Reddit: the good, the bad and the ugly. If you've ever been on Reddit, you know it's a mixed bag. There is a lot of information out there, but not all of it is useful, and there is no way to tell the truth from misleading, biased, or false information. Premed Reddit is no different. While there are plenty of tips, strategies, and success stories on /r/premed, some of them are useless, time-consuming, or completely incorrect.
However, there are benefits to Premed Reddit as well, and depending on your needs and where you are on your Premed journey, you could benefit greatly. The key to getting the most out of the platform is a thoughtful and balanced approach. In this post, we explain the pitfalls of Premed Reddit, what it's for, and how to get the most out of the platform.
What are the pitfalls of Premed Reddit?
1 | The blind lead the blind
In many ways, Premed Reddit is the blind leading the blind. There are exceptions, of course, but most Premeds participate and publish to /r/premed.
premeds are studentsattemptto get into medical school, and many of them won't make it.
Only 37% of students applying to medical school enroll. And then there's the group of students who can't make it through the grueling application process due to poor grades, MCAT difficulties, or other extenuating circumstances. Any of these students can post whatever they want on Reddit, whether it's good advice or bad advice.
Take the advice of other Premeds with a grain of salt. What worked for you may not work for you, and your situation may be the exception that proves the rule. Use your reasoning skills: if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Did this Premed enroll in medical school? Is it advice from a medical student or from a doctor who has the experience to back up your claims?
2 | Lack of individual nuances.
The tips and strategies shared on Premed Reddit lack individual nuance. A hack might have worked for a student, but that doesn't mean it will work for you. There are always exceptions to the rule. To be successful, you must identify your own strengths and weaknesses in order to develop a personalized strategy.
If you only track what worked for one person, you'll miss the big picture. Maybe they were able to gain acceptance by studying for specific hours, using a specific Anki deck, or writing their own letters of recommendation, but your app is more than a component. What else have you contributed to your success? It could be that it was their unique and compelling personal testimony that ultimately led them to success, not the gimmick they swear by.
This doesn't mean that everything in /r/premed is wrong; it means you have to be careful not to fall for someone's success story. Because only in these cases do you hear about success.
This is called survivorship bias: the tendency to focus only on one success. All previous failures that led to success are ignored, and all other scenarios that didn't work (or led to acceptance) don't get the same attention.
"I stayed up all night accumulating information before my MCAT night and I got 519!"
Of course, this can be true for one person, but what about all the other failed stories? How many students lasted all night and didn't make it? And how many of those students run straight to Reddit to share the story of their stupid mistake?
3 | Over-reliance on FREE
Is free always good? Not quite.
Some people may think that free is always a good thing. We want to establish a counterpoint. Is free food good? Sometimes! A tasty free sample from the grocery store - perfect. But what if that free offer is no good? In this example, the free food sample was collected by someone who doesn't know what they are doing. It tastes horrible and leads to unpleasant and embarrassing future consequences.
Free is only good when what is free is useful and meaningful.
Premed Reddit users often place too much trust in what is available for free. Why pay for tips when you can find some for free on Reddit? Why waste time creating your own custom strategy when you can use the same strategy someone else has already created? Why make up your own personal statement narrative when you can use what you heard for someone else?
Free counseling is often free for a reason. In reality, the cost of applying to medical school is a balancing act of many different costs. There is the financial cost, but time and effort are also very legitimate costs, of which you have a limited amount.
As long as you do your research to find quality resources and services to support you on your journey, it's an investment in yourself and your future education. We're not just trying to sell tutoring here because it's not for everyone. Know more-Is Admissions Medical Advice Worth It??
The real takeaway here is that just because advice on online forums is free doesn't mean it's useful. And bad advice at critical points in the application process can slow you down a lot or get you rejected.
4 | negativity and anger
Reddit, along with many online news forums, can be a negative space.
People use these platforms to vent, complain, and share their anger. Since this is a generally anonymous place, people can be rude, nasty, mean, or a complete troll without much consequence.
Be careful not to spend too much time in these places, and to not absorb too much negativity when spending time on Reddit. Getting into online debates or discussions is just a distraction. This will eat up your limited time and leave you feeling exhausted and without the motivation you desperately need to prepare.
Always ask yourself, "What's in it for me?"
If you spend 20 minutes on Reddit only to get angry or frustrated with comments, it's time to rethink your time. Zapping your energy and mood will take much longer than 20 minutes.
Of course, /r/premed can also have many positive aspects, especially when it comes to understanding premed fights and sharing success stories. Evaluate how you feel after using the platform to determine if it really offers you value.
5 | comparative anxiety
All of these success stories, while positive, can create fear of comparison.My MCAT score was not that high. Can I still come in? Many people already have assumptions. there is hope for me
If you spend any time on Reddit /r/medical-student from medical school, you might find yourself distracted and put off by all the Match Day success stories.
