Social Life in Med School

[bluedevil61212]

Hey all, what's the social life like in med school? Do all the students know each other real well since each class is so small? What's it like having a wide range of ages? Does everyone hang out together to still in small groups? Is there much drinking still?

Also, is competition noticeable between students?

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[addo]

Id think that everyone knows everyone in their class, but i doubt everyone is best buddies with everyone. Probably like high school, where you have youre own little groups of friends that you hang out with.

 

[RedLight2]

My social life as a med student has been great (first year). There are a lot of people in my class who are married, older, or not very social, but I would guess there are about 30-40% of us who constantly show up to things. I can't really go out in the week anymore like I did in undergrad, but weekends are usually pretty legit. The weekend before a test I usually study, but that's the only one I don't do anything social.

My school isn't competitive bt students so it's really easy for us to get along. I've made some amazing friends this year. I still don't know who some people are in my class, but that's because they don't show up for social events and are not in my labs.

Overall I am having a great time so far.

 

[bacalaca]

as second year winds down and you head towards step 1, you start seeing less and less of people... which is ok cause u were with them like 24/7 for the past 2 years. in 3rd year things get really tough to keep in touch because everyone is on a different rotation, at a different hospital, and on a different team so its highly likely that when you have free time, your friends will be busy....You can still have a life, depending on the rotation, its just that there will be less group events cause everyone is on different schedule.

the social life in med school is definitely what you make of it... Though i really cant be doing the things i did in undergrad. I literally went to every ucla football and basketball game even the Final 4...

 

[justdoit31]

my class has around 140 people- we pretty much all know everyone but I am not bff with each of them by any means. we do have smaller groups and then I would say a lot of people hang out with several groups at different times. For example, I'm in a Bible study with CMDA but even in that group we have people who are closer to eachother than others. I would say I have 10 or so really close friends in my class.

We study hard but we also play hard- we have class parties, individually thrown parties, go to clubs, did a class ski trip (not required but anyone was invited), have intramural teams in numerous sports, etc. Honestly I think one of the best birthdays I have ever had was here with my friends from medical school because when you are so far from your family your classmates become your family. The one negative about my school is we break up to 3 locations for 3rd/4th year so some of the people you are closest too won't be with you all 4 years.

 

[mdeast]

Med school (at least the first two years) is tough, but not altogether that much different than undergrad. You're just expected to know more and your knowledge is valuable not just for getting a good grade, but actually valuable for you career and knowledge as a practitioner. Well....for some classes at least.

We're constantly having mixers, fro-yo outtings, happy hours, house parties, museum trips, random weekends in Vegas, Tahoe, etc. I actually study very little on weekends and usually reserve them for downtime and relaxation, and usually trips to hang out with non-med students. We're lucky at my school in that we don't have periodic graded exams (outside of problem sets and open book quizzes)...meaning it's possible to wait til the end of the quarter and just cram from everything.

Med school definitely has a high school feel to it...wit various clicks that form on various lines (ethnicities, background, undergrad institution, even the surgeon vs. medicine groups of people....for real). To be honest, it annoys me sometimes...but no one said you can't still maintain outside of med school relationship even though you're a med student. I've sort of made this a priority for my med career and I've been happy with it so far.

 

[cowme]

Year 1: grades are not very important, classes are not too bad. You will study, but Your social life will be on par with college if you want it to be, without affecting your grades.

Year 2: you can still go out, but probably less so. If you still party like a first year, your grades will likely be affected. Classes are harder, some of your friends will stay in to study.

Year 3: busiest/hardest/most important year. you will definitely lose touch with all but your closest friends. You may not see some people the entire year.

Year 4: senior year in college all over again.

 

[mvenus929]

It's going to depend a lot on where you go. My class is experiencing a new curriculum, so we see a big difference between the social lives of the first and second year class. The second year isn't nearly as close, because after the first week or so of each course they take, the vast majority of the class no longer attends lectures. The people I know best in the second year class are those I've lived with, and those that are always out partying. If they aren't the type to go out and party, then they're pretty unknown in their class.

Our class, on the other hand, has a number of required lectures, and varied small groups, so we get to know each other fairly well. We do a ton together, from partying to hiking to potlucks and movie/tv show nights.

And our school is completely P/F for the first two years and fourth year, so there is no competition among the students. It is not uncommon for someone to send out a study guide or three to the listserve for our class, and we get hand-me-downs from the upperclassmen all the time.

 

[Lil Mick]

This is just my school, so I doubt that it's representative of medical school in general but here's my schedule for M1 most weeks:

School/studying--2-3 hours a day (20 per week probably), more the day before exams (classes aren't mandatory, so I just read what I don't already know)

Research--10-20 hours a week

Teaching/Mentoring/Academic Lectures--5-10 hours a week

Working Out--10-15 hours a week (sometimes overlaps with social stuff)

Social Stuff--10-15 hours a week

Sleep--60 hours a week

 

[psipsina]

You can have a good social life through most of medschool. Obviously some periods of time are you = hermit in study cave (like before your step 1, before major tests in 2nd year and shelfs in 3rd year). Some rotations on 3rd year are pretty rough on your social life as the hours are intense and your body hasn't adjusted to them yet so even when you get days off it can be hard to go play hard. Away rotations put a damper on socialization to some extent (you can socialize at the new program but don't want to get labeled as someone who parties to the point of possible irresponsibility) but the last half of 4th year is ahmazing.

 

[shawshank613]

Any new input?

 

[scorm]

Any new input?

Are you dense? Your social life is basically what you make it to be in 1st/2nd year. Obviously 3rd year gets harder and 4th year gets better again. If you don't have friends right now, don't expect that to change when you start med school since your personality and willingness to meet new poeple is likely not going to change any time soon

 

[solitarius]

For the current medical students, do you feel like you'll keep in touch with your friends past medical school? Do you guys hang out when you have more time in 4th year?

 

[mvenus929]

For the current medical students, do you feel like you'll keep in touch with your friends past medical school? Do you guys hang out when you have more time in 4th year?

Yeah, I think I'll keep in touch with my friends. Several now residents who graduated from our school from last year to a few years ago frequently have mini-reunions. And yeah, I see my friends now in fourth year more than I did during third year, however, with interview season coming up, I imagine there will span a couple months where I don't see most people in my class. My roommate is actually leaving for her interview trail in a couple weeks, and just when she's winding down, I'm headed off.

 

[eguchijw]

The weekend before a test I usually study, but that's the only one I don't do anything social.