MUSC students discuss the process of increasing diversity on campus

The field of medicine has long suffered from a lack of diversity. As the United States continues to grow more diverse, colleges of medicine are struggling to keep up, especially in light of mounting demand for improved outcomes provided by physicians who reflect the diversity of the communities they serve.

Fourth-year medical student Lance Braye believes the push for diversity in medicine is long overdue. But at the same time, it has led to many misconceptions about just what it takes to get into medical school, especially for minority applicants.

He wants to make one thing clear right off the bat: “No one gets into medical school because they’re black.”

He recalls one incident in college when a white peer expressed his frustration with the admissions process, saying Braye would only get into MUSC because of his race. “He didn’t say it maliciously,” Braye said. “But it still hurt.”

Braye, who is on the admissions committee, says there are a few things he wishes he knew when he was on the other side of the interview table.

Like many schools, MUSC uses a point system in its admissions process. Grade point averages and Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) scores are first used to determine which students will be invited to interviews. Another formula then adds in interview scores and assigns each criterion a point value. The threshold score for acceptance changes each year, but for MUSC, it generally hovers in the low teens. Students on the verge of that threshold might qualify for a fraction of a point of “added value” if they bring something more to the table.

Michael de Arellano, Ph.D., senior associate dean for diversity, explained what some of those things might be. “Students who have worked for a number of years, those who are married with children, students from lower socioeconomic or rural backgrounds, those with advanced degrees, those who have overcome great adversity, as well as students who have shown tremendous athletic or artistic achievements; all are examples of added value.”

De Arellano also emphasized that added value is only considered after interviews take place. “No applicant is scheduled for interviews without meeting the academic cut,” he said. “The AAMC ranks MUSC in the 96th percentile for African-American students graduating from medical school, which speaks to the extremely high standards we have for all of our students, and the support our students receive to help them achieve their goals as physicians.”

Part of that support consists of pipeline initiatives meant to level the playing field for the next generation of health care professionals, the importance of which, Braye said, can’t be underestimated.
Prior to applying to MUSC, he participated in a six-week MCAT prep course, a 100-hour internship and a weeklong health careers academy where he shadowed physicians and participated in mock lectures at MUSC. Those programs, sponsored by MUSC and the South Carolina Area Health Education Consortium, were completely free.

For many students, though, the costs are still prohibitive.

John Robinson, another fourth-year College of Medicine student, did not have access to MUSC’s pipeline programs. He saved up to take an MCAT prep course online through Kaplan University, a for-profit college. He needed the structure it offered, he said, but wishes more students could afford the same opportunity.

Braye and Robinson say minority applicants shouldn’t let people tell them they aren’t cut out for medical school or that they’ll only get in because of their race. And they shouldn’t buy the many misconceptions surrounding the admissions process. When in doubt, they suggest reaching out to people like de Arellano or Wanda Taylor, MUSC’s assistant dean for admissions, and applying for pipeline programs to make themselves more competitive applicants.