Overqualified for schools?

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NNukibw77

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Will schools not give interviews to people who they think are overqualified/not attend? It makes sense to because they 1) want to pad their stats 2) value interviewing people who will likely attend.

I ask this because I sent in my apps late in the process and just started receiving interview invitations - and have been receiving them to top 10 medical schools - but was recently denied by a lower tier / safer school. I understand that no school is a lock for anyone, but I was shocked that I didn't even get an interview.

If you need to know more about me to answer this question, I'll be happy to list some of my credentials (just didn't want to drop them here to come off cocky).
 
Why do you feel they rejected you due to your stats only?
 
NNukibw77 said:
Will schools not give interviews to people who they think are overqualified/not attend? It makes sense to because they 1) want to pad their stats 2) value interviewing people who will likely attend.

I ask this because I sent in my apps late in the process and just started receiving interview invitations - and have been receiving them to top 10 medical schools - but was recently denied by a lower tier / safer school. I understand that no school is a lock for anyone, but I was shocked that I didn't even get an interview.

If you need to know more about me to answer this question, I'll be happy to list some of my credentials (just didn't want to drop them here to come off cocky).
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The bolded part seems paradoxical to me, haha

To answer your question, in short no one really knows. You could try to ask lizzieM or someone else on an admissions committee.
 
I think it's more likely they thought you had no real interest in the school (beyond being a "safety"). Whether or not stats plays into that, I can't say
 
Yeah definitely. NYMC screens out those with high stats (MCAT >36). They don't even have a secondary besides asking for $100.
 
NNukibw77 said:
Will schools not give interviews to people who they think are overqualified/not attend? It makes sense to because they 1) want to pad their stats 2) value interviewing people who will likely attend.

I ask this because I sent in my apps late in the process and just started receiving interview invitations - and have been receiving them to top 10 medical schools - but was recently denied by a lower tier / safer school. I understand that no school is a lock for anyone, but I was shocked that I didn't even get an interview.

If you need to know more about me to answer this question, I'll be happy to list some of my credentials (just didn't want to drop them here to come off cocky).
Click to expand...

I don't think it looks good if a school takes their entire class from the waitlist either like the statistics seem to suggest that some schools do this when their class size is 200 and they accept 700 people. If a "lower tier" school takes people with more modest stats, those people are likely to have fewer choices of where to attend and will be more likely to attend the "lower tier" school as a result. On the other hand, high stats people are likely to get more of the prestigious acceptances and will likely end up turning down the lower tier and the school doesn't want to make it look like they obtain their entire class from their waitlist.
 
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i don't think they screen you out for high stats. i've interviewed at all my state schools except for one...

maybe there was something else they didn't like about your app.
 
txprodigal said:
i don't think they screen you out for high stats. i've interviewed at all my state schools except for one...
.
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Based on tuition, state schools might feel they are desirable even by high-stats applicants.
 
womp said:
Yeah definitely. NYMC screens out those with high stats (MCAT >36). They don't even have a secondary besides asking for $100.
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I don't think NYMC screens out applicants with MCATs above 36. I scored a 38 and have an interview there in 2 weeks.
 
Some of the lower tier private schools (NYMC is private despite the name that might suggest that it is publicly funded) may judge that someone with high stats, a couple years of research, etc might not be a "good fit" with their curriculum. That can be code for "we know you'll go to one of the research powerhouses". With a finite number of interview slots, schools don't want to "waste" them on people who in the end are almost certain to go elsewhere.

If you have strong reasons to want to go to a school that might be considered a safety in light of your academic record, etc., find a way to express that in the secondary or in a letter of interest. This could include needing to live in that region for personal reasons, a family connection to the school (mult-generational legacy), and an interest in a particular academic opportunity there.
 
From what I've seen, people are rarely "overqualified" as much as their personality may not match with particular schools. (Seems to be somewhat what LizzyM was saying). I know people with 38+ MCAT that were rejected post-interview from "lower tier" schools. MCAT and GPA only mean so much sometimes. Some schools are notorious for really high numbers, others look for specific personalities to fulfill their mission and most are a mix of the two.
 
^ heh ive bene rejected at two of my safeties. i guess they really didnt like me..
 
