MCW Class of 2014!!!!

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^ haha,...Yeah, needing size small was a bit emasculating, but I like a trim fit. Can't have extra fabric flailing all over the place when Im out there saving lives :D

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Do most people at MCW use iPhones or Android-based phones? (I'm about to buy my first smartphone and I wanna be in the same tech ecosystem as most of my classmates.)

How long does it take to officially become a Wisconsin state resident in order to get the lower in-state tuition? And how hard is the process?
 
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Do most people at MCW use iPhones or Android-based phones? (I'm about to buy my first smartphone and I wanna be in the same tech ecosystem as most of my classmates.)

How long does it take to officially become a Wisconsin state resident in order to get the lower in-state tuition? And how hard is the process?

Lot's of people have iphones or blackberry's.

I know that some schools will allow students to have in-state tuition after the first year. MCW does not do that. I'm not sure how long it takes and if you can do it while being in school.
 
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Lot's of people have iphones or blackberry's.

I know that some schools will allow students to have in-state tuition after the first year. MCW does not do that. I'm not sure how long it takes and if you can do it while being in school.

You can't become a resident after applying. So the choices are take time off before applying to become a resident, or never be a resident as considered by the school.

Btw, I LOVE my crackber... I mean Blackberry.
 
I figured as much. It was the same at my undergrad - it took 3 years to become a resident, but years of schooling are not counted.
 
Yeah, you have to have lived in Wisconsin for at least (1?) year before being a college/med student to get in-state tuition. The difference isn't THAT horrible though (compared to some states).

I'm not sure how many people have android-based phones but quite a few people have blackberries and iPhones. To be honest, it really doesn't matter at all for the first two years, and for M3-M4 they're giving us all iPod touches.
 
What books do MCWers think are must gets? Don't worry, they'll be paper weights until school starts. Just thought I'd search the internet for some cheap ones ahead of time. Plus, my parents might be willing to get them for me.
 
The bookstore actually has a pretty minimal markup, so the prices there are fine. The books are still not cheap though :/

Anatomy: Netter (or other anatomy atlas, the one I used was 30 years old) and the cadaver atlas is super helpful.

Biochem: none (i bought lippencott and never used it)

Devo/Genetics: none

Neuro: None. I bought Nolte and returned it 3 days later, just wasn't as helpful as I had hoped

Cell & Tissue: Wheater's (don't buy - wait for big sib info on that, hint hint)

Phys: Guyton & Hall (dont buy - wait for big sib info on that, hint hint)
 
The library has everything on reserve. I didn't buy a book the whole year (spent a lot of time in the biblioteca though).
 
The bookstore actually has a pretty minimal markup, so the prices there are fine. The books are still not cheap though :/

Anatomy: Netter (or other anatomy atlas, the one I used was 30 years old) and the cadaver atlas is super helpful.

Biochem: none (i bought lippencott and never used it)

Devo/Genetics: none

Neuro: None. I bought Nolte and returned it 3 days later, just wasn't as helpful as I had hoped

Cell & Tissue: Wheater's (don't buy - wait for big sib info on that, hint hint)

Phys: Guyton & Hall (dont buy - wait for big sib info on that, hint hint)

I bought an overseas edition of Guyton and Hall for a fraction of the price. Identical, page-for-page. My lab buddies bought the black and white edition for $35. It showed up and it was in color. Do not spend extra for the CD. It is lame and stupid.
 
I bought books after researching prices on www.campusi.com (the website changed, and I think it redirects).

I also only checked out 1 book and 1 brainstem from the library in 4 years, and those were both for a max of 2 hours. For those concerned w/ the library's hours, don't be. M1 year I studied in the nerd rooms for so long I got sick of it (usually til about 0000, later for exams, getting there about 6 or 7). M2 year I was so sick of the nerd rooms and burnt out that I studied in the library from open to close, that limited my studying so I didn't burn out as much, and staying at school until 22:00 was long enough.
 
What books do MCWers think are must gets? Don't worry, they'll be paper weights until school starts. Just thought I'd search the internet for some cheap ones ahead of time. Plus, my parents might be willing to get them for me.
Genetics: None.

Anatomy: Netter (drawn atlas) & a lot of people like Rohen (picture atlas). If you join the AMA for a four year membership you'll get the full set of Netter flash cards as well, which are a decent study tool.

Don't buy Moore (anatomy textbook), most useless book *ever*

Biochem: Eh, I liked Lippencott, but it is a bit long. A lot of people did fine with just the notes. A handful of people I saw had other biochem books

Devo: The book is rather worthless, except for one chapter that they don't lecture on or something.

