Less informed or less neurotic?

[chillinillinkillin007]

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Okay so I spent a good portion of my undergraduate time doing EC's and when I go on SDN I feel as if I'm incompetent still. The thing is I have a bunch of friends who have a 3.7-3.8 GPA and 31-35 MCATs but with just shadowing, part of some random club (premed, cultural, etc.) or fraternity/sorority and volunteering only from high school applying or minimal in college and they think they will get it. According to SDN, they will get flat out rejected but it seems as if they are confident they are going to do very well. Are they less informed or am I just neurotic?

 

[allantois]

I also get the same feelings when I get on here and read stories of people not getting in with extraordinary ECs.

 

[Jojokarade]

Getting into medical school has a lot of factors. Part of it is MCAT/GPA. Part of it is ECs. Part is the personal statement. The final part is fit. Part of a interviewers job is to determine if you are the right fit for a school. Even if you have amazing credentials, if you are not the right fit for a school, you will probably not be accepted. How do you determine if you are the right fit? That is the million dollar question that I don't think anyone can adequately answer for all applicants.

 

[Doctor Strange]

"According to SDN"

 

[Being]

According to SDN, they will get flat out rejected but it seems as if they are confident they are going to do very well. Are they less informed or am I just neurotic?

The key difference is that non-SDN'ers tend to not really know the rules of the game they are playing. Maybe it will work out for them, maybe it won't. A 3.7 with a 33 gives you a good chance to get in somewhere. Adding the standard SDN regimen of ECs/shadowing/volunteering/clinical simply improves your chances (it doesn't guarantee admission just as a lack of these things doesn't guarantee rejection).

They are either less informed or don't care as much.

 

[chillinillinkillin007]

bump

 

[FluffyPolishUnicorn]

When you read things on SDN you need to put a filter on it - people are extremely exaggerating.

You read here that if you have 32 MCAT you have no chances at Columbia, Cornell etc, yet when I talk to students from those schools, thats what they got!! of course there are ppl with 39 MCATs, but hey good on them.

Also people tend to show off on here, so if Admissions decie you are the right person for their school, you 3.8 and 33 MCAT wont be what gets you in. It will be all those things combined and your personality!!

Just IMO!

 

[theseeker4]

Okay so I spent a good portion of my undergraduate time doing EC's and when I go on SDN I feel as if I'm incompetent still. The thing is I have a bunch of friends who have a 3.7-3.8 GPA and 31-35 MCATs but with just shadowing, part of some random club (premed, cultural, etc.) or fraternity/sorority and volunteering only from high school applying or minimal in college and they think they will get it. According to SDN, they will get flat out rejected but it seems as if they are confident they are going to do very well. Are they less informed or am I just neurotic?

SDN is pretty neurotic. Generally, things that are good pluses on your application in the real world are made to sound like absolute requirements when discussed on here. Yes, getting a bunch of impressive EC's, tons of volunteering, a mid-30's plus MCAT and a 3.75+ sGPA and cGPA are all great for your application, but not having all of those things will not be an auto-reject (except at a few schools), regardless of how it sounds on SDN. In that way, you will have a better chance of success than your friends if your GPA and MCAT scores are similar, but that doesn't mean they have no chance at admission with weak ECs. It simply means they have less of a chance.

 

[Aerus]

Definitely neurotic. I know a lot of people in real life who get in with lower stats than what people on here claim that you need.

But that's also a good thing. A little bit of neuroticism keeps you on your toes and keeps your expectations erring on the more realistic side. Anything else that happens would be expected or a pleasant surprise.