What's the best way to........

[jofrbr76]

research which medical schools to apply to? Where can i find out what kind of admissions they have, what grading policy, and special requirements? Can all this be found in the MSAR? or do i need to go to their web sites? call they're admission office? Just trying to decide who i want to apply to when the time comes. thanks.

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[NY Doctor]

My way was, I got a AMCAS book from my premed advisor....I looked at some statistics and choose a whole bunch..

Unless you got a 3.8+ at a Ivy league school + a 37+ MCAT figure that you will be applying to a few schools...

Another way to think of this is to ask yourself How many schools? 10, fine and dandy now close are far...apply to all instate and out of states you like

Best word of advise I got...Unless you got to the top 5 or bottom 5 medical schools, they basically are all the same, just location, cost and possibly affliation with hospitals (choose the state you like and go for it!!!)

 

[Scooby Doo]

NY guy,
How can you say that you will only apply to a few schools if your scores are 3.8+ and 37+??? I would think if you had that high of goods, then you would only be applying to maybe 5 or so...The top 5 would be my guess. However, if you fall into more of an average type candidate profile, then you have to apply to much more. This was one of my dilemmas. I felt I was a strong, but not extremely strong candidate, so I had to apply across the boards. That turned into me applying to a HUGE range of schools and WAY too many. What I did was download a list of people who had applied from my school and how many had gotten in to each and every medical school. I then looked at the colleges that accepted a decent percentage of students and put them on a list. I then went to Barnes and Noble and jotted down the average MCAT and GPA of the various med schools I had written down...This was about 50 schools. I then looked to see if they averaged their MCATs of which I found that Harvard, Penn State, and a couple others do. This is important to me b/c I took the MCAT twice and on the second time I raised my score 7 points! My friend who had a 3.6 and a 33 only got into Finch. Finch's average is someting like 3.25 and a 29 (I BELIEVE!) of their entering class. I then compared my GPA and MCATs to these scores and then also deducted 3 points from my MCAT score and 0.3 from my GPA and looked at the averages to see where I felt I had a good chance of getting into. (This was only b/c I saw my friend get rejected from everywhere except Finch..so I figured we were similar candidates).
If you are relatively open to going anywhere, as I am, the process will become much more difficult. I wish I would have found this site before I turned in my application b/c I would have definitely CUT down my final list MAJORLY! Apply to a variety in each category. Apply to a few that are above your averages, apply to many in the middle, and a few below you as backups.
However, I don't really believe the whole thing about "backup" schools. From what I have heard, if a school thinks that you are overqualified, you won't even get an interview there. This is hearsay, so someone please come along and support or refute this statement...
For comparison,
My other good friend from Berkeley last year had a 3.8ish GPA and a 31 MCAT...he applied to 23 schools, got interviews at roughly 5 schools, and was waitlisted on 3 of those schools. He did not get in and he is on the lower part of the other waitlist. Right now he is starting the application process again.
My other friend, had a 3.2ish gpa, a 38-40 MCAT and she applied to roughly 23 schools, got a few interviews and got rejected from every single one! She applied perfectly on time and was very quick about returning her secondaries...She is now applying again..to 24 schools.
It just shows you that you can't always predict what is going to happen.
<img src="confused.gif" border="0">

 

[NY Doctor]

Crap shoot at best!!!

 

[Denilson]

it's a tough process...that goes to show that GPA and MCATS are everything...more med schools are looking for good guys on paper...missions work abroad and unusual volunteer work experience...my friend went to thailand for 8 weeks one summer to teach farmers english and bible...she had a hard time there due to the extreme living conditions (no running water, shower when is rains hard, etc), but she said after having gone through that, she can handle anything...she applied to 20 med schools with a 3.2 gpa and 27 mcats and got 12 interviews (turned down 5 interviews too) and got into 8 of those... she chose UCLA i believe...hope this helps...i'm going through the same problem of choosing the right schools...sucks!!!

 

[Denilson]

oops meant to say that GPA and MCATS are NOT everything..sorry...

 

[jofrbr76]

Thanks for all the posts, but is it like NY doctor said, do i need to get a copy of some AMCAS book? I've tried to get a copy of the MSAR and had trouble finding it, where can i get a look at these books? thanks

 

[Denilson]

instead of MSAR, try usnews.com and click on education, then graduate school, then med school...they have pretty good stats on med schools..

 

[TwoSteveSquared]

Hey Scooby (alway wanted to say that ) Did your friends with good stats have poor extra-curric's, poor writing abilities, poor interview skills...

I just got scared to death after reading that. I mean, I know you can't depend on stats, but, it's rare to hear of such high scores rejected across the board. Usually a 3.5 and 30+ with a little research and volunteer does the trick somewhere.

 

[Jamier2]

Originally posted by BrazilMed:
•instead of MSAR, try usnews.com and click on education, then graduate school, then med school...they have pretty good stats on med schools..•

This site is good for average stats and such, but if you want to find individual med school requirements, you need a copy of the MSAR or just look on each school's website.

 

[star23]

The advising center at my school had several copies of the MSAR available for checkout. You might want to look there.

 

[kreno]

Sorry, but what does MSAR stand for? How do I get it? Is there a website?

thanks

leon

 

[pre-hawkdoc]

MSAR=Medical School Admission Requirements.
The title is actually a bit misleading, because the book really does tell much more. It's available through the AAMC for $32 (including S&H) or most schools' advising centers. I strongly suggest getting ahold of one--it's got lots of valuable info about the entire process all in one place--definitely better than checking out every school's web site.