EBM/Interviewing: None. The books have nothing to do with the course.

CTB: None. Wheaters if you really want, but the study powerpoints floating around have scans of all the images you'd ever need.

Neuro: A lot of people love Nolte (a big fat textbook) but its not strictly necessary.

Phys: A lot of people (including myself) love Guyton (an even bigger, fatter textbook) but its not strictly necessary. I'd 100% recommend (when you get to it) buying the BRS Physiology book though, because it presents the *vast* majority of the physiology you'll need in a much, much better and more concise format than the notes (or Guyton, which is good but long).
 
What books do MCWers think are must gets? Don't worry, they'll be paper weights until school starts. Just thought I'd search the internet for some cheap ones ahead of time. Plus, my parents might be willing to get them for me.

For me, class notes were usually more than enough.

Genetics: nothing

Biochem: nothing

Devo: nothing

Anatomy: netter (for me, this was a must)

Phys: guyton (but only for CV block because we didn't get notes), BRS was good for a couple topics.

Neuro: nothing

CTB: nothing (one of the guys in the year above us made a great study guide so I used that)

Oh, and like Raryn said DONT BUY MOORE it's useless. I made the same mistake as him.

So basically my point is, don't buy textbooks until you need them. Some people cannot live without textbooks, so if you're one of those people, then buy them early. But in general, I would wait. You'll save yourself lots of money.
 
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Thanks for all the advice. I think I'll probably hold off buying books except for Netter. Going to be dropping by soon to hunt for apartments. Is the school open to visitors? I might show my dad the school.
 
Thanks for all the advice. I think I'll probably hold off buying books except for Netter. Going to be dropping by soon to hunt for apartments. Is the school open to visitors? I might show my dad the school.

If you go before 6pm (this was during academic year. I doubt it, but don't know if they change the hours for summer) the school is pretty much open to anyone. If you want a tour perhaps you could contact Mr. Istwan, tell him your situation (want to show mcw to dad), and ask. I don't know what the policy is, but asking doesn't hurt. And regardless of the outcome, he is very helpful.
 
Thanks for all the advice. I think I'll probably hold off buying books except for Netter. Going to be dropping by soon to hunt for apartments. Is the school open to visitors? I might show my dad the school.
You don't necessarily have to buy Netter now. As I said above, the AMA will give you netter flash cards if you join for 4 years (as well as a whole bunch of other benefits... join the AMA!).

Also, if you join AMSA, you can get a free Netter book. (I'm not a member of AMSA, but I know plenty of people who are.)
 
The previous edition of Netter will be adequate for most purposes if you get a good deal.
 
Is easy to get around via public bus? The Milwaukee bus map looks like it covers a lot of area. Are the buses a reliable mode of transportation I can depend on? Do they arrive frequently? Are they acceptably frequent late at night? Is it reasonably fast to travel to most places by bus? Do you have to do a million transfers to get to most places I might want to go to?

i.e., Can I depend on the public busses to get me almost everywhere I need to go, when I need to go, and with reasonable speed and ease?
 
Is easy to get around via public bus? The Milwaukee bus map looks like it covers a lot of area. Are the buses a reliable mode of transportation I can depend on? Do they arrive frequently? Are they acceptably frequent late at night? Is it reasonably fast to travel to most places by bus? Do you have to do a million transfers to get to most places I might want to go to?

i.e., Can I depend on the public busses to get me almost everywhere I need to go, when I need to go, and with reasonable speed and ease?

The busses are pretty reliable. It is highly recommended that you have your own car, but it is not 100% necessary. There us a bus that runs right by the school (I think it's #31).
 
Do classes/finals run the entire week before winter break or does it usually end a day or two early? I'm buying a round trip ticket for moving to Milwaukee from California and am trying to figure out when I should make my return date.
 
Do classes/finals run the entire week before winter break or does it usually end a day or two early? I'm buying a round trip ticket for moving to Milwaukee from California and am trying to figure out when I should make my return date.
Winter break, your last final (anatomy/devo) will be on Thursday, Dec 16. Friday, Dec 17 is held in reserve in case they have to push any exams back due to snowstorms.

Classes will begin again (promptly) on Jan 3, but if its anything like last year, you could possibly miss the first few days if you needed to. Lecture attendance is not required, and we didn't have any small group stuff start until the third week or so. I wouldn't bank on planning a vacation to extend during class time though.
 
