CLASS OF 2014...how ya doing?

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HopefulAg said:
The Transversarius, Longissimus, and Iliocostal systems are the Three Little Indians (or Three Little Injuns as I've also heard it called, I guess to kind of tie in The Little Engine (that could) as well).
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Or you're from east Tennessee where Injun is simply how Indian is pronounced in the colloquial vernacular.
 
luplodw said:
We totally need to make a thread dedicated to tricks to remember things. My friends and I made up "Seriously Evil Children Break Toys for the parts of the hyoid apparatus (Stylohyoid, Epihyoid, Ceratohyoid, Basihyoid, Thyrohyoid)
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lol for the SEC schools, we came up with SEC Basketball Tournament 🙂
 
rileyroo said:
lol for the SEC schools, we came up with SEC Basketball Tournament 🙂
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We use Sick Elephants Can Be Treated. 🙂 But kudos to the evil children one!
 
HopefulAg said:
"What's the difference between Interleukins 1 and 6?"
'Five?'
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:laugh: Love it

My lab partner came up with this for the origin of gracilis: Gracilis --> Graceland --> Elvis --> Pelvis --> Pelvic symphysis. 🙂

Keep them coming guys, I love mnemonics
 
luplodw said:
We totally need to make a thread dedicated to tricks to remember things. My friends and I made up "Seriously Evil Children Break Toys for the parts of the hyoid apparatus (Stylohyoid, Epihyoid, Ceratohyoid, Basihyoid, Thyrohyoid)
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Hah! The one I came up for this one is SECret BasTards, makes no sense I know but helps me remember it always.
 
The GEP students here at the Dick Vet finished our first tests last week. We won't find out how we did until October 6th at the very soonest. We don't have normal tests like the American schools. 1 group of tests over 1 week after a certain amount of weeks of instruction dictated by the end of the module. We had a spot exam Wednesday, written portion (essays & short answer) Thursday, and oral exam Friday.

Essentially, we only have finals though. No quizzes or any kind of assessment in between. The non GEP-ers have lectures from September and don't get assessed until February! Glad I'm not in that boat!!

Fingers crossed, I think I did well enough to pass with distinction! (They renamed grades to categories of fail, pass, credit, and distinction.)

Hope the year is going well for everyone else! 🙂
 
chii chan said:
The GEP students here at the Dick Vet finished our first tests last week. We won't find out how we did until October 6th at the very soonest. We don't have normal tests like the American schools. 1 group of tests over 1 week after a certain amount of weeks of instruction dictated by the end of the module. We had a spot exam Wednesday, written portion (essays & short answer) Thursday, and oral exam Friday.

Essentially, we only have finals though. No quizzes or any kind of assessment in between. The non GEP-ers have lectures from September and don't get assessed until February! Glad I'm not in that boat!!

Fingers crossed, I think I did well enough to pass with distinction! (They renamed grades to categories of fail, pass, credit, and distinction.)

Hope the year is going well for everyone else! 🙂
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chiichan, how are you liking your tablet?? i'm LOVING mine! classmates have even mentioned they wished the school required them like IL and some others. The thing that i like most that is really unique to Lenovo is that the screen is Matte (sp?) Finish!!! I can read all of my notes without a reflection and my eyes don't hurt as much.
 
Had my first 4 hour exam today (Anatomy). Fun. Would be celebrating Oktober but phys on Monday and I've got to learn it....all....before then 🙁
 
chii chan said:
The GEP students here at the Dick Vet finished our first tests last week. We won't find out how we did until October 6th at the very soonest. We don't have normal tests like the American schools. 1 group of tests over 1 week after a certain amount of weeks of instruction dictated by the end of the module.
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This sounds similar to the block model that some schools employ.
 
nyanko said:
This sounds similar to the block model that some schools employ.
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Yeah, that's exactly like that I think. We basically just learn information in chunks instead of having multiple classes at once. We learned anatomy, then embryology and were tested on each over a three day period. Next is immunology, then parasitology, etc. and we are tested on all that over a three day period at the end of November. I would think some schools in the states do it this way too, no? But good news I love it over here. I'm jonesin' for a beach trip though, too bad when I get back to Florida it'll be cold.
 
