What's the deal with the pre-med forum on Reddit?

[redsox93]

You missed the point of my post. No one deserves lax admissions into medical school. Even black people. By making admissions easy for URMS You are essentially saying "you barely passed college, and did terrible on the MCAT but it's okay because you're black." If you don't see anything wrong with this, you should. By all means admit more URMs, but we should be holding everyone to the same standards regardless of race. There are human lives at stake here we need to be kind of choosy.

To begin to fix this, work needs to be done on the societal level. This is something medical admissions have very little control over. And rightly so because they have a bad way of fixing it. But I'm not getting into a sociological argument with you so I'll leave it there.


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Well to a certain extent does it really matter? If they get admitted to medical school with lower than average stats, they still have to pass the same board exams as everyone else and do as well in the same classes as everyone else. If they don't they can't practice medicine anyways so lives technically won't be at stake. Maybe it is slightly easier to get in but after that point its a level playing field.

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[ATPsynthase123]

Well to a certain extent does it really matter? If they get admitted to medical school with lower than average stats, they still have to pass the same board exams as everyone else and do as well in the same classes as everyone else. If they don't the can't practice medicine anyways so lives technically won't beat stake. Maybe it is slightly easier to get in but after that point its a level playing field.

It sets them up for failure. Statistically your GPA and MCAT correlate with how successful you in medical school and how you will score on the board exams. So for example, someone with a 3.0 and a 490 MCAT has a very high chance of failing out.


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[Lost In Transcription]

You missed the point of my post. No one deserves lax admissions into medical school. Even black people. By making admissions easy for URMS You are essentially saying "you barely passed college, and did terrible on the MCAT but it's okay because you're black." If you don't see anything wrong with this, you should. By all means admit more URMs, but we should be holding everyone to the same standards regardless of race. There are human lives at stake here we need to be kind of choosy.

To begin to fix this, work needs to be done on the societal level. This is something medical admissions have very little control over. And rightly so because they have a bad way of fixing it. But I'm not getting into a sociological argument with you so I'll leave it there.


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Lol getting a 3.6 is not "barely passing college" by any means (and only 56% of black applicants with this GPA are accepted, according to the AAMC). It's not as if you are a URM you get instant acceptance with a low 3pt GPA or worse.

You and others like you view the "standards" of acceptance to be only a grid of MCAT and GPA scores. We already know much more goes into admissions than this. Perhaps your perception of how poor URM applicants are and what the standards of admission are are incorrect.

 

[Goro]

It's very simple. Reddit is the cesspool of the Internet.

On occasion, I will lurk the pre-med forum on Reddit and it appears to be the polar opposite of SDN. In fact, it seems that majority of people have a major hatred for SDN. Here are a couple things I have noticed:

• The average poster seems to fall way below the median for most schools. If you look at the WAMC thread or MCAT forum, it looks like most posters fall around a 3.2 GPA and low-500s MCAT.
• The average poster seems to have a sincere hatred for people who are very competitive applicants. Any time I've seen someone post that they have above a 3.7 or 515, it seems like posters are quick to attack them for "humblebragging," despite having legitimate questions.
• The average poster seems to be completely misinformed about the concept of URM. I see a fair amount of the "they took our spot" mentality from posters here, but it seems that Reddit genuinely thinks that URM classification is racist and that medical schools discriminate against Asians and Indians.
• The average poster seems to be forced into applying to medical school by their family. One of the most common themes I see is the subject about dealing with overbearing parents. Again, that happens here too, but to a much greater extent on Reddit.
• The forum seems to act as a sort of support group for below-average applicants. Like pre-meds anonymous. This contributes to a toxic hivemind mentality where anyone who has a better application than the average gets attacked. Every now and then a post will be made about how an outlier somehow got in with a 3.0/25 and provides more false hope.

Are these posters indicative of the majority of the pre-med population? Or much like SDN, are they a self-selected group? So really, what is the scoop with the people on this forum and did SDN hurt their feelings?

