Have we pre-meds made the application process seem overly complex?

[libertyyne]

Roughly 100K people take the mcat each year.
509 is the 79th percentile so 21000 people have an mcat of 509 or better. The mean matriculant mcat is ~510 with an SD of 6.

the Test mean is ~504, so roughly 50,000 people have scores of 504 or above for only 21000 seats.

These matriculant means are lowered by schools that by law or mission are required to take a majority of instate applicants.

Realistically for private schools the median is probably closer to 514 and for t-20 schools it is closer to 518-519.

you can come from a state where the median is 513 and have a difficult time securing a seat with a 510.

It is a competitive and complex process which is made even more complex by holistic admission criteria since even in the highest mcat/gpa bracket there is still a 10% chance of being rejected.

So I disagree that it is simple for everyone, the state you live in and supply of seats is just as important as your performance on tests. Furthermore , holistic standards and varied internal rubrics also modify one's competitiveness. I agree that hospital vs clinic volunteering is excess neuroticism. But volunteering with an underprivileged population and a personal statement with clear commitment to serving the undeserved may win you some points at a school where that is their mission. I have been told by multiple physicians that the getting in part is the hardest part of this journey.

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[mindlight1]

I applied during the Dark Ages when it was a logistical nightmare compared to today, but at least we didn't have the ability to incessantly check e-mails or look for responses from other students across the country regarding interview updates. We couldn't read 50 million articles on how to write a personal statement...who even thought to make it in an entertaining, narrative form? I think the technology and information available help to increase the perfectionism and neuroticism.

 

[deleted804295]

We didn't even have the internet when I applied. or color photos...

 

[Kpw101]

Imagine hand-writing that Duke secondary. We're spoiled.

 

[deleted804295]

Ugh it doesn't help when we have professors harping on us to do more research.

I had an hour long berating by an older professor where they were basically telling me that doing research for a year wasnt good enough and that I wouldn't be competitive for medical school if I didn't do more.