We are having our Open House tomorrow! I'm super excited, years ago I came to visit it with hopeful ideas before I applied, and now I'm an insider! too cool.
I hope some SDNers are coming to visit!
 
BlacKAT33 said:
chiichan, how are you liking your tablet?? i'm LOVING mine! classmates have even mentioned they wished the school required them like IL and some others. The thing that i like most that is really unique to Lenovo is that the screen is Matte (sp?) Finish!!! I can read all of my notes without a reflection and my eyes don't hurt as much.
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LOVE my tablet. There is one immuno slide we spent like 20 minutes on... it's literally covered on the .ppt with words and there's no way I could fit all of that if I had it paper. The other great use for me is to load sheet music on it and put it on the piano in tablet mode. Instant sheet music at my finger tips since I couldn't possibly bring all my books with me here...

nyanko said:
This sounds similar to the block model that some schools employ.
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Which US vet schools do this? I wasn't aware of any...
 
chii chan said:
Which US vet schools do this? I wasn't aware of any...
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We kind if do it that way. 8 weeks of classes followed by a week of tests. Each semester consists of 2 of those chunks.
 
Thought I would throw in my 2 cents as I procrastinate against continuing to study for anatomy 🙂

Vet school has been great so far! I like the people and so far there is minimal drama that I am aware of. It is high school-like, as some people have pointed out, but at least most of us are mature enough to avoid it being too much like the real thing.

What I want to stress is that you can have time to do the things you want outside of school while still doing well in school. I have done really well on everything so far (minus my anatomy which i still did acceptable on but not as well as I am used to doing), and I do go and hang out on the weekends with friends or have my boyfriend in from out of town. Now that doesnt mean I dont utilize my time wisely, and I rarely sleep in on the weekends anymore, but it is possible to do both, at least at this point. Please dont read this as I go out and get sh** faced drunk every friday and saturday night, but there have been multiple weekends with trips to the bars, and cookouts and such, plenty to keep me occupied and not feel like I am a total lockup. I get to go ride/see my horse almost everyday, usually averaging 5 days a week, for those wondering about that, so thats great as well.

You do have to study your butt off and keep up with the MASSIVE amount of material. Anatomy for me is the hardest, simply because my teacher, while knowledgeable, likes to pull the "you dont have to know this but actually you do" crap, others can agree or disagree as they wish 😉.

Also, I am going to put in a plug for tablet computers. Mine has helped me SO MUCH. If you can afford it, you should go for it, because between study guides you make yourself, lecture notes, old tests, etc. you get a LOT of paper and it can be difficult to keep organized. Onenote is a lifesaver and a treesaver!
 
My room's a mess and I have a hamper just for clean clothes so that I don't have to fold anything... but I think it's more that I'm lazy rather than too busy to get it done 😛.

I nap at least a couple of hours a day, and get decent to lots of sleep most days. Majority of days, I spend at least an hour cooking dinner and preparing my lunch. I sleep away about half the weekend too... I feel waaay less stressed than when I was in undergrad, but I think a lot of that has to do with having taken a couple of years off in the real world and gaining perspective. In retrospect, I'm really glad I did that.

Absolutely love my friends, and we study really well together so that makes the studying not as much of a chore. I also feel bad about dragging my study group, so that motivates me to know my **** in advance. And just those 2 things have helped me tremendously in my studies. That, and we make sure that we do something really fun after each exam so that helps keep our sanity intact. And the wetlabs and awesome lectures for clubs (with their associated free delicious food) keep me super happy.

All in all, life is good!
 
chii chan said:
Which US vet schools do this? I wasn't aware of any...
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I know of at least one that is in the final stages of adopting a system based (rather than "class based"...i.e. each block after the first "preclinical foundations" one is an organ/system/specialty like cardio, musculoskeletal, population health, etc...both normal and abnormal) curriculum with assessments at the end of each block in that manner. I think this model is employed by some medical schools as well.
 
