gonnif said: For highly intelligent, high achieving, top students, I find lack of judgement, no self evaluation, or even basic research to find out the facts as this seems unbeknownst to them. Click to expand...

gonnif said: So many applicants who say they have always known they want to be a doctor, jump into filling out AMCAS with ever reading the FREE instructions in the applicant guide, never looking at any of the dozens of free videos or tutorials and hundreds of pages on the AMCAS site, or have read, nor much less taken a deep dive, into the websites of the medical schools. Click to expand...

gonnif said: Their rational thinking and judgement seems to fly out the window as they rush into double majors, overloaded schedules, especially right before MCAT, and too much of research and shadowing and not enough volunteering and community service, relying on myth, rumor, heresay, and delusion. Click to expand...

gonnif said: Its the ones who cant see how their record is weak, here is how to improve it but believe that they must apply NOW. It those who propose some idea, method, path, to get into medical school and are so convinced of the soundeness of their plan, that are blind to the facts no matter how many times you explain it to them Click to expand...

Alright lets break this down.I cannot speak for other matriculants, but I came to this forum for "insider" knowledge. When I ask for a school list, I know perfectly well how to browse the MSAR, but I cannot know things like UWash will never consider an OOS applicant despite having extremely favorable OOS admissions rates on their MSAR page.I come to this forum because there are certain elements of applying that are not apparent just from reading official statements from the AAMC. Just like how if I am in a clinical setting, reading books is not sufficient to becoming a good member of the team. Sometimes you do need to ask someone "in-the-know" for other perspectives. And that is perfectly okay.Applicants may do this. But lets again examine why. The applicant guide provided by the AAMC may or may not be the best information available for students to use when applying. You might argue that, yes, the applicant guide is in fact the best advice available. But again, your statement is only known to those who have already considered the "folk advice" available on forums like SDN.Additionally, students may wish to be given advice from their peers as to their approaches to filling out certain sections of the AMCAS. Applicants may have been fed contradictory information from ostensibly knowledgeable mentors like pre-med advisors or for-profit "non-trad" advisors.Okay. So lets talk about why an applicant might do this. They may have been fed incorrect information about how schools "like to see strenuous course schedules" or that schools may like to see publications over volunteering activities. Applicants might be unsure about what volunteering activities are appropriate.You may counter, well, there is advice out about how schools will accept any form of volunteerism, or they might explicitly state that an applicant does not "need" research. The problem is that the AAMC generally does not given information that totally benefits the applicant. Many schools are not transparent about their admissions process, they are not transparent about compterized cutoffs, and instead advertise a predatory "holistic" admissions process to low-stat applicants.I won't even go into the various factors that might push an applicant to apply as soon as possible. earlier 401k contributions, earlier access to attending income to reach long-term retirement goals, short-term finances which may pressure an applicant to apply sooner than later, etc.Honestly sad, how a 40 year old (wo)man who profits off "old premeds" for financial gain continues to be oblivious to the consequences of his or her tone on a forum. Your demeanor has been adopted to a variety of settings, one being the hospital. These are the environments that have lead to toxic work cultures and rampant rates of depression and suicide in the field of medical education.