Warm weather medical schools?

[Anastasis]

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When applying to Texas schools, just remember: don't plan to be outside from noon to about 3 during June and July or at all during August.

I'm serious, our summers blow. I grew up here and still get heat exhaustion at least once a summer (I hike a ton).

 

[McMD]

Yeah I interviewed back in early February. Dr. Hinckley said we were supposed to hear back on March 15th, but it sounds like they might be running a little behind. I felt that I brought my A-game, now it's time to cross my fingers and wait ... yarg.

Remember...you have a 75% chance of getting in. Even if you get waitlisted, your chances are pretty good of getting bumped up. Boca campus or Miami?

 

[DCDAWG]

Here's a question for all of you coming from a 2nd year medical student: What is more depressing than gray skies and cold weather?

Being stuck in the library when it is beautiful outside!

Seriously, if you want to be depressed, go to a place like San Diego and become a medical student! 🙂 It's like being hungry and starving and knowing normal people right next door are eating steaks and cheeseburgers, LOL. What's even worse is you probably can watch people enjoying themselves from the library window at some schools. That would almost be grounds for suicide.

By FAR the most depressed I've been in medical school is being stuck inside studying when it is nice outside in the Spring, Summer and Fall months here in Chicago. Not once have I been depressed this past Winter... partly because it never showed up this year, and partly because being in the library when it is cold is great... very cozy and you don't feel like you are constantly missing out on "life."

And yes, I do realize you can study outside and have tried this, but you get way, way, WAY less done which just kills you later on.

And what is more depressing than sitting inside studying when it is warm and nice out?

Sitting inside an office building in a windowless office staring at a computer screen all day when it is nice outside.

Studying is still better than most non- medical people who are stuck inside an office! Just soemthing to keep in mind.

 

[inflamesdjk02]

Remember...you have a 75% chance of getting in. Even if you get waitlisted, your chances are pretty good of getting bumped up. Boca campus or Miami?

I honestly would be perfectly happy with either situation, but I'm leaning towards Miami campus at the moment.

 

[inflamesdjk02]

I've moved so many times over the past few years, it's uncanny. I just want to be in a place for more than 1-2 years at a time.

July 2002: Canton, OH --> Massillon, OH
August 2002: Massillon, OH --> Toledo, OH
May 2004: Toledo, OH --> Cleveland, OH
August 2004: Cleveland, OH --> Toledo, OH
May 2005: Toledo, OH --> Washington, D.C.
August 2005: Washington, D.C. --> Toledo, OH
May 2006: Toledo, OH --> Massillon, OH
August 2006: Massillon, OH --> ???

 

[Rafa]

With the exception of DC, all of those moves are within the same state. Suck it up!

 

[inflamesdjk02]

Haha, true. But I still have to lug all my stuff around! I have had a desktop PC the whole time, and needless to say, it's accumulated some pretty impressive dents/scratches 😎

 

[riceman04]

Baylor. Not as heavily in-state as actual public universities, but still somewhat tilted that way. As far as warmth, though, you can't beat Houston's 60 degree winters.

They are admitting fewer and fewer out of state students.

Why? B/c they are supposedly receiving more state funding.

 

[riceman04]

When applying to Texas schools, just remember: don't plan to be outside from noon to about 3 during June and July or at all during August.

I'm serious, our summers blow. I grew up here and still get heat exhaustion at least once a summer (I hike a ton).

tru dat.

get ready to take showers more than once per day

 

[Charles Murphy]

Best weather?

Stanford Medical School or UCSF Medical School. 😉

Imagine if you will... 75 degrees every day 365 days a year, less smog than LA, good amount of rain, little to no humidity. Sunshine most months. If this isn't heaven, I don't know what is.

Also, I think Stanford Med has better weather primarily because UCSF is closer to the ocean, so thus more rain/cooler temps. Stanford all the way baby.

 

[riceman04]

Best weather?

Stanford Medical School or UCSF Medical School. 😉

Imagine if you will... 75 degrees every day 365 days a year, less smog than LA, good amount of rain, little to no humidity. Sunshine most months. If this isn't heaven, I don't know what is.