Does anyone else feel like they are still having to cram for exams?? i study every day and ive only had 1 exam so far but i crammed for that because before i was so focused on anatomy. Then the week i crammed for bchm i totally forgot anatomy. I have a developmental bio exam monday which im now cramming for. Then I'll have 1 week to cram anatomy back into my head..... ALL chapters of little miller except the head. seriously? and right after that, i have histo, which i have been putting off. Not to mention, each of these has the written lecture part and then the practical so it feels like twice as much 🙁 I really don't know how it is possible to know ALL of little miller (cept head) :scared::scared:

ok, maybe this was a rant? lol but i feel like you guys will know what i'm going through since we're all first years.

ps-i still love vet school lol i just wish i had more time!!
 
It's definitely an "exam to exam" mentality here as well. We had our first physio chem exam last Monday, our first histo exam this upcoming Monday, our first anatomy exam the Monday after, and another physio chem exam the Monday after THAT. I pretty much just name the week by what exam I have when I talk about events that are in the future.

"Oh yeah, that game is 2 exams from now during physio chem week!"

I'm sure this sounds really weird to my non-vet school friends.
 
BlacKAT33 said:
Does anyone else feel like they are still having to cram for exams?? i study every day and ive only had 1 exam so far but i crammed for that because before i was so focused on anatomy. Then the week i crammed for bchm i totally forgot anatomy. I have a developmental bio exam monday which im now cramming for. Then I'll have 1 week to cram anatomy back into my head..... ALL chapters of little miller except the head. seriously? and right after that, i have histo, which i have been putting off. Not to mention, each of these has the written lecture part and then the practical so it feels like twice as much 🙁 I really don't know how it is possible to know ALL of little miller (cept head) :scared::scared:

ok, maybe this was a rant? lol but i feel like you guys will know what i'm going through since we're all first years.

ps-i still love vet school lol i just wish i had more time!!
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Yeah I kinda feel the same way. I study every day for 3-4 hours and these past two pre-exam weekends I have been pretty much studying the whole time. Today I did developmental for maybe 5 hours and had a 3 hour date with my anatomy dog at night.

But when our biochem test is on 23 hours of lecture and our anatomy test is on 207 pages with 15 terms per page, what else can we do?

I pretty much just sleep, eat, take care of my animals, see friends once in a while, and go to school. Granted I have two rabbits and a foster dog with a million medical problems, but there is no way I could do something like riding a horse every day.
 
Ditto. Studied anatomy last week before my test because we had histo the week before, which I was studying for then. Studying phsyiology now (instead of, you know, having a normal Saturday night...) because that's what's on Monday. After Monday I'll be studying Immunology because that's what we have next Monday. There's not a whole lot of time to focus on every subject (which I suppose is the 'proper' way of doing it) each night because you're so focused on the more immediate exams.
 
Hey I totally know how you feel too...tonight was the first night that I actually went OUT since vet school has started --- not that I've been so incredibly busy that I had time for nothing else, but because it's exam after exam after exam and I am very very good at freaking myself out. We've had 2 physio, 2 histo, 1 nutrition, and 1 anatomy test so far. Anatomy #2 is coming up this friday. SO so so much information - I hate cramming because I know that I'll forget it much easier and faster - so I try to keep up in classes, but it's impossible.
 
Even when you manage to "keep up" with all the classes, there's still a certain amount of cramming. I've had no trouble making study guide material for each class at the end of the day we have it. But I pretty much spend the weekend going over the study guide I made for the class (or two) that has a test the next week. At this point, it's been long enough since week one that I don't remember the material that I put on my guide for it.
 
ok, i'm glad im not alone 🙂 i thought i had poor study habits or something
 
nyanko said:
I know of at least one that is in the final stages of adopting a system based (rather than "class based"...i.e. each block after the first "preclinical foundations" one is an organ/system/specialty like cardio, musculoskeletal, population health, etc...both normal and abnormal) curriculum with assessments at the end of each block in that manner. I think this model is employed by some medical schools as well.
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That sounds pretty interesting to me. I don't find the classes as integrated as they could be. At least, Histology, physiology, anatomy, dev bio should all be integrated to me.
 
