Malicious premed/med students

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
There are always going to be people who are just plain not nice, whether they are pre-meds, meds, or any other group of people. But the simple fact of the matter is that the stress of med school in particular can and does really alter one's personality. There have been a few times already (and I'm only a few months in) that I've noticed myself snapping at family or friends that aren't going through this because they expect more time from me than I have have. I'm sure you've all heard this before, and I don't really expect anyone to internalize before going through this process, but med school can really strain your relationships. When you do make it, always try to allocate specific blocks of time in your day to give a bit of time to those you care about. If you don't plan the time that way, you surely won't have it and that can make med school feel very isolated.

Wise advice, I think.

Members don't see this ad.
 
Maybe working on your grammar/spelling would be more productive? It's not like you couldn't be marked down for it by a TA or professor.

urgh this is exactly what im talking about. who the hell cares about grammar? It's freakin PEER grading! The class isn't even curved. THESE SUCKAS ARE JUST HATIN'.
 
I was recognized with a science award last year. This guy I knew from one of my classes also won the award. While the two of us were standing on-stage as the emcee read our bios and prepared to introduce us, he turned to me and said, "I never expected to see you here."
 
Members don't see this ad :)
Had a pre-med gunner in my Orgo class who claimed that he took the MCAT before he started college and got a 33. I asked how he did that and he said "well, it's a multiple choice test. If you don't know the answer, guess."
 
Had a girl in my physics II class that would argue with the TA over every problem she got wrong, whether it was a quiz or a test. The conversations ALWAYS went like this.

Girl: Shouldn't I get partial credit for this problem?

TA: I would have given you partial credit if your partial solution had shown that you understand the basics.

Girl: But I did part of the problem.

TA: But that part was incorrect.

Girl: But shouldnt I get partial credit for trying?

TA: You would have if the part you tried showed you understood what you were doing?

Girl: But I tried. That should count for something.

TA: ...*silence*

Girl: I just think that I should get extra points for giving it a shot

TA: But it was WRONG. It wasn't even close to being right.

Girl: Can't you just give me some points for trying?

TA: No. Sorry.

Girl: Ugh...c'mon...this is ridiculous...

Fellow classmate: Look, if it's wrong, you shouldn't get any credit. Shutup already.

Me (silently): Yay for fellow classmate.
 
The TA for one of my freshman biology labs unexpectedly quit. After lecture one day, the professor talked with two pre-med upperclassmen (who had previously taken the course) and told them that he needed to fill an empty TA space. They both expressed interest in the position, so he asked them how he should decide between the two.

One premed simply blurted out "Well, I'll do it" before the other could respond. (He received the position.)

Perhaps this situation demonstrates poor judgement on the prof's part as much as anything. (It would have been better to ask one and approach the other if the first declined.) Anyway, it was one of my first exposures to the competitive nature of premeds.
 
I'm utterly amazed by some of the stories in this thread. It's sort of pointless to spend energy to sabotage a classmate. Even if you do succeed in lowering his/her grade, you've wasted a lot of time, and still have to contend with the other 30K med school applicants whose grades you didn't lower. Not to mention that it's wrong.

I do, however, have a story to contribute from my Ochem lab.

So, apparently, the professor DID instruct the lab TA's to be mean, e.g. have strict time limits, dock points for breaking stuff, being late, etc.

Our TA, however, was very nice and didn't do this. She never docked off points, let us stay overtime, etc.

Well, the professor found out about this. His solution? Yell at the TA and berate her in front of us during class. It was pretty pathetic... this big 6'3 professor yelling at a 5'0 female grad student with all of us watching, "This violates course policy! Why are these students still here? You have FAILED your duties as a teaching assistant!.... etc"

Come to think of it, the prof looked a lot like Snape.
 
A doctor I was shadowing told me how when he was pre-med that other students had a habit of taking out library materials that professors had put on reserve (such as practice tests, problems, explanations, etc) and either misplaced them or out right destroyed them just so that other students couldn't use them to study.
 
Had a girl in my physics II class that would argue with the TA over every problem she got wrong, whether it was a quiz or a test. The conversations ALWAYS went like this.

Girl: Shouldn't I get partial credit for this problem?

TA: I would have given you partial credit if your partial solution had shown that you understand the basics.

