Extracurriculars?

[kgboy]

I've always thought the two important requirement for an MSTP candidate other than academics and MCAT is strong research and some clinical exposure, and that is what I concentrated my extracurricular efforts on. But I also noticed recently that a lot of MSTP applicants on mdapplicants.com have extracurriculars like clubs, student government, honor society, and TA experience. Does anyone know if adcoms frown upon at applicants who don't have these social/leadership experience? Thanks everyone.

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[Gfunk6]

In many cases you are applying concurrently to the medical school and the MSTP. If the med school says no and the MSTP says yes then, typically, it is a no go.

So, yes, get as many extracurriculars as you can. If you don't have them, this will probably not torpedo your application but they will certainly help.

 

[b&ierstiefel]

I believe that if you're a strong candidate for the MSTP but with limited extracurriculars, the worst thing that can happen is that you are wait-listed by medical schools. Then it's up to the MSTP to decide whether they will accept you. If they say yes, then you're in. The reason is that medical schools have a certain number of slots reserved for combined degree students and the ball is really in the MSTP's court. I haven't heard of too many stories where an applicant got flat out rejected from the MD program but got accepted by the MSTP. I would suspect that, like what Gfunk said, a thumbs down by the MD + thumbs up from the MSTP = no dice.