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can anybody who is going/has gone/knows someone who is going/has gone post stats for BS/MD program at Northwestern? thx a lot ... as a side note, please add your ethnic background if you don't mind

By sara on Wednesday, February 19, 2003 - 05:14 pm: Edit

rejected last week
SAT: 1590
ACT: 34
SAT II: chem- 800, m2c: 800, writing: 760
class rank: 2/564
lab intern at johns hopkins summer research and 700+ hrs hospital volunteering

excellent recs, funny/witty essay

only reason i can think of for not getting in:
i'm asian.

By Issme (Issme) on Wednesday, February 19, 2003 - 05:29 pm: Edit

Holy Moly sara.. I can't believe that you didn't get in w/ that.. where ya gonna go now?

By anon on Wednesday, February 19, 2003 - 05:30 pm: Edit

sara, where else did u apply to?

By edsa on Wednesday, February 19, 2003 - 05:32 pm: Edit

you guys think a 1560 asian indian would be a liability?

By Thomas on Wednesday, February 19, 2003 - 09:50 pm: Edit

Also rejected from Northwestern medicine program last week.

GPA: 3.98 unweighted, 4.73 weighted (1 A- in freshman Art class...rest, all A's)
Taken 5 APs so far, all 5s. Taking 4 APs now.
High school doesn't rank, but top 10 prep school in the country.
SAT: 1600
SAT II: 800 2c, 800 bio, 800 chem, 780 writing
Research experience: labwork in biology lab at Harvard - 7 hours a week for 2 years.

Other ECs: wrestling, golf, poetry.

good essays.

4 Recs: 1 from high school headmaster, 1 from high school teacher, 1 from Harvard professor whom I did research for, 1 from practicing physician at Mass General Hospital (Harvard Medical School affiliate) whom I also did research for in the department of oncology.

I'm Korean.

Accepted EA at Harvard.

By Potter on Wednesday, February 19, 2003 - 09:59 pm: Edit

HOLYSHIT!!!! how could Thomas and Sara be rejected????????????????????????????? Who thefuck does HPME take? That is whacked.

By asdf on Thursday, February 20, 2003 - 12:48 am: Edit

HPME will take URMs over Thomas and Sara any day of the week. Thomas and Sara will probably go to very good schools and eventually become doctors via another route.

URMs may not have the same potential without help.

By Heres a rubbadub dolly doll on Thursday, February 20, 2003 - 12:57 am: Edit

IF you're Chinese, Korean, or Indian you're screwed

By AA sucks but get used to it on Thursday, February 20, 2003 - 01:01 am: Edit

I know two kids that got 1600's, all 800's, all 5's and equally tied for first place that got rejected from both Stanford and MIT. Their only crime for not getting in you ask? Their Chinese.

By BOO HOO on Thursday, February 20, 2003 - 02:48 am: Edit

To all the kids that think being Asian is really that much of a hindrance, it's really all in your head. These are the list of schools my brother applied to last year: Princeton, Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Cornell, Penn, Northwestern, Johns Hopkins, MIT, Cal Tech, UC Berkeley, UCLA, Stanford, and Duke. Guess what? He got into all of them. What are his stats? He's ranked 8th in his class, cum GPA of 4.36 and a 1470 on his SAT's. Now that's a great resume but it's obviously pretty average for some of the schools he applied to. He got in due to his uniqueness, he competed in math/science olympiads, he was ranked senior of the year in his county, he was also a leader and a president in all his fields. One last thing, HE'S CHINESE!!!!!! So the idea that you need to have an outstanding, superior resume as a Chinese or any other Asian is pure rubbish. Quit complaining, either you're essay wasn't that great or you're just bland.

By edsa on Thursday, February 20, 2003 - 10:26 am: Edit

this is so depressing...

By Potter on Thursday, February 20, 2003 - 10:30 am: Edit

I'm Indian and I applied to a few medical programs. I guess it's just luck. Some make it and others don't. Damn.

