General guidelines to getting an interview and admission

[synergy32]

First of all let me disclose that I am an attending physician that recently finished residency. I previously was part of my medical school's admission committee so I wanted to give you all a sense of realistically what they/we were looking for. This information applies only to MD schools.

1) Bottom line is that your GPA, specifically your science GPA, and your MCAT scores, will more or less determine whether you get an interview.
a) If your science GPA is less than 3.3, then your chances are very slim and you should take additional coursework to raise your science GPA
b) one grade of C or less does not kill your application, however multiple grades of that caliber will make admission to an MD school very difficult
c) typical rule is that MCAT of >33 with scores higher than a 9 in every category will result in a decent shot of inerview/admission with a GPA that correlates with your MCAT score. If you have a score of < 7 in any one category, you should consider retaking the test unless you have an application that is otherwise amazing.
d) If your score is 29-33 with a 9 or greater in every category, your application will need to be well balanced with an above average GPA and decent extracurricular activities.
d) There are stories of people with MCATs of 40 and GPAs of 4.0 not getting in, however these are far and few in between. Most of these individuals have a personality problem that often comes across in the interview which results in not being admitted.

2) Extracurricular activities do help if you are a mediocre applicant, however they do not make or break your application.
a) Extracurricular activities really can only compensate for a low GPA or MCAT if you have done something remarkable that very few people have done. (ie starting a non profit foundation, Peace Corps, etc.)
b) Although clinical and research experience is important, it does not significantly lessen your chances if you have above average GPAs and MCAT scores.
c) Getting published will help you at a research oriented program, however is not a necessity at most programs. It definitely strengthens an application, but the main thing we look for is that you are actively pursuing intellectual endeavors that gives us an inclination of your scientific curiousity.

3) Personal Statements do not help you got get an interview, no matter how well written they are. The sole purpose is for the committee members to get a sense of who you are and your motivations for going into medicine.

Finally, I understand all the anxiety and nervousness about trying to get admission to medical school having been there myself, however realize that if you have worked hard and have the right intentions you will gain acceptance somewhere. If your application is lacking in the above areas, work on it before applying, and put forth the best possible application that you can. Good luck to you all.

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[JonBonesJones]

Thanks for posting, always great to have the opinion of someone on the other side.


Questions:
1) You make it seem like a total numbers game. I thought the process is evolving to evaluate candidates on a more global scale?

2) There are plenty of SDN posters (take it for what it's worth) who have solid numbers and don't get in. When they call ADCOMs, the deans inform the applicants that they didn't have enough clinical/volunteering/etc. In these cases the EC's did make or break applications. What is your reasoning behind saying ECs aren't critical?

3) Are different sections of the MCAT weighted differently?

4) Are GPAs from different schools evaluated differently?

5) I personally know several examples of people with decent numbers getting interviews to places where people with GREAT numbers received pre-interview rejections. How do you explain this?

 

[dingyibvs]

I can help answer some of the questions...

1)Interview invites are very numbers-oriented

2)ECs ARE critical if you have nothing, which is what I had last year(100 hrs volunteering at a hospital, and that's it). I still received 3 interviews. I don't think I have a "personality problem" but I did take the "be yourself" advice a bit too literally. I think I presented myself too lackadaisically(I'm a pretty relaxed person) in my interviews, which didn't match up well with my lack of activities and significant downtrend GPA.

3)Yes, Bio is weighted more than Verbal which is weighte more than PS. Not by a whole lot, but there's a trend.

4) Reputation of the school is indeed a factor, there are some schools, particularly the Ivy's, that really dig name schools. It'll affect not only the GPA weight, but everything else.

5) It's a crapshoot. His observations/suggestions are only a general guideline, specific examples vary.

 

[synergy32]

Thanks for the questions, I will try to answer them the best that I can. Now the things I have mentioned were specific to our school, however I have many colleagues that have verified that it works in a comparable manner at their respected institutions.

