Religion & atmosphere at Marian-com

[Crookster]

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Can anyone comment on the atmosphere and culture at Marian (mucom)? Or tag anyone who attends this school...I just want to know how their religious views (catholic) affect their curriculum and atmosphere on campus. I went to a Christian high school and although the education was great I was not a huge fan of integrating religion in with school. For example are there mandatory chapels you have to attend? Do teachers push their religious views during class/lecture? Etc.
***any insight would be greatly appreciated because I am wondering if I should apply here or not?

 

[deleted407021]

I'm sure no pushing of beliefs is done, but you might want to read this article I shared earlier.

 

[Crookster]

I'm sure no pushing of beliefs is done, but you might want to read this article I shared earlier.

Okay that's good to hear I also had the same Q about cusom so that answers that. It's nice that these Christian schools can be a Christian institute without going overboard with it. I'm all for people's different beliefs and religious views but at the end of the day I'm going to medical school to learn medicine.

 

[touchpause13]

When I interviewed the impression I got was that the medical school was very chill about the whole thing and it was a non issue.
I think that the undergrad is pretty dang religious though. I would ask @Mr Kenobi for a better idea

 

[I'mJustCurious]

Nope they don't push religion down your throat. I spoke to many MUCOM students when I was there and not all of them were religious. They do have crosses in most rooms and they also have catholic group as an extra curricular but they don't teach religion or promote it or even neglect you if you don't believe the same view as them.

 

[MightBeACylon439]

I'm sure no pushing of beliefs is done, but you might want to read this article I shared earlier.

Great article! There truly is a learning opportunity in every situation. Thanks for (re)sharing.

 

[Awesome Sauceome]

When I interviewed the impression I got was that the medical school was very chill about the whole thing and it was a non issue.
I think that the undergrad is pretty dang religious though. I would ask @Mr Kenobi for a better idea

Yup I got the same feel.

Something you might need to look out for though is gunners. One of our tour guides mentioned they have had problems with gunners in their class. The atmosphere sort of has that feel to it. But I am no expert, just some food for thought.

 

[touchpause13]

Yup I got the same feel.

Something you might need to look out for though is gunners. One of our tour guides mentioned they have had problems with gunners in their class. The atmosphere sort of has that feel to it. But I am no expert, just some food for thought.

Kenobi said the same thing about gunners

 

[Awesome Sauceome]

Kenobi said the same thing about gunners

Yea, our tour guide sort of off hand mentioned it in passing - to which I then grilled for more information on. Seems like they have had some issues with people deliberately deleting public study guides and/or putting false information on them so that people study the wrong stuff - really shady kinds of crap. I remember getting that feel in my gut when I interviewed and then when the tour guide dropped that bomb it completely confirmed it for me. I legit almost walked out of my interview day because I knew I wouldnt have attended there. But on paper its a great school, they have some great rotation and such set up which is cool.

 

[touchpause13]

Yea, our tour guide sort of off hand mentioned it in passing - to which I then grilled for more information on. Seems like they have had some issues with people deliberately deleting public study guides and/or putting false information on them so that people study the wrong stuff - really shady kinds of crap. I remember getting that feel in my gut when I interviewed and then when the tour guide dropped that bomb it completely confirmed it for me. I legit almost walked out of my interview day because I knew I wouldnt have attended there. But on paper its a great school, they have some great rotation and such set up which is great.

wow.
THAT is gunner ****. A lot of times people use gunner as "person who is doing better than me" no, that's some malicious bull****

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

wow.
THAT is gunner ****. A lot of times people use gunner as "person who is doing better than me" no, that's some malicious bull****

I'm really not surprised that they attract that type of audience though. MUCOM is so big on voicing that they're going to be big that gunners are going to go for it.

 

[Awesome Sauceome]

wow.
THAT is gunner ****. A lot of times people use gunner as "person who is doing better than me" no, that's some malicious bull****

Yea but who knows, it could have just been the first couple classes and stuff. I also got the feel that the school overall attracts a younger crowd. Obviously they have non-trads and such, but generally speaking the students seemed younger, so maybe the youthfulness has something to do with it? I definitely know some younger folks from undergrad that chilled out and matured a ton with age. So maybe with time they will settle in. The school seems really numbers heavy though so I would doubt it. Just instinct here, but it seems like they are willing to trade good people for people with higher stats to boost their "status" or whatever. Even the admin has some gunner tendencies - they vultured off a ton of really solid professors from other schools (DMU and PCOM come to mind) and they were like proud of that fact. Just weird vibes man... But to the original topic, I dont think religion is messing with the school at all, seems like there is an appropriate separation between the two.

