Which medical school is the right one ?

[helpmd]

I have just started looking at medical schools, but I don't know how to go about it. I know i am interested in schools that focus on patient relationships. Less research oriented. I also don't know exactly what type of doctor I would like to be. So what are the broader focuses in medicine that medical schools can provide (i.e. Internal medicine, General practitioner.....)

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[schrizto]

A guide like the MSAR is very helpful because it will give you the mission statement of each school. You could also look into primary care rankings. DO schools are also a possibility because of their focus on general practice and are less inclined towards research.

 

[MaryLennox]

i assume you mean for next year (or later) since you would be too late applying this cycle. which means, you have time. spend some time around sdn, it really helped me to narrow down my list of schools. you can get a pretty good feel for what different schools are about by the way people talk about them on here.

 

[GoSpursGo]

Location, location, location. I can't stress enough how important it is to choose a school in a location that you WANT to spend the next 4 years of your life. Med school is going to be enough of a beating without hating where you're living, too. For me, that meant I really wanted to live in a major city, but your personal preferences will be completely different, I'm sure.

 

[DrYoda]

1. Cost
2. Location

 

[Hoody]

The right one? The one that accepts you!

 

[greatnt249]

Which medical school is the right one ?

The cheapest school you like that accepts you.

 

[sustentacular]

for me it'll be the only one i get in to off the wait list in june.

 

[medfan303]

Location, location, location. I can't stress enough how important it is to choose a school in a location that you WANT to spend the next 4 years of your life. Med school is going to be enough of a beating without hating where you're living, too. For me, that meant I really wanted to live in a major city, but your personal preferences will be completely different, I'm sure.

Agreed, but what if you can't get into the school in a big city? e.g. NYC, Boston, Brown(Providence), UCLA, UCSD, UCSF...? What if you are stuck going to a school outside of a major city? It also depends where you get in.

-Medfan

P.S. I'm a Premed.

 

[FlowRate]

This is approximately my priority list:

1. Curriculum/unique aspects. Usually this means places like baylor which have a really cool curriculum that isn't the same as all the others.
2. Location/environment. Somewhere I would like to live/go to school.
3. Cost/scholarship possibilities.

Actually they're all about equal, but ever so slightly weighted in that order. 1. Takes some work reading through websites. 2. Seems to be pretty rough to get from websites, I need to read around SDN more.

 

[GoSpursGo]

Agreed, but what if you can't get into the school in a big city? e.g. NYC, Boston, Brown(Providence), UCLA, UCSD, UCSF...? What if you are stuck going to a school outside of a major city? It also depends where you get in.

-Medfan

P.S. I'm a Premed.

Then of course, you go to another school But given the choice, for me that was a big deal. So if you're trying to make a schools list, decide what's important to you in a school (eg, location) and apply to as many schools that fit your stats as you can that also fit the location you're looking for. But of course, add some schools that fit your stats or are slightly below your stats that aren't in your favored places to give yourself a maximal chance of getting in SOMEWHERE; hopefully you'll get into a school in one of your favorite places, but if not, there really is no such thing as a "bad" med school.

The process of picking schools to apply to is definitely not a strict science; there's a lot of just closing your eyes and hoping you're doing it right!

 

[GoSpursGo]

This is approximately my priority list:

1. Curriculum/unique aspects. Usually this means places like baylor which have a really cool curriculum that isn't the same as all the others.
2. Location/environment. Somewhere I would like to live/go to school.
3. Cost/scholarship possibilities.

Actually they're all about equal, but ever so slightly weighted in that order. 1. Takes some work reading through websites. 2. Seems to be pretty rough to get from websites, I need to read around SDN more.

I agree; actually, Baylor's curriculum is probably the number 1 reason I chose it. There are a couple of schools out there that really, truly have something unique about their curriculum (Mayo, Yale, and Duke immediately spring to mind, but there are obviously many others) that, if you believe in them, might be a great reason to go there. But working from the assumption that the curricula at various schools are very similar, I'd place a premium on location, and then cost.

 

[FlowRate]

I agree; actually, Baylor's curriculum is probably the number 1 reason I chose it. There are a couple of schools out there that really, truly have something unique about their curriculum (Mayo, Yale, and Duke immediately spring to mind, but there are obviously many others) that, if you believe in them, might be a great reason to go there. But working from the assumption that the curricula at various schools are very similar, I'd place a premium on location, and then cost.

Coincidentally, Baylor, Mayo, and Yale are three places that I would really like to go to med school (and for reasons that have almost nothing to do with their placement on the USNews top research schools). I'm hoping my ties to Texas are strong enough to help get me in to Baylor.

 

[n618ft]

The one that accepts you is the right one. Don't come into this process expecting to have medical schools begging you to attend. It won't happen... and you can become almost any specialty regardless of where you go to school. Do well in school and that'll be the deciding factor... and if it's research you're looking for and the school isn't research-inclined, start your own.

 

[lord_jeebus]

The idea that there are medical schools that deemphasize patient care in favor of research seems common among premeds, but is a gross exaggeration. Although some schools may have some curriculum innovations in place, the basic content of medical school is constant from place to place. At every school you will spend about 2 years working with countless patients in all of the core specialties, and the majority of the rest of the time learning important details of the basic science underlying their disease. Unless you are in an MD/PhD program, research will be no more than a trivial component of your education, and although it may seem that some of the basic science is excessively detailed, it is necessary for the deep understanding of why we diagnose and treat things the way we do - the difference between a physician and a "medical provider."

You will find what you seek at any accredited US allopathic or osteopathic medical school, I promise. If you want to be a "general practitioner," your #1 selection criterion has to be cost.

 

[TexasPhysician]

Attend the one that accepts you and costs the least.....