The popularity of Reddit Premed and other online discussion boards such as MCAT Reddit and Premed101 Forums has forged them into a form of authority on topics ranging from the most reputable real estate company in your city to what kind of pet food is best for kittens ages from 2 to 6. And while the information on Reddit can sometimes be helpful, Reddit visitors should be aware of the risks of taking these discussions too seriously, especially when it comes to making life and career choices. In this blog, I will discuss top 4 reasons to avoid Reddit Premed, as well as similar forums such as Premed101, and what other free premed resources are available to you! If you have any lingering questions, feel free to reach out to us via BeMo's Premed Reddit page to help you on your way to medical school!


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Article Contents
10 min read

Reason #1: Questionable Sources Reason #2: Lack of a Personalized Approach Reason #3: It’s a Source of Anxiety and Negativity Reason #4: Lack of Accountability Use Free Resources Available to You How Does BeMo Work? Conclusion FAQs

Reason to Avoid Reddit Premed #1: Questionable Sources

It is normal to feel pressure and concern about making possibly life-changing choices about your career, especially when it comes to the costly decision to pursue the medical profession. Sometimes, in moments of uncertainty and difficulty, students’ internal voice of reason is not enough to make the right choice, so they wonder who to turn to for advice about medical school admissions. 

Of course, some schools offer the services of premed advisors. However, these individuals tend to work with hundreds of students at a time, so most med school hopefuls have to wait for days, weeks, or even months, before they can make an appointment with their school’s advisor. Also most are not trained at admissions experts and students complain that the tips are usually generic. This is when most premed students have no choice, but to seek help on the internet. Why not? We turn to the online community for advice about pretty much everything: what color to paint our living room, where to buy car insurance, or how to fix the roof of our house. 

But should you really be making life decisions based on Reddit?

Want to hear about the top 6 reasons I avoid premed reddit, MCAT reddit & CASPer test reddit?

Want to know why any sort of premed reddit, MCAT reddit, or CASPer reddit should be avoided? Check this out:

As one of the most popular online forums, Reddit is perhaps at the top of the list as a source for advice for many people, including premed students. To this day, users feel that discussion boards like Reddit are there to provide internet communities with the freedom to have open and honest discussions and receive unbiased, sound advice. And while this is true in some cases, like most portals and public internet spaces, Reddit is often used by individuals and businesses to promote self-interested, hidden, or personal agendas. Instead of using Reddit as a space for honest conversation and advice about medical school, many people use it as space for concealed advertisement, sounding board for their discontent, or a free opportunity to spread rumors. 

And while Reddit can be used by anyone for any purpose, you should be aware that Reddit is not a legitimate source of information about medical school applications, or anything for that matter. When you come across Reddit discussions that vehemently promote or dismiss a medical school, MCAT study schedule, research opportunities, etc., be vigilant. When you are deciding between DO vs MD, be vigilant. These posts may have some hidden intent, such as advertisement or defamation. Reflect on this: using Reddit to post ads, promos, insults, rumors, or slander is absolutely superfluous and immature. Do you really want to take advice from someone who would waste their valuable time to write a promotion or an angry, unconstructive outbursts on Reddit? Remember, it is always wise to evaluate if the sources of information you’re accessing are legitimate. After all, relying on Reddit for premed advice is pretty risky, if not irresponsible.

Reason to Avoid Reddit Premed #2: Lack of a Personalized Approach

Thousands of premed students use Reddit boards to communicate and discuss the medical school application process, extracurriculars for medical school, what kind of GPA and MCAT score is competitive this application cycle, common medical school interview questions and their overall application experience. This is understandable; unless you have gone through this process yourself, you will have a difficult time understanding what the medical school admissions process is like. This is why premed students congregate in discussion boards like Reddit – this is moral and emotional support during a very difficult time of their lives. The uncertainty and anticipation would be unbearable if you did not have someone to talk to about your application, progress, and results. 

