Schools which receive a high number of applications...

[studentp0x]

Like a school which receives ~10,000 applications, how many of these are actually recent?
I know it's a super vague question to ask, but I'm basically curious if such schools are receiving tons and tons of weak applications and only 2000 solid ones.

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[Tawantinsuyu]

I'm sure there would be more than 2000 solid ones, they just can't accept all of them though.

 

[CyberMaxx]

Did you mean decent? I don't think there is any way to know this really, though certainly you can make some reasonable assumptions. All we know for certain are the numbers reported in the MSAR and USN&WR. Don't just assume that a school with a large applicant pool gets poor applications. If your MCAT and GPA aren't close to their median scores reported in the MSAR then its still a long shot.

 

[studentp0x]

Did you mean decent? I don't think there is any way to know this really, though certainly you can make some reasonable assumptions. All we know for certain are the numbers reported in the MSAR and USN&WR. Don't just assume that a school with a large applicant pool gets poor applications. If your MCAT and GPA aren't close to their median scores reported in the MSAR then its still a long shot.

Definitely agree with this. I'm just curious if there's a lot of weak applications.

 

[Boolean]

Definitely agree with this. I'm just curious if there's a lot of weak applications.

I'd think the top 10 receive quite a few lesser qualified applicants simply looking for a reach (Harvard, Hopkins, Yale, Stanford, etc..)

 

[studentp0x]

I'd think the top 10 receive quite a few lesser qualified applicants simply looking for a reach (Harvard, Hopkins, Yale, Stanford, etc..)

what do you mean by "reach."

 

[Boolean]

what do you mean by "reach."

A reach school is a college that you have a chance of getting into, but your test scores, class rank and / or high school grades are a bit on the low side when you look at the school's profile. The top U.S. colleges and top universities should always be considered reach schools, for the admissions standards are so high that not even perfect SAT scores guarantee acceptance. Same thing applies with MCAT and medical admissions. Source for definition.

 

[Goro]

Based upon what my school gets, I'd say about 50% of the apps are from people who have no business setting foot on a medical school campus, much less ever being a doctor. I'm talking people dumb enough to submit with a single digit MCAT score. I am NOT making this up!

About another 25% are people who are only marginally competitive.

The other 25% are competitive, at least by numbers. Still, 2500 apps for, say, 200 seats is still, well, fierce. But 10% odds is better than 1-2% odds, right?

The key to being successful is applying with the best possible app, and applying strategically. Someone with a 3.5/3.4 GPA and a 30 MCAT won't get into Yale, but might have luck with Drexel or MCW.

Beleive it or not, the %s I mention above roughly mirror what we see in Faculty searches. For example, for an Anatomy position, you'd be surprised how many molecular biologist, or Drosophila geneticists apply for these!

Did you mean decent? I don't think there is any way to know this really, though certainly you can make some reasonable assumptions. All we know for certain are the numbers reported in the MSAR and USN&WR. Don't just assume that a school with a large applicant pool gets poor applications. If your MCAT and GPA aren't close to their median scores reported in the MSAR then its still a long shot.

 

[Boolean]

Based upon what my school gets, I'd say about 50% of the apps are from people who have no business setting foot on a medical school campus, much less ever being a doctor. I'm talking people dumb enough to submit with a single digit MCAT score. I am NOT making this up!

About another 25% are people who are only marginally competitive.

The other 25% are competitive, at least by numbers. Still, 2500 apps for, say, 200 seats is still, well, fierce. But 10% odds is better than 1-2% odds, right?

The key to being successful is applying with the best possible app, and applying strategically. Someone with a 3.5/3.4 GPA and a 30 MCAT won't get into Yale, but might have luck with Drexel or MCW.

Beleive it or not, the %s I mention above roughly mirror what we see in Faculty searches. For example, for an Anatomy position, you'd be surprised how many molecular biologist, or Drosophila geneticists apply for these!

That can happen????? Wow.

I think the issue is far too many people simply do not understand what it takes. They're told in pre-med that they can do anything and become the doctor they want to be no matter what. Carrib schools tend to promote this idea as well. Little do they know what it actually takes to be successful (example: "What do you mean I need to shadow people to get into medical school?")

 

[Goro]

Not only at my school, but gyngyn's as well!

That can happen????? Wow.


Yup. Lots of pathologically clueless people out there. I guess they think " maybe they won't get enough applications?" I'll bet a great psychology paper can come out studying the mentality of people like that.


