<p>Might be a dumb question so sorry but i'm just wondering...one that would be hard to reject in the application pool...what would it comprise of?!</p>
<p>I don’t think such an animal exists…</p>
<p>Candidates get rejected for all sorts of reasons. Not all of them academic.</p>
<p>4.0 from MIT majoring in Bioengineering and Interpretive Dance
44T MCAT Score
25 year old 1/2 African American, 1/4 Mexican, 1/4 Navajo male
President of a inner city tutoring organization that he founded
Raised $500,000 for cancer by performing professional level trombone and stand up comedy
2 years working in hospital social work in Harlem Hospital
6 years of translational research with 4 first authorships in Science and half a dozen patents.
Professional athlete and opera singer.</p>
<p>In other words, no such thing and even then interviews and essays count for enough to get even a top candidate rejected.</p>
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<p>A B average?</p>
<p>lol at the “I dont think such an animal exists” </p>
<p>Thanks for the help.</p>
<p>We’re not trying to be mean sarcastic or condescending. Its just that it simply doesn’t. There’s a variety of factors taken into consideration. One accepted applicant can look vastly different from another. The best that anyone can say is things to avoid: too many W’s, C/D’s, any sort of academic citation such as cheating, lack of ec’s, lack of any shadowing/volunteering experience, a bad essay that tries too hard.</p>
<p>I didn’t say anyone was?!..lol…I really meant to thank them! haha </p>
<p>and to WayOutWestMom, I know applicants get rejected for all sorts of reasons but I was sorta aiming at what gets them accepted …obviously, not all for academic reasons. lol</p>
<p>I believe that if one is URM with connections and has saved humanity from Aids and malaria, then whatever is included in his/hers application will be very close to perfect.</p>
<p>OP–</p>
<p>I really don’t think there is any one or two or even fifteen things you need to have on your resume that will make anyone an irresistible candidate. Every admissions interviewer and every school looks for different things. </p>
<p>And schools are looking for diversity in their enrolling class. Thus by definition, they aren’t looking for a perfect “check off the boxes” candidate–they’re looking for someone who can contribute something unique to the class.</p>
<p>And what they look for goes beyond volunteerism, grades, scores, ECs. I’ve known of candidates who got rejected for being overweight/obese, for being too thin, for being “arrogant,” for “lacking self-confidence,” for being too quiet, for being outspoken, for being late to the interview, for spending 2 years in the Peace Corp, for not showing enough commitment to the local community, for dressing unprofessionally…</p>
<p>mmmcdowe speaks the truth about what the dream admit looks like. But even then, it’s not a sure thing.</p>
<p>You just do your best and be sincere and see what happens.</p>
<p>(Oh, and have a Plan B, just in case…)</p>
<p>Wow, OP thats rare, I’m so used to people attacking each other on this board and a lot of sarcasm :).</p>
<p>^^ For being Obese!..is that even allowed?!..becuase that’s tough. I mean, rejecting a candidate clearly able to handle the work feild just becuase he/she is overweight. </p>
<p>But yeah, i see what you mean. I’ll definitely try to add that extra flare to my application while not wasting to much time in the Peace Corps or being arrogant. lol</p>
<p>oh and to ChemFreak: haha…i know… but at least now we know that not everyone’s like that. :)</p>
<p>Yes, s/he was denied for being obese. After going through two application cycles and being rejected everywhere, s/he asked for a review of his/her application. S/he was essentially told that despite an otherwise excellent resume, the admission committee had serious doubts his/her “ability to handle the physical rigors of a medical education” because his/her weight.</p>
<p>The individual who was reject for being too thin was suspected of having an undeclared eating disorder. (She didn’t.)</p>
<p>They said that to his/her face???</p>
<p>WayOutWestMom, I assume you won’t disclose which institutions; I’ll assume a private one. Although, I believe that to be completely sizeist and unfair (on both ends of the spectrum), I can’t completely disagree with their reasoning. Along with being too anything. JMO.</p>
<p>silverturtle: an AMCAS 4.0</p>
<p>^ Yes, I figured. I was merely teasing. :)</p>
<p>I’m guessing the institution was private too, for some odd reason…and now that i think of it, i’ve never even seen an overweight…or underweight doctor; they all seem to pretty healthy. </p>
<p>Maybe their rationale is “lead by example”, knowing some patients might see their doctors being over/under weight as a …cushion of some sort.</p>
<p>DS had better keep toning his body, at least before his interview. (Glad to hear that he recently was obsessed with push-ups and weight-lifting in the gym, against the suggestion of his previous music teacher.) I have made a mistake of not sending him to a dance school when he was young :)</p>
<p>mmmcdowe definitely has no problem in this area.</p>
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<p>I’ve had run ins with all types, but many who appeared… unhealthy. I had this nightmare of an experience at a sad excuse for a public teaching hospital where the Resident Surgeon, or whatever her title, was obese and tall. I don’t know how to say it without prejudice, so I’ll just say that my mother and I made ad hominem comments that didn’t concern her work. We almost automatically assumed that she was somehow incompetent. As someone passionate about human rights, I recognize the folly of my assumptions, but in a hospital involving loved ones, your head is everywhere. </p>
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<p>I feel like this would be their train of thought as well. Even though we all know slender or “normal” people are capable of being unhealthy as well. No matter how you slice it, it is discriminatory. But imagine an obese heart surgeon or nutritionist, just sayin’.</p>