Girl: But I did part of the problem.

TA: But that part was incorrect.

Girl: But shouldnt I get partial credit for trying?

TA: You would have if the part you tried showed you understood what you were doing?

Girl: But I tried. That should count for something.

TA: ...*silence*

Girl: I just think that I should get extra points for giving it a shot

TA: But it was WRONG. It wasn't even close to being right.

Girl: Can't you just give me some points for trying?

TA: No. Sorry.

Girl: Ugh...c'mon...this is ridiculous...

Fellow classmate: Look, if it's wrong, you shouldn't get any credit. Shutup already.

Me (silently): Yay for fellow classmate.

is she hot?
 
Hey the title of this thread is one of the precise reasons why i choose to go to Michigan State over University of Michigan for undergrad......because the latter tends to be a school full of competitive snobish jerks offs (sorry to anyone from UofM) i understood that such competition could have been good for me educational but would have an effect on me pyschologically in the long run. i went to the number 1 public high school in America and it was the worst place in the world.. I didnt want a similar enviroment in the exploration period of life...Sadly i am now regreting the move because the Spartans suck at Football...but hopefully we can go back to the final four in BBALL like they did my freshman year...

PEACe out my SDN friends
 
Hey the title of this thread is one of the precise reasons why i choose to go to Michigan State over University of Michigan for undergrad......because the latter tends to be a school full of competitive snobish jerks offs (sorry to anyone from UofM) i understood that such competition could have been good for me educational but would have an effect on me pyschologically in the long run. i went to the number 1 public high school in America and it was the worst place in the world.. I didnt want a similar enviroment in the exploration period of life...Sadly i am now regreting the move because the Spartans suck at Football...but hopefully we can go back to the final four in BBALL like they did my freshman year...

PEACe out my SDN friends

About your undergrad choices... I did something similar for my own undergrad, and will do it again for my medical schooling. Would much rather squeeze as much happiness out of such things as possible.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
I understand what you mean. Almost everyone I am friends with strives to be a med student / doc but they strugle with bio I. I work my AZZ off on every test to get a b or better, and they act like I get good grades magically. On another note, I am very proud of being a premed student. I am the only person in my family to ever go to graduate high school, go to college and actually succeed thus far. I try not to boast about it too much, but if I am asked I am like yep, premed ;0)...
 
I don't have any stories about other pre-meds, but does anyone else have the issue of people acting a little differently once they find out you're a pre-med, especially if you work somewhere that has nothing to do with medicine? For example, you get that 'you think you're so smart, huh?' look. Or the, 'Pre-med? What the hell are you doing here then, smarta..? That's right. Jack .hit. You're here working with us so don't rub you're pre-med delusions in my face.' ...look. Which I don't...but I still get that look anyway.

Yea I get that look, except for other people that are premeds! ;0) We get it.

No one seems to be impressed with me until they see my test grades then they are all buddy buddy and want to be study partners. :D
 
It was the first day of Human Physiology lab and the TA thought it'd be nice of all of us to introduce ourselves with our name and year. One girl gave the class her name and proceeded to tell us she was a third year but was a senior because she had been taking so many credits and said she had a 4.0 and that she wanted to go to medical school and become a neurologist...I immediately thought to myself, now I know what a gunner is.
 
I guess I'll contribute too.

I am a TA in a cal state university for a core bio class. My professor usually have essay exams. For the final, however, there isn't enough time to correct all the essays and submit the grades. He would use the multiple choice test provided by the publishing company of the textbook. Some student went to the publishing company's website, conjured up a fake name, posed as a faculty and requested a password for the test bank. The admin sent an email to my professor and notified him that someone was trying to access the test bank. Apparently, my professor was the only one using the textbook this semester. And the fact that the request email was sent at 2 in the morning looked awfully suspicious.

Anyways, I have encountered quite a lot of pre-meds as a TA. To my surprise, some of these student are just as competitive as my undergrad classmates, and I went to a sink-or-swim UC! These kind of pre-meds are everywhere and we can't ever really get away from them.
 
Yea I get that look, except for other people that are premeds! ;0) We get it.

