Premed of Color is a site dedicated to premed students of color. The site is an online resource for minority students, with articles about applying to medical school and excelling as future physicians. The blog provides updates on the different topics of interest for premed students. These include Grad School Fairs, conferences, and scholarship news.
The strengths
The site says it is a “A resource for those who are and once were Premeds of Color.” This is a very excellent way to encourage premeds of colors to explore the site. This phrase gives a colored reader a sense of belonging. What I like most about the site is the variety of content. The blog seems to be about everything that could be of interest to colored premed students. Despite the variety of the topics, the entries are united by the goal of becoming very informative and useful resources for premed students. Another thing I like about the site is that it provides the readers with various options. When I first visited the blog, my first impression is that, I could do a lot of things in the site because the options seem to be plentiful. The “Top Post” and “Recent Post” also add to the ease of navigating the site for more entries.
The weaknesses
I don’t really like the theme used for the site. I understand why Da Vinci’s Vitruve Luc Viatour was chosen as the theme. It is probably for the obvious reason that it is related to medicine. But I think the effect is not that appealing. The site appears a bit boring. It even makes the blog a bit daunting, because it seems like almost everything you see is text. There should be a balance between the text and the design of the blog.
Med School Rehab contains articles about medical school and other medical school-related topics. The site has entries on how to survive medical school. The purpose of this blog is to help medical school students cope with the difficulties and problems commonly encountered in medical school.
What’s to like about this blog
One of the strengths of this blog is the content. The choice of topics, such as the Pre-Emptive All Nighter is intuitive and truly helpful. Topics such as this would really interest a lot of medical school students. The content itself is great. The entries are informative and excellently written. The points are made clear for all readers. I see no problem with the way the writer communicates ideas to the audience. It is also obvious that all the entries are written by a single person. The light tone and the obvious wit are found in all the entries.
What’s not to like about this blog
One of the things I don’t like about this blog is its very simple layout. It does not encourage readers to navigate further. It is actually bare. After reading a single article, I don’t know what to do next. There are no appealing buttons to click on. Remember that content alone is not enough to achieve blog success. Design-wise, this site is not interesting. The colors are boring, and it seems like there’s nothing much you can do when you visit the site.
Another major drawback is the number of posts in the site. The entries are very limited. Overall, the site does not really give the audience much options. In order for it to generate traffic, it should encourage readers to come back for more. And readers will be encouraged if this site is navigable and if they are left with lots of options. I believe this blog still has to go a long way.
MedHopeful is a blog dedicated to high school and college students interested in attending med school. The blog contains articles on scholarships and undergraduate study advice. Aside from articles, there are also videos to support in-depth discussions and advice regarding med school application. The site also provides a tool that aid Canadian students in choosing a Canadian med school.
Why is Medhopeful.com a good site to explore?
What I like about this site is that it is very informative, yet it still maintains a very personal and intimate approach to readers. I say this because some very informative blogs I’ve visited have a very formal tone when communicating with the audience. The fact that the writers are med students themselves add to the blog’s appeal. This gives an impression that the things written in the posts are gathered through first-hand experiences of the writers. Unlike other blogs, this one is more than just articles. Medhopeful also contains videos and a Med tool that makes learning through this site more effective.
Another thing I consider valuable in this site is the informative and reflective nature of the posts. The entries are interesting to read because the supposedly boring details are wrapped in the writers’ interesting realizations and experiences. An example is the post When Should I Take the MCAT?
What’s the weak point of this blog?
I think the area that needs improvement in this site is the design. The theme is not bad, but I guess, there is still a room for improvement. The design is not really that attractive and communicative. A good design should give the audience an idea of what the site is all about even with just a glance. Overall, there’s not much weak points that will deter readers for exploring the site further.
It’s obvious right from the blog title what Jobs & Scholarships is all about. The target audience of the blog are job seekers and people who are looking for financial assistance to obtain a degree, although at first, I got the impression that the site is dedicated to mothers who want to pursue their college degree. This is because there is a series of entries that talk about nothing but Obama’s Pell grants. But through further navigation, I realized that the site is not just limited to this topic.
What’s great about this blog
One thing I like about the blog is that it provides detailed information regarding the topics. In Obama’s Pell grant articles, facts and figures are provided. This lend credibility to the blog as whole. I also like the archives in the site. They are a great source of information. There are practical tips to help students get by.
What’s not impressive about this blog
The design and the layout are very simple. Overall, the site does not invite readers to explore it further. It also lacks appealing buttons that could have made the site interactive. I also consider the lack of subcategories a major drawback. I am also bothered by the very long sentences in the entries. For example, in the post Tips on Writing Medical School Application Essays Using a Personal Approach, there are lots of these sentences. This makes the article somewhat dragging. The blog author should be reminded that the entries are intended for online readers and, therefore, should be easy on the eyes. In the jobs category, I expect articles on tips and strategies in finding jobs, but I am disappointed that it is actually a job directory. What’s more disappointing is that the jobs posted there aren’t valid anymore. Because the site is about jobs and scholarships, the postings should always be updated.
Get Medical Training is a blog created by students and educators for people like them. The site contains articles and news updates on the different topics concerning education. Aside from useful information, there are also tips on how you can deal with school-related problems such as how to strike balance between work and school.
The site’s good points
The design is good. It is simple and very professional-looking. I like the colors because they’re attractive, but at the same time, they lend formality to the site. I don’t see any problem regarding the content. The articles are actually reader-friendly. The sentences are clear and the words and phrases are easy to understand. Students would love to explore this site because of the inviting colors and, of course, friendly-looking people in the photos. Even at first glance, the site will make you feel comfortable to start exploring. It’s as if the site promises you a very personal approach in helping you with your school concerns. Another thing I like about this blog is the monthly featured program. This is very informative for those who haven’t yet decided the programs they want.
The site’s bad points
The theme of the site is inviting, but I later realized that it does not really have a user-friendly interface. The site is not really very easy to navigate. The buttons are lacking. When I got lost in last month’s articles, I don’t know how I can get back to the home page, because I couldn’t see any button leading to “home.” I still have to hit the “newer posts” in order to get back to the recent articles. The categories are also not very clear. Of course, it’s easy to understand the meaning of each, but it’s not clear what each category contains.