It's nice to know that we won't really need tonss of expensive books ($$$$$$$), especially after I've seen my financial aid packet! I knew I was going to have massive debts after med school but I guess it didn't really strike me until I'm actually signing things for loans. Sighhh, :\ haha.

Do you think you really need the allotment of money for book/supplies? It seems like we won't have to spent as much as MCW has given us for books, am I right...? What kinds of supplies have you guys purchased?

Oh, and by the way, what companies do people in Wauwatosa get their DSL/cable from? Do you guys find deals for DSL somewhere (ads/online)?
 
It's nice to know that we won't really need tonss of expensive books ($$$$$$$), especially after I've seen my financial aid packet! I knew I was going to have massive debts after med school but I guess it didn't really strike me until I'm actually signing things for loans. Sighhh, :\ haha.

Do you think you really need the allotment of money for book/supplies? It seems like we won't have to spent as much as MCW has given us for books, am I right...? What kinds of supplies have you guys purchased?

Oh, and by the way, what companies do people in Wauwatosa get their DSL/cable from? Do you guys find deals for DSL somewhere (ads/online)?

I bought a Netter, scrubs and dissection kit. Nothing else was worth buying.

There are pretty much two cable providers around here. At&t generally has better options but is more expensive. Time Warner is the other option.
 
AT&T is cheaper if you want just DSL. Do not buy scrubs. Wear old clothes and throw them away at the end of the semester. If you do not have old clothes (I cleaned my closet right before med school), buy someone else's for 50 cents at a garage sale.
 
"borrow" some scrubs from your local hospital before you come to MCW
 
So where are you guys finding your new apartments? I'm on the corner of 66th&Clarke...psyched to have a garage this year!!! No more digging out my car in winter.
 
So where are you guys finding your new apartments? I'm on the corner of 66th&Clarke...psyched to have a garage this year!!! No more digging out my car in winter.

I'm trying to decide between two places right now (I'm in town apartment hunting), one super close to school and one almost 2 miles away. The one closer to school is more money (of course), but I've lived the last 2 and a half years with over an hour commute to work both ways so I feel pretty strongly about living near school! Just trying to convince myself its worth the extra $60 a month...

Both have other openings if people are still looking! I'll try to post links to the craigslist ads, but if it doesn't work send me a pm if you'd like more info. The closer place has a 1 br and the farther place has a 2 br and 1 br available. Both landlords seemed really cool, and both places take cats.

http://milwaukee.craigslist.org/apa/1828361701.html (Lee's the landlord for the 2br and 1 br places)

http://milwaukee.craigslist.org/apa/1812154735.html
 
I'm trying to decide between two places right now (I'm in town apartment hunting), one super close to school and one almost 2 miles away. The one closer to school is more money (of course), but I've lived the last 2 and a half years with over an hour commute to work both ways so I feel pretty strongly about living near school! Just trying to convince myself its worth the extra $60 a month...

Both have other openings if people are still looking! I'll try to post links to the craigslist ads, but if it doesn't work send me a pm if you'd like more info. The closer place has a 1 br and the farther place has a 2 br and 1 br available. Both landlords seemed really cool, and both places take cats.

http://milwaukee.craigslist.org/apa/1828361701.html (Lee's the landlord for the 2br and 1 br places)

http://milwaukee.craigslist.org/apa/1812154735.html

Granted the one farther away isn't that far from school, I'd still go with the closer one. During winter, being able to avoid driving is awesome. With the closer one, you can easily walk to school. Plus, you'll be walking from Lot C anyway if you drive to school and the closer place is close to Lot C so not too much of an extra walk.

I think I used the words close/r too many times, lol

Good luck!
 
I'm trying to decide between two places right now (I'm in town apartment hunting), one super close to school and one almost 2 miles away. The one closer to school is more money (of course), but I've lived the last 2 and a half years with over an hour commute to work both ways so I feel pretty strongly about living near school! Just trying to convince myself its worth the extra $60 a month...

Both have other openings if people are still looking! I'll try to post links to the craigslist ads, but if it doesn't work send me a pm if you'd like more info. The closer place has a 1 br and the farther place has a 2 br and 1 br available. Both landlords seemed really cool, and both places take cats.

http://milwaukee.craigslist.org/apa/1828361701.html (Lee's the landlord for the 2br and 1 br places)

http://milwaukee.craigslist.org/apa/1812154735.html

Call WE Energies and get the average utility bills for both places before you calculate costs.
 
I'm trying to decide between two places right now (I'm in town apartment hunting), one super close to school and one almost 2 miles away. The one closer to school is more money (of course), but I've lived the last 2 and a half years with over an hour commute to work both ways so I feel pretty strongly about living near school! Just trying to convince myself its worth the extra $60 a month...

