Do medical schools ever compare sibling applications?

[kstorm]

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If you had an older sibling apply to the school do you think committees will pull up the sibling's application? Not just to the school the sibling matriculated to but all schools the siblings had been an applicant at.

 

[gyngyn]

If you had an older sibling apply to the school do you think committees will pull up the sibling's application? Not just to the school the sibling matriculated to but all schools the siblings had been an applicant at.

We have no way of knowing that your sib applied, unless we interviewed him. Even then, the odds that we would remember him are (hopefully) small.

 

[kstorm]

We have no way of knowing that your sib applied, unless we interviewed him. Even then, the odds that we would remember him are (hopefully) small.

Why would they even compare it in the first place? Like what would drive an adcom to compare one to their sibling?

 

[gyngyn]

Why would they even compare it in the first place? Like what would drive an adcom to compare one to their sibling?

We wouldn't.
If the sibling had matriculated, we would have to address our unconscious bias, though.

We do have twins and trips apply. We can't help noticing differences and similarities when their applications arrive with very similar names in the same cycle, though we do evaluate them independently.

 

[kstorm]

We wouldn't.
If the sibling had matriculated, we would have to address our unconscious bias, though.

So it could help or hurt depending on the type of student the sibling was during medical school? What happens if they are way into residency at the time of the application cycle?

Do you all really still hold on to applications for that long!

 

[gyngyn]

So it could help or hurt depending on the type of student the sibling was during medical school? What happens if they are way into residency at the time of the application cycle?

Do you all really still hold on to applications for that long!

We have memories for our students like an elephant.

 

[kstorm]

We do have twins and trips apply. We can't help noticing differences and similarities when their applications arrive with very similar names in the same cycle, though we do evaluate them independently.

I feel like I wouldn't be happy about this. Especially if they were a stellar applicant and I was not. I mean I'd be happy for their success. I've heard though it helps if the school really wants one twin so they will do the stellar applicant a favor and interview their twin if they are at least somewhat competitive for the school.

 

[kstorm]

We have memories for our students like an elephant.

Is there a place to indicate the medical school the older sibling graduated from?

 

[gyngyn]

Is there a place to indicate the medical school the older sibling graduated from?

Some schools ask in the secondary if a relative attended.
There is sometimes a place for "additional information" where it could be included.

 

[wysdoc]

We have no way of knowing that your sib applied, unless we interviewed him. Even then, the odds that we would remember him are (hopefully) small.

My medical school class contained 3 siblings, but they were neither twins nor triplets. The older two were re-applicants (one a re-re-applicant). The youngest was the star (junior AOA, eventually) but they all graduated. They had a built-in study group 🙂

 

[Lucca]

We wouldn't.
If the sibling had matriculated, we would have to address our unconscious bias, though.

We do have twins and trips apply. We can't help noticing differences and similarities when their applications arrive with very similar names in the same cycle, though we do evaluate them independently.

hypothetical question not meant to actually mean much: How similar do twin/triplet applications tend to be if you can recall? Just out of curiosity. I know many twins at my university who, obviously, go to the same school, major in the same thing etc. in spite of obviously having their own individual interests

 

[gyngyn]

hypothetical question not meant to actually mean much: How similar do twin/triplet applications tend to be if you can recall? Just out of curiosity. I know many twins at my university who, obviously, go to the same school, major in the same thing etc. in spite of obviously having their own individual interests

Twins tend to be more similar in qualifications and experiences. This is even more pronounced in the identical pairs.
In each of the sets of triplets I have seen, one has been quite a bit different...

 

[Lucca]

Twins tend to be more similar in qualifications and experiences. This is even more pronounced in the identical pairs.
In each of the sets of triplets I have seen, one has been quite a bit different...

Have there been situations where one is admitted and the other is not?

 

[kstorm]

Thanks for the insight. @gyngyn

 

[kstorm]

Have there been situations where one is admitted and the other is not?

I bet this happens all the time.

 

[Goro]

At my school we haven't had all that many twin pairs. I remember one that was stellar, and another where one was a great student, the other weak.

With ordinary siblings, they tended to be 1 strong + 1 weak. But these n's are small.

hypothetical question not meant to actually mean much: How similar do twin/triplet applications tend to be if you can recall? Just out of curiosity. I know many twins at my university who, obviously, go to the same school, major in the same thing etc. in spite of obviously having their own individual interests

 

[gyngyn]

Have there been situations where one is admitted and the other is not?

You bet.