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Discover Your Odds of Getting into Medical School
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texasvandy said:
Shallow? Is everyone attending a top school going into great specialties? All schools have to rank their students and only so many get into the specialties or residencies they really might be interested in. Many of them do settle for what they can get into in the end same as most other schools.
Click to expand...
Not all schools rank their students.
 
please Sinai be my Valentine 🙂
I'm guessing 2/14 is the last interview date but hopefully I'm wrong.
 
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MSTP WL, anyone have any thoughts on the email to express maintained interest? Should I make it a longer LOI, or leave it simpler?

Here is the wording:
In order to retain your position on our wait list, we ask that you reaffirm your interest in the program once monthly by emailing me and the MD/PhD Program Manager, Bianca Taylor. Please also email us with any updates in your plans or any changes in the status of submitted manuscripts

Still waiting to hear about a publication in review, so don't have an update there 🙁

Thanks!
 
Any news on the deferrals? Like should we be expecting clarification/more decisions soon or not
 
Hey Everyone,

MS-4 on admissions committee here. I've sporadically posted in this thread. Wanted to catch up with you guys.

Congrats to those accepted. We just received the list of acceptances on our end. From what it looks like around 170 regular track seats were offered in this first wave. From what I remember from last year's data, around 300 seats were offered to regular track applicants and ultimately around 94 matriculated (rest of class matriculated through FlexMed for total of 140). So basically that means if you were deferred I am assuming you can still hold out hope for acceptances as there may be another 100 seats left to offer. The caliber of applicants interviewed are very high and as such many will definitely have multiple acceptances and a lot will choose to go elsewhere.

In terms of admissions, we finished screening all regular track applications last week. Our last interview day will be Feb 14th. I wanted to try to clarify rolling admissions. The admissions committee votes on applicants the following week of your interview. After that meeting the score you receive is basically set. How the dean of admissions ranks applicants after the committee meeting is something I don't know. What I can tell is some of the applicants I interviewed who I gave a near perfect score did not get an offer this round. The ones that I and the other interviewer both gave the best possible scores to received offers. So essentially, it seems the top candidates got the acceptances this round as expected. A lot of these candidates will have offers at equally good schools and we inevitably will lose some of them to the Harvards, Stanfords, Hopkins of the world, etc.

I know the process sucks but if you already have an offer somewhere, congrats you will become a doctor! If you're still waiting for that first acceptance, you still have time as acceptances from many schools go out until April.

Lastly, to address how much a school's name matters. It does and can help you. Step 1 score is the ultimate filter followed by # of clinical rotations honored, letters of rec, and research. Step 2 CK scores are not required to receive interviews for a lot of specialties and at Sinai you have until end of December of application year to take Step 2 CK which by that time you will have received interviews for residencies already. Unfortunately, it is your Step 1 score that will either close or open doors for you. Certain specialities have wider step 1 ranges than others. Plastic surgery will not be as forgiving to a low step 1 score than general surgery would. Both are competitive specialities but plastics is just on another level of competitiveness. However, fields such as internal medicine has a wide range of acceptable step 1 scores with so many programs in the country (over 500!). What I learned from my residency interview season is that the Sinai name definitely got me interviews that I probably would not have (due to a below average step 1 score for field I am applying into). Certain programs just know what they will receive from a Sinai student or a Columbia student. Certain residency program directors gush over the name of Harvard while others don't care as much. What med school you go to will definitely help for the more competitive specialities but I cannot stress it enough, it is your Step 1 score that is the greatest filter for competitive residencies. A 250 Step 1 from Sinai beats a 230 Step 1 from Harvard for plastics. That's just facts.

Good luck to everyone in your future endeavors. I'll try to provide updates more frequently. Sorry that I ramble and write essays, appreciate those who read to the end.

p.s. RIP KOBE!
 
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johnnytest said:
Hey Everyone,

MS-4 on admissions committee here. I've sporadically posted in this thread. Wanted to catch up with you guys.

Congrats to those accepted. We just received the list of acceptances on our end. From what it looks like around 170 regular track seats were offered in this first wave. From what I remember from last year's data, around 300 seats were offered to regular track applicants and ultimately around 94 matriculated (rest of class matriculated through FlexMed for total of 140). So basically that means if you were deferred I am assuming you can still hold out hope for acceptances as there may be another 100 seats left to offer. The caliber of applicants interviewed are very high and as such many will definitely have multiple acceptances and a lot will choose to go elsewhere.

In terms of admissions, we finished screening all regular track applications last week. Our last interview day will be Feb 14th. I wanted to try to clarify rolling admissions. The admissions committee votes on applicants the following week of your interview. After that meeting the score you receive is basically set. How the dean of admissions ranks applicants after the committee meeting is something I don't know. What I can tell is some of the applicants I interviewed who I gave a near perfect score did not get an offer this round. The ones that I and the other interviewer both gave the best possible scores to received offers. So essentially, it seems the top candidates got the acceptances this round as expected. A lot of these candidates will have offers at equally good schools and we inevitably will lose some of them to the Harvards, Stanfords, Hopkins of the world, etc.

I know the process sucks but if you already have an offer somewhere, congrats you will become a doctor! If you're still waiting for that first acceptance, you still have time as acceptances from many schools go out until April.

Lastly, to address how much a school's name matters. It does and can help you. Step 1 score is the ultimate filter followed by # of clinical rotations honored, letters of rec, and research. Step 2 CK scores are not required to receive interviews for a lot of specialties and at Sinai you have until end of December of application year to take Step 2 CK which by that time you will have received interviews for residencies already. Unfortunately, it is your Step 1 score that will either close or open doors for you. Certain specialities have wider step 1 ranges than others. Plastic surgery will not be as forgiving to a low step 1 score than general surgery would. Both are competitive specialities but plastics is just on another level of competitiveness. However, fields such as internal medicine has a wide range of acceptable step 1 scores with so many programs in the country (over 500!). What I learned from my residency interview season is that the Sinai name definitely got me interviews that I probably would not have (due to a below average step 1 score for field I am applying into). Certain programs just know what they will receive from a Sinai student or a Columbia student. Certain residency program directors gush over the name of Harvard while others don't care as much. What med school you go to will definitely help for the more competitive specialities but I cannot stress it enough, it is your Step 1 score that is the greatest filter for competitive residencies. A 250 Step 1 from Sinai beats a 230 Step 1 from Harvard for plastics. That's just facts.

Good luck to everyone in your future endeavors. I'll try to provide updates more frequently.

p.s. RIP KOBE!
Click to expand...

Thank you for this. Really appreciate it. Can you speak a bit more of what the committees actually look like? Are you present there or do they just have your notes and score? Does anyone get in with mediocre interviews? How many people read the app after the interview. What’s the process like!!! Also, how many people did Sinai interview this season?
 
Members don't see this ad :)
johnnytest said:
Hey Everyone,

MS-4 on admissions committee here. I've sporadically posted in this thread. Wanted to catch up with you guys.