I think it makes sense for schools to reject applicants they think are too overqualified in terms of stats. They need to make sure that they fill the seats, and if an applicants in too qualified, they probably won't interview them.
 
the wave of cockiness always come out before Oct 15.

OP, interview is not acceptance, don't assume the top 10 wants you.
 
^

im envious he even gets the opportunity to be cocky >.<
 
Who knows. I see some funny looking rejections sometimes while cruzing through mdapps of the people who post here. Basically, I'll see some people with 3.8 s/cGPA, 35 MCAT, relevant and meaningful volunteer service, honest and realistic well rounded ECs, research, and a job and they have tons of rejections. It would be nice if mdapps was tied into the network of adcoms so that we could see their notes and why applicants were rejected. Fat chance for that to happen though. 🙄
 
ILikeDrugs said:
Who knows. I see some funny looking rejections sometimes while cruzing through mdapps of the people who post here. Basically, I'll see some people with 3.8 s/cGPA, 35 MCAT, relevant and meaningful volunteer service, honest and realistic well rounded ECs, research, and a job and they have tons of rejections. It would be nice if mdapps was tied into the network of adcoms so that we could see their notes and why applicants were rejected. Fat chance for that to happen though. 🙄
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Haha, then everyone would try to become "that guy"
 
ThatQuestionGuy said:
I think it's more likely they thought you had no real interest in the school (beyond being a "safety").
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👍
it's not like they didn't notice your 4.0 gpa or 40 mcat
they just got the feeling that you probably don't want to go there
 
You may find that even though you have those "stellar" uGPA/MCAT numbers, while you have received interview invitations, you may wind up with no acceptance. Numbers are not everything and not every student with high numbers winds up automatically in any medical school. In short, having high number doesn't mean that you are automatically "overqualified" for any medical school.

A word of advice to the OP: whether or not you "drop" your numbers, your attitude may kill you in the interview. It's OK to be confident but your original premise that you are "overqualified" may backfire big time.

I say this because the son of a professor at a medical school (one of my colleagues): white male (age 22) applicant with 4.0 uGPA (double major economics/biology) and 42 MCAT, LORs from outstanding scientists and researchers (undergrad at an Ivy) was rejected from every school that he applied to. Sure, he received interviews but he was a jerk. After a couple of years of Peace Corps, he reapplied and got in. In short, he needed to "mature" at bit. Don't let this be you.
 
I've gotten a lot of negatively toned responses in this thread and just want to clear up that I obviously understand that no matter how strong of an applicant someone is on paper, no one is a lock to any school. I was under the impression that good stats (including ECs and recs) would at least give me the chance to interview at most schools, so I was confused when I didn't get an interview at what I thought was a "safer" school in BU.

Sorry to come off like a dick, just tried to be informative in my OP.
 
^i thought ur OP was fine.

anyway, i really want to see some evidence.. mdapps maybe? on the 4.0/40 with interviews but rejected all...
 
NNukibw77 said:
I've gotten a lot of negatively toned responses in this thread and just want to clear up that I obviously understand that no matter how strong of an applicant someone is on paper, no one is a lock to any school. I was under the impression that good stats (including ECs and recs) would at least give me the chance to interview at most schools, so I was confused when I didn't get an interview at what I thought was a "safer" school in BU.

Sorry to come off like a dick, just tried to be informative in my OP.
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Annoying...
 
Honestly people are just jealous of the OP.
 
^ haha.. thanks for offering 😛

ill take your word for it then... i hope i do not join him on the list of +3.8+39 on AMCAS that do not get in 🙁

i think i am nice >.<

oh and i do agree with some ppl, that one cannot be overqualified, but just not ENTHUSIASTIC about the school. because if you apply to a say "lower-ranked" school, they probably want to see your real and unique reasons for going there... and not the essay you had been reusing for every other school..
 
NNukibw77 said:
so I was confused when I didn't get an interview at what I thought was a "safer" school in BU.
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There's your problem. BU isn't a safety school for anyone - they are swamped with apps from every bloody wannabe on the Eastern seabord. Similarly, none of the following are "safeties:" GW, Tufts, Georgetown...NYMC is probably the closest thing to a "safety" in the DC-Boston corridor.