 

[Goro]

In my 5+ years of being here, this was the first time I'd see that type of pathology. so, no.

Lol remember that guy that made like 6 accounts so he could troll teh forums about how the Caribbean is better than DO schools?

Sounds like 4chan to me.


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[Chelsea FC]

I do it because it's fun to see how heated some people get when you argue with them over URM status lol


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This is the definition of a internet troll. You dont want a thought provoking discourse. You just want a rise out of people.

 

[Lawpy]

Lol remember that guy that made like 6 accounts so he could troll teh forums about how the Caribbean is better than DO schools?

Sounds like 4chan to me.


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SDN is well moderated, especially preallo. 4chan is not. I'd argue that the neuroticism, anxiety, trolling etc. are problems common to any internet forum, but preallo (and SDN overall) still maintains a very strong professional and supportive atmosphere. Don't believe me? Check out the annual waitlist threads.

 

[Toutie]

It's very simple. Reddit is the cesspool of the Internet.

Boy, they sure hate you over there!

 

[Lawpy]

Boy, they sure hate you over there!

Reddit hates SDN

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/some-people-out-there-really-hate-sdn.1194285/

 

[ATPsynthase123]

U all are just like trump. A Burch

This is the definition of a internet troll. You dont want a thought provoking discourse. You just want a rise out of people.

I do this precisely because it is impossible to have a "thought provoking discourse" about this topic. Someone always gets triggered and will spend the next 6 hours arguing why your dumb/racist because you want everyone to be held equally. No one wants to admit they are wrong, so it just turns into two people yelling at each other over the Internet.

Plus it's just plain fun to laugh at someone while they furiously type you a manuscript on racial inequalities that is laden with ad hominems, terrible arguments and hate.




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[ATPsynthase123]

Boy, they sure hate you over there!

Lol I like Goro, most people like the Adcoms and physicians that post on here. It's the legions of trolls and gunner accounts we hate.


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[Lost In Transcription]

It sets them up for failure. Statistically your GPA and MCAT correlate with how successful you in medical school and how you will score on the board exams. So for example, someone with a 3.0 and a 490 MCAT has a very high chance of failing out.


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Yes, which is why applicants with those stats do not have a good chance of making it into an MD program, regardless of their race. You, again, overestimate the "advantage" of being a URM

 

[Ho0v-man]

URM status should go away and be replaced by childhood SES. It would still benefit most of the URMs that apply anyway since that's the real reason they tend to be less competitive anyway.

Not trying to offend anyone, but I'm a poor white guy who had to work 2-3 simultaneous jobs all through undergrad. I'm sorry, but it is simply unfair that a black woman the exact same application as me who has two physician parents is deemed a significantly more competitive applicant. Although I definitely concede that this is not the typical situation. The situation mentioned by Ginny Weasley is much more typical. But that has more to do with being poor than race or gender.


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[Toutie]

Reddit hates SDN

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/some-people-out-there-really-hate-sdn.1194285/

I just thought it was funny that they specifically called out Goro.

 

[LizzyM]

It sets them up for failure. Statistically your GPA and MCAT correlate with how successful you in medical school and how you will score on the board exams. So for example, someone with a 3.0 and a 490 MCAT has a very high chance of failing out.


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Define "very high" and provide published evidence. Looking at matriculants with GPA < 3.0 and old MCAT of < 27 , we have 272 out of a pool of 62,132 or 0.4% or one in 250 matriculants. We know that a very small proportion of all medical students fail out. We know that MCAT < 26 is riskier than 26+ but even among the matriculants with lower MCAT scores, the successful completion rate is well above 85-90%.

And, by the way, if you are going to talk about failing out, E01 students are at higher risk of being in academic trouble so the idea that we should eliminate URM preferences and focus on lower income might put us out of the pot and into the fire with regard to academic success and still not have the diverse workforce that our country needs.

 

[Goro]

There are a lot of people over there who want to be told what they want to hear, not what they need to hear. Combine that with a psyche that is 100% wrapped up with being a physician, that saying "chances are zero with those stats" is the same as saying "your God doesn't exist".