Also, I think Stanford Med has better weather primarily because UCSF is closer to the ocean, so thus more rain/cooler temps. Stanford all the way baby.

at stanford you get no sea breeze....very miserable during the spring, summer, and fall months.

UCSF...it gets cold in San Francisco in the evening...and there is not nearly as much to do in SF.

LA is better 😀

 

[Rafa]

Best weather?

Stanford Medical School or UCSF Medical School. 😉

Imagine if you will... 75 degrees every day 365 days a year, less smog than LA, good amount of rain, little to no humidity. Sunshine most months. If this isn't heaven, I don't know what is.

Also, I think Stanford Med has better weather primarily because UCSF is closer to the ocean, so thus more rain/cooler temps. Stanford all the way baby.

My two top choice schools, for every reason you gave.

And in response to the talk of studying indoors on warm days being worse than studying indoors on cold days - wrong! Go to a school/state/region of the country where the sun sets around 4-5 for two-three months straight, with temps *always* between 20 and 30 degrees every day of winter, and wind, wind, wind for weeks at a time, and you'll realize how much more you'd rather be stuck indoors somewhere with constantly good weather than stuck indoors somewhere with constantly bad weather.

Needless to say, this is why the location of my med school is of utmost importance, and why I'll be applying accordingly.

 

[DrRads101]

And in response to the talk of studying indoors on warm days being worse than studying indoors on cold days - wrong! Go to a school/state/region of the country where the sun sets around 4-5 for two-three months straight, with temps *always* between 20 and 30 degrees every day of winter, and wind, wind, wind for weeks at a time, and you'll realize how much more you'd rather be stuck indoors somewhere with constantly good weather than stuck indoors somewhere with constantly bad weather.

You can't say "wrong" it's just an opinion. The most depressed I've been in medical school has been in the summer and the spring here. It hasn't even been close. It really hits you how different and separated you feel from society when you are learning all the muscles in the arm and everyone else is throwing frisbees at the nearby park, or shopping on Michigan Avenue. And in December and January in Chicago I'd say the sun sets around 4:30-5, and it's windy here at times, so yes I know the difference since I am from North Carolina. To be honest if you are willing to move your whole life for 2-3 months of the year I just can't understand that, but to each his own. But to relay my experience in the past two years in medical school, weather has been last on my list of things that have impacted my mood. Tests, curriculum, stress, the people I'm surrounded with, the hours, the hospital, all the crap I have on my plate, and the city itself have all had far, far, FAR greater impacts on my mood. That's all I'm really saying, which is why I think searching for fun in the sun during medical school is kind of a dichotomy after having experienced all sorts of weather that Chicago gets (in the past year I have lived in Seattle, Anchorage, San Francisco, Miami and the Caribbean all in the same city).

 

[DrRads101]

Best weather?

Stanford Medical School or UCSF Medical School. 😉

Imagine if you will... 75 degrees every day 365 days a year, less smog than LA, good amount of rain, little to no humidity. Sunshine most months. If this isn't heaven, I don't know what is.

Also, I think Stanford Med has better weather primarily because UCSF is closer to the ocean, so thus more rain/cooler temps. Stanford all the way baby.

UCSF is not known for having great weather. It is located in the foggiest part of perhaps the foggiest city in the country.

 

[infiniti]

I can say weather matters and I really don't have illusions about medical school. I understand that you have to study and spend a lot of your time inside. As I said, it is those "free time" that matters. I have spent the last few months in Chicago. Believe me, the weather here saps energy out of people (maybe not all, but its effect is widespread). If you want to further this debate, I can come down to the lounge of the Searle's building. You also have to consider that this has been some of the best winters in Chicago.

