This thread is completely pointless but....

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
ICmyFuture

ICmyFuture

Full Member
15+ Year Member
Joined
Jan 26, 2009
Messages
193
Reaction score
14
Points
4,716
Location
CO
  1. Attending Physician
Members do not see this ad.
Do you guys think attractiveness plays any part in getting accepted into medical school?residency? I mean what's up with sending your pic to every school? why do they need to see what your face looks like before they give you an interview?
 
ICmyFuture said:
Do you guys think attractiveness plays any part in getting accepted into medical school?residency? I mean what's up with sending your pic to every school? why do they need to see what your face looks like before they give you an interview?
Click to expand...

So they can place a face to the name, when they're discussing you at the panel.
 
No adcom would come out and say that it matters, but subconciously you can bet your studly mug that it does. We are all human at the end of the day. Anybody who disagrees is probably stupid or ugly.

edit: what shemarty said
 
shemarty said:
So they can place a face to the name, when they're discussing you at the panel.
Click to expand...

yeah that makes sense, I knew there had to be some sort of reason behind it
 
LizzyM said:
Aren't there some schools that don't require a picture with the secondary?
Click to expand...

Yea, there are many. Also, schools that do ask for pictures don't preemptively reject ugly people -- me getting into med school is proof! You know what immediately comes to mind:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iX055IcEECQ[/youtube]
 
Height is generally considered a very good trait to have when you want to impress someone. According to my history teacher (who could be wrong 😉), there has only been one President who won the election when his opponent was taller than him. That was G.W. Bush - and he did it twice.
 
Uh oh... that doesn't bode well for me; I'm only five feet tall! Maybe that's why I got wait-listed... (that's what I'll tell myself, anyway)

I wasn't thrilled about sending my picture to schools, and thankfully most didn't require it. I'm not so ugly that children run away screaming when I go out, but I do feel that my appearance should have nothing to do with this process. I don't know about whether "ugly" people are more likely to be rejected because "ugly" is pretty subjective (again, this is what I like to tell myself). I do think that there is likely unconscious discrimination against people who are very overweight, though. Especially at a medical school, I could totally see someone thinking "This tubby is going to tell patients to lose weight because they're pre-diabetic? For real?"
 
cubssox2000 said:
Height is generally considered a very good trait to have when you want to impress someone. According to my history teacher (who could be wrong 😉), there has only been one President who won the election when his opponent was taller than him. That was G.W. Bush - and he did it twice.
Click to expand...

Maybe that's why I've had such good luck this cycle. I'm 6'4" and (unsurprisingly) I've been taller than all of my interviewers.
 
cubssox2000 said:
Height is generally considered a very good trait to have when you want to impress someone. According to my history teacher (who could be wrong 😉), there has only been one President who won the election when his opponent was taller than him. That was G.W. Bush - and he did it twice.
Click to expand...

He only did it once, and even that's debatable. 😉
 
cubssox2000 said:
Height is generally considered a very good trait to have when you want to impress someone.
Click to expand...

is this for women as well as men? I had been planning to wear flats so that I wouldn't be taller than interviewers but maybe i should break out the heels after all. (i'm about 6' with heels 5'9 without.)

i've met and seen hundreds of medical students around where i go to school and . . . well, there's a high percentage of them that are hot. but im not necessarily sure it implies causality. maybe the type of people who push themselves to succeed academically also push themselves hard at the gym and are meticulous groomers. but . . . i think it's also been proven that people subconsciously are more trusting and forgiving towards attractive people.

. . . uhh, i think i'm gonna go hit the gym now
 
shemarty said:
So they can place a face to the name, when they're discussing you at the panel.
Click to expand...


Shemarty, at first I agreed with you, but now I'm going to have to retract my previous statement. It makes no sense for the need to put a "face to the name." I mean we hear that saying all the time, "putting a face to the name", but what does that even entail? I mean why do they need to see your face, why can't the panel just discuss you by your name. When we have discussions on this forum, we don't ask eachother "what do you look like?". B/c it doesn't matter what we look like, its what we say/do that counts. By looking at someone's pic you automatically get preconcieved notions about that person, whether consciously or unconsciously.
So again, why do they need to see your pic? To make sure you really are the sex and ethnicity you put down in your application? Sorrry if im beating a dead horse, but the pic thing always bothered me.
 
