Young applicant question

[premedhopeful04]

I have a question about age-specific stats. I will graduate college next year, currently have a 3.9+ GPA, clinical experience, multiple paid research experiences at big names, and a few 1st author pubs.

But, I'm a young applicant to medical school... a couple of years under 20. Out of curiosity, I was wondering if anyone has seen age-specific stats for applicants under, say, 19 years old? On one hand, my stats seem decent, but I am wondering if the issue of age in applications is more a result of a lack of experience or the fact that an individual is young in and of itself.

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[KnightDoc]

I have a question about age-specific stats. I will graduate college next year, currently have a 3.95+ GPA, dean's list every semester, clinical experience, multiple paid research experiences at big names (MD Anderson and some others), a few 1st author pubs. I took some graduate courses when I was 16, volunteered in underserved communities in various different languages, and MCAT is a 519.

But, I'm a young applicant to medical school... a couple of years under 20. Out of curiosity, I was wondering if anyone has seen age-specific stats for applicants under, say, 19 years old? On one hand, my stats seem decent, but I am wondering if the issue of age in applications is more a result of a lack of experience or the fact that an individual is young in and of itself.

Yes. Your stats are extremely decent. You might end up doing just fine.

If not, it won't be lack of experience that holds you back, because you seem to have checked all the boxes. It will be lack of maturity. Some people grow up very quickly. If that is you, it will be reflected in your writing and interpersonal interactions during interviews. If not, then yes, being young in and of itself will hold you back, since admission is so competitive today that schools are in a position to screen out immature rock stars, and you will simply have to wait until you season a little more.

You won't know until you try, since some are certainly successful at your age. It's a tiny handful, and AAMC does not break out admission outcomes by age.

You can see the age ranges of incoming classes in MSAR data. As you would expect, the number of people enrolling who are under 20 years old is tiny, mostly because very few such people are qualified to apply. You are an exception. Assuming you present as mature as a 23+ year old (admittedly a big assumption), you will be fine. Just don't expect any allowances to be made for your chronological age, on account of an immature 18 year old adding to the diversity of a class!

 

[premedhopeful04]

I appreciate the advice. I seem to be in the same category as most applicants then, no? If I don't present myself well, my chances reduce. If I do, I can get in.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Most applicants should be at or under 24 years old. I need to look at the data. There are a handful of "super young" applicants who are applying as required by their early decision or guaranteed admissions program, so one needs to keep that in mind among the group of 21 and under.

 

[LizzyM]

Slow down. Get a masters degree, or a second major. Alternately, do a year or two of full-time community service in the states or abroad. Or get credentialed and work as an EMT or patient care technician for a year or two. Build on your life experiences before applying to medical school. I've seen too many 19 year olds who end up reapplying because despite really excellent academic records, the adcoms just didn't see them as ready for prime time.

 

[jamaica jan sun princess]

Young physicians: What's it like to become a doctor at age 22?

Around the time many students finish undergrad, these young doctors were already practicing medicine.

thedo.osteopathic.org

 

[KnightDoc]

I appreciate the advice. I seem to be in the same category as most applicants then, no? If I don't present myself well, my chances reduce. If I do, I can get in.

Yes, definitely. You just might be placed under a little more scrutiny, due to your age. And, of course, you have to overcome simply having had less time on Earth to ripen into the fully formed human being you are destined to become.

 

[Goro]

Haven't seen stats but the youngest applicants to my schools do not fare well in interviews and/or in Adcom decisions, mainly because they come off as too young...ie too immature.

Get a job and seasoning in life.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

To be clear, adcoms do not discriminate based on age of the applicant, either too old or too young.

We will evaluate you to see if you are a great fit for our school and can be mature enough to handle patients and the rigors of medical school. Patients and clinical.staff have to like you for the right reasons.

Medical schools are not going away anytime soon, and the sick patients will wait for you when.you are ready.

 

[LizzyM]

Young physicians: What's it like to become a doctor at age 22?

