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Discover Your Odds of Getting into Medical School
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hopefuldoctor9

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  1. Pre-Medical
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I have a friend of a friend that was accepted to an unnamed D.O. school last year with very poor scores (under a 3.0 overall and science gpa) with a 24 on his mcat, and was accepted to his school. He informed us that his parents, whom are very wealthy, donated to the school; has anyone heard of such a thing? I found it kind of shocking.
 
I guess shocking isn't the best word, maybe pathetic is more applicable.
 
This is no shocker. You will quickly learn that life is as much about who you know as it is about your stats. In the words of the venerable Ice-T, "don't hate the player, hate the game".

Survivor DO
 
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hopefuldoctor9 said:
Wow. That's crazy.
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Just so its clear, in case anyone is trying to make the point, this isn't a DO specific thing, or even a DO/MD specific thing. This occurs at medical schools, law schools, universities/colleges, and pretty much everywhere whether its for education or a job. Connections and money make the world go round.
 
Yeah, definitely. I just posted it here because he ended up at a DO school. Also, I was just curious to see if anyone had heard of this scenario before.
 
hopefuldoctor9 said:
Yeah, definitely. I just posted it here because he ended up at a DO school. Also, I was just curious to see if anyone had heard of this scenario before.
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There's a poster on here who was offered an interview at LECOM without an MCAT. I won't say names, but they are reapplying this year.
 
NontradCA said:
There's a poster on here who was offered an interview at LECOM without an MCAT. I won't say names, but they are reapplying this year.
Click to expand...

That's not so outrageous. I know someone who was offered an interview without an MCAT. Their file didn't/couldn't get reviewed though until their MCAT score was released.
 
do you really think Bush got into harvard business solely on merits?

I'm sure his family wealth played a slight factor
 
SammyJR said:
do you really think Bush got into harvard business solely on merits?

I'm sure his family wealth played a slight factor
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JFK got into Harvard with a LOR saying he could be counted on to do the minimum amount of work to pass.
 
pre med 2014 said:
JFK got into Harvard with a LOR saying he could be counted on to do the minimum amount of work to pass.
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Will we ever see a physician be the president in our life time? SammyJR 2030!!
 
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hallowmann said:
That's not so outrageous. I know someone who was offered an interview without an MCAT. Their file didn't/couldn't get reviewed though until their MCAT score was released.
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Eh, I didn't say outrageous. Just kinda similar.
 
OP, this happens all the time, both at DO and MD schools. We call these people "specials" or "legacies". Why do you think you see people in MSAR who's in med school with numbers like the below listed in MSAR? Hint: they're not all URM.

I had a good friend who was a <3.0 student, whose aunt was a donor to Mt Sinai. THAT got him an interview.

Mercifully for him, he was rejected, because his grades were awful. I say "mercifully for him" because I know what MY students go through, and medical school would have killed him faster than a bullet in the head. He later got a PhD and is doing fine.

It will be interesting to see what comes of your FOaF. At my school, they end up being our all-time worst students.


hopefuldoctor9 said:
I have a friend of a friend that was accepted to an unnamed D.O. school last year with very poor scores (under a 3.0 overall and science gpa) with a 24 on his mcat, and was accepted to his school. He informed us that his parents, whom are very wealthy, donated to the school; has anyone heard of such a thing? I found it kind of shocking.
Click to expand...
 
People only talk and complain when THEY are not the ones gaining an advantage. If the OP's father was the one donating money and got his kid an acceptance, OP would not find this shocking or repulsive. In fact, the thread would have never existed.

The human condition at it's finest.
 
hopefuldoctor9 said:
I have a friend of a friend that was accepted to an unnamed D.O. school last year with very poor scores (under a 3.0 overall and science gpa) with a 24 on his mcat, and was accepted to his school. He informed us that his parents, whom are very wealthy, donated to the school; has anyone heard of such a thing? I found it kind of shocking.
Click to expand...

You'd be surprised at what happens behind closed doors and with the ones you never find out about. Most people with lowish states cling on the lower 25% of acceptances, but they fail to realize most of them are either legacies, rich or have the connections necessary that most applicants lack.

It is what it is.
 
I have an acquaintance who was accepted to a top 25 medical school with very below average stats. I was pretty shocked and later found out that his dad is a big shot doctor related with that school and I think he's a donor for them.

He recently deactivated his facebook, so I don't know if he's struggling and trying to stay focused--but in any case--I wish him the best of luck.

Lots of people get in who shouldn't---and lots don't get in who should---but in the end, I hope they all try their best and become the best doctors they could.
 
I am not shocked at all! I know plenty of people who have gotten into medical school without taking an MCAT! and no im not being sarcastic at all.