 

[Awesome Sauceome]

I'm really not surprised that they attract that type of audience though. MUCOM is so big on voicing that they're going to be big that gunners are going to go for it.

exactly...

 

[Indy118]

Religion pays no role in our education. There are student religious groups: Christian Medical Association, Jewish Medical Association and Muslim Medical Association to name a few, but those are more social/ for events than anything. For example, the Christian Medical Association is hosting a lecture by Dr. Kent Brantly this week (the Ebola survivor)--which is awesome. Marian is also very accepting of religious holidays and you would never need to take a test on a holiday that you observe.

As for the gunners, it really depends on who your friends are. In my group of friends, we split up making study sheets to save time and send them to each other. There are groups of friends that make practice quizzes amongst themselves. I've personally never had a problem with gunners.

 

[UBC2014]

I'm really not surprised that they attract that type of audience though. MUCOM is so big on voicing that they're going to be big that gunners are going to go for it.

This is a bit concerning...

 

[Mr Kenobi]

Oh hey guys. I felt a disturbance in the Force as if several pre-medical Marian candidates cried out in fear. Figured I'd come check it out.

The religion issue is a non issue at MU-COM. So really don't worry about that. The gunner issue is...well...there are some gunners at the school. I do think the school somewhat promotes/is looking for that type of personality. Regardless, you will have some at every school. This is after all a medical school. On the bright side there are plenty of cool down to earth people as well. I like Serenade, but he seems to have had some ill experiences with Marian, and they obviously rubbed him the wrong way. That's ok. They rub me the wrong way sometimes as well. You'll see when you start and get acclimated to whatever school you attend that there are far greater concerns within programs than what your fellow students are like personality wise. Anyhow, hope this sets your mind at ease about the religion/gunner issue.

Most people will tell you that years 3 and 4 (rotations) are really important in med school...especially at DO schools due to the "variability". The hospital systems that Marian has us rotating through are top notch in the city of Indianapolis. If all works out with those clinical years, Marian will indeed come through on their "big deal" mentality (for that part of the academic experience at least) . We'll see how it goes starting in a few months. I've learned to take what these schools present to you BEFORE you begin with a grain of salt. The only true way to know what you are stepping into is by sampling numerous current students. There are definitely issues in the preclinical years that the first class has had to power through (are currently powering through)...seems the school changes things for each subsequent year tho. So I would be willing to bet that my experience is completely different than someone who is a current first year. The school will likely only get better as they fine tune things.

I'm a pretty straight shooter when it comes to the topic of "my school". A lot of people feel uneasy admitting their school isn't Yoda's gift to humanity. None of us are attending Harvard or the likes, so I guess I just don't get it. lol. Anyhow. Best advice I can give is to go with your gut when you visit schools. If you feel really comfortable then you will probably like the place. If you get that gut feeling like AwesomeSauce said he had up above, you will probably hate it. Do yourself a favor and listen to that little voice.

Anyhow, back to boards studying I go.

 

[Jplewis002]

Okay so these "gunners" that people are talking about...are they trying to sabotage other med students at their school? What purpose would that serve/how does that help them at all?

...and how does one watch out for them, exactly?

 

[Acceleration]

.

 

[UBC2014]

Oh hey guys. I felt a disturbance in the Force as if several pre-medical Marian candidates cried out in fear. Figured I'd come check it out.

The religion issue is a non issue at MU-COM. So really don't worry about that. The gunner issue is...well...there are some gunners at the school. I do think the school somewhat promotes/is looking for that type of personality. Regardless, you will have some at every school. This is after all a medical school. On the bright side there are plenty of cool down to earth people as well. I like Serenade, but he seems to have had some ill experiences with Marian, and they obviously rubbed him the wrong way. That's ok. They rub me the wrong way sometimes as well. You'll see when you start and get acclimated to whatever school you attend that there are far greater concerns within programs than what your fellow students are like personality wise. Anyhow, hope this sets your mind at ease about the religion/gunner issue.

Most people will tell you that years 3 and 4 (rotations) are really important in med school...especially at DO schools due to the "variability". The hospital systems that Marian has us rotating through are top notch in the city of Indianapolis. If all works out with those clinical years, Marian will indeed come through on their "big deal" mentality (for that part of the academic experience at least) . We'll see how it goes starting in a few months. I've learned to take what these schools present to you BEFORE you begin with a grain of salt. The only true way to know what you are stepping into is by sampling numerous current students. There are definitely issues in the preclinical years that the first class has had to power through (are currently powering through)...seems the school changes things for each subsequent year tho. So I would be willing to bet that my experience is completely different than someone who is a current first year. The school will likely only get better as they fine tune things.

