Kentucky College of Osteopathic Medicine
Carthage College, B.S. Neuroscience
From Des Plaines, Illinois
Age 26

What does your typical day of medical school look like?

I snooze 3 alarms from 6:15 to 7AM. I’ll Read something non-school related while making breakfast, get ready. I don’t touch school material before 8AM. Head to campus and make my notes from that day’s lectures. Depending on the amount of lectures that day, I might be done making notes in 4-6 hours. After these I’ll review the previous day’s material, and then either review older material unrelated to the current block, or from earlier in the block, depending on how close to test day I am.

Since we do 4 weeks of material between tests, my early-block schedule varies a little from my late-block schedule. Early on in the first 1-2 weeks I’ll try and go get a workout in in the morning, and play catch-up with errands around 7-8PM, then wind down with some Netflix or video games for an hour or so. During Block Week though, I tend to focus 110% on preparing for the exam, going from 8AM to 10PM, with breaks just for meals, walking the dog, and naps.

How do your classes and lectures compare to those at your undergraduate institution? 
Medical school lectures are definitely a lot faster paced and the level of detail is both more and less at the same time. Using biochem as an example, during undergrad we focused on molecular structures and the mechanisms, energy changes, and the details of reactions. In medical school you emphasize the overall purpose of each process, and the pathology arising from different parts. This is the overall theme and can be extrapolated to all our classes; Material is taught to the depth required to be clinically relevant, while undergad was more molecular/research focused.

As for class structure, with the exception of our Osteopathic Principles and Practices course, all of our classes are held in a single classroom and are back to back throughout the day, with lectures going as long as 8am-5pm on a bad day. My class size is ~140 people, which was a little different for me at first because my classes in undergrad never had more than 30 people in a lecture. We’re taught by a mix of MDs, DOs, and PhDs, depending on the course.

I would say that the biggest difference between medical school and undergrad is the amount of self-learning that is expected of you. During undergrad I never would have ever considered skipping class, both because the class sizes were so small, so the professors knew everyone, and because the professors didn’t use Powerpoint or record them. But in medical school all of our lectures are available on our student portal and we can go back and listen to them on our own schedule. In addition, it’s physically impossible to teach every single disease to the depth we might need for boards and rotations. So there is a certain amount of responsibility on each student to have the discipline to fill in the blanks on their own, even if it isn’t immediately “High-Yield”.

What have you liked about the teaching practices at your institution? Alternatively, how satisfied are you with the class structure at your institution? Are there aspects that you would like changed?

I would say that the class environment and structure at my school is pretty much how I would have guessed, if you had asked me the same question during undergrad, but maybe a bit more fast paced.

One of my favorite things about the curriculum at my school is unfortunately something I wasn’t able to actually appreciate at the time; Dedicated internal medicine, pediatrics, OB/GYN, and surgery courses, all taught by practicing physicians in the community and covering all of the systems. With the exception of pediatrics, all of the other courses were taught during the second semester of OMS-II. Everybody was in board-prep mode, while these classes were geared more towards preparing us for the basics of our core rotations so they took a back seat. Fortunately the administration at my school is modifying the curriculum based on student feedback.I believe that one consistent recommendation our students have had is to have the clinical material integrate with pathology and pharm, which would help solidify and bridge the material between the two classes.

The only real change I would like to see with our curriculum structure is to have the material more dispersed and possibly even end earlier. We learn new material up until mid-May with our students taking boards late-June through July, so a little more board prep time than I’d prefer was spent going over the newer material than I would’ve liked. It would be a huge benefit to future classes if May were a dedicated review period with classes that cover the major material for subjects like biochem, cell biology, embryology, ethics/ behavioral science, etc. We aren’t systems-based so those core subjects tend to get neglected until board time.

Looking back on when you were applying to medical schools and deciding which school was the best fit, what do you think are the most important things to learn about a medical school when you are deciding which school is right for you?

Personally I got accepted to KYCOM the week after my interview, and it was my first. There wasn’t anything specific about it that got me to accept the offer, but rather just a feeling of “You belong here, this is where you’re going to medical school” while I was there. I ended up turning down 2 other interviews and never looked back. However, there are a couple things I learned about how others have made their decisions.

The first thing I would recommend is to assess your goals. Do you want to go into academic medicine and run research projects, barely interacting with patients? Do you want to go into a very specific residency in a very specific specialty/ subspecialty and know that absolutely nothing can change your mind? This is your mission. Find a school that has the same one. If you don’t you’ll be miserable. A popular saying from one of my professors at KYCOM is “Don’t come here if your goal is to become the world’s most famous fetal cardiothoracic-neuro-dermatologic surgeon”. And it makes sense, because my schools mission is to train doctors who will embrace primary care specialties in underserved areas.

