njms 2012

[PleaseBelieveit]

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Hey future classmates!...Has anyone received anything recently in the mail that I should be looking out for? Thanks!

 

[VoiceofReason]

No, the silence is kind of irking me too. After a little deliberation I sent in my housing contract though, so I'm waiting to see what comes of that.

 

[hydrogen3k]

If it was like last year, they'll send you something in late June about your housing match.

 

[FFF981]

Hey everybody. I haven't gotten in to NJMS...yet, but I'm trying to figure out if anyone knows when The AdCom meets and when Dr. Heinrich calls people. I'm stressing out big time and really hope to hear soon. Anybody have any words of wisdom?

Hope to see all of you guys in August!

 

[PleaseBelieveit]

Thanks hydrogen and VoiceofReason!...Yeah, I guess I'll just wait..I think some financial aid info should be coming soon..guess we'll see

 

[harisa]

has anybody else on this thread heard that we (NJMS) my be losing Hackensack University Medical Center as a teaching hospital in coming years (probably sooner than later)? It would be a real shame to lose hackensack, does anyone know anything more about this?

 

[caliprincess]

has anybody else on this thread heard that we (NJMS) my be losing Hackensack University Medical Center as a teaching hospital in coming years (probably sooner than later)? It would be a real shame to lose hackensack, does anyone know anything more about this?

Yea I have heard that rumor going around as well. My sources tell me that Hackensack is going to Touro's new medical school when it opens. However, I haven't verified this, as I heard this via word of mouth...

 

[njmedstudent87]

all patriot fans...please proceed to withdraw from njms to save yourself from any embarrassment....thank you

 

[caliprincess]

all patriot fans...please proceed to withdraw from njms to save yourself from any embarrassment....thank you

Haha I think this message is meant for "njdevils"....but he (or she) hasn't been on for a while. I wonder if they regret their comments on page 2? Lol!

 

[arthrodisiac]

Yea I have heard that rumor going around as well. My sources tell me that Hackensack is going to Touro's new medical school when it opens. However, I haven't verified this, as I heard this via word of mouth...

big deal. hackenslack exists for doing nothing on your clerkships. There are a handful of good teachers there, but for the most part its a waste of time. You'll learn much more in newark on almost every clerkship.

 

[njdevils783]

Haha I think this message is meant for "njdevils"....but he (or she) hasn't been on for a while. I wonder if they regret their comments on page 2? Lol!

oooooo now now He is still here and still proud.... how many people can celebrate 3 championships in 4 years... and a nearly perfect season

Lets face it for the Giants to win it took Brady having a busted ankle, a sleepwalking offensive line, a senator's distraction, a miracle catch, and the entire sports media (outside of Boston) to beat them. But come on they played us vs. the world football since week 1's spygate garbage and that had to catch up with the team eventually. It woud have been nice to be a part of football history but oh well with that said Giants fans enjoy your moment in the sun and Congrats. But leaving over a loss haha no thanks. :-D

 

[caliprincess]

oooooo now now He is still here and still proud.... how many people can celebrate 3 championships in 4 years... and a nearly perfect season

Lets face it for the Giants to win it took Brady having a busted ankle, a sleepwalking offensive line, a senator's distraction, a miracle catch, and the entire sports media (outside of Boston) to beat them. Not to mention that play could have been called dead but the refs let it go. OOOOO then there was Samuels decision to not intercept the would be game ending pass off Manning. But come on they played us vs. the world football since week 1's spygate garbage and that had to catch up with the team eventually. It woud have been nice to be a part of football history but oh well with that said Giants fans enjoy your moment in the sun and Congrats. But leaving over a loss haha no thanks. :-D

Lol! Well played fellow classmate, well played. Omg, I can't believe it is 4:20am and we are both on this thing...lol. Then again, when you have a mild form of insomnia, what else is there to do?

 

[njdevils783]

Lol! Well played fellow classmate, well played. Omg, I can't believe it is 4:20am and we are both on this thing...lol. Then again, when you have a mild form of insomnia, what else is there to do?

haha when I posted that I figured noone would see it for a few days considering how much things have slowed down around here lately. Not to mention yea its was at 4:00 lol. But hey were just preparing for those long studying nights that are only 7 months away

 

[dnslay]

I heard that St. Barnabas is considering rekindling a partnership with NJMS

big deal. hackenslack exists for doing nothing on your clerkships. There are a handful of good teachers there, but for the most part its a waste of time. You'll learn much more in newark on almost every clerkship.

