UT Southwestern Class of 2013!

Does anybody happen to know when our white coat will be?

Hi All! I found out a week ago that I will be attending Southwestern in the Fall, and could not be more excited!! I do have a couple questions for any medical students, or anyone else who has info that I don't. First, how is the medical insurance at Southwestern. I was told that the health insurance at UTHSCSA was terrible, and to find insurance elsewhere...is it the same at Southwestern? Secondly, to reiterate a previous post, does anyone know if the 5,000 scholarships are usually given just the first year, or if they are reoccurring. I can't wait to meet you guys in August!

What do you consider "terrible" in the context of insurance? I think the insurance that the school offers is fine, and is reasonably priced.

Also, whatever scholarships you received are personal, so the best way to find out the details is to ask your financial aid counselor.

Regarding insurance, when will we receive the info on the options available? When is the soonest we can purchase it?

braindoc2013 said:

Hi All! I found out a week ago that I will be attending Southwestern in the Fall, and could not be more excited!! I do have a couple questions for any medical students, or anyone else who has info that I don't. First, how is the medical insurance at Southwestern. I was told that the health insurance at UTHSCSA was terrible, and to find insurance elsewhere...is it the same at Southwestern? Secondly, to reiterate a previous post, does anyone know if the 5,000 scholarships are usually given just the first year, or if they are reoccurring. I can't wait to meet you guys in August!

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The $5000 I got was labeled as "Educational Grant". My guess is that the amount each year will completely depend on the school's financial availability that year. I hope we will get it every year though. Can any current student from Southwestern shed light on how much grant they received every year?? Of course, only if you feel comfortable disclosing the amount. Thanks!!!

HiDoc88 said:

Does anybody happen to know when our white coat will be?

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I remember the current students at my interview said it's usually in october, after the exams...

AmiJack1983 said:

Regarding insurance, when will we receive the info on the options available? When is the soonest we can purchase it?

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IIRC, the insurance plan info was sent with the orientation stuff, in July. You will get a bunch of stuff from Wes starting in July. However, here is the link to the information on this year's plan (incidentally, it looks like it is the same policy as UTHSCSA, because the link to the enrollment form takes you to a form that says UTHSCSA)

http://www4.utsouthwestern.edu/stuaff//Health_Insurance_at_a_Glance.htm

Do most students prefer Netter's or Rohen's or something else at UTSW? And does the school itself recommend one?

EveeSTi said:

Do most students prefer Netter's or Rohen's or something else at UTSW? And does the school itself recommend one?

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I don't know anyone that didn't use Netter's as their primary source, so if your reason for asking was that you were going to ignore my previous advice and go out and purchase books in advance that is probably one that you can safely buy. You can get a "free" Netter's by joining AMSA (actually, it's probably more accurate to say that you get the AMSA membership free, because the cost of AMSA membership = Cost of Netter's) but make sure you read up on AMSA before you join just to get the Netter's.

As far as the other atlases go, they are ALL (Netter's, Grant's, Rohen's) recommended by the Anatomy faculty, but you don't need them all. Some of the faculty definitely seem to prefer Grant's over Netter's, but, like I said, almost everybody (students) use Netter's as the primary source. I would pick one of Netter's or Grant's and then Rohen's if you don't plan on spending a lot of time in the lab. Moore's Clinically Oriented Anatomy ("Big Moore") is the recommended textbook, but, personally, I found reading Moore counterproductive and a bit of a waste of time. The library has several copies of all of these on reserve, in any case.

NOTE: You DO NOT need to purchase a Dissector. The UTSW Anatomy Faculty made their own dissector and you will use that (it is free.)

Sol Rosenberg said:

I don't know anyone that didn't use Netter's as their primary source, so if your reason for asking was that you were going to ignore my previous advice and go out and purchase books in advance that is probably one that you can safely buy. You can get a "free" Netter's by joining AMSA (actually, it's probably more accurate to say that you get the AMSA membership free, because the cost of AMSA membership = Cost of Netter's) but make sure you read up on AMSA before you join just to get the Netter's.

