how the hell did XXXX get in?

[jkl123]

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q

 

[UnderdogMD]

This thread has the potential to get very ugly. I have my popcorn ready.

 

[xiaoyi666]

post your most ridiculous examples of people who got into med school, but didn't deserve it a single bit. names withheld, of course.

How the hell did jkl123 get in? Quite ridiculous.

🙂

 

[jkl123]

q

 

[Istarus]

he/she didn't!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! that's why he/she is venting!!!!!

Maybe those people don't complain, or have a hostile or negative attitude about not getting in.

 

[186321]

What you have to accept (and I still haven't fully accepted it yet) is that a lot of stuff in this selection process is random. Whether they interview you, accept you, or reject you, a substantial portion of that decision could be up total chance. Also, there are just way too many qualified applicants out there. How many >3.5 GPA and >30 MCAT people are on this forum? Tons and Tons. The things that separate us and make us unique are minuscule. Everyone does research, everyone shadows, everyone volunteers... Its just too difficult to distinguish between each applicant.

 

[ninjapenguin]

Myself.

I've slacked throughout undergrad, half-assed any volunteering work or part-time job I've had, and pretty much relied on social skills to create a network of connections with professors that landed me research positions (which I slacked at) and good LORs.

If it were up to me, I'd just play video games all day and party all night long. Which is what I am doing now that I have been accepted. 🙂

 

[172858]

Myself.

I've slacked throughout undergrad, half-assed any volunteering work or part-time job I've had, and pretty much relied on social skills to create a network of connections with professors that landed me research positions (which I slacked at) and good LORs.

If it were up to me, I'd just play video games all day and party all night long. Which is what I am doing now that I have been accepted. 🙂

here here! i say, bravo to you sir!

 

[riceman04]

This thread has the potential to get very ugly. I have my popcorn ready.

hahahahaha

I'm a little late but I've got the grill started and the meat is being marinated

 

[HSTeacher2MD]

....but didn't deserve it a single bit.

<soapbox>Well ... what we're now doing is stating how an entire committee of trained professionals are wrong, and we know more than them. Which, maybe I'm underestimating your abilities, I would highly doubt to be correct. Obviously there was something in their application that convinced a group of people he/she would be a good doctor, and that's why they got in.

Just as cottenr stated, there are many applicants out there, and there are MANY criteria that don't translate well on paper. Furthermore, there are many people out there with remarkable GPAs and MCAT scores, but would SUCK as physicians. I didn't have the best undergrad GPA in the world, but my other attributes that you CAN'T see make up for it.

Life sucks. Life can be unfair. Get used to it.</soapbox>

 

[AKu2984]

What you have to accept (and I still haven't fully accepted it yet) is that a lot of stuff in this selection process is random. Whether they interview you, accept you, or reject you, a substantial portion of that decision could be up total chance. Also, there are just way too many qualified applicants out there. How many >3.5 GPA and >30 MCAT people are on this forum? Tons and Tons. The things that separate us and make us unique are minuscule. Everyone does research, everyone shadows, everyone volunteers... Its just too difficult to distinguish between each applicant.

I couldn't agree more.

 

[mfrizzo3]

How could you possibly know that they didn't deserve to get in.
Because they don't eat, drink and live the pre-med lifestyle?
I think not.
👎

 

[jkl123]

ew get over yourselves i am trying to have some fun and throw some dirt around. ewwww i cannot believe you guys spend that long writing a paragraph response. desperate!

 

[167649]

:cry: Waahhh, I know someone who got into medical school and they shoudn't have. I should have and they shouldn't have. I know this because I have more expertise than the people already in the profession who are admitting people. Waaahhh. :cry:

 

[RapplixGmed]

Some people make up stories on their personal statement that makes them stand out (ie they saved somebody's life, helped out the homeless, studied abroad ... all when they didn't) and this disgusts me but alas theres not much that can be done except hope that it gets brought up in the interview and they can't say a thing about it.

 

[Depakote]

Some people make up stories on their personal statement that makes them stand out (ie they saved somebody's life, helped out the homeless, studied abroad ... all when they didn't) and this disgusts me but alas theres not much that can be done except hope that it gets brought up in the interview and they can't say a thing about it.

are you implying that I didn't single-handedly save that party-bus full of super-models from a swarm of rampaging malpractice attorneys spellbinding them using only an improvised essay on the virtues of professionalism in medicine?

if so, I don't like your tone, sir.

