How important should WEATHER be in deciding where I'll go to med school?

[yanks26dmb]

If Michigan is the only school that accepts you or if Michigan saves you $60,000 tell me you are still depressed

Only school...yeah, I'll go. 60k? meh, I'd still rather have my sunshine and beach and pay off the diff later

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[yanks26dmb]

This is just pure ignorance.

I was obviously exaggerating. But the point remains: west coast, best coast.

 

[Holy Ghost]

This is just pure ignorance.

You sound even more ignorant than the poster

 

[487806]

Long story short -- I'm deciding between two schools i've been accepted to, one East Coast the other West Coast (Cali). For all intents and purposes, academics/research opportunities and benefits are equal. However, the West Coast school will potentially be anywhere from $20k - $60k more expensive and my parents are paying zero, now and in the future lol. However, coming from the East Coast, I know that I'll be much more content in a place where the weather is warm year-round (enjoy being outdoors)... but I would get by if I was on the East Coast, as I've live here all my life...just really, really hate the cold. Will I be studying so much that it won't matter? Is it worth the extra price tag to go to Cali, with the boost that comes for residency (if I wanna practice there) given that I'm paying this all off myself?
Thanks!

Well it seems the environment >>> cost, so go for West Coast. Just be warned you'll probably be in more debt than necessary.

go forth and blossom under the california sunshine

Agreed. And your avatar somehow crashed.

 

[pyrrion89]

you won't be outside much.

you try looking at this view 7 days a week, then go live in Michigan and tell me you aren't depressed

and yup..I really took that picture.

Where is this?

 

[terp720]

If you have issues with cold weather, it can very easily affect your psychological well-being. You clearly have no idea. That's OK though, that was my point to the OP; don't listen to people who give false advice like "just wear a coat." Some people are incapable of understanding.

I agree
and physical for some of us..
I limped for a few days after my trip to UVM because the -10 degree weather made the torn muscle in my leg cramp up from shivering so much!

or people with joint pain exacerbated by cold weather...

There are a lot of reasons people would prefer warmer weather. Although probably won't be factoring into my decision but I can understand people who do.

 

[Davida]

Really? How so? The warmer climate gives you brain-hydration? A mere weather is enough to throw off your grades and determine your success in an institution. Quite shameful. And these are the leaders of tomorrow? I worry about the future of this Country.

Wow! You're so right! Here I was thinking that my acceptance into medical school was a good barometer of my success, but random internet person has opened my eyes to how my dislike of snow represents a threat to the very essence of this great nation. My bad

Leaders of tomorrow: don't be like me and be thrown off by "a mere weather." Your success is directly related to the amount of time you spend on the internet insulting people you know nothing about.

 

[Pacna]

I won't attend anywhere South of Michigan if I don't have to. I'm from Minnesota and my wardrobe is 90% winter. I love snow.

 

[yanks26dmb]

Where is this?

Laguna beach

 

[MedWonk]

Long story short -- I'm deciding between two schools i've been accepted to, one East Coast the other West Coast (Cali). For all intents and purposes, academics/research opportunities and benefits are equal. However, the West Coast school will potentially be anywhere from $20k - $60k more expensive and my parents are paying zero, now and in the future lol. However, coming from the East Coast, I know that I'll be much more content in a place where the weather is warm year-round (enjoy being outdoors)... but I would get by if I was on the East Coast, as I've live here all my life...just really, really hate the cold. Will I be studying so much that it won't matter? Is it worth the extra price tag to go to Cali, with the boost that comes for residency (if I wanna practice there) given that I'm paying this all off myself?
Thanks!

Depends. Do you suffer from SAD in the winter? Or does the weather otherwise impact your mood and well-being significantly? If so, then CA all the way. Otherwise, I think the money you'll save is a more important consideration than the weather, IMO.

 

[Pacna]

Depends. Do you suffer from SAD in the winter? Or does the weather otherwise impact your mood and well-being significantly? If so, then CA all the way. Otherwise, I think the money you'll save is a more important consideration than the weather, IMO.

I don't understand why everyone doesn't take a daily multivitamin.

 

[rain4venus]

Hypothetical: Lars Sørenson from Minneapolis is accepted to UCSD, UMinn, Univ. of Maryland, and Loyola University Chicago. Subsequently, Lars Sørenson matriculates at UCSD. Lars Sørenson has escaped the weather. Next?

He's escaped Minneapolis weather, but Lars might just turn to a pile of ash if he's ever exposed to the sun. You might be forgetting that different people like different weather.

I don't understand why everyone doesn't take a daily multivitamin.

Well... recent research suggests that multivitamins do more harm than good in healthy people.

