Class of 2020... how you doin?

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I just got back from our three day off-site orientation! It was actually really fun. Really ridiculous as well at times (in a good way haha). I met a bunch of people and don't really feel nervous about starting school anymore. Tomorrow we have a few hours of lecture in the morning, and then white coat tomorrow night! Classes officially start Monday.
 
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lol. Seriously though, having a seat that you know is yours makes sense. On mornings one is running late, they don't have to frantically search for the empty seat and disrupt everything. Vet school works best when you have nothing to worry about but learning the material and getting past that class. Not worrying about where to sit, what to wear, all that superfluous crap makes student life easier. Vet school is not undergrad. You don't mess with your classmates because this is a very expensive education and if they need normality to get through it, that is their right.
So much strife caused by the seat stealing situation today. Two people showed up super early, took two seats that others had been sitting in since Monday, and then reserved two others (those two people didn't show up until 10 minutes after class started). And of course the displacement continued down the line. Since they were sitting right behind me I heard them talking about getting here at 7 tomorrow to make sure they keep those seats, my friends who were originally sitting there are doing the same thing...should be interesting :laugh:
 
Third year classroom at UMN is a NIGHTMARE sitting in because it was in the back corner.


Whaaaaat? That classroom was the best!! The outlet situation sucked, but I loved the beams - if I didn't want to attention to some cow lecture I could slide behind the beam and tune out and not feel guilty. And since half the classes were elective anyway the room was more often not full than full.

That was my favorite classroom!

🙂
 
My solution was to not go to class. Seat problem solved! Heh.
Yeah, thanks to lecture capture I always had a fantastic seat. My couch.

When I was a better student, I'd just show up right before class started and snag whatever back left row seat was open. Back two rows were pretty much in constant flux.
 
Whaaaaat? That classroom was the best!! The outlet situation sucked, but I loved the beams - if I didn't want to attention to some cow lecture I could slide behind the beam and tune out and not feel guilty. And since half the classes were elective anyway the room was more often not full than full.

That was my favorite classroom!

🙂
First semester was just like previous years where everyone was there, wasn't until second semester that it was all electives. And not being able to see what they were pointing at on their screens or writing on the white boards was just a pain, especially after going to the trouble to show up to classlove lecture capture though

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There were only maybe 6-8? or so of us who were hard core lecture capture people. Out of 100, lots of people still showed up. I forfeited a couple participation points throughout the years (and it sucked if the system went down for a day or two), but considered it well worth it to sleep in a little later and be able to cook/knit/frolic around the house in my undies while listening to lecture.
 
if we didn't show to class in large enough numbers, our profs threw a fit.

Ours started too and then would put themselves on the "do not record list" so that you couldn't listen to the lecture later. Most of the time, they had sufficient handouts though.

I was one that had a general seat area/seat but when I stopped going to class regularly I didn't throw a fit since people probably stopped expecting me to be there.
 
Ours started too and then would put themselves on the "do not record list" so that you couldn't listen to the lecture later. Most of the time, they had sufficient handouts though.

I was one that had a general seat area/seat but when I stopped going to class regularly I didn't throw a fit since people probably stopped expecting me to be there.
Yeah, ours did that, too. Anatomy prof did it and his notes were non-existent
 
On the class seats topic, very firmly in the camp of find a seat and stay there. I used to get so anxious and frustrated when someone took my seat, it would throw off my entire day and leave very bad negative impressions of the person who took it (unless they had taken mine because they were also a victim). Luckily, once seats were established most of the time people respected that.

Third year classroom at UMN is a NIGHTMARE classroom. Random poles in the middle makes it so some seats you literally can't see the white board or the professor, outlets are few and far between, and some are directly under A/C vents so have fun freezing the entire time if you get stuck there. People "reserved" seats days before the first day of class in that room and some people convinced the janitor to let them in before the building was unlocked the morning of to claim seats. That totally sucked, especially when you find a string across nearly the entire back row because one of the cow guys reserved the entire line for his buddies. I ended up in a seat under the vent with very limited visibility. The only bonus was it was kind of near a window (there was a window in that classroom!) and had access to an outlet - though my spot was occasionally stolen by other professors sitting in because it was in the back corner.