Questions:
1) You make it seem like a total numbers game. I thought the process is evolving to evaluate candidates on a more global scale?

Unfortunately, it is a numbers game. Initial screening generally requires you to have minimum numbers to get a secondary. Once you get an interview, then it is more about the applicant as a whole package. The reason I say it's a number's game is because most institutions want to know that the students will be able to handle the rigors of a medical school curriculum. If a person struggles during undergraduate college, this often is an indicator of problems that will occur during medical school, unless there were some unforeseen issues. That is why if an individual shows significant improvement in GPA or a progression, then they may be considered. However, a person with tons of extracurriculars with a poor GPA and decent MCAT shows us an individual that is unable to correct a problem that was likely due to time management. Medical school and medicine in general is all about time management and efficiency. You will always here those few people that get in with subpar scores or individuals that don't get in with superb scores, however they usually have something in their application that makes them distinct.

Let me also add that once you enter medical school, tests and numbers will determine what direction your career goes. What many of you don't realize is that once you get into medical school not only will you have to take exams for your classes but you will need to take the USMLE Step 1,2,and 3. These scores will be utilized to get into a residency. Your performance will often dictate whether you can go into some of the more competitive subspecialties as well as competitive programs. You will all be going through this process again once you finish medical school and again for select residencies. With these exams there are no repeats like there are with the MCAT. So understand that this numbers game, does not end once you get into medical school, it will continue until you finish your training.

2) There are plenty of SDN posters (take it for what it's worth) who have solid numbers and don't get in. When they call ADCOMs, the deans inform the applicants that they didn't have enough clinical/volunteering/etc. In these cases the EC's did make or break applications. What is your reasoning behind saying ECs aren't critical?

Extracurricular activities are important, I never said they were not, however in many instances they do not break an application. You mention the SDN posters that do not get in, however this is not a representative sample. I can assure you that most individuals with good numbers and just a fair amount of EC activities do get in more often than not. Often the red flag that prevents people from getting in, are those individuals with minimal exposure to medicine. Because of the commitment that medicine requires and long hours and sacrifice involved, the committees do not want individuals that have minimal understanding of what they are getting themselves into. Think about what purpose extracurriculars serve to a committee. It gives us a sense of what motivates a person, an impression of the compassion and sense of humanity a person has, their intellectual curiosity, how well balanced they are, and how much exposure they have to medicine which has allowed the applicant to make a decision that this is the career for them. However, extracurriculars cannot make up for a poor GPA or MCAT, because we need to know that an individuals has the work ethic, organizational skills, and intellect to handle the medical school workload.


3) Are different sections of the MCAT weighted differently?

The verbal section is often the most important part of the MCAT that differentiates candidates. The reason I say this is because it is the best indicator of how individuals will perform in medical school. Most of the curriculum in medical school requires individuals to read and comprehend large amounts of information while picking out salient or pertinent points. Each section of the MCAT is weighted the same when it comes to selection, but the most amount of variation occurs around the verbal section from my experience.

4) Are GPAs from different schools evaluated differently?

GPAs are not really evaluated differently, however based on the caliber of school you attend this does play bearing on the committee's determination for interview. Thus you can say the better the school the more weight a particular GPA carries. However, for the most part GPA's, are not evaluated differently otherwise. The GPA should correlate with the MCAT score. If there is a discrepancy, once again this a red flag and a candidates application is more thoroughly reviewed to understand what may have caused the lack of correlation.


5) I personally know several examples of people with decent numbers getting interviews to places where people with GREAT numbers received pre-interview rejections. How do you explain this?

Once again the number of people you speak of is a small sample that is not representative of the whole. There are always exceptions. But ultimately understand each medical school looks for specific types of candidates. Top tier programs that are very research oriented, will place more emphasis on research thus may accept someone that is well published that has just above average numbers compared to one with superb numbers. Although there is some variation from school to school on the types of candidates they seek, understand that the few people you speak of are not representative of how we select the whole.