Why Are Med Students So Attractive?

One of the big reasons people find med students so attractive is status. Working in healthcare, and becoming a doctor, carries a lot of social leverage. As does the preconception that most doctors are smart, hard working and rich.

It’s strange however, at least to me, that med students should be held in such high esteem. We’re a very varied bunch – at least in terms of age, ethnicity, cultural and religous backgrounds. So how can such a broad generalisation apply?

Being 35, I’m hardly in my ‘attractive’ prime now (if I ever was). So I’m personally not sure becoming a med student has made me any more attractive or hotter! As for my colleagues, well, that’s more open for debate.

So let’s take the discussion further; are med students attractive? If so, why/why not?

Are Medical Students Attractive?

The answer to this question is entirely subjective. What one person finds attractive isn’t necessarily the same as the next. But there is a bit of a reputation for med students to fit the category.

Diving into some research, from various forum threads and the like existing on the internet, these seem to be the key reasons why med students are seen as attractive by many:

• Understand and respect the importance of exercise: Therefore, theoretically, more prone to work out, hit the gym or stay in shape
• More intelligent than your average person: At least true in the case of school’s with rigorous admissions criteria and difficult entry tests
• On a trajectory to become doctors: And therefore will be of “high status” in the eyes of many cultures and societies
• Young: If you count my story out, most med students are in their 20’s!

Each of these reasons is debated however (less exercise because of less time, you don’t have to be smart to be a doctor etc) in the same conversations.

So they’re not reliable reasons by any stretch!

And yes, there are plenty of bleary-eyed, burned out, overly stressed uggo’s among us too. But I only speak for myself here ????

Hot Med Students

Perhaps this whole ‘mythos’ surrounding the existence of the attractive med student is mainly the result of our over representation on social media. Everywhere you look, there are med students popping up in their flash white coats and silky smooth scrubs all over YouTube, Instagram, Tik Tok and the like.

Blogs? They’re for the uggo’s among us. Those of us who don’t like to show our face…

To see what I mean though you only need to look at articles like this, a female med student who bust out of her scrubs on Insta only to display “mad curves” (I’m too old for this stuff). Seemingly so “attractive” enough that it became a news story.

Then there’s your other “so-called” med student hotties (so-called because, as I mentioned, it’s subjective) who’ve found internet fame for their supposed above average looks…

• Joey Kiho Kim: American-Korean fashion model and med student
• Mindy: the female med student mentioned above (considered the “hottest med student on planet Earth” – because, apparently, there’s a few off-Earth contenders)
• Sebastian Pirie: Australian-based YouTuber
• Everyday Anna: UK-based YouTube newcomer

Honestly, it felt weird Googling all that…

The point is; maybe these lot have conflated the idea that we’re all toned, ripped, cute, fit (insert adjective here) specimens of evolutionary selection!

When we’re maybe just like any other student (or human) demograph.

Does Being a Med Student Attract More Girls?

Being a med student helped me attract my girlfriend. So yes.

All in honesty though, it’s hard to say. Being a male med student certainly puts you around girls (especially as female med students narrowly make up the majority), so that helps. But that will only do so much.

The real truth is that you’ll probably still have to depend on a combination of looks and personality. Much like you would in any other walk of life.

Of course it will also depend on where you are in med school too. Afterall, you’re still a student. And being a student, by default, involves being poor, broke and insecure. So the closer you are to graduating (MS3 or MS4 years), the greater possibility you might have to charm.

There’s a big difference between having a good career and saying you’re going to have one too.

If that’s what you’re hanging your hopes on…

My general advice? It probably won’t make you any more attractive than you are already. So work on all the other things; dressing well, exercising, working hard etc that you’d do otherwise. Things you’re already in control of.

But I’m no expert.

Are Med Students Attracted to Each Other?

Judging by what I see in med school among my colleagues? Yes. They’re constantly dating, breaking up, shopping around for other prospects etc (I try not to pay too much attention ????).

Obviously being in close quarters with each other, day-in day-out, probably helps. You get to know people more that way. Or at least you did before the era of online lessons, full-time face masks and other epidemiological-based restrictions.

Then there’s the issue of time (or a lack of it). In an environment (med school) which doesn’t allow for much exposure outside of it, the inevitable is going to happen.

The same reason that accounts for 22% of the US population meeting their spouses at work.

Which Med School Has the Most Attractive Students?

The one I go to of course…????

The truth here is that there aren’t any reliable studies to help. Only anecdote and hearsay.

This thread over at Student Doctor Network has some interesting ideas though. Here’s the common suggestions from a primarily North American med student community:

• Any Swedish med school
• McGill, Montreal (mainly for guys)
• Columbia, New York (Manhattanites always look good apparently)
• Any Caribbean med school (because it’s hot and tropical)
• Californian-based med schools

So yeah, not exactly conclusive…

I’d hazard a guess as to say every med school will have a good mix between the attractive and the mere mortal. As long as they don’t focus too strongly on accepting mature students or non-traditional grads like myself…

Can Being Attractive Help Med School Interviews?

It’s certainly not going to be a detriment. Not if you already meet the prerequisites to get an interview in the first place.

Much like the conclusions in my article do doctors treat attractive patients differently, there will always be some element of human bias at play when it comes to selection. Especially when two candidates are equal to each other in most other aspects (admission scores, experience level, personal statements etc).

The point is it shouldn’t be something to focus on as it’s outside of our control (for the most part). And also because we still have to work to get in our foot in the door (to obtain an interview etc) first.

But, scientifically-speaking, it would be a lie to say being conventionally attractive doesn’t help.

Whatever “conventionally attractive” means…

NOTE: there is a study in Academic medicine however that DOES suggest being unattractive can be a disadvantage in getting into certain residencies. So maybe something to worry about later?

Final Thoughts

Why are med students so attractive? All we have are theories.

Maybe it’s something to do with status and career prospects. Maybe it’s the dazzling white coat and scrubs.

Maybe it’s just really good Instagram filters and video editing techniques.

Personally I don’t really care.

I’m just trying to make sense of a dumb question.

Image Credit – @austindistel at Unsplash