Christian Applicants

[kypreos]

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I am a christian applicant and would like to attend a christian school. I will be applying this year and I am considering a few christian MD schools for example, loma linda, slu and creighton. I was curious however How to include bieng christian in the application. I have done various activities with my church etc and have listed them on the app but would like to include some of it in my personal statement as well. I am asking if that would be a bit overkill and possibly take me out of the running if some of the admissions committee sees it negatively. Is it too big of a risk? would the schools adm commitee like that if they are christian? I would like to add that in as it is just natural for me but i don't want them to think im crazy either. also what are some other schools that are also christian based that I may not have noticed from the MSAR. I will also be applying DO and I am curious if there are any osteopathic institutions that are christian based. Also do christian schools give preference to christian applicants? or is it really not that big of a deal.

 

[Dannyw]

 

[MossPoh]

No, schools don't give preference. There are muslims and jews at loma linda. Applying based on religion is stupid. Apply to schools in locations you'll be interested in. Religious affiliation doesn't really mean too much. The Touros are Jewish but it isn't like they have Rabbis walking around. You state the stuff just like any other activity. You can say things you did without pushing religion on people.

You do realize that the vast majority of applicants in the US are christian right?

 

[Caesar]

Adcoms are made of people. Some may like it, some won't. Either way, if you have to explicitly express that you are Christian (instead of having activities that vibe with teaching) you may find 'Christian' schools a bit turned off by that. The actions you do that support your faith >>>>> the name of whatever faith you are called to.

 

[JJMrK]

You do realize that the vast majority of applicants in the US are christian right?

Exactly. You say it like it's some incredible EC, or like it makes you an URM. The reality of it is that it's your religion, and it's only significant if you've done volunteering or other activities through your church. Even then it's only an entry in your work/activities section.

 

[kypreos]

maybe your misunderstanding me here I understand that a lot of applicants are christian I am just wondering if it would look bad to include things that have gone on in my life from a biblical standpoint in my personal statement? I am not acting like I am better then anybody else or that its some incredible EC, but to me and only me it is an incredible EC, I am not trying to push that on anybody and I am not trying to use it to get me into medical school, forget it I guess now i wish i never made this thread lol. this will be my last post here so no need to write back

 

[Muffinpuff]

I would include it in the secondaries, for SLU, when they asked me why I wanted to go there, I told them it's because I'm Christian and i think it's important to understand faith in medicine because a majority of patients have expectations of medical miracles and i wanted to know how in incorporate this into healing. I wouldn't exactly go all biblical, I tried a little on my personal statement and I ended up sounding evangelical and slightly strange. Gluck!

 

[student1799]

maybe your misunderstanding me here I understand that a lot of applicants are christian I am just wondering if it would look bad to include things that have gone on in my life from a biblical standpoint in my personal statement? I am not acting like I am better then anybody else or that its some incredible EC, but to me and only me it is an incredible EC, I am not trying to push that on anybody and I am not trying to use it to get me into medical school, forget it I guess now i wish i never made this thread lol. this will be my last post here so no need to write back

I am not religious myself, but I'll give you my perspective as a recent applicant.

The only med school I know of that is overtly religious in its mission is Loma Linda. They explicitly seek students who share their values and will live by their rules. They might be open to the kind of evangelical/biblical approach you described.

As to the others, Creighton, SLU, Georgetown, and Loyola are Jesuit schools, while Baylor is Baptist. But all these places are less overt about their religion, and would probably be less receptive to such an approach. But you can talk about the VALUES that stem from your religious beliefs (like helping the poor), and how they have led you to medicine.

 

[coffeebythelake]

a majority of patients have expectations of medical miracles and i wanted to know how in incorporate this into healing.

are you kidding?

 

[DrSno]

As to the others, Creighton, SLU, Georgetown, and Loyola are Jesuit schools, while Baylor is Baptist.

Baylor College of Medicine is not a baptist institution! You're probably thinking of Baylor University.

 

[Brent8927]

NYMC is another Catholic medical school, but unlike the four Jesuit schools, it is not affiliated with any religious order.

OP, I encourage you to go to any program you feel is best for you. I will be attending Loyola this fall, and I definitely mentioned my faith, though I can't remember if I did so in my secondary application or interview.

One thing to know about the Jesuit schools is they care much more about how you put your faith into action--ie. how are you helping others, than about what faith you belong to. They really want to see that you are committed to the ideals of the Jesuits--being Christian or Catholic likely won't score you any extra points. But engaging in community service, interfaith dialogue, helping the poor, going on medical missions, being a big brother/big sister, etc., is going to score you lots of points, regardless of your faith. Even strong atheists are admitted to these schools--they are just looking for good people.

