who here has the mom or dad alumni connection?

[jbing]

just curious if anyone wants to share whether or not they have a family connection with a school. im curious as to how big a role it plays. i knew this girl last year who was a well below average candidate, didn't get a single interview to an allo school - except for upenn. that didn't make much sense to me but i later found out that her dad got his md from upenn. she ended up getting waitlisted there and wound up in podiatry school.

i dunno but if a girl whose numbers were just podiatry school material can end up with an interview at upenn, it really makes you wonder. the alumni connection thing must be pretty important. would be interesting to hear other situations..........

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[jlee9531]

im sure for a good number of schools out there...it is somewhat significant...

i mean when i saw some of these secondaries and when the space they give you to till out family members that previouslywent there exceeds the information you end up putting on there......then you get somewhat of an idea that its influential....

gotta support the alums right?

but unfortunately i would be the first doctor in my family....well i guess my kids will be happy if they want to test medicine in the future.

 

[NE_Cornhusker1]

I think they'll get you interviews and an edge in the 'all other things being equal' situation but a school isn't going let Little Johnny ***** into their school knowing he'll fail out just because Big Johnny *****, MD went there.

 

[AverageMan]

Both my parents have engineering grad degrees from UVA. I like to believe that it wasn't sole factor in my getting an interview, since my stats are competitive with them and I had 10 interviews elsewhere. However, I'm guessing it had something to do with my getting an interview invite 4 days after getting my application complete notification. I'm guessing that they (and possibly all med schools) do give your app a quick review as soon as it comes in to see if there are any flags that indicate that they should give your application priority on a full review, like being a legacy.

 

[pinfeathers6]

Yeah, my father and uncle both went to Georgetown -- father got his MD there, uncle got a PhD in History or something, but both dad and uncle are deceased, so i wonder if that makes a difference...

I have heard that alum connections can help too, but I'm sure its like what everyone has said -- if you are a good candidate, then alum connections might give you an edge. So far I'm a good candidate i think, but not applying yet. We'll see maybe how that pans out cuz I'll apply to Georgetown, although I hope to attend med school in cali (fingers crossed).

 

[SoulRFlare]

My dad went to Duke, but idiot me didn't know that I might have an easier time getting in there. and why, you ask did I not apply? I haven't taken stupid calculus! I swear, those irregular imaginary containers are the bane of my existence!
(of course, when my dad went there, the tuition was around $900 a year...imagine that)

 

[PianoGirl04]

I have a few of these kinds of connections as well...my dad is an alum at one school and has held non-tenured faculty positions at others. I'm sure this helps, but I'd like to think I can get into med school on my own merit. So I didn't apply to some of the schools he's affiliated with...not for spite or anything like that, of course, but because they were schools I really had no interest in aside from the fact that my dad worked there. I guess a little nepotism never hurt for safety schools, though.

 

[Tezzie]

Hmmmm both my grandfather and my father got their MD at Hopkins. I have legacy at Harvard/Yale/Columbia/Stanford and Penn. I think your parents need to be big time givers to the school. The 1000$ donation a year doesn't make a huge difference.

Actually when it comes to WashU i guess people who don't have legacy would be screwed. In St. Louis there are sooooooo many people that attended WashU and their kids are applying this year. Yet i know plenty of them that weren't offered an interview. So legacy doesn't matter as much as people tend to think.

 

[....]

i think there will always be a few med shcools out there where 1-2 people got in simply because they knew someone. Bet we are talking deep connections. Not just knowing somone on the board. Maybe growing up best friends with the deans son or somthing. But i bet this is maybe 20 spots out of 16K every year.

As far as simple legacy of the med school, i would venture to say....take the benifit of AA and divide it by 10 and thats the benifit of being a legacy. A legacy of the undergrad or another branch of the school even less so.

I know someone who basically said he could get me into a certian school no prob i just needed to apply. I never sent in my secondary because for one...i didnt really want to go there..and of course..the thought of cheating my way in is horible. But as much as i criticize URMs with rich parents who still take what AA is giving them, i honestly was not faced with that situation. Had i not gotten into another school this early i may have filled out the seconadary and accepted my spot were i not to get in elsewhere. I want to belive i wouldnt but....untill im actually in the situation....guess i cant say that.

 

[acab]

My understanding is that med schools hold a couple of seats for sons & daughters of faculty and alumni. Faculty of med school has priority, then alumni who's still involved (maybe giving some money), then faculty of univ, and finally alumni in general. These seats are very few in number and competitive, given that these students are probably relatively strong candidates. But their applications are not placed in the general pool.

