Where are the happy med students?

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Maybe Columbia is chock-full of spellers, but not gunners.

Originally posted by washkeep
I've been doing a little research...

Happy Students: Tulane, Baylor, Case Western, Cornell, Duke, Emory, Loyola Chicago, Mount Sinai, MUSC, Northwestern (?), Rush, Stanford & Vandy

Students seem happy because..
1. Class cohesiveness, not overly competitive
2. Good faculty, teaching system
3. Grading System
4. Like the city/town

I've heard Tufts is crappy, Columbia is chalk-full of gunners

 

[washkeep]

what? Sorry man, didn't mean to offend. I've just heard it's super competitive.

 

[Peace420]

I got te same feeling at Columbia...the closet gunners make it feel like you are walking the front in Vietnam🙄

 

[snoopdizzle]

My theory with Columbia is that to live in such a concrete wasteland as Washington Heights, so have to really be into the reputation of your school. I had my choice between Columbia and Medical College of WI, and I would have gone to MCW. To live there you have to be love the fact that you can tell people you're going to Columbia. I think you can get just as good of an education at other schools.

 

[SistaKaren]

Honestly...I got a similar feeling there when I interviewed, but I didn't know if it was due to stress or what....

BUT Snoop....I gotta stick up for my school. Washington Heights isn't the Upper East Side, true....but I liked it...it has it's own thing going on.

And I dunno....I think that education is what you make of it...but I would definitely hesistate to say that it's just the same as most other schools. Who knows...maybe I'll be saying something different later.

But no need for Columbia-hate! 🙂

 

[washkeep]

snoop, you going to mcw? I'm working there now. MCW kids seem happy, even the CA kids are positivie about it. If you can handle the weather, I think you're good.

 

[DW]

Originally posted by SistaKaren
And I dunno....I think that education is what you make of it...but I would definitely hesistate to say that it's just the same as most other schools. Who knows...maybe I'll be saying something different later.

exactly, which is why I feel these "where are the most happy med students" threads are kinda nonsensical. First off, if you looked at the entire student body of at any med school, I'm sure you're going people who love it there, some students who are indifferent, and some sour apples who might hate it there, and i'm sure there will be gunners at every school in the US. You're more likely to meet the "my school is the greatest place ever and i'm so freaking happy" students when you interview there, cause those are the types of people who give tours and want to talk to prospective students in the first place.

and what exactly makes a student "happy" or makes a class "cool"? Can we say everyone likes being in the same type of location, likes the same type of curriculum and atmosphere? its really more dependent on YOUR personal tastes and values than some pie in the sky measure of student "happiness" that we're trying to find here. Do ya want the big self contained state school setting? You'd probably be happy at UMich, and probably hate any school located in a major metropolitan area. Not a fan of problem based learning and dislike NYC? You'd probably hate Cornell, and Columbia might not be your thing location wise either. I'd tell ya, on this list of "happy schools", I'd most likely HATE, and I mean LOATHE going to Duke med. I know I'm not a fan of the location really, I wouldnt want to cram two years into one, and to top it all off I despise Duke basketball 😛 But, thats entirely on MY tastes and values, and cant say that applies to everyone.

different strokes for different folks people

 

[washkeep]

Ha, ha, ha... Okay, okay, I get your point. It's just so tough to sift through all these med schools, ya know? It is a little helpful to hear what people think about them. I mean, you spend four grueling years there. But yeah, you can't totally rely on what other people think/say/feel.

 

[raspberry swirl]

i know i'm in the pre-allopathic section, but i'm gonna throw my 2 cents in anyway. apparently you all haven't done your research! if you want happy, you gotta go DO 😎

 

[saiyaman]

what the dilly? i definitely gotta defend columbia here, seeing as how i'm an incoming P&S (ha ha) this fall. while truth be told, washington heights is not exactly what pops into people's heads when they think of manhattan, or nyc in general, for that matter, the neighborhood itself was honestly one of the reasons i was sold on columbia. the school represents a good combination of solid research, academic-type stuff, and at the same time, because of the neighborhood it is located in, presents a lot of opportunity to get involved in an underserved community. this is a benefit regardless of one's future plans in medicine. i like to think of it as the best of both worlds! (that said, one must have a somewhat masochistic side to enjoy some aspects of the columbia experience...word to the wise, the bard hall cafeteria is scary bad)

 

[IntlMD07]

I am going to stick up for my school too... I don't know why, but Columbia seems to be over and over again beaten up on these boards. And now it isn't only by people from Cornell, but by people from all over the place! Washington heights, as it was said before has its own thing going own. 50,000 new immigrants a year, fastest growing part of Manhattan - AMAZING clinical experience (ethnic, socio-economical and disease diversity in the patient population). It is arguably the research institution that produces the most innovative applied clinical research in the country not to mention the obvious strength in basic science research with one of the top neuroscience depts in the US. The curriculum is a good balance of tradition and innovation, the lectures guide on what needs to be known, the PBL reinforces - there isn't 100% of one or the other. But that is besides the point because the students are the real strength of the school. Recruited in part to participate in the P&S clubs, which is the largest extra curricular organization of any medical school, every class at P&S has musicians, artists, athletes, actors and actresses, photographers, writers... People who have other interests aside from medicine and hope to still pursue them while in medical school. Maybe on interview day, in the two hours you had with these people, you didn't have enough time to get to know them and instead labelled them as "gunners" or whatever it is we hear over and over again. Maybe they had just walked out of a hard test, maybe they were on their way to one. So instead of having threads asking where students are happy in medical school, people should be asking themselves where THEY would be happy in medical school - an entirely personal and subjective matter.