The next most important factor is the class environment and student relationships. While you can’t evaluate this yourself until you’re in school, there is plenty of student feedback out there about most schools who can tell you what theirs is like. Do you thrive on competition where everyone is only out for themselves, or do you want your class to feel like family?

Finally, location. I knew from the start I didn’t want to go to school in a big city. I’d get major FOMO knowing my friends were 15 minutes away, and either be depressed knowing I couldn’t join them, or blow off my classwork so I could go out more often. Fortunately, KYCOM is in a small town in the mountains.

Can you give us a brief description of the area surrounding your school? What are some things you like and dislike about the city/town you are located in as a student?

My school is in a small town of ~6,000 in Eastern Kentucky, about a 2 hour drive from Lexington. It’s a quiet area, and great if you like the outdoors. There is a ton of hiking, camping, fishing, golfing, etc. in the immediate vicinity. Perfect for medical students, since there aren’t a ton of distractions. It’s also smack-dab in the middle of Coal Country, with all of the good and bad that comes with that; High unemployment, the opioid crisis, healthcare access, and environmental issues immediately come to mind. But at the same time the people are friendlier and more welcoming than anywhere else I’ve lived, and there are ample opportunities for the medical students to fulfill the mission of our school and give back to the community before we even graduate.

What organizations or activities are you involved in outside of your regular classwork? Additionally, are there any organizations that you think are unique to your school?

Emergency Medicine Club, Wilderness Medicine Club, Humanity First Student Organization (HFSO) are clubs that I was relatively active in during my first 2 years. But on top of these there are the expected specialty clubs/ interest groups, as well as clubs that focus on specific activities, such as tutoring local students.

As for unique organizations, I would say that two that are relatively unique to my school are the annual Mission Trip and the Mental Health Awareness committee. The Mission Trip is a collaboration between first year students, one of our professors, and the college chaplain to deliver healthcare to areas in the Dominican Republic, lasting 2 weeks in collaboration with local healthcare providers every summer. The Mental Health Awareness committee was established this past year as a group of students who meet with the administrators to work out how to address mental health in our school, and organizes events to help students de-stress.

How much/well have you been able to develop clinical skills alongside your classroom work first and second year? What does your institution do to help you develop clinical skills before the clinical years?

 While the first 2 years are more focused on preparing us for our first set of boards, we do get a number of opportunities to get out and work in the community. We have an OMT clinic on campus where students get to practice our physical exams and OMT skills with members of the community who come in for treatment. During second year we also have to do 4 separate clinic days per semester, 2 in a primary care specialty, and 2 in any specialty of our choosing. We spend these days seeing patients with our assigned doctor shadowing, interviewing patients, and performing exams. It was during one of these experiences that I got to put in my first scalp staples in the ER.

We also have mandatory clinic days that are a part of our clinical courses that I discussed earlier. During these days we learn procedures such as gowning/ gloving for surgery, suturing, intubation, joint injections, and putting in chest tubes.

What is one way your outlook on medicine or understanding of medicine has changed in your time at medical school?

Overall I would say that medicine is less cut and dry than I had interpreted it to be during undergrad. Standards of care are always evolving, our understanding of diseases changes every year, and managing illness is much more complicated than I had thought coming in.

Are there any resources that stand out to you as most useful to you in self-learning medical school material or for expanding on material taught in class?

My indispensable resources would have to be Anki, Boards and Beyond, Pathoma, and Sketchy Microbiology. Anki is my way of note taking, and I exclusively use it to study the raw facts after I’ve made the lecture notes into cards. Pathoma is essential as a review source for pathology, and Sketchy is a great tool not only during a dedicated microbiology course, but you can always fit in 3-4 videos a day, and keep all those bugs memorized with minimal effort. Boards and Beyond has to be my all time favorite lecture series. I discovered it with 2 weeks to go before Step 1, but I felt that it covered both breadth and depth of information for every subject that you don’t really get from any other single board review resource. If I could go back to 1st year, I would pay for a subscription to it from the start. In addition while I don’t use it much, I have to mention First Aid as an essential part of the preclinical years. While I don’t recommend it as a primary learning tool, it’s a good framework for the absolute minimum knowledge base for boards; If it’s in there, it’s been tested on before and can show up on a board exam.

If a young undergraduate interested in applying to medical school came to you seeking advice about ‘which major is best,’ what would you tell them?

I would tell them to study something that they could see themselves doing as a career if they never got into medical school. You can always incorporate the required sciences into your regular classwork if you study something that isn’t the classic biology/ chemistry/ neuroscience premed. If you don’t get into medical school, you have to do something with that $20,000+ degree you earned, ideally without needing more schooling as an alternative. If that degree also happens to be in something you love, which is the most common advice I’ve seen about choosing a major, then that’s even better. If I could do it all over again I would have studied marine biology, because I had a dream of opening my own aquatic pet store if I hadn’t gotten into medical school.