I got to a DII university in the midwest that has joint programs with 5 medical schools (2 MD, 3 DO), 2 of which dont require an mcat score, 2 require an mcat but very low (26) and one that requires you take it but the scores do not affect admission! You also get accepted in your sophomore year of undergra

if you research around, you will find there are MANY programs like this, many of them 7 years/no MCAT!

And as mentioned, money talks so this is believable
 
OncoMD said:
People only talk and complain when THEY are not the ones gaining an advantage. If the OP's father was the one donating money and got his kid an acceptance, OP would not find this shocking or repulsive. In fact, the thread would have never existed.

The human condition at it's finest.
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If you have a leg up, you take it. I actually tried a little of that on my MD applications but the pull wasn't strong enough.

But you don't go around telling your friends that have to work their ass off that your parents' money and/or connections gave you your seat... it's like that guy at the bar who keeps telling you how much he makes. Except worse, because it's not even your money lol. Had it actually worked for me, I would spend a lot of time making fun of myself when people asked me how I got in.
 
Yea not surprising. I would do it too because I know I would take advantage of the opportunity and still work my ass off to be a good doctor.
 
I always wondered , let's say a person wins the lottery , donates millions to a medical school and then applies.... I would assume you can't buy your acceptance... Although I could be wrong.
 
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Goro said:
OP, this happens all the time, both at DO and MD schools. We call these people "specials" or "legacies". Why do you think you see people in MSAR who's in med school with numbers like the below listed in MSAR? Hint: they're not all URM.

I had a good friend who was a <3.0 student, whose aunt was a donor to Mt Sinai. THAT got him an interview.

Mercifully for him, he was rejected, because his grades were awful. I say "mercifully for him" because I know what MY students go through, and medical school would have killed him faster than a bullet in the head. He later got a PhD and is doing fine.

It will be interesting to see what comes of your FOaF. At my school, they end up being our all-time worst students.
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Is it weird that I find the bolded somewhat encouraging? It gives me confidence that adcoms are good at what they do and that they knew what they were doing when they let me in...
 
There is at least one ED program that I know for sure that does not require an MCAT
 
The student could have been an URM... We all know they only favor URM in the admission process. Get real people! People in the admission committees have friends, family, business partners etc...
 
Am I the only one not completely outraged? Yes, 3.0/24 is low, but at least meets the minimum standard. If this person was 2.4/19, it would be outrageous.
 
It happens I guess....kind of sad for the student who matriculates and gets crushed though.
 
I have a close friend that was rejected from 8 (maybe 9?) DO schools last cycle (<3.0 sgpa), but found out that a long lost Aunt of hers was on the selection committee of my state's MD school.

She applied to the state school (by her aunt's direction) in February, Interviewed in March and was accepted in late March.

This happens all. the. time. Strangely, she's actually doing quite well in school. It's who you know, folks. Or in this case who you can trace your blood to.

edit: Before you blow the URM whistle, she was an upper-middle class white girl.
 
OncoMD said:
People only talk and complain when THEY are not the ones gaining an advantage. If the OP's father was the one donating money and got his kid an acceptance, OP would not find this shocking or repulsive. In fact, the thread would have never existed.

The human condition at it's finest.
Click to expand...

Um, duh.

This process is far too competitive to not take any help you can get.
 
hallowmann said:
just so its clear, in case anyone is trying to make the point, this isn't a do specific thing, or even a do/md specific thing. This occurs at medical schools, law schools, universities/colleges, and pretty much everywhere whether its for education or a job. Connections and money make the world go round.
Click to expand...

+1
 
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hopefuldoctor9 said:
I have a friend of a friend that was accepted to an unnamed D.O. school last year with very poor scores (under a 3.0 overall and science gpa) with a 24 on his mcat, and was accepted to his school. He informed us that his parents, whom are very wealthy, donated to the school; has anyone heard of such a thing? I found it kind of shocking.
Click to expand...

As much as it is fun to impugn DO schools, this happens at every single institution of higher learning in the country. And frankly, it is a good thing.

But... meritocracy... fairness??? The reality is that if daddy gives a chunk of money to the school, the school can use that to expand its class, provide a better education for its students, or provide scholarships to other qualified applicants. It can use the money to fund research or increase the prestige of the institution.

If the kid isn't qualified, he won't graduate.
 
hallowmann said:
Just so its clear, in case anyone is trying to make the point, this isn't a DO specific thing, or even a DO/MD specific thing. This occurs at medical schools, law schools, universities/colleges, and pretty much everywhere whether its for education or a job. Connections and money make the world go round.
Click to expand...

lol, yeah I hope nobody thought it was a DO thing.
 
