I'm assuming Quinn is referring to outright rejection, as opposed to being wait-listed followed by a rejection at the end of the app cycvle? If so, I concur that outright rejections are very rare, at least at my school. One actually has to work at that. But these are some reasons for flat-out rejections:
Having multiple misdemeanors or any sort of felony, especially involving theft or violence.
Showing a lack of ownership for IAs or misdemeanors ("it was the cop's fault I got busted the second time")
History of cheating or being expelled for honor violations.
Having a red flag LOR (I see about one of these a semester)
Being clueless or a very poor listener at interviews. I have little patients for someone who starts to answer and then asks "could you repeat the question?"
Being a babbling idiot at interviews
We have a group interview, so looking bored or not paying attention to what's going on.
Being arrogant
Being scary (this HAS happened!)
Matriculating at any other medical school and flunking out, or leaving for a poor reason.
Lying during interviews (this has also happened)
Being a hyper-achiever who wants to answer others people questions, instead of waiting one's turn.
Being a robot or unable to display any sort of emotion, or having a flat affect.
Having too low an MCAT score in Bio (I'll auto-reject anyone with a 6 or lower. Luckily, we've raised our minimum standards, so this doesn't happen anymore).
Being too immature.
Now, I'm sure someone is going to chime in that "yeah, but interviews are stressful". No doubt they are, but so is tying off a spurting artery on a MVA victim, or dealing with an acting-out psychotic patient. Thus, with all the people we interview for our limited number of seats, the seats go to those who display grace under pressure. Panic is not an option for a doctor; clear-headed think is.
It seems like post-interview rejections are pretty rare. What are some things that you think would result in a rejection?
I'm not talking about obvious stuff like blatantly insulting the school, showing up in ripped jeans, forgetting why you like medicine, etc.
Are there any more subtle things that might result in this worst-possible decision?