Medical School, AMCAS, Prerequisites, Pass or fail, online college, etc...

[CanICode]

1. That’s a lot of words without saying anything.
2. killer scores 10 years ago.
3. As I said, a growing amount of schools don’t even require the MCAT and the number grows each year. So then what?
4. while ignoring the value of research in admission.

1. Ah yes, you sure showed me with your zero evidence, no links, and your 15-year-old opinion.
2. Back in my daaaaaaay
3. Even less barriers? Lmao.
4. I said people don't usually have research. That is verifiably true. I think I read that only 8% of matriculants last cycle had a pub. If you do, great. But people usually do not. Some people have hours, but a publication is rare. But you have conceded the whole point by saying research is important. Anyone can do research, doesn't have anything to do with GPA, doesn't have a test, and can 100% be gamed. You can get your name on someone else's project by doing grunt work. That leans more into my point that people here saying it isn't possible don't know what they are talking about.

Here, I'll break it down for you so that you can understand:

1. Online prerequisites (Able to be gamed and look like in person on your transcript and at the clearing house.)
2. Online degree (No one cares. Oh no, you can't get into Harvard. Yeah, who cares. 100 other schools do not care.)
3. Letters of recommendation from professors (I have many. They are easy to get. You need to talk to the professor early. I got them from online classes, too. From professors I have never met in person.)
4. Research (Can be gamed easily)
5. MCAT (Can be gamed to an extent. There is a reason scores keep rising. People have figured out the optimal study methods for MCAT. Anki, Uworld, etc. Some people even buy braindumb*s. Not me; I prefer to understand the material.)
6. Science GPA (Easily gameable. Search AMCAS psych courses lol.)
7. Actual GPA (We all gamed that here. You could do one UMPI semester and bang out courses for this and science GPA. They have math courses, bio, and a few others that will count.)

Now add in some clinic hours if you want, toss in some shadowing, volunteer on the weekends, and boom, you are getting into literally 20+ universities if you apply to the bottom end of the spectrum.

Now add a 520+ score? You are getting into a T50-T10. Will you get into the top 10 who have insane prereq disqualifiers? No. But if that is all that is stopping you, you wouldn't be here. People who get TESU degrees didn't say "well if it's not Harvard I ain't doing it."

You can hate all you want and cry about going up against these "best of the best humans," but guess what, buddy? That guy with three pubs, 1000 hours in every category, and a 528 MCAT isn't applying to these schools. Guess who people are competing against in the bottom 50 med schools? People with 3.15 GPA and 502 MCAT scores. You'll do fine if you game the system and get a 510+ MCAT. And if you don't? There is always the next cycle and studying.

You have no data. Nothing you say is supported by matriculation data. Every single step can be gamed to some extent. You are just flat-out wrong. No amount of data I give you will change your opinion on that. You aren't reading the data anyway. 

[CanICode]

The guy with no stats, links, or information stating old, tired misinformation has deleted their responses. To anyone looking for advice on med school, don't let someone who doesn't know what they are talking about scare you out of pursuing med school. Don't let someone tell you about T20 school requirements as if they will disqualify you from the other 130 med schools. Don't let someone tell you about AMCAS MD school requirements when you can go to a DO school. Dig into the data. People like that guy always slink away if you pull up the actual data or ask them to provide real sources.

I'm not saying it will be easy. It will be a lot of work. But if you plan your path, you can speedrun parts of the process.

[MSK9]

I'd definitely stay away from SDN. That place is a cult.

[bjcheung77]

yeah, I don't mind reading the info on SDN, as always, do your due diligence with some reasonable research and decide for yourself...

[LevelUP]

I'd definitely stay away from SDN. That place is a cult.

[MSK9]

Indeed.. but then, one could always go see for themselves.

[LevelUP]

Indeed.. but then, one could always go see for themselves.

As I understand, SDN has quite a reputation.

SDN told me to quit premed and pursue a career as a stripper when I told them I had a sub 3.8 gpa :/

SDN is such a toxic environment. I remember being told I couldnt use Native American as my ethnicity because I wasn’t actively going to tribal events. Hahaha

[eLearner]

The Student Doctor Network is a case study in narcissism, self-aggrandizement, and the Dunning Kruger effect all rolled up into one. They're basically what the result would be if the comment section of ScienceBaseMedicine.Org and Reddit got together and had a baby.

[Shyjbh]

I'd definitely stay away from SDN. That place is a cult.

SDN is a viper pit. 100% agreed. Every doctor in my family has advised to stay off of SDN. Very very toxic, unlike this forum.

[ThatBankDude]

This was an interesting read.

My addition: my brother had something like a 3.95 and made something like a 507 on the MCAT. Ended up at a D.O. program and is now an attending making $600,000/year as an ER Physician with other DO’s and MD’s. Once you get through school and land a gig, no one cares where you went to school, what your GPA was, or what your MCAT was so long as you are a good physician.