No one seems to be impressed with me until they see my test grades then they are all buddy buddy and want to be study partners. :D


Hey i dont know about all of you...but when im asked what im studying by someone older than me i really hate saying pre-med...so i say biology or physiology most of the time...but then when I'm asked what i wanna do with that.....Its really awkard for me to tell them that i'm trying for medical school....For some reason i feel like they give me a look like "ooo your trying" and think that i won't make it and that im really not smart...

It's prob not true but then again im Brown and in our motherland there really isnt any "pre-med" its just medical school sooo most traditional folk think when i say "pre-med" I mean that im not good enough for medical school and im like trying to doo some extra stuff to get in.....

Or maybe im just overthinking everything
 
I actually have QUITE a few stories for you guys. All have happened in my freshman year of college/my summer classes that I took this past summer. Oh man. :eek:

Story Numero Uno: So, there's this one girl that I met in the summer. I was taking general chemistry one while she was taking gen chem two. I always saw her in our lecture room right before my class asking her professor questions. She'd smile at me and I thought she was really nice. We even talked a couple of times about school and basically she seemed NORMAL. :idea: Boy was I wrong. She's now in my organic chemistry class... :eek: This girl asks questions every FIVE minutes. A list of questions. I seriously think she sits there and has a list of questions to ask and times herself. By the questions she asks you'd think... wow this girl is not smart at all. First test? She made a 100. Okay that's great. (yes I'm jealous), BUT when the professor announced that there was one person with a hundred, she STOOD up and was like "MEEEE!" :laugh: Oh my gosh. And if that doesnt make it worse, she made a 100 on the second test and did the same exact thing. After we got our grades back, she came up to me and was like "OMG! THAT BONUS!" and I was like "Yeah it was pretty ridiculous." And she looked at me like :confused:... and has the audacity to say "I wish he would have made it harder! IT was sooo easy!!!!"... dead serious.

Needless to say everyone at my University can't stand her. At all. Whatsoever.

Story Numero Dos:I guess all the freaks come out in Chemistry, because I also met this other guy in my general chemistry class this summer who was insane. "I'm pre-med. Yeah. I'm gonna be a doctor. I have a 4.0. I've taken zoology and genetics already and they were SO easy." and he always wears a shirt that says "Dr. [Last name]" on the front... really lame. But anyways, once our chem scores came out everyone was checking on this kids laptop, and he opened is in front of ALL of us and he made a B... okay that's okay right? But this stupid kid doesn't realize that his GPA also shows to everybody... his GPA is a freaking 2.4. :confused: One of the guys with us was like "Didn't you say you had a 4.0?" and he was like "Oh, this isnt my account." :laugh: Oy vey.
 
Last edited:
I've had quite a few.

Once, the instructor caught one student taking my assignment out of his box and switching the coversheet with his.

I have a deep distrust of premed classmates who know I'm planning to apply to medschool and who know that I'm topping the class [or near the top]. In some classes you just can't glide under the radar. In these cases, trust no one. Jealousy is a powerful thing and it can make people do stupid things.

The worst incident occurred when my Application, for an internship, was "accidentally" misplaced by the staff[classmates in my orgo class] of the Health Oppt. Office. Psssh, I think they did it on purpose. Too bad I also submitted a copy directly to the hospital................. bitches.
 
Whatsoever.

Story Numero Dos:I guess all the freaks come out in Chemistry, because I also met this other guy in my general chemistry class this summer who was insane. "I'm pre-med. Yeah. I'm gonna be a doctor. I have a 4.0. I've taken zoology and genetics already and they were SO easy." and he always wears a shirt that says "Dr. [Last name]" on the front... really lame. But anyways, once our chem scores came out everyone was checking on this kids laptop, and he opened is in front of ALL of us and he made a B... okay that's okay right? But this stupid kid doesn't realize that his GPA also shows to everybody... his GPA is a freaking 2.4. :confused: One of the guys with us was like "Didn't you say you had a 4.0?" and he was like "Oh, this isnt my account." :laugh: Oy vey.
:lol: :lol: :lol:
 
I know a premed who advertises on facebook whenever she does well on a test. For example, she would say "[blank] is so ecstatic because she got 100% on her last physiology exam!!" :rolleyes:
 
I know a premed who advertises on facebook whenever she does well on a test. For example, she would say "[blank] is so ecstatic because she got 100% on her last physiology exam!!" :rolleyes:

Oh my gosh. I know one too. He puts all his business on his facebook. :eek: .. funny how they his status only changes once a month when he has 4 tests in between. :laugh:
 
I have another one which is fairly recent.