And while this is all very understandable, you should be aware that Reddit Premed discussions are not the be-all and end-all of premed advice. Among many of Reddit’s shortcomings is its lack of a personalized approach. Typically, the advice that you get is generic and often inaccurate. People talk about their own successful and unsuccessful personal medical school journeys by sharing what worked for them, what they wished they would have done differently, what they should have avoided, etc. 

But this is their story, not yours. While you can certainly take into consideration the triumphs and failures of your peers, you cannot rely on their information to compose a successful, unique application. Remember, Reddit members do not know you and your story. Even if you share your GPA and MCAT score, or let them review your medical school personal statement, they only know the admissions process through their experience. What if the advice they give you, which is based on their experience, only worked because of certain elements of their application that are not present in yours? What if they tell you that you should expect such and such medical school interview questions during your interview, but it turns out none of them come up during your meeting? 

Crafting your own exceptional application is a difficult task that takes a lot of planning, organization, and nuance; the same can be said of interview prep. Do not think that the admissions process is like a cookie-cutter – just because something worked for one applicant, does not mean it will work for another. A personalized approach is key in making your medical school application stand out.

Reason to Avoid Reddit Premed #3: It’s a Source of Anxiety and Negativity

As I already mentioned, working on your medical school application is a lonely, isolating task. This is why many students use discussion boards like Reddit, Student Doctor Network, and other premed101 forums to compare their progress with other premeds who are applying in the same cycle. These discussion boards can truly be a space of support and help, but they can also serve as a source of anxiety and further isolation.

Remember what I said in the previous section? Each medical school application is unique, and you must strive to make your story stand out among thousands of others. But students forget that their answer to the question “why do you want to be a doctor?” will not be like anybody else’s. Instead, when they go through Reddit Premed, they start comparing their achievements and accomplishments with those of others. They start doubting themselves, questioning whether their clinical and shadowing experiences are impressive, or whether their medical school recommendation letters will be as strong. This is the wrong approach to medical school application prep. 

Instead of increasing your levels of anxiety and doubt by thinking about the achievements of your peers, you must work on your application to convey to the admissions committees why you’re the right candidate for medical school. While your competitors can brag on Reddit that they are a shoo-in at the Ivy League medical schools, do not waste your time and sleep on contemplating how you compare with other Reddit Premed users.

Reason to Avoid Reddit Premed #4: Lack of Accountability

There are two levels of unaccountability in Reddit Premed. Firstly, the people who give you application or interview advice are not actually accountable for your success – they do not really care if you get into medical school or not. Certainly, they are happy to help you and answer any of your questions. However, if their advice does not work, they are not liable for your setbacks. If you present them with a question like “What gives?”, they are not responsible to give you any feedback or answer. The best they can do is say: “Well, it worked for me.” You will be left angry and resentful, and most likely, not sure where you went wrong. This is why professional feedback and advice are preferable. A professional medical school advisor is accountable and responsible for your success. Additionally, if you do not get into medical school on your first try, the advisor will help you analyze what went wrong and how you can fix this in the future.

The second level of unaccountability on Reddit is the presence of unapparent deceit in the discussion boards. This is strongly connected with the previous reason to avoid Premed Reddit, as many of the lies Reddit users post in the discussion boards can be discouraging and dismaying to other readers. It is not always possible to verify if a user is telling the truth. There are dozens of discussion boards where unsuccessful students write that they had a 4.0 GPA with 520 MCAT average, hundreds of hours of clinical experience and research, and yet they still failed to get into any medical school. But the other side of the story the students might not be sharing with us on Reddit is that they waited to submit their AMCAS application until the last minute, disregarding the nature of the rolling admissions process used in most American medical schools; or that they failed to submit the necessary number of recommendation letters on time. There can be hundreds of reasons for rejection. The lack of accountability and verifiability is a major disadvantage of Reddit – take everything you read with a grain of salt.