And if you read the BU class thread from this year, or the last couple of years, you would know that tons of people with high stats get summarily refused interviews.
 
bannie22 said:
^i thought ur OP was fine.
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As did I. People are quick to jump down other's throats here. Let's do away with trying to be politically correct all the time. There are obvious schools where their average applicants are at a certain level as far as EC involvement and academic performance. If you are far above what their typical applicants are involved with, I think it's legitimate to use the term overqualified. Certainly no one is overqualified but I fully believe every member of this forum is intellectually capable of understanding what the OP meant and equally capable of providing helpful information rather than attacking word choice or supposed character traits.
 
If I get high stats I'm gonna drop em all over SDN straight up. Either way, I don't think there is an overqualified tab. I knew a female URM with pretty good stats, 3.95 cGPA with a 36 MCAT and she applied to a diverse range of schools. The lower-tiered ones gave her full scholarships, and she got into some upper tiered schools. She turned down the lower-tiered ones to go to the "best" school in her opinion, but the reality is that she was overqualified for some that she applied to compared to their statistics, yet she still was accepted.
 
Narmerguy said:
As did I. People are quick to jump down other's throats here. Let's do away with trying to be politically correct all the time. There are obvious schools where their average applicants are at a certain level as far as EC involvement and academic performance. If you are far above what their typical applicants are involved with, I think it's legitimate to use the term overqualified. Certainly no one is overqualified but I fully believe every member of this forum is intellectually capable of understanding what the OP meant and equally capable of providing helpful information rather than attacking word choice or supposed character traits.
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Not "over" qualified. Maybe "above average stats" applies. But whatever "qualified" means to different med schools, it is ridiculous for an applicant to think of himself in terms of being "over" or "under" qualified for schools.

Far more goes into admissions decisions than stats. Using terms like "over qualified" is misleading, or it misses the whole point.

Research your schools, and apply broadly. You will be surprised, or disappointed, or elated, by the reactions your app gets from different schools. And it only gets crazier when it comes to post interview decisions.
 
oaklandguy said:
If I get high stats I'm gonna drop em all over SDN straight up. Either way, I don't think there is an overqualified tab. I knew a female URM with pretty good stats, 3.95 cGPA with a 36 MCAT and she applied to a diverse range of schools. The lower-tiered ones gave her full scholarships, and she got into some upper tiered schools. She turned down the lower-tiered ones to go to the "best" school in her opinion, but the reality is that she was overqualified for some that she applied to compared to their statistics, yet she still was accepted.
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THere you go.
 
oaklandguy said:
If I get high stats I'm gonna drop em all over SDN straight up. Either way, I don't think there is an overqualified tab. I knew a female URM with pretty good stats, 3.95 cGPA with a 36 MCAT and she applied to a diverse range of schools. The lower-tiered ones gave her full scholarships, and she got into some upper tiered schools. She turned down the lower-tiered ones to go to the "best" school in her opinion, but the reality is that she was overqualified for some that she applied to compared to their statistics, yet she still was accepted.
Click to expand...

This sounds nice. 😀
 
oaklandguy said:
If I get high stats I'm gonna drop em all over SDN straight up. Either way, I don't think there is an overqualified tab. I knew a female URM with pretty good stats, 3.95 cGPA with a 36 MCAT and she applied to a diverse range of schools. The lower-tiered ones gave her full scholarships, and she got into some upper tiered schools. She turned down the lower-tiered ones to go to the "best" school in her opinion, but the reality is that she was overqualified for some that she applied to compared to their statistics, yet she still was accepted.
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every single post you're making recently is how you'll brag if you get into med school, if you get high stats, etc. grow the hell up. christ.
 
womp said:
Yeah definitely. NYMC screens out those with high stats (MCAT >36). They don't even have a secondary besides asking for $100.
Click to expand...

