On admissions - please dress professional in your AMCAS pictures

[r2med]

Adcoms: Why are premeds so neurotic?

Also adcoms: Full Windsor knot or auto-R.

Also someone: Your photo in primary app needs xyz
Applicants: What? Where? Did I miss it? Am I losing my mind? Did I lose all my chances of becoming a physician because of this?
Actually: There is no photo in primary app. That someone probably meant photo in secondary!

 

[martinburgerking]

I wish you could tell us what med school you work at so I can be sure not to apply there. I don’t think anyone’s future should depend on the color of their shirt or how they tie their tie, but what do I know?

 

[longhaul3]

Full Windsor knots make you look like Gordon Gekko. Plus, if the material of your tie has any substance, they end up being way too thick IMO.

 

[Med Ed]

Full Windsor knots make you look like Gordon Gekko. Plus, if the material of your tie has any substance, they end up being way too thick IMO.

"What do you think of my ECs?"

 

[CricB4Tube]

I rocked a $50 gray suit, light blue shirt, and black clip-on tie in all my pictures and all 16 of my interviews. Haven't got a rejection yet. A lot of disadvantaged applicants like myself have never even owned a suit prior to this process and were never taught any of these weird fashion rules. This post just shows how some physicians only want other elitists in their profession and actively block disadvantaged/non-traditional applicants from getting in. I will continue wearing my clip-on tie and will actively avoid working with anyone who demands these ridiculous and irrelevant standards on anyone.

 

[r2med]

I rocked a $50 gray suit, light blue shirt, and black clip-on tie in all my pictures and all 16 of my interviews. Haven't got a rejection yet. A lot of disadvantaged applicants like myself have never even owned a suit prior to this process and were never taught any of these weird fashion rules. This post just shows how some physicians only want other elitists in their profession and actively block disadvantaged/non-traditional applicants from getting in. I will continue wearing my clip-on tie and will actively avoid working with anyone who demands these ridiculous and irrelevant standards on anyone.

First congrats on the 16 interviews and 5 acceptances. Incredible feat. But you can't make a generic statement about physicians based on an anonymous post on SDN, especially when the poster doesn't even know the difference between primary and secondary. As you know, URM / disadvantaged status is very much taken into account for medical school admissions. If you go by just the stats based admissions predictors, LM 67 would show no predicted admissions, right? Anyways, the point of the OP was to ensure that people dress up appropriately, which is well known to most applicants. Of course, the OP made it too strong.

 

[natalux]

I have no idea what the hell kind of knot I've been using to tie my ties. withdrawing my applications rn

 

[r2med]

I have no idea what the hell kind of knot I've been using to tie my ties. withdrawing my applications rn

Haha - don't forget the two acceptances as well

 

[culturekweenXx]

I'm looking forward to when the culture of medicine (and mainstream professionalism in general) accepts males who fall outside of 1950s gender norms. Long hair and ear piercings, AKA things that 90% of women sport, have no reason to be associated with a lack of professionalism in male candidates.

 

[M&L]

alright... first of all, ive laughed so hard on this thread, i woke my cat up and he is JUDGING me right now. hahahah.
secondly, i am proud to announce that i now know that apparently there are different ways to tie a tie (female here).

thirdly, let me tell you what my picture looked like: Grey suit, blue sleeveless blouse underneath, tricolor hair sticking in all opposite directions, a classic painting with a half naked woman on the background, and my face looked like i havent slept for years... hahahah. Got accepted to 4 out of 5 interviews i attended and 1 WL...

now let me tell you what i looked like during interview.... '
school 1 (in the south), - curly hair, pink blouse with black flowers all over. My interviewer and me were laughing our a**es off because when he asked me about my hobbies i said "eating". acceptance.
School 2 (mid atlantic), - military bun", pink blouse, grey suit. accepted.
School 3 - had to change in the middle of the parking lot in my car, because i was driving since 3 am for the interview. i put on my pants right over the leggins that i was driving in. I looked like cr*p, i felt like cr*p. make up was smudged, hair was bad - roots showing. accepted.
School 4 - suit wrinkled in the airplane...... it was snowing too.... bottom of my pants got muddy on my way to the interview.... accepted.


You get my point.

 

[np2002]

I have no doubt a white man wrote the original post. I feel like nobody mentioned this yet because all the other men are focused on the tie comment, but ya'll better be careful saying things like "extreme hairstyles" because it can be outrageously ignorant and offensive. I'm sure you'd deny it now, but if a black candidate showed up in dreadlocks, is that too "extreme" for you? Yikes dude.

I've had so many bad experiences with doctors in my life, and never understood why until I joined the pre-med community myself and saw what kind of people end up becoming doctors. Now it makes sense. I hope to never be like you when I'm accepted!

 

[M&L]

my point is this: sure, dress your best. but DRESS YOUR BEST. not someone else's best. Of course, you should look appropriate. But i love self expression. I love when people show who they are in their clothes. I do not want to have a "robotic" "generic" classmate or a doctor. I want someone who will be brave enough to be different, because i truly believe that people who are willing to put their individuality forward would be more accepting of individuality of others, - colleagues and patients. So, rock that pink tie! rock that bowtie for the interview day. Rock that pink blouse, that grey suit, that business dress with a jacket. Rock those dreadlocks, rock that nicely groomed beard or moustache.

