too optimistic???

[Carmenita79]

Is it just me or do people seem way more optimistic this year than before (sorry if these belong to any of you):
http://www.mdapplicants.com/viewprofile.php?id=4164
http://www.mdapplicants.com/viewprofile.php?id=5565
http://www.mdapplicants.com/viewprofile.php?id=5478
http://www.mdapplicants.com/viewprofile.php?id=5972

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[Law2Doc]

Is it just me or do people seem way more optimistic this year than before (sorry if these belong to any of you):
http://www.mdapplicants.com/viewprofile.php?id=4164
http://www.mdapplicants.com/viewprofile.php?id=5565
http://www.mdapplicants.com/viewprofile.php?id=5478
http://www.mdapplicants.com/viewprofile.php?id=5972

First, there are many fakes on MDApplicants. Second, your odds of getting into med school arent great with those stats, so I guess if you are going to get rejected, you may as well get rejected by some of the best. At least for a few weeks you can go around telling everyone you are hoping to go to med school at Hopkins and waiting to hear.

 

[washington101]

Nothing is too optimistic. A dream is a dream. Let them be.

 

[silkworm]

These people likely already know they face very long odds. Don't begrudge their dreams.

 

[dr.z]

Nothing is too optimistic. A dream is a dream. Let them be.

 

[coco11]

Having a dream is one thing. Applying to Harvard and Hopkins instead of being smart and applying to some lower tier schools if you have a sub-3.0 and a sub-25 is quite another.

 

[Law2Doc]

Having a dream is one thing. Applying to Harvard and Hopkins instead of being smart and applying to some lower tier schools if you have a sub-3.0 and a sub-25 is quite another.

Don't believe everything you read (on MDApplicants)...

 

[Anastasis]

The first one and the last one are real I would think - but the middle two... maybe not.

And for the record, if they are real, they're allowed to apply wherever they damn well please to apply.

 

[Law2Doc]

The first one and the last one are real I would think - but the middle two... maybe not.

And for the record, if they are real, they're allowed to apply wherever they damn well please to apply.

It sure won't bother the schools -- they'd love to take these people's secondary fees.

 

[Kuba]

When I read the OP's post I was expecting to find my MDapps profile #, lol. I agree with the other posts, i bet 3/4 of them are fake, but the one that is real has every right to apply wherever they dream of going.

 

[Gabujabu]

I am 99% sure the 3rd one is fake. It looks like the spelling was purposefully distorted.

 

[jackieMD2007]

Hahaha, DR KUBA, me too! I was like, OH SHOOT!
But they didn't get me, so okay!

 

[beaverfetus]

who has seen the opening rounds of american idol? apt comparison: those profiles are people who are trolling fraud types or tragically deluded.

 

[jackieMD2007]

who has seen the opening rounds of american idol? apt comparison: those profiles are people who are trolling fraud types or tragically deluded.

But you know what? I would love to go up against someone with a 22 and a 3.2 at some of the schools I am applying to. All of you a-holes with a 4.0 and a 37, not so much.

J/K kids I respect and admire those of you with outstanding stats. Kudos. Really. But I am NOT that stoked about going up against your amazing numbers.

 

[NonTradMed]

Some of the MDApplicants may be real....they don't sound like they are trolling, but at least one of them must be a joke....no one can possibly think a 2.3 and 19 will get them into a US med school. I mean, exceptions abound, but there is a line....

 

[Law2Doc]

Some of the MDApplicants may be real....they don't sound like they are trolling, but at least one of them must be a joke....no one can possibly think a 2.3 and 19 will get them into a US med school. I mean, exceptions abound, but there is a line....

Maybe they are hoping to get in by accident. With all those tens of thousands of applicants, one or two mistakes must get made. It's like playing the lottery.
Either that or they have embarrassing and compromising porno tapes of themselves and some adcom members.

 

[jackieMD2007]

Maybe they are hoping to get in by accident. With all those tens of thousands of applicants, one or two mistakes must get made. It's like playing the lottery.
Either that or they have embarrassing and compromising porno tapes of themselves and some adcom members.

I guess stranger things have happened!

 

[DMBAND]

Personally, in case they are all real, you really should spend more of your time worrying about your own chances of getting in instead of shooting down someone else's dream...just my opinion

 

[DR. EUGENIC]

Personally, in case they are all real, you really should spend more of your time worrying about your own chances of getting in instead of shooting down someone else's dream...just my opinion

well no one asked for it.....they are either TROLLS or ******S...a 19 cmon...

 

[zach1201]

Why belittle others? Does it make you feel better?

