MDApplicants.com vs. PreDents.com

[Stixman28]

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I was just browsing around today, and wow, PreDents.com is much sleeker than our mdapps...

The color is really just the beginning, but also the layout is smooth and simple to follow.

For comparison (randomly found):

http://www.predents.com/?page=user&user_id=6189

http://www.mdapplicants.com/viewprofile.php?id=8907


I must admit, Im a little jealous...

 

[Myuu]

I was just browsing around today, and wow, PreDents.com is much sleeker than our mdapps...

The color is really just the beginning, but also the layout is smooth and simple to follow.

For comparison (randomly found):

http://www.predents.com/?page=user&user_id=6189

http://www.mdapplicants.com/viewprofile.php?id=8907


I must admit, Im a little jealous...

MDApps is a lot smoother and easier on the eyes, though.:cry:

That green is... :cry:

 

[87138]

Pretty sure MDApps is getting a big overhaul soon.

 

[BlueElmo]

I like MDApps better. It's colorless, so what?

 

[ButImLETired]

MDApps is a lot smoother and easier on the eyes, though.:cry:

That green is... :cry:

I agree. I like MDApps better. Way less obnoxiously colored, and I actually find it easier to follow. Besides, I like how there are a bunch of options for MDApps (waitlisted, withdrew; withdrew before interview; rejected pre-secondary, post secondary, post interview; etc etc). It couldn't be done the same way as the PreDents cause we just have more options.

 

[Myuu]

Pretty sure MDApps is getting a big overhaul soon.

That too.

From Xaelia's post in the annual MDApps thread:

Changes should be implemented around June.👍

 

[Stixman28]

Yeah, i figured everyone here would like mdapps more...but i guess it goes with the territory.

im always happy that those who run it are on top of making changes to keep up with what fits our needs best.

but really...I think predents might me cooler...even though i dont want to be a dentist. (no one is going to take away my pre-med badge right?)

 

[Myuu]

Yeah, i figured everyone here would like mdapps more...but i guess it goes with the territory.

im always happy that those who run it are on top of making changes to keep up with what fits our needs best.

but really...I think predents might me cooler...even though i dont want to be a dentist. (no one is going to take away my pre-med badge right?)

Well, as an artist, I find it aesthetically unpleasing, left-right unbalanced, and crowded.

...I guess that was covered by "aesthetically unpleasing."


Please turn in your badge and sidearm.

 

[Stixman28]

Well, as an artist, I find it aesthetically unpleasing, left-right unbalanced

ahhh ok, i might see what you're seeing now...but only when I shrink my browser window significantly to just fit the webpage. when there is a ton of green on either side, i think it starts too look much cleaner.

Maybe everything just looks nice on my 24" monitor 😉

 

[Myuu]

ahhh ok, i might see what you're seeing now...but only when I shrink my browser window significantly to just fit the webpage. when there is a ton of green on either side, i think it starts too look much cleaner.

Maybe everything just looks nice on my 24" monitor 😉

Haaaaaaaa. Maybe it does.

I also have a lot of greenspace, but I dislike how everything is so compacted into the middle. Plus the quality of that top graphic is driving me nuts.

 

[xaelia]

ahhh ok, i might see what you're seeing now...but only when I shrink my browser window significantly to just fit the webpage. when there is a ton of green on either side, i think it starts too look much cleaner.

Maybe everything just looks nice on my 24" monitor 😉

It seems more people might defend PreDents design now that I've wrecked MDapps.... 🙄

 

[bowlin123]

I want the old version of Mdapplicant.com back. I have stopped using the new version (not very convenient to use).

 

[JJMrK]

It seems more people might defend PreDents design now that I've wrecked MDapps.... 🙄

I like MDapps in any form. 👍

 

[xaelia]

I want the old version of Mdapplicant.com back. I have stopped using the new version (not very convenient to use).

Can you comment specifically on what parts of mdapps are not convenient to use? Feedback helps me fix things. Folks who have been following might have noticed I've already combined the demographics and application tabs in response to feedback, etc.

 

[bannie22]

Can you comment specifically on what parts of mdapps are not convenient to use? Feedback helps me fix things. Folks who have been following might have noticed I've already combined the demographics and application tabs in response to feedback, etc.

it lags very much compared to the old version.

