random thoughts on applying to school and residencies

[Cantal]

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So I was talking to a residency director at Wash U last week and got some information about the way they set up residencies.

Does anyone else find it uneasy that everything you did in high school means almost nothing when applying to med schools? And from what I gathered, what you do in college (including MCAT scores) means little when applying for residencies?

I almost wish there was some carryover. I personally think it sucks that all the stuff we do in one stage is just looked at to "get your foot in the door" for the next stage. It seems almost more reasonable to evaluate people as a maturing person rather than what they've done in the last few years. On the other hand, there's a _lot_ of stuff I did in high school that I probably would at least rethink before I did it now 🙂

Just some random thoughts if anyone else has opinions about the subject 🙂

 

[TTSD]

Hahaha, yes.. there are a lot of things in my past I do not want showing up on my record down the line, lol.

But as a little anecdote, not that this probably applies to US Medicine, but the VP of Neurosurgery in China was telling me in bad English, "I do not care about their credentials. I will take them into surgery and see how they do."

The moral of the story was the past is the past.. you're up to snuff or you're not. And the only way to determine that is your recent performances.

 

[themann]

This probably goes both ways. Some people would want there pasts included, others wouldn't. Nothing like having to explain past mistakes for the rest of your life. But I see your point Cantal, because it is equally frustrating to work so hard for so long only to have it tossed out the window at each stage. Maybe they do it this way so that we can never get too big for our britches- after all they keep putting us at the bottom of the barrel.

 

[Jonkst]

Personally, Im glad there's no carryover. My college GPA is way better than my high school...

Although there's not really no carryover, I mean how well you do in college determines where you go to med school, and its easier to get a competitive residency if you go to Hopkins or Harvard then a less competitive med school, just like it's easier to get into medical school from a top ten university than from a podunk U