Please Stop Asking

Discover Your Odds of Getting into Medical School
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Are you that physician on the inside already BEFORE medical school?

  • Yes

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • No

    Votes: 6 25.0%

  • I don't understand

    Votes: 18 75.0%
  • Total voters
    24
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InfectiousDiseaseEpidemic

InfectiousDiseaseEpidemic

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I would humbly ask ALL premed students to STOP asking " What are my chances with xyz " or "Who got into medical school with xyz" I have been on this website a month and it is beyond redundant and furthermore, you are looking at things the wrong way in my opinion. One person may get in with a 2.8 GPA and 75% MCAT and the next person may not with a 3.5 GPA and a 95% MCAT. THERE ARE WAY TOO MANY OTHER DETERMINING FACTORS UNIQUE TO EVERYONES JOURNEY SO STOP ASKING THAT QUESTION or derivatives thereof. Instead of making a million threads on what are my chances of getting into medical school with your stats, I think it would be wiser to focus on being the type of applicant that medical schools CAN'T REFUSE. Be that physician you want to be now so that your acceptance into medical school in inevitable because you already ARE that doctor. I already KNOW I am getting into medical school, simply because I, for lack of better words, "am that doctor already".

I also forgot to mention there may not be a need to brag about how many schools one got in, or how they got it without trying.
 
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InfectiousDiseaseEpidemic said:
I would humbly ask ALL premed students to STOP asking " What are my chances with xyz " or "Who got into medical school with xyz" I have been on this website a month and it is beyond redundant and furthermore, you are looking at things the wrong way in my opinion. One person may get in with a 2.8 GPA and 75% MCAT and the next person may not with a 3.5 GPA and a 95% MCAT. THERE ARE WAY TOO MANY OTHER DETERMINING FACTORS UNIQUE TO EVERYONES JOURNEY SO STOP ASKING THAT QUESTION or derivatives thereof. Instead of making a million threads on what are my chances of getting into medical school with your stats, I think it would be wiser to focus on being the type of applicant that medical schools CAN'T REFUSE. Be that physician you want to be now so that your acceptance into medical school in inevitable because you already ARE that doctor. I already KNOW I am getting into medical school, simply because I, for lack of better words, "am that doctor already".
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1. There are very very very VERY few (if any) applicants that a medical school "can't refuse."
2. Judging from this post you are definitely not one of them. Sure as a URM your chances are significantly higher, but you are not "that doctor already."
3. This process is very stressful and making such posts helps people relieve a little bit of stress/neuroticism. People are going to continue to make these posts whether you like it or not so either get off SDN or ignore them.
4. If that's you in your profile picture please for the love of god stop making duckfaces and also change your profile pic.
 
nick-young-confused-face-300x256_nqlyaa.jpg
 
lolpremed22 said:
1. There are very very very VERY few (if any) applicants that a medical school "can't refuse."
2. Judging from this post you are definitely not one of them. Sure as a URM your chances are significantly higher, but you are not "that doctor already."
3. This process is very stressful and making such posts helps people relieve a little bit of stress/neuroticism. People are going to continue to make these posts whether you like it or not so either get off SDN or ignore them.
4. If that's you in your profile picture please for the love of god stop making duckfaces and also change your profile pic.[/QUOT



1. Well obviously medical schools are not going to accept just anyone, nor did I say that. I said focus your energy on being the ONE THEY CANNOT REFUSE.
2. Judging my post is not enough information to ascertain this. Yes I am black and my chances are increased so that's something we can agree on.
3. Of course the process is stressful, but flooding forums asking the questions about your chances are A. not going to increase your chances and B. I am a member here and want to stress a point to my fellow forum members. I can share my opinion just like they can, but in my humble view, it is a redundant question and one asked in folly because everyone's journey is different. There is no cookie cutter formula to medical school.
4. This is an ad hominem attack and has nothing to do with my argument. However I will say that if you are dissatisfied with my picture, there are others who will not be.
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drlemons said:
You're coming to a forum that specifically has a section designated for "What are my chances?" posts. If you don't like it, then leave SDN.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile
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To my knowledge, I am posting in the Pre-Medical section of the forum, I purposefully did not want to post my thread in the "What are my chances" section because that's the proper section to ask those questions, even though I believe it is somewhat an inefficient use of energy. Again, I am attempting to challenge students thinking, not just get up an run away from it.
 
