<p>In general any thing to be aware of?</p>
<p>More info:</p>
<p>I'm a second year med student and I'm *just<a href="and%20I%20mean%20JUST">/i</a> starting to date a first year law student. We've known each other since freshman year, and so other than trying to do the whole "friends-->more than friends" thing I'm just wondering if there are any hidden dangers/traps that I may not be aware of. Any tips?</p>
<p>Oh sure. :) </p>
<p>1Ls are full of stress. I'm fairly laid-back, was very prepared going in, and had a hard undergrad major. I was still a stress case, although one of the more relaxed people in my class. </p>
<p>Some thoughts:
-It is very, very hard to get even one day behind. Playing catch-up is a zillion times harder than in undergrad. If possible, keep things low-key during the week. Maybe a quick dinner here, a coffee there. That is really all that an ambitious student wants to do during the week.
-Read Scott Turow's 1L. One of the true things is that you learn how to "lawyer" people; expect a girlfriend who gets somewhat technical during fights come October. (Wish I were kidding, but it takes work to not use your new knowledge against other people.)
-For those not used to professional school, the work seems extraordinarily dry. Law students also find things to be funny that no one else does. Keep her laughing.<br>
-If she's your age, she's taken a few years off. It might be hard for her to get used to the "middle school" mentality of law school. Everyone is all up in each other's business. It's really nice to get away from law school and to stop talking about it. I do remember that, in late October, when I road-tripped home to Boston for the Red Sox victory parade, I was THRILLED to spend, ahem, 24 hours in a car with a friend. She's an art type. She's never going to law school and never knew anyone who had until me. So very nice to spend a ton of time with someone and forget about the law. It is all-consuming during 1L year, esp. the fall semester. (During 2L year, you have time to do extracurricular activities and can really start to think about other things besides Civ Pro and contracts.) So, advice: follow her cues. She might want to talk about law school a lot, or might really, really want a break from even thinking about it.<br>
-Think lots of patience, support, and don't expect things to be too close immediately. </p>
<p>It's not completely horrible - I'm focusing on the bad stuff because that's the stuff you have to worry about. :) It's a definite growing experience, and can be completely amazing when you realize how much you've learned in a few weeks and how immersed you can get in it. </p>
<p>Good luck. :)</p>
<p>Ariesathena, you need to clear out your PM box</p>
<p>Done. Email if you wish.</p>
<p>When you two marry, be sure not to have kids because they will have way too much time and money and not enough parental attention.</p>
<p>Someone clearly missed the Cosby Show growing up.</p>
<p>Thats only because Bill Cosby is a god among men.</p>
<p>well that's a really long ways off considering this is a first date. Heh...I had pretty minimal supervision growing up so I'm not too worried about it.</p>
<p>Bigredmed: </p>
<p>Interesting that you started dating a law student..my situation is a bit different, but here it goes. My boyfriend of four months is about to start his first year in med school. He is moving about fifteen miles away from here, so it's not that bad--still more distance than we are used to. I am currently applying for law school for admission in Fall 2009. I am just working full time and am really dedicated to making it work--what kind of advice can you give me? I know he'll be hella busy during the week and I plan on doing most of the driving to his place (in exchange for dinners and such). Things have been going really well between us and I want to keep it that way. Thanks for anything you have to tell me!</p>
<p>Actually, the first year of medical school shouldn't be too impossible if your expectations aren't too high -- I suspect you'll be busier than he is, depending (of course) on where he goes to school and what his curriculum is like. The really brutal time will come either next year or the year after, when things really start to heat up. Especially if by "full-time" you mean 40 hours a week (instead of, say, 80) and that your law school apps don't take up too much of your time, I bet this first year will be okay. The boys in my school all managed to hold on to their relationships -- even long distance -- pretty well through medical school. The women have a lot more trouble, perhaps because men have higher expectations on a woman's time than vice-versa.</p>
<p>By now, the OP should be in his fourth year of med school, and the object of his affections should be a 3L.</p>
<p>Law school is tough on relationships. So are those first few years of practicing a profession. </p>
<p>I married one of my law school classmates, but our first date happened nine years after graduation.</p>
<p>When I was a young lawyer, I dated a resident in a general surgery program. Our dates generally consisted of me bringing takeout and a book to the hospital during a 24-hour shift, reading for hours, and having a quick meal during rare breaks that were typically interrupted by her pager.</p>
<p>Occasionally, we'd go to a show, where she would generally fall asleep. (Something about her 100-hour work weeks.) Ultimately, she moved to another state for career reasons, and we parted on friendly terms, and married other people.</p>
<p>(We did meet again, years later, with our respective spouses. She looks a lot like my wife; I was well aware of that fact, of course. I almost burst out laughing, though, when I saw met her husband, who could easily pass for my brother.)</p>
<p>I briefly dated a first-year resident (the year after internship) when I was a 1L. It worked well because we understood how busy the other one was, but we really needed to work hard to schedule time together, and were generally exhausted--we did a lot of dinners out and watching movies (and, like Greybeard's gf, often fell asleep mid-date!). The relationship ended, but not because of either of our careers.</p>
<p>A zillion years ago I dated a resident. She worked six days a week, crazy hours, and spent the seventh doing everything else including her shopping, laundry and assorted errands. We didn't think of my bringing a book to the hospital. After a short dating session we realized that she just didn't have time for any dating and wouldn't for a couple of years, and that was that. No, never saw her again.</p>
<p>But I never dated a law student.</p>