Attractive applicants?

[deleted382095]

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I promise this topic isn't for trolling.

I have noticed that most of my friends who are either already in a med school, or just recently got accepted to one were all fairly attractive, in shape and with great hair and skin..

Am I the only one noticing this trend?

 

[Captain Sisko]

Put the bottle down and go to bed.

 

[lalalapartay012]

I think that there probably is a bias in that interviewers are more receptive to attractive applicants on a subconscious level... on an everyday, personal level of interaction, this is inevitable because we are humans... it probably helps even if only a little, but to what degree, who knows lol

 

[listener23]

refer to this thread http://forums.studentdoctor.net/thr...ur-chance-of-getting-into-med-school.1030512/

now gets some sleep

 

[mk04447]

This is true in life.

 

[knv2u]

This was more geared towards Ph.D. applicants/students, but I thought the premise was generalizable enough to be relevant to this thread:

Outrage as NYU professor tweets that obese PhD students 'don't have the willpower for the academic program'

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...bese-PhD-students-dont-willpower-program.html

 

[knv2u]

I think that there probably is a bias in that interviewers are more receptive to attractive applicants on a subconscious level... on an everyday, personal level of interaction, this is inevitable because we are humans... it probably helps even if only a little, but to what degree, who knows lol

I agree with this. While there are some methodological issues (as most psychology studies have), I found this one fairly interesting:

Obesity (Silver Spring). 2013 May;21(5):918-20. doi: 10.1002/oby.20171.
Weight bias in graduate school admissions.
Burmeister JM, Kiefner AE, Carels RA, Musher-Eizenman DR.
Author information

Abstract
OBJECTIVE:
Whether weight bias occurs in the graduate school admissions process is explored here. Specifically, we examined whether body mass index (BMI) was related to letter of recommendation quality and the number of admissions offers applicants received after attending in-person interviews.

DESIGN AND METHODS:
Participants were 97 applicants to a psychology graduate program at a large university in the United States. They reported height, weight, and information about their applications to psychology graduate programs. Participants' letters of recommendation were coded for positive and negative statements as well as overall quality.

RESULTS:
Higher BMI significantly predicted fewer post-interview offers of admission into psychology graduate programs. Results also suggest this relationship is stronger for female applicants. BMI was not related to overall quality or the number of stereotypically weight-related adjectives in letters of recommendation. Surprisingly, higher BMI was related to more positive adjectives in letters.

CONCLUSIONS:
The first evidence that individuals interviewing applicants to graduate programs may systematically favor thinner applicants is provided here. A conscious or unconscious bias against applicants with extra body weight is a plausible explanation. Stereotype threat and social identity threat are also discussed as explanations for the relationship between BMI and interview success.

Copyright © 2012 The Obesity Society.

PMID:

23784894

[PubMed - in process]

 

[justAstudent]

As someone who just got accepted, I am inclined to believe this is true.

 

[LuciusVorenus]

As someone who just got accepted, I am inclined to believe this is true.

Yeah if I get in somewhere this thread will make me feel great about myself! If not I'll probably just become an ugly alcoholic apparently 🙁

 

[rfvbnmju]

Lol probably is slightly true if they do take your picture on interview day or request one in secondary.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

 

[The Buff OP]

Nah, bro. I think you haven't seen most medical students. Hahaha. Your personal appearance doesn't matter for your admission to medical school. However, lets no kid ourselves it matters for matching into dermatology. lol

 

[okokok]

People who are conventionally more attractive could present themselves more confidently in interviews

 

[Pacna]

Yeah if I get in somewhere this thread will make me feel great about myself! If not I'll probably just become an ugly alcoholic apparently 🙁

Ugly alcoholic janitor*. With leprosy.

 

[GoPelicans]

Physical appearance will play a role in any subjective process with a human factor involved. EG at one of my interviews, the interviewer commented three time about how young I looked (I'm mide 20's but could pass for late teens pretty easily) - I eventually got waitlisted despite what I felt was an excellent interview on my part. Maybe she questioned my maturity in her report?

 

[deleted382095]

Physical appearance will play a role in any subjective process with a human factor involved. EG at one of my interviews, the interviewer commented three time about how young I looked (I'm mide 20's but could pass for late teens pretty easily) - I eventually got waitlisted despite what I felt was an excellent interview on my part. Maybe she questioned my maturity in her report?

Did they evaluate your maturity based on your interview answers and your appearance?

 

[GoPelicans]

Did they evaluate your maturity based on your interview answers and your appearance?

I think my answers were fine, but the fact that she was so vocal about how young I look makes me question how fair her feedback was to the adcom.

 

[BlackBox]

of course it matters- humans are biased to symmetry.

 

[CarlosDanger]

Attractive people get more opportunities. Women get paid less. Racism still exists. These are hard truths of the world we live in.

 

[BlackBox]

Attractive people get more opportunities. Women get paid less. Racism still exists. These are hard truths of the world we live in.

Sad, but accurate.

 

[slopes23]

I think my answers were fine, but the fact that she was so vocal about how young I look makes me question how fair her feedback was to the adcom.

Its what on the inside that matters. The interviewer knows this. He/she was probably trying to communicate to you how young you look on the inside. Illustrated by the fact that you took this observation and thought it earned you a WL instead of an acceptance.

Just kidding. Maybe.

 

[IncognitoGuy]

Are you saying you wouldn't feel some intrinsic bias when dealing with a more attractive person? There you go.

 

[jerseybae]

.

 

[Goro]

You are engaging in the sin of solipsism.

I promise this topic isn't for trolling.

I have noticed that most of my friends who are either already in a med school, or just recently got accepted to one were all fairly attractive, in shape and with great hair and skin..

Am I the only one noticing this trend?