I think the issue is far too many people simply do not understand what it takes. They're told in pre-med that they can do anything and become the doctor they want to be no matter what. Carrib schools tend to promote this idea as well. Little do they know what it actually takes to be successful (example: "What do you mean I need to shadow people to get into medical school?")[/quote]

 

[chenzt]

Like a school which receives ~10,000 applications, how many of these are actually recent?
I know it's a super vague question to ask, but I'm basically curious if such schools are receiving tons and tons of weak applications and only 2000 solid ones.

Loyola receives 10k applications, only 2/3 even completes the secondary.

 

[GypsyHummus]

Based upon what my school gets, I'd say about 50% of the apps are from people who have no business setting foot on a medical school campus, much less ever being a doctor. I'm talking people dumb enough to submit with a single digit MCAT score. I am NOT making this up!

About another 25% are people who are only marginally competitive.

The other 25% are competitive, at least by numbers. Still, 2500 apps for, say, 200 seats is still, well, fierce. But 10% odds is better than 1-2% odds, right?

The key to being successful is applying with the best possible app, and applying strategically. Someone with a 3.5/3.4 GPA and a 30 MCAT won't get into Yale, but might have luck with Drexel or MCW.

Beleive it or not, the %s I mention above roughly mirror what we see in Faculty searches. For example, for an Anatomy position, you'd be surprised how many molecular biologist, or Drosophila geneticists apply for these!

The marginally competitive applicants: what do they look like GPA and MCAT wise? do they still get looked at and invited to interviews? Do they automatically get wait listed if failed to impress, or do some ADCOM members go up to bat for these folks when it comes down to recommending them?

 

[Spinach Dip]

Based upon what my school gets, I'd say about 50% of the apps are from people who have no business setting foot on a medical school campus, much less ever being a doctor. I'm talking people dumb enough to submit with a single digit MCAT score. I am NOT making this up!

It would be interesting to invite a couple of these people to interviews, just to get inside their heads a little. Maybe see if the staff interviewers realize they've been punked.

 

[Frostbite22]

I can attest to people that just flat out shouldn't apply. My best friend was applying during her gap year and had terrible stats and in addition never completed the inorganic chemistry labs. Her adviser said she was excused from them for some reason. I begged and begged her telling her she wasn't competitive and that she needed those labs to apply. Well she applied to 25 schools with a 2.9 gpa, 17 MCAT and of employment working in a coffee shop. Needless to say she received rejections promptly about a week after submitting. Some people are either horribly misguided, ignorant, or someone is telling them that they still have a chance and shoot for the moon.

 

[Goro]

There are always some people who fall below the 10th %ile of acceptees for MCAT and/or GPAs and actually land interviews. These might be:

• People who reinvent or redeem themselves with stellar post-bacs or rising grade trends, but still have an overall GPA of low 3's.
• People with drop-dead killer ECs
• Legacies or specials

The other marginal people might be in striking range of a school's numbers, but don't really have anything interesting to merit an II. LizzyM has discussed in better detail as to what merits an II, or more importantly, what prevents an II.

The marginally competitive applicants: what do they look like GPA and MCAT wise? do they still get looked at and invited to interviews? Do they automatically get wait listed if failed to impress, or do some ADCOM members go up to bat for these folks when it comes down to recommending them?

 

[487806]

Based upon what my school gets, I'd say about 50% of the apps are from people who have no business setting foot on a medical school campus, much less ever being a doctor. I'm talking people dumb enough to submit with a single digit MCAT score. I am NOT making this up!

They should've aimed their apps only at HMS/Hopkins/Stanford to maximize their chances of acceptance

Aren't there some schools like Boston and GWU that receive numerous apps and they have to sort them out based on ECs that satisfy their mission statement? These schools reject the rockstar applicants for viewing them as safeties.

 

[ace12345]

I agree with everything said above. That said, don't undercut yourself either. If you're in range for some schools, take a few shots. I know of a number of strong applicants that got afraid, applied almost exclusively to low and mid-tier schools, got interviews at most of them and wish them had taken a few more chances with top institutions (A good problem to have of course, but still something to consider).

 

[juliuspepperwood]

I agree with everything said above. That said, don't undercut yourself either. If you're in range for some schools, take a few shots. I know of a number of strong applicants that got afraid, applied almost exclusively to low and mid-tier schools, got interviews at most of them and wish them had taken a few more chances with top institutions (A good problem to have of course, but still something to consider).

My low and mid-tier apps mostly got rejected and I interviewed at reach schools. Sounds cool but now I'm on the waitlist

 

[Goro]

Let us know what happens! It's always useful to find out what proves to be exceptional.

My low and mid-tier apps mostly got rejected and I interviewed at reach schools. Sounds cool but now I'm on the waitlist

 

[juliuspepperwood]

Let us know what happens! It's always useful to find out what proves to be exceptional.

Will do!