My Meeting with an Admissions Officer:

[orangeblue]

I met with the admissions assistant at my state MD school.

She said:

We get so many applicants. We print out a cover sheet/summary sheet type for every applicant: lists, GPA, MCAT score, and some other info about you (school, major etc)

Then we pick some of those applicants for interview. At this point, we don't go semester by semester on the transcript, nor do we have time to look at your age or what exactly you took the MCAT. We just simply don't have time.

You get 2 interviews, with an MD and an MD/PHD. Many of these MDs are busy, in clinics etc and sometimes they might even interview you while in clinics.


After that, I'm assuming if all is well/interview recommends you, from a commitee of 30 MDs or so: one MD will be assigned to read your application in detail. This is when he or she will look at it - it depends on them, some will look at your transcript semester by semester, others will spend more time on other things. It just really depends on the reader and can be arbritary. He/she can read it Sunday morning or 10 mins before the committee meeting is held. She/he presents you to the commitee and then they make a decision.


Your comments, etc appreciated. This is a public med school so I wonder how things may be in private schools, but not too different, I imagine.

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[AZFutureDoc]

Very interesting. Thanks for sharing. I am always fascinated by the ways that med schools go through apps. And how differently they do things.

 

[LizzyM]

I met with the admissions assistant at my state MD school.

She said:

We get so many applicants. We print out a cover sheet/summary sheet type for every applicant: lists, GPA, MCAT score, and some other info about you (school, major etc)

Then we pick some of those applicants for interview. At this point, we don't go semester by semester on the transcript, nor do we have time to look at your age or what exactly you took the MCAT. We just simply don't have time.

You get 2 interviews, with an MD and an MD/PHD. Many of these MDs are busy, in clinics etc and sometimes they might even interview you while in clinics.


After that, I'm assuming if all is well/interview recommends you, from a commitee of 30 MDs or so: one MD will be assigned to read your application in detail. This is when he or she will look at it - it depends on them, some will look at your transcript semester by semester, others will spend more time on other things. It just really depends on the reader and can be arbritary. He/she can read it Sunday morning or 10 mins before the committee meeting is held. She/he presents you to the commitee and then they make a decision.


Your comments, etc appreciated. This is a public med school so I wonder how things may be in private schools, but not too different, I imagine.

It sounds like your state school interviews almost all the in-state applicants (or those who meet a cut point) and perhaps very few "oos". It also sounds like this is a situation where an applicant may not be admissable but might be interviewed and then discovered to be inadmissable (due to a very bad LOR, for example).

I think it is different at schools that have room to interview only 15% of applicants vs those that reject only 15% before interview.

 

[bucks2010]

Interesting. I bet this varies significantly by school. LizzyM has mentioned some of her application-review habits in the past and she seems to be considerably more thorough than what you mentioned.

Maybe this school you're referring to has less faculty that volunteer to review applications, and they had to adapt their reviewing practices accordingly?

 

[orangeblue]

The Administrative clerk gave me these numbers:

~3800 applications
~950 interviews
~240 admits..

I am interested in learning how other schools (top 20 etc, more research oriented schools) differ. In some ways, I do think that they are very similiar. The biggest thing I learned was: getting an interview doesn't mean that you are "in", it means that they are willing to spend more time examining your application. Remember time is money and no school devotes a lot of time in hiring admissions folks.

 

[mvenus929]

I go to a top 25 school, and while I don't know all the ins and outs of the application process...

The application is reviewed in detail prior to the interview. Not sure how detailed it is before the interview invite, but it is definitely looked at heavily before the interview. Each interviewee gets two interviews, either with two MDs or with one MD and one fourth year student. They grade your interview, and the committee meets on Friday morning the same week of the interview to decide your fate.

Another school I interviewed at assigns scores to various parts of the application, including the interview. Immediately after interviews (as in, when the students are giving the tour), the committee meets and decides on a final score. If that score is above the average of last year's class, it's an automatic acceptance. If it's below the average, the applicant is put on hold until March, when the rest of the class is filled. After that, you get put on the waitlist.

