Would you recommend SDN to your premed children?

[Dr Tony T. Chopper]

Your ex said that? That's cold, man.

All of my advisers in college, even my sister, didn't think I was gonna make it.

Biology professor/Adviser: Ummm..... *Looks at my grades*...... do you have a plan B?
Professional advisers: I recommend you retake the MCAT.
Sister in Pharm school: Med school? You should apply to pharmacy school.....or you should do nursing.
My ex girlfriend: Oh you're not that impressive. I've known younger kids who got into med school. Why are you so old? *During an argument*

The moment I got my acceptance calls
View attachment 199626

Seriously, SDN saved my future and am blessed to have met everyone who helped my path to medicine. I recommend SDN to everyone....... even though my advisers told me to stay away from it!

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Members don't see this ad.

 

[oOKawaiiOo]

Your ex said that? That's cold, man.

Well, it's better than what my dad tells me every day

My mother reminds me,"Your father wanted me to tell you how useless you are."

Whelp........Rumors say my pillow is compose of 10% cotton and 90% human tears

 

[Krupke]

Nope. I would only recommend SDN to premeds from my school after they submit their applications. SDN is good at finding out more about med schools and tracking the cycle and figuring out how to improve when reapplying.

Leading up to applying, they should rely on alumni from our school, premed advisors (my school has good advisors and even do stuff like helping you form a realistic school list), and the internal data kept by the school.

1) SDN does not give great advice to students who go to a top, noninflated school and I think premeds from my school will feel overly negative perusing this site even when they are in a good spot because of that.
2) SDN seems to focus more on the checklist cookie-cutter app. I know quite a handful of top school med students with no clinical experience for example. I would encourage premeds I know to forge their own path and try not to focus too much on doing this for the sake of an app.

 

[Lucca]

Nope. I would only recommend SDN to premeds from my school after they submit their applications. SDN is good at finding out more about med schools and tracking the cycle and figuring out how to improve when reapplying.

Leading up to applying, they should rely on alumni from our school, premed advisors (my school has good advisors and even do stuff like helping you form a realistic school list), and the internal data kept by the school.

1) SDN does not give great advice to students who go to a top, noninflated school and I think premeds from my school will feel overly negative perusing this site even when they are in a good spot because of that.
2) SDN seems to focus more on the checklist cookie-cutter app. I know quite a handful of top school med students with no clinical experience for example. I would encourage premeds I know to forge their own path and try not to focus too much on doing this for the sake of an app.

This is why, as @Mad Jack said, optimal-SDN-use requires some degree of maturity and common sense. We are strangers giving advice to strangers and because of that we do not like to take risks and prefer conservative advice well supported by data and principle rather than anecdote or speculation. We do not all attend the same school and don't have access to information that might change the advice we give or are simply not aware of that information if it is out there.

For example, @efle has appeared in many threads to discuss precisely the advantage you describe in your post. If you google "do medical schools care about your undergrad" or "does going to a top school help in medical school admissions" or "is WashU in Washington state or Washington DC?" then you WILL find @efle's posts right there waiting for you.

If anyone is reasonably intelligent then they should understand what factors set them apart or complicate the advice they might receive on SDN. In those cases, PMing adcoms with legitimate concerns about something very specific to you will lead you to the answers you need. I have done so on several occasions because of special circumstances and the posters I PM have always been helpful, prompt and honest with their advice.

I, for one, disagree and think people should read SDN as a freshman, browse it again when they are preparing for the MCAT, and again when preparing their apps. I would have spent 2000 more $$$ on MCAT prep and in all likelihood be less prepared had I not used SDN's MCAT forum to come up with my own study plan. Knowing that many others had self-studied before me (when most students at my Uni take a class course) and succeeded and learning from their advice / schedules was extremely helpful.

 

[ditritium monoxide]

Well, it's better than what my dad tells me every day

My mother reminds me,"Your father wanted me to tell you how useless you are."

Whelp........Rumors say my pillow is compose of 10% cotton and 90% human tears

Cut ties with all of them. If they're doing this to you as an adult, no need to waste your time with them.

 

[Mad Jack]

This is why, as @Mad Jack said, optimal-SDN-use requires some degree of maturity and common sense. We are strangers giving advice to strangers and because of that we do not like to take risks and prefer conservative advice well supported by data and principle rather than anecdote or speculation. We do not all attend the same school and don't have access to information that might change the advice we give or are simply not aware of that information if it is out there.