OncoMD said:
People only talk and complain when THEY are not the ones gaining an advantage. If the OP's father was the one donating money and got his kid an acceptance, OP would not find this shocking or repulsive. In fact, the thread would have never existed.

The human condition at it's finest.
Click to expand...

Spoken like a true daddy's girl that hasn't earned anything in her life.

I'm not saying don't take advantage of your opportunities, but you can at least not be a hypocrite and admit it's shady on everyone who works to earn things.
 
NontradCA said:
There's a poster on here who was offered an interview at LECOM without an MCAT. I won't say names, but they are reapplying this year.
Click to expand...

hallowmann said:
That's not so outrageous. I know someone who was offered an interview without an MCAT. Their file didn't/couldn't get reviewed though until their MCAT score was released.
Click to expand...

There was one other person at the interview that I went to who didn't have an MCAT score. Anyway, I was rejected a week after the interview so it all didn't matter since they decided not to wait until my score came back. This situation is different from the OP's example in that I have absolutely no ties to the school, and I definitely don't have any family members who are doctors, lol.

My guess is that they made a mistake by sending us interview invites. Or maybe they thought I was Asian (Asian-sounding last name) and were suprised that I was a pregnant white chick? This is my newest theory. 😛
 
NontradCA said:
There's a poster on here who was offered an interview at LECOM without an MCAT. I won't say names, but they are reapplying this year.
Click to expand...

Hopefully, I will be applying solo this year. Baby bumps makes adcoms nervous. 😉
 
Mehd School said:
I have a close friend that was rejected from 8 (maybe 9?) DO schools last cycle (<3.0 sgpa), but found out that a long lost Aunt of hers was on the selection committee of my state's MD school.

She applied to the state school (by her aunt's direction) in February, Interviewed in March and was accepted in late March.

This happens all. the. time. Strangely, she's actually doing quite well in school. It's who you know, folks. Or in this case who you can trace your blood to.

edit: Before you blow the URM whistle, she was an upper-middle class white girl.
Click to expand...
This is what we refer to as "affirmative action of the usual kind".
 
StudyShy said:
My guess is that they made a mistake by sending us interview invites. Or maybe they thought I was Asian (Asian-sounding last name) and were suprised that I was a pregnant white chick? This is my newest theory. 😛
Click to expand...

As I said, I don't think it was a mistake. I know someone who had good stats and was invited for an interview when they knew the scores were coming it. Its probably in the student's best interest though to only interview after the score comes in, because I doubt any adcom would recommend an acceptance for someone without an MCAT. (Even that article references the adcom being overruled by the dean).

Anyways, Good luck next cycle! 👍 It seems like this last year has been a somewhat of a ride for you.
 
hallowmann said:
As I said, I don't think it was a mistake. I know someone who had good stats and was invited for an interview when they knew the scores were coming it. Its probably in the student's best interest though to only interview after the score comes in, because I doubt any adcom would recommend an acceptance for someone without an MCAT. (Even that article references the adcom being overruled by the dean).

Anyways, Good luck next cycle! 👍 It seems like this last year has been a somewhat of a ride for you.
Click to expand...

Totally. It can hurt you if you have a meh interview when maybe they would have considered you if you brought home a stellar MCAT then interviewed. At least then, they would have a complete picture.

Thank you! It was a good ride. I learned a lot, and I'd do it all again. Really, I only have good memories from everything, and my situation was kind of strange all the around, lol. I also never filled out a secondary application because there was something wrong with their site which they were aware that I couldn't fill it out.

I wish that I would have talked to the other student who had yet to take the MCAT. He was really nice and in the same interview group that I was in. He is Persian and maybe 27-28 years old.

At the interview, they did talk about the MCAT a little bit and about how they don't know how they are going to look at new scores when the MCAT is changed. Also, they talked about how they wish that they didn't use the MCAT for determining who would be selected for admission. It was all interesting.
 
StudyShy said:
Totally. It can hurt you if you have a meh interview when maybe they would have considered you if you brought home a stellar MCAT then interviewed. At least then, they would have a complete picture.

Thank you! It was a good ride. I learned a lot, and I'd do it all again. Really, I only have good memories from everything, and my situation was kind of strange all the around, lol. I also never filled out a secondary application because there was something wrong with their site which they were aware that I couldn't fill it out.

I wish that I would have talked to the other student who had yet to take the MCAT. He was really nice and in the same interview group that I was in. He is Persian and maybe 27-28 years old.

At the interview, they did talk about the MCAT a little bit and about how they don't know how they are going to look at new scores when the MCAT is changed. Also, they talked about how they wish that they didn't use the MCAT for determining who would be selected for admission. It was all interesting.
Click to expand...

Are you going to be reapplying?
 
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