Strategies for Success
Follow-up After Interviews and Holding Multiple Positions
If this information is not provided on your interview day, ask when
you can expect to hear a decision from the admissions committee.
Most health professions schools will have some idea of how soon
you might hear, and will try to keep you informed about the process.
Repeated phone calls to the admissions office to ask the same question
again and again may have an adverse effect on the decision-making
process in your case. Remember, if you are demanding, rude, or inappropriately
aggressive on the phone to admissions officials, you are not demonstrating
the kinds of qualities the committees are seeking in a future health
professional. Some schools will not be able to send you a final
decision for some weeks or even months after your interview. The
selection process for health profession school is always a complex,
thoughtful process that involves the input of several individuals.
Be patient.
If you had a positive experience during your interview day at a
health professions school, and if you are sincerely interested in
attending that school, consider sending thank you notes to the individuals
who interviewed you. You can send these directly to the admissions
office. This will indicate to the committee that after having visited
their medical school, you consider it to be one of your top choices.
Include the aspects of the school, which impressed you the most.
These notes will become part of your admissions file like any other
correspondence the schools receives from you.
You may find yourself placed on a health professions school’s
waiting list, which may also be called an alternate list or simply
“on hold”. Ask the school to define what is meant by
the term they use, as it may vary from school to school. Do not
view your waiting list position as a rejection. Being placed on
the waiting list means that the admissions committee considers you
acceptable, but they either did not have room for you in the class
at the time, or they considered other interviewees to be somewhat
better qualified. Particularly in the extremely competitive climate
of medical school admissions, a wait list position is an accomplishment
in itself. While you are waiting to hear from schools, additional
information may help the committee to make you an offer when positions
become available. This may include updated transcripts, additional
letters of recommendation, or simply a letter from you bringing
the committee up to date on your current activities and to let them
know that you continue to be interested their school. It is not
inappropriate to make a phone call to find out how the selection
process for the waiting list works, if that information was not
made available to you earlier. Although you may want to know exactly
where you stand with regards to being on the waiting list, keep
in mind that many schools do not rank their waiting lists, and they
certainly do not know how many withdrawals they will receive over
the summer months. So don’t become discouraged or frustrated
when an admissions official is not able to give you a clear idea
of your chances for acceptance.
Holding Multiple Positions
Many of you will be lucky enough to receive more than one acceptance
to a health professions school. It is a time to pat yourself on
the back and begin the process of deciding which school is the best
for you. In the case of medical schools, AMCAS “traffic rules”
clearly state that medical school applicants can hold multiple acceptances
until May 15 of the year of matriculation. After May 15, all medical
school applicants must narrow their choice to one school, and can
hold only one position at a time after that date. Make sure you
notify schools of your decision as soon as possible so that you
don’t run the risk of having all your offers rescinded on
May 15 because you did not comply with this rule. If you plan to
apply for financial aid, get your application materials in as soon
as possible so you can compare financial aid packages before the
May 15 deadline. Keep in mind that while you are holding multiple
acceptances, there are individuals on waiting lists anxiously waiting
to hear if a position will become available. The sooner you are
able to decide which school is the best for you, the sooner the
other schools will be able to offer positions to individuals on
their waiting lists.
Once you have decided on the school of your choice, remember that
you may still accept a position from another schools waiting list
if you prefer to attend that school. It will be important for you
to simultaneously withdraw your position from the original school,
so that you are only holding one place at a time. Keep in mind that
a health professions school will not offer you a position once you
have matriculated at another school.
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