MS0 Preperation

[KrauseXian]

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If you could go back to the summer/semester before you started med school, assuming you had free time, what would you have done to prepare academically? Studied anatomy flashcards? reviewed biochem? Read a physiology textbook from the library? I will have about 7 months to do whatever I want before I start med school. (I've already had biochem)

 

[ZagDoc]

Do what I did. Go to europe and backpack around for a couple months. Get drunk. Suck up some culture. Stand in the sistine chapel. Ride a vespa. Swim in the mediterranean.

Just do not, DO NOT, do anything academic. Nothing you do will give you any real tangible advantage, and everything you do will bring you closer to being burnt out faster.

 

[sgglaze]

Taking biochem is maybe the only thing I would have recommended and even that is iffy. Travel so you have cool stories to tell when you meet your new classmates.

 

[PharmD2MD]

Yeah, seriously just travel, drink, have sex, read your last entertaining book for a long time, visit friends and family, stay away from SDN and all of the nervous energy that breeds on this site.

 

[perilou]

Study!

I would recommend brushing up on your math. If its been a while to have any calculus, then take a look at that. Maybe not diff eq, but definately need to know some calculus.

Also, you probably had intro bio, but if you're like me, its been a while. I would go re-memorize all of the taxonomies... genus species of common vertebrates and invertebrates. You'll have quite a jump on your classmates!

Also, a lot of medicine deals with history, especially after the 14th century. I would learn the major events (wars, kings' years of rule, that sort of thing).

Thats pretty much it. I wish someone had told me this. The first year of med school would have been a breeze.

 

[Blade28]

Travel.

DO NOT study.

 

[Depakote]

Just do not, DO NOT, do anything academic. Nothing you do will give you any real tangible advantage, and everything you do will bring you closer to being burnt out faster.

THIS

 

[coffeebythelake]

Study!

I would recommend brushing up on your math. If its been a while to have any calculus, then take a look at that. Maybe not diff eq, but definately need to know some calculus.

Also, you probably had intro bio, but if you're like me, its been a while. I would go re-memorize all of the taxonomies... genus species of common vertebrates and invertebrates. You'll have quite a jump on your classmates!

Also, a lot of medicine deals with history, especially after the 14th century. I would learn the major events (wars, kings' years of rule, that sort of thing).

Thats pretty much it. I wish someone had told me this. The first year of med school would have been a breeze.

Hahaaa... don't be such an ass. You might confuse the OP.

 

[njbmd]

Moving to Pre-Allo as this is a pre-med issue.

 

[45408]

The best preparation for med school is sleep. Get lots of it.

 

[Bacchus]

To those that have travelled, how have you done so cheaply? I would love to travel but don't have thousands to spend on international flights. I was thinking of traveling parts of the US, but how would one do so economically? I drive an older car (read as old as my younger brother who can legally drive) with 125k miles on it so I dare not try to take it anywhere out of state unless it has been blessed by a fleet of rabbis.

 

[jochi1543]

To those that have travelled, how have you done so cheaply? I would love to travel but don't have thousands to spend on international flights. I was thinking of traveling parts of the US, but how would one do so economically? I drive an older car (read as old as my younger brother who can legally drive) with 125k miles on it so I dare not try to take it anywhere out of state unless it has been blessed by a fleet of rabbis.

I drove my 125K-mile car all the way from Minnesota to Washington DC, back, then from Minnesota to Mississippi, and back again! Not a single problem...except for when I rammed it into a streetlight in Marion, Arkansas at 30 mph.🙄

It wasn't THAT old tho...only about 8 years old at the time. If you don't feel confident about your car, then don't drive it. But just because it has lots of mileage doesn't mean it's unreliable. Mine wasn't exactly a car known for longevity, either - a Buick Park Ave (the official car of the American septuagenarian...).

 

[45408]

To those that have travelled, how have you done so cheaply? I would love to travel but don't have thousands to spend on international flights. I was thinking of traveling parts of the US, but how would one do so economically? I drive an older car (read as old as my younger brother who can legally drive) with 125k miles on it so I dare not try to take it anywhere out of state unless it has been blessed by a fleet of rabbis.