 

[xaelia]

it lags very much compared to the old version.

Any specific page or feature you would like me to look at speeding up?

 

[bowlin123]

Any specific page or feature you would like me to look at speeding up?

Let me tell you why I started boycotting the newer version. Not only is it 10 times slower than the older version but also very inconvenient in many ways.

For example, when you look up a specific person's profile under accepted section of a school and use the back arrow after you are done to look other accepted students' profiles, it does not bring you to the accepted section but to the applications section.

Also, Why can't the discussion and the application be on the same page? I mean what can you write about a person if you don't know that person's stat? It's not convenient to press back and forth many times to read the application and again back arrow in the discussion subsection bring you to the main application section not the page you were looking at previously😕.

Two complaints: hard to navigate and very time-consuming

 

[Stixman28]

while the log in is easier now, ive had trouble even editing my own info...

i didn't spend forever looking for it, but anonymous seemed harder to achieve.

in terms of speed, every page just kind of takes longer to open, whether im searching, or just clicking on your link "00001"

funny to see a thread of mine get dragged up from 5 months ago.

 

[bowlin123]

Another interesting fact to point out: I have people wrote on my mdapplicant page once a week before the overhaul. Now, I haven't gotten any comment on my profile ever since.

 

[xaelia]

Let me tell you why I started boycotting the newer version. Not only is it 10 times slower than the older version but also very inconvenient in many ways.

Still? It does have a new server...no, it's not quite as fast as the previous text-only version, but it's not a disaster.

For example, when you look up a specific person's profile under accepted section of a school and use the back arrow after you are done to look other accepted students' profiles, it does not bring you to the accepted section but to the applications section.

Hmm...I made a quick fix so the back button behavior is more appropriate - but that does affect the it such that it has a full page reload rather than an ajax push. I will see what I can do about making it populate the history field appropriately on the filter operation so that back works correctly from profile.php to the filtered page.

Also, Why can't the discussion and the application be on the same page? I mean what can you write about a person if you don't know that person's stat? It's not convenient to press back and forth many times to read the application and again back arrow in the discussion subsection bring you to the main application section not the page you were looking at previously😕.

Eh, it's probably going to remain a permanent design decision to keep that tabbed; how is it really any different than scrolling down through 20 pages of comments to read comments and then back up to the top to read the demographics and stream of consciousness application summary? 😉

But the back behavior you are requesting is a function of ajax pushing to tabs. I'm not sure it is appropriate consistent behavior for the back button in that situation to take you to another self-contained tab rather than search.php/school.php. I'll have to think about it, and then when I look into populating history with ajax for back button functionality, I can make it happen.

Two complaints: hard to navigate and very time-consuming

Specific feedback can be fixed!

 

[xaelia]

Another interesting fact to point out: I have people wrote on my mdapplicant page once a week before the overhaul. Now, I haven't gotten any comment on my profile ever since.

That is something that does bother me. It's a bit of a balancing act. In the old system, those comments boxes were attacked by spam bots, and a ridiculous amount of hate mail was directed at some minority applicants, higher-scoring folks, etc. Basically, I decided to require registration on the site for commenting to prevent all the spam and hate mail from the unchecked anonymous evildoers.

What I am trying to figure out is a way to elevate discussions and blogs to motivate more back-and-forth. I threw together http://mdapplicants.com/discussion.php on a lark and linked it from the home page and My Profile, but I don't think it's the answer. It will take some thought regarding how to expose the discussion stuff better.

 

[c5212]

MDApps is soooooooo much easier to follow- get a headache from all those colors on PreDents... and i agree; that green color...

 

[WashMe]

Has anyone noticed that there is a problem-- one that also existed in the old format-- such that if you check "accepted" and "withdrew" from a school (which of course happens to everyone with multiple acceptances eventually) then that school just doesn't show up on your profile?

There should be a category for "Accepted, Withdrew"

 

[Steeler7588]

Has anyone noticed that there is a problem-- one that also existed in the old format-- such that if you check "accepted" and "withdrew" from a school (which of course happens to everyone with multiple acceptances eventually) then that school just doesn't show up on your profile?

There should be a category for "Accepted, Withdrew"

Indicating where you matriculate eliminates the need for that category.

 

[WashMe]

Indicating where you matriculate eliminates the need for that category.

