How to use MDapps

[philosonista]

Hi, SDN --

I often hear people say MDapps has been helpful to them. But I can't seem to understand why. Is it supposed to give you a sense of what kind of profile makes it into what "tier" school? I find that hard to get from the website given how incomplete many people's profiles are. Maybe I just don't understand how best to use the search function.

Please fill me in. What is so fantastic about MDapps?

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[NickNaylor]

For those looking for guidance on what a "good applicant" looks like, it can be helpful. It's not the sort of thing that you should use with the hopes of replicating someone else's application cycle and hoping for the same results. But if you're the kind of person that's interested in going to a top school and want to know "what it takes" based on a small sample size, it can be helpful. For those people who know next to nothing about medical admissions, it can provide some insight into what you should be thinking about if you want to be a competitive applicant.

That said, there are plenty of people who are incredible applicants who have never looked at MDApps (or SDN for that matter). When I was a pre-med, I used it as a way to both remain motivated and to get a sense of the kinds of things I should be doing if I wanted to be a competitive applicant.

 

[NonTrad16]

There are many incomplete profiles, but also a few that provide a lot of info. I haven't applied, but if I see someone that applied and got into school X (on my list), and also school Y that's not, it brings up another to consider. There could be many reasons Y doesn't make sense (state, mission, etc) but it could also be one I missed.

In my canvassing I built up a big list of "possible" school based on gpa, state, views on graduate work, etc. From there I can narrow it once I have an MCAT. MDapps has just helped me find a school or two I wouldn't have considered, and also helped reinforce how difficult (many rejections), and random the application process (from a numbers standpoint) can be.

 

[caffeinemia]

I never bought into MDApps at all. In retrospect, I would say it's nigh impossible to predict how things will turn out for any applicant, unless they are soooo low on the totem that it's obvious.

 

[NickNaylor]

I never bought into MDApps at all. In retrospect, I would say it's nigh impossible to predict how things will turn out for any applicant, unless they are soooo low on the totem that it's obvious.

I think the main issues are that 1) you have no idea how truthful the individual profiles are and 2) some people leave them so vague as to be completely useless. I personally included as much information as possible in my profile to make it "useful" to those who might see it later on. I'd agree that its utility is limited, but for the more neurotic among us or those looking for more specific guidance, it can be somewhat informative.