You can get a round-trip flight to London for $500 or less, if you look around. I paid $550 for my flight. It was one of the greatest experiences of my life. Cities like Chicago, San Francisco, NYC, and DC are all cool places to visit, but there's nothing like being in another country to really shake it up. Besides, all of our cities *might* have something 200 years old, if they're lucky. I went to Paris and walked through Notre Dame, built by hand over 600 years ago. I went to church in Westminster Abbey, where monks were buried almost a thousand years ago. It's well worth the money. My wife and I spent two weeks in Europe (London and France), and our total came to $4000 (flights + lodging + channel tunnel train + subway passes in London and Paris + food + entertainment). If you were only paying for yourself, you could probably spend close to a week in London for about $1000. The public transportation is amazing, to say the least, and it was quite affordable, even though 1 pound = $2. It was $50 for unlimited subway/bus for a week. All the museums are free (so we went to seven different museums ). Greenwich was awesome, and so was Camden Town.

 

[Bacchus]

I drove my 125K-mile car all the way from Minnesota to Washington DC, back, then from Minnesota to Mississippi, and back again! Not a single problem...except for when I rammed it into a streetlight in Marion, Arkansas at 30 mph.🙄

It wasn't THAT old tho...only about 8 years old at the time. If you don't feel confident about your car, then don't drive it. But just because it has lots of mileage doesn't mean it's unreliable. Mine wasn't exactly a car known for longevity, either - a Buick Park Ave (the official car of the American septuagenarian...).

1990 Olds Cutlass Calais. Its been holding up, but you shouldn't stress old things, heh.

 

[Bacchus]

You can get a round-trip flight to London for $500 or less, if you look around. I paid $550 for my flight. It was one of the greatest experiences of my life. Cities like Chicago, San Francisco, NYC, and DC are all cool places to visit, but there's nothing like being in another country to really shake it up. Besides, all of our cities *might* have something 200 years old, if they're lucky. I went to Paris and walked through Notre Dame, built by hand over 600 years ago. I went to church in Westminster Abbey, where monks were buried almost a thousand years ago. It's well worth the money. My wife and I spent two weeks in Europe (London and France), and our total came to $4000 (flights + lodging + channel tunnel train + subway passes in London and Paris + food + entertainment). If you were only paying for yourself, you could probably spend close to a week in London for about $1000. The public transportation is amazing, to say the least, and it was quite affordable, even though 1 pound = $2. It was $50 for unlimited subway/bus for a week. All the museums are free (so we went to seven different museums ). Greenwich was awesome, and so was Camden Town.

I agree about being out of country. I have been to Australia and New Zealand (thanks mom and dad). That was between 9th and 10th grade (that makes me feel old). I just don't have money lying around. It would more than likely have to be in loans and well, I don't want a lot of them even though the amount for a flight and lodging would definitely be trumped by the 40k a year.

 

[45408]

I agree about being out of country. I have been to Australia and New Zealand (thanks mom and dad). That was between 9th and 10th grade (that makes me feel old). I just don't have money lying around. It would more than likely have to be in loans and well, I don't want a lot of them even though the amount for a flight and lodging would definitely be trumped by the 40k a year.

Yeah, it's easy for lots of people to be careless about thinking "Oh, well, I'll have so much in loans that it doesn't really matter anyways," and some of my classmates are spending much more money on lodging and cars than they should. Get a roommate, cut your rent in half, and don't rack up such large bar tabs! But on the other hand, there are some once-in-a-lifetime experiences that are worth having.

 

[Phoenix.]

I agree with prowler about traveling out of the country, but from my experience, London is one of the most expensive places you could go. Your $ will do a lot more in other countries. For instance, in eastern europe. I remember Prague and Budapest being extremely reasonable some years back, and I'm guessing they still are. Prague seems to be very popular among 20-something Americans.

Personally, I think a trip to Italy is vital (alas with the Euro it's nowhere near as cheap as it used to be), and Paris is great to see as well. If you go to London, I wouldn't stay long there, although it is a lot of fun. Do they still sell Europasses? If so, you might be able to travel all over Europe by train on one for a decent deal (again, I last looked into this pre-Euro). And there are always reasonable youth hostels and other cheap places to stay in every city. My favorite European cities are anywhere in Italy (especially the usual suspects: Venice, Rome and Florence), Paris, Amsterdam, Barcelona, etc.

Definitely travel.

 

[Phoenix.]

I agree about being out of country. I have been to Australia and New Zealand (thanks mom and dad). That was between 9th and 10th grade (that makes me feel old). I just don't have money lying around. It would more than likely have to be in loans and well, I don't want a lot of them even though the amount for a flight and lodging would definitely be trumped by the 40k a year.