So, it's going to vary significantly from one school to the next.

 

[leavitt]

I met with the admissions assistant at my state MD school.

She said:

We get so many applicants. We print out a cover sheet/summary sheet type for every applicant: lists, GPA, MCAT score, and some other info about you (school, major etc)

Then we pick some of those applicants for interview. At this point, we don't go semester by semester on the transcript, nor do we have time to look at your age or what exactly you took the MCAT. We just simply don't have time.

You get 2 interviews, with an MD and an MD/PHD. Many of these MDs are busy, in clinics etc and sometimes they might even interview you while in clinics.


After that, I'm assuming if all is well/interview recommends you, from a commitee of 30 MDs or so: one MD will be assigned to read your application in detail. This is when he or she will look at it - it depends on them, some will look at your transcript semester by semester, others will spend more time on other things. It just really depends on the reader and can be arbritary. He/she can read it Sunday morning or 10 mins before the committee meeting is held. She/he presents you to the commitee and then they make a decision.


Your comments, etc appreciated. This is a public med school so I wonder how things may be in private schools, but not too different, I imagine.

I believe one of the posters was banned when he or she made a similar point and started arguing with LizzyM. But I totally agree with the OP. Posters on SDN make a big deal about a) whether you took a full load every semester b) whether you took courses at many schools or at one school c) whether you took Organic Chemistry at a community college d) whether you worked 40 hours a week in addition to taking a challenging load e) and other such micromanagement aspects that adcoms allegedly pay attention to. But my guess is schools don't have the time or the inclination to get into such details. Of course, we will know for sure only by asking adcoms, not posters here on SDN, even the ones who claim to be adcoms.

 

[LizzyM]

It is going to depend on the school... at my school, the application readers are volunteers who are medical students, active faculty, or semi-retired faculty who do this as "good citizenship". Some have the time and inclination to go over things with a fine tooth comb. Remember, as readers at my school we are expected to reject at least half of the applications we read, so that after 2 reviews the stack is reduced by 3/4s and the director of admissions makes the final cuts to get the number to be interviewed down to a managable 10-20%.

 

[orangeblue]

Thanks Lizzy.
the director of admissions is an MD, is that right? Does he or she personally read every application and the score system?

And while I agree that some of the nuances of the steps may differ a bit from school to school, the overarching approach of too many applications, not enough readers, and the need to quickly reject applications is TRUE no matter where/what school, correct>

 

[LizzyM]

The Dean or Director of Admissions may be an MD or may not be.... it varies by school and can vary over time.

My school's system has changed over the years but each reviewer makes some qualitiative and quantitative assessments and there is a free text section of the form for commentary. The person issuing interview invitations does read those commentaries as well as viewing the evaluations (qualitative scoring and gpa/MCAT).

Some applicants aren't going to get a thorough going over (top 20 school: applicant has a MCAT of 24 and a gpa of 2.9) but many will.



OP, when the admissions office gave you those numbers for applications, interviews, admitted, was that for in-state only?

 

[paul411]

OP, when the admissions office gave you those numbers for applications, interviews, admitted, was that for in-state only?

From the spreadsheet, the four University of Texas medical schools have similar numbers and they are essentially in-state numbers (~80% in-state applicants, 90% in state matriculants).

 

[leavitt]

I met with the admissions assistant at my state MD school.

She said:

We get so many applicants. We print out a cover sheet/summary sheet type for every applicant: lists, GPA, MCAT score, and some other info about you (school, major etc)

Then we pick some of those applicants for interview. At this point, we don't go semester by semester on the transcript, nor do we have time to look at your age or what exactly you took the MCAT. We just simply don't have time.

You get 2 interviews, with an MD and an MD/PHD. Many of these MDs are busy, in clinics etc and sometimes they might even interview you while in clinics.


After that, I'm assuming if all is well/interview recommends you, from a commitee of 30 MDs or so: one MD will be assigned to read your application in detail. This is when he or she will look at it - it depends on them, some will look at your transcript semester by semester, others will spend more time on other things. It just really depends on the reader and can be arbritary. He/she can read it Sunday morning or 10 mins before the committee meeting is held. She/he presents you to the commitee and then they make a decision.


