ok so my hours are all messed up from studying for exams...so i may as well jump on this (although it'll be short and sweet)
i love it here at uthscsa. the class is extremely supportive of one another - there is little to no competition between classmates. people share notes, study aids, mnemonics, etc. regularly. first year you'll be in class from 8-3 on a typical day, although they're still tweaking the new curriculum so that may change (though not a lot). second year is a little nicer, with class usually from 8-12 with the occasional afternoon lecture or discussion. the letter grading isn't bad. unless you went to a montessori college it'll be no different. the grade is based on how you perform, not a curve. the clinical experience the first two years consists mostly of working with standardized patients with occasional visits to the wards, although you can arrange to shadow a doc as a preceptor with no problems.
housing is easy to find around campus - there are lots of apartment complexes and a few condos within walking distance. you can get a house on the cheap but it'll be a little further north (still within 10 minutes though). parking is a pain if you get stuck with a zone 3, 4, or 5...and you probably will at first. you can jump on the waitlist and get a zone 1 or 2 by the end of your first year and be set. students live all over the place, but the closest complexes are the vintage (nice but pricey), the lodge (blah), medical center apt's (meh), and san antonio station. i lived at carlyle place (just down babcock from the HCS) my first year and loved it, but this year i'm in a big house with a couple roommates.
sadly we never got the welcome weekend organized, but i'll talk to the first year president to see if they're interested in setting something up. we have boards coming up so i doubt my class can coordinate it
ok, that's the short answer. if you have any other questions i'll be around SDN or you can find me on AIM.