By asdf on Thursday, February 20, 2003 - 01:18 pm: Edit

boo hoo....

you are a moron! i bet your brother wouldnt have gotten into HPME if he applied this year! look at Thomas's stats...it was good enough to get him into Harvard EA...and probably will get him into everywhere else he applied.

but the fact that he was asian kept him out of HPME. HPME and brown PLME are probably the 2 hardest programs to get into for an asian. HPME and PLME rejects probably all end up and HYPSM and are relunctantly "disappointed."

By anon on Thursday, February 20, 2003 - 01:39 pm: Edit

Hey Potter,

Where did you apply for med programs?

By Potter on Thursday, February 20, 2003 - 03:30 pm: Edit

I was rejected at HPME and REMS so far. Damn, it hurts. I'm still awaiting further rejections.

By sara on Thursday, February 20, 2003 - 04:45 pm: Edit

well, i also applied to the Case western, rochester, boston U and brown BA/MD programs. i've also applied to some ivies and the such, but of course, i'd much rather go to a BA/MD program than anywhere else. thanks for the concern guys, i don't know who HPME accepts, lol, apparently not asians.

By anon on Thursday, February 20, 2003 - 07:18 pm: Edit

Potter, what is REMS?

By s on Friday, February 21, 2003 - 04:53 pm: Edit

U of R: Rochester(NY) Early Medical Scholars -- 8 yr. program

By Loren on Friday, February 21, 2003 - 06:14 pm: Edit

hey does anyone know about the University of Miami BS/MD program?
Is it any good?

By mo on Friday, February 21, 2003 - 09:38 pm: Edit

it's only for in state...pretty competetive...excellent medical school.

By Dr. phil on Friday, February 21, 2003 - 10:56 pm: Edit

Why go the BA/MD road anyway. You can get a BA in three years if you bust your a$$ and do medschool in four. So you don't save any time and its a gamble if you end up changing your mind and not doing medicine. I think all you guys are crazy for even wanting to do this.

By x on Saturday, February 22, 2003 - 01:51 pm: Edit

Edsa,
I don't know if this is helpful, but just for reference...
The avg scores for people who get in...
Math IIC score - 785,
Writing 760,
Chemistry 755,
SAT I 1530s.

About 1,200 request applications, about 120 get interviews and ultimately about 50 get in.
If you're selected for an interview you interview with a doctor at the med school, a med school student and perhaps the engineering or communications department at Northwestern.

Last year someone from my school got in with 1550, 800,800,750.

asdf, sara and Thomas, I don't think being asian is what kept you out of HPME. I am Chinese and I was lucky enough to get an interview last week.
My scores are not as stellar as yours.
SAT I V:770 M:780
Math 2c: 800
Writing 790
Chem 700
GPA 4.0 uw
rank 1/432
My school doesn't have guidance counselors. HPME requires only one english teacher rec and I sent that in. I don't have tons of clinical or research experience like you guys and so I really don't understand what gets people in or out.

edsa, the application itself is just one counselor rec, one english teacher rec, one essay on your motivations for med and one activities and honors sheet. How they pick the 120 to be interviewed, I don't know. It really is a great program though, so good luck to you if you apply.

By edsa on Saturday, February 22, 2003 - 03:06 pm: Edit

thx for the info...its nice to know that someone with stats resembling mine has an interview...good luck

By x on Saturday, February 22, 2003 - 06:24 pm: Edit

Edsa,
I was just curious... did you apply this year?

By edsa on Saturday, February 22, 2003 - 06:44 pm: Edit

no, im currently a junior

edsa is a stupid name i dont know why i typed it

By Nirvzeplin (Nirvzeplin) on Tuesday, April 01, 2003 - 09:23 pm: Edit

I have to agree with Boo Hoo. Last year my indian friend who does not have stats like thomas and sara got into HPME, and you can't say he definitely wouldn't have gotten in this year, bc I (also indian) have stats very similar to him, and I got an interview this year. The bottom line is it definitely does not come down to stats.

The med programs and ivys know that probably 80% of the people who apply are smart enough and capable enough to do well there, but they obviously don't have enough room for everyone. Therefore, they're not looking for the people with the highest numbers. Instead they are looking for people that they think will make the program interesting for eveyrone else. (or other abstract things related to personality) What difference does academic ability of student A versus B make to an HPME admissions officer if he knows that both are smart enough to handle the work well.

