I'm curious what people have heard, since I've gotten conflicting advice. Do you think there is any value in contacting a program at this point, either to "check on the status of your application" or make up some other excuse to get them to review your application and maybe make an interview offer?My advisor's stance was this: if they didn't offer you an interview, calling to ask for one won't change much. Maybe they'll give you one, but the likelihood of their ranking you well is low considering you didn't make their first cut. It ends up being a waste of your time and money.Any thoughts? I'm just really anxious and a little disappointed that programs where I had considered myself very competitive aren't offering me interviews.Thanks!
Wish I had a good answer for you, but this isn't something I've really explored. I've definitely wanted to reach out to schools and let them know of my interest, but I can only imagine how many times they'd hear that from applicants if it was common practice. I guess at the end of the day the question is always, What's it going to hurt? If it's a reach and you weren't likely going to interview there, would annoying their secretary with an email really make that much of a negative difference? On the other hand, it might get you an interview that you weren't going to get just because you showed interest.You could try to get your advisor to contact a school on your behalf if you think they'd do that. I keep trying to tell myself it's still early and that you'll eventually hear from these programs..
As an extension, how about a "hey, I'll be in town, would really love to be at your program, take another look please!"?Takes some luck as interview dates are quite sporadic. And maybe we've graduated from this practice from med school interview days?