when people on here ask what their chances are and people give a response, everyone recognizes it's all a matter of probability.

there is a reason the thread is called "what are my chances" and not "what schools will I definately be accepted/rejected." Usually the answer lies within what has happened in the past, as with anything else chance-related
 
InfectiousDiseaseEpidemic said:
To my knowledge, I am posting in the Pre-Medical section of the forum, I purposefully did not want to post my thread in the "What are my chances" section because that's the proper section to ask those questions, even though I believe it is somewhat an inefficient use of energy. Again, I am attempting to challenge students thinking, not just get up an run away from it.
Click to expand...

What exactly are you challenging? The WAMC area doesn't give anyone a percent chance of being accepted. It's literally for finding out which schools one is competitive for and for someone to shape their schools lists accordingly
 
People are also trying to figure out their strengths and potential weak areas on their app so they can improve them. I don't think many people are actually expecting a quantitative, definitive answer when they ask what their chances are.
 
TheBiologist said:
when people on here ask what their chances are and people give a response, everyone recognizes it's all a matter of probability.

there is a reason the thread is called "what are my chances" and not "what schools will I definately be accepted/rejected." Usually the answer lies within what has happened in the past, as with anything else chance-related
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Yes, and they're asking other premed students or other non admission personnel who have no more information than the person asking usually. So the question is being asked and it is analogous to the blind leading the blind. Again, as I've stated earlier, there are too many determining factors. A perfect example of this, you may be a white male and I am a black female. We can both come to a forum with a 3.5 GPA and 80% MCAT and with no avatar photo, just put out there "What are our chances of getting into John Hopkins?" Now, I may get in and you may not. With NO INFORMATION OTHER THAN THAT people will not know that perhaps my race played a part of the admissions decision. So it is pointless.

Or on the flip side, we both have a 3.5 GPA and 80% MCAT, however on interview day, I had a fight with my husband and was very distracted and did horribly whereas you performed an excellent interview. How is one to quantify that on a chatroom in order to assure someone they will be accepted to the aforementioned John Hopkins? This is an oversimplification, but it applies. Please everyone read my statement before you attempt to attack me or deconstruct my argument.
 
InfectiousDiseaseEpidemic said:
I would humbly ask ALL premed students to STOP asking " What are my chances with xyz " or "Who got into medical school with xyz" I have been on this website a month and it is beyond redundant and furthermore, you are looking at things the wrong way in my opinion. One person may get in with a 2.8 GPA and 75% MCAT and the next person may not with a 3.5 GPA and a 95% MCAT. THERE ARE WAY TOO MANY OTHER DETERMINING FACTORS UNIQUE TO EVERYONES JOURNEY SO STOP ASKING THAT QUESTION or derivatives thereof. Instead of making a million threads on what are my chances of getting into medical school with your stats, I think it would be wiser to focus on being the type of applicant that medical schools CAN'T REFUSE. Be that physician you want to be now so that your acceptance into medical school in inevitable because you already ARE that doctor. I already KNOW I am getting into medical school, simply because I, for lack of better words, "am that doctor already".
Click to expand...
I really feel like you're missing the point of the WAMC posts/thread.

First, as YOU stated, there's so much more to determining someone's competitiveness than just their GPA and MCAT score. If people just wanted to figure out their chances based on that alone, they'd look at the AAMC data tables. But WAMC posts contain way more information than that. They are, in fact, the opposite of redundant as they are hyper-specific. People include their ethnicity, state of residence, ECs, etc. We also get a sense of their writing skills from the post itself. Then, those specific numbers can be compared to the student's actual school list--so the estimate is even more specific to that one student!

