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Quote:

Originally Posted by drex

ashmer-

if you are a high quality student, have good mcats, have great grades, and are a people person, its not a problem getting in. obviously, state schools (some of which are outstanding) are more competitive because they cost less. however, that's not necessarily better. there are 7 med schools in chicago to apply to.

i have found that every applicant wants a contact @ med school. i have never seen that make a difference unless the applicant's family member is on staff at a university. although cronism is a ridiculous facet of the medical profession, at the unveristy and academic level it does not do squat for you (unless a family member donates millions to the school, etc).

some of us were lucky and did not go through this process in college; i watched many friends with below A averages and moderate to below average MCATs struggle for 2-3 years to get in; some eventually did, some didn't.

the more important question is, is 'why to you want to become a doctor?'

more important than that, is, "why do you REALLY want to become a doctor?"

:iagree: unfortuneate for the many who struggle and grow up without mentors or family members that are in the field, nonetheless ...cynical grade advisors and guidance counselors who arent much motivation for the same that deserve to be doctors if they had the push. i tell you...if it means much to you...go for it and dont become a statistic. push come to shov....you go to st. kitts and study on the black sand beaches in the caribean ;)
...a liberal point of view...call it a conspiracy if you like, i call it unfair.
good luck...most likely when you get in, your kid will get the benefit of getting a little word in from his/her parent :thumbup:

Like others have stated before, MCAT and GPA is most important. A score many people feel is a good candidate is GPAx10 + MCAT >70 is good. Someone mention something around MCAT ~40, not sure what they mean by that but that is a ridiculous high score. The personal statement is not as important as people think, it gets maybe glance at for typos or some big errors otherwise not read much as you have to imagine how many PS each person has to read over. Interviews are just to make sure you are not a spaz or socially awkward. In terms of what schools to go to, where you go does matter, going to the cribs or being FMG will close many doors for competitve residencies. Nowadays pretty much every serious applicants will have MCAT and GPA and reserach experience and some would have some stuff published usually 4th or 5th authors but won't hurt, for some reason people still think it's possible to do clinical and research which no one really does.
Long reply but hope it helps and good luck