That, and we New Yorkers rub people the wrong way. Especially people from CA.

I just thought it was funny that they specifically called out Goro.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

There are a lot of people over there who want to be told what they want to hear, not what they need to hear. Combine that with a psyche that is 100% wrapped up with being a physician, that saying "chances are zero with those stats" is the same as saying "your God doesn't exist".

That, and we New Yorkers rub people the wrong way. Especially people from CA.

I'm originally from Jersey and lived in Brooklyn for a few years before the Navy. I bothered a few people in boot camp with my "**** you means hello" demeanor. I currently live in CA, and I can tell you that they are definitely sensitive. I'll hopefully be PCSing back to the east coast next year. It will be nice.

 

[GinnyWeasley]

You missed the point of my post. No one deserves lax admissions into medical school. Even black people. By making admissions easy for URMS You are essentially saying "you barely passed college, and did terrible on the MCAT but it's okay because you're black." If you don't see anything wrong with this, you should. By all means admit more URMs, but we should be holding everyone to the same standards regardless of race. There are human lives at stake here we need to be kind of choosy.

To begin to fix this, work needs to be done on the societal level. This is something medical admissions have very little control over. And rightly so because they have a bad way of fixing it. But I'm not getting into a sociological argument with you so I'll leave it there.


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I'm pretty sure they're not going to send someone that hasn't passed the same boards and same residency as other "higher stats students" and toss them into the OR lol

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

I'm pretty sure they're not going to send someone that hasn't passed the same boards and same residency as other "higher stats students" and toss them into the OR lol

That's obviously the next step in the slippery slope. We don't have enough black surgeons, so black medical students who barely passed their boards and med school will just get tossed into surgery residencies and then shuttled through and right into the OR.

 

[chunkywombat]

I feel like the non-URM students that have the biggest issue with the "URM Advantage" in admissions are at best average candidates, if not below-average candidates. I'm basing this off of prolific posters on SDN pre-allo or Reddit who make the same repeated complaints and have also talked about their own apps. They're grasping for the bottom rung of the ladder and get upset that anyone can get a hand hold above them with "worse" stats.

There's a specific reason URM candidates are sought out by schools, and that has been repeated in this thread already.

Folks, your application is what you make of it. I am white. I claimed a disadvantaged status and am in the lower socioeconomic bracket designated by the AAMC. I have been an underserved person and my family remains underserved. I have a coherent story to tell that takes me from my background, to my various experiences and academic interests, to my professional work, to my aspirations in a medical career. This has served me very well so far in the application cycle and I suspect it will continue to do so. I am fairly certain that my status as a person from a disadvantaged background has given my application an advantage, but only because I have a web of other experiences that tie into its relevance. My "stats" are competitive on their own but my background provides some additional flavor. Unlike ATPSynthase123, I don't expect that I'm getting compared to rich, private school kids because of the color of my skin.

 

[Goro]

I suspect that more of them are actually really good students, (I call them "hyperacheivers") but they think that it's their God-given right to a seat in med school solely because they have high stats.

But we digress. There is an excellent cover article in Time magazine this week on trolls and trolling and their effects upon society. When reddit was mentioned, I immediately thought of r/premed.

http://time.com/4457110/internet-trolls/?iid=sr-link2

I feel like the non-URM students that have the biggest issue with the "URM Advantage" in admissions are at best average candidates, if not below-average candidates. I'm basing this off of prolific posters on SDN pre-allo or Reddit who make the same repeated complaints and have also talked about their own apps. They're grasping for the bottom rung of the ladder and get upset that anyone can get a hand hold above them with "worse" stats.

There's a specific reason URM candidates are sought out by schools, and that has been repeated in this thread already.