Hmmmm. Does your school have an overseas office? Maybe you could look into a program where you teach english abroad. I've heard that many will provide a place to stay, and sometimes even food. Obviously that's not ideal, but it may be your best bet for doing this cheaply. At least on the weekends you'll be able to travel around and living in a foreign country is an amazing experience regardless. Just a thought, although I'm not sure how feasible it is.

 

[TheLesPaul]

Moving to Pre-Allo as this is a pre-med issue.

That is such crap...why in the world would you move this thread to pre-allo?!?

Anyway, do you guys think memorizing the amino acids or something that just requires rote memorization would be of help (b/c I haven't had any biochem)?

 

[Depakote]

That is such crap...why in the world would you move this thread to pre-allo?!?

Anyway, do you guys think memorizing the amino acids or something that just requires rote memorization would be of help (b/c I haven't had any biochem)?

no, if you have to learn 'em it won't take you that long and I didn't even have to learn the structures for my biochem block so that would just be wasted time if you learned the structures and the same applied to you.

the fact of the matter is, you don't know what you're going to be expected to learn... don't waste your energy. The best thing you can do is show up mentally fresh and energized.

 

[Bacchus]

I think what I really want is just to do it with a bunch of friends after UG. Perhaps a roadtrip to Cedar Point (woop woop) or some cabin in another state will satisfy my urge. I think its more of a people thing rather than a travel thing.

 

[VoiceofReason]

Well gee wiz what if I really enjoy reading basic science? Personally, I'm gonna teach myself graduate level biochemistry.. just because it's interesting. After that I'm going to learn medical spanish with my friend.

 

[Depakote]

Well gee wiz what if I really enjoy reading basic science? Personally, I'm gonna teach myself graduate level biochemistry.. just because it's interesting. After that I'm going to learn medical spanish with my friend.

ok, well have a blast...

 

[Maxprime]

Well gee wiz what if I really enjoy reading basic science? Personally, I'm gonna teach myself graduate level biochemistry.. just because it's interesting. After that I'm going to learn medical spanish with my friend.

1) I'm taking 2 graduate biochem classes right now, it is not interesting or useful for medical school. Knowing the amino acid residues that ACTase uses and the changes in pitch and length of their bonds is a waste of time. V&V has 2 diagrams on hemoglobin that are useful, that's about it.

2) If you do like it, save yourself a lot of time and money and just go into research.

3) Why don't you learn Spanish somewhere warm and with a view?

 

[45408]

I agree with prowler about traveling out of the country, but from my experience, London is one of the most expensive places you could go. Your $ will do a lot more in other countries. For instance, in eastern europe. I remember Prague and Budapest being extremely reasonable some years back, and I'm guessing they still are. Prague seems to be very popular among 20-something Americans.

The nice thing about London is the language. 😉

 

[Wylde]

Yeah, seriously just travel, drink, have sex, read your last entertaining book for a long time, visit friends and family, stay away from SDN and all of the nervous energy that breeds on this site.

so... basically just do whatever you would do if you were told you would only have 3 months to live (or in the OP's case, 7)

 

[VoiceofReason]

1) I'm taking 2 graduate biochem classes right now, it is not interesting or useful for medical school. Knowing the amino acid residues that ACTase uses and the changes in pitch and length of their bonds is a waste of time. V&V has 2 diagrams on hemoglobin that are useful, that's about it.

2) If you do like it, save yourself a lot of time and money and just go into research.

3) Why don't you learn Spanish somewhere warm and with a view?

I didn't say it was going to be useful in med school. Where did I state that as my reason for studying it? Did you just try to tell me that biochemistry is objectively uninteresting? And I'm going into clinical medicine because I like that in its entirety much more than basic science research. Did I say I wasn't going to travel to learn medical spanish? What the hell is going on here..

 

[VoiceofReason]

so... basically just do whatever you would do if you were told you would only have 3 months to live (or in the OP's case, 7)

Basically do what you can to enjoy yourself as much as possible.

 

[Ashers]

The nice thing about London is the language. 😉

And the food, and the weather, and the people. Ahhhh... I can't wait to do a rotation there. It's been too long since I've been back.

Anyway, you can get touristy deals if you plan ahead and go to London. A few years ago, anyway, there was a tourist tube pass that got you to all 6 zones for cheaper than just buying the pass when you arrived in London. It's somewhere on a London visitors bureau website or something.