I'm a pretty straight shooter when it comes to the topic of "my school". A lot of people feel uneasy admitting their school isn't Yoda's gift to humanity. None of us are attending Harvard or the likes, so I guess I just don't get it. lol. Anyhow. Best advice I can give is to go with your gut when you visit schools. If you feel really comfortable then you will probably like the place. If you get that gut feeling like AwesomeSauce said he had up above, you will probably hate it. Do yourself a favor and listen to that little voice.

Anyhow, back to boards studying I go.

For me I've been super pleased and impressed with what MU-COM has had to offer and their responsiveness in communication throughout my application cycle and before as well.

As long as some "bros" aren't sabotaging people "hardcore" then I think it will be alright if it comes down to it haha.

I'm not really sure how one would decipher a gunner "vibe" though? People seemed nice enough, but then again almost everyone I was interviewing with was super silent haha. Except the UMich guy, he was a funny one (Y)

 

[Mr Kenobi]

For me I've been super pleased and impressed with what MU-COM has had to offer and their responsiveness in communication throughout my application cycle and before as well.

As long as some "bros" aren't sabotaging people "hardcore" then I think it will be alright if it comes down to it haha.

Ya, they have a very good admissions department that are very skilled at their job. Realize, when you matriculate, you more or less do not deal/interact with them any further. I had similar experiences pre-matriculation, hence my comment about the best/most true gauge of a school comes in the form of polling NUMEROUS current students to get a diverse view of the school "in real life"--not pre-matriculation fantasy land haha.

This sabotage stuff that was mentioned I have no real knowledge of. I am pretty sure that did not happen in my class. It may have happened with the current first years, but if it did, I can't really speak to it since I never heard anything about it... I'm sure you will be fine regardless especially since you don't know how to decipher a gunner vibe 😉

 

[UBC2014]

Ya, they have a very good admissions department that are very skilled at their job. Realize, when you matriculate, you more or less do not deal/interact with them any further. I had similar experiences pre-matriculation, hence my comment about the best/most true gauge of a school comes in the form of polling NUMEROUS current students to get a diverse view of the school "in real life"--not pre-matriculation fantasy land haha.

This sabotage stuff that was mentioned I have no real knowledge of. I am pretty sure that did not happen in my class. It may have happened with the current first years, but if it did, I can't really speak to it since I never heard anything about it... I'm sure you will be fine regardless especially since you don't know how to decipher a gunner vibe 😉

Haha yeah, I suppose then the pre-matriculation experience is not indicative :S

As for the gunner vibe, I was more-so curious as to how others got the impression, aside from talking to as many current students? OR is that more or less it..?

 

[Awesome Sauceome]

I talked to a handful of current students, as you mentioned. I had current students (I think from their first class) physically tell me they had gunners (with the mentioned sins above). Then - and this is the gut instinct thing here - a lot of the people interviewing with me just gave me the creeps man. The people just did not seem mature, they interrupted you/others when having conversation, they never talked about anything but medical school, it was all just a vibe. But perhaps I am being way too harsh, I certainly dont know, its hard to get over your own biases you know? And maybe a large chunk of the people interviewing dont even get in? I know they are a school that screens harder post-interview rather than pre-interview. And realistically, I dont know if I would have been able to pick up the weird vibes had I not had an AMAZING (or what I would perceive as amazing) interview day at a different school like 3 days before my interview at MUCOM.

MUCOM was one of my top picks for sure pre-interview. On paper they are seriously excellent and have some serious promise for the future. But I just had to follow my gut after visiting - and my gut said that I personally would not fit in. But the thing is, if your gut says you were happy there, then dont let anyone else tell you otherwise, you know? If YOU fit in fine, then it doesnt matter whether or not other people didnt like the atmosphere. Thats the whole core of this "find your fit" business. Some people are naturally very happy at a school, while others would literally pick not becoming a doctor rather than going there, it just is what it is. That is the kind of stuff that is hard to put on paper and explain to people. Its like, yea the school has thing A, B, C that are awesome and draw me to the school, but for whatever reason I just feel like its the right fit. It doesnt make sense, its hard to explain, but I think you need to follow your bodily cues. If you felt good there, then you will do just fine there, trust your gut. I mean heck, this is even part of the business with religion at schools. Some people truly thrive with the religious aspects that are found at schools like LUCOM and Loma Linda, etc. Hey more power to em, you know? If they trust that they would do well there, then good for them, thats great that they found the school where they fit. Others would hate those types of environments - ie they wouldnt "fit." Thats perfectly fine too, thats part of the reason why there are like 180 different schools, different strokes for different folks.

 

[UBC2014]

Thanks awesome for your insight, I definitely got a similar feeling about my fellow interviewees - being really non conversational and kind of young. Hmm.

Ah well, I'm sure it'll be alright if it comes down to it!