I had no clue what I was doing before SDN

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zeppelinpage4

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I was just going through my inbox and found a very old email that I sent to one of the pre-med advisers at my school. This was while I was still in high school and had decided on attending.

Needless to say...I'm a little ashamed of myself. I asked how hard the bio classes were, cause "I needed to ace them to get into medical school".:smack:

I really hope he does not remember that email, or make the connection that it was sent by me. After going through pre-reqs and just experiencing all that college offers, I'm surprised at how much I've changed compared to that.

Sorry this is random and it's late but I thought I'd share. Was anyone else this neurotic or naive starting college?
 
I just wanted to meet chicks, to be honest.
 
i feel ya, i said some pretty stupid things at first and i look back and think i was an idiot...Now i just keep my mouth shut and don't mention pre-med at all
 
Lol I feel ya. I've definitely come a long way. Before I moved to the US I had NO idea what bachelor was, what pre-med was, etc. If it wasn't for SDN I would still be pretty much lost on the whole med school application process.

In fact, I remember going to an advisor on the 2nd semester of my sophomore year telling her that I was planning on finish taking my pre-requisites and taking the mcat so I could apply Junior year and she told me I didn't have to worry about that until the end of my Junior year and that it was ok if I wanted to take other classes. I listened to her and took microbio, genetics and some other upper-level courses before taking orgo 2 and phys 2...Result = had to wait another year to apply cuz of the mcat. Thank you dear advisor.
 
Dr Ypaint said:
just curious, what % of applicants do you suppose are aware of SDN? i feel like sdn users have a pretty large advantage
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true.... i never went to a pre med advisor 😎

all because of sdn
 
I have learned so much on SDN. I have no idea what I would do without it.
 
Dr Ypaint said:
just curious, what % of applicants do you suppose are aware of SDN? i feel like sdn users have a pretty large advantage
Click to expand...

Agreed. There's a big advantage. But the question then is, do people have a big advantage by reading SDN, or are the over-prepared candidates the ones that take the time to find and post on SDN?

I'm gonna go with the latter one...🙄

addo said:
true.... i never went to a pre med advisor...all because of sdn
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ozzi22 said:
pre med advisors suck. they don't know what they are talking about.
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It sucks that you guys had a bad experience...my pre-med advisor at my school is absolutely amazing.

While I've only been on SDN for a month or so, I don't think it should ever totally replace a pre-med adviser. Sure, you can get all the info you need from this website. But having a good relationship with them can help you out in a number of ways. My adviser has pulled strings to get me into classes, and re-worked the composite letter process a bit so that I got a better letter-writer.

It's not all about information, but also about the connections you make in the process.
 
Dr Ypaint said:
just curious, what % of applicants do you suppose are aware of SDN? i feel like sdn users have a pretty large advantage
Click to expand...

ozzi22 said:
pre med advisors suck. they don't know what they are talking about.
Click to expand...


The real question is what % of SDNers apply and get in in comparison to non-SDNers that apply and don't; I'm quite certain there is a large % shift in our favor (although be it from the advice of the network or simply the mentality of most the pre-meds that stalk the forum is up in the air).

And everyone knows pre-med advisors are horrible. My adivsor told me "don't apply this cycle, you won't get in anywhere. You should take a year off." God it felt good to shove that back in his face
 
SDN has been a great help as I've looked at colleges. I still plan on seeing the pre-med advisor once I reach college, but at least I'm not completely naive when I talk with him or her.
 
SoyRicoSuave said:
The real question is what % of SDNers apply and get in in comparison to non-SDNers that apply and don't; I'm quite certain there is a large % shift in our favor (although be it from the advice of the network or simply the mentality of most the pre-meds that stalk the forum is up in the air).

And everyone knows pre-med advisors are horrible. My adivsor told me "don't apply this cycle, you won't get in anywhere. You should take a year off." God it felt good to shove that back in his face
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My pre-med advisor said someting like that too (only I'm a freshman),

"I see you have a 3.1 for your first year...have you thought about switching majors, I think anyone has gotten into medical school with a 3.1"
 
SDN is where I actually started looking into med. Unfortunately it was at least a year or so into my undergrad by then, so I really could have started being more serious and selective about my courseload before then, but oh well....better slightly late than never, I guess.

