Chances for a Top-10 MD Schools

[Beta Cell]

Undergrads who have applied to higher level schools and all medical applicants/students know about it definitely. Other than people who have used JHH to get treated (which is a lot), I don't know why you'd know about it.

@Cremaster: Yale already has one hopeful applicant for the class of 2015!

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[mmmcdowe]

with all this Harvard talk, I thought I would put in a quiet plug for Yale Med.

ok, I haven't started school yet, so I'm not a reliable source. but it sure seems like a great place to learn medicine.

I'll give Yale some props. While they weren't quite my top choice (freaking close though), I do wish I could take their Medical History department and transplant it at Columbia. I REALLY wanted to do a masters in that area .

 

[Beta Cell]

Where were you accepted? Show me your MDapps, please

 

[mmmcdowe]

Where were you accepted? Show me your MDapps, please

Its anon

I wasn't accepted to Yale, unfortunately, but I definitely left with a positive impression. I withdrew from everywhere after I got accepted by Columbia so I'll never know if I would have gotten in to any of the other top 10

 

[NoMoreAMCAS]

You'll be attending a top 10 medical school.

URM, 4.0 GPA in Math and Biochemistry, and a kickazz MCAT (know you haven't taken it but you can tell from your diagnostic you're going to kill it), they'll be begging you to attend.

 

[Beta Cell]

You'll be attending a top 10 medical school.

URM, 4.0 GPA in Math and Biochemistry, and a kickazz MCAT (know you haven't taken it but you can tell from your diagnostic you're going to kill it), they'll be begging you to attend.

I love reading posts like that!

 

[mmmcdowe]

I love reading posts like that!

You like it now, but you might grow to hate it. Even though you have great stats people are going to look at you and think "Beta only got in because of URM preference." It's something you'll have to live with and probably fight against for a while at least, until you prove to everyone that you could have gotten in even without being hispanic.

 

[RoadRunner17]

You like it now, but you might grow to hate it. Even though you have great stats people are going to look at you and think "Beta only got in because of URM preference." It's something you'll have to live with and probably fight against for a while at least, until you prove to everyone that you could have gotten in even without being hispanic.

Yeah, that's what kind of sucks about the system. Previous posters in our cycle like TupacalipseT96 and What up doc obviously had great #'s and applications, but there will still be people who look at outward appearances and somehow judge them to be less than who/what they really are. But my general feeling (and nothing else) is that they're okay with it and even use that as a big chip on the shoulder. In some ways, it's a necessary evil, and hopefully the people who are "affected" are mature enough to handle it.

 

[mmmcdowe]

Yeah, that's what kind of sucks about the system. Previous posters in our cycle like TupacalipseT96 and What up doc obviously had great #'s and applications, but there will still be people who look at outward appearances and somehow judge them to be less than who/what they really are. But my general feeling (and nothing else) is that they're okay with it and even use that as a big chip on the shoulder. In some ways, it's a necessary evil, and hopefully the people who are "affected" are mature enough to handle it.

We of course are guilty though. If this was a white guy we would be saying "wait to get your MCAT back" and "With a good MCAT and essays etc, you'll definitely get some INTERVIEWS at top schools." Being an outsider for a great deal of my life, things that like this can hurt after a while .

 

[RoadRunner17]

We of course are guilty though. If this was a white guy we would be saying "wait to get your MCAT back" and "With a good MCAT and essays etc, you'll definitely get some INTERVIEWS at top schools." Being an outsider for a great deal of my life, things that like this can hurt after a while .

You're right, it can hurt a little. I live with an URM who's done very well for himself with numbers with which I would be told to go DO or Caribbean as an ORM. But, it's a necessary evil - healthcare disparities is no joke (for those of you who went to Case's second look, you'll know what I'm talking about) and to med schools, I see it as a matter of supply and demand. Nothing wrong with that. It would help everyone to look at the bigger picture, I guess.

Back on topic, I still say that OP needs to wait for the MCAT score. Also, no need to apply to the 40 schools that I see on the MDapps profile... 15-20 should be a safer bet.

