Mid-late August submitters - how are we feeling?

[gardensoflife]

Hi all,

Just wanted to get an idea of how those of us who were complete mid-late August are feeling about their cycle so far. Personally I am incredibly grateful to have received any II's at this point, however, I did want to get an idea of where others currently stand. Have you received IIs? Are you feeling confident that there are more IIs to come?

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[nicesecrets]

Hi! I have received two IIs as well after being done early-late August, and feeling really good about both of them so far! I do think there may be more coming, unless most of the other Aug applicants have just stopped reporting IIs either here or on the tracker. Waiting is hard though....

 

[DoctorFate]

Hi all,

Just wanted to get an idea of how those of us who were complete mid-late August are feeling about their cycle so far. Personally I am incredibly grateful to have received any II's at this point, however, I did want to get an idea of where others currently stand. Have you received IIs? Are you feeling confident that there are more IIs to come?

I submitted a few schools in early August and some of them are literally just getting to August apps this week (Cleveland Clinic, Penn is still in late July). I've definitely come to believe that all the old rules about being complete by Labor Day to be on time are out the window at this point. Being complete within two weeks of secondaries first releasing is early, and four weeks is on time (late July to early August at most schools).

Anyone else believe this (based on this cycle anyway), or is this just bias on my part?

 

[gardensoflife]

I submitted a few schools in early August and some of them are literally just getting to August apps this week (Cleveland Clinic, Penn is still in late July). I've definitely come to believe that all the old rules about being complete by Labor Day to be on time are out the window at this point. Being complete within two weeks of secondaries first releasing is early, and four weeks is on time (late July to early August at most schools).

Anyone else believe this (based on this cycle anyway), or is this just bias on my part?

I hear you but respectfully I would disagree - I think the old rule of complete by Labor Day being early is bunk, but I would say it’s still on-time. Many schools that are just getting to August have only sent out about half their II’s based on available II trackers, like Vandy. The interview season extends until like March of next year so I think late august submission just means a longer cycle.

My two cents - if late august was late, then I wouldn’t be sitting on two II’s right now.

 

[DoctorFate]

I hear you but respectfully I would disagree - I think the old rule of complete by Labor Day being early is bunk, but I would say it’s still on-time. Many schools that are just getting to August have only sent out about half their II’s based on available II trackers, like Vandy. The interview season extends until like March of next year so I think late august submission just means a longer cycle.

My two cents - if late august was late, then I wouldn’t be sitting on two II’s right now.

Good point. I realize now that I forgot what the old rule was as well as my point when I was typing. I think being early is submitting within 2 weeks of secondaries going out (maybe even slightly longer), and being on time is by labor day as you said.

 

[gardensoflife]

Good point. I realize now that I forgot what the old rule was as well as my point when I was typing. I think being early is submitting within 2 weeks of secondaries going out (maybe even slightly longer), and being on time is by labor day as you said.

I wanna say I think you do have a valid point that it may put one at an advantage now to submit late July vs late August just due to the sheer increase in applicants. So in some sense maybe late august is “late,” but I’ve also always thought the ideas of ”early,” “on time,” and “late” are poorly-defined concepts with respect to med school apps. A better approach in my opinion is to quantify the disadvantage of submitting later, like with UMich for example it seems August submissions have 1/4 the chance of receiving an II as July submissions.

 

[voxveritatisetlucis]

I submitted a few schools in early August and some of them are literally just getting to August apps this week (Cleveland Clinic, Penn is still in late July). I've definitely come to believe that all the old rules about being complete by Labor Day to be on time are out the window at this point. Being complete within two weeks of secondaries first releasing is early, and four weeks is on time (late July to early August at most schools).

Anyone else believe this (based on this cycle anyway), or is this just bias on my part?

Almost no schools go in order. For example, in the UPenn thread, somebody reported getting an II early September despite just submitting their secondary app.

Schools likely take a cursory glance almost right when apps are sent in and then stratify for further review based on application strength

 

[deleted965595]

I was complete end of August on account of the time it took for the committee letter to be sent. Otherwise everything else that was in my control was in by late July/early August. I was freaking out a bit earlier, but I have 2 IIs so far and both of them confirmed that there is no real disadvantage for not submitting earlier than I did. Hopefully I will get more IIs, but I feel good and grateful about the 2 so far.

I think people just need to stop hyperventilating about getting the apps in within 2 weeks. It's simply unreasonable for those of us with jobs, and entirely unnecessary as stats have shown year after year.

 

[DoctorFate]

Almost no schools go in order. For example, in the UPenn thread, somebody reported getting an II early September despite just submitting their secondary app.