So this site was a positive and a negative. For one med might actually be better than a regular phd or bs, but on the other hand I have become a bigger risk taker, eating my schedule during every semester. "what I can not take more than 8 credits in a summer semester?!"

SDN are my Asian parents I never had.
 
When I applied to medical school as a senior in college, I had no idea what I was doing and had never heard of SDN. I applied late and to a bunch of places I had no business applying to. Somehow I got an interview, but didn't end up getting in. That was about when I started reading SDN.

Fast forward a few years and some serious SDN time, I applied again and had much more success . I took people's advice on how to improve my resume, the right schools to apply to, etc and it worked.

As a med student I have used SDN to help me with stuff for STEP I and classes. SDN is a great tool if you know how to weave through the BS.
 
I feel like I have an advantage compared to other pre-meds at my school, mainly because of this site. I don't begin undergrad till August, but I'm really glad I've found this site and will be able to use it all four years to help guide me. I asked a few pre-med people who I also know (via Facebook) what they're doing next year and they've said stuff ranging from "medical schools only care about GPA, not volunteering, so I think I'm just gonna study" to "I think I'll party and figure it all out when I'm a Junior." I feel like SDN is my dirty little secret 🙂
 
nctw said:
I feel like SDN is my dirty little secret 🙂
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I wholeheartedly agree. I feel bad for the pre-meds at my school missing out on the prime information SDN has to offer, but the less competition the better 😉
 
SoyRicoSuave said:
The real question is what % of SDNers apply and get in in comparison to non-SDNers that apply and don't; I'm quite certain there is a large % shift in our favor (although be it from the advice of the network or simply the mentality of most the pre-meds that stalk the forum is up in the air).

And everyone knows pre-med advisors are horrible. My adivsor told me "don't apply this cycle, you won't get in anywhere. You should take a year off." God it felt good to shove that back in his face
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good for you :laugh:
 
Person0715 said:
I wholeheartedly agree. I feel bad for the pre-meds at my school missing out on the prime information SDN has to offer, but the less competition the better 😉
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Same here, part of me feels bad when I hear fellow pre-med acquaintances talk about what their plans are and such because they are SO often backward of what they should be doing, but another part of me knows it'll work to my advantage in the end...
 
PressPforPi said:
Not necessarily true in my case. My pre-med advisor was actually an accepted student into a U.S. med school until she changed her mind. Now she's a Virologist and my advisor lol.
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I feel that your mileage may vary with pre-med advisors. I haven't spent much time with mine, but she seems supportive (in a way in which she is honest and not sugar coating things) so far. I think that's the biggest service they can provide. As for information goes, there's SDN for that.
 
I was DEFINITELY naive.
not just coming into college, but halfway through my sophomore year!

for this reason still i'm trying to fix all the mistakes i made up until then, because while i was aware i'd need a good GPA to get into med school, i had no idea how hard it was to get in overall, especially in areas like ECs... i had also never calculated my sGPA before in my life. 😱

thank goodness i know about it now though.
 
Person0715 said:
I feel that your mileage may vary with pre-med advisors. I haven't spent much time with mine, but she seems supportive (in a way in which she is honest and not sugar coating things) so far. I think that's the biggest service they can provide. As for information goes, there's SDN for that.
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Precisely. Mine has even helped me secure a position in her lab doing research and offered me a chance to study abroad at Oxford. I will say that all the other ones at my uni are very uninformed. I always compare their information with that of SDN's, and normally, SDN is spot on.
 
rstilwel said:
Amazing!
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tumblr_l7bvi6ql3r1qakgigo1_500.jpg


OR the one that is just plain true:

High_Expectaitions_Asian_Father.jpg
 
SDN can be a great source for information. Unfortunately it can also be discouraging for some when they read the What are my Chances? threads where people have 3.8+ GPA's and 35+ MCAT's.

I think that what I like the most about SDN is that none of my college friends (not even one) were premeds. The group of people I hung out with in college liked to party, were mostly concerned with sports, really didn't care about their grades or futures, etc... So it's nice being able to read about other people who I can relate to in certain aspects.
 
