Would it help that my boss is on the admissions board?

[sully677]

Hey guys. I found out my boss is on the admissions board at the med school I work at. So when I apply next year, would it help me or do they screen without favoritism at most schools? Just curious. Thanks

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[Jolie South]

well, i could be wrong (as i'm not on an adcom) but your boss is only one member and thus one vote.

maybe your app might get some extra attention, but i think you'd still have to be "voted in" by the others. in my limited understanding, it's not a unilateral "rubber stamp" process. you'd still have to up to the school's standards as an applicant.

 

[Lukkie]

time to shoot for a little 'extra credit' if u know what i mean...

 

[spicedmanna]

Hey guys. I found out my boss is on the admissions board at the med school I work at. So when I apply next year, would it help me or do they screen without favoritism at most schools? Just curious. Thanks

Well, it probably won't hurt, but it may not help, however. Each school probably has their own adcom process, but I think ethical considerations would ideally lead these sort of individuals to recuse themselves from voting, as to maintain academic integrity. I'm sure there are exceptions, many of which are probably noteable. I just wouldn't count on it, that's all. Have a strong application and let it do most of the talking in your favor.

 

[rowerlauren]

It's probably not going to get you in as the above posters mentioned, but it will probably help you.

Your boss will probably try to talk you up and make sure you get a lot of consideration, which is probably the most you can expect.

 

[bozz]

It will definitely help provided you stats are appropriate for the school. I hope you also got a letter of rec. from your boss
Just don't be overconfident...

 

[SirGecko]

As long as your boss likes you I'd guess this will at least help make sure you don't get lost in the crowd.

 

[ninjapenguin]

Yeah, I'd agree with everyone else. It will definitely help, but by no means is it a guarantee to admission.

 

[LadyWolverine]

It sure didn't help me.

Legit question, though.

 

[HoboCommander]

not sure it would help since adcom members typically excuse themselves from voting when they know the applicant personally

 

[The South Face]

I know for a fact at my school if an adcom member knows you personally they can sing your praises to the other members, but MUST abstain from voting

 

[flaahless]

It may help, it just depends on the school. I second that you get a LOR from your boss. It helped me, but I've also heard stories of adcom members that excuse themselves from the consideration of the applicant. To each their own I guess.

 

[fireflygirl]

I agree with flaahless. I had the same experience in having a family friend on an admissions committee and while he helped make sure that my app didn't get lost in the crowd, he also was a little uncomfortable being overzealous in pushing my application.

I imagine it will help you OP but it certainly isn't a gaurentee like others have said.

 

[se2131]

I know for a fact at my school if an adcom member knows you personally they can sing your praises to the other members, but MUST abstain from voting

When I was applying to a certain school, the dean of admissions was not allowed to even be in the room whenever my app was being discussed (so no vote obviously). This person never even saw my paper application apparently, but knew me personally and was allowed to talk to other adcoms about me at other times (told me that they didn't though, but hey, I wouldn't turn down the help if offered. A connection can do well for you sometimes).

Some schools will ask if you have a personal/work relationship w/ someone on the faculty. If so, be sure to make a note of it. It can only help you, but only if you are qualified in the first place of course.

 

[URHere]

To echo everyone else: no, this relationship probably won't get you in.

However, knowing someone on the admissions committee may mean that you are more likely to be kept in the loop about the status of your application. I applied to one school where one of my thesis committee members was the MD/PhD director. I didn't get in, but he made sure to tell me every time my file was being reviewed and he kept me informed of my chances every step of the way.

 

[njbmd]

Hey guys. I found out my boss is on the admissions board at the med school I work at. So when I apply next year, would it help me or do they screen without favoritism at most schools? Just curious. Thanks

It is quite likely that your boss is going to recuse from voting on your application in any manner to avoid any possible conflict of interest. We are not allowed to vote or even discuss the applicants that we have any relationships with in any manner during meetings. My committees are adamant about this. Most likely, your boss will leave the room when your application comes before the committee.

 

[thethethe]

Do you think a LOR from a faculty member of the medical school will help me?

 

[Doodledog]

What njbmd has described is the common, but not universal, approach to this situation. What may benefit you though is that your lab boss has the perfect right to send a letter to the committee just as any other mentor would. When the committee reviews letters, 99% come from people they don't know. When a letter comes from someone they do know and whose opinion they respect, it can be influential.

Now, whether that helps or hurts your application depends on what the letter actually says.

 

[rowerlauren]

Do you think a LOR from a faculty member of the medical school will help me?

If they actually know you then probably... they will likely actual trust this letter over ones from people they don't know.

 

[rowerlauren]

Oh and Wash U has a question about any relation (work or familial) to people in Wash U School of Medicine... and they have a very high rate for accepting Wash U Undergrads which may suggest that they like this sort of relation.

 

[pinkblue]

Even if he excuses himself from voting, I think it still helps. The people on the admission committee (hopefully) respect their colleague (your boss)'s judgement to continue emlpoying you. So even if he just says "oh this is my employee, i'll leave the room" I think that would be a small plus for your app.