Congrats to those accepted. We just received the list of acceptances on our end. From what it looks like around 170 regular track seats were offered in this first wave. From what I remember from last year's data, around 300 seats were offered to regular track applicants and ultimately around 94 matriculated (rest of class matriculated through FlexMed for total of 140). So basically that means if you were deferred I am assuming you can still hold out hope for acceptances as there may be another 100 seats left to offer. The caliber of applicants interviewed are very high and as such many will definitely have multiple acceptances and a lot will choose to go elsewhere.

In terms of admissions, we finished screening all regular track applications last week. Our last interview day will be Feb 14th. I wanted to try to clarify rolling admissions. The admissions committee votes on applicants the following week of your interview. After that meeting the score you receive is basically set. How the dean of admissions ranks applicants after the committee meeting is something I don't know. What I can tell is some of the applicants I interviewed who I gave a near perfect score did not get an offer this round. The ones that I and the other interviewer both gave the best possible scores to received offers. So essentially, it seems the top candidates got the acceptances this round as expected. A lot of these candidates will have offers at equally good schools and we inevitably will lose some of them to the Harvards, Stanfords, Hopkins of the world, etc.

I know the process sucks but if you already have an offer somewhere, congrats you will become a doctor! If you're still waiting for that first acceptance, you still have time as acceptances from many schools go out until April.

Lastly, to address how much a school's name matters. It does and can help you. Step 1 score is the ultimate filter followed by # of clinical rotations honored, letters of rec, and research. Step 2 CK scores are not required to receive interviews for a lot of specialties and at Sinai you have until end of December of application year to take Step 2 CK which by that time you will have received interviews for residencies already. Unfortunately, it is your Step 1 score that will either close or open doors for you. Certain specialities have wider step 1 ranges than others. Plastic surgery will not be as forgiving to a low step 1 score than general surgery would. Both are competitive specialities but plastics is just on another level of competitiveness. However, fields such as internal medicine has a wide range of acceptable step 1 scores with so many programs in the country (over 500!). What I learned from my residency interview season is that the Sinai name definitely got me interviews that I probably would not have (due to a below average step 1 score for field I am applying into). Certain programs just know what they will receive from a Sinai student or a Columbia student. Certain residency program directors gush over the name of Harvard while others don't care as much. What med school you go to will definitely help for the more competitive specialities but I cannot stress it enough, it is your Step 1 score that is the greatest filter for competitive residencies. A 250 Step 1 from Sinai beats a 230 Step 1 from Harvard for plastics. That's just facts.

Good luck to everyone in your future endeavors. I'll try to provide updates more frequently. Sorry that I ramble and write essays, appreciate those who read to the end.

p.s. RIP KOBE!
Click to expand...
Thanks so much for all the info, it helps clear up a lot of this process. Do you have any if we are still in complete silence we will hear anything soon? As in, are any interviews still being offered or are the slots filled?
 
walter_heisenberg said:
Thank you for this. Really appreciate it. Can you speak a bit more of what the committees actually look like? Are you present there or do they just have your notes and score? Does anyone get in with mediocre interviews? How many people read the app after the interview. What’s the process like!!! Also, how many people did Sinai interview this season?
Click to expand...

oof lots of questions. See answers below.

Can you speak a bit more of what the committees actually look like?

The admissions committee meeting is presided over by the dean of admissions and usually an assistant from admissions. We have a copy of the list of applicants we will be discussing in front of us, with their name, GPA, MCAT, school, interviewers, score the interviewers gave. This list is ranked from highest post-interview score to lowest. We usually start discussing the applicants with the best scores first and move our way down. Sometimes an interviewer is late so we skip applicants until both their interviewers are present. The rest of the committee at the bare minimum includes those who interviewed the applicants the past week. If you interviewed you NEED to attend the committee meeting the following week. In addition, any faculty member and MS4 who has volunteered to help with the admissions process this cycle is allowed to attend AND to vote on applicants regardless whether they interviewed or not. I can go to every admissions committee if I wanted to.

Are you present there or do they just have your notes and score?

I have always been present when I am required to be. I have attended maybe 1-2 meetings when I did not interview applicants just to hear the applicants being considered for that week and also to vote. Being able to vote is pretty cool and I want to play a part in selecting the next group of students to attend Sinai. If people are unable to attend and this is usually clinical faculty (as MS4 life is chill), then their written summary of the applicant or whatever they would like to share is usually read out loud by the dean of admissions followed by the other interviewer presenting them. If only one interviewer is present then we heavily rely on the present person to discuss the applicant and answer any questions. Almost always, both interviewers are present but in life we can't control everyone's schedules.

Does anyone get in with mediocre interviews?

A poor interview basically tanks your app. Especially if both interviewers thought poorly of you. The thing to keep in mind is that there are so many qualified candidates. Many of whom are receiving top scores on their interviews. A slip up can really ruin your chances. Messing up both interviews is usually not questioned by the dean or anyone in the committee and sadly your chances of receiving an offer plummet. That being said, don't beat yourself up if you think you did poorly. We are not really capable of judging our own interview performance. You may be pleasantly surprised and receive an offer of acceptance.

How many people read the app after the interview?

I read the apps of those who I am interviewing beforehand to prepare for the interview. I don't really need to read their app post-interview as I most likely have garnered what I need to give a score based on the interview. At the interview stage, everyone is phenomenal. At that point, it's whether you can have a normal conversation with someone. During the meeting, for the candidate being discussed, we will have their application projected on a big screen. This allows to quickly find things in the app if it needs to be addressed and allows everyone to see. Everyone has access to the candidate's application on their respective electronic devices. When a candidate is being presented, I am usually 80% listening and 20% scrolling through their app. Sometimes I'll hear something like "Research in cancer at Mass Gen" and I'll Crtl+F it and skim that part and then get back to listening. Everyone is different as some people 100% listen in and others may do some sort of multi-tasking. Ultimately, the rest of the committee members paying attention like their life depends on it does not matter as much because we trust our colleagues in their judgment and if they are giving high scores, most others will be confident giving that same score. Your interviewers are really your best (or sometimes worst) friends.

What’s the process like!!!

To summarize, each applicant is presented by one interviewer (takes about 2-4 mins, depending on speed of presenter). Second interviewer adds or subtracts from that but does not repeat whole presentation. Questions and/or concerns are addressed. Everyone votes and onto the next. Your application is voted on in average 5 minutes after the first presenter began speaking (if no questions). We do not know the total score you received nor have access to it. That's dean of admission privileges. The dean of admissions does not vote. That time of 5 mins might seem very short, but there's really not much to discuss as you all are amazing and so it's parsing out excellence and I believe we do our due diligence with our scoring method and trusting each other so that we are able to go through many applicants as quick as possible. But, I'll tell ya, the applicants that we discuss for 10+ minutes, those are the most fun moments of the meeting. It's safe to say if your application was voted on in less than 5 minutes, you either rocked the house or brought it crashing down. The ones in the middle need and deserve the time to be discussed.