What is your favorite event of the year put on by your medical school? Tell us a little bit about it.

It isn’t put on by my school, but the best local event would have to be Hillbilly Days. It’s a 4 day festival in April where food vendors, musicians, local businesses, etc. all come from around the Appalachian region and have a giant festival in the middle of Pikeville. It takes up the entire town, so we get the whole time off of classes and get to enjoy the spring weather. It gives opportunities for clubs to fundraise and volunteer, and everyone else to have some bourbon and relax for a few days.

What do you wish you had known as an undergraduate and/or as a student in the medical application process?

I wish I’d known about the advice I gave above about picking schools whose missions align with your goals. While KYCOM aligned with mine perfectly and that’s why I ended up here, I basically wasted a ton of money shotgunning my applications to 25+ schools around the country. It’s pretty tough to individually tailor applications to fit the mission of that many different schools, and they can tell just from your writing whether or not you’re BS-ing them. These are the ones that won’t even bother to send you a rejection letter.

Eastern Virginia Medical School
UC Santa Barbara, B.S. Biological Sciences
Age 25
From Pleasant Hill, CA

What does your typical day of medical school look like?

It really depends. First semester of first, year it consisted of lecture every morning until about noon and then reviewing what was covered. We also had Anatomy, for which we had dissections once per week which could last 4 to 5 hours. But pretty straight forward. Second semester we started going into systems. At this pointl I stopped going to lecture and basically studied on my own using Pathoma, First Aid, and BRS books (you’ll become familiar with these). Second year was about the same, except this is when we got UWorld question bank (2400 questions which you need to get through to prep for step 1). On top of learning what was being covered in lecture, I would do UWorld questions related to what we are currently learning, as well as related to material from first year.  At the end of second year you have dedicated step 1 study time. 3rd year you are on rotations in the hospital and things vary per rotation.

How has your approach to learning and/or studying changed since you were an undergrad?

A LOT. I had to toss every study method I used in undergrad after the first week. There are basically 3 methods of studying, and everyone figures out what works best for them. 1) Concept maps: great, but take a lot of time 2) First Aid + Pathoma +UWorld + maybe an extra question bank. This is what I did. First Aid has about 80% of what you need to know, and you can fill in the blanks with Pathoma. 3) Only Uworld. This is what I’m doing now as a third year, some people did this during 1st and 2nd year. Only do questions, and know every one by heart. Each question has a description of the disease process, and lets you know why each answer was wrong, and why the correct one was right. If you memorize all of this you should be good. 4) Anki: It is a software for flashcards you can use on your computer, phone, tablet. It really reinforces repetitive learning, some people love it, some don’t.

Really up to student preference. In the first three weeks you have to try different study methods and see what works best for you. If you like going to lecture thats fine, but really I wouldn’t recommend it, mainly because lectures give you extra things you don’t actually need to know for STEP 1.

How would you describe the student culture at your school? Are there special events or activities that you consider very representative of the culture at your institution? What influence has this culture had on your experience in medical school thus far?

My school is very community service oriented. Also, everyone is very social, outgoing, friendly, and helpful. There are the odd ones out, but for the most part, everyone wants everyone else to succeed, which is the biggest thing I liked about EVMS. We have HOPES clinic which is a student run clinic for the underserved, as well as countless other projects to help out the community. Its very easy to get involved. We are all very close to each other and help each other. There is no sense of competitiveness between classmates, we all help each other out.

Can you give us a brief description of the area surrounding your school and the things you do for fun? What are some things you like and dislike about the city/town you are located in as a student?

The one positive is that the beach is 30 minutes away. It’s not a bad area, there is a downtown area with bars and restaurants. Plenty of places to go out. The weather takes getting used to with the humidity. The way I look at it, it could be worse, but its not a place I would settle down.

What would you consider strengths of your medical school?

In your first two years this seems unimportant, but Sentara Norfolk General, the main affiliated hospital with EVMS, is the best hospital in the state. You are going to get great training while seeing patients during clinical rotations, as we have some of the top programs in the country. It is also a Level 1 trauma center, for those interested in EM/surgery. We also have a strong ultrasound program, so you will come out being much more proficient with ultrasound than many other students. Ultrasound is becoming much more prevalent in the medical field, so its definitely something you will need to be able to use.

What resources have been most useful to you in self-learning medical school material or in expanding on material taught in class? Can you briefly describe how you have incorporated them into your learning routine?

