Anybody else feels crappy after reading SDN

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FattySlug

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I spent that last 2 weeks reading a lot on SDN and it seems to me like every other poster was rocking a 3.7 and bombing the MCAT 35+. Anything below that and you are in for an uphill battle.

I saw this one poster who got 40N the 1st time but took it again for the writing sample and got 41Q. I was like WTF!!!???
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I've come to realize that many of the pre-med SDN members reflect the top 25% of the applicants that you are competing against. In the "real world", most of the pre-meds I know didn't score above a 30 on their MCATs, and many have had B's and C's during their undergraduate career, and are still getting acceptances to MD's. SDN has the tendency to make you feel neurotic and compare yourself against these hugely successful individuals, but make a plan on how you're going to get into medical school, stick to it, and watch the positive outcomes, and you shouldn't feel lousy about reading the forums.
 
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FattySlug said:
I spent that last 2 weeks reading a lot on SDN and it seems to me like every other poster was rocking a 3.7 and bombing the MCAT 35+. Anything below that and you are in for an uphill battle.

I saw this one poster who got 40N the 1st time but took it again for the writing sample and got 41Q. I was like WTF!!!???
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Honestly I get the opposite affect. I see the average sdner and it just make me want to work at full potential and push myself just a little harder. Keep in mind people like to lie on the internet. In the end I would rather do better than I needed to and overachieve than the opposite. In other words, sdn keeps me on my toes.
 
Doctor246853 said:
Honestly I get the opposite affect. I see the average sdner and it just make me want to work at full potential and push myself just a little harder. Keep in mind people like to lie on the internet. In the end I would rather do better than I needed to and overachieve than the opposite. In other words, sdn keeps me on my toes.
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Thought I was the only one lol:thumbup:
 
I also think some of the posters on here give better info than many advisors. ( Catalyst, LizzyM,...) At the summer program Im at right now alot of premeds told me that and I quote " You dont have to do any ec's its all about your Mcat and gpa". I started to explain that many people will rock those so you will need a stronger app but I quickly shut up and agreed with them. A few less premeds to take my seat.:rolleyes:
 
SDN has made me who I am. Best thing ever. I know more about the medical admissions process that most people in my school.
 
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Doctor246853 said:
Honestly I get the opposite affect. I see the average sdner and it just make me want to work at full potential and push myself just a little harder. Keep in mind people like to lie on the internet. In the end I would rather do better than I needed to and overachieve than the opposite. In other words, sdn keeps me on my toes.
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I am not sure about those 3.7 35 people but the guy who scored 40N and 41Q is real. Somebody asked about how the scores are reported and he posted a screen shot of the score report.
 
Espadaleader said:
SDN has made me who I am. Best thing ever. I know more about the medical admissions process that most people in my school.
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Same here. I begin my undergrad degree in August, and SDN has motivated me to start on the right path. I've applied for two volunteer hospital positions at two separate locations on the day I don't have class. Had it not been for SDN, I would have listened to people who said "only your GPA is important"
 
Chops369 said:
lol wat
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I think the idea here is that SDN has given him the knowledge and understanding of the field/competition to create his application image to be a certain way. I would say it is the same for me. Had I knot known about SDN from day #1 I wouldn't have even known that some students start research as early as their freshman year or have a clue how to space/choose my science classes.

I've benefited from SDN in a lot of ways that extend beyond medical school applications--and that's why I donated. I honestly would have had a very different college experience.

But more to the OP, don't be discouraged. I think the prevalence of lying is a bit overstated here but at the end of the day we represent a small portion of the applicant pool. The vast majority of your competition is even more clueless than you are and will not have the benefit of access to med students, adcoms, and other premeds who all know different tricks, different nuggets of information, and other useful information that can help increase your chances of being accepted. Look at SDN as a resource that you can tap into and, I hope, give back to once you've learned a lot on your own.
 
Anyone can say anything when they're hiding behind an internet screen. Don't take it seriously
 
I used to feel this way when I was a pre-med. I find this site much more enjoyable as a resident and find the clinical discussions on the specialty forums to be very helpful. Agree with everyone above - don't believe everything you read on the internets.
 