Also, how many people did Sinai interview this season?

As of now, I am seeing around 800 interviews sent this cycle, around 620 interviews have been completed. I have no information about the difference (~180). Can't tell you if they were all prior cancellations, withdrawals, or some are scheduled for these last few weeks.

Hope this helped! Cheers everyone.
 
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johnnytest said:
oof lots of questions. See answers below.

Can you speak a bit more of what the committees actually look like?

The admissions committee is presided over the dean of admissions and usually an assistant from admissions. We have a copy of the list of applicants we will be discussing in front of us, with their name, GPA, MCAT, school, interviewers, score the interviewers gave. The rest of the committee at the very least those who interviewed the applicants the past week. If you interviewed you NEED to attend the committee meeting the following week. In addition, any faculty member and MS4 who has volunteered to help with the admissions process this cycle is allowed to come to AND vote on applicants regardless whether they interviewed or not.

Are you present there or do they just have your notes and score?

I have always been present when I am required to be. I have attended maybe 1-2 meetings when I did not interview applicants just to hear the applicants being considered for that week and also to vote. Being able to vote is pretty cool and I want to play a part in selecting the next group of students to attend Sinai. If people are unable to attend and this is usually clinical faculty (as MS4 life is chill), then their summary of applicant or whatever they would like to share is usually written. If only one interviewer is present then we heavily rely on the present person to discuss the applicant and answer any questions. Almost always, both interviewers are present but in life we can't control everyone's schedules.

Does anyone get in with mediocre interviews?

A poor interview basically tanks your app. Especially if both interviewers thought poorly of you. The thing to keep in mind is that there are so many qualified candidates. Many of whom are receiving top scores on their interviews. A slip up can really ruin your chances. Messing up both interviews is usually not questioned by the dean or anyone in the committee.

How many people read the app after the interview?

I read the apps of those who I am interviewing beforehand to prepare for the interview. I don't really need to read their app post-interview as I most likely have garnered what I need to give a score based on the interview. At the interview stage, everyone is phenomenal. At that point, it's whether you can have a normal conversation with someone. During the meeting, for the candidate being discussed, we will have their application projected on a big screen. This allows to quickly find things in the app if it needs to be addressed and allows everyone to see. Everyone has access to the candidates application on their respective electronic devices. When a candidate is being presented, I am usually 80% listening and 20% scrolling through their app. Sometimes I'll hear something like "Research in cancer at Mass Gen" and I'll Crtl+F it and skim that part and then get back to listening. Everyone is different as some people 100% listen in and others may do some sort of multi-tasking. Ultimately, the rest of the members paying attention like their life depends on it does not matter as much because we trust our colleagues in their judgment and if they are giving high scores, most will be confident giving that same score. Your interviewers are really your best (or sometimes worst) friends.

What’s the process like!!!

To summarize, each applicant is presented by one interviewer (takes about 2-4 mins, depending on speed of presenter). Second interviewer adds or subtracts from that but does not repeat whole presentation. Questions and/or concerns are addressed. Everyone votes and onto the next. Your score from the meeting is determined on average in 5 minutes (if no questions). We do not know this total score nor have access to it. That's dean of admission privileges. There's really not much to discuss as you all are amazing and so it's parsing out excellence and I believe we do our due diligence with our scoring method and trusting each other that we are able to go through many applicants as quick as possible. But, I'll tell ya, the applicants that we discuss for 10+ minutes, those are most fun moments of the meeting. It's safe to say if your application was voted on in less than 5 minutes, you either rocked the house or brought it crashing down. The ones in the middle need and deserve the time to be discussed.

Also, how many people did Sinai interview this season?

As of now, I am seeing around 800 interviews sent this cycle, around 620 interviews have been completed. I have no information about the difference (~180). Can't tell you if they were all prior cancellations, withdrawals, or some are scheduled for these last few weeks.

Hope this helped! Cheers everyone.
Click to expand...
Thanks so much for this, it takes away a lot of the neuroticism and anxiety behind the process!
 
johnnytest said:
oof lots of questions. See answers below.

Can you speak a bit more of what the committees actually look like?

The admissions committee is presided over the dean of admissions and usually an assistant from admissions. We have a copy of the list of applicants we will be discussing in front of us, with their name, GPA, MCAT, school, interviewers, score the interviewers gave. This list is ranked from highest post-interview score to lowest. We usually start discussing the applicants with the best scores first and move our way down. Sometimes and interviewer is late so we skip applicants until their interviewer is present. The rest of the committee at the very least include those who interviewed the applicants the past week. If you interviewed you NEED to attend the committee meeting the following week. In addition, any faculty member and MS4 who has volunteered to help with the admissions process this cycle is allowed to attend AND to vote on applicants regardless whether they interviewed or not. I can go to every admissions committee if I wanted to.

Are you present there or do they just have your notes and score?

I have always been present when I am required to be. I have attended maybe 1-2 meetings when I did not interview applicants just to hear the applicants being considered for that week and also to vote. Being able to vote is pretty cool and I want to play a part in selecting the next group of students to attend Sinai. If people are unable to attend and this is usually clinical faculty (as MS4 life is chill), then their written summary of the applicant or whatever they would like to share is usually read out loud by the dean of admissions. If only one interviewer is present then we heavily rely on the present person to discuss the applicant and answer any questions. Almost always, both interviewers are present but in life we can't control everyone's schedules.

Does anyone get in with mediocre interviews?

A poor interview basically tanks your app. Especially if both interviewers thought poorly of you. The thing to keep in mind is that there are so many qualified candidates. Many of whom are receiving top scores on their interviews. A slip up can really ruin your chances. Messing up both interviews is usually not questioned by the dean or anyone in the committee.

How many people read the app after the interview?

I read the apps of those who I am interviewing beforehand to prepare for the interview. I don't really need to read their app post-interview as I most likely have garnered what I need to give a score based on the interview. At the interview stage, everyone is phenomenal. At that point, it's whether you can have a normal conversation with someone. During the meeting, for the candidate being discussed, we will have their application projected on a big screen. This allows to quickly find things in the app if it needs to be addressed and allows everyone to see. Everyone has access to the candidates application on their respective electronic devices. When a candidate is being presented, I am usually 80% listening and 20% scrolling through their app. Sometimes I'll hear something like "Research in cancer at Mass Gen" and I'll Crtl+F it and skim that part and then get back to listening. Everyone is different as some people 100% listen in and others may do some sort of multi-tasking. Ultimately, the rest of the members paying attention like their life depends on it does not matter as much because we trust our colleagues in their judgment and if they are giving high scores, most will be confident giving that same score. Your interviewers are really your best (or sometimes worst) friends.

What’s the process like!!!

