Oklahoma future 2011ers part 01

[Wizard of Oz]

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What is the course schedule for the 1st semester (days & times)? I remember from the interviews talking with MS1s that anatomy lab is MF one week and W the next. What about the anatomy lectures? Are any other classes like that (PCM?)?

The schedule is not concrete from week to week. In general, biochem has 0800-1000 claimed every day, but there are some Mondays or Fridays where it starts later since the 1000-1200 is only variably occupied by PBL's, clinical correlations, special reviews, or other such meetings. Wednesday 1000-1200 is embryo.

Human Behavior is 1000-1200 Tuesday and Thursday for blocks 1,2, 4, and 5.

PCM is Tuesday/Thursday afternoon, but you will only attend one of those days. This year, the top half of the alphabet in our module gets the Tuesday; the bottom half has class Thursday. There is no class during rotations (which is about half the year).

You are right about anatomy lab, but on days where you don't cut, you present your structures from the last session to the students who are cutting. Lecture is at 1300 MWF. For a few of the lectures, a clinical correlation is squeezed in before lab, but in general you go straight to lab after lecture. In all, there are 31 dissections. If you dissect on the first day (superficial back), you also dissect on the last (ear).

Weeks before test block are light and include reviews. The easy part about it is that the profs come to you. MS 1 classes are in the West Lecture Hall, MS 2 are in the East. Dental students stop by for embryo and histo (spring). In those cases, class is also broadcast to the modules.

Here is the take-home message, though. They map out the semester schedule at the beginning and give you a copy. Weeks may vary greatly, so you have to look ahead and keep track of when you are supposed to show up. I'd recommend updating it with the one on Hippocrates, though, because they do make changes.

At the beginning of the year, somebody from the AAMC will come from Washington to talk about money matters. Go to it. They buy lunch for everybody, but Smithers will not put it on the schedule until after your copy is printed.

 

[poppytart]

Wait!!! That post about all the interviews offered...does that mean that they have already notified those interviewing in January and February too? I haven't gotten anything yet!! Or does that mean that they probably have already chosen who they are going to interview, but are waiting to send out the dates when the time draws near. I don't wanna panic! I thought they inform of the interview date until 2 or 3 weeks before the actual day?

 

[Wizard of Oz]

Wait!!! That post about all the interviews offered...does that mean that they have already notified those interviewing in January and February too? I haven't gotten anything yet!! Or does that mean that they probably have already chosen who they are going to interview, but are waiting to send out the dates when the time draws near. I don't wanna panic! I thought they inform of the interview date until 2 or 3 weeks before the actual day?

Good question. This is the first year that they started interviews so early in the cycle, and this is also the first year that they put those statistics on the website. My best advice would be to call or email the admissions office. It does seem odd that they would have doled out all of the interview offers by now.

Here are the interview days:

Sept 26
Oct 25 & 26
Nov 29 & 30
Jan 10, 11, & 12
Feb 7 & 8

There might have been some rattling of these due to bad weather.

 

[Doctor Surreal]

Wait!!! That post about all the interviews offered...does that mean that they have already notified those interviewing in January and February too? I haven't gotten anything yet!! Or does that mean that they probably have already chosen who they are going to interview, but are waiting to send out the dates when the time draws near. I don't wanna panic! I thought they inform of the interview date until 2 or 3 weeks before the actual day?

Not to cause you any more panic or anything, but just to pass on some information I have so you are better informed, I have a friend who recieved an interview offer for one of the February dates. I don't know if this means they've sent out all the interview offers for those 2 days, but it does means that they have at least started to send out some. I would directly check with the office. Good luck and I wish you the best!

**Also, that Jan. 10th date is a rescheduling for those who were supposed to interview on Nov. 30th.**

 

[Amxcvbcv]

When I'm king, I'm abolishing residency status.

I probably wouldn't be here if it weren't for OU's residency status policy. 😛


As for the homeschooling vs. going to class debate. I don't think you can categorize it as good students go to class and the below-average ones homeschool or vice versa. It's kind of like the whole good med school vs. bad med school (although, if you haven't been accepted yet, is there really such a thing as a bad med school?). If you're a motivated learner you're going to excel no matter which situation you prefer. If you're not, well, you'll be in the lower quartile of your class. Whether you homeschool or not has nothing to do with it. I know we have students with 4.0s that are in class 95% of the time, but there are also some 4.0s that aren't in class that much either.

As for me, I go to class as much as I can stand because if left to my own devices I will waste way too much time at home (damn you, SDN). Even if it's not the most time effecient way of covering the material I still get that first pass over it and might even pick up testable material that is only mentioned in the lecture and somehow gets missed by the notegroup writer.


