What Kills a Med School Application

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1. Conviction of a felony, better yet conviction of a violent felony
2. Academic dishonesty
3. 2.5 GPA/MCAT<20
4. a Bad LOR
 
sorry one more:

5. if you were ever featured on Dateline's "to Catch a predator"
 
8. arrogance (which can come out through your essays or interviews, especially)
 
i vote for convicted felony or maybe an appearance on dateline nbc's to catch a predator
 
Someone who did a summer program at upstate said that the admissions staff told them a story of one student who would have been accepted, but then the adcom found out he was an a**hole to the admissions office staff. He wasn't accepted... don't know if he was waitlisted or rejected.
 
This sort of interview experience might do the trick:

Go commando, and at the end of the interview give one of them the ol' mushroom tattoo. Bonus points if you can hit more than one interviewer before anyone can react.
 
Someone who did a summer program at upstate said that the admissions staff told them a story of one student who would have been accepted, but then the adcom found out he was an a**hole to the admissions office staff. He wasn't accepted... don't know if he was waitlisted or rejected.

This is very true. I'm currently a Research Assistant working in the office of a couple of interviewers. They've asked me to keep an eye on the applicants and tell them about any jerks. As a result, I have been personally responsible for the rejection of at least one applicant who would otherwise have been accepted.
 
1. Conviction of a felony, better yet conviction of a violent felony
2. Academic dishonesty
3. 2.5 GPA/MCAT<20
4. a Bad LOR


Actually, anything less than 3.4 GPA and 28 MCAT
 
Actually, anything less than 3.4 GPA and 28 MCAT

maybe, but I was just being diplomatic because I didn't want to offend anyone and start a flame war.
 
Conviction of a felony does not automatically if committed as a minor.
 
maybe, but I was just being diplomatic because I didn't want to offend anyone and start a flame war.

Well, sometimes it is better to be "awfully" honest than to give someone a false hope, which could lead to a serious heartbreak later on.
 
1. If you're caught with more than an ounce, and it was less than 100 yards from the school
2. If your last name is Bin Laden.
3. If your dad is John Edwards.
4. If they find out about that stint you did as a mercenary in the Congo....."War crimes is such a harsh term....."
5. Failing to wear a kilt when you interview with LizzyM
6. Uttering the phrase "SHOW ME THE MONEY!" when asked why you want to be a doctor
7. Replying with "Because I couldn't get into a real medical school" when ask why you're applying to osteopathic programs
 
Well, sometimes it is better to be "awfully" honest than to give someone a false hope, which could lead to a serious heartbreak later on.

Here's evidence as to show you may be wrong about the "awfully honest" thing and the "false hope" thing :

From this year alone-->
Application year of 2007
MCAT score greater than 12 and less than 28
Overall GPA greater than 1.00 and less than 3.40
Science GPA greater than 1.00 and less than 3.40
Applied MD and accepted at any medical school