ICmyFuture said:
Shemarty, at first I agreed with you, but now I'm going to have to retract my previous statement. It makes no sense for the need to put a "face to the name." I mean we hear that saying all the time, "putting a face to the name", but what does that even entail? I mean why do they need to see your face, why can't the panel just discuss you by your name. When we have discussions on this forum, we don't ask eachother "what do you look like?". B/c it doesn't matter what we look like, its what we say/do that counts. By looking at someone's pic you automatically get preconcieved notions about that person, whether consciously or unconsciously.
So again, why do they need to see your pic? To make sure you really are the sex and ethnicity you put down in your application? Sorrry if im beating a dead horse, but the pic thing always bothered me.
Click to expand...

Putting aside for a moment whether or not attractiveness dictates future success. Regardless of field I would want people to remember who I am when they're discussing my application and when you're reviewing hundreds of applications (I'm assuming post interview here) I would imagine you would be better able to remember someone's day at your school if you could match face and name, especially if they interviewed months before the adcom meats.

Also on the paranoid front some schools explicitly state that the picture is required to ensure the person who applies is the person who interviews is the person who matriculates
 
MediumDef said:
Putting aside for a moment whether or not attractiveness dictates future success. Regardless of field I would want people to remember who I am when they're discussing my application and when you're reviewing hundreds of applications (I'm assuming post interview here) I would imagine you would be better able to remember someone's day at your school if you could match face and name, especially if they interviewed months before the adcom meats.

Also on the paranoid front some schools explicitly state that the picture is required to ensure the person who applies is the person who interviews is the person who matriculates
Click to expand...

that I can believe, but it could be just as easy to show some form of ID, like they have for the SAT, MCAT
 
ICmyFuture said:
Shemarty, at first I agreed with you, but now I'm going to have to retract my previous statement. It makes no sense for the need to put a "face to the name." I mean we hear that saying all the time, "putting a face to the name", but what does that even entail? I mean why do they need to see your face, why can't the panel just discuss you by your name. When we have discussions on this forum, we don't ask eachother "what do you look like?". B/c it doesn't matter what we look like, its what we say/do that counts. By looking at someone's pic you automatically get preconcieved notions about that person, whether consciously or unconsciously.
So again, why do they need to see your pic? To make sure you really are the sex and ethnicity you put down in your application? Sorrry if im beating a dead horse, but the pic thing always bothered me.
Click to expand...

Well, they didn't sit and speak with a name, they spoke with a person. While looking at the name during the adcom meeting, they want to remember that it is attached to the person they enjoyed (or not) speaking with.

Makes sense to me.
 
slowbutsteady said:
Well, they didn't sit and speak with a name, they spoke with a person. While looking at the name during the adcom meeting, they want to remember that it is attached to the person they enjoyed (or not) speaking with.

Makes sense to me.
Click to expand...


It just seems by your way of thinking that a 'person' is the face/body, not the mind. I always believed that you judge someone by their merit, their work, what they think and say, never by what they look like. Would we speak to eachother differently on here if everyone had to put their pictures up? Or would we objectively only go by what the person wrote?
 
ICmyFuture said:
It just seems by your way of thinking that a 'person' is the face/body, not the mind. I always believed that you judge someone by their merit, their work, what they think and say, never by what they look like. Would we speak to eachother differently on here if everyone had to put their pictures up? Or would we objectively only go by what the person wrote?
Click to expand...

you misunderstand me. the photo is just a way to remember the person who they interviewed, not a way to judge them.
 
slowbutsteady said:
you misunderstand me. the photo is just a way to remember the person who they interviewed, not a way to judge them.
Click to expand...

I guess remembering a face might be easier then a name. I just feel like the committee and/or person interviewing you could just as easily remember you by what you did( "ohh yeah, thats the person that went on a medical trip to costa rica) or wrote down ("thats the guy who wrote about his experience as an EMT"). But I guess in the end we like to see what were getting, not just a description of it.
 
If they are at an ADCOM meeting a few weeks after your interview, are they really going to remember your name OR your face? It seems to me that they would have interviewed a fairly good number of other people during those couple of weeks, so it isn't likely that the half hour they spent with you (and your face) would make a big difference. I think the most important thing would be the notes they took about how the interview went. Maybe I'm not good with faces, but some one I met once for 30 minutes would likely not stick out in my mind a couple weeks later.
 
