Why do schools ask about the populations of cities you've lived in?

[jamilla_w]

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Spawned from another thread-

What's the point? To see if you like small towns like their school is in? To see if you'll practice in a small town? I don't get it. How much does it help/hurt if you are from a small town/suburbs/big city?

 

[TheRealMD]

Moving from a big city to a small town can be a big change for some that most people aren't really aware of until it happens.

 

[jamilla_w]

Moving from a big city to a small town can be a big change for some that most people aren't really aware of until it happens.

To me this seems ridiculous. Even if you don't like it you won't drop out so why does the school care? It's your choice! How big of a deal is this?

 

[jamilla_w]

you tell the truth, cross your fingers, and hope you don't get rejected on the spot

So schools in small towns are full of people who went to colleges in small towns? What about diversity? Most minorities don't live in small towns. This seems like it could be an end-around to exclude minorities.

 

[luv2sd]

by putting down that i live in Chicago (population 2.9 million) on my Vermont app, I probably just shaved 10 points off of my MCAT score and 2.0 off of my GPA

i was surprised to see that they had that question

LOL

 

[howdy2u]

I think that they're just looking for trends in your living environments.

Obviously, if you apply for a rural MD program, then they might question your direct experiences with this population. Some schools reserve specific spots for people who are highly likely to serve their state's rural/urban populations.

Yes, it's safe to assume that you won't "drop out" of medical school because of the living environment; however, the schools want to make sure that they are a good fit for you (in addition to you being a good fit for them). Medical school is going to be a stressful time...and I'm sure that they don't want to add to that stress by having you hate the place where you live. Just my $.02

 

[howdy2u]

i think living in the city is actually more stressful especially if you're in the ghetto. instead of dealin' with cows, you gotta deal with blunts, big screen TVs, 40s, and b*tches. They would have a gunfight after that, somebody had to go!

and pete, you're definitely not makin' a dollar out of your 2 cents over at USC

Evenin'

The beaver streak has ended

 

[Mobius1985]

What's the point? To see if you like small towns like their school is in? To see if you'll practice in a small town? I don't get it. How much does it help/hurt if you are from a small town/suburbs/big city?

I think schools want their med school class to be diverse in this respect also. Additionally, if you are from a tiny village, you might be invited to apply to a Rural Med program (as I was), and conversely, knowing you are from a huge city might generate an Urban Med program invitation.

 

[ruraldr]

mobius1985--can you expand upon what you mean by an invite to a rural med program? Do you mean an invite to apply to a school that focuses on rural medicine? As you can tell by my name, I'm a pre-med from a rural area. 🙂

 

[HickMD]

it is ridiculous, you're moving to a small town not to a different country

small towns aren't isolated in the technology era

I come from a small town where lots of people from big cities are moving. People from small towns don't like people from big cities, but what you are referring to is a university that should want the best applicants to come to their school, regardless of your origin. Maybe they have just had bad experiences in the past with big city students. I know a lot of the big city people that move to my town are always complaining about it being backwards, how doesn't have a big enough mall, or has a population that enjoys hunting and wearing plad, etc. This doesn't go over well with the locals. However, maybe they want to include more big city people in their school; maybe they are only attracting country folk (More than half my schools I applied to are in small towns). It could be a good thing.

 

[pguin]

Many medical schools (especially state schools) are attempting to get more primary care and rural physicians. The vast majority of these physicians are individuals who grew up in smaller rural towns so recruiting a certain number of people from these underserved areas will theoretically lead to more physicians returning there to practice.

I don't think that medical schools are thinking about whether the transition from small to big or big to small will effect you. Realistically, you won't be doing anything but shuffling back and forth from class and the library anyways.

 

[docbot]

Spawned from another thread-

What's the point? To see if you like small towns like their school is in? To see if you'll practice in a small town? I don't get it. How much does it help/hurt if you are from a small town/suburbs/big city?

If it's a state school, they are trying to determine if you are likely to stick around in a small town within the state AFTER you graduate. It is irrelevant to them that you will probably not drop out. If you are likely to leave the state after you get your MD, they lose (or at least that's how they see it). State medical schools are funded by the state with the goal of creating doctors for THEIR state, and especially their under-served, less populated areas. They are going to give preference to people who, by their metrics, seem likely to stick around, however unfair or short-sighted that may be. To achieve this, they are willing to lower their more objective standards such as GPA and MCAT scores. Nothing much you can do about it, except take advantage of it in your own state and don't apply to overly inbreed OOS schools.

 

[Revilla]

i applied to vermont for its great medical school, i don't really care how many people live there

I think it's a valid question. UVM is in Burlington, Vermont's largest town. However, "large" is relative to where you come from. I graduated from college in Castleton, Vermont - population 4.000. While I absolutely loved it, my New York City roommate lasted one semester before she bolted, as did my Boston neighbor down the hall.

Small towns aren't for everyone. Med schools not only want to make sure you complete school, but they want to make sure you stick around after graduation. I don't think that's unreasonable of them when they're trying to produce doctors to serve their residents.

 

[Mobius1985]

mobius1985--can you expand upon what you mean by an invite to a rural med program? Do you mean an invite to apply to a school that focuses on rural medicine? As you can tell by my name, I'm a pre-med from a rural area. 🙂

One of the schools I applied to on my primary was University of Illinois. Even before I received UIC's secondary, they mailed me information about their Rural Med program (available on the Rockford campus), including an invitation to apply. If you are interested, see their website on the program: http://www.uirockford.com/omee/rmed.asp

 

[ufgrad00]

What about the opposite? My town has about 8,000 people probably over half are minorities, and my only interviews are in Philadelphia and New York. One of my concerns are if they will grill my about feeling comfortable living in a big city, and how I make the transition from a small town. I truly want to live in a big city like one of those, but I am concerned that I have to be very convincing in my interviews since all my EC's are associated with rural medicine and such.