 

[BeckyG]

Hi jofrbr76,

You've received good advice. The only thing I would add is the best piece of advice I received when applying: only apply to schools that you can imagine yourself going to. For instance, if there is no way in the world you would ever go to med school X, then don't apply. It is quite possible that an applicant will only get in to one school and have no choices in location and programs. In this scenario, the applicant better be happy with the one place he/she receives an acceptance from. This advice really helped me narrow down my list from approximately 30 to 18. Good luck!

 

[6-8 Weeks]

Originally posted by BrazilMed:
•it's a tough process...that goes to show that GPA and MCATS are everything...more med schools are looking for good guys on paper...missions work abroad and unusual volunteer work experience...my friend went to thailand for 8 weeks one summer to teach farmers english and bible...she had a hard time there due to the extreme living conditions (no running water, shower when is rains hard, etc), but she said after having gone through that, she can handle anything...she applied to 20 med schools with a 3.2 gpa and 27 mcats and got 12 interviews (turned down 5 interviews too) and got into 8 of those... she chose UCLA i believe...hope this helps...i'm going through the same problem of choosing the right schools...sucks!!!•

While these extravagant experiences are quite amazing, I doubt that all you need to do is to volunteer in a 3rd world country to get in. I'm sure your friend is a rather amazing person, and I;m sure it shines through in her essay and interviews, and I think adcoms probably thought that was a good make-up for her lower than average scores. Its easy to hear about all these high scores and rejections and such but I still need to emphasize that it really is the overall picture. I think if you are strong overall, you are okay.

 

[Scooby Doo]

Hey Steve,
Let's see...
The girl with the 38-40 and the 3.2ish GPA is a stellar candidate to say the least. She is a crazy girl, however, she has managed to do a crapload of EC's. She has taught various courses, created an organization, created a course, volunteered at multiple women's clinics...she is a very confident and intelligent woman. While I did not see her interview, I have no reason to believe she did poorly in it. She is very much a "people person" and she is very eloquent. She got the 13-15 on the Verbal with an S in writing, so she knows her stuff in that category too! Her stuff was all on time and the only thing that really hurt her was her GPA. I think her last semester she got a C- which brought it down even more. So that's a major factor.
The other guy, my best friend from high school, he is a different story. He has a HUGE trail of research and very good letter of recs of top notch professors. He took the MCAT twice and did around 28 the first time and 31 the second time. Lowest grade he ever got was a B+. Very high GPA, great research, good recs, decent MCATs, and a little volunteer work. I could see him botching up his interviews though. He thinks a lot..and is sometimes hesitant on what he says. His main problem, he applied super LATE! He had decided to take a year off but then at the last moment changed his mind and he didn't even apply until like October or right before the last date or something. That I believe was his major downfall.
Hope this makes you feel a little better...
Scooby

 

[Smoke This]

Originally posted by ScoobyDoo:
•Hey Steve,
Let's see...
The girl with the 38-40 and the 3.2ish GPA is a stellar candidate to say the least. She is a crazy girl, however, she has managed to do a crapload of EC's. She has taught various courses, created an organization, created a course, volunteered at multiple women's clinics...she is a very confident and intelligent woman. While I did not see her interview, I have no reason to believe she did poorly in it. She is very much a "people person" and she is very eloquent. She got the 13-15 on the Verbal with an S in writing, so she knows her stuff in that category too! Her stuff was all on time and the only thing that really hurt her was her GPA. I think her last semester she got a C- which brought it down even more. So that's a major factor.
The other guy, my best friend from high school, he is a different story. He has a HUGE trail of research and very good letter of recs of top notch professors. He took the MCAT twice and did around 28 the first time and 31 the second time. Lowest grade he ever got was a B+. Very high GPA, great research, good recs, decent MCATs, and a little volunteer work. I could see him botching up his interviews though. He thinks a lot..and is sometimes hesitant on what he says. His main problem, he applied super LATE! He had decided to take a year off but then at the last moment changed his mind and he didn't even apply until like October or right before the last date or something. That I believe was his major downfall.
Hope this makes you feel a little better...
Scooby•

That's perplexing. I admit that I was a little freaked out myself by the original post. However, the reasons you gave make these anomalies pretty explainable to me. Sorry to be relieved at your friends' expense, but with their qualifications, and coming from the best public undergrad in the country, no less, they'll most likely get in to medical school eventually.

Now, I hope I can say the same thing about myslef.

 

[coop]

about the MSAR, its been labeled "out of stock" on the aamc website for a while, so I ordered one off amazon, they are in stock and it arrived in just a few days

 

[USeF]

Originally posted by peedah:
•I think if you are strong overall, you are okay.•

That line sums it up people. Everybody has their tesimonial of the 3.7+/33+ that didnt get in anywhere and the 3.7-/33- that interviewed everywhere and got to choose. Have some life experiences to talk about, and continue to shine as the bright and loving person that you are in the interviews.

good info on schools =&gt; Prince's View =) Click medical and use their advanced search option to narrow down.. greatest part is the little summaries for each school (basics, campus life, admissions, academics). This is giving me lots of stuff to mention on secondary essays too!

".. as a result of my activities, SUN, PRAC and other organizations your medical students are involved in appeals to me..."