Good God it seems like everyone here really loves smelling their own farts. Reading this thread was like listening to a group of people sitting around talking about how awesome they are.

I think SDN is good for having a place to vent and be neurotic, and I will have to admit that I think the interview feedback is great. However, I'm pretty sure the majority of information here could have been obtained from an MSAR and a half-assed advisor.
 
Tapepsi said:
SDN can be a great source for information. Unfortunately it can also be discouraging for some when they read the What are my Chances? threads where people have 3.8+ GPA's and 35+ MCAT's.

I think that what I like the most about SDN is that none of my college friends (not even one) were premeds. The group of people I hung out with in college liked to party, were mostly concerned with sports, really didn't care about their grades or futures, etc... So it's nice being able to read about other people who I can relate to in certain aspects.
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I use those peeps as a source of where I should be, but there are plenty of people here who got in with less than 3.8s (Here is to you Noshie)
 
I love SDN. I am barely in college, but I feel that I can definitely do it. Let's rain on these pre-meds guys.
 
I always feel SO guilty when I talk to other pre-meds and dont tell them about SDN. Of course I've told all my friend pre-meds about it, but the other random ones from classes I get a twinge of competativeness with and tend not to mention it...
 
GetThePointe77 said:
I always feel SO guilty when I talk to other pre-meds and dont tell them about SDN. Of course I've told all my friend pre-meds about it, but the other random ones from classes I get a twinge of competativeness with and tend not to mention it...
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Not mee.....The premeds that attend church with me are my good friends, but I do not give 2 hoots and a holler about them to give them that kind of information. They just could not handle it.
 
Swiss Medical said:
Not mee.....The premeds that attend church with me are my good friends, but I do not give 2 hoots and a holler about them to give them that kind of information. They just could not handle it.
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I feel similarly. It's really quite selfish. I'm planning on getting an surgery volunteer position at a local hospital, and I don't want to tell any of my soon-to-be friends. The applications are due by August 4 and school starts August 17, so I doubt anybody else will know about it. I only found it by chance, so I'm hoping they're not planning ahead as much as I am. (I wouldn't have if it weren't for SDN).
 
nctw said:
I feel similarly. It's really quite selfish. I'm planning on getting an surgery volunteer position at a local hospital, and I don't want to tell any of my soon-to-be ex-friends. The applications are due by August 4 and school starts August 17, so I doubt anybody else will know about it. I only found it by chance, so I'm hoping they're not planning ahead as much as I am. (I wouldn't have if it weren't for SDN).
Click to expand...

Fixed.
 
nctw said:
I feel similarly. It's really quite selfish. I'm planning on getting an surgery volunteer position at a local hospital, and I don't want to tell any of my soon-to-be sex-friends. The applications are due by August 4 and school starts August 17, so I doubt anybody else will know about it. I only found it by chance, so I'm hoping they're not planning ahead as much as I am. (I wouldn't have if it weren't for SDN).
Click to expand...

Fixed. :laugh:
 
nctw said:
I feel similarly. It's really quite selfish. I'm planning on getting an surgery volunteer position at a local hospital, and I don't want to tell any of my soon-to-be ex sex friends. The applications are due by August 4 and school starts August 17, so I doubt anybody else will know about it. I only found it by chance, so I'm hoping they're not planning ahead as much as I am. (I wouldn't have if it weren't for SDN).
Click to expand...


Fixed?
 
holy ****, this thread went from "gee aren't we great!" To, "gee, aren't we better than every other idiot who is too stupid to not come here!"

I think this thread is enough evidence to support both the adcomms who warn against the ignorance of this site, and to support the "Doctors are cocky jerks" thread.
 
My pre-med advisor is just too nice.

Oh, this personal statement looks lovely! (It was about my grandmother and how she "inspired me". It was Lame.)

Of course you'll get in!

