How much weight should I give the vibe of second look day?

[frosty42]

Currently struggling to decide between two schools.

Prior to second look day, I was 80% set on one school (School A).

However, I clicked way better with the accepted students, current students, and faculty of the other school (School B) at second look day. I was largely disappointed by School A’s second look day and didn’t feel great about the current and accepted students who I met and all of the faculty were incredibly dry and lacked enthusiasm.

Leaving School B’s second look day, I was SO excited. Leaving School A, I was kind of disappointed.

Part of this may be because School B was my first accepted students day and it was much easier to get to while School A took some exhausting travel to get to so I wasn’t in the same mindset as I had been for School B.

Basically, how much should I care about the “vibe” of the school from visiting in person vs the school on paper? If I ignore second look day, I’m set on School A. But if I consider second look day, I’m leaning more towards School B.

Note: There is no notable prestige or cost difference.

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[Shunsui]

"Vibe" is subjective and shouldn't hold much weight in your decision. Could've been a test week and all the students were stressed when you happened to visit.

Focus on the objective factors first (cost, location, curriculum, grading, clinical sites, step scores, etc) before using vibes to make your decision.

A med student at a T15 told me he thought the admin seemed very supportive at his school and got amazing vibes from his interview/second look which was a big reason why he attended. But once covid hit and their class tried to get the admins to accommodate, their concerns fell on deaf ears. Moral of the story: focus on objective factors that you can fall back on whenever things go south.

 

[LizzyM]

Do keep in mind that if you'll be regularly traveling between School A and wherever you were when you left for Second Look at School A (e.g. if you were in your family's home) that the long and exhausting travel will be a regular part of your routine (major holidays & celebrations, emergencies). That could be a very objective reason to choose B over A, in addition to the positive feelings you had about the students, faculty and the dog & pony show that they put on for your benefit.

 

[voxveritatisetlucis]

I think a lot. If a school can’t even make a favorable impression when they’re dragging out the most enthusiastic students and literally trying to make the institution look as good as possible, then…

 

[Goro]

Currently struggling to decide between two schools.

Prior to second look day, I was 80% set on one school (School A).

However, I clicked way better with the accepted students, current students, and faculty of the other school (School B) at second look day. I was largely disappointed by School A’s second look day and didn’t feel great about the current and accepted students who I met and all of the faculty were incredibly dry and lacked enthusiasm.

Leaving School B’s second look day, I was SO excited. Leaving School A, I was kind of disappointed.

Part of this may be because School B was my first accepted students day and it was much easier to get to while School A took some exhausting travel to get to so I wasn’t in the same mindset as I had been for School B.

Basically, how much should I care about the “vibe” of the school from visiting in person vs the school on paper? If I ignore second look day, I’m set on School A. But if I consider second look day, I’m leaning more towards School B.

Note: There is no notable prestige or cost difference.

Trust your gut, then see if it passes the sleep test. If you lose sleep over a potential decision, it fails the test.

 

[mangowolf]

if by "vibe" you mean the feeling you got when talking to fellow admitted students and faculty, i'd say i give it moderate weighting. yes, it is a show put on for your benefit and lots of people tend to make favorable first impressions, but if you really feel like the people at the school are a good fit, that's really important. i think it can be indicative of whether you'd find a good community at a school.

 

[KnightDoc]

"Vibe" is subjective and shouldn't hold much weight in your decision. Could've been a test week and all the students were stressed when you happened to visit.

Focus on the objective factors first (cost, location, curriculum, grading, clinical sites, step scores, etc) before using vibes to make your decision.

A med student at a T15 told me he thought the admin seemed very supportive at his school and got amazing vibes from his interview/second look which was a big reason why he attended. But once covid hit and their class tried to get the admins to accommodate, their concerns fell on deaf ears. Moral of the story: focus on objective factors that you can fall back on whenever things go south.

THIS^^^^^. Second looks are great, and the fact that a school is great at putting on a show is just awesome, but that's all it is.

Yes, it sucks that School A didn't do a better job, and this is a legit tie breaker. Beyond that, I'm not sure I'd make a potentially life altering decision based on a school's ability to plan and execute a recruiting event. That really is one of the most superficial metrics out there. @Shunsui is 1,000,000% right here!

 

[Mr.Smile12]

I will say that you shouldn't completely discount your feelings. The objective criteria are very important, but understand that the students you are around reflect the decisions of the admissions committee and faculty. You'll be seeing many of these people over the next 15-20 years of your life (not just the 2 preclinical years in courses then 2 years of clinical rotations). The "family feel" is important to a point. You ultimately put everything in balance.

Most schools know they have to be on their best behavior, and that second-look days always involve people who may have a choice to attend a school over another. If you feel that a school hasn't lived up to your expectations worthy of putting down a significant house mortgage, then that's a problem (as an organizer of such events).

 

[Putkernerinthehall]

I ask why you felt so strongly about School A beforehand ? No real difference in prestige or cost. So what about School A was great in your mind ?

I'd be careful to brush off the positive feeling you had about School B. You might want to reach out to some current students at each school and dig in a little more about what each has to offer.

 

[frosty42]

I ask why you felt so strongly about School A beforehand ? No real difference in prestige or cost. So what about School A was great in your mind ?

I'd be careful to brush off the positive feeling you had about School B. You might want to reach out to some current students at each school and dig in a little more about what each has to offer.

School B is my state school. It’s a great school, but I was worried it’d feel too “small” since everyone is from the same state as me and many went to the undergrad of the med school which is on the same campus. It’s also in a very suburban area.

School A is in a city I’ve been wanting to live in for 5+ years and the student body is more diverse in terms of where people are from and where they went to school. Those are the biggest factors.

I am currently working on getting in touch with students! Thank you!

 

[gyngyn]

All you can get from "second look" is a "vibe."

 

[wook]

Agree with what many of the other posters indicated. A second look is just a glimpse.

Consider factors which make the most sense. For example, how easy is it to visit family on holiday (assuming you want to see your family). If you have relatives that become ill, how easy will it be to visit/check in on them? Is the school in an area you would be comfortable living for several years (e.g. politics, recreation activities, etc.).


Thanks.



Wook