AAMC ethics

Does that AAMC release your scores to schools you are not applying to? I just got this email from the Wisconsin school of medicine:
The Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW) recently received, from the AAMC, your results on the April 2003 MCAT. In reviewing your scores the Committee believes that should your other credentials complement these scores you would be a competitive candidate for a space in the class entering in the fall of 2004. Allow me to briefly introduce you to the Medical College of Wisconsin…
While I am flattered, I am a little freaked out. Please tell me they send this to everyone and that they dont really know my scores! I did not release this information to Wisconsin.
DRD

I am not sure if they know your scores or not (perhaps they just get a list of people that scored above a certain level), but you received this note because you probably agreed to have your information released to the MCAT Recruiting Servce (this was one of the questions on MCAT day or during MCAT registration). If you distinctly remember bubbling NO to have your information released to the MCAT Recruiting Service, then I would contact AAMC/MCAT office in writing asking to have your information removed from the database.

I’ll be honest, I don’t remember saying yes or no to any recruiting service but if I did think about it for even a second, I’m sure I would’ve shrugged and said, "What the hey, I don’t care."
Within several weeks of taking the MCAT i was getting a lot of mail from podiatry and Caribbean programs. (these things came before I got my scores, and did NOT make reference to my performance)
Later, I got two letters like the one you described - one inviting me to apply to the M.D.-Ph.D. program at U. Illinois (!!!), the other asking me to please apply to Pitt.
Don’t freak out about it. I suspect mpp’s right, they just know that you scored >X, whatever cutoff score they used when asking for mailing labels from AAMC. But even if someone knows your actual scores - so what? What could anyone do with that information that could be remotely harmful or sinister?
But given that everyone is being more and more careful about releasing information these days, I am REAL sure you probably consented to this and just don’t remember, or maybe didn’t realize exactly what it was you were consenting to. Or - I can imagine myself in this position - you read it, thought, “Yeah, right, like anyone is going to write to ME,” and consented expecting that would be the last you’d hear of it.

DRD, I got that email too! laugh.gif I just took it as flattering. I remember that when I took the SAT (oh so many years ago!) I got tons of recruiting mail. I think we released our scores to AMCAS, not to specific schools. I don’t think it’s anythig to worry about.

So the next question would be - would they really accept you given that the other stuff is okay, or are they really just looking for the extra cash that comes with extra secondaries? Ya, I know, bad attitude, but with all the applications a school receives, you would think they have all they can handle and then some, at least enough qualified to fill the incomming class - yes?

Well, yes, Bacmedic, that cynical thought certainly crossed my mind once or twice. My MCAT scores were above average, but not THAT good that I thought people would be beating my door down to have me at their program. tongue.gif