Your comments, etc appreciated. This is a public med school so I wonder how things may be in private schools, but not too different, I imagine.

I just talked to the person who runs the post-bacc program here in his office. This is what he said, very approximately: "I believe many people, including moderators, use multiple accounts on SDN to further their views and although LizzyM's posts are interesting, I have an extremely difficult time believing she is an adcom. Most likely she too is an SDN insider. You need to realize that it is in the interest of the company operating SDN to portray medical school admissions as a terribly complicated process. It is not. You are wasting your time on SDN and ending up being neurotic. The truth is about 45% of those applying get into medical schools, 55% get into osteopathic schools, more get into the Caribbean and these percentages are higher when people apply the second time around. So if you consider allopathic schools, osteopathic schools, Caribbean schools, over 75% of people actually get into one medical school or the other. We have non-URMs at our university with MCATs as low as 19 or 20 who have gotten into one medical school or another. Unfortunately, it is in the interest of the company that runs SDN to portray medical school admissions as a terribly complicated process and you students end up being neurotic. Forget SDN and focus on your GPA and GMAT". (He meant MCAT - his son is preparing for the GMAT from what he told me earlier). By the way, he also added that "many students don't join medical school because they would rather join a law school than a low-down osteopathic school but if you don't mind joining ANY medical school, your chances are extremely good". I encourage you to talk to your own pre-med coordinators instead of believing me - and you'll likely find they'll tell you the same thing.

 

[RogueUnicorn]

I just talked to the person who runs the post-bacc program here in his office. This is what he said, very approximately: "I believe many people, including moderators, use multiple accounts on SDN to further their views and although LizzyM's posts are interesting, I have an extremely difficult time believing she is an adcom. Most likely she too is an SDN insider. You need to realize that it is in the interest of the company operating SDN to portray medical school admissions as a terribly complicated process. It is not. You are wasting your time on SDN and ending up being neurotic. The truth is about 45% of those applying get into medical schools, 55% get into osteopathic schools, more get into the Caribbean and these percentages are higher when people apply the second time around. So if you consider allopathic schools, osteopathic schools, Caribbean schools, over 75% of people actually get into one medical school or the other. We have non-URMs at our university with MCATs as low as 19 or 20 who have gotten into one medical school or another. Unfortunately, it is in the interest of the company that runs SDN to portray medical school admissions as a terribly complicated process and you students end up being neurotic. Forget SDN and focus on your GPA and GMAT". (He meant MCAT - his son is preparing for the GMAT from what he told me earlier). By the way, he also added that "many students don't join medical school because they would rather join a law school than a low-down osteopathic school but if you don't mind joining ANY medical school, your chances are extremely good". I encourage you to talk to your own pre-med coordinators instead of believing me - and you'll likely find they'll tell you the same thing.

does this 'person' know that SDN is run by a nonprofit? and no, my premed 'coordinator' does not share the view of yours, who seems awfully paranoid what with the "insiders" spiel, etc..

 

[Nymphicus]

 

[BMEN]

I just talked to the person who runs the post-bacc program here in his office. This is what he said, very approximately: "I believe many people, including moderators, use multiple accounts on SDN to further their views and although LizzyM's posts are interesting, I have an extremely difficult time believing she is an adcom. Most likely she too is an SDN insider. You need to realize that it is in the interest of the company operating SDN to portray medical school admissions as a terribly complicated process. It is not. You are wasting your time on SDN and ending up being neurotic. The truth is about 45% of those applying get into medical schools, 55% get into osteopathic schools, more get into the Caribbean and these percentages are higher when people apply the second time around. So if you consider allopathic schools, osteopathic schools, Caribbean schools, over 75% of people actually get into one medical school or the other. We have non-URMs at our university with MCATs as low as 19 or 20 who have gotten into one medical school or another. Unfortunately, it is in the interest of the company that runs SDN to portray medical school admissions as a terribly complicated process and you students end up being neurotic. Forget SDN and focus on your GPA and GMAT". (He meant MCAT - his son is preparing for the GMAT from what he told me earlier). By the way, he also added that "many students don't join medical school because they would rather join a law school than a low-down osteopathic school but if you don't mind joining ANY medical school, your chances are extremely good". I encourage you to talk to your own pre-med coordinators instead of believing me - and you'll likely find they'll tell you the same thing.

