Reassessing student potential for medical school success: distance traveled, grit, and hardiness.

An admissions committee is choosing between two students for its final medical school slot. Mark, compared to Derek, comes from a more prestigious university and has a slightly higher grade point average (GPA), better medical college admission test (MCAT) scores, and more recommendations from scholars known for their research publications. Derek’s recommendation letters, however, mention that he possesses a set of soft skills acquired from a disadvantaged background. His recommenders state these soft skills are the reasons for his academic and professional success. All things considered, Mark would probably be offered the final slot. Yet, what if these soft skills (i.e., perseverance, commitment, and endurance) were found to be just as useful at predicting medical school success as GPA and MCAT scores? The committee might then think about ensuring that both Mark and Derek at least receive an interview. The current selection process of most medical schools, however, may normally lead the committee to overlook or dilute the significance of these important soft skills. Subsequently, the medical school may miss out on a promising student like Derek who may develop into a successful physician like Mark. This essay establishes a framework for rethinking the medical and graduate school admissions process in favor of a more holistic perspective that more sufficiently accounts for the characteristics that predict student success. We suggest that 3 concepts—distance traveled, hardiness, and grit—can be used as factors in the admissions process to create a more diverse cohort of students along racial, class, and gender lines without compromising quality.