S/o med school application process

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are you asking if med school classes are online? I just finished the med school application process with my child. It’s worse in many ways than the undergrad process

I only have kids in high school, and at least one is considering the pre-med track. Can you explain how the med school application process is more difficult? Is it because med schools are more selective so your child applied to more med schools than colleges?

DP. I don't know all the ins and outs bc DC has been doing the apps, not me. It's a multilayered process, though. It seems that there's a preliminary application, then a secondary application, if you make that cut, then an interview, if you make that cut. In addition to high GPA, high science GPA, and high MCAT score, you're supposed to have job shadowing, research, work experience, volunteering...probably a lot more that I'm forgetting.

The timing is completely different, too. I think it catches people off guard. You have to start the process in fall (or summer before) of junior year to really get all your ducks in a row.

Any undergrad premed advising worth anything has a detailed timeline that students can use, one on one meetings available as early as freshman year, and detailed course planning advice to be done in time to take the MCAT after junior year if no gap year is desired. There is really no excuse for the student to be caught off guard. Parents like to be involved these days but it is completely unnecessary.

[Anonymous]

Apparently someone is very upset about parents playing a supporting role in helping their college kid apply to med school.
You do you, and let others do what is best for them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are you asking if med school classes are online? I just finished the med school application process with my child. It’s worse in many ways than the undergrad process

Curious why are you involved, they are an adult? No one helped us years ago, no one helped my premed and their friends who got in without help other than the school's advisors/faculty. It really has not changed dramatically since 1997, in fact now the requirements are all listed in detail, the "encouraged" experiences (clinical/shadowing, science research) are now required so it is less nebulous and less reliant on having excellent premed advising to explain the "suggestions" are mandatory.

You are out of touch. The requirements and expecatations are much higher than in 1997.

Understatement, wild take. Has college admissions also remained unchanged since 1997?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are you asking if med school classes are online? I just finished the med school application process with my child. It’s worse in many ways than the undergrad process

Curious why are you involved, they are an adult? No one helped us years ago, no one helped my premed and their friends who got in without help other than the school's advisors/faculty. It really has not changed dramatically since 1997, in fact now the requirements are all listed in detail, the "encouraged" experiences (clinical/shadowing, science research) are now required so it is less nebulous and less reliant on having excellent premed advising to explain the "suggestions" are mandatory.

You are out of touch. The requirements and expecatations are much higher than in 1997.

Understatement, wild take. Has college admissions also remained unchanged since 1997?

College admissions has gone from 20-30% acceptance rate at elites to sub 5%. Med school admissions is the same or slightly better acceptance rates than 30 yrs ago, counting US MD programs only, not DO or Caribbean. More medical schools have opened; others have expanded numbers. I agree with PP it is not that different. The premed classes required are the same, the clinical/ shadowing now has to be counted for everyone and research is pushed by all, but most successful applicants to the academic research hospital programs were doing all or most of the current requirements 30 yrs ago. It was far less transparent that all of it was expected, and some lower ranked especially rural med schools did not care as much. The standardization of bringing all up to the same bar is the main difference.

[Anonymous]

Acceptance rate for many US MD schools are now between 1 to 5%. The ranking does not even matter here. All US MD schools in top 75 to 100 (Research ranking) have very low acceptance rates.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Acceptance rate for many US MD schools are now between 1 to 5%. The ranking does not even matter here. All US MD schools in top 75 to 100 (Research ranking) have very low acceptance rates.

All US MD schools have low acceptance rates period, not just the top 75-100. Higher acceptance rates for DO schools, but still selective.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are you asking if med school classes are online? I just finished the med school application process with my child. It’s worse in many ways than the undergrad process

Curious why are you involved, they are an adult? No one helped us years ago, no one helped my premed and their friends who got in without help other than the school's advisors/faculty. It really has not changed dramatically since 1997, in fact now the requirements are all listed in detail, the "encouraged" experiences (clinical/shadowing, science research) are now required so it is less nebulous and less reliant on having excellent premed advising to explain the "suggestions" are mandatory.

Only in that he asked to look over his essays. But once they have applied and submitted the supplemental essays, which they are encouraged to do within two weeks, the med schools often go dark for months. They reach out to the people they want to interview and leave everyone else hanging until they decide they might want to interview more.

The lack of basic communication was frustrating. A doctor friend of mine told me that the med schools admissions offices were inundated and running behind in the process. So how hard would have been to send a letter to the applicants to let them know that? Would have taken 3 minutes to draft a form letter. Candidates are left twisting in the wind. There are no announced admit/deny/WL dates as with university.

One school then said it wanted wait-list applicants to do a 1,000-word essay about why the candidate wanted to be off the wait list — this after they had already written two other essays about why they wanted to go to the school. What’s the point of that other essay?

The whole process was a mess. He got in, so this isn’t sour grapes but just pointing out that the system has a lot of flaws. And many doctor friends I know say that it has in fact changed significantly from when they applied.