I'm not sure if I should dorm at UCI or commute. Is dorm life essential to building connections so that you can be updated about research opportunities and internships? Do you think dorm life will enhance your pre-med experience and help you on your path to getting accepted to med school or do you think it will be a distraction? Do pre-meds do better if they live in dorms or commute? Please help, I cannot decide if I want to dorm or not. My perception is that dorms will help to build connections but then again I am afraid that I will be distracted or isolated because I want to focus on my studies. Please share you experience and opinion. Thank you!
Is dorm life essential to premed undergrad to build connections for medical school?
- Thread starter boba96
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dorm life is more about having fun with people your age and realizing that there's more to college than just school and working away. im sure you could get connections by meeting the right people and socializing, but please utilize college for the fun opportunities you can have. it'll be gone before you know it and that really sucks 
. you'll also be much happier w/ a fun side of college and less burnt out with all the new experiences you can have if you put yourself out there. life is not all about goals. you may find you want to do something else that really suits you just from exploring.
I'm sure you can balance it, dont do the commuting routine, it's the least fun way to do college.
source: I graduated from college and had most of my fun during the last quarter. college has more opportunities to explore, learn, and have fun than pretty much anything in your life. I worried about distractions and shut myself off for a long time, but it's worth managing.
. you'll also be much happier w/ a fun side of college and less burnt out with all the new experiences you can have if you put yourself out there. life is not all about goals. you may find you want to do something else that really suits you just from exploring.I'm sure you can balance it, dont do the commuting routine, it's the least fun way to do college.
source: I graduated from college and had most of my fun during the last quarter. college has more opportunities to explore, learn, and have fun than pretty much anything in your life. I worried about distractions and shut myself off for a long time, but it's worth managing.
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IN my experience, dorm life has no impact on building research connections or doing well as a premed. Its benefits are purely social. And its nice sometimes being able to roll out of bed 15 minutes before class and still be there on time.
ETA: maybe one way forming can help make connections and stuff is that if you live on campus you'll be more likely to attend club meetings and stuff??? That's about all I can think of.
ETA: maybe one way forming can help make connections and stuff is that if you live on campus you'll be more likely to attend club meetings and stuff??? That's about all I can think of.
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College isn't meant to be tortuous. Dorm, go see the cute girl down the hallway, throw snowballs from your room in the winter, hang out in the common area, have a party in your room.
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I don't think it has any benefit for medical school, but it sure is fun.
I'd do it just for the experience of it.
I'd do it just for the experience of it.
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This.
Two of the groomsmen in my wedding started off as random neighbors in a dormitory.
Even if only for a semester, I'd go the dorm route just for the frustrations and joys of being around several hundred people in the same age and stage.
Then get out.
You really cannot appreciate living off campus until you have lived on campus.
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Dorm life for at least one year is a must in my eyes.
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What connections? Edward 40 hands with your neighbor? Get real. Get a job or something. Build connections that are at least quasi-relevant.
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Dorm life is ideal for meeting lots of people your age and making friends. I would strongly recommend doing it for at least 1 year
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No, dorm life is for making friends. Personally, I hated living in the dorms and got myself a studio apartment off-campus all to myself. Make connections with people who will write you LoRs, like professors, PIs, physicians you shadow, et cetera.
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There ain't no snow at UCI, noob. (University of California, Irvine - ie socal).
OP, let me give you justifications for why you should live on campus in rough order of importance.
1) Getting laid and having your roommate walk in is way less awk than having mom mom walk in.
2) Getting laid is easier when you're in close proximity to tens of thousands of girls and/or boys.
3) Getting drunk is more fun when mom isn't there.
4) Getting drunk is more fun when you're in close proximity to tens of thousands of girls and/or boys.
5) Getting drunk is more fun when you don't have to drive home afterwards.
6) ...
...
999999) More fun things to do.
1000000) Pre-med connections? WTF does that even mean? You go to the state school with a bajillion overachieving immigrants kids who parents all want them to become doctors. They will just steal your biology books and then stab you, with their mechanical pencils.
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Post of the day.
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I'm going to say no, probably not. There is the off chance of finding one person who actually has legit connections that lives in your dorm... but the chances are pretty low. I think you're better off talking to professors or advisors about that sort of thing. Don't discount your family or family friends, though! A family friend of my boyfriend's family is the mother of a girl who was asked to do MD/PhD (she declined). She knows the guys at that university. That may end up working out for me. That's not guaranteed either, but it can be hard to get connections in general, and dorm life will most likely not do that for you.
To me, it was a distraction. Totally and 100%, even though I had a single. People are loud and obnoxious, and they interfere with your life. If your main goal is to get into medical school rather than making friends, then I don't suggest living in a dorm. (I only live in a dorm because I can't commute.) You will make friends in your classes and you could always drive back to campus to hang out with them. Not to mention, when people are partying hard you have your house, which is probably a lot quieter than a dorm.
I've never commuted, but I seriously believe that I would be doing a bit better commuting. At least in my dorm, people are very noisy, sometimes blasting music in the loud bathroom at 3am... It's not conducive to sleep, which can really impact performance. Not to mention, it would also be hard to focus in your room for the same reasons, especially if you have a roommate. (Trust me, noise-canceling headphones, even the best ones on the market, are not designed to block out that kind of noise.) It's just a very distracting environment all together. Just commute. It'll save you money, also. Because trust me, the dorm experience is not all that spectacular (unless maybe if you're just a visitor).
Whether you want to be social or not is up to you. I do fine with a handful of close friends, which I could easily drive to campus to see if I end up getting an apartment.
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