 

[lysine9740]

MSUCOM, where I got accepted doesn't interview. When I did a tour and met a lot of the medical students, as well as when I had an undergraduate class in the medical school I saw most of the med students leaving their classroom after exams. I really didn't see any overweight people, and most where pretty attractive. So, if they don't interview and there is still mostly attractive people being accepted, it is a bit confusing.

I think it's mostly that attractive people are usually more confident and are given more opportunities in life, as stated above. Higher self-esteem throughout life is probably indicative of how well you might do, not just for medicine, but in general. Just my thoughts.

 

[sourdoughllama]

.

 

[listener23]

If anything i think overweight people are at a much larger disadvantage than unattractive people.

 

[lysine9740]

If anything i think overweight people are at a much larger disadvantage than unattractive people.

Pun intended?

 

[DoctorWhoo]

Being (relatively) in shape/attractive may also just be positively correlated with many of the other characteristics that make up a good medical school applicant. Generally a person that is motivated enough to pursue education beyond an undergraduate degree, committed enough to take part in many time-intensive extracurriculars, and disciplined enough to do well on the MCAT would put some level of effort into maintaining the vessel that carries them through all of these activities. As with every generalization made in the name of correlation, there are plenty of exceptions... but that said, this association doesn't seem to far out of the realm of possibilities.

And of course, through any selection process that involves human interaction there is always room for misguided selection.

 

[listener23]

Pun intended?

No Pun intended, but one of the main messages that doctors push on patients is weight loss. And if a doctor is overweight he MIGHT lose credibility with the patient which could hamper quality of care.

 

[nyc1990]

My 2 cents: Attractive individuals tend to know they are attractive. At its worst, this can lead to arrogance and to the presumption that he/she will get in with a 28 MCAT over another (ugly) individual with a 30 MCAT, for example. At best, this gives the attractive interviewer a boost of confidence with which to shine in the actual interview. Make no mistake that this cannot be used to compensate for poor stats, however.

 

[Mad Jack]

I'm an ugly old dude and I got accepted at every school I interviewed at. Many of the more attractive candidates that were similarly qualified did not receive acceptances. Looking good won't help you much if you bomb your interview. In this way I feel many of the younger, better looking students were at a disadvantage in the interview process. They were likely used to being well-received by virtue of their looks, leaving them with few adverse experiences that would prepare them for the grilling that many admissions committees sent their way. Looking pretty and giving Miss America answers isn't enough to cut it in the interview circuit. You have to be calm, collected, confident, and have answers that are very personal and real to stand out above the next guy.

 

[Jennyfishy]

Attractiveness (in general) helps with first impressions for some people, especially if you only have 30mins-1 hour to really sell yourself and make yourself stand out among the dozens of others who are interviewing. Those people also often give off a strong personality/confident demeanor.

After all, if we have a negative first encounter with someone (they look really dirty, smelly, are arrogant, douche-monkeys, or don't know how to take care of themselves) it's hard to see beyond that level of bias.

 

[Beargryllz]

Sounds to me like this thread is needed to stroke the ego here

You see, physicians and medical students are just better than the average person. I said it. We are technically very different. We have fantastic genes and vast amounts of intelligence. We live in a society where the weak would have been put down so many times by the time application season is in, that we basically guarantee that the unwashed plebians will pursue more menial reasons for existence.

Is that it? Did I do good? Can I get sucked off now?

 

[deleted382095]

Attractiveness (in general) helps with first impressions for some people, especially if you only have 30mins-1 hour to really sell yourself and make yourself stand out among the dozens of others who are interviewing. Those people also often give off a strong personality/confident demeanor.

After all, if we have a negative first encounter with someone (they look really dirty, smelly, are arrogant, douche-monkeys, or don't know how to take care of themselves) it's hard to see beyond that level of bias.

I completely agreed with you. I definitely need to lose some weight and be a good role model for my patients in the future.

 

[juliuspepperwood]

I think I look pretty dreamy in my suit but I haven't gotten accepted anywhere

 

[neusu]

I know for residency we just send the pictures out to the selection committee first as our primary screen. These people are then rated on a relative 1 to 10. Then comes board scores. A 10 on the picture can offset a board score by 25 points.

 

[487806]

I know for residency we just send the pictures out to the selection committee first as our primary screen. These people are then rated on a relative 1 to 10. Then comes board scores. A 10 on the picture can offset a board score by 25 points.

Sweet. Less stress for the boards then 😀

 

[Mornhavon]

.

 

[Tommyguns89]

I think there might be an element of self selection, but this is all speculation on my part. I did a semester of law school and one of the things I noticed was that there were virtually no overweight people at all and everyone seemed at least average looking. And the law school I went to doesnt interview.

I think it is just that if you are a motivated person you probably care at least some what about your appearance, combine that with an average class age in the low to mid 20s and you have a pretty attractive class.

 

[Pacna]

Did they evaluate your maturity based on your interview answers and your appearance?

I had the same experience as this other poster. I grew a goatee and tried again the next year. Accepted.

 

[Mad Jack]

How about attractive interviewers?

One med student interviewer interviewed me wearing a really slutty top, and def. caught me checking out her knockers. Not my fault- it was like there was a magnetic tug on my eyeballs.

I'm thinking about complaining.

Actually this happened twice.

Have you considered that maybe the only thing these two "errors" have in common is you?

 

[Escape_Goat]

Saw thread title and figured that I had better check in.

 

[Gauss44]

I promise this topic isn't for trolling.

I have noticed that most of my friends who are either already in a med school, or just recently got accepted to one were all fairly attractive, in shape and with great hair and skin..

Am I the only one noticing this trend?

Being attractive has to do with how you present yourself. If you don't think you're attractive, find a way to present your strengths so that they outshine your weaknesses.

Most people CAN be attractive!