 

[Harlemniiite51]

ok it had to be done... i kno the rest of you are just "pretending to be busy" till august wishing it was at least may by now...but the topics being discussed so far on this thread are just not cutting it, esp since we're gonna have an awesome class.

what is everyone up to/doing to pass the time?

I'm from south jersey, I'm working right now in philly at Jefferson
def gonna live in the dorm/180 west market or whatever, altho very skeptical abt that really vague roommate matching form

lets get these convos started

 

[caliprincess]

ok it had to be done... i kno the rest of you are just "pretending to be busy" till august wishing it was at least may by now...but the topics being discussed so far on this thread are just not cutting it, esp since we're gonna have an awesome class.

what is everyone up to/doing to pass the time?

I'm from south jersey, I'm working right now in philly at Jefferson
def gonna live in the dorm/180 west market or whatever, altho very skeptical abt that really vague roommate matching form

lets get these convos started

Yea this thread has been slooooowwwwwww.....

Time Passing: I'm trying to finish up this god-forsaken graduate degree right now. I just want the summer to be here so I can go home and bask in the California sunshine on the beach. I am also gearing up for March madness as I am a HUGE NCAA Mens/Women's Bball fan. This is probably the last March madness of my life that I will truly be able to enjoy.

Oh yes, and I am still homeless for the fall. However, I am very excited for med school to start and hang out with you all....

 

[VoiceofReason]

I feel the same way too Harlemnite. I know everyone wants to talk and is excited to meet each other but this process is so slow that we just don't have anything to talk about yet 😛. All I'm doing these days is working on a paper for which the grant has run out, and working on another for which the grant is fresh. I'm playin' a lot of sports with my buds and reading as much as I can about specialties. Other than that I eagerly check the mail every day even though I know NJMS doesn't really have any news for me, and won't for a while yet. But I check anyway.

 

[Harlemniiite51]

thats awesome looks like theres alot of ppl into sports which is key,

yea i've been playing alot of sports too, trying to stay active
this yrs march madness looks really intense, alot of really strong teams
i won a huge pool on facebook last yr where i not only got lucky and picked the two right teams at the end but also, i even had the final score really close, i think i was off one pt.

if anyone knows of any really good pools they part-take in, let us know

 

[anya1207]

I got accepted back in November, but I still never received anything about housing... When did you guys receive the housing contract?

And is anyone else out of state??

And did anyone else apply to a dual degree program? (specifically MD/MPH). I still haven't heard anything regarding the MPH...

and congrats to everyone on getting accepted! I cant wait to meet you all 🙂

 

[VoiceofReason]

Anya you have to go to the website to find the housing contract, they don't mail it to you. Go here: http://www.umdnj.edu/home2web/housing/index.htm

I sent mine in already, the convenience will out weigh any money saved in my opinion and anyway from what I can tell it's really not THAT much more expensive if at all, utilities are included and high speed internet too.

Also, I received a packet of health forms yesterday, so if you guys haven't gotten that then be on the lookout.

 

[MundaneMD]

lol.."pretending to be busy"....i wish 🙁

I have a senior level chemistry lab, along with research, so they take up most of my time. Then there's psych 101, which I took thinking it would be easy...we have to write 5-page papers (note that "papers" is plural..) every week! Psych is supposed to be a joke! 😡

anya - I never received any housing papers either; I printed them out from the website, and mailed them in.

Did you guys get the health forms in the mail yet? There are so many forms. 😱


Edit: Damn, VoiceofReason..you just posted everything I wanted to say. Bah.

 

[njdevils783]

Well the health forms have arrived haha now theres something to talk about.

 

[anya1207]

thanks for the help with the housing app!

 

[hallucinated]

hi I was wondering if we're supposed to receive a confirmation for the $100 deposit and the forms that were sent in for holding a spot in njms?

thanks!

 

[caliprincess]

hi I was wondering if we're supposed to receive a confirmation for the $100 deposit and the forms that were sent in for holding a spot in njms?

thanks!

Yeah, they do send you a letter in the mail indicating that your deposit has been received and that your spot is held. Mine took about 3-4 to come. Hope this helps!

 

[dizzyorange]

Besides having FAFSA completed, are there any other financial aid things we need to do right now? On their website, NJMS says you hafta fill out an "UMDNJ Application for Financial Aid". Has anyone actually done this?

 

[estxx57]

bump.

