Do medical schools compare applicants from the same undergrad?

[radioactive15]

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If a school receives multiple applications from the same undergrad, do they compare them?

Specifically, the classes they each took, GPA & MCAT scores, and the on-campus ECs they were involved in?

 

[LizzyM]

I have. I find it most efficient if I have 100 applications to read to sort by school and do all the applications from a single school at once. If I know that clinical experiences a, b and c are very typical for students from that school and I see no clinical experiences from a rising senior, I'm going to judge harshly because I know that there are many opportunities near that campus. It is also more efficient when reviewing committee letters as you can skim the template language and know where to find the meat of the letter.

 

[radioactive15]

I have. I find it most efficient if I have 100 applications to read to sort by school and do all the applications from a single school at once. If I know that clinical experiences a, b and c are very typical for students from that school and I see no clinical experiences from a rising senior, I'm going to judge harshly because I know that there are many opportunities near that campus. It is also more efficient when reviewing committee letters as you can skim the template language and know where to find the meat of the letter.

Do you generally have an unofficial quota for each school and/or only select the "top/best" applicants from a given school to interview?

 

[LizzyM]

Do you generally have an unofficial quota for each school and/or only select the "top/best" applicants from a given school to interview?

No quotas. I'm looking for the best 15 out of the 100 I'm reviewing but I often ended up classifying 30 out of 100 as "should interview". Then someone at a higher level makes the hard decision of not granting interviews to some of the "very good" candidates whom I've recommended.

 

[Cotterpin]

Wow, this thread is actually informative. Thanks OP for asking the question and thanks to LizzyM and gonnif for candid responses. Why doesn't this kind of thing happen more often on SDN?

 

[deleted717060]

No quotas. I'm looking for the best 15 out of the 100 I'm reviewing but I often ended up classifying 30 out of 100 as "should interview". Then someone at a higher level makes the hard decision of not granting interviews to some of the "very good" candidates whom I've recommended.

.

 

[md-2020]

This seems pretty ridiculous.

Applicant 16-30 or even 30-50 could have better qualifications than the best 15/100 from a state school.

An average student at a top 15 school would likely have been a top student at a state school.

As someone who went to a "top" school I cannot agree with this. State schools produce some frighteningly good applicants every year simply BC they have so many students.

 

[Pusheen]

This seems pretty ridiculous.

Applicant 16-30 or even 30-50 could have better qualifications than the best 15/100 from a state school.

An average student at a top 15 school would likely have been a top student at a state school.

As someone who went to a "top" school I cannot agree with this. State schools produce some frighteningly good applicants every year simply BC they have so many students.

I believe she is looking at 100 applicants from various schools and searching for the top 30. Sorting them by schools is just a helpful tool

 

[Dagrimsta1]

I have. I find it most efficient if I have 100 applications to read to sort by school and do all the applications from a single school at once. If I know that clinical experiences a, b and c are very typical for students from that school and I see no clinical experiences from a rising senior, I'm going to judge harshly because I know that there are many opportunities near that campus. It is also more efficient when reviewing committee letters as you can skim the template language and know where to find the meat of the letter.

That elitist attitude is why medical school look for diversity. Frankly anyone with 3.5 GPA in prereqs and 505-510 MCAT has shown the basic academic qualifications to be a doctor. So much of being a good physician is not based on the pure academic metrics

So I come from a small state school with similar stats as above, would i be directly compared to an applicant from an IVY?

 

[Goro]

The students coming from our state schools are outstanding.

This seems pretty ridiculous.

Applicant 16-30 or even 30-50 could have better qualifications than the best 15/100 from a state school.

An average student at a top 15 school would likely have been a top student at a state school.

 

[LizzyM]

I believe she is looking at 100 applicants from various schools and searching for the top 30. Sorting them by schools is just a helpful tool

This is correct. From every pool of 100 from all schools combined, I'm looking for 15 to interview. Usually, they are all so good that I usually recommend interviewing 30-33 of every 100 and the Dean has to cull it down to 15.

 

[Kgizzle]

How do you seasoned veterans not get cynical reading all those apps? I feel like after a while yall would just be like oh another poor kid / refugee/ cookie cutter application. How do yall keep things interestingand fresh?

 

[mitochondria_power_plant]

This seems pretty ridiculous.

Applicant 16-30 or even 30-50 could have better qualifications than the best 15/100 from a state school.

An average student at a top 15 school would likely have been a top student at a state school.

.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

 

[Turkishking]

I believe so

 

[Lucca]

How do you seasoned veterans not get cynical reading all those apps? I feel like after a while yall would just be like oh another poor kid / refugee/ cookie cutter application. How do yall keep things interestingand fresh?

How are u so cynical without having read any?

 

[freak7]

How are u so cynical without having read any?

I don't believe he meant to come across cynical. I think they were legitimately asking.

 

[efle]

So you're essentially saying medical schools should base their decisions on my high school achievements. The college I attended does not dictate the applicant I became. A lot of growth happens in four years. I'm sure many of us state school kids are just as intelligent and qualified as someone who attended an ivy.

Every major state school is going to have students that would have held their own just fine at Top 15s. But those types of students constitute a small sliver of the class.

When grading is relative to the students around you, this difference in populations changes the meaning of grades. Getting a high GPA at Directional State by no means rules someone out from being just as bright as the kids getting a high GPA at MIT, but if my life depended on correctly predicting who was going to score better in preclinicals/step 1, I'd certainly prefer to bet on the latter.

Luckily we have a giant standardized exam on universal prereq material in this process too, and not just grades/college names.

 

[Kgizzle]

How are u so cynical without having read any?

I'm not but I just figured that after a while nothing seems new for an adcom member. I was just wondering because I know my PS of my journey to medicine seemed like it was unique...until I realized that my story had been told countless times. I could picture an adcom reading my PS and within a few sentences putting me in a "box" like yeah he's had a difficult path, interview him, okay...next! I'm interested in what keeps them going after they've basically read/seen everything.

 

[DokterMom]

So I come from a small state school with similar stats as above, would i be directly compared to an applicant from an IVY?

If you've got a similar MCAT and a top notch GPA, why shouldn't you be? You're applying for that same seat, and once admitted, would be compared head to head.

 

[LizzyM]

How do you seasoned veterans not get cynical reading all those apps? I feel like after a while yall would just be like oh another poor kid / refugee/ cookie cutter application. How do yall keep things interestingand fresh?

I can only read a few in a sitting and I have to be in a good mood. If LizzyM has PMS, no one is getting an interview. Knowing how my mood affects my judgment means stepping back from reviews if I'm cranky.

 

[freak7]

I can only read a few in a sitting and I have to be in a good mood. If LizzyM has PMS, no one is getting an interview. Knowing how my mood affects my judgment means stepping back from reviews if I'm cranky.

That's really mindful of you to do that.

 

[DingoPingo]

The fact that my last interview basically had one person from each school makes me think they do separate applicants by school, at least for interview stage.