Baylor College of Medicine Class of 2008

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BaylorLion said:
Ms. A - you're building a house? Wow - I guess you're hoping/planning to stay at Baylor for residency? That can't be cheap. Then again, I have no idea what housing prices are like in Pearland. But custom-building's never cheap, no matter location or size. I think I'm sticking with the high-rise condo - I am a lazy, lazy man. :p


Yeah, I'm planning on being in Houston for a really long time. In fact, I don't know what I'll do if I don't get a Baylor residency. My husband is an astronaut (as well as a doctor - such an over-achiever!), which isn't really a career you can do in any other city, so Houston it is for the next few decades. No, it's not cheap to do a custom-build, but it's worth the investment, as it's in an area that's just beginning to go up and we'll definitely be there for a long time.

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curlycity said:
That's SO coooooooooooooooooool.

dittos. i briefly considered applying for one of those mission specialist positions. too bad it takes a 5-yr commitment.
 
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Newquagmire said:
dittos. i briefly considered applying for one of those mission specialist positions. too bad it takes a 5-yr commitment.

More than that! Astronauts selected 6-8 years ago have still not flown. Astronauts selected this year (like my husband, who is a mission specialist) will not fly for probably at least 6-10 years, hence my plan to stay in Houston for more than a decade. You also have to have 3 years of experience outside of school (unless you're getting a PhD, which counts towards those 3 years), before you can be considered for selection.
 
spumoni620 said:
i am! it's one of the reasons why i picked baylor over other schools actually. i've heard so many great things about it.

I'm looking forward to it also...looking forward to traveling between rotations, having some interesting readings, hearing other peoples' stories and interests.

Where are you interested in going? I'm looking to go to S/Cen America.
 
ms. a said:
More than that! Astronauts selected 6-8 years ago have still not flown. Astronauts selected this year (like my husband, who is a mission specialist) will not fly for probably at least 6-10 years, hence my plan to stay in Houston for more than a decade. You also have to have 3 years of experience outside of school (unless you're getting a PhD, which counts towards those 3 years), before you can be considered for selection.

yeah no doubt. i just meant the initial contracting where they do preliminary training with no guarantee of flying.

maybe when we're doctors and rich we can go on a tourist ride in one of those new fangled space rockets
 
curlycity said:
It's going to be wierd going from a commute to living 1 mile from school - gotta get me a cool bike helmet. I'm going to miss my sexy ride... But I guess I also need to find out if it's allowed to ride bikes to Baylor, because not every city is bike-friendly. Any thoughts? I'd be coming from Hermann Ave., through the park, to Baylor.

I am also planning on biking to class. I found a great website about biking in Houston with lots of good info about what they're doing to promote biking and it also has maps of bike paths throughout the city.
http://www.publicworks.cityofhouston.gov/bikeways/index.htm

Map of bike paths in TMC and surrounding area:
http://www.publicworks.cityofhouston.gov/bikeways/map07.htm
 
wow, this thread has turned into a fantastic resource! :) I've been out of town for a week so I had t odo a bit of reading to catch up. Can't wait to meet everyone in July.

My 2 cents about the biking, if y'all don't already know it, Houston can get HOT and humid in the summer months. Although I hope to live near enough to bike, I'm not looking forward to the June-Sept heat.

Keep up with all the great info!
 
TexasRose said:
My 2 cents about the biking, if y'all don't already know it, Houston can get HOT and humid in the summer months. Although I hope to live near enough to bike, I'm not looking forward to the June-Sept heat.

I know it'll be ugly hot, so I was thinking biking would be better than walking, because it would be less time outside and would generate a breeze at least. My apt. is going to run a shuttle as soon as they finish construction in the fall, but this summer I'm on my own. And I'd like to be able to go back and forth whenever I want.

I guess I'll be the sort of stinky girl with helmet hair in class...? :) We'll see how it works. It's only 1.5 mi. - too close to bother with waiting for a bus or the Metro.
 
HollyJ said:
They did catch the Rice Village shooter a few weeks ago, so no worries there. The village is actually one of the nicer and safer parts of Houston, which is why the village shooter got everyone so up in arms.