As stated before, First Aid, Pathoma, and UWorld are the so called “holy trinity”. Those should be all the tools you need to succeed on Step 1. Another important thing to note, unless you are aiming for a very competitive specialty, your class grades don’t really matter (and some schools might just be Pass/No Pass). Gear your studying towards what you need to know for STEP 1 from the start. I used all 3 without going to lecture and got the step score I was going for.

How much/well have you been able to develop clinical skills alongside your classroom work first and second year? What does your institution do to help you develop clinical skills before the clinical years?

We do clinical skills training throughout the first two years. It is helpful, but you tend to forget a lot of the things you learn by the time 3rd year comes. During 3rd year, you get those skills reinforced. Overall we do a decent job with preparing students for seeing patients. HOPES clinic is very helpful and gives good exposure.

What is one thing you would do differently if you could go back to your undergraduate years or the time between undergrad and medical school?

Your GPA and MCAT are the most important (MCAT is actually #1) in getting you an interview. So, I’d probably have tried to get a better GPA and MCAT score. Extracurriculars help, I didn’t do research because I tried it and hated it, but maybe I would have bit the bullet and done it anyways because it is something to talk about in the interview, especially for big research schools.

Given the number of obstacles we face en route to a career in medicine, everyone at some point feels doubtful of themselves. How has this affected you and what has helped you persevere through these sorts of feelings?

I’ve doubted myself many times while in med school, especially now during third year when I’m actually playing a role in patients’ care. So far what I’ve learned is that usually there is at least one other person who feels the same. Use your classmates for support. Use your advisors, your professors, the doctors you work with. Personally, I was always afraid of asking questions because I thought it would make me seem stupid. I’ve learned that everyone is always accepting of questions and is willing to help/teach you (again, just speaking about my institution). So basically, just utilizing my classmates, teachers, etc. to help me get through things I am unsure of.

How do you maintain your mental health while balancing school, work, family, and other social obligations?

EVMS is very big on student mental health. We have wellness meetings every month during our first year, and a bit less frequently during our second year. Personally, I try to get all my studying/work done as early as possible, then I go to the gym, play video games, do things I enjoy to relax. DO NOT pull all nighters. I know in undergrad that was a thing, but in medical school its not. You are destined for failure if that is how you study. Do not cram. Study a little bit each day so that when exam week comes by you don’t have to have late night study sessions.

Medical school is hard. There is no getting around that. It is a lot of work. But if you are able to organize your study schedule well, you shouldn’t feel burned out too often.

University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
Morehouse College, B.S. Biology
From Washington D.C.

What does your typical day of medical school look like?

During the didactic years, our program does Problem-Based Learning (PBL) where we’re put into groups of 7-8 students with a faculty member. In these groups, we spend two hours, roughly three days per week discussing a particular disease or series of related diseases. During the first year, this occurs typically Monday, Wednesday, Friday at 8am. After PBL, we would typically have voluntary lectures up until 12 PM. We would either be done for the day or had lectures on physicianship in the afternoons where we would learn about the profession, practice physical exam maneuvers, etc. At the end of the day, students would go home and study for whatever material they had to cover.

During clinical years, it largely depends on the rotation but for example, internal medicine, my days start at 7am. Of my assigned patients, I look up vitals, labs, test, etc that were done the previous day after I left. I then go on my own to check on them and see how they’re doing. This is “pre-rounding” and I typically carry 2-3 patients vs the residents who may have like 8-10. Around 9am, we all come together as a team (2 medical students, 2 first year residents, a senior resident, and attending physician) and see all of our patients together. Then there’s lunch and the afternoon is open to follow up on my patients, take them to procedures, watch their procedures, etc. I leave around 5pm for the day. Interspersed throughout the days are other program activities, talks, presentations, etc.

How do your classes and lectures compare to those at your undergraduate institution?

There isn’t too much of a difference in terms of the flow of a day, the major difference is just the volume of material that I would have to digest in a particular day. It can be relatively overwhelming at times when you have other extracurricular obligations or things you’d like to do but all in all, it’s not impossible. In terms of material, it feels like a longitudinal physiology course. Instead of it being over a semester, you take two years and really dive deep into each organ system.

How has your approach to learning and/or studying changed since you were an undergrad?

My approach in time management and discipline made the major difference. Instead of waiting until the next day to review material, I was reviewing material the same day in most cases. That meant that I had to wake up early on the weekends (even after going out the night before haha) or make sure I only spent maybe an hour in the gym or watching only an hour of a show to be sure that I still left myself enough time to get back to studying.

How would you describe the student culture at your school? Are there special events or activities that you consider very representative of the culture at your institution? What influence has this culture had on your experience in medical school thus far?