Picking seats is serious business. Like, super serious. You will sit in that seat for possibly 8 hours a day, 5 days a week (usually less because labs and all that).

Very glad to not have to deal with that anymore.

...What kinda poles we talkin about?
 
Yeah, ours did that, too. Anatomy prof did it and his notes were non-existent

Most of our notes were complete, but not all. I'd say very few profs recorded their lectures any of the three years though; technically all students are always expected to be in class. Right...

I think most didn't care, but some profs would get pissy if it was obvious people were missing.
 
Problem is there is a prof first year that you had to attend unless you wanted to get on his bad side. You do not want to get on his bad side. lol

After that though, I rarely made an appearance.

No love lost on him from me. Not a drop. If I ever saw him, which I hope I do not... oh, I would probably do a 180 and run. Or hide.

Ours started too and then would put themselves on the "do not record list" so that you couldn't listen to the lecture later. Most of the time, they had sufficient handouts though.

I was one that had a general seat area/seat but when I stopped going to class regularly I didn't throw a fit since people probably stopped expecting me to be there.

"No one is coming to lecture so I'm not doing lecture capture!"

Yeah, okay, except I'm STILL not coming, so...

I mean, half the time I really was there. I just start to lose focus after three hours. And sometimes they talk so fast, you give up on taking notes in lecture and just try to listen, for better or worse. Then you go to do the recording later to, I dunno, PAUSE these crazy people, and sometimes it will have messed up... ugh, that was the worst, because I WAS THERE you just go so fast and keep jumping topics and it makes my brain hurt.

I would bitch more, but I don't know if that's what the class of 2020 needs to hear, lol.
 
No love lost on him from me. Not a drop. If I ever saw him, which I hope I do not... oh, I would probably do a 180 and run. Or hide.



"No one is coming to lecture so I'm not doing lecture capture!"

Yeah, okay, except I'm STILL not coming, so...

I mean, half the time I really was there. I just start to lose focus after three hours. And sometimes they talk so fast, you give up on taking notes in lecture and just try to listen, for better or worse. Then you go to do the recording later to, I dunno, PAUSE these crazy people, and sometimes it will have messed up... ugh, that was the worst, because I WAS THERE you just go so fast and keep jumping topics and it makes my brain hurt.

I would bitch more, but I don't know if that's what the class of 2020 needs to hear, lol.


I just focus so much better when I don't have a ton of people around me. I also like to spread out which can be difficult in a lecture hall. Or speed up a lecture so I can get 3x as much stuff done in the same amount of time.
 
Orientation has been surprisingly enjoyable so far and I've met some cool people already (which is huge for me because I'm super shy and have a hard time making friends).

Excited for the last day of orientation tomorrow, and then white coat! 😀
 
First semester was just like previous years where everyone was there, wasn't until second semester that it was all electives. And not being able to see what they were pointing at on their screens or writing on the white boards was just a pain, especially after going to the trouble to show up to classlove lecture capture though

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As much as I was a lecture-learner type, I was pretty burned out by third year. That's when a friend and I started going to Stout's during lecture hours ... beer and live lecture capture was a winning combo.
 
"No one is coming to lecture so I'm not doing lecture capture!"

We had one or two like that, and I still don't really understand the thinking. I mean, is your self-worth really that wrapped up in how many people attend your lecture? Shouldn't you be GLAD they care enough to watch the lecture capture?

Just bizarre.
 
We had one or two like that, and I still don't really understand the thinking. I mean, is your self-worth really that wrapped up in how many people attend your lecture? Shouldn't you be GLAD they care enough to watch the lecture capture?

Just bizarre.

There were a few that I understood it for. Like our exotics clinicians. However, they made attendance to their class mandatory or you'd drop a letter grade after 2 unexcused absences. They were just so freaking busy appointment wise that for them to give up clinic time for lecture time was a big deal. I'm sure the other clinicians felt the same way, but many of them were more senior clinicians who I felt like oversaw things more often than were dealing with appointments first hand. I still understood more of where they were coming from once I hit clinics, but I'd probably still have skipped class most of the time if I had to do vet school all over again.
 