BlacKAT33 said:
Does anyone else feel like they are still having to cram for exams?? i study every day and ive only had 1 exam so far but i crammed for that because before i was so focused on anatomy. Then the week i crammed for bchm i totally forgot anatomy. I have a developmental bio exam monday which im now cramming for. Then I'll have 1 week to cram anatomy back into my head..... ALL chapters of little miller except the head. seriously? and right after that, i have histo, which i have been putting off. Not to mention, each of these has the written lecture part and then the practical so it feels like twice as much 🙁 I really don't know how it is possible to know ALL of little miller (cept head) :scared::scared:

ok, maybe this was a rant? lol but i feel like you guys will know what i'm going through since we're all first years.

ps-i still love vet school lol i just wish i had more time!!
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We got that something about that from our dean the first week of first year. That he recommends studying every day but it's almost impossible to not let it be an exam-to-exam studying thing. I tried it his way for half a semester. Once I realized that it was nearly impossible to stay up to date on everything, I did better in classes because I was more focused. Studying stopped being going over all material and started becoming making study guides for the weekend.

Good luck to everyone in figuring out exactly what works for you.:luck::luck:
 
BlacKAT33 said:
I really don't know how it is possible to know ALL of little miller (cept head) :scared::scared:
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It is NOT possible. And what seems to be most difficult for most Pennwes to understand is that we are not expected to be able to know it all. The sooner that is accepted, the less stressful the next 4 years are going to be.
Unfortunately in a class filled with perfectionists that is easier said than done.

Prioritize and learn what you can. The process is what is important.
 
StartingoverVet said:
It is NOT possible. And what seems to be most difficult for most Pennwes to understand is that we are not expected to be able to know it all. The sooner that is accepted, the less stressful the next 4 years are going to be.
Unfortunately in a class filled with perfectionists that is easier said than done.

Prioritize and learn what you can. The process is what is important.
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👍

totally how I feel. You learn what you can and try to synthesize it as much as possible. No one is going to get a 100 on this exam.
 
Except prioritizing is difficult if you have no idea what they consider important. In my mind the common interosseous is a pointless thing to know; I already had a professor tell us it was important after it broke.
 
StartingoverVet said:
Prioritize and learn what you can. The process is what is important.
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👍👍👍

I also try to think about how much knowledge I'm gaining per the amount of time I spend studying. If I find myself dragging on a given night, I just put my hands up and forget about it. I to to sleep or cook or watch tv or talk to my bf/family instead. 'Cause it would take me like 10-15 min on another more motivated night to study what I would in an hour or two on an unmotivated night. This way I find myself not studying at all about 3 nights a week, but on the other 4 nights, I'm on an adrenaline rush and feel waaay more productive. It works really well for me because then I never beat myself up over not accomplishing much like I used to. That's like the worst feeling in the world... spending like 4 hrs at your desk and not getting anything done. :bang:
 
StartingoverVet said:
It is NOT possible. And what seems to be most difficult for most Pennwes to understand is that we are not expected to be able to know it all. The sooner that is accepted, the less stressful the next 4 years are going to be.
Unfortunately in a class filled with perfectionists that is easier said than done.

Prioritize and learn what you can. The process is what is important.
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this is true, but i'm thinking more about not passing than getting 100%. sure i can know the important parts, but there is no guarantee that the things i focus on will be one of the 40 questions. There are hundreds of parts to know...it all comes down to 40 questions

and i know i know gellabella!! i should stop talking about not passing lol but i can't help it!!! it seems like a real possibility!
 