 

[HSTeacher2MD]

i am trying to have some fun and throw some dirt around.

This is how you have some fun?? <shudder>

 

[novastorm]

I think we have a future gunner in the making, perhapses a mold from which all future gunners are wrought.

 

[seraph524]

This thread needs to be closed before things get ugly...

 

[MossPoh]

Eh things can get ugly. I don't care. I think generally speaking most people get in, but I have met more than a couple people who i know are going to get demolished and struggle once they get into medical school. They rely on a brute force approach that is horrible inefficient when it comes to studying. Works great when you are taking 2 or 3 science courses...not so much when you are dumped on with the quantity of material the average med student must learn. These people also tend to lack any real social skills and I want to punch them in the face for being snobby gunners. But hey, they got the grades and got in, so whatever. I'll let nature take its course. I just want to be there when it dawns on them what they got involved in and how average they really are.

 

[bodonid]

This thread needs to be closed before things get ugly...

funny... this thread has been open for an hour and a half, and nobody has even attempted to post an answer to OP. I don't think it will get ugly, just boring and repetitive.

 

[randomized1df374d41]

<soapbox>Well ... what we're now doing is stating how an entire committee of trained professionals are wrong, and we know more than them.

I couldnt agree more. The elephant in the adcom room is that there are a lot of applicants who just arent "good people". This "good people" thing takes the form of unique life experiences, interpersonal commication skills, and all kinds of other soft factors. Most premeds, myself included, dont want to think about the fact that they may not be a desirable applicant in spite of good numbers. After grilling every single premed ive met about their app, its getting easier and easier to see who has the best shot at acceptance and who comes off as a dbag

 

[thoffen]

That thoffen guy -- total loser.

 

[Bond8204]

Wait wait wait. You mean an extremely difficult and competitive system run by humans isn't entirely fair!?

Good God. What madness.

Takehome point: I'm sure everybody has stories of angst about somebody. I have a friend who, while she certainly deserved to go to medical school, didn't deserve as much attention as she received. I also have a friend who, despite awesome scores, EC's, and personality, ended up going to his state school. Oh well. Like everything else in life--you'll have that.

 

[08675309]

Some people make up stories on their personal statement that makes them stand out (ie they saved somebody's life, helped out the homeless, studied abroad ... all when they didn't) and this disgusts me but alas theres not much that can be done except hope that it gets brought up in the interview and they can't say a thing about it.

how do you make up studying abroad? isn't that easily verifiable via transcripts/amcas?

 

[jkl123]

q

 

[HSTeacher2MD]

to HSTEACHER2MD

aren't you a highschool teacher writing on a student forum? and you're judging me on what I do for fun??

I don't follow. Yes, I'm currently a high school teacher that will be attending medical school next year. My apologies for missing the point of your arguement.

 

[Textuality]

Congrats on the acceptance! I have the greatest respect for HS teachers, I remember being a total trouble maker back then 😛

 

[nevercold]

to HSTEACHER2MD

aren't you a highschool teacher writing on a student forum? and you're judging me on what I do for fun??

If you look below his name along the left side of the post, you'll see a link to an MDapps profile wherein the information indicates that he will be a matriculant at a medical school this fall.

 

[nevercold]

What you have to accept (and I still haven't fully accepted it yet) is that a lot of stuff in this selection process is random. Whether they interview you, accept you, or reject you, a substantial portion of that decision could be up total chance. Also, there are just way too many qualified applicants out there. How many >3.5 GPA and >30 MCAT people are on this forum? Tons and Tons. The things that separate us and make us unique are minuscule. Everyone does research, everyone shadows, everyone volunteers... Its just too difficult to distinguish between each applicant.

cottenr, I appreciate that this point of view is something that is shared by many, many applicants and seems to have not been appropriately addressed other than through snide remarks. Could you explain exactly what you perceive to be the "total chance" in the process?

 

[Kaustikos]

If you look below his name along the left side of the post, you'll see a link to an MDapps profile wherein the information indicates that he will be a matriculant at a medical school this fall.

Owned?

 

[Lawliet2008]

post your most ridiculous examples of people who got into med school, but didn't deserve it a single bit. names withheld, of course.

