first year at Temple

[ineffable11]

Hey I will be starting my firsrt at Temple this August.
1.Can you tell me what a typical day is like for the first year?
2. any general advices on how to survive?
3. i heard students have summer off. When does classes finishes and how long is the first summer break?
4. do we have winter break for the first year? if so, how long?

Thanks...

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[Paisley Jane]

I just finished my first year at Temple last week so I will answer your questions as best I can.

1. There really is no typical day. Classes and times vary everyday. It isn't like undergrad where you have the same classes M W F or something. Everyday is different because you have several different professors for each course and they all teach at several of the Temple schools so the scheduling is complicated. You usually start at 9 or 10, always have 12-1 off, and then usually finish at 3 or 4. Some classes are all semester and others are shorter.

2. Advice on how to survive? Try to meet people before classes start to make some friends (Facebook works). Go out as much as you can at the beginning of the year because you won't be able to later. Don't procrastinate on studying. Don't buy books before you find out what you actually need. Take advantage of your big brother/sister and their "resources". Is that the kind of advice you wanted?

3. Yes, you get summer off after your first year and then only a few weeks after second year but you use that time to study for boards. This year we ended May 20 and start again August 16.

4. Yes, you get a winter break. It is 2 weeks, or can be 3, depending on how your curriculum rep (an elected student position) manipulates the schedule.

OK, hopefully this helps!

 

[ineffable11]

Hey. thanks for your valuable info.
All the answers were exactly what I was looking for.
congrats on finishing up ur first year.
so how u spending ur first year?
Hope you see you soon in Philly this fall!
thanks again..

 

[Brodiatrist]

You'll find nobody buys books during first year because their big (2nd year students who haven't started studying for the board exam yet) told them it's easy to get by from class notes.

The fact that you can get by on just class notes is true, however you'll wish you had the books once you start studying for boards and realize your notes are inadequate to make the detailed connections asked by the USMLE study questions.

The main reason, I believe, most people feel step 1 was a lot harder than they thought is that they didn't really know the material. The NBPME is not like the exams you'll take in class. Aside from physiology, most of the exams you'll take are straight recall and buzz words. You'll get old exams, pass with flying colors because 80% of the questions are recycled, and then wish you had learned the material come summer of your 2nd year.

The NBPME is based on integrated information, not memory. As an aside, the BRS and High-yield series are very good for re-learning the detailed connections. I found 1st aid to be a waste of money.

From a 3rd year prospective, DO buy the books. Know (don't memorize) the material for pathology and pharmacology. You'll wish you did when you start to study for the board exam.

 

[CHOPSTIX]

You'll find nobody buys books during first year because their big (2nd year students who haven't started studying for the board exam yet) told them it's easy to get by from class notes.

The fact that you can get by on just class notes is true, however you'll wish you had the books once you start studying for boards and realize your notes are inadequate to make the detailed connections asked by the USMLE study questions.

The main reason, I believe, most people feel step 1 was a lot harder than they thought is that they didn't really know the material. The NBPME is not like the exams you'll take in class. Aside from physiology, most of the exams you'll take are straight recall and buzz words. You'll get old exams, pass with flying colors because 80% of the questions are recycled, and then wish you had learned the material come summer of your 2nd year.

The NBPME is based on integrated information, not memory. As an aside, the BRS and High-yield series are very good for re-learning the detailed connections. I found 1st aid to be a waste of money.

From a 3rd year prospective, DO buy the books. Know (don't memorize) the material for pathology and pharmacology. You'll wish you did when you start to study for the board exam.

Thanks for the heads up! specifically what books did you use to study for the boards? Most people seem to study from the USMLE, i'm curious as to why you say its a waste of money.

 

[Brodiatrist]

You'll need a good pharmacology and physiology textbook for reference. First Aid was just too condensed, and not well organized IMO. It's great for remembering basic associations, but you can't study just one subject (renal phys, for example) because it's setup in an organ based fashion.