I agree with traveling.

The summer before I started med school, two of my friends from London visited me after I quit work and three weeks before I started med school. I didn't really have much time off from work and school, but I played tourist in Hawaii with my friends.

I say make it a lifetime goal to get into the Travel Century club, where you have to have been to 100 countries to be a member.

 

[Drogba]

And the food, and the weather, and the people. Ahhhh... I can't wait to do a rotation there. It's been too long since I've been back.

Anyway, you can get touristy deals if you plan ahead and go to London. A few years ago, anyway, there was a tourist tube pass that got you to all 6 zones for cheaper than just buying the pass when you arrived in London. It's somewhere on a London visitors bureau website or something.

I agree with traveling.

The summer before I started med school, two of my friends from London visited me after I quit work and three weeks before I started med school. I didn't really have much time off from work and school, but I played tourist in Hawaii with my friends.

I say make it a lifetime goal to get into the Travel Century club, where you have to have been to 100 countries to be a member.

First time I ever heard that . You can travel relatively cheaply if you use ryanair for flights and stay in hostels. I spent about 1k travelling around Italy for a month (not including getting to Italy, or back to the US). The secret? Knowing people to stay with for free. Go to places in europe (or elsewhere) where you know people. Also, think outside of europe. Asia still has cheap areas as does Latin America. Also, Croatia was relatively cheap when I was there a couple years ago. I'm assuming a few other central/east European countries are not so bad. Think outside the box and be a little "uncomfortable" and you might be surprised how much you save. It will be relatively expensive no matter how you cut it though.

 

[laawalla]

Another reason to travel: a lot of places in Europe (hostels, trains, museums) are cheaper for students or those under 25. Some hostels are specifically youth hostels, and you can only stay there if you're under 25.

 

[Ashers]

First time I ever heard that

I love the climate there -- not too cold or too hot, and it doesn't rain as much as people think (one reason I'm definitely looking at Seattle for residency because it's very similar). The food is also really good, like the traditional Sunday roast with Yorkshire pudding, black pudding's not bad, and there's LOTS of curry all over the place. However, my dad's a big Anglophile, so I grew up eating English food.

Their McDonald's McFlurries are also better than ours. They have an amazing Cadbury Creme Egg McFlurry (bits of Cadbury chocolate with a sugar sauce), and in the summer, they've had Strawberries and Dream (white chocolate with strawberry sauce).

Anyway, yes, RyanAir is a good, cheap way to travel. I've gotten a "free" flight to Sweden from London where I had to pay the tax, so it was probably about £20-40. It's been a few years since I lived there, and when I've been back recently, I just stay with friends, and I don't travel anywhere.

 

[QofQuimica]

If you could go back to the summer/semester before you started med school, assuming you had free time, what would you have done to prepare academically? Studied anatomy flashcards? reviewed biochem? Read a physiology textbook from the library? I will have about 7 months to do whatever I want before I start med school. (I've already had biochem)

Some ideas: Take an art class. Learn how to play an instrument. Learn a foreign language--Spanish would be a great choice. If you can afford it, go volunteer somewhere.

 

[The Doctor]

Do not prepare academically - trust me, there will be plenty of time for studying very soon. Instead, work on your physical and mental fitness. Lose weight, get in shape, develop good exercise/sleep habits. Spend time with your friends and family. Read non-science material for fun. Spend time outdoors or traveling. Pick up sustainable hobbies you can continue during med school to keep you sane. Work a job to remember that being a student isn't so bad. Learn to cook, clean, and handle your finances. HAVE FUN!

 

[Tribeca]

You can get a round-trip flight to London for $500 or less, if you look around. I paid $550 for my flight. It was one of the greatest experiences of my life. Cities like Chicago, San Francisco, NYC, and DC are all cool places to visit, but there's nothing like being in another country to really shake it up. Besides, all of our cities *might* have something 200 years old, if they're lucky. I went to Paris and walked through Notre Dame, built by hand over 600 years ago. I went to church in Westminster Abbey, where monks were buried almost a thousand years ago. It's well worth the money. My wife and I spent two weeks in Europe (London and France), and our total came to $4000 (flights + lodging + channel tunnel train + subway passes in London and Paris + food + entertainment). If you were only paying for yourself, you could probably spend close to a week in London for about $1000. The public transportation is amazing, to say the least, and it was quite affordable, even though 1 pound = $2. It was $50 for unlimited subway/bus for a week. All the museums are free (so we went to seven different museums ). Greenwich was awesome, and so was Camden Town.