Minnerbelle said:
👍👍👍

I also try to think about how much knowledge I'm gaining per the amount of time I spend studying. If I find myself dragging on a given night, I just put my hands up and forget about it. I to to sleep or cook or watch tv or talk to my bf/family instead. 'Cause it would take me like 10-15 min on another more motivated night to study what I would in an hour or two on an unmotivated night. This way I find myself not studying at all about 3 nights a week, but on the other 4 nights, I'm on an adrenaline rush and feel waaay more productive. It works really well for me because then I never beat myself up over not accomplishing much like I used to. That's like the worst feeling in the world... spending like 4 hrs at your desk and not getting anything done. :bang:
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I agree. Some nights just aren't productive at all for me. I know that we were told to study 4 hours a night, and to study every subject every night, but sometimes that's just not possible. For me, it's important to still have free time and have a life outside of school. Some nights I study only an hour, whereas other times I get in a good 4-5 hours. I gave up perfectionism a long time ago (thanks organic chemistry!). I'm happy with the grades I'm making so far!
 
It just occurred to me that the deadline for vet school applications is past, and I did not turn one in this year. I don't know why but that strikes me as being more odd than having gone back to school after several years of working full time. How strange.
 
Ok, so, at orientation, they really stressed how we, as a class, need to "work together and how this isn't a competition any more" and so on and so forth, and that, since we are to think of ourselves as a class, we need to keep in mind what our reputation as a class will be and how our actions influence it and whatever.

Anyway, my point is this: Today, I found out that our class has the rather...interesting...reputation of being "drunk geniuses." :laugh: I find this utterly hilarious. I have only gone out once since I've moved down here and had a (singular!) beer, haha, but apparently our classmates like to have a good time (I have no idea how they do it! I feel like I barely have time for myself...) and yet, quite a few of our tests so far, if I'm not mistaken (with the possible exception of this last anatomy test, oops!) have been above the previous class's average.

I was just curious if there are any other witty class designations out there...it seems to be kind of a "big deal" here 🙄
 
When I was pre-med and shadowing doctors, I had one doctor tell me that in med school, he had exams every 6 weeks. Therefore, everyone would go out every night and party hard for 4 weeks, and then cram for 2 weeks for the exams. And then repeat. Apparently it worked for them 🙄
 
TexasTiger said:
Ok, so, at orientation, they really stressed how we, as a class, need to "work together and how this isn't a competition any more" and so on and so forth, and that, since we are to think of ourselves as a class, we need to keep in mind what our reputation as a class will be and how our actions influence it and whatever.
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I wish people would keep this in mind for our class. There are still people who are determined to beat everyone and be at the top of the class (why? I don't know). Our class did party a lot at the beginning too, but now that we have 6 weeks of midterms in front of us, it's slowed down a lot.
 
hunterjumper12 said:
When I was pre-med and shadowing doctors, I had one doctor tell me that in med school, he had exams every 6 weeks. Therefore, everyone would go out every night and party hard for 4 weeks, and then cram for 2 weeks for the exams. And then repeat. Apparently it worked for them 🙄
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Haven't met anyone here who is partying every night (unless inhaling formalin is partying).... and if there is anyone here doing that, I doubt they are going to last very long.
 
I think it all depends on the individual. Personally, I have yet to feel the overwhelming stresses of vet school. In undergrad I rarely went to class and would do everything on my own a day or 2 before a test. Just being in class everyday from 8-4, taking notes, and looking over things here and there, has allowed me keep a somewhat social lifestyle. I know this will change as we get further into the quarter. I have finally realized how much less work there is when I actually go and pay attention in class 🙂
 
reputation of being "drunk geniuses."
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Describes our class perfectly. Evidently the second physiology exam last year everyone pretty much failed, and we got an 84 average. Wish I was more of the latter qualifier than the former though...
 
Hey all! Checking in from Ohio here. Haven't been on in a while cuz...did you know vet school takes work? Didn't know that one going in...