To summarize, each applicant is presented by one interviewer (takes about 2-4 mins, depending on speed of presenter). Second interviewer adds or subtracts from that but does not repeat whole presentation. Questions and/or concerns are addressed. Everyone votes and onto the next. Your score from the meeting is determined on average in 5 minutes (if no questions). We do not know this total score nor have access to it. That's dean of admission privileges. That time might seem very short, but there's really not much to discuss as you all are amazing and so it's parsing out excellence and I believe we do our due diligence with our scoring method and trusting each other that we are able to go through many applicants as quick as possible. But, I'll tell ya, the applicants that we discuss for 10+ minutes, those are the most fun moments of the meeting. It's safe to say if your application was voted on in less than 5 minutes, you either rocked the house or brought it crashing down. The ones in the middle need and deserve the time to be discussed.

Also, how many people did Sinai interview this season?

As of now, I am seeing around 800 interviews sent this cycle, around 620 interviews have been completed. I have no information about the difference (~180). Can't tell you if they were all prior cancellations, withdrawals, or some are scheduled for these last few weeks.

Hope this helped! Cheers everyone.
Click to expand...

You are literally my favorite person on SDN. Thank you!!! Some follow up questions since I know you have time with that chill MS4 life lol.

1) you mention that people in the committee ask questions to the interviewers. What might these questions look like?

2) have you witnessed cases where scores between interviewers vary drastically? What happens

3) when people vote in the committee meeting, do they vote on a score or admit deny waitlist?

4) does a rock star interview performance by both interviewers basically guarantee that that candidate will get in? Or not even close
 
krustykrabkrew said:
Thanks so much for all the info, it helps clear up a lot of this process. Do you have any if we are still in complete silence we will hear anything soon? As in, are any interviews still being offered or are the slots filled?
Click to expand...

Complete silence at this point, pre-II, is most likely a rejection. I am not sure if we have anymore interview invitations left. Sorry, I know not what you probably want to hear 🙁

I do see you have an acceptance though so congrats on that. The majority get rejected when they apply to med school so getting in is an achievement to be immensely proud of.
 
johnnytest said:
Complete silence at this point, pre-II, is most likely a rejection. I am not sure if we have anymore interview invitations left. Sorry, I know not what you probably want to hear 🙁

I do see you have an acceptance though so congrats on that. The majority get rejected when they apply to med school so getting in is an achievement to be immensely proud of.
Click to expand...
Thank you for the kind words! Appreciate everything you’re doing here.
 
walter_heisenberg said:
You are literally my favorite person on SDN. Thank you!!! Some follow up questions since I know you have time with that chill MS4 life lol.

1) you mention that people in the committee ask questions to the interviewers. What might these questions look like?

2) have you witnessed cases where scores between interviewers vary drastically? What happens

3) when people vote in the committee meeting, do they vote on a score or admit deny waitlist?

4) does a rock star interview performance by both interviewers basically guarantee that that candidate will get in? Or not even close
Click to expand...


1) you mention that people in the committee ask questions to the interviewers. What might these questions look like?

This varies tremendously and is so specific to the applicant in question. Sometimes it's academics and someone questions can they handle rigors of med school. Other times it's clarification on something the applicant said during the interview. Questions usually arise when two interviewers disagree or give different scores.

2) have you witnessed cases where scores between interviewers vary drastically? What happens

Pretty much guaranteed to happen at each meeting. When I get the list at the beginning of the meeting, I scan to the bottom to find these discrepancies. And, I'm most excited to hear about those. Usually, it's a case where the applicant got caught being arrogant or something very questionable was said. In that case, the applicant is pretty much done. Other than that scores are usually closer together.

3) when people vote in the committee meeting, do they vote on a score or admit deny waitlist?

It's a score. For simplicity sake and to not fully reveal our methods, think of it as a score between 1 and 5 stars, with 5 being the best and 1 the worst.

4) does a rock star interview performance by both interviewers basically guarantee that that candidate will get in? Or not even close

I'd bet it's an automatic admit. I can't say for sure because only the dean of admissions makes the admit list at the end so maybe there were times an applicant received the best scores possible from both interviewers and later on did not get an offer... But, I can't fathom why that'd happen barring some sort of discovery of lying on the app or lying about something else. I'm sure the dean of admissions carefully combs through the apps one last time for those she plans on offering a seat. Maybe she found some questionable language in one of the letters, contacted the letter writer, and then based on her conversation with the letter writer, changed her mind. I'm completely speculating here but yeah imo, rock both interviews and you're in. Also, not everyone gets the absolute best score on both interviews. A few do each week but no where near the majority. I'd say around 5-10% of applicants get perfect scores from both interviewers each week.
 
johnnytest said:
1) you mention that people in the committee ask questions to the interviewers. What might these questions look like?

This varies tremendously and is so specific to the applicant in question. Sometimes it's academics and someone questions can they handle rigors of med school. Other times it's clarification on something the applicant said during the interview. Questions usually arise when two interviewers disagree or give different scores.

2) have you witnessed cases where scores between interviewers vary drastically? What happens

Pretty much guaranteed to happen at each meeting. When I get the list at the beginning of the meeting, I scan to the bottom to find these discrepancies. And, I'm most excited to hear about those. Usually, it's a case where the applicant got caught being arrogant or something very questionable was said. In that case, the applicant is pretty much done. Other than that scores are usually closer together.

3) when people vote in the committee meeting, do they vote on a score or admit deny waitlist?

It's a score. For simplicity sake and to not fully reveal our methods, think of it as a score between 1 and 5 stars, with 5 being the best and 1 the worst.

4) does a rock star interview performance by both interviewers basically guarantee that that candidate will get in? Or not even close

I'd bet it's an automatic admit. I can't say for sure because only the dean of admissions makes the admit list at the end so maybe there were times an applicant received the best scores possible from both interviewers and later on did not get an offer... But, I can't fathom why that'd happen barring some sort of discovery of lying on the app or lying about something else. I'm sure the dean of admissions carefully combs through the apps one last time for those she plans on offering a seat. Maybe she found some questionable language in one of the letters, contacted the letter writer, and then based on her conversation with the letter writer, changed her mind. I'm completely speculating here but yeah imo, rock both interviews and you're in. Also, not everyone gets the absolute best score on both interviews. A few do each week but no where near the majority. I'd say around 5-10% of applicants get perfect scores from both interviewers each week.
Click to expand...

Thanks again.

From what your saying, it basically sounds like post interview, your interview performance is everything. Is that a fair assessment?

What are some aspects of an application that really gets the committee going? Like, will people start fawning over ridiculous stats or amazing research or overcoming poverty? Is likelihood of candidate attending ever mentioned in the meeting ("This applicant is from CA vs NYC")

Are quotes from the interview itself ever read out loud (like "timmy said xyz when I asked him Phi beta and gamma")

What happens if one interview is awesome and the other is just OK? Not bad but OK? is that like most people?

How is (or is it) URM status taken into account during the meetings.

Thank you for feeding our neuroticism and may you be rewarded for your kind deeds by the match gods come march.
 