What type of lodging did you use, hotels or hostels? I want to travel with my husband too, but I think lodging is going to be a big chunk of expense for us because I'm so darn picky!

 

[0Complications]

What type of lodging did you use, hotels or hostels? I want to travel with my husband too, but I think lodging is going to be a big chunk of expense for us because I'm so darn picky!

Hostels in Europe tend to be relatively inexpensive and very nice in comparison to US hostels.

 

[Vihsadas]

Study!

I would recommend brushing up on your math. If its been a while to have any calculus, then take a look at that. Maybe not diff eq, but definately need to know some calculus.

Also, you probably had intro bio, but if you're like me, its been a while. I would go re-memorize all of the taxonomies... genus species of common vertebrates and invertebrates. You'll have quite a jump on your classmates!

Also, a lot of medicine deals with history, especially after the 14th century. I would learn the major events (wars, kings' years of rule, that sort of thing).

Thats pretty much it. I wish someone had told me this. The first year of med school would have been a breeze.

LOL!
I'm scared that someone will actually believe you...

 

[LifetimeDoc]

If you are just trying to fill in extra space in your Spring semester, and you just like taking classes, there are some courses that can help ease the pain of medical school such as taking an undergraduate-level gross anatomy, biochemistry (I & II, not lab), histology, embryology, immunology, endocrinology, medical terminology course. However, keep in mind that you shouldn't try to kill yourself and try to learn everything before you get there.

I took a bunch of the previously mentioned courses, but basically because I needed to take a bunch of post-baccalaureate coursework to get into medical school. I didn't want to repeat my undergraduate courses, so these seemed like good ones to take. Now that I am in medical school, it's a mixed result. I've already seen the material, which is good and bad. Good in that I understand what the professor is talking about in class. Bad because it's easy to become complacent about the material because you've already seen it, but not necessarily to the focus or depth that medical school places on it.

So, in the end I'd recommend one of the two courses if you are so inclined to do it...

Biochemistry I & II (no laboratory, not gonna help)
Gross Anatomy (if you school offers it to undergrads)

 

[The Doctor]

Hostels in Europe tend to be relatively inexpensive and very nice in comparison to US hostels.

Yes, this is true, but take caution! My best friend and I backpacked around France/Spain for 17 days on 930 dollars or so each (all expenses included) after our junior year of high school. We saved a lot of money by flying standby, packing food ahead of time and making our own meals, walking a lot, sleeping on night trains/buses/airports, bathing in parks (sad but true), going to free beaches/churches/museums and decided where to go next based on the cheapest fare. It was a great vacation and definitely adventurous. However, we had a few bad experiences with hostels and seedy hotels - I would urge you to find websites with reviews and ratings of any hostels before you try them. Violence, drug use, and lack of privacy can be concerns at many hostels. That said, there are many great ones out there as well. I'd highly recommend Spain if you are on a budget, as it tends to be quite a bit cheaper especially in the southern cities.

 

[doinmybest5840]

Everyone travels, it seems. I wish I could but I don't have any money, and even if I did, I have nobody to go with. I'll have 8 months off (since I'm graduating in a month or so), and all I will be doing the entire time is working. Going out of the country would be awesome, but I'd be happy to go on a road trip around the U.S. as well. I've wanted to go on one since before I could drive but my friends are a bunch of cheap losers and I don't want to go alone. Not to mention my parents think I've travelled enough that it isn't necessary to do so before medical school. I'm jealous of everyone who's planning to travel before they start medical school. I guess I'll be one of the lame people with no good stories to tell when they meet other students. Haha

 

[rwessinger23]

A few people have told me to maybe familiarize yourself with anatomy while I still have a while before school starts. One guy said that maybe at least being very familiar with anatomy on paper would make your life a LOT easier when you got to school. What do you guys think about that?

 

[rwessinger23]

If you could go back to the summer/semester before you started med school, assuming you had free time, what would you have done to prepare academically? Studied anatomy flashcards? reviewed biochem? Read a physiology textbook from the library? I will have about 7 months to do whatever I want before I start med school. (I've already had biochem)

I'm in the same boat as you are!...wondering as well...