On Being a Single Male
Endless eating, meeting sexy singles and mastering “Mo-vember” are just a handful of the many perks WashU’s single males enjoy. Medical school is full of new experiences. New city, new coursework, new classmates: Take it all in! What sounds like a more appealing use of free time: Sitting at home with your partner discussing the effects of your supposed leptin deficiency on your relationship or hitting the dance floor (See: Mike Talyana’s) and mingling with the plethora of vibrant young people that live in the area? Whether you’re partaking in shenanigans with friends or creating a scandal with a beautiful classmate or two, being a single male gives you the freedom to fully enjoy your last four (sorry, MD/PhDs) years of school. Anyways, once you have the “MD” tacked onto your title, there shouldn’t be any problems in the relationship department.
— Kunal M., M1
On Being a Single Female
Med school is so high school. Like, seriously. And if you’re like me, avoiding class drama will be a top priority. Never fear, though, as a single lady coming into med school, you will not be stuck with a dating pool of only 123 of your newest and most in-each-other’s-business friends. As others pair off around you, you’ll be branching out into the local bar/club scene: getting asked for dances at salsa on Thursdays at Club Viva, making conversation with the cute non-med-school guys at iTap. You’ll take advantage of the mixers put on by the Graduate Professional Council to land the numbers of hot and most definitely not in your class law, physical therapy or PhD students. You and your other single friends will help each other decide if it’d be weird to put that one super old picture on your Tinder profile (even though you look fantastic), be confused but amused by the profile of a guy posing topless with his giant teddy bear, and land some hot dates with interesting and attractive guys who have never set foot in medical school. So get out there and get some free lunches with guys who you don’t see every day in the study carrels!
— Emily R., M1
On Dating Someone in Your Class
Like most medical students, I received a lot of advice before coming to medical school: Stay on top of your loans, use FIRST AID for Step 1, and don’t date anyone in the class. Well, I got in contact with the financial office, bought a FIRST AID book that I’ve yet to open, and waited one whole week before starting to date someone in my class. There are definitely reasons not to: Things could get awkward, the class is small so people tend to know your business even before you do, etc. But there are reasons to go for it, too, and honestly, WashU accepts some brilliant and devastatingly attractive people, so what’s the point in resisting? Dating a fellow M1 means you’re dating someone with similar aspirations and passions who will truly understand if you haven’t emerged from your room the whole weekend because you sort of dropped the ball on histology. And between all that copious amount of free time the M2s love to remind us of and any classes you both just happen to skip, you can get some quality couple time in. So like everything in life, there are upsides and downsides; but if it works for you, then I say why not?
— Katie S., M1
On Dating Someone Outside of Med School
Dating someone outside of medical school is really different from dating a classmate. He neither knows nor cares what the brachial plexus is, and he finds the idea of the anatomy lab vaguely repulsive. But when I get busy, he cooks dinner, feeds the cat and puts up with all of my complaining about studying and exams. And, more importantly, he reminds me that there is a whole world outside of medical school.
— Elizabeth D., M1
On Being in a Long-Distance Relationship
If you’re reading this, we’re sorry. Really. Long distance sucks. But, at the same time, congratulations! You’ve already found that special someone willing to put up with your neurotic pre-med anxieties. (It only gets worse.) And then you have to leave for medical school. Being long distance has a way of exposing the weaknesses in a relationship, so you’ll need to be prepared. Keeping in touch is essential, whether it be via Skype, texting or snail mail (everyone likes letters). Coordinate your schedules early on and set dates well in advance. If you do start to panic and need to study, be sure to communicate that or they’ll feel like you’re drifting away. And remember: While you’re immersed in this stressful, exciting, nerve-racking thing called medical school, they’re living life too! Show interest in what they’re doing. First year offers ample opportunities for weekend trips (see On Skipping Class, p. 19 ), so visit often! We won’t lie; it isn’t easy to make any relationship work in medical school, much less one spread across the country. But when you finally do get to be together, you’ll be closer and stronger than ever before.
— Kavon J. & Liz M., M1
On Being Married
Being married is amazing. We met as undergrads at WashU and got married two weeks before I started M1 (but keep in mind that Jeanette took four years off between undergrad and WUSM). While we are both medical students, we have independent schedules during the day and have the evening to ourselves (usually without any med school discussion). We are busy and stressed at different points during the school year but serve as the primary support for the other person. Do you know how nice it feels to have a fridge full of groceries after your last exam of the week? We do. Sure, we don’t get to experience the thrills of being single and starting a new school, but there are definitely perks to being married in med school, too.
— Josh & Jeannette S., MSTP and M1