be one? Or did you just trust that he would do the right thing... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itimebomb2 Posted December 17, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 17, 2009 yeah i just trusted him because he said that he did a lot of these letters. i didn't make the same mistake this year... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orange123 Posted December 17, 2009 Report Share Posted December 17, 2009 yeah i just trusted him because he said that he did a lot of these letters. i didn't make the same mistake this year... LOLLL! Ohhh the hilarity. I'm sorry OP, this is no laughing matter, but yet, I can't resist. Apparently he's done "a lot of these"? That's shi/tty for you. Makes for a good story though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cnussey Posted December 17, 2009 Report Share Posted December 17, 2009 Well, this is my first time applying and I had three wonderful people lined up. One disappeared off the faculty list from MUN, so I found another prof who was happy to do it (although he got cranky when I sent him a reminder two days before the deadline--who knows what he wrote! LOL). The other one is STILL on sick-leave, so I found a good replacement for him. Interestingly though, I now have that person's job LOL. In the end, I still have good letters (from what I hear, I did not want to read them), but what a piece of work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmorelan Posted December 17, 2009 Report Share Posted December 17, 2009 Well, this is my first time applying and I had three wonderful people lined up. One disappeared off the faculty list from MUN, so I found another prof who was happy to do it (although he got cranky when I sent him a reminder two days before the deadline--who knows what he wrote! LOL). The other one is STILL on sick-leave, so I found a good replacement for him. Interestingly though, I now have that person's job LOL. In the end, I still have good letters (from what I hear, I did not want to read them), but what a piece of work! One of my references I was priming to use for 3 years had a major skiing accident a week before deadline (head trauma) and hadn't sent in but had written the letter. That was frustrating Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cnussey Posted December 17, 2009 Report Share Posted December 17, 2009 One of my references I was priming to use for 3 years had a major skiing accident a week before deadline (head trauma) and hadn't sent in but had written the letter. That was frustrating It's quite sad, but it is definitely frustrating. This guy is in charge of primary health care and while he's sick all of our committees are kinda at a stand-still. They haven't put anyone in to replace him (hospital administrator is doing her best). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leon Posted December 22, 2009 Report Share Posted December 22, 2009 Looks like I should have at least a dozen referees in reserve...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c17h Posted January 8, 2010 Report Share Posted January 8, 2010 The worst med app story I have heard of: I have a friend who applied to med last year, but forgot to release his MCAT scores. All of his applications were considered "incomplete" for schools that required the MCAT. And all he had to do was click a few buttons on the AAMC website!! All that time and money to waste.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bj89 Posted January 8, 2010 Report Share Posted January 8, 2010 i was kind of reluctant to share my story, but i don't really care anymore as it is now in the past... i'm currently in 3rd year and was eager to apply as a 3rd year applicant in ontario for this cycle. i spent all 4 months of my summer doing full time research, working on my application, and studying for the MCAT... however, i had my MCAT scheduled late august so my scores wouldn't get released until oct. 6th (6 days after the deadline), and because of this i was reluctant to apply to u of t, mac, and queens. i practically spent 2-3 months working on my ABS, u of t personal statement, and mac answers. some of you may remember that "crash" that OMSAS had a week before the deadline, where some people's entries on the ABS was erased completely. well, the day before this happened, my ABS, reference entries, mac answers, and verifier entries somehow "disappeared"... as you can imagine i was in total shock and panic, and i assumed that i could have been hacked. the next day, i ran into a good friend who was also applying this cycle - and she asked me if i had heard about the crash they had (which i hadn't at the time)... i felt a wave of relief, because this negated my previous assumptions. after the OMSAS crash was resolved, i logged back on to find that i was the only one whose application hadn't come back - another stab in the heart. after calling OMSAS, i spoke to someone there directly who investigated and told me that someone had gotten into my account and deleted all my entries