Around the time many students finish undergrad, these young doctors were already practicing medicine.

thedo.osteopathic.org

All went to DO schools. (Not surprising given that this is a human interest story in a publication sponsored by the association of osteopathic physicians.) Did they like the philosophy and apply only DO? Did they apply to both, get only DO and been told to run with it, or did they apply to both and decline MD offers preferring a DO offer? Are DO schools more open to very young, bright, homeschooled students? @Goro seems to say "no".

There was a 13 year old who matriculated at UChicago some years ago but he was shunted off to a PhD program after M1. He earned his MD (and PhD) by age 21.

 

[premedhopeful04]

All went to DO schools. (Not surprising given that this is a human interest story in a publication sponsored by the association of osteopathic physicians.) Did they like the philosophy and apply only DO? Did they apply to both, get only DO and been told to run with it, or did they apply to both and decline MD offers preferring a DO offer? Are DO schools more open to very young, bright, homeschooled students? @Goro seems to say "no".

There was a 13 year old who matriculated at UChicago some years ago but he was shunted off to a PhD program after M1. He earned his MD (and PhD) by age 21.

Well... not applying to DOs, so I guess we'll see what happens. Thank you for the advice, @LizzyM and others. Not really much I can do to spontaneously grow older. I can only hope to present myself as best as possible, and hope that MD admissions committees see the maturity in me.

 

[Goro]

Well... not applying to DOs, so I guess we'll see what happens. Thank you for the advice, @LizzyM and others. Not really much I can do to spontaneously grow older. I can only hope to present myself as best as possible, and hope that MD admissions committees see the maturity in me.

So why did you make a post if you're going to ignore the advice of three Adcoms members?

Were you hoping to hear what you wanted to hear?

 

[Moko]

I agree with others that a gap year to explore your interests (especially non-medical ones) will likely be helpful. Once you start medical training, there really aren't any major breaks to branch out and explore your other interests.

I don't have stats, but anecdotally, my school accepted a pretty young applicant a couple cycles ago. He was 19 or 20 at the time of matriculation. Would he have benefited from a couple years exploring his non-medical interests? Probably. But he was otherwise a stellar applicant in every way (stats, ECs, LORs, personality/maturity, life experiences, etc.), so we were very happy to accept him. Not sure where he ended up. So it's definitely possible to get accepted at a young age, but more often we do see very young applicants being rejected due to immaturity and/or lack of meaningful life experiences.

 

[O.F. Hanson]

I have a question about age-specific stats. I will graduate college next year, currently have a 3.95+ GPA, dean's list every semester, clinical experience, multiple paid research experiences at big names (MD Anderson and some others), a few 1st author pubs. I took some graduate courses when I was 16, volunteered in underserved communities in various different languages, and MCAT is a 519.

But, I'm a young applicant to medical school... a couple of years under 20. Out of curiosity, I was wondering if anyone has seen age-specific stats for applicants under, say, 19 years old? On one hand, my stats seem decent, but I am wondering if the issue of age in applications is more a result of a lack of experience or the fact that an individual is young in and of itself.

“A few 1st author pubs.”

Wow, that is incredible. Congratulations on that feat, especially at your age. As an undergrad, I would be interested to read some of your published works if you wouldn’t mind sharing. Perhaps a PM?

Also, my thoughts on the situation, age should not matter at all. As your stats show, your academic experience is far beyond many. However, it is tendency to question “maturity” for someone younger than 19, but this can be proven through you application, personal statements, and interviews.

In a way, the question should be reflected in amongst yourself. Do you feel that you are ready? Because in reality, that is all that matters. What you believe is what people will eventually see.

 

[Neuroscifan]

That’s some of the maturity that comes across in interviews. Strong advice given by several seasoned adcoms being “acknowledged” and promptly ignored. Make sure you don’t say tunings like that in interviews, or you likely won’t see much success. Life experience, especially dealing with uncomfortable situations will teach you how to not come across arrogant or immature in your communication. Even though you are well within your right to acknowledge advice and ultimately make a dissenting decision, the way you communicate and the tone of your writing and speaking has to be clear, humble, non confrontational, and teachable. If not, you don’t stand a chance in med school admissions, regardless of age or life experience. They certainly do give the advantage in developing these attributes.