If you want to ace the tougher concept questions you'll need a better source for studying (BRS pharm and phys are great) and a good textbook.

 

[ineffable11]

thanks for valueble info!!!

 

[lojick]

Brodiatrist is correct in that the first aid for the usmle is useless as a comprehensive review book and should not replace other sources. however, i would encourage all 1st years to buy this book at the begining of your first year, because eventhough the majority of the material is organized into systems, this will allow you to begin making connections at an earlier time.
also, the plethora of classes and material which you will be given in your first two years (especially 2nd year) will not give you much time to go back later to review old material... so purchase the first aid book or any other book that integrates the subject matter now before time flies by... trust me it will.

Anatomy: get an atlas (doesn't have to be netters, not that there is anything wrong with it either); more importantly, make good use of your time when your in dissection... pimp your lab partners as much as possible and have them do the same
biochem/physiology/histology: if you have any of these books in undergrad, they will do. if not, the brs review books are great.
lower extremity anatomy: you will receive all the material in december and all the professors are very knowledgeable. you will enjoy the weekly comprehensive quizzes

those classes make up 90% of your workload for the 1st year. podiatric practice and biomechanics make up the rest.

that's 1st year in a nutshell... peace

 

[podpod]

you will enjoy the weekly comprehensive quizzes

 

[BlueMerlin]

Hey, I'll be going this August too! We should start a study group. I have 2 questions for the students. First, what can I do now to best get ahead for the year to come? Next, my wife and I can't decide between Haverford or Roxborough to live in. Which is the safest?

 

[dpmgrad]

Hey, I'll be going this August too! We should start a study group. I have 2 questions for the students. First, what can I do now to best get ahead for the year to come? Next, my wife and I can't decide between Haverford or Roxborough to live in. Which is the safest?

Welcome to TUSPM family. To quickly answer your question, if you have kids, Haverford is the way to go. Haverford school district has significant better schools than Philadelphia school district, which is what Roxborough resides in. Depending on where you live in Haverford (part of the township is in Delaware county and part of it is in Montgomery county), you might actually be in the Lower Merion school district (if you are on the Montgomery county side of town), which is considered one of the top 2 or 3 school district in the greater Philadephia Metropolitan area.

If you don't have kids, then you would need to look at the prices of the place that you are planning buy or rent. Roxborough should be significantly cheaper than Haverford. Roxborough is a predominantly blue collar community. On the other hand, Haverford is on the Mainline area of the Philadephia suburbs. Mainline area is the area where many of the wealthy people live. Hence, you have significant amount of white collar professionals living in the Mainline area. I think that both areas are relatively safe. If you live in Haverford, you can take the regional commuter rail or the Norristown high speed line with connection to subway to center city. If you live in Roxborough, you will be stuck taking the bus to center city. The closest train station for Roxborough would require you driving to Manayunk or East Falls. If you are driving, then living in either area would not be a problem.

My recommendation would be for Haverford, if you can find affordable housing. I hope that this helps.

 

[zloetakoe]

Hey, I'll be going this August too! We should start a study group. I have 2 questions for the students. First, what can I do now to best get ahead for the year to come? Next, my wife and I can't decide between Haverford or Roxborough to live in. Which is the safest?

I would just relax and enjoy your time with your wife while you have time to do that. First year is challenging and time consuming but definitely doable. I wouldn't study a thing till classes started, and then just stay on top of it and don't get behind. Ever. I lived in Secane, PA which is close to Clifton Heights. My wife and I loved it there. We didn't have a kid old enough to worry about schools yet, so you might want to check into that. I enjoyed taking the R3 (high speed line) which got me to school in about 30 min. and I could study for the lower anatomy quizzes while I was on the train. Very convenient. We found a lot of affordable (less than 1000 dollars) places to stay and ended up getting a nice 2nd floor of a 3 story house with 3 bedrooms. There were a lot of ads on craigslist when we were looking last year so keep checking if you are interested in that area. Good luck. See you in August.