What if I'm just a normal dude?

[hardboiledeggs]

I guess read a lot of online personal statements and it seems to me that what is considered a "good" story is something out of my control. I'm a white middle class dude who grew up in a normal neighborhood, very traditional premed. Entered college knowing I wanted to go to medical school and sought out experiences to get me into medical school. No traumatic experiences, no dramatic life changing events. It feels like I need to be poor or grow up in some slum to stand out.

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[Rachapkis]

You do not need to tell a heartrendering story--in fact, many attempts to do so come off as cringeworthy. The purpose of your personal statement is to demonstrate that you have (i) a strong desire to pursue medicine; (ii) the experiences necessary to understand what it means to be a medical student and a doctor (i.e., you know what you are getting into); and (iii) the traits and experiences necessary to be an asset to medical schools, and a skilled and humane doctor. If every sentence of your personal statement furthers these one or more of these goals, it will be a success.

 

[LizzyM]

Why do you want to serve the sick/injured as a physician? If that isn't the reason you are going into medicine, then why are you doing it? How have you tested the waters to see if this is the path you want in life (once you start, it is very hard to get off the merry-go-round and choose something different)? What do you expect to be very challenging as a medical student? as a licensed physician? What do you expect to be the rewards of such a career?

Good answers to those questions do not require growing up in poverty, living in a slum, or otherwise having a sad story to tell.

 

[hardboiledeggs]

Why do you want to serve the sick/injured as a physician? If that isn't the reason you are going into medicine, then why are you doing it? How have you tested the waters to see if this is the path you want in life (once you start, it is very hard to get off the merry-go-round and choose something different)? What do you expect to be very challenging as a medical student? as a licensed physician? What do you expect to be the rewards of such a career?

Good answers to those questions do not require growing up in poverty, living in a slum, or otherwise having a sad story to tell.

I believe I have good answers to those questions. I guess I just feel like the process selects for the kids that fit the DEI criteria. Do you think that this is true?

 

[etxaccepted36]

No, they do not require this. But my point is the process of holistic admissions selects for kids that have. If I have a 512 MCAT and grew up normal and someone has a 512 that's black and grew up in poverty, they are getting into medical school over me. That is my point/question.

The internet makes it seem like 90% of applicants have the profile that you describe, but the label of URM exists because these applicants are, well, underrepresented. They don't come close to making up a majority of med school applicants or acceptances.

Some data to show why being URM isn't the advantage everyone makes it out to be: 2024 FACTS: Applicants and Matriculants Data
I used A12 to find these numbers. If my calculations are incorrect, feel free to correct me.

Overall Asian acceptance rate: 39.9%
Overall White acceptance rate: 39.1%
Overall Black acceptance rate: 35.7%
Overall Hispanic acceptance rate: 40.7%
Overall Hawaiian / Pacific Islander acceptance rate: 34.1%
Overall American Indian / Alaskan Native acceptance rate: 43.8%
Overall acceptance rate: 38.0%

Holistic admissions may not view you the same as a Black, disadvantaged applicant, but medical schools have more than one seat to offer. For every one Black matriculant, there are eight White / Asian matriculants.

This comes back down to what you initially said - a lot of this comes down to things you can't control. Focus on what you can control and hope it works out. I know SEVERAL 'average' applicants that got in this cycle to good schools. If you can find a way to make your experiences and personality shine I'm sure you will be joining them this time next year.

 

[Goro]

I guess read a lot of online personal statements and it seems to me that what is considered a "good" story is something out of my control. I'm a white middle class dude who grew up in a normal neighborhood, very traditional premed. Entered college knowing I wanted to go to medical school and sought out experiences to get me into medical school. No traumatic experiences, no dramatic life changing events. It feels like I need to be poor or grow up in some slum to stand out.

Normal dudes/dudettes get into.med school all the time!

So just build a good application. For your extracurriculars, do what you love and love what you do.