I would say the overall culture at UM is laid back compared to what I’ve heard from other medical schools. Miami is an amazing place to be with decent weather year-round. There are student organizations for almost any interest and student gov’t/admin are very open and welcoming of expression so long as it’s kept professional and appropriate. One major event that we have every year is called the Dean’s Cup where the medical students compete against UM law students in various activities – flag football, soccer, track, eating contest, baking contest, and the list goes on – students get really involved and there’s a lot of school spirit.

Can you give us a brief description of the area surrounding your school and the things you do for fun? What are some things you like and dislike about the city/town you are located in as a student?

It’s Miami!! There’s so much to do depending on your interests. Concerts, plays, restaurants (Cuban, Haitian, etc), bars, nightclubs…THE BEACH. And there’s time for all of it! The only thing I dislike about Miami is the humidity that can get really uncomfortable in the summer and the potential for hurricanes that disrupt scheduling.

What would you consider strengths of your medical school?

The biggest strength is the breadth of diversity that the institution sees and also learning how to care for some of the most disadvantaged, at-risk populations in the nation. Miami is a cultural melting-pot with many, many migrants from the Caribbean and South America, among various other places. Some of these individuals do not arrive with any form of robust financial security or social support. As such many do not have insurance and have markedly decreased access to healthcare and other services. UM and its affiliates/community partners work to ensure that many of these migrants (and other economically-deprived Americans) have a place to receive care.

What resources have been most useful to you in self-learning medical school material or in expanding on material taught in class? Can you briefly describe how you have incorporated them into your learning routine?

I chiefly used First Aid, Pathoma, and YouTube haha. When trying to learn particularly difficulty concepts, YouTube was king – First Aid and Pathoma were there to help consolidate and review the information. I would definitely suggest following coursework with First Aid from the very beginning.

Oh and Anki for spaced repetition learning!

How much/well have you been able to develop clinical skills alongside your classroom work first and second year? What does your institution do to help you develop clinical skills before the clinical years?

Prior to clinical years, lectures are given by extremely knowledgeable faculty on elements of the physical exam and other clinical skills where we then transfer that learning to either experiences in the hospital with real patients or the use of standardized patients who are essentially paid actors to allow you to work through concepts. We also have opportunities to volunteer at the student-run health clinics to gain real-world exposure.

What is one thing you would do differently if you could go back to your undergraduate years or the time between undergrad and medical school?

I don’t think I would’ve done anything differently prior to medical school – I did a postbac program in between undergrad and medical school and I’m very thankful for that time in between. I even suggest that most students take a year or two to do something else in life worthwhile before starting medical school. Once you get started, that’s it.

Given the number of obstacles we face en route to a career in medicine, everyone at some point feels doubtful of themselves. How has this affected you and what has helped you persevere through these sorts of feelings?

During each step of my journey, I’ve always thought back to moments where I had to truly struggle and fight to get to where I am. If this were easy, everyone would do it but they don’t. It’s a difficult road. While in medical school, I thought back to the application process and how uncertain that period was and I also thought about my reasons at that time that drove me to pursue medicine. While in undergrad, I thought back to all of the things I’d accomplished and some of the challenges I faced backed then. When I took stock of my accomplishments and my journey, it pushed me forward knowing that I’ve persevered in the past and will continue to do so in the future. I learned to embrace the struggle and remind myself that I’m innately a fighter. How else does anyone get through the ranks of this profession, right?

Also, once in medical school always remember that the admissions committee chose you out of thousands of applicants. They. chose. you. It wasn’t a mistake.

How do you maintain your mental health while balancing school, work, family, and other social obligations?

In medical school, there is typically only one or maybe two things unrelated to medicine that you can seriously incorporate into your schedule while also maintaining school obligations. Weight training has been that escape for me. But more importantly than that, I always advocate that students take a day off (or two, although this is easier in first year haha) and do absolutely nothing but what your heart’s desire is for the day. Don’t look at any school-work. Take a beach/park/hiking/friend day or pop popcorn and binge-watch Netflix all day. Treat yourself to an appropriate guilty pleasure. The next day or two, you’ll be ready to hit the books hard again

Yale School of Medicine
Georgia State University, B.S. Psychology
Age 27
From Atlanta, GA

What does your typical day of medical school look like?

I wake up around 10 AM and start studying at 11. I don’t go to lecture, so I tend to study on my own until about 8-10 PM, usually rotating between libraries and coffee shops on campus every few hours so I don’t get restless. Sometimes I’ll sit with a few classmates so we can ask each other questions as we work. On some afternoons we have mandatory classes like workshops, clinical skills training, or clinic time that I’ll attend in between study sessions. At the end of the day I’ll hang out with friends for a little while before going up to my room to play Overwatch or watch TV. I go to bed around 2 AM and then rinse and repeat.

How do your classes and lectures compare to those at your undergraduate institution?

