@chocolatina1001 - If invited for an interview go ahead and schedule it. Most alumni interview carry less/ no weight compared to UG Admissions representative interviews. This info was conveyed by Rice and ?UofPennsylvania alumni who interviewed my kids. So, don’t stress out too much about an alumni interview. However, go prepared to ask the interviewer Qs about the school/ specific program & lifestyle.
Alumni interview definitely carries some to a lot weight for MIT, and Dartmouth. But, for the rest use this as an opportunity to practice dressing, getting comfortable, developing good communication and interpersonal skills so that you will be better prepared for a more stringent Ivy or BS/MD interview. Most Ivy UG interviews will be held in big cities from Jan-Mar and you will be hopping in and out every weekend. So, use these alumni interviews as practice platforms and don’t stress yourself out. By mid-Feb you will become a pro interviewee.
@narkor thank you so much! that really helps!
@GoldenRock is right, U of Rochester admission rep interviews are difficult to schedule. This is because UofR is the only school that held interviews on weekdays for my D. UofR has reps from your own state/ region who will be very helpful in acting as a liaison to explain not just Qs about the school but also the financial aid/ weather/ adaptability etc. during the interview.
Rip Guys. I didn’t know that REMS Program had a 500 word essay due today as well and I’m trying to wing it rn. Wish me luck…
@srk2017 RPI/AMC does their process in two batches. Some are offered supplemental applications as early as December and called for interviews within a few weeks of that and of those in that first batch decisions were released last cycle on February 29th. The decisions are “Accepted”, “Rejected” or “Still Under Consideration”. Then the second batch of supplementals and interviews go out from the that point till the about April 2nd. Then the final decisions for that batch AND the applicants from the first batch who were “Still Under Consideration” get released, last cycle they were released on April 5th. They will mention this in the interview if you are in the first batch…very few get “Accepted” in the first batch, some get “Rejected” but a majority get put in “Still Under Consideration” category. In last years cycle I would say around 80 were granted interviews from January to April, I am not sure how many were given acceptance (though they say it is about 20 when they give you the stats sheet for previous years at the interview) but I can tell you for a fact there was 13 who enrolled in the program at the start of this fall semester.
For anyone who may be interested in the dates/ deadlines of RPI and Union B.S., M.D. programs. My D had applied to both RPI/ AMC and Union/AMC programs last year. She turned in Union supplement just 2 minutes before the deadline due to conflicting emotions about applying to 2 programs, although her resume was strong in research and leadership. Well, eventually she did submit both supplements and was accepted to both programs. This was despite the fact that she withdrew from Union/ LIM after she had decided to accept a position at another school (based on her academic, personal and financial needs). D thought she would do justice by freeing up a spot for other anxiously waiting students. But, it didn’t help because she still received a final acceptance from Union/ LIM on April 5th.
We have the dates complied of her journey through RPI/ AMC and Union/ AMC. Look through if any of you need some help to ease off your stress during your waiting period:
Dates and confirmation for RPI/ Physician Scientist program
- RPI application was submitted and considered complete- Oct 30th, 2015
- Invitation to complete supplemental application received from AMC- Nov 30th, 2015
- Interview invite- Jan 4th, 2016 (she couldn’t schedule the interview date because of technical/website issues and the person in-charge was not available till Jan 14th)
- Interview date- Feb 19th, 2016 (confirmation email from person in-charge after her holiday- Jan 14)
- RPI/ AMC Physician Scientist Program Acceptance email- Feb 29th, 2016 (9.06 am)
Dates and confirmation for Union/ LIM program
- Union application was submitted on- Oct 30th, 2015 (not sure about score receipt date)
- Invitation to complete supplemental application received from AMC- Dec 10th, 2015
- Interview invite- Jan 4th, 2016
- Interview date- Feb 19th, 2016 (date confirmation email Jan 15th)
- Union/ LIM email- “Still under consideration” Feb 29th, 2016
- Union/ AMC Leadership in Medicine Program Acceptance email- April 5th, 2016 (9.56 am)
Did anyone receive the UIC Honors/GPPA interview invitation?
