lower stat schools deny high stat applicants w/o any consideration?

[slightlygifted]

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I know this is anecdotal evidence with n=2, but whatever. So my friend has had interviews at top 20 schools, which are right in line with his high stats (36+ mcat, 3.9+ gpa) but at the same time he is denied pre interview from multiple schools which are either unranked or not in the top 50. I have noticed this happening to another person who has been accepted to a top 10 school and interviewed at a ton of other top 30 schools, but was denied pre interview from almost all of his "backup" schools. So my question is, do schools with average mcats in say the 27-32 range and average gpa in the 3.5-3.7 range just auto reject very high stat applicants because they know that the applicant has a very low chance of actually choosing to go to their school? Also, note that my friend did not put any less work into his secondaries for these back up schools. And these are schools that are in his state or don't have an instate preference so there is no in/out of state preference issue going on.

 

[darkjedi]

Many schools receive up to 10-12,000 applications and need a way to screen out potential applications. A less well known school could easily fill their interview roster with only people with 33+ MCATs or 3.7+'s who are only applying to their school as a safety. This of course leaves less room for applications that are actually enthusiastic about the school and have a higher chance of matriculating. Schools have various ways of determining this enthusiasm including in the secondary, alignment to mission, etc. Letters of interests also help indicate to schools that you don't see them as just a safety.

 

[Spinach Dip]

....I've been wondering the exact same thing for a long time



Just think if someone had stats like 3.4/40. MCAT too good for the low-tier schools, GPA too bad for the top-tier schools. It's like they'd be completely @#$%ed

 

[darkjedi]

Just think if someone had stats like 3.4/40. MCAT too good for the low-tier schools, GPA too bad for the top-tier schools. It's like they'd be completely @#$%ed

I think I sort of ran into that issue with my cycle, and which is why I usually recommend people send letters to schools they really like. I had a 'mediocre' GPA that was on the low end for many top tiers, but an MCAT that was higher than most of the 'mid-tier' medians. Sending letters ultimately worked in securing 3 out of my 5 interviews.

 

[slightlygifted]

Many schools receive up to 10-12,000 applications and need a way to screen out potential applications. A less well known school could easily fill their interview roster with only people with 33+ MCATs or 3.7+'s who are only applying to their school as a safety. This of course leaves less room for applications that are actually enthusiastic about the school and have a higher chance of matriculating. Schools have various ways of determining this enthusiasm including in the secondary, alignment to mission, etc. Letters of interests also help indicate to schools that you don't see them as just a safety.

Could they not just give the interviews to high stat applicants in like march though? This way high stat applicants would not fall through the cracks and low stat schools could possibly nab a high stat applicant who was not accepted anywhere else because they applied too highly or something.

 

[darkjedi]

Could they not just give the interviews to high stat applicants in like march though? This way high stat applicants would not fall through the cracks and low stat schools could possibly nab a high stat applicant who was not accepted anywhere else because they applied too highly or something.

The vast majority of schools end their interview seasons by March. A very small subset do in fact still interview past March, but there is no way to easily gauge which applicants hold zero acceptances or even waitlists. I have had schools e-mail me while I was on their waitlist to let them know whether or not I was still interested, which I would assume is acting something along the lines that you have mentioned.

 

[BillrothI]

A very small subset do in fact still interview past March, but there is no way to easily gauge which applicants hold zero acceptances or even waitlists.

Can't schools see if we have been accepted anywhere at this point? I was under the impression that that information was available via AMCAS after a certain date in January or February...

Thanks,
Bill

 

[XmedBarney]

Can't schools see if we have been accepted anywhere at this point? I was under the impression that that information was available via AMCAS after a certain date in January or February...

Thanks,
Bill

You can't see the status of applicants that you haven't admitted, I think.

 

[chillaxbro]

Yeh........ thats why i didnt get in anywhere........... my stats are too high........... hehhehehee

 

[sinombre]

You can't see the status of applicants that you haven't admitted, I think.

Yep, you are correct.

https://www.aamc.org/students/applying/amcas/faqs/305002/canschoolsseeotherschools.html

 

[bauhinia123]

That's true. While I was rejected pre-interview by 5+ lower ranked schools and put on-hold post-interview by a few others, I was offered acceptances at multiple top 25 schools.

 

[Gauss44]

I know this is anecdotal evidence with n=2, but whatever. So my friend has had interviews at top 20 schools, which are right in line with his high stats (36+ mcat, 3.9+ gpa) but at the same time he is denied pre interview from multiple schools which are either unranked or not in the top 50. I have noticed this happening to another person who has been accepted to a top 10 school and interviewed at a ton of other top 30 schools, but was denied pre interview from almost all of his "backup" schools. So my question is, do schools with average mcats in say the 27-32 range and average gpa in the 3.5-3.7 range just auto reject very high stat applicants because they know that the applicant has a very low chance of actually choosing to go to their school? Also, note that my friend did not put any less work into his secondaries for these back up schools. And these are schools that are in his state or don't have an instate preference so there is no in/out of state preference issue going on.

How did his experience match up with the mission statements of the lower tier schools? My sense is that some of the lower tier schools are just that because they value a specific kind of experience and commitment over high marks.