Here's the deal, my app is complete, but the counselor at meio asked for a letter of rec from a current science prof since one of my original recommenders (a former med prof that i've worked with and studied under) is retired and didn't use letterhead. so i had both my current science profs issue letters of rec.

so i ask the counselor at meio if it's too late for consideration for may. she said if they receive the rec this wk then it will probably be ok. well, i am a little annoyed that they waited until two weeks ago to tell me this and also, it was during a phone call i made, not vice versa.

don't get me wrong, i believe in taking initiative and being proactive and keeping up with the apps and all that, but it would be nice if just once in a blue moon meio would send me something to indicate that they are on top of my app instead of having it feel like i am just being told something to be placated and leave them alone. i applied to sgu and ross also, and have had really great experiences and interaction in general with their offices and staff. it's quite a contrast.

so, does anyone know if they are still taking people for may. secondly, am i correct to infer that if they weren't interested in my app, they would just reject me and not insist on a rec from a current prof. third, is it true that you have to wait a year to reapply if rejected? fourth, what is the general timeline once the app is complete. mine has been for months, and this one rec is the only thing holding it up and it just seems odd to me that at the last minute they would ask for a new one knowing the class i applied for is fast approaching.

i would pose these questions to the counselor handling my file, but truth be told, she just does not communicate well. i truly don't mean ill by that, it's a fact and really disheartening considering she's my only liasion to the school and for this kind of information.

Raj,

I don't want to rub it in but I'll say this for the benefit of others. I initially had many problems with MEIO and now that I've figured out how to work with them things seems to be going fine.

These are my recommendations, based on my mistakes. Others have varying opinions.

(1) Send things to MEIO using FedEx.

(2) After you expect that your application, LORs and Transcripts have been received, CALL MEIO and ask if they have everything they need. Often they won't and this is the right time to catch it.

(3) Find out who your admissions co-ordinator will be. Be nice to them.

(4) Everytime you send something to them, send it directly to their attention. Once you expect they've received it, email them and ask politely.

Stay on top of things, it is common for things to be missing and they often will call you late into the game. Don't wait for them, call them at every step.

I'm only saying this because I had lot's of frustrating problems. I didn't follow my own advice and ended up really frustrated. Now, I stay on top of things. I call/email my advisor on a regular basis and they have been very nice and helpful. I think being pleasant with them despite your frustrations will help.

I was so frustrated, I almost decided not to go to AUC. SnowRat talked me into giving MEIO another try, I did and I'm glad.

As far as your current situation, I would say go for it! There is probably still room, I remember calling MEIO at the end of December and they still had room for January.

As far as being interested in your application, I would encourage you to continue sending things in. I know that they don't look at an application until it is complete. Don't worry, unless you have major problems you will get in.

Raj, I encourage you to continue your application, sometimes these things have a way of working out. I don't think it's too late for the school to accept you. Is it too late for you to come down? Are your things in order?

Best of luck to you!

WantMD :-)

Thank you for the informative and helpful reply. Could you elaborate on what you consider to be "major" problems? I have a fairly good idea of what would constitute major, but you are obviously well-versed in the admissions process with MEIO, so if you don't mind.......

If the only problem you have with MEIO is that they needed an "official letterhead" LOR so they asked for one, after they didn't get what they needed (it says on the website it must be on official letterhead)....then that is nothing compaired to the "major" problems people have had with MEIO....and from reading past posts off of here, meaning: never getting any transcripts, any LOR's, losing the application, etc....and lots of these thing have happened to the same people! I have said on here before, with regards to MEIO posts, that a lot of people blame MEIO for things that are their OWN fault! Yes, your professor was retired, but that does not exclude them from needing official letterhead...AUC's website says it right there, that all LOR's must be on official letterhead. How can you be anrgy at MEIO for something they blatantly told you was a requirement?

Going into this, it seemd like you knew or at least found out early on, that MEIO isn't known for keeping the applicant informed...so knowing this, put your energy into staying on top of them instead of wishing they worked differently. Sadly, you can't change how they handle things so you might as well do what you can to make sure your things are in order with them and if that means fed exing info and calling them all the time (both of which we did), isn't the possible reward worth it?

Hi Raj,

First off, I agree with wifeofDr2b, MEIO must have LOR on letterhead, period. I also had a letterhead issues but that is not MEIO's fault. It is a very standard thing to expect letterhead LOR's when applying to medical school.

I had two problems with MEIO.

(1) They lost things. This is especially embarassing when you have to ask a busy professor/physician for another LOR. They claimed that they never received it, but I'm sure they did since Ross and Saba received them, I'm sure the U.S.P.S. didn't decide to only lose MEIO's stuff :-)

(2) They waited for months before letting me know.

To me this was a very stressfull time and I overreacted to these problems.

My reason for recommending FedEx is to mitigate point 1 and my reasons for recommending staying on top of things and calling them when you expect they have received your info is to mitigate point 2. In my defense at the time, I did not know about MEIO's track record.

Try not to overreact as I did, I lost a lot of sleep over this. Rather just "play the game" with MEIO according to their rules and make the best use of the advice and everything should go well.

Lastly, for newbies who are about to apply. Make sure MEIO recieves your application *BEFORE* they receive your LOR's and Transcripts. This is easy to do by timing your requests appropriately. I *think* this reduces the probability of them losing a transcript or LOR. I seem to have noticed on this forum that "dangling" LORs and Transcripts seem to get lost more often & people who send everything in the logical order seem to have less problems.

Good Luck!

WantMD :-)

Considering most people's track record with MEIO when it comes to recieving application papers, would it be a good idea to do as much of the application online as possible?

or even then has anyone had the same problem of people who sent in everything in the mail

Applying online is relatively new and they didn't even it up and running a few months ago. Maybe it will make things easier and there will be less room for error, but only time will tell.

I applied online and have been mailing in all my material that was needed and I have to say that I have had no problems what so ever!! I get an email everytime they receive a needed paper and they also include in the email any missing documents still needed. So maybe whatever the past problem was is fixed.