 

[LP1CW]

My parents are both graduates of Yale and my father also graduate from Divinity school there. Originally, he was thinking missions. He's a researcher now. He holds a faculty position at another school. So, i'm not sure it's going to help me or not. I'd like to think that I have what it takes to make it, but I've already recieved one rejection, one acceptance, and still waiting on many others.

 

[Schubie]

My dad and my grandpa both got MD's from the U of Chicago. I think it probably helped in getting my interview, but after that, I really had to do the rest. I actually didn't want to come to Pritzker BECAUSE my dad and grandpa had gone there, and I wanted to do my own thing. However, when I came for my interview, I was so blown away by how much I loved it that it immedietely became my first choice. I'm so glad I made that decision because I LOVE this school.

 

[Bones2008]

My dad went to Northwestern for undergrad and med school. However, I haven't heard anything from that school since I turned in my secondary over two months ago. So, I guess having a parent alumni doesn't always guarantee you a quick interview.

 

[Selisa]

does the alumni connection only work if the relative in question went to that university's Medical School, or can they have graduated from any of the university's divisions?

 

[TTSD]

Originally posted by generation2MD?
does the alumni connection only work if the relative in question went to that university's Medical School, or can they have graduated from any of the university's divisions?

That depends. If your parents/alumni connection graduated from say their law school but has had little to no connection with the University in general afterwards, it would be of little consequence I think. And generally, divisions remain seperate.. EXCEPT when general university prestige is at hand.. (translation: How much have they donated?).

I don't know, I'd have no problem exploiting my parents' connections, if they had any but I don't want to use my bosses. Since his LOR will be included in my packet.. if the admissions committee catches it or not.. eh. I'm refraining from asking him to take a little jaunt down to the Dean's office with a loaded gun.

 

[superdevil]

Hmmmm both my grandfather and my father got their MD at Hopkins. I have legacy at Harvard/Yale/Columbia/Stanford and Penn.

jesus tapdancing christ, tezzie, that has to be the most aristocratic pedigree i've ever seen!

as for superdevil, my father was a mechanic until he went back to community college, his father was a truck driver, and his father was a farmer....wait a minute....it seems as though my "legacy" could use a little work!

a funny (sort of) story comes to mind as i see that tezzie goes to WashU in StL: when i was in high school (in ohio), i was a pretty good athlete (baseball and football). when i was a senior, i started getting a bunch of letters to play sports at small private schools around the midwest (again, mainly in OH). one place that kept sending me invitations to camps and financial aid literature was a school called (drumroll, please) Washington Univ. in St. Louis. coming from my "pedigree," i had never heard of this school and said to myself, "what the hell? who the hell are these people and why do they keep sending me crap? everybody knows that the real washington university (U of W) is in washington state!" and just like that, i eventually stopped even reading those damn letters before throwing them away, and opted to go to a definitively average state school, at which i languish and kick myself every single day. no prestige. no pazzazz. and still, no legacy.

it is quite possible that i am the biggest dumb-ass on earth. check that, i am the biggest dumb-ass on earth.

ah, how little we know before its too late.... maybe i'll change my family's luck yet!

 

[Rohan]

.... well my mom did her residency at Creighton but did her MD in India... I'm not really banking on it helping.. but hey if it does, i wont complain

 

[musiclink213]

wow, you guys all have really smart parents (sorry, i'm just kinda blown away by all these people with MD's and PhD's and yale, columbia, etc.). my mom went to Brooklyn College to get her bachelors and onto Long Island University Brooklyn Campus for her masters in special education. My dad never went to college.

gee, i'm glad getting into med schools isn't all about who you know, otherwise i would be in a really bad spot.

 

[Tezzie]

I don't think that legacy counts as much as other people think. I have worked my a$$ off in order to make it. If i get an acceptance in a school that i have a connection to, i would prefer it to be on my own merit. So far both of my acceptances are from schools that i have no connections to whatsoever.

T.

 

[superdevil]

congrats, tezzie, good to hear. i'm sure that the effect of legacies is probably exaggerated.

its funny, when i first started coming to sdn, i read all of these threads that made me feel totally inadequate as an applicant. now that i've read this thread, i've realized that my parents are inadequate for sdn too!!! oh well, back to studying for that damn immunology exam!

cheers

 

[Tezzie]

Superdevil good luck in the process with you.

Actually to be honest i think that if i was an adcom member i would prefer an applicant whose parents haven't finished big name schools or MDs over someone who comes from such backround.

In the end it's what each one of us does and not what our parents.

T.

PS. Having said that can some people PLEASE stop bringing their parents with them in the interviews? Grow up a little. Rant mode off.

 

[lotanna]

Basically if mom or dad is best buds with admissions committee chair, or dean, or they've been knowing b4 u were even born, and ur an ok student, I dont care what u say, You're gettin in. Or at least if not in, they'll be rooting for you BIG TIME!

