Do some schools screen out (don't interview) candidates with high stats?

[DukeMurken]

I was just wondering if people knew whether or not some schools screened out their top candidates because they feel like they can't recruit them, especially if it seems like, from the person's application, that they don't have any strong reason to want to go to that school/location for their medical education.

I started thinking about this more now since a lot of the discussion on the Craigslist murderer thread is about how BU screens out high achieving candidates. I was going to post a reply there, but thought I'd start a new thread.

It makes sense to me, because obviously, if a lower ranked school filled up their interview slots and acceptances with people that get into and matriculate into top 10 schools, then they wouldn't have much of a class. They wouldn't even have a waitlist to pull off of. I was wondering if anyone knew this as a fact though, maybe a med student that's sat on the adcom?

Personally, I didn't even get interview invites to any of my "back-ups". It was rather discouraging early in the cycle when I kept getting "waitlisted" to interview at my backups. I thought I wasn't getting in anywhere for a while and misjudged my own credentials! I didn't even get interviewed at the med school in the city i live in now, which I would have loved to go to just to be able to stay with friends. Thoughts?

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[BlueElmo]

I would think that would happen. But don't take my word for it.

 

[clifftacopter]

I'd say it depends on the school. After lurking a bit on the MDapplicants, I noticed that the lower-end Texas state schools, for example, seem to interview (and accept) high-achieving applicants who obviously were using them as backups. While I think it makes sense that schools would do that to some degree, to what extent is pretty debatable.

 

[Isoprop]

I was just wondering if people knew whether or not some schools screened out their top candidates because they feel like they can't recruit them, especially if it seems like, from the person's application, that they don't have any strong reason to want to go to that school/location for their medical education.

I started thinking about this more now since a lot of the discussion on the Craigslist murderer thread is about how BU screens out high achieving candidates. I was going to post a reply there, but thought I'd start a new thread.

It makes sense to me, because obviously, if a lower ranked school filled up their interview slots and acceptances with people that get into and matriculate into top 10 schools, then they wouldn't have much of a class. They wouldn't even have a waitlist to pull off of. I was wondering if anyone knew this as a fact though, maybe a med student that's sat on the adcom?

Personally, I didn't even get interview invites to any of my "back-ups". It was rather discouraging early in the cycle when I kept getting "waitlisted" to interview at my backups. I thought I wasn't getting in anywhere for a while and misjudged my own credentials! I didn't even get interviewed at the med school in the city i live in now, which I would have loved to go to just to be able to stay with friends. Thoughts?

i think you are misjudging the value of stats (ie GPA/MCAT) in the admission process.

 

[fahimaz7]

This happens more than you might imagine. Lower stat schools know that high performers want to get in to top ranking schools. So, why waste their time? For them, it makes more sense to take a 3.7/31 than it does a 3.9/38, since the 3.7 isn't going to go to Wash U and the other guy will.

 

[ar2388]

NYMC definitely just ignored me all cycle.

 

[PremedIowa]

Definitely. Some of my "safeties" did not even offer me an interview.

 

[Tin Man]

Whatever makes you guys feel better, I suppose. It certainly couldn't be because there were better applicants than you.

 

[vickpick]

hmmm.. most of u say its true...

so should I intend on getting low scores since my dream school is low tier

 

[pntgrd]

I was just wondering if people knew whether or not some schools screened out their top candidates because they feel like they can't recruit them, especially if it seems like, from the person's application, that they don't have any strong reason to want to go to that school/location for their medical education.

I started thinking about this more now since a lot of the discussion on the Craigslist murderer thread is about how BU screens out high achieving candidates. I was going to post a reply there, but thought I'd start a new thread.

It makes sense to me, because obviously, if a lower ranked school filled up their interview slots and acceptances with people that get into and matriculate into top 10 schools, then they wouldn't have much of a class. They wouldn't even have a waitlist to pull off of. I was wondering if anyone knew this as a fact though, maybe a med student that's sat on the adcom?

Personally, I didn't even get interview invites to any of my "back-ups". It was rather discouraging early in the cycle when I kept getting "waitlisted" to interview at my backups. I thought I wasn't getting in anywhere for a while and misjudged my own credentials! I didn't even get interviewed at the med school in the city i live in now, which I would have loved to go to just to be able to stay with friends. Thoughts?

Many schools do this, even the ones not in the low tier, but mid tiers. They don't want to waste an admissions and lower their matriculation rate by admitting someone who is using them as a safety and most likely will attend another school.
If you really do want to attend a lower tier school and have much higher stats than their average, you should show extra strong interest in the school and tell them that they're your first choice.

 

[BlueElmo]

hmmm.. most of u say its true...

so should I intend on getting low scores since my dream school is low tier

No way that is crazy. You should always aim for the best and give 100%.