As far as the other atlases go, they are ALL (Netter's, Grant's, Rohen's) recommended by the Anatomy faculty, but you don't need them all. Some of the faculty definitely seem to prefer Grant's over Netter's, but, like I said, almost everybody (students) use Netter's as the primary source. I would pick one of Netter's or Grant's and then Rohen's if you don't plan on spending a lot of time in the lab. Moore's Clinically Oriented Anatomy ("Big Moore") is the recommended textbook, but, personally, I found reading Moore counterproductive and a bit of a waste of time. The library has several copies of all of these on reserve, in any case.

NOTE: You DO NOT need to purchase a Dissector. The UTSW Anatomy Faculty made their own dissector and you will use that (it is free.)

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Haha no I'm not ignoring the advice, I actually just read a thread comparing the two and was curious which one my school and classmates will use more. Totally forgot that I asked that other question here. Thanks as always!

edit

I recall reading somewhere that one of the laptop requirements was no 64 bit OS. Would any of the current students care to comment on how strict they are with this.

UTnut said:

I recall reading somewhere that one of the laptop requirements was no 64 bit OS. Would any of the current students care to comment on how strict they are with this.

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You can buy whichever laptop you want, it's not like they check. However, the previous VPN client (Cisco) does not support 64 bit OSs. They just switched to a new VPN client (Juniper) but I haven't switched over yet (currently, both clients are supported,) so that problem may be solved (but it may not, I don't really know yet)

So, you will not be able to access campus resources (library, lecture mp3s, etc) remotely if you can't run the VPN client.

Even if you know how to configure other VPN clients yourself, the IR department (UTSW's name for IT) will not provide you with the necessary passwords to do so. If I had to think of one weakness with UTSW, it is the IR dept.

So, probably, it's best to stick with a 32 bit OS. Eventually, I will get around to setting u Juniper, so Ill see if it works with 64 bit Vista

What do you guys think of MedPark?

Do any current students know more specifically when the curriculum calendar gets posted (ie dates for labs, lectures, exams) this summer? Maybe we don't get to find out till school starts?

Any MS0's here doing research at UTSW right now for the summer? Curious how many decided to go that route.

emucansado said:

Do any current students know more specifically when the curriculum calendar gets posted (ie dates for labs, lectures, exams) this summer? Maybe we don't get to find out till school starts?

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I'm going entirely by memory here, but I believe that you will see the test schedule for the Fall Semester (and the Biochemistry and Anatomy schedules) sometime in July -- definitely before classes start. Other Fall classes (Genetics, part of Physiology) didn't have their lecture calendars, but might've had their test schedules at that time as well. I totally forget the details about Spring Semester (i.e. when the test schedules were posted.)

I believe that all of the test dates are known well before school starts, because we were sent our MS2 test schedule (for next year) a few weeks ago.

I hope that somehow that mish-mosh of sort-of-correct info is of some help!

EDIT: If you just want to know when lectures and labs are, I doubt that they will change: Biochemistry (Lecture) from 9-12 (maybe less) every day from the start of school until mid-October. Anatomy Lecture from 1-2 Mon, Tues, Fri from the second week of classes until Early December. Anatomy Lab from 2-5 Mon, Tues, Fri right after Anatomy Lecture. Genetics Replaces Biochemistry, and Physiology replaces Genetics. Colleges Every Wed from 1-2:30. Thursday Afternoon is Free. That will get you through First semester.

Sol, I heard they were changing the grading for MS2s to four grades a year, one each quarter instead of four grades a year, one in each subject. This seems odd, can you squash the rumor for me?

This is like the Sol Q&A, lol. Step studying has made me disappear, rough stuff!

sprinkibrio said:

Sol, I heard they were changing the grading for MS2s to four grades a year, one each quarter instead of four grades a year, one in each subject. This seems odd, can you squash the rumor for me?

This is like the Sol Q&A, lol. Step studying has made me disappear, rough stuff!