 

[and 99 others]

OP, PLEASE take at least like 2 years off (if not way more, I know the MCAT's validity period might restrain you). Not because of how you may be viewed in terms of maturity by an adcom, but because you still have sooooo much time to pursue medicine, a choice which will lock you in, in many ways, to a path from which deviation is much more difficult than before you start it. As someone who will START med school in their late 20s and who wishes they could start it even later, I cannot tell you how valuable this period of your life is. Explore other interests, do something non-academic, backpack somewhere (for the love of God, please spend an extended period of time abroad if you can). I made the choice to put off med school for several years post undergrad and I really am so thankful I did. These are some of the most developmentally formative years of your life and it is extremely valuable to go through that growth and self-understanding without the omnipresence of something that will take up the majority of your mental real estate.

 

[deleted1139339]

OP, PLEASE take at least like 2 years off (if not way more, I know the MCAT's validity period might restrain you). Not because of how you may be viewed in terms of maturity by an adcom, but because you still have sooooo much time to pursue medicine, a choice which will lock you in, in many ways, to a path from which deviation is much more difficult than before you start it. As someone who will START med school in their late 20s and who wishes they could start it even later, I cannot tell you how valuable this period of your life is. Explore other interests, do something non-academic, backpack somewhere (for the love of God, please spend an extended period of time abroad if you can). I made the choice to put off med school for several years post undergrad and I really am so thankful I did. These are some of the most developmentally formative years of your life and it is extremely valuable to go through that growth and self-understanding without the omnipresence of something that will take up the majority of your mental real estate.

Not OP, but I’m someone who is fairly young (21) and applying for med school this cycle. I graduated from undergrad in May and immediately started working as a software dev as a gap year job without a vacation.

Here is my take:

I didn’t take a vacation because I had family commitments and needed to make money to pay for med school apps. It’s nice to be able go backpacking and do something fun, but sometimes it’s not feasible. So I am learning to be happy with my work and my everyday life, rather than seeking adventure. Sometimes “taking a break” can also mean being content with whatever hand you are dealt, not necessarily deliberately going on a vacation.

In fact, I wanted to travel to India (the only thing I wanted to do) but my grandparents aren’t in India rn because of some family stuff going on. So I couldn’t visit the motherland. Instead I’m working at a regular 9-5 tech job in the Midwest. But I enjoy my work. In fact, I enjoy my work so much that I wonder whether I should even apply to med school.

My point is that I’m happy. Maybe that makes me a boring person without drive/ambition. But at least I’m content. And I’m enjoying the feeling, because I’m not sure if I’ll be content once I start med school and my ambitious drive kicks in again.

For now, I’m enjoying this “vacation”, aka my tech job.

 

[candbgirl]

I made the post to ask a question about numerical statistics in an age bracket. I have learned new information, so I would say that I am acknowledging advice, not ignoring it.

Regards.

This is what we are talking about. It is certainly your right to ignore what ever you want but you have to learn how to express your decisions in a mature way that takes all aspects of information gathered into consideration. You really have to be able to accept and consider ideas (especially when you ask for them) with an open mind.

 

[HuskyMD Emeritus]

OP, seek the counsel of those who know you, parents, mentors, professors, PI's, as they are best able to gauge your level of maturity. Here on SDN, I've noticed most people, including many of the esteemed experts, recommend gap years to gain more experience. None of us can ascertain your readiness or commitment to this career. I don't always agree that gap years and employment prior to medical school is necessary as I have been the attending for grads of 6 year programs who are mature and perform admirably as interns and residents. I did not take any gap years was one of the youngest people in my class, and have no regrets (but this was a long time ago, before the internet and personal computers).

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Back to the OP:
I don't know if you are applying through a guaranteed admissions track where most "young" students gain an offer. I say that since that may skew results as they are required to fill out an AMCAS/AACOMAS/CAS . Some will need an MCAT score but others are told not to if they want to keep their seat. So that is one thing to think about if you look at statistics on the cycles before you. You wouldn't know because you probably arent in one of those programs... I would suspect you would have disclosed this in your first post.