I nominate everyone out there who is currently occupying my seat at my dream school.

You know you who are.

 

[Cegar]

What you have to accept (and I still haven't fully accepted it yet) is that a lot of stuff in this selection process is random. Whether they interview you, accept you, or reject you, a substantial portion of that decision could be up total chance. Also, there are just way too many qualified applicants out there. How many >3.5 GPA and >30 MCAT people are on this forum? Tons and Tons. The things that separate us and make us unique are minuscule. Everyone does research, everyone shadows, everyone volunteers... Its just too difficult to distinguish between each applicant.

Yeah man. Totally random.

 

[nevercold]

Yeah man. Totally random.

I'm serious, though. I think there are small elements in the process that can be fairly subjective but even then there are measures by which the "randomness" introduced by the subjectivity is mitigated. I would like to know which elements people perceive to be "random" so that I or others could appropriate address those points.

 

[ScutMonkey08]

As a member of the admissions commitee at a top 40 med school, I must say that though there is a lot of "randomness" in the decisions process, most of the applicants who get denied just plain s-u-c-k (to put it lightly). 🙂

 

[MichiganEMTInt]

What you have to accept (and I still haven't fully accepted it yet) is that a lot of stuff in this selection process is random. Whether they interview you, accept you, or reject you, a substantial portion of that decision could be up total chance. Also, there are just way too many qualified applicants out there. How many >3.5 GPA and >30 MCAT people are on this forum? Tons and Tons. The things that separate us and make us unique are minuscule. Everyone does research, everyone shadows, everyone volunteers... Its just too difficult to distinguish between each applicant.

This is 1,000,000,000,000% true.

 

[nevercold]

This is 1,000,000,000,000% true.

At my school, at least two people look at everything. If there is a significant disparity between opinions, the dean of admissions will look at it. You never get "rejected" without a consistent set of opinions against your application. One misinterpretation is not enough to get your file closed. Now, whether people are more impressed by one activity or another can be random, but generally you have to have a strong package in each regard to receive the admissions offer.

However, it won't come down to "Do we value this person working as an elementary school tutor more than this other person working as a middle school sports coach?" If it does, it's because you did not otherwise distinguish yourself enough and *that* should be your conclusion from the situation, not that "it was totally random that they liked the coach more than the tutor." We don't pull names out of a hat, we sit down with the information we have and the things we're looking for and we start to separate out the candidates. A line will be drawn somewhere. You can't worry about outcompeting the other people right around that line. You should worry getting well above that line.

Again, I would ask that those supporting the "totally random" or "total chance" comments please offer specifics so that they can be addressed.

 

[nevercold]

Also important to remember is that not everyone does everything and some activities stand out as weaker than others. What stands out even more so is a person's ability to express what he/she gained from the activity.

I don't care just that you shadowed a surgeon for 5 weeks. Did you learn anything? What did you learn about medicine from the experience? If you're not answering those follow-up questions, you make the difference between you and the applicant that is stand out quite clearly.

 

[riceman04]

As a member of the admissions commitee at a top 40 med school, I must say that though there is a lot of "randomness" in the decisions process, most of the applicants who get denied just plain s-u-c-k (to put it lightly). 🙂

ouch!!! that was kind of mean!!!

 

[BoilerWolverine]

ewwww

.

 

[HrvatskiDoktor]

jkl123---

I'll throw you something, as when I read the thread title, this was the first thing that I thought of:

My sister has this friend who wasn't ready to go into the real world and decided that the longer he stays in school, the better off he'll be (read parents pay for everything as long as he is still in school). Well, he got wait-listed at his top choice, and a very influential family member at the school made a phone call and he was magically off the wait list the next day.

It made me rather upset b/c he has no plans of practicing medicine, just staying in school....grrrr....

 

[Moose Noose]

flahless

 

[Jolie South]

let's try to keep things civil in here.

 

[Moose Noose]

I think flahless is a pretty cool guy. eh argues well and doesn't afraid of anything.

 

[Dr Roboto]

I hope we don't have a forum member by the name of XXXX.

 

[DocCallaway]

What you have to accept (and I still haven't fully accepted it yet) is that a lot of stuff in this selection process is random. Whether they interview you, accept you, or reject you, a substantial portion of that decision could be up total chance. Also, there are just way too many qualified applicants out there. How many >3.5 GPA and >30 MCAT people are on this forum? Tons and Tons. The things that separate us and make us unique are minuscule. Everyone does research, everyone shadows, everyone volunteers... Its just too difficult to distinguish between each applicant.