I went to Rice and I work in the med center, and I don't ever really feel unsafe -- and I'm a huge baby. As other people have said, you need to take the same precautions you would in any other big city, but the med center is really a pretty nice area. Hermann Park does get pretty shady at night. It's perfectly safe during the day, but I wouldn't walk (or ride my bike) through it at night.

Houston is a little unusual in that it doesn't have any zoning restrictions. That's part of what makes Houston a really vibrant city, but it also means that neighborhoods can go from good to very bad within a pretty short distance. The med center itself is fine, but if you go too far in any direction, it gets "ropey" again.

Let me know if you need information about any specific areas. Also, I'm heading to the medcenter with my digital camera either on Friday or Monday, so anyone would like some pictures of any apartments/condos/townhomes, let me know.

hey hollyj, thanks so much for the insight and offer! i remember rice village vaguely from the last time i visited houston. it's a really nice, upscale area, a lot like highland park is here (in dallas). the thought of getting shot there is pretty unexpected :eek: but strange things happen in all urban cities, i guess (i.e. sniper attacks last year...in residential neighborhoods :( ) comes with the territory of having an urban medical center i guess. it will be an adventure, i guess.

ms. a, the astronaut connection is too cool. neato. :D

crazyeyes, thanks for the reply. it seems most baylor students i talk to seem to go to class a lot. i guess i should get used to those early mornings again...

i'm really hoping to bike too. i had to deal with an 1hr commute as well, so it's nice to think of living minutes away from the med ctr :) i'll be sweaty girl #2, curlycity, probably with even worse helmet hair...:laugh:

re: international track...hmm, i don't know. i'm really interested in so many places. i definitely want to see if i can return to brazil. other areas: india, england. there's too many opportunities - it's going to be tough to decide.

that's it for now i think...hope everyone's week is going well :)
 
spumoni620 said:
re: international track...hmm, i don't know. i'm really interested in so many places. i definitely want to see if i can return to brazil. other areas: india, england. there's too many opportunities - it's going to be tough to decide.

We went to Rio for a week and it was sooo gorgeous. Wish I spoke the language, but I spoke Spanish and they replied in Portuguese and we worked it out. The people are so beautiful...our driver taught himself English from the government's education channel...people would walk out of their favelas looking da bomb...I want to live there when I grow up.

When we were on Ipanema beach, this sandbar formed overnight about six feet away from the regular beach, so there was a bit of a moat - island effect, and a lot of people were playing on the sandbar. One guy had a little girl and an infant girl. The little girl built a sandcastle and the infant just sat there and waved her arms around. A big wave came upon them and washed half the sand castle away ... and left the infant upside down underwater! So her father's frantically hauling her up by the ankle and she giggles and puts her arms around his neck, and the little girl is upset and yelling about her sand castle. It was so funny.

Mmm, is it summer vacay yet? Gawd I'm ready to get out of here. Bye UT...
 
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Hey everybody,

Congrats for deciding to attend Baylor. I was just wondering what lender to choose for the Stafford Loan. Does anybody know the differences between the various lenders and which lenders Baylor students tend to choose?

Thanks
 
Speaking of financial aid, I know I saw a thread about this earlier, but how easy is it to get Baylor to match a scholarship offer from another school, specifically UTSW? This will not be a deal breaker for me, of course, but it would be really nice to get the tuition reduction. Has anyone ever done this?
 
Hey tonoplast - first of all, welcome to Baylor. I don't have any personal experience with it, but I've heard of a couple people doing it and a fair number having success with it. Schools are generally pretty willing to match or at least increase scholarship offers if they know you're getting them from other schools. It's a competitive yield game.

I'm guessing you got the $1000 scholarship thing from UT, which automatically gives you in-state tuition? I don't know exactly how that deal works. I think the key, from what I've heard, is to be really humble and respectful and polite when you call or email them. Just explain the situation, tell them you really want to attend Baylor and that it's your #1 choice, and explain that it would help you manage the finances if they could match (or at least increase their offer). I think the key is to go out of your way to not come off as though you're threatening or blackmailing them... but yeah, quite a few people use scholarship offers from their backups or lesser choices to extract mo' money from their top-choice schools. I don't know if it works for Baylor though - you should ask crazy eyes. And you do know that you can probably qualify for in-state tuition after the first year, right?
 
