Difficulty of getting into medical school exaggerated?

[here2learn]

Do SDN posters exaggerate the difficulty of getting into a medical school? AAMC data suggests that 44% of all applicants get into some MD program. Then there are DO programs, which definitely have a better acceptance rate. There are also foreign MD programs, which probably have an even better acceptance rate.

Which means almost everyone who applies to medical school gets accepted.

At my lame university, 33 students with average 25 MCAT applied. Of those 32 have been accepted.

So do SDN posters exaggerate the difficulty of getting into medical schools? Strategically perhaps? To discourage other applicants?

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[transfec]

Do SDN posters exaggerate the difficulty of getting into a medical school? AAMC data suggests that 44% of all applicants get into some MD program. Then there are DO programs, which definitely have a better acceptance rate. There are also foreign MD programs, which probably have an even better acceptance rate.

Which means almost everyone who applies to medical school gets accepted.

At my lame university, 33 students with average 25 MCAT applied. Of those 32 have been accepted.

So do SDN posters exaggerate the difficulty of getting into medical schools? Strategically perhaps? To discourage other applicants?

No exaggeration. Don't rely on that false hope.
Your strategical idea is ludicrous. I've been accepted- and I'm telling you- it's a tough process.

 

[gravitywave]

Then there are DO programs, which definitely have a better acceptance rate.

no, they don't. check your facts; DO acceptance rates are lower than those of US MD.

honestly, it depends on your goals. if all you want to do is get into medical school - no, it's not that challenging to be accepted to a Carib school. on the other hand, matriculating to a Carib school gives you a relatively low chance of becoming a practicing doctor.

so, what would you like to do? are you simply looking to go to medical school, or would you actually like to be a doctor someday?

 

[IlDestriero]

From what I understand of all the people that say that they want to go to medical school across the US, only about 60k really think they have a chance and take the MCAT. Of those that take the MCAT about 40000 still think that have a chance and actually apply, and of those only about 16000 are successful. I don't know anything about DO applicant numbers or success rates.
You lose a lot of people at each step. You can do the math, but only about 25% of the people who have the drive, grades, etc to sit for the MCAT get in, and only 40some% of applicants are successful. That's a lot of people not making the cut.
I find it hard to believe that your class has close to 100% success with a 25 average MCAT, unless you're including DO, and conveniently failing to mention "other factors".

 

[transfec]

no, they don't. check your facts; DO acceptance rates are lower than those of US MD.

honestly, it depends on your goals. if all you want to do is get into medical school - no, it's not that challenging to be accepted to a Carib school. on the other hand, matriculating to a Carib school gives you a relatively low chance of becoming a practicing doctor.

so, what would you like to do? are you simply looking to go to medical school, or would you actually like to be a doctor someday?

 

[mmmcdowe]

Your assumption is that all who want to be doctors even reach the application process. Many students drop out of the race much earlier than that. Many with poor MCAT scores wait to apply. I know several people who have been studying for the MCAT for several years now (since I took the MCAT in my junior year). They've never applied but clearly they should be factored into the equation.

 

[gamespeed]

There's absolutely no way 32 out of 33 students with 25 MCAT have been accepted already. You're obviously mistaken or trolling.

Do SDN posters exaggerate the difficulty of getting into a medical school? AAMC data suggests that 44% of all applicants get into some MD program. Then there are DO programs, which definitely have a better acceptance rate. There are also foreign MD programs, which probably have an even better acceptance rate.

Which means almost everyone who applies to medical school gets accepted.

At my lame university, 33 students with average 25 MCAT applied. Of those 32 have been accepted.

So do SDN posters exaggerate the difficulty of getting into medical schools? Strategically perhaps? To discourage other applicants?

 

[mtbtx]

I think the journey to becoming a doctor is one of the most intellectually and physically challenging things a person can do in life. The only other things I can think of that rival in difficulty would be becoming a fighter pilot or astronaut.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

There's absolutely no way 32 out of 33 students with 25 MCAT have been accepted already. You're obviously mistaken or trolling.

