| EVALUATION OF APPLICATIONS
While closely agreeing on standards, the members of the Committee on Admissions have diverse interests and views, and respect that many roles are possible in medicine. They deliberately attempt to achieve heterogeneity in our classes. Although the typical P&S applicant admitted to this school is approximately 23 years of age, has an excellent academic record in scientific courses, outstanding recommendations, and high MCAT scores, it also is true that some applicants we admit do not conform in all respects to this profile. We receive requests frequently for a definition of our “lower limits” of acceptability in regard to grade point averages and MCAT scores. Because we avoid inflexible criteria whenever we can, it is not possible to provide anything more than an approximate idea of the committee’s values.
Grades---The committee hopes that you will have received grades of As and Bs in your scientific courses (more As than Bs), but recognizes that such grades are not possible under all circumstances. We know, for example, that in some advances scientific courses, the grading curves may be atypical in comparison with introductory courses. If you have experiences the consequences of such a curve, please ask the instructor to write us a note about this. If that’s not possible, ask your pre-med advisor or advisory committee to investigate your situation and to report the findings to us. An ultimate grade lower than C minus in any of the required courses is not regarded by the committee as satisfactory completion of our requirements. If you have such grades in required courses, you must have retaken the courses (or acceptable substitutes) with higher grades. The committee is not particularly disturbed when a few of the courses not required for admission have been taken on a pass/fail basis, but if you have failed a course, the committee will wonder why. Please include an explanation of such a grade in your application.
MCAT scores--- Applicants who meet our academic requirements in scientific courses typically have MCAT scores of 11 or better on all of the numerically scored portions of the test. We commonly receive more applications from individuals meeting our academic and MCAT minimums than we interview. For further information on this subject, see “Selection of applicants for interview.”
Letters of recommendation---The committee can readily identify letters from individuals or premedical advisory groups, who have genuine knowledge of you and your capabilities, and who give you considerably more than routine praise; such letters weigh substantially in your favor. Letters from people who do not know you personally cannot be given serious consideration.
Extracurricular activities, and summer jobs---Not all students who wish to study medicine have an opportunity to test their motivation by working at a hospital or some type of health care facility. If you have worked as a lifeguard or camp counselor and know the feeling of having other people depend on you, you already are familiar with one aspect of a physician’s life. If you have worked in a research laboratory, you have learned something about another aspect of the world of medicine. Such experience is an asset in applying to P&S. If you have had to take the best paying job available to stay in school, the Committee on Admissions recognizes that you may lack this experience, but may have other attributes that demonstrate your persistence.
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