sequentially. they gave me the time it happened, and it was at a time when i was working on my personal statement. the IP address that deleted the entries was the SAME AS MY OWN. i was shocked and confused... but i was also relieved because i now know for sure what happened and could work diligently to re-do my application entirely (still had ~5 days left)... so i re-formatted my computer, changed all my passwords and started re-doing my ABS (didn't have it saved) - i had my mac questions saved and hadn't yet submitted my personal statement so still had that. fast-forward to 3 days before the deadline. i wake up late on a saturday (like 1pm-ish), and head over to work on my application again. i log in, and what i read hit me like a ton of bricks: "Your application has been submitted." my heart sank, and then i really started to panic. since omsas isnt open on the weekend, i had to wait till monday to find out what happened. my application got submitted with no mac questions and no ABS. after talking to them and their investigation, they found that someone indeed had submitted my application (again from MY IP) earlier that morning. the person i spoke to at OMSAS was very rude, acting like it was my fault (she claimed my secret question as too easy... but later found out that the hacker did not use that to get in). now here's what the lady at omsas said i had to do in order to still apply (i got her e-mail on September 29th at 5:00 PM): get a police report and a personal letter stating what i think happened and they would look into the matter of letting my apply. i had to submit this to their office in Guelf (i live in windsor) by 8:30 AM the next morning. after going through all of this, i just said screw it and didn't pursue it further than that (i had midterms coming up to worry about). what pissed me off is that i may have had a chance at mac/queens/UofT because my MCAT scores came out a few days after (31S balanced). however, i was happy about my results which eased the stress of the situation. to me, this whole ordeal has been a reminder of the f***ed up, jealous pre-meds out there, and the extent they would go to in order to sabotage their competition. some hacking douche out there (who i still haven't figured out who it is - its almost impossible to track them) screwed me over. i now change my passwords monthly and save all my work on an external hard drive, and no longer access school computers with my information... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
biomed1010 Posted January 9, 2010 Report Share Posted January 9, 2010 i was kind of reluctant to share my story, but i don't really care anymore as it is now in the past... i'm currently in 3rd year and was eager to apply as a 3rd year applicant in ontario for this cycle. i spent all 4 months of my summer doing full time research, working on my application, and studying for the MCAT... however, i had my MCAT scheduled late august so my scores wouldn't get released until oct. 6th (6 days after the deadline), and because of this i was reluctant to apply to u of t, mac, and queens. i practically spent 2-3 months working on my ABS, u of t personal statement, and mac answers. some of you may remember that "crash" that OMSAS had a week before the deadline, where some people's entries on the ABS was erased completely. well, the day before this happened, my ABS, reference entries, mac answers, and verifier entries somehow "disappeared"... as you can imagine i was in total shock and panic, and i assumed that i could have been hacked. the next day, i ran into a good friend who was also applying this cycle - and she asked me if i had heard about the crash they had (which i hadn't at the time)... i felt a wave of relief, because this negated my previous assumptions. after the OMSAS crash was resolved, i logged back on to find that i was the only one whose application hadn't come back - another stab in the heart. after calling OMSAS, i spoke to someone there directly who investigated and told me that someone had gotten into my account and deleted all my entries sequentially. they gave me the time it happened, and it was at a time when i was working on my personal statement. the IP address that deleted the entries was the SAME AS MY OWN. i was shocked and confused... but i was also relieved because i now know for sure what happened and could work diligently to re-do my application entirely (still had ~5 days left)... so i re-formatted my computer, changed all my passwords and started re-doing my ABS (didn't have it saved) - i had my mac questions saved and hadn't yet submitted my personal statement so still had that. fast-forward to 3 days before the deadline. i wake up late on a saturday (like 1pm-ish), and head over to work on my application again. i log in, and what i read hit me like a ton of bricks: "Your application has been submitted." my heart sank, and then i really started to panic. since omsas isnt open on the weekend, i had to wait till monday to find out what happened. my application got submitted