What is looked at first on an application?

Question:
Admissions,
I know this question has nothing DIRECTLY related to the review process, but I just wanted to know what it is like to be in your shoes. If I were on the admissions committee, I would probably get tired of reading hundreds of personal letters and all these GPAs and numbers. Do you get tired after a while and just let some things slip? Finally, do you feel bad that some really eager and qualified applicants might get rejected because the reivew/interviewer might just be having a bad day? When you open the file of an applicant, what is the FIRST thing you look at? I know this has NO importance to the whole process but, again, I'm just curious. Do you look at the GPA/PCAT or just go straight to the personal statement or even just start off reading their background? I know everybody is different, but what do YOU usually do?

Answer: Generally speaking, I look at the PCAT score first, followed by the overall GPA, prereq GPA (particularly Orgo, Bio, and Calculus), and then the school the applicant attended. Just looking at those items allows me to reduce by about 1/3 the number of files to review. Some are "slam dunk" applicants, whereas others have no realistic chance of being admitted.

I would be lying if I said that we don't become weary at some point during the application cycle. It can be long and tedious, but most of us undersatnd the significance of the review process and try to give every applicant some consideration. Having said that, it is very obvious that many applicants have no realistic chance of being admitted. The toughest files to review are those of the applicant who has done everything right, but might have a below average GPA or PCAT and having to determine what their status should be. For this reason, I think there is great variability between responses from different schools. I have seen students rejected from one school without an interview and that same student is offered admission immediately from another. Unfortunately, it's not black and white.