Narmerguy said:
I think the idea here is that SDN has given him the knowledge and understanding of the field/competition to create his application image to be a certain way. I would say it is the same for me. Had I knot known about SDN from day #1 I wouldn't have even known that some students start research as early as their freshman year or have a clue how to space/choose my science classes.

I've benefited from SDN in a lot of ways that extend beyond medical school applications--and that's why I donated. I honestly would have had a very different college experience.

But more to the OP, don't be discouraged. I think the prevalence of lying is a bit overstated here but at the end of the day we represent a small portion of the applicant pool. The vast majority of your competition is even more clueless than you are and will not have the benefit of access to med students, adcoms, and other premeds who all know different tricks, different nuggets of information, and other useful information that can help increase your chances of being accepted. Look at SDN as a resource that you can tap into and, I hope, give back to once you've learned a lot on your own.
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I agree completely. If you can sift through the BS, SDN is an invaluable resource. I just thought it was a pretty cheesy comment :laugh:
 
FattySlug said:
I spent that last 2 weeks reading a lot on SDN and it seems to me like every other poster was rocking a 3.7 and bombing the MCAT 35+. Anything below that and you are in for an uphill battle.

I saw this one poster who got 40N the 1st time but took it again for the writing sample and got 41Q. I was like WTF!!!???
Click to expand...

Once you stop comparing yourself to others and realize SDN is not representative of the applicant pool as a whole you shouldn't feel crappy at all.

:luck:
 
SDN is a great resource. Let the success of its members inspire you.
 
Doctor246853 said:
Honestly I get the opposite affect. I see the average sdner and it just make me want to work at full potential and push myself just a little harder. Keep in mind people like to lie on the internet. In the end I would rather do better than I needed to and overachieve than the opposite. In other words, sdn keeps me on my toes.
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+1. But there are so many people on this forum that are an inspiration. (Ie. NickNaylor and GetTheLeadOut)
 
I don't know if it's actually a correlation with SDN, but my grades have skyrocketed after I have been frequenting this site. If I get accepted into a MD/DO school SDN will have a huge donation coming their way.
 
Felt the same way after browsing through the 30+ MCAT study habits thread for a few hours.

But SDN is pretty helpful. Premed advisors at some colleges are so out of touch with the current admissions process. Everything my premed advisor has told me, I had already known thanks to SDN.
 
Maybe SDN posters should be hired to act as premed advisors for colleges. :D
 
Doctor246853 said:
Honestly I get the opposite affect. I see the average sdner and it just make me want to work at full potential and push myself just a little harder. Keep in mind people like to lie on the internet. In the end I would rather do better than I needed to and overachieve than the opposite. In other words, sdn keeps me on my toes.
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Same here.:thumbup:
 
Well...while my GPA is >3.9, due to a horrible spring semester I barely studied for the MCAT and got a score <28. I thought I had a 0% chance of getting into an MD school b/c I read SDN and saw so many 30+ scores. I decided to apply "just for the heck of it" b/c I already put so much time into my apps...

And then I received 4 MD interviews, went to 3 of them, and got 2 acceptances. :D

So just remember to apply to schools that you like and that you have a decent chance of acceptance at (I suggest buying the most recent MSAR). Remember, numbers only mean so much. You have to show them how passionate you really are about this field, and how you will be a dedicated physician.

Good luck! :thumbup:
 
Also remember this is the internet - and remember - no one has ever lied on the internet ;)
 
Tapepsi said:
Well...while my GPA is >3.9, due to a horrible spring semester I barely studied for the MCAT and got a score <28. I thought I had a 0% chance of getting into an MD school b/c I read SDN and saw so many 30+ scores. I decided to apply "just for the heck of it" b/c I already put so much time into my apps...

And then I received 4 MD interviews, went to 3 of them, and got 2 acceptances. :D

So just remember to apply to schools that you like and that you have a decent chance of acceptance at (I suggest buying the most recent MSAR). Remember, numbers only mean so much. You have to show them how passionate you really are about this field, and how you will be a dedicated physician.

Good luck! :thumbup:
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This is comforting and good to hear! I often look at some of the posts and think "man, if I don't have a 3.9 and a 35+ there's no way I'm getting in." They motivate nonetheless, but it's still good to hear about cases like yours.
 