If a less fortunate person came to see you as a physician, do you plan on doing the same thing? If a drug addict came to you asking for moriphine, would you not give him the same respect and treatment as other patients? (Although you wouldn't feed his addiction, he still is another human being)

Regardless if these applicant profiles are real or fake, making fun of them for something they are trying for is just despicable.

 

[braluk]

Hey you never know. Alot of people arent really as keen to the appliction process as many SDNers are. Take folks with poor SAT scores but apply to a myriad of schools anyways, because they are kind of clueless about the process. I myself was fairly clueless as well, Im the first one to ever go to college in my family, and no one around me in my family has ever made it past a high school education. Thus, I think the word that is more fitting is, "unfamiliar" with your stats and your chances. Coming into the AMCAS circuit, I was equally as clueless. Thank goodness I found SDN. However, I guess the fact that these students know about MDapps has to say, at least in part, that they do know somewhat, be it partially uninformed or not, about med school.

Whatever the case may be, and as "fake" or "ridiculous" as some of these stats are, I'll give them the benefit of the doubt. There was an applicant with a 24 MCAT, who had a spectacular GPA, who applied to a bunch of reahc schools (harvard, JHU) but also listed that their number one choice was University of Texas, Southwestern. So i guess in-state preference works in their favor. I wouldn't see why anyone (unless they were really that much of a loser) would make a fake MDapps, but who knows. regardless of which, MSAR always reports on the ranges of scores (it'd nice to get a range of GPA's also) of it matriculants, so I suppose there HAD to be someone who had the lowest score but still got in somehow. Eh, I dont really concern myself too much about it. I'll be nice to the people, even if they are fake, who are nice and cordial and belittle those with amazing stats, but are a crime to social interaction. I want to get away from the med stereotype of arrogance as much as possible.

 

[DR. EUGENIC]

Why belittle others? Does it make you feel better?

If a less fortunate person came to see you as a physician, do you plan on doing the same thing? If a drug addict came to you asking for moriphine, would you not give him the same respect and treatment as other patients? (Although you wouldn't feed his addiction, he still is another human being)

Regardless if these applicant profiles are real or fake, making fun of them for something they are trying for is just despicable.

if your talking to me then: the less fortunate person woudl not come to see me...they couldnt afford me....

if your not talking to me: your fine and ok..

 

[laurenem]

if your talking to me then: the less fortunate person woudl not come to see me...they couldnt afford me....

if your not talking to me: your fine and ok..

are you always sleepy? maybe you should get that checked out.

 

[beaverfetus]

Why belittle others? Does it make you feel better

yeahh, you know a little interweb belittle-ing perks me up better than a long weekend and a prozac. now put away that barrel of righteousness and remember that web chatter is to be taken lightly, and in the end of the day nobody is fiending for morphine

 

[Mr. McDuck]

I dunno, but if I had a 13M and a 2.9, I'd certainly be applying to more than 18 schools.

 

[riceman04]

Why belittle others? Does it make you feel better?

If a less fortunate person came to see you as a physician, do you plan on doing the same thing? If a drug addict came to you asking for moriphine, would you not give him the same respect and treatment as other patients? (Although you wouldn't feed his addiction, he still is another human being)

Regardless if these applicant profiles are real or fake, making fun of them for something they are trying for is just despicable.

It does make them feel better. However, if these profiles are real I hope the people who own them (especially the one w/ the really low MCAT and GPA would re-consider. Applying to med school is way too expensive to just apply on what it is obviously a whim (for some people).
But all the extra side talk and name calling is definitely not necessary.

 

[DR. EUGENIC]

I dunno, but if I had a 13M and a 2.9, I'd certainly be applying to more than 18 schools.

ahaha...poor patrick...

 

[braluk]

hmm idk, with a 13M, i wouldnt stick my neck out to apply. But thats their prerogative. Props to them.

 

[Law2Doc]

I wouldn't see why anyone (unless they were really that much of a loser) would make a fake MDapps, but who knows. regardless of which, MSAR always reports on the ranges of scores (it'd nice to get a range of GPA's also) of it matriculants, so I suppose there HAD to be someone who had the lowest score but still got in somehow.

People make fake MDApps all the time. The fact that every profile has a "flag for administrator review" button should suggest that it isn't that unusual a circumstance. Folks on SDN have outed a few fakes over the years. It makes less sense to me, if your stats are in the range described, to bother making an MDApp profile. It's like bragging about how poorly you've done. It doesn't happen. But even if the profile in toto isn't fake, the Harvard or Hopkins type school listing frequently is.

