How Can I Get Into John Hopkins Medical School?

laibaiqbal · July 2017

*MED SCHOOL ADVICE WANTED*

Hi! I am a senior in high school and am curious as to what it would take for me to get into JHU Med. I know I am thinking way too far into the future, but I just want a little insight into the intensity and rigor that comes with applying to top med schools. These questions probably apply to any med school across the board, I am aware that acception into ANY med school is a great achievement.

Any who, I was thinking that it would be a good choice to major in Biochemistry. I have talked to some med students and they have told me that majoring in biochem will help immensely on the MCAT. In addition I have a great passion for History and have even considered majoring in History and just completing my pre-med reqs along the way. Although, med schools like variety in their applicants, I know that it will be difficult to do well on the MCAT without a good foundation in the sciences.

Do med-schools like students who have studies abroad? What GPA am i looking at with these top med schools in mind? What MCAT score? What are some of you guys' experiences with applying to top med schools such as JHU or Harvard? How are the interviews?

I know I shouldn't be too obsessed with getting into such prestigious schools but I always find that pushing myself above and beyond helps me do well!

Thanks for your help!!!

WayOutWestMom · July 2017

@laibaiqbal

Stats for JHU Class starting 2016
http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/som/admissions/md/students/class_statistics.html

Top grades (average GPA 3.88)
Top MCAT score (average 36, old scale; 519, new scale)
Exceptional ECs and LORs
Significant research (1/5 of matriculants hold PhDs)

HMS --

Class profile--https://hms.harvard.edu/about-hms/deans-corner/deans-report-2016-2017/hms-student-profiles

Again, top grades, top MCAT scores, exceptional ECs/achievements, significant research.

~~~~~

In general medical schools do not care what your undergrad major is so long as you have excelled in the pre-requisite classes.

Majors that seem to have above expected success in med school applications: mathematics & statistics, and philosophy/humanities.

See: https://www.aamc.org/download/321496/data/factstablea17.pdf

(However, be aware that there may be significant selection bias involved in the data.)

FWIW, both my daughters went to med school. (Neither was a "typical pre med" bio or chem major.) Their classmates had majors ranging from forestry to theology to computer science to music performance. But adcomms are not selecting for diversity of majors in their admitted classes, they are selecting for the best potential doctors they can find.

Here's what medical schools are looking for in applicants: (posted by an admission officer)

We look for a person who is personable and at ease and perhaps even friendly, upbeat and who has some enthusiasm/passion for something they're asked about. We look for someone who can interpret social cues and respond accordingly.
We look for applicants who can communicate clearly in English and who have the ability to describe complex ideas and systems in a way that could be easily understood by a lay person.
We look for applicants who can demonstrate a familiarity with health care settings and the role of the physician and who are realistic about the practice of medicine in the 21st century.
We look for applicants who are curious and who have demonstrated this interest in learning more about the world through research and who can describe this research in ways that demonstrate their passion for investigation. (very research oriented school)
We look for applicants who care about people in need and who have demonstrated this by their community service and who can talk about it in a way that demonstrates that they care about people and not just as a box-check.
We look for applicants who are resilient and who can demonstrate an ability to bounce back from disappointment or failure.
We look for applicants who are self-reflective and who are able to identify their own areas of improvement.
We look for applicants who are team players and who work well with others and are respectful of others.

Every interviewer asks him/herself the same basic question about each candidate they interview: Can I see this person treating my elderly mother? My sick child?

~~~~~

Interviews vary a great deal. It depends on the individual interviewer--who are all volunteers and may include faculty, administrators, practicing physicians from the community, retired med school alumni and current students. Some interviews are conversational, friendly and straight-forward; some are stressful and adversarial. Some are short & perfunctory; some are very long & involved. (D1 had an interview that went on for over 3 hours.)

laibaiqbal · July 2017

Thank you so much for the immediate response! You were very helpful and thorough. Can I ask what you meant by "significant selection bias" in the chart for the top majors?

laibaiqbal · July 2017

Thank you so much for the immediate response! You were very helpful and thorough. Can I ask what you meant by "significant selection bias" in the chart for the top majors?

Syrxis · July 2017

By selection bias I believe WOWMom means that if your GPA, ECs, and MCAT scores are substandard as a humanities/math major, you wouldnt even apply in the first place so they tend to have better acceptance rates than, for example, bio majors that go in as premed and apply anyways when their stats might be subpar.

WayOutWestMom · July 2017

Selection bias

Selection bias is the bias introduced by the selection of individuals, groups or data for analysis in such a way that proper randomization is not achieved, thereby ensuring that the sample obtained is not representative of the population intended to be analyzed. It is sometimes referred to as the selection effect.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selection_bias

It means compared to bio and physical science majors, very few math majors and very few humanities majors apply to med school. Med school is not a typical career path for a philosophy or a statistics major making those who do choose to apply a strongly self-selected group.

How Can I Get Into John Hopkins Medical School?

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