 

[VoiceofReason]

i'm so anxious to start i can barely stand it.

 

[dizzyorange]

I can't wait either.

This year's fin aid apps are up on the website btw.

 

[njmedstudent87]

so exactly who's willing to break down the millions of financial aid pages and simplify what exactly i have to do to get some pity money (or loans)?

please do the same for the 100+ immunization shots we have to take

i appreciate it

 

[VoiceofReason]

yeah so did anyone try to get their "University ID" yet? Or call IST to get into the my.umdnj.edu portal website?

 

[caliprincess]

A few things that I am aware of (as a graduate student already at UMDNJ)

1) UMDNJ ID: The best thing to do to figure out what your ID is - call the registrar. This way, you will be able to activate things like your account with IST so you can access my.umdnj.edu

2) Financial Aid: I haven't received paperwork for it as of yet, but as a current grad student, I do know that the application for financial aid is available online. You can access this at http://www.umdnj.edu/studentfinancialaid/index_new_brow.htm. Click on the Application Link to get started. I spoke to the secretary at the financial aid office and she said that we need to take care of our apps ASAP!
a) You need to file your FAFSA. If you would like to see if you qualify for need-based loans (i.e. Primary Care Loan and Loan for Disadvantaged Students), then you must complete parental income information on the FAFSA. For the other federally funded loans (Perkins, GradPLUS, Stafford, etc) you don't need to disclose your parents' finances. If you aren't sure if you are eligible for need-based aid, speak to a financial aid counselor at the school.
b) After you fill out the FAFSA, you will also need to fill out the online application for financial aid through the UMDNJ web site above. Here, you will indicate how much money you will be requesting for the year (this will include any money that you receive in the form of a private loan). It may be obvious to some of you, but I was totally clueless with this last year, but if you don't qualify for the need-based loans, the federal loans only cover up to around $20,000 of your tuition. I assumed that at that point, the school sends private lenders your way to cover the remainder of tuition/living expenses. If you need a private loan, you have to seek them out and apply for the loan yourself. It's a no-brainer, but I guess it just didn't click with me that I had to do the leg work. There is a list of approved lenders on the financial aid web site.

3) Immunizations: I think March is the earliest we can start getting physicals, according to the paperwork info. Don't wait until the last minute to get your physical and your shots. If you are missing a vaccination (for example Hep B vaccine), you are screwed if you wait until July to get this done. Read through all of the information in the health packet before you go to the doctor, and take all of the paperwork with you!

4) Umm guys, are we gonna you know, participate in some conformity and start a Facebook group? The RWJ c/o 2012 kids have one and, well, I think we should too! 😀

 

[caliprincess]

Oh and as far as the supplemental forms on the financial aid web site are concerned, it varies for each student what you have to turn in. For my graduate financial aid, I only needed to turn in the Verification Worksheet. Once you submit your FAFSA and UMDNJ Application for Financial Aid, the office will inform you via email or my.umdnj.edu what forms you are missing.

And please take my insight with a grain of salt. I am an incoming first year just like the rest of you with only a little bit of experience in the UMDNJ system. If anything, use it to get going in the right direction, but if you have specific questions, go to the source (financial aid office, student affairs office, housing, etc).

 

[anya1207]

caliprincess- thanks for that info, it was very helpful! i was very confused before, but i feel better now 🙂

as for everyone else- where are you living? umdnj apartments, society hill, university center or some where else??? ive been holding off on my housing application for the apartments because i cant decide...

 

[monu1234]

4) Umm guys, are we gonna you know, participate in some conformity and start a Facebook group? The RWJ c/o 2012 kids have one and, well, I think we should too! 😀

The facebook group is up. Look for "NJMS 2012". You know you're curious.

 

[scrubsrfun]

hmm i searched for the group on fb but i cant find it....am i slow? lolol who else is not looking forward to filling out these fin aid forms? they always make me cranky =/ oh well and in response to your question anya i think im gonna live in the dorms on market street. i know its expensive but itll be nice to be near the other first years which you might not get if you find another apartment. oh and at the accepted students luncheon, my tour guide said living in society hill wasn't safe for girls even though its right across the street. (i guess thats newark =/) who else knows where theyre living???

 

[scrubsrfun]

hmm i realized i dont even know if you are a girl, sorry about that, but in case you are..yeah what i said before =D

 

[estxx57]

I'll be living in the on-campus housing.
Couldn't pass up the covered bridge between the dorm and the school. 😀


Also--ditto on the facebook group, can't find it either.