Sure SDN isnt the end of end all and plenty of people make it in without it. But its a nice tool to find out many things

 

[nctw]

Sure SDN isnt the end of end all and plenty of people make it in without it. But its a nice tool to find out many things

Agreed. While I may be a slightly neurotic Freshman, I feel like I'm better prepared than the other premeds at my school. None of the others I've talked to feel confident about the process, shadowing, volunteering, etc. I've heard some 'advisors' state things as if they were law that I know simply aren't true because of this site (don't take any prereqs in the summer...you won't get in). My school's official pre-med advisor, however, is great.

Even if SDN is extreme, it's still a valuable tool to have in the application/pre-application process.

 

[leavitt]

Agreed. While I may be a slightly neurotic Freshman, I feel like I'm better prepared than the other premeds at my school. None of the others I've talked to feel confident about the process, shadowing, volunteering, etc. I've heard some 'advisors' state things as if they were law that I know simply aren't true because of this site (don't take any prereqs in the summer...you won't get in). My school's official pre-med advisor, however, is great.

Even if SDN is extreme, it's still a valuable tool to have in the application/pre-application process.

Wait, are you saying, don't take any pre-reqs over the summer otherwise you won't get in?

 

[leavitt]

Even if SDN is extreme, it's still a valuable tool to have in the application/pre-application process.

If over 75 to 80% of those seeking to get into medical school get in, what's the strategic reason of SDN posters in discouraging so many by conveying the process is so incredibly complicated?

 

[leavitt]

Some have the time and inclination to go over things with a fine tooth comb.

The % with the time and inclination to go over things with a fine tooth comb appears to be negligible. Like the OP says, they just don't have the time to process everything in such great detail. You would be more credible if people know who you were instead of just accepting SDN's word that you are an adcom. How does a real adcom - and you say you have a PhD - have the time to read so many threads on SDN?

 

[RogueUnicorn]

The % with the time and inclination to go over things with a fine tooth comb appears to be negligible. Like the OP says, they just don't have the time to process everything in such great detail. You would be more credible if people know who you were.

who the fck are you?

 

[leavitt]

who the fck are you?

Clearly not someone who sucks up to LizzyM like you.

 

[AZFutureDoc]

who the fck are you?

 

[RogueUnicorn]

Clearly not someone who sucks up to LizzyM like you.

nice dodge, i'm waiting for your full name and institutional affiliation. kthxbye, trollface

 

[leavitt]

nice dodge, i'm waiting for your full name and institutional affiliation. kthxbye, trollface

Courtesy demands you introduce yourself first. All I hear is a giant sucking sound. Tell me YOUR full name and institutional affiliation. Anyway, I'm not going to bother with jerks like you and clearly this Allo forum has plenty of those!

 

[RogueUnicorn]

Courtesy demands you introduce yourself first. All I hear is a giant sucking sound. Tell me YOUR full name and institutional affiliation. Anyway, I'm not going to bother with jerks like you and clearly this Allo forum has plenty of those! The best advice on SDN on how to get into medical school is to avoid SDN and come here only if you need something specific. Then use the search function. Otherwise you'll end up neurotic and miserable. Goodbye.

ironic!

 

[leavitt]

The best advice on SDN on how to get into medical school is to avoid SDN and come here only if you need something specific. Then use the search function. Otherwise you'll end up neurotic and miserable. Goodbye.

 

[dbeast]

The best advice on SDN on how to get into medical school is to avoid SDN and come here only if you need something specific. Then use the search function. Otherwise you'll end up neurotic and miserable. Goodbye.