07038 Albion College, 25 MCAT, 3.39 GPA, applied 2007
07269 Auburn University, 26 MCAT, 3.30 GPA, applied 2007
07461 Anonymous, 28 MCAT, 3.34 GPA, applied 2007
06993 Boston University, 28 MCAT, 3.21 GPA, applied 2007
05696 California State University, Fresno, 25 MCAT, 3.36 GPA, applied 2007
07198 Clemson University, 26 MCAT, 3.20 GPA, applied 2007
05704 Columbia University, 28 MCAT, 3.27 GPA, applied 2007
07248 Emory University, 26 MCAT, 3.06 GPA, applied 2007
07402 Florida International University, 27 MCAT, 3.36 GPA, applied 2007
06433 JMU, 26 MCAT, 3.39 GPA, applied 2007
06641 Mesa State College, 22 MCAT, 3.10 GPA, applied 2007
06572 Missouri State University, 27 MCAT, 3.13 GPA, applied 2007
07552 Anonymous, 27 MCAT, 2.72 GPA, applied 2007
07030 MSU, 27 MCAT, 3.38 GPA, applied 2007
06884 Ohio, 27 MCAT, 3.30 GPA, applied 2007
06774 Russell Sage College, 23 MCAT, 3.22 GPA, applied 2007
06977 Smith College, 28 MCAT, 2.98 GPA, applied 2007
07386 Temple University, 22 MCAT, 3.25 GPA, applied 2007
07368 U-MASS Amherst Baby!, 26 MCAT, 3.10 GPA, applied 2007
06467 UCLA, 25 MCAT, 2.93 GPA, applied 2007
07297 UCSD, 25 MCAT, 2.85 GPA, applied 2007
06998 Anonymous, 28 MCAT, 3.35 GPA, applied 2007
06358 University of Michigan...Go Blue!!, 24 MCAT, 3.00 GPA, applied 2007
05033 University of North Alabama, 22 MCAT, 3.15 GPA, applied 2007
06444 University of Oregon, 26 MCAT, 3.05 GPA, applied 2007
07344 Anonymous, 28 MCAT, 2.88 GPA, applied 2007
07617 Western Washington University, 21 MCAT, 3.00 GPA, applied 2007





And here's what I get when I search 2.5GPA/<25 MCAT on MDapps

"You searched for applicants:
Application year of 2007
MCAT score greater than 12 and less than 25
Overall GPA greater than 1.00 and less than 2.50
Science GPA greater than 1.00 and less than 2.50
Applied MD and accepted at any medical school

The following profiles matched your search:
No profiles matched your search criteria. "

Check it out for yourself, end of debate.

Most of these may be D.O. schools, but I've seen some MD schools accept with 3.4GPA/28 MCAT
 
Sorry, but I trust MDApps about as much as a trust a sasquatch sighting from the town drunk.
 
Sorry, but I trust MDApps about as much as a trust a sasquatch sighting from the town drunk.

LOL, I agree with you there.

I could see people bragging about high stats, but I really don't see why someone would brag about low stats.
 
07038 Albion College, 25 MCAT, 3.39 GPA, applied 2007

curious...

/Albion College Student.
//Knows of no one who's gotten in yet with below a 28 here
///Wondering who this is.
////Everyone knows everything about everyone here.

edit: Non-trad... makes sense now.
 
Actually, anything less than 3.4 GPA and 28 MCAT

Not true at all...my colleague was accepted to U of Iowa Carver wit a 3.27 and a 27 MCAT...and before anyone asks...no he is not a URM..so please lets not post stats that we arent sure of because we all know that cases differ from person to person..BUT it is safe to say that the lower your GPA and MCAT are..the lower your chances of gaining admission may be...
 
curious...

/Albion College Student.
//Knows of no one who's gotten in yet with below a 28 here
///Wondering who this is.
////Everyone knows everything about everyone here.

I looked her up. She graduated a few years ago and her acceptance is to a DO school.
 
Not true at all...my colleague was accepted to U of Iowa Carver wit a 3.27 and a 27 MCAT...and before anyone asks...no he is not a URM..so please lets not post stats that we arent sure of because we all know that cases differ from person to person..BUT it is safe to say that the lower your GPA and MCAT are..the lower your chances of gaining admission may be...

Of course, there is an exception to everything. I was actually being generous with my stat compare to what the UCSD admissions lady told me. She said that applicants should have around 3.7 and 30 to be EVEN considered.
 
Chewing gum during the interview ...

Wearing a very revealing/low cut top to the interview...

Treating the clerical staff in a demeaning way (& being overheard by a Dean)
-Putting your feet up on the desk
-Asking your interviewer out on a date
 
Demonstrating the lithotomy position during group interview.


(....actually happened, and yes, the applicant was rejected.)


Yelling "Does anybody here have brain cancer?!" on the hospital tour while on the oncology ward.


(...actually happened. the same applicant.)