with no mac questions and no ABS. after talking to them and their investigation, they found that someone indeed had submitted my application (again from MY IP) earlier that morning. the person i spoke to at OMSAS was very rude, acting like it was my fault (she claimed my secret question as too easy... but later found out that the hacker did not use that to get in). now here's what the lady at omsas said i had to do in order to still apply (i got her e-mail on September 29th at 5:00 PM): get a police report and a personal letter stating what i think happened and they would look into the matter of letting my apply. i had to submit this to their office in Guelf (i live in windsor) by 8:30 AM the next morning. after going through all of this, i just said screw it and didn't pursue it further than that (i had midterms coming up to worry about). what pissed me off is that i may have had a chance at mac/queens/UofT because my MCAT scores came out a few days after (31S balanced). however, i was happy about my results which eased the stress of the situation. to me, this whole ordeal has been a reminder of the f***ed up, jealous pre-meds out there, and the extent they would go to in order to sabotage their competition. some hacking douche out there (who i still haven't figured out who it is - its almost impossible to track them) screwed me over. i now change my passwords monthly and save all my work on an external hard drive, and no longer access school computers with my information... O-M-G Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Star1234 Posted January 9, 2010 Report Share Posted January 9, 2010 lol, that definitely takes the cake. What blows my mind is that whoever erased your file actually thought that was a perfectly ok thing to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nemesis Posted January 9, 2010 Report Share Posted January 9, 2010 O-M-G Wow! What a fiasco! However, just because it was your medical school application, doesn't necessarily mean it was a "jealous pre-med". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HBP Posted January 9, 2010 Report Share Posted January 9, 2010 ^^ I don't understand though, to submit, didn't they have to pay for you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cnussey Posted January 9, 2010 Report Share Posted January 9, 2010 ^^ I don't understand though, to submit, didn't they have to pay for you? Hmmm...perhaps bj89 has been submitting things in his sleep? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nemesis Posted January 9, 2010 Report Share Posted January 9, 2010 ^^ I don't understand though, to submit, didn't they have to pay for you? Maybe it was a jealous and rich (!) pre-med? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HBP Posted January 9, 2010 Report Share Posted January 9, 2010 lol I'm sure he could have found a financial record (name on the account) and figure out who the perp is though. This indicates that it's likely family, and not an anonymous jealous pre-med haxxor. Any elder siblings who aren't doing so hot right now? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orange123 Posted January 9, 2010 Report Share Posted January 9, 2010 lol I'm sure he could have found a financial record (name on the account) and figure out who the perp is though. This indicates that it's likely family, and not an anonymous jealous pre-med haxxor. Any elder siblings who aren't doing so hot right now? OMG. That's awful! How can this be? I'll admit, I agree w/ HBP. When i was reading your post it did sound like family. But that's the strangest thing I've heard. And yeah, who would've paid? With what? A credit card? (that's easy to track). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Law Posted January 9, 2010 Report Share Posted January 9, 2010 Wow, I'm so sorry to hear that. That is just outrageous. i was kind of reluctant to share my story, but i don't really care anymore as it is now in the past... i'm currently in 3rd year and was eager to apply as a 3rd year applicant in ontario for this cycle. i spent all 4 months of my summer doing full time research, working on my application, and studying for the MCAT... however, i had my MCAT scheduled late august so my scores wouldn't get released until oct. 6th (6 days after the deadline), and because of this i was reluctant to apply to u of t, mac, and queens. i practically spent 2-3 months working on my ABS, u of t personal statement, and mac answers. some of you may remember that "crash" that OMSAS had a week before the deadline, where some people's entries on the ABS was erased completely. well, the day before this happened, my ABS, reference entries, mac answers, and verifier entries somehow "disappeared"... as you can imagine i was in total shock and panic, and i assumed that i could have been hacked. the next day, i ran into a good friend who was also applying this cycle - and she asked me if i had heard about the crash they had (which i hadn't at the time)... i felt a wave of relief, because this negated my previous