Well he's leaving a lot of information out, such as whether they count foreign MD programs as being accepted or whether he goes to a HBCU where many of the applicants could be URM's. Also in terms of statistics, he's not clarifying whether 25's a mean or a medium or a mode even. So more or less its possible...

I mean with a 3.0/22 you'll have a great shot at Ross. So if they count that as an acceptance then sure enough a lot will be accepted.

 

[here2learn]

I mean with a 3.0/22 you'll have a great shot at Ross. So if they count that as an acceptance then sure enough a lot will be accepted.

Is this true though that a 3.0/22 has a great shot at Ross???

 

[here2learn]

Well he's leaving a lot of information out, such as whether they count foreign MD programs as being accepted or whether he goes to a HBCU where many of the applicants could be URM's. Also in terms of statistics, he's not clarifying whether 25's a mean or a medium or a mode even. So more or less its possible...

I mean with a 3.0/22 you'll have a great shot at Ross. So if they count that as an acceptance then sure enough a lot will be accepted.

And no, no one is a URM. All students are White Mormons.

 

[apumic]

Is this true though that a 3.0/22 has a great shot at Ross???

Sure. They have an excellent shot at admission to Ross. Ross wants their money (it's just as green as anybody else's); they simply don't have much of a hope of ever graduating (or even making it past 2nd year for that matter).

 

[Kevin Baker]

Do SDN posters exaggerate the difficulty of getting into a medical school? AAMC data suggests that 44% of all applicants get into some MD program. Then there are DO programs, which definitely have a better acceptance rate. There are also foreign MD programs, which probably have an even better acceptance rate.

Which means almost everyone who applies to medical school gets accepted.

At my lame university, 33 students with average 25 MCAT applied. Of those 32 have been accepted.

So do SDN posters exaggerate the difficulty of getting into medical schools? Strategically perhaps? To discourage other applicants?

If you go through the process, and score a balanced 26 or better, you'll get in somewhere. What makes it difficult is what the process entails. Lots of pre reqs, tons of studying, hopefully some research and volunteering, almost definitely some shadowing, lots of planning and forethough and delayed gratification. It's not particularly 'hard' to go the med school route. It just takes a lot of perseverance and dedication.

 

[surftheiop]

The med school admissions process is long and grueling, but it doesn't require you to do anything special or re-invent the wheel.

There is essentially a checklist of things to do, and so long as you do them then you will get into med school eventually. In general, I think pretty much everyone can get into med-school if they are willing to put the rest of their life on "hold" temporarily, but it just might take some longer than others. (And for others getting into medschool is fairly easy and they never really sweated it, everyone's path is a little different)

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

And no, no one is a URM. All students are White Mormons.

Then did the majority go to foreign programs? Or is there some sort of school which favors Mormons over other applicants?

 

[Southcane]

Overall, I actually do think that most people over exaggerate how hard it is to get into med school. Its by no way easy, but I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that most pre-meds tend to overly stress about EVERYTHING that they make the process a lot harder for themselves than it needs to be. If you have good scores, you will get in somewhere... if not, its not the end of the world.

But 32/33 getting in with an average 25 MCAT seems a little made up... unless they're going to Carribean schools or something.

 

[MCAT guy]

It is probably somewhere between incredibly easy and incredibly hard.

 

[here2learn]

Then did the majority go to foreign programs? Or is there some sort of school which favors Mormons over other applicants?

They went to all kinds of mid-level MD and DO schools in the U.S. Most went to out-of-state schools. I think all kinds of schools favor Mormons because they are a White minority.

The applicants weren't very bright or even half as informed as posters here. Their essays had "your" written instead of "you are" and other errors. Their blogs are full of errors. The average MCAT actually is a 24, not even a 25. They probably had excellent GPAs since the school gives out good grades. All had served a 2-year Mormon mission. They are really a bunch of well-meaning, nice *****s. But *****s. And yes, all but one got accepted.

