gpa/mcat/etc. disregarded at interview stage?

[dpy]

Hey everyone,

anyone know if once the applicants are asked for an interview, are they all on the same level? it seems like that in order to get to the interview stage, the applicant probably has high gpa/mcat/good ECs/etc., so when they decide on acceptance or not, are those still considered or is it based solely on the adcom's impression of you at the interview?

dpy

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[Street Philosopher]

no

 

[gobruins]

My experience has been that while sometimes the interview is stats-blind (interviewer only has your personal statement, nothing else), the final decision is always made with regard to your entire file.

 

[tatabox80]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by dpy:
•Hey everyone,

anyone know if once the applicants are asked for an interview, are they all on the same level? it seems like that in order to get to the interview stage, the applicant probably has high gpa/mcat/good ECs/etc., so when they decide on acceptance or not, are those still considered or is it based solely on the adcom's impression of you at the interview?

dpy•••••I had recently met with the dean of admissions at an ohio school and he told me that prior to interview, your grades are 80-90% of you getting an interview. After interview however grades are only about 30% of their final decision, everything else is what comprises the other 70%. Every school is different though...

 

[Nuclearrabbit]

There are alot of schools that participate in blind-file interviews. Many of my interview experiences involved multiple interviews, with one blind interview, one open file interview.
Ultimately, everything is considered in your file in making a decision. And yes, the interview score IS important. But its not everything.

 

[The Mysterious Stranger]

I think this is a topic everyone probably disagrees on. I am inclined to believe that different parts of the application are important at different stages. Med schools are interested in creating intelligent and diverse classes. Intelligence is determined mainly through GPA and MCAT. This can easily be done by glancing at paperwork--transcripts (course rigor, GPA's) and MCAT scores. Diversity is not so easily determined because students tend to over exaggerate ECs and an interview can determine how engaging a students is, the extent of involvement and dedication in ECs, and any other personality attributes that are necessary for a physician. Your interview will enhance or diminish the significance your GPA/MCAT scores by the intelligence you exhibit. I doubt after an interview, your scores can be looked at as neutral. However, I agree there can be too much emphasis placed on the interview sometimes. Just a different perspective...

 

[Mystique]

Some people say you're on an even playing field w/ all the other interviewees. I disagree. Your numbers will be used throughout the entire application process. Different schools go about this in different ways. At some schools, your entire application (GPA, MCAT, ECs, recs) compromises about 70% of the overall "assessment." The remaining 30% will be determined by your interview. Even at the interview stage when the adcoms have two applicants that interviewed decently, they'll look into the numbers. There's no "right" answer to this question. Each school has its own method.

 

[Zoobaby]

tatabox - Which Ohio school?

 

[UCLA2000]

Unfortunately no. In some cases the interviewer knows your stats and will flat out tell you that no matter how well you interview, they cannot accept you with such low scores (that happened to a friend of mine at Harvard).

In other cases you have a blind interview where the interviewer doesn't know your scores, but I believe that the interviewer still sees your scores after the interview.

 

[geneman]

Hey tata,

That makes a lot of sense. When you send in your secondary, you are competing against a lot more people, grades being the primary way to distinguish between them (hence 80-90% grade significance). Once you get to the interview stage, most of the people being interviewed already have the grade prerequisites (thus reducing the relative importance of grades to 30%).

•••quote:•••Originally posted by tatabox80:
•I had recently met with the dean of admissions at an ohio school and he told me that prior to interview, your grades are 80-90% of you getting an interview. After interview however grades are only about 30% of their final decision, everything else is what comprises the other 70%. Every school is different though...•••••

 

[lola]

it seems strange that a school would tell someone at an interview that their numbers were too low. why would they waste their time interviewing them?

i have no idea what the answer to this question is, but it seems unlikely that people are all on the same level once granted an interview. other things will have to factor in at some point if they liked 400 applicants after the interview but can only accept 200. a great interview might help a person with mediocre test scores and grades, but only if there are not other people who have great interviews and good test scores and grades.

 

[The Mysterious Stranger]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by lola:
•it seems strange that a school would tell someone at an interview that their numbers were too low. why would they waste their time interviewing them?

i have no idea what the answer to this question is, but it seems unlikely that people are all on the same level once granted an interview. other things will have to factor in at some point if they liked 400 applicants after the interview but can only accept 200. a great interview might help a person with mediocre test scores and grades, but only if there are not other people who have great interviews and good test scores and grades.•••••I completely agree!