Applicants SDN Participation Percentage

[EdgeTrimmer]

Just curious, what percentage of applicants participate on SDN in each cycle. It appears less than 10% of those who got IIs are reporting.

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[lull]

Just curious, what percentage of applicants participate on SDN in each cycle. It appears less than 10% of those who got IIs are reporting.

A lot of premeds know about sdn even if they're not active/have accounts on here. I would think that if they can find obscure research lab positions that are hard to come by, they can find popular premed forums. I was lurking on here a few years before I decided to even make an account.

 

[EdgeTrimmer]

A lot of premeds know about sdn even if they're not active/have accounts on here. I would think that if they can find obscure research lab positions that are hard to come by, they can find popular premed forums. I was lurking on here a few years before I decided to even make an account.

I am talking about active participation not lurking 🙂

 

[lull]

I am talking about active participation not lurking 🙂

How exactly can one compare the number of actual applicants that received secondaries to the number of applicants on sdn that reported receiving secondaries? likely a very small percentage, how'd you get the 10%?

 

[14_karat]

I read once that someone actually investigated this and I think it came out to be 10-15% of applicants.

 

[Isomerase]

How exactly can one compare the number of actual applicants that received secondaries to the number of applicants on sdn that reported receiving secondaries? likely a very small percentage, how'd you get the 10%?

I think they got that value by comparing the number of II's reported on the tracker to schools like Michigan that have published admissions trackers. Either way SDN participation could be very different.

 

[EdgeTrimmer]

I think they got that value by comparing the number of II's reported on the tracker to schools like Michigan that have published admissions trackers. Either way SDN participation could be very different.

That's correct. Michigan and Vanderbilt are examples I used.

 

[KnightDoc]

I am talking about active participation not lurking 🙂

It's a great question, but it's self explanatory. The number you are looking for is close to zero!!!

50,000 apply. If 500 are active participants (and that seems high!) that's only 1%. The number is nowhere near 10%, but as we all know, the people on SDN skew towards the upper end of the spectrum, so noting that 10% of IIs are reported here doesn't mean anything beyond 10% of IIs were reported here.

You know there are not 5,000 active applicant participants here. The forum is useful to learn about things like when IIs or As are going out, or to hear anecdotal experiences, but it is impossible to extrapolate from the numbers to learn anything else, because SDN active participation is an unrepresentative, tiny sample of the pool.

 

[HopeP]

Two scenarios can easily skew the number based on IIs.

• People actively posting but not reported on II tracker.
• People lurking but reported on II tracker.

 

[Justapremedguy]

Two scenarios can easily skew the number based on IIs.

• People actively posting but not reported on II tracker.
• People lurking but reported on II tracker.

Yeah I have a few IIs and am active here but didnt update the tracker. It lost validity when trolls starting filling it out so I didnt bother

 

[EdgeTrimmer]

Two scenarios can easily skew the number based on IIs.

• People actively posting but not reported on II tracker.
• People lurking but reported on II tracker.

I am only looking at school specific threads since II tracker seems to have lot of false entries. My son doesn't update II tracker, only school threads.

 

[lull]

The vas majority of applicants had never heard of SDN, usually in the neighborhood of 75% while the vast majority of advisors and admissions had heard of it and had a negative view of it

I wonder if premed SDN users have significantly better outcomes then those who don't use it... I doubt it makes a big difference, but I also can't imagine how misinformed I would be if I was just relying on my prehealth advising...or at the very least how broke I would relying on over-priced premed consulting companies.

 

[EdgeTrimmer]

I know when I was still doing seminars, workshops and presentations for both applicants as well as premed advisors / post-bacc programs / med school admissions, I was always struck by a stark difference. The vas majority of applicants had never heard of SDN, usually in the neighborhood of 75% while the vast majority of advisors and admissions had heard of it and had a negative view of it mostly from the notorious lack of civility and over abundance of misinformation (or what I call myth information).

How long was this?

 

[KnightDoc]

I wonder if premed SDN users have significantly better outcomes then those who don't use it... I doubt it makes a big difference, but I also can't imagine how misinformed I would be if I was just relying on my prehealth advising...or at the very least how broke I would relying on over-priced premed consulting companies.

They do. As @EdgeTrimmer pointed out, in some threads SDN accounts for 10% of IIs when active posters represent probably less than 1% of applicants. We skew toward the higher end of the pool in general. Plus, you have some people BSing here for no reason other than to take pleasure from the anxiety they instill in others, so the data is not entirely reliable.

