UT Southwestern Class of 2013!

[Kiliki]

I have a question regarding financial aid. If anyone knows the answer, please help!! I talked the UTSW financial aid today, and I was told that I would not be awarded with any grant my second year if I didn't take out a unsubsidized loan in the first year. The financial aid lady sounded REALLY busy and didn't really explain the whole process to mel. She said that it was explained to the student at MS0 days that UTSW frontload their grant the first year, so everyone would receive a grant whether or not an unsubsidized loan is taken out. Unforunately, I missed MS0 day so I didn't know about any of this (accepted off waitlist in April, just missed MS0 day in March).

I declined my unsubsidized loan this year because I do have some savings. My savings + subsidized loan + grant money would last me the first year. I thought to save on the interest of the unsub loan by not taking it until the second year.... I really didn't know this would mean I will receive NO grant next year!

I plan on calling financial aid again, hopefully on a time that they're less busy and ask if I could de-decline some of my unsub loan offer. Before I bother UTSW again, can anyone please tell me how much grant one can expect for the second year and on? If the amount isn't much, then I won't bother the financial aid people. However, if the amount is significant, I think it would be worth the effort. Any help or advice??? Thanks everyone in advance.

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[Bearcole]

I am about to buy a laptop for school and am leaning toward a Mac. Is there any advantage (or disadvantage) to getting either a Mac or PC for UTSW? Thanks in advance!

 

[fastrandstrongr]

I am about to buy a laptop for school and am leaning toward a Mac. Is there any advantage (or disadvantage) to getting either a Mac or PC for UTSW? Thanks in advance!

macs rock. ive been on campus for a bit and have had no issues with mine.

 

[Sol Rosenberg]

Killiki, Financial Aid packages are personalized so, someone else's package is not necessarily indicative of what you will get. I don't feel comfortable sharing exact dollar amounts, but I will say that I received about 75% of my first year grant for second year.

As far as macs vs. PCs go, it doesn't matter.

 

[Kiliki]

Killiki, Financial Aid packages are personalized so, someone else's package is not necessarily indicative of what you will get. I don't feel comfortable sharing exact dollar amounts, but I will say that I received about 75% of my first year grant for second year.

As far as macs vs. PCs go, it doesn't matter.

Don't worry about sharing the exact number, I totally understand that it's a personal matter. Thank you so much for the percentage estimation though, that really helps.

 

[UTnut]

I had asked this question a while back and am just wondering if anything has changed. Will a 64-bit operating system be compatible with the UTSW email client and will it allow me to access the server from off campus?

I don't know much about computers but all of the ones that I want have 64-bit OS preinstalled. I would hate to have to downgrade to 32-bit and cap out my memory at 3 GB.

 

[Sol Rosenberg]

I had asked this question a while back and am just wondering if anything has changed. Will a 64-bit operating system be compatible with the UTSW email client and will it allow me to access the server from off campus?

I don't know much about computers but all of the ones that I want have 64-bit OS preinstalled. I would hate to have to downgrade to 32-bit and cap out my memory at 3 GB.

UTSW uses Novell Groupwise as the email client. If there is a difference between the 32-bit and 64-bit versions, it's almost certain that the one that UTSW uses is the 32-bit version. Therefore, you would be on your own to find, install, and configure a 64-bit client.

But, never fear, there is also web-based Groupwise email access, which you can use from ANY web browser (and is, thus, OS independent.) Personally, I just use the web-based access and never bothered to install the Groupwise client anyway. You can find the Groupwise webmail here:

http://gw.swmed.edu/gw/index.html

...if you've already gotten your UT Southwestern IDs (which you should be receiving about now, if you haven't already) you can even try it out.....

 

[Bearcole]

I just got my UTSW email yesterday and was trying to transfer it to my gmail account, but for some reason it wasn't working. Has anyone been able to do this? I think the problem is gmail has the wrong POP3 server (mail.utsouthwestern.edu) and port (110), but I am not sure what the right ones are.