I mean, you can indicate that, but it would be nice to have the option I mentioned... "Matriculated" is not a check-the-box option either.

Most things in life are pointless, so why not have the option I suggested?

 

[MilkmanAl]

i know several people who were accepted and decided not to attend med school. That's a useful category to have.

 

[WashMe]

i know several people who were accepted and decided not to attend med school. That's a useful category to have.

Same here; they got into Top 20 schools and decided to get Master's degrees instead.

 

[xaelia]

Accepted and withdrew are mutually exclusive endpoints for an application.

Once you're accepted, you simply choose not to attend. You can only withdraw your application from consideration before you are rejected or accepted.

 

[WashMe]

Accepted and withdrew are mutually exclusive endpoints for an application.

Once you're accepted, you simply choose not to attend. You can only withdraw your application from consideration before you are rejected or accepted.

Fine, "Accepted and Declined" is what I should have said. Everyone gets the point, I don't see what the issue is. As it stands, there is no quick and standardized representation of what an applicant did with each acceptance after getting it. Of course, people could choose to not use that option if they wanted to maintain more anonymity.

 

[Aromatic Amine]

i personally just like the overall layout of the pre-dents page. it seems like it is easy to use and simplifies everything nicely.

i especially like the whole way they set up everything right on 1 page, where u dont have to keep browsing through things. it's all right there in front of you. EC, GRADES, SCHOOLS, breakdown of DAT.


maybe something along the lines can make mdapps more aesthetically pleasing and also make it even easier to use.

 

[xaelia]

i especially like the whole way they set up everything right on 1 page, where u dont have to keep browsing through things. it's all right there in front of you. EC, GRADES, SCHOOLS, breakdown of DAT.

All the application parts you mention are on a single page on mdapplicants.com; only blog and comments are on different pages.

As far as admitted and declined...well, we'll see if I add back in the Matriculated field. I wasn't using it for anything on the old site, so I dropped it. I agree it might have some value as a search option, but adding little fields like that are further down the road once I manage to flesh out the little usability issues that are annoying people that I don't know about yet.

 

[armorshell]

But, with pre-dents there's less function and no ability to comment on your or other's pages. If the functionality were brought up to speed with MDapps I think pre-dents would be strictly better. However, pdizzle is a freakin busy 4th year dental student at the 2nd best dental school in San Francisco (😉) so you have to give him credit where it's due.

Now all we need is a predentalresidents.com

 

[xaelia]

But, with pre-dents there's less function and no ability to comment on your or other's pages. If the functionality were brought up to speed with MDapps I think pre-dents would be strictly better. However, pdizzle is a freakin busy 4th year dental student at the 2nd best dental school in San Francisco (😉) so you have to give him credit where it's due.

Now all we need is a predentalresidents.com

What, no credit for relaunching and making all these site revisions while working 70+ hours a week Q4 in the PICU? 😉

 

[armorshell]

What, no credit for relaunching and making all these site revisions while working 70+ hours a week Q4 in the PICU? 😉

I don't know anything about MDapps, what's going on with it, or really anything at all. But I do see that you're user 000000001 so congrats on the hard work. 😉

 

[xaelia]

or example, when you look up a specific person's profile under accepted section of a school and use the back arrow after you are done to look other accepted students' profiles, it does not bring you to the accepted section but to the applications section.

....It's not convenient to press back and forth many times to read the application and again back arrow in the discussion subsection bring you to the main application section not the page you were looking at previously😕.

Yep, this is a limitation of the browser. The temporary fix I have in place for back functionality from profile.php -> school.php is basically the only way because the history object isn't accessible client-side; the only way to put a new entry in the history and retain functionality of the back button is to completely reload the page. So, I'll keep it the way it is. You lose ajax, but you gain back button functionality - probably a net gain if you're going back and forth between profiles and the accepted or interviewed lists.

This also means that it's best to leave the tabs the way they are on profile.php.

....so....what else annoys people about mdapplicants.com? Maybe I should start a dedicated thread. 😉

 

[dw2158]

i know several people who were accepted and decided not to attend med school. That's a useful category to have.

whoa. ballsy! although i guess getting out before they wasted even more time and money on something they didn't love was probably a good move.

Same here; they got into Top 20 schools and decided to get Master's degrees instead.

WOW.