Folks, your application is what you make of it. I am white. I claimed a disadvantaged status and am in the lower socioeconomic bracket designated by the AAMC. I have been an underserved person and my family remains underserved. I have a coherent story to tell that takes me from my background, to my various experiences and academic interests, to my professional work, to my aspirations in a medical career. This has served me very well so far in the application cycle and I suspect it will continue to do so. I am fairly certain that my status as a person from a disadvantaged background has given my application an advantage, but only because I have a web of other experiences that tie into its relevance. My "stats" are competitive on their own but my background provides some additional flavor. Unlike ATPSynthase123, I don't expect that I'm getting compared to rich, private school kids because of the color of my skin.

 

[leonardoson]

By the US Census there are more than double the amount of white children living in poverty than all URMs. Where's the affirmative action for them?


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do you statistics?

 

[terra330]

White people are not underrepresented in medicine (URM). And AMCAS does classify applicants as EO-1 and EO-2 (socio-economic background of parents) and applicants can self-identify as "disadvantaged". What's your beef?

Probably comes down to the statistics for URMs being very easily accessible. AAMC publishes the data every year that shows that URMs on average don't need to be as competitive as white people and especially Asians.

If the AAMC released a similar set of data for SES and it reflected similar standards for disadvantaged white people and Asians, then maybe there would be fewer arguments. As it stands right now, it's difficult to tell whether or not the AMCAS SES or disadvantaged classifications make a meaningful difference one way or another (my suspicion is that they do not, but that's based on a gut feeling rather than any attempt to look into the matter).

 

[GinnyWeasley]

Probably comes down to the statistics for URMs being very easily accessible. AAMC publishes the data every year that shows that URMs on average don't need to be as competitive as white people and especially Asians.

If the AAMC released a similar set of data for SES and it reflected similar standards for disadvantaged white people and Asians, then maybe there would be fewer arguments. As it stands right now, it's difficult to tell whether or not the AMCAS SES or disadvantaged classifications make a meaningful difference one way or another (my suspicion is that they do not, but that's based on a gut feeling rather than any attempt to look into the matter).

How easy is it to claim disadvantage? Like do they require tax returns, income statements etc. Also, could someone who comes from a wealthy background become independent, but still be supported by their parents with undeclared cash, and still be able to claim disadvantage? Honestly curious, since I am not familiar with this process.

 

[WedgeDawg]

Hi friends,

Please keep discussion as on topic as possible. The topic of this is already borderline appropriate at best. However, if this turns into another "URMs shouldn't get advantages in the admissions process" thread, it will be locked and warnings will be handed out in accordance with SDN policy. For further information, see Lee's stickied thread here.

Thanks

 

[FutureOncologist]

The face of SDN, pre-allo-wise, has changed since when I joined 2 years ago. If I were to post "WAMC" with my stats in 2014, I'd been told to hope for the best at DO and I'd be extremely lucky if MD would offer an II. Today, I feel like the neuroticism has dropped off a bit and I would be told "mix in DO with some MD and you should land somewhere."

The tone overall in this forum is a conservative one. Hope for the best, but expect the worst. People with a 3.3/3.1 will land II at MD schools but 3.9/515 won't get off the waitlist. What this forum needs to understand is that there are many, many other factors that contribute to the application. I get that posters cannot show their own PS, but there are 15 slots to express the most important things you did in college. There are other aspects as well, such as secondary essays, applying to schools that have a certain mission in which a forum member doesn't fit, and so forth. If SDN ran admissions this cycle, only two things would be looked at: GPA and MCAT. And if you have below a 3.6, then you are automatically screened out.

Just my $.02

 

[Goro]

Against my better judgment, I went into r/premed and browsed. I had forgotten what a toxic landfill it was. Now I have to go clean my eyeballs with Drano.

https://www.reddit.com/r/premed/comments/4z19fk/dont_be_afraid_to_use_sdn/
https://www.reddit.com/r/premed/comments/3vtbsv/sdn_anyone_hate_sdn_and_the_community_there/
https://www.reddit.com/r/premed/comments/2klw4m/sdn/
https://www.reddit.com/r/premed/comments/4c6ioa/should_i_be_listening_to_sdn/

https://www.reddit.com/r/premed/comments/4uqylj/how_much_do_urms_affect_everyone_elses_chances/
https://www.reddit.com/r/premed/comments/4pcjfb/urm_statistics_and_correlations/
https://www.reddit.com/r/Mcat/comments/4vy3w3/as_a_urm_at_what_point_do_you_decide_to_retake/

Just a couple examples from a quick search of the two forums.