SDN is valuable because it gives you access to people like the adcoms, and it allows you to see what schools are doing and when, which you would never otherwise have access to other than at schools like Michigan that maintain a very transparent website. But, extrapolating from the numbers is dangerous, due to the small sample size and general unreliability of the data. Of course, making yourself crazy when people receive a favorable outcome while you are just waiting is just self destructive. I know -- easier said than done, but still....

 

[lull]

They do. As @EdgeTrimmer pointed out, in some threads SDN accounts for 10% of IIs when active posters represent probably less than 1% of applicants.

I'm sorry, but I have to disagree with this. N = 2 schools and then guestimating how many applicants know of sdn is not a good way to base how sdners perform compared to the rest.

But, extrapolating from the numbers is dangerous, due to the small sample size and general unreliability of the data.

you actually talk about this too ^

Plus, you have some people BSing here for no reason other than to take pleasure from the anxiety they instill in others, so the data is not entirely reliable.

you say it here too actually ^

 

[KnightDoc]

I'm sorry, but I have to disagree with this. N = 2 schools and then guestimating how many applicants know of sdn is not a good way to base how sdners perform compared to the rest.



you actually talk about this too ^



you say it here too actually ^

Yes -- I think we are saying the same thing, or you are misunderstanding what I am saying.

SDN is a tiny, unrepresentative, unreliable sample, so it is dangerous to extrapolate from it. But, I do think it is a more engaged, more knowledgeable community that skews higher than the general pool. Around 40% of applicants are successful nationally.

I haven't done a scientific study, but it sure seems like the success rate on SDN is higher than 40%. Everyone isn't lying, while some undoubtedly are. So, I am saying that SDN skews high, but you can't extrapolate from our numbers and conclude, for example, that 60% of MD applicants are successful if that's what's reported here. What in that statement do you disagree with?

 

[lull]

What in that statement do you disagree with?

The assumption that sdn users perform better than premeds that don't use it.

**I think because of the sampling bias, we can't even make the assumption that sdners perform better using guestimated information from 2 schools.

 

[KnightDoc]

The assumption that sdn users perform better than premeds that don't use it.

Okay, I guess we'll have to agree to disagree. But remember, I'm talking in the aggregate. Of course there are people who don't post who perform better than those who do.

But, unless everyone is lying, if 1 or 2 percent of applicants are accounting for 5 or 10 percent of IIs, it looks like they are performing better. Same for acceptances. Like I said, I'm not extrapolating from it, otherwise I'd think 70% of people are successful and that there are 5 times the number of interviews that there actually are. But unless you think over half of the people here are lying, the performances here are way above average.

 

[Bcc777]

I wonder if premed SDN users have significantly better outcomes then those who don't use it... I doubt it makes a big difference, but I also can't imagine how misinformed I would be if I was just relying on my prehealth advising...or at the very least how broke I would relying on over-priced premed consulting companies.

As a parent with two students we started out following College Confidential and for one graduated to SDN. Both are excellent. IMO SDN does lead to better outcomes for those who use it and does make a difference. SDN has been an invaluable resource of useful information —from how to prepare for MCAT, interviews, timelines for submits of throwaway to AMCAS, timeline for primary and secondary applications, specific info on each medical school plus learning about when IIs and As get issue is. Plus sage advice from regular Adcom contributors like Goro, LizzyM, Gyngyn, Faha, among others, and students like Kinightdoc. SDN, just like College Confidential, is addictive —but in a good way!

 

[EdgeTrimmer]

As a parent with two students we started out following College Confidential and for one graduated to SDN.

students like Kinightdoc. SDN, just like College Confidential, is addictive —but in a good way!

but @KnightDoc doesn't like parent participation on SDN and College Confidential 😳

 

[Bcc777]

but @KnightDoc doesn't like parent participation on SDN and College Confidential 😳

It’s good to have older and...in some cases wiser...folks on here who, like the adcoms, can provide years of knowledge and experience and thus a different perspective to counterbalance the young, smart, talented but wet behind the ears newbies.

 

[Lucca]

iirc we calculated it at ~5% a few years ago, but its a napkin estimation

extremely important to remember sdn is not representative of the real world, esp when u graduate to Allo forum

 

[EdgeTrimmer]

iirc we calculated it at ~5% a few years ago, but its a napkin estimation

extremely important to remember sdn is not representative of the real world, esp when u graduate to Allo forum

Thanks. Any analysis on high stats vs low stats vs mixed stats?

 

[Lucca]

Thanks. Any analysis on high stats vs low stats vs mixed stats?

while I havent done this for SDN, I have tried looking at the respondents to the reddit IM application spreadsheet.

Spoiler: Reddit post: Can we learn anything from IM applicant spreadsheet?

As you might expect, people who post anonymously online tend to self-select, i.e. higher stats are more prevalent on the spreadsheet than in the general pop. I suspect the same is true for SDN.

