Acceptance into Medical Schools with only One EC - but no shadowing or clinical experience.

[Ace Khalifa]

We have no problem providing evidence to this. If you read above, I already said I was willing to provide this to Goro. You surely don't expect me to post such personal information for the whole world to see on a social network just to prove a point now, or do you? A moderator should not be judgmental. His original post was and I was not rude to him/her in any way while responding. I also don't understand why a lot of you are so angry and this is why I choose not to comment further on this post as it was never my intent to stir up any emotions. I did not come here to make anyone angry but evidently I somehow unintentionally rubbed a lot of you the wrong way.

Prove it, then. After being personally hurt by someone who lied to me in my real life past, I always demand proof when someone makes an outlandish claim like yours.

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[cidem2065]

So is the point of this thread (besides setting a fire) to say that future applicants shouldn't do shadowing/clinical experience?

Seems like terrible advice to me.

 

[shtumpa]

How did he know he was accepted in August?

Not officially, but he hit it off with the interviewer to the extent that they were in contact afterwords (they had a certain life experiences that were virtually identical-not gonnna write here more)

dont know if thats ethical, but it happened...

 

[gettheleadout]

I wish all you negative bloggers the best in your future goals. Doctor-Nope answered my question well and I'm satisfied with one mature answer. I however will NOT be publishing any further information (read - "elaborate further on the issue") that would tie him as an accepted medical student to this post. I think some of you (if this shoe fits) are just angry with your lives for one reason or another, such that it makes you feel empowered to bash others on a social setting. There is nothing that any of you say though that will change the FACT that there are some medical schools that will accept students who have no shadowing or clinical experiences. So if it pleases you to call them boring and robotic that's fine, bottom line is that they got interviewed and accepted at a well known and very reputable medical school for that matter. Again this post was not meant to imply that these experiences are not important. They are. I wish to meet some of you in the future just to see how you really are in person. Good luck to all the 2015 applicants. Sorry if this post rubbed some of you the wrong way.

Your partner clearly disagrees, as he didn't take the time to do any of them prior to making the decision to pursue medicine.

Edit: I mean really guys, who says, "Oh, maybe I can be a doctor! What's that? People who consider becoming doctors typically shadow doctors? Nah, I'm sure I don't need to do that. How wrong can my impression of the field be without any firsthand experience?"

 

[Goro]

"Extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof"-Carl Sagan

Prove it, then. After being personally hurt by someone who lied to me in my real life past, I always demand proof when someone makes an outlandish claim like yours.

 

[ridethecliche]

I mean really guys, who says, "Oh, maybe I can be a doctor! What's that? People who consider becoming doctors typically shadow doctors? Nah, I'm sure I don't need to do that. How wrong can my impression of the field be without any firsthand experience?"

"My mom and dad are doctors and so is my uncle and a different aunt. I know exactly what doctors do."

 

[gettheleadout]

"My mom and dad are doctors and so is my uncle and a different aunt. I know exactly what doctors do."

Accepted.

 

[shtumpa]

extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof"

An extraordinary claim (asserted)!

I got two calls today from wrong numbers. Extremely improbable. Yet people believe me (mostly). I don't think we would say they are irrational.

I think the maxim should maybe read

"I personally demand extraordinary proof for extraordinary claims that I personally am incredulous toward or could impact my life in some measurable way"

Nope, I'm clearly not a philosophy major. And I'm clearly bored. Sue me.

 

[shtumpa]

Any philosophers out there?

I think Sagan was referring to thinks that break natural law, not just improbable events

 

[Wannabeplumber]

Any philosophers out there?

I think Sagan was referring to thinks that break natural law, not just improbable events

Yes, your right

 

[jjtheairplane]

Even though I suspect it's BS, I'd believe it.
Few people I know from my school already got MD interviews/acceptances with minimal EC's and high numbers.

Totally arbitrary, but i'd say numbers play 75% of the game.

 

[totu22]

Even though I suspect it's BS, I'd believe it.
Few people I know from my school already got MD interviews/acceptances with minimal EC's and high numbers.

