Are We All Just The Same??

[Guest indocanadawhat]

Just a quick thought to ponder for all us pre-meds out there. I'll be applyng this year and as I talk to others, browse this site, and fill in my own application I find that so many applicants have similar experiences and credentials. Volunteer work, research, a science undergrad, "go-getter" attitudes, etc. etc. Then you have the applicants with overseas experience, some of us play musical instruments, some of us dance or play sports and these experiences will "help us in our medical careers" through some @#%$ roundabout way that we come up with for our applications.

 

I don't mean to be a downer, I denied this for the last three years, but now that I'm applying I find it can't really be denied. The fact of the matter is, the same general "type" of people are applying year after year..is that a good thing?

 

I understand that what each applicant does varies in quality and intensity, but when everyone is trying to do the same thing through the same means, aren't we just lying to ourselves? I know alot of you would like to think, "no, i volunteer because i'm an altruistic person" or "no, i play the piano because i'm hard-working and dedicated"...but i'll be one to admit, i'm no different and it seems like we're all sheep in a herd.

 

Just a thought

:hat indo

[Guest UWOMED2005]

You have a point - and sometimes that's one of the reason med schools try to target non-conventional applicants.

 

But also don't forget this board ain't exactly a random sample of the applicant pool. . . this board draws a specific type of applicant.

[Guest pazas]

I admit that I do more volunteer work than I would normally have done if I weren't interested in making my resume look a little more appealing to med schools. But a lot of what I do is what I truly am interested in. I love musical instruments, and I can honestly say that I would have played them regardless of whether or not I was applying to med school.

 

But you're right...a lot of the premeds I know do seem pretty similiar. And so that's why I sometimes wonder if it's really just luck that gets you in because there are so many good potential doctors with similiar stats and EC's, yet only one of four get in. So maybe we're not all the same. Maybe on paper we all seem the same, but during the interview the adcoms can see through the more superficial applicants. It can't be that hard to pick out feigned dedication, motivatation, etc versus the real thing. But in the end, the final selected class is similiar in that it is a group of really smart, generally good hearted people.

 

And I guess there is some general stereotype of what a doctor is like. It's weird how I get asked by randomn people with whom I've discussed nothing if I want to become a doctor (apparently I just seem like someone who would be one...hopefully the adcoms will think this too lol). And my aunt gets asked by strangers if she is a doctor (and she really is a doctor.) She's always surprised that people can accurately judge her occupation like that.

 

 

But also don't forget this board ain't exactly a random sample of the applicant pool. . . this board draws a specific type of applicant.

 

What specific type of applicant do you think it draws?

[Guest FungManX]

^reply to paza's last question

 

It draws the desperate ones that REALLY want to be a doctor..

how many premeds would actually be dedicated enough to find time and look up websites and forums for premeds

[Guest wezterndude]

there are people from many different educational/work backgrounds that actually get in...... people have been known to get in after doing nuclear physics, arts, political science, you name it..... also the type of acitivities that i have heard are pretty different.....

 

the majority of "pre-meds" who go through biology related programs and have planned to be doctors all their lives may have similar backgrounds..... however, i think this is natural to a certain extent and may not necessarily be a bad thing......

[Guest acropolistica]

If volunteer experience wasn't considered in med school applications( or in any other applications period), I wonder how many people would still actually volunteer.

 

I used to believe the point of volunteering was to give someone your time without expecting something else in return - an act of altruism. It seems that it has unfortunately turned into some type of "employment currency".

 

Just a thought...

[Guest pazas]

Thanks FungManX.

 

It's sad that we're all so desperate to get in, but probably not every single one of us will. Unless we keep trying and trying again and again...

[Guest PanjabiMD]

Thanks FungManX.

 

It's sad that we're all so desperate to get in, but probably not every single one of us will. Unless we keep trying and trying again and again...

From looking at these forums, I think it is safe to say that quite a large percentage of the people who post on these boards (premeds, not mods) do actually end up in medical school. Not sure why, maybe because of the help and support everyone gives to one another, or as other people said that only a specific type of applicant really uses these forums.

 

PMD

[Guest UWOMED2005]

It draws the desperate ones that REALLY want to be a doctor..

 

I would have put a more positive spin . . . ie "the ones KEEN enough to seek out additional info about applying"

 

I had lots of classmates comment that they wished they knew about this resource but didn't.

 

And I think that only works to a future doctors advantage in an era when "Self Directed" "Lifelong" learning is so key. What's wrong with being willing to seek out info, and being able to figure out where to get info? Not to mention the fact not all the info given here is entirely correct. . . gives someone a chance to develop some skills at assessing whether info is valid or not.

 

But yeah, some of the people posting here can become a bit obsessive. . . I've long since lost track of the number of posts I've made here and check the board has become a routine part of checking my email. :rollin

 

From looking at these forums, I think it is safe to say that quite a large percentage of the people who post on these boards (premeds, not mods) do actually end up in medical school. Not sure why, maybe because of the help and support everyone gives to one another, or as other people said that only a specific type of applicant really uses these forums.

 

I don't disagree with you. . . among the posters I've become familiar with (and there's a heck of a lot of posters out there) a seemingly large number seem to get in the first time round, maybe 2nd or 3rd. I think that may have something to do with the people posting here being a sample of the more keen (and ?informed?) applicants.

[Guest 0T6]

I agree with Udub's post.. I think it's a combined factor of being keen enough on finding this resource, and then actually using this resource in ways that will benefit your application (and this might reflect other characteristics.. i.e. analytical thinking, tolerance of trolls , amassing information and using it to solve a problem, etc).

[Guest ploughboy]

But yeah, some of the people posting here can become a bit obsessive. . . I've long since lost track of the number of posts I've made here and check the board has become a routine part of checking my email.

 

Congratulations on your 3800th post!

[Guest TheShrink]

I think this board is one of the best in comparision to other pre-med boards. People seem to want to help one another here vs. shooting each other down which is common in the pre-med world.

 

Peace

[Guest UWOMED2005]

3800!?!?

 

Yikes - I guess that just goes to show not ALL call nights are insane. . .

[Guest Ian Wong]

Kirsteen has you slightly edged out for 2nd place with 3823 posts...

 

I'm happy that the forums have fluorished as they have. Each year, our membership seems to grow, and invariably, every year, the acceptances given to our current generation of forum member applicants encompass each and every Canadian med school. It's pretty cool to see folks getting in at MUN, or UWO, or UBC, etc, basically showing that we have forum representation across Canada.

 

I think the forums can serve a different niche for everyone. It's a place for med students to meet and learn more about specialties, and the health care system in which most will likely devote their careers within. It's a place for the knowledgeable applicants to learn something new, and perhaps most importantly of all, it's a great starting point for people who might some day apply to med school, but have little or no knowledge of how to get started.

 

Possibly the most gratifying thing I've seen are the repeat applicants who for whatever reason weren't successful in their first application, and had the perseverance to reapply until they were accepted. I like to think that for many of those individuals here, that hopefully these forums in some way contributed to help them to achieve their dream.

 

We will all someday be colleagues practicing in the same communities and hospitals, and this forum has thus far been a great place to educate and teach people about medical education as a whole. Wherever you happen to be on this long road, we're all in this together.

 

This forum wouldn't be half as productive without the daily contributions of its members, and it certainly would never have survived if it weren't for the AMAZING work of the moderators, who have devoted countless hours to sharing their knowledge.

 

Ian

 

PS: Geez, that sounded preachy, but it's what I believe.