 

[Obnoxious Dad]

The internet makes it seem like 90% of applicants have the profile that you describe, but the label of URM exists because these applicants are, well, underrepresented. They don't come close to making up a majority of med school applicants or acceptances.

Some data to show why being URM isn't the advantage everyone makes it out to be: 2024 FACTS: Applicants and Matriculants Data
I used A12 to find these numbers. If my calculations are incorrect, feel free to correct me.

Overall Asian acceptance rate: 39.9%
Overall White acceptance rate: 39.1%
Overall Black acceptance rate: 35.7%
Overall Hispanic acceptance rate: 40.7%
Overall Hawaiian / Pacific Islander acceptance rate: 34.1%
Overall American Indian / Alaskan Native acceptance rate: 43.8%
Overall acceptance rate: 38.0%

Holistic admissions may not view you the same as a Black, disadvantaged applicant, but medical schools have more than one seat to offer. For every one Black matriculant, there are eight White / Asian matriculants.

This comes back down to what you initially said - a lot of this comes down to things you can't control. Focus on what you can control and hope it works out. I know SEVERAL 'average' applicants that got in this cycle to good schools. If you can find a way to make your experiences and personality shine I'm sure you will be joining them this time next year.

Acceptance rates are a poor measure of demographic advantage or disadvantage because they do not account for self-exclusion. The best measure is average MCAT score among matriculants by demographic.

 

[hardboiledeggs]

The internet makes it seem like 90% of applicants have the profile that you describe, but the label of URM exists because these applicants are, well, underrepresented. They don't come close to making up a majority of med school applicants or acceptances.

Some data to show why being URM isn't the advantage everyone makes it out to be: 2024 FACTS: Applicants and Matriculants Data
I used A12 to find these numbers. If my calculations are incorrect, feel free to correct me.

Overall Asian acceptance rate: 39.9%
Overall White acceptance rate: 39.1%
Overall Black acceptance rate: 35.7%
Overall Hispanic acceptance rate: 40.7%
Overall Hawaiian / Pacific Islander acceptance rate: 34.1%
Overall American Indian / Alaskan Native acceptance rate: 43.8%
Overall acceptance rate: 38.0%

Holistic admissions may not view you the same as a Black, disadvantaged applicant, but medical schools have more than one seat to offer. For every one Black matriculant, there are eight White / Asian matriculants.

This comes back down to what you initially said - a lot of this comes down to things you can't control. Focus on what you can control and hope it works out. I know SEVERAL 'average' applicants that got in this cycle to good schools. If you can find a way to make your experiences and personality shine I'm sure you will be joining them this time next year.

Yes, that's true. Thank you for taking time to give me those numbers. Perhaps I am just angry and paranoid. I applied to 15 schools with 4.0/515 had 1 interview resulting in a WL-->R. I will be applying again next cycle and will include DO schools which I did not do last time.

 

[etxaccepted36]

Acceptance rates are a poor measure of demographic advantage or disadvantage because they do not account for self-exclusion. The best measure is average MCAT score among matriculants by demographic.

A-18 on the AAMC website shows interesting data. URM applicants have an MCAT average <500 while ORM has an average of 508. Matriculant averages hover around 505 for URM and 513 for ORM (doing some rounding and estimation here).

It's difficult to tell what exactly this data entails since we don't have the full picture. I notice that the 8-point difference carries over between ORM / URM between applicants and matriculants, but that isn't really apples to apples since the right side of the curve is much harder to attain for MCAT scores. Thoughts?

Good point about the self-exclusion. I'm curious as to what this may look like in 10 years' time.

 

[Dr.Freedman MedEdits]

Everyone has a narrative; most applicants who are successful in the process have not endured a tragedy or suffering.

Composing a strong personal statement and medicals school application requires introspection, time, and thought.

What inspires you? What are you motivated by? What are you most excited about on your path to medical school?

Medical schools appreciate "typical" applicants who demonstrate a long-standing commitment to medicine and they want diverse classes composed of people with different backgrounds.