Black shoes are boring. Last year the sales person at Mens Wearhouse recommended burgundy shoes ( and thus a matching burgundy belt) for my S. They looked sharp with both his charcoal suit and blue suit for interviewing. Bought one white shirt and one blue shirt to mix and match with two business-like ties. It worked out well!
I know that everyone says that where you go to your undergrad doesn’t matter and you can get into any med school from any school. But looking at that UMich interview invite list makes me wonder. The “worst” school on that list is UMich.
Black shoes may be boring, but I find them more versatile than burgundy. DS has need of a tux on occasion, and can wear the black with everything. Of course, if you have the money for two pairs of shoes, burgundy is nice.
Black or Cordovan shoes. Cordovan is great for navy or gray pants.
Congrats to all those with II’s and other good news.
Got a II from one of our state schools. He’s especially excited and nervous about this one. The interview dates are starting on Tuesday. He didn’t feel ready and didn’t want it to be the first school he interviews at. So scheduled it 2 weeks later. Hope that’s ok. I know everyone says grab the first date possible. But hopefully few weeks won’t make a difference.
Grabbing a II slot a couple weeks later is definitely ok! It is still very early in the cycle and having another interview under his belt before he goes to this one is smart. D definitely felt more confident as they went along.
Congratulations to all applicants and parents!
It is interesting to see how the interviews work. One school gave D a take it or leave it date with no chance of rescheduling, another 3 separate dates.
That is the same for the state school. DS will only get one choice for the state school interview. If you don’t accept it , they tend to move your interview date much later in the season. The other school gave plenty of dates.
If you haven’t discovered it yet, on SDN, there is a section where students give feedback post-interview for each school. There is years worth of info, and lot of examples of questions asked. I printed these off (since my D didn’t want to look at the site!), and she and I went out to dinner and I asked her the questions from each school before she went to the interviews. We had some good laughs and she got a chance to think through answers to a variety of questions. Two of the three interviews ended up being much lower key than some of the questions indicated, but it helped her confidence. On SDN go to the pre-med allopathic forum, click on “2015-2016 Applicant Sticky (PS, AMCAS, Secondaries, Interviews, etc)” then click on “interview feedback” and find your schools.
I will admit to pulling about 200 questions for all the schools on DS list. His gf and I have been working them into conversations and grilling him all summer. 
Well, the first rejection came last night. The joke on SDN is to fear 1:31 CST, because that is when Mayo sends out their rejections. We were up last night and we heard his phone buzz…so his “dream school” will have to wait until residency.
sorry to hear that. Was the rejection for a secondary or a II?
Before or after LOR request at Mayo?
BTW, by the time your DS reaches the point where he’s considering residencies, he may feel complete different about Mayo. (Full disclosure: D1 had a residency interview at Mayo, wasn’t especially impressed by the program in her specialty and ranked Mayo in the bottom half of her list.)
@texaspg IIRC, Mayo sends everyone who applies there a secondary, but only requests LORs from those under serious consideration for an II.
and the waiting is the hardest part… BUT, my DD was officially published today in a Neurology journal. So, at least there’s a little something : )
Congrats to your D! The endless back-and-forth of niggling revisions is what the kiddos found so endless frustrating. They expected publishing an article to be straight-forward and simple once it’s accepted, and unfortunately it just isn’t.
D didn’t apply but marked all LORs to be sent from AMCAS to all schools. Didn’t realize there was a phase in between for LORs where they say No. I guess the schools that say Slient NO are preferable this early in the game.
He was not asked for LORs at Mayo. In truth, it is probably a good thing because he can now focus on all the other schools on his list. He has been really good about not falling in love with any other programs, but Mayo has been the dream since he was a teenager. I have no doubt that he will have plenty more.
Guess it’s time to check in with you all. DS’s school finally uploaded the committee packet. He’s worried that he is now late to the dance. Anyone have insight on this? All secondaries have been complete. He is getting confirmation from schools that he is now complete. No interviews, but we don’t expect any for awhile, as we are sure his application is in a big pile somewhere. This is an excellent exercise in patience!
MizzBee, son heard that Mayo really liked high GPAs, extensive community service and at least some research. Did your son have these? Just curious as to the validity of what he was told. Best of luck to your son. I’m sure he will end up with a great fit!
Now, back to waiting…
Thanks @WAY0UTWESTMOM ! She has LOVED the research, and will be continuing as the lead research assistant until Med school (IF SHE GETS IN- MUST NOT JINX). This makes 2 things she’s been published in, and it’s really exciting stuff… well, if you like neurology. She presented the research at an international conference in June and I think that may have helped build her confidence. Lots of Doctors asking her questions about her research, and she was able to answer most of their questions, LOL. I really just want that 1st interview request for her! I hate the waiting, even though I know it’s still early. When I get on here, I feel like my kid is the only one who doesn’t have an interview already!