 

[Pemberley]

I just got my UTSW email yesterday and was trying to transfer it to my gmail account, but for some reason it wasn't working. Has anyone been able to do this? I think the problem is gmail has the wrong POP3 server (mail.utsouthwestern.edu) and port (110), but I am not sure what the right ones are.

I've never tried gmail (I didn't know it could get mail from other POP3 accounts) but I've only ever been able to make Evolution (a Linux equivalent of outlook) work with UTSW's mail account when I'm hooked up to the VPN. I'm not the biggest expert, though, so it could just be that I don't know what I'm doing.

 

[Sol Rosenberg]

I just got my UTSW email yesterday and was trying to transfer it to my gmail account, but for some reason it wasn't working. Has anyone been able to do this? I think the problem is gmail has the wrong POP3 server (mail.utsouthwestern.edu) and port (110), but I am not sure what the right ones are.

I've never tried gmail (I didn't know it could get mail from other POP3 accounts) but I've only ever been able to make Evolution (a Linux equivalent of outlook) work with UTSW's mail account when I'm hooked up to the VPN. I'm not the biggest expert, though, so it could just be that I don't know what I'm doing.

Yeah, Bearcole, I think you're either confused or not explaining something correctly. If you want to forward your email to gmail, you don't need to include POP3 server information -- you can just have groupwise forward all of your emails.

If you are talking about using some other email client (gmail isn't an email client) than groupwise to get your UT-Southwestern email, then that process is more involved (and more than I care to describe on this forum.) For a while, I used Outlook to get both my gmail and my UT-Southwestern email via IMAP (I am not sure that UT-Southwestern even has a POP3 server.) But, like Pemberley said, I found that it was not possible to SEND emails without logging in through VPN (which, in turn, forbids access to my gmail account while my VPN session is active.) If you ask the IR department, they will be less than helpful, because they don't support any email client besides groupwise.

I ended up just mostly accessing my UTSW email through the web interface.

 

[emucansado]

I just got my UTSW email yesterday and was trying to transfer it to my gmail account, but for some reason it wasn't working. Has anyone been able to do this? I think the problem is gmail has the wrong POP3 server (mail.utsouthwestern.edu) and port (110), but I am not sure what the right ones are.

I was wondering the same thing yesterday.

I found you can just go to options, then rules then set up a rule to forward mail to your gmail account. The only thing you're unable to do is send email from your utsouthwestern.edu account through gmail. PM me if you have questions on how to set up the forwarding.

 

[Bearcole]

Thanks for y'all's responses, I think emucansado's way worked.
Also, here is how to send email from utsw in gmail:
while in gmail go to settings-->accounts:
at the top of that section it says "send mail as:", click "add another email address you own". That should do it, just make sure you confirm the email (it will tell you what to do).
OK, let me know if any of that was unclear, HTH!

 

[TheLesPaul]

I would strongly recommend forwarding as opposed to having gmail grab your UTSW email via POP -- the nature of the encrypted connection that UTSW uses for their groupwise server scrambles all the attachments if you try to download it via POP to gmail, whereas attachments are preserved via forwarding.

 

[EveeSTi]

Do you know if it is possible to receive UTSW email on my blackberry? It won't let me set it up like I did for gmail, all I had to do there was enter in my address and password. Is there some trick?

 

[Onegin]

Sorry if this has been addressed earlier, but has anyone used the "buy" link on the Computer Purchase website to order a computer yet? It keeps saying that there is a server connection problem when I click on it. Do we have to use the VPN to access this website?

 

[sprinkibrio]

I just got my UTSW email yesterday and was trying to transfer it to my gmail account, but for some reason it wasn't working. Has anyone been able to do this? I think the problem is gmail has the wrong POP3 server (mail.utsouthwestern.edu) and port (110), but I am not sure what the right ones are.

Keep in mind when you are a third year and start emailing patient info to yourself and others, if you have your email forwarded to gmail it is no longer encrypted aka no longer safe for patient info.

