How do applicants stand out compared to others?

[johnnytest]

It seems MOST applicants have similar research, clinical exposure, shadowing, community service, and some leadership experience. If adcoms are going through thousands of these applicants with similar types of ECs how do they decide who to send interview invites (besides MCAT/GPA considerations)? I'm sure LORs are all the same.

Are the applicants who traveled to other countries to provide service or lead their varsity sports team or play musicals at concerts the ones who stand out? Are they the main type of people to get invites?

I am just worried because I have the ECs that almost every other medical student probably has but I didn't have the means to travel or the time or athleticism to participate in sports. I am starting to feel my ECs are generic and what if adcoms think I just did them to check things off? But, my ECs were very meaningful to me and they shaped who I am. I tried my best to express that in my primary descriptions but it's sort of depressing to think I might just be an average joe. Anyone else feel like this?

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[ciestar]

Don't worry. The adcoms seems to express around here that those "medical missions" abroad do stand out, but not usually in a good way.

I think we all feel that way. But IMHO, it's what you took from your experiences is what makes you stand out the most.

 

[Ace Khalifa]

I agree with @ciestar. I also think that there are tons of ways to "stand out," both good and bad. It depends on who reads your application. I did zero research during my time in undergrad, and I went to a top private university that is a research powerhouse. Maybe that makes me stand out because I chose to focus my time on things I actually loved, especially volunteering. It all depends.

 

[Aerus]

Actually, I'm willing to bet that a majority of applicants are starting to have these "medical missions" and, if not, it's approaching that way. So by not travelling abroad, you probably already do stand out.

In the grand scheme of things, they've seen it all. Just do what you love to distinguish yourself in whatever you're passionate about.

 

[Angel252]

Providing service outside of the country was not the only thing he mentioned, yet that is the first thing to be bombarded with how they are not unique.

What about playing and instrument and playing sports guys.

 

[mvenus929]

I imagine how well whoever reviews your application connects with you as a person, through your personal statement and essays (including the blurbs about your ECs), makes a huge difference on whether you get invited or not. All the more reason to be a better writer

 

[hoihaie]

your level of commitment to your ECs - i.e. did yo uspend all 4 years volunteering at a homeless shelter? or spent 6000 hours in research? Even if 2 people both ahve 2 years of research, what they actually acoomplished during those years can be different. For example, 1 might have nothing to show for those 2 years, while the other person ahs presented at international conferences and several abstracts.

your LoRs also matter, and will be different from other people if your writes knows who you are.

 

[mimelim]

It seems MOST applicants have similar research, clinical exposure, shadowing, community service, and some leadership experience. If adcoms are going through thousands of these applicants with similar types of ECs how do they decide who to send interview invites (besides MCAT/GPA considerations)? I'm sure LORs are all the same.

Are the applicants who traveled to other countries to provide service or lead their varsity sports team or play musicals at concerts the ones who stand out? Are they the main type of people to get invites?

I am just worried because I have the ECs that almost every other medical student probably has but I didn't have the means to travel or the time or athleticism to participate in sports. I am starting to feel my ECs are generic and what if adcoms think I just did them to check things off? But, my ECs were very meaningful to me and they shaped who I am. I tried my best to express that in my primary descriptions but it's sort of depressing to think I might just be an average joe. Anyone else feel like this?

Short answer? Quality over quantity. People who think that it is about box checking haven't read enough applications to realize how transparent the vast majority of those applications are. Yes, similar types of ECs, but if you combine people's description of an activity, people's experience with the activity (LOR/PS) and then how they talk about the activity (interview), you sort people out pretty darn quickly. LOR are not all the same and yes, they do matter. There are a lot of similar sounding bs ECs and LOR, but there are a fair few that are obviously real and stand out immediately. Applicants drastically overestimate how well they 'hide' what an EC was really like. Going to another country to do something doesn't get you 'extra points'. How productive you are and what you got from it are what matter. You can do that next door to your house for all most people care. Does it make any sense to select against people who don't travel or aren't athletic? If it doesn't make sense, you should consider that you are misunderstanding how the system is working.

I agree with @ciestar. I also think that there are tons of ways to "stand out," both good and bad. It depends on who reads your application. I did zero research during my time in undergrad, and I went to a top private university that is a research powerhouse. Maybe that makes me stand out because I chose to focus my time on things I actually loved, especially volunteering. It all depends.

On the other hand, I went to the same school and research was my calling card and got me interviews wherever I wanted. What @Ace Khalifa says is very true. Standing out has nothing to do with checking boxes or fitting a mold. It isn't about being average at everything, but being really good at a couple of things.

 

[kthxbai]

I have a themed application (research, employment/paid clinical involvement, and community service related to a particular class of infectious diseases), and although folks completed after me are already getting IIs, it's silence from all schools on my end.