Schools likely take a cursory glance almost right when apps are sent in and then stratify for further review based on application strength

That's definitely true, but the order of submission tends to be another layer of processing. Applications of the same priority batch are mostly reviewed in the order they came in. For applications that aren't immediately exceptional enough to grab Penn's attention, the standard process of high stat, ties, strong but not mindblowing ECs, etc applies to the second priority level. All of my friends with similar scores to me and strong ECs have received interviews for the same schools in order of submission (within days of each other). So far there has been no exception to this (although we are a small sample size- the high stat, strong EC ones anyway).

In other schools, it's even more skewed. Yesterday marked the first time anyone in August (and even then it was Aug. 1st) received either a rejection or interview.

 

[nicesecrets]

I was complete end of August on account of the time it took for the committee letter to be sent. Otherwise everything else that was in my control was in by late July/early August. I was freaking out a bit earlier, but I have 2 IIs so far and both of them confirmed that there is no real disadvantage for not submitting earlier than I did. Hopefully I will get more IIs, but I feel good and grateful about the 2 so far.

I think people just need to stop hyperventilating about getting the apps in within 2 weeks. It's simply unreasonable for those of us with jobs, and entirely unnecessary as stats have shown year after year.

Completely agree. So many of these threads go into what ifs and conjecture, although the only constant year after year is that most of this application process is random.

And yes! With a full-time job, full-time school and MCAT prep, there was NO way I could prewrite anything to submit within two weeks. I'm sure schools understand that

 

[nicesecrets]

That's definitely true, but the order of submission tends to be another layer of processing. Applications of the same priority batch are mostly reviewed in the order they came in. For applications that aren't immediately exceptional enough to grab Penn's attention, the standard process of high stat, ties, strong but not mindblowing ECs, etc applies to the second priority level. All of my friends with similar scores to me and strong ECs have received interviews for the same schools in order of submission (within days of each other). So far there has been no exception to this (although we are a small sample size- the high stat, strong EC ones anyway).

In other schools, it's even more skewed. Yesterday marked the first time anyone in August (and even then it was Aug. 1st) received either a rejection or interview.

That's a good point. Plus the idea of "strong" ECs change from school to school. My one interview, they didn't even care about my research which are pretty significant hours, while the other one, that's what I talked about with everyone and had a great time too! So beyond stats and completion date, schools might stratify and review apps based on so many other metrics to assign overall priority of review.

 

[deleted965595]

That's definitely true, but the order of submission tends to be another layer of processing. Applications of the same priority batch are mostly reviewed in the order they came in. For applications that aren't immediately exceptional enough to grab Penn's attention, the standard process of high stat, ties, strong but not mindblowing ECs, etc applies to the second priority level. All of my friends with similar scores to me and strong ECs have received interviews for the same schools in order of submission (within days of each other). So far there has been no exception to this (although we are a small sample size- the high stat, strong EC ones anyway).

In other schools, it's even more skewed. Yesterday marked the first time anyone in August (and even then it was Aug. 1st) received either a rejection or interview.

It is true that all other things being equal, the order of processing seems to be correlated with completion date, but this is probably not as significant because the cycle goes on till March/April, so people who have submitted within reasonable time will get due consideration. Maybe not in Aug/Sep or even Oct. Maybe in Nov/Dec/Jan/Feb/March…even April or later. It is a long cycle.

I think we're all saying the same thing. Let's hang in there and ride this torturous wait out!

PS: Don't mean to offend, but can I just say I find your profile pic (gif) disturbingly violent?

 

[DoctorFate]

It is true that all other things being equal, the order of processing seems to be correlated with completion date, but this is probably not as significant because the cycle goes on till March/April, so people who have submitted within reasonable time will get due consideration. Maybe not in Aug/Sep or even Oct. Maybe in Nov/Dec/Jan/Feb/March…even April or later. It is a long cycle.

I think we're all saying the same thing. Let's hang in there and ride this torturous wait out!

PS: Don't mean to offend, but can I just say I find your profile pic (gif) disturbingly violent?

Hahaha I've been meaning to change it ngl. It's the Hulk and Loki in the Avengers. I like the think the Hulk represents medical school and Loki is me...

You definitely have a point- everyone's app will eventually be reviewed. However you can find other threads on here about rolling admissions and how there are fewer seats left later in the cycle. Several of my schools release decisions in October, as well as November and December. Just something to keep in mind- the cycle gets harder the later on you are reviewed.

