The med school experience?

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chemdoctor

chemdoctor

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Hey all,

I know everyone knows about the college experience. But does that exist in medical school too? I stayed at home for college, haven't really dated much in college (at all actually) and always figured I'd do it once I get into an MD or DO program. I know there is a certain period of self-growth and confidence. I'll prob live alone in med school but was just wondering what y'all think about this?
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From what I've read from previous threads and talking to doctors you can find the time to date during medical school and have a social life. Some people even start a family. Not as much of a social life as undergrad but you can go out and meet people. Its that much more important to be efficient with your time. You don't get a lot of free time so make the most of it. Don't waste time.
 
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Peter Pan. said:
From what I've read from previous threads and talking to doctors you can find the time to date during medical school and have a social life. Some people even start a family. Not as much of a social life as undergrad but you can go out and meet people. Its that much more important to be efficient with your time. You don't get a lot of free time so make the most of it. Don't waste time.
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At almost every med student panel I have been to the general consensus has been "You will have way more free time than you had in undergrad during the preclinical years. There is always more material to learn, but when your only goal is to learn that material - no job, no volunteering, a little bit of research if you want to, no essays or 4 different finals to worry about - then you may actually feel uneasy when you realize all you have to do is learn something new or go to the gym."
 
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MemeLord said:
or 4 different finals to worry about
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This still happens.... and some schools have you write essays.

OP med school isn't really the time to be out partying and "living life." Also if you haven't done those things in undergrad you probably won't be doing them in med school... just saying.
 
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AnatomyGrey12 said:
This still happens.... and some schools have you write essays.

OP med school isn't really the time to be out partying and "living life." Also if you haven't done those things in undergrad you probably won't be doing them in med school... just saying.
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Honestly, I didnt do much of it in undergrad bc I figured I'd do it in med school lol.
 
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People don't just go from living at home and never dating in undergrad to all of a sudden being the center of the social scene simply because they are in med school.... additionally med school isn't really the time for this. Not saying you can't have plenty of fun but the consistent partiers at my school tend to not do well. There is a reason they call it the "college experience," because it's kinda supposed to happen in college.
 
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AnatomyGrey12 said:
People don't just go from living at home and never dating in undergrad to all of a sudden being the center of the social scene simply because they are in med school.... additionally med school isn't really the time for this. Not saying you can't have plenty of fun but the consistent partiers at my school tend to not do well. There is a reason they call it the "college experience," because it's kinda supposed to happen in college.
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Yeah good point. I wish I had more fun in college. I’m a year away from graduating lol
 
AnatomyGrey12 said:
People don't just go from living at home and never dating in undergrad to all of a sudden being the center of the social scene simply because they are in med school.... additionally med school isn't really the time for this. Not saying you can't have plenty of fun but the consistent partiers at my school tend to not do well. There is a reason they call it the "college experience," because it's kinda supposed to happen in college.
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But wouldn’t you agree that living on your own for the first time or with a roommate would help?
 
chemdoctor said:
But wouldn’t you agree that living on your own for the first time or with a roommate would help?
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Life hack: Get married less than three months after dating. Then you never have to live alone and you have an increased chance of passing on your genetics.
 
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chemdoctor said:
But wouldn’t you agree that living on your own for the first time or with a roommate would help?
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Sure. I'm married though and have been for 5 years so take what I say with a grain of salt lol, I just know what I've seen happen with my younger classmates.
 
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You will find out soon enough when you go to med school. Most of the time it is work really hard, then you get opportunities to have fun. Lots of my classmates find time to hang out and chill, as do it. It comes in waves, some parts of med school curriculum are straight savage and you get very little free time.
 
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thatshighyieldbro said:
You will find out soon enough when you go to med school. Most of the time it is work really hard, then you get opportunities to have fun. Lots of my classmates find time to hang out and chill, as do it. It comes in waves, some parts of med school curriculum are straight savage and you get very little free time.
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*if* I go to med school haha
 
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chemdoctor said:
Honestly, I didnt do much of it in undergrad bc I figured I'd do it in med school lol.
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lol, this is literally part of my thinking and I still got around 2 more years of undergrad, but it’s kind of hard to have time to party and make friends when you have to study, do 15 hours of research per week, volunteer clinically and non clinically, and find leadership positions. But I’m not complaining since I chose this life;)
 
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AspiringDoc422 said:
lol, this is literally part of my thinking and I still got around 2 more years of undergrad, but it’s kind of hard to have time to party and make friends when you have to study, do 15 hours of research per week, volunteer clinically and non clinically, and find leadership positions. But I’m not complaining since I chose this life;)
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Again, there are those of us who manage families, full time work, volunteering, high GPAs, Research, leadership activities, MCAT studying and having social lives/hobbies.

If you can't find time in your undergraduate to have a social life then you are doing too much. Have a social life. Have fun. It will benefit your well being AND ADCOMs would rather see a socially well rounded student with 300 hours of whatever and a 3.8 than a socially incompetent student with 1000s of hours of whatever and a 3.9.
 
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AspiringDoc422 said:
lol, this is literally part of my thinking and I still got around 2 more years of undergrad, but it’s kind of hard to have time to party and make friends when you have to study, do 15 hours of research per week, volunteer clinically and non clinically, and find leadership positions. But I’m not complaining since I chose this life;)
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Absolutely. No complaints at all. I’m more than happy to do it. Not complaining one bit.