And you can never discount that people might be coming on the internet to tell lies.

 

[HopeP]

while I havent done this for SDN, I have tried looking at the respondents to the reddit IM application spreadsheet.

Spoiler: Reddit post: Can we learn anything from IM applicant spreadsheet?

As you might expect, people who post anonymously online tend to self-select, i.e. higher stats are more prevalent on the spreadsheet than in the general pop. I suspect the same is true for SDN.

And you can never discount that people might be coming on the internet to tell lies.

Whatever you did, it put SDN in maintenance mode briefly.

 

[EdgeTrimmer]

Whatever you did, it put SDN in maintenance mode briefly.

LOL. There was an alert this morning about scheduled maintenance.

 

[lull]

But, unless everyone is lying, if 1 or 2 percent of applicants are accounting for 5 or 10 percent of IIs, it looks like they are performing better.

Again, that just seems like guessing. How do we know sdners make up that small percentage of applicants (active and not active)? 5 or 10 percent of secondaries in how many schools? Honestly, I don't think this question is even answerable..and I'm not going to get any benefit from knowing the answer to this, but it would've been interesting to see what the acceptance rate is for people who exclusively use sdn compared the the 40%.

 

[EpilepticRat]

According to my premed office, SDN is a vicious den of lies that I practically had to swear to avoid. This may underlie the relatively low usage among premeds.

Granted, I think it's best to take things you see on anonymous internet forums with a grain of salt. That being said, I've gotten sage advice from the adcoms and experts here @Goro @gonnif @gyngyn @LizzyM @Moko to name a few, and my application is stronger for it. Like any other tool, SDN is what you make of it and how you use it.

 

[KnightDoc]

Again, that just seems like guessing. How do we know sdners make up that small percentage of applicants (active and not active)? 5 or 10 percent of secondaries in how many schools? Honestly, I don't think this question is even answerable..and I'm not going to get any benefit from knowing the answer to this, but it would've been interesting to see what the acceptance rate is for people who exclusively use sdn compared the the 40%.

All schools. There are over 50,000 applicants. How many active posters are there on the premed forums of SDN? More than 1,000 during any given cycle? Really? It seems like the same few dozen or few hundred to me, on any thread!!

 

[EdgeTrimmer]

All schools. There are over 50,000 applicants. How many active posters are there on the premed forums of SDN? More than 1,000 during any given cycle? Really? It seems like the same few dozen or few hundred to me, on any thread!!

Too me active posters on college specific threads seems to be 100-200.

 

[HopeP]

Too me active posters are on college specific threads seems to be 100-200.

Add total from DO as well and that is about 60,000. Maybe another 5,000 to10,000 who look at Foreign schools. And that is per cycle. Some people on here are 2-3-4 years out. So at least 100,000 applicants 1-3 years out, And how SDN posters are med students, physicians, adcoms etc. Perhaps 0.5% of prospective applicants in the above demographic are active on SDN

race to bottom now..

 

[lull]

All schools. There are over 50,000 applicants. How many active posters are there on the premed forums of SDN? More than 1,000 during any given cycle? Really? It seems like the same few dozen or few hundred to me, on any thread!!

I'm not just talking about active posters. I actually was never just talking about active posters. A person could google "how many clinical hours do I need for med school?" and an sdn post would be one of the first in their google search and they would still benefit from the information even if they're not an active poster. Being an active poster says nothing about whether you learned something on sdn that'll help with applications. There's plenty of people who remain misinformed on here even with being active. A person could also not be an active poster and solely post their progress during application season, and vice versa, so sampling bias, sampling bias, sampling bias among other issues with that 1-2% of applicants, 5-10% secondaries guess.

 

[KnightDoc]

I'm not just talking about active posters. I actually was never just talking about active posters. A person could google "how many clinical hours do I need for med school?" and an sdn post would be one of the first in their google search and they would still benefit from the information even if they're not an active poster. Being an active poster says nothing about whether you learned something on sdn that'll help with applications. There's plenty of people who remain misinformed on here even with being active. A person could also not be an active poster and solely post their progress during application season, and vice versa, so sampling bias, sampling bias, sampling bias among other issues with that 1-2% of applicants, 5-10% secondaries guess.

Okay, so we're talking past each other. OP was asking about active posters, and noted that around 10% of IIs were reported. My response was that the number of active posters was no more than 1-2% (of 50,000), and the 10% is not representative, it is skewed due to lying and the SDN community being unrepresentative. You are, of course, free to disagree. What's the difference anyway?? 😎

 

[HopeP]

Okay, so we're talking past each other.

Wheel on the bus go round and round, round and round..