<p>I scheduled my el paso interview for the earliest possible day which was the 25th. </p>
<p>This is going to be embarrassing but I still have 2 secondaries left!!! I am complete at my 33 other schools, but these 2 secondaries are long!!! I will get those done, finish up my update letters and then go back to studying for classes. Once I am complete at all of my OOS schools, I will start sending them update letters. I got put on hold for George Washington…so might as well send them an update letter. </p>
<p>BTW Kristin, if you don’t mind me asking when was the last date that you submitted all of your secondaries?</p>
<p>i keep seeing references to update letters (we havent started the process yet) but wondering if this is something that the schools will ask for, or is this something the applicant does to show interest…what is included in update letters?</p>
<p>Update letters are really to demonstrate a continuing interest in a school that either hasn’t interviewed you or hasn’t accepted/rejected you post-interview.</p>
<p>Update letters contain any new info you think might tip the committee in your favor-- new good semester grades, an award, a publication, an additional LOR…</p>
<p>I’ve heard that sometimes applicants will use an update letter to declare School X is their clear first choice and if offered admission, they will attend no matter what. I’m not sure how schools look on this tactic, though.</p>
<p>Hmmm I’m going to say I had all but Duke done by mid-September, because Duke doesn’t do rolling admissions. I submitted Duke the Friday before it was due (Monday morning) and picked up an interview within 24h–go figure. </p>
<p>My committee interview was toward the end of August (policy at my school, don’t get me started), so I figured being complete around the same time my letters got in was sufficient. </p>
<p>And considering you have 33 complete, I don’t think the last 2 will matter. Heck, unless those schools were my top choices (and if they were, I would’ve submitted them earlier on), I’d stop doing them altogether and put the $200 earmarked for them toward a sweet new pair of headphones (can you tell my earbuds suck?!).</p>
<p>I hear you. Son’s CI was the first week in September, then it took them another 2 weeks to submit the Committee Letter to AMCAS. </p>
<p>But, the good news is, AMCAS notified him a couple of days ago that the CL was rec’d, and then today son got his first interview invite. (hopefully, there will be more to come!)</p>
<p>The whole Committee Interview date was a “mulligan” mentioned in the Do-Over thread. Had no idea how backed up the school can get with their CIs. The Do-Over would be get the LORs completed in the late winter, and get early dibs on the CI dates. </p>
<p>That said, S did say that nearly every SOM that he applied to mentioned the importance of a Committee Letter. Don’t know if that’s just standard BS, or what.</p>
<p>^^ Thanks for mentioning the importance of the committee letter. I’ll pass the info onto to D2.</p>
<p>D2 is undecided about whether she plans to use one. Because it means taking additional days off from work-- leave days she needs to save for interview season–and flying back to her undergrad to do an committee interview. (They don’t do Skype interviews.) So the CL will cost her time AND money.</p>
<p>But I guess that expense is the just the first of many she’ll have when she app season arrives…</p>
<p>On the plus side, she’ll have her MCAT and most of her letters completed early (a couple are already written) so maybe she’ll get one of the early committee slots.</p>
<p>^I’m under the impression that if your school has committee interviews/letters and you don’t get one, then it probably sends a red flag. Why doesn’t this applicant have a committee letter? Is there something we should know about her? </p>
<p>And, well, you should know by now that my stance is always to minimize the potential dings against your application–there’s always something they can find not to like, might as well not help them!!</p>
<p>It’s a few days and a couple hundred bucks. Sick to think it’s just a drop in the bucket in terms of med school, but at the end of the day, that’s the case.</p>
<p>I personally would want a much stronger reason for forgoing the committee interview; they refuse to interview until October or you graduated ten years ago and the committee has no idea who you are would be OK reasons in my book.</p>
<p>But, that’s just me. Obviously you guys need to figure out what’s best for you!</p>
<p>congrats mom2collegekids, the first one is the most special IMO!!!</p>
<p>got rejected from UPitt and USC today :(</p>
<p>expecting a rejection from Mayo in a couple of weeks, I give it 2.5 weeks for Mayo to reject me. Mayo has few interview seats left this late in the game because they stop interviewing in December. </p>
<p>Got put on hold for Wake and George Washington. I don’t remember if I updated you guys with this. I will send them some update letters.</p>
<p>Texas schools that I haven’t gotten interviews from and that are in my LizzyM range have been really quiet this week.</p>
<p>Going to hang out with my friends this weekend and hopefully they can pull me out of this slump. Trying to not get too depressed. If I get a prematch from a Texas school on Nov 15th I will be a happy man, but I doubt I will. :(</p>
<p>^^ UPitt and USC rejected me post-secondary. I couldn’t even get an interview there. USC KECK, not University of South Carolina. lol. I have friends from South Carolina who keep referring to University of South Carolina as USC hahaha I always tell them that no one else in the country would get that unless they are from south carolina. lol</p>
<p>I didn’t apply to University of South Carolina because they take very few OOS.</p>
<p>On hold means that I am not rejected nor I am put on the waitlist. They reviewed my application and will keep reconsidering it for an interview until the end of the cycle. So they might still pull my application for an interview, but they already reviewed it once and decided not to interview me right away.</p>
<p>Kristen thanks, if you don’t mind me asking when were you complete for Mayo and when did they notify you about an interview. I think you are the poster on here who told me you had an II from Mayo.</p>
<p>oh goodness. given their lack of secondary i guess i was complete in july; they requested my letters…around now? i’d guess interview invite was in mid-late oct for a dec interview. good luck!</p>
<p>On hold means that I am not rejected nor I am put on the waitlist. They reviewed my application and will keep reconsidering it for an interview until the end of the cycle. So they might still pull my application for an interview, but they already reviewed it once and decided not to interview me right away.</p>
<p>Ahh…never heard about that. so, you got an email stating that your app is on hold? Is that how you were notified?</p>
<p>Yes…mostly only in the southeast do they call USouthCarolina… USC. As a southern Calif native who grew up as a Trojan fan, I find it funny when some call South Carolina…USC. </p>
<p>Applying to Calif SOMs, even the privates, seems like such a super-reach. The state just has too too too many med school applicants. </p>
(hopefully, there will be more to come!)</p>
Trying to not get too depressed. If I get a prematch from a Texas school on Nov 15th I will be a happy man, but I doubt I will. :(</p>