Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
What a question! I suppose it is a pretty standard one for potential students to wonder about, but it is simultaneously the hardest one to answer. But I will certainly give it my best shot.
Just like every other medical school, Mayo is looking for student who can handle the course load. Mayo has a 100% graduation rate, which they are very protective of, and thus they only want to take those they know have the intellect and determination to succeed. This can be proven in a lot of different ways: GPA, MCAT, working in addition to class and still getting good grades, being involevd in a lot of extra curriculars, etc.
But what I think makes Mayo unique as far as medical schools go is that the aforementioned component is a very small fraction of their equation. There are plenty of student in my class with MCATs lower than what might be considered "competitive" for a school rated the way Mayo is, and there are also students with really stellar MCAT scores. But it is not by any means the determining factor. In my opinion (and from my experience meeting other students here), Mayo is looking for two major things: 1) Diversity (and not just by the standard definition), and 2) Socially apt Professionals.
What do I mean by this?
1) Diversity
I do not mean by this skin color or religion or nationality. Of course, Mayo has a wide representation of all of these things. They also have students of the LGBTQ community and students from different age brackets and socioeconomic backgrounds and from many states and countries. But so do a lot of other schools. What I have loved most about Mayo since being here is the diversity that doesn't come in such pre-packaged forms: the diversity of interest. I have met students that played on the Olympic practice squad for soccer, and students that were in the military for four years, and students that were professional opera singers for 10 years before they decided to pursue medicine. What all these students have in common, though, and what all students here seem to have, is passion. And not just passion for medicine. Everyone is of course passionate about helping patients and furthering the knowledge of medicine etcetra etcetra. But that is not the only thing they are passionate about. Everyone seems to have that one thing that is not at all medically realted (singing, sailing, playing trumpet in other countries, being a Dad, doing mission work, blogging, I digress...) that they bring to the table, and that will help them connect with their patients. If you've got a passion like that, Mayo will be interested to hear about it. Don't hide it behind your list of 17 shadowing experiences.
2) Socially apt Professionals
This is sort of a vague way of putting this, so I will once again ramble. Mayo puts a high value on doctors who can communicate well. This means being able to interact with your peers, your superiors, your administrators, your patients, the families of your patients, and the janitor who takes out your trash. This doesn't just mean you can talk to these people; it means you can interact with them in such a way that maintains the relationship and if possible builds on it. Talking to the janitor and talking to the dean of the medical school are two very different interactions, but they both require your attention and should command your respect.
It basically comes back to the other half of this point: professionalism. Respect is a fundamental part of professionalism, and as any student who has been through the Mayo orientation week can tell you, Mayo puts professionalism on the same level of importance as medical competence. Your behavior should never reflect poorly on Mayo or the education you received while you were here. Being able to demonstrate in your application and your interview that you have experience networking, socializing, and empathizing with people from all different walks of life, and that you conduct yourself professionally in all situations, will make you a strong candidate.
THE END (since I wrote a novel, I thought this would be a fitting way to close)
But anyway, I hope that was helpful on some level. Of course, if you asked different people, you would get all different answers to this question based on their perspective, but this is the way I see it based on the people I have met here, both students and faculty, and I feel so incredibly fortunate to have been counted among those they found fitting to invite to learn and work here.