Gleevec - might they at least be willing to give him more Stafford loans for the package? Tonoplast, from what I've heard, it's pretty easy to qualify for in-state tuition after the first year - I think owning a condo or house for a year would pretty much seal the deal.

Glad to hear it's not a deal breaker for you though. Even for out of staters, Baylor is a bargain compared to other private schools of its caliber, like Duke, Wash U, Chicago, Northwestern, Stanford et al. 19K is a lot cheaper than 27-35K. And correct me if I'm wrong, Michigan people, but I think it may even be cheaper than Michigan's in-state tuition (I think it's about 21-22K for in-staters).

I don't know if I'd eat 52K in tuition costs (over the 4 years), plus interest, for the chance to go to Baylor over Southwestern - well, *I* would, but not sure if it'd be worth it to most people. But 13K is doable. Let us know how it goes though man.
 
An astronaut, eh? That is incredibly awesome, and explains your avatar.
 
BaylorLion said:
Gleevec - might they at least be willing to give him more Stafford loans for the package? Tonoplast, from what I've heard, it's pretty easy to qualify for in-state tuition after the first year - I think owning a condo or house for a year would pretty much seal the deal.

Glad to hear it's not a deal breaker for you though. Even for out of staters, Baylor is a bargain compared to other private schools of its caliber, like Duke, Wash U, Chicago, Northwestern, Stanford et al. 19K is a lot cheaper than 27-35K. And correct me if I'm wrong, Michigan people, but I think it may even be cheaper than Michigan's in-state tuition (I think it's about 21-22K for in-staters).

I don't know if I'd eat 52K in tuition costs (over the 4 years), plus interest, for the chance to go to Baylor over Southwestern - well, *I* would, but not sure if it'd be worth it to most people. But 13K is doable. Let us know how it goes though man.

Thanks for the responses you guys. I've already done the condo thing, so really it's a question of $13k for this first year. I'll let everyone know how it goes.

And just to clarify, I'm a she not a he. ;)
 
Aw geez... now I feel bad. Has anyone on this board not had their gender mistaken at one point (on the board, I mean, not in real life; if you have in real life... err... I'm sorry?). Well, No Egrets thought I was a girl... so I guess it all evens out, huh?

You already got a condo? Where'd you buy, if you don't mind my asking? I'm hunting as we speak... but I guess you're going to Baylor next year then. So you get a "Yeehaw!"

And don't forget to let us know how it goes with the fin aid office, tonoplast...
 
Oh, and I was wrong, Baylor's not the cheapest private school - that honor belongs to Mayo Clinic.
 
BaylorLion said:
Aw geez... now I feel bad. Has anyone on this board not had their gender mistaken at one point (on the board, I mean, not in real life; if you have in real life... err... I'm sorry?). Well, No Egrets thought I was a girl... so I guess it all evens out, huh?

You already got a condo? Where'd you buy, if you don't mind my asking? I'm hunting as we speak... but I guess you're going to Baylor next year then. So you get a "Yeehaw!"

And don't forget to let us know how it goes with the fin aid office, tonoplast...

Hey don't feel bad, tonoplast is a pretty gender neutral sn, and it doesn't help that I write like a guy.

As for your condo question, I'll just copy and paste what I've already posted in this forum and if you want further details you can pm me.


tonoplast said:
I bought a condo in the med center for tuition purposes since I applied as an out-of-stater. In terms of complexes, I would recommend limiting your search on har.com to Cambridge Court, Montreal Place, Fontainebleu (can also be spelled Fountainbleu), and maybe Riverwalk. All of these are located within 2 miles of Baylor and the med center. Riverwalk is the closest, right behind the VA hospital. Fontainebleu is considered very safe and is a true "condo" in the fact that each unit is completely separate from the others. Fontainebleu would have been my first choice except it was a little out of my price range, so I had to "settle" on Cambridge Court (though I should emphasize that I'm completely satisfied with my purchase.) You can get a 1-bedroom 1-bath at Montreal Place starting around $60,000. I paid in the mid-70's for my 2-bedroom 1-bath, though prices are generally in the 80-90k range for those. 2-bedroom 2-bath condos are in the high 90's-120k.
 