Those of us who have worked with selecting those applicants when they were high school seniors and advise them before they take their guarantee have made sure those students have interests and hobbies that make them a good member of the class. The one thing I never wanted to see was a clear social distinction between those that were that immature with the rest of the class. Most of the time when I was involved, these students were a seamless fit and got along with everyone, even the oldest of students. I was told this wasn't always the case especially as exams started to hit. One student was so distraught they were uttering very dangerous thoughts of self-harm for posting a B+... Their first ever grade below an A-minus. (That person threatened to jump out the apartment window, but they lived in a basement flat. But I digress.)

Being that young: you can be a superstar or you could struggle and question yourself to the point you need serious help. That is what I and my peers have seen. You could be ready or you might not be. If you have had solid advising and mentoring who feel you are mature enough, go for it and make sure people are really surprised and drawn to you because of your youth and what you bring to a class and a profession.

 

[premedhopeful04]

Back to the OP:
I don't know if you are applying through a guaranteed admissions track where most "young" students gain an offer. I say that since that may skew results as they are required to fill out an AMCAS/AACOMAS/CAS . Some will need an MCAT score but others are told not to if they want to keep their seat. So that is one thing to think about if you look at statistics on the cycles before you. You wouldn't know because you probably arent in one of those programs... I would suspect you would have disclosed this in your first post.

Those of us who have worked with selecting those applicants when they were high school seniors and advise them before they take their guarantee have made sure those students have interests and hobbies that make them a good member of the class. The one thing I never wanted to see was a clear social distinction between those that were that immature with the rest of the class. Most of the time when I was involved, these students were a seamless fit and got along with everyone, even the oldest of students. I was told this wasn't always the case especially as exams started to hit. One student was so distraught they were uttering very dangerous thoughts of self-harm for posting a B+... Their first ever grade below an A-minus. (That person threatened to jump out the apartment window, but they lived in a basement flat. But I digress.)

Being that young: you can be a superstar or you could struggle and question yourself to the point you need serious help. That is what I and my peers have seen. You could be ready or you might not be. If you have had solid advising and mentoring who feel you are mature enough, go for it and make sure people are really surprised and drawn to you because of your youth and what you bring to a class and a profession.

@Mr.Smile12 I am not applying through a guaranteed admissions track. Rather, at 15 I started college at a large state school, transferred to a T30 univeristy after 2 years, and am finishing off there this coming year.

I understand the question of maturity, and I thank you for the advice. My mentors in the past have never been worried about my age, and have expressed that I present myself maturely for any type of health professional. I feel that I am mature enough, but I understand that I have an upward battle ahead of me.

 

[LunaOri]

Well... not applying to DOs, so I guess we'll see what happens. Thank you for the advice, and others. Not really much I can do to spontaneously grow older. I can only hope to present myself as best as possible, and hope that MD admissions committees see the maturity in me.

“Not really much I can do to spontaneously grow older.”
It happens, whether you like it or not. All you have to do is wait!

 

[dreamYY]

I have a question about age-specific stats. I will graduate college next year, currently have a 3.95+ GPA, dean's list every semester, clinical experience, multiple paid research experiences at big names (MD Anderson and some others), a few 1st author pubs. I took some graduate courses when I was 16, volunteered in underserved communities in various different languages, and MCAT is a 519.

But, I'm a young applicant to medical school... a couple of years under 20. Out of curiosity, I was wondering if anyone has seen age-specific stats for applicants under, say, 19 years old? On one hand, my stats seem decent, but I am wondering if the issue of age in applications is more a result of a lack of experience or the fact that an individual is young in and of itself.

Not an adcom or anything, so take my observation/advice with a grain of salt.

Couple of my friends matriculated to MD schools this cycle at the age of 17-18 with less stellar stats than yours and had minimal clinical experiences. It's definitely possible to get accepted, but I agree with the advice here that it really depends on how you present yourself during interviews. Your reasoning/story for attending med school and maturity displayed through your professionalism and experiences will help you even if you are "too young" in the applicant pool because it def helped my friends.

I say shoot your shot, and the worst case scenario is you will have to reapply, but this shows continued motivation to adcoms. Wish you the best of luck.

I hope to not offend any adcoms here, so I apologize in advance.