As I mentioned before, note 1 important point.
If a student has applied to BOTH RPI and Union for a BS/MD programs, then AMC will invite for an interview ONLY after they know the decision from both RPI and Union (one way or other). Also to get the supplemental app initiation will defer considerably. Because of these points, some students may get quick responses and for some it may take a very long time and mean time both students and parents get worried. So be patient. Let me drive the point with the example @narkor has provided above.
In @narkor D case since her app is so strong (she got admitted in both programs) both RPI and Union forwarded and AMC asked to submit supplemental app by 11/30 & 12/10 and got interview invitation by 1/4.
In my D case, though she was asked to submit supplement app by AMC for Union on 12/5, there is no further word from any one (RPI, Union and AMC) where as meantime folks were getting not only invite to submit supplement from RPI but even interview dates. Apparently, AMC was told that RPI has plans to forward my D app to AMC but in the bottom of the list and hence AMC holding of their decision on Union/AMC because the interview is the same day for RPI/union candidates if they are selected. So finally RPI/AMC asked my D to apply on 1/12 and submitted by 1/22 and got rejection for both RPI and Union by 2/2.
So the gist is to get supplemental for RPI/AMC may take all the way from 11/30 (@narkor D) to 1/12 (my D) (44 days is eternal when most of the other schools gives invite/rejection on the same day). Meantime because of RPI took more time, the Union decision took its own time (submitted on 12/15 and only 2/2 got the rejection - 48 days).
If you have applied only to RPI or Union you will get to know the results much faster. Albany/AMC is treated separately and has no impact to what I am trying to say here.
@sampil I applied Sunday and I received my undergraduate acceptance yesterday. My friend who applied a while back said she got the Honors College interview notification after a couple weeks.
@GoldenRock Actually in our case my kid only applied to RPI/AMC and did not apply to Union/AMC and from supplement invite in early Dec to final acceptance in April it took almost 5 months to get a result.
My DS got a Union/AMC email today. Accepted to Union and application will be forwarded to AMC. The aid given is $15/year. I am not sure its for each of the 4 years or only for the first year. @narkor, @Empire007, how was your aid package from Union and/or RPI?
@bpc2017 Was a Rensselaer Medalist so that is $25,000/year for the 3 years at RPI only. That award DOES NOT carry thru to AMC for the remaining 4 years.
@bpc2017 Union highest merit award is Presidential and it is only $20k/year for 4 years. It is not that much.
RPI also gives some merit aid (even if you are not Rensselaer Medalist) for 3 years. I forgot what my D got. It is not big.
In general the merit aid is only for the UG. If at all, later you can apply for any merit aid for the MD. Very rarely saw where the UG award upfront gives aid for masters. The only college I know is OU which gives 5 years of free tuition as long as you do your masters in OU for NMS. Not sure, UAB NMS award covers beyond UG.
In my post #587, I had a typo, what I meant is "Sienna/AMC’ (and not Albany/AMC ) in the last line.
Thank you @Empire007, @GoldenRock. I understand we do not get merit for MD part but am hoping for merit aid for BS part. My DS’s letter says Presidential Scholarship for Union but it $15k/year only. Wonder if they reduced it to $15k from $20k
@bpc2017 I guess both @GoldenRock and @Empire007 answered your Q while I was awaiting my D’s response. Apparently, my D got the Union Presidential Scholarship ($20K per year for 4 years) and $25K/ year for 3 years from RPI.
@bpc2017 also forgot to mention- D also mentioned that Union scholarship shows up on the portal when you log in and RPI sent snail mail saying that the scholarship will be applied to the tuition with an honor celebration in fall of freshman year.
Does RPI give scholarships worth more than $25K?
@srk2017 meritwise I don’t believe there is anything higher than $25K. There maybe more available in the way of need based grants but I don’t know that for sure.
@empire007 - Thank you. We don’t qualify for need based. DS is a Rensselaer medal winner.