For example, @efle has appeared in many threads to discuss precisely the advantage you describe in your post. If you google "do medical schools care about your undergrad" or "does going to a top school help in medical school admissions" or "is WashU in Washington state or Washington DC?" then you WILL find @efle's posts right there waiting for you.

If anyone is reasonably intelligent then they should understand what factors set them apart or complicate the advice they might receive on SDN. In those cases, PMing adcoms with legitimate concerns about something very specific to you will lead you to the answers you need. I have done so on several occasions because of special circumstances and the posters I PM have always been helpful, prompt and honest with their advice.

I, for one, disagree and think people should read SDN as a freshman, browse it again when they are preparing for the MCAT, and again when preparing their apps. I would have spent 2000 more $$$ on MCAT prep and in all likelihood be less prepared had I not used SDN's MCAT forum to come up with my own study plan. Knowing that many others had self-studied before me (when most students at my Uni take a class course) and succeeded and learning from their advice / schedules was extremely helpful.

Without SDN making me aware of TBR and EK, my 35 would not have been possible. I probably would have gone with a Kaplan prep course or similar and fared much worse.

 

[Krupke]

This is why, as @Mad Jack said, optimal-SDN-use requires some degree of maturity and common sense. We are strangers giving advice to strangers and because of that we do not like to take risks and prefer conservative advice well supported by data and principle rather than anecdote or speculation. We do not all attend the same school and don't have access to information that might change the advice we give or are simply not aware of that information if it is out there.

For example, @efle has appeared in many threads to discuss precisely the advantage you describe in your post. If you google "do medical schools care about your undergrad" or "does going to a top school help in medical school admissions" or "is WashU in Washington state or Washington DC?" then you WILL find @efle's posts right there waiting for you.

If anyone is reasonably intelligent then they should understand what factors set them apart or complicate the advice they might receive on SDN. In those cases, PMing adcoms with legitimate concerns about something very specific to you will lead you to the answers you need. I have done so on several occasions because of special circumstances and the posters I PM have always been helpful, prompt and honest with their advice.

I, for one, disagree and think people should read SDN as a freshman, browse it again when they are preparing for the MCAT, and again when preparing their apps. I would have spent 2000 more $$$ on MCAT prep and in all likelihood be less prepared had I not used SDN's MCAT forum to come up with my own study plan. Knowing that many others had self-studied before me (when most students at my Uni take a class course) and succeeded and learning from their advice / schedules was extremely helpful.

It's okay for you to disagree.

Every good piece of advice offered on SDN can easily be learned from the premed advisors at my school and from talking to classmates further along on the path and looking at school specific data. I direct the premeds looking for advice to these resources. Why wade through incorrect advice to get at the good stuff, if you already have access to good resources?

I think SDN is good for people who don't have other resources to help them

 

[Glandzburg]

Nope. I would only recommend SDN to premeds from my school after they submit their applications. SDN is good at finding out more about med schools and tracking the cycle and figuring out how to improve when reapplying.

Leading up to applying, they should rely on alumni from our school, premed advisors (my school has good advisors and even do stuff like helping you form a realistic school list), and the internal data kept by the school.

1) SDN does not give great advice to students who go to a top, noninflated school and I think premeds from my school will feel overly negative perusing this site even when they are in a good spot because of that.
2) SDN seems to focus more on the checklist cookie-cutter app. I know quite a handful of top school med students with no clinical experience for example. I would encourage premeds I know to forge their own path and try not to focus too much on doing this for the sake of an app.

I wholeheartedly disagree with this. If anything, I got way more out of SDN leading up to applying than I did during the application cycle. The advisors at my UG that is not known for sending hoards of kids to medical school (probably ~1 dozen students per year, MD + DO + Carrib) were a bit out of the loop with the changing admissions game. I really don't think I would've been a competitive applicant (including my MCAT score) or even known where to start with a school list without SDN. Sorry your experience wasn't as good (although you are lucky to go to a school with great advisors).

 

[Mad Jack]

Well, it's better than what my dad tells me every day

My mother reminds me,"Your father wanted me to tell you how useless you are."

Whelp........Rumors say my pillow is compose of 10% cotton and 90% human tears

Just remind them of all of that when you're an attending and they no doubt ask you for something. "I'm sorry, I can't. I'm useless, remember?"

 

[Lucca]

It's okay for you to disagree.