 

[LizzyM]

Not an adcom or anything, so take my observation/advice with a grain of salt.

Couple of my friends matriculated to MD schools this cycle at the age of 17-18 with less stellar stats than yours and had minimal clinical experiences.

Really? In the US? after earning bachelor's degrees? Please clarify. We are not referring to European schools or to BS/MD programs that admit college seniors for a 6-8 year program of study.

 

[dreamYY]

Really? In the US? after earning bachelor's degrees? Please clarify. We are not referring to European schools or to BS/MD programs that admit college seniors for a 6-8 year program of study.

Yes, in the US.

They received about 5-6 IIs and had multiple As. They went to a community college in high school and spent the last 2 years in a four year university to get their Bachelor's degree. They did take one gap year to apply for this cycle after graduating college here.

 

[LizzyM]

Yes, in the US.

They received about 5-6 IIs and had multiple As. They went to a community college in high school and spent the last 2 years in a four year university to get their Bachelor's degree. They did take one gap year to apply for this cycle after graduating college here.

Interesting! We do worry about emotional maturity and the ability to accept criticism and disappointment, to be able to assess one's weaknesses and make plans to address them, to deal with angry and confused adults who put the blame for whatever has gone wrong on the person standing in front of them. Here's hoping that those adcoms chose wisely and the students thrive in their med schools.

 

[Angus Avagadro]

To the OP. Assoc of Am Medical Colleges says rhe average of an MS1 is 24 yrs. That could be a 6 or 7 yr age gap between you and your classmates. That's basically a different generation. My wife's school had the 6 yr BS/MD program with a few colleges. I recall several had adjustment problems with respect to coursework and their relationships with classmates. This with only a 2 or 3 yrs age gap. They also had issues on clinical rotations attempting to relate real world issues to older patients with little real world experience themselves. I am happy you have the learning skills to absorb information quickly. What's the rush? Absorbing knowledge is only part of the med school experience. Wisdom, which Whitehead says is the application of knowledge, should be the goal for physicians. Life experience gives you the why and how to apply the knowledge. Heartily agree with the wise @LizzyM that your efforts would be better served obtaining an advanced degree and some life experience. Good luck and best wishes!

 

[Dr Meow]

I see a lot of ageism in this thread.
OP has proven equal capabilities as people many years older if not exceeding them.

But there's no way to communicate maturity over the internet, therefore your advice should not be making absolute remarks and effectively rrecommending the OP to waste his/her time (preassuming lack of maturity) by doing unnecessary tasks all for the fake checkbox called "experience". Maturity is one of those words that sound cool but mean nothing. I've met plenty of young people who a FAR beyond others in their ability to recognize truths, understand how the world operates, and the many paths in front of them and why they chose their path.

If OP can handle the workload, then just do it if he/she thinks this is a good life's purpose. Med school is nothing special except crazy content and talking to people which depends less on experience and more on personality and skills learned "on the job".

Say OP is 17. Finish med school by 21. Finish residency by 26.
A LOT of life doors is open for someone so young at this point.
--------------------
Furthermore while, you're all playing gatekeeper of medicine as the "path of the mature" that you forget that in many other countries, they don't have college. They have 6 years med school starting from what would be undergrad. College is the biggest waste of time POS invented- though, I did meet my best friend there. However knowledge wise, complete trash.

 

[Angus Avagadro]

I see a lot of ageism in this thread.
OP has proven equal capabilities as people many years older if not exceeding them.

But there's no way to communicate maturity over the internet, therefore your advice should not be making absolute remarks and effectively rrecommending the OP to waste his/her time (preassuming lack of maturity) by doing unnecessary tasks all for the fake checkbox called "experience". Maturity is one of those words that sound cool but mean nothing. I've met plenty of young people who a FAR beyond others in their ability to recognize truths, understand how the world operates, and the many paths in front of them and why they chose their path.

If OP can handle the workload, then just do it if he/she thinks this is a good life's purpose. Med school is nothing special except crazy content and talking to people which depends less on experience and more on personality and skills learned "on the job".

