Can having high stats hurt your chances?

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
There are likely a number of reasons why your friend is not receiving interviews from these schools. I really don't think that having stats that are "too high" is one of them. Sounds like he applied late, maybe rushed secondaries due to his job, doesn't have a whole lot of EC's, etc.

I really don't buy stats being too high for any school. However, I do buy some of those applicants with really high stats relying too heavily on that factor of their application and forgetting that there are a number of other important factors in the application process.
 
I really don't buy this reason. If you look at the MSAR, it lists the stats for the 10th %ile, median, and 90th %ile for accepted students. Most of the middle tier schools (even the lower tier schools) hover around 3.95 GPA or higher and 35+ MCAT for their 90th %ile stats. Obviously these schools aren't "screening" out the best applicants

The adcom members may read the secondary materials more closely to see how serious the applicant is about them, but they read the secondaries closely on everyone
 
Catalystik said:
Are you sure there are no legal issues at hand? And did you read his PS to be sure it sets the right (humble) tone?
Click to expand...

Hmm, I didn't have a chance to read his PS. I don't think he has any legal issues at hand, but I can't tell for sure.
 
Here's my unfounded and probably incorrect theory.

If you have average - low ish stats but great ECs, "mediocre" (I use that term lightly) schools might give you a look.

If you have high stats and low/non existent ECs, great schools aren't going to look at you. But mediocre schools might also not be interested because your ECs show a lack of interest.
 
From what I've been reading in this forum, it could be anything really. EC, LOR, PS, Secondaries etc..

A good advice I've also read was to contact the admissions offices of the schools your friend was rejected and find out what part of the application was deficient or what aspects needed improvement. S/He could then send an update letter or something of that nature to the remaining schools to explain what he's currently up to and what he's doing to improve his application.
 
Golden Rule to Medical Admissions:

High MCAT = Acceptance
 
It is so difficult to be objective about this idea because it is very school-based. To say that lower tier schools would reject applicants who are above their averages is complete bologna. How these types of rumors become the mainstay of SDN is everyone is trying to make sense out of a completely subjective and unpredictable process that is the Medical School Application Process. If an applicant is willing to shell out the cost of a "lower tier" school's secondary fee, I find it hard to believe a school would not consider the applicant if they found him/her a formidable fit.
 
So if I have high stats, I'll be rejected. If I have low stats, I'll be rejected. So should I retake my 38T and hope for a 30M and get C's for my last semester to bring down my 3.96 GPA?!
Damn. I really screwed up this time.

trololololololol
 
There must be a skeleton in the closet you/we don't know about.
 
This exact thread happened like a week ago. I try not to be a jerk about people not using the search function, but really!?
 
Definitely. Make sure you get at least 1-2 B's or you'll get rejected everywhere.
 
High stats will absolutely not hurt you in any way whatsoever.

However, being an arrogant, entitled dickhead about your high stats WILL hurt you.
 
Spent a year on my medical school's adcom. No one's application was ever looked at less favorably due to high stats, contrary to rumors that we deliberately rejected people at the higher end of the curve. Really, I think it makes people feel better to think they're being rejected because they're "too good", but please.:laugh:

FWIW, here's the Tired Pigeon list of the 10 things that got people with great stats rejected:

1. Sense of arrogance or entitlement in personal statement.
2. Poorly written personal statement - disorganized, poor punctuation, poor grammar, attributing quotations to the wrong source.
3. Personal statement that didn't really explain why the applicant wanted to go to medical school as opposed to pursuing some other goal. Just because your grandma got sick and died, it doesn't naturally follow that you now want to go to medical school.
4. Weird stuff in the personal statement - you may believe Jesus has called you to lead the medical profession into the 21st century (as one applicant stated), but it doesn't go over well in the PS. Ditto for things like encounters with UFOs, your experience as a paid sex worker, or how you killed and dissected a stray cat when you were 9.
5. Tepid LORs - most LORs are over-the-top raves, and those that aren't really stand out in a bad way.
6. LORs from "big names" that clearly didn't know the applicant well. We were not impressed with the letter from a Nobel laureate who stated, "According to University records, Mr. Applicant was one of 562 students who took my lecture course that semester, and he achieved an A grade, placing him in the top 18% of students."
7. Anything in an LOR that even hints of a red flag (see #5 above). "Applicant is brilliant but temperamental and seems to quickly lose patience with students who may not be similarly gifted."
8. Involvement in a lot of activities in what appears to be a superficial way (looks like the applicant is trying to pad the application); better to spend a lot of time deeply involved in one or two activities than to list 15 activities that you spent 5 hours each on. Same for padding the activities list with stuff you did in high school or (yes, I saw it) elementary school.
9. Little or no exposure to medicine, either through volunteer work, paid employment, or shadowing.
10. ANY inconsistencies in the application - i.e., claiming to have played a major role in a lab, but getting an LOR from the PI which indicates your contribution was more modest.

