Choosing a school

[DolphinsFan84]

---

Members do not see this ad.

I'm applying now and have just started getting acceptances. I figured since you've been in school you have a clearer idea of what's important and what's not. What are the most important things I should look at when comparing schools and what isn't important that you thought was as a premed? Thanks.

I know feeling comfortable with the people in the school is important. The problem is if I felt comfortable in a few places.

 

[zeloc]

I'm applying now and have just started getting acceptances. I figured since you've been in school you have a clearer idea of what's important and what's not. What are the most important things I should look at when comparing schools and what isn't important that you thought was as a premed? Thanks.

I know feeling comfortable with the people in the school is important. The problem is if I felt comfortable in a few places.

You have to decide what's most important for you. For me, I knew that I wanted to maintain significant extracurricular involvements in addition to medical school, so I would have looked at schools that had less structured curriculums and more independent learning. I would say important things are, in addition to what you've mentioned:

1) Curriculum- Do you need to be in class a lot or are you comfortable studying by yourself?
2) Class rank- There is less stress in schools without class rank and probably more cooperation between students.

and maybe a little lower down in importance, Entertainment- is the school in the middle of nowhere?

 

[BDylan]

I second curriculum as being most important. Specifically, whether the curriculum is systems based vs. subject based. It could have a big impact if you learn better one way or the other.

 

[robotsonic]

I'm an MS4, and I've actually been thinking about this a lot - whether I chose my med school wisely.

A few things that I thought were important when applying did turn out to be important, while others turned out to be completely unimportant. One of my considerations was location, and I've found that this was a very smart move. I like big cities, especially New York, and I am incredibly glad that I chose to come to this city. Another smart move was choosing a school that gave you a lot of free time during the first two years - time to enjoy NYC.

I also chose partly based on prestige of the school, and that turned out to be a good decision also. Despite what some people on this board will tell you, your med school DOES matter when you are applying to residency, and I'm glad that I go to a pretty good school.

Now for the things that weren't important: the "early clinical experience" that schools like to brag about. Shadowing a doctor during your first and second years of med school for one day a week may seem cool - BUT IT'S NOT! At least not in my experience. In med school, you have to learn a ton of information in a short amount of time. The amount that you learn through this shadowing is not worth the amount of time that it eats up.

As for choosing based on curriculum: it's hard to know what will work for you. I tried PBL and hated it. From talking with my classmates, the majority thought that PBL was pretty useless, although there is one girl who loved it. As for systems vs. subject based, you probably don't know which will work for you.

My final decision on where to go to med school was based on "gut feeling" - whether I liked the people I met on interview day, basically. I can say now that this is a poor way of choosing a med school. The people you happen to meet are not likely to be the people you will actually spend the most time with (you are not going to be hanging out with the great med students you meet, as you will more likely be hanging out with students from your year, and the faculty members who interview you may never see you again).

In the end, you just have to make a decision, and you may not know until years later whether it was the right one. I think I made a pretty good decision, but perhaps not the best one (I wouldn't choose PBL and I would prefer not to have that ridiculous early clinical experience).

 

[nutmegs]

how you feel around the people, whether or not you get to schedule your own 3rd/4th years, approachability of the faculty.

my $0.02

 

[Brainsucker]

In a better world, those would be the only things to worry about, but reputation will make a difference if you want to match in a competitive specialty. There's the sample bias that the schools with big reputations get students predisposed to be more hardworking and get better USMLEs, but for two otherwise equal candidates (grades, citations, etc.) the one with Harvard on his diploma is going to get a better look than the one with [insert less reputable school here-I could've ragged on a school, but I didn't feel like it.] on it. Also, if you're interested in academic medicine or research, you would do well to take a look at the labs in areas you're interested in at each school.

 

[dontstuddy]

I made my final choice based on the distance to the closest ski resort. I am happy because I can get in 20 days on the slopes a year between studying which is way better than being burned out at a school where I couldn't do the recreational activites I wanted to do.

 

[trouta]

BOARD SCORES.

Curriculum and all of that is important, but when it comes time to apply for residency, the sad truth (b/c the test was never designed that way) is that board scores are often used as arbitrary cut offs for interviews.

Find out what the average scores have been for several past years. If people arent performing well either they arent taught well or the people they recruit dont study hard enough.

