Students visiting a medical school should ask current M.D. candidates about the curriculum and how stressed they are.

Finding the right medical school is a two-way street. While students have to persuade admissions officers of their worth, an institution has to sell itself, too. One way to gauge whether a school is the right fit: campus visits.

Medical school campus visits are often part of the admissions process. A number of schools interview applicants for much of the school year, sometimes hosting two candidates every week from September through March. Hopeful M.D.s usually spend the day getting a tour of the campus, sitting in on a class, interviewing with a faculty member and eating lunch with current students.

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At some schools, interested candidates that have yet to apply such as those in a premed society also tour campus and meet with admissions officers, but aspiring students vying for an acceptance letter are much more common.

Experts agree that one of the most important things prospective medical school students can do during a visit is speak with current students. They, more than other people at a school, can give the most candid perspective on student life.

"They obviously really have some inside information that could be very valuable," says Sherri Baker, a pediatric cardiologist and the associate dean for admissions at the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine.

Schools often have current students give tours and eat lunch with prospective students. Admissions experts say it's during those times that a prospective candidate should ask questions about how and what medical students are taught.

They can ask about what the relationship is like between students and faculty and what kind of teaching methods are used, suggests Stephen Wheeler, an associate professor of family and geriatric medicine and associate dean of medical school admissions at the School of Medicine at University of Louisville. He says students can use these conversations to find out if a school practices team-based learning or other methods.

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Turn to Current Students When Choosing a Medical School