So what exactly is the med school "game"?

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Really?????? I guess you are just as shallow as the person that posted the comment about unsuspecting Africans.....yours is probably the stupidest post.

No, YOURS is the stupidest post.

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i think the point is just to be an interesting person, even if its only because it might get someone to spend an extra couple of minutes looking over your application. maybe putting sparkly unicorn stickers on your AMCAS might have the same effect... who knows. however, medicine is an interesting profession where you have to deal with all sorts of people and all sorts of situations, and perhaps someone who has gone out on a limb and done something strange or different might be able to handle strange or different situations better than someone who has led a very predictable life. or not. who knows.

for what its worth, when i was on the interview trail, every single interviewer wanted to hear about my study abroad trips to north and west africa. i didnt go to preach or teach or suture, i went to learn. i wanted to learn arabic. i wanted to watch "exorcisms" and learn about traditional plant medicine. i like to do crazy things. did those crazy things set me apart from people who had the same numbers as i did but no interesting experiences or talents? i would guess so, but really, who knows.

however i would not recommend doing things that dont interest you. i can speak passionately and enthusiastically about the things i have done, and that is probably what makes me stand out... not necessarily the trips themselves.
 
The first rule about med admissions? Don't talk about the game. The second rule of med admissions? DON'T TALK ABOUT THE GAME.

The game, you just lost it.

Okay so ive been reading some threads and this is a recent trend ive noticed. Many people claim that most "pre-meds" think that they should just pick a science major, get a good GPA and MCAT score. Then top it off with EC's, shadowing, and research exp.

What exactly is wrong with doing that? i swear ive seen many posts looking down on this type of person but whats missing from this game plan?

Best posts:

Problems with this plan:

1) The name of the game is numbers. Med schools want them to be amazing and they don't care where you get them. Now the common sense opinion (because this is how anyone with common sense would run this process) is that you should choose a science major, which is usually difficult, and then get a good GPA for that major, which is often around a 3.5. However in reality to maximize your chances you want to choose a major that makes no sense in terms of your future and which has an insanely high average GPA. A 4.0 in Irish Cuisine (Boil it!), even if the average GPA is a 4.0, is better than a 3.5 in bioengineering where the the average GPA is a 2.5. Now Bioengineering might still be a good choice, because at least that gives you a fall back career, but biology? Worst of both worlds. So either choose a major that has a high average out of college income or do something fun that has one of the highest GPAs on campus.

2) Because of the plethora of qualified applicants for an artificially limited number of slots, medical schools increasingly want a candidate that is 'interesting' rather than just a good potential doctor. This means, in addition to all the other pointless crap you have to do, you should find the time to do something that is pointless and also bizzare. Now if you're rich (this application process is designed for the rich) this can be very fun: you can travel across continents, do real surgery on unsuspecting Africans, climb mountains, sail around the world, and write all about it on your application. If you're in a normal income bracket this probably means doing something truely asanine like majoring in sex studies, going to clown college, or joining your school's curling team. Medical school ADCOMs are the kind of people that don't give a crap if you play the guitar but think it's just amazing if you play the ukulele. They don't want well rounded people, they want a sideshow. Of course, if your numbers are above average, you don't need to do that, but if you're in the middle of the pack you're going to want something to grab the ADCOM's eye. Even if you are above average you'll probably get into the better school if you're adorably strange.

I'm not endorsing this as a way to live your life, but if you're planning on living your life to maximize your chances at medical school I am prepared to say a Bio major isn't the way to go.

^ Seriously hilarious and incisive post ^

The problem is that 50,000 other people have the same game plan. Some never apply to medical school but most do... in addition, you have to compete against those who didn't "play the game" but went outside of the cookie cutter activities and did something that was enjoyable, educational and helpful to others (or at least two out of three). This might include an advanced degree, long term community service through Peace Corps or another agency, work experience in a lab or a factory (engineers, mostly) or in the military.
Consider that there are about 47,000 applications for about 19,000 seats and you see the difficulty in being a generic applicant indistinguishable from hundreds of other applicants.

Also true ^



I think part of what helped me out is the fact that I do one of those random things, although I'm not sure if I would call it asinine.
 
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Okay so ive been reading some threads and this is a recent trend ive noticed. Many people claim that most "pre-meds" think that they should just pick a science major, get a good GPA and MCAT score. Then top it off with EC's, shadowing, and research exp.

What exactly is wrong with doing that? i swear ive seen many posts looking down on this type of person but whats missing from this game plan?

nothing wrong with that except there are thousands of applicants with a science major, a stellar GPA, and good MCAT score. And everyone knows that you have to do shadowing, community service, and research.

that's the official formula but I think to stand out, you'll need a bit more than that.
 
If you want to get in, your application needs to sparkle. You need a life experience. Something that makes you jump off the page.

Some of the people that got in last year had one leg. Have you thought about cutting off our leg?:laugh:
 
if you want to get in, your application needs to sparkle. You need a life experience. Something that makes you jump off the page.

Some of the people that got in last year had one leg. Have you thought about cutting off our leg?:laugh:

Saw XIV: MEDICAL SCHOOL
 
What is that supposed to mean? Are you implying people are born entitled to get a slot in a medical school and those that work hard are somehow less than a lazy entitled person?

Yes, I'd say that this is true in some level or sense (except scratching the lazy entitled part). Some people are born hot and some people are born not. Not everyone would make a great doctor and the interviewers are looking to find out if you're one of them or not.
 
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