Using connections to get into med school

[Sicilian]

The DARK SIDE of medical school admissions. And people complain about AA. This is worse (the end result of AA - diversity - is arguably justified). Anyone wanna share?

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[Saluki]

I know a few people who have applied to my state school that have parents who are faculty members or big wigs in the med community. But with one exception, they all had really good stats(and the one except was a urm, so who knows what made the difference) Someone I know was an adcom once upon a time and said that the big deal was that if someone was on the border and they spoke up for them it would make a difference but they probably couldn't swing someone in who didn't have a chance (The exception being someone like the dean's daughter)

 

[CTSballer11]

I know a few people who have applied to my state school that have parents who are faculty members or big wigs in the med community. But with one exception, they all had really good stats(and the one except was a urm, so who knows what made the difference) Someone I know was an adcom once upon a time and said that the big deal was that if someone was on the border and they spoke up for them it would make a difference but they probably couldn't swing someone in who didn't have a chance (The exception being someone like the dean's daughter)

I think this is not as pervasive in medical school admissions as most people think. Unless your pops is a hot shot in medicine or you have a family relative that is an ADCOM you have to get in on your own merit.

 

[Scrub MD]

The DARK SIDE of medical school admissions. And people complain about AA. This is worse (the end result of AA - diversity - is arguably justified). Anyone wanna share?

It is as dark as you think. Usually the connected people get in due to higher stats and not connectedness.

 

[USArmyDoc]

I doubt a kid with bad grades could be pushed into medical school. If they are on the borderline thats a different story.

 

[Law2Doc]

I think this is not as pervasive in medical school admissions as most people think. Unless your pops is a hot shot in medicine or you have a family relative that is an ADCOM you have to get in on your own merit.

Yes, except on SDN boards, this occurs in very statistically insignificant numbers - there are far bigger competitors out there to worry about. If any school has more than a couple such candidates every couple of years, it is unusual. Most such applicants are pretty qualified even without their connections, but if there are any that aren't, they will be usefull once med school starts, as someone has to be at the bottom end of the curve.

 

[BooMed]

GPAC, is that your dog as your avatar? It's sooooooooo cute!

 

[newdude]

i'm not sure how to put this but,

basically the people who are connected are usually VERY WELL INFORMED and thus have an easy time. so like others said for the most part don't need connnections.

where as others are not well informed in this process and thus get scrwed. this is b/c i think the people in charge of process tell us misinformation. my observation. which leads us to a path where we get scrwed.

that's what i have noticed.

any thoughts.

 

[BooMed]

I don't know if connections help people get into medical school, but they certainly can't hurt, and not just during the admissions process. My friends who have parents/family friends in healthcare were able to get awesome jobs/interships/research opportunities/etc. with much less effort than the average student. Granted, they still had to work once they got the positions, but it's a lot easier to have your dad's best friend offering you a paid internship at the hospital than it is to go in cold and beg to volunteer like a normal person.

 

[pagemmapants]

I'm not sure if it's necessarily the connections themselves that matter or if it's the extra information that comes along with them. I mean, think about it. . . someone who knows someone on an AdCom might have more of an inside track of what similar AdComs look for during an interview or within a personal statement and thus be able to alter their own applications/actions accordingly to suit these preferences. Someone whose dad is a hot-shot doc would probably have family friends who are also hot-shot docs and, I would imagine, some family friends on AdComs who can do the same as above. Just saying "My Dad is Dr. HotShot" probably wouldn't do nearly as much for someone than the adjunct info could, should they be intelligent enough to take advantage of it.

 

[riceman04]

I know a few people who have applied to my state school that have parents who are faculty members or big wigs in the med community. But with one exception, they all had really good stats(and the one except was a urm, so who knows what made the difference) Someone I know was an adcom once upon a time and said that the big deal was that if someone was on the border and they spoke up for them it would make a difference but they probably couldn't swing someone in who didn't have a chance (The exception being someone like the dean's daughter)

In your eyes, aren't URM's always the exception?...even for undergrad?

 

[riceman04]

i'm not sure how to put this but,

basically the people who are connected are usually VERY WELL INFORMED and thus have an easy time. so like others said for the most part don't need connnections.

where as others are not well informed in this process and thus get scrwed. this is b/c i think the people in charge of process tell us misinformation. my observation. which leads us to a path where we get scrwed.

that's what i have noticed.

any thoughts.

 

[red dot]

i'm not sure how to put this but,

basically the people who are connected are usually VERY WELL INFORMED and thus have an easy time. so like others said for the most part don't need connnections.

where as others are not well informed in this process and thus get scrwed. this is b/c i think the people in charge of process tell us misinformation. my observation. which leads us to a path where we get scrwed.

that's what i have noticed.

any thoughts.

yeah... but this is true in any career.

the thing is that connections do help (provided your gpa is not below a 3.0 or something like that) but mostly if you are related to someone on the faculty at the specific school you are applying to.

money is always helpful. i was told that if your daddy bought you a $25,000 tour of the school you'd like to attend, your chances are much much higher *sigh* i always wished i could start my personal statement with "my grandfather, for whom your library was named...."

also, yay for urms i guess -- even if you are a millionaire, you can definitely pull urm status if you do your essay right.

so as for the rest of us... i guess we will have to own up boring-old merit, however dull or shiney it may be.

