doctor recommendations

[Guest gc]

I know a few people that applied to med school this last year and i found 2 of these people's results intersting. One was a guy who had a 4.25/4.5 gpa, 11.5 mcat, and had volunteered at a hospital and old folks home. The second was a girl who had a 3.7/4.5 gpa, 9.5 mcat, and worked at a hospital ( she got the job because her mom knew a doctor that worked there). She also had doctor's as references and her parents were doctors. Both were the same age (3rd year students). The guy got rejected and the girl got accepted. My friends and I were surprised that this happened. This guy had better marks and done just as much if not more volunteering. He wasn't a socially incompetent person, either. He comes off as a sociable, nice person so i don't think he came off badly in his interview. My friends and I think that the fact that the girkl's parents were doctors and had doctor's for references were the clincher for her accpetance. I've always thought people on the committe wouldn't give preference if you knew an important doctor, but sometimes it seems like that isn't the case.Any opinions would be appreciated. Am i right or am i off base?

 

gc

 

P.s. I'm a year younger (2nd year student) so I won't be applying until next year. Just in case you think I disgruntled about a rejection whining and bitchin that's not the case.

[Guest Ceds]

Hey gc,

 

The thing is you have to be very careful when it comes to comparing two applicants. Keep in mind that the only objective factors are gpa and MCAT. As for references, interview and written submissions, those are difficult to evaluate and subjectivity is unavoidable. I think that your hyopthesis regarding parents as doctors and having doctors as references as the clincher is a little premature. It's quite possible that both were qualified applicants (remember competition is FIERCE) but they felt that the girl was more suitable (based on interview and other subjective measurements).

 

At the same time, there may be an element of truth to your belief that having parents as doctors may have helped, but not in the way that you think. Just because her parents are doctors doesn't give her any direct "advantage" with respect to the admissions process. In fact, some might question the motive for medicine of the applicant in such a familial situation. But because her parents are doctors, the girl you know is well aware of the commitment and lifestyle of a practicing physician. She has experienced the intense schedules of her parents so some would believe that she knows what she would be getting into. Also, her parents were probably able to give her good advice regarding her applications and interviews seeing that they have successfully been through the process themselves.

 

As for having doctors as references, again I don't think that this is that important. First of all, from what I gather there are many schools that use references mainly as flags. Whether they do or not, what is important is that you get a reference from someone who knows you well. You could get a reference from a nobel prize winner which may be more harmful than helpful while your next door neighbour's personal knowledge of your strengths may impress the adcoms.

 

Basically what I'm trying to say is that you can't really compare two applicants based on information that you know about them. The fact is that though the guy you know is sociable, he may still have had an interview that didn't impress the adcoms. Don't be discouraged. The admissions process is far from perfect, but it's not corrupt (I hope ).

 

Any thoughts on this?

[Guest bad hombre]

I've had a doctor write one of my CAFs for this admissions cycle, and he even let me have a peek at what he was sending. I think having a physician as a reference can be advantageous if he/she knows you well. Obviously though, it's not essential. I'm sure a great number of people get in without a physician's reference.

[Guest medicator007]

I think Bad Hombre brings up an excellent point in mentioning that it is integral that the physician be writing your letter on the basis that he/she knows you well. I had a doctor who has been a family friend my whole life write one of my letters and it certainly didn't hurt my chances. However, I know of some people who have just selected physician referees solely on the basis of their prominence in the medical community. In these cases the referees usually don't know the individuals that well and thus the end results were not so favourable.

 

Cheers,

Medicator

[Guest strider2004]

The admissions process has quite a bit of randomness in it so I wouldn't put too much weight on having a physician for a reference. I didn't need a physician reference to get into med school. To which school were these 2 people applying? Different schools have different marking schemes but from what I understand, the reference letter isn't THAT important as long as it gives high marks. A mediocre letter from a nobel prize laureate will never beat an awesome letter from your high school teacher, though I guess working with a Nobel Prize laureate looks pretty good on your CV