Visiting Schools

[missmod]

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For all you guys who are applying and have applied already, did you visit many of the schools you applied to in order to reach your decision?

I feel like med schools are not as open to "touring the school/campus" as much as undergrad institutions are. There are also the hospitals and labs and off campus housing that that are hard to get a good feel for. So what kind of experience CAN you have with a school in order to really justify in an interview why you want to attend (besides "i love your curriculum" and all that stuff)

 

[oldman]

i just based my love of a school on something one of the students would say during the day.

 

[The Mysterious Stranger]

Don't most schools include a tour as part of the interview process? Usually, isn't there a specific schedule of events for students who are at the school to interview--one being a tour? Maybe I'm wrong.

 

[Gradient Echo]

I tried to use both the interview tours and the 2nd look trips to make a decision. It was very helpful especially for 2nd looks, because then you arent worried about getting accepted anymore and perhaps feel a little more comfortable asking more in-depth questions.

 

[missmod]

So pretty much no visiting before you apply? Feels like by the time you're at interviews, you're already pretty far along in the process.

 

[Trek]

If you are really interested you could spend an extra day after the interview to look around. You'll find that after a few interviews, everything starts looking the same- hospitals, labs, classrooms, small-group rooms, auditoriums....they blend together. You want to know what people THINK of where they go to school, and not just walk around looking at the buildings. For that you can talk to people and ask for eMail addresses and get in touch with students and ask them how they like the school. Most will be honest with you and that's a better way of getting to know a school. --Trek

 

[pwrpfgrl]

I'm not positive, but it seems like your question is more focused on why you chose to apply to a particular school (before you get invited to an interview). I think that most people choose the schools they apply not based on something you find at a visit, but more based on the schools general philosophy (as in the type of curriculum) and the location (proximity to home, major city, etc).

As far as applying to schools, i don't think most people can afford (or have the time) to visit schools before they apply. wait until you get to the interview or at very least, secondary, before you spend money on visiting. just my $.02
🙂

 

[Trek]

Just wanted to get my name as the "last poster" on like 10 threads in a row. Just ignore this 😉 --Trek

 

[Gradient Echo]

I would have liked to visit some schools before applying, but I reaally didnt have the money to do so and wanted to save up for the application process.

That being said, I know that some schools are very receptive to having pre-meds come over and talk to some people there.

Some med schools publish the email accounts of their students. You could try a massive email to as people as you want to copy to, and hope you get some good responses from them. That might be useful if enough people reply.

Trek's right about facilities and buildings and stuff... it all looks the same after awhile.