<p>Do any of you guys know anything about what this guy posted on here
Cornell</a> pre-meds: Be forewarned - Student Doctor Network Forums</p>
<p>and its impact i guess if its true?</p>
<p>Sounds like the OP in that thread is a hyper-sensitive and stereotypically obsessive pre-med.</p>
<p>Cornell sends more students to medical school than any other school in the nation. Do you really think there is a problem with Cornell's practices?</p>
<p>As a student who has gone through HCEC, I call BS.</p>
<p>Let's review:</p>
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You are at a competitive disadvantage at rolling admission schools and should be aware of it.
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<p>That wouldn't explain how most of the med schools I got into were rolling schools...</p>
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If you do not already know how the system works, I'll briefly summarize. In the spring prior to the summer/fall you'll be filling out applications (typically your Junior year) you interview with the Health Careers Evaluation Committee (the HCEC). They compile your letters of recommendation and write a committee letter that is forwarded to all medical schools of your choosing. They, however, do not forward these letters until a date in late August- more than two months after the AMCAS application can be submitted and much later than when many secondary applications can be submitted. This delays the completion of your application at many schools until late August/Early September.
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<p>This is mostly true minus the part about you being at a disadvantage because your application is complete in August/early September.</p>
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The reason I'm writing this is because I am a current applicant and have suffered the consequences of this policy. At a specific rolling admissions school to which I applied, my late August completion date removed me from consideration for anything but the waitlist. This school's system is to extend interviews to students based on completion date, regardless of individual merits. I have discussed this with their director of admissions and found this to be the case. Hence, no Cornell students could receive interviews for anything better than waitlist spots. The late completion date, I believe, has also resulted in late interviews at other rolling admissions programs.
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<p>Newsflash: you weren't granted an interview or were offered a late interview because THE SCHOOL DIDN'T WANT YOU THAT MUCH. When I applied to medical school, WashU Med was one of the first schools that my application was complete (mid-August) and yet I was not offered an interview until late February (and yes by then I was mostly interviewing for a waitlist position). But, that had nothing to do with the fact my application was complete in mid-August. It had to do with the fact that they interviewed all of the applicants who were stronger than me first and that's why I was offered an interview 6 months after my application was complete. As long as your application is complete by end of August or early September (or even late September), there are so many interview invitations left that you'll be in no disadvantage whatsoever.</p>
<p>My HCEC letter was sent August 16th (just like everyone else) and yet I received:
1 interview in June (I was offered an interview by a Top 10 med school w/o my application even being complete because Cornell was on their top-secret list of "good" schools to which they offer automatic interviews)</p>
<p>2 interviews in August</p>
<p>2 interviews in September</p>
<p>3 interviews in October</p>
<p>2 interviews in November </p>
<p>1 interview in December</p>
<p>By January, halfway through the application cycle, I had already done 10 interviews and had 4 acceptances.</p>
<p>He also failed to mention the biggest advantage of being at a school that writes the committee letter: IT LETS YOU BYPASS THE INDIVIDUAL LOR REQUIREMENTS AT DIFFERENT MED SCHOOLS. Various med schools have various onerous LOR requirements: 1 science/1 non-science, 2 instructor LOR, 2 science/1 non-science, 3 science LOR's, whatever. Any med school will accept the HCEC LOR in lieu of those requirements. This meant that I didn't need to assemble a hoard of LOR's to satisfy the LOR requirements of 20 different schools. All I needed was 1 letter: the HCEC letter. In fact, some med schools explicitly say that they prefer the composite committee letter rather than 3 individual professor LOR's.</p>
<p>hmm I see the advantage to the HCEC rec. but do you guys think sending it out in august might be a disadvantage to those who are average? like 30-32 mcat and 3.5 gpa? just wondering cause i remember your GPA and MCAT to be very high. i know the difference of a few months in rolling in the early stages doesn't even compare to good MCAT and high GPA but perhaps it matters to those who are at the borderline? The guy seems to be addressing the sending out date, instead of the committee itself. </p>
<p>about cornell sending out loads of students into med school, I think that got more to do with Cornell's size since it's the biggest ivy. Size + prestigious university + lots of pre meds = loads of doctors?</p>
<p>The interview season at most med schools run from September through February/March. A lot of med schools (like the UC's, WashU, and most of the Ivy League med schools) don't give out a single interview invitation until the end of September. If med schools schools are sending interview invitations at such a high rate that they have run out of interviews by the time October rolls around, who the heck are these people that they are interviewing in November, December, January, February, and March?!</p>
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do you guys think sending it out in august might be a disadvantage to those who are average? like 30-32 mcat and 3.5 gpa? just wondering cause i remember your GPA and MCAT to be very high. i know the difference of a few months in rolling in the early stages doesn't even compare to good MCAT and high GPA but perhaps it matters to those who are at the borderline?
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<p>Like I said, if your application is complete in late August or early September, there are so many interview dates left (90-100% of the interview dates have yet to take place), you will be at no disadvantage at rolling schools. It has nothing to do with the quality of your application. My application was good but I also applied to more top schools (in fact, over half of my interviews were at Top 20 med schools). If you have a 3.5/32, you just need to adjust your schools accordingly.</p>
<p>To repeat: Late August or any time in September = no disadvantage
None. Zip. Zilch. Nada.</p>
<p>The dude didn't get an interview at ONE school and is ***** and whining about the HCEC. The interview rates at most med schools range from 10%-20%. You simply won't receive an interview at most of the schools you apply to, regardless of how early you apply or how great your app is. I never received an interview from Drexel or Boston University or UC Irvine. Who knows why?</p>
<p>This comes down to the fact that most premeds are too arrogant. ~If you didn't get an interview, it MUST be because you were overqualified or because the premed committee screwed up your letter.~ Puhhleeze</p>
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like 30-32 mcat and 3.5 gpa?
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<p>You can read the tables just as well as I can. Last year 70 percent of students with those stats were accepted.</p>
<p>There's really no reason to stress out about it. You can't control it. But you can control your attitude and outlook.</p>
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Size + prestigious university + lots of pre meds = loads of doctors?
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<p>Right, but there are other schools with just as many pre-meds -- UVa, Wisconsin, Berkeley, B.U. -- that don't do as well. The point is that there's nothing wrong with Cornell's practices. The problem is all in that kids attitude. I certainly wouldn't want to be his patient, and somehow I suspect that the med schools can recognize this fact.</p>
<p>LOL, alright, i guess you guys are right. =)</p>
<p>“Last year 70 percent of students with those stats were accepted.”</p>
<p>While I’m sure that is the published stat, it is somewhat misleading because it’s not giving the whole picture. Included in the accepted rates are students who took a year or two (or more) off and might have either published research and/or a high GPA from a postbac program. Often what they accomplished during their “gap” year(s) compensates for the undergrad GPA. I’m pretty sure that only first time applicants are included in the rate, but those who took gap time & didn’t apply are also included.</p>
<p>Bottom line: Don’t pay too much attention to published rates, just try your best & hopefully it will work out. Just like most statistics, they’re often misleading & self serving.</p>