What does it take to get into an iv league med school?

[JoyKim456]

36+ MCAT, 3.8+GPA, 200+ clinical hours, and research publication (combined with strong LOR's and interview/essay skills) will probably secure a top 25 med school spot.

But what exactly is the "wow" factor that it takes to get into an ivy league med school?

P.S. Sorry about my misspelling in the title

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[claduva94]

Ivy league and top 25 are not synonymous. Which do you mean?

 

[GomersGoToGround]

Ivy league and top 25 are not synonymous. Which do you mean?

I think they mean that the above credentials are good for a top 25 school. So, to go one step further, what "factors" would make an applicant strongly considered/accepted into not simply a top 25, but a top 10 school, or even top 5.

 

[Lamel]

All of that and then exceptional, unique activities. And even then there is no guarantee.

 

[NotAnOperator]

Alumni parent(s)

 

[Chemstudent]

Money

 

[Cyberdyne 101]

Telepathy and/or telekinesis.

 

[ace12345]

What are you going to get at an "ivy league" medical school that you wouldn't get at a top 25?

 

[Dr Van Helsing]

I've leagues like guys with skills Napoleon.

 

[aegistitan]

.

 

[MrLogan13]

Nothing guarantees an acceptance anywhere.

 

[FalconSlice]

36+ MCAT, 3.8+GPA, 200+ clinical hours, and research publication (combined with strong LOR's and interview/essay skills) will probably secure a top 25 med school spot.

But what exactly is the "wow" factor that it takes to get into an ivy league med school?

P.S. Sorry about my misspelling in the title

I am sorry if this is harsh, but every time I see a post like this I feel nauseated at the vain, school-name hungry and naive people out there.

 

[Doug Underhill]

The wow factor is charisma and leadership. These people are true leaders and it's readily apparent upon meeting them the first time.

4.0 GPA 38 MCAT students with first-author publications and incredible clinical ECs are a dime a dozen: your average state school probably turns away tons of these people. It's the former quantity that can really make a difference between securing an acceptance and going home empty-handed.

 

[altblue]

I am sorry if this is harsh, but every time I see a post like this I feel nauseated at the vain, school-name hungry and naive people out there.

That's why I remind myself of things more important than med school name - a nice car, an attractive partner, a nice house.

 

[FalconSlice]

That's why I remind myself of things more important than med school name - a nice car, an attractive partner, a nice house.

Amen to that, brother

 

[Doug Underhill]

Of course, those things aren't mutually exclusive. You can have all of them and still go to Harvard if you're enough of a superstar.

 

[sliceofbread136]

The wow factor is charisma and leadership. These people are true leaders and it's readily apparent upon meeting them the first time.

4.0 GPA 38 MCAT students with first-author publications and incredible clinical ECs are a dime a dozen: your average state school probably turns away tons of these people. It's the former quantity that can really make a difference between securing an acceptance and going home empty-handed.

This made me lol, a state school would literally sell it's soul to get a 4.0/38/1st author applicant to attend.

 

[JimmyB123]

The "it" factor

 

[miamiheatfan]

36+ MCAT, 3.8+GPA, 200+ clinical hours, and research publication (combined with strong LOR's and interview/essay skills) will probably secure a top 25 med school spot.

But what exactly is the "wow" factor that it takes to get into an ivy league med school?

P.S. Sorry about my misspelling in the title

The "wow" factor? Simple, a personality.

 

[clocks123]

36+ MCAT, 3.8+GPA, 200+ clinical hours, and research publication (combined with strong LOR's and interview/essay skills) will probably secure a top 25 med school spot.

But what exactly is the "wow" factor that it takes to get into an ivy league med school?

P.S. Sorry about my misspelling in the title

You need to involve yourself in activities that you enjoy and are truly passionate about. That is what will stand out to interviewers, not something that you half heartedly picked up so that you can stand out. So stop posting these types of threads because everyone has something unique that they can bring to the table and you are not going to find it by asking other people on SDN.

 

[Glandzburg]

Come on people, nothing can guarantee you a spot anywhere. Your stats don't shed any light on your interview skills. As @Goro likes to point out, the "super-stat" automatons are a dime a dozen.

 

[AspiringERMD]

Luck. In addition to having ridiculous credentials.

 

[Law2Doc]

I think they mean that the above credentials are good for a top 25 school...

Disagree. Actually if the op throws around terms like Ivy League med school I think it's just as reasonable to assume they want to go to a school outside the top echelon since not all med school affiliated with Ivy league colleges are top schools and one Ivy league college doesn't even have a med school. Let's not cater to this false terminology. It gives credibility to the couple of Ivy affiliates not in the top dozen schools and demotes several much better med schools by so doing.

 

[Doug Underhill]

Brown and Dartmouth are both mid tier rather than top tier. Still great schools that I'd love to go to, though.

