Liberal vs conservative med schools

[NonTradMed]

I'd say location matters too. I attend a state school in a conservative state and most students are instate. I find there is a contingent of very conservative students at my school, far more so than at my previous school where it was more geographically diverse (half from coasts, half from midwest) and located in a fairly liberal city. So look at the student demographics and you can probably guess how liberal or conservative a school is.

Typically, I'd say the school is always more liberal than the surrounding area. And the faculty will tend to lean liberal on social issues moreso than the surrounding area. However, that doesn't always mean the school or it's population is 'liberal' because you could be stuck in a very conservative area of the country where voting for a democratic presidential candidate will get you branded a leftist pinko commie and so you could end up with people who are political moderates at the federal level, rather than true left leaning politicols.

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[maestro1625]

actually, since the jesuit schools place a large emphasis on social justice and service, they generally have a very socially liberal set of ideals...of course, if people are just talking about pro-life/pro-choice (as many people seem to think this is what defines conservative/liberal), then the jesuit schools will be "conservative."

agreed... my brother attends Loyola undergrad and he's voted democrat in every election he's had the chance to, but even he complains that the campus is a bit over the top liberal...

 

[Doctor Bagel]

actually, since the jesuit schools place a large emphasis on social justice and service, they generally have a very socially liberal set of ideals...of course, if people are just talking about pro-life/pro-choice (as many people seem to think this is what defines conservative/liberal), then the jesuit schools will be "conservative."

Yep, ex-Catholic here, but I got a lot of my nutty liberal ideas from growing up Catholic. Heck, Benedict's Easter homily was about the cruelty of capitalism. American fundamentalism shares similar ideas with American conservatism, but Catholics have always been outside of that. Unfortunately, they're now largely being manipulated by the abortion thing and have adopted that as the only political message they really act on.

 

[xylem29]

I am fairly liberal, and I prefer to be around students that are more moderate/liberal vs extremely conservative. It is pointless to apply to very conservative school x, if I will be miserable my ~8yrs there (applying MSTP).

Medicine/science is also about networking, and it would be a bad career move to go somewhere in which my views greatly clash with the majority of students.

The following poster mentioned UCLA, which other schools have more liberal students and which have very conservative students?

Well - you haven't learned anything life then if that's your attitude/views about working - even networking - with people whose "views" clash with your own. It's one thing to be friends - but if you can't be colleagues/peers/co-workers with people that you don't like (for whatever reason, such as conservative views), that's not a good attitude to have.

You will always encounter people that you don't like (or don't agree with at least) in the workplace - and the hospital is no different - and you might as well start learning how to deal with this now.

 

[ghip]

Private schools are often more liberal than state schools. Maybe it's because children of rich parents are often liberal (reacting to their parents conservatism).

Also, it's a fine idea to strike a couple of schools off your apply list because you don't think you'll fit in well with the student body. There are enough medical schools to apply to hearts content even if you struck 20 or so off the list. Jesus christ, why is everyone so annoyed at the poor kid. Isn't the SDN mantra don't apply anywhere you don't want to go?

 

[mtlove]

Well - you haven't learned anything life then if that's your attitude/views about working - even networking - with people whose "views" clash with your own. It's one thing to be friends - but if you can't be colleagues/peers/co-workers with people that you don't like (for whatever reason, such as conservative views), that's not a good attitude to have.

You will always encounter people that you don't like (or don't agree with at least) in the workplace - and the hospital is no different - and you might as well start learning how to deal with this now.

I have spent the majority of my life in some of the most conservative places in the nation, and I want a change in atmosphere. I can and do work well with conservative people, but I am sick of being called a murder by peers because I support stem cell research. I am sick of arguing with conservatives about the need for a social system in which five year olds are not roaming the streets homeless. I want a peer group in which the 90% of the class is not offended because I argue for stricter environmental policies so that we do not have to listen to daily air-quality advisories demanding people to not go outside.

Everyone with multiple acceptances narrows down their possibilities based partially on a school's fit in the end. What is the problem with narrowing down the list based on this before applying (saves both time and money)?

Xylem29, your same advise can be directed back at you. You need to learn to not pre-judge people. I never said I can not work with conservative people. I obviously can as I have been surrounded by it for more than 20yrs of my life. I was merely asking what schools will have more of a liberal vs a conservative student body. All schools will have a mix. I am just trying to avoid places leaning strongly on the conservative side for obvious reasons.

**Sorry in advanced if any of my statements here offended anyone.**

 

[kelaskov]

I am fairly liberal, and I prefer to be around students that are more moderate/liberal vs extremely conservative. It is pointless to apply to very conservative school x, if I will be miserable my ~8yrs there (applying MSTP).

Medicine/science is also about networking, and it would be a bad career move to go somewhere in which my views greatly clash with the majority of students.

The following poster mentioned UCLA, which other schools have more liberal students and which have very conservative students?

If it's any indication, I believe NYCOM and NY Medical College are the only medical schools in the northeast without Medical Students for Choice chapters. Overall, very generally speaking, I've found Southern Maine, and Vermont to be pretty progressive environments. Hmmm..seems to be a pattern.

Also, depending on which school you end up at, there may be a way for you to choose a more progressive training route during your clinical years. For example, some of our rotation sites are at Catholic hospitals which fall under the US Conference of Bishops Catholic Objectives (there are so many Catholic hospitals nowdays, the're oftenn hard to avoid.) My husband and I made a concious decision to avoid all Catholic training sites and will be completing our entire 3rd year training in a secular hospital. Fabulous, we're super excited.