 

[nutmegs]

BOARD SCORES.

Curriculum and all of that is important, but when it comes time to apply for residency, the sad truth (b/c the test was never designed that way) is that board scores are often used as arbitrary cut offs for interviews.

Find out what the average scores have been for several past years. If people arent performing well either they arent taught well or the people they recruit dont study hard enough.

or they don't have a class full of people gunning for ENT/derm/rads. I personally think that any school around the national pass rate would be fine, and you could end up VERY unhappy if you picked a school based on this.

 

[Law2Doc]

I'm applying now and have just started getting acceptances. I figured since you've been in school you have a clearer idea of what's important and what's not. What are the most important things I should look at when comparing schools and what isn't important that you thought was as a premed? Thanks.

I know feeling comfortable with the people in the school is important. The problem is if I felt comfortable in a few places.

(1) Local housing availability versus commuting, issues. Especially important if the neighborhood is sketchy.

(2) how technology savvy the school is. If everything is on computer and you are a pen and paper person, you may not like it. Or the converse.

(3) If you are single, check out the M/F ratio. You won't get out much, so it's best if the pond is stacked in your favor.

(4) P/F (ranked versus unranked) versus grades. Are plusses and minuses to each. Is important to some, less to others.

(5) # of lecture hours per day versus self study, and whether attendance is mandatory.

(6) agree with robotsonic that things like early clinical experience, PBL learning and the like, that schools spout to make them look progressive, tend to be far less important factors than everything else. Curriculum isn't as important as everyone has to get through the same set of material by the end of second year. In terms of course schedules/pace/blocking, some people will like some curriculi better than others, but for most it's a wash.

 

[DrThom]

Look at the exam schedule too.

At my school, we lump all of our topics into one exam and then have a free weekend after we take the test. Its a great time to de-stress.

Some schools have separate tests for separate subjects that can be as close as 2 weeks apart! You'll never have a moment's peace.

Just something to think about.

 

[Flopotomist]

I find it interesting that nobody has mentioned cost yet - there can be a difference approaching $100k between some state schools and some private schools.

 

[iabell1611]

How exactly do you find out what kind of curriculum a school has for the first two years?

 

[OSUdoc08]

You have to decide what's most important for you. For me, I knew that I wanted to maintain significant extracurricular involvements in addition to medical school, so I would have looked at schools that had less structured curriculums and more independent learning. I would say important things are, in addition to what you've mentioned:

1) Curriculum- Do you need to be in class a lot or are you comfortable studying by yourself?
2) Class rank- There is less stress in schools without class rank and probably more cooperation between students.

and maybe a little lower down in importance, Entertainment- is the school in the middle of nowhere?

I don't find this to be a problem. At my school, for example, you only recieve your class rank if you go to the Office of Student Affairs and request it. Some people don't go and ask.

 

[OSUdoc08]

How exactly do you find out what kind of curriculum a school has for the first two years?

Look at the school website, and find the information. It is often web-based or on a downloadable PDF file of the school handbook.

 

[OSUdoc08]

I'm applying now and have just started getting acceptances. I figured since you've been in school you have a clearer idea of what's important and what's not. What are the most important things I should look at when comparing schools and what isn't important that you thought was as a premed? Thanks.

I know feeling comfortable with the people in the school is important. The problem is if I felt comfortable in a few places.

1. Proximity to family
2. Prestige/Rankings
3. Surrounding Area/Quality of Life Issues
4. Quality/location of clinical education
5. Organization of basic science education

 

[QofQuimica]

I find it interesting that nobody has mentioned cost yet - there can be a difference approaching $100k between some state schools and some private schools.

Cost is my number one criterion, Flop. This kind of debt is akin to taking out a mortgage; almost no one's gonna be paying it all back in five, ten, even 15 years. I also care about the clinical and research opportunities at the school, whether there are other older students there, and the COL. I have preferences as far as curriculum, grading, and geographical location go, but those things are all more or less negotiable as far as I'm concerned. I never look at match lists or board scores; those are other people's accomplishments, and they won't have any bearing on mine. (I don't understand this logic anyway; did anyone pick their college based on the average MCAT scores of the students who went there???) And I don't care about prestige either; I've always attended my state schools, and I'd be fine with continuing to do that if that's how things worked out.