 

[raltima07]

The % with the time and inclination to go over things with a fine tooth comb appears to be negligible. Like the OP says, they just don't have the time to process everything in such great detail. You would be more credible if people know who you were instead of just accepting SDN's word that you are an adcom. How does a real adcom - and you say you have a PhD - have the time to read so many threads on SDN?

If you don't want LizzyM's advice, fck off.

 

[AZFutureDoc]

The best advice on SDN on how to get into medical school is to avoid SDN and come here only if you need something specific. Then use the search function. Otherwise you'll end up neurotic and miserable. Goodbye.

This is THE best piece of advice anyone has ever given on SDN. I've had to cut way back on my lurking and posting, cuz of how neurotic and depressed it made Me! I feel like I'm a good applicant, but SDN makes me feel like I'm garbage and a slacker lol. I can't wait to get an acceptance, so I can start hanging out more again!

 

[nctw]

Wait, are you saying, don't take any pre-reqs over the summer otherwise you won't get in?

No. An advisor told me that medical schools "didn't like summer pre-req classes"

 

[nctw]

trollface

 

[SeminoleVesicle]

LizzyM is most likely a real member of admissions committee, but this guy does have some truth to his words.

 

[dbeast]

This is THE best piece of advice anyone has ever given on SDN. I've had to cut way back on my lurking and posting, cuz of how neurotic and depressed it made Me! I feel like I'm a good applicant, but SDN makes me feel like I'm garbage and a slacker lol. I can't wait to get an acceptance, so I can start hanging out more again!

This is true, I started regularly posting on SDN *after* I got my first acceptance and have been trolololing all the way to the bank ever since.

 

[nctw]

LizzyM is most likely a real member of admissions committee, but this guy does have some truth to his words.

I've never questioned her. Unless we've all been massively trolled

 

[gettheleadout]

The % with the time and inclination to go over things with a fine tooth comb appears to be negligible. Like the OP says, they just don't have the time to process everything in such great detail. You would be more credible if people know who you were instead of just accepting SDN's word that you are an adcom. How does a real adcom - and you say you have a PhD - have the time to read so many threads on SDN?

LizzyM is most likely a real member of admissions committee, but this guy does have some truth to his words.

This is stupid.

You want a full name and affiliation? Lee Burnett, D.O.

Google him if you think he's an impostor as well.

Lee is the Executive Director of SDN and on the merit of his professional reputation ensures that verified users, including those with the Advisor badge that LizzyM bears, are indeed who they claim to be. You have a problem with this organization's verification credentials, why don't you take it up with him and reveal your identity?

That's what I thought.

 

[dbeast]

This is stupid.

You want a full name and affiliation? Lee Burnett, D.O.

Google him if you think he's an impostor as well.

Lee is the Executive Director of SDN and on the merit of his professional reputation ensures that verified users, including those with the Advisor badge that LizzyM bears, are indeed who they claim to be. You have a problem with this organization's verification credentials, why don't you take it up with him and reveal your identity?

That's what I thought.

 

[kpcrew]

I heard that Lee is a communist though...

leavitt, i thought you posting in other threads instead of starting inane topics every day would be a good thing but apparently it is a change for the worse. stop posting jesus christ.

 

[leavitt]

nice dodge, i'm waiting for your full name and institutional affiliation.

Heck, I don't care. I am Josh Leavitt from Brandeis University. I don't claim to be an adcom but LizzyM does!

 

[leavitt]

This is THE best piece of advice anyone has ever given on SDN. I've had to cut way back on my lurking and posting, cuz of how neurotic and depressed it made Me! I feel like I'm a good applicant, but SDN makes me feel like I'm garbage and a slacker lol. I can't wait to get an acceptance, so I can start hanging out more again!

People at SDN are gunners who WANT to make others feel like garbage.

 

[RogueUnicorn]

Heck, I don't care. I am Josh Leavitt from Brandeis University. I don't claim to be an adcom but LizzyM does!

sure, 'josh.' weren't you leaving?