 

[SOcash]

There's absolutely no way 32 out of 33 students with 25 MCAT have been accepted already. You're obviously mistaken or trolling.

Maybe if the 32 had an average of 30 and the guy who didn't get in got a 1. I think there's probably a misunderstanding.

 

[transfec]

They went to all kinds of mid-level MD and DO schools in the U.S. Most went to out-of-state schools. I think all kinds of schools favor Mormons because they are a White minority.

The applicants weren't very bright or even half as informed as posters here. Their essays had "your" written instead of "you are" and other errors. Their blogs are full of errors. The average MCAT actually is a 24, not even a 25. They probably had excellent GPAs since the school gives out good grades. All had served a 2-year Mormon mission. They are really a bunch of well-meaning, nice *****s. But *****s. And yes, all but one got accepted.

Not buying it. No one is going to tell you it's easy. It seems like you want confirmation that you can slack off without worry.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

They went to all kinds of mid-level MD and DO schools in the U.S. Most went to out-of-state schools. I think all kinds of schools favor Mormons because they are a White minority.

The applicants weren't very bright or even half as informed as posters here. Their essays had "your" written instead of "you are" and other errors. Their blogs are full of errors. The average MCAT actually is a 24, not even a 25. They probably had excellent GPAs since the school gives out good grades. All had served a 2-year Mormon mission. They are really a bunch of well-meaning, nice *****s. But *****s. And yes, all but one got accepted.

I'm sorry but statistically this group either doesn't exist ( You're trolling) or they are the greatest group of outliers ever to exist.

 

[transfec]

I'm sorry but statistically this group either doesn't exist ( You're trolling) or they are the greatest group of outliers ever to exist.

Read two posts up. That's his goal in this thread.

 

[here2learn]

If you don't believe me, you're passing an opportunity to learn some truths. The discussion is all over the program's Facebook page this morning and they are crowing how only one student didn't get accepted.

 

[Negrodamus]

How hard is it to get into medical school? Look at how many people who did not get an A or B in your prerequisite classes. I'd say there was not a lot of people.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

If you don't believe me, you're passing an opportunity to learn some truths. The discussion is all over the program's Facebook page this morning and they are crowing how only one student didn't get accepted.

Links.

 

[here2learn]

Links.

sorry I don't want to give out the name of my college to people I don't know.

 

[transfec]

sorry I don't want to give out the name of my college to people I don't know.

Lol

 

[Grom]

I think the journey to becoming a doctor is one of the most intellectually and physically challenging things a person can do in life. The only other things I can think of that rival in difficulty would be becoming a fighter pilot or astronaut.

I would probably compare it more to getting into law, dentistry, and certain clinical psych programs.

Becoming an astronaut would be in a whole other league of difficulty. A handful of applicants for astronaut programs have an MD, a PhD in aerospace engineering, and years of experience as fighter pilots and still don't get in.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

sorry I don't want to give out the name of my college to people I don't know.

Lol you're so full of ****.

 

[IlDestriero]

Lol

2nd time he posted the same BS and failed to deliver.
No. You're right, get a 3.5 at Utah State at West Nowhere, kill the MCAT with a 24, write your own ticket. Of course, all the people that don't get in from here are playing the wrong game. It's easy. Of course that means that the folks at BYU, etc must be doing it wrong as well. White males are not a minority Junior.
I went to a well known premium private school, the MCAT average wasn't any 24, and the success rate was still only in the high 80's. I guess I should have saved all the $$$ and gone to a no name school in Utah. Of course, I would have had to give up all the sluts hunting for their Mrs. degree. No, not worth it.

