See example AMCAS applications from HMS students

[flyingeagle]

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Members don't see this ad.

Dear SDN,

Thank you for your valuable feedback. I am currently reading through everyone's comments and making an assessment of the Pros and Cons. From your collective responses, here is my tentative pros and cons list, along with some thoughts on addressing the cons.

Pros:
1. Excellent content, providing real and extensive examples of full applications all in one place.
2. Fills a need, in that there are no resources that come close to providing as extensive and full picture of applicants.
3. Allows students to see what really belongs in an application, bridging the gap of inequality. While many students have a sense of what belongs in an application from SDN and elsewhere, this information alone is difficult to put into context without real and thorough examples or being privy to such information from connections.

Cons:
1. Potentially exploitative, in that students may buy this product believing it will do more for them than it actually can.
Solution: provide free examples. If the free examples are not useful to you, then you can assume the other 40+ applications will not be either.
2. May lead to more "Cookie Cutter" applications.
Solution: You will see that there is a specific route to medical school, but the 50+ applications will demonstrate a wide diversity of paths.
3. Could be plagiarized.
Solution: Work with admissions offices (i.e. upload all examples to the plagiarism detection software, TurnItIn)
4. Cost, $50 may be too much.
Solution: Sell access to individual applications at a smaller price (~$7) and give extra discounts to those students who qualify for the MCAT fee assistance program.

Can you let me know about any additional cons I should address and whether or not my solution to those cons are sufficient?

Thanks,

OD

P.S. Your responses are all read and thought about deeply. Regardless of whether or not I can make a profit, if you convince me it is immoral, then I will not provide this service.

I also think the applications should be from successful applicants to all medical schools, not just HMS. Then, you can sell "packages" of applications (i.e. applications of people who got into HMS could be one package, apps of people who got into your state school could be another package)

 

[Moko]

And here I am just waiting to write an Amazon review for this product.

I also think the applications should be from successful applicants to all medical schools, not just HMS. Then, you can sell "packages" of applications (i.e. applications of people who got into HMS could be one package, apps of people who got into your state school could be another package)

These state school essays would at best be almost identical to the HMS applications, and at worst, be inferior versions of them. Can't see them offering much, if any, additional utility.

 

[Nietzschelover]

OP, you are determined to make some money. Go ahead. Now you have an a la carte menu?? It's not anyone's job here to convince you something is immoral. If you thought about all of the responses "deeply" and arrived at the conclusions you did one seriously has to wonder how you could come close to even producing legit data from HMS matriculants. You still didn't answer how you are going to access said data and whether the matriculants are going to profit. Also hard to imagine that HMS itself will be excited to have their name invoked in a project that appears this shady and "entrepreneurial."

 

[OptoDraft]

OP, you are determined to make some money. Go ahead. Now you have an a la carte menu?? It's not anyone's job here to convince you something is immoral. If you thought about all of the responses "deeply" and arrived at the conclusions you did one seriously has to wonder how you could come close to even producing legit data from HMS matriculants. You still didn't answer how you are going to access said data and whether the matriculants are going to profit. Also hard to imagine that HMS itself will be excited to have their name invoked in a project that appears this shady and "entrepreneurial."

Thanks for these insightful questions. We will think about them, but you can rest assured if this goes live we will make HMS happy and have proof of our authenticity.

 

[OptoDraft]

Wonderful news. We aspire to have applications available as early as March at Optodraft.com (site not functional until March). This includes free example applications, so you can make an informed decision before you purchase anything.

 

[WedgeDawg]

Closing this thread because it has turned into an advertisement thread...