Anyway, Ohio is AMAZING. I never thought I would say that about anywhere besides the northeast (sorry, but true), but I actually really, unexpectedly, like it out here. Everyone is super friendly, and not just people in the admin office. Like, grocery store clerks, people at the DVM- EVERYONE is nice out here. Classes are hard, but SO much fun. It was hard to start later than everyone else (quarter system), cuz I was mad jealous that everyone else was already doing stuff, but I am so excited to finally be digging into my cadaver and learning. There are parties like every weekend, and the bar scene here is AMAZING. Soooo many options. Its nice to be in a city since there is so much to do besides sit in the middle of no where. LOVE LOVE LOVE *The* Ohio state (also, went to my first football game ever, not just here but, ever. FREAKING DIESEL).

If any of you 2015 applicants have any questions, let me know!
 
StartingoverVet said:
Haven't met anyone here who is partying every night (unless inhaling formalin is partying).... and if there is anyone here doing that, I doubt they are going to last very long.
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we WERE partying lol until the giant bomb (little miller) dropped down on us ahhhhhh i hate our anatomy curriculum!!! btw-i wanted to cry when i marked the dyce figures. ARGGGG i just want this semester to be over with so i can start "prepping" for next semester so i don't fall behind again haha

nice chatting with u today SOV!!!

ps- i also want to say that c/o 2014 rocks!!! have you guys noticed that not only are we sharing our experiences so pre-vets can read about it (also like the thread for c/o 2013 how ya doin) but we are all still keeping in touch with each other and we are all still a lil V'14 family!! from what i read in the 2013 threads...we are definitely more united 🙂 Are you guys going to the SCAVMA symposium in UCDavis?!? we could all meet up there!! (remember to bring your shield for when you meet Nyanko)

I just added in the colors for a little happy spirit 😍
 
Are not going to SCAVMA. It's about $500 just for airfare.
 
BlacKAT33 said:
Are you guys going to the SCAVMA symposium in UCDavis?!? we could all meet up there!! (remember to bring your shield for when you meet Nyanko)
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I'll be coordinating a group of volunteers at symposium, but hopefully not too busy to meet up with anyone who is coming (and you should ALL come!!!) and hang out!!
😀

edit: bring your sunglasses, my hair is BRIGHT!
 
HopefulAg said:
Are not going to SCAVMA. It's about $500 just for airfare.
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If you find a wet lab or a different conference in the same area you can use the $400 u get for being a SCAVMA member lol. it's too bad we're not allowed to use that for this conference!
 
Hrm...they should make a list of all that stuff for people going to the symposium. Or throw a 'wetlab' in conjunction with the symposium to give us an excuse to go. Could be something like "The Effects of Drinkable Bread Upon the Average Veterinary Student" or some such. Informative and fun!
 
lalzi22 said:
Hey all! Checking in from Ohio here. Haven't been on in a while cuz...did you know vet school takes work? Didn't know that one going in...

Anyway, Ohio is AMAZING. I never thought I would say that about anywhere besides the northeast (sorry, but true), but I actually really, unexpectedly, like it out here. Everyone is super friendly, and not just people in the admin office. Like, grocery store clerks, people at the DVM- EVERYONE is nice out here. Classes are hard, but SO much fun. It was hard to start later than everyone else (quarter system), cuz I was mad jealous that everyone else was already doing stuff, but I am so excited to finally be digging into my cadaver and learning. There are parties like every weekend, and the bar scene here is AMAZING. Soooo many options. Its nice to be in a city since there is so much to do besides sit in the middle of no where. LOVE LOVE LOVE *The* Ohio state (also, went to my first football game ever, not just here but, ever. FREAKING DIESEL).

If any of you 2015 applicants have any questions, let me know!
Click to expand...

Squeeeee, I'm SO hoping that I will be joining you next year. Right now I'm not counting on it, but I can still hold that tiny little glimmer of hope, right?

Did you go to the Eastern Michigan game? If so, I was there too =) I'll be at all the games; this is the first year I got football tickets and I love it!

Any tips you want to give me are wonderful 😛
 
Eight tests in a week and a half (while still in class 8-5) is damn exhausting. But I did well and now feel like I may be able to actually manage this whole vet school thing....
 
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