 

[VoiceofReason]

Besides having FAFSA completed, are there any other financial aid things we need to do right now? On their website, NJMS says you hafta fill out an "UMDNJ Application for Financial Aid". Has anyone actually done this?

Did you figure this out? It's on the umdnj financial aid website under "application process".

Dizzy I'm curious, are you interested in general NSG or do you want to specialize? I've been considering ortho and then a spine fellowship lately.

 

[monu1234]

Also--ditto on the facebook group, can't find it either.

Sorry, I had accidently made it secret, it should now be available for anyone to join. 👍

 

[dizzyorange]

Did you figure this out? It's on the umdnj financial aid website under "application process".

Yep found it. I'm pretty bad at the internet.

Dizzy I'm curious, are you interested in general NSG or do you want to specialize? I've been considering ortho and then a spine fellowship lately.

Spine's where the big bucks are these days, especially in private practice. There seems to be overlap between spine cases, which could be done by either an NS or an ortho guy. I hear that the difference is that the ortho guys don't go into the dura, and the NS guys don't do the cases where there's no obvious spinal cord issues.

If you look at the residency line-ups of NS programs, you see a LOT of guys who list complex spine as their main interest.

I don't know nearly enough to decide on specialization or not. I find skull base stuff to be pretty fascinating. Endovascular supposedly brings in cases pretty consistantly. Though the interventional radiologists are probably slicker with the catheter.

I'm definitely keeping my eyes open toward ortho and everything else as well. Don't they say most people change their mind? I'll probably end up as an OB/GYN .

What makes you consider a spine fellowship? And is ortho 7 years like NS as well? I'll be an old man by the time I'm done with fellowhips.

 

[VoiceofReason]

Yep found it. I'm pretty bad at the internet.




Spine's where the big bucks are these days, especially in private practice. There seems to be overlap between spine cases, which could be done by either an NS or an ortho guy. I hear that the difference is that the ortho guys don't go into the dura, and the NS guys don't do the cases where there's no obvious spinal cord issues.

If you look at the residency line-ups of NS programs, you see a LOT of guys who list complex spine as their main interest.

I don't know nearly enough to decide on specialization or not. I find skull base stuff to be pretty fascinating. Endovascular supposedly brings in cases pretty consistantly. Though the interventional radiologists are probably slicker with the catheter.

I'm definitely keeping my eyes open toward ortho and everything else as well. Don't they say most people change their mind? I'll probably end up as an OB/GYN .

What makes you consider a spine fellowship? And is ortho 7 years like NS as well? I'll be an old man by the time I'm done with fellowhips.

ortho is 5 years and the spine fellowship is 1 year. Yeah I'll be 35 by the time I'm practicing if this is what I end up doing. 😎

Firstly, I was tossing around the idea of plastics and orthopaedics because I really like the idea of reconstruction. And now that I've done a little reading there are several factors causing me to lean towards ortho:

• The reality of plastics practice (lots of cosmetics, less actual reconstruction)
  
• Orthopaedic job market
  
• Orthopaedic residency competitiveness (a little risk management, only one person from NJMS matched plastics last year, 10 times as many for ortho. It's just easier to get into)

I'm thinking ortho spine as opposed to neuro spine for several reasons:

• More Variety - Although I'll need a fellowship, where neuro won't, by doing it i'll be able to maintain general ortho clinic priviledges while getting my hands slightly dirty in some neurosurgery as well. Even though its only in the spine.
  
• Spine + Musculoskeletal or Spine + CNS - This is a tough one actually, I like both but I see that ortho generally takes the deformity and defects resultant from injury so ortho wins out slightly because as I said I like reconstruction (restoration of form and function)
  
• The Spine Itself - I've been obsessed with the spine somewhat ever since a minor herniation from playing sports and weightlifting. I'm 100% better now and I didn't need surgery but I remain interested in it.
  
• Neuro Lifestyle - Neuro clinic sounds abusive (traumatic brain injury makes for a brutal call schedule and brain tumors are deadly serious and hard to treat, meaning not very clinically rewarding for me)

 

[dizzyorange]

Reconstruction is neat. I'm thinking of leaving a chunk of time open in 4th year to do a rotation with Operation Smile. I hear that even though they officially tell you it's an observing internship only, in reality you get to do even more than a typical sub-i.

I've been obsessed with the spine somewhat ever since a minor herniation from playing sports and weightlifting. I'm 100% better now and I didn't need surgery but I remain interested in it.

