Social Life at Different Schools

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sara3426

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(I should be sleeping right now.)

So every school's student body has its own social reputation. I'm wondering if we should share some ideas on what those reputations are.

I'm especially interested in UChicago. I know they're supposed to be really academic (nerdy.. which i kind of like), but are they the kind of school where students like to spend a lot of time with each other, party together or in small groups, etc? Or does everyone run home after class to study? (which I recently heard from an MS1 that the students at aschool w/ a reputation for being really jockish do)
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Well, my sources tell me med school is like a 4-year long mixer.








Why are you asking pre-meds? We don't know. We're not there yet. This kind of thing is probably something you'll get to find out at interviews. All I can say is that I hope the ADCOMs know what they're doing and put together a good mix of people. I certainly don't want to end up at a school where everybody is a nerdy shut-in. Some is eh...fine. All is :eek:.

I say there should be a cap on nerdy shut-ins. Enough so that after the divvying up every group in anatomy gets no more than one. :thumbup:
 
sara3426 said:
(I should be sleeping right now.)

So every school's student body has its own social reputation. I'm wondering if we should share some ideas on what those reputations are.

I'm especially interested in UChicago. I know they're supposed to be really academic (nerdy.. which i kind of like), but are they the kind of school where students like to spend a lot of time with each other, party together or in small groups, etc? Or does everyone run home after class to study? (which I recently heard from an MS1 that the students at aschool w/ a reputation for being really jockish do)
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First, a lot of med schools are going to have the rep for being pretty nerdy and academic, and honestly none are going to be particularly jockish. Face it, these are folks who did what they needed to get decent grades in college (or postbac etc), which usually means they spent far more time in the library than on the gridiron. Second, while everyone needs to let off steam sometimes, you won't find as much regular partying in med school because the work load is really a bit prohibitive. It's just very different than college -- and the folks who partied the most in college tend to be the ones who need to study the hardest in med school to get by, so med school tends to have a very chilling effect on social life. Sure, most people will go out and do stuff every now and then, will party together the night after exams or perhaps a couple of nights on an exam free week, catch an occaisional TV show or movie, or maybe do something athletic together now and then. And folks tend to be very cliquey (think high school), in med school, so you may have your small crowd you hang with. There will be plenty of pseudo socializing at lunch, or in study groups, or especially over your cadaver. But if you plan to do well in med school, you are otherwise going to spend the vast majority of your time with your nose in a book.
 
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Law2Doc said:
First, a lot of med schools are going to have the rep for being pretty nerdy and academic, and honestly none are going to be particularly jockish. Face it, these are folks who did what they needed to get decent grades in college (or postbac etc), which usually means they spent far more time in the library than on the gridiron. Second, while everyone needs to let off steam sometimes, you won't find as much regular partying in med school because the work load is really a bit prohibitive. It's just very different than college -- and the folks who partied the most in college tend to be the ones who need to study the hardest in med school to get by, so med school tends to have a very chilling effect on social life. Sure, most people will go out and do stuff every now and then, will party together the night after exams or perhaps a couple of nights on an exam free week, catch an occaisional TV show or movie, or maybe do something athletic together now and then. And folks tend to be very cliquey (think high school), in med school, so you may have your small crowd you hang with. There will be plenty of pseudo socializing at lunch, or in study groups, or especially over your cadaver. But if you plan to do well in med school, you are otherwise going to spend the vast majority of your time with your nose in a book.
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Hmm... cliquey? really? I guess that makes sense... small class sizes. Sigh.
 
Law2Doc said:
First, a lot of med schools are going to have the rep for being pretty nerdy and academic, and honestly none are going to be particularly jockish. Face it, these are folks who did what they needed to get decent grades in college (or postbac etc), which usually means they spent far more time in the library than on the gridiron. Second, while everyone needs to let off steam sometimes, you won't find as much regular partying in med school because the work load is really a bit prohibitive. It's just very different than college -- and the folks who partied the most in college tend to be the ones who need to study the hardest in med school to get by, so med school tends to have a very chilling effect on social life. Sure, most people will go out and do stuff every now and then, will party together the night after exams or perhaps a couple of nights on an exam free week, catch an occaisional TV show or movie, or maybe do something athletic together now and then. And folks tend to be very cliquey (think high school), in med school, so you may have your small crowd you hang with. There will be plenty of pseudo socializing at lunch, or in study groups, or especially over your cadaver. But if you plan to do well in med school, you are otherwise going to spend the vast majority of your time with your nose in a book.
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Wow, I've always been told the opposite by med school students. While they all say they work extra, extra hard, they all party real hard, too. When some of them told me that they go out several nights during the week, besides Friday and Saturday, I was like huh? LOL Also I keep hearing from med school students about how much "fun" med school is.
 
The doc that I shadow told me that he had more fun in med school than he did in undergrad. He said that since everyone is on the same schedule, it makes it easy to get together to party when your load is light.