Say OP is 17. Finish med school by 21. Finish residency by 26.
A LOT of life doors is open for someone so young at this point.
--------------------
Furthermore while, you're all playing gatekeeper of medicine as the "path of the mature" that you forget that in many other countries, they don't have college. They have 6 years med school starting from what would be undergrad. College is the biggest waste of time POS invented- though, I did meet my best friend there. However knowledge wise, complete trash.

Well, the OP asked for advice, and they received it. I relayed my experience with BS/MD students. Some schools accept students out of high school. They merely need to meet a reasonable GPA in college and don't need to take the MCAT. I know at least one of these schools are reconsidering their program as they have had many students struggle emotionally and academically. Most med students are very smart AND competitive. These students are young and didn't really push themselves in college to get that 3.9+ GPA or 515 MCAT as they only had to earn a modest GPA and not study for the MCAT. When confronted with the rigors and competition of med school, they very often flounder academically, and then emotionally. They don't relate to classmates, due to the age gap, and end up loners and isolated without peer support systems. Does this happen to everyone? It happens enough to cause schools to reconsider these programs. Remember, students are the med schools product. It is in their best interest for their students to be successful. This is why the seasoned adcoms on this site recommend some additional time off, either getting an advanced degree or work/life experience. But it's free advice, so OP can choose to accept it or not. Tuition in the school of life however can be expensive.

 

[Goro]

I see a lot of ageism in this thread.
OP has proven equal capabilities as people many years older if not exceeding them.

But there's no way to communicate maturity over the internet, therefore your advice should not be making absolute remarks and effectively rrecommending the OP to waste his/her time (preassuming lack of maturity) by doing unnecessary tasks all for the fake checkbox called "experience". Maturity is one of those words that sound cool but mean nothing. I've met plenty of young people who a FAR beyond others in their ability to recognize truths, understand how the world operates, and the many paths in front of them and why they chose their path.

If OP can handle the workload, then just do it if he/she thinks this is a good life's purpose. Med school is nothing special except crazy content and talking to people which depends less on experience and more on personality and skills learned "on the job".

Say OP is 17. Finish med school by 21. Finish residency by 26.
A LOT of life doors is open for someone so young at this point.
--------------------
Furthermore while, you're all playing gatekeeper of medicine as the "path of the mature" that you forget that in many other countries, they don't have college. They have 6 years med school starting from what would be undergrad. College is the biggest waste of time POS invented- though, I did meet my best friend there. However knowledge wise, complete trash.

Ageism? And exactly what is your experience with medical school admissions?

It's not about age, it's all about maturity. We who teach have had our fill of immaturity, even with 21 to 25 year olds.

When you interview these youngest of applicants, you see that they are quite simply too young and need some seasoning in life.

And frankly, I don't give a rat's ass what they do in other countries. We're the last thing between applicants and patients.

 

[Goro]

If it's all about maturity, why are we assuming that OP won't be mature enough despite their age?? What if they are mature and can handle different experiences and have great reasoning for what they wanna due to circumstances they went thru in their life, which we don't know or can't assume unless we know more.

Not giving a rat's ass what they do in other countries is very arrogant to say in my opinion because they turn out just fine even if they don't go thru our system.

We can't speculate without having met the OP. We are just reporting our experiences.

Arrogant? Damn right I'm arrogant!. I'm the one who has to teach these people.

When you have a student who, after 2 years of medical school, still think that they're at the undergraduate level, and behave accordingly to their detriment, one's BP starts to go up very fast.

Hence, we take our gatekeeper roles extremely seriously.

 

[Goro]

Yeah, but you were discouraging them despite not having met them??

Well if you are teaching these people, LORD help them.

Ah, another example of why there's a cars section on the MCAT. We're not discouraging anybody. People come here for realistic advice, not hugs and kisses.
They can go to R/premed for the latter.

As to your last comment, you just proved my points. I rest my case.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

If it's all about maturity, why are we assuming that OP won't be mature enough despite their age?? What if they are mature and can handle different experiences and have great reasoning for what they wanna due to circumstances they went thru in their life, which we don't know or can't assume unless we know more.

Not giving a rat's ass what they do in other countries is very arrogant to say in my opinion because they turn out just fine even if they don't go thru our system.