 

[GomersGoToGround]

Disagree. Actually if the op throws around terms like Ivy League med school I think it's just as reasonable to assume they want to go to a school outside the top echelon since not all med school affiliated with Ivy league colleges are top schools and one Ivy league college doesn't even have a med school. Let's not cater to this false terminology. It gives credibility to the couple of Ivy affiliates not in the top dozen schools and demotes several much better med schools by so doing.

Except that the OP liked my post, and never disagreed with me. They threw in Stats, and talked about a great application. I assumed what they meant was top of the top, and confused top 10 with Ivy.

Although, I can certainly agree that it IS just as reasonable to assume the other case.

 

[mimelim]

There is no such thing as an Ivy League medical school.

 

[Cyberdyne 101]

There is no such thing as an Ivy League medical school.

Yeah there is -Princeton Med!

 

[redpanda]

There is no such thing as an Ivy League medical school.

Duh. It's HMS or bust!

 

[WingedOx]

Yeah there is -Princeton Med!

27 posts before someone makes a Princetone Plainsboro reference? c'mon SDNers just ain't what they used to be.

 

[FutureOncologist]

Your app will guarantee you a secondary. After that, there is no shoe-in way to get into JHU, HMS, Stanford, etc.

 

[ridethecliche]

The wow factor is charisma and leadership. These people are true leaders and it's readily apparent upon meeting them the first time.

4.0 GPA 38 MCAT students with first-author publications and incredible clinical ECs are a dime a dozen: your average state school probably turns away tons of these people. It's the former quantity that can really make a difference between securing an acceptance and going home empty-handed.

Lulz at the bolded bit

 

[FutureOncologist]

Lulz at the bolded bit

4.0 students are a dime-a-dozen. 4.0 with a 38 MCAT not as much, but top 20 med schools can fill up their class seats with just these people alone.

There is SO MUCH that goes into a successful applicant; there's more than just GPA and MCAT.

 

[ridethecliche]

4.0 students are a dime-a-dozen. 4.0 with a 38 MCAT not as much, but top 20 med schools can fill up their class seats with just these people alone.

There is SO MUCH that goes into a successful applicant; there's more than just GPA and MCAT.

You're incredibly deluded if you think candidates with a 4.0 gpa, 38 mcat, and a first author publication are a dime a dozen. Why don't you look at the aamc data to see how many such people actually applied to med school and how they fared instead of making things up?

 

[FutureOncologist]

You're incredibly deluded if you think candidates with a 4.0 gpa, 38 mcat, and a first author publication are a dime a dozen. Why don't you look at the aamc data to see how many such people actually applied to med school and how they fared instead of making things up?

Woops, didn't see the "first author pub" part. My bad.

 

[ridethecliche]

Even if you ignore that bit, your assertion still wouldn't be true. Like 4k applicants over 2 cycles, with probably half fitting that criteria and an acceptance rate close to 90%...

https://www.aamc.org/download/321508/data/factstable24.pdf

 

[DrShephardWannabe]

The wow factor is charisma and leadership. These people are true leaders and it's readily apparent upon meeting them the first time.

4.0 GPA 38 MCAT students with first-author publications and incredible clinical ECs are a dime a dozen: your average state school probably turns away tons of these people. It's the former quantity that can really make a difference between securing an acceptance and going home empty-handed.

I'd have to disagree. I once shadowed a neurologist who graduated from Harvard Med and he was a terrible people person, but one of those 4.0, 38 students. I didn't ask his MCAT but he did graduate undergrad with one B and a pretty impressive list of research publications.

 

[AlbinoHawk DO]

What are you going to get at an "ivy league" medical school that you wouldn't get at a top 25?

The ability to show off at dinner parties and put on a smug smile around you peasant top 25.

 

[JoyKim456]

To be honest, it's amazing how only about 40% of people with a 3.8+ GPA were able to get at or above a 33 MCAT

 

[Lamel]

To be honest, it's amazing how only about 40% of people with a 3.8+ GPA were able to get at or above a 33 MCAT

Considering GPA is very variable based on school and major, and the fact that a 33 is 91%ile score, that's not surprising at all.

 

[alpinism]

38 is a 99th percentile score = the opposite of a dime a dozen.

4.0 is far more common but still rare overall. Even among med students at top research schools, most didn't have a 4.0 in undergrad.

 

[ridethecliche]

I love that the OP didn't spell ivy correctly in the thread title.

Also, I know lots of attendings at Harvard hospitals. Most didn't go to ivy med schools, or even undergrads for that matter.

 

[JoyKim456]

@ridethecliche

I love that you didn't notice that I apologized for my typo a minute after i made the post. This is because autocorrect changed it.

 

[ridethecliche]

Still a silly thread.

 

[JoyKim456]

Silly or not, I didn't force you to click on it

 

[Goro]

The below plus killer ECs. No cookie cutters or check-list fillers need apply.

36+ MCAT, 3.8+GPA, 200+ clinical hours, and research publication (combined with strong LOR's and interview/essay skills) will probably secure a top 25 med school spot.

But what exactly is the "wow" factor that it takes to get into an ivy league med school?