Applying to Medical School - Page 33
their own vision of suitability for acceptance
based on an idealized model that
each of them has. This hypothetical image
includes considerations such as the
school's mission, the need for a level of
balance among the sexes, incoming
class desire to give disadvantaged students
opportunities, a bias toward the
undergraduate school where the applicant may
have studied, and originally an
inner feeling of the suitability of the
individual for admission. Therefore, com-
ments by your interviewer(s), especially if they
are admissions committee mem-
bers, and a variety of fortuitous circumstances,
including the stage in the admis-
sions cycle when when your application comes up
for review, can decisively
influence your chances.
Bottom Line
Regarding admissions committees and their
operating procedures, it is useful to be
aware of the following:
· Admissions Committees and admissions
procedures vary among medical schools.
· The typical Admissions Committee
consists of the Dean of Admissions, represen-
tatives from the basic and clinical science
faculties, and in most cases at least one
or more (voting or nonvoting) medical
student(s). A small number of committees
may also include alumni, a
physician-in-training (or resident), and an Admissions
Office staff member as nonvoting
members.
· Admissions Committees set their own
criteria for acceptance and prioritize their
importance. These criteria frequently differ
between state-supported and private
institutions.
· Admissions criteria for minority or
underrepresented applicants differ from those
of other applicants and vary from one
institution to another.
· After screening your AMCAS
application, a determination is made regarding
whether you should be sent the school's
supplementary application. If affirmed,
this, plus payment of a fee, will enable your
application to be processed further.
Not being sent a supplementary form terminates
further consideration of your
application and is equivalent to
rejection.
· A special subcommittee initially
screens all incoming applications, and supple-
mentary forms, to determine which candidates
are most suitable as prospective
interviewees. These individuals are usually
placed into one of four categories:
interview, hold for possible later interview,
reinterview, and decline to interview
(i.e., reject).
· After the interview has taken place,
the entire committee will examine each appli-
cant's completed portfolio. These usually
include a completed AMCAS application,
the secondary form, MCAT scores, letters of
recommendation, and the inter-
viewer(s)' evaluation(s). The committee will
then be ready to make a definitive
decision.
· All eligible members will vote on each
applicant during each review cycle. Those
with the highest number of votes above a
cut-off point will receive a letter of
acceptance. All other applicants will either be
put on a waiting list or rejected, de-
pending on how they are ranked in committee
voting.
· During subsequent cycles, the
committee will review new applicant portfolios as
well as those who are on the waiting
list.
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