Lectures are very different in medical school than in undergrad for several reasons. Lectures for a given unit tend to be presented by multiple professors rather than just one, so there is wide variability in teaching style, quality, and content focus. On one end of the spectrum you may have the stereotypical PhD lectures that focus on esoteric research or basic science minutiae that you struggle to find clinically relevant, and on the opposite end you may have lectures from a practicing physician that are heavy on treatment guidelines but too light on the basic principles behind them. Most professors strive for a balance, but in the deluge of information you have to learn in medical school, sometimes the constant shift between instructors can leave you wondering what is truly high yield to know for the boards and clinical practice. Additionally, some lectures require background knowledge that you may or may not have yet, so courses in med school tend to require more outside work than just following along with slides like you can do in college. You will often find yourself consulting UpToDate, Wikipedia, an anatomy atlas, textbooks, or whatever.

How has your approach to learning and/or studying changed since you were an undergrad?

I certainly study more often than I did in college, and I maintain a more disciplined schedule. Cramming doesn’t work in medical school. It’s also hard to accept that you have to learn a ton of new material and then you forget so much of it even after studying all the time. You have to get used to not being able to totally master all of the information like you could in college courses, and you will be looking many, many things up once you’re on the wards and in residency. And that’s okay. What you do in medical school is develop fluency in a new language and build a broad knowledge base so that in the future when you encounter a hole in your knowledge, you know exactly where to look, or which of your specialized colleagues to ask, to fill it up.

As such, my studying has changed in the sense that I spend the most time studying principles and high yield content compared to trying to develop an encyclopedic knowledge of trivia. In college it’s fairly easy to really memorize every fact that could come up on a given exam, but that simply is not the case in medicine. Principles come first, and you can always Anki the minutiae later, or just look stuff up when you need it.

How would you describe the student culture at your school?

Yale is known for attracting strongly independent students, so oddly enough, what unifies us is how we’re all out doing our own thing. With Pass/Fail grading and no ranking system or AOA, we are able to collaborate with each other and stay engaged in our lives outside of medicine. For example, there is someone in my class who is a competition pilot, a student who directs a primary care clinic in another country, and someone who created a rideshare business. I direct my own jazz band that rehearses every week. The culture at Yale has made for a chill and motivating environment for me. I think of it as a gunner-free zone.

Can you give us a brief description of the area surrounding your school and the things you do for fun? What are some things you like and dislike about the city/town you are located in as a student?

Yale is located in the city of New Haven on the southern coast of Connecticut, and it is very much a college town. There is not much to do here beyond Yale, but there is a substantial array of restaurants, and we do have concerts and festivals throughout the year. Quite a few students travel to New York or Boston on weekends to get their fix of city life, and fortunately both of those cities are easy to access by car or train. Something I really like about New Haven is its walkability – you can live here without a car and still be able to walk to restaurants, grocery stores, movies, or whatever. Yale also attracts people from all over the world, so there are interesting characters walking around downtown New Haven every day.

What would you consider strengths of your medical school?

I think I’ve discussed this in several of the other questions here, but to summarize, the strengths that stand out to me about Yale are the freedom allowed within the curriculum, the collaborative culture, and the availability of world class research opportunities for all of the medical students here. If I had to do it all over again, I would still choose Yale without question.

What resources have been most useful to you in self-learning medical school material or in expanding on material taught in class?

I think the most essential resource for me has been Boards & Beyond by Dr. Jason Ryan. I watch all of Dr. Ryan’s lectures and find them to be concise, informative, and comprehensive at the preclinical level. There is also of course Pathoma by Dr. Sattar to review pathology. You just can’t beat how efficient these guys’ materials are. I am old school and like to read through a lot of textbook chapters for each unit, but after I finish reading, watching Boards & Beyond and Pathoma really seals in my memory what is truly high yield. I should also recognize that Sketchy is irreplaceable for learning micro, and lastly, pounding through Anki cards with premade decks like Zanki or Brosencephalon is key for retaining some of the trivia necessary for exams and Step 1.

How much/well have you been able to develop clinical skills alongside your classroom work first and second year?

I think I have fairly good clinical skills for having completed only one year of school at this point. Yale has two clinical courses that span the entire first year, a clinical skills (CS) course and the “interprofessional longitudinal clinical experience” (ILCE). In CS we are taught patient-centered interviewing and the complete physical exam including specific topics such as the neuro exam, MSK exam, breast/urogenital/rectal exams, auscultation, fundoscopy, POC ultrasound, and so on. We utilize standardized patients and have to pass a comprehensive OSCE at the end of the course. All of the instructors are attendings and residents.