More fun than undergrad? ... I dunno if its possible, but i sure hope so.
 
nervousivy said:
Wow, I've always been told the opposite by med school students. While they all say they work extra, extra hard, they all party real hard, too. When some of them told me that they go out several nights during the week, besides Friday and Saturday, I was like huh? LOL Also I keep hearing from med school students about how much "fun" med school is.
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Depends how you partied in college, but for most, med school seriously will cramp your style. Your workload easilly doubles or triples, and half of the class of folks who previously got A's will suddenly find themselves below average, and needing to put in more time. If you are taking off more than one or two nights a week, you are often digging yourself a hole. And unlike college, you don't regularly get the weekends "off". You certainly cannot party to the point that getting up early to study the next morning is impacted. So this is a major change from college for most. You will meet many in med school who only go out one or two nights every couple of weeks, as compared to college where many go out 4 nights a week every week. So when a med student says they are "partying hard", they probably are meaning by comparison to other med students, not compared to college. As for saying how much "fun" med school is, they are likely not meaning fun as you would define it in college. It is interesting, and cool. But it aint a party.

Also, to some extent there seems to be some notion among med students that it is "cool" to claim how little work they need to do. You will find many folks saying how they partied all the time, and aced classes without really preparing. They want to seem smart without the effort. Many of these are closet studiers, who actually log as many, if not more, hours than most -- they just downplay it. Don't fall for it.
 
haha ... maybe... he seems nice enough to have had at least a few friends though.
 
I would imagine that it is not nearly as fun as undergrad considering that most people in med school struggle to get a full night's sleep.

However, I can understand how it can be fun because it's much more like a family since there are only about 100 people per year. Also, it's very likely that these 100 are very interesting people to get to med school in the first place.
-Dr. P.
 
Law2Doc said:
Also, to some extent there seems to be some notion among med students that it is "cool" to claim how little work they need to do. You will find many folks saying how they partied all the time, and aced classes without really preparing. They want to seem smart without the effort. Many of these are closet studiers, who actually log as many, if not more, hours than most -- they just downplay it. Don't fall for it.
Click to expand...

sooo true.
 
sara3426 said:
(I should be sleeping right now.)

So every school's student body has its own social reputation. I'm wondering if we should share some ideas on what those reputations are.

I'm especially interested in UChicago. I know they're supposed to be really academic (nerdy.. which i kind of like), but are they the kind of school where students like to spend a lot of time with each other, party together or in small groups, etc? Or does everyone run home after class to study? (which I recently heard from an MS1 that the students at aschool w/ a reputation for being really jockish do)
Click to expand...

Since I actually AM a first year at Pritzker, just thought I'd throw my 2 cents in seeing as a lot of undergrads are telling you what they think and I unfortunately got caught up in that whole SDN people thinking they are med school jedi when they aren't even in yet thing....so med school is definitely a lot of work but it is whatever you make it to be. Some people in our class don't even go to class OR lab (lab attendance is NOT required here at Pritzker, just suggested....seriously, you don't even have to go) and some of us go to everything. Some people go to downtown every other night or every weekend and some people prefer to stay in. However, I will tell you that at Pritzker, you are going to meet some of the most interesting people in your class. I am amazed at the things some of my classmates have done and who they are as people so that in itself is a great part of med school for me. And yes, here at Pritzker, everyone really seems to enjoy everyone else's company and a lot of the time, people go out together and a lot of us have made fast friends. There is something for everyone here so it makes it easy to kinda switch gears when med school gets overwhelming. Like the other day, we finished our first round of testing and all of us basically vowed to not study at ALL last night and go out together to a few places. Everyone seriously went out, not kidding you! At Pritzker, competition, "gunner" mentalities, and the whole perfectionist vibe are completelty absent. Everyone is very open and very true to themselves so you really get to know 100 people in depth and we truly do learn together. So yeah, med school can be whatever you want it to be....fun, hell, hard, energizing....it's up to you and how you deal! I can tell you if you come to Pritzker though, you WILL get to know Chicago area bars pretty well or at least bowling alleys (we seem to bowl a lot, lol). Good luck, take care, and really - if you are reading posts from undergrads (sometimes sarcastic, bitter ones at that!) on here like I did last year - take things with a grain of salt and just stay true to yourself and why you want to be a doctor. You'll do just fine :)
 
and one more thing....I wouldn't call us "nerdy" or any more nerdy than any other med students at other schools...when you have to learn so much so quickly, you are bound to make nerdy, fatigue-induced jokes about muscle groups or physiology pathways....its just comes with the territory! We actually have one of the most well-rounded classes I've ever been around...athletes, authors, researchers, dancers, teachers, husbands/wives/parents and lots more....don't base a med school on what other people say! Talk to the students and make your own opinion - I wish I would have done that at more schools when I applied! I am so glad I did at Pritzker :)
 
every med school is gonna be "cliquish", even the bigger schools have class sizes that are around 200, which is still smaller than most high schools. Its like going to a super tiny college except everyone is the same major and you all take the same classes together. The only thing i think that will make a difference in this is housing. I see this as being a bigger issue with schools that provide on campus housing (now you really are around the same people 24/7!).
 
I would imagine it would have something to do with how the med school's classes are set up.

For example, all of Yale med's exams are anonymous, plus there are no grades for the first 2 years, so I wouldn't be totally surprised if people actually enjoyed med school somewhat more than undergrad if they had basically spent all of undergrad obsessing over grades.

If you had a ton of pressure on you during undergrad and you're feeling like there isn't as much sheer grade pressure you might just like med school more.

For the rest of us who didn't gunner like crazy through undergrad...well we'll probaby hate it lol
 
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