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No, that rumor is indeed true. Second year is now graded in a systems-based fashion (meaning that all vestiges of separate courses are now gone, and that you receive integrated grades after every quarter -- I think Q1 is Core 1, Core 2, Core 3/Heme, Q2 is Cardiovascular, Respiratory, and one or two other blocks, it's not like I've committed this to memory just yet )

Hey, good luck on Step 1! Best of luck as you descend into 3rd year, as well!

Sol Rosenberg said:

No, that rumor is indeed true. Second year is now graded in a systems-based fashion (meaning that all vestiges of separate courses are now gone, and that you receive integrated grades after every quarter -- I think Q1 is Core 1, Core 2, Core 3/Heme, Q2 is Cardiovascular, Respiratory, and one or two other blocks, it's not like I've committed this to memory just yet )

Hey, good luck on Step 1! Best of luck as you descend into 3rd year, as well!

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Wow, I'm shocked! I'm leaning towards this being a good thing, since our last few tests were very stressful if we were on the edge of a letter grade.

Congrats on finishing first year! Second year is SO much better. 100X.

Sol Rosenberg said:

No, that rumor is indeed true. Second year is now graded in a systems-based fashion (meaning that all vestiges of separate courses are now gone, and that you receive integrated grades after every quarter -- I think Q1 is Core 1, Core 2, Core 3/Heme, Q2 is Cardiovascular, Respiratory, and one or two other blocks, it's not like I've committed this to memory just yet )

Hey, good luck on Step 1! Best of luck as you descend into 3rd year, as well!

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Wow, that kind of sucks. I liked the previous MS2 system. If you did poorly earlier in the year, you could make up for it later and still manage an A. I don't know about dividing MS2 up into quarters. Sorta cancels out the relaxed pass/fail 1st semester MS1 deal doesn't it?

Good luck on the step 1, spinkibrio.

BTW, approaching end of MS3 here and it feels DAMN good.

I didn't go to the MS0 weekend back in March (I wasn't accepted until April). Can anyone tell me if I've missed anything important? Any info that I should know? Thanks so much in advance!

So I am trying to do the loan apps at TG and I've never done student loans before. Which lenders do current students use or recommend. Does it really matter?

I don't know how many of you have already seen this story, but I think it's significant that when almost every other school is cutting funding by millions, UTSW continues to raise a historic amount of donations ($100 million)! I think that Southwestern's future continues to look brighter.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/fo...-with-100-million-transformative-contribution

Besides the MD/PhD students, do any students do research during the school year? With UTSW's curriculum, would that be too difficult and unrealistic?

Also, about how many students go for the "Distinction in Research"? Is that difficult to attain without having done research during the summer before MS1?

Hey everybody! I just got accepted yesterday and I'm really excited to go to UTSW. Have I missed any interesting packets from UTSW?

charliebrown09 said:

Hey everybody! I just got accepted yesterday and I'm really excited to go to UTSW. Have I missed any interesting packets from UTSW?

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Anne Mclane will send you the MS0 Day packet when she sents you the Deposit Acknowledgment email. She also sent out the June Updates email yesterday, which you should've received. I think that's about it. I missed MS0 day, so I can't tell you about that. Good luck!

hey guys,

I got off the waitlist on May 22nd, but I never received the MS0 Day Packet, and I never received an email about the deposit!!!!! All I received was an acceptance email, an acceptance form ( I have filled out the form and mailed back), the financial package ( I filled it out too), and the roomate bullitin board. So, did I miss something very important??? cuz I was actually wondering why I never received any information on the curriculums and class schedules, and they never asked me for a deposit???

cherish said:

hey guys,

I got off the waitlist on May 22nd, but I never received the MS0 Day Packet, and I never received an email about the deposit!!!!! All I received was an acceptance email, an acceptance form ( I have filled out the form and mailed back), the financial package ( I filled it out too), and the roomate bullitin board. So, did I miss something very important??? cuz I was actually wondering why I never received any information on the curriculums and class schedules, and they never asked me for a deposit???