These compelling success stories can take a toll on your self-esteem when you're not sure where to go or when you experience setbacks. Always pay close attention to your state of mind and well-being, especially during the application process or before an exam/test. If the stories on Reddit get you down, make an effort to remove that source of stress from your life.
Anxiety can also develop when freshmen hear stories from high achievers. When you hear how many extracurricular achievements other candidates have or what their MCAT scores are, you might feel like your lower scores aren't good enough.
You can see that someone with an MCAT score of 520 and a GPA of 3.9 did not go to medical school. So how can you get in when your scores are so much lower? Let your negative thoughts, worries, and fears get out of control. Again, this is only a fraction of the story. These results are only one part of the application process. This candidate may have had a terribly generic personal statement or lackluster letter of recommendation that kept them from going to medical school.
If you struggle with confidence or constantly compare yourself to others, Reddit can be a toxic place to spend time.
6 | Ulterior motives
Unfortunately, there are some hidden agendas that can slip through the Reddit moderator process.
Posts should come directly from people with no business or sales components, but this is not always the case. For any given post, you have no way of knowing if it comes directly from an individual student, a company posing as a student, or a paid or motivated student expressing a specific opinion.
The Reddit moderator's job is to watch out for falsehoods, self-promotion, and slander, but they can't catch everything. It is also unclear what preferences and biases the /r/premed moderators themselves have or if they are directly linked to a company.
That being said, there are plenty of premed Redditers out there who are authentic and honest like themselves, but that's something to be aware of in any online message board, not just /r/premed.
What is Premed Reddit ideal for?
However, not everything is bad. There are times when Premed Reddit can be a great asset, and it is certainly a valuable resource for many students.
1 | guide
Premed Reddit is a great place to get your bearings as you begin your Premed journey. It serves as a valuable resource for getting oriented and learning the basics of the application process and timeline.
There is great information on what to do and what not to do, but it can only help you so far. It's great for targeting 0-30% or sometimes even 0-50%, but you'll never get 100% of the knowledge and familiarity you need from Reddit alone.
So if you're looking for free information to get started, Reddit can help, just don't rely exclusively on it and know that you need to branch out. When it comes to the details and learning what you need to know to stand out, look no further than Reddit.
2 | community and support
The second big advantage of Reddit premed is that it can offer you a community of like-minded people who are on the same path as you.
When Reddit users are positive and Reddit is the best, you'll find a supportive community of over 250,000 members. More than 1000 members are online all the time. Most are pre-students, but some are also medical students who want to help out and share their experiences.
If you're lonely on your journey or just looking for a group of people who understand your pain, the /r/premed message board might be just what you've been missing.
From beginner memes to jokes only beginners would understand to personal stories, you can probably relate to this community. It can be especially valuable for medical students who don't know anyone else applying to medical school, or students whose friends are pursuing other careers.
Here's how to get the most out of /r/premed/
Many other online resources may lead you to believe that Premed Reddit is completely negative. We think it certainly has its pitfalls and reasons to be cautious, but the platform has value depending on where you are in your prepared journey and what kind of community support you're looking for.
No matter how valuable the platform seems to you, you should always keep in mind how you spend your time as a preschooler. Social networks are a dangerous trap. And while Premed Reddit can add value to your app, it's addictive and can eat up the limited time you already have.
Be sure to set specific time limits for the time you spend on the platform. And if you find yourself consistently exceeding those deadlines, set stricter restrictions likepomodorotimer or website blocker.
Strategies to get the most out of Premed Reddit:
- Control how you feel after using the platform. Consider your mood, anxiety level, energy, and emotional state. If you feel sick or worse than before using Premed Reddit, limit or stop using it altogether.
- Set time limits when using Redditso you don't get stuck in the moment or waste too much time. Keep in mind that like all other social media platforms, Reddit can be addictive and is designed to keep you on the platform for as long as possible.
- Use common sense and don't believe everything you hear.Anyone can post anything on Reddit without checking the facts, so you'll need to use your deductive reasoning skills. If it sounds suspicious or too good to be true, it probably is.
- Don't compare yourself directly to the results you hear on Reddit.Everyone is on their unique journey and you don't have all the facts. The medical study application has many components, so a good or bad result does not paint the whole picture.
- Do not contribute to toxicity yourself. When you're angry and need to vent,put it in your diaryFirst. You can go back and write a more composed post or reply after you've had time to calm down and think.
- Remember that your education is an investment: free is not always a good thing.You are investing in yourself when you choose the tools, resources and services you use to advance your medical career. Your time and energy are also valuable resources in addition to money, of which you have a limited amount.
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