In-state admissions

[flyboy216]

I graduated from the University of Michigan with a Computer Engineering Degree, and for the last year have been working for a medical software company. Now I’m considering applying to the UM medical school.

1) In general, how much does being an in-state applicant help one’s chances of admission?

2) Does the fact that my undergraduate degree was in CE help or hurt? I haven’t taken a class in organic chemistry, but am confident I will do well on MCAT.

3) How much does my work experience help or hurt my chances? I’ve had minimal exposure to a clinical setting during work.

4) I’ve got several publications (in major places) in Computer Science research. Will this help at all?

5) To what degree can an extremely high MCAT score make up for lack of volunteer work, clinical experience, or other factors?

6) What is the likelihood of me being able to transfer to another medical school partway through?

Thanks!

[twu]

quote:

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Originally posted by flyboy216

1) In general, how much does being an in-state applicant help one’s chances of admission?

2) Does the fact that my undergraduate degree was in CE help or hurt? I haven’t taken a class in organic chemistry, but am confident I will do well on MCAT.

3) How much does my work experience help or hurt my chances? I’ve had minimal exposure to a clinical setting during work.

4) I’ve got several publications (in major places) in Computer Science research. Will this help at all?

5) To what degree can an extremely high MCAT score make up for lack of volunteer work, clinical experience, or other factors?

6) What is the likelihood of me being able to transfer to another medical school partway through?

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If you’re applying to a state medical school, being a resident of that state will raise your chances of admission exponentially. High MCAT scores, even “extrememly high” scores, will absolutely not make up for a lack of volunteer work or clinical experience. The AdComs are interested in making physicians out of people who have not only shown ability to handle the academic courseload (deduced from GPAs, MCATs, etc.), but also a committment to helping others. Research in computer science will be an interesting footnote for your application, but I doubt any AdCom will see it as a particularly great thing for med school admissions.

Transferring between med schools is dependent upon an open spot at the school you’re interested in, and if there’s no seat that means there’s no chance. Transferring med schools also requires a compelling reason. So if you want to transfer between a med school in the middle of North Carolina to Harvard, there’s got to be more of a reason than just “Well, Harvard’s better.”

Good luck.

Timothy Wu, MD
AdmissionsConsultants
703.242.5885

[flyboy216]

Many thanks, Timothy!

Does the requirement for volunteer work/clinical experience change at all based on if I’m primarily interested in doing research instead of practicing? Does my work at a medical software company (http://www.cerner.com) help along those lines?

[twu]

quote:

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Originally posted by flyboy216

Does the requirement for volunteer work/clinical experience change at all based on if I’m primarily interested in doing research instead of practicing? Does my work at a medical software company (http://www.cerner.com) help along those lines?

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The AdComs don’t like to think of volunteer/clinical experience activities as “requirements,” and you quite frankly shouldn’t approach these things like they are prerequisites for the study of medicine — you wouldn’t want that to shine through during your interviews. Think of these activities as a chance to see what being a doctor is all about. How else would you know? You need to justify to the AdCom, through your activities, that you know medicine is the right career for you.

Whether or not you go into research, as an MD you’ll be dealing with people, and so that “requirement” doesn’t really change if you’d rather sit in the lab for the rest of your medical career.

The medical software stuff, again, may be an interesting footnote, but I don’t think it’ll really distinguish you all that much from other applicants.

Timothy Wu, MD
AdmissionsConsultants
703.242.5885

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