To reinforce the skills we learn in CS, every student participates in ILCE and is assigned to a small interprofessional team (i.e., with PA and nursing students) that spends one half day in clinic each week for the first year. The benefits of ILCE are twofold: we have the opportunity to individually interview and examine real patients and learn to give oral presentations as first years, and we are exposed to students and professionals from other domains in healthcare such as nursing and pharmacy. There is a lot to learn from other professionals in order to understand how all of the cogs in the hospital machine come together to facilitate patient care. ILCE allows us to do this while developing our clinical skills early on so that we well prepared for clerkships.

What is one thing you would do differently if you could go back to your undergraduate years or the time between undergrad and medical school?

I wish I had taken an anatomy class in college because getting hit by that material for the first time in medical school can be stressful. A cell bio class might have also made things easier, but you learn it all in the end anyway.

Given the number of obstacles we face en route to a career in medicine, everyone at some point feels doubtful of themselves. How has this affected you and what has helped you persevere through these sorts of feelings?

Like most medical students, I experience self-doubt from time to time. Medical school is humbling, as you realize every day that even after you put in hours of work, there is more and more that you don’t know. You want to maintain a balance of doubt and confidence to stay effective and constantly improving. If you don’t doubt yourself enough, you will fall to hubris, and in this field that means your patients will get hurt. If you doubt yourself too much, you will be paralyzed by indecision, and nothing will ever get done. I get through self-doubt by remembering that just about every medical student and doctor has these thoughts and that they are a normal part of any career that involves such profound responsibility. A healthy degree of self-doubt keeps me honest and motivated to learn.

How do you maintain your mental health while balancing school, work, family, and other social obligations?

I have a sort of mental dashboard that I monitor for my own wellbeing while I’m in school, kind of like I’m driving a car. When the RPMs get too high I know it’s time to shift gears or apply the brakes. I try to do enjoyable things almost every day like playing video games, practicing my trumpet, calling a friend from home, or going out to eat or to the movies with classmates. I prioritize getting enough sleep, and I try to keep moving so I don’t feel too stagnant from studying all the time. Sometimes I simply take a day off if I’ve been grinding for too long. I also go home to see my family whenever we have a long break from school. By maintaining a strong baseline, my body and mind can handle the times of greater stress like exams or big deadlines. Some people don’t take good enough care of themselves at baseline, and then when the stress hits, they crack.

University of Massachusetts Medical School
Johns Hopkins University, B.S. Molecular Biology and Anthropology
Age 24
From Sturbridge, MA

What does your typical day of medical school look like?

8AM- Wake up, meditate, eat breakfast
By 9AM – Walk to school
9-11AM – Anki/Study 
12-3PM – Attend afternoon classes/labs
3 – 6PM – Anki/Study
6 – 7PM – Gym
7 – 9PM – Anki/Study or any Extracurricular Activities
10PM – Sleep

How do your classes and lectures compare to those at your undergraduate institution?

Classes in medical school are more structured and generally longer than in undergrad. Courses are also faster paced (block scheduling vs semester long classes). This means that we generally had more midterms in medical school and as such more frequent exams. The information felt more concentrated and delivered more quickly than in undergrad. The instructors generally seemed as though they were more invested in our learning in medical school than in undergrad – this is likely due to the fact that many of them are clinicians and can see us as their future colleagues/entering into their own profession.

How has your approach to learning and/or studying changed since you were an undergrad?

My approach to learning and studying has changed dramatically since undergrad. Whereas in undergrad I never used flashcards or studied everyday, in medical school I rely primarily on Anki (spaced-repetition flashcards) and study everyday in order to try to stay on top of the vast amount of material that we are expected to retain.

How would you describe the unique culture at your school? Are there special events or activities that you consider very representative of the culture at your institution? What influence has this culture had on your experience in medical school thus far?

The culture of our school is always positive and extremely supportive. There is never a time where I feel like I cannot look to older students or my faculty mentors for advice or guidance on keeping up with the material, learning a physical exam technique or getting career advice. Part of this culture began with our orientation for MS1 which was a fun camping trip where MS2s were in attendance and helped facilitate class-bonding and activities. Throughout the year we also had several social events where faculty could hang out with students and spend time interacting outside of class.

Can you give us a brief description of the area surrounding your school and the things you do for fun? What are some things you like and dislike about the city/town you are located in as a student?

Worcester is a gem of a city nestled in the Heart of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Surrounding our school there are several fantastic restaurants to try out, parks and small beaches to relax at, and bars and pubs that all have distinct characters depending on your interests. There are always some sort of events happening in the downtown area of Worcester called Shrewsbury Street and it’s always fun to check out these areas and meet new people.

Likes about Worcester: Distinct neighborhoods with new/up and coming cafes and eateries. A lot of colleges/graduate programs in the area bring in a decent amount of young people. Low cost of living.

