What Are Admissions Committees
Looking For?
Confessions of an admissions
committee insider
Brian P. Sullivan
Washington University in St. Louis
NEAAHP Meeting
April 11, 2013
Disclaimer
Brian Sullivan receives compensation from
Washington University in St. Louis.
Therefore, he will make no pretense of
being objective.
What are we looking for?
• Personal Characteristics
• Quantitative Measures
• Research Experience
• Lagniappe
Personal Characteristics
• Maturity & Integrity
• Commitment & Perseverance
• Curious & Creative
• High concern index
• Effective Team Player & Communicator
Quantitative Measures
Total Applicant Pool
(n= 1,813) 100%
Mean
Range
•
MCATS
31.1
6 - 44
•
GPA
3.6
1.7 - 4.0
Matriculants
•
•
•
MCATS
GPA
(n= 633) 35%
Mean
Range
34.4
22 - 44
3.8
2.8 - 4.0
MD-PhD Applicant Statistics 2012
MCAT
500
450
400
Applicants
Matriculants
27%
350
300
9%
250
200
150
100
50
0
3 - 26
27 - 29
30 - 32
33 - 35
36 - 38
Best MCAT
39 - 45
MD-PhD Applicant Statistics 2012
GPA
400
350
Applicants
300
Matriculants
250
21%
200
7%
150
100
50
0
1.6 3.0
3.0 3.2
3.2 3.4
3.4 3.5
3.5 3.6
3.6 3.7
Total GPA
3.7 3.8
3.8 3.9
3.9 4.0
Research Experience
– Sufficient research experience to
understand what you are getting into
• Two years of undergraduate research
• Multiple summer projects
• Senior thesis research
– Familiarity with testing a hypothesis
– Mechanistic rather than descriptive
Lagniappe
• Publications
• Meeting Presentations
• Leadership Experience
• Gap Year / Postbac
• Multiple Majors
• No Drama
My Favorite Words
Curious
Creative / Innovative
Focused
Initiative / Fearless
Passion
Thoughtful
About the Application
• Less is more, and more is too much
• Clear & unambiguous statements
• Compelling story, not a lab report
• Early bird gets the worm
Acknowledgements:
Data slides provided by the AAMC
Contact Information
[email protected] or 800-852-4625