life before SDN

[mlw03]

I wonder what happened in the days before SDN or the internet... how did people make decisions without being able to ask whether somone would pick Harvard, Yale, or UCSF. I mean, did people actually have to think for themselves? Make some tough choices without having their hand held?

Did poor, innocent pre-meds have to decide what schools to apply to, and (this had to be tough) what to wear to an interview without the guidance of the almighty internet?

Man... what a rough world that must have been. How lucky we all are.

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[exmike]

There was life before SDN? getouttahere!

 

[nascentdoc]

I did not even know of SDN until a long time after I got accepted and made my decision. I walked through the application process in complete darkness. My pre-med advisor, although competent, did not strike me as very aproachable and I have this complex about kissing ass. We had very few pre-meds. at my school, so that was not a huge pool of info. I had the motivation to do this thing, but I was also a bit overconfident, which from reading SDN was terribly missguided. So, with my average stats and some good experiences I applied in late august to only 3 schools, yes, that's 3. I knew I wanted to stay in Chicago so why spread myself thin right? Well, wrong but who knew that I wasnt' hot sh** at the time (I sure didn't). I guess I just got lucky, and I thank god everyday for that. On the bright side I"m glad I didn't come to SDN until after it was all said and done. I can see how this forum can be very deppressing and discouraging to pre-meds, especially those with a less than a 38 MCAT. Now, I'm just so glad to have finally found you all

 

[kito]

Now, I'm just so glad to have finally found you all

With all of the garbage we put up with here in Pre-Allo, all of the whimsical crap in the Lounge, and all of the anger and flames in Everyone, this comment makes it all worth it.

 

[Gleevec]

The sad thing is we are just younger equivalents of the older mainstream doctors that diss each other's specialty, encourage students not to pursue medicine, and are obsessed with prestige and lifestyle.

Its like the relationship between the Muppets and the Muppet Babies. All the characters are still the same... just younger.

 

[TarHokie_08]

My situation is very similar to nascentdoc's. I didn't discover this site until after acceptance.

After reading this site for a couple of months I really don't understand how I got accepted. I read the site now because there are lots of interesting topics that come up that relate to me and my situation.

I would just like to say to all the pre-meds out there that you don't have to have the stats thrown around out here or have some of the ECs.

Just get yourself in the ball game with grades and mcat scores, know why you want to be adoc, and find a way to differentiate yourself from everyone else. sound easy enough?

 

[gboug]

Its like the relationship between the Muppets and the Muppet Babies. All the characters are still the same... just younger.

Great analogy!!!!

 

[TheFlash]

I think sdn has only blown up in the last few years. It's just a matter of time before every single applicant consults sdn for the app process.

 

[CalBeE]

The sad thing is we are just younger equivalents of the older mainstream doctors that diss each other's specialty, encourage students not to pursue medicine, and are obsessed with prestige and lifestyle.

Its like the relationship between the Muppets and the Muppet Babies. All the characters are still the same... just younger.

And I do sense that some people are pretty competitive on here...SDN is not that much different from the real world pre-med community--not everyone's genuinely nice and helpful.

 

[Newquagmire]

*cough* BPM...

TF is utterly right. I heard from a source that SDN's servers went through something the like size of my hard drive in the period of a single month. Just look at mdapplicants.com; for the 2004 cycle there are >> more applicants than 2003 >> 2002. I found SDN to be rather helpful, but then again, I didn't know MSTPs existed before SDN.

 

[mlw03]

I think you're right that we'll see growth in the use of SDN and mdapplicants.com as a resource, but it's still pretty small. I'd estimate that maybe 3-5% of all applicants post on these boards.

My whole point is that there was a time when people had to make decisions for themselves, and I think SDN has become way too big a crutch for some people. Threads discussing legit issues and the good and bad things about particular schools are great, but the ones that say "should I pick school X or Y" are the ones that inspired my little rant.

*cough* BPM...

TF is utterly right. I heard from a source that SDN's servers went through something the like size of my hard drive in the period of a single month. Just look at mdapplicants.com; for the 2004 cycle there are >> more applicants than 2003 >> 2002. I found SDN to be rather helpful, but then again, I didn't know MSTPs existed before SDN.

 

[kaikai128]

I think that as long as you take the information on here with a grain of salt, it is going to be okay. I have extra time now and enjoy reading the boards. I have learned a lot and feel as if I have benefited. I just hope that nobody who posts "where should I go" bases their entire decision off of here. I just look at it as another resource, and a few opinions from ppl going through the same thing. I doubt that most posters are looking for others to make their decisions for them, but rather just another set of opinions to factor in.

 

[lesstalkmorock]

The sad thing is we are just younger equivalents of the older mainstream doctors that... encourage students not to pursue medicine...

i've noticed this too. doctors are always telling us not to pursue medicine. wtf??!?!!!

i want to know the motivation for this. is it ego? genuine concern?

 

[hamhamfan]

Before the internet, there were always relatives and other health professionals.

SDN wasn't the first medical-school forum I visited. I used to go to premed101.com and their forums. Their forums have been around quite awhile and were of great help in figuring out my college plan and MCATs. However, they focus more on Canadian premeds.

 

[Peterock]

The sad thing is we are just younger equivalents of the older mainstream doctors that diss each other's specialty, encourage students not to pursue medicine, and are obsessed with prestige and lifestyle.

Its like the relationship between the Muppets and the Muppet Babies. All the characters are still the same... just younger.

So true, so true. Doctors and premeds, such an unhappy bunch.