It's just an anecdote that proves nothing about the big picture, but here it is. My app is fairly unique and my commitment apparent, but no bites yet.

 

[johnnytest]

I have a themed application (research, employment/paid clinical involvement, and community service related to a particular class of infectious diseases), and although folks completed after me are already getting IIs, it's silence from all schools on my end.

It's just an anecdote that proves nothing in the big picture, but here it is. My app is fairly unique and my commitment apparent, but no bites yet.

How's your mcat/gpa?

 

[kthxbai]

How's your mcat/gpa?

32 balanced, 3.83 both c and s GPA

 

[Omppu27]

Don't worry. The adcoms seems to express around here that those "medical missions" abroad do stand out, but not usually in a good way.

I think we all feel that way. But IMHO, it's what you took from your experiences is what makes you stand out the most.

Completely agree. It's what you gain from the experience. And based on how you speak of them in your AMCAS activites, PS, and secondaries, schools can usually tell what you really got from the experience. This is why it's so important to get involved in experiences that you truly enjoy.

With regards to the medical mission trips abroad, I think if you've done extensive work in one area (ie go there multiple times over the span of multiples years) then it can look good. However, if you go once for like 2 weeks and try to put a lot of weight on the experience, I don't think it's viewed too favorable. There is a lot of work we can, and need, to do in our own backyards...

 

[johnnytest]

32 balanced, 3.83 both c and s GPA

wow we have similar stats. i have a 32: 11/9/12. and 3.82 both c and s GPA. crazy.

 

[Cyberdyne 101]

Isn't it still super early in the app cycle?

 

[kthxbai]

wow we have similar stats. i have a 32: 11/9/12. and 3.82 both c and s GPA. crazy.

I have 11BS/10PS/11V

Scaaaaaary. Have you gotten any interviews?

 

[kthxbai]

Isn't it still super early in the app cycle?

Yes. Yes it is. The brain says to chill out, but paranoia is stronger than reason.

Besides, this is SDN, where rationality comes to die.

 

[ace12345]

Yes. Yes it is. The brain says to chill out, but paranoia is stronger than reason.

Besides, this is SDN, where rationality comes to die.

It is not super early anymore. If there are applicants reading this that have not yet applied, they should plan on doing so soon. Verification takes time. Besides, not good to rush secondaries when you get anxious about your friends already interviewing and you not even being verified yet. Get the applications in.

 

[johnnytest]

I have 11BS/10PS/11V

Scaaaaaary. Have you gotten any interviews?

my primary is not verified yet. I submitted late. July 24th. So, yeah I'm in some deeper **** than you are my friend. lol.

 

[ace12345]

my primary is not verified yet. I submitted late. July 24th. So, yeah I'm in some deeper **** than you are my friend. lol.

In response to this in respect to my last post, you'll be fine. I was referencing more those that have not submitted. Pre-writing is your friend though!

 

[johnnytest]

In response to this in respect to my last post, you'll be fine. I was referencing more those that have not submitted. Pre-writing is your friend though!

Gracias amigo. I'm pre-writing every day. Preparing myself for the interview part as well.

 

[kthxbai]

my primary is not verified yet. I submitted late. July 24th. So, yeah I'm in some deeper **** than you are my friend. lol.

I was complete at most schools on 7/16-7/17, and nothing but loud silence for me.

 

[johnnytest]

I was complete at most schools on 7/16-7/17, and nothing but loud silence for me.

Can you call and ask them the status of your application? But, I don't know if 3 weeks after being complete is the appropriate time though..

 

[kthxbai]

It is not super early anymore. If there are applicants reading this that have not yet applied, they should plan on doing so soon. Verification takes time. Besides, not good to rush secondaries when you get anxious about your friends already interviewing and you not even being verified yet. Get the applications in.

I was complete at most schools by mid-July, so I didn't even think about those who haven't submitted yet.
If folks haven't put their app in by now, it's really late.

 

[kthxbai]

Can you call and ask them the status of your application? But, I don't know if 3 weeks after being complete is the appropriate time though..

I thought about it, but I don't know that will work out in my favor. Three weeks in is still early for a response (most people I know had to wait at least a month before their IIs), but I'm a neurotic little prick with too much time on my hands, duuh.

 

[Shams al Deen]

Well you don't have to stand out amongst everybody. 45% of applicants make it, so you just have to be in that top 45%. We're not talking about making the NBA here, it's medical school- not everyone that makes it must be elite.

 

[kthxbai]

Gracias amigo. I'm pre-writing every day. Preparing myself for the interview part as well.

Prepare.

Prepare like Noah for the flood.

 

[johnnytest]

I thought about it, but I don't know that will work out in my favor. Three weeks in is still early for a response (most people I know had to wait at least a month before their IIs), but I'm a neurotic little prick with too much time on my hands, duuh.

