Pro tip 1: Never, ever put the student parking sticker on your car.
Agreed. I don't think they give you one to park in the War Memorial lot, which makes it easier to park in the neighborhoods.. but, that being said, I used to live in the immediate neighborhood around campus and could see why the residents get upset. I don't think parking on side streets is worth the hassle as you have to cross Markham. I've found the walk to War Memorial to be just slightly longer, flatter, and not terrible.
Pro tip 2: Find an older student after you've gotten your orientation schedule an have him point out which lectures you need to go to and which you can skip. You can literally save yourself a couple days of time this way.
I'm not sure how this is going to work with the again-revised curriculum that the new M1s are going to deal with next year. I'm inclined to skip all the lectures and watch them on blackboard on my own time, with VLC, at an accelerated playback rate of around 1.2x to save myself some time every week.. that leaves me at the mercy of the faculty not screwing up blackboard, though, which has happened more than once when I thought it was worth skipping.
Pro tip 3: When registering for classes and getting your loans signed and all that crap, go to the immunization line first, no matter what. Seriously, just do it.
I'm not even sure we had an immunization line. I think we cleared all that before orientation. Our big time-waster line was the clicker checkout line. Everything else moved pretty quickly, but I had to wait over an hour for that one. They had one guy sitting there, filling out forms and scanning them out to us.
Pro tip 4: Go to every orientation event you can. They're fun, free, and getting to know your classmates is always good.
Yup. The PhiDE parties were the best. Don't expect to remember anyone's name though. I still don't know everyone in my class yet.
The administration is combining physiology, microanatomy, biochem, and cell bio into system-oriented blocks. Each block will get a grade, it seems. These classes will cease to exist after our year, so I'm not sure what the requirements will be for books. I think the only books I've really used this year are the embryology book and a bunch of different review books.
Gross Anatomy is going to be over and done with in the first couple months from what I hear, too. I'm not sure how the schedule is going to pan out for you new guys, but I hope it works for you. I got sick enough of gross lab after 2-3 dissections per week for months on end. If you're living it straight through, maybe it'll be better for you? I dunno, but I'm interested to see how it works out.
Don't buy an otoscope. Or a sphyg.. unless you really want one. Pick up the other ICM items on Amazon.
You guys will hear all of this repeatedly during orientation as well. I thought orientation days were the worst part of the first month or so.. it's just a week straight of being talked at during the day, and partying at night. Take notes, make friends, and drink up.
Until then, enjoy your free time. You'll miss it soon enough.