Lets not beat around the bush.
When I go to schools I look to see how attractive the students are.
It gives the school the apperance that the school is more professional. As a student attendning whatever school you choose to attend,you will be representing that school everywhere you go and to potential students that interview at the school. If people are as shallow as I am (and lets face it, most of you are even if you don't admit it) they look at how hot the students are and take that into consideration when applying (although there are many more important factors).
 
I think a part of it is whether or not you can look put-together. An important part of any profession is whether you can look the part - not necessarily be totally hot, but definitely be clean, not scruffy, smell inoffensive, brush your hair, etc. The picture is useful in determining that, but it's also just another way to remember who you are. I read all the "but what about our MERIT?!" comments, and that's the main factor they consider in choosing you, but any other way to be memorable or at least recognizable is important. Maybe it's the shirt you wore, or the non-black suit, or the necklace, or the tie, or the hair style or arrangement, or your asymmetrical nose, or your bushy eyebrows, or your perfectly arched eyebrows, or whatever. If they can remember you, they can more accurately discuss you.

If it was all about academic achievement and merit, there would BE no interview. The interview assesses your social, personal, and non-academic qualities. Some of that is reflected in how inoffensive you can make yourself look.
 
lainapox said:
I think a part of it is whether or not you can look put-together. An important part of any profession is whether you can look the part - not necessarily be totally hot, but definitely be clean, not scruffy, smell inoffensive, brush your hair, etc. The picture is useful in determining that, but it's also just another way to remember who you are. I read all the "but what about our MERIT?!" comments, and that's the main factor they consider in choosing you, but any other way to be memorable or at least recognizable is important. Maybe it's the shirt you wore, or the non-black suit, or the necklace, or the tie, or the hair style or arrangement, or your asymmetrical nose, or your bushy eyebrows, or your perfectly arched eyebrows, or whatever. If they can remember you, they can more accurately discuss you.

If it was all about academic achievement and merit, there would BE no interview. The interview assesses your social, personal, and non-academic qualities. Some of that is reflected in how inoffensive you can make yourself look.
Click to expand...

I agree mostly with this. I don't think they want somebody with a bunch of face jewelry/tattoos (ie. scummy) coming in.

On a side note, I don't see how an obese person could be a physician. When I hear about codes and stuff, and having to move all day, I just couldn't imagine someone that is 250-300+ lbs. of fat being able to do that (for 16-24 hours at a time, no less). Not trying to be callous, I just don't see how it is feasible.
 
MediumDef said:
Putting aside for a moment whether or not attractiveness dictates future success. Regardless of field I would want people to remember who I am when they're discussing my application and when you're reviewing hundreds of applications (I'm assuming post interview here) I would imagine you would be better able to remember someone's day at your school if you could match face and name, especially if they interviewed months before the adcom meats.

Also on the paranoid front some schools explicitly state that the picture is required to ensure the person who applies is the person who interviews is the person who matriculates
Click to expand...

I was told by Adcom, that it also ensures that the person interviewing/applying/matriculating is the person who took the MCAT (The testing center I took the MCAT at, at least, took a picture of my face and my fingerprint).
 
sankondbest said:
Lets not beat around the bush.
When I go to schools I look to see how attractive the students are.
It gives the school the apperance that the school is more professional. As a student attendning whatever school you choose to attend,you will be representing that school everywhere you go and to potential students that interview at the school. If people are as shallow as I am (and lets face it, most of you are even if you don't admit it) they look at how hot the students are and take that into consideration when applying (although there are many more important factors).
Click to expand...

Lol watch me gain 500 pounds before I apply and not get any interviews :laugh: 🤣
 
Crazyday said:
I just couldn't imagine someone that is 250-300+ lbs. of fat being able to do that (for 16-24 hours at a time, no less).
Click to expand...

Perhaps the reason you can't imagine a 300 pound person running around for 24 hours a day is because any 300 pound person who did so would rapidly become a 200 pound person... It's the same reason you don't see obese marathoners.
 
ICmyFuture said:
I guess remembering a face might be easier then a name. I just feel like the committee and/or person interviewing you could just as easily remember you by what you did( "ohh yeah, thats the person that went on a medical trip to costa rica) or wrote down ("thats the guy who wrote about his experience as an EMT"). But I guess in the end we like to see what were getting, not just a description of it.
Click to expand...

99% of all boring pre-med activities sound the same. The interviewer is rarely impressed enough to absorb any of it. They can't put activities to a person any better than a name. Visual memory is a whole different ball game.