I find this whole random concept funny. I applied to a little over 10 schools. I got interviewed by the ones I thought I would, and got accepted and I am going to attend the one I thought I would. SDN freaked me out, I could have applied to one school! Although I got rejected by a few that I thought I could get an interview, I was basically 50/50 on the schools I "thought" would interview me. If I applied to one school, I would have been ok and quite happy.

 

[Law2Doc]

I find this whole random concept funny. I applied to a little over 10 schools. I got interviewed by the ones I thought I would, and got accepted and I am going to attend the one I thought I would. SDN freaked me out, I could have applied to one school! Although I got rejected by a few that I thought I could get an interview, I was basically 50/50 on the schools I "thought" would interview me. If I applied to one school, I would have been ok and quite happy.

While I don't agree with the randomness argument, I don't think your post is much of an argument against it.
Your sample size is 1 and the applicant pool is about 42,000. The fact that you did as expected does not change the statistics -- your sample size is simply too small to extrapolate out whether your experience is common or an extreme outlier. Most people who apply to 1 school in your situation might be SOL.

 

[DocCallaway]

While I don't agree with the randomness argument, I don't think your post is much of an argument against it.
Your sample size is 1 and the applicant pool is about 42,000. The fact that you did as expected does not change the statistics -- your sample size is simply too small to extrapolate out whether your experience is common or an extreme outlier. Most people who apply to 1 school in your situation might be SOL.

Alright, I do concede I am being a little presumptouis (sp?). What I should have been implying is this: If someone had done thier research on thier schools, thier statistics and the schoold, state residencies, # of applications, etc. The outcome of most schools you applied to should be approximately explained by these statistics. My numbers happened to fall in about the pattern I would have expected. And by no means would I recommend applying to 1, I would recommend 15. Because out of my state schools, I know I got lucky getting into the one I wanted. But chances are, I would have got into Wayne State, or Michigan State.

 

[smq123]

post your most ridiculous examples of people who got into med school, but didn't deserve it a single bit. names withheld, of course.

If you get into medical school, you will find that, while everyone had the grades to get in, some people managed to fool the admissions committee into thinking that they were "normal people."

Every year, there's always 1-2 people who are EXTREMELY odd, to say the least. This can range from childhood behaviors that have persisted into their 20s, to stalking their classmates. (Almost everyone, regardless of where they went to med school, has had at least one classmate that's been stalked (and in some cases, killed) by another classmate. Very scary.)

And, obviously, you haven't heard of the ScutMonkey, or the "Questionable Admit." (http://theunderweardrawer.homestead.com/twelvemedstudents.html)

 

[SketchLazy]

What you have to accept (and I still haven't fully accepted it yet) is that a lot of stuff in this selection process is random. Whether they interview you, accept you, or reject you, a substantial portion of that decision could be up total chance. Also, there are just way too many qualified applicants out there. How many >3.5 GPA and >30 MCAT people are on this forum? Tons and Tons. The things that separate us and make us unique are minuscule. Everyone does research, everyone shadows, everyone volunteers... Its just too difficult to distinguish between each applicant.

I've been guilty of calling this whole process a crapshoot before, but in reality it's not so much that as much as it is that we don't really have a fuggin clue how the whole process works. When you go strictly by numbers it may seem that way, because some people shouldn't be getting into a certain school when they did, or some should be getting into another when they didn't. But our applications and our chances go beyond our numbers. In truth, we are trying to get into a field of professionals and from the very beginning (i.e. path to medicine, the application process) are expected to act as such. To me, a professional is someone who goes way beyond what is expected, and here I'm not talking about numbers. I'm talking about perfecting the personal statement, getting spectacular LORS, writing those letters of intent, following up, practicing interview skills, realizing that you need to apply broadly, etc. Most of the people that get accepted are the ones that do this. They're the ones who didn't get in by luck, but got in by being true professionals which is what will be expected of all who ultimately get in anyway. Calling this a crapshoot is really unfair to all of those who worked their as..s off to get in. But then again, there's always that chance for that occasional WTF??!?!!?!?!