If you need permission to deviate from the stated policies, be sure you know to whom you are speaking and mark the date and time. It is important to follow-up with an email confirming what you were told. If, for example, your application was late and you called to get an extension, you must be able to verify that a deadline extension was granted by someone in the admissions office. Another example might be that students will sometimes contact an admissions office to have a course evaluated or to determine whether or not they have successfully met one of the required prerequisite courses for admission. While most admissions offices keep a record of such requests and decisions, considering the amount of emails and the volume of mail received each day, things do get lost or misplaced, despite best efforts. It is important to keep a record of such exceptions and decisions, to keep track of which schools granted their approval and which did not. In case the issue should come up again, you will have documentation of the decision.
Additional Resources:
- Ten Do’s and Don’ts for Your Medical School Personal Statement.
- Five Fatal Flaws to Avoid, a free e-course.
- Write Your Way to Medical School, an ebook.
This is excerpted from 101 Tips on Getting Into Medical School by Jennifer C. Welch, who has served as the Director of Admissions at SUNY Upstate Medical School since 2001.
Read the full article: If You Call the Admissions Office, Always Ask With Whom You Are Speaking, Write Down His or Her Name, the Date of Your Call, and the Reason for Your Call