I don't know about you guys, but I am sure the first two years (I am sure the last two years will be gruelsome) of medical school can't be as hard and time consuming as the last two years of my undergrad/grad. I finished my requirements in the first 2 years and was basically a grad student for the last 2 years. Many of the courses I took are "med school" courses. For people who partied all the time in college, they are in for a lesson. If you were me- Worked full time, took ridiculous amounts of Challenging classes, and a bunch of other stuff, you realize things can't just get worse. Friends (and or mentors) who basically took followed the same academic route that I did are currently in med school. They think first two years was more chill than our last two years. The way you see the first two years depends on what you are used to. I am not the "study all the time kind" and I have done quite well.

This is really not an argument since your study habits/mood is a personal thing. I just don't want people to get the impression that your experience is somehow universal.

 

[DrRads101]

^

Aren't you the same guy who was claiming that NMH doesn't treat people without insurance?

Listen it sounds like you have illusions because my friends and I generally agree that we study three to four times as much as in college, and we all had high GPA's, studied a lot, and went to great schools in undergrad. Three to four times as much is a life altering experience. The next two weeks I plan on studying 8 hours a day for my test. Those are hours in addition to school lecture hours and site visits to the hospital. I also have to study for the USMLE on top of this. And I've never heard of anyone but med students taking "med school courses" since there is no such thing as a "med school course." Med students have one course--there aren't different classes and things to sign up for.

If you are in the area and you want to hang out and actually see what I have to learn each month, PM me and I'll be happy to have you swing by to show you.

 

[Rebs]

UCSF is not known for having great weather. It is located in the foggiest part of perhaps the foggiest city in the country.

Very true statement...the fog can be very bad in SF. Although, in terms of best weather, hands down it has to be sunny San Diego. Already I know I won't be staying here for school, but I will eventually be coming back. Plus we have Ron Burgandy, which is a selling point itself.

 

[DrRads101]

^

Yeah, San Diego hands down has the most benign weather in the country. I do enjoy the changing seasons though which it doesn't have. And man if you have to have that weather you are going to pay for it. I think the median house price is what... $600k in SD? 😱

 

[doublepeak]

UCSF is not known for having great weather. It is located in the foggiest part of perhaps the foggiest city in the country.

I like fog...maybe the only one.

 

[infiniti]

Actually graduate students (non medical) do take a lot of courses together with med students. I don't know about northwestern but this happens at many med schools. Some schools don't even seperate dental students from medical students during the first two years.

By the way, you technically have insurance if you have medi-cal. Northwestern is not known for its uninsured patient population. I work with several physicians here and while I might have been a little dramatic by saying they don't treat all uninsured patients, the truth is not very far from that.

Did it ever occur to you that you may be studying more than several members of your class. I happen to know people who study only about half as much as you do. They are doing perfectly well.

You make studying for eight hours sound like a big deal. This is exactly my point. I was averaging about that much in college. This is in addition to working full time and other jazz like that. Also if you average 8 hours a day and claim to be studying four times more than you did in college, is it safe to conclude that you studied 2 hours each day in college? If this is the case, I can understand how studying as much as you do now has been a life changing experience for you.

As I said in my previous post, the amount of change (in terms of studying time and such) you go through in med school is a function of your previous study habits. I am sure there are tons of new stuff to learn in medical school but if anything, I will have more free time than I did in college. For one thing, I won't be working. I just talked to a woman who is nurturing a baby (in her second year). She said she wouldn't have been able to do that when she was in college.

If you are not convinced you can make a poll on the allo forums. I am sure you will get people on either side of the fence.

Peace!

 

[Rebs]

^

Yeah, San Diego hands down has the most benign weather in the country. I do enjoy the changing seasons though which it doesn't have. And man if you have to have that weather you are going to pay for it. I think the median house price is what... $600k in SD? 😱

For sure, there was a tiny 2 bd/1.5 bath house down the street here in San Diego (PB area) where I live that went for like $785K. Its amazing, how ridiculous prices are around here.

 

[tifa]

I like fog...maybe the only one.

You're not the only one. I love fog too.

 

[Rafa]

You can't say "wrong" it's just an opinion.

It was only my opinion that you were wrong :^) Truly no harm meant - we both approach it from our own perspectives. From mine, I'd rather be in your situation than in mine. From yours, perhaps you'd be more willing to face what I described. In my experience, what I described in my previous post was what gave/gives me the most misery.