Dislikes about Worcester: Lack of effective public transportation, City is kind of spread out

What resources have been most useful to you in self-learning medical school material or in expanding on material taught in class?

Anki (Zanki Deck), SketchyMedical, Pathoma, First Aid

What seemed to be important topics or points of interest during your interviews? Were there particular aspects of your application that your interviewers focused or recurring themes between interviews?

I think one of the most important elements of interviewing for me was defining my narrative and fit for the program. So this required a fair bit of self-reflection to identify what my values are and what my vision for my career is. I was able to establish this early on and tailor my secondaries as well as my interviewing and now my experiences throughout medical school with this lens.

What is one thing you would do differently if you could go back to your undergraduate years or the time between undergrad and medical school?

If I could go back to my undergraduate years I would be have adopted Anki use much much earlier. As far as learning and memory, there is no way that I find more effective to store things in my brain than with Anki.

Given the number of obstacles we face en route to a career in medicine, everyone at some point feels doubtful of themselves. How has this affected you and what has helped you persevere through these sorts of feelings?

Commitment to a singular vision, meditation, and talking to 2nd years who have gone through the struggle. Each of these is refreshing in its own way and helps provide me with perspective and the motivation to continue.

How do you maintain your mental health while balancing school, work, family, and other social obligations?

Mediation & deep breathing. I have also recently started playing the ukulele which I find to be cathartic.

University of Cincinnati College of Medicine
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, B.S. Neuroscience
Age 22
From West Bloomfield, MI

What does your typical day of medical school look like?

8AM-Noon: Class and/or lab. Most classes M1/2 are optional attendance here. I generally tend to go, as it is nice to be able to interact with your classmates before  and after class and to get to know your professors.

Noon-12:30PM: Lunch

Afternoons: These vary a lot. Once a week we meet with our Learning Communities (12-13 students and a physician) to discuss cases we did as well as medical ethics. Once a week we have Clinical Skills. Sometimes we are assigned to shadow in other fields like Speech Therapy. Once every other week, each student goes to a doctor’s office to see patients-yes, we get to do this in our first and second years. This was my favorite part of the week! During the other afternoons I’d often be in the anatomy lab studying with friends, or working on something for my student organizations, or studying lecture material/working on assignments.

How do your classes and lectures compare to those at your undergraduate institution?

They are much more intense in that they cover more material, but the structure is the same (lecture-based). One of our blocks involved many more labs than the vast majority of my undergraduate classes.

How has your approach to learning and/or studying changed since you were an undergrad?

I use outside resources to reinforce lecture material. Seeing it in different ways helps solidify my grasp on it.

How would you describe the unique culture at your school? Are there special events or activities that you consider very representative of the culture at your institution? What influence has this culture had on your experience in medical school thus far?

We only have around 170 students in each class, which lets us get to know our classmates really well. I’ve liked that because being able to remain on friendly terms with many people helps a lot, especially given that you are all going through the same thing.

Can you give us a brief description of the area surrounding your school and the things you do for fun? What are some things you like and dislike about the city/town you are located in as a student?

The campus itself has a nice college town vibe. The downtown is very fancy, with nice restaurants, coffee shops, stores, etc. You can always find something to do downtown. After exams, we typically hang out at each others’ homes and do cookouts, or head downtown.

What resources have been most useful to you in self-learning medical school material or in expanding on material taught in class?

First Aid, Pathoma, and Sketchy-they really reinforce what was already covered in lecture

What seemed to be important topics or points of interest during your interviews? Were there particular aspects of your application that your interviewers focused or recurring themes between interviews?

This varies a lot by school, and for those interviews that are open-file, really depends on your application. I would say, regardless of where you are going, know your application really well, be ready to talk about it, especially causes you dedicated a lot of time or effort to.

What is one thing you would do differently if you could go back to your undergraduate years or the time between undergrad and medical school?

I would have studied abroad. I love traveling, and learning about new cultures-living in one for several months would have let me do that even more.

Given the number of obstacles we face en route to a career in medicine, everyone at some point feels doubtful of themselves. How has this affected you and what has helped you persevere through these sorts of feelings?

I’ve learned the importance of connecting with other people. This journey is a marathon, and although hard work and a good work ethic are both musts, it is important to have people you can turn to if you are feeling down, or even just need someone to talk to. I’ve also learned the importance of empathy-and of being there for others when they need me.

How do you maintain your mental health while balancing school, work, family, and other social obligations?

I make sure I see my friends-even if just for a few minutes before/after lecture or in lab or studying together. Having that human connection and talking to someone else in the same boat as myself really helps me maintain perspective. I also keep in touch with family. My friends and I hang out after exams, having cookouts, taking time to enjoy ourselves. I think doing this is what lets me remain healthy and happy.