We have a TA in one of our lab sections who lets students turn stuff in if they walk in late cause she's a sweetheart. But last time I walk into class like 10 minutes late she wouldn't take my stuff. Apparently some dingus from our class told the prof on her and got her in trouble. I'm going to find out who did it and then I'm going to rip them a new one.
 
What a jerk!!!!

Anyway, in my Chem class we have an online forum where we can discuss homework and lab problems. I like to give people the wrong process and answers because its really funny when they lose points...

OMG I am in that class! U dub right? I cant believe that you would stoop that low. Yes i can understand if its people who were lazy and didnt want to do the work but for people who need a little guidance now an again thats horrible. I have half a mind to tell the class.....
 
Had a pre-med gunner in my Orgo class who claimed that he took the MCAT before he started college and got a 33. I asked how he did that and he said "well, it's a multiple choice test. If you don't know the answer, guess."

lol, almost assuredly lying. Also probably a virgin who brags about his prowess with women and TAs for anatomy...
 
Oh my gosh. I know one too. He puts all his business on his facebook. :eek: .. funny how they his status only changes once a month when he has 4 tests in between. :laugh:

lol, I hate people on facebook who like to flaunt themselves with the status function. A$$holes.
 
Thanks to the crazy pre-meds in my organic lab, we had to station a TA at the reagents stations so that people wouldn't deliberately change the pipet settings. Apparently someone was taking the reagents as they were intially intended and then changing the pipet settings to ensure other people wouldn't start out with the right materials or concentrations. Since we are graded on percent yield, that gave them a huge advantage. Nice!
OMG that happened in one of my labs, someone changed the pipet setting like 4 times. And im only in Gen chem 142...it was crazy my TA got soo mad, she said that if she caught the person who was doing it they were getting an automatic 0 on the lab and more if they did it again.
 
Had a girl in my physics II class that would argue with the TA over every problem she got wrong, whether it was a quiz or a test. The conversations ALWAYS went like this.

Girl: Shouldn't I get partial credit for this problem?

TA: I would have given you partial credit if your partial solution had shown that you understand the basics.

Girl: But I did part of the problem.

TA: But that part was incorrect.

Girl: But shouldnt I get partial credit for trying?

TA: You would have if the part you tried showed you understood what you were doing?

Girl: But I tried. That should count for something.

TA: ...*silence*

Girl: I just think that I should get extra points for giving it a shot

TA: But it was WRONG. It wasn't even close to being right.

Girl: Can't you just give me some points for trying?

TA: No. Sorry.

Girl: Ugh...c'mon...this is ridiculous...

Fellow classmate: Look, if it's wrong, you shouldn't get any credit. Shutup already.

Me (silently): Yay for fellow classmate.

I've had a number of professors who would give "pity" points (1/4~1points, something small) if you wrote something down, even if it was wrong.
 
The only "crazy pre-med" story is about a girl I who was in several classes of mine in college. I think she was the definition of "walking ball of stress".

First of all, this girl had heelies (the really obnoxious shoes with the wheels...you know you've seen them) and she would literally fly down the hall on them and knock people over so that she could make it to the front row of her next class. To make things worse, she had one of those laptops where you can just write on the screen and she would use it WHILE rolling down the hall and then have the nerve to tell those of us she hit to watch it because she was holding "valuable equipment". She would then commence mumbling to herself.

It pretty much made my day when one of the professors made a crack on wheeled shoes during lecture. You could almost see the wheels in her head turning

"Must destroy shoes, med school dreams evaporating..."
 
The only "crazy pre-med" story is about a girl I who was in several classes of mine in college. I think she was the definition of "walking ball of stress".

First of all, this girl had heelies (the really obnoxious shoes with the wheels...you know you've seen them) and she would literally fly down the hall on them and knock people over so that she could make it to the front row of her next class. To make things worse, she had one of those laptops where you can just write on the screen and she would use it WHILE rolling down the hall and then have the nerve to tell those of us she hit to watch it because she was holding "valuable equipment". She would then commence mumbling to herself.

