Once you get an interview, how important is the academic record/MCAT

[Birdness]

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In Canadian medical schools, once you are invited for an interview it becomes the single most important factor determining acceptance. In some schools it assumes 100% importance, other schools a little less
(McGill 80 percent for example). I am curious as to how US schools approach this.
Thanks

 

[Hospitalized]

The interview is just one part of the whole application. If you get there, you have a good shot. The GPA, MCAT, and EC's etc. get you in the door, the interview gets you through the door. I think Goro broke it down to about 75% get accepted from the interview, 25% don't. Of course, this will vary by school.

 

[Biochemistry2014]

I am sure that there is variance out there, but for the majority of schools I have interviewed at, I have been told that the interview is not a make/break deal. Once the interview is over, your entire application is looked over again (including interview results/comments) and is compared and voted on.

 

[GrapesofRath]

The interview is just one part of the whole application. If you get there, you have a good shot. The GPA, MCAT, and EC's etc. get you in the door, the interview gets you through the door. I think Goro broke it down to about 75% get accepted from the interview, 25% don't. Of course, this will vary by school.

I'd say MD schools that accept 75% of applicants post-interview are definitely in the minority. 50% is a better rough approximation

 

[SOMBound13]

In Canadian medical schools, once you are invited for an interview it becomes the single most important factor determining acceptance. In some schools it assumes 100% importance, other schools a little less
(McGill 80 percent for example). I am curious as to how US schools approach this.
Thanks

Depends on the rubric for each SOM. Some use a point scale, and the interview may be 40% of the points...or some other %.

 

[Gandyy]

I'd say MD schools that accept 75% of applicants post-interview are definitely in the minority. 50% is a better rough approximation

This ^

DO schools tend to have much higher post interview acceptances. At MD schools you are lucky if you have a 60 percent chance post interview. Many MD schools have a 40 percent post interview acceptance rate.

Getting into the TYPICAL MD school is just much harder at every level of the application process.

 

[SOMBound13]

This ^

DO schools tend to have much higher post interview acceptances. At MD schools you are lucky if you have a 60 percent chance post interview. Many MD schools have a 40 percent post interview acceptance rate.

Getting into the TYPICAL MD school is just much harder at every level of the application process.

I agree. From what I've seen, about 1/3 to 1/2 of those interviewed are accepted. And, I believe that includes those accepted from the WL.

 

[iDOliveinMD]

Interviewer: "It has been a pleasure speaking with you and I look forward to having you in my class next fall, you better stop by my office"
Me: "Haha well I would be very fortunate to be accepted at _____"
Interviewer: "I don't think that will be a problem" *Smile

Guess what, not accepted. Med school interviews are so unpredictable that I have stopped caring about how they go. I feel like there is so much politics involved and at the end of the day the person interviewing you probably doesn't have that much influence on the final decision. Some other heartless adcom might what to go another direction for whatever nefarious purpose. Hyperbole, I know. But in reality it probably was my mediocre metrics relative to my race.

 

[iDOliveinMD]

wut
i bet you felt robbed

Yea it really has taught me not to care much about how the interview itself goes. So advice to anyone reading this, be yourself during the interview and don't expect anything with the outcome. If they don't want you then it's their loss.

 

[vellez]

It's not negligible. I thought that once you "reached" the threshold for an interview, your GPA and MCAT don't matter. That's NOT true, at all.

 

[SOMBound13]

Interviewer: "It has been a pleasure speaking with you and I look forward to having you in my class next fall, you better stop by my office"
Me: "Haha well I would be very fortunate to be accepted at _____"
Interviewer: "I don't think that will be a problem" *Smile

Guess what, not accepted. Med school interviews are so unpredictable that I have stopped caring about how they go. I feel like there is so much politics involved and at the end of the day the person interviewing you probably doesn't have that much influence on the final decision. Some other heartless adcom might what to go another direction for whatever nefarious purpose. Hyperbole, I know. But in reality it probably was my mediocre metrics relative to my race.

Wow...that was so inappropriate of the interviewer.

 

[iDOliveinMD]

Wow...that was so inappropriate of the interviewer.

Yea I'm sure that they are supposed to not give out that much info but I don't resent the interviewer. He/she was super nice, knowledgeable, and I had an enjoyable interview. I'm sure that they went to bat for me, it's just too bad that their recommendation only held so much weight.

It's not negligible. I thought that once you "reached" the threshold for an interview, your GPA and MCAT don't matter. That's NOT true, at all.

I completely agree. There is no, "equal playing field" entering interview day.

 

[Gandyy]

Yea I'm sure that they are supposed to not give out that much info but I don't resent the interviewer. He/she was super nice, knowledgeable, and I had an enjoyable interview. I'm sure that they went to bat for me, it's just too bad that their recommendation only held so much weight.

I completely agree. There is no, "equal playing field" entering interview day.

Well if its that one Med school you were talking about that already has a super low post interview acceptance rate, you cant feel too bad.

I had a similar experience with one of the DO schools I interviewed at. Its tough to get into a MD, but this is why I say everyone should apply to at least a handful of DOs just in case unless they want to go through this ridiculous app cycle again. You're still a doctor as a DO albeit you do get discriminated against in the match.

 

[ivorypearls]

I interviewed at a school with ~70% post-interview acceptance rate and the lowest stats out of all the schools I applied to. At the end of the interview, the interviewer implied I was already in, stating that this day was strictly to recruit me into the program. And... I wasn't even waitlisted. Flat out rejection.

Guess where I was just accepted to? A school with higher stats, remarkably smaller post-interview acceptance ratio where I had the worst interview experience (I cried afterwards and literally laid in bed fetal position for a couple days)

Moral of the story: Medical school admissions is a crapshoot and you can never really anticipate these things. It's best to just hope for the best and not waste anymore time trying.