Totally arbitrary, but i'd say numbers play 75% of the game.

I think it depends on the school. This is anecdotal, but from talking to people it seems like mid-low rank schools care much less about the numbers after an acceptable point and view applicants almost strictly based on their ECs/personalities/interviews. Higher end schools that want to produce specialists and leaders in the field care much more about relative numbers and leadership experience than ECs.

Again, anecdotal. And though it may sound like I'm saying "higher end schools care more about numbers than mid/low schools," the message is deeper than that. I know several people who ONLY got into high schools because they had good numbers and leadership but got rejected from the mid/low schools because I suppose the mid/low schools place more relative value on ECs.

 

[jjtheairplane]

I think it depends on the school. This is anecdotal, but from talking to people it seems like mid-low rank schools care much less about the numbers after an acceptable point and view applicants almost strictly based on their ECs/personalities/interviews. Higher end schools that want to produce specialists and leaders in the field care much more about relative numbers and leadership experience than ECs.

Again, anecdotal. And though it may sound like I'm saying "higher end schools care more about numbers than mid/low schools," the message is deeper than that. I know several people who ONLY got into high schools because they had good numbers and leadership but got rejected from the mid/low schools because I suppose the mid/low schools place more relative value on ECs.

Or...you know, those schools knew that those applicants would get into high tier places. lol
I've just noticed that all you need are minimal Ec's to land 1 acceptance (assuming high stats of course), kind of like the box checking method: research, volunteering at hospital, few clubs here or there blah blah

 

[AORiverContra]

I have been married to this man for 6 years I know what I am talking about and no they are not low/Caribbean schools either. Why would I come here and troll? It was an honest question but oh well.

Hold up, you've been married 6 years? How old are you and your husband?

 

[2015_Doctor.]

If people can get into medical school with an MCAT score of 14, best believe that anything is possible. I also know a few people that got in without having any shadowing or clinical experiences but had strong EC's.

Another note to the OP, I WOULD NOT (don't know how much more I can stress this) send proof of anything to anyone. If you and your husband have been accepted, Congratulations!!!!!...................Now move on with your lives. I don't think any medical school will take too lightly to being exposed online that they accepted a student based on stats alone with no volunteering or shadowing. It would not come out nicely however innocent your intent was. Do not jeopardize your acceptances due to the peer pressure of proving a point , you never know who is reading or following posts on SDN. If an adcom to one of the schools acts as a blogger on here asking for proof and you send it to them, and they are an adcom to one of the schools you referring to, all may just be lost. Medical schools are extremely strict on privacy ethical issues, exposing a school may not be ethical and how would they know to trust you with HIPAA and other confidentiality issues?

Think before you act, do not be that person apologizing when all goes south.

 

[totu22]

Or...you know, those schools knew that those applicants would get into high tier places. lol
I've just noticed that all you need are minimal Ec's to land 1 acceptance (assuming high stats of course), kind of like the box checking method: research, volunteering at hospital, few clubs here or there blah blah

I know this has been a subject of conversation too but the general consensus from what I've read (and I suppose this could be wrong) was that medical schools usually don't reject applicants because they are too good.

 

[Osteopath999]

OP, Infeel very sorry for you because you raised a topic that makes it extremely hard to believe, but the reason why it is hard to believe is because all of us here have to go through all the difficulties, we have to expose ourselves to diverse ECs and importantly clinical work, and shadowing to truly confirm our passion for learning medicine to help people beside academics. By doing this, we are trying to become well-rounded applicants to show adcom that we are not the ones who only study and that we have confirmed our passion for learning medicine and compassion for others through our ECs and clinical work. We all know how hard it is to get in medical school, and getting in has made us sacrifice a lot. Your topic is as if you rubbed salt on the cuts on our skin, the cuts that we have to forget ourselves to serve community, to serve people. Your partner only studies, but EC is too weak... If you were part of an adcom, would you say this guy is a well-rounded applicant? He has passion to learn medicine to help people? And give him an opportunity? Whereas there are many other applicants who have similar stats as your partner, but they have strong ECs, clinical work, and the true will to learn medicine, to protect humankind from diseases... Which applicant will you pick?

