Do addcomms and admissions officers read SDN?

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eccles1214

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I wonder if members of addcomms and admissions officers, deans of admissions of med schools, and admissions advisors read this SDN or any of its sister sites (mdapplicants.com, oldpremeds.org, etc.). I keep thinking: if they did, maybe they would have a different idea about the frustrations that non-trads (as well as trads) go through. would they be enlightened? would they learn more about potential applicants as a whole? any thoughts? i do know that many private admissions consultants read and post here.

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eccles1214 said:
I wonder if members of addcomms and admissions officers, deans of admissions of med schools, and admissions advisors read this SDN or any of its sister sites (mdapplicants.com, oldpremeds.org, etc.). I keep thinking: if they did, maybe they would have a different idea about the frustrations that non-trads (as well as trads) go through. would they be enlightened? would they learn more about potential applicants as a whole? any thoughts? i do know that many private admissions consultants read and post here.


I doubt they take the time to read SDN, but I wouldn't be surprised if some did either. I'm not sure how useful it would be though...I'm sure most of them have a pretty good idea of what we are going through. I have wondered about this in the past though...it wouldn't be very hard to match someone's MDapps profile to the real applicant, and it would be a crazy way to find out if certain applicants were really interested in their school...
 
eccles1214 said:
I wonder if members of addcomms and admissions officers, deans of admissions of med schools, and admissions advisors read this SDN or any of its sister sites (mdapplicants.com, oldpremeds.org, etc.). I keep thinking: if they did, maybe they would have a different idea about the frustrations that non-trads (as well as trads) go through. would they be enlightened? would they learn more about potential applicants as a whole? any thoughts? i do know that many private admissions consultants read and post here.
There have been a few posts purportedly from adcom members on here, and a few reports of references to SDN at admissions interview presentations. Certainly most med school student adcom members know about it. So the admissions folk certainly are aware of it. But I doubt they have the time or interest to do more than glance around for discussions of their particular school.
 
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eccles1214 said:
I wonder if members of addcomms and admissions officers, deans of admissions of med schools, and admissions advisors read this SDN or any of its sister sites (mdapplicants.com, oldpremeds.org, etc.). I keep thinking: if they did, maybe they would have a different idea about the frustrations that non-trads (as well as trads) go through. would they be enlightened? would they learn more about potential applicants as a whole? any thoughts? i do know that many private admissions consultants read and post here.
Yes, the director of admissions at my school does read SDN and often posts helpful comments.
 
Law2Doc said:
There have been a few posts purportedly from adcom members on here, and a few reports of references to SDN at admissions interview presentations. Certainly most med school student adcom members know about it. So the admissions folk certainly are aware of it. But I doubt they have the time or interest to do more than glance around for discussions of their particular school.

I really wonder how much they read on SDN.
 
eccles1214 said:
I wonder if members of addcomms and admissions officers, deans of admissions of med schools, and admissions advisors read this SDN or any of its sister sites (mdapplicants.com, oldpremeds.org, etc.). I keep thinking: if they did, maybe they would have a different idea about the frustrations that non-trads (as well as trads) go through. would they be enlightened? would they learn more about potential applicants as a whole? any thoughts? i do know that many private admissions consultants read and post here.

My school scans for info specific to our school. All schools hope that good things are being said about their institution and lurking on SDN is a one way to get less inhibited comments.
 
eccles1214 said:
I wonder if members of addcomms and admissions officers, deans of admissions of med schools, and admissions advisors read this SDN or any of its sister sites (mdapplicants.com, oldpremeds.org, etc.). I keep thinking: if they did, maybe they would have a different idea about the frustrations that non-trads (as well as trads) go through. would they be enlightened? would they learn more about potential applicants as a whole? any thoughts? i do know that many private admissions consultants read and post here.

Hi there,
I am on the admissions committee of two allopathic medical schools in the United States. Not only do I read SDN and OPM, I moderate both sites. You have no idea of frustration until you do my job in terms of reading applications.

njbmd :)
 
njbmd said:
You have no idea of frustration until you do my job in terms of reading applications.
njbmd :)
Sorry, if my post came across as condescending or "hit a nerve." :confused:
 
eccles1214 said:
I wonder if members of addcomms and admissions officers, deans of admissions of med schools, and admissions advisors read this SDN or any of its sister sites (mdapplicants.com, oldpremeds.org, etc.). I keep thinking: if they did, maybe they would have a different idea about the frustrations that non-trads (as well as trads) go through. would they be enlightened? would they learn more about potential applicants as a whole? any thoughts? i do know that many private admissions consultants read and post here.

