From what I gather, picking med schools is easy for most...you go wherever they take you. For me I had a choice between 2 and I think I chose correctly. I picked my med schools the same way I now picked my residencies...I used the gut (if you knew me, you would know I am a big proponent of using the gut). I liked the atmosphere/vibe of the med school that I'm at so I went there.
The place I didn't go to med school at, btw, is now my top choice for residency. Basically, I probably would have been happy if I picked the other med school as well. Which brings me to my next point, nobody really knows what it's like at the other med schools cause every one just goes to one. There is the "grass is greener" (other med schools will always be better) and "nationalism/pride" (your med school will always be better) phenomena. Talking to friends at other med schools also doesn't yield great information because nobody can tell you the full experience, they generally point out either the good or the bad.
My advice for you, if you're choosing between a couple places, go with where you felt most at home. Where the people were accommodating and the administration seemed genuine. Where the students were interested in meeting you. I say this because the students in your class will probably have the greatest influence on your med school experience. Once you decide, take some solace in the fact that you could not have decided wrong. Every med school has it's pluses and minuses. And also, whatever choice you make, be happy with it. Don't do the what ifs because you never know what it would be like if you chose differently (and also 60% of happiness comes from your attitude)
Study tips/advice (btw, I tutor med students of all levels at my school, so I have some practice with this):
1. 3 passes. That's how many times you need to read/look at some material to "get" it and retain it. Usually I recommend reading the material before lecture, then going to lecture (or reading through it without going to lecture), and lastly reviewing everything before the test.
2. Reading and not writing is the same thing as not writing. What I mean by that is that you have to underline/highlight/make charts as you read. This makes you read actively and not just let material pass between the ears. I also recommend stopping every so many slides/paragraphs and summarizing what you just read preferably using some sort of graphic (table, picture, whatever).
3. When taking a test, don't underthink, don't overthink...just think. I have seen WAAAAYYYY too many students come to an easy question and get hung up on a detail that had absolutely nothing to do with the answer. When I asked them what they initially thought this person had they gave the correct answer. This is an example of overthinking. Another scenario is when you read the question and halfway through commit yourself to an answer. Later, even though some of the information didn't quite fit, you pick the answer you were already committed to (or you didn't even finish reading the question). That's underthinking. I strongly suggest when time comes for you to study for step 1 to monitor your thinking and try to pinpoint when you do both of these (don't worry...we all do this). Figuring out where your sweet spot is can be a difference of scoring in the 60th percentile to scoring in the 90th...
4. Another thing I will say about step 1/2 is that they are written for STUPID medical students. You don't need to figure out the cure for cancer on the test nor do you need to imagine things the patient COULD have or think about WHAT IF the patient...Don't do that, just answer the question as if you were a stupid medical student and pick the association that you were taught and know almost reflexively.
5. Use the gut. If you are stuck on a question, don't know the answer, or are between 2 answer choices...use the gut. Did you know that the gut has more nerve endings than your brain!? That's a true fact (as opposed to alternative fact?). Anyway...use the gut...it's correct a lot of the time
6. When you are going through material (and especially when you are studying for step 1) get out of the habit of saying "I'll memorize that later/right before the test" (I know you do it). The problem with that thinking is that there will be WAAYYY too much stuff to memorize before the test or too little time or you'll forget or whatever. Spend a few minutes memorizing the material RIGHT NOW, it'll be much more efficient, trust me.
7. Whenever possible organize material in some way. It's impossible to memorize everything without some organization. A great example (you'll see when you learn it) is anemias. All anemias can be put into 3 categories and that's basically how everyone learns them. Do this for all the material you learn and you'll be a star.
8. Learn the big concepts first and then focus on the stupid details. Concepts stick much better than ideas and they are (in general) much more high yield on the test and in real life (especially in real life which is more important anyway)
9. There is no way around memorization...it's just impossible to learn medicine without memorizing a bunch of information so if you are a memorization snob...stop now. You can (and should) try to minimize the amount of straight up memorization you do by organizing your material, understanding the big concepts, and comparing diseases to each other.
That's all I got for now...unless you guys want advice on some specific topic. If I think of anything else, I'll add it to one of my next responses
