Are med school advisors good?

[genessis42]

How many of you like the advisors in medical school?

I remember the premed ones used to be awful with a few exceptions.

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[Doc_Ock]

99% of them are a waste of space and I will die on that hill.

 

[drstranger]

In medical school? some know what they are talking about others do not. My school assigns advisors but you can go to any advisor for advice which is great depending what you want to go into

 

[scoopdaboop]

Probably depends on school. Also, a lot of the advice is pretty well known on how to match/study for boards etc... So you can judge them based on common knowledge that you will get on reddit/SDN. Also their experience matters.

 

[Osteosaur]

I don't think so. There are some at my school, like the reasoned residency advisors, who seem to know their stuff in terms of numbers, what typical applicants look like, and can paint that picture for you. This is because they simply see all the apps and live and breathe this stuff.

When it comes to getting through school I've found the "Learning Center" advisors generally useless. Most of the information they have is third hand from more successful medical students. When it comes to boards, wards, and studying your best resources are the students and residents who just did it (successfully).

 

[Neopolymath]

No. They are particularly subpar at DO schools.

 

[djiboutiman]

They are usually pretty bad, although it depends. Better to find a mentor in a medical field that interests you through some other means.

 

[Billiam95]

Unless someone has gone through medical school (and recently), I really don't think they are qualified to give advice. My best resources have been from friends in year or 2 above me.

 

[DrZoidbergDO]

yall are my advisors

 

[DOVinciRobot]

Lmaooooooooooo

No. Anyone listening to school advisors is asking for trouble.

 

[hiiiiiiiiiii]

No

 

[giguerex35]

no /thread

 

[unexpectedcomplications]

In DO school the best advice I ever received was to do literally the opposite of what your advisor recommends. They are so disconnected and don't know how to play this game.

 

[sylvanthus]

No. They are particularly subpar at DO schools.

I dont think my school had one.

 

[Neopolymath]

I dont think my school had one.

Some of the students were probably better off because of it. At my school they certainly would have been and it seems like a trend online as well.

 

[FutureDoctor5000]

The smart people in my class didn’t use help of advisors, they did get mentors and alumni to help them out… I will say that advising at our school has gotten better though, but it’s not forced upon you

 

[arjusmc]

This has been my experience at my school for both academic and career advisors. They are there to get the most amount of success for the most students. They are hesitant to give you individualized advice. They define success as passing boards and matching. They do not define success as high board scores or matching well. I plan to use them minimally and hope to find a mentor. If I don't I'll probably pay for advising through one of the consulting businesses.

 

[deleted1100659]

in my day, I struggled first semester with the overwhelmingness of information/stress/etc. So the advice they gave was "attend all lectures and that will help with retention". Obviously that was pretty terrible advice because I stopped going to as many lectures as possible and my grades drastically increased, lol

 

[Angus Avagadro]

As an assigned advisor to many med students, I have supported those who sought my help. If academics were an issue, I was mandated to meet with the student and advise possibly a tutor, or a student mentor to assist with the transition from undergrad to med school. I sat on the resident selection committee at a major university in the past. I have counseled and supported students interested in my specialty with good success. I have written letters and made phone calls to PDs. I know what they are looking for. I have students at major university programs and affiliates which are quite good. One at a program most consider the #1 program in the country. In all honesty, I think students should seek advisors in the area that they want to match. They will know the programs that like your school and help you network.

 

[getfat]

In DO school the best advice I ever received was to do literally the opposite of what your advisor recommends. They are so disconnected and don't know how to play this game.

Best advice i ever got was ignore everything your teachers, advisors suggested and do what worked for the class above you.

At least for my school, the advice from advisors was just generic. "The number of programs you apply to should mirror your competitiveness for the specialty". We didn't get any advice for specific programs, number of programs, or if we shouldn't apply for a specialty.

The only advice we really got was to apply to our home program.

 

[KirksvilleKrunk]

Find someone in your field of interest to mentor you, don't rely on your school to do ANY favors for you. Just be easy to get along with and that will take you very far.

 

[Member10billion]

I greatly appreciated my med school advisors. They taught me a very valuable lesson - to never listen to anyone in administration when they give advice!

 

[GoSpursGo]

I think the quality of the advice you receive depends on the question. If you ask "How do I do well in med school?" then yeah you're probably not going to get useful advice. If you ask: "I think I'm interested in either neurosurgery or orthopaedic surgery. I know both of these fields have a heavy research requirement, who should I approach to get involved in projects?" then you're more likely to get something useful. The more specific the question you ask, the better chance that your advisor can help you.

And sure, some advisors are garbage who will never give you anything helpful. But coming with a question they can directly address at least gives you a chance.

 

[thepoopologist]

When I was a pre-med taking physics there was a "tutoring center" on campus I used to go to. The guy who ran it was in his 50s and looked like the Unabomber. He would wear sunglasses and a hat indoors and his uniform was this grey hoodie and sweatpants. He would go on and on about the movie scripts he wrote starring Natalie Portman and his fixation on her made me rather uncomfortable. Still, I could ask him a question on say electromagnetism and he could explain it clearly and concisely and I could use whatever he taught me to solve many different homework problems. Whatever he was, he knew undergraduate level physics and had the ability to explain it so others could learn it well.

Find people who know what they're talking about. If you need help and encounter some ignoramus, ditch the ignoramus and find the next person.