 

[a winner is you]

Do you know if it is possible to receive UTSW email on my blackberry? It won't let me set it up like I did for gmail, all I had to do there was enter in my address and password. Is there some trick?

I forward all my SW mail to my gmail account and just access the gmail account with my iphone.

 

[a winner is you]

I know those chapters will probably just be the really basic stuff most people have learned like 5 times by now, but it's still kinda funny. I guess we really do have to get textbooks for most classes? I haven't really heard anything about it..

If there's 1 advice I can give to incoming students, it's DO NOT BUY ANY TEXTBOOKS. The only 2 books you will need for the ENTIRE FIRST TWO YEARS is Netter's and whatever book they make you buy for genetics.

 

[justmoi]

If there's 1 advice I can give to incoming students, it's DO NOT BUY ANY TEXTBOOKS. The only 2 books you will need for the ENTIRE FIRST TWO YEARS is Netter's and whatever book they make you buy for genetics.

This is kind of what I was wondering about. So, you think we shouldn't buy big moore and little moore or anything else for anatomy? Not even Dissector at this point?

Thanks!

 

[Sol Rosenberg]

This is kind of what I was wondering about. So, you think we shouldn't buy big moore and little moore or anything else for anatomy? Not even Dissector at this point?

Thanks!

I posted this before.....DO NOT buy a dissector. It would be a complete waste of money, since the anatomy faculty at UTSW created their own dissector (reportedly much better than Grant's) which is what you use (and it's free.)

Seriously, the best advice that we can give is to not buy any books at this point (besides Netter's and whatever they are using for Genetics, like a previous poster said.)

 

[justmoi]

thanks, Sol! Might have missed your previous post. That advice helps a lot.

 

[Kiliki]

Anybody knows where first-year Med student can park at? Which parking garage? Thanks!!

 

[Sol Rosenberg]

Anybody knows where first-year Med student can park at? Which parking garage? Thanks!!

Garage 3. A bunch of lots too. The full list is on the application, I think.....

 

[Kiliki]

Garage 3. A bunch of lots too. The full list is on the application, I think.....

I see a Garage 3/Lot 4 on the application. I'll go with that one. Thanks for your quick reponse!

BTW, this might be a silly question, but where are the MS1 classes held anyway? Is it in the McDermott Plaza?

 

[Sol Rosenberg]

I see a Garage 3/Lot 4 on the application. I'll go with that one. Thanks for your quick reponse!

BTW, this might be a silly question, but where are the MS1 classes held anyway? Is it in the McDermott Plaza?

Yes, #29 on the campus map (though the lecture halls are BENEATH McDermott Plaza, if you want to get all technical )

 

[funkydrmonkey]

On the anatomy website, it says

A dissecting kit. These are available at the student store and at Majors Scientific Books. A dissecting kit suitable for human dissection should include: forceps (regular and tissue), probe, scissors (large and small), and a scalpel designed for detachable blades. A sufficient supply of blades will be needed. We also recommend purchasing a small pair of sharps-sharps scissors and a small pair of hemostats to augment the basic kit.

Are the sharps-sharps scissors or the hemostats extraneous. If not, where can one buy them?

 

[emucansado]

I still cannot log onto the online access for parking services using the same username and password I use the the UTSW email. Am I missing something?

 

[Kiliki]

I still cannot log onto the online access for parking services using the same username and password I use the the UTSW email. Am I missing something?

I couldn't either. I think there's a glitch in the system. I called the parking office and they emailed me that application and told me to fax in the application instead to 214-648-0722. I actually just faxed it. The 2009-2010 application is attached (hopefully it works!!!)

 

[Kiliki]

I couldn't either. I think there's a glitch in the system. I called the parking office and they emailed me that application and told me to fax in the application instead to 214-648-0722. I actually just faxed it. The 2009-2010 application is attached (hopefully it works!!!)

I found out the application just became available on the website. You can get it there too....

BTW, thanks, Sol, for being so helpful!

 

[DrDallas08]

On the anatomy website, it says



Are the sharps-sharps scissors or the hemostats extraneous. If not, where can one buy them?