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I didn't have to pay a deposit I don't believe, just fill out a form like you did and I was accepted in November, so I think you're fine. We haven't received any more info besides MSO packet in the mail (special programs, immunization form, some unhelpful computer info, and a link to the roommate service). We haven't received any other info on classes, schedules, or anything like that.

HiDoc88 said:

Besides the MD/PhD students, do any students do research during the school year? With UTSW's curriculum, would that be too difficult and unrealistic?

Also, about how many students go for the "Distinction in Research"? Is that difficult to attain without having done research during the summer before MS1?

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It may be possible to do research during the year, but it depends a lot on the project, your PI, and how much of a badass you are at studying (or how much you don't care about studying.) I wouldn't recommend considering it until at least second semester to give you a chance to adjust to your hectic new lifestyle.

Anyone can get the Distinction in Research pretty easily. I think you need 16 weeks of research and then to give a presentation on your topic. Then a committee determines if you get the distinction. If you do research one summer, that is 10 weeks of research right there. Then you only need to do another summer, or a research elective in 4th year.

Sol,

1. Are there any supplies that you suggest that we pick up before school starts, or should we just wait until we get there?
2. What was your orientation like?
3. Is there anything that you wish you had known before MS1 that would have eased the transition to med school for you?

Thanks!

1. Nah. You don't need too many supplies (maybe a good supply of highlighters ) At orientation, a few of the student groups will be selling the various supplies that you will need for anatomy (scrubs, dissection kits) at good prices, so most people (me included) just bought those supplies there. Also, someone will ask this inevitably, so let me answer now. During orientation, you will get high-pressured into buying diagnostic kits and stethoscopes. You will need your own stethoscope (eventually, though you won't use it much first year) and the school offers good deals (most go with the Littman Cardiology III, but you can search other threads here on SDN for pros and cons of other stethoscopes.) Diagnostic kits are another matter. Some will tell you that you need the most top-of-the-line coaxial, panoptic ophthalmoscope, and I heard that some mentors even require you to buy that (at a cost of ~$800,) but I would seriously recommend against doing so (unless, of course, you draw the short straw and your mentor requires you to.) You don't really use them much during first year, and you only need 1 or 2 per small group. That said, it is not a bad idea to have your own diagnostic kit to practice (if you like that sort of thing and are interested in practicing physical exam skills, like I am,) but I bought the cheapest portable diagnostic kit that uses ordinary AA batteries (cost = ~$180.)

2. Orientation is fine. You get to meet people. If you've ever been on a "team building" exercise/retreat, that's what it is. I met some of the people that turned out to be some of my best friends at orientation. There are all different sorts of activities to do ranging from sports to swimming to video games to nature walks. Don't get nervous if you're not a water person, or a nature person, or whatever. You will find something to do and other people that will be there to do that activity with you.

EDIT: That is the "fun" part of orientation. There is also a "business" part of orientation that is filling out forms, etc (i.e. boring.) Also, before you go on the retreat, there are a few presentations that I have forgotten and most/all of the student organizations will set up tables where you can go around and sign up for email lists, etc. You will get more info about this stuff sent in July.

3. Nothing immediately comes to mind. Part of first year is just the process of adjustment and time management. People will tell you that you may need to try different techniques for studying to learn all of the material that will be thrown at you. That's probably true, but make sure you start out with what has worked best for you in the past (as that's what's most likely to continue to work for you in the future.)

Best of luck you you all! (T-minus ~2 months for you!)

Oh, yes, don't buy the Panoptic opthalmoscope. I know you don't know what that is, but just remember for now, don't buy the $800 opthalmoscope that happens to be 6 inches wide and completely impractical.