 

[Beta Cell]

That actually really brings up a question I was scared to ask. My mother is 100% hispanic (born in El Salvador and lived there until the end of high school and came here for college). I don't look hispanic at all (most people don't believe me when I tell them). I'm white, blue eyes, etc so I was going to ask if there's any way AMCAS can show that I truly am hispanic and not trying to fool the system.

Also, I applied to UF's JHMP and the way they truly knew was because they made us submit our birth certificates to prove US Residency and that showed my mother's nationality.

 

[NoMoreAMCAS]

You like it now, but you might grow to hate it. Even though you have great stats people are going to look at you and think "Beta only got in because of URM preference." It's something you'll have to live with and probably fight against for a while at least, until you prove to everyone that you could have gotten in even without being hispanic.

Why would people think that? If he had a 30 and a 3.5 going into Harvard, then yeah, i'd claim it was because he was a URM. But with those majors, that GPA, and the great MCAT score he will definitely have, I can't see how it's "because he's a URM".

 

[NoMoreAMCAS]

That actually really brings up a question I was scared to ask. My mother is 100% hispanic (born in El Salvador and lived there until the end of high school and came here for college). I don't like hispanic at all (most people don't believe me when I tell them). I'm white, blue eyes, etc so I was going to ask if there's anyway AMCAS can show that I truly am hispanic and not trying to fool the system.

RACIST!!!!!

Just ****in with you.

 

[BluntSurgeon]

OP you are exactly what I like to see. A URM who is absolutely and totally over-qualified for medical school.. one that doesn't need to fall back on his race/ethnicity to make up for a lackluster GPA/MCAT/whatever in order to gain acceptance. Your application is flat out fantastic.

After completing this application cycle (as an overrepped ethnicity) with basically the same stats and similarly awesome ECs, I only made it into UCSD and realized that it was most likely my race that prevented me from gaining acceptances from top 10 programs. It's a shame, but race is one of the most important (if not THE most important) factors in medical school admissions.

Have fun at Harvard and good luck with becoming a neurosurgeon.. it's long and arduous.

 

[RoadRunner17]

That actually really brings up a question I was scared to ask. My mother is 100% hispanic (born in El Salvador and lived there until the end of high school and came here for college). I don't like hispanic at all (most people don't believe me when I tell them). I'm white, blue eyes, etc so I was going to ask if there's anyway AMCAS can show that I truly am hispanic and not trying to fool the system.

As I understand it: you self-identify on AMCAS, and it's going to be up to the interviewers to make the judgment. I'm sure they'll ask questions about your Spanish-speaking ability, about your parents, etc. to be sure that you're not trying to game the system.

So isn't "latino" the correct term for your ethnicity?

http://www.aamc.org/meded/urm/start.htm

You might not be covered under that definition, then. But that is not your judgment to make (schools will decide that, there's no URM checkbox on your application).

But what do I know? Maybe someone else who knows what this is all about can comment.

 

[Beta Cell]

OP you are exactly what I like to see. A URM who is absolutely and totally over-qualified for medical school.. one that doesn't need to fall back on his race/ethnicity to make up for a lackluster GPA/MCAT/whatever in order to gain acceptance. Your application is flat out fantastic.

After completing this application cycle (as an overrepped ethnicity) with basically the same stats and similarly awesome ECs, I only made it into UCSD and realized that it was most likely my race that prevented me from gaining acceptances from top 10 programs. It's a shame, but race is one of the most important (if not THE most important) factors in medical school admissions.

Have fun at Harvard and good luck with becoming a neurosurgeon.. it's long and arduous.

Thanks man, I really appreciate it. By the way, UCSD is a GREAT school, I think you'll love it there (you can't beat Cali weather).

 

[RoadRunner17]

Why would people think that? If he had a 30 and a 3.5 going into Harvard, then yeah, i'd claim it was because he was a URM. But with those majors, that GPA, and the great MCAT score he will definitely have, I can't see how it's "because he's a URM".

Nobody's going to know what your #'s were when they meet you for the first time.

OP you are exactly what I like to see. A URM who is absolutely and totally over-qualified for medical school.. one that doesn't need to fall back on his race/ethnicity to make up for a lackluster GPA/MCAT/whatever in order to gain acceptance. Your application is flat out fantastic.