As much as I was a lecture-learner type, I was pretty burned out by third year. That's when a friend and I started going to Stout's during lecture hours ... beer and live lecture capture was a winning combo.
I miss lectures so much 🙁 Our faculty members ended up getting upset that no one showed up to the minimal amount of lectures we had that they would just cancel them. As someone who went to them religiously, that frustrated me to no end. Luckily, the hopsital I'm rotating at now has like three lectures a week! It's amazing and I'm totally in love.
 
I keep seeing/hearing about everyone getting their white coat ceremonies, and I;m over here like... :whistle: classes haven't even started yet! And 2.5 more years before white coat time.
 
I keep seeing/hearing about everyone getting their white coat ceremonies, and I;m over here like... :whistle: classes haven't even started yet! And 2.5 more years before white coat time.
Same here, we don't get our white coats until end of 3rd year right before clinics.
 
I like that we have to wait for our white coats. It'll make it a little more special knowing we just successfully completed three years.


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If they could have moved the white coat ceremony to NOT be the day after we get back from the sleep deprivation and exhaustion that is Camp that would have been great...

I do like the idea of waiting until right before clinics, but I also liked how our ceremony was done and the symbol of us joining the profession, even if we're merely 1st years. We're part of the cult now 😱
 
First day of classes went well! We hit the ground running with anatomy, but so far it's mostly review of things I learned in high school and undergrad. I'm still figuring out OneNote and my new computer, but I like it so far. There's only, like, 2 people in my class that annoy me so far. 😛
 
Ugh, guys it's day 2 and I'm already having some major imposter syndrome 🙁

And then I feel silly, because aside from anatomy, our two other "big" classes just went over material I have a good background in and knew already.

Blah. I knew this would happen eventually, but day 2?!
 
Ugh, guys it's day 2 and I'm already having some major imposter syndrome 🙁

And then I feel silly, because aside from anatomy, our two other "big" classes just went over material I have a good background in and knew already.

Blah. I knew this would happen eventually, but day 2?!
You earned this Caiter! Try not to second guess yourself. Admissions made the right decision. 🙂
 
Ugh, guys it's day 2 and I'm already having some major imposter syndrome 🙁

And then I feel silly, because aside from anatomy, our two other "big" classes just went over material I have a good background in and knew already.

Blah. I knew this would happen eventually, but day 2?!
This is a super common feeling, and I guarantee several other classmates are feeling this as well, even in day 2. The big thing to know is that you are not alone. There are people who are there for you, people who can commiserate with you, and people who believe in you, even if you don't believe in yourself. That voice that is saying you can't do this or that you don't belong is wrong. You were accepted for a reason, and you can work past this feeling as you succeed and pass your classes.

We are all rooting for you!
 
Ugh, guys it's day 2 and I'm already having some major imposter syndrome 🙁

And then I feel silly, because aside from anatomy, our two other "big" classes just went over material I have a good background in and knew already.

Blah. I knew this would happen eventually, but day 2?!
Ugh, you and me both, Caiter! I can already tell that anatomy is going to be tough. I thought that my undergrad comparative anatomy class was pretty intense, but even this early on, this is on a whole different level. At least the professor here is awesome.

I'm thinking that probably the majority of students in your class are similarly stressed but maybe just aren't letting it show as much. 🙂
 
Just had my first day of orientation!! I had a fun time, but I'm exhausted as hell. Maybe this is just my insecurity , but was I supposed to have made friends already? I talked to a lot of people and everyone was very nice and friendly, but it seemed like other people were becoming friends whereas I felt like I was just making small talk with classmates for the most part. Maybe it's all in my head, I just feel like I forgot how friendships happen since I had the same group of friends since the first week of undergrad.
 