 

[Horse Apiece]

I suspect that more of them are actually really good students, (I call them "hyperacheivers") but they think that it's their God-given right to a seat in med school solely because they have high stats.

But we digress. There is an excellent cover article in Time magazine this week on trolls and trolling and their effects upon society. When reddit was mentioned, I immediately thought of r/premed.

http://time.com/4457110/internet-trolls/?iid=sr-link2

Pretty on topic I believe. Even if you have thick skin being insulted by another person or group is never pleasant, and most jokes are lost in text. It's pretty sad to see some of the advice to disadvantaged applicants, which is sarcastic at best, blatantly hateful at worst. It'd be nice if some basic human decency and rules of social interaction could be spread to the lawless waste that is the internet, but I guess part of what makes it interesting is the unregulated nature of it.

 

[freak7]

It's very simple. Reddit is the cesspool of the Internet.

You've probably never been to the aforementioned 4chan... Protip: don't go there, it's the cesspool of the Internet.

 

[ZedsDed]

This forum is the pre-med version of 4chan.

Say what? I take it you've never been on /b/ or /pol/

 

[ATPsynthase123]

Say what? I take it you've never been on /b/ or /pol/

Oh I have, but compared to reddit, this place is the equivalent of 4chan


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[freak7]

Oh I have, but compared to reddit, this place is the equivalent of 4chan


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You're either speaking too highly of Reddit or too lowly of SDN

 

[ZedsDed]

Oh I have, but compared to reddit, this place is the equivalent of 4chan


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Again, no. 4chan is the home of horrific gore, creep shots, live-streamed suicides, and racist "chimp" memes.

I'm genuinely confused how you can even begin to make a comparison. It's honestly almost offensive lol

 

[ATPsynthase123]

Again, no. 4chan is the home of horrific gore, creep shots, live-streamed suicides, and racist "chimp" memes.

I'm genuinely confused how you can even begin to make a comparison. It's honestly almost offensive lol

My favorite are the tendies memes


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[Mad Jack]

On occasion, I will lurk the pre-med forum on Reddit and it appears to be the polar opposite of SDN. In fact, it seems that majority of people have a major hatred for SDN. Here are a couple things I have noticed:

• The average poster seems to fall way below the median for most schools. If you look at the WAMC thread or MCAT forum, it looks like most posters fall around a 3.2 GPA and low-500s MCAT.
• The average poster seems to have a sincere hatred for people who are very competitive applicants. Any time I've seen someone post that they have above a 3.7 or 515, it seems like posters are quick to attack them for "humblebragging," despite having legitimate questions.
• The average poster seems to be completely misinformed about the concept of URM. I see a fair amount of the "they took our spot" mentality from posters here, but it seems that Reddit genuinely thinks that URM classification is racist and that medical schools discriminate against Asians and Indians.
• The average poster seems to be forced into applying to medical school by their family. One of the most common themes I see is the subject about dealing with overbearing parents. Again, that happens here too, but to a much greater extent on Reddit.
• The forum seems to act as a sort of support group for below-average applicants. Like pre-meds anonymous. This contributes to a toxic hivemind mentality where anyone who has a better application than the average gets attacked. Every now and then a post will be made about how an outlier somehow got in with a 3.0/25 and provides more false hope.

Are these posters indicative of the majority of the pre-med population? Or much like SDN, are they a self-selected group? So really, what is the scoop with the people on this forum and did SDN hurt their feelings?

It's a premed forum for people not smart enough to utilize SDN.