 

[ILikeDrugs]

It's not difficult to attain a 3.6 GPA. It's not difficult to get a 32+ MCAT. Volunteering at clinical and community sites certainly isn't difficult. Shadowing isn't difficult. Doing things that you enjoy certainly isn't difficult. What's challenging is staying completely focused for 3-4 straight years. What's challenging is sacrificing some things here in there. It can be mentally taxing keeping all this organized, and if you get beat up easily and can't roll with the punches, then that's when things can become difficult.

 

[Zxvwt]

While I think the chances of here2learn being a troll are about 100%, the school he describes does sound somewhat familiar. I remember way back when I was applying to college, I was considering applying to a school where the students did things like raise their own crops and other labor-intensive activities, and then the rest of the time they would have lecturers teach various topics (with guest lecturers rotating in and out throughout the year). If I remember correctly, it was only a two-year program, so the students all transferred to normal universities afterward. Anyway, due to the unique experiences of that school, it gave the students that went there an edge in applying to other colleges and beyond.

Take this all with a grain of salt, as it was a few years ago that I was looking into this school, and I've forgotten a lot about it.

 

[BaronVonZ]

Mr. Troll,

You've also forgotten to factor in the primary source of stress for most applicants here - most people here aren't just trying to get into a bottom ranked Caribbean program. The selectivity of the process grows as you claw up the rankings list. Is getting into medical school REALLY hard? Not really, though there is a lot of work involved. Is getting into a top 10 medical school REALLY hard? YES.

 

[iniquus]

sorry I don't want to give out the name of my college to people I don't know.

Are you scared we're going to come over and take your lunch money? When you said that, I thought of a little boy telling a random person that his mother tells him not to talk to strangers.

But more seriously, I think the application process is difficult based on numbers. Yes, maybe less than half of all applicants get accepted to at least one school and that doesn't sound too bad...but the amount of applications each person sends out and their success rate calculated per school is a more interesting figure to note. Your individual success rate at each particular school is low, so you apply broadly.

 

[mtbtx]

I would probably compare it more to getting into law, dentistry, and certain clinical psych programs.

Becoming an astronaut would be in a whole other league of difficulty. A handful of applicants for astronaut programs have an MD, a PhD in aerospace engineering, and years of experience as fighter pilots and still don't get in.

Yea that's true, but I think the process involved to become a doctor is on a higher tier than becoming a dentist or lawyer.

 

[transfec]

Yea that's true, but I think the process involved to become a doctor is on a higher tier than becoming a dentist or lawyer.

I'd agree with this one.

 

[here2learn]

I am not posting the name of my school because of some information I had posted in other threads. I don't want to be ostracized at my school.

 

[here2learn]

It is not very nice to call someone a troll.

This is not my university but a similar university in my region. The post below is from another thread. But that is a no-name school too - unknown even in Utah! And they are talking about a 75% acceptance rate over a decade. Their acceptance rate is better than the acceptance rate at many Ivy League schools. See link and post below!

It may not be 100% but Colby College has a pretty high acceptance rate, which is why my friend chose to go there after high school.

During the past decade, the medical school acceptance rate for Colby students has been about 75%.

Actually, they fare pretty well in most health care fields

The dental school acceptance rate during the past decade has been approximately 95%.

The veterinary school acceptance rate during the past decade has been about 84%.

http://www.colby.edu/career.serv/student/grad/health/statistics.shtml

100% sounds almost too good to be true but I'd be pretty damn impressed with anything close. Heck, I'm impressed with 75% from this little known liberal arts school. Virtually unknown to me, anyway. My friend's the only one I know who goes there or ever went there. Maybe I should have went!

 

[BigEast55]

I'm gonna agree here, getting into any medical school really isn't super hard, there is certainly a lot of work involved, taking all the science classes is hard and studying for the MCAT isn't easy and certainly requires a lot of dedication. The volunteering and shadowing and research also isn't super easy. But the most popular medical school that students at my undergrad go to (LECOM, which from what I've heard is a solid school and no one I know has said anything awful about it) has an average GPA of 3.40 and an average MCAT of 26, which is slightly below the average applicant for allopathic schools, and scores that most people on this site would tell people they have no shot at doing anything for. Is a 3.4 and a 26 easy? No. Is it terribly difficult? Also no.