I think if you live out the ideals of Christian life (which are rather similar to the ideals of almost any other faith or good-natured and authentic way of life 🙂) then I think you'll do well in the application process.

 

[student1799]

Baylor College of Medicine is not a baptist institution! You're probably thinking of Baylor University.

Sorry, my mistake. I assumed they were connected because they have the same name.

 

[pietachok]

Sorry, my mistake. I assumed they were connected because they have the same name.

Although Dr. Sno was technically correct, now, the exclamation point suggests to me that Dr. Sno didn't know that Baylor College of Medicine used to be Baylor University College of Medicine, so your thought wasn't so preposterous. In 1969 the med school became independent of the university so that the religious affiliation wouldn't interfere in it's medical care/education, and so that it would have more access to federal research $.

They had been part of Baylor University since 1918.

 

[Catholic Guilt]

Loma Linda is VERY religious. In fact, I think they wanted my pastor's contact number on the secondary. If I remember correctly, Wednesday mass is also factored into the schedule.

I ended up talking about Catholicism during most of my SLU interview. But that may have been because my interviewer was a devout Catholic. Strangely enough, we both interpreted Catholicism in a way that put us on the opposite ends the political spectrum 😱. It was a fun discussion. I still got in.

I felt that Loyola and Georgetown embrace the Jesuit philosophy. But being Christian will not help or hurt you there.

Conclusion: feel free to list all of your activities that make you who you are. Medical schools want to see you, not some generic cookie-cutter applicant.

But the flip side is that you may get asked questions about your beliefs. You should be able to defend them to a reasonable degree. I am a straight Catholic who supports gay marriage and could explain why. I think religious activity would only hurt you during an interview if you come accross as blindly following it without having put any thought into the implications of your beliefs, etc.

I'm a little distracted, so I hope I answered your question.

 

[kypreos]

wow, I was not going to post in this thread again but I have to say thank you for all of your constructive criticism. I will be spinning my personal statement off of religion and promoting myself as a christian through the extra curricular activites I have done with the church etc. thank again

 

[jammy22]

If it is something important to you and has played a concrete factor in your decision to become a physician that others would be able to recognize beyond simply knowing that you are called to it, then try to incorporate it in. Faith has been something extremely important to me as well, but I was not sure how best to tie it into my personal statement, so I chose not to. Even though it is apparent in my activities section and will be in some secondaries. I think if you make it clear that it is something important to you in your career while still having complete respect for people of other beliefs than it should not pose a problem. Because this is what you are going to be faced with as a physician.

 

[maggie08]

Although Dr. Sno was technically correct, now, the excalmation point suggests to me that Dr. Sno didn't know that Baylor College of Medicine used to be Baylor University College of Medicine, so your thought wasn't so preposterous. In 1969 the med school became independent of the university so that the religious affiliation wouldn't interfere in it's medical care/education, and so that it would have more access to federal research $.

They had been part of Baylor University since 1918.

👍

not to mention that there is also a huge system of over 30 hospitals and outpatient facilities in the greater DFW metroplex that are baptist and also have the name Baylor😉. makes it all more confusing.

I assume DrSno also didn't know this.

If the OP was familiar with the baylor healthcare system, it's one more reason to point toward the COM being religiously affiliated. 🙂

 

[DrSno]

Although Dr. Sno was technically correct, now, the exclamation point suggests to me that Dr. Sno didn't know that Baylor College of Medicine used to be Baylor University College of Medicine, so your thought wasn't so preposterous. In 1969 the med school became independent of the university

Of course I knew that, but most of us weren't even born in 1969 when they split so I doubt that's what caused the confusion.

 

[student1799]

Of course I knew that, but most of us weren't even born in 1969 when they split so I doubt that's what caused the confusion.

Actually, I was. 🙂

 

[Muffinpuff]

are you kidding?

No i'm not, my class read a paper in college where they did a survey about what percent of terminal patients hope for a medical miracle, the percentage as something like 59%. Furthermore, the percentage of doctors who are incapable of discussing faith is was in the 60th percent.

Maybe you should expand your horizons a little doc?

 

[JeetKuneDo]

I thought Loma Linda gives preference to SDAs?

 

[thedoctor8706]

Also do christian schools give preference to christian applicants? or is it really not that big of a deal.

Loma Linda does give preference to christian applicants, especially Seventh-day Adventists. While they do accept a variety of applicants, Christian applicants are preferred because the school's curriculum includes religion classes as well as classes that relate spirituality to healing. They don't want their teaching to fall on deaf ears!