how important is the impression you get when you interview at a med school ?

[abracadabraone]

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i.e. happy students, etc...

 

[tantacles]

i.e. happy students, etc...

omg so effing important!

Yeah. I said effing.

 

[typhoonegator]

i.e. happy students, etc...

I never really understood this. I mean, it's medical school. I've never seen a medical school where everyone was universally sad, or universally happy. So in your short period of observation on an interview, you might see a few happy people, or a few stressed-out people, due more to chance than any other factor.

No medical school is in the business of emotionally torturing their future alumni. People who come up to you on your interview day and tell you that the school is out to get them are probably not the people you should be basing your opinion on. In my opinion, people who don't like medical school feel that way based on the nature of being a medical student, rather than being a medical student at School X.

Maybe there are few people out there who decided to go to medical school in Chicago and didn't realize that they hate cold weather so much that it is ruining their lives. Again, consider the source when they tell you that they would never have gone to University of Chicago if they could get a do-over.

If you want to use an impression of whether the students "seem happy" as some sort of nebulous barometer of your overall vibe for a school, that's fine. But I certainly would not recommend writing off a program because someone seemed bummed on your interview day.

 

[Isoprop]

Disagree with above. They did a poll in my school, and the top reason why students chose this school was how friendly the students and faculty were perceived to be. I chose this school based on that too. I'm not a social butterfly, but I didn't want to be in a school with a bunch of gunners.

 

[typhoonegator]

Given the crap-shoot of medical school admissions, do you really think there are whole schools comprised entirely of gunners?

 

[NickNaylor]

I never really understood this. I mean, it's medical school. I've never seen a medical school where everyone was universally sad, or universally happy. So in your short period of observation on an interview, you might see a few happy people, or a few stressed-out people, due more to chance than any other factor.

No medical school is in the business of emotionally torturing their future alumni. People who come up to you on your interview day and tell you that the school is out to get them are probably not the people you should be basing your opinion on. In my opinion, people who don't like medical school feel that way based on the nature of being a medical student, rather than being a medical student at School X.

Maybe there are few people out there who decided to go to medical school in Chicago and didn't realize that they hate cold weather so much that it is ruining their lives. Again, consider the source when they tell you that they would never have gone to University of Chicago if they could get a do-over.

If you want to use an impression of whether the students "seem happy" as some sort of nebulous barometer of your overall vibe for a school, that's fine. But I certainly would not recommend writing off a program because someone seemed bummed on your interview day.

I agree with you to a large extent, but I do think there are some differences in culture at various institutions that may make your time more or less miserable. True, it's just school, but that experience might be better or worse depending upon where you go.

It's also important to remember that it's just one particular day that you get to see while you're there, so it obviously must be taken with a grain of salt.

 

[typhoonegator]

I agree with you to a large extent, but I do think there are some differences in culture at various institutions that may make your time more or less miserable. True, it's just school, but that experience might be better or worse depending upon where you go.

It's also important to remember that it's just one particular day that you get to see while you're there, so it obviously must be taken with a grain of salt.

Agree. But I think a lot of that culture you see at different programs is introduced AFTER you get there. Some programs might favor more non-trads or varied majors, but on the whole pre-meds aren't the most heterogeneous group on the planet. Remember, most of us only end up attending one medical school, so you really end up getting indoctrinated into one way of doing things.

 

[Isoprop]

Given the crap-shoot of medical school admissions, do you really think there are whole schools comprised entirely of gunners?

No, but at some schools, you get that gut feeling that everyone is just looking out for themselves. I'd hate that environment.

I'm in favor of trusting your gut when it comes to choosing a med school.