 

[nicesecrets]

Hello, mid-late Augusters. Just wanted to check in today on the last weekday of October. Hope this month went well for all of you! From my end, all I got were 2 Rs which, while not unexpected, still stung.. sigh.

Complete radio silence on my remaining ~20 apps. Hoping November is more fruitful for us in terms of hearing.... Literally anything.

 

[gardensoflife]

Hello, mid-late Augusters. Just wanted to check in today on the last weekday of October. Hope this month went well for all of you! From my end, all I got were 2 Rs which, while not unexpected, still stung.. sigh.

Complete radio silence on my remaining ~20 apps. Hoping November is more fruitful for us in terms of hearing.... Literally anything.

Hey thanks for checking in! I am in a similar spot - received one additional II and 2 R’s. Radio silence otherwise but honestly I’m happy with what I have so far!!

 

[deleted965595]

Hello, mid-late Augusters. Just wanted to check in today on the last weekday of October. Hope this month went well for all of you! From my end, all I got were 2 Rs which, while not unexpected, still stung.. sigh.

Complete radio silence on my remaining ~20 apps. Hoping November is more fruitful for us in terms of hearing.... Literally anything.

End Aug completion. I've had 4 IIs so far, 1 in Sep, 3 in Oct. All of them felt kinda random - like, why would these 4 look at me and 35 others totally ignore the same me? Who knows. Grateful for the IIs so far. All it takes is ONE A, when it comes. If it comes. 🤞

Hoping we'll all have a great November!

 

[deleted965595]

Although…let's stay positive here: there's still 2 hours and 15 minutes left in October to hear back from schools on the East Coast. 5+ hours to hear back from the West Coast!

 

[nicesecrets]

Although…let's stay positive here: there's still 2 hours and 15 minutes left in October to hear back from schools on the East Coast. 5+ hours to hear back from the West Coast!

Haha, we should have a countdown!

Also, congratulations on the IIs!

 

[TheKingfish]

I was complete mid-August through early September! I received 1 II in September and 6 IIs in October. Honestly, it’s way more interviews than I expected to have at any point in the cycle and I’m feeling very blessed. I hope surprises come along for everyone else too!

 

[nicesecrets]

I was complete mid-August through early September! I received 1 II in September and 6 IIs in October. Honestly, it’s way more interviews than I expected to have at any point in the cycle and I’m feeling very blessed. I hope surprises come along for everyone else too!

Wow, congratulations on the 6 IIs! I hope November brings even better news for you

 

[nicesecrets]

Although…let's stay positive here: there's still 2 hours and 15 minutes left in October to hear back from schools on the East Coast. 5+ hours to hear back from the West Coast!

I think we missed all the Oct times now, friend :'(

November, be nice to all of us

 

[M_C]

I was complete early-mid August, 2 II late September and 2 mid October!

I feel like there is plenty time for us August folks!! Wishing everyone best of luck

 

[deleted965595]

I was complete early-mid August, 2 II late September and 2 mid October!

I feel like there is plenty time for us August folks!! Wishing everyone best of luck

What does IA mean in your signature? Is that the # of interviews you attended so far?

 

[yokiguz]

Not good. 0IIs

 

[autolifefire]

2Rs and 2 pre II holds. Radio silence from other 20 schools. I have decent stats but now I'm wondering if I'm getting screwed cuz I'm from CA or if there's something wrong with my app

 

[MyOdyssey]

2Rs and 2 pre II holds. Radio silence from other 20 schools. I have decent stats but now I'm wondering if I'm getting screwed cuz I'm from CA or if there's something wrong with my app

There are certain out of state medical schools that are open to accepting CA applicants. Did you apply to them?

 

[autolifefire]

There are certain out of state medical schools that are open to accepting CA applicants. Did you apply to them?

Which ones? I thought I applied to most CA friendly schools that were within my range. I could post my school list if that's better

 

[MyOdyssey]

Which ones? I thought I applied to most CA friendly schools that were within my range. I could post my school list if that's better

Posting in the WAMC sub board would be best. Faha, Goro and others provide great school list advice there.

 

[YeeOldeMillenial]

Squeaked in my first II on the last Friday in October! Still waiting to hear anything from the remaining 9 schools I applied to but have received 3 expected R’s so far. Looking forward to November surprises now. Hang in there, those committees are just now getting to many of our apps in the pile. : )

 

[DoctorFate]

Which ones? I thought I applied to most CA friendly schools that were within my range. I could post my school list if that's better

Is the CA effect similar to the TX effect where schools know you will almost always stay in state if given the option because if low tuition? I've always wondered why this bias exists.

 

[nicesecrets]

Good luck with November, everyone! Manifesting IIs for everyone still waiting!

