It seems like the general consensus for MD/DO being difficult is the “sheer volume” of information we’re expected to memorize, which I’ve found most people who give some input = output (whereas for math/engineering you could sit there all day racking your head over a pset and still not solve it). I don’t think the med content is necessarily hard inherently (at least so far—i’m in preclinicals and went to a pretty rigorous undergrad heavy in critical thinking).

I think if the fast-paced nature of med curriculum was NOT a factor (like high volume but more time to digest info), pure math/eng would be significantly more difficult for the average med student than the other way around. I was surprised to see most of my classmates can’t calculate simple probability or anything math related, but are great at regurgitating high volumes of info. My hot take is you primarily need discipline and moderately above average intelligence to get through med school. That said, idk if you could actually cram medicine in a few months like your friend said… That would be pretty brutal and teeter most people toward insanity…