Out of ALL applicants, how many really will have a chance?

[simondimond]

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Just wanted to know out of all the applicants that will apply in a given year, how many of those applicants honestly are competitive?

Competitive meaning grades but also other qualities like life experiences, unique qualities, extra curricular work, motivation, etc.

For example, I know this one person who is going to apply with a 3.7 and a 28 but pretty much no clinical experience or unique characteristics. I read this person's personal statement and even I could see past the BS reasons for wanting to study medicine.

So how many people like this are a part of the applicant pool and how many really do stand out?

 

[S6MD]

Just wanted to know out of all the applicants that will apply in a given year, how many of those applicants honestly are competitive?

Competitive meaning grades but also other qualities like life experiences, unique qualities, extra curricular work, motivation, etc.

For example, I know this one person who is going to apply with a 3.7 and a 28 but pretty much no clinical experience or unique characteristics. I read this person's personal statement and even I could see past the BS reasons for wanting to study medicine.

So how many people like this are a part of the applicant pool and how many really do stand out?

about 54.367% have a chance.

 

[Suncrusher]

everyone has a chance, but some people's chances are much lower than others'



oh i'm sorry, was that an unhelpful answer? 🙄

 

[theseeker4]

Just wanted to know out of all the applicants that will apply in a given year, how many of those applicants honestly are competitive?

Competitive meaning grades but also other qualities like life experiences, unique qualities, extra curricular work, motivation, etc.

For example, I know this one person who is going to apply with a 3.7 and a 28 but pretty much no clinical experience or unique characteristics. I read this person's personal statement and even I could see past the BS reasons for wanting to study medicine.

So how many people like this are a part of the applicant pool and how many really do stand out?

I am sure there are many students who gain admission without any extremely compelling, unique characteristic. Solid scores and grades, checking the boxes of EC's and LOR's, and being able to write a coherent essay or two gives one a very solid chance at gaining admission somewhere.

Do the applicants with better stories have better chances? Of course. Do most, if not all, of the significantly below-average matriculants have great stories, ec's, etc? Probably. Do the matriculants at the top schools have great numbers and great EC's? I am sure most of them do.

The point is that while having a great story or amazing EC's help an application, there are plenty of applicants with solid numbers who gain admission even though they are not nearly as well-rounded as they try to make themselves appear on their application. Just my opinion on the subject.

This is the basic "how much do EC's matter" debate, which cannot be answered any more precisely than "it depends."

 

[gmcguitar4]

that is impossible to gauge.

The only thing you can really tell is MCAT, GPA, maybe average clinical experience time frame.
There are other factors such as your personality, how the adcoms are feeling the day they look at your app, the personalities of the adcoms, the schools mission and their idea of an ideal student, the weather outside, extenuating circumstances. There is an endless list of variables that can benefit or harm someones chances at admission.

The applicant in your example probably has a lower chance given what you said. But for DO programs he is certainly competitive based on his GPA/MCAT. Being competitive is complete subjective, in my opinion. I think there are a ton of people just like this applying right meow.

 

[Arrode]

This is a good point. It's stated that around 50% of applicants a year are accepted somewhere, but of those 50% that aren't accepted how many of those are people who really had no chance at all and applied for the heck of it, like people with horrible GPAs, no volunteer/EC/shadowing, and poor MCATs. I bet there are a lot of these people who just take the MCAT for fun and try to apply to see if they can luck out.

 

[Keewee]

about 45% have a chance, if having a chance = getting at least one US allo acceptance during a given application cycle

 

[Stumpyman]

As strange as it seems, a 3.7 and 28 really isn't that bad. Also, people with 3.0 gpas and 22 mcats rarely apply.

 

[simondimond]

As strange as it seems, a 3.7 and 28 really isn't that bad. Also, people with 3.0 gpas and 22 mcats rarely apply.

It's not the numbers that worries me about this applicant. It is the total lack of clinical exposure and no real good reason for studying medicine. So if you have the numbers and you get in, then what? What happens if you don't know what you are getting into and you end up not liking medicine? Not that I think this person is getting into medical school (at least not right now) but, they will need a lot more than what they have right now to apply.

 

[Drogo]

that is impossible to gauge.

The only thing you can really tell is MCAT, GPA, maybe average clinical experience time frame.
There are other factors such as your personality, how the adcoms are feeling the day they look at your app, the personalities of the adcoms, the schools mission and their idea of an ideal student, the weather outside, extenuating circumstances. There is an endless list of variables that can benefit or harm someones chances at admission.

The applicant in your example probably has a lower chance given what you said. But for DO programs he is certainly competitive based on his GPA/MCAT. Being competitive is complete subjective, in my opinion. I think there are a ton of people just like this applying right meow.

 

[candav]

For comparison's sake, last year in Ontario:

17,261 applications from 5,297 individuals for 953 total spaces in 6 medical schools

...for an overall acceptance rate of ~18%!

