Compilation of "Now what?" Threads

[rewind100.24]

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Now that I have been accepted (YAY) to medical school, I am wondering what comes next. Obviously applying for students loans, finding a place to live, etc. will be happening.

I am wondering if there is a thread on SDN addressing all these things in order (for example how exactly applying for financial aid works, then detailing what to buy/not to buy before moving, then detailing the best review books and study aids to purchase/not purchase, etc.).

I have found short individual threads, but I imagine there is a megathread somewhere which answers a ton of questions, I just have not found it.

Thank you for all of your help and congrats to everyone looking for answers to these questions as well!

 

[mellie0]

I think this thread is a wonderful idea! Throughout the cycle, I kept putting financial aid as the least of my concerns, as I was obviously more concerned with doing well on the interviews, making sure I sent thank-you notes, and of course having a life outside of the application process. Financial aid was just something in the distant future that I didn't worry about. Well, now I'm going crazy trying to fill out every school's financial aid applications. I wish there was a thread like this explaining more how the financial aid process works, as now I'm completely lost🙂

As time goes on and people decide where they're going to med school (or med schools decide for us), it will become relevant to think about finding a place to live and which review books to buy.

Can't wait for this thread to kick off!😀 Congrats to all accepted students!

 

[rewind100.24]

I guess I'll start off with a tidbit of financial aid advice that I recently found out.

FAFSA is generally the first place to start, so it is super important to keep track of previous tax returns/be on top of filing FAFSA ASAP. However, students should have an idea of which schools to send FAFSA too, since it needs to be individually sent to each program.

Some schools have deadlines to file FAFSA, others do not. So make sure to check with each school's individual financial aid office.

It is optional to include parental info in FAFSA, so try to wrangle that up ASAP as well. Again, some schools want you to include parental info, others do not care (Can someone please add if your parents earning a lot of money can mess up your interest rates at all for federal loans?)

Ask your schools if they have a list of scholarships you can apply for-the deadline may be sooner than you want to think about!

**please correct me if any of my info on FAFSA is incorrect, I have been pulling this info from multiple sources in my own search for financial aid info.

 

[Goro]

Now that I have been accepted (YAY) to medical school, I am wondering what comes next. Obviously applying for students loans, finding a place to live, etc. will be happening.

I am wondering if there is a thread on SDN addressing all these things in order (for example how exactly applying for financial aid works, then detailing what to buy/not to buy before moving, then detailing the best review books and study aids to purchase/not purchase, etc.).

I have found short individual threads, but I imagine there is a megathread somewhere which answers a ton of questions, I just have not found it.

Thank you for all of your help and congrats to everyone looking for answers to these questions as well!

Congrats on the accept!
👍👍😍😍😍
Now read this:
Goro's Guide to Success in Medical School (2017 edition)

 

[ekmf27050]

@HomeSkool did a great one on the finance side of things

HomeSkool's Guide to Financing Your Medical Education

Edit: I personally would also like some info on review books/study aids to have for M1 and suggestions on integrating them into course study. I agree with OP that there are smaller threads, but I'm having trouble finding more comprehensive info

 

[rewind100.24]

Thanks Goro! Seeing all of your critiques on school lists definitely helped me cultivate my own 🙂 And you better believe I checked out your Guide to Success!

 

[rewind100.24]

@HomeSkool did a great one on the finance side of things

HomeSkool's Guide to Financing Your Medical Education

Edit: I personally would also like some info on review books/study aids to have for M1 and suggestions on integrating them into course study. I agree with OP that there are smaller threads, but I'm having trouble finding more comprehensive info

I actually had not found that Finance thread-thanks for posting it!

 

[Siromas]

Can someone please add if your parents earning a lot of money can mess up your interest rates at all for federal loans?

I thought federal loans were set at a standardized interest rate. Your parents income information, at least to my knowledge, is requested by some schools to determine how school-funded need-based assistance should be distributed. Aren't grad plus loan interest rates dependent on the applicant's credit score?

 

[rewind100.24]

I thought federal loans were set at a standardized interest rate. Your parents income information, at least to my knowledge, is requested by some schools to determine how school-funded need-based assistance should be distributed.

View attachment 229318

Oh so parent info is really only for the schools? That would make sense since some schools request it and others do not.

 

[DBC03]

I finally submitted *most* of the documents required for financial aid. But I'm mostly concerned about immunizations. I need to schedule an appointment to get blood drawn and titres measured for various antibodies, but I keep putting it off. Is anyone planning on doing this at the school clinic?

 

[Laterthansooner]

@HomeSkool did a great one on the finance side of things

HomeSkool's Guide to Financing Your Medical Education

Edit: I personally would also like some info on review books/study aids to have for M1 and suggestions on integrating them into course study. I agree with OP that there are smaller threads, but I'm having trouble finding more comprehensive info

I found this thread the other day, with info on review aids:
Good Websites and Apps for Medical Students

Personslly, I would love to see a comprehensive one that lists Med school study aids (ex. sketchy, pathoma, FA, UWorld, Dr. Najeeb, etc.) and categorizes by the type of learner (visual/auditory/etc) a person is. Maybe one exists in the med school forums somewhere.

 

[Siromas]

I finally submitted *most* of the documents required for financial aid. But I'm mostly concerned about immunizations. I need to schedule an appointment to get blood drawn and titres measured for various antibodies, but I keep putting it off. Is anyone planning on doing this at the school clinic?

Verbatim from some MS1's at a school I interviewed with: "Don't get your immunizations before matriculating. Administration will push you hard to get them done, but had I waited, I could have saved hundreds of dollars and gotten them all done for free when I got here as a student".

On the other hand, there are schools that probably won't even let you in through the front door without having them done...so YMMV.

 

[SpoiledMilk]

On the school's white coat order form, it lists some medical equipment that may be ordered along with the white coat. They include:

1) Reflex hammer
2) Welch Allyn Diagnostic Set
3) Pen Light
4) Littman Cardiology IV Stethoscope

Costs range from $6 to $600.

Question: Other than the white coat, are any of the four listed essential to purchase as an incoming MS1?

 

[FlavivirusProtease]

On the school's white coat order form, it lists some medical equipment that may be ordered along with the white coat. They include:

1) Reflex hammer
2) Welch Allyn Diagnostic Set
3) Pen Light
4) Littman Cardiology IV Stethoscope

Costs range from $6 to $600.

Question: Other than the white coat, are any of the four listed essential to purchase as an incoming MS1?

That's quite the price range.