BaylorLion said:
Aw geez... now I feel bad. Has anyone on this board not had their gender mistaken at one point (on the board, I mean, not in real life; if you have in real life... err... I'm sorry?).

Once a homeless guy trying to get my attention yelled "Sir? ...Sir!!!" which did not put me in a charitable frame of mind.
 
tonoplast said:
Thanks for the responses you guys. I've already done the condo thing, so really it's a question of $13k for this first year. I'll let everyone know how it goes.

And just to clarify, I'm a she not a he. ;)
Tonoplast, I personally know someone who got her scholarship to another school matched by Baylor. It is well worth asking about. Good luck!
 
curlycity said:
Once a homeless guy trying to get my attention yelled "Sir? ...Sir!!!" which did not put me in a charitable frame of mind.
Hahahahahahahahaahahaha.... OH MY GOD!!! THAT'S HILARIOUS!!! THANKS CURLYCITY FOR MY LAUGH OF THE DAY!

I hope we end up trading names and all that before the start of classes, so we can match up these stories with the faces - otherwise I'll be wandering around wondering, "Now who among these 168 people..."

crazy eyes - Well, the tuition difference was a couple hundred bucks, so obviously not a major factor. I was just suprised there actually was a private school cheaper than Baylor. But I guess the savings would go out the window since you'd have to pay up for the 10 layers of clothing you'd need to wear during the winter and the space heaters you'd have to surround yourself with.

Don't worry, it's OK - I used to live in Chicago before my family moved to Texas. So it's OK for me to insult the weather up there - it's not hearsay or nothin'.
 
Hey Baylorians...glad to see most of us have better things to do on the weekend than read SDN...personally, I'm stalling before I hit the gym and downing a powerbar and some water. Anyhoo,

went out Friday night to celebrate my last day of classes ever at UT. But it was sort of anticlimactic with that 18 months of book-learnin' looming on the horizon :) and we were all too tired to go downtown after dinner because everyone had 2-4 exams last week and then started studying for finals. Too sad...but I'm glad I got all that sleep anyway.

Graduation is going to be fun, but I'm mostly just thinking about vacationing and getting into this med school thing. It's been exactly ten years since my high school graduation, and that's something that doesn't bear too much contemplation, ha!

Is it sinking in yet? It's feeling pretty real for me, now that we've started boxing our stuff, cleaning out the giganto fish tank, and I got the Littmann I wanted as an anniv gift :laugh: If I were more alert and awake, I might even have to let go a yeeehaw or two.

Talk to y'all later - and thanks for everyone's helpful answers on this thread!
 
BaylorLion said:
Hahahahahahahahaahahaha.... OH MY GOD!!! THAT'S HILARIOUS!!! THANKS CURLYCITY FOR MY LAUGH OF THE DAY!


Yeah! you're welcome - this forum has made me startle my fellow cubicle occupants on more than one occasion with a giant guffaw. glad to be spreading some around :D
 
I will be a future baylorian also. YEAAAAY! Thought I would get to know some of my classmates before school begins.

HI EVERYONE!!!
 
Hey curly city, you're graduating from UT right? Do you have any finals? I have one and it's killer. It is ruining my last few days in Austin. :mad:
 
Human Bio - studying for it right now. SDN for study breaks...also have finalized sale of a car, made a pie, and made some lunch. So, the studying isn't galloping along too well.

Sat I have the Primate Behavior final - we call it 'monkey lovin 101' - I'm not too worried about that one. But Human Bio is on Thursday and it's going to be a lot of info.

But at least it's a gorgeous, sunny, breezy day and I'm at home with my greenbelt view and the sounds of the birds chirping. That helps :) and the greenbelt is one of my favorite things about Austin, so I'm enjoying the quality time we're spending together.

Good luck on your final - what class is it?
 
Welcome sneds! :thumbup:

Actually, since both of y'all are at UT right now... my cousin'll probably be starting at UT Law next fall. Any recommendations on good places to live near campus? I don't think money's going to be a factor - her parents are loaded.
 
I live wayyyyyyyy off campus, but there is a nice new high-rise apartment complex with attached parking garage that just went up on Guadalupe around 29th I think. West Campus has a funny smell. I would recommend looking at the more upscale apartment complexes that are along the longer-distance UT shuttle routes; they're not 'near' but they are nicer and only 15 minutes away. Rent.com is a good resource, and provides toll-free numbers to each complex.
 