 

[ChubbyChaser]

I dont think schools screen out based on high-stats, rather they can tell the "high-stats" people arent really interested so theyd ont waste their time.


One caveat is BU....Their most important selection criteria is being a super-psychotic deranged killer.

 

[flip26]

This issue comes up every year with specific regard to schools like BU, GWU, Georgetown...schools that get swamped with apps because they are east coast "safeties."

Some of these schools really do read your PS, and if you are conveying the idea that you are heavy into bench science research, for many schools you will not be a good "fit" for their program. So lots of people bitch that they got rejected by these schools for having numbers that were too good, when it really turns out they weren't a good fit for the school mission.

 

[BlueElmo]

This issue comes up every year with specific regard to schools like BU, GWU, Georgetown...schools that get swamped with apps because they are east coast "safeties."

Some of these schools really do read your PS, and if you are conveying the idea that you are heavy into bench science research, for many schools you will not be a good "fit" for their program. So lots of people bitch that they got rejected by these schools for having numbers that were too good, when it really turns out they weren't a good fit for the school mission.

I thought BU, GW, Georgetown are research heavy schools. Why would they not like you if you are into research?

 

[pntgrd]

This issue comes up every year with specific regard to schools like BU, GWU, Georgetown...schools that get swamped with apps because they are east coast "safeties."

Some of these schools really do read your PS, and if you are conveying the idea that you are heavy into bench science research, for many schools you will not be a good "fit" for their program. So lots of people bitch that they got rejected by these schools for having numbers that were too good, when it really turns out they weren't a good fit for the school mission.

That really isn't true most of the time. The reason they don't accept you is not because they are worried your research desires are above what their school can provide (the schools you listed are research schools anyway), but that they don't want to admit people who won't attend their school. They want high yields, and they know someone with high numbers will get into better schools.

 

[drizzt3117]

This issue comes up every year with specific regard to schools like BU, GWU, Georgetown...schools that get swamped with apps because they are east coast "safeties."

Some of these schools really do read your PS, and if you are conveying the idea that you are heavy into bench science research, for many schools you will not be a good "fit" for their program. So lots of people bitch that they got rejected by these schools for having numbers that were too good, when it really turns out they weren't a good fit for the school mission.

Mission statement for BU: "Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) is a major research institution, providing an exceptional environment for students interested in basic science, clinical investigation, or public health and health services oriented research."

Mission statement for GW: "

The George Washington University Medical Center will improve the health and well-being of our local, national and global communities by:

* Developing tomorrow’s leaders
* Delivering high-quality healthcare
* Advancing scientific discovery and translating discoveries into action
* Harnessing new technology
* Establishing community partnerships
* Fostering multidisciplinary collaboration
* Pursuing alliances unique to our location.
"

Georgetown mission statement:

Guided by the Jesuit tradition of cura personalis, Georgetown University School of Medicine will educate, in an integrated way, knowledgeable, ethical, skillful and compassionate physicians and biomedical scientists dedicated to the care of others and the health needs of our society.

Not sure how bench research makes you a bad fit.

 

[flip26]

Mission statement for BU: "Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) is a major research institution, providing an exceptional environment for students interested in basic science, clinical investigation, or public health and health services oriented research."

Mission statement for GW: "

The George Washington University Medical Center will improve the health and well-being of our local, national and global communities by:

* Developing tomorrow's leaders
* Delivering high-quality healthcare
* Advancing scientific discovery and translating discoveries into action
* Harnessing new technology
* Establishing community partnerships
* Fostering multidisciplinary collaboration
* Pursuing alliances unique to our location.
"

Georgetown mission statement:

Guided by the Jesuit tradition of cura personalis, Georgetown University School of Medicine will educate, in an integrated way, knowledgeable, ethical, skillful and compassionate physicians and biomedical scientists dedicated to the care of others and the health needs of our society.

Not sure how bench research makes you a bad fit.

You missed the point, especially for Georgetown. It is not that bench science would make you a bad fit, it just may not make you a good fit at some schools without other attributes.

These particular schools are looking for a "type" of student. A student with a track record of public service, and an interest in public health, or global health, or public policy, as opposed to a hard core scientician. Ideally you would have all of this, but that would be a fairly unique combination of interests, and perhaps these are the people who are getting interviews and acceptances.

 

[drizzt3117]

You missed the point, especially for Georgetown. It is not that bench science would make you a bad fit, it just may not make you a good fit at some schools without other attributes.

These particular schools are looking for a "type" of student. A student with a track record of public service, and an interest in public health, or global health, or public policy, as opposed to a hard core scientician. Ideally you would have all of this, but that would be a fairly unique combination of interests, and perhaps these are the people who are getting interviews and acceptances.

I can maybe see that for Georgetown, but BU has basic science RIGHT IN their mission statement.

I think what they're looking for in accepted students are ones that are likely to attend.

