<p>Which medical schools are known for having a really warm, collegial, “nice” culture – perhaps without grades. I’ve heard that UCSF is very kind to their grad students, and that Yale has a very welcoming culture as well.</p>
<p>What are some other schools (including lower tier, more obscure, and state schools) that have this kind of loving and friendly culture?</p>
<p>UNM. Small class (under 100), early clinical experience (starting the second week of MS1), small group PBL, intensive mentoring, ungraded for first 2 years, tons of learning support, non-trad friendly. </p>
<p>Fall classes kicks off with the “Malpractice Bowl” every year: med students vs law students co-ed soccer game.</p>
<p>But…UNM does not enroll OOS students, unless you’re a registered member of a Native American tribe who resides on a reservation adjacent to the state boundaries.</p>
<p>(P.S. Very low in-state tuition. Tuition & fees under $20K for each of the 4 years.)</p>
<p>I don’t know if you can get more chill than UT-MB.</p>
<p>I do not know about laidback, I do not think there is a single “easy” Med. School. You still have to pass Board no matter where you go. However, I believe that Cleveland Clinic Med. School (30 spots) might not have exams, they do not have lectures either. I do not think that it is easy though. When I asked my D. if she misses her school while on summer break, she said that there is nobody in right mind who loves Med. School. She meant that it is just very very hard and she has only finished her first year. She knows that studying for Board is harder than that and rotations are also definitely harder.</p>
<p>I hope that if I am ever rushed to an emergency room, my doctor is not too laid back.</p>
<p>There are no MDs or for that matter Med. Students who are laid back. D. complains about opposite, most are way too intense around her, which might not be a great advantage either.</p>
<p>Miami, I disagree that there are no laid-back med students. For one, WOWMom and Curm both just threw out schools with laid-back cultures–so I imagine at least a portion of those schools have laid-back students. My friends and family have always considered me to be laid-back (no idea how I come off on this board…haha), and I would certainly consider my friends at school to be laid-back, but still driven to achieve their goals.</p>
<p>Perhaps I have a different definition of laid-back than you or tomofboston does. To me, a laid-back student is one who can accomplish their personal academic and professional goals without turning into a competitive prick who might put others down. Laid-back students value things other than school, like making friends and taking it easy, often as a way to balance a tough courseload. In no way do I think laid-back students are lazy, unprofessional, or undeserving of a spot in med school (just saying this–not suggesting anyone has characterized laid-back students this way). I just think their attitude and approach to med school is unlike the approach of the stereotypical gunner premed who will only consider going to an elite school and who cries over a 35 MCAT or a 3.9 GPA in biochemistry. </p>
<p>So, futuremedical, I don’t really know what to tell you. Like WOWMom, I think my state’s school is pretty laid-back. I really enjoy it, and (unlike Miami’s D) definitely missed my friends and life at (and outside) of school while I was gone for the summer. Maybe I’m crazy, but I do look forward to returning soon.</p>
<p>At the same time, I’ve met a variety of students from other schools, including elite schools, and some of them are students I would consider to be laid-back. I imagine there are laid-back, collegial kids at every school–so it’s probably the concentration that differs. Just a thought though.</p>
<p>+1 to kristin’s post</p>
<p>Not saying D1’s school has no gunners, but the environment is more cooperative than cut-throat. Students are intelligent, caring, thoroughly professional and take their very calling seriously. But for the most part they also know how to have fun when they get some time off.</p>
<p>And tomofboston–D1 is in EM and let me assure you that Level 1 emergency room/trauma center at her med school is the biggest and highest rated in several hundred sq miles. The docs may be laid-back, but the level of care they provide isn’t.</p>
<p>Just wanted to clarify that I meant a more collaborative rather than competitive environment – not a lack of serious intellectual rigor.</p>
<p>Thanks, WOWMom and kristin5792. I know that I function best in a collaborative rather than competitive social environment. I’m looking less for a party school (if that even exists in medical school!) than for a school that focuses on intellectual freedom and collaborative work.</p>
<p>(Like Yale – but don’t know if I can get in there!)</p>
<p>Well, if collaborative is what you’re looking for, then I think a great starting point would be 1) schools with around 100 students per class and 2) schools that have a pretty innovative curriculum that includes lots of small group work and problem- or case-based learning. The small class size facilitates collaboration for obvious reasons, and a curriculum that includes lots of problem- or case-based learning gives you plenty of opportunities to practice. </p>
<p>My program, for example, splits time between lectures and problem-based learning (PBL) almost evenly. I believe WOWMom’s D’s school in NM does the same. Many programs claim to incorporate these principles, but having a seminar where the whole class goes through a case together one day a week doesn’t really count.</p>
<p>Small program. Lots of small group work. Recipe for collaboration in my experience.</p>
<p>kristin,
My D. would love what you are describing, it is not the case at all around her. Sometime she has hard time dealing with that. Sometime she has to build psycho wall so that she does not let it under her skin…people are very intense, she really appreciates talking to non-medical somebody for a change, very re-freshing for her. She is a type of person, who would not study in her gym, she goes to gym for break, to get away, but others do, they listen to lectures…just as an example of very intense situation…They have small groups, they work mostly on cases, but lots of times there is a great personality mismatch. D. actually takes it as a learning experience, she see that social adjustments are very important and personality mismatch provides a great opportunity for learning how to do it effectively. She loves though when she is a leader, then everybody is forced to do it her “more relaxed and calm” way.</p>
<p>Howard University was laid back when I was there. I recall fund raisers to pay for or collaborative note taking service .</p>
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<p>I can’t really comment on UTMB’s program (or any program for that matter), but as a former Galvestonian, I have to say that Galveston is definitely a chill place to live. Minus the occasional hurricane, but that comes with the territory.</p>
<p>Aaahh…all I know is my kid came back from her interview saying that she and another interviewee both felt that it was a most welcoming environment, creative curriculum , with some seriously chill students. To the point they both questioned their own “chill-ness”. As in “If ya look around and don’t see the gunner, it’s probably you.” ;)</p>