It pretty much made my day when one of the professors made a crack on wheeled shoes during lecture. You could almost see the wheels in her head turning

"Must destroy shoes, med school dreams evaporating..."

was she 11 years old?
 
As a general rule, I hate premeds and I avoided them like the plague when I was an undergrad. However, I got to have my fun when I was a TA for Human Physiology.

Story #1: During our first test, about half-way through, one of the students flags me down in the lecture hall. She's squirming around like in her chair like she's going to pop, and when I get there she asks if she can run to the bathroom. I said "nope," and walked off. I came back in a few minutes and chuckled and said she could take off.

Story #2: On the final, one of the students alerted me to another student cheating. I was patrolling the area, and apparently whenever I would look away, the student would peak into his bag at his notes. The first time, I walk over and tell him "Hey you, your bag is open. It needs to be closed." That didn't work, and he kept doing it, so then I unleashed the professor on him.:laugh: He physically pulled the student out of the chair, walked him down to the center of the lecture hall, sat him so that he was facing the wall, and made him finish the test. I think he may have failed the test.
 
Story #1: During our first test, about half-way through, one of the students flags me down in the lecture hall. She's squirming around like in her chair like she's going to pop, and when I get there she asks if she can run to the bathroom. I said "nope," and walked off. I came back in a few minutes and chuckled and said she could take off.

I ****ing hate this kind of TA behavior. If I was that girl, I would've gotten up and demanded you let me go take a piss. Can't joke with that kinda stuff.

Story #2: On the final, one of the students alerted me to another student cheating. I was patrolling the area, and apparently whenever I would look away, the student would peak into his bag at his notes. The first time, I walk over and tell him "Hey you, your bag is open. It needs to be closed." That didn't work, and he kept doing it, so then I unleashed the professor on him. He physically pulled the student out of the chair, walked him down to the center of the lecture hall, sat him so that he was facing the wall, and made him finish the test. I think he may have failed the test.

That kid has some major balls cheating in the open like that. He will be a senator one day.
 
I ****ing hate this kind of TA behavior. If I was that girl, I would've gotten up and demanded you let me go take a piss. Can't joke with that kinda stuff.

lol

Yeah, definately. I was debating whether to ask to go to the bathroom during my 4hr orgo final today (I was started thinking about asking 2hrs in, but held it for another 2hrs). I barely finished and ended up running to the bathroom. If I had asked and they had told me no, I probaby would have just sat there and peed my pants out of spite:D It would have been funny, I have no shame sometimes...
 
lol

Yeah, definately. I was debating whether to ask to go to the bathroom during my 4hr orgo final today (I was started thinking about asking 2hrs in, but held it for another 2hrs). I barely finished and ended up running to the bathroom. If I had asked and they had told me no, I probaby would have just sat there and peed my pants out of spite:D It would have been funny, I have no shame sometimes...
LOL!!!
 
OMG that happened in one of my labs, someone changed the pipet setting like 4 times. And im only in Gen chem 142...it was crazy my TA got soo mad, she said that if she caught the person who was doing it they were getting an automatic 0 on the lab and more if they did it again.
Are you serious? That is rediculous. Who the hell cares is someone does as well as you. This is an independent effort. Its a laboratory course for pete's sake. If I saw someone do that, I'd smack them, punch them, and give them a swift kick when on the ground. What's wrong with people?
 
I had an interview at a school I especially liked and the day went pretty well, I actually got in there it turns out, but the four other candidates were serious douchebags. They all came from pretty big name schools and one of them actually snorted his drink through his nose when I told him about my small college. :mad:
On the tour I hung back with one of the others and tried to make conversation.
Me: "Can't wait for this application stuff to be over with, it's so stressful"
Tool: "I don't know, it hasn't been stressful for me"
He then walked away and did not talk to me for the rest of the day.
I was the only one who even wished anyone luck before the interview.
Is this what we have to look forward to ?:confused:
 
I had an interview at a school I especially liked and the day went pretty well, I actually got in there it turns out, but the four other candidates were serious douchebags. They all came from pretty big name schools and one of them actually snorted his drink through his nose when I told him about my small college. :mad:
On the tour I hung back with one of the others and tried to make conversation.
Me: "Can't wait for this application stuff to be over with, it's so stressful"
Tool: "I don't know, it hasn't been stressful for me"
He then walked away and did not talk to me for the rest of the day.
I was the only one who even wished anyone luck before the interview.
Is this what we have to look forward to ?:confused:
What school was this? It might have had a lot to do with where you were interviewing. At my interview, everyone got along great and wished each other luck. We talked about a lot of different topics to entertain each other while we waited for interviews.
 