About the distinction in research. It's not hard per se... but once you meet Dr. McPhaul and witness a few of his antics at some of the presentations the students give you might change your mind... at least I did. His questions are pretty hard core, so you need to know your stuff inside out and understand the limitations of your research, etc. Plus you have to write this dissertation style paper, which, based on what you have already written could be very quick or long. Anyways, I did research for two summers and plan to do a fourth year month-long rotation, but I'm not sure if I'll do it or not. Probably 10 people do a year... most of them being the type who took a full year off to do research.

In regards to UTSW, can anyone tell me if they will accept the sciences I took for the BSN program if they were NOT through the Nursing department. Meaning they weren't considered for "non-science" majors. They were regular Biology (anatomy and physiology), and Regular chem. This statement right here confuses me a bit. The courses I took were directed from the Biology and Chemistry departments and not nursing.

"Any courses for non-science majors or courses taught for health career majors (nursing, pharmacy or allied health sciences) are not accepted."

I know that there are some courses that were Anatomy and Physiology and Chemistry courses that were designated as "non-science" majors, but I didn't take those. So will I be okay? Also, my question is when they calculate my gpa, how will they do this? They will take my overall GPA, which is from my BSN, and then the BPCM gpa? Sorry, I'm very new to this process. Thanks.

The science courses need to be the ones that "majors" take (i.e. the Biology courses that Biology Majors take, the Chemistry courses that Chemistry majors take, etc.) Just because they are not taught by the nursing school/department doesn't mean that they are for majors. If in doubt, check with the admissions department. If you went to an in-state school (especially UT or A&M,) they probably know the courses by number and can give you a thumbs up or thumbs down.

Or maybe someone could recommend a good place for a 1-bedroom apartment? Anyone live in one right now?

As for one bedroom apartments, I live at 5225 Maple which is about 2 minutes from school. I really like it. My rent is about $800 a month for almost 800 square feet. It's very new - built in 2005 and I feel very safe. They also offer low income housing (basically if your income is below a certain level, which it is if you are a student) - you can get a one bedroom for $623 a month - not sure if any of these are available, but a very good deal none the less.

MedPark has one bedrooms, but this late in the game, there probably aren't any available.
Cityville Southwestern also has one bedrooms, tends to be a little more expensive that 5225 Maple and Med Park.. probably in the 850-900 a month range.
Alexan Southwestern is the newest complex - I took a tour there, was very nice - new granite, wood floors, stainless steel appliances, but you will pay extra for that, 1 beds start at around 900+.
Depending on how far you want to live from school, some students live in the Village, which is a huge apartment community about 15-20mins from school. It is a little older, but very safe. Rent starts around 550-600 for one beds - just depends on how big/how new you want your apartment to be.
If you like something a little more trendy (be close to the bars/restaurants etc) Uptown is a good area to be in - about 10-15 mins from school. Rent there is usually around 900+.

Hope that gives you a little extra info. Please message me if you have any more ?s. I'm from the Dallas area and am pretty familiar with it, and would love to help you out if you need it!

Congrats again on your acceptance to UT Southwestern!

I received an offer this morning. I can’t believe that they are still taking people off the waitlist this late in July. Funny story, I was talking to faculty members of UTSW about my reapplication all morning long until I finally sat down around 11am and checked my email. The email was sent out 7:30am. It was so surreal!!!

Thank you polishtexan, braindoc2013, Audra2013 for sharing your stories of being pulled off the waitlist!

I think the curriculum calendar website is up for 2009-2010. It seems as though it has yet to be fully fleshed out in terms of what lectures are when but it does have most of the tests scheduled (some are missing I think, noticeably Anatomy). Enjoy!

http://medschool.swmed.edu/

emucansado said:

I think the curriculum calendar website is up for 2009-2010. It seems as though it has yet to be fully fleshed out in terms of what lectures are when but it does have most of the tests scheduled (some are missing I think, noticeably Anatomy). Enjoy!

http://medschool.swmed.edu/

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Your anatomy midterm lab exam is probably on 10/16, and the midterm lecture exam is probably on 10/19. Your white coat ceremony is then likely to be on 10/24. NOTE: THESE DATES (FROM ME) ARE JUST EDUCATED GUESSES BASED UPON WHAT HAPPENED LAST YEAR. (But the fact that genetics starts on a Tuesday is strong evidence that your anatomy midterm exams will be as I guessed.)