And in December and January in Chicago I'd say the sun sets around 4:30-5, and it's windy here at times, so yes I know the difference since I am from North Carolina.

I'm pretty sure it's colder in eastern Mass. than in northern Illinois during the winter. It's also a lot windier when you're right next to the Charles. But I'm not planning on moving to Chicago anyway, since it's still (ugh) North.

To be honest if you are willing to move your whole life for 2-3 months of the year I just can't understand that, but to each his own. But to relay my experience in the past two years in medical school, weather has been last on my list of things that have impacted my mood.

I don't know if it's fair to say I'm just planning on "moving my whole life for 2-3 months of the year", because the weather where I'm stationed is different from the weather where I'd like to be for all 12 months. You can't really compare what it's like to live in Mass. for 9 months of the year to what it's like to live in SoCal for a parallel amount of time.

And for that matter, *everyone* who moves to a different school for med from undergrad relocates his or her life. For different reasons (finaid levels, acceptance, family, etc etc), but unless you attend the same school for both levels of your education, you're going to make another life shift. Doing it for the weather is no worse than doing it for the money, or curicculum.

Tests, curriculum, stress, the people I'm surrounded with, the hours, the hospital, all the crap I have on my plate, and the city itself have all had far, far, FAR greater impacts on my mood.

Work has definitely affected me here, but I can handle the work. And I can handle the weather. But of all the things that bug me about undergrad, the only thing that made everything else that much worse was the wretched winter weather. In the same way your situation affects you, mine affects me - which is why, for my mental, physical, and emotional health, the location of my med school will likely be one of the two most important factors in deciding where I apply.

Anyway, as you noted, different strokes for different folks. And I do hope things get better on your end.

 

[sanford_w/o_son]

the avg january low is 14.6 in chicago and 18.9 in boston

 

[jebus]

I don't know if it's fair to say I'm just planning on "moving my whole life for 2-3 months of the year", because the weather where I'm stationed is different from the weather where I'd like to be for all 12 months. You can't really compare what it's like to live in Mass. for 9 months of the year to what it's like to live in SoCal for a parallel amount of time.

My brother and his wife recently moved from La Jolla to Boston. She grew up in Orange County and had never seen snow until she visited Albuquerque with my brother - at age 28.
They both say they like the weather in Boston. When I visit them in Boston it's cold but it isn't bad. Personally, I liked it better than Seattle - after a couple of years there I went out of my mind. Compared to Seattle, there's way more sun in Boston during the winter, the winters are shorter, and it's not nearly as wet and yucky feeling. And there's a neat little crepe place about a half mile from Fenway.
So, maybe Boston's weather won't be too bad if you come from SoCal, and you may even find that you like it. Keep your options open, Rafa. I can't blame you for wanting to stay in SoCal, though. Fish tacos, mmm.

 

[Rafa]

My brother and his wife recently moved from La Jolla to Boston. She grew up in Orange County and had never seen snow until she visited Albuquerque with my brother - at age 28.
They both say they like the weather in Boston. When I visit them in Boston it's cold but it isn't bad. Personally, I liked it better than Seattle - after a couple of years there I went out of my mind. Compared to Seattle, there's way more sun in Boston during the winter, the winters are shorter, and it's not nearly as wet and yucky feeling. And there's a neat little crepe place about a half mile from Fenway.
So, maybe Boston's weather won't be too bad if you come from SoCal, and you may even find that you like it. Keep your options open, Rafa. I can't blame you for wanting to stay in SoCal, though. Fish tacos, mmm.

LOL - I'm actually in Boston now (been here for the past few years). I wouldn't mind trying out Seattle though. Never lived in SoCal (though I stayed in Palo Alto for a few days), but when picking between going to college there or in Boston (I'm not from either), I went with Boston, and there's a part of me that would do things 100% differently if given the chance. If I knew then what I know now, I *definitely* would have gone to the opposite coast. But you're right about keeping options open. One never knows... 🙂