(1) The only hospital in my area has an arrangement with a religious university and they won't consider me for liability reasons because I am not part of that religious university. What is the best way to get e-mail addresses of private doctors in an area? (2) Does anyone have a story of going from a really poor MCAT (say 20 on the first real MCAT, not practice test) to a fantastic score (say 40+ on the real MCAT) and how they went about this? (3) I understand many people are strongly against the Caribbean option. How do they feel about medical studies in Ireland or Australia? (4) I was planning to enroll for classes at a midwestern university and even purchased e-texts. Now I am planning to go elsewhere. I don't feel like buying new e-texts once again for the MCAT, so is anyone interested in exchanging / bartering your e-texts with me? I give you mine and you give me yours. If you like, please PM me. (5) Can someone suggest some excellent universities to me where the tuition is around $1,000 per class, maybe a little over? I can't afford to spend more, unfortunately. (6) Deleted the question perceived to be a troll.

also, there is no josh leavitt at brandeis.

 

[leavitt]

This is stupid.

You want a full name and affiliation? Lee Burnett, D.O.

Google him if you think he's an impostor as well.

Lee is the Executive Director of SDN and on the merit of his professional reputation ensures that verified users, including those with the Advisor badge that LizzyM bears, are indeed who they claim to be. You have a problem with this organization's verification credentials, why don't you take it up with him and reveal your identity?

That's what I thought.

Like Lee Burnett DO knows what's going on here in various threads! And many doctors have ended up in prison, so a DO after his name is no guarantee of anything. And we're talking about one LizzyM here, who does not have much credibility with post-bacc program coordinators.

 

[leavitt]

sure, 'josh.' weren't you leaving?



also, there is no josh leavitt at brandeis.

You're such an idiot. I have so many unlisted friends at Brandeis. I thought I was unlisted, so I am glad you confirmed it. Or maybe they took me off after I transferred.

 

[RogueUnicorn]

You're such an idiot. I have so many unlisted friends at Brandeis. I thought I was unlisted, so I am glad you confirmed it.

if you say so. doesn't change the fact that you were "planning" on going to a university only a few hours ago, and now you have had an in depth conversation with a postbac director.

 

[ozzi22]

Clearly not someone who sucks up to LizzyM like you.

back from probation and already trolling?

 

[leavitt]

if you say so. doesn't change the fact that you were "planning" on going to a university only a few hours ago, and now you have had an in depth conversation with a postbac director.

Nice try! I am a nobody. Not an adcom. Not someone smart. Not someone intelligent. Not someone knowledgeable. Not someone who knows insider truths. Turn the discussion away from me. You have LizzyM who is the one who claims to be an Adcom, who everyone thinks gives pearls of wisdom, who claims to know insider truths and insights into the admissions process and who everyone on here thinks is G_d. All I am doing is my religious Jewish duty and informing potential medical students they are being SERIOUSLY TROLLED BY SDN! And that getting into medical school is EASY.

 

[RogueUnicorn]

Nice try! I am a nobody. Not an adcom. Not someone smart. Not someone intelligent. Not someone knowledgeable. Not someone who knows insider truths. Turn the discussion away from me. You have LizzyM who is the one who claims to be an Adcom, who everyone thinks gives pearls of wisdom, who claims to know insider truths and insights into the admissions process and who everyone on here thinks is G_d. All I am doing is my religious Jewish duty and informing potential medical students they are being SERIOUSLY TROLLED BY SDN! And that getting into medical school is EASY.

well at least you got that right.

if it's so easy, why the postbac, trolldude

 

[leavitt]

well at least you got that right.

if it's so easy, why the postbac, trolldude

I am not in any post-bacc program. Talking to a knowledgeable post-bacc coordinator does not mean I am in the program! Again, I am a nobody. If you have any brains, you'll question LizzyM's credentials. SDN is the one who has been trolling applicants for years.

 

[deleted393595]

well at least you got that right.

if it's so easy, why the postbac, trolldude

Aww.... I was just about to point that out.

 

[aSagacious]

Oh, I came too late for the fireworks

 

[ozzi22]

well at least you got that right.

if it's so easy, why the postbac, trolldude