<p>Based on AAMC data, White pre-med applicants outperform other races and ethnic groups in terms of propportion of applicants getting into medical schools year after year. </p>
<p>Here are the tabulation matriculants/applicants ratios:</p>
<pre><code> 2008 2009 2010 2011
</code></pre>
<p>Non-Hispanic or Latino 0.40 0.38 0.40 0.38
Asian 0.45 0.46 0.45 0.45
American Indian or Alaska Native 0.50 0.46 0.48 0.46
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander 0.26 0.30 0.30 0.25
White 0.47 0.48 0.48 0.48
Other Race 0.38 0.29 0.33 0.31
No Race Response 0.49 0.54 0.51 0.50
More than One Race 0.47 0.50 0.48 0.50
Subtotal 0.46 0.47 0.47 0.47
Foreign 0.22 0.21 0.22 0.19
Totals 0.45 0.46 0.46 0.46</p>
<p>Here is the MCAT means of matriculants and applicant for each race in 2011:</p>
<pre><code> Mexican Puerto Cuban OtherLati Latino-all Black
</code></pre>
<p>Medical schools like white and American indian but not Hawaiian. Does this mean affirmative action for Indian but not Hawaiian (most categorizing Hawaiian as pacific islanders). Asian are in between, but needs higher scores to get in.</p>
<p>Not correct statement at all. Asians are way ahead. Asian’s representation as a % of general Asian population in the USA is much higher. That is why they are called ORM. But forget about stats. Just visit few Med. Schools. I believe that some are not stating ethnicity on application because of ORM status. Asians are by far the hardest working ethnic group, overcoming many more obstacles than other ethnic groups, some of them taking care of parents,…kudos to them, they should be inspiration to everybody else! Mtriculation rate is NOT representative of what is going on at all. Asian matriculation rate is negatively affected by ORM status, and they are still over-represented at Med. School, just another obstacle that they have to overcome!</p>
A few years ago, some CCers here speculated it might help a little bit if an ORM does not put down his/her ethnic group in the application, it may help a little bit. I think it is likely just a myth or a “wishful thinking.” Medical school adcoms can easily tell. (Isn’t there a face-to-face interview?!)</p>
<p>My guess is that, at top-20 medical schools, Asians (including Asian Indians) are particularly over-represented. For three of these schools we happen to be familiar with, the percentage may be close to 40 percents (at least 30 percents.) In other worlds, the percentage is likely higher at a top medical school than at an ivy college.</p>
<p>Maybe one reason is that Asians as a group tend to put more emphasis on going to a prestigious school. This is not only for medical schools. Just look at Asian American politicians. A much higher percentage of them were graduated from a prestigious college when they were young. It is almost as if, when you could not even do well academically when you were young, you are not qualified to be a leader for your community for life. (I do not claim this is good though. The leadership quality may be different from academic capability – just like the fact that whoever are good academically may not be good doctors. This is the reason why academics is not everything for medical school admission.)</p>
<p>Next time, if an Asian American student wonders why (s)he could not get into such a medical school with such stats (e.g., MCAT), just take a quick look at how many Asian Americans have MCAT scores at the very high score range at AAMC site. So, high stats like MCAT scores are really not that rare for such an applicant at such a school! In other word, you aint that special!</p>
<p>Another interesting question is the gender. These days, female students tend to beat male students academically. An exception is the standardized test – I always suspect that skills that have been polished on video games since childhood may be a factor here. More boys are better (and more obsessed) at these games than girls when they are at a certain age. Is it possible that female applicants tend to need a higher standard to get in? At your medical school, is the ratio between males and females controlled at close to 50 percents as in the case of most UGs?</p>