If everyone who felt they might have gotten in by mistake was truly there by accident, there'd be close to no vet students. Seriously. And I've yet to hear of someone whose acceptance was rescinded. 😉
Omg I was so scared they were going to rescind my acceptance when I failed a lit class in each of my last two semesters and didn't end up getting my lit minor 😱 Why I thought they would care about that I have no idea...
 
If everyone who felt they might have gotten in by mistake was truly there by accident, there'd be close to no vet students. Seriously. And I've yet to hear of someone whose acceptance was rescinded. 😉

I seriously had a case of this. But I also was technically rejected from Penn the year I started so I couldn't quite help myself. They didn't take it back though -- even when I barely passed anatomy!


But hang in there everyone. The imposter syndrome fades and then it comes back once you graduate but you get better at trusting yourself.
 
Just had my first day of orientation!! I had a fun time, but I'm exhausted as hell. Maybe this is just my insecurity , but was I supposed to have made friends already? I talked to a lot of people and everyone was very nice and friendly, but it seemed like other people were becoming friends whereas I felt like I was just making small talk with classmates for the most part. Maybe it's all in my head, I just feel like I forgot how friendships happen since I had the same group of friends since the first week of undergrad.
Nah, it's your first day! There are some people in my class who clearly knew each other before orientation, but it seems like either they're roommates, or friends from undergrad. There's a large chunk of people in my class that went to K State for undergrad, too. We're two days into classes and there's probably 2 girls I'd consider friends so far, although I've talked to a lot more people. Give it time! 🙂
 
I have to say that the classes I've had so far this week have really reaffirmed my decision to do the program I'm doing. I love love love the classes so far and I'm really enjoying the discussions we've had. It's nice to notice such an immediate enjoyment just from a few hours of class.
 
Lol at our physical diagnosis lab today. I do get the point as far as figuring out how to handle the needle/syringe, how to restrain properly, etc, but those dog dummies didn't feel a thing like real dogs! Still had fun though, maybe part of the idea was for it to be more challenging than drawing blood on a real dog so when people do it for the first time they feel like it's easy 😉
 
Just had my first day of orientation!! I had a fun time, but I'm exhausted as hell. Maybe this is just my insecurity , but was I supposed to have made friends already? I talked to a lot of people and everyone was very nice and friendly, but it seemed like other people were becoming friends whereas I felt like I was just making small talk with classmates for the most part. Maybe it's all in my head, I just feel like I forgot how friendships happen since I had the same group of friends since the first week of undergrad.

My whole two days so far have been nothing but small talk. I think that's pretty normal at this stage. Some people already know each other and others just seem like they know each other better than they actually might. Some people are good at forming an instant connection with a lot of people and making friends quickly. I'm not and never have been, so it takes me a good amount of time to make actual friends. It's okay if you're either one of those things or if you fall somewhere in the middle. Just be patient, and you'll find your people naturally. 🙂
 
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Someone tell me how to keep these stupid bone features in my brain!!!

(i love our anatomy professor though, he's awesome)
I'm a memory trick fiend, so if it didn't take forever to come up with, I normally had either a mnemonic, story, or something like that to remember things.

When in doubt, have a blank sketch of the bone on paper, tablet, or whiteboard, and recall the features from memory until your eyes bleed 😛
 
I'm a memory trick fiend, so if it didn't take forever to come up with, I normally had either a mnemonic, story, or something like that to remember things.

When in doubt, have a blank sketch of the bone on paper, tablet, or whiteboard, and recall the features from memory until your eyes bleed 😛
Whiteboard worked for the ulna yesterday so I'll probably stick with that.

My Anki notecards are out of control! but actually it's been really helpful and I can get through them pretty quickly. Just when I stop to see how many I've reviewed I'm like 😱 😱 😱
 
Whiteboard worked for the ulna yesterday so I'll probably stick with that.

My Anki notecards are out of control! but actually it's been really helpful and I can get through them pretty quickly. Just when I stop to see how many I've reviewed I'm like 😱 😱 😱
Are you finding you're a notecard person? Do you know about the picture inclusion part you can buy on anki? A few of my friends would insert anatomy pictures on it and cover up the parts they wanted to quiz themselves on as a way to remember anatomy things.
 
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