It's Evolution and Development, which should not technically be hard. But the prof is a little crazy, and the tests are insanely hard. I just got to focus and get through this one test. But i am too excited about summer and medical school.

:eek:
 
Yeah i live near the new apartments on guadalupe. They are nice, but I think they are overpriced. If she is going to law school, she should probably look for a place in NORTH CAMPUS. It is closer to the law school and it is a little bit more of an older crowd. As in not as many frats and sororities and loud parties.
 
Hm. I just noticed that SDN also stands for sexually dimorphic nucleus (as in, SDN-POA). Whoo hoo Human Bio! :D
 
I just got my financial aid packet. Great another excuse to not study.
 
Is anyone going anywhere before the start of medical school? Y'know, to enjoy your LAST FREE SUMMER for the next 10 years?

My cousins, my sister and I are going to Europe. Another cousin WAS going to come, but he landed an internship with a doctor at Baylor Sports Medicine Institute, so now I'm going to be the only guy on the trip. They've promised no estrogen parade, but I'm doubtful. Oh well - I told 'em I'd scream like a little girl if they started checking out guys on the trip in front of me. Which, come to think of it, may be counterintuitive. Maybe I should give them a taste of their own medicine, in which case I hope the girls in France don't look like they did in my high school French textbook, or it's going to be a LONG 3 weeks. Did anyone else take French in high school? If so, did any of y'all wonder why French dogs say "Ouah!" instead of barking?

In all seriousness, though, it should be fun. My family and I are pretty close, and I think I'm going to end up eating a LOT of food. Now that I've given you far too much information on the dynamics of my family - back to my original question - where are y'all going or what are y'all doing?
 
TexasRose said:
Tonoplast, I personally know someone who got her scholarship to another school matched by Baylor. It is well worth asking about. Good luck!

Good news! Baylor matched my UTSW scholarship and actually gave me a little more than what UTSW was offering over 4 yrs. It's not exactly the out-of-state tuition waiver I was looking for, but assuming I qualify for in-state tuition next year, I am pretty happy with the outcome.

FYI, I basically sent the admissions committee a copy of my UTSW award letter with a short note explaining that "Baylor is my first choice but financial considerations make it hard to turn down UTSW, is there anything they can do to help?" I then talked to Melody in person. She said that they send a copy of all the award letters from other schools to the student scholarship committee and transferred me to Vernesta, the woman who handles all the requests. Vernesta told me that I would hear back from her in a few days and about a week later (today) I finally got the email with my award letter from Baylor. I think it is definitely helpful to speak to Melody first and ask her what the protocol is for receiving a competitive scholarship (even if you already know). Definitely mention that you received scholarship offers from other schools. Then when you speak to Vernesta, you can say that you spoke to Melody already and could you tell me what I need to do to be given consideration for one of these scholarships.

Hope that helps anyone else out there who's going through the same thing.
 
tonoplast said:
Good news! Baylor matched my UTSW scholarship and actually gave me a little more than what UTSW was offering over 4 yrs. It's not exactly the out-of-state tuition waiver I was looking for, but assuming I qualify for in-state tuition next year, I am pretty happy with the outcome.

FYI, I basically sent the admissions committee a copy of my UTSW award letter with a short note explaining that "Baylor is my first choice but financial considerations make it hard to turn down UTSW, is there anything they can do to help?" I then talked to Melody in person. She said that they send a copy of all the award letters from other schools to the student scholarship committee and transferred me to Vernesta, the woman who handles all the requests. Vernesta told me that I would hear back from her in a few days and about a week later (today) I finally got the email with my award letter from Baylor. I think it is definitely helpful to speak to Melody first and ask her what the protocol is for receiving a competitive scholarship (even if you already know). Definitely mention that you received scholarship offers from other schools. Then when you speak to Vernesta, you can say that you spoke to Melody already and could you tell me what I need to do to be given consideration for one of these scholarships.

Hope that helps anyone else out there who's going through the same thing.
Wow! Congratulations! That is awesome...
 
tonoplast said:
Good news! Baylor matched my UTSW scholarship and actually gave me a little more than what UTSW was offering over 4 yrs. It's not exactly the out-of-state tuition waiver I was looking for, but assuming I qualify for in-state tuition next year, I am pretty happy with the outcome.

fantastic! :D I was pretty sure they'd match it for you.

poor, poor UTSW... ;)
 
Congrats Tonoplast!