 

[dragonfly99]

I think that rather than screening out people with high stats, the school probably looks @the app. and if they think you are too bench science oriented, and not as likely to accept/keep an offer from their school, or they don't think you'll fit in there, or want to move to their geographic location, then they reject you pre-interview.

 

[flip26]

I can maybe see that for Georgetown, but BU has basic science RIGHT IN their mission statement.

I think what they're looking for in accepted students are ones that are likely to attend.

Well, that is what ALL med schools are looking for, right?

BU and GWU, in particular, get more apps than any other med schools IIRC. They therefore have an even tougher job winnowing down the primary app pile of 10k+ apps to get down to an incoming class. Invariably there will be more stories of some high stats kids who don't even get an interview...any whiff of an applicant using them as a "safety school" likely gets the app tossed in the round file...

More to the point: unless you express interest in public health, or global health, or health care policy, I would not recommend applying to GWU in particular, and I think the same applies to Georgetown and BU, maybe to a lesser extent.

 

[pntgrd]

You missed the point, especially for Georgetown. It is not that bench science would make you a bad fit, it just may not make you a good fit at some schools without other attributes.

These particular schools are looking for a "type" of student. A student with a track record of public service, and an interest in public health, or global health, or public policy, as opposed to a hard core scientician. Ideally you would have all of this, but that would be a fairly unique combination of interests, and perhaps these are the people who are getting interviews and acceptances.

Nah, schools like BU are into basic science research. Being mid or low tier does not equate to not being a non-basic science institution.

 

[drizzt3117]

I think that rather than screening out people with high stats, the school probably looks @the app. and if they think you are too bench science oriented, and not as likely to accept/keep an offer from their school, or they don't think you'll fit in there, or want to move to their geographic location, then they reject you pre-interview.

I would believe that if they actually had enough time between completion and rejection to realistically take a look at the application. Rejecting ~500 people in 36 hours means they're not even reading the applications, IMO.

 

[drizzt3117]

Well, that is what ALL med schools are looking for, right?

BU and GWU, in particular, get more apps than any other med schools IIRC. They therefore have an even tougher job winnowing down the primary app pile of 10k+ apps to get down to an incoming class. Invariably there will be more stories of some high stats kids who don't even get an interview...any whiff of an applicant using them as a "safety school" likely gets the app tossed in the round file...

Which means they tend to reject people with high stats without really looking at their application, which is the whole point of this thread.

 

[flip26]

Which means they tend to reject people with high stats without really looking at their application, which is the whole point of this thread.

Wrong.

They tend to reject applicants who haven't really made the case for "their" particular school. This is especially true for Georgetown, and I think it is also true for GWU and BU.

Because what other schools are we really talking about? Aren't these the main schools that cause all the consternation every year?

 

[drizzt3117]

Wrong.

They tend to reject applicants who haven't really made the case for "their" particular school. This is especially true for Georgetown, and I think it is also true for GWU and BU.

Because what other schools are we really talking about? Aren't these the main schools that cause all the consternation every year?

So you're saying they thoroughly read 500 applications in 36 hours and clearly determined that those people weren't a good fit for their schools... yeah ok. I'm specifically referring to BU here. I do think GW and GU do a better job of reading applications and looking at "fit"

GW is sort of a special case just because 1/3 of their class is BS/MD and linkage students, which contributes a lot to their "selectivity"

 

[flip26]

So you're saying they thoroughly read 500 applications in 36 hours and clearly determined that those people weren't a good fit for their schools... yeah ok. I'm specifically referring to BU here. I do think GW and GU do a better job of reading applications and looking at "fit"

GW is sort of a special case just because 1/3 of their class is BS/MD and linkage students, which contributes a lot to their "selectivity"

BU - I can't imagine why anyone would be upset about not going there for the privilege of going $300k in debt.

Every year applicants with high stats seem to be caught totally off guard by pre and post secondary rejections at BU. And the funny thing is, every one of those applicants has high stats, and if pressed on it, they admit that they applied to BU as a "safety" and because it is in Boston...so whatever BU is doing, it seems to work for them.

 

[drizzt3117]

BU - I can't imagine why anyone would be upset about not going there for the privilege of going $300k in debt.

Every year applicants with high stats seem to be caught totally off guard by pre and post secondary rejections at BU. And the funny thing is, every one of those applicants has high stats, and if pressed on it, they admit that they applied to BU as a "safety" and because it is in Boston...so whatever BU is doing, it seems to work for them.

Apparently the only people getting in there have killer apps...

 

[DrYoda]

BU - I can't imagine why anyone would be upset about not going there for the privilege of going $300k in debt.

Every year applicants with high stats seem to be caught totally off guard by pre and post secondary rejections at BU. And the funny thing is, every one of those applicants has high stats, and if pressed on it, they admit that they applied to BU as a "safety" and because it is in Boston...so whatever BU is doing, it seems to work for them.