After completing this application cycle (as an overrepped ethnicity) with basically the same stats and similarly awesome ECs, I only made it into UCSD and realized that it was most likely my race that prevented me from gaining acceptances from top 10 programs. It's a shame, but race is one of the most important (if not THE most important) factors in medical school admissions.

Have fun at Harvard and good luck with becoming a neurosurgeon.. it's long and arduous.

This is pretty much true.

 

[mmmcdowe]

Why would people think that? If he had a 30 and a 3.5 going into Harvard, then yeah, i'd claim it was because he was a URM. But with those majors, that GPA, and the great MCAT score he will definitely have, I can't see how it's "because he's a URM".

How will people know? How will his fellow students know that he was qualified? I'm not just talking SDN, I mean in real life. Is he going to walk around with his GPA and MCAT score on his shoulder?

 

[Beta Cell]

As I understand it: you self-identify on AMCAS, and it's going to be up to the interviewers to make the judgment. I'm sure they'll ask questions about your Spanish-speaking ability, about your parents, etc. to be sure that you're not trying to game the system.

So isn't "latino" the correct term for your ethnicity?

http://www.aamc.org/meded/urm/start.htm

You might not be covered under that definition, then. But that is not your judgment to make (schools will decide that, there's no URM checkbox on your application).

But what do I know? Maybe someone else who knows what this is all about can comment.

As far as I know (http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=latino) the terms are synonymous. My mother is 100% making me 50%. I'm not Mexican-American, but it's nearly impossible that there are more Mexican-Americans in medicine than Salvadoran-Americans in medicine as Mexico is like 15x the size of El Salvador. If someone is only half African-American (for example), I would assume they would put down African-American and have no problems convincing an interviewer of it.

My name also has no traces of my mother's ethnicity(ie not Juan or something), I have an American name (my father's full name, I'm the fourth).

URM is also not what I want to define my application. I have worked harder than I ever have in undergrad, but I also can't bring myself to not use every advantage at my disposal to maybe inch out an acceptance from a top school either.

 

[NoMoreAMCAS]

How will people know? How will his fellow students know that he was qualified? I'm not just talking SDN, I mean in real life. Is he going to walk around with his GPA and MCAT score on his shoulder?

My bad, I thought you meant this guy in particular, with us knowing everything.

Anytime I hear about anyone from a top 10 school I just assume they were a kickazz student. I've never heard of nor met one and thought, this guy only got in because he's black.

 

[Beta Cell]

My bad, I thought you meant this guy in particular, with us knowing everything.

Anytime I hear about anyone from a top 10 school I just assume they were a kickazz student. I've never heard of nor met one and thought, this guy only got in because he's black.

I second that.

Now that I think about it, one of my interviewers for UF JHMP was trying to side-step (but not really) a question about my ethnicity. I think she had doubts as to whether I really was hispanic and she was telling me how she recently got interested in tracing her family history and if I had done any of that. I said my paternal grandmother really liked doing that and then she asked what the family tree would look like of my maternal grandparents. I told her their parents were both born in El Salvador but beyond that I wasn't sure. I didn't really think much of it at the time, but she is a psychiatrist and it seems pretty obvious the purpose of those questions.

I really can't blame her for asking the questions, I wouldn't believe me either. Though, which obviously white kid is dumb enough to try and trick people he's hispanic? I have a Salvadoran ID (called a DUI "Documento Unico de Identificacion" (Unique Identification Document)) given only to citizens (I think, I'm pretty sure I'm a dual-citizen. I really need to ask my mom about that). It looks very close to my Florida Driver's License except in Spanish. I carry it in my wallet for some reason and I guess if someone was asking I could bring it out as a fun little item from a different culture that serves a dual purpose.

 

[longhorn09]

After completing this application cycle (as an overrepped ethnicity) with basically the same stats and similarly awesome ECs, I only made it into UCSD and realized that it was most likely my race that prevented me from gaining acceptances from top 10 programs. It's a shame, but race is one of the most important (if not THE most important) factors in medical school admissions.