/thread

 

[Mad Jack]

Oh I have, but compared to reddit, this place is the equivalent of 4chan


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I don't know who should be more offended, us at the idea you would think we're that awful or 4chan because you would think they are this benign

 

[freak7]

It's a premed forum for people not smart enough to utilize SDN.

/thread

And @Mad Jack with the save to keep this from getting locked.

 

[YoungDoc25]

No system will ever be perfect, but an example of how imperfect this one is would be a classmate of mine who was accepted to 5 schools (3 MD) with a 492 on his MCAT. He's Native American though, so he was accepted with that score and his education is completely paid for. I am happy for him as he gets the chance to pursue his dream, but I also wouldn't trust him to take care of my fish (better yet another human's health). Seems unfortunate that he took the seat of someone else who didn't get accepted anywhere with a 500+.

The reason for having a URM category is completely legitimate. I just hate seeing it benefit the wrong people.

 

[ATPsynthase123]

I don't know who should be more offended, us at the idea you would think we're that awful or 4chan because you would think they are this benign

Hey, you guys are awesome! It's the trolls and jerks that ruin this forum lol


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[Goro]

This outlier is why we tend to ask if one is a URM. Obviously, when talking about them, the stats will be not as lethal.

No system will ever be perfect, but an example of how imperfect this one is would be a classmate of mine who was accepted to 5 schools (3 MD) with a 492 on his MCAT. He's Native American though, so he was accepted with that score and his education is completely paid for. I am happy for him as he gets the chance to pursue his dream, but I also wouldn't trust him to take care of my fish (better yet another human's health). Seems unfortunate that he took the seat of someone else who didn't get accepted anywhere with a 500+.

The reason for having a URM category is completely legitimate. I just hate seeing it benefit the wrong people.

 

[GrumpyGus]

It's a premed forum for people not smart enough to utilize SDN.

/thread

Any smart premed would know to utilize both SDN and r/premed. I spend a lot of time over in r/premed, especially couple years ago when I was figuring everything out, and it's obviously working wonderfully for me. r/premed is a great resource and, like it or not, the community is a lot more friendly. Also the dank memes are killer.

Don't act like SDN doesn't have the same amount of significant problems, although they may be different.

Against my better judgment, I went into r/premed and browsed. I had forgotten what a toxic landfill it was. Now I have to go clean my eyeballs with Drano.

You say this in a thread about reddit turned into another URM debate and a recent thread had pages about "Rosalind" versus "Rosy." SDN, like r/premed, is not perfect. At least reddit has a downvote button.

Actually that would really improve SDN. A dislike button that actually discourages trolls, dinguses, and incorrect information.

 

[Cyberdyne 101]

My introduction to Reddit occurred when I first saw Prometheus. A friend recommended the site after he noticed that I was very interested in the film's symbolism. And to his credit, the Prometheus threads (circa 2012-13) were very informative.

That said, I've never had anyone recommend Reddit for pre-med stuff.

 

[Mad Jack]

Any smart premed would know to utilize both SDN and r/premed. I spend a lot of time over in r/premed, especially couple years ago when I was figuring everything out, and it's obviously working wonderfully for me. r/premed is a great resource and, like it or not, the community is a lot more friendly. Also the dank memes are killer.

Don't act like SDN doesn't have the same amount of significant problems, although they may be different.

You say this in a thread about reddit turned into another URM debate and a recent thread had pages about "Rosalind" versus "Rosy." SDN, like r/premed, is not perfect. At least reddit has a downvote button.

Actually that would really improve SDN. A dislike button that actually discourages trolls, dinguses, and incorrect information.

There is literally nothing of value there that also couldn't be found on SDN. Your n=1 experience hardly compares to the literally tens of thousands of SDNers that have been met with success.

 

[lexswift]

I've found some really helpful information in the Reddit MCAT forum.

 

[GrumpyGus]

There is literally nothing of value there that also couldn't be found on SDN. Your n=1 experience hardly compares to the literally tens of thousands of SDNers that have been met with success.

