<p>I applied to atleast 8 schools last fall, thinking that I might barely get into a couple of the regular undergrad, but probably not any of the BA/MD programs. However, (to my delight), I was wrong. I got into every school I applied, and interviews at every place I wanted.</p>
<p>The purpose of this post is not to brag, but to take things into perspective. I ran into this site late fall last year, and, upon seeing the caliber of the people on this sight, I thought I didn't have a chance at any of these places. I hadnt done any research or won anything big, just the usual well-rounded stuff. Maybe I was just lucky in the whole college-admissions "crapshoot"... but I would just like say to anyone who has yet to apply to college, that much of the "super-selectivity" of the whole admissions process is exaggerated, especially on this site with all of these great people. My advice is to apply to the top schools/programs and not get discouraged by what you hear from others.</p>
<p>I ended up choosing Harvard over Northwestern's HPME (for those who are interested), although I wasn't really sure till about 12 hours ago.</p>
<p>12 hrs ago, (now prob like 24), i sent in my enrollment confirmation card to harvard.
i chose it over hpme because i liked harvard's campus/dorms/location better. also, if i went to hpme, id prob regret the opportunity offered by harvard whereas if i went to harvard, id still have the opportunity to go to nw med. if i regret anything, it will be not slacking off for the next 3 years, which is prob what i would have resulted to at hpme.
ive also talked to/heard of many more people who turned down hpme for harvard than people who turned down harvard for hpme.</p>
<p>random (mostly local and state) math competitions
local/state sci olympiad medals, sci bowl trophies
(im from tn so state awards dont really mean much...)</p>
<p>usual clubs in school (10-12ish) w/ leadership (4-5ish)
lots of stuff w/ Red Cross (started school club, youth council chair)
~100 hrs. hosp volunteering
~125-150(?) w/ red cross</p>
<p>um...i cant think of anything else major, just ask if u want anything more</p>
<p>i dont want to argue whether i was a top candidate or not... its just that i was under the impression i wasnt when i applied, mostly because of this site where people w/ 400+ hours of community service and research all 4 summers of high school, not to mention NIH internships, published papers, etc. are worried about whether they'll get an interview for a med program. i didnt really do anything productive my summers in high school (besides some volunteering one year). also, a lot of that stuff that i said (ie, rank, awards, leadership) just looks good cause im from tn (ranked ~51 in edu, i think) because no one really does anything here.</p>
<p>i agree with theneel. I didnt think I would make it to HPME or USC's bac/md either (decided on HPME, btw).
Med programs are hella competitive to make it in --> more so than regular admission to a harvard or stanford.
I do feel, though, that med programs aren't as random: If you're stats merit it, you will probably get atleast an interview. At that point, it is all on you and the stats arent as important.
Harvard and Stanford also get an awesome applicant pool, but they are looking for a well-rounded class, etc. The med progs are looking for kids who they know will not flunk out of the prog/want to do medicine bc their mommy or daddy wants them to. In that sense, their decisions are more objective -- the chance of a kid with SATs in the 1300s or low 1400s making it to HPME is slim, etc.
My point: Work to make sure your stats are competitive for the programs and as long as you aren't hella weird, you have a good chance to make it in.</p>
<p>yes most apply to ivies or other big name colleges along with applying to several BS/MD programs.. I applied to Case PPSP, Northwestern HPME, Boston Univ 7 year program, Brown PLME, Penn state/Jefferson program, and pitt's program, but i also applied to penn, columbia, stanford, harvard, princeton, brown (if u exclude the program), and penn state was my back up (even if i didn't get into the jefferson program)</p>
<p>you looked like the perfect candidate to me.. my stats are extremely shabby in comparison</p>
<p>what can i do as of now? junior year is closing up and i don't know how else to improve my chances of making it.. would more hours in the hospital do any good (i had about 160 last year)?</p>