Second, while a huge part of the point of WAMC threads is to either reassure nervous students or give them a dose of reality, the other big point is to help them actually increase those chances. The WAMC forum is full of great advice! People point out the holes in posters' applications so they can make changes to approach that perfect applicant you describe.

It's also worth noting that NO ONE is an applicant med schools can't reject. Even the students I know who ended up at Harvard got rejections from other schools.

So my advice to you would be to critically read the WAMC forum again and see what advice you can pick up to improve your app. I think your point about the attitude is a fine one, but a good med school applicant (and eventual physician) needs a healthy balance of confidence and humility.
 
InfectiousDiseaseEpidemic said:
Yes, and they're asking other premed students or other non admission personnel who have no more information than the person asking usually. So the question is being asked and it is analogous to the blind leading the blind. Again, as I've stated earlier, there are too many determining factors. A perfect example of this, you may be a white male and I am a black female. We can both come to a forum with a 3.5 GPA and 80% MCAT and with no avatar photo, just put out there "What are our chances of getting into John Hopkins?" Now, I may get in and you may not. With NO INFORMATION OTHER THAN THAT people will not know that perhaps my race played a part of the admissions decision. So it is pointless.

Or on the flip side, we both have a 3.5 GPA and 80% MCAT, however on interview day, I had a fight with my husband and was very distracted and did horribly whereas you performed an excellent interview. How is one to quantify that on a chatroom in order to assure someone they will be accepted to the aforementioned John Hopkins? This is an oversimplification, but it applies. Please everyone read my statement before you attempt to attack me or deconstruct my argument.
Click to expand...
incorrect - there are adcoms and other professionals that answer WAMC threads all the time. also, data is available through the AAMC that more experienced "blind" pre-med students can look up to help other premeds

also people can post as much or as little information as they want; of course, the more info they post ("I'm black/white/asian" or "my interview went well" or "I think I botched my interview" etc.) they can get advice closer the their real "chance." in statistics this is called standard deviation and the more information the person gives the smaller the deviation
 
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CCresearcher said:
I really feel like you're missing the point of the WAMC posts/thread.

First, as YOU stated, there's so much more to determining someone's competitiveness than just their GPA and MCAT score. If people just wanted to figure out their chances based on that alone, they'd look at the AAMC data tables. But WAMC posts contain way more information than that. They are, in fact, the opposite of redundant as they are hyper-specific. People include their ethnicity, state of residence, ECs, etc. We also get a sense of their writing skills from the post itself. Then, those specific numbers can be compared to the student's actual school list--so the estimate is even more specific to that one student!

Second, while a huge part of the point of WAMC threads is to either reassure nervous students or give them a dose of reality, the other big point is to help them actually increase those chances. The WAMC forum is full of great advice! People point out the holes in posters' applications so they can make changes to approach that perfect applicant you describe.

It's also worth noting that NO ONE is an applicant med schools can't reject. Even the students I know who ended up at Harvard got rejections from other schools.

So my advice to you would be to critically read the WAMC forum again and see what advice you can pick up to improve your app. I think your point about the attitude is a fine one, but a good med school applicant (and eventual physician) needs a healthy balance of confidence and humility.
Click to expand...


The statement "the applicant medical schools can't reject" is just a saying it is not to be taken literally. Anyone can be rejected and I am not implying that there is anyone with 100% chance of being accepted anywhere. It is a privilege to be accepted into medical school and an honor to practice as a physician. Being that I am a chemistry major, we are taught that you can never get 100% yield from any reaction lol.

What makes this redundant is that all of this information is either on the individual schools website as to what they're looking for in requirements from GPA and other things or as I have stated before, one person may get into one school and one may get rejected and they have the same stats. Or as you have stated and have just helped me prove my point, you can get into HARVARD but be rejected by a school with lower admission standards.
 