I believe the sharps-sharps and hemostats are extraneous. Sometimes you will get these from your big sib. If not, you can get them at Majors Book store on Butler street. Both are extremely useful.

 

[charliebrown09]

I found out the application just became available on the website. You can get it there too....

BTW, thanks, Sol, for being so helpful!

Hey yeah, I was having the same problem and I found that parking registration but I had some questions. What did you put in Employee Number, Department, Title/Certification, MC or Student Box #, Ext. or Pager #?

 

[Kiliki]

Hey yeah, I was having the same problem and I found that parking registration but I had some questions. What did you put in Employee Number, Department, Title/Certification, MC or Student Box #, Ext. or Pager #?

I just put down School of Medicine for department, medical student for title, student ID for Employee Number (it probably wasn't necessary), and left the Student Box MC, EXT or Pager # blank. That's about it

 

[txprodigal]

does anyone know if it would be reasonable to commute from the 75 / Spring Valley or the George Bush (190) / Jupiter area everyday to UTSW?

If I did this, I would not have to pay for living expenses. Would it be worth it?

 

[sprinkibrio]

So for anatomy you basically need tissue forceps, 2-3 scalples (they get lost easily), dissection sissors, blades that fit your scalples, and something to keep them all in--so a dissecting kit will cover you. Dissecting groups (four to a cadaver) usually get two-three dissecting kits. AMSA and the AMA sell dissection kits, gloves, scrubs, clipboards, etc at orientation at a discount and this is where 90% of the class gets that taken care of. Some upperclassmen will even give old scrubs, shoes, books, and dissecting kits to their little sibs. Student council sells stethescopes, opthalmoscopes, etc which you should *definitely* wait to buy. Parking is handled at orientation (aka they won't ticket you the first day). I was here early for research and had all that covered and was extremely bored at orientation because most people were waiting in line for things like this. Premed analness is not awarded until third year, teehee Also, I know you guys feel out of the loop... maybe you're not getting as many emails as you want telling you what is going on, etc, but the skill of just showing up at the right place at the right time and figuring it out as you go is something that will help you loads later on.

Txprodigal, I've known people that commute from Plano. It just depends how long you want to drive. Class first year starts at 9 (second year 10) so for the first year you'll be fighting traffic. I would usually get in at 7 am and study in the library to get around that problem.

 

[Sol Rosenberg]

does anyone know if it would be reasonable to commute from the 75 / Spring Valley or the George Bush (190) / Jupiter area everyday to UTSW?

If I did this, I would not have to pay for living expenses. Would it be worth it?

Definitely doable, but may be more so depending on if you plan on going to class or not.

Give it a try -- you can always move closer to campus later if you need to.

 

[cherish]

hey guys, does anyone know if our first semester classes are all P/F? because on the course schedule we received, it has a PF next to the credit, so does that mean Pass/Fail? If it is, that would be so awesome!

 

[Sol Rosenberg]

hey guys, does anyone know if our first semester classes are all P/F? because on the course schedule we received, it has a PF next to the credit, so does that mean Pass/Fail? If it is, that would be so awesome!

Hello McFly.....

 

[midn]

I didn't really like the dissecting kits they sold us at orientation. The scalpel blades I was given didn't fit my scalpel plus some useful things like the very fine dissecting scissors weren't in our kit (if I recall correctly; I've been trying to forget my horrible days in anatomy lab).

I think the AMSA/AMA kits ran about $9 whereas the one from Majors was like $12. The Majors kit came with hemostats and a much smaller scissor that was useful for dissecting out very fine things. Hemostats are very useful in holding things like arteries, veins, and nerves while you dissect around them. They also come in handy for quizzing one another since they grip things well without damaging tissue.

If I'm wrong, please correct me. I don't want to start another rumor like I did about P/F not really being P/F (it IS P/F).

 

[Sol Rosenberg]

I didn't really like the dissecting kits they sold us at orientation. The scalpel blades I was given didn't fit my scalpel plus some useful things like the very fine dissecting scissors weren't in our kit (if I recall correctly; I've been trying to forget my horrible days in anatomy lab).

