small "n"

[disheveled_dave]

I've read a lot of threads with people worrying about their scores during the 60-day wait, and I understand that reading about other folks' worries (eg, "I hope I got better than a 30!") often make things more difficult. I often find myself thinking I would be very happy with a 30, and worrying that one particular comment represents the majority of test-takers. I was talking to a friend who took the MCAT last year about this, and she helped put it in perspective for me.

She told me to realize that of all the people who took the MCAT in August (17,000 or so?), only a tiny fraction of these people are on SDN, talking about their practice test scores, April test scores, etc, and that this tiny minority does not always represent how most people feel.

I know this is probably a painfully obvious observation to a lot of you, but the advice helped me, and if it helps anyone else, I'm happy. I'm just passing this along because I realized that the SDN forums seem so huge, but in reality it is a fairly small, and sometimes subjective, audience compared to all the pre-meds who are actually out there.

I hope this doesn't offend anybody; it's not meant to. It's meant for the people who don't regularly post and who find themselves being swayed by the general opinions they see on this forum, like I used to be. I realize I might get jumped on for this post, but I'm ok with that

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[NapeSpikes]

In fact, the "n" is an even smaller percentage than you suggest: there are about 30,000 mcat test-takers per administration.

 

[frany584]

i dont think ur post was offensive at all, it was just stating the truth . when i started reading this forum i felt incompetent because ppl were scoring well above a 30 on their practice tests. u just hafta focus on what ur own goals are, and know that ur doing the best u can.

 

[happydays]

ppl come to this forum to brag.

 

[disheveled_dave]

ppl come to this forum to brag.

Exactly, which is discouraging unless you can just look at those posts and laugh

 

[disheveled_dave]

In fact, the "n" is an even smaller percentage than you suggest: there are about 30,000 mcat test-takers per administration.

I thought the 30,000 or so referred to both administrations, Aug. and Apr... either way, pretty dang small n

 

[JustR]

I disagree. While that may be some of the posters, not all of them are here for that purpose. Some people don't even know about SDN until after their MCAT. That has certainly been the case with people like QofQuimica, Arsenic, etc. They did extremely well, but it did not mean they came here solely for that purpose. Some people have been posting on here well before they ever got their MCAT scores to get advice, and then posted their scores cuz it was a community in which a lot of people were sharing what they got with each other.

Secondly, let us keep in perspective that not every person with a 34+ has a 4.0 GPA. Hence, you'll find some of these people don't even have many interviews yet, like everyone else.

Thirdly, I agree with the majority of what the OP said. The only thing I disagree with is stating that the majority of the people do not worry about what they got. I have looked around at people I know, who do not use SDN, and seen the same worry amongst the good majority of them too. I think it is everywhere, just not as vocal everywhere cuz most people are private people who would not share such emotions on a forum with people they don't know.

So, again, yes there are a few here to brag, but more or less, most of the people I met were not about bragging. For instance, Sail Crazy, Wet lightning, and jtank come to mind in the good MCAT score range, and all have been modest. Same with qofquimica, who came here because of needing some advice about something, and then went on to create a subforum to help out future test takers.

Those are just a few examples, but I could think of more.

Don't confuse all people for being braggarts. Remember, if they have their profile in their signature, you do have the choice of clicking on the link. You don't have to click if you don't want to know.

But in the sense that most people do not have 34+, the OP is dead on.

Guju…sometimes your posts are long but indeed truly researched and full of facts.
I have got nothing but just to agree with you.--which in your theory is pretty easy to do.
But in my theory, every opinion counts.
I guess this is one of the EXCEPTS of you being somewhat of my mirror image, but different than me that we rotate the plane of symmetry in an opposite way..
Great Input

 

[JustR]

By the way, disheveled_dave is right in a sense that a tiny fraction of these MCAT takers are on SDN. And this sample ( people on SDN) might be a skewed sample from the edge of the normal bell shaped curved.

 

[gozeemer]

i actually found this site post mcat as gujudoc has implied about many SDNers..and its a great great way to just find someone to talk to. Im somewhat of a non-traditional applicant (i dont know whats wrong with me, just plagued with bad luck)--and this site has been great to hear the imput of many others...i came out of the MCAT so depressed because I was doing really well on diags...when I found SDN i found that many people felt the same way. Its good to know that you are not the only one who feels the same way about somethings..

I am still relatively new to this site, you may have read my thread "Normal and Stupid" it pertains to what this thread is about. I sometimes feel like crap after reading some of these posts, and you are so right it is a small "n." ---but it also reminds me that there are gunners out there and I have to stay on the top of my game if I want to get into med school.

BTW...who likes seinfeld...lets start a thread that will kill time---gujudoc thats ur job!!

 

[disheveled_dave]

Don't confuse all people for being braggarts. Remember, if they have their profile in their signature, you do have the choice of clicking on the link. You don't have to click if you don't want to know.

Very true. I do not mean to imply that all SDN'ers are braggarts, and this place is indeed a great forum for discussion. It's just that even the most innocuous discussion can be unnerving to some pre- or post-mcat takers who don't realize that majority-wide concerns on this network don't necessarily represent the majority-wide concerns of the entire 30,000 (good catch guju, nape) test-takers.

An important skill to have when browsing the forums is the ability to recognize brag, and for this, the best solution is laughter.

 

[Tinker Creek]

but different than me that we rotate the plane of symmetry in an opposite way..

 

[disheveled_dave]

Yeah, but I thought we already made it well clear that this is not a big sample of the test takers on here. After all, we say that every time someone brings up mdapps. Mdapps is more like a way of knowing how certain people are doing, rather then a resource. At least, for me, I look at people's profiles cuz I want to see who and what those specific people are about and how they are doing through process.

???

 

[PBandJ]

i, too, was a bit overwhelmed when i started reading these posts...but now that i realize it's not indicative of everyone who takes the mcat, i felt a bit better.