Both have other openings if people are still looking! I'll try to post links to the craigslist ads, but if it doesn't work send me a pm if you'd like more info. The closer place has a 1 br and the farther place has a 2 br and 1 br available. Both landlords seemed really cool, and both places take cats.

http://milwaukee.craigslist.org/apa/1828361701.html (Lee's the landlord for the 2br and 1 br places)

http://milwaukee.craigslist.org/apa/1812154735.html

I had a pretty similar decision to make when I was looking for an apartment. I choose the one that was further away (also slightly more expensive by ~50/month). I choose it because its in downtown Tosa, right next to grocery stores and the banks and the parking situation was better for me. During the spring/fall, I still walked to school (~35 minutes). It was a nice walk, but definitely doable on a daily basis.
 
I had a pretty similar decision to make when I was looking for an apartment. I choose the one that was further away (also slightly more expensive by ~50/month). I choose it because its in downtown Tosa, right next to grocery stores and the banks and the parking situation was better for me. During the spring/fall, I still walked to school (~35 minutes). It was a nice walk, but definitely doable on a daily basis.

Oh, yeah. Don't forget that in Wauwatosa proper there is no overnight street parking.
 
I signed the lease on my new apartment yesterday, and I really like it. It's on N 72 between w lloyd and w garfield, so it's only about a 6 minute drive to school, and it's in a really quiet neighborhood.
 
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I signed the lease on my new apartment yesterday, and I really like it. It's on N 72 between w lloyd and w garfield, so it's only about a 6 minute drive to school, and it's in a really quiet neighborhood.

Very nice. There are a few people in my class (including myself) who live in that general area. Being close to North St. is pretty useful. You're also decently close to downtown Tosa.
 
Very nice. There are a few people in my class (including myself) who live in that general area. Being close to North St. is pretty useful. You're also decently close to downtown Tosa.

Thanks, yeah, I did a LOT of work looking around at different apartments to find this great place. I was a hair's breadth from signing the lease on a place on w wisconsin ave around the 60 something streets. But after the official showing in the afternoon I went back there again later to scope out the area, because I'm not from wisconsin, and boy am I glad I did! It's (relatively) so noisy! As it gets later in the day there are cars constantly driving down that street, some very loud, some blasting radios, some motor bikes growling, and noisy city busses going by frequently. And the only non-house things around there are car washes, McDonalds, and junk like that. I'm not moving out of a bad neighborhood in a big city all the way to suburbs in wisconsin just to be living again in an area with lots of street noise and junky stores! It's not terrible in that neighborhood, but I've been living in a crappy city neighborhood for a long time now, so if I'm moving all the way out to wisconsin then I'm definitely going to make sure I can enjoy the peace and quiet that I can get there.

That w wisconsin apartment was bigger and fancier than the apartment I chose, but location, location, location. The place I chose is in a MUCH quieter location, and the people there are so friendly, and it's closer to fancy shops, etc. On top of which, the place I chose also has a full-sized private deck, much better views out the windows, LOTS of light streaming in most of the day, and more. The w wisconsin ave apartment was really cool too, so part of me is still wondering "what if," but in truth I'm basically certain that I made the right choice.
 
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Just came back from Wisconsin. Mr. Istwan gave my father and I a tour of the school. It was really nice of him to go out of his way to show us around :thumbup: Fortunately, I got a place within walking distance from the school :D Rent's not bad either and the place looked nice. The only downside was the kitchen. The oven wasn't that good. I like to cook which is why that's important to me. Plus, I plan to make one meal in the oven while I cook another on the stovetop to last me for a few days.
 
Thanks, yeah, I did a LOT of work looking around at different apartments to find this great place. I was a hair's breadth from signing the lease on a place on w wisconsin ave around the 60 something streets. But after the official showing in the afternoon I went back there again later to scope out the area, because I'm not from wisconsin, and boy am I glad I did! It's (relatively) so noisy! As it gets later in the day there are cars constantly driving down that street, some very loud, some blasting radios, some motor bikes growling, and noisy city busses going by frequently. And the only non-house things around there are car washes, McDonalds, and junk like that. I'm not moving out of a bad neighborhood in a big city all the way to suburbs in wisconsin just to be living again in an area with lots of street noise and junky stores! It's not terrible in that neighborhood, but I've been living in a crappy city neighborhood for a long time now, so if I'm moving all the way out to wisconsin then I'm definitely going to make sure I can enjoy the peace and quiet that I can get there.