Some do.

Student interviewers read this site as well.
 
in the pre-allo forum, i think LizzyM and REL are two people who are adcoms. they read threads and make posts of their own. LizzyM is a little bit more active than REL. i think REL is at some florida school and don't know which school LizzyM is at.

but as far as being conscious of non-trads and their application experiences, i have not witnessed any particular interest or sympathy. they probably don't care and want to take each applicant at face value in terms of mcat/gpa/research/ec's. they don't post on this non-trad forum right? i haven't seen anything.
 
eccles1214 said:
I wonder if members of addcomms and admissions officers, deans of admissions of med schools, and admissions advisors read this SDN or any of its sister sites (mdapplicants.com, oldpremeds.org, etc.). I keep thinking: if they did, maybe they would have a different idea about the frustrations that non-trads (as well as trads) go through. would they be enlightened? would they learn more about potential applicants as a whole? any thoughts? i do know that many private admissions consultants read and post here.

My school reads it very often.
 
bubbleyum said:
in the pre-allo forum, i think LizzyM and REL are two people who are adcoms. they read threads and make posts of their own. LizzyM is a little bit more active than REL. i think REL is at some florida school and don't know which school LizzyM is at.

but as far as being conscious of non-trads and their application experiences, i have not witnessed any particular interest or sympathy. they probably don't care and want to take each applicant at face value in terms of mcat/gpa/research/ec's. they don't post on this non-trad forum right? i haven't seen anything.
I don't know LizzyM, but I did meet REL (he's at USF here in FL), and he is definitely conscious of non-trad issues. USF is possibly the most non-trad friendly school out there; the average age for the MSI class at USF is 25. Unfortunately, if you are not a FL resident, you do not have much chance of gaining an interview, much less an acceptance, to USF. :( But if any of you non-trads are FL residents, I highly recommend that you check USF out when you apply. :thumbup:

P.S. What REL does is use the search function to look for USF's name. We never talk about USF in this forum; I think I'm the only one of us non-trad regulars who applied there this year. So now that I've posted the term USF in this thread, he will read it. He probably won't post anything though unless we have a specific question for him.
 
QofQuimica said:
I don't know LizzyM, but I did meet REL (he's at USF here in FL), and he is definitely conscious of non-trad issues. USF is possibly the most non-trad friendly school out there; the average age for the MSI class at USF is 25. Unfortunately, if you are not a FL resident, you do not have much chance of gaining an interview, much less an acceptance, to USF. :( But if any of you non-trads are FL residents, I highly recommend that you check USF out when you apply. :thumbup:

P.S. What REL does is use the search function to look for USF's name. We never talk about USF in this forum; I think I'm the only one of us non-trad regulars who applied there this year. So now that I've posted the term USF in this thread, he will read it. He probably won't post anything though unless we have a specific question for him.

yes, from what i've seen from REL's posts, he seems very helpful. i think some people have said their acceptance messages say "now you can post in the wall of fame" or similar, haha.

too bad i couldn't apply to usf (out of state)!
 
bubbleyum said:
yes, from what i've seen from REL's posts, he seems very helpful. i think some people have said their acceptance messages say "now you can post in the wall of fame" or similar, haha.

too bad i couldn't apply to usf (out of state)!
It's not just an email. REL actually calls each interviewee personally to tell them the outcome of the committee meeting. So even if you don't get in, you aren't left in limbo for months wondering when you'll hear something. If you're waitlisted, he will give you an idea of when you can expect to get off the waitlist based on how the waitlist has moved in previous years. When he called me, he told me that real estate in Tampa was an excellent investment. :D He and I had discussed a while back that I would like to buy a condo wherever I go for med school, and he remembered that I had said that. He also knew who I was on SDN; we talked about it during my interview day. :smuggrin: All the other staff at USF are really nice too. I honestly think that USF has the friendliest, promptest, and most transparent admissions office of any medical school I've seen. :thumbup:
 
I am almost positive that someone who posts on this site actually interviewed me but I don't want to say too much until I get a decision by the school. I can't wait to ask him. It's an eerie feeling.
 
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