I had an interview at a school I especially liked and the day went pretty well, I actually got in there it turns out, but the four other candidates were serious douchebags. They all came from pretty big name schools and one of them actually snorted his drink through his nose when I told him about my small college. :mad:
On the tour I hung back with one of the others and tried to make conversation.
Me: "Can't wait for this application stuff to be over with, it's so stressful"
Tool: "I don't know, it hasn't been stressful for me"
He then walked away and did not talk to me for the rest of the day.
I was the only one who even wished anyone luck before the interview.
Is this what we have to look forward to ?:confused:

Apparently, medicine attracts dinguses -- and then intensifies their flaming assholery.

Then again, there are always those who serve as a breath of professional fresh air.
 
It was actually at Wake, I have been back there since and everyone seemed really nice. I think that particular group was an anomaly because I have not experienced anything similar at other interviews. Just sharing the story, it happens.
 
It was actually at Wake, I have been back there since and everyone seemed really nice. I think that particular group was an anomaly because I have not experienced anything similar at other interviews. Just sharing the story, it happens.
Let's hope so. I hope they were all soundly rejected.
 
I ****ing hate this kind of TA behavior. If I was that girl, I would've gotten up and demanded you let me go take a piss. Can't joke with that kinda stuff.

Yes I can. I did, in fact.:D She later gave me a lifeguard t-shirt which I wore on a beach in LA where I pretended to be a drunk life-guard.
 
Come to think of it, the prof looked a lot like Snape.

OMG that's hilarious! :laugh:

The only story I have is fairly lame compared to some of these.

There are 3 guys who say they are pre-med that have been in my chem 100 and chem 101 classes. They are in gen chem 1 with a friend of mine this quarter (I have the same class only later in the day with the same teacher) I always sit in the front of the class and have no issues asking questions in the middle of lecture if I don't understand something and am usually one of the first people to spout off the answer if we are asked to do a calculation or something (Community college not a large university class.)

They are constantly making fun of the teachers and smarter students behind their backs. One day the 3 guys were talking just a little bit too loudly, and I over heard one of them saying "OMG what the ****? She thinks she's so smart, I think I'm going to **** with her. I know I can make her fail the class." Throughout the rest of the quarter he would do things like drop his coffee on my notes, try to trip me in the lab while carrying chemicals back to my hood, toss things at my head in the middle of a test, etc. (I still passed with an A)

The truly beautiful part is that I know all 3 of them barely passed 100 and 101 (passed with Cs) and I heard from my friend who is in gen chem with them that they all got 60 or below on their last test (she sits behind them) It's good to know I probably won't be seeing any of them in med school!
 
Yes I can. I did, in fact.:D She later gave me a lifeguard t-shirt which I wore on a beach in LA where I pretended to be a drunk life-guard.

Well, I guess you should be proud of yourself. You are big enough of an ass hole to get enjoyment out of other people's suffering.
 
Do you guys think a lot of med students will be these kind of people? Maybe they mellow out with age or are beaten into being half decent human beings by other med students.
 
Well, I guess you should be proud of yourself. You are big enough of an ass hole to get enjoyment out of other people's suffering.

Yeah. I also get a laugh out of your reaction.:thumbup:
 
I was at a final exam review session today for Ochem which is owning me pretty badly. So I was already not looking forward to two hours with chemistry. I sat up front since I know alot of people in that class and did not want to be distracted.

Then, seemingly the entire class, some tool (seated about 4 seats away) with a horrible-sounding European accent of some sort is raising his hand to constantly ask those types of Qs that he hopes makes himself seem smart to the TA. Or the Qs that try hard to just stump the TA even though they have no relevance at all to our exam. Not to mention I hate the fact that this gunner pre-med who literally talks more than the TA is overweight and wears a gold necklace with polos that are unbutton bearing his chest hair and sweat.
 
Top