Changing the System - Transparency in Admissons

[RookTookIt]

From Keck's secondary application:

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[UnclePhil]

From http://uwmedicine.washington.edu/Education/MD-Program/Admissions/Pages/FrequentlyAskedQuestions.aspx

"If you are taking a post-baccalaureate program and working full time, is it important to take a full course load or okay to take one at a time?

It depends on your previous record. If your previous record was reasonably strong but you were an English major and that's why you are in a post-baccalaureate program it's not as critical to take three courses at a time. The committee would be interested in seeing how you do in an upper-level science course. However, if you are trying to recover from a 2.3 grade point average (GPA) and we look at your transcript and the year in which you did badly was when you took four science courses at a time, then we will want to see a few together later."

That is such b*ll ****. Adcoms don't go into such detail. They don't have the time for all such stuff. They resent service duties and want to get back to their research. Or teaching. Or clinical duties. Or get back to their families. Or their wife. Or the pretty blonde who wants to be scr*wed by a doctor. Then again there might be some power-hungry losers who suck at research and get their jollies from such decisions.

Such detail? To me, that seems like a very basic concept that takes a few glances at an application... someone with a low GPA taking a post-bacc to prove that they can handle the work shouldn't be expected to load their schedule? One function of a post-bacc is a chance to prove to adcoms that you can cut it. That is too much detail? Sorry that you think it is unfair that you have to prove yourself to into medical school, but that's sort of the way it is.

Also, most adcoms want to be there and like what they do. Do you really think that people like LizzyM would post here in her free time if she didn't like being part of admissions or advising applicants? I met a few interviewers on the interview trail who were uninterested, but the adcoms themselves all loved to interview students and were extremely enthusiastic about students who wanted to become doctors. Posting something like that doesn't make you seemed cool and cynically informed, it makes you look like an ignorant whiner.

 

[texasm]

Sorry that you think it is unfair that you have to prove yourself to into medical school, but that's sort of the way it is.

Why do some people on SDN insist on misquoting? I never said it is unfair. On the contrary, I sincerely wish adcoms paid attention to such details!

 

[UnclePhil]

Why do some people on SDN insist on misquoting? I never said it is unfair. On the contrary, I sincerely wish adcoms paid attention to such details!

Right, because you are an adcom, right? And you know that no one with low GPAs that did post-bacs to show that they can make the grade ever gets into medical school, right? And all these people who do post-baccs to recover from poor grades are just wasting their money right? Because an adcom is never going to read that deep into their file?

Do you realize that this is the case with almost everyone who does a post-bacc? Adcoms want to see you able to do well with a heavy courseload. Some of the people who are doing post-baccs are trying to show adcoms that they can handle a full time student courseload and perform at the same level that students who had high GPAs in college did. You really don't think an adcom thinks about that? Those aren't even close to details, things like that are a major part of someone's academic credentials.

Again, you aren't an adcom. Adcoms DO know what they are doing, and they DO know what to look for in an application. Your arrogant little blast on adcoms just screams "life is unfair". FWIW, some of the adcoms I've met at some schools are extremely good at their research, are well known in their field. A high number of them are emeritus faculty or retired dept chairs or renown faculty who like to stick around because... guess what, they are interested in students who are interested in their school.

 

[texasm]

One wrote in a school essay that a career goals was to be a fashion designer and design new school uniforms The other wants to be train pigs to be like dogs (as pets). Where did I go wrong.

Oh, you didn't go wrong LizzyM - when I was young I wanted to be a lion trainer. Now I want an MD. Your kids will do the right thing when they grow up - no worries.

 

[Dr Love]

Med schools like to be vague...

here's a humorous video though about affirmative action..

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWS_MDJSiEE[/YOUTUBE]

NONE of those videos are humorous, they are all incredible annoying because all the characters have grating robotic voices. The only reason those videos exist is because people enjoy making them, rather than people enjoy watching them.