And how do you think people find SDN? Many find it through reddit. Almost every single one of my friends have never heard of SDN. As much good as there is on SDN, it's not like it's common to actually use. And among those that do use it, most avoid it due to the neuroticism, rudeness, and elitism that's all so prevalent here. I obviously have an account and use SDN a lot (I made this new account as I didn't want my old one anymore), but r/premed has it's purpose and it's very useful.

And like most SDN arguments, this is pointless and does not matter. As long as these tools exist to help others, who cares who may use what and in what way.

 

[QueenAudrey]

I think the most cut-throat internet forums I've ever seen are "mommy" boards.

I just came by to acknowledge the hidden gem in this thread. At least whatever venom exists here on SDN isn't usually complicated by pregnancy/bf hormones. PREACH gurrrrrl

 

[nonociceptors]

Reddit has some cool stuff if you stay off the default subs for the most part and don't bother reading the comments. Why? Because most people suck. Simple as that. It's a circlejerk more often than not - same as any online community really, just don't whip our your piece and start joining in. And if you rely on Reddit as your main source of news, lol.

 

[Lawpy]

So here are my $0.02 regarding SDN since i have been noticing some strong concerns regarding these forums.

1. SDN is a very vast professional and educational online community. Yes preallo gets most traffic, but it's really refreshing to step outside the premed forums and lurk in other forums to observe and learn what's going on. I personally learn some very useful things about other health careers by reading stickies and threads on the discussion.

2. Even in preallopathic forums, the resources available, adcom and faculty guidance, and tips from medical students and newly accepted applicants are absolutely valuable. During stressful and difficult times, members give us a shoulder to cry on and offer empathetic advice to guide us. Annual waitlist threads show fellow applicants comforting one another during anxious times in waiting to hear back from schools, celebrating when someone gets an acceptance, and reassuring those with unsuccessful cycles that everything will be fine and apply when ready and confident.

3. SDN is very well moderated. From the stickies, moderators prefer libertarian governance, where discussions are maintained by professional members, and controversies can be resolved peacefully without intervention. Of course, there are trolls and flamers, which is why we as members help mods out by reporting them. Such mutualism is what makes SDN unique and beneficial forums, a rare and prized jewel in a rather messy world of the internet.

Now i understand the drawbacks the forums suffer from. SDN is a bimodal distribution, where we feel insecure upon seeing rockstars with 4.0/523+, Nobel Prize-winning research, Olympic-level athletics, and NGO-level volunteerism. We also are shocked to see the struggling applicants with sub-3.0 GPA/sub-500 MCAT with criminal IAs asking about their chances. The majority of ordinary applicants who have good stats and ECs feel squeezed out and overwhelmed by SDN bimodality that they lurk or vanish.

In addition, members have raised comcerns about overwhelming negativity and bluntness in preallo forums. This problem is an internet problem. We are mostly anonymous and don't know each other. So the best estimate is to give the most conservative and realistic advice. As we get to know new members more based on their activity and contributions, advice becomes personalized and very helpful to assess your needs. The negativity is usually due to hurt feelings, bad days, spur of the moment etc.

The best way to deal with these stressors is to ignore them and refer heavily to the resources provided here and seriously listen to the advice and guides from adcoms/faculty. Visit other parts of the forums to ease off and explore new things.

By taking a global view on SDN Forums, it becomes readily apparent that the forums are one of the best places to visit and spend time on.... as long as you don't get involved with the negativity/anxiety/neuroticism that come with it.

 

[The Buff OP]

Oh boy another one of these threads

/r/SDNGW/

 

[freak7]

And how do you think people find SDN? Many find it through reddit.

I found it because I googled something along the lines of "urinating with scrubs" because I had an issue with spots on my first bathroom break at my first job that required scrubs and I was freaking out in the bathroom because I was embarrassed about what my coworkers would think. The Google gods then bestowed upon me this wonderful thread which gave me tips and reminded me it was normal since scrubs can be so thin.

n=1 though....

Edit: I do encourage you guys to check that thread out though. There's some really great stuff in there.