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Aww, haha. Happy to help 😉
2017-2018 Michigan State University
Started by Lucca
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Alumni checking in. Any current medical students with this years match list? From, Curious Grad
A little confused about these scholarship essays that are due Friday, especially since they don't seem to have a clear prompt or question to answer... are we supposed to write straightforward why we are qualified for the scholarship? or write about the experience which we feel makes us qualified? or what? Especially for the ones who are given to a student "who has achieved academic excellence"... I'm not sure how one would write about when they can just look at the transcript?
Any help or ideas would be much appreciated! Thanks
Any help or ideas would be much appreciated! Thanks
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Yes, it is still April 30th. You can only have a seat in one medical school after that day. I am assuming you just have to respectfully withdraw via email. That is what I was planning to do when I make my final decision.
Hello and congrats to everyone who’s been accepted! Has anyone been moved off the alternate list recently? I feel like it’s been so quiet on there. I understand that most of the movement will happen after the national deadline but I’m wondering if there’s any now.
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Has anyone heard back about financial aid yet? I'm starting to freak out a little bit about whether or not I filled out FAFSA correctly...
I called financial aid and they said that they are switching to a new system this year and it is taking longer than expected to get the packages. She apologized and she told me what aid I would get over the phone. You guys can call and get it over the phone, if you want.
I hope everyone had a good time at 2nd look day! I know it's hard to soak up all of the information that's given to you in one day so if anyone has any unanswered questions or wants clarification on something feel free to ask!
The student success section of the guide for the shared discovery curriculum recommends setting aside 60-80 hrs per week of independent study. I’ve been told by current students that there are roughly 30 hours of required attendance activities weekly. Are most students in this curriculum having to put in 90-110 hours per week in order to pass? Seems extremely inefficient
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Those 60-80 hours per week include required attendance activities. I'm not sure why it's phrased like that in the guide.
In my experience it was closer to 80 hours in the first 8ish weeks while I was adjusting to the rigors of medical school. That was probably the most inefficient part of medical school for me so far. Then it tapered down to 60-70 for the rest of M1 until about March when intersessions started. Intersessions are a lot more relaxed and you definitely get more free time to really hone in on your weaknesses and/or just chill while you keep up with schoolwork for 12 weeks.
MCE was more time consuming. Definitely closer to 80 hours per week, but we had easy weeks sprinkled in as well. I think M2 universally sucks no matter where you go from what I've heard from people at other schools.
There are definitely parts of the curriculum that are inefficient like certain weeks in SIM, large group, clinic experiences, etc. I think not having exams every single week and having no minutiae to memorize definitely makes up for those inefficiencies, though. I still had time to spend with my significant other, do things on the weekends, exercise, and all that other good stuff.
Awesome, thanks for clearing that up. You mentioned lack of minutiae, is that generally the case for all the exams?
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Yes. Our exams all cover what you should know by the time you finish 2nd year. The minimum score to pass goes up each semester. The bar is set pretty low in year one, which is nice because you have the flexibility to try multiple approaches to studying and figure out what works best for you without much risk.
The actual content of NBME exams reflects what you should know for step 1. Most people use the UFAPS resources in addition to the curriculum. We do have another exam format that includes questions written by MSU faculty, but they try to mirror NBME content. Those questions can be lower quality at times, but if you are keeping up with the NBME content then you should be fine for that exam format as well.
On the stuinfo.msu.edu site, Financial Aid awards are able to be reviewed and accepted.
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Thanks for the info. Regarding UFAPS, does the school provide any discounts for study resources? Was thinking of buying a couple things just to become familiar with the layout/how to use before school starts but I’d like to wait if they provide discount codes
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The school doesn't, but sometimes if students come together and someone emails the people at pathoma or boards and beyond, they will provide a temporary discount code for the class. I would wait until you're a few weeks in to start looking at outside resources. You'll be overwhelmed if you try to juggle everything from the beginning. There is plenty of time to get familiar with that stuff.
Mine shows my COA, but it doesn’t have any loans or anything to accept. I’m not sure why. I would assume that they would release everyone’s packages at once..?
My loans are showing up-- does anyone have the link to the breakdown of tuition/room and board/etc?
omg..witchcraft. Thank you!!
Hmmm, I am not sure. I think they actually updated it recently because i looked it like 3 weeks ago, and it didn't have year 3. Maybe they are working on it as we speak. Also, I think that should say MCE and LCE for years II and III. I am not sure though.
at this link Medical Students | Office of Financial Aid | Michigan State University on the right side under CHM is has two links "Shared Discovery Budgets" and "returning student budget". Year 4 is under returning student budgets
This might be a long shot but does anyone know if the ABLE program will let us know before June 8th (as they said in the email) if were accepted or not? Also does anyone know the date they let people know last year?
I don't know the exact date, but someone told me they heard in early June last year.
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I'm a current M1 but was in ABLE before that. They took a little longer my year since it was the year they changed the whole curriculum over which also meant ABLE had to change too. We were supposed to find out May 30th but they pushed it off 2 more weeks and we found out June 14th (this was in 2016). The ABLE curriculum starts in mid July with a month long, Summer Institute, where they put you up in dorms for a month. So I can't imagine them going past june 9th and if they do, it wont be by a lot.
Thank you! I have so many questions! Can I PM you?
Heads up! Emails for LRM placements are being sent! Check your email if you interviewed!
Cool! Do you think they’re sending them for LMU as well?
I’m getting so anxious about campus placement! I am hoping we get them soon. Like today lol
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Honestly, no idea. I only know about the LRM because I got an email!
Do people usually prefer the GR campus?
Yes. There’s even a waitlist for it because so many people want it.
Campus assignments are up on the portal! I got GR!!!
Me too.. I'm hype.. Lol
I am an MSU student right now, and usually in March, we have to apply for summer aid. That is for under grad, but I am not sure if it will the same when we are med students! Maybe, though.
The "fiscal year" is Summer->Fall->Spring.
You won't get your summer 2019 award until sometime in the spring.
You should be eligible for the same amount each semester of attendance. This is how I understand it. The financial aid counselors are great to talk to, though, if you have questions.
They told us about LMU today! 
For all my ABLE peeps, Today is the due date (April 27th) for applying to the program. Is that just for me or everyone else too?
Got everything in last night! Really hoping to hear good news from this program
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I withdrew my acceptance today. Good luck to everyone still waiting to hear back!
Any tips on how to pay for MedSchool if you are out of state and received no financial aid?
Withdrew my acceptance today. Best of luck to everyone still waiting!
I called the admissions office and they said that they’ve had some movement, but those students will be notified after May 5th. After that, they will be having a meeting every Friday to review the alternate list.