 

[bakedbeans18]

He's escaped Minneapolis weather, but Lars might just turn to a pile of ash if he's ever exposed to the sun. You might be forgetting that different people like different weather.

I think we're beginning to split hairs here now....

 

[rain4venus]

I agree
and physical for some of us..
I limped for a few days after my trip to UVM because the -10 degree weather made the torn muscle in my leg cramp up from shivering so much!

or people with joint pain exacerbated by cold weather...

Obviously your commitment to medicine isn't strong enough. Consider another profession.

edited to make it say the thing I was actually trying to say instead of something that made no sense

 

[rain4venus]

I think we're beginning to split hairs here now....

I'm just saying - every place has it's ups and downs weather-wise. I thought I escaped "the weather" when I went to college in a place where it never snows. Then the entire fall semester was cancelled my senior year. While Lars is at school, maybe the midwest will have 4 mild winters and San Diego will have an earthquake rip through the middle of the city. Or maybe he gets a last minute acceptance at Emory and ends up stuck on the interstate for 18 hours due to 2 inches of snow. (Atlanta actually had a similar ice storm a couple years ago as well, but it didn't make the news because it started during the weekend so everyone was already home)

 

[Pacna]

Well... recent research suggests that multivitamins do more harm than good in healthy people.

That's news to me! Please link that study! I'm quite curious now!!

 

[MedWonk]

I don't understand why everyone doesn't take a daily multivitamin.

Recent studies suggest multivitamins are worthless if you're eating a balanced diet. You basically just piss it all away. Vitamin D might help in the winter months, but it really doesn't take much exposure to the sun to get your daily supply. I imagine it's only really an issue if you live in the PNW. I have experienced myself gloomy weather affecting my mood, but then again this was when I was living someplace that had fewer sunny days and less daylight than Seattle/Portland during the winter. From what my friends tell me, exercising outside+vitamin D is usually enough to brighten one's mood. I hate cold weather more than I hate cloudy weather.

 

[Pacna]

Recent studies suggest multivitamins are worthless if you're eating a balanced diet. You basically just piss it all away. Vitamin D might help in the winter months, but it really doesn't take much exposure to the sun to get your daily supply. I imagine it's only really an issue if you live in the PNW. I have experienced myself gloomy weather affecting my mood, but then again this was when I was living someplace that had fewer sunny days and less daylight than Seattle/Portland during the winter. From what my friends tell me, exercising outside+vitamin D is usually enough to brighten one's mood. I hate cold weather more than I hate cloudy weather.

That's not what you said before. Everybody knows that you don't need a multivitamin if you eat a balanced diet. Weight lifters also don't need protein shakes if they eat enough protein via a tailored diet. They're both supplements.

I would like to know how which studies you were citing when you said they were detrimental. I take a multivitamin daily, and I want to know if new research suggests I'm hurting myself.

 

[MedWonk]

That's not what you said before. Everybody knows that you don't need a multivitamin if you eat a balanced diet. Weight lifters also don't need protein shakes if they eat enough protein via a tailored diet. They're both supplements.

I would like to know how which studies you were citing when you said they were detrimental. I take a multivitamin daily, and I want to know if new research suggests I'm hurting myself.

I didn't talk about multivitamins before. I never said they were detrimental, either, unless you were to overdose on them, I suppose. My only point is that if you're like most people, then you get all the nutrients you need from your diet. Taking a multivitamin is just a waste of money for most people.

OTOH,

He's escaped Minneapolis weather, but Lars might just turn to a pile of ash if he's ever exposed to the sun. You might be forgetting that different people like different weather.

Well... recent research suggests that multivitamins do more harm than good in healthy people.

this guy mentioned harm.

Don't tase me, bro.

 

[Pacna]

I didn't talk about multivitamins before. I never said they were detrimental, either, unless you were to overdose on them, I suppose. My only point is that if you're like most people, then you get all the nutrients you need from your diet. Taking a multivitamin is just a waste of money for most people.

OTOH,



this guy mentioned harm.

Don't tase me, bro.

My b! Wrong dude. >.<

 

[terp720]

Recent studies suggest multivitamins are worthless if you're eating a balanced diet. You basically just piss it all away. Vitamin D might help in the winter months, but it really doesn't take much exposure to the sun to get your daily supply. I imagine it's only really an issue if you live in the PNW. I have experienced myself gloomy weather affecting my mood, but then again this was when I was living someplace that had fewer sunny days and less daylight than Seattle/Portland during the winter. From what my friends tell me, exercising outside+vitamin D is usually enough to brighten one's mood. I hate cold weather more than I hate cloudy weather.

this is difficult if you're in places where the day is short and you get to work before the sun is up and go home after the sun is down.
different in med school though hopefully!