I like SDN's brutal honesty. You guys make the kool-aid and I drink it. If that's not love, what is?
 
the pre med advisor at my school sucks😡 she just dont want any premed succeeding at all. i had to tell her that i was just majoring in Bio to get my MS and work in lab. if i told her that i was a premed, she would put me in one of them notorious ochem professors classes so i can fail. but now i'm ballin in one of the easiest ochme profs at my school while my other premed freinds🙄
lets just say that they found out the hard way:laugh:
 
Donald Juan said:
holy ****, this thread went from "gee aren't we great!" To, "gee, aren't we better than every other idiot who is too stupid to not come here!"

I think this thread is enough evidence to support both the adcomms who warn against the ignorance of this site, and to support the "Doctors are cocky jerks" thread.
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I think you're blowing this out of proportion a bit. No one is slamming people that don't use SDN, and no one is saying you can't succeed without it. For a lot of us though, and for me, SDN has been of more help than any single resource, and discovering it has really made it a difference in our perceived preparedness for the chaos and uncertainty of the application process.

SDN itself will not make you a better student, applicant, or doctor, but it can help you take advantage of the potential you have by enlightening you to others' experiences and success/failures.

If someone takes the time to do their own research and finds and takes the time to read SDN, I think SDN more than adequately rewards that investment. Most premeds don't know about SDN, but it's not out of arrogance or cockiness that those of us who choose not to publicize our membership, but out of privacy. I will and do gladly pass on knowledge I find valuable from SDN to my premed friends, but if they're going to be reading my posts, I'd rather this be a sort of buried treasure for everyone to find for themselves.

That said, I have told other premeds about this site, but I don't believe anyone is obligated to.

SDNers aren't just "cocky jerks" and this site isn't filled with as much ignorance as you might think, though it of course takes a discerning eye to glean the most accurate information, as with any group discussion.
 
gettheleadout said:
I think you're blowing this out of proportion a bit. No one is slamming people that don't use SDN, and no one is saying you can't succeed without it. For a lot of us though, and for me, SDN has been of more help than any single resource, and discovering it has really made it a difference in our perceived preparedness for the chaos and uncertainty of the application process.

SDN itself will not make you a better student, applicant, or doctor, but it can help you take advantage of the potential you have by enlightening you to others' experiences and success/failures.

If someone takes the time to do their own research and finds and takes the time to read SDN, I think SDN more than adequately rewards that investment. Most premeds don't know about SDN, but it's not out of arrogance or cockiness that those of us who choose not to publicize our membership, but out of privacy. I will and do gladly pass on knowledge I find valuable from SDN to my premed friends, but if they're going to be reading my posts, I'd rather this be a sort of buried treasure for everyone to find for themselves.

That said, I have told other premeds about this site, but I don't believe anyone is obligated to.

SDNers aren't just "cocky jerks" and this site isn't filled with as much ignorance as you might think, though it of course takes a discerning eye to glean the most accurate information, as with any group discussion.
Click to expand...

Why did you delete your earlier post?

Also, I don't think that this sight is completely full of ignorance, but I have talked to adcomms who hate this sight because it is basically a bunch of premeds telling other premeds what adcomms think (yes, I know of and have nothing but adoration for LizzyM and catalystik; I'm referring to the thousands of other members).

I'm sorry, but this thread really turned into a bunch of people talking about how they keep SDN as some sort of secret to leave others in the dust and give you an advantage. You yourself confirmed this in your earlier post...which you deleted. This annoys me, especially because I could start a thread right now about how annoying "gunners" (people who are so competitive that they intentionally screw other people over to fail) are, and everyone in this thread would probably agree.
 
^ Honestly I think you are misinterpreting a lot of the posts. It seems more like sarcasm then anything else. Most of us don't intentionally hide SDN to mess up our fellow pre-meds. I might joke online and say that I am hiding this website. However SDN is very easy to find and if someone is motivated enough to do even some basic research about medical school admissions they'll probably find this site. There's no need for me to announce it to everyone.

tabascosauce said:
ZEPPELIN

is that you in dat dere avi?
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Haha tis' not, she's a Bollywood actress.

Although, hypothetically, if I were to say that it was me....perhaps more people would view my threads? :idea:
 
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I wasn't sure if it would be considered spam or not.

Also, can't have too many people knowing about her, got to reduce the competition. Just like how I hide SDN from other pre-meds. :meanie:
 
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