#1 was by far the most common reason people with great stats were rejected. I really couldn't believe some of the things people put in their statements, and I came away thinking that an awful lot of people don't realize how they come across on paper.
 
Tired Pigeon said:
#1 was by far the most common reason people with great stats were rejected. I really couldn't believe some of the things people put in their statements, and I came away thinking that an awful lot of people don't realize how they come across on paper.
Click to expand...

You wouldn't believe how arrogant they come off on the internet too.
 
eDITN said:
There are likely a number of reasons why your friend is not receiving interviews from these schools. I really don't think that having stats that are "too high" is one of them. Sounds like he applied late, maybe rushed secondaries due to his job, doesn't have a whole lot of EC's, etc.

I really don't buy stats being too high for any school. However, I do buy some of those applicants with really high stats relying too heavily on that factor of their application and forgetting that there are a number of other important factors in the application process.
Click to expand...

+100

For realz. It's incredible how many applicants still think numbers= auto win.
An interviewer I spoke to was reflecting on the change in the acceptance process. It was cool to just listen to him reflect; 10 - 15 years ago, numbers and some clinical exp. got you into medical school; these days, you gotz to bringz the whole package.
 
Thank god my stats give me nothing to be arrogant about.
 
Awesome (and entertaining, too). Thanks for posting!
Tired Pigeon said:
Spent a year on my medical school's adcom. No one's application was ever looked at less favorably due to high stats, contrary to rumors that we deliberately rejected people at the higher end of the curve. Really, I think it makes people feel better to think they're being rejected because they're "too good", but please.:laugh:

FWIW, here's the Tired Pigeon list of the 10 things that got people with great stats rejected:

1. Sense of arrogance or entitlement in personal statement.
2. Poorly written personal statement - disorganized, poor punctuation, poor grammar, attributing quotations to the wrong source.
3. Personal statement that didn't really explain why the applicant wanted to go to medical school as opposed to pursuing some other goal. Just because your grandma got sick and died, it doesn't naturally follow that you now want to go to medical school.
4. Weird stuff in the personal statement - you may believe Jesus has called you to lead the medical profession into the 21st century (as one applicant stated), but it doesn't go over well in the PS. Ditto for things like encounters with UFOs, your experience as a paid sex worker, or how you killed and dissected a stray cat when you were 9.
5. Tepid LORs - most LORs are over-the-top raves, and those that aren't really stand out in a bad way.
6. LORs from "big names" that clearly didn't know the applicant well. We were not impressed with the letter from a Nobel laureate who stated, "According to University records, Mr. Applicant was one of 562 students who took my lecture course that semester, and he achieved an A grade, placing him in the top 18% of students."
7. Anything in an LOR that even hints of a red flag (see #5 above). "Applicant is brilliant but temperamental and seems to quickly lose patience with students who may not be similarly gifted."
8. Involvement in a lot of activities in what appears to be a superficial way (looks like the applicant is trying to pad the application); better to spend a lot of time deeply involved in one or two activities than to list 15 activities that you spent 5 hours each on. Same for padding the activities list with stuff you did in high school or (yes, I saw it) elementary school.
9. Little or no exposure to medicine, either through volunteer work, paid employment, or shadowing.
10. ANY inconsistencies in the application - i.e., claiming to have played a major role in a lab, but getting an LOR from the PI which indicates your contribution was more modest.

#1 was by far the most common reason people with great stats were rejected. I really couldn't believe some of the things people put in their statements, and I came away thinking that an awful lot of people don't realize how they come across on paper.
Click to expand...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

fishs
Would moving hurt my chances?
Replies
5
Views
500
fishs
fishs
hopeful Future Doctor
I got a C+ in a non science course will this hurt my chances?
Replies
4
Views
447
AsclepiusAdvisingLLC
AsclepiusAdvisingLLC
H
How much will ACE credit hurt my chances?
Replies
5
Views
1K
LunaOri
LunaOri
P
Activities continued from High School
Replies
6
Views
439
PreMed2006
P
kv11
UIC Stats
Replies
6
Views
2K
AsclepiusAdvisingLLC
AsclepiusAdvisingLLC
Top