However if these folks are real, it actually provides a service when discussed on boards like SDN, because otherwise someone else with the same score might be deluded into thinking they too are competitive. It will save them a lot of money and aggravation to know ahead of time that they are not.

 

[MiesVanDerMom]

I'm just glad my MDApps wasn't listed. Don't know why Dr E is always sleepy, so I am picking it up as well. It's a trend now...

 

[DR. EUGENIC]

I'm just glad my MDApps wasn't listed. Don't know why Dr E is always sleepy, so I am picking it up as well. It's a trend now...

wow...a secret admirer....

 

[chewsnuffles]

If I remember correctly (which I might not) THE AVERAGE MED SCHOOL APPLICANT has a 27. WHEN, and all us SDN'ers are pretty much on the other side of the average acceptance of a 30.5 or something. That leaves alot of people (50%) on the other side of 27.
BUT, lets be honest, test anxiety or dyslexia or some of that other stuff that I don't have, so I have no real authority on it, BUT STILL, I hear it can really mess up your testing experience. And since patient care is obviously different from paper testing (or CBT) ya can't rule those people out of the race.
ALSO, I do enjoy seeing people with lower stats than me applying too!!! Raises my low self-esteem a few notches.
All the rest of you piss off, if I see one more 3.8, 38R MCAT out there asking what are there chances...

 

[Carmenita79]

Whatever the case may be, and as "fake" or "ridiculous" as some of these stats are, I'll give them the benefit of the doubt. There was an applicant with a 24 MCAT, who had a spectacular GPA, who applied to a bunch of reahc schools (harvard, JHU) but also listed that their number one choice was University of Texas, Southwestern. So i guess in-state preference works in their favor. I wouldn't see why anyone (unless they were really that much of a loser) would make a fake MDapps, but who knows. regardless of which, MSAR always reports on the ranges of scores (it'd nice to get a range of GPA's also) of it matriculants, so I suppose there HAD to be someone who had the lowest score but still got in somehow. Eh, I dont really concern myself too much about it. I'll be nice to the people, even if they are fake, who are nice and cordial and belittle those with amazing stats, but are a crime to social interaction. I want to get away from the med stereotype of arrogance as much as possible.

I guess what I thought was odd was that the person from TX was only applying to two of the seven TX schools (and UTSW's MCAT average is 35), despite their numbers. I guess I was thinking that if people are serious about becoming a doctor they would research all of their options (including DO schools and less competetive md schools or retaking the MCAT). I just thought it was noteworthy how optimistic they are about their chances... I am not trying to belittle anyone.

 

[Natatiap]

Fake or not who is anybody to judge whether they should apply or not. Trust me Ive seen applicants with lower mcats get into medical school (well except the third). Medical schools look for more than just scores, they look at the overall application. Not to say you can have no experience, bad mcat and gpa and get into a school but if you are successful in other areas why not give it a try because only the admissions committee can determine if you will get in or not. I applaud them for going for their dreams.

 

[Dr.Acula]

Yea, the first one IS real, she goes to my school. I always thought she was really smart...so either a) she purposely chose not to give out her scores or b) she had a mental lapse on the MCAT.

 

[jillibean]

Yea, the first one IS real, she goes to my school. I always thought she was really smart...so either a) she purposely chose not to give out her scores or b) she had a mental lapse on the MCAT.

Then why only apply to 2 of the 7 state schools, when it is so cheap to apply in TX? Even if she thinks she doesn't want to go to Tech or TCOM, better safe than sorry, right?

 

[NonTradMed]

Well, I'm not one to belittle people who want to be a doctor, no matter their academic record. However, some of these stats on MDApplicants are just unrealistic for a med school matriculant.

It's foolhardy to apply when your numbers are substantially lower than the average. If someone asked me if they should apply with a GPA < 2.5 and MCAT < 20, I would tell them to wait and get their numbers up higher before doing so. It's not stamping on anyone's dream or putting people down, it's being realistic with their chances.

What is cruel is giving people false hope. Being overly optimistic isn't going to change people's chances. With numbers that fall far below the average, applicants aren't going to win brownie points by reapplying over and over again.

I wish someone had told me this when I started out applying. I had people tell me I'm smart and determined and blah blah and that of course, I'll get in no problem.

The only thing worse than rejection is the spector of false hope that goes with it. I realized my chances were slim in time to do something about it. I also readjusted my thinking and decided this "I can do it! I'll get in even though I'm 5 points below the average matriculant MCAT" mentality was crap. The process is random, but there is a method to their madness. Numbers do matter. People with really, really crappy stats are wasting their money that could better be used to improve their stats. And so I do not see anything malicious with saying some of these people shouldn't be applying to med school, or at least shouldn't apply unless they intend on retaking the MCAT.

