<p>I don't post many threads but I'm bored after work so this is going to be one long ass post.</p>
<p>Here's my two pennies on life as a M1:</p>
<p>Academics: In some ways, the M1 year is like your freshman year of college. It takes a lot of adjustment and perhaps the development of new study habits. You were hot stuff before but you go into med school much like you go into college, with some uncertainty of whether you'll remain a top student or whether you'll be scraping the bottom of the barrel.</p>
<p>That said, med school is harder than college. Duh. Not only in terms of class time devoted to science but in terms of how much you have to learn per hour of lecture. You will likely have to study more and you will likely have to make many sacrifices.</p>
<p>The biggest change in terms of grading is simply that the means on tests are a lot higher. I'm used to means of 55-65% on science tests but, regardless of how tough the tests have been in med school, the mean has never dipped below 80%. Usually, you have to score 95%+ to be in the top 15%. I'm thoroughly impressed with my classmates. I knew they were smart (70% of the class from Top 20 college, 3.8/35 averages coming in) but what's impressed me far more is how hard working they are. I've never seen such a diligent bunch. They put my Cornell classmates to shame in work ethic.</p>
<p>Extracurriculars: People spend less time on EC's. They don't count very much for residency apps and people just don't have free time. But, most people still find a few activities that they can engage in and you know they're not doing it to pad their resume. It's refreshing to see people actually passionate about the causes they're fighting for, whether it's lobbying for universal healthcare or LGBT rights. </p>
<p>Social life: For me, it's very similar to high school. Everyone knows everyone else's business because there's usually only 100-200 kids per graduating class. You'll eventually form cliques but will generally remain on friendly terms with everyone else. The spectrum of social lives vary from non-existent (those aiming for plastics) to quite similar to college (ie lotsa drinking). </p>
<p>It's very hard to meet non-med school people. There are not that many opportunities to if you don't actively seek it out. I actually spend more time with my girlfriend and her friends than my med school classmates. Sometimes, it's refreshing to hang out with "real" people who have real problems instead of the former Ivy Leaguers from upper middle class neighborhoods that I'm used to. And, despite all the borderline suicidal threads whining about, gasp, a B- in a class, we have lived relatively cushy lives compared with 90% of the general population. It does take some luck and fortune to get to where we are. And, for the sake of our future careers as physicians, it's useful to be able to identify with those who come from different backgrounds. One of the main sources of conflict b/w my gf and I is the fact we have had drastically different experiences and thus it's hard sometimes for us to appreciate the perspective of the other.</p>
<p>All in all, my M1 year passed very fast for me. There was some stress from academics but not as much as I thought there would be. M2 year will be tougher but luckily for me I still have a few tricks up my sleeve (like going to class) that should help take some of the load off.</p>