WTF!?!?

 

[longhorn09]

Thanks man, I really appreciate it. By the way, UCSD is a GREAT school, I think you'll love it there (you can't beat Cali weather).

But everyone knows how to choose b/w Harvard and UCSD...and you know it.

 

[Beta Cell]

But everyone knows how to choose b/w Harvard and UCSD...and you know it.

I'm not in at Harvard or UCSD though. Harvard is the dream, but I wouldn't consider UCSD a loss on the scoreboard either.

 

[drizzt3117]

Eh, being in an overrepresented group won't keep you out of top 10 programs. I got into a number of top tens with good but not quite 4.0/40 stats. Something like 30% of Harvard's 2012 class is Asian, so it's not like they don't let any asian ppl in.

 

[Beta Cell]

Eh, being in an overrepresented group won't keep you out of top 10 programs. I got into a number of top tens with good but not quite 4.0/40 stats. Something like 30% of Harvard's 2012 class is Asian, so it's not like they don't let any asian ppl in.

I was just trying to decipher that statistic on Harvard's site last night. It said 50% of the student body were people of color and 18% were URM. By exclusion, the remaining 32% must be asian (I can't think of anyone else of color).

 

[mmmcdowe]

I'm not in at Harvard or UCSD though. Harvard is the dream, but I wouldn't consider UCSD a loss on the scoreboard either.

Name isn't everything, interview there before you decide its your top choice. You might find that you like another place better than Harvard.

 

[Beta Cell]

Name isn't everything, interview there before you decide its your top choice. You might find that you like another place better than Harvard.

My cousin was HMS class of 2009, I went with him and my uncle to one of the weekends (not sure if it was second look) and I really enjoyed it. Everyone seemed nice but I was also much younger/ didn't know what to be searching for, so the interview (if I get one) should shed some light on my final decision if I even have one.

 

[mmmcdowe]

My cousin was HMS class of 2009, I went with him and my uncle to one of the weekends (not sure if it was second look) and I really enjoyed it. Everyone seemed nice but I was also much younger/ didn't know what to be searching for, so the interview (if I get one) should shed some light on my final decision if I even have one.

Any other relatives that work or study at HMS? I believe that Harvard is one of the schools that is interested in that sort of stuff, as is Johns Hopkins.

 

[Beta Cell]

Any other relatives that work or study at HMS? I believe that Harvard is one of the schools that is interested in that sort of stuff, as is Johns Hopkins.

Nah, my cousin graduated and is now doing a residency in plastic surgery at BW, I think.

 

[interferongamma]

At the end of the day, one must ask whether he wanted to go to medical school to become an MD (with the school name attached to it) or to become a physician. If one decides on the former, then all you have written on your Personal Statement is BS.

I was walking inside the confines of UCLA when I came across a parked car on the curb. It has a license plate holder with "believe me i'm a doctor" engraved in it plus a Harvard cap in the windshield. I am in no way jealous of this. I actually told myself "good for him". But his car, in my opinion, mocks the profession by showing off he's a doctor (not so much of Harvard as I understand school Pride).

 

[Beta Cell]

At the end of the day, one must ask whether he wanted to go to medical school to become an MD (with the school name attached to it) or to become a physician. If one decides on the former, then all you have written on your Personal Statement is BS.

I was walking inside the confines of UCLA when I came across a parked car on the curb. It has a license plate holder with "trust me i'm a doctor" engraved in it plus a Harvard cap in the windshield. I am in no way jealous of this. I actually told myself "good for him". But his car, in my opinion, mocks the profession by showing off he's a doctor (not so much of Harvard as I understand school Pride).

That seems more of an attitude some doctors have in general. I know a lot of doctors are often pretty boisterous and let everyone around them know within minutes that they are a doctor.

 

[ChubbyChaser]

Eh, being in an overrepresented group won't keep you out of top 10 programs. I got into a number of top tens with good but not quite 4.0/40 stats. Something like 30% of Harvard's 2012 class is Asian, so it's not like they don't let any asian ppl in.

Mines larger than yours Drizz.

 

[Beta Cell]

Mines larger than yours Drizz.