 

[terp720]

Obviously your commitment to medicine isn't strong enough. Consider another profession.

edited to make it say the thing I was actually trying to say instead of something that made no sense

still had to read that last sentence a few times to make sense of it.
and then i got confused because I wasn't sure if you meant you edited what you said or the fact that you edited what I said to make my post seem different.
whyyy are you confusing me rain4venus?

 

[rain4venus]

note that these are not all associated with multivitamins - some are specific vitamin supplements.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16880453?dopt=Abstract
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19066370?dopt=Abstract
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15537682?dopt=Abstract
http://archinte.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1105975
http://www.psychosomaticmedicine.org/content/early/2014/03/10/PSY.0000000000000044.abstract
And the AHA's recommendation, although they sadly don't link to studies: http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Getti...nd-Mineral-Supplements_UCM_306033_Article.jsp

Basically, the takeaway is that megadoses of most vitamins can have pretty nasty side effects, and most supplements contain extremely high doses (they have to because you can't absorb as well as from food), and additionally there's not any real regulation of the industry so there's no good way to tell how much, if any, of any vitamin/mineral you ought to be taking (and you're obviously much better off getting them from diet and lifestyle rather than supplements)

 

[rain4venus]

still had to read that last sentence a few times to make sense of it.
and then i got confused because I wasn't sure if you meant you edited what you said or the fact that you edited what I said to make my post seem different.
whyyy are you confusing me rain4venus?

haha sorry.... the first time I said "your commitment to weather isn't strong enough"
I only edited your post because the last sentence you said proved that your commitment to medicine IS strong enough, especially if the cold causes you that much pain and you're still not taking the weather into consideration. Probably I should have just said that in the first place.
Either way, I was just teasing

That tree is far away

 

[rain4venus]

Recent studies suggest multivitamins are worthless if you're eating a balanced diet. You basically just piss it all away. Vitamin D might help in the winter months, but it really doesn't take much exposure to the sun to get your daily supply. I imagine it's only really an issue if you live in the PNW. I have experienced myself gloomy weather affecting my mood, but then again this was when I was living someplace that had fewer sunny days and less daylight than Seattle/Portland during the winter. From what my friends tell me, exercising outside+vitamin D is usually enough to brighten one's mood. I hate cold weather more than I hate cloudy weather.

The last actual study I linked to also concluded that vitamin D is only effective in people with real clinical depression, not for people with mild symptoms. I'm sure many people with SAD fall into the former category, vitamin D may not help the many others who just have winter blues (or winter blahs)

 

[terp720]

haha sorry.... the first time I said "your commitment to weather isn't strong enough"
I only edited your post because the last sentence you said proved that your commitment to medicine IS strong enough, especially if the cold causes you that much pain and you're still not taking the weather into consideration. Probably I should have just said that in the first place.
Either way, I was just teasing

That tree is far away

haha I know you were!
I never saw the "commitment to weather isn't strong enough" post. this is probably true though!

 

[MedWonk]

this is difficult if you're in places where the day is short and you get to work before the sun is up and go home after the sun is down.

I know. I've been through that hell before. I don't care to re-live it.

The last actual study I linked to also concluded that vitamin D is only effective in people with real clinical depression, not for people with mild symptoms. I'm sure many people with SAD fall into the former category, vitamin D may not help the many others who just have winter blues (or winter blahs)

Well, then, **** vitamins.

 

[rain4venus]

I will mention that if vitamin supplements had no effect (positive or negative) I would consider that to be harmful overall, since they do cost a lot of money

one more thing:
http://annals.org/article.aspx?articleid=1789253

It seems like the biggest harms found are from the antioxidant vitamins. And the suggestions are not that no one should ever supplement (most still say that pregnant women should supplement with folic acid, for example) but that the general population ought not be supplementing in order to prevent chronic diseases because there hasn't been enough evidence to show that that is actually effective. Also, Americans just eat so darn much that the diseases caused by severe vitamin deficiencies (scurvy, rickets, etc...) just aren't a problem. Even though most people eat unhealthy diets, it doesn't take a whole lot to take in enough of the vitamins and minerals that you need. There are some specific vitamins in which we might be deficient (like D and K2) but for the most part, we're not vitamin deficient overall - even if we eat at McDonalds every day (again, probably unhealthy, just not vitamin deficient) - so taking a multivitamin is probably not going to be helpful, and might even be harmful due to all the stuff in it that you don't need.

ETA: To tie it back to the OP... Don't assume that weather doesn't matter when there are supplements that can keep you happy through the long, cold winters, because this is unlikely to be true.