Hey all,
Lots of good advice on this thread.
24th Grade's criteria above are similar to my own.
Location/cost of living/stipend were the most important criteria for me. I figure, I'm going to be living somewhere for eight years, so I'd better like it and I'd better be able to live comfortably. I didn't want to be shelling out my whole stipend to live in a subsidized student apartment in some big city well into my 30's. That just doesn't have any appeal for me, and no matter how great the school, I knew I wanted to live somewhere that I could buy a house if I wanted to, and where I might even have the chance to save some bucks every month.
I knew I also wanted warmer weather than what I was used to, so that was important too
(And, I'm getting it now. 70ºF in Feb! I like.)
I've only been an MSTP student for a few months now, but I feel confident in making these criteria above the most important ones. Overall my quality of life is just a lot better because I love where I live. All my classmates and I can afford to live in really nice apartments or homes and not break the bank by going out to eat once in a while or doing leisure activities. School is hard enough. On days when school is kind of sucky, I'm glad I don't have to worry about living in a dumpy spot or having 3 or 4 roommates getting in each other's way when I'm trying to study.
I know these things aren't top on every applicant's list, but I think it should get more consideration than it does. Life changes a lot in eight years. Maybe you'll be married or have a long-term SO. Maybe you'll even have some kids. Who knows. Think about where it might be easiest or most enjoyable for you to experience those things.
Strength and organization of the MSTP
I wanted to go to a program that had already worked out most of its kinks and had a long history of producing physician-scientists. I expected that there would be several points through the eight years where I'd need the help and guidance of the director and administrators in the MSTP, so I wanted to go somewhere where there was no doubt I'd get that help when I needed it. When I was interviewing, I saw the full spectrum of organization and cohesiveness in programs. I know you can't get the full story from interview and second look, but there were clearly differences in how well each program planned for our trips, how they treated us when I was there, and how much social interaction was built into the program. Again, I've only been here a few months, but my impressions have been borne out now by experience. Our program definitely has a 'family' feel, with upper and underclassmen interacting all the time. The program administrators runs a tight ship here with no lost paperwork or missed deadlines. I know it's difficult to gauge these things when you're an applicant, but try your best. If on interview day or second look, you're not sure where to go and you're standing around and you're not getting much help from anyone in the program, that's a bad sign. Think about how that might play out in eight years.
Quality of the research in my area
This is a given. You should seek to go to a place where there are a number of opportunities for you to do the work you want to do. As a rule of thumb, I'd say make sure there are at least 5 people you'd be happy to work for. To be sure, your interests might change when you arrive at a school, but if make your decision based on your interest in a single investigator, you might be setting yourself for disappointment.
I want to mention that this criterion was actually #1 on my list once upon a time. Earlier in the season, I was thinking that what lab I did my PhD work in was the most important part of the decision making process. I was influenced mostly by the fact that I was working full time in the lab, and in talking with my colleagues, all that really seemed to matter to everyone was your PhD pedigree. But I wised up and realized that I wasn't making a decision to join a PhD program solely. I changed my ranking for that reason and I'm really happy I did.
Curriculum of the Medical School
This one is a given. Everyone's learning style is different, so it's important that the curriculum be suited to your preferences. I know that I prefer to learn independently, and so I chose a school with a curriculum that accommodates that preference as much as possible. As one of my classmates said recently, at least for the pre-clinical part of our education, "The role of our school is to notarize our independent studying." So, if you feel like that, make sure the med school can let you just study that way, i.e, don't go somewhere with lots and lots of mandatory attendance. If you're the sort of person who really enjoys going to lecture and learns best under the guidance of a teacher, then look for that in the curriculum of a school.
I also took into consideration the scope of the clinical experiences I'd be able to have and the reputation of the med school in general. I'd say these last aspects are the most important. You could learn the pre-clinical stuff anywhere, but you can't do the clinical stuff on your own. That, in my mind, is what you're really going to med school for and it's what med school can offer to you uniquely. So as best you can, try to gauge how satisfied the current students are with the scope and quality of their clinical experiences at a school.
Anyway, those are the things I thought about. If you have any questions or want to discuss, shoot me a PM.
Good luck.