CrobMonster said:
I don't think NYMC screens out applicants with MCATs above 36. I scored a 38 and have an interview there in 2 weeks.
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i interviewed at nymc even though i'm high-stats.

turns out it was a waste of their time, because i hated it and withdrew as soon as i got into my (waaaay better) state school.
 
dw2158 said:
i interviewed at nymc even though i'm high-stats.

turns out it was a waste of their time, because i hated it and withdrew as soon as i got into my (waaaay better) state school.
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Do you mind sharing what's wrong with NYMC?
 
dw2158 said:
haha, everyone's been asking me why i hated it so much. i guess i can forward you the PM i've been sending to people. 😳
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Thanks man! Oh hey, since you're from NY it didn't cost you that much to attend their interview🙂
 
You might as well just post it instead of PMing it to everyone. 😛
 
ok, here it is...

i guess overall i just wasn't impressed. the people there didn't seem as intellectually engaged and excited as i would have wished. the students we met were not so enthusiastic about the school; for many i sensed it was the only place they got in. in fact, in the info session they brag about how 1/3 of the class had multiple acceptances and chose nymc... which seems like a low number to me. :shrug:

the curriculum is also very traditionally structured. it's not systems-based (big turn off for me); first year is in trimesters and second year is in semesters, and you get ALL of anatomy at once, ALL of biochem at once, etc.

as far as the interviews themselves... they were kind of eh. i feel like i did well, but i did not like either of my interviewers. one was a 4th year, and one was an MD. neither of them had heard of my undergrad (come on! not that i need people to respect me because of where i went to college, but seriously? it's an hour away, and you're in academia!) so i had to awkwardly explain the whole [name of my undergrad and the larger university it's part of] relationship. the interviews were also closed file, which i experienced at UMass, but this was MUCH more awkward. the MD i interviewed with could not keep my timeline straight. i was talking about stuff i'm currently doing and he kept asking "so is that for school?" and i was like, dude i've been out TWO YEARS. we already discussed this. they just seemed kind of dense. i wanted to be challenged more.

anyway, sorry that was so longwinded and possibly arrogant sounding. i hope it was helpful, and if you have any specific questions, send 'em my way! good luck :luck:
 
flip26 said:
There's your problem. BU isn't a safety school for anyone - they are swamped with apps from every bloody wannabe on the Eastern seabord. Similarly, none of the following are "safeties:" GW, Tufts, Georgetown...NYMC is probably the closest thing to a "safety" in the DC-Boston corridor.

And if you read the BU class thread from this year, or the last couple of years, you would know that tons of people with high stats get summarily refused interviews.
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Notice how I said "safer" and not safety. I guess I just figured that with an MCAT score 8 points above their median, a high GPA and great ECs/recs, I'd be competitive enough to at least get an interview.

In addition, because their secondary had no essays ( just an additional information section, in which I spoke about my diversity), I find it hard to believe that they rejected me because I didn't seem "interested" in BU in my application. I'm also not a super "researchy sciencey" person - I consider myself a personable pre-med econ major with a passion for athletics and fitness - so I doubt that the school thought I was clearly aspiring to attend medical school at a research powerhouse.

I am left to draw the conclusion that I alluded to in my OP: BU denied me an interview because it would be advantageous for them to interview others with more BU-like credentials.

So is BU the norm or the exception with regards to this habit
 
dw2158 said:
ok, here it is...

i guess overall i just wasn't impressed. the people there didn't seem as intellectually engaged and excited as i would have wished. the students we met were not so enthusiastic about the school; for many i sensed it was the only place they got in. in fact, in the info session they brag about how 1/3 of the class had multiple acceptances and chose nymc... which seems like a low number to me. :shrug:

the curriculum is also very traditionally structured. it's not systems-based (big turn off for me); first year is in trimesters and second year is in semesters, and you get ALL of anatomy at once, ALL of biochem at once, etc.

as far as the interviews themselves... they were kind of eh. i feel like i did well, but i did not like either of my interviewers. one was a 4th year, and one was an MD. neither of them had heard of my undergrad (come on! not that i need people to respect me because of where i went to college, but seriously? it's an hour away, and you're in academia!) so i had to awkwardly explain the whole [name of my undergrad and the larger university it's part of] relationship. the interviews were also closed file, which i experienced at UMass, but this was MUCH more awkward. the MD i interviewed with could not keep my timeline straight. i was talking about stuff i'm currently doing and he kept asking "so is that for school?" and i was like, dude i've been out TWO YEARS. we already discussed this. they just seemed kind of dense. i wanted to be challenged more.

anyway, sorry that was so longwinded and possibly arrogant sounding. i hope it was helpful, and if you have any specific questions, send 'em my way! good luck :luck:
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i have a feeling i know where you go/went.
 
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