Use Free Resources Available to You

Forums like Reddit and Student Doctor Network are not the only, and certainly not the best, free resources you can use to help you get into medical school. The entire BeMo team works hard every day to promote access to education and create free educational content for students aspiring to attend professional programs. We do not withhold any information about our methodologies and approaches in the blogs that we publish. The content you find on our website truly reflects the practices we implement during one-on-one sessions with our students, whether it’s the MCAT CARS strategy, how to prepare for CASPer, or how to prepare for your Multiple Mini Interview

We make this information available to all medical school hopefuls because we truly believe in leveling the playing field when it comes to medical school admissions. We do not keep this information secret because we want you to succeed. Many of our admissions experts are MDs who have personally gone through all the steps in preparing their medical school application components, residency application components, and getting that coveted license to practice. They have personally prepared for the MCAT, spent weeks strategizing their med school interview answers, went over hundreds of interview questions, and know the ERAS and CaRMS systems inside out. All the methods, tips, and strategies you read in our blogs have been tested and approved by experts.

As you are reading this, you might be wondering “If your methodology is publicly available online for free, what is the point of buying your services? Is BeMo Academic Consulting worth it?” This is a valid question. While you can learn about our approaches online, you cannot receive personalized, expert feedback if you do not work with our consultants. The number one key to our students' success has always been the feedback and constructive criticism they receive from our consultants. Whether it’s related to application review or interview prep, our expert feedback will help you improve your written and verbal communication skills. Our programs give you an opportunity to practice and develop these skills using realistic simulations. Our mock MCAT CARS practice, CASPer, and interview sessions come with detailed comments and advice on how to improve your areas of weakness. And while you can use our blogs to review sample CASPer questions and answers, interview structures, different interview question types, and more, you cannot improve if you do not know what you need to work on. Nothing can replace practice with realistic simulations and expert feedback – this will be the backbone of your progress and eventual success.

Why you should avoid premed forums to get into med school:

How Does BeMo Work?

Remember, we are always upfront about the fact that getting into medical school will take a lot of work on your end. We warn all our students that BeMo is not a crash course on how to get into the program of your dreams. We do not offer a quick fix to your difficulties with medical school application components. Rather, we prepare you for more than the medical school application process – we help you build confidence, interpersonal and communication skills, and your ability to articulate your thoughts well in writing. 

All of this is done through coaching and not by writing your personal statements for you or by giving you the “correct” answers to MMI questions. Your success largely depends on how hard you work to improve and whether you absorb our expert, personalized feedback and guidance. Do not expect us to choose which personal life experiences you should include in your medical school statement – while we help you brainstorm for ideas, narrow down your experiences, and provide unlimited reviews of your work, it is still up to you to choose which experiences demonstrate your dedication to the medical field. If you have trouble writing your essays, we have several blogs that can help and inspire you, including medical school personal statement examples, AMCAS personal statement examples, medical school secondary essay examples, and so on. 

So, if you’re looking to hire BeMo as your medical school advisor, you must realize that while we are here to help and guide you through the difficult medical school application process, you must be ready to work hard. Students who realize this and take on responsibility for their future do well, students who expect us to complete their medical school application components for them are faced with disappointment.

But keep in mind that BeMo is certainly not the only option for you out there! Do your research and due diligence when it comes to finding the right help for you.

Conclusion

I want to emphasize that it is completely up to you to decide you whether you want to get professional help or not. And while Reddit is full of great stories of personal triumphs and setbacks, you should be careful to use these stories to help your application. It is normal to turn to the internet community for advice but be vigilant about the information you encounter. Keep in mind that relying on Reddit or any other internet discussion board in making a decision about your career might not be the best idea. While the internet community can share its experience with you, your path to becoming a physician will be unique. And remember, we are always here to help!

FAQs

1. Should I avoid all and any premed discussion forums at all costs?

Online forums can be used as sources of information, but do not make them your number one resource. Additionally, don’t trust everything you read in those forums. Remember the reasons why you should exercise caution when it comes to Reddit and other boards like it:

2. Can I get into medical school without the help of Reddit Premed and other discussion boards? Where can I find helpful information?

Yes, you can! Many students who get into medical schools accomplish this without the help of forums and advisors. There are many resources for students looking to enter the medical profession, including program websites and admissions professionals. You can find a list of helpful resources for your medical school application here.

