A unique rejection letter.

I received a very ... appalling letter from a particular medical school.  I thought about censoring the identity of the medical school and deleting parts of the letter, but then I decided against it because I thought it would take away from the legitimacy of the whole thing.  Below is the letter I received, word for word and straight out of my gmail, and my just-as-ridiculous response (that I would send if I weren't so reasonable and professional).

chmapp@chm.msu.edu	4:08 PM (19 hours ago)
to anusari

Dear CHM Alternate:

Thank you very much for your interest in the College of Human Medicine. A review of our alternate pool and projected number of alternates needed to fill our class shows the need to release a certain number of alternates so that they may pursue other opportunities. At this time, your status as an alternate has been revised to that of an unsuccessful applicant.

If you anticipate that you will be reapplying to CHM through the regular admissions process for the class entering 2013, we would be pleased to assist you in preparing to reapply. Begin by completing the Self-Assessment Guide section of the Premedical Handbook and Self-Assessment Guide (http://mdadmissions.msu.edu/handbook/handbook.php). Once you have completed it, return it to us by fax at (517) 432-0021 or by mail:

MSU CHM Office of Admissions
Michigan State University
1355 Bogue St., Room A239
East Lansing, MI  48824-1317

After you submit your Self-Assessment Guide, request an appointment with an advisor through our online system at http://mdadmissions.msu.edu/applicants/appointment.php. Please note that our admissions advisors cannot discuss specifics of your application if you already submitted a 2013 AMCAS application.

Thank you for your interest in the College of Human Medicine. We wish you all the best as you pursue your goal to become a physician.

Sincerely,

Joel Maurer, MD, FACOG
Assistant Dean for Admissions

Dear College of Human Medicine,

Thank you very much for your interest in me as an addition to your class.  A review of all of my acceptances has led me to decide that I will be attending the University of Pittsburgh in the fall.  I regret to inform you of this decision, but when I truly think about this, I do not regret it at all.  I have revised your status to that of an  undesirable medical school (given my other opportunities).

I would like to give some feedback as an applicant, however.  I do not think that it was a wise idea to deem applicants as "unsuccessful" simply because you chose not to admit them into the College of Human Medicine.  Excuse my language, but what the f*ck kind of status is that?  "Unsuccessful applicant?"  Well, that can be interpreted as incredibly insensitive, as some students struggle to gain admission to a medical school and have a great desire to be a part of yours.  For them to receive a letter that calls them "unsuccessful" is heartbreaking and is like a backhanded slap.  They were interested in your medical school, and you respond to that by calling them "unsuccessful" if they didn't get in?  Perhaps next time you send out a wave of these insensitive rejection letters, you could think about the applicants who might actually be hurt that they did not receive an offer of admission, and think about how it must feel for you to call them "unsuccessful" and demeaning them in such a manner.

Let me tell you something about "unsuccessful."  You may think that I am an unsuccessful applicant because you chose not to admit me.  However, I can tell you with a certainty that my statistics were above your averages and well above your requirements, and I have gotten three other offers of admission to much more prestigious schools.  To say that I am unsuccessful, even though I have chosen to attend a much better school, is ridiculous.  I am not unsuccessful, not in the least.  I am more successful, actually, because I am going to attend a school that IS NOT this one (in my opinion).

I do appreciate your attempts at helping "unsuccessful" applicants, though.  I honestly think that is a very productive thing for you to do, especially after a student has invested so much time in applying.  I suppose you are not completely heartless, as you are willing to help people gain admission.  Hopefully students will have gotten this email before submitting their application for this cycle.

Thank you for your time and consideration, and best wishes with your new class this year.

Most Sincerely,
An "unsuccessful" applicant