Every good piece of advice offered on SDN can easily be learned from the premed advisors at my school and from talking to classmates further along on the path and looking at school specific data. I direct the premeds looking for advice to these resources. Why wade through incorrect advice to get at the good stuff, if you already have access to good resources?

I think SDN is good for people who don't have other resources to help them

I agree. Sadly, a lot of institutions lack those types of resources. Our health prof. office is great with resumes, writing tips, and interview practice but the premed advisor I saw there was not helpful at all.

SDN can still be a great supplement for MCAT studying and app preparation and it is the only place on the Internet where you can ask questions directly to adcoms. The MCAT forum has many people willing to share their schedules, testing tips, and Anki decks; you won't find such a volume of forthcoming and helpful people on campus. The School-specific threads are the only place on the Internet where you can see the contents of secondary applications from one year to the next and thus have the opportunity to pre-write secondaries during the application season in order to avoid burnout or long turn over times. The SS forums also feature many med students at a variety of institutions willing to chime in about their experience at that particular school. You can't get that on campus and if you do you can only get it from the medical students at your single institution. The MD/PhD forum, although sparsely populated, is the single most helpful dual-degree applicant resource in existence. We're a very self-selected group and need very little advice but the forum's value is in the participation of PDs, MD/PhD faculty, residents and students who are very hard to run into IRL unless you have personal connections or are attending the -one- MD/PhD event on campus per year.

 

[Krupke]

I agree. Sadly, a lot of institutions lack those types of resources. Our health prof. office is great with resumes, writing tips, and interview practice but the premed advisor I saw there was not helpful at all.

SDN can still be a great supplement for MCAT studying and app preparation and it is the only place on the Internet where you can ask questions directly to adcoms. The MCAT forum has many people willing to share their schedules, testing tips, and Anki decks; you won't find such a volume of forthcoming and helpful people on campus. The School-specific threads are the only place on the Internet where you can see the contents of secondary applications from one year to the next and thus have the opportunity to pre-write secondaries during the application season in order to avoid burnout or long turn over times. The SS forums also feature many med students at a variety of institutions willing to chime in about their experience at that particular school. You can't get that on campus and if you do you can only get it from the medical students at your single institution. The MD/PhD forum, although sparsely populated, is the single most helpful dual-degree applicant resource in existence. We're a very self-selected group and need very little advice but the forum's value is in the participation of PDs, MD/PhD faculty, residents and students who are very hard to run into IRL unless you have personal connections or are attending the -one- MD/PhD event on campus per year.

I said the school specifics threads are good (that's why I joined)

I've talked to plenty of adcoms in person. They send people to our school to talk to us and there are MD/PhD recruiting events all the time. A JHU physician and adcom member guest lectured one of my classes and then open the field to questions about admissions. When we had questions about a school, my advisor would give us email addresses to adcoms we could contact.

I specificed that for premeds from my school (and probably similar schools) I would not recommend SDN because they could good info from other resources without the bad that comes with SDN

 

[Mad Jack]

I said the school specifics threads are good (that's why I joined)

I've talked to plenty of adcoms in person. They send people to our school to talk to us and there are MD/PhD recruiting events all the time. A JHU physician and adcom member guest lectured one of my classes and then open the field to questions about admissions. When we had questions about a school, my advisor would give us email addresses to adcoms we could contact.

I specificed that for premeds from my school (and probably similar schools) I would not recommend SDN because they could good info from other resources without the bad that comes with SDN

Most schools aren't your school and do not have that level of premed support.

 

[Krupke]

Most schools aren't your school and do not have that level of premed support.

I know. I said that I would not recommend SDN to premeds from my school ("my premed children") because it can do more damage than good. The guy above just kept trying to extrapolate the benefits that SDN could offer and I was refuting with why I still stand by what I said. I already said that SDN could be beneficial to someone without resources

 

[Mad Jack]

I know. I said that I would not recommend SDN to premeds from my school ("my premed children") because it can do more damage than good. The guy above just kept trying to extrapolate the benefits that SDN could offer and I was refuting with why I still stand by what I said. I already said that SDN could be beneficial to someone without resources

It is useful to anyone but those with the best resources.

 

[Cookie04]

It's okay for you to disagree.


I think SDN is good for people who don't have other resources to help them

This is sort of how I feel. I didn't have pre med advisors at my school, so instead I got involved with one of the teaching hospitals in the area and got in contact with med students who gave me every single detail about applying and was able to answer any and all of my questions. This is probably why I didn't find SDN helpful (aside from the School Specific Discussions) because I already knew a great deal of info in regards to MCAT studying, Personal statements, secondaries, and interviewing skills before I even joined SDN.