It might be wise to look for a professional medical school advisor. Medical school admissions consultants have often gone through the medical school application process themselves or have extensive training and knowledge in the medical school admissions process. They have a strong educational background, extensive knowledge, a personalized approach, and therefore are in the best position to help you get accepted.

3. Why BeMo and why are you so confident you can help me get into my desired program?

Here are just a few reasons:

  • Outstanding success rate
  • The ONLY firm with scientifically designed and proven programs.
  • The ONLY firm with a 100% satisfaction and get in or your money back® guarantees for select programs.
  • The ONLY firm that heavily invests in research and development of a new fairer admissions screening tool.
  • The ONLY firm with rigorously trained and tested admissions experts with over 53 years of combined experience.
  • We're not the best at everything but we're the leaders in strategic planning, application review, interview, and CASPer preparation.
  • Unlimited mentorship included with select programs.
4. Do I have to pay the entire cost of your programs upfront or can I pay in installments?

We can create a personalized, custom installment plan for your payments.

5. Should I send you information about my background before we start with brainstorming sessions?

Our admissions experts purposefully do not refer to your CV/application as part of your brainstorming session as this allows the session to be more organic as you are taught how to make connections to certain events and their relevance, so it's better if the adviser does not know your story before this session. However, if you send us your CV or letters of reference, we can add them to your file so they will be on hand just in case your consultant requires it. It is very rare for a consultant to refer to these documents during the brainstorming, but they are used during the application review process while your consultant reviews your secondaries.

6. Could I request to have a refundable trial interview mock to get an idea as to whether I should be choosing the limited sessions or unlimited package with BeMo?

We do not offer trial mock interviews for our interview preparation as all our experts are practicing professionals such as doctors that need to be compensated fairly for their time. You can click here to learn more about our interview prep programs. You can certainly start with our Silver program which allows you to have the one mock interview + feedback session, but you can always upgrade to a higher program at any time, you just need to pay the difference in the program prices and you would unlock the additional sessions!

7. Could you please explain what "unlimited" means in the Platinum interview program? Does this mean I could potentially book a mock interview every second day if I wanted?

The Platinum program is highly personalized and is designed to be completed strategically to prepare you as effectively as possible for your interviews as opposed to as many sessions as possible, which can actually hinder your performance and cause you to sound over-rehearsed and robotic. The program comes with unlimited sessions until our experts are 100% confident you are ready for your interviews. Interview skills are behavioral type skills and so they take a while to develop. Bashing out session every other day is not the appropriate way to develop and harness these skills. The feedback sessions are intensive, and your brain needs time to absorb and process between sessions otherwise the next session will be ineffective.

We want you to reach peak performance and then maintain and not burn out. Every student is different and we want to make sure that you are effectively preparing for your interview, so some students need fewer sessions, some need more sessions. As we monitor your progress along the way, we will modify and adapt the scheduling for your personalized plan.

8. How many medical schools require CASPer and how much time should I allow for preparations with BeMo?

Firstly, take a look at the list of medical schools that require CASPer. Every student is different with regards to how much practice and time they need for CASPer - some students need less practice and maybe only 1-2 weeks and some need a lot more practice and feedback to be fully ready within 1 to 2 months. The key is to have personalized feedback from a CASPer expert every step of the way, so we can help you improve with every session you go through. Our programs come with full-length realistic CASPer SIMs and one-on-one feedback sessions with a CASPer expert, with packages for every timeline and level of practice required.

9. Who are your consultants?

Our team of professionals includes medical doctors, as well as a variety of practicing professionals including scientists, researchers, and experts who have been on admissions boards. Regardless of their backgrounds, they are all highly knowledgeable and trained specifically for the admissions process. We only hire 5% of the consultants who apply for this role, so rest assured, you will be working with only the very best from all across North America! You can click here to learn more about the bios and credentials of our fantastic team members that you would be working with. You can also click here to watch a demo of one of our experts reviewing a personal statement.

10. What is your success rate?

Great question! For students that get to the interview stage in our unlimited programs, our success rate two years ago was 93.5%, and last year, although we are still awaiting a few more results, we had a 100% success rate with the same program.

To your success,

Your friends at BeMo,

BeMo Academic Consulting


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