@johnnytest could you please let us know if you have an idea of when decisions would be communicated for those of us who were deferred? Should we expect something in mid February? Or should we wait till mid March-April?
Also, let’s say you got an interview with a lower MCAT score. Is such a factor considered during your committee discussion post-interview? Or does the fact that an interview was granted mean that the stats are overlooked? Thank you very much! I really appreciate you taking the time to answer our questions 🙂
 
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johnnytest said:
Hey Everyone,

MS-4 on admissions committee here. I've sporadically posted in this thread. Wanted to catch up with you guys.

Congrats to those accepted. We just received the list of acceptances on our end. From what it looks like around 170 regular track seats were offered in this first wave. From what I remember from last year's data, around 300 seats were offered to regular track applicants and ultimately around 94 matriculated (rest of class matriculated through FlexMed for total of 140). So basically that means if you were deferred I am assuming you can still hold out hope for acceptances as there may be another 100 seats left to offer. The caliber of applicants interviewed are very high and as such many will definitely have multiple acceptances and a lot will choose to go elsewhere.

In terms of admissions, we finished screening all regular track applications last week. Our last interview day will be Feb 14th. I wanted to try to clarify rolling admissions. The admissions committee votes on applicants the following week of your interview. After that meeting the score you receive is basically set. How the dean of admissions ranks applicants after the committee meeting is something I don't know. What I can tell is some of the applicants I interviewed who I gave a near perfect score did not get an offer this round. The ones that I and the other interviewer both gave the best possible scores to received offers. So essentially, it seems the top candidates got the acceptances this round as expected. A lot of these candidates will have offers at equally good schools and we inevitably will lose some of them to the Harvards, Stanfords, Hopkins of the world, etc.

I know the process sucks but if you already have an offer somewhere, congrats you will become a doctor! If you're still waiting for that first acceptance, you still have time as acceptances from many schools go out until April.

Lastly, to address how much a school's name matters. It does and can help you. Step 1 score is the ultimate filter followed by # of clinical rotations honored, letters of rec, and research. Step 2 CK scores are not required to receive interviews for a lot of specialties and at Sinai you have until end of December of application year to take Step 2 CK which by that time you will have received interviews for residencies already. Unfortunately, it is your Step 1 score that will either close or open doors for you. Certain specialities have wider step 1 ranges than others. Plastic surgery will not be as forgiving to a low step 1 score than general surgery would. Both are competitive specialities but plastics is just on another level of competitiveness. However, fields such as internal medicine has a wide range of acceptable step 1 scores with so many programs in the country (over 500!). What I learned from my residency interview season is that the Sinai name definitely got me interviews that I probably would not have (due to a below average step 1 score for field I am applying into). Certain programs just know what they will receive from a Sinai student or a Columbia student. Certain residency program directors gush over the name of Harvard while others don't care as much. What med school you go to will definitely help for the more competitive specialities but I cannot stress it enough, it is your Step 1 score that is the greatest filter for competitive residencies. A 250 Step 1 from Sinai beats a 230 Step 1 from Harvard for plastics. That's just facts.

Good luck to everyone in your future endeavors. I'll try to provide updates more frequently. Sorry that I ramble and write essays, appreciate those who read to the end.

p.s. RIP KOBE!
Click to expand...
In regards to the applicants that you gave a near perfect score and did not make it in this round. We’re they given perfect scores by the other interviewer? I just want to know your thought on what the reason could have been for them not getting an offer. Thank you!!
 
@johnnytest be like
1vd9b0.jpg
 
johnnytest said:
Hey Everyone,

MS-4 on admissions committee here. I've sporadically posted in this thread. Wanted to catch up with you guys.

Congrats to those accepted. We just received the list of acceptances on our end. From what it looks like around 170 regular track seats were offered in this first wave. From what I remember from last year's data, around 300 seats were offered to regular track applicants and ultimately around 94 matriculated (rest of class matriculated through FlexMed for total of 140). So basically that means if you were deferred I am assuming you can still hold out hope for acceptances as there may be another 100 seats left to offer. The caliber of applicants interviewed are very high and as such many will definitely have multiple acceptances and a lot will choose to go elsewhere.

In terms of admissions, we finished screening all regular track applications last week. Our last interview day will be Feb 14th. I wanted to try to clarify rolling admissions. The admissions committee votes on applicants the following week of your interview. After that meeting the score you receive is basically set. How the dean of admissions ranks applicants after the committee meeting is something I don't know. What I can tell is some of the applicants I interviewed who I gave a near perfect score did not get an offer this round. The ones that I and the other interviewer both gave the best possible scores to received offers. So essentially, it seems the top candidates got the acceptances this round as expected. A lot of these candidates will have offers at equally good schools and we inevitably will lose some of them to the Harvards, Stanfords, Hopkins of the world, etc.

I know the process sucks but if you already have an offer somewhere, congrats you will become a doctor! If you're still waiting for that first acceptance, you still have time as acceptances from many schools go out until April.

Lastly, to address how much a school's name matters. It does and can help you. Step 1 score is the ultimate filter followed by # of clinical rotations honored, letters of rec, and research. Step 2 CK scores are not required to receive interviews for a lot of specialties and at Sinai you have until end of December of application year to take Step 2 CK which by that time you will have received interviews for residencies already. Unfortunately, it is your Step 1 score that will either close or open doors for you. Certain specialities have wider step 1 ranges than others. Plastic surgery will not be as forgiving to a low step 1 score than general surgery would. Both are competitive specialities but plastics is just on another level of competitiveness. However, fields such as internal medicine has a wide range of acceptable step 1 scores with so many programs in the country (over 500!). What I learned from my residency interview season is that the Sinai name definitely got me interviews that I probably would not have (due to a below average step 1 score for field I am applying into). Certain programs just know what they will receive from a Sinai student or a Columbia student. Certain residency program directors gush over the name of Harvard while others don't care as much. What med school you go to will definitely help for the more competitive specialities but I cannot stress it enough, it is your Step 1 score that is the greatest filter for competitive residencies. A 250 Step 1 from Sinai beats a 230 Step 1 from Harvard for plastics. That's just facts.

Good luck to everyone in your future endeavors. I'll try to provide updates more frequently. Sorry that I ramble and write essays, appreciate those who read to the end.

p.s. RIP KOBE!
Click to expand...
My hero, thank you so much for this. If the score is set after the committee meets to vote on you, how are updates considered? I'm wondering since it mentioned on the deferred email to send any updates.
 
nicklepickle said:
This might be wrong but it looked like 2 years ago when they did deferrals that they did them mid month february march and april.
Click to expand...
I think this is what we should expect. However, I was not sure if the deferred would hear back as early as mid-feb or if we will be pushed till later.
 
juliannewman said:
Do you know if deferred ppl got in that round or were pushed back
Click to expand...
From what I saw (and keep in mind not everyone in the cycle posts on sdn obviously) there was one person who was deferred in December (when they did the initial decisions) who got accepted in January (our February).
 
For your reference, here’s what I found after looking at previous years’ data.