Now, if you are asking the question how hard it is to get into a "top" allopathic medical school, then yeah, its hard... really hard... my top choice (as of this moment in time) of the schools that I have been accepted to right now (University of Rochester) has an average matriculated student with a 3.68 and a 33. That takes a lot of work and probably some aspect of innate intelligence.

Does it matter where you go? It depends entirely on what you want in life; if you want to be a PCP or an internist or do something non-competitive/non-academic like general surgery, then no. But if you want to match into something super specialized or have a strong career in academic medicine, then yeah, it probably does... to what extent... who knows.

 

[here2learn]

But the most popular medical school that students at my undergrad go to (LECOM, which from what I've heard is a solid school and no one I know has said anything awful about it) has an average GPA of 3.40 and an average MCAT of 26, which is slightly below the average applicant for allopathic schools, and scores that most people on this site would tell people they have no shot at doing anything for. Is a 3.4 and a 26 easy? No. Is it terribly difficult? Also no.

Actually LECOM's site states a 3.2 and 24.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

Actually LECOM's site states a 3.2 and 24.

Lecom overall is 3.5/26.5 ( AOA). It'll keep on getting more competitive since its the cheapest private medical school in the North East.

 

[YouNeverKnow22]

FWIW ross had a guy match into neurosurgery a couple of yrs ago

 

[ILikeDrugs]

FWIW ross had a guy match into neurosurgery a couple of yrs ago

Some non-big 4 school matched someone into derm. Maybe it was a big 4. I don't remember.

SABA 2009 U. of Chicago Derm

...and did you mean ortho instead of neruosur because there was someone who matched into ortho at a community hospital.

 

[circulus vitios]

Some non-big 4 school matched someone into derm. Maybe it was a big 4. I don't remember.

SABA 2009 U. of Chicago Derm

...and did you mean ortho instead of neruosur because there was someone who matched into ortho at a community hospital.

Could the guy walk on water or something?

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

Could the guy walk on water or something?

Yah, he walked all the way from Saba up the Mississippi and then some to Chicago.

 

[makeyourself]

no, they don't. check your facts; DO acceptance rates are lower than those of US MD.

honestly, it depends on your goals. if all you want to do is get into medical school - no, it's not that challenging to be accepted to a Carib school. on the other hand, matriculating to a Carib school gives you a relatively low chance of becoming a practicing doctor.

so, what would you like to do? are you simply looking to go to medical school, or would you actually like to be a doctor someday?

With a much less competitive applicant pool...

 

[gettheleadout]

FWIW ross had a guy match into neurosurgery a couple of yrs ago

I honestly wouldn't say that's worth much lol...reflects a whole lot more on the person than the school. Everyone destined for the Caribbean, just remember your chances of matching to hyper-competitive specialties aren't zero! (They may be ridiculously close, but there's a one somewhere past the decimal!)

 

[Carbon inc]

One of the biggest mistakes you can make when applying is being overly confident/arrogant. This happened to me and I'm sure many other applicants who may think they're more competitive than they actually are. As a result, I didn't put in enough effort into writing a lot of my secondary essays and activity descriptions. This is one area everyone should not take lightly.

 

[YouNeverKnow22]

Some non-big 4 school matched someone into derm. Maybe it was a big 4. I don't remember.

SABA 2009 U. of Chicago Derm

...and did you mean ortho instead of neruosur because there was someone who matched into ortho at a community hospital.

yeah he's a PGY-2 http://www.urmc.rochester.edu/smd/gme/prospective/neurosurgery/our_residents/current_residents.cfm

 

[Wolfman89]

I would generally have to agree with the other posters. I think the only thing that makes the process of getting into med school so difficult is the neuroticism of SDN. OTOH that is not to say that the OP is right in thinking that it is easy.