I think the AMSA/AMA kits ran about $9 whereas the one from Majors was like $12. The Majors kit came with hemostats and a much smaller scissor that was useful for dissecting out very fine things. Hemostats are very useful in holding things like arteries, veins, and nerves while you dissect around them. They also come in handy for quizzing one another since they grip things well without damaging tissue.

If I'm wrong, please correct me. I don't want to start another rumor like I did about P/F not really being P/F (it IS P/F).

That's the way that I remember it. Most of the blades were the "correct" size (25, IIRC,) but the scalpel handle was too small for them. 2 of my tankmates bought their kits from Majors, which had the correct scalpel handle, but not many blades, so everything sort of complemented (i.e. we used the handles from the Majors' kits, and the blades from the AMSA kit.)

 

[TheLesPaul]

DON'T get the kit from AMSA. Don't even get the kit from Majors. Majors sells equipment 'a la carte', so to speak, and I suggest you buy a couple scalpels (one small and one big -- you'll see when you get there), a pair of hemostats, a blunt and a needletip dissecting probe, and scissors (the small ones, the big ones are pretty useless).

That way you don't buy the ridiculous magnifying glass, awkward/unwieldy pair of scissors, and other uselessness that comes with the Majors kit, or suffer from the crap that is the AMSA kit.

 

[TheLesPaul]

does anyone know if it would be reasonable to commute from the 75 / Spring Valley or the George Bush (190) / Jupiter area everyday to UTSW?

If I did this, I would not have to pay for living expenses. Would it be worth it?

That's a 25-30 min drive, more w/ traffic (which is bad on 75S, which is the best way into school).

I wouldn't do it, b/c I like being around students and making spontaneous plans. If you like space, don't really hang out w/ ppl all that much, or whatever, it should be fine.

 

[potato51]

holy crap, it's already August. Good luck to the new MS1s!

 

[HiDoc88]

Just out of curiosity, can any current students comment on how much studying (i.e. about how many hours per day, how much during the weekend) they did during MS1 and MS2? How much free time did you guys find yourself having?

 

[Sol Rosenberg]

Can any of the current students comment on about how much studying they do every week (incl. the weekends)? And also, how do you guys like (or dislike) how exams are spaced out throughout the year?

I typically spend around 12 hours per day EITHER in class or studying. Including weekends. BUT I generally take one day (sometimes 2 half days) off per week where I do NOTHING related to school. I am VERY happy with my performance this year so far

Just out of curiosity, can any current students comment on how much studying (i.e. about how many hours per day, how much during the weekend) they did during MS1 and MS2? How much free time did you guys find yourself having?

Asked and answered a few months ago

 

[HiDoc88]

Asked and answered a few months ago

Hah, thanks for re-answering my question, Sol. I forgot that I had already asked it.

Any one else want to comment?

 

[a winner is you]

Just out of curiosity, can any current students comment on how much studying (i.e. about how many hours per day, how much during the weekend) they did during MS1 and MS2? How much free time did you guys find yourself having?

First year, I crammed probably the last 8-10 days before exams 10-14 hours a day, and didn't go to class (besides anatomy lab) or study the rest of the time. Obviously for times when we have multiple exams close together, this needed to be modified a bit.

Second year, we get 3 weeks in between exams. I got into a good schedule (for me) where I'd take the first week off, read the syllabus and catch up on lectures the second week, then read the syllabus 2 more times during test week. So basically, I was studying 12-14 hours a day for 2 out of the 3 weeks in between exams, and not studying or going to class at all the week after exams. Note when I say I study 12-14 hours a day, I mean I'm sitting there TRYING to study in front of my computer but often I'd be very unproductive and distracted. So if you're efficient, you could probably study even less.

First year was actually a breeze and I had plenty of free time. Second year, I had less free time but was still never stressed out.

edit: I'm also easily in the top quartile of the class, so if you're not as competitive or don't care, you could get away with less studying as well.