 

[deleted965595]

November will be the month for all of us. Because obviously, fortune cookies never lie!

 

[nicesecrets]

2Rs and 2 pre II holds. Radio silence from other 20 schools. I have decent stats but now I'm wondering if I'm getting screwed cuz I'm from CA or if there's something wrong with my app

Not from Ca, but I too only got 2Rs whole of Oct, with good stats. All I tell myself is this process is crazy unpredictable and our time will come with the large number of schools we are yet to hear from. Wishing you all the success this month, friend!

 

[nicesecrets]

Squeaked in my first II on the last Friday in October! Still waiting to hear anything from the remaining 10 schools I applied to but have received 3 expected R’s so far. Looking forward to November surprises now. Hang in there, those committees are just now getting to many of our apps in the pile. : )

Here's the good news we all need! Congratulations for the October win!

 

[NegativeMargin]

Applied a little later at 9/10-9/15 to MD and 11/10-11/15 DO.

26 schools total. 2 II's, 3 R's so far. Nothing from the rest.

 

[KnightDoc]

Is the CA effect similar to the TX effect where schools know you will almost always stay in state if given the option because if low tuition? I've always wondered why this bias exists.

Absolutely not. What you are describing is unique to TX.

CA applicants actually do significantly above average as OOS applicants. Their problem is that they also do significantly below average as IS applicants, because they don't receive the same IS preference applicants from just about all other states receive. This is because 2 of their schools are T5 and another 3 are T30, and there are no state mandated set asides for IS applicants, like some other states have.

There is no specific anti-CA bias. It's just that they don't receive a meaningful IS preference, and then have to deal with the same OOS bias everyone else does. And, there are a ton of them. And, a lot of them also have to deal with being ORM.

 

[DoctorFate]

Absolutely not. What you are describing is unique to TX.

CA applicants actually do significantly above average as OOS applicants. Their problem is that they also do significantly below average as IS applicants, because they don't receive the same IS preference applicants from just about all other states receive. This is because 2 of their schools are T5 and another 3 are T30, and there are no state mandated set asides for IS applicants, like some other states have.

There is no specific anti-CA bias. It's just that they don't receive a meaningful IS preference, and then have to deal with the same OOS bias everyone else does. And, there are a ton of them. And, a lot of them also have to deal with being ORM.

While they are high ranked, cali schools seem to have a pretty strong IS bias. Have to check msar data, but I'm pretty sure the only uc schools with any substantial level of OOS acceptance are ucsf and ucla. In the others, I think over 75% of the class is IS.

 

[KnightDoc]

While they are high ranked, cali schools seem to have a pretty strong IS bias. Have to check msar data, but I'm pretty sure the only uc schools with any substantial level of OOS acceptance are ucsf and ucla. In the others, I think over 75% of the class is IS.

Excellent point, but you need to throw Stanford in there as well. Even though it's not a UC school, you have to throw it into the mix, because most private schools across the country also have significant IS preferences, which is what ultimately works against CA applicants, all over the country.

At the end of the day, there just aren't enough CA seats, and the IS preference isn't strong enough, to make a meaningful dent in CA's matriculation numbers. CA has an IS matriculation rate of 14.9% compared to a national average of 21.9%. This kills their applicants, because even an above average 19.6% OOS matriculation rate does not save them from having a below average 34.5% overall matriculation rate.

Again, totally different dynamic than what happens with TX applicants, but the end result is that both states are very large, and have below average success placing their applicants in US MD programs.

 

[DoctorFate]

Excellent point, but you need to throw Stanford in there as well. Even though it's not a UC school, you have to throw it into the mix, because most private schools across the country also have significant IS preferences, which is what ultimately works against CA applicants, all over the country.

At the end of the day, there just aren't enough CA seats, and the IS preference isn't strong enough, to make a meaningful dent in CA's matriculation numbers. CA has an IS matriculation rate of 14.9% compared to a national average of 21.9%. This kills their applicants, because even an above average 19.6% OOS matriculation rate does not save them from having a below average 34.5% overall matriculation rate.

Again, totally different dynamic than what happens with TX applicants, but the end result is that both states are very large, and have below average success placing their applicants in US MD programs.

Oh, good point. I was looking at it from a school preference perspective rather than the ratio of CA applicants to CA matriculants in-state. Why does having Stanford work against CA applicants, if their IS preference (though less prevalent) leads them to favor CA applicants? Do you mean because it's highly ranked, so most CA applicants don't have a high odds of getting in anyway?