 

[LittleBrother]

I have no doubt a white man wrote the original post. I feel like nobody mentioned this yet because all the other men are focused on the tie comment, but ya'll better be careful saying things like "extreme hairstyles" because it can be outrageously ignorant and offensive. I'm sure you'd deny it now, but if a black candidate showed up in dreadlocks, is that too "extreme" for you? Yikes dude.

I've had so many bad experiences with doctors in my life, and never understood why until I joined the pre-med community myself and saw what kind of people end up becoming doctors. Now it makes sense. I hope to never be like you when I'm accepted!

I can imagine more than a few white men called the OP out for being an elitist ahole too.

 

[CommyØ]

I have no doubt a white man wrote the original post. I feel like nobody mentioned this yet because all the other men are focused on the tie comment, but ya'll better be careful saying things like "extreme hairstyles" because it can be outrageously ignorant and offensive. I'm sure you'd deny it now, but if a black candidate showed up in dreadlocks, is that too "extreme" for you? Yikes dude.

I've had so many bad experiences with doctors in my life, and never understood why until I joined the pre-med community myself and saw what kind of people end up becoming doctors. Now it makes sense. I hope to never be like you when I'm accepted!

Ah, the colloquial "yikes".

Imagine reading a post that doesn't nearly allude to race and still pulling up the race card.

 

[QueenAudrey]

Imagine reading a post that doesn't nearly allude to race and still pulling up the race card.

^ Some people still don't get it and never will.

Anyway, curious on OP's take on pregnancy and professional appearance.

 

[LittleBrother]

Ah, the colloquial "yikes".

Imagine reading a post that doesn't nearly allude to race and still pulling up the race card.

Yeah no kidding. Do adcoms actually have the capacity to accept regular folks or are we going to be stuck with either psycho elitist or ultra woke for ever?

 

[deleted1071054]

I am HUGE into men's fashion, and I appreciate someone who knows how to dress. That being said, I would NOT want to attend your institution if you're going to ding me for my secondary application photo. I would understand if I was in my halloween costume or something completely out of the ordinary like that, but otherwise, ... are you serious here???

 

[CricB4Tube]

First congrats on the 16 interviews and 5 acceptances. Incredible feat. But you can't make a generic statement about physicians based on an anonymous post on SDN, especially when the poster doesn't even know the difference between primary and secondary. As you know, URM / disadvantaged status is very much taken into account for medical school admissions. If you go by just the stats based admissions predictors, LM 67 would show no predicted admissions, right? Anyways, the point of the OP was to ensure that people dress up appropriately, which is well known to most applicants. Of course, the OP made it too strong.

Actually, going by MSAR data, my MCAT/GPA give me over a 50% chance of admission. My 20k+ hours of clinical experience, 10k+ hours volunteering, research, military service, college leadership roles, and my very unique story definitely bump me into the positive 50% there.
So just going off my LM score gives me a great chance of admission if I cast a wide net without any URM/disadvantaged status being taken into consideration.
My point of commenting on here is that people are more than their ties and my point of including my LM score in my signature is to show applicants are more than their GPA/MCAT.

 

[detritus]

Full Windsor knots are bulky and ugly. Makes you look like you’re rocking your dad’s tie that he bought during the dot com bubble but you’re too scared to untie because you read a thread on SDN.

 

[RangerBob]

I had a half windsor in my photo/interviews. The only reason I know that is I never learned to tie any other knot.

Now that I'm an attending, I don't tie any knots--I was literally the only attending wearing a tie, so I gave that up quickly. I can't stand them, and they really have no place in a medical setting anyway given how rarely they're cleaned. At least white coats get laundered, as well as clearly show you're not drenched in blood/vomit/etc. And they protect your personal clothes from those things...

I agree with the other attendings on this thread--dress with appropriate interview attire (suit for men, suit or blouse/skirt for women) that is clean/ironed, be clean. Maybe avoid face tattoos/piercings.

 

[jamaica jan sun princess]

Invoking "business world" interview experience is hilarious. I remember drinking with the interviewers the night before at socials/bars, then all of us heading into interviews bleary eyed in the same suits we wore to the night before. These were interviewers from international financial firms. Still received prompt job offers.

I remember my second round interviews were all over Skype (pre-covid) and I interviewed from my 1970s wood-paneled apartment.

 

[Calizboosted76]

The only Windsor any ADCOMs will be getting from me are the chocolates AFTER my acceptances are received.


Totally kidding. I never tied a tie before my interview and I just googled "How to tie a tie"

 

[Goro]

I'm beginning to believe that we were trolled.

10/10

 

[r2med]

I'm beginning to believe that we were trolled.

10/10

Yes bigmitch is bigmissing

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

Well that was fun while it lasted, but closing for what should be obvious reasons.