I bet the first couple of squats or deadlifts you did after recovery were pretty nerve-wracking...

My dad had a jutting vertebrae (forget what's its called medically) that prevented him from bending his back for 6 months. He finally gave in to have spinal surgery and he's been running around pain free for 15 years. Amazing stuff really.

Neuro Lifestyle - Neuro clinic sounds abusive (traumatic brain injury makes for a brutal call schedule and brain tumors are deadly serious and hard to treat, meaning not very clinically rewarding for me)

And yeah, abusive is the word. Seems like the consensus is that ortho treats a younger, healthier patient than NS. One of the real downers about NS is that the sucesses are ambiguous and the defeats are devestating. Every once in a while you do something heroic though and I'd guess that's what keeps those guys trudging along.

On a bright note, it seems like NJMS does a good job of getting its students matched into the surgical specialties. The track record is very solid these past years. That partially helped me solve my NJMS vs RWJ dilemma.

 

[dizzyorange]

Anyone else here thinking of living on campus? I'm wondering how to fill out the housing form. I actually don't want room/suitemates who are like me. I'm a relatively quiet, clean person (dork), but I get along best with louder dirtier people. Makes me less of a dork haha.

 

[estxx57]

I'm finding the medical/vaccination forms to be a huge byatch.
I can't believe we have to have them in so soon.

Also, as far as I've seen from around the campus and housing, there isn't much variety 🙂rolleyes🙂 to the available food in the area. Any thoughts? Suggestions?

 

[monu1234]

just out of curiosity, how did you get the financial aid done so fast... i was under the assumption that you needed to get back your tax information before you could begin that.

 

[VoiceofReason]

I'm finding the medical/vaccination forms to be a huge byatch.
I can't believe we have to have them in so soon.

Also, as far as I've seen from around the campus and housing, there isn't much variety 🙂rolleyes🙂 to the available food in the area. Any thoughts? Suggestions?

Well the ironbound section has good portuguese apparently. I'm just planning to do what I did in college: cook a lot of food that can be kept in the fridge so I dont have to cook too often and then i have good meals for dinner most days.

 

[dnslay]

I went to Rutgers Newark for a few years so I've driven around Newark a lot and spent time in the area. As far as I can tell there isn't anything amazing for food in the immediate area around University Hospital.

There's a pretty good Thai Cafeteria near the Rutgers campus, so if you're going to the golden dome a lot you're about two blocks away from that.

Ferry St. is great for Portuguese in the Newark/Harrison area. Good bakeries and cafes too. My favorite thing to do at these places is sit at the bar with some friends and order up garlic shrimp and snack on that with the bread in between cool glasses of white sangria.

For foodies that like to cook at home there is a D'Artagnan warehouse near port Newark. Really nice high quality meats and game (wild boar, goose). It's kind of a scary drive though.

Other than that, lots of nice bars and restaurants in Hoboken as everyone knows. Jersey City is good for authentic hole-in-the wall type places and has especially good Indian and Philipino food. Bars are much cheaper in JC too, so if you don't feel like paying NYC prices for drinks, it's a good option. Downtown area around Grove St. is a little more upscale, but hasn't quite gotten to the level of Hobo. In my opinion that's a good thing.

Well the ironbound section has good portuguese apparently. I'm just planning to do what I did in college: cook a lot of food that can be kept in the fridge so I dont have to cook too often and then i have good meals for dinner most days.

 

[PleaseBelieveit]

Ok, I've been away from the forums for a little while..so how is everyone??the past few weeks have been hectic. I have been moving out of my apartment so I could move back home with my sister in Jersey to try and save $ before school starts (and pay off my credit cards from undergrad..lol). So I'm still waiting for my stepdad to finish his taxes so I can finish my FAFSA...Are most people disclosing their parents' information? Also, I know everyone's situations are different, but I'm wondering if anyone has ideas about how they are going to budget their money throughout the year (and about how much they are taking out on top of tuition, living, etc.)...I mean...I've lived on my own all through undergrad so I know how much food and other expenses cost, but I've never lived on my own while having no job..lol..

 

[VoiceofReason]

I bet the first couple of squats or deadlifts you did after recovery were pretty nerve-wracking...

I'm still actually pretty ginger with my back, heh. I feel like I'll never be the same after my injury, even though I feel fine -- I'm hyper aware of my form during those exercises and any faint, ever-so-slight twinges of pain more than slightly freak me out.