Just A Warning if you're applying to US schools

[justthewife]

This week my husband had the unfortunate experience of learning, too late, that unlike Canadian schools, if you want to attend a US school you should contact them in addition to your application (via letters of interest or a phone call to the admin office). Apparently, if you're over qualified compared to most of the students who matriculate at a particular school, some schools assume you're only applying there as a "safety" option, and won't extend an interview.

 

I just wanted to give everybody a head's up, so no-one else finds themselves in a situation in which a school has already filled it's slots while you were trying to be patient and polite and wait without pestering the admin office.

 

Also, after discussing this with US applicants, you should also be sure to apply to a variety of schools. Apparently my husband applied to too many "lower tier" schools, and not enough higher tier schools.

 

Since so many Canadian premeds are so very qualified (since it's harder to get into medical school here), I wanted people to know they should look out for these sorts of hiccups.

[medigeek]

Little confused, so schools with average acceptance GPAs of 3.70 won't take someone with a 3.95 from Canada cause he's overqualified but will take someone with a 3.65 from Canada?

[OMGITWONTFI]

I inquired about this issue on the DO FAQ thread a few months ago after hearing stories of Canadian applicants getting interviewed at mid-high tier American schools but getting flat out rejected preinterview at low tier schools. It just seems to make logical sense that American schools won't waste time sending interview invites out to Canadians with like 3.9+ GPAs and 33+ mcats when their average applicants are 3.3 and like 28. Like why would they waste their time on you when they "know" you aren't gonna accept their offer? People kinda bashed saying that stuff like this doesn't happen with med schools though , but I can totally see it happening.

[esus]

Little confused, so schools with average acceptance GPAs of 3.70 won't take someone with a 3.95 from Canada cause he's overqualified but will take someone with a 3.65 from Canada?

 

Yes. I got multiple invites from top-tiers but all low-tier rejections. The low-tiers are trying to fill their class, and if they send invites to only the top applicants, no one will matriculate.

[OMGITWONTFI]

Yes. I got multiple invites from top-tiers but all low-tier rejections. The low-tiers are trying to fill their class, and if they send invites to only the top applicants, no one will matriculate.

 

Well that's a scary thing to hear. How high was your GPA and MCAT exactly... if you don't mind sharing. Is it time for me to start slacking off in a few courses? LMFAO

[bored]

So do we send this letter after the secondaries, as soon as the secondaries are completed? Also, whats this letter like?

[Slashsev]

riteeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

[esus]

Well that's a scary thing to hear. How high was your GPA and MCAT exactly... if you don't mind sharing. Is it time for me to start slacking off in a few courses? LMFAO

 

3.9/39, but perhaps if you send letter of interests and make sure that the schools know you really want to go there you will have better luck with the low-tiers. I put 100% effort on to the secondaries, but didn't send letters of intent or anything to any schools.

[OMGITWONTFI]

3.9/39, but perhaps if you send letter of interests and make sure that the schools know you really want to go there you will have better luck with the low-tiers. I put 100% effort on to the secondaries, but didn't send letters of intent or anything to any schools.

 

I think your 39 is what overkilled your application to the low tiers hahahaha

[lazyboy]

Hmmm, I thought everyone knew about this before they apply to USA.

 

Since they have so many applicants every year, they know who will end up in their school based on MCAT and GPA, they don't want to waste their time and yours by inviting over and under qualified. Moreover, b/c they are using rolling admission system, they need to fill the class as early as possible.

 

The culture in USA is quite different from Canada, you kind of have to be aggressive if you want something really bad, that is why letter of interest and phone calls are quite common.

[justthewife]

I think his cGPA was only 3.5, but his sGPA was 3.9 and MCAT was 37S. Decent ECs as well.

 

 

Bored: I'm not sure when is the best time to send one, but I bet the folks on the studentdoctor forums (like premed101, but for US students), would know. And you should be able to find sample letters via a Google search.

[ottawamed.90]

Hmmm, I thought everyone knew about this before they apply to USA.

 

Since they have so many applicants every year, they know who will end up in their school based on MCAT and GPA, they don't want to waste their time and yours by inviting over and under qualified. Moreover, b/c they are using rolling admission system, they need to fill the class as early as possible.

 

The culture in USA is quite different from Canada, you kind of have to be aggressive if you want something really bad, that is why letter of interest and phone calls are quite common.

 

I thought this was also a well-known thing. It's everywhere on SDN (the American PM101).

 

Some schools are more/less receptive to letters, but most will take them if they contain updates (such as new grades or activities) or other information which might help the committee decide on the file. This applicant numbers in the US are much higher, so you need to work a lot harder to push yourself up above the crowd.

[ottawamed.90]

So do we send this letter after the secondaries, as soon as the secondaries are completed? Also, whats this letter like?

 

The timing varies, but you usually wait to hear back in some way from the school before sending them a letter, otherwise it can seem a little pushy. For example, George Washington will review the secondary and either extend an II or put you on hold. Once on hold, it is generally accepted that you could send no more than 1 letter/month to the school with your interest/updates (so long as you have something to say - not worth sending one just for the sake of it).

 

As mentioned above, you can kind examples on Google or get help over on SDN

[bearpuppy]

by the way... what the schools are doing make sense 100%...

 

they're not going to make themselves look bad by offering spots to people who are just going to reject the offer because they most certainly got accepted somewhere better. no-one wants to look like a failure, including low-tier med schools.