InfectiousDiseaseEpidemic said:
I would humbly ask ALL premed students to STOP asking " What are my chances with xyz " or "Who got into medical school with xyz" I have been on this website a month and it is beyond redundant and furthermore, you are looking at things the wrong way in my opinion. One person may get in with a 2.8 GPA and 75% MCAT and the next person may not with a 3.5 GPA and a 95% MCAT. THERE ARE WAY TOO MANY OTHER DETERMINING FACTORS UNIQUE TO EVERYONES JOURNEY SO STOP ASKING THAT QUESTION or derivatives thereof. Instead of making a million threads on what are my chances of getting into medical school with your stats, I think it would be wiser to focus on being the type of applicant that medical schools CAN'T REFUSE. Be that physician you want to be now so that your acceptance into medical school in inevitable because you already ARE that doctor. I already KNOW I am getting into medical school, simply because I, for lack of better words, "am that doctor already".
Click to expand...
InfectiousDiseaseEpidemic said:
I already KNOW I am getting into medical school, simply because I, for lack of better words, "am that doctor already".
Click to expand...

giphy.gif
 
Lucca said:
this is a pre-emptive reminder to keep it civil. It's OK to criticize what we do here on SDN, and it is possible to explain why SDN is the way it is without being insulting!
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I in no way meant to insult the way things are done on Student Doctor Network, I was only remarking how the members post this topic in all forums instead of its place in the "What are my chances" section, not to mention I wanted to see if a difference of opinion would be appreciated.
 
InfectiousDiseaseEpidemic said:
The statement "the applicant medical schools can't reject" is just a saying it is not to be taken literally. Anyone can be rejected and I am not implying that there is anyone with 100% chance of being accepted anywhere. It is a privilege to be accepted into medical school and an honor to practice as a physician. Being that I am a chemistry major, we are taught that you can never get 100% yield from any reaction lol.

What makes this redundant is that all of this information is either on the individual schools website as to what they're looking for in requirements from GPA and other things or as I have stated before, one person may get into one school and one may get rejected and they have the same stats. Or as you have stated and have just helped me prove my point, you can get into HARVARD but be rejected by a school with lower admission standards.
Click to expand...

There are people that post on WAMC with a school list that is completely different from what they should be targeting. Like an ORM with a 3.6 and a 510, average ECs, applying to only Top 20s. There are other people with amazing stats and great ECs who are undershooting and not applying to enough top tiers. Sometimes these people change their school lists based off of the advice of more experienced applicants, past applicants, and even adcoms and end up achieving more success in their cycle. At worst like you yourself said, it won't yield any benefit to the applicant to post a WAMC, but at best advice from others could have led to their application cycle turning out much more successful. You offer no actual harms to posting WAMC posts while there can and have been tremendous benefits.
 
I agree that it's frustrating when people post threads in the wrong place (but the moderators usually move things where they belong before too long). It's also not particularly helpful to applicants to have WAMC threads with limited information (our estimate will be less accurate). And again, I think you're right that a confident attitude and a focus on self-improvement will help someone's chances more than knowing the probability.

But I don't think criticizing people who use SDN to ask for help is productive. That's not just expressing a difference of opinion, and it's not remotely helpful.
 
TheBiologist said:
incorrect - there are adcoms and other professionals that answer WAMC threads all the time. also, data is available through the AAMC that more experienced "blind" pre-med students can look up to help other premeds

also people can post as much or as little information as they want; of course, the more info they post ("I'm black/white/asian" or "my interview went well" or "I think I botched my interview" etc.) they can get advice closer the their real "chance;" in statistics this is called standard deviation and the more information the person gives the smaller the deviation
Click to expand...


Being that I have been here for a month, I don't know how everything goes on this website, but if there are actual admissions counselors and/or medical school professional who have ACTUAL admissions information on this website, then that changes everything and I will consider editing my statement.
 
I think the people who get annoyed by WAMC threads are insecure about their own stats.
 
InfectiousDiseaseEpidemic said:
Let me just state that I am not implying I am an MD or DO but rather that medicine is in my heart already. This is what this statement means.
Click to expand...