That w wisconsin apartment was bigger and fancier than the apartment I chose, but location, location, location. The place I chose is in a MUCH quieter location, and the people there are so friendly, and it's closer to fancy shops, etc. On top of which, the place I chose also has a full-sized private deck, much better views out the windows, LOTS of light streaming in most of the day, and more. The w wisconsin ave apartment was really cool too, so part of me is still wondering "what if," but in truth I'm basically certain that I made the right choice.

wisconsin isn't even that horrible, I just moved into a bluemound apt and zoom zoom zoom every few seconds throughout the day. The neighborhood near garfield is sweet though, a husky lives near there
 
A couple other random questions for you all.

I'll be changing banks when I move, neither bank I have now will have branches anywhere near WI. I read on a thread for another school that local banks have "signing bonuses" during orientation for new accounts, does that happen here? Or should I just go ahead and set up accounts when I get in? Also, anyone have experience with the Credit Unions around town?

Not as important now, but just wondering, do we get bus passes as a part of student fees?

In line with the previous questions about Christmas break, what do we usually do the Monday through Wednesday before Thanksgiving? Exams and such or just classes? I think one of the emails said that Oasis would have the class schedule, but I didn't see it last week when I looked.

Thanks for all the help! :D
 
A couple other random questions for you all.

I'll be changing banks when I move, neither bank I have now will have branches anywhere near WI. I read on a thread for another school that local banks have "signing bonuses" during orientation for new accounts, does that happen here? Or should I just go ahead and set up accounts when I get in? Also, anyone have experience with the Credit Unions around town?

Not as important now, but just wondering, do we get bus passes as a part of student fees?

In line with the previous questions about Christmas break, what do we usually do the Monday through Wednesday before Thanksgiving? Exams and such or just classes? I think one of the emails said that Oasis would have the class schedule, but I didn't see it last week when I looked.

Thanks for all the help! :D
When I moved in I signed up for a bank account at a bank that's right across the street from where I live. Only bonus I got was a duffle bag or something. There's places around here that will give you cash bonuses if you fulfill some conditions, but I don't know what they are.

As for Thanksgiving break, you get Wednesday-Friday off. There are lectures Monday & Tuesday, but not exams. Looking at the schedule there shouldn't be any required small groups those two days, though there *might* be pathway activities. (The schedule isn't on Oasis, its on Angel)
 
Does your mcw email only receive messages from other Angel users? Trying to get the Amazon Prime deal, but no messages are appearing. Tried a test message with my main email and no luck.
 
Does your mcw email only receive messages from other Angel users? Trying to get the Amazon Prime deal, but no messages are appearing. Tried a test message with my main email and no luck.

That's pretty strange. You shouldn't have any issues sending messages to your MCW mail from an external source. Sometime Outlook can be a little slow and it takes a bit of time (minutes, not hours) for things to go through. Call the admissions office and ask them if it doesn't get fixed.
 
Oh no. I was using the one on Angel. I don't think we've gotten any information about that client.
The Angel client is only for people sending messages through Angel. The one at owamail is your actual school email (i.e. the address you've been using to log into Angel).

You should have received information about it in the same email you received info about angel and oasis. At least we did last year...

They do have different passwords (or the same if you changed them to be the same)
 
The Angel client is only for people sending messages through Angel. The one at owamail is your actual school email (i.e. the address you've been using to log into Angel).

You should have received information about it in the same email you received info about angel and oasis. At least we did last year...

They do have different passwords (or the same if you changed them to be the same)

Just went through my emails and low and behold, I found the email about that. Thanks for the help.

Ugh. How did I get into medical school again :p
 
Just went through my emails and low and behold, I found the email about that. Thanks for the help.

Ugh. How did I get into medical school again :p
Better to get into it now than in a month when you have 9000 emails from Schwabenlander to dig through.

I personally just have my MCW account emails imported into my gmail account, which then goes to my phone and mail program on my computer (and is still accessible on the gmail website).
 
I'm pretty sure I stopped reading Schwabenlander's emails about two days into the school year.
 
He does forward a lot of important ones though. I still read the majority because I want to know about the free food events.

Most of the free food stuff came through MCW Assembly. He sends out a couple of emails a month that are applicable to you, and the title will tell you if it is or not. For the incoming students, Schwabenlander will be the go between person sending you lots of information about updates - financial aid, things around the school, changes in curriculum, speakers who are coming in (this is the free food Raryn was talking about). You'll quickly figure out which emails apply to you, and which do not.
 
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