ScienceGeek3 said:
So I have spent a long time yesterday reading the 2017-2018 and the 2018-2019 threads in order to understand if deferring students is a common thing sinai does. What did I find?

- 2 years ago they deferred people but last year they waitlisted them right away.
- In the past 2 years (from what I read), no one was rejected post interview within the decision release monthly dates.
- Most people that were deferred 2 years ago ended up on the waitlist.

Why defer people this year and not directly waitlist them like last year? I am thinking that they want to see all of the interviewees first then make decisions monthly and choose some candidates to accept from the deferred pile. Another reason could simply be because being “deferred” sounds better than being “waitlisted” especially with lots of us being good applicants that may already have other options. I do think that lots of the deferred people will be waitlisted. Why is that? I think it’s due to the fact that schools won’t be able to see which schools the candidates got accepted to till the end of April. By then, waitlist movement usually starts and schools get a better idea of who to accept/reject. Overall, the process definitely sucks and is very stressful since some of us have been waiting for 4 months to just hear that we need to wait another 2-4 months. I guess it be like that sometimes. Good luck y’all.
Click to expand...
 
walter_heisenberg said:
Thanks again.

From what your saying, it basically sounds like post interview, your interview performance is everything. Is that a fair assessment?

What are some aspects of an application that really gets the committee going? Like, will people start fawning over ridiculous stats or amazing research or overcoming poverty? Is likelihood of candidate attending ever mentioned in the meeting ("This applicant is from CA vs NYC")

Are quotes from the interview itself ever read out loud (like "timmy said xyz when I asked him Phi beta and gamma")

What happens if one interview is awesome and the other is just OK? Not bad but OK? is that like most people?

How is (or is it) URM status taken into account during the meetings.

Thank you for feeding our neuroticism and may you be rewarded for your kind deeds by the match gods come march.
Click to expand...

From what your saying, it basically sounds like post interview, your interview performance is everything. Is that a fair assessment?

Pretty much. Getting to the interview stage means your application was very well received.

What are some aspects of an application that really gets the committee going? Like, will people start fawning over ridiculous stats or amazing research or overcoming poverty? Is likelihood of candidate attending ever mentioned in the meeting ("This applicant is from CA vs NYC")

Usually 4.0 GPA from Ivy-League school with 522+ MCAT, 1st author pubs in research, poster presentations, dedicated volunteer work, varsity sports, other hobbies, clear and passionate dedication for medicine, warm and friendly during interview with mature, genuine, poised answers. This is basically perfect score candidate material but not everyone who receives a perfect score has all these credentials. Very rarely we will find someone like this and... they are most likely going to Harvard lol

Facing unique life adversaries and overcoming them while maintaining excellence shows resilience which is a character trait we love to see at Sinai. Maintaining excellence is key. We all have struggles in life but to fight through them and still do well is remarkable in our eyes.

I feel a good chunk of our classes are from CA. CA people want to experience NYC badly and vice-versa. I don't think we question much if a person would chose to come to Sinai based on their geographic residence. It's NYC, people obsess over it on their own. We're more worried on losing top candidates to nearby schools such as Columbia, Cornell, and NYU. Likelihood of candidate attending might come up in certain situations. For example if applicant says "I grew up in Texas, went to school in Texas, family is in Texas, I love Texas, etc" then someone might say as a joke "well they are definitely staying in Texas."

Are quotes from the interview itself ever read out loud (like "timmy said xyz when I asked him Phi beta and gamma")

I've come to learn the most skilled interviewers are able to present the applicant in such a comprehensive way but almost as if telling a story. Quotes or excerpts of what a candidate said during an interview are definitely worth their weight in gold in helping the committee understand more about the candidate. An example I can give is something along the lines of "johnnytest loves the field of neurology so much that when he was in high school he did an intel science project on dementia and then in college worked for 3 years in research for Alzheimer's disease. During our interview he recalled the first time he dealt with a stroke patient and he said it was the most humbling moment of his life and how he understood how invaluable good health is and in that moment he realized he wanted to dedicate his life to guide as many people to a life of good health." Legit made that up right now but hope you get the idea.

How is (or is it) URM status taken into account during the meetings.

Very important as we realize URM status applicants are often not able to acquire the same level of education and/or have access to resources as other applicants. Nevertheless, they are still able to do tremendously well given what they have. On top that, the stories interviewers share from URM candidates are often the most touching and self-reflecting. I do wish there were more URM students at Sinai but I think for that to happen there needs to be more support and guidance at earlier stages of education. Lastly, Sinai does not shy away from calling out white privilege when we see it. We acknowledge the Caucasian applicant whose parents are doctors and went to private school since elementary was set up for success from a young age. Not taking anything away from an applicant like that but when comparing that to an applicant with far less resources and similar achievements, the latter often wins more "resilience" points. Not real points but it's just one of the character traits we look out for. It's almost as if the former was meant to be great and they were whereas the latter had no business being great yet they managed to do so. Both will basically be accepted if we see them as a great addition to our school.

Thank you for feeding our neuroticism and may you be rewarded for your kind deeds by the match gods come march.

Haha anytime! For residency apps, the neuroticism did creep back on me but then I realized the things that I was worried about as a pre-med are things I seriously don't think or care about now as a med student when reading apps. Mainly cause I'm busy and got other things to worry about so the goal for me is to screen the apps as fast as I can while maintaining holistic review. So in that regard, why would faculty who are even busier care about the things I'm worrying about. But residency acceptance percentages are 94% whereas med school is 40% so I don't blame any of you to be as neurotic as you are. It's a process I am glad to have overcome and so the least I can do is help out my future colleagues 😉
 
Last edited:
johnnytest said:
From what your saying, it basically sounds like post interview, your interview performance is everything. Is that a fair assessment?

Pretty much. Getting to the interview stage means your application was very well received.

What are some aspects of an application that really gets the committee going? Like, will people start fawning over ridiculous stats or amazing research or overcoming poverty? Is likelihood of candidate attending ever mentioned in the meeting ("This applicant is from CA vs NYC")

Usually 4.0 GPA from Ivy-League school with 522+ MCAT, 1st author pubs in research, poster presentations, dedicated volunteer work, varsity sports, other hobbies, clear and passionate dedication for medicine, warm and friendly during interview with mature, genuine, poised answers. This is basically perfect score candidate material but not everyone who receives a perfect score has all these credentials. Very rarely we will find someone like this and... they are most likely going to Harvard lol

Facing unique life adversaries and overcoming them while maintaining excellence shows resilience which is a character trait we love to see at Sinai. Maintaining excellence is key. We all have struggles in life but to fight through them and still do well is remarkable in our eyes.

I feel a good chunk of our classes are from CA. CA people want to experience NYC badly and vice-versa. I don't think we question much if a person would chose to come to Sinai based on their geographic residence. It's NYC, people obsess over it on their own. We're more worried on losing top candidates to nearby schools such as Columbia, Cornell, and NYU. Likelihood of candidate attending might come up in certain situations. For example if applicant says "I grew up in Texas, went to school in Texas, family is in Texas, I love Texas, etc" then someone might say as a joke "well they are definitely staying in Texas."