 

[tufts02]

i dont know about tufts being "crappy"...maybe im biased but whatever...of all the people i know at tufts med none have said that their experience thus far was "crappy" but quite the opposite...maybe you got one person's view about the school but i really dont think the general consesus is that most students are unhappy with the school....unhappy about paying so much money might be another question hehe

 

[angelic02]

Originally posted by Mike59


When students aren't enthusiastic about what they go through every day, it shows. Sure, there are individuals who are always bitchy or always happy or whatever, but its very possible to get a feel for the general effect a medical school has on its student population.

I know that there is already a thread on schools which produce the most amount of bad doctors, but what about schools in which the students don't seem very happy? In other words, how many current medical students would not recommend that a prospective medical student attend their school? Please do not respond if all you have is hearsay unless you are a student at that school and your feelings about the school matches the general feelings of the student body at that school. Meaning, I'm not looking for rankings in whatever magazine or news article you may find.

I'm only an undergrad but I figure that now is the time to start searching for a place to apply before I start wasting my money applying to schools that I have no intention of going to if accepted.

Also, which schools seem to be good in research without sacrificing quality of patient care? You may quote your statistics on this question.

Please forgive me for any grammatical errors on this post.

 

[zbarnes]

What?! No one has mentioned USC? I know most of you are still premeds and havent actually attended yet, but did you interview here?

Our school rocks! The students here are the most laid back i've seen, thats partly why i chose it, everyone was so chill. How could we not be in beautiful SoCal.

 

[washkeep]

tufts02- My info is 2nd hand, from people who have visited and such. And I think my view is DEFINiTELY skewed after reading Heart Failure. ( http://upalumni.org/medschool/surgery.html ) So what would you say your school is like?

 

[Penguin Poptart]

Washkeep-- I tend to cringe continuously whenever the president gives a speech or makes a policy decision so my objection to your signature has nothing to do with politics or esteem for Bush, but rather I just find your closing signature nasty and out of line. And, I'm not sure what former heavy coke use, even if that were true, has to do with Bush's governing ability or lack thereof.

 

[snoopdizzle]

How is that out of line? It is a well known fact that Bush did coke in the 70's. If you're a Bush critic then it shouldn't offend you. Personally, I wish I've seen more of it. I have my anti-Bush propaganda.

www.democraticunderground.com

 

[fullofhope]

Judging from this year's class on SDN, I'm going to vote
Temple as the happiest

 

[JM.]

Originally posted by fullofhope
Judging from this year's class on SDN, I'm going to vote
Temple as the happiest

Word to Temple. 44 days till orientation. f4ckers still haven't sent me what I need to do for the health shtuff.

 

[DW]

Originally posted by jmwalker
Word to Temple. 44 days till orientation. f4ckers still haven't sent me what I need to do for the health shtuff.

you dont sound very happy to me 😛

 

[TommyGunn04]

Originally posted by Dr Chooch
Penn! The students I met at Penn were all really cool and definitely were happy with their program. They all just seemed like they loved being there. 😀

I second this! I was extremely impressed with the happiness of students I met during both of my visits to Penn last year.

The other schools that really really struck me regarding the happiness of their students were Pitt and Sinai.

And having just finished my first year at Duke, I can tell you that the majority of students in my class are really happy and fun!

During my interviewing I was least impressed by the attitudes of students at UConn, Columbia and Tufts. The Yale students I met didn't particularly strike me as happy or unhappy, but I don't think I met enough of them to make a reasonably fair judgment.

Anyway, there's my two cents... 😉

 

[TommyGunn04]

Originally posted by angelic02
In other words, how many current medical students would not recommend that a prospective medical student attend their school?

I can't quote you any statistics, but having just finished my first yera at Duke I think I know my classmates very well, and wouldn't think it a stretch at all to say that 99% would recommend Duke to prospective students.

But it's not as simple as that, because as I'm sure you know, every school is different, and when considering a particular school you must recognize these often critical differences. This is especially true for Duke, for we have a very unique curriculum. I particularly love it, indeed it's THE reason why I came here, but others might not like it as much, or might even hate the idea of it! Similarly, other schools have a more PBL-based learning format, and that's not for everyone either. It's a VERY individual choice.

So yes, the great majority of my classmates would recommend Duke to others. BUT, after going through the first year, I think most of use recognize that Duke isn't for everyone. Thus for someone who really thinks PBL is the best style for them, we wouldn't necessarily recommend it. But that doesn't mean we're unhappy here either, you see? So it's not just as simple as "I recommend" or "I don't recommend."

But, if you allow me to generalize a bit, yes we're all VERY happy and would recommend Duke!!!

Also, which schools seem to be good in research without sacrificing quality of patient care?

DUKE! I've been amazed at the degree of research going on at Duke, but at the same time, it's an unbelievably well-respected patient care headquarters. In fact, I've heard the head-honcho of the Duke Health System cite statistics showing that Duke is the single largest healthcare network in the country! But on top of that, people down here really really trust Duke. So it's not at all uncommon to see patients who come from hours and hours away, who choose to drive all the way to Duke for treatment on their own (not because they were referred or anything like that). That, alone, tells me that Duke provides superior patient care, and yet continues to be one of the nation's top research institutions, both clinically and basic-science-wise. It's a GREAT place to be! 🙂