Social life in med school?

[unsung]

Just wondering how classes usually get along. Is it very cliquey? I assume people have outgrown many juvenile high school tendencies, so mostly people get along better... From tours, etc. I got the impression that mostly everyone knows everyone else (ECs, hobbies, special talents, etc.) within a class, but between classes it seems like people don't really know each other.

I also heard that many people become especially good friends with their dissection/body partners.

Any thoughts?

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[kingofthehill]

Just wondering how classes usually get along. Is it very cliquey?

I'm curious about this, specifically. Med students out there, any thoughts? I'm a senior in undergrad and at my school it's definitely cliquey, though that comes w/ the territory of a large school. Is med school different, i.e. everyone gets along without regard to age/temperament?

And what about competition--even at those schools that don't grade on a curve. The schools I visited all claimed to have a relaxed social atmosphere, but come on aren't there people out there who are so gung-ho they can't hang out with their med student friends?

 

[qmcat]

Just wondering how classes usually get along. Is it very cliquey? I assume people have outgrown many juvenile high school tendencies, so mostly people get along better... From tours, etc. I got the impression that mostly everyone knows everyone else (ECs, hobbies, special talents, etc.) within a class, but between classes it seems like people don't really know each other.

I also heard that many people become especially good friends with their dissection/body partners.

Any thoughts?

I've actually heard that it's cliquey and very much like high school (at least most ppl I know in med school say so).

But, we're all going to find out soon enough anyway. I think it's going to be better to wait and see for myself rather than try to figure out how it's going to be before I get there.

 

[LizzyM]

Just wondering how classes usually get along. Is it very cliquey? I assume people have outgrown many juvenile high school tendencies, so mostly people get along better... From tours, etc. I got the impression that mostly everyone knows everyone else (ECs, hobbies, special talents, etc.) within a class, but between classes it seems like people don't really know each other.

I also heard that many people become especially good friends with their dissection/body partners.

Any thoughts?

Keep in mind that the class is small, in some cases, there may be fewer students in your med school than in your HS. It isn't hard to get to know the 40-200 students in your class when you see one another every day, particularly if you have small group activities.

You will spend a lot of time with other people in your class (especially your dissection group) but there is minimal interaction between classes (upper classmen/lower classmen) because the curriculum is so class specific. This is very true if classes are on different calendars (e.g. M1 and M2 exams aren't on the same days).

Depending on the size of the class, you are likely to find a dozen like-minded people with who you'll enjoy hanging out, dinners, parties.

 

[Law2Doc]

Just wondering how classes usually get along. Is it very cliquey? I assume people have outgrown many juvenile high school tendencies, so mostly people get along better... From tours, etc. I got the impression that mostly everyone knows everyone else (ECs, hobbies, special talents, etc.) within a class, but between classes it seems like people don't really know each other.

I also heard that many people become especially good friends with their dissection/body partners.

Any thoughts?

The class is small and you will know pretty much everybody. It is very cliquey and not unlike high school, except that some of the people who were nerdy in high school get a turn to be the cool kids, thanks to tough admissions standards, and generally everybody gets invited to the various post-exam parties, whether they are in the "in" crowd or not. Your dissection group will typically become good friends because of shared experiences unlike most others in your life. During the clinical years you won't see a lot of classmates regularly, but will frequently be randomly paired up with one or two others in your class, so you will have this opportunity to meet others in your class that you didn't previously hang with.

 

[funkymunkytoes]

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