 

[KnightDoc]

Oh, good point. I was looking at it from a school preference perspective rather than the ratio of CA applicants to CA matriculants in-state. Why does having Stanford work against CA applicants, if their IS preference (though less prevalent) leads them to favor CA applicants? Do you mean because it's highly ranked, so most CA applicants don't have a high odds of getting in anyway?

Yes. This is all about CA applicants being at a disadvantage. Other states don't discriminate against them any more than applicants from any other state (in fact, they do better than typical OOS applicants), and their stats are above average too, so what is the problem?

The answer is that they are from the largest state, that state has way more applicants than available seats, and they don't receive a huge IS preference from enough of their schools, including Stanford, to cause their IS matriculation rate to even approach the national average. This puts them at a disadvantage to applicants coming from 39 of the other 49 states when it comes to the portion of their applicants that enroll in a MD program.

 

[voxveritatisetlucis]

Yes there are certain states from which it’s terrible to be from for MD admissions including

-CA
-NH
-ME
-MA
-RI
-CT
-DC

There are other states where it is very good to be from including

-IA
-MN
-FL
-TX
-VT
-OH
-IL
-WA
-SC
-NC

States like NY are probably neutral. While there are a lot of state schools, it is probably balanced by a competitive applicant pool and or not significant IS preference

 

[deleted965595]

With all due respect, can I just suggest that we keep the discussion on this thread more or less connected to the title of the thread? There is so much pedantic hairsplitting on academic fine points on many other threads on SDN where these discussions can be had -- enough in fact for it to be off putting for a lot of readers. Some of them have been off putting enough to have been made parodies of on other social media platforms. I think we need to be able to take a hint.

FWIW, I vote for keeping this thread about mid-late august submitters comparing notes on where they are with their applications and commiserating/celebrating together as needed! Like it says in the title.

Thank you for coming to my TED talk!

 

[RI-premeder]

Yes there are certain states from which it’s terrible to be from for MD admissions including

-CA
-NH
-ME
-MA
-RI
-CT
-DC

Why do you put RI in this list? Is it because they have no state medical school? What about Brown providing a little bit of support to locals (assuming they have the stats)? According to MSAR, Brown interviewed 20 out of 71 IS applicants and matriculated 15. That is 28% and 75% respectively. Also, not sure if neighboring states like CT, MA and VT provide any "relief" to RI applicants?

 

[voxveritatisetlucis]

Why do you put RI in this list? Is it because they have no state medical school? What about Brown providing a little bit of support to locals (assuming they have the stats)? According to MSAR, Brown interviewed 20 out of 71 IS applicants and matriculated 15. That is 28% and 75% respectively. Also, not sure if neighboring states like CT, MA and VT provide any "relief" to RI applicants?

I think that it’s more likely that those applicants went to brown and reclassify as RI residents (off campus living or something). It’s well known that they favor Brown undergrads but don’t know if they favor RI residents in general.

If it is in fact latter, then I might reconsider it a “neutral” state

 

[nicesecrets]

With all due respect, can I just suggest that we keep the discussion on this thread more or less connected to the title of the thread? There is so much pedantic hairsplitting on academic fine points on many other threads on SDN where these discussions can be had -- enough in fact for it to be off putting for a lot of readers. Some of them have been off putting enough to have been made parodies of on other social media platforms. I think we need to be able to take a hint.

FWIW, I vote for keeping this thread about mid-late august submitters comparing notes on where they are with their applications and commiserating/celebrating together as needed! Like it says in the title.

Thank you for coming to my TED talk!

I'm here for your TED talk, olivegreeneyes. Things can be anxiety inducing as it is, without yet another analysis on state bias or the pros and cons of being from Ca.

Let us talk about IIs and then the As!

 

[nicesecrets]

I'm here for your TED talk, olivegreeneyes. Things can be anxiety inducing as it is, without yet another analysis on state bias or the pros and cons of being from Ca.

Let us talk about IIs and then the As!

For me, November has shown some promise with 1 II

 

[deleted965595]

For me, November has shown some promise with 1 II

Off to a great start!! Congrats!

 

[gardensoflife]

For me, November has shown some promise with 1 II

Likewise complete late august and I got one II September, two II october, and so far 1 November. I think there will be many more for us

 

[TheKingfish]

Off to a great start!! Congrats!

Same here! One II in November from one of my top choices!!!

 

[deleted965595]

Likewise complete late august and I got one II September, two II october, and so far 1 November. I think there will be many more for us

Excellent! I think if we think reasonably, it's only logical that most of our responses would arrive in Nov-Dec. But of course that didn't stop us from freaking out all of September and October!