emucansado said:

I think the curriculum calendar website is up for 2009-2010. It seems as though it has yet to be fully fleshed out in terms of what lectures are when but it does have most of the tests scheduled (some are missing I think, noticeably Anatomy). Enjoy!

http://medschool.swmed.edu/

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Heh, did you see:

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]
VI. Reading Assignments

Prior to your first day of lecture (August 18th) the faculty expects that you will have read the first three chapters in "Biochemistry" the 6th Ed. This background information is critical for your fundamental understanding of course materials presented in Section 1.

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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..
[/SIZE].

No, you don't need to buy the books or read them unless you want to, especially the Biochemistry book. Every lecture will have recommended reading or other verbiage like you quoted above.

However, if you insist on reading the Biochemistry book, the 5th edition (yes, it's not the current edition, but it should be good enough) is available free online at:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/bv.fcgi?rid=stryer.TOC&depth=2

Sol Rosenberg said:

However, if you insist on reading the Biochemistry book, the 5th edition (yes, it's not the current edition, but it should be good enough) is available free online at:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/bv.fcgi?rid=stryer.TOC&depth=2

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Maybe I'm computer-dumb, but it seems you can only read a few summaries of some sections on this page. Is it possible to access the rest? Do you have to be accessing it from on-campus to see it all?

emucansado said:

Maybe I'm computer-dumb, but it seems you can only read a few summaries of some sections on this page. Is it possible to access the rest? Do you have to be accessing it from on-campus to see it all?

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I have the same problem too....

emucansado said:

Maybe I'm computer-dumb, but it seems you can only read a few summaries of some sections on this page. Is it possible to access the rest? Do you have to be accessing it from on-campus to see it all?

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No, it's just that the interface is extremely klunky (but, it's free.)

For example, to read chapter 1, you need to type in the search box:

"Molecular Design of Life"

Then, you will see the chapters under that section of the book.

Then, you type the name of the first chapter in the search box:

"Biochemistry and the Genomic Revolution"

Then, to move on, you type the titles of the sub-sections of that chapter, like:

"DNA illustrates the relation between form and function"

Yes, it's really klunky, but you won't end up reading it anyway (except for you gunners that are trying to read it now )

don't buy books yet, especially biochem. it's a waste of money. If you get anything, buy a biochem review book like Lippincott's. don't feel like you actually need to read anything before classes start, unless you've never taken a biochem course before.

OMG I remember that "reading assignment." What a rip.

Try to avoid textbooks... go for review books if you must (soft cover, thin) ex. Lippincott's or question books if you must. Classes don't parallel the textbooks at all and they have a different focus. Here classes parallel the syllabus and reading outside of the syllabus should only be for clarification on things you completely don't get aka once or twice per class go look something up in the library books.

Well I'm glad it seems that textbook reading isn't technically required. I never have been a good textbook reader. But we will have syllabi to read, correct?

I'm trying to determine a budget.The student budget UTSW has gives you almost $2500 for books (not including computer), which seems extremely high. How much can we expect to pay for all the syllabi and books that are ACTUALLY necessary? just a ballpark.

emucansado said:

Well I'm glad it seems that textbook reading isn't technically required. I never have been a good textbook reader. But we will have syllabi to read, correct?

I'm trying to determine a budget.The student budget UTSW has gives you almost $2500 for books (not including computer), which seems extremely high. How much can we expect to pay for all the syllabi and books that are ACTUALLY necessary? just a ballpark.

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$40 per class as a ballpark. I don't think there were any that cost more than that (maybe Biochemistry, since you have to buy it in 3 pieces,) and there were a few classes that were less (Anatomy, Embryology, Cell Bio, Human Behavior.) Last year, there was no genetics syllabus that you had to buy, but you DID actually have to buy the book for that class (around $40 - $50, IIRC)