Until BAM, one of them kills a hooker...

 

[flip26]

Apparently the only people getting in there have killer apps...

I am applying this cycle, and even though I live within spitting distance of GW and Georgetown, I have no interest in attending either one (BU, either) and I am saving my app fee money (not too mention the exorbitant COA).

I think these particular schools get tons of apps from people who are desperate to be on the "east coast" who have given little thought to what they would bring to the incoming class, and they have developed a keen sense of smell for these apps...

Tufts is another one - the attraction of that school eludes me.

 

[drizzt3117]

I am applying this cycle, and even though I live within spitting distance of GW and Georgetown, I have no interest in attending either one (BU, either) and I am saving my app fee money (not too mention the exorbitant COA).

I think these particular schools get tons of apps from people who are desperate to be on the "east coast" who have given little thought to what they would bring to the incoming class, and they have developed a keen sense of smell for these apps...

Tufts is another one - the attraction of that school eludes me.

I think you missed the point of the last two posts. Perhaps you should check out the craigslist killer thread.

 

[flip26]

I think you missed the point of the last two posts. Perhaps you should check out the craigslist killer thread.

No, I got it.

I just don't share the fascination the rest of you have with the story.

 

[drizzt3117]

No, I got it.

I just don't share the fascination the rest of you have with the story.

I guess my point was high stats /= desire to attend.

 

[sarahl86]

You missed the point, especially for Georgetown. It is not that bench science would make you a bad fit, it just may not make you a good fit at some schools without other attributes.

These particular schools are looking for a "type" of student. A student with a track record of public service, and an interest in public health, or global health, or public policy, as opposed to a hard core scientician. Ideally you would have all of this, but that would be a fairly unique combination of interests, and perhaps these are the people who are getting interviews and acceptances.

...applied and rejected from all three of these schools - I think being a health educator in a substance abuse program in an urban population and working with Deaf patients accounts a little bit for the "public health" aspect of what these schools so treasure. I have to slightly disagree with how these schools demonstrate their priorities through applicant selection. Feel free to take my slight bitterness with a grain of salt.

 

[DukeMurken]

I find admissions to be such an interesting thing, and part of me wants to get involved at my school's admission just to see what really happens, and the other part of me just wants to leave the Wizard where he is, mysteriously behind the curtain.

Since I'm a non-trad from California, I was told I wouldn't get in anywhere because cali's a tough state, so I applied EVERYWHERE from top 10 to unranked schools. In the end... 30+ apps. I mentioned earlier that I started getting rejections/waitlist from my more bottom schools and started freaking out that I wasn't getting in anywhere... that was until I got interviewed other places. In retrospect, I only got interview invites from schools that are very similarly regarded. I got rejected from schools above that, and below that. I find it creepy that other schools know the process well enough they can tell around where an applicant is going to land. And it creeps me out more that sometimes it has nothing to do with MCAT/GPA, because I've noticed on some MDApps, that a lot of high rollers get interviews from similarly regarded schools and get accepted to those schools.

I hope people choosing schools find this thread helpful in terms of wisely choosing your "back-up" schools. Also for those whose stats may be too high to get into your top choice because a schools might bucket you into another category, I think it is important to make an extra effort to show them you want to go, like maybe a individualized reference letter from a professor/alum there JUST for that school, or a supplement to your application, or even a separate letter/meeting to express interest.

Good luck!!!

 

[Bollywood Junkie]

Sorry, I didn't want to read all the replies to see if it was already said, but Georgetown rejected me post-sec for just that reason. I called them and they said that they "questioned the seriousness of my application at their school".

 

[flip26]

Sorry, I didn't want to read all the replies to see if it was already said, but Georgetown rejected me post-sec for just that reason. I called them and they said that they "questioned the seriousness of my application at their school".

Not to hijack the thread, but any idea why you had so little success at the "top tier" schools with otherwise "top tier" numbers?

4 acceptances, of course, is great - not demeaning those - but you had a butt load of rejections at the national schools...

 

[Bollywood Junkie]

Not to hijack the thread, but any idea why you had so little success at the "top tier" schools with otherwise "top tier" numbers?

4 acceptances, of course, is great - not demeaning those - but you had a butt load of rejections at the national schools...

Yea, it sucks. I was thinking age or "being South Asian". Avoiding the racism agenda, I think that being Indian and young is not as advantageous as a non-traditional or URM.

 

[Appless]

Yea, it sucks. I was thinking age or "being South Asian". Avoiding the racism agenda, I think that being Indian and young is not as advantageous as a non-traditional or URM.

considering indian is not even considered a URM for med school purposes, of course its not advantageous. Still though you got accepted whihc is great!

 

[Bollywood Junkie]

Thanks! I await a post-racial America.