I can't imagine with your balanced score and gpa not getting IIs. Some things are out of our hands such as who reviews our application initially. And the caliber level of other applicants within our pile. That is based on pure chance. I think you're in good shape provided the rest of your application was written well and LORs are solid. But, I'm sure the wait is killer..
Best of luck.

 

[kthxbai]

I can't imagine with your balanced score and gpa not getting IIs. Some things are out of our hands such as who reviews our application initially. And the caliber level of other applicants within our pile. That is based on pure chance. I think you're in good shape provided the rest of your application was written well and LORs are solid. But, I'm sure the wait is killer..
Best of luck.

Thanks! My app is all-around strong, and I know my LORs are excellent (my boss wrote me a letter that even made me tear up a little - yeah, he showed it to me before he sent it). I think it's the wait that's making me all twilight zoned.

Best of luck to you too!

 

[sunflower18]

I think a lot of it also has to do with the fit between you and the school. For example, I have an artistic background, and three of my interviews so far are from schools that place particular emphasis on liberal education and art in medicine. Their mission statements even include the word "art". So my deep commitment to creativity likely stood out at those schools, while my research/teaching/academic focus may be more interesting to the research powerhouses on my list. It all depends on what the school is looking for; I really doubt that any single activity or set of activities would attract equal attention from every school in the country. I think that's why choosing a school list is way more than just stats -- it's about the school's mission, curriculum, student body, and how well all those factors jive with your career goals and past experiences.

 

[Goro]

Most applicants are clones of each other academically. It's the road they've traveled that makes them unique, and that's what we look for, since most of the time we see evidence of academic excellence.

It seems MOST applicants have similar research, clinical exposure, shadowing, community service, and some leadership experience. If adcoms are going through thousands of these applicants with similar types of ECs how do they decide who to send interview invites (besides MCAT/GPA considerations)? I'm sure LORs are all the same

No, the ones who dedicate their time to service are. Medical missions are really medical tourism, or excuses to go see Abuela/Ajima/Nana back in the old country.

Are the applicants who traveled to other countries to provide service or lead their varsity sports team or play musicals at concerts the ones who stand out? Are they the main type of people to get invites?

Did you have time at all? Did you have time to, say, read to poor children? Help feed or house the homeless? Frankly The "I didn't have time" excuse isn't going to fly. Not every applicant has a first-author paper in Cell, is a US Marine helicopter pilot, or worked in the Peace Corps.

Wander on over to a nearby house of worship, hospice or nursing home, and you'll find plenty to things to volunteer with, that will change you from "cookie cutter" to "let's invite this person".

I am just worried because I have the ECs that almost every other medical student probably has but I didn't have the means to travel or the time or athleticism to participate in sports. I am starting to feel my ECs are generic and what if adcoms think I just did them to check things off? But, my ECs were very meaningful to me and they shaped who I am. I tried my best to express that in my primary descriptions but it's sort of depressing to think I might just be an average joe.

 

[Ace Khalifa]

Well you don't have to stand out amongst everybody. 45% of applicants make it, so you just have to be in that top 45%. We're not talking about making the NBA here, it's medical school- not everyone that makes it must be elite.

Oh thank Arceus! I was beginning to think my average self was doomed from the start.

 

[nOchemallday]

Just to touch on a point brought up previously. If you are going to say that your research is an important aspect of your application you had better be well versed in your research. Likewise for your other ECs, it matters far more that you care about what you do and can prove so by talking at length about your participation and how it has shaped you. This proves (or feigns) a sense of genuine interest in your ECs. As long as you keep busy (i.e. long-term committment/dabble in a few things concurrently) you'll be able to look better than average and land yourself in that top 45%. You'll be extra-average (but for real, SDN overexaggerates how many applicants have ALL of those things and can speak meaningfully about them).

It seems MOST applicants have similar research, clinical exposure, shadowing, community service, and some leadership experience

 

[rachel993]

Just a note:

In regard to medical missions, my pre-med advisor has said that these types of things, when not worded extremely carefully, can actually hurt the applicant. Some medicine-related things that students with no medical training are allowed to do in other countries would not be condoned in the U.S.
One of my work/activities was going to central america and working at temporary clinics with a licensed physician. I put in the description that my job was to "take vital signs, interview the patient, then propose a diagnosis to the physician who would then confirm or deny" and apparently even that was a no-no, just because it may seem to some like too much trust was placed in my hands.

 

[Cyberdyne 101]

Oh thank Arceus! I was beginning to think my average self was doomed from the start.

Lol, if you're "average" then >98% of applicants are doomed.

 

[About28]

I was on the e-board of a comedy group. I think that's at least a little times bit unique... Maybe...