 

[Dr.Acula]

Then why only apply to 2 of the 7 state schools, when it is so cheap to apply in TX? Even if she thinks she doesn't want to go to Tech or TCOM, better safe than sorry, right?

Hey I meant book smart , not street...

 

[notdeadyet]

For everyone whose application you look down your nose at saying, "Who is this person for applying to this school with these stats?" there's quite probably someone else with way better stats than you saying the same thing about your app.

 

[Anastasis]

Yea, the first one IS real, she goes to my school. I always thought she was really smart...so either a) she purposely chose not to give out her scores or b) she had a mental lapse on the MCAT.

Wow - you recognized her from her MDapps? So much for an anonymous website. Is she really only applying to those schools? More power to her I guess - I figured she just hadn't updated her list.

 

[jillibean]

For everyone whose application you look down your nose at saying, "Who is this person for applying to this school with these stats?" there's quite probably someone else with way better stats than you saying the same thing about your app.

I agree. I have a crappy GPA and because of that I am applying to a full spectrum of schools (from ivy league to lower tier of the DO schools), but I think I am VERY realistic about my strengths and weaknesses.... and that is important in a process as competetive as this.

 

[Dr.Acula]

Wow - you recognized her from her MDapps? So much for an anonymous website. Is she really only applying to those schools? More power to her I guess - I figured she just hadn't updated her list.

I have no idea. I'm not a friend of hers or anything just recognize her from her bio

 

[Rainman84]

I'll admit that I'm below SDN average, but this whole thread makes me glad that adcoms are the ones that make the decisions... they do have the ability to read beyond just the numbers. i hope

 

[MedStudentWanna]

It's foolhardy to apply when your numbers are substantially lower than the average. If someone asked me if they should apply with a GPA < 2.5 and MCAT < 20, I would tell them to wait and get their numbers up higher before doing so. It's not stamping on anyone's dream or putting people down, it's being realistic with their chances.

Yeah, but the thing is, no one asked you. If they ask for your opinion, fine, give it to them. But bringing someone's MD Apps profile here just to criticize them is not cool, no matter what your intentions were. Do you (the OP, not the personI quoted above) have any idea how some of those people may feel right now? I know that when I opened this thread, my first thought was "please don't let it be my profile this person is singling out." Fortunately for me, it wasn't. But I can just imagine what the people you did single out are thinking. The bottom line is they didn't ask for your opinion and they don't deserve your unsolicited criticism and no matter how much YOU think they need to hear it, it's none of your business. Isn't this process hard enough without turning on fellow pre-meds whose only crime is establishing an MD apps profile? Nice way to scare off potential REAL profiles with GPA's and MCAT scores lower than the average.

Karma's a boomerang folks.

 

[jackieMD2007]

The fact that the profiles could be fake doesn't make it any better to single these people out. To keep from hurting feelings, I think we have to assume that the profiles are real.
Also, it is possible that those people haven't updated their profiles. I, for one, am using mine to keep me organized so I update it all of the time. But I am more anal than most.

 

[NY Musicologist]

Pardon my naivete, but why would anyone falsify an mdapplicants profile?? (Especially in a negative direction!) What's to be gained?

 

[Doctor Bagel]

Pardon my naivete, but why would anyone falsify an mdapplicants profile?? (Especially in a negative direction!) What's to be gained?

I've seen it done in two different contexts -- one to knock urms and another to knock osteopathic schools. The pattern is that someone will create a profile with super low numbers, state he/she is african-american, and then state that he/she was admitted to top schools like harvard, etc. With osteopathic schools, someone will post that they have something like a 2.0 and a 15 on the mcat and that they got into all sorts of osteopathic schools.

I'm a believer that most mdapplicants are pretty accurate, though.

 

[Dr.Acula]

Yeah, but the thing is, no one asked you. If they ask for your opinion, fine, give it to them. But bringing someone's MD Apps profile here just to criticize them is not cool, no matter what your intentions were. Do you (the OP, not the personI quoted above) have any idea how some of those people may feel right now? I know that when I opened this thread, my first thought was "please don't let it be my profile this person is singling out." Fortunately for me, it wasn't. But I can just imagine what the people you did single out are thinking. The bottom line is they didn't ask for your opinion and they don't deserve your unsolicited criticism and no matter how much YOU think they need to hear it, it's none of your business. Isn't this process hard enough without turning on fellow pre-meds whose only crime is establishing an MD apps profile? Nice way to scare off potential REAL profiles with GPA's and MCAT scores lower than the average.

Karma's a boomerang folks.

Well said