Homosexuality and Application

[nekrogg]

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I have a friend who is applying to a Johns Hopkins med and put on his app that he is homosexual. How would this affect his chances? He is a stellar student in all other fields (great GPA, ECs, lors, etc.) but would adcoms frown upon this?

 

[71263]

I have a friend who is applying to a Johns Hopkins med and put on his app that he is homosexual. How would this affect his chances? He is a stellar student in all other fields (great GPA, ECs, lors, etc.) but would adcoms frown upon this?

Depends. Under what context did he say it?

 

[OnMyWayThere]

I have a friend who is applying to a Johns Hopkins med and put on his app that he is homosexual. How would this affect his chances? He is a stellar student in all other fields (great GPA, ECs, lors, etc.) but would adcoms frown upon this?

Why say something if it doesn't help you 😕

 

[crazy_cavalier]

People, people - - - Don't ask, don't tell.


Have fun with that one 😉

 

[NapeSpikes]

Assuming he didn't list "Homosexual Activities" as an EC, it should be fine.

If it's relevant somehow, I mean...

 

[gary5]

It shouldn't matter, although people do have biases and so there may be some risk. It also depends on why he mentioned it. Considering that most people do not describe their sexuality in applications, he should have a good reason.

 

[femily]

i assume your friend had very excellent grades, etc. if just being gay kept him out of med school, i'd say he has a good lawsuit in his hands.

however, there is a different between "i'm applying to med school and i'm gay" and "i'm GAY and applying to med school". but i'm sure he has a really good reason to put that into an application. i bet he has a good story with a great lesson learned.

besides...who cares if an applicant is gay or not? all that matters is if that person becomes a good compassionate doctor in the future.

 

[big_smiles]

Well, it could come out in different ways on an app. What if the activities were a president of a gay/leisbain awareness group on campus or forming a fundraiser against violence? I don't know the situation, but there are ways it can come out for the good.

 

[nikibean]

One would hope it wouldn't affect his admissions one way or another, but we never know. I agree that if it came out in his activities, or maybe he feels like he wants to be someone that a certain percentage of the population can connect with - I could see that being a plus, depending on how it was phrased/written. Hmm. Best of luck to him. If he has an interview, I would say it probably hasn't affected his application. Being gay *is* part of who people are as a person, so also, would he want to be at a school that would reject him solely on that premise? (that's a question for him). I have no answer, I'm just rambling, thinking out loud pre-caffeination. 😕

 

[Mateodaspy]

i was entirely out during the admissions process and i ended up doing pretty well. aside from that, i believe the dean of admissions at hopkins is an out gay man.

 

[NapeSpikes]

i was entirely out during the admissions process and i ended up doing pretty well. aside from that, i believe the dean of admissions at hopkins is an out gay man.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that. I met the Dean (maybe assistant dean?), and if I had to guess, I would say that he was gay. So it shouldn't be an issue.

 

[nekrogg]

he mentioned it in his personal statement and how it affected his life. he is slightly more flamboyant than normal and you can obviously tell that through his demeanor. I was encouraging him to try to hide it throughout his app process especially for conservative medical schools. but he chose the opposite route and now it might be hindering him...

 

[Messerschmitts]

I was encouraging him to try to hide it throughout his app process especially for conservative medical schools. but he chose the opposite route and now it might be hindering him...

I seriously doubt that. In fact I've heard of people pretending to be gay in order to get into med school. It plays up diversity, adversity, and the adcoms will be so scared of discrimination lawsuits that your chances of getting in will be increased, if anything. I wish I had something interesting and diverse like that about me, instead of being just another member of that over-represented minority, the Asians.

 

[crazy_cavalier]

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that. I met the Dean (maybe assistant dean?), and if I had to guess, I would say that he was gay. So it shouldn't be an issue.

Yeah, people. If the dean of admissions falls in the same minority classification as yourself (e.g. black, gay, missing an eye, etc.) then that automatically gives you a leg up.

 

[C.P. Jones]

Yeah, people. If the dean of admissions falls in the same minority classification as yourself (e.g. black, gay, missing an eye, etc.) then that automatically gives you a leg up.

missing an eye! this must be the Blackbeard School of Medicine in the Caribbean