Interesting med school applicants

[Ceelo]

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Please post interesting stories/stats about med school applicants you know or heard about. Who's the youngest applicant you know? Do you know anyone with a really low GPA/MCAT who got into medical school? I'm curious to hear you guys' stories since I know there are a lot of unique applicants out there. For instance, I know a young lady at my school who graudated in two years, and is now in medical school. I also have a friend who didn't study for the MCAT. He was planning on taking a year off before applying but figured, what the heck, let me give the MCAT a crack. I'm not sure how he did, but he only applied to one school (a top med school) and he got in.

 

[Resident Alien]

During my interview (and those who read my posts will have sore eyes by now), I was asked a number of questions pertaining to this:
1) Explain how you are graduating in 3 years, after immigrating to the USA in 1999?

2) Not many people at your age (19) apply to matriculate at a medical school. Do you have a comment on that? What do you think about your maturity level now? (I dont know whether she was pleased with my answer "Everyone back home is ready for med school at 17!)

I'll post more as i recall.

 

[none]

I did my first two years of undergrad in my spare time while in high school. About half of it was at a community college and about half at a local state college. It looks very odd on the AMCAS app, not sure if it'll be interesting or a liability.

 

[Vasiley Zaitsev]

Originally posted by none:
•I did my first two years of undergrad in my spare time while in high school. About half of it was at a community college and about half at a local state college. It looks very odd on the AMCAS app, not sure if it'll be interesting or a liability.•

none,

same here. In addition, my activities while in college include being All-American , First Team, basketball...for highschool! At the same time, I was doing cutting-edge research @ one of the world's top neurological centers! LOL..the joys of being young and motivated..

owcc16

 

[lady in red]

I knew a guy with a 43 and 4.0 in sciences get only 1 interview, and a girl with a 25 MCAT get 5 and 3 acceptances (at top CA schools). Weird, huh? I know, I know--the "whole package", but the guy was REALLY a nice person, with all the other stuff and the girl/woman was a total b%(*&^ (personal opinion). So is it like a lottery then?

 

[snowballz]

I am thinking all schools pick names out of hats... 😉 ....or it could be similar to the grading system of the MCAT writing sample, throwing darts at letters. I believe that is the current system for that.

And about 4.0 GPA's..from my understanding many med schools do not like them because they show no aspect of humanness...just perfection and that is not what they're looking for.

Alicia

 

[MorningLight2100]

I have to disagree to an extent that med schools do not "like" 4.0 GPAs. If a high GPA is accompanied by zero activities and, as revealed via interview, zero personality, then of course, they won't be impressed. But if a high GPA is accompanied by an extensive and genuine list of involvements? I'd think that it would represent dedication and passion about learning and a sense of balance, not necessarily "perfection." In this respect, considering the MCAT is decent, I'd imagine that the GPA would be more important than that monster of a test. The MCAT demonstrates your critical thinking skills and grasp of the material....a GPA can reflect your determination and efforts.

 

[nitemagi]

I still think it's a crapshoot.

 

[SMW]

Originally posted by nitemagi:
•I still think it's a crapshoot.•

I agree. That's why it's important to apply to a wide range of schools and lots of them.

 

[Ceelo]

wow. great posts so far. I justed wanted to add something else. A friend of mine told me that her dad (now a cardiologist) entered med school when he was 16! This was in India, but that's still amazing.

 

[Ceelo]

btw, has anyone ever scored or know someone who has scored a perfect 45 on the MCAT? Perfect SATs are common at my school but I've never heard of any with a 45 on the MCAT.

 

[nitemagi]

I'm a bit different, though interesting is a matter of taste. Sum up some of my application:
BA from Hampshire College, which has no grades, no credits, and no tests, only written evaluations. Majored in psychology and theatre. Was a theatre director through college, developed new directing techniques by adapting psychotherapy and hypnosis techniques to the theater.

Was a peer counselor for sexual assault/domestic violence.
Am a hypnotherapist.
Former Vice-President of a small medical education company.
Yoga Practitioner for 6+ years.
Post-Bacc Pre-med Program- 3.83GPA
32 MCAT
23 years old.

 

[rxfudd]

Originally posted by Ceelo:
•wow. great posts so far. I justed wanted to add something else. A friend of mine told me that her dad (now a cardiologist) entered med school when he was 16! This was in India, but that's still amazing.•

The educational system in India is extraordinarily different from the US. High school (from the age of 14-17) is really more like college - in fact, there were some Indian students in my physics courses who had taken it in their sophomore year of high school (and this is physics with calculus, so they must have had calculus in either grade school or the beginning of high school).

In fact, in many countries outside of the US, the traditional age to enter medical school is 16-18. I know someone living in Yugoslavia who is my age and is now a practicing physician. I'm not sure if these systems are better or worse - just different. I imagine that their teenagers are a lot smarter than ours...

 

[csgirl]

Lady in red: It depends where these people applied. If the guy only applied to the top ten, and the girl applied accross the board... then that would explain it.

rxfudd: We have the most advanced and sophisticated medical technology in the world. We also have the best doctors. Kings, princes and prime ministers from all over the world come to the US to see our doctors. So we must be doing something right. 😉

 

[Vasiley Zaitsev]

Originally posted by Ceelo:
•wow. great posts so far. I justed wanted to add something else. A friend of mine told me that her dad (now a cardiologist) entered med school when he was 16! This was in India, but that's still amazing.•

duh,

he probably entered out of high school (english system). If not that, it's india, come on.. 😉

owcc16

 

[Mary Jane Watson]

I don't know if I'm interesting or plain weird, but I was a photojournalist for 5 years before deciding to change careers and pursue medicine. I guess only after photographing practically every job on the planet could I decide what I wanted to be when I grew up. BA, MS Journalism, 28 years old. Have interview at UAB next Thursday.
My premed adviser thinks I'm intersting, but most premeds think I'm weird. I may just be a little of both. 😉

 

[Mary Jane Watson]

Correction: interesting (editing will always be with me) 🙂

 

[Trek]

Owcc16, You're more than welcome to message me (call, visit, etc.) to expand on this statement (i'm dying to hear what you have to say). --Trek

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If not that, it's india, come on.. 😉

owcc16
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[praying4MD]

Originally posted by csgirl:
•We have the most advanced and sophisticated medical technology in the world. We also have the best doctors... So we must be doing something right.•

Really? Is that why Western Europe falls over laughing at our infant mortality rate?

 

[nezlab99]

one of the guys in my fraternity:
GPA: 3.03
MCAT: 25
ExtraCurriculars:my fraternity...(that's it)
He was accepted to Baylor.

He doesn't have any connections with the school, and his parents aren't big donors or anything. He is just one a genuinely nice person. He has no idea how he did it either.