Choosing a right medical school?

[jeongae74]

Hello all,

I am an medical school applicant and have a question to ask you guys. How important is it to choose a right school? People recommand to research the schools through their website and their specialty, etc. But it seems to me quite difficult to get the feel of the schools from outside because every school seems claim similar things about the school when looked from outside. They all claims that they have the greatest programs to prepare students to become great physicians with integrity. It is quite hard, frankly, to know what is different from school to school. So, I am wondering whether you can post your oppinion on the school you attend right now. What is their strengh, weakness, or even just some odds. I would really apprecitate it.

PS. I am especially interested in schools located in Boston, Washington DC, and Chicago area.

Thanks a bunch!!!

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[azzarah]

Honestly, med school is not like business school or law school. As long as you do what you're supposed to do, I truly believe any medical school you go to will do an excellent job of preparing you to become a competent physician. Keeping that in mind, I'll tell you about MY school...
I go to Hopkins which is located in Baltimore (close to DC)
*Whatever* you'd want in a medical school, hopkins has it! You want research? Community service opportunities? Well-rounded classmates? Amazing faculty? International experience? A year off to study public health? Pretty much anything you can imagine wanting out of a medical school, hopkins offers it!
Now the only "weakness" that I can possibly think of--Like most medical centers, hopkins is located in an inner city neighborhood, which can be good or bad depending on how you look at it. If you hate Baltimore, no worries...DC, Philadelphia, NYC are just a train/car ride away!
I had a full ride from Baylor and another school in TX, but I gave those up in order to come to Hopkins. I'm a third year now and I honestly don't regret that decision at all!
Trust me, when you interview at schools, you'll know where you'd like to go!!!!

 

[njbmd]

Hi there,
I had a choice of six medical schools. I chose the school where I felt most comfortable and where I thought I would fit best with the class. In the end, I received a full-ride tuition scholarship from the school that I attended and owe practically nothing for undergraduate, graduate and medical school.

Now that I am a resident (General Surgery), I know that I made the right decision. I was well prepared for residency and I did very well in medical school. I have classmates that are life-long friends and I have a career that I enjoy. I also have less than $40K of debt.

Pick a school in a location where you will be comfortable and where you can do your best. Avoid huge debt if you can (sometimes you do not have a choice).

Medical school is only four years and your medical career is going to be for the rest of your life. You will change and grow over those four years but twenty years from now, you won't care so much where you went to medical school. Pick a place where you can do very, very well. The rest won't matter down the line.

njbmd

 

[gschl1234]

During your interview, try talking to the students so you can get a feel for how you'd fit in. If you meet friendly students, ask if it would be OK to contact them for more information should you get accepted. After you're accepted, go back for a second look and talk to more students. Contact those students you met on interview and see what's it's really like.

I go to GW in DC and one issue that I didn't expect to be as important as it has turned out to be is the commute. Before pledging yourself to just 1 school, make sure that you're able to have a plan for commuting that you can live with. Make sure you'll be comfortable living in the environemnt you'll be in.

I'm not clear on where in the application process you are but if you have been accepted to GW, I'd be happy to tell you more about it. Just PM me.