So suffice it to say, in my travels around the educational world I've spent time in some pretty prestigious schools... including public and private California schools, "BIG" name state schools, top-tier private schools, and the big Boston "H". While at each place, I've integrated into various department offices, mingled with lots of high-ups, and had lots of friends. Occasionally some interesting confidential piece of information would drop in my lap... which I have really never told anyone. Until now.
For all of those who think you can't get into med school without a 3.8 gpa or a 34 MCAT, I'm here to set you straight. While I can't (and won't) tell you how I know, or where I know it from, or who I know, I will tell you what I know. That is that I have seen people (more than 1, and more than 10) get into (interviewed, accepted, matriculated) US allopathic medical schools (not crappy ones, either!) who were ridiculously under-qualified. Not "sorta" under qualified. As my hero Carrie Bradshaw said about love... "ridiculous, inconvenient, consuming, can't believe it's true" under-qualified. While I won't reveal exactly what I've seen, I'll give you some examples of how I differentiate between "sorta" and "ridiculously" under-qualified.
"Sorta" would be something analogous to one of the following situations:
1) 26 MCAT and 3.1 GPA overall, 2.9 sciences
2)21 MCAT and 3.89 overall, 3.7 sciences
3) 35 MCAT and 2.7 overall GPA and 2.9 science
"Ridiculously" under-qualified looks something like this:
1) 12 MCAT, 3.0 GPA, and a Bachelor's of Computer Systems (aka from a tech school)
2) 15 MCAT, 2.4 GPA, half pre-med classes not completed
3) or, um, NO MCAT at all???
So for those of you calling BS on me right now... lets think about this. Is it possible? If a school has a 30.2 average MCAT and has a decent reputation... you know for sure they are admitting students with wayyyyyy stronger scores. It only takes a few 37's to balance out a score of 12. Not to say that these cases make up a big portion of med school classes. But I'd venture to say there are several students like this every year in every medical school. Of course no school in their right mind would cop to this... and definitely they didn't pick a random score of 12 out of the AMCAS pile and say "Hey, let's take a chance on this one". These people generally get admitted because someone owes someone a favor, or Johnny is Dr. So-and-So's son, or we really need to represent Alaska this year, or whatever. It happens.
The day I saw my first evidence of ridiculousness I cried because I felt so disillusioned. Even my crappiest scores were stronger than things I saw... and I certainly knew I was more deserving than some jackass kid with a 12 MCAT and no physics classes. Anyway, the point of this is just to show that numbers are arbitrary. Schools pick who they like, they pick who they want, and then they pick a bunch of smart kids to balance everything out. Someday you'll come across some evidence of ridiculousness at some school you're affiliated with, and you'll think "Holy Shit, Ella was right!"
Update from comments section: I definitely think there are cases of merit coming in different packages. And certainly being a Rhodes scholar or something like that is a different story. And maybe I was ambiguous, but I wasn't referring to people with a 27 on the MCAT. In my opinion, there's no significant difference between a 27 and a 30. But a 12? And while I'm no fan of the numbers game, it seems wrong that the margins of acceptance are so widely bent for the right people. Guaranteed, many applicants with low scores have some amazing experiences on their CV's... peace corps, entrepreneurs, whatever... but they don't get the same consideration because their scores don't even make the cut-off for a full ad-com review. My point is not that someone with a 12 can't possibly deserve to be in med school, but rather that someone who successfully applies with a 12 is certainly not being judged by the same critera... which makes this a highly arbitrary process
What you're not mentioning are the other things the candidates you cite have on their CVs. For instance, I knew a few med students at a top 20 med school who had 27s on their MCATs. Turns out one was fluent in Spanish and had spent two years working as a volunteer FULL TIME with migrant Latino farm workers in the US. The other one had founded his own volunteer organization. These aren't the run of the mill, "I tutored inner city students," experiences that a lot of pre-meds have.
ReplyDeleteOh also, they had fantastic recommendations.
I also know a guy who was a Rhodes scholar who wasn't required to a) take the MCAT, or b) do any of the pre-med requirements in order to go to a different top 20 med school.
Just saying. It's a lot easier to get a 37 on the MCAT than it is to win a Rhodes.
I know it is frustrating to spend so long studying for your MCAT only to have someone with a lower score get in. But the truth is that the MCAT has almost nothing to do with what you need to know to be a doctor.
ReplyDeleteIt is a good sign that med schools aren't just paying attention to the numbers. Some great people who will make excellent doctors just aren't good at standardized tests. Not every 15 on the MCAT had daddy pay somebody.
I definitely think there are cases of merit coming in different packages. And certainly being a Rhodes scholar or something like that is a different story. And maybe I was ambiguous, but I wasn't referring to people with a 27 on the MCAT. In my opinion, there's no significant difference between a 27 and a 30. But a 12? And while I'm no fan of the numbers game, it seems wrong that the margins of acceptance are so widely bent for the right people. Guaranteed, many applicants with low scores have some amazing experiences on their CV's... peace corps, entrepreneurs, whatever... but they don't get the same consideration because their scores don't even make the cut-off for a full ad-com review. My point is not that someone with a 12 can't possibly deserve to be in med school, but rather that someone who successfully applies with a 12 is certainly not being judged by the same critera... which makes this a highly arbitrary process.
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