Are quotes from the interview itself ever read out loud (like "timmy said xyz when I asked him Phi beta and gamma")

I've come to learn the most skilled interviewers are able to present the applicant in such a comprehensive way but almost as if telling a story. Quotes or excerpts of what a candidate said during an interview are definitely worth their weight in gold in helping the committee understand more about the candidate. An example I can give is something along the lines of "johnnytest loves the field of neurology so much that when he was in high school he did an intel science project on dementia and then in college worked for 3 years in research for Alzheimer's disease. During our interview he recalled the first time he dealt with a stroke patient and he said it was the most humbling moment of his life and how he understood how invaluable good health is and in that moment he realized he wanted to dedicate his life to guide as many people to a life of good health." Legit made that up right now but hope you get the idea.

How is (or is it) URM status taken into account during the meetings.

Very important as we realize URM status applicants are often not able to acquire the same level of education and/or have access to resources as other applicants. Nevertheless, they are still able to do tremendously well given what they have. On top that, the stories interviewers share from URM candidates are often the most touching and self-reflecting. I do wish there were more URM students at Sinai but I think for that to happen there needs to be more support and guidance at earlier stages of education. Lastly, Sinai does not shy away from calling out white privilege when we see it. We acknowledge the Caucasian applicant whose parents are doctors and went to private school since elementary was set up for success from a young age. Not taking anything away from an applicant like that but when comparing that to an applicant with far less resources and similar achievements, the latter often wins more "resilience" points. Not real points but it's just one of the character traits we look out for. It's almost as if the former was meant to be great and they were whereas the latter had no business being great yet they managed to do so. Both will basically be accepted if we see them as a great addition to our school.

Thank you for feeding our neuroticism and may you be rewarded for your kind deeds by the match gods come march.

Haha anytime! For residency apps, the neuroticism did creep back on me but then I realized the things that I was worried about as a pre-med are things I seriously don't think or care about now as a med student when reading apps. Mainly cause I'm busy and got other things to worry about so the goal for me is to screen the apps as fast as I can while maintaining holistic review. So in that regard, why would faculty who are even busier care about the things I'm worrying about. But residency acceptance percentages are 94% whereas med school is 40% so I don't blame any of you to be as neurotic as you are. It's a process I am glad to have overcome and so the least I can do is help out my future colleagues 😉
Click to expand...


Some interesting points you mentioned.

1) For the perfect candidate that you describe above, do members of the committee ever say “this person isn’t going to come here they will have “better” options”? In effect, yield protections

2) it sounds like with regard to URM status, it is explicitly mentioned in the committee meeting. Surely there are URMs who come from affluent backgrounds. Do these URMs still enjoy the same advantage in the committee meetings? (Obv not trying to derail the thread here guys about URM status!!!)

3) any interesting stories or encounters you can share while still maintaining anonymity🙂?
 
walter_heisenberg said:
Some interesting points you mentioned.

1) For the perfect candidate that you describe above, do members of the committee ever say “this person isn’t going to come here they will have “better” options”? In effect, yield protections

2) it sounds like with regard to URM status, it is explicitly mentioned in the committee meeting. Surely there are URMs who come from affluent backgrounds. Do these URMs still enjoy the same advantage in the committee meetings? (Obv not trying to derail the thread here guys about URM status!!!)

3) any interesting stories or encounters you can share while still maintaining anonymity🙂?
Click to expand...
just pm him at this point dawg
 
Interviewed here Friday. They said they will have next round of decisions in Feb, I think mid Feb but can't remember 100%
 
johnnytest said:
From what your saying, it basically sounds like post interview, your interview performance is everything. Is that a fair assessment?

Pretty much. Getting to the interview stage means your application was very well received.

What are some aspects of an application that really gets the committee going? Like, will people start fawning over ridiculous stats or amazing research or overcoming poverty? Is likelihood of candidate attending ever mentioned in the meeting ("This applicant is from CA vs NYC")

Usually 4.0 GPA from Ivy-League school with 522+ MCAT, 1st author pubs in research, poster presentations, dedicated volunteer work, varsity sports, other hobbies, clear and passionate dedication for medicine, warm and friendly during interview with mature, genuine, poised answers. This is basically perfect score candidate material but not everyone who receives a perfect score has all these credentials. Very rarely we will find someone like this and... they are most likely going to Harvard lol

Facing unique life adversaries and overcoming them while maintaining excellence shows resilience which is a character trait we love to see at Sinai. Maintaining excellence is key. We all have struggles in life but to fight through them and still do well is remarkable in our eyes.

I feel a good chunk of our classes are from CA. CA people want to experience NYC badly and vice-versa. I don't think we question much if a person would chose to come to Sinai based on their geographic residence. It's NYC, people obsess over it on their own. We're more worried on losing top candidates to nearby schools such as Columbia, Cornell, and NYU. Likelihood of candidate attending might come up in certain situations. For example if applicant says "I grew up in Texas, went to school in Texas, family is in Texas, I love Texas, etc" then someone might say as a joke "well they are definitely staying in Texas."

Are quotes from the interview itself ever read out loud (like "timmy said xyz when I asked him Phi beta and gamma")

I've come to learn the most skilled interviewers are able to present the applicant in such a comprehensive way but almost as if telling a story. Quotes or excerpts of what a candidate said during an interview are definitely worth their weight in gold in helping the committee understand more about the candidate. An example I can give is something along the lines of "johnnytest loves the field of neurology so much that when he was in high school he did an intel science project on dementia and then in college worked for 3 years in research for Alzheimer's disease. During our interview he recalled the first time he dealt with a stroke patient and he said it was the most humbling moment of his life and how he understood how invaluable good health is and in that moment he realized he wanted to dedicate his life to guide as many people to a life of good health." Legit made that up right now but hope you get the idea.

How is (or is it) URM status taken into account during the meetings.

Very important as we realize URM status applicants are often not able to acquire the same level of education and/or have access to resources as other applicants. Nevertheless, they are still able to do tremendously well given what they have. On top that, the stories interviewers share from URM candidates are often the most touching and self-reflecting. I do wish there were more URM students at Sinai but I think for that to happen there needs to be more support and guidance at earlier stages of education. Lastly, Sinai does not shy away from calling out white privilege when we see it. We acknowledge the Caucasian applicant whose parents are doctors and went to private school since elementary was set up for success from a young age. Not taking anything away from an applicant like that but when comparing that to an applicant with far less resources and similar achievements, the latter often wins more "resilience" points. Not real points but it's just one of the character traits we look out for. It's almost as if the former was meant to be great and they were whereas the latter had no business being great yet they managed to do so. Both will basically be accepted if we see them as a great addition to our school.

Thank you for feeding our neuroticism and may you be rewarded for your kind deeds by the match gods come march.