I write this to hope that YOU UNDERSTAND US.... And that ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS. I dont care if he got accepted or not, but if he has the desire to serve people, please tell your partner get his ass off the study room and go outside to do clinical work, to interact with patients, to communicate with them, and to listen to what the patients really want... He can never learn those things in school, and by doing that, he will realize if medicine is the right choice for him. Would any patients want to see him if he does not have the strong will to see them? You get the answer...

If you truly understand what I say, please take my advice seriously and pass my message on to him. We all want you guys the best and become good doctors.

I hope my post would end the debate because all of us know getting in medical school is pride and sacrifice, there is no need to talk more about it, and I have just spoken up for all of you !

 

[C.S. Peirce]

Any philosophers out there?

I think Sagan was referring to thinks that break natural law, not just improbable events

/philosophy geek

I'm not so sure Sagan is only referring to events that break natural laws;* you could claim that you discovered a new naturally-occurring amino acid, and I would require extraordinary proof for that claim. However, we wouldn't say that 'there are 22 amino acids' is a law of nature like, say, the second law of thermodynamics is. It's just a feature of life as it appears on earth.

In all likelihood, the difference in the evidential requirement between the amino acid claim vs. the phone calls probably relates to something like the large amount of investigation devoted to amino acids that preceeds your claim and some consideration of the relevance (or at least the non-triviality) of the amino acid claim vs the phone-call claim. People have been looking for amino acids for a long time, and we've got established methods for finding them, so if you discover a new one people are going to want to know how you did what you did. Furthermore, we generally don't demand extraordinary evidence for extraordinary claims that are trivial (the odds of you seeing California license plate 685-F74 are astronomical, but if you rush breathlessly into a room and announce the occurrence nobody is going to demand that you prove it).

*I'm assuming you meant natural laws (like gravity) and not natural law (the moral tradition that attempts to distill morals from the rational examination of human nature).

/philosophy geek

 

[Osteopath999]

I know this has been a subject of conversation too but the general consensus from what I've read (and I suppose this could be wrong) was that medical schools usually don't reject applicants because they are too good.

"Good" here means "well-rounded" not just academic stats !

 

[C.S. Peirce]

P.S. I know that was thread hijacking.

But if there was ever a thread that deserved to be hijacked...

 

[shtumpa]

/philosophy geek

I'm not so sure Sagan is only referring to events that break natural laws;* you could claim that you discovered a new naturally-occurring amino acid, and I would require extraordinary proof for that claim. However, we wouldn't say that 'there are 22 amino acids' is a law of nature like, say, the second law of thermodynamics is. It's just a feature of life as it appears on earth.

In all likelihood, the difference in the evidential requirement between the amino acid claim vs. the phone calls probably relates to something like the large amount of investigation devoted to amino acids that preceeds your claim and some consideration of the relevance (or at least the non-triviality) of the amino acid claim vs the phone-call claim. People have been looking for amino acids for a long time, and we've got established methods for finding them, so if you discover a new one people are going to want to know how you did what you did. Furthermore, we generally don't demand extraordinary evidence for extraordinary claims that are trivial (the odds of you seeing California license plate 685-F74 are astronomical, but if you rush breathlessly into a room and announce the occurrence nobody is going to demand that you prove it).

*I'm assuming you meant natural laws (like gravity) and not natural law (the moral tradition that attempts to distill morals from the rational examination of human nature).

/philosophy geek

Nice, I knew there was a philosopher in the woodwork!! His entire post deserves to be reposted just for his extraordinary efforts.

Hows that for a hijack

 

[Shams al Deen]

I'm sure kids get in every year with ECs (or a single EC!) like that. Maybe the essays he wrote really resonated and he killed the interview, maybe he knew people? I personally know a guy who made it with a 21 MCAT, non-URM (he had connections). Nothing surprises me anymore. But like GTLO said above, there really is nothing practical to be gained from stories like this.

I honestly hate these stories because they make me feel like a sucker for going all-out for 4 years. I don't regret a thing though, and actually enjoyed pre-med.