MSAR data on volunteer/community service

[What up doc]

Dude, do people really apply and get accepted to medical school with absolutely NO community service? How is this possible? Even at top institutions, there is not %100 community service. Research I understand, but community service? What gives?

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[scarletgirl777]

Dude, do people really apply and get accepted to medical school with absolutely NO community service? How is this possible? Even at top institutions, there is not %100 community service. Research I understand, but community service? What gives?

I think it's because their method of capturing this data is imperfect. On the AMCAS, you are only allowed to submit one category for each activity. So, if all the service you did falls under "leadership" it doesn't get captured for MSAR as community service. If all the service you did falls under "teaching/tutoring" it doesn't get captured either. There's no real person at AMCAS going through and understanding what each activity means (that's what the adcoms do), they just use a computer to sort the data and come up with those numbers.

 

[What up doc]

ye i guess that makes sense. but still, i find it hard to believe that some people would have no activities classified as volunteer/community on their amcas...

 

[Tally]

ye i guess that makes sense. but still, i find it hard to believe that some people would have no activities classified as volunteer/community on their amcas...

What I find hard to believe is that MSAR has even the top schools letting in people that got like 7s in Physics, Verbal and Bio. In the MCAT averages, it shows the range of scores people had, and even places like Wash U let in people with 7-8s in physics and bio. I can understand a low verbal, but letting in people with like a 7 in bio at the top schools?!?