Med school tours & guides

[PookieGirl]

2 of my tours were lead by complete dud people who I would never want to go to school with. Why? They struck me as boring and unintelligent about their own school. I want to be surrounded by cool, outgoing people with fun personalities and who have extracurricular events that show they have a drive, on top of school knowledge and pride. Do others care this much about student body?

As for tours, one set of guides showed no classrooms, no labs, no library. Hmmm. And on top of that, the dud students had no idea what to show us in the hospital because they'd never been there, even as 2nd years. This makes a so-so school even less attractive. Any other fun tour stories out there?

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[Code Brown]

2 of my tours were lead by complete dud people who I would never want to go to school with. Why? They struck me as boring and unintelligent about their own school. I want to be surrounded by cool, outgoing people with fun personalities and who have extracurricular events that show they have a drive, on top of school knowledge and pride. Do others care this much about student body?

As for tours, one set of guides showed no classrooms, no labs, no library. Hmmm. And on top of that, the dud students had no idea what to show us in the hospital because they'd never been there, even as 2nd years. This makes a so-so school even less attractive. Any other fun tour stories out there?

Hey, that sounds like half the tours I've been on. Anyway, I found that the tours are a great time to engage your fellow interviewees and to have a good time with your future physician friends. Make the best of it if the tour guides don't really care enough to make the effort.

 

[MeowMix]

I think you might want to rethink your criteria for evaluating a med school.

The people who lead tour groups are volunteers. A lot of us don't do it because we have way too much other stuff going on, and after 4 hours of morning lecture it's hard to be enthusiastic and cool and outgoing, especially if you stayed up late studying. Some days, it's hard even to be positive about med school. We're med students, not cheerleaders.

I've never been in the hospital, which is right across the street from the med school, because I don't need to go there. I do my clinical work at a community clinic on the other side of town. I will do most of my third- and fourth-year rotations at other sites. So there's no point showing you the hospital.

The sad truth is that I spend most of my time in the lecture hall, a few study rooms, and the library. There is not much for you to see there. I can't take you into the anatomy lab because it's not allowed without prior permission.

You are evaluating a med school, not a hotel, so don't judge on appearance. I personally think that a tour is not very useful; you'd be better off meeting some different med students in an informal atmosphere. Anywhere you go, there will be cool outgoing people, and you will find a good group of friends, don't worry. Ask the admissions office if they can put you in touch with students with similar interests or backgrounds (home town, college, age, etc.). Take them out for coffee while you are visiting. Stay with a student host. Find better ways to get the information you want.

 

[roja]

well said.

There is a point to evaluating the student body. And schools definately have their own pesronalities. but the tours may not be where the money is... especially if the admissions doesn't take a really active role in who is doing what.

Even in the most relaxed of medical schools, you wont love everyone. and there is a reason why at times, med students are no fun... if your tour coincided with exams, people will look tired and dud-like for a reason... because they are tired and thier brains are fuzzy.

 

[rebeclette]

Keep in mind also that if a tour guide is a first year they may not really know that much about the school themselves, and even if they try their best they may come off as being unintelligent. We try to know everything about our schools, but I have better things to memorize than the number of hospital beds. I really think that 4th years should give tours at my school, but its just us first years, and we do our best. Try to keep in mind that your tour guide is not representative of the whole class, and that just because you don't like them you'd hate going to school there.

That being said, I think my worst tour guide was a 6th or 7th year MD/PhD student at the University of Chicago last year. He made remarks about the fat patients sitting outside in the sun within earshot of them. He also talked loudly in the lobby of the children's hospital about how the premee babies were ugly.