Getting into a medical school is still not easy, but the admissions committee for Dartmouth Medical School gave prospective students some advice on Thursday about applying.
Sponsored by the Nathan Smith Pre-Medical Society, a mock admissions exercise had attendees divide into groups and review real medical school applications from the past and try to guess which of the candidates were accepted, wait- listed and rejected.
While students reviewed the applications, DMS admissions officers Chris Nelson, Harold Freedman, Andy Welch, Carolina Walsh and Steve Cobery answered questions and talked with various groups about what it takes to get into medical school.
The admissions officers said if a person's individual MCAT scores were 10 or above, the actual scores did not really matter to them that much.
They also said most admissions officers only quickly scan a candidate's grades and spend more time reviewing the essays and the interview results. But they did warn that some medical schools base their acceptances much more on MCAT scores and grades.
When asked about majors, the members said that candidates' majors do not really affect their acceptances.
"I like poets," Nelson said. "Show a little breadth."
They all emphasized that regardless of the major, students should do well in science courses they do take.
The applications the students reviewed were written by four very different candidates. The first candidate wrote an essay about her first experience with human suffering and went to a prestigious college, but interviewers said she had sub-par communication and people skills. Her grades and MCAT scores were acceptable.
The second candidate went to a very selective east coast college, wrote a senior thesis, turned in a creative application essay about Doctor Doolittle, studied in France, majored in molecular biology and volunteered at a hospital. The candidate received only mediocre interview scores and earned decent grades.
The third candidate went to a small liberal arts school, volunteered at a local hospital, majored in engineering, but he also told interviewers he was a rebel in high school and had some drug problems in the past before he turned his life around.
The final candidate attended an elite west coast school, involved herself in community service, earned almost perfect grades in college and on the MCAT, and was described by interviewers as "a superstar, vibrant and enthusiastic."
In the end, virtually all groups decided to reject the first candidate and accept the last candidate, but many groups were unsure about the second and third. The committee informed students that the second candidate was wait-listed and the third was accepted.