 

[Gandyy]

I interviewed at a school with ~70% post-acceptance interview rate and the lowest stats out of all the schools I applied to. At the end of the interview, the interviewer implied I was already in, stating that this day was strictly to recruit me into the program. And... I wasn't even waitlisted. Flat out rejection.

Guess where I was just accepted to? A school with higher stats, remarkably smaller post-interview acceptance ratio where I had the worst interview experience (I cried afterwards and literally laid in bed fetal position for a couple days)

Moral of the story: Medical school admissions is a crapshoot and you really can never anticipate these things. It's best to just hope for the best and not waste anymore time trying.

Yea it really is a crapshoot unless you are a stellar applicant. Most arent stellar applicants.

 

[gmbz]

Still a crapshoot for them. Just a different kind.

Yea it really is a crapshoot unless you are a stellar applicant. Most arent stellar applicants.

 

[Psai]

Interviewer: "It has been a pleasure speaking with you and I look forward to having you in my class next fall, you better stop by my office"
Me: "Haha well I would be very fortunate to be accepted at _____"
Interviewer: "I don't think that will be a problem" *Smile

Guess what, not accepted. Med school interviews are so unpredictable that I have stopped caring about how they go. I feel like there is so much politics involved and at the end of the day the person interviewing you probably doesn't have that much influence on the final decision. Some other heartless adcom might what to go another direction for whatever nefarious purpose. Hyperbole, I know. But in reality it probably was my mediocre metrics relative to my race.

It's not like they have the final say in your acceptance. Even if they liked you, they might have liked other people more. Or maybe other people just had better numbers, ecs, letters of rec, etc. Medical school is very hard to get into. I do understand why you would feel cheated though

 

[feather421]

Interviewer: "It has been a pleasure speaking with you and I look forward to having you in my class next fall, you better stop by my office"
Me: "Haha well I would be very fortunate to be accepted at _____"
Interviewer: "I don't think that will be a problem" *Smile

Guess what, not accepted.

I'm sorry, that must have been really frustrating. I've had the classic "See you next year" type of interview endings. But you know how everyone says you can never know how you did in an interview? I think feedback like that at least lets you know that something was going right. Even if there was something that happened in the admissions black box at that particular school, it most likely wasn't the interview (or anything totally within your control).

I interviewed at a school with ~70% post-interview acceptance rate and the lowest stats out of all the schools I applied to. At the end of the interview, the interviewer implied I was already in, stating that this day was strictly to recruit me into the program. And... I wasn't even waitlisted. Flat out rejection.

Guess where I was just accepted to? A school with higher stats, remarkably smaller post-interview acceptance ratio where I had the worst interview experience (I cried afterwards and literally laid in bed fetal position for a couple days)

This makes me breathe a sigh of relief. Everyone says there's about a 50/50 or a 1/3 acceptance rate after interview. I'm visiting schools with a HUGE variety in their stats/acceptance rates post interview. It's nice to know that the more "reach" schools are still worth visiting, and that my 1/3 won't necessarily only be the 1 that has the lowest stats.

 

[Ismet]

Interviewer: "It has been a pleasure speaking with you and I look forward to having you in my class next fall, you better stop by my office"
Me: "Haha well I would be very fortunate to be accepted at _____"
Interviewer: "I don't think that will be a problem" *Smile

Guess what, not accepted. Med school interviews are so unpredictable that I have stopped caring about how they go. I feel like there is so much politics involved and at the end of the day the person interviewing you probably doesn't have that much influence on the final decision. Some other heartless adcom might what to go another direction for whatever nefarious purpose. Hyperbole, I know. But in reality it probably was my mediocre metrics relative to my race.

There are many people on the committee and measures in place to protect against that one "heartless adcom," though you are typically not selected for the adcom if you are heartless and are voting in an unreasonable way compared to the rest of the group.

 

[iDOliveinMD]

There are many people on the committee and measures in place to protect against that one "heartless adcom," though you are typically not selected for the adcom if you are heartless and are voting in an unreasonable way compared to the rest of the group.

It was an attempt at satire, I'm sure I would like most adcoms but what you say is reassuring.

 

[AnonymousUserName]

Yea it really is a crapshoot unless you are a stellar applicant. Most arent stellar applicants.

Define a "stellar applicant" please? Perhaps the 4.0/40 automatons Goro often talks about?

 

[Gandyy]

Define a "stellar applicant" please? Perhaps the 4.0/40 automatons Goro often talks about?

Anyone with at at least slightly above average MD matriculant stats with incredible life story/EC's/LORs with a combination or amplification of some or all of these pieces that make a med school application. Standing out from the rest so to speak.

 

[LizzyM]

I first wrote this in 2012 but it still holds true:

My school doesn't really use numbers in this way but let me give you an example that roughly approximates what happens at one school.

Imagine a huge, broad staircase with numbered stairs. On interview day, the applicants are on the stair that corresponds to their LizzyM* score. An applicant that is very impressive on interview might be moved up one stair or more. Most applicants are going to remain where they are... not going up or down. Some student who do or say something absolutely terrible might be sent down 10 steps, or more. In some cases, an applicant that didn't impress the interviewers but wasn't horrible might go down a step or three.

Now where is everyone? Starting at the top of the staircase, we admit students until we max out the number we can safely admit (without becoming oversubscribed). Obviously, scores and grades still matter but those who are great on interview can jump ahead and those who bomb will be demoted to the bottom of the waitlist or outright rejected.

*LizzyM score = old MCAT+ (gpa)(10).

 

[Lucca]

This might be a bit dated but it's an old survey conducted but the AAMC asking adcoms to quantify how they weigh different app elements pre and post interview.

https://www.aamc.org/download/261106/data/aibvol11_no6.pdf