So when I have children and if they become pre-med I would rather recommend them to get involved with any med school in the area (thank God Texas has 11 med schools right now, 13 in the next few years) and get all of their info in regards to applying that way. Or they can just ask me

And I'm not saying other people shouldn't get on SDN, I'm simply saying that I would rather recommend my children to a better source of information.

 

[Dr Tony T. Chopper]

It definitely was melding information from shadowing and PMs on SDN to specific medical students that gave me the complete picture for the "why this school" question.

If anonymity was not as protected on SDN, it would be dramatically less likely for pre-meds to get honest criticism about each school.

This is sort of how I feel. I didn't have pre med advisors at my school, so instead I got involved with one of the teaching hospitals in the area and got in contact with med students who gave me every single detail about applying and was able to answer any and all of my questions. This is probably why I didn't find SDN helpful (aside from the School Specific Discussions) because I already knew a great deal of info in regards to MCAT studying, Personal statements, secondaries, and interviewing skills before I even joined SDN.

So when I have children and if they become pre-med I would rather recommend them to get involved with any med school in the area (thank God Texas has 11 med schools right now, 13 in the next few years) and get all of their info in regards to applying that way. Or they can just ask me

And I'm not saying people shouldn't get on SDN, I'm simply saying that I would rather recommend my children to a better source of information.

 

[22031 Alum]

Even as an undergraduate student at a top 20 school with lots of resources like @Krupke describes, I found SDN helpful as a way to either get a different perspective, or corroborate what I was hearing from my school's resources. If a school has really good advising, that's great. To just assume it is good advice without question, even at a "pre-med powerhouse," has the potential to end badly. As the first person in my family to navigate any sort of grad school process, seeking out as many resources as possible was crucial. I truly believe it made a big difference in how my cycle turned out.

My kids will be the well-off children of a physician, so they won't have that problem. If they go into medicine, they might not need SDN as much as I did.

 

[IsWhat]

If my kids show a passion for medicine through extensive work experience/volunteering without my influence - when the time comes for them to apply I will sit them down and slide a piece of paper across the table with 'studentdoctor.net' written on it.

 

[Imperius]

My advisor really cautioned against students using SDN, or I probably would have joined way earlier. There is a wealth of information here if one takes the time to find it, so I would recommend it to someone else. It's really nice for seeing how other people are doing at schools you applied to...so you know if you should be expecting something or not.

I would tell them though to be careful asking for advice, and to get multiple opinions. There are some great people on here that offer amazing counseling advice, and there are people who give truly horrendous, misleading information.

 

[terra330]

If my kids show a passion for medicine through extensive work experience/volunteering without my influence - when the time comes for them to apply I will sit them down and slide a piece of paper across the table with 'studentdoctor.net' written on it.

Chances are your kids will find out about this site long before they have extensive work experience and volunteering. Googling pretty much anything about premedical stuff brings you to this site.

 

[IsWhat]

Chances are your kids will find out about this site long before they have extensive work experience and volunteering. Googling pretty much anything about premedical stuff brings you to this site.

No doubt. This was my way of saying my kids will be pointed towards SDN if they have hopes of becoming a physician. I don't always agree with the opinions of SDN as a whole, but there is a lot of gold here and pre-med students are at a distinct disadvantage if they don't use this site, IMO.

 

[prehealthadvisor55]

You are an excellent advisor! The fact that you are on here to improve your knowledge and on Yik Yak makes you one of the coolest advisors ever! For the record, I've never had any issues with my advisor, although I can see that the experience varies by school. Out of curiosity, how old are you? The fact that you know what Yik Yak is makes me think you're under 30.

Thanks...I try...lol
I'm 32. I found yik yak by helping a friend with a research study on anonymous cyber bullying. Then I got sucked in.

 

[NotWayneBrady]

Cut ties with all of them. If they're doing this to you as an adult, no need to waste your time with them.

Preach. Move away to med school, and never look back. Human beings need more of a reason to be in your life than just being family.

 

[NotWayneBrady]

Despite what most people have told me about using SDN, I have found it an invaluable resource and a wealth of insider wisdom from folks along the path. Has it been good to you, and would you recommend it?

I'd recommend it, but as @Mad Jack points out it definitely takes some comment sense to weed out the neurotic/troll fluff.

