How do screener's work?

[MirrorTodd]

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Ok, so as everyone probably knows, certain schools screen applications for GPA, MCAT, etc... My question is are the schools selective about what categories they screen? This comes from the low GPA/high MCAT thread. Do the schools that screen, screen only GPA and that's the cutoff? Do they look at the MCAT as well? Do some places screen only MCAT? Could someone with a low GPA/high MCAT get through the GPA screener based on the high MCAT? Are these questions even answerable?

 

[mlcal06]

my guess is each school has their own cutoffs..

my reasoning? i got pre-sec rejection from evms, but got a secondary from loyola.. both are screeners.
i think my gpa was a dealbreaker for evms, but loyola may have looked at mcat instead (and previous loyola threads guessed they have a like a >26 mcat screen or something)

 

[Gut Shot]

No, these questions are not answerable without insider knowledge of the admissions processes for all 125 domestic allopathic schools.

 

[solitude]

No, these questions are not answerable without insider knowledge of the admissions processes for all 125 domestic allopathic schools.

Although I think a few schools do post their criteria for screening. Correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[Steiner]

I know Miami and Utah both rejected me because my GPA was below their cutoff for out-of-state applicants, and my MCAT is in the high 30's, so I guess they just use GPA as a cutoff.

 

[Gut Shot]

Although I think a few schools do post their criteria for screening. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Okay, a few down, 120+ to go.

 

[MirrorTodd]

That leads to more questions. Do all schools screen? I was under the impression that not all of them screened. Do they screen pre-seconday, post secondary? Shouldn't people know more about the screening process? With so many threads out there about screening, how come there isn't a comprehensive list?

 

[Trevelyan]

I do not have knowledge beyond this e-mail from the University of Wisconsin.

"Dear Applicant,

The University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health (SMPH) has
recently received your AMCAS application. At the point of receipt of the AMCAS
application, each medical school has a unique system of processing the
applications. At SMPH our Admissions staff verifies that minimum MCAT scores of 7 in verbal reasoning, 7 in physical sciences, 8 in biological sciences and GPA
of 2.8 are met. Next our Admissions Committee reviews AMCAS applications and
extends invitations to submit our secondary application. This takes some time
and means that it is likely you will hear from us again after a few weeks have
passed."

 

[MirrorTodd]

Go read the new MSAR... It tells you which schools are screeners

Does it tell you the criteria (GPA vs. MCAT) that the schools screen for? Perhaps the screen are set lower so that for the majority of applicants it doesn't matter?

 

[MirrorTodd]

I'm looking at the MSAR now. I like Michigan states screening process. Sent to: Approved screened applicants after receipt of 75$ application processing fee.

 

[Law2Doc]

No, these questions are not answerable without insider knowledge of the admissions processes for all 125 domestic allopathic schools.

Agree with this. There are really two possible approaches that could be used based purely on the numerical stats, and likely some schools use each or neither. They could set a minimum GPA and MCAT well below what they require, and just throw away all applications that fall below either one of these numbers. This is the easiest way to screen as no calculations are required and any staff member can do the screening. Or they could create a formula to combine GPA and MCAT and throw everyone below a certain combined number out. As this would require some formulaic calculation and likely some data entry, I suspect the other version would be favored. What those cutoff numbers are will depend on the school.