At the end of the day, you really see all sorts of applicants especially at the WAMC forum. Though I think the upper crust guys tend to post more than the low tier guys
 
FattySlug said:
I am not sure about those 3.7 35 people but the guy who scored 40N and 41Q is real. Somebody asked about how the scores are reported and he posted a screen shot of the score report.
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link
 
Looking at some applicants on SDN can definitely be a little bit daunting, and I can second that its caused me some anxiety and second-guessing. However, I've also found a lot of good information and advice on ECs, the MCAT, etc. so its a double-edged sword.

The biggest problem with SDN is that you need to wade through a lot of garbage to find the good information. There are countless posts made by incoming college students and freshman giving advice and critiquing applications based on a bastardization of something someone remembered an adcom poster writing once, maybe. And while I don't doubt that these posters are trying to be helpful, unless they're an adcom member, medical student, or an applicant whose gone through the process already... its just potentially misleading clutter. That and the "My electrical engineering major is better than your chemistry major" contests.
 
BiopsychStudent said:
Looking at some applicants on SDN can definitely be a little bit daunting, and I can second that its caused me some anxiety and second-guessing. However, I've also found a lot of good information and advice on ECs, the MCAT, etc. so its a double-edged sword.

The biggest problem with SDN is that you need to wade through a lot of garbage to find the good information. There are countless posts made by incoming college students and freshman giving advice and critiquing applications based on a bastardization of something someone remembered an adcom poster writing once, maybe. And while I don't doubt that these posters are trying to be helpful, unless they're an adcom member, medical student, or an applicant whose gone through the process already... its just potentially misleading clutter. That and the "My electrical engineering major is better than your chemistry major" contests.
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I agree, there are thousands of "advisors" on SDN, but only a select few actually know what they're talking about.
 
I used to come onto SDN during my first and second year of undergrad, and it completely drove me nuts. I would completely freak out over B's and lose many nights of sleep. I eventually stopped coming onto SDN, and only have reemerged after getting accepted to my top choice school this application cycle. I was accepted to 3 top-20 schools and my GPA is "only" 3.47 and my MCAT is "only" 34Q. The knowledge gained on SDN is not worth the mental clusterf@*k that it caused for me, and there is not info on SDN that can not be gleaned from a good med school app book and MSAR. Just my $.02
 
I don't know. I see a lot of new users who post about whether they should choose Harvard or Hopkins, or UCSF vs. Penn, or something like that.
 
lpmarcus010 said:
I used to come onto SDN during my first and second year of undergrad, and it completely drove me nuts. I would completely freak out over B's and lose many nights of sleep. I eventually stopped coming onto SDN, and only have reemerged after getting accepted to my top choice school this application cycle. I was accepted to 3 top-20 schools and my GPA is "only" 3.47 and my MCAT is "only" 34Q. The knowledge gained on SDN is not worth the mental clusterf@*k that it caused for me, and there is not info on SDN that can not be gleaned from a good med school app book and MSAR. Just my $.02
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Congrats. Are you CA resident as well? Which are the 3 schools?
 
If you want to feel better avoid the pre-med section, you magically realize that you have better chances of becoming a dentist, pharmacist, neurosurgeon, etc.
 
I like ice cream. I also like SDN. But SDN flavored ice cream? HELL NO
 
I can understand what you mean, partially.

SDN has taught me SO much since I discovered this site and started reading through all the posts. I don't know about the rest of you and how you learn this massive amount of info, but at my school the pre-med advisors apparently SUCK... because I knew almost nothing. I was halfway through my sophomore year and still thought all that mattered really would be grades and MCAT score... yeah, i'm dead serious. Most pre-meds that I talk to at my school STILL have no clue.

On the other hand, sometimes I do feel like my stats suck compared to a lot of others on here...and yet I still hear a lot on here about people that don't get in. I understand that its not the people with a 3.9 and a 41Q not getting in, but it still freaks me out when I think "oh, the majority of SDNers have really good stats" and then I read SO much about rejections. (I realize there a ton of acceptances.. it just freaks me out is all).

I guess it motivates me in a good way.. it makes me panic and hyperventilate for a few minutes when I read something so nerve-racking like that, but after my breathing returns to normal I just hit the books and really try to get my stats up.
 
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