 

[DW]

Originally posted by Tezzie
PS. Having said that can some people PLEASE stop bringing their parents with them in the interviews? Grow up a little. Rant mode off.

are you kidding?!?!? i went on 10+ interviews last year and didnt see a single parent.....do they pack them food in a lunchpail too?

 

[::Seabass::]

Originally posted by Tezzie
Actually when it comes to WashU i guess people who don't have legacy would be screwed. In St. Louis there are sooooooo many people that attended WashU and their kids are applying this year. Yet i know plenty of them that weren't offered an interview. So legacy doesn't matter as much as people tend to think.

Interesting. Both my parents graduated from Wash U.

I was about to say having parent alums should at least get you an interview but I guess not.

It was really weird but cool going and spending the night in a room like one my mom used to live in when I interviewed there, I'm glad I had that chance. Too much $$$$ for that school however.

 

[::Seabass::]

Originally posted by DW
are you kidding?!?!? i went on 10+ interviews last year and didnt see a single parent.....are they pack them food in a lunchpail too?

I HATED the people who would bring their spouse, fiancee, SO, whatever and would MAKE OUT! I was like, wtf?!?!? Can you seperate for like 5 minutes!

 

[musiclink213]

PS. Having said that can some people PLEASE stop bringing their parents with them in the interviews? Grow up a little. Rant mode off.

i haven't applied yet, but maybe the parents went to the interview cause they have to drive to the interview and the applier doesn't have a liscense or money for the bus, so there parent drove them.

Sorry, i'm in a bit of a philospher mode, and i'm trying to see things from other perspectives and all that, so i dont' really know what i'm exactly saying now.

 

[DriNDT]

If you are waitlisted at a particular school and are considering submitting additional materials in support of your application, does a recommendation letter from an alum (not a family member) help your chances in any way? Just wondering if the "affiliation" issue extends beyond family lines...

 

[Ryo-Ohki]

Ah, nepotism. I suppose I can't blame the proponents. Anything that promotes a more class rigid society certainly benefits the ones who are in the upper classes.

 

[DriNDT]

I'm sensing your cynicism Ryo-Ohki. As a first generation college graduate, I'm definitely not looking to be a benefactor of nepotism.

It just doesn't fulfill the "just world hypothesis" that those with alumni ties would be given an advantage over those without. But whoever said this was a just world to begin with? Nepotism exists for the same reasons that racism, sexism and all other forms of prejudice prevail - who in the upper echelon ever wants to relinquish their status to those below?

 

[charik]

I don't think having a parent who graduated from undergrad, law, or anything else helps you when you apply to the med school.

I have a connection that I know has already worked in my favor before my application has even been reviewed: My mom is a graduate from LSU medical school in new orleans, and since i am out of state, i would not even be able to apply to this school otherwise. Not the sort of advantage you normally think of, but it is one.

 

[essbe]

If anyone cares:

http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/2003/07/bellow.htm

"In Praise of Nepotism," written by the hand of Saul Bellow's son (from a book by the same title).

[Disclaimer: coming from a family of immigrants, I can't say I understand what Bellow is saying from personal experience. But the dude has a point.]

 

[CliffC911]

i haven't seen anything mentioned here about grandparents. my parents don't have impressive academic credentials, but my grandfather did get his MD at penn. any help there? he also taught for a while at harvard med. he passed away a few years ago, but before that i spent tons of time with him. any way i can get a little help from this legacy?

 

[prg6315]

I have heard that some schools will grant a courtesy interview to children of alums or faculty members, but unless your parents are very active with the school (ie donate lots of money) I don't think that it helps much with adcoms. My father went to SUNY Buffalo for his MD and is still wondering why they haven't offered me an interview yet. He keeps threatening to call the admissions office for me, parents can be so frustrating!

 

[u2psalm40]

i know someone who's dad got him into an Ivy MD. dad got his MD there, practiced in the area. his parents made him apply, and he only applied to that ONE school.

he's brilliant, and it's working out for him, but hmm... i don't doubt the power of good and influential legacy spots.

 

[jbing]

Originally posted by essbe
If anyone cares:

http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/2003/07/bellow.htm

"In Praise of Nepotism," written by the hand of Saul Bellow's son (from a book by the same title).

[Disclaimer: coming from a family of immigrants, I can't say I understand what Bellow is saying from personal experience. But the dude has a point.]

that really is an interesting article, thanks for posting it.

my only qualm is that sometimes you need someone born "outside" the field to come in and bring a fresh perspective, rather than someone born into, say, medicine or law, just rehashing stale ways of thinking about the field. i would venture a guess that nepotism doesn't really lend itself to innovation.