assumptions. after the OMSAS crash was resolved, i logged back on to find that i was the only one whose application hadn't come back - another stab in the heart. after calling OMSAS, i spoke to someone there directly who investigated and told me that someone had gotten into my account and deleted all my entries sequentially. they gave me the time it happened, and it was at a time when i was working on my personal statement. the IP address that deleted the entries was the SAME AS MY OWN. i was shocked and confused... but i was also relieved because i now know for sure what happened and could work diligently to re-do my application entirely (still had ~5 days left)... so i re-formatted my computer, changed all my passwords and started re-doing my ABS (didn't have it saved) - i had my mac questions saved and hadn't yet submitted my personal statement so still had that. fast-forward to 3 days before the deadline. i wake up late on a saturday (like 1pm-ish), and head over to work on my application again. i log in, and what i read hit me like a ton of bricks: "Your application has been submitted." my heart sank, and then i really started to panic. since omsas isnt open on the weekend, i had to wait till monday to find out what happened. my application got submitted with no mac questions and no ABS. after talking to them and their investigation, they found that someone indeed had submitted my application (again from MY IP) earlier that morning. the person i spoke to at OMSAS was very rude, acting like it was my fault (she claimed my secret question as too easy... but later found out that the hacker did not use that to get in). now here's what the lady at omsas said i had to do in order to still apply (i got her e-mail on September 29th at 5:00 PM): get a police report and a personal letter stating what i think happened and they would look into the matter of letting my apply. i had to submit this to their office in Guelf (i live in windsor) by 8:30 AM the next morning. after going through all of this, i just said screw it and didn't pursue it further than that (i had midterms coming up to worry about). what pissed me off is that i may have had a chance at mac/queens/UofT because my MCAT scores came out a few days after (31S balanced). however, i was happy about my results which eased the stress of the situation. to me, this whole ordeal has been a reminder of the f***ed up, jealous pre-meds out there, and the extent they would go to in order to sabotage their competition. some hacking douche out there (who i still haven't figured out who it is - its almost impossible to track them) screwed me over. i now change my passwords monthly and save all my work on an external hard drive, and no longer access school computers with my information... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bj89 Posted January 9, 2010 Report Share Posted January 9, 2010 ^^ I don't understand though, to submit, didn't they have to pay for you? No, theres a point of no return you can get to right before you pay but far enough you cant edit anymore. I was pretty depressed for a bit but maybe i wasnt meant to apply as a 3rd year applicant the worst thing about the whole ordeal was that i had to tell 3 referees why they wasted their time writing letters for me but thankfully they were all very understanding of the situation! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HBP Posted January 9, 2010 Report Share Posted January 9, 2010 Good to stay positive, but weren't you still eligible at Queens? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bj89 Posted January 9, 2010 Report Share Posted January 9, 2010 Yeah i was, the person at omsas gave me a contact to speak to but i just decided not to pursue it further because i had 3 midterms to worry about that upcoming week Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Que Posted January 10, 2010 Report Share Posted January 10, 2010 Yeah i was, the person at omsas gave me a contact to speak to but i just decided not to pursue it further because i had 3 midterms to worry about that upcoming week I can't even imagine how devastated you must have felt! :eek: Best of luck next year! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discworldheavylight Posted January 10, 2010 Report Share Posted January 10, 2010 to bj89: this sounds like an absolutely awful thing that's happened to you. i'm sure all the anxious premeds on this board feel your pain. i definitely think you should try to find out who this person is. perhaps it's possible to reconcile what has happened, given that you are in third year. however, next year, you may not take it as well. besides, this person seems like someone who is close enough to you to know personal information. therefore, this may be someone you trust in your personal life. you never know when this person can betray you again down the road. if it's next year's omsas cycle, that might be exceptionally crushing. again, i am sorry to hear this has happened to you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.