Medicine is in your heart?? What is that even supposed to mean? Harvard Medical School is in my heart to that doesn't mean I'm going to get in. Medicine is in the heart of 60% of applicants that apply every year and get rejected from every school they apply to also. Any resource that can potentially boost your chances of getting accepted should be used. Simply "having medicine in your heart" isn't going to get you in.
 
lolpremed22 said:
After seeing the poll I'm convinced this is a troll post.
Click to expand...

What differentiates me from a troll is that I am not posting insults or offensive words just to get an inflammatory response. I am creating a dialogue and actually debating the points with logic/reason. Trolls are looking for a response to get their emotional needs met. I am a gorgeous black woman with an IQ of 140 and I do not have to resort to trolling the internet to get attention or get my emotional needs met. When I desire attention, I put my clothes and makeup on and walk out of my house and let the people of the world gaze upon me. If I desire more attention, I will talk about thermodynamics with my engineer associates or I can discuss nuclear physics with my husband and let them see how intelligent I am.
 
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InfectiousDiseaseEpidemic said:
What differentiates me from a troll is that I am not posting insults or offensive words just to get an inflammatory response. I am creating a dialogue and actually debating the points with logic/reason. Trolls are looking for a response to get their emotional needs met. I am a gorgeous black woman with an IQ of 140 and I do not have to resort to trolling the internet to get attention or get my emotional needs met. When I desire attention, I put my clothes and makeup on and walk out of my house and let the people of the world gaze upon me.
Click to expand...

Confirmed troll. Let's stop feeding her everyone.
 
CCresearcher said:
I agree that it's frustrating when people post threads in the wrong place (but the moderators usually move things where they belong before too long). It's also not particularly helpful to applicants to have WAMC threads with limited information (our estimate will be less accurate). And again, I think you're right that a confident attitude and a focus on self-improvement will help someone's chances more than knowing the probability.

But I don't think criticizing people who use SDN to ask for help is productive. That's not just expressing a difference of opinion, and it's not remotely helpful.
Click to expand...


It may not be helpful as it is challenging a thought process, which is what my aim was. It is analogous to challenging people's opinion that perhaps the earth may not be flat or that diseases are many times caused by pathogens. It is something that may make people uncomfortable but I believe the bigger message of my point is indeed valid and even though it may be made in vain, still believe it worthwhile to say overall, stop focusing on what are the chances, instead, focus on making yourself irresistible.

I would compare this line of questioning to dating. You are trying to get the other person to marry you. Is it a better use of time to keep asking people "Are they going to marry me?" "Will they say yes?" Then going around asking their exes (people who got accepted) "How did you marry them?" There are too many factors between first meeting someone and walking down the aisle. Everyone's path is different. I believe a better use of energy would be to be the best you you can be, and make it so that you are as attractive to a medical school as YOU can possibly be and be at peace. Have CONFIDENCE in yourself. You stressing on a forum is not going to increase your chances, a high GPA will. You begging other people to calibrate your chances who got in is not going to increase your chances of admission, being a great addition when you shadow a great physician will. You stressing over what the next person is doing will not increase your chances, but going out into the community putting in service hours will.
 
InfectiousDiseaseEpidemic said:
It may not be helpful as it is challenging a thought process, which is what my aim was. It is analogous to challenging people's opinion that perhaps the earth may not be flat or that diseases are many times caused by pathogens. It is something that may make people uncomfortable but I believe the bigger message of my point is indeed valid and even though it may be made in vain, still believe it worthwhile to say overall, stop focusing on what are the chances, instead, focus on making yourself irresistible.

I would compare this line of questioning to dating. You are trying to get the other person to marry you. Is it a better use of time to keep asking people "Are they going to marry me?" "Will they say yes?" Then going around asking their exes (people who got accepted) "How did you marry them?" There are too many factors between first meeting someone and walking down the aisle. Everyone's path is different. I believe a better use of energy would be to be the best you you can be, and make it so that you are as attractive to a medical school as YOU can possibly be and be at peace. Have CONFIDENCE in yourself. You stressing on a forum is not going to increase your chances, a high GPA will. You begging other people to calibrate your chances who got in is not going to increase your chances of admission, being a great addition when you shadow a great physician will. You stressing over what the next person is doing will not increase your chances, but going out into the community putting in service hours will.
Click to expand...
Again, though, WAMC threads aren't just about giving the applicants a percentage and then moving on. They almost always involve specific advice about ways to make the applicant more competitive. In other words, these threads DO involve making applicants more irresistible.

