Does your application even get read during adcom meetings??

[MelissaThompson]

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Hello everyone,

At one of the schools I recently interviewed at - I was told that the system works like this:

The admissions office randomly selects 40-50 files to be sent to the adcom for review and decision during a 3 hour session. I am now shocked - how can the committee go over THAT many files during THAT short of a time? That is merely 3.6 minutes/applicant - is that ENOUGH to cover your course history, MCAT, 15 activities, 2 page PS, many pages of LORs, Update Letters and LOIs, interview report, and then finally spending time to deliberate your suitability for admission?

I am now really concerned that they just somehow "skim" over your application - and thus missing some important activities like shadowing, major awards...etc etc. Which in turn rejects people that should have been "clear admits"...

Any Adcom members wishing to chime in here??

 

[La Presse]

Hi Melissa! 🙂

 

[TheShaker]

I would think that some of them have some kind of red flag that is an automatic rejection - low GPA, low MCAT, no clinical experience, criminal record...

I guess that would narrow it down to a smaller pool of applicants who actually have more than 3 minutes devoted to them. Then again, good applicants get rejected all the time so I would guess that a bit of skimming goes on in there.

 

[diagonal]

I would think that some of them have some kind of red flag that is an automatic rejection - low GPA, low MCAT, no clinical experience, criminal record...

I guess that would narrow it down to a smaller pool of applicants who actually have more than 3 minutes devoted to them. Then again, good applicants get rejected all the time so I would guess that a bit of skimming goes on in there.

Congrats, you've said nothing.

 

[aspiring20]

I would think that some of them have some kind of red flag that is an automatic rejection - low GPA, low MCAT, no clinical experience, criminal record...

I guess that would narrow it down to a smaller pool of applicants who actually have more than 3 minutes devoted to them. Then again, good applicants get rejected all the time so I would guess that a bit of skimming goes on in there.

there have been plenty of people gaining acceptance with no clinical experience and misdemeanor convictions. the former two? not so much.

 

[La Presse]

I guess since I posted, I might as well post something useful. Here is what LizzyM says:

Someone reads the whole file. Many (depending on cut points -- that I don't really know) are reviewed a second and third time by other reviewers. Each reader makes written notes and recommendation to review or not. The Dean uses that information to decide who gets an interview invite.

A large group of people review each application post-interview, write comments and later get together to discuss the applications and make recommendations; here disagreements are hashed out. There is a final step where another group review each application and all the commentaries and recommendations make a decision.

Here is the source.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=877440

Hope that helped. I guess different schools have different evaluation methods.