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: <a href="https://www.aamc.org/download/321496/data/factstablea17.pdf">https://www.aamc.org/download/321496/data/factstablea17.pdf</a>
(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)
[quote]
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.
[/quote]
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.)