And as for your dating analogy, asking for help from people who know you and your partner or who are married themselves isn't a terrible strategy. People ask for relationship advice all the time. A big part of that is about recognizing that you might not be an expert in all things, and deferring to the expertise of those around you who may actually know what they're doing. That's a good thing.

Again, to me this whole issue comes down to balancing confidence and humility. It's okay that some premeds want reassurance, but you're right--there comes a point where people just have to pull the trigger and apply. At the same time, suggesting that people should just go about this solo and that a simple desire to become a doctor is sufficient to get accepted is ridiculous. As people have already stated, 60% of applicants don't get in! People should be seeking help wherever they can get it!
 
CCresearcher said:
Again, though, WAMC threads aren't just about giving the applicants a percentage and then moving on. They almost always involve specific advice about ways to make the applicant more competitive. In other words, these threads DO involve making applicants more irresistible.

And as for your dating analogy, asking for help from people who know you and your partner or who are married themselves isn't a terrible strategy. People ask for relationship advice all the time. A big part of that is about recognizing that you might not be an expert in all things, and deferring to the expertise of those around you who may actually know what they're doing. That's a good thing.

Again, to me this whole issue comes down to balancing confidence and humility. It's okay that some premeds want reassurance, but you're right--there comes a point where people just have to pull the trigger and apply. At the same time, suggesting that people should just go about this solo and that a simple desire to become a doctor is sufficient to get accepted is ridiculous. As people have already stated, 60% of applicants don't get in! People should be seeking help wherever they can get it!
Click to expand...



I agree, asking for advice is one thing, but that has not been my experience this past month. I have seen countless posts where literally all that is said is something like: 3.2 GPA 520 MCAT What are my chances?
No other information and no question of study skill improvement or how to improve test taking. Now THAT would be a better question than just two numbers and asking that question. Now I can totally see the point in a what are my chances thread if the person actually either had more info, unique circumstances, or they actually asked for how to improve. Don't forget I mentioned braggers who will brag about getting into a school without anything of substance attached as well. That's great you got in, but we don't need this many threads stating this information. How does this help the next person?
 
Content: 1/10, makes very little sense
Character: 8/10, very unique approach
X-Factor: Actually has me slightly convinced this could be a genuine post by someone who just doesn't understand the admissions process, 9/10
Overall: 6/10
 
On the off chance this is real, "Be someone medical schools can't refuse" doesn't make sense because yield protection is very real. Just because Harvard "couldn't refuse" someone doesn't mean that person also got into all 20 other medical schools they applied to.
 
Gilakend said:
Content: 1/10, makes very little sense
Character: 8/10, very unique approach
X-Factor: Actually has me slightly convinced this could be a genuine post by someone who just doesn't understand the admissions process, 9/10
Overall: 6/10
Click to expand...

According to your sophomoric approach of grading me, I have a good chance of getting admitted, being that I am a non-traditional black female student who happens to be easy on the eyes as well.
 
InfectiousDiseaseEpidemic said:
According to your sophomoric approach of grading me, I have a good chance of getting admitted, being that I am a non-traditional black female student who happens to be easy on the eyes as well.
Click to expand...
What are your stats tho? A higher proportion of URMs are rejected from medical school applications than their non urm peer applicants.
 
Gilakend said:
On the off chance this is real, "Be someone medical schools can't refuse" doesn't make sense because yield protection is very real. Just because Harvard "couldn't refuse" someone doesn't mean that person also got into all 20 other medical schools they applied to.
Click to expand...

I did not say that, please read the aforementioned post before a retort.
 
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