😱 :laugh:
 
124. Making a "razzberry" on your interviewer's stomach.
125. Answering all interview questions via interpretive dance.
126. Answering all MCAT questions via interpretive dance.
 
sorry one more:

5. if you were ever featured on Dateline's "to Catch a predator"

Shirt via Ebay
a1ee_2.JPG
 
Demonstrating the lithotomy position during group interview.


(....actually happened, and yes, the applicant was rejected.)


Yelling "Does anybody here have brain cancer?!" on the hospital tour while on the oncology ward.


(...actually happened. the same applicant.)

😱 :laugh:
We had a premed who was shadowing a doc walk into the ICU one time with the doc and very loudly exclaim in reference to one of our vent patients (in front of the family): "Wow.....is that guy going to die?!" The family looked at the kid, looked at the pulmonologist- who I think was ready to crawl in a hole and die himself at that point.......talk about saying the wrong thing. 😱

I'm pretty sure if you did THAT during an interview tour, you wouldn't get in.
 
Undergrad GPA 2.7.

Fortunately, residencies don't ask about that!

Needless to say, my MCAT and "life experience" had some role in compensating for my grades, but it's still a pretty low GPA.
 
This is very true. I'm currently a Research Assistant working in the office of a couple of interviewers. They've asked me to keep an eye on the applicants and tell them about any jerks. As a result, I have been personally responsible for the rejection of at least one applicant who would otherwise have been accepted.

Out of curiosity, what constitues this jerky/pompous behavior? Any good stories? Whenever anyone brings it up it always sens me into a paranoia...
 
Having anything in your application that might suggest you are homosexual.

(No offense meant LifetimeDoc......if this offends you I'll take it down)
[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlYd06e551c[/YOUTUBE]
 
Being accepted to a medical school the year before, rejecting the acceptance,and applying the next year

Not ALWAYS true...

Accepted to University of Kansas last year...rejected the acceptance... reapplied this year...

Accepted last week to UCLA with a David Geffen merit scholarship...

Definitely paid for me to not accept KU's offer and wait another year...
 
Not ALWAYS true...

Accepted to University of Kansas last year...rejected the acceptance... reapplied this year...

Accepted last week to UCLA with a David Geffen merit scholarship...

Definitely paid for me to not accept KU's offer and wait another year...

I think they were referring to rejecting an acceptance and then reapplying to that same school.
 
eh, little offends me. 🙄
Just so that you know I didn't mean it to be rude.....I just think the over the top stereotypes are so ridiculous as to be hysterically funny.
 
Not ALWAYS true...

Accepted to University of Kansas last year...rejected the acceptance... reapplied this year...

Accepted last week to UCLA with a David Geffen merit scholarship...

Definitely paid for me to not accept KU's offer and wait another year...


i thought he/she meant the med school you rejected the acceptance at the 1st time
 
Having anything in your application that might suggest you are homosexual.

Absolutely not! You got two interviews yourself so obviously it is not a killer.

On this thread we're talking "NO ONE with this on an application gets in anywhere"

and I was serious about the gum, the cleavage and the rudeness.
 
I think they were referring to rejecting an acceptance and then reapplying to that same school.

Why the heck would you do that? If you were planning to reapply, why not just defer for a year?

Perhaps the original post was meant to be sarcastic, in which case, I get it... a med school would be silly to waste resources to re-accept someone who had turned them down...
 
Tons of things are going to kill an app. But for my money it's going to be a felony or conviction. No med school wants to be associated with the guy who's going be on the front pages in 20 years for a career of heinous acts. There are plenty of physicians with questionable moral profiles out there... why take a risk?
 
Absolutely not! You got two interviews yourself so obviously it is not a killer.

On this thread we're talking "NO ONE with this on an application gets in anywhere"

and I was serious about the gum, the cleavage and the rudeness.

Well I'm just passing along advice given to me by an ex-adcom friend of mine who's also a gay M.D.. He said I need to remove any trace from my application that I'm gay (and all I did was mention that I have had a partner for 9+ years and bought a house together 6 years ago) as it was killing my application.
 
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