QUESTION about MSAR and School Acceptance Stats

[DeMoNdOgDFM]

I hope I am reading this correct: when schools post their stats, or percentages, for accepted applicants in the MSAR, they usually have three things: COMMUNITY SERVICE/VOLUNTEER, MEDICALLY RELATED WORK, and RESEARCH. Some schools have "community service" at like 70% or lower.

Does this mean that a good number of applicants get into these schools WITHOUT having any volunteering or community service? If so, why?

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[kexy]

I hope I am reading this correct: when schools post their stats, or percentages, for accepted applicants in the MSAR, they usually have three things: COMMUNITY SERVICE/VOLUNTEER, MEDICALLY RELATED WORK, and RESEARCH. Some schools have "community service" at like 70% or lower.

Does this mean that a good number of applicants get into these schools WITHOUT having any volunteering or community service? If so, why?

So I'm not 100% sure about this, and I'm sure SOME applicants got in without any volunteering, but I believe that these %s are based on what the applicants self-report on their AMCAS application. So, let's say I have community service experience, but ALL of my community service is medically related. I might list it all on AMCAS as clinical experience, so then I would have nothing in the "community service" category, even though I do have community service. Similarly, suppose I have lots of community service experience, but it was in a leadership role so I list it under the "leadership" category on AMCAS. The way that these %s are generated may not account for things like this.

You might also be able to infer something about the school's mission: if 95% have research and only 80% have community service, that may indicate the school cares more about research. If only 80% have community service, it may be because the school is friendly toward non-trads, who might only have paid work experience.

 

[RedSox10]

So I'm not 100% sure about this, and I'm sure SOME applicants got in without any volunteering, but I believe that these %s are based on what the applicants self-report on their AMCAS application. So, let's say I have community service experience, but ALL of my community service is medically related. I might list it all on AMCAS as clinical experience, so then I would have nothing in the "community service" category, even though I do have community service. Similarly, suppose I have lots of community service experience, but it was in a leadership role so I list it under the "leadership" category on AMCAS. The way that these %s are generated may not account for things like this.

You might also be able to infer something about the school's mission: if 95% have research and only 80% have community service, that may indicate the school cares more about research. If only 80% have community service, it may be because the school is friendly toward non-trads, who might only have paid work experience.

This definitely sounds right. You'll find that on AMCAS you have to categorize your activities even though they might fit into 1, 2, or 3 different categories.