 

[FrkyBgStok]

people hating OP, but i have wondered this myself. I have heard numerous people say, "I am applying to med school, hopefully I don't REALLY need clinical experience cause i don't have any" or "eh, my 18 mcat isn't that bad," or "I am from the area, so I am only applying to that school and they will for sure accept me." It seems that many people apply with absolutely no chance of getting in, and I can't be the ONLY person in America to have heard applicants like this, so I do wonder. How many people fall into the category of a unanimous, "thanks for your money, *****."

 

[centrigeugle]

For comparison's sake, last year in Ontario:

17,261 applications from 5,297 individuals for 953 total spaces in 6 medical schools

...for an overall acceptance rate of ~18%!

Wait, what?

 

[simondimond]

people hating OP, but i have wondered this myself. I have heard numerous people say, "I am applying to med school, hopefully I don't REALLY need clinical experience cause i don't have any" or "eh, my 18 mcat isn't that bad," or "I am from the area, so I am only applying to that school and they will for sure accept me." It seems that many people apply with absolutely no chance of getting in, and I can't be the ONLY person in America to have heard applicants like this, so I do wonder. How many people fall into the category of a unanimous, "thanks for your money, *****."

Hi, I see you are a fellow non-trad like me. I think as non-trads we see the whole process in a different light and that is why we ask these questions. Regarding my original question, I have a hard time believing every applicant is even close to competitive. I think there is a huge chunk that would probably be better prepared for a career in medicine as a non-trad. Assuming that is the case, then if your application really is stellar, the acceptance rate should really be much higher.

 

[gettheleadout]

Wait, what?

They all applied to multiple schools.

 

[FrkyBgStok]

And if your app is stellar you will likely get an acceptance. I am talking about the people who submit their primary on the day of the deadline. Or I worked with a nurse that said she was taking intro to org/biochem for nursing so she didn't need a year of orgo or biochem cause it was covered. I was talking to a guy from iowa that said he only applied to UCLA and he had a 20 mcat. I know an ICU tech that applied to the same school only 5 years in a row cause she wasn't willing to move only to move to their PA and get rejected another 3 times. I am not talkiing about people that have a 3.6/28 applying to top teir schools. I want to know how many applicants out there are missing prereqs or confidently sporting an 18L. The people that really embarass themselves regardless of a compelling story.

 

[simondimond]

And if your app is stellar you will likely get an acceptance. I am talking about the people who submit their primary on the day of the deadline. Or I worked with a nurse that said she was taking intro to org/biochem for nursing so she didn't need a year of orgo or biochem cause it was covered. I was talking to a guy from iowa that said he only applied to UCLA and he had a 20 mcat. I know an ICU tech that applied to the same school only 5 years in a row cause she wasn't willing to move only to move to their PA and get rejected another 3 times. I am not talkiing about people that have a 3.6/28 applying to top teir schools. I want to know how many applicants out there are missing prereqs or confidently sporting an 18L. The people that really embarass themselves regardless of a compelling story.

yeah, I know what you mean. I'm guessing the number is actually a decent sized chunk of the pool. Again, not saying these people don't have a chance. I'm saying, when they apply, they just don't have a chance right now. You still have 3.8/30's who get rejected because they don't have any clinical experience or a convincing reason to study medicine.

 

[NickNaylor]

Hi, I see you are a fellow non-trad like me. I think as non-trads we see the whole process in a different light and that is why we ask these questions. Regarding my original question, I have a hard time believing every applicant is even close to competitive. I think there is a huge chunk that would probably be better prepared for a career in medicine as a non-trad. Assuming that is the case, then if your application really is stellar, the acceptance rate should really be much higher.

I knew a few people like this as well. I'm not sure how much of the applicant pool they make up, but it has to be a not insignificant portion. Not all of these people are necessarily failures, though. Some of the students that I met at the more elite medical schools seem entirely aloof of the entire admissions process. I can't really explain how they gave off that vibe, but it truly was astounding. It's like they knew nothing about the process going in and decided to apply on a whim.

 

[Stumpyman]

people hating OP, but i have wondered this myself. I have heard numerous people say, "I am applying to med school, hopefully I don't REALLY need clinical experience cause i don't have any" or "eh, my 18 mcat isn't that bad," or "I am from the area, so I am only applying to that school and they will for sure accept me." It seems that many people apply with absolutely no chance of getting in, and I can't be the ONLY person in America to have heard applicants like this, so I do wonder. How many people fall into the category of a unanimous, "thanks for your money, *****."

I actually understand what the OP is trying to say myself, but in general there aren't any 3.0 gpa/sub 3.0 guys applying, it's more like 3.5s with mid-upper 20s, and then the above averages, then super high stat people. Also, I seriously have noticed a lot of people don't like to tell the truth about medical school (applying or not applying, stats, etc.).

 

[MedAdComMD]

Here at Temple, we get so many applications with most of them being reasonably competitive 3.4 + 28+ that the super low-stat people actually get a closer look by the adcoms just out of curiosity.