finding out which school is right for you

[stwei]

What are some things one should definitely ask to find out if a med school suits him/herself or not, especially during a campus visit/interview?

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[docmemi]

all about the curriculum.
schedule.
clinical, research and community service opps.
faculty receptiveness to students.
student body. diversity. are students happy?
things to do in the city...LOCATION. weather. places to go, food.
board preparation and avg scores.
match history.
patient population and hospitals you will rotate in.
a little about reputation if that concerns you.
how busy is the place?
time for having fun?

so on and so forth. hope that helps. (caution: dont ask things you could have found out yourself easily).

 

[Trekkie963]

Docmemi's looks like a pretty comprehensive list to me. Be sure to pick from among those items the ones that really are most important to you.

Before your visit to campus, be sure to research the school well so that you can ask thoughtful questions that really get to the heart of what is important to you in a med school.

 

[Mr Reddly]

The number one thing I want to find out about the school is "are they going to accept me?" Without that, docmemi's list doesn't quite matter.

 

[stwei]

Should I dig for a better reply if the adcom becomes evasive about certain issues? I went to an informal session interview where I was asking how much peer pressure and competition students were experiencing amongst themselves, and the answer that I got was a half-hearted acknowledgement of the amount of work there is for students. Also when I inquired about shadowing one of their physician, I was told that this could not be done as they serve many people, and asked whether I understood this or not.
I am sure you guys have come across such firewalls, especially if all that you get to find out are numbers and figures instead of social connections. What do you do about this?

 

[BaseballFan]

Don't ask the adcom, ask the students if you want real answers.

Go to the school, sit in on some classes if you're accepted, have email conversations with them....

Get on their class websites, read their posts to each other.

Ask students what they dislike most about their school. I ask this at every interview, and the responses tell me a lot about the schools.

Good Luck!

 

[Adapt]

A school that accepts you is right for you.

 

[uclacrewdude]

talk to the students. generally the happier people are the more talkative they are, esp about stuff that isnt school related. shootin the **** is actually a good indicator of student happiness, ive found.

at the core, however, picture if you will be happy.