 

[Truman Stanford]

The DARK SIDE of medical school admissions. And people complain about AA. This is worse (the end result of AA - diversity - is arguably justified). Anyone wanna share?

I think that the popular belief about connections to schools from people not connected is somewhat off. I do have a good connection at a school, and this person is a family member, however, when we talk about applying to med school he mentions things like, what if you don't get into med. school what are your plans? Furthermore, he's worked very hard to get to where he's at, so if he didn't feel like I wasn't as capable as other applicants, he wouldn't vouche for me. With this being said, it's very easy for me to shadow people at his institution and I know the ins and outs of the applications process. But, as far as the chances of getting in to med school being increased, they're not.

 

[Law2Doc]

*sigh* i always wished i could start my personal statement with "my grandfather, for whom your library was named...."

For about $50, you could probably have your name legally changed to Joonie Stanford-Harvard Hopkins -- maybe that would help.

 

[Saluki]

In your eyes, aren't URM's always the exception?...even for undergrad?

I'm not completely sure what you're asking. I've know some URMs with good stats, but most of them have headed off to top schools leaving only the mediocre ones to compete for slots at the state school. Doesn't really faze me- there's plenty of room for everyone...

 

[TheMightyAngus]

Doesn't really faze me- there's plenty of room for everyone...

Sort of. More like there's room for half of us.

 

[Saluki]

Sort of. More like there's room for half of us.

I'm an August MCATer. It's hard to keep up hope. Let me keep my Pollyanna attitude for a little longer....

 

[Sicilian]

I know that people with the right political connections can go to any school, anywhere, anytime. And rich (enough) people can usually buy themselves an admissions ticket (schools can't resist people with 5K incomes paying full tuition). And of course the third way is if you know someone on the ADcom itself. All of which goes to show, the med school admissions process is not 100% perfect. Pre-med students should be aware of this; especially the ones who are ready with a noose when their 36 MCAT and 3.9 GPA is only good for a waiting list.

 

[amandil]

I heard that a girl in my organic II class had been granted an acceptance at her state med school, despite the fact that she had not yet completed the course (which was her last pre-req). As long as she didn't literally fail the class, her acceptance would be valid.

I think her dad was someone at the med school...not sure how high-ranking. I also don't know what her other stats were like. The med school is in the lower tier of the top 50 schools.

 

[JustR]

I heard that a girl in my organic II class had been granted an acceptance at her state med school, despite the fact that she had not yet completed the course (which was her last pre-req). As long as she didn't literally fail the class, her acceptance would be valid.

I think her dad was someone at the med school...not sure how high-ranking. I also don't know what her other stats were like. The med school is in the lower tier of the top 50 schools.

Are you sure, or is it really a rear exception??

 

[DrMojorisin]

I don't think we're going to find much reliable data on this issue anywhere.

Whenever connections really do count, that fact is swept under the rug.


Personally, I think its naive to believe connections don't count.

Here are my anecdotal reasons for believing this is the case:
Why do med schools they ask if your family has a doctor in it on your application? Does that not indicate a general feeling that connnections are important.

As said previously, connnections will dramatically improve your extracurriculars. I have a rich friend who is on the board of directors at the united way - he got this position primarily because his father was a wealthy contributor. The cascade effect was that I got an opportunity to work closely with the united way... most people don't get these opportunities.

I know for a fact that at most medical schools that dean's recommendations are automatically accepted. Although ADcoms reduce the importance of other important connections through voting processes, the candidates are usually portrayed to the adcom by a single person... having a connection to this person must be of great help.


I think nepotism is alive an well in every culture and profession in the world.

 

[JustR]

I agree on your views, DrMojorisin - "I think its naive to believe connections don't count."

 

[Saluki]

I heard that a girl in my organic II class had been granted an acceptance at her state med school, despite the fact that she had not yet completed the course (which was her last pre-req). As long as she didn't literally fail the class, her acceptance would be valid.

I think her dad was someone at the med school...not sure how high-ranking. I also don't know what her other stats were like. The med school is in the lower tier of the top 50 schools.

I wouldn't necessarily assume that it's because of connections. I know a guy who got accepted to dental school before he completed physics (a pre-req) He had gotten good grades in everything else and he had a high score on the DAT, so he was given admittance conditional on him passing the course (which he did) Though of course connections always help

 

[Law2Doc]

Here are my anecdotal reasons for believing this is the case:
Why do med schools they ask if your family has a doctor in it on your application? Does that not indicate a general feeling that connnections are important.

I know many people who were able to answer that type of question at some schools in the affirmative and still didn't even get an interview. Also anecdotal, but suggests to me more is required than just a mere shared bloodline.

 

[musiclink213]

I heard that a girl in my organic II class had been granted an acceptance at her state med school, despite the fact that she had not yet completed the course (which was her last pre-req). As long as she didn't literally fail the class, her acceptance would be valid.

I think her dad was someone at the med school...not sure how high-ranking. I also don't know what her other stats were like. The med school is in the lower tier of the top 50 schools.

That's not always connections. It's a conditional acceptance, they say all your pre-reqs must be done by the time you register, some schools say I htink by the time you apply. But that's not completely unheard of.

 

[JustR]

A connection is not necessary for every admission, but there are cases, where there is connection.

So it would be naive to believe connections don't exit.