I would likely not have gotten into med school without help from Goro/WedgeDawg/Gyngyn. Although I miss WedgeDawg's gyrados avatar

 

[BphysDoc]

Yes.

 

[j4pac]

Telling my child to look elsewhere for advice would imply that I don't know everything

 

[Goro]

I have a 13 year old...I definitely do NOT know everything....he does!!

Telling my child to look elsewhere for advice would imply that I don't know everything

 

[Squamous Eddie]

Great question. I have a love/hate relationship with this site.

On the one hand, it's awesome to be in a community of people interested in healthcare. There's opportunity for great discussions and excellent advice throughout all the steps of becoming a doctor. The fact that current med students, residents, attending physicians, and admissions committee members chime in to help us out is my favorite part of this site. From gyngyn, DokterMom, and WingedScapula's advice on how to dress (I seriously did not realize how bad I looked... shout-out to the men's interview clothing thread), to various Goro-isms I see all the time and all his great advice, it's great how the site brings pre-meds together with so many people that are extremely knowledgeable. Also, the interview feedback section of this website is an absolute godsend. Being able to walk into an interview with a general idea of the kind of questions you're going to get is seriously amazing.

On the other hand... The one thing I hate about this community is how sanctimonious some of its members are. People love to throw around lines like, "OP I seriously doubt your moral character and think you would make a horrible doctor," when all OP did was like, lie to his teacher in 5th grade. Some SDNers live on a slippery slope at all times, and that's all they ever know.

I only started using SDN after I submitted my secondaries. I've known about the website since high school but didn't bother using it until recently because I saw too many people sitting on high horses judging each other, and that turned me off from using it. If I could, I would advise my freshman self to actively use SDN throughout my 4 years in college. I would have done a lot of things differently, absolutely.

I think as long as you ignore the more toxic members of the community, there's a wealth of information to be had. I've recommended it to a few pre-meds that I know, and probably would recommend it to my kids, but with the warning to just lurk, lest they be judged to hell for asking a simple question. There's just too much good stuff to be found here. Another shout-out to SN2ed for his amazing MCAT study schedule, to whom I partially owe my great score.

 

[Nerdeka]

The ****? SDN is a lot more encouraging than College Confidential. They told me my freshman year to give up because I don't have a 3.7. I didn't know redemption even existed when it came to medical school.

 

[WedgeDawg]

@Krupke

I still (coming from a similar background) think it's a valuable resource (why else would I spend so much time here), but I completely understand your frustration and I have been trying to slowly change the advice here that is given to those types of applicants (obligatory: see the links in my sig).

@efle is always around if you need to batsignal him as well

 

[GrapesofRath]

22031Alum really said what was the key point. Anybody you listen to, no matter who they are, what title they have, whatever credentials they claim etc, you cant just take everything they say at face value. You yourself have to be the one who takes the initiative to suss out what information is relevant to you and what isn't.

Every ADCOM and person in pre-med advising has their own set of biases and their own set of experiences that influence what they say and how they say it. LizzyM is at a top school and openly has told some lower stat applicants I dont really work with people like you alot, you arent my area of expertise. Goro is a DO ADCOM, his area of experience is in osteopathic admission. The list goes on, everybody you talk to, listen to and get advice from is speaking from their own experiences and perspective. And their experiences and perspective and what shapes those beliefs varies alot more from person to person than we like to think. Even subjects as simple as MCAT retakes, the responses you will get will vary tremendously from person to person involved in medical school admission. Even at top schools, the advisors who might be well informed arent immune to these biases and limitations in their perspective/viewpoint because they are bound to their experiences and that alone(as an example there certainly people I know involved in admission who will disagree with the notion that many from top schools will throw about them getting the "boost" they claim to the degree they claim which just shows how different perspectives are so key). People with different experiences can reveal things to you you wouldnt have gained otherwise.

SDN is another source that you can go to to get more input and when it's input from the people with valuable and worthwhile knowledge, the benefit it can have for you is tremendous and it's not something you would get it if you werent on here. Like others have said it takes a level of maturity to be able to use this site and assess what is and isnt good feedback/input and what is and isnt relevant to you. If you choose not to want to use SDN that's fine, there are certainly valid reasons not to. But the bottom line is the more sources you go, the more input you get, the more perspectives you see. All that adds up overtime. No one perspective regardless of who it is from, should be what you use as your only guideline.