As for those of you considering switching to homeschooling exclusively next semester, I strongly encourage you to go to at least the first few lectures just to get a handle on the material and presentation. Dr. Blair is a great teacher and really has a passion for what he does. He'll also tell you that neuroscience is a hard course because it won't really make sense until you're studying for the final. I agree with that assessment because I felt extremely lost in there for the first 2-3 weeks. It's just a challenging course.

While I'm here, I'll give this run-down on the spring MS1 semester in order of how I perceived the difficulty.

1. Neuroscience - it is a beast, but it is really fascinating to learn how the brain works.
2. Physiology - lots of equations to memorize but also interesting and challenging
3. Histology - it felt like the Spring semester equivalent of Embryology. All in all a pretty easy class.
4. Human Behavior - it seems more relevant than the fall semester stuff, but I wouldn't really say it's hard this time around
5. Evidence Based Medicine - this was a waste of time for anyone that knows how to use a library (actually, only the first few hours). A few equations to memorize and you're good.
6. PCM - less class time - more rotation time, still just as easy. (Do an overnight if there any available and save yourself 6 weekday afternoons!)
7. IMPS - I actually like these sessions but it seems that most people don't. Same format as the Fall.

 

[Mr. Freeze]

Would you agree with the guide's assessment of which books are necessary and which classes can be handled simply with the syllabus? Or maybe you have your own ideas?

 

[Amxcvbcv]

Would you agree with the guide's assessment of which books are necessary and which classes can be handled simply with the syllabus? Or maybe you have your own ideas?

I didn't get a chance to go through the guide thoroughly, so I don't remember what it had to say for these classes. Here's what I used.

• Neuroscience - #1 Syllabus - by far this was my first reference. I had two other books (both referenced in the syllabus - Haines and Bear, I think?) for further reference, but I think the only time I opened them was when I was trying to figure out what gamma motor neurons were. As for atlases, I used Netters for some basic schematic stuff in the front (cranial nerves, etc.). I bought but didn't really use the neuro atlas recommended/required by the syllabus. If I were doing it again, I'd just stick with the syllabus. I did however buy the BRS Neuroanatomy for future Step 1 review (I haven't really used it yet). If you really need something tangible as an extra source, the neuroanatomy atlas is nice for trying to understand the infinitely frustrating pathways you are required to memorize, but it is all covered in some fashion by the syllabus and Hippocrates resources. As an aside on this topic, previous classes told us you could memorize the colors of different sections of spinal cord, brainstem, midbrain, etc. on Hippocrates and they would be recapitulated on the exam. This was true for our class, but it won't be for yours. I heard it from Dr. Blair's own mouth at our fall course review a couple of months ago, so don't let anyone lull you into thinking otherwise. Sorry!
• Physiology - Again, my #1 source for this class was the syllabus, however I relied on outside sources more. I used two different Costanza books: her Physiology text and her BRS Physiology book. The physiology text was great for working out concepts that aren't very well described in the syllabus. The BRS Physiology book was also good for quick review and test questions. If I were doing it again, I'd still probably use both books.
• Histology - Again, the syllabus was pretty decent for this class (not quite on par with neuro and phys, but still adequate). I had the Histology text "required" for this class leftover from my undergraduate Histology class at OU, but I never pulled it off the shelf. Make sure you don't wait until the night before the exam to look at the slides on the Iowa Histology website. It will get incredibly slow and crash with 160ish people trying to see it. Sometimes it acts up during the exam, which is kind of amusing. 😛
• Human Behavior - I only used the syllabus for this class. I have since bought a BRS book for Step 1 review, but I don't think it would have helped me much during the Spring.
• EBM - The required book for this class is okay. I bought it and sold it back after the semester. Most of the important points get covered in class, so I think it's definitely possible to do well in this class without it. If I were doing it over again, I'd save the $40ish dollars and go on a date with my wife instead.
• PCM - You know the story here. If you haven't already bought Mosby's, you might as well get it for next year.
• IMPS - You already know how this works. I think for the IMPS that involve Dr. Blair's stuff, you actually get little snipits of the pertinent material e-mailed to you as pdfs.