I DO know friends that can do both though. Study and at the same time, make time for friends and trips.
 
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MemeLord said:
Again, there are those of us who manage families, full time work, volunteering, high GPAs, Research, leadership activities, MCAT studying and having social lives/hobbies.

If you can't find time in your undergraduate to have a social life then you are doing too much. Have a social life. Have fun. It will benefit your well being AND ADCOMs would rather see a socially well rounded student with 300 hours of whatever and a 3.8 than a socially incompetent student with 1000s of hours of whatever and a 3.9.
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Good point, but I’m sure it would be a lot easier to be socially competent if I lived on campus, but like the OP I also commute to and from school everyday and live at home, plus I attend a university where most of the students tend to focus on their “academic endeavors”, it’s not known for being much of a party/ social school,... oh well
 
I never told you this but.... I also think it depends on what specialty you want to enter. If you want Derm, Ortho, Optho, ENT, Etc, then you have to work your a** off. Many of the other areas don't require as much work so you would have more free time. (for example Derm has like 30 residency spots so you have to do tons of research, really high board scores, great clinical rotation LORs, Etc)
 
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MemeLord said:
At almost every med student panel I have been to the general consensus has been "You will have way more free time than you had in undergrad during the preclinical years. There is always more material to learn, but when your only goal is to learn that material - no job, no volunteering, a little bit of research if you want to, no essays or 4 different finals to worry about - then you may actually feel uneasy when you realize all you have to do is learn something new or go to the gym."
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That would be great. It will be nice not to have to work anymore.
 
thatshighyieldbro said:
I never told you this but.... I also think it depends on what specialty you want to enter. If you want Derm, Ortho, Optho, ENT, Etc, then you have to work your a** off. Many of the other areas don't require as much work so you would have more free time. (for example Derm has like 30 residency spots so you have to do tons of research, really high board scores, great clinical rotation LORs, Etc)
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Meh. You can manage a social life in medical school and still build a competitive app.

Having said that if you’re forgoing a social life in college I wouldn’t count on suddenly breaking out and living the “college experience” in medical school when the work load is substantially higher. That tends not to be the way it works. Think it’s more likely you’ll just look around campus your last day and wonder wtf you did with four years.
 
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VincentAdultman said:
Meh. You can manage a social life in medical school and still build a competitive app.

Having said that if you’re forgoing a social life in college I wouldn’t count on suddenly breaking out and living the “college experience” in medical school when the work load is substantially higher. That tends not to be the way it works. Think it’s more likely you’ll just look around campus your last day and wonder wtf you did with four years.
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Maybe not in med school. I was thinking if I pursued a graduate degree, lived on campus, alone, with a roommate maybe I’d get the “college experience”? Maybe not in med school but...
 
chemdoctor said:
Honestly, I didnt do much of it in undergrad bc I figured I'd do it in med school lol.
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264579
 
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MemeLord said:
Life hack: Get married less than three months after dating. Then you never have to live alone and you have an increased chance of passing on your genetics.
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That’s exactly what I did; i’m coming up on my 9th anniversary and 2 kids deep.
 
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One thing that I think is socially beneficial in med school is that you’ll be interacting with people that have the same schedules and largely the same life aspirations as you do, as opposed to undergrad where everyone has different schedules and career hopes, plus I think that it takes a particular personality to be accepted to med school, so you might find that you have more in common with your med classmates
 
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MemeLord said:
Life hack: Get married less than three months after dating. Then you never have to live alone and you have an increased chance of passing on your genetics.
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If I get married MS1 and divorce someone before medical school ends, do they get half of my student debt in divorce proceedings? :thinking:
 
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speedwalker said:
just get tinder
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There was actually a post I read on here a few years ago where a student at one of the New York schools surveyed around 1000 MED students from the tri state area about lifestyle before and after medical school and sexual activity was the only social behavior that increased by more than 25%. He thought it was maybe people seeking stress relief in a manner that didn’t take much time.
 
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MemeLord said:
There was actually a post I read on here a few years ago where a student at one of the New York schools surveyed around 1000 MED students from the tri state area about lifestyle before and after medical school and sexual activity was the only social behavior that increased by more than 25%. He thought it was maybe people seeking stress relief in a manner that didn’t take much time.
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Or it could just mean more people are in serious relationships and marriages as they get older lol
 
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How about 15 minutes of very high yield activity?
 
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ClamShell said:
15 min?????
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Marriage can be efficient. Particularly during child’s naps, child’s Netflix shows, and in between classes. Marriage can also involve high-yield, multi event marathons. That is the benefit of marriage. You know each other so you can gogogo or you can take it slow.
 
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MemeLord said:
Life hack: Get married less than three months after dating. Then you never have to live alone and you have an increased chance of passing on your genetics.
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That’ll be a HARD pass for me. To each their own, though!
 
IL1B said:
We have lgbt married faculty at my university where some used IVF to pass on their genes.
Dont rule it out

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I'm actually highly likely infertile for other reasons, but adoption is always an option (and that way I won't have to pass on my crappy genes).
 
FWIW I go out/see friends/date more in Med school than I did in undergrad, but that is likely a function of working full time in undergrad. Either way, there is time if you’re efficient enough.

I suspect some of it has to do with which school you attend.

And.... residents et al. do make out in supply closets and on call rooms.
 
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