Haha anytime! For residency apps, the neuroticism did creep back on me but then I realized the things that I was worried about as a pre-med are things I seriously don't think or care about now as a med student when reading apps. Mainly cause I'm busy and got other things to worry about so the goal for me is to screen the apps as fast as I can while maintaining holistic review. So in that regard, why would faculty who are even busier care about the things I'm worrying about. But residency acceptance percentages are 94% whereas med school is 40% so I don't blame any of you to be as neurotic as you are. It's a process I am glad to have overcome and so the least I can do is help out my future colleagues 😉
Click to expand...
Out of curiosity. How does being from a state school vs. Ivy play out? Is being from an ivy a heavy factor comparatively or just a mild bump?
 
u_raptor said:
Out of curiosity. How does being from a state school vs. Ivy play out? Is being from an ivy a heavy factor comparatively or just a mild bump?
Click to expand...

Mild bump. There are tons of applicants from the Ivy league we reject pre-II. At the end of the day there are standards you need to meet regardless of where you went to school. All things being equal, just a mild bump but things are never always equal.
 
johnnytest said:
Mild bump. There are tons of applicants from the Ivy league we reject pre-II. At the end of the day there are standards you need to meet regardless of where you went to school. All things being equal, just a mild bump but things are never always equal.
Click to expand...
Gotcha. Coming from a state school, always worried not having gone to a major uni was a major disadvantage. Good to know it's just a mild bump.
 
u_raptor said:
Gotcha. Coming from a state school, always worried not having gone to a major uni was a major disadvantage. Good to know it's just a mild bump.
Click to expand...

I just counted. Of the 170 offers, around 40 are not from Ivy-League and top schools such as Stanford, Hopkins, Duke, etc. I think in general, the top schools produce top candidates. I can see why people may think top med schools eyes light up for candidates from top schools but it's really not the case. It's simply the caliber of candidates.

This might hurt for some to read but I'm all about transparency. I'm looking at the average GPA and MCAT for the accepted offered list.

Mean GPA: 3.89, Median GPA: 3.92. Mean MCAT: 520.5, Median MCAT: 522.

Seriously insane numbers.... so yeah university affiliation is a mild bump at best. These averages always go down for the class that eventually matriculates as it seems the first round of offers are to the the absolute best students.

Edit: I had the wrong GPAs. I was looking at AO GPA and not total.
 
Last edited:
johnnytest said:
I just counted. Of the 170 offers, around 40 are not from Ivy-League and top schools such as Stanford, Hopkins, Duke, etc. I think in general, the top schools produce top candidates. I can see why people may think top med schools eyes light up for candidates from top schools but it's really not the case. It's simply the caliber of candidates.

This might hurt for some to read but I'm all about transparency. I'm looking at the average GPA and MCAT for the accepted offered list.

Mean GPA: 3.92, Median GPA: 3.95. Mean MCAT: 520.5, Median MCAT: 522.

Seriously insane numbers.... so yeah university affiliation is a mild bump at best. These averages always go down for the class that eventually matriculates as it seems the first round of offers are to the the absolute best students.
Click to expand...
When is the next round of offers?
 
johnnytest said:
I just counted. Of the 170 offers, around 40 are not from Ivy-League and top schools such as Stanford, Hopkins, Duke, etc. I think in general, the top schools produce top candidates. I can see why people may think top med schools eyes light up for candidates from top schools but it's really not the case. It's simply the caliber of candidates.

This might hurt for some to read but I'm all about transparency. I'm looking at the average GPA and MCAT for the accepted offered list.

Mean GPA: 3.89, Median GPA: 3.92. Mean MCAT: 520.5, Median MCAT: 522.

Seriously insane numbers.... so yeah university affiliation is a mild bump at best. These averages always go down for the class that eventually matriculates as it seems the first round of offers are to the the absolute best students.

Edit: I had the wrong GPAs. I was looking at AO GPA and not total.
Click to expand...

Wow these GPAs and MCATs.. so I didn't get an interview here but got 4 interviews at schools with similar stats and same tier as a 3.7/512 ORM and compelling application. But these numbers also make me feel like I have no chance when these people with higher numbers have more academic promise to offer too. On the contrary, I somehow stood out? How are applicants with stats below the medians/means like me evaluated during these post interviews? Like do we basically get overshadowed or is more time spend discussing us as our applications are so polarizing? :|
 
thesecretisme123 said:
Wow these GPAs and MCATs.. so I didn't get an interview here but got 4 interviews at schools with similar stats and same tier as a 3.7/512 ORM and compelling application. But these numbers also make me feel like I have no chance when these people with higher numbers have more academic promise to offer too. On the contrary, I somehow stood out? How are applicants with stats below the medians/means like me evaluated during these post interviews? Like do we basically get overshadowed or is more time spend discussing us as our applications are so polarizing? :|
Click to expand...
I think you're misunderstanding something in the stats @johnnytest posted -- these are merely the very top of their applicant pool, representing their first wave of As, and that the numbers go down for the class that ultimately matriculates.

This is because there simply aren't enough hyper superstars to go around, and many of these first wave As are going to have As at even better schools where they will end up matriculating. So there is absolutely nothing wrong with your numbers (well, maybe the MCAT is a little low, but it's still in range! 🙂), and your numbers aren't going to be quite so far below the medians at whatever school you end up attending.
 
johnnytest said:
I just counted. Of the 170 offers, around 40 are not from Ivy-League and top schools such as Stanford, Hopkins, Duke, etc. I think in general, the top schools produce top candidates. I can see why people may think top med schools eyes light up for candidates from top schools but it's really not the case. It's simply the caliber of candidates.
Click to expand...

Not sure if you meant this to be reassuring, but this is an incredibly depressing statistic. It's obviously not on you, but to me this shows an immense amount of elitism. 75% of offers to elite school graduates is insane. Especially when you consider that at many of these institutions, there is grade inflation that makes it even easier to succeed in comparison to those who went to non-elite institutions.

Guess it's just the name of the game.
 
tessellations said:
Not sure if you meant this to be reassuring, but this is an incredibly depressing statistic. It's obviously not on you, but to me this shows an immense amount of elitism. 75% of offers to elite school graduates is insane. Especially when you consider that at many of these institutions, there is grade inflation that makes it even easier to succeed in comparison to those who went to non-elite institutions.

Guess it's just the name of the game.
Click to expand...
That token 25% given to others allows them to say we have distributed seats to all colleges. 🙂
 
tessellations said:
Not sure if you meant this to be reassuring, but this is an incredibly depressing statistic. It's obviously not on you, but to me this shows an immense amount of elitism. 75% of offers to elite school graduates is insane. Especially when you consider that at many of these institutions, there is grade inflation that makes it even easier to succeed in comparison to those who went to non-elite institutions.

Guess it's just the name of the game.
Click to expand...

This whole process just favors the rich and fortunate. I didn't have the opportunity or the funds to attend an elite institution, but I made the best out of my state school, succeeded in my classes and was heavily involved in extra curriculars. This process just made me realize that I was playing a losing game from the moment I started college.
 
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