 

[lol.psych]

So y'all are talking about what to get and what not to get and all that... but when do we actually do it? I bought a dissection kit already (shouldn't have, probably, it was an impulse buy in one of those OH GOD EVERYONE PROBABLY ALREADY HAS ONE WHAT DO I DO EVERYTHING IS A DISASTER I WILL FAIL OUT OF MEDSCHOOL AND BECOME A MIDDLE SCHOOL SCIENCE TEACHER [nothing against those. In fact, I think that I had a crush on my middle school science teacher in like 7th or 8th grade]), but when should I get scrubs and lame-shoes and notebooks and a stethoscope (less of an issue for me, since my mom is giving me her old one so as to not have to spend a bunch of moneys) and diagnostic kit, etc? Can I wait on it until classes start?

Regarding classes - do biochem AND anatomy start the first week? Or does anatomy start 2nd week? And when does anatomy lab start? Is it one of those "welcome to your first class of anatomy. this is an arm. as you can see, the arm [blah blah blah]. tonight, you will be ripping this arm to shreds in a controlled and orderly fashion, even though probably none of you know what you are doing" situations, or will we have time to learn about wtf we are learning about before we get right into it? I've gotten the impression that pre-learning is a silly idea and will not be effective, really, but should I be trying to youtube videos about how to dissect bodies? (Sorry. Am just concerned about screwing everything up on the first day and making the rest of the course unnecessarily difficult as a result)

And, finally, do any of you ride bikes to school? I just got a pretty sweet low-profile (not flashy or anything) hybrid and want to ride it to school. I live near the Oak Lawn/Uptown area. I got a pretty for-serious U-lock, and cable lock to lock the wheels to the U-lock, so I am less concerned about it being stolen (is this foolish?). I am more concerned about what route to take, and I am especially concerned about where to lock my bike. Are there racks anywhere?

Man. I have been repressing all of my compulsive urges all summer, eating sprinkles cupcakes and riding my bike and organizing my apartment and doing enjoyable and relaxing things... I am totally scared that classes will start and I won't want to get out of my lazy unstructured sleepy routine, or that everyone will have spent the summer learning and studying, or that it will turn out that I really don't have the chops to make it at UTSW, or [insert standard pre medschool concern]. Face-slap of reality, please?

 

[charliebrown09]

I am totally scared that classes will start and I won't want to get out of my lazy unstructured sleepy routine, or that everyone will have spent the summer learning and studying, or that it will turn out that I really don't have the chops to make it at UTSW, or [insert standard pre medschool concern]. Face-slap of reality, please?

I am currently enjoying a lazy unstructured sleepy routine and have not even entertained the idea of studying. So there's at least one other M1 who is just as likely to accidentally decapitate our 'first patient' and be unceremoniously dismissed from the program. So at the very worst, you'll at least have someone to walk you back to your bike on that dreaded first day. (If you're bike's still there and isn't being pawned for groceries.)

 

[Sol Rosenberg]

You guys need to chill. Seriously. You don't need to be worrying about doing anything besides what Wes or any other "official" UTSW person is telling you to do right now. You can buy scrubs and kits at orientation or during the week after.

Lainapox: Anatomy starts 1 week after Biochemistry, and you get thrown right into lab the first day (the first lab is the superficial back, which is essentially impossible to mess up.)

Don't even think about trying to pre-study. It will do you no good. Enjoy the rest of your summer and relax. Everything will be fine.

EDIT: I wouldn't ride a bike. The area around UTSW is very sketchy.

 

[emucansado]

Maybe I'm at the opposite end of the spectrum. I do get nervous about getting started in something that will be very difficult. However, I don't plan on studying anything or buying anything until orientation at the earliest. I think we're all in the same boat, nobody knows really what to expect and I don't think the school expects us to come with everything either. Any current students think we should buy anything before we get to class?

On another note, the web curriculum lists biochem starting on Tuesday. So is Monday like an orientation day? Looking forward to meeting everyone in less than two weeks at Pre-op!