People often comment about how much they like HPME because of the great atmosphere. I'm sure the type of students in the program play a large role in making the atmosphere the way it is. HPME is going to want students with personalities that they think will best compliment the group and keep the reputation and 'atmosphere' of the program as high as possible.
No one says, "I want to go to this program because all the people there got awesome SAT scores!" or "Brown is so cool because everyone volunteered a lot at hospitals." It's attractive for its environment- the people. Is it fair? Probably not, but of course NU is going to look after their own self interest: keeping HPME's reputation high.

My interviewer for Brown told me that they don't want the people who are good enough for Brown. They want the people that NEED Brown to thrive. It sounds hokey, but it's true. The major problem, of course, is it's extremely difficult to find out exactly who's personality needs Brown or who will compliment Brown the best. It's all completely subjective, but that explains why it seems so arbitrary as to who gets in and who doesn't.

These places get so many extremely smart applicants that they know they can't go wrong in terms of picking smart people. They're ALL smart, so instead they'll go for less discernable characteristics in attempts to shape the student body in ways they see most fitting. They WILL make mistakes because of it's total subjectivity. It's a gamble trying to decide on personality, but they don't have much to lose. If they were right, they have a smart kid who compliments the school. If they were wrong, they have a smart kid who doesn't fit in so well. They don't have much to lose because everyone is so smart.

Wow, this is long, and I'm rambling...
Basically what I'm saying, if you have incredible grades, did everything possible, and still didn't get in, maybe the officer made an arbitrary assumption about your personality, or maybe he was in a bad mood and automatically associated your application with negativity. Just don't automatically blame your race.

By Nirvzeplin (Nirvzeplin) on Tuesday, April 01, 2003 - 09:23 pm: Edit

I have to agree with Boo Hoo. Last year my indian friend who does not have stats like thomas and sara got into HPME, and you can't say he definitely wouldn't have gotten in this year, bc I (also indian) have stats very similar to him, and I got an interview this year. The bottom line is it definitely does not come down to stats.

The med programs and ivys know that probably 80% of the people who apply are smart enough and capable enough to do well there, but they obviously don't have enough room for everyone. Therefore, they're not looking for the people with the highest numbers. Instead they are looking for people that they think will make the program interesting for eveyrone else. (or other abstract things related to personality) What difference does academic ability of student A versus B make to an HPME admissions officer if he knows that both are smart enough to handle the work well.

People often comment about how much they like HPME because of the great atmosphere. I'm sure the type of students in the program play a large role in making the atmosphere the way it is. HPME is going to want students with personalities that they think will best compliment the group and keep the reputation and 'atmosphere' of the program as high as possible.
No one says, "I want to go to this program because all the people there got awesome SAT scores!" or "Brown is so cool because everyone volunteered a lot at hospitals." It's attractive for its environment- the people. Is it fair? Probably not, but of course NU is going to look after their own self interest: keeping HPME's reputation high.

My interviewer for Brown told me that they don't want the people who are good enough for Brown. They want the people that NEED Brown to thrive. It sounds hokey, but it's true. The major problem, of course, is it's extremely difficult to find out exactly who's personality needs Brown or who will compliment Brown the best. It's all completely subjective, but that explains why it seems so arbitrary as to who gets in and who doesn't.

These places get so many extremely smart applicants that they know they can't go wrong in terms of picking smart people. They're ALL smart, so instead they'll go for less discernable characteristics in attempts to shape the student body in ways they see most fitting. They WILL make mistakes because of it's total subjectivity. It's a gamble trying to decide on personality, but they don't have much to lose. If they were right, they have a smart kid who compliments the school. If they were wrong, they have a smart kid who doesn't fit in so well. They don't have much to lose because everyone is so smart.

Wow, this is long, and I'm rambling...
Basically what I'm saying, if you have incredible grades, did everything possible, and still didn't get in, maybe the officer made an arbitrary assumption about your personality, or maybe he was in a bad mood and automatically associated your application with negativity. Just don't automatically blame your race.

By Desi (Desi) on Saturday, May 03, 2003 - 01:53 am: Edit

I agree with many of the previous statements. I'm indian, and I got into HPME and PLME too...they aren't biased. I chose hpme by the way