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I used to think that medical school admissions were different than undergaduate. I used to think that GPA, MCAT scores, leadership, and research were all that mattered, and only the best got into the best. I was wrong 😱. I'm a senior at a top 50 undergrad and I really want everyone in this forum to finally realize what admissions committees are really about. Here are three friends (real-life situations, no BS here):
1) Male, very close friend, attends George Washington Univ. Three A-'s in science courses so his GPA must be around a 3.96 or 3.97...anyway I know his MCAT is straight up a 30 (unbalanced though). His only research was one semester through a course he took. A little shadowing here and there, but really nothing else. He spent a lot of time studying. Oh may I mention he is like 1/8 Hispanic. Bottomline: Just interviewed and has been accepted to four of the top ten US News Med schools and may I mention he turned in his apps late.
2) Female, William and Mary College. Beautiful, smart, perfect personality, but she is a ORM. GPA: north of 3.9 and MCAT of 35 (we studied together). She is published, has more leadership than most of us can fathom, and participated in athletics. She freakin won a nationally recognized scholarship. Bottomline: she got an interview at Yale and Mayo Clinic, but nothing from any other school (JHU, Harv, UPenn, Dartmouth, NYU, UM).
3) Best friend in Highschool and Valedictorian of HS. Attends Yale. He got a B in physics and B+ in physics II. His GPA blows like a 3.6 before last semester, and surprisingly he only pulled a 34 on the MCAT (I was expecting this kid to hit the 40s). No pubs, but he did do 2 years of research and went to some country with an international group they have there. His grandparents came here from Sudan😉. Bottomline: He is attending Hopkins next year although UMich already hit up the early interview and scholarship BS they do (bunch of other acceptances too).
So here is what I am trying to say. ECs are great, do them and have fun while doing them. However, please realize that the best EC you can ever have is one you don't even do, one you can only possess by genetic inheritence, your ethnicity. Being a URM is like winning the Truman, hitting a 40 on the MCAT, and volunteering in 5 countries simultaneously.
Our system truly makes no sense.
Oh, and if you think undergrad doesn't matter, please think again. Name recognition matters, but the applicants coming from YPH deserve to be there in the first place bc. they beat everyone out in undergrad applications to begin with.
Finally, this isn't meant to be comprehensive and many of you will succeed in getting an MD at the institution of your choice, just please do not be naive about the process or hate on your fellow URM friends or those at a top 5 university when they get interviews you wanted to get.
1) Male, very close friend, attends George Washington Univ. Three A-'s in science courses so his GPA must be around a 3.96 or 3.97...anyway I know his MCAT is straight up a 30 (unbalanced though). His only research was one semester through a course he took. A little shadowing here and there, but really nothing else. He spent a lot of time studying. Oh may I mention he is like 1/8 Hispanic. Bottomline: Just interviewed and has been accepted to four of the top ten US News Med schools and may I mention he turned in his apps late.
2) Female, William and Mary College. Beautiful, smart, perfect personality, but she is a ORM. GPA: north of 3.9 and MCAT of 35 (we studied together). She is published, has more leadership than most of us can fathom, and participated in athletics. She freakin won a nationally recognized scholarship. Bottomline: she got an interview at Yale and Mayo Clinic, but nothing from any other school (JHU, Harv, UPenn, Dartmouth, NYU, UM).
3) Best friend in Highschool and Valedictorian of HS. Attends Yale. He got a B in physics and B+ in physics II. His GPA blows like a 3.6 before last semester, and surprisingly he only pulled a 34 on the MCAT (I was expecting this kid to hit the 40s). No pubs, but he did do 2 years of research and went to some country with an international group they have there. His grandparents came here from Sudan😉. Bottomline: He is attending Hopkins next year although UMich already hit up the early interview and scholarship BS they do (bunch of other acceptances too).
So here is what I am trying to say. ECs are great, do them and have fun while doing them. However, please realize that the best EC you can ever have is one you don't even do, one you can only possess by genetic inheritence, your ethnicity. Being a URM is like winning the Truman, hitting a 40 on the MCAT, and volunteering in 5 countries simultaneously.
Our system truly makes no sense.
Oh, and if you think undergrad doesn't matter, please think again. Name recognition matters, but the applicants coming from YPH deserve to be there in the first place bc. they beat everyone out in undergrad applications to begin with.
Finally, this isn't meant to be comprehensive and many of you will succeed in getting an MD at the institution of your choice, just please do not be naive about the process or hate on your fellow URM friends or those at a top 5 university when they get interviews you wanted to get.