I think @Angus Avagadro and I have responded from our own experiences that contrast with your blanket assertion that it's just about age. Some precocious individuals can handle it, and some can't. It is hard to argue resiliency if one has not experienced adversity, and life is probably best described as a series of adversities. One can have a lifetime of adversity as a young 20-something, and we hopefully acknowledge that in holistic review. But many young students who zip through K-12 often don't have those challenges. They may have other ones, but the issue is how the applicants really respond to adversity, helplessness, and empathy when everything they try to care for a patient goes awry or lacks a good response. Or if heaven forbid something happens to one's family while in school... can the student ask for help?

There are tons of arrogant people in healthcare... and in real life. One has to learn to manage or not. The question is how the OP will handle it, or if they are too arrogant to know how challenging the professional life really is.

 

[Goro]

The advice would be more realistic if we knew more about the OP.

As to your last comment, my point is an opinion, I personally wouldn't wanna be taught by someone this arrogant and biased.

And at this point, it's best to model good SDN behavior, and put you on Ignore.

 

[Angus Avagadro]

I love how we shoot down other's opinions by calling them "blanket assertions" just because you don't like them or are different from yours. I presented my thoughts because that was the impression I got from reading these comments.

Also, I really like your reply and agree with you that what's important is how will they react to

I was relaying my and others experience with young medical students. It was my hope that some could empathize and put themselves in the shoes of the students who withdrew, remediated, or had to take leave of absence due to mental health issues because they didnt have the support system. Which means they weren't ready for the rigors of medical school. I pointed out that several schools are considering eliminating their program. Older students often are engaged or married and have emotional support systems in place. I explained why the younger students struggle and feel isolated. Certainly, this doesn't apply to everyone, but it happens often enough to be a concern for schools. There is no prize for being the youngest person in your class. Bottom line. Life is full of choices. Best to make good ones.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

... It's crazy that I was ridiculed by an adcom who said yours CARS is showing. Yeah, it's showing because I am an immigrant whose first and second language is not English, but I was clear in what I meant, they just didn't like it. The lack of empathy I saw in that ridicule makes me sad that we have adcoms who think like that and will be mentoring future students and serving patients who won't have CARS scores in their preferable range.

For what it's worth, you'll have plenty of fellow students and faculty who think similarly. I think any emphasis on low CARS scores being a sign of trouble hasn't been definitive according to aggregate analysis of the MCAT2015, and may only be suggested to in the 4th MCAT version analysis for VR. However, experience is a harsh teacher, and those of us in education often know that there are times when being empathetic can work against you.

Yes, I have wanted to see how this plays out in a PREview exam scenario...

 

[LizzyM]

Ah, another example of why there's a cars section on the MCAT. We're not discouraging anybody. People come here for realistic advice, not hugs and kisses.

I was ridiculed for my assumed CARS score.

It's crazy that I was ridiculed by an adcom who said yours CARS is showing. Yeah, it's showing because I am an immigrant whose first and second language is not English, but I was clear in what I meant, they just didn't like it. The lack of empathy I saw in that ridicule makes me sad that we have adcoms who think like that and will be mentoring future students and serving patients who won't have CARS scores in their preferable range.

**Your** CARS score was not ridiculed. The fact that you thought that a comment about the CARS section was about your score is evidence that you are hypersensitive and perhaps lacking in maturity.

We have a critical analysis and reading section within the MCAT because those skills are important if one is to be successful in medical school. When one's comments on this board show a lack of critical analysis and reading skills, we might make a sarcastic remark about CARS. That you took it as such an affront tells me all I need to know about the direction of this conversation.

 

[Angus Avagadro]

The fact that you have to resort to make a sarcastic remark about CARS displays SO MUCH MATURITY.

Thank you for displaying such maturity, I'm utterly impressed.

Wow. Your hypersensity, lack of introspection and lack of impulse control in your comments speaks volumes. If and or when you enter the medical educational process, some reflection will be in order because if you didn't like the way some have spoken to you here, you haven't seen anything yet. I've pretty much said all I care to on this thread. Good luck and best wishes.

 

[gyngyn]

It appears that this thread has run its course.