Crazyday said:
I agree mostly with this. I don't think they want somebody with a bunch of face jewelry/tattoos (ie. scummy) coming in.

On a side note, I don't see how an obese person could be a physician. When I hear about codes and stuff, and having to move all day, I just couldn't imagine someone that is 250-300+ lbs. of fat being able to do that (for 16-24 hours at a time, no less). Not trying to be callous, I just don't see how it is feasible.
Click to expand...

scummy? really? I don't have face jewelry but I am far from labeling anyone who does as looking like scum. Even if you did have tattoos, no one is seeing them under your suit.

Not every physician is responding to codes all day. Not every physician is doing rounds. I've seen overweight possibly obese medical students, it is very feasible.
 
i dont think its going to be the determing factor but i do think it helps. i remember in a lot of my psychology classes how attractiveness is thought to be used as a measure of how friendly, likable and sociable a person is. so it does seem to imply that this would translate well in an interview.
 
The "helps remember your face from the interview" doesn't even account for the many schools like UCSD and Columbia that ask for your photo as part of the secondary, before they even invite you for an interview. Why would they need the photo BEFORE inviting someone for an interview? Are they really THAT worried about students faking their ethnicities? I doubt it...

As for post-interview, quite a few schools don't even have the interviewer as part of the admissions committee. What's the point of a photo when none of the admissions committee has even met the candidate face-to-face and can only judge him/her from the interviewer's write-up?
 
Last edited:
that is exactly why I think what you look like must play some (small)part in the admissions process, which seems strange b/c who cares what your doctor looks like?
 
My sister only goes to the dentist because she thinks he's hot in a silver fox George Clooney sort of way. Well, she'd go anyway. But apparently the experience is in fact better. Perhaps people might feel similarly about their doctors?
 
Tiare208 said:
My sister only goes to the dentist because she thinks he's hot in a silver fox George Clooney sort of way. Well, she'd go anyway. But apparently the experience is in fact better. Perhaps people might feel similarly about their doctors?
Click to expand...


I would never deny that attractive ppl have it better then less attractive ppl when it comes to social interactions; but why would admin committees from medical schools possibly judge you on appearence? I would think when it came to the sciences we could get past something so superficial as what someone looks like
 
ICmyFuture said:
I would never deny that attractive ppl have it better then less attractive ppl when it comes to social interactions; but why would admin committees from medical schools possibly judge you on appearence? I would think when it came to the sciences we could get past something so superficial as what someone looks like
Click to expand...

Practically speaking, medicine is as much a social career as it is a scientific one.
 
fizzle said:
Practically speaking, medicine is as much a social career as it is a scientific one.
Click to expand...

haha you're right, i need to get it out of my head that science and medicine are one in the same. In science, it truly seems to be all about the brains, but with medicine there are additional factors that weigh in
 
CRB 717 said:
99% of all boring pre-med activities sound the same. The interviewer is rarely impressed enough to absorb any of it. They can't put activities to a person any better than a name. Visual memory is a whole different ball game.



scummy? really? I don't have face jewelry but I am far from labeling anyone who does as looking like scum. Even if you did have tattoos, no one is seeing them under your suit.

Not every physician is responding to codes all day. Not every physician is doing rounds. I've seen overweight possibly obese medical students, it is very feasible.
Click to expand...

Maybe not scummy, but perceived by most people on a first impression, in a profession where first impression can be a big deal.

If people say not to have long hair because it may be unprofessional and offensive to conservative doctors, do you really think they're gonna flow with nose rings and crap?

And would you really want your doctor to have face jewelry?
 
Crazyday said:
Maybe not scummy, but perceived by most people on a first impression, in a profession where first impression can be a big deal.

If people say not to have long hair because it may be unprofessional and offensive to conservative doctors, do you really think they're gonna flow with nose rings and crap?

And would you really want your doctor to have face jewelry?
Click to expand...

I guess if I had a doctor who came in with long hair, an eye brow ring and wasn't dressed "professionally" I would be a little concerned. If your clean-cut and dressed nice most ppl will assume you know what you're doing/saying
 
I don't think "attractiveness" in itself is a determining factor, but I believe that the way you carry yourself matters. Even if you are butt-ugly, if you can smile, be friendly, and connect with everyone you meet on interview day, I think you would do well.