This one is for the lion:
I am going to England, Scotland, and Ireland!!! :D

Also with my cousins, and I am also really close with my family. They are one of the reasons I decided to go to Baylor.

OH an last time I was in Europe i ate a lot of ice cream. For some reason there seems to be a Haagen Daz (sp.) store around every corner.
 
How many of you took the August MCAT?

Thanks
 
sneds said:
Congrats Tonoplast!

This one is for the lion:
I am going to England, Scotland, and Ireland!!! :D

Also with my cousins, and I am also really close with my family. They are one of the reasons I decided to go to Baylor.

OH an last time I was in Europe i ate a lot of ice cream. For some reason there seems to be a Haagen Daz (sp.) store around every corner.
Heh, I'm just "the lion" now, huh? TexasRose, you were more confident than I was, but I am happy that they did come thorugh for you, Tonoplast. Guess that huge endowment helps. Believe me, as I finish up my last few days working at UTSW, I can tell you that, in my opinion, you made the best decision. On a more serious note, I wonder how Baylor and UTSW fare with the students they both accept. Do they roughly split 'em, or does one school dominate like (I hear) UCSF does with UCSF/Stanford accepts?

sneds - Cool about your United Kingdom jaunt. My law school cousin actually wanted to go to Scotland, but we didn't have time - she got outvoted because my business school cousin and my sister wanted to go shopping in Milan. I guess Milan has good shopping!?! I heard they have good lakes and that Milanese food is supposed to be decent - I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I've heard that Italian food can be disappointing if you've only been exposed to the stuff here.

How long are you going, and are you going to see anything in particular? Anyone else?

JDAD - I took the August MCAT (in 2002). Not sure if that was exactly what you were looking for.
 
Not really, but thanks anyway.

Does anyone know how many people that are accepted to this school took the august mcat?
 
Hey Baylorlion (not lion): :)
I was definitely disappointed with Italian food. I have only been to Venice, so I don't speak for all of Italy. BUt of course I had to try the pizza, and well it tasted nothing like pizza. I think it had no sauce on it, and the crust was really thin and hard. But its ok bc the ice cream is good no matter where you are in europe. :thumbup:

And im not really sure where we are going exactly. My cousin who is graduating high school this year is planning the whole thing. I just decided to join them so I havent been involved with the details. I imagine well see some castles and some pubs and the lochness monster. Cant wait!!!!
 
Hey sneds - no worries. You can call me the lion. I'm pretty ambivalent - just joshin' with you. Yeah, I am staying away from the pizza, but I'm hoping the food is like the Italian food I had in New York, which was different from Macaroni grill, but good in its own right. Hrmph. They promised me good food - the risotto and fish better be as promised, or they'll have to carry their own store bags... :p

You're letting a high schooler plan the whole trip? I hope s/he is responsible (I've learned my lesson, no more assuming for me) - I'm not sure I'd let my sister plan our trip. My eldest cousin planned the itinerary, and I handled the reservations, because I am cheap as hell and thus got good deals. $1800 per person for a 3 week trip through those 4 countries, I figure, is not a bad deal. Not great, but pretty good when you consider no hostels - my sister and eldest cousin refused to sleep or take showers, and I didn't want to deal with them smelly and irritable for 3 weeks. :p

Again, I'm kidding for the most part. My cousins and sister are not that lame. But our parents didn't want us staying in hostels after their friends told them horror stories (Is there a rule that Asian parents have to share horror stories with each other?), and I figured anything we could do to make 'em comfortable was worth it. Castles and pubs and monsters - sounds like a blast. Take pictures - we need something to while away the nights at the Resort o'Butter (No Egrets, do you get this one?).
 
BaylorLion said:
we need something to while away the nights at the Resort o'Butter (No Egrets, do you get this one?).

:laugh: Hahaha...

BaylorLion and I discussed this earlier, but in my mind Chain-O-Lakes = Land-O-Lakes = Butter; does anyone else keep thinking of the spread instead of a retreat center?
 
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