What is better in a medical school: a small or large class size?

[DoctorVenom]

I haven’t seen this discussed too much. I am looking for other perspectives on the pros and cons of a small vs large medical school.

Which would you prefer? A class of around 60 or a class of 200? Assuming everything else is the same such as rankings and match list.

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[DrFortiusNatando]

There are pros and cons of each. As far as the effect of class size on resources, it is more important to look at the relative ratios - a class of 60 may have fewer opportunities than a class of 200 if there are a lot fewer researchers whose doors you can knock on or fewer clinical sites from which to choose. Also, a class of 60 might be closer-knit, but if you are non-traditional, or quirky or whatever, you might find that it is more likely that you will find friends in a larger class. It might also be important to investigate how much of the class is "special" - ie MSTP, or BS/MD (like Brown's PLME program or Mt. Sinai's). It certainly affects the class if a significant percentage are accepted from high school or who are in the MD/PhD program.

 

[lalalallala]

I would prefer a class of 200 because I want more friend options. A class is going to have people straight out of college and some that are married and older and some that are more into going out and some that aren't. If you only have 60 people I feel like that doesn't give you as many friends to hang with, but that is just my opinion. Some people feel like having a small class makes the school feel really tight knit. I went to a high school with 500+ people in each class where I knew every one so I can't imagine that I wouldn't feel like 200 people is tight group.

 

[Lucca]

I think both have their pros/cons and it comes down to your personality which you prefer. Where class size begins to matter on a more practical level is when it comes down to clinical rotations. How many medical students will be on your service at the same time during clerkships? At some schools it might be 2-3, at smaller ones it could be just you without no one to directly “compete” with for attention, cases, teaching, etc.

How well supported is *each* student regardless of class size? What’s the point of being in a smaller med school class if I still have to compete with my classmates for research funding, research positions, etc. compared to schools where anyone who wants to do any kind of research just needs to reach out and grab it. How overburdened are student counseling and support services? If something happens will I need to wait a month to see someone and even if I do will they be overworked/stretched out?

How flexible is the school to meeting the student’s individual needs? Is moving around a clerkship because of an emergency, or because of life, or research and other professional endeavors a Herculean effort or will the administration bend over backwards for you? How receptive is the administration to feedback? How do they seek it out? How participative is the process of cooperating with the administration to maintain and improve the school’s environment?

I think a lot of these logistical elements can be facilitated by simply attending a smaller school...but not necessarily! And that’s not so say big schools are incapable of giving individualized attention, easy access to resources, providing uncrowded clerkships, etc.

 

[TelemarketingEnigma]

I'm in a small combined degree program (~50 people) within a larger med school class (~200). While there is plenty of overlap between our classes, we also function independently in many ways, so I feel like I get a taste of both experiences.

Socially, a lot is going to depend on your personal preferences - I'm very happy being in the smaller program, because I tend to thrive in these kind of settings, and like the camaraderie that comes along with a smaller, tight knit program. However, I have friends in the larger program who prefer the freedom of the big class - more people to make friends with, not everyone knows everyone else's business/has to see each other all the time.

For lectures, it probably depends if they are mandatory or not. I like being in small classrooms with only a few dozen people - but you can get that from a small class size with mandatory lectures, or a large class size with non-mandatory lectures (since much of the class is probably watching from home). small class size + nonmandatory lectures = even smaller classroom! I don't think I would have done well in a large class with mandatory lectures, but maybe that's some peoples jam.

For research/resources, it will depend a lot on the context of the school. A small medical program within a large research university may have more opportunities for research, etc than a large class size within a smaller/less research focused institution. A larger class size may mean more faculty, or it may mean more competition for access to the same number of faculty. A small class size may (or may not) get more face time with their faculty. I don't think you can judge this off of class size alone - you would need to know more about the school itself.