Other than interview day, I agree with shemarty that the picture is just for putting a face to the name. Doctor's offices that I've shadowed in often attach patient pictures, so when the doctor sees the chart, they're like "oh yea, I remember this guy... he has (insert disease)." Likewise, I think it's a lot faster to go through applications visually like that too.
 
I've actually thought about this a lot throughout this entire process. When I was choosing which picture to send to Columbia and all the other schools that asked for a picture, I spent like 30 minutes trying to find one that didn't make look too geeky but also didn't make me look like too pretty or diva-ish in the slightest of ways. And for my interview, I debated for the longest time whether or not to wear my glasses or not. I've read in articles and heard from personal testimonials from people who have said they've been taken more seriously professionally and at school by their professors if they wore fake glasses, so I figured I should probably wear mine to look more focused and sharp since I think I'm a fairly attractive female. No doubt, woman are definitely judged more on their appearances, everything from having on a slightly too pink nail polish to the way your hair bends could send someone the idea that you're a dumb bimbo who has no brains and can't work alongside of the boys. I ended up not wearing the glasses...my mom told me the night before that I looked too dorky with them on. I guess she was right on...I got a call from the dean letting me know they accepted me 3 weeks later.
 
Crazyday said:
Maybe not scummy, but perceived by most people on a first impression, in a profession where first impression can be a big deal.

If people say not to have long hair because it may be unprofessional and offensive to conservative doctors, do you really think they're gonna flow with nose rings and crap?

And would you really want your doctor to have face jewelry?
Click to expand...

Just bagging on you calling people with "face jewelry, nose rings and crap" in general "scummy."

Obviously, its a professional interview, so look professional.

Requiring pictures is lame. I just sent in one from medical internship I took to Mexico, standing on top of the second largest pyramid in the world, in camo cargo shorts, a jordan t-shirt and my red backpack. I didn't even know it was supposed to like HS or senior portrait style. Oh well.
 
qmcat said:
I don't think "attractiveness" in itself is a determining factor, but I believe that the way you carry yourself matters. Even if you are butt-ugly, if you can smile, be friendly, and connect with everyone you meet on interview day, I think you would do well.

Other than interview day, I agree with shemarty that the picture is just for putting a face to the name. Doctor's offices that I've shadowed in often attach patient pictures, so when the doctor sees the chart, they're like "oh yea, I remember this guy... he has (insert disease)." Likewise, I think it's a lot faster to go through applications visually like that too.
Click to expand...

Many schools require photos before they decide to interview you or even if the interviewer is not on the admissions committee. Apparently there's more to it than just memory recall.
 
ALWAYS go into interviews ready to seduce and looking good.
 
slowbutsteady said:
Well, they didn't sit and speak with a name, they spoke with a person. While looking at the name during the adcom meeting, they want to remember that it is attached to the person they enjoyed (or not) speaking with.

Makes sense to me.
Click to expand...
I agree
 
qmcat said:
I don't think "attractiveness" in itself is a determining factor, but I believe that the way you carry yourself matters. Even if you are butt-ugly, if you can smile, be friendly, and connect with everyone you meet on interview day, I think you would do well.
Click to expand...

I agree, the admissions committee are looking for a complete package, and so the photo cannot be viewed in isolation. From my How-to book on interviewing, the applicant is cutting a certain angle out of the app in the interview, conveying a dynamic recall and delivery of the listed skills. Pictures are only suggestive of attractiveness, and attractiveness itself, while universal currency, is of course only part of the applicant's objective.

When I think of the successful interview, there is a certain pizzazz factor, like you're performing, you know?

As an aside -- as I was intrigued to learn in psychology class -- in our culture, successful qualities like intelligence, eagerness, and maturity, are shown by a vibrant personality, from the Greek persona, or mask. :eyebrow:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

K
How bad is this?
Replies
2
Views
1K
Hollow Knight
Hollow Knight
2026PreMed
Is it true that SMP gpa is completely divorced from undergrad GPA unlike postbacc gpa
Replies
2
Views
1K
Isoval
Isoval
H
Clinical Experience Check - Is this sufficient?
Replies
7
Views
2K
eigen
eigen
T
Is this clinical volunteering?
Replies
9
Views
1K
Mr.Smile12
Mr.Smile12
alienu
Am I completely screwed? - Academic IA
Replies
5
Views
1K
thumbz
thumbz
Top Bottom