In the interest of full disclosure, and so you don't think my advice is misleading, I made As in everything but phys and neuro where I snagged Bs. I probably could have managed all As, but I really started to burn out when we got to April. 😛

Good luck with the Spring. Those first few weeks are a bitch and really make you wish vacation was longer. 😉

 

[Antigunner]

I would agree with most of what Amx said - here's exactly what I actually used:

Neuro: I used strictly syllabus and online resources
Phys: I used syllabus and BRS phys, although I did hear good things about the full Costanzo text
Histo: Syllabus and online images
HB: Syllabus and notegroups
EBM: I did not get the textbook and didn't regret it
PCM: Didn't use Mosby's at all second semester
IMPS: I think they give you everything you need

My grades were pretty similar to Amx

 

[Doctor Bagel]

Cool, so I shall only buy 2 books (BRS phys and the longer Costanzo phys) and see where that leads me.

Getting back to the class thing, is it valuable to go to histology? If I just do neuro and phys, then I'll have all afternoons free except for Wednesday and Thursday, which I think could be doable.

 

[Wizard of Oz]

I probably wouldn't be here if it weren't for OU's residency status policy. 😛

I doubt that. Classes would just be more heterogenous nationwide, more like the way residency programs are comprised. Since we have a relatively high population of PGY FMG's on campus, it would probably be easier for a state citizen to get in at OU. Much attention is paid to giving URM's a break for the sake of added diversity, but our WASP population seems to be high relative to the state population at-large. I only know of two or three African American students in our class, and I don't know any Latinos.

My original reason for my statement was that somebody else gets to decide residency status, and states do not have uniform rules on the matter. I paid thousands in Oklahoma taxes before applying, but they still treated me like a nonresident during admissions. I had to appeal after being admitted, and this was after the nursing college had already declared me in-state in 2004. In general, it just seems a little bit ridiculous to me that people over 25 seem to be continually treated like children simply because they want to further their education.

Increasing competition for good students places pressure on the school to improve and make a better product, yet states in which there is only one school create pseudo-monopolies. My theory works well for grad students in the basic sciences which encourage nonresidents and don't charge extra tuition, and it also works for PGY docs. The school would be better off to encourage good students to come by cutting a tuition break (like Texas) to get them some fresh exposure to the state where they might want to stay and practice if they like it. Then it's just up to the state to be a great place to live and work.

Indeed I recognize that states want to create doctors who are likely to stay and practice, but there is no penalty for leaving after graduating. I think that I read a study somewhere that showed something like 40% of OU/OSU grads move to other states upon graduation, so previous resident status needn't imply intent to stay. So why should I have to prove that I want to stay here when my classmate doesn't, and why should an oos student stay here after graduating if the school already treated them like an outsider by doubling their tuition?

You can tell that this is a sensitive issue for me. Solution 1--equal tuition/consideration for everyone everywhere. Solution 2--students declared independent by FAFSA don't have to prove residency. Solution 3--federal driver's license for everybody with state of residence clearly defined.

 

[Mr. Freeze]

I had to fill out a residency verification (or something like that) even though I had lived in OK prolly 22 of my then 27 years. But I had been in the military, and some people change their state residency after they get out apparently. You can't do it while you're in, otherwise everybody would be texans, who don't pay income tax...So I know admissions was all over the red flag.

But I know they were like, "Damn, there goes the other half of his doubled tuition..." when I turned my form in.

I'd be curious about home"schooling" histo also, cuz momma got a job, and I'd really like to be home most afternoons too!!

 

[Antigunner]

I went to the first Histo lecture, and that was it. I did fine between the syllabus and looking at the slides on the Iowa website.

 

[JohnnyOU]

Seems like that Guide to Surviving Med School said to go to every class from the sections I read for semester two... so that wasn't helpful.

The classes I went to regularly (embryo and GA) I got C's in.
The ones I almost never went to (HB and Biochem) I got B's...I got 96/106 correct on that psycho biochem final and didn't go to a single review. So I'm thinking maybe I'm more of a solo-studier than a lecture-dude.

And you know that easy Nutrition stuff on Biochem they gave us to make the exam easier.... 6 of the 10 I missed were from the nutrition section. What the heck is that about...I think I'm `tarded sometimes.

I'm still just relieved as h*ll I passed. A major load off...been "SuperLazyMan" since classes ended...playing with the boyz and just acting like a stoner. 👍

 

[Doctor Bagel]

You can tell that this is a sensitive issue for me. Solution 1--equal tuition/consideration for everyone everywhere. Solution 2--students declared independent by FAFSA don't have to prove residency. Solution 3--federal driver's license for everybody with state of residence clearly defined.

And you didn't even get burnt by living in a state like Oregon when you applied that only has one state school with about 115 spots and gives very little preference to instate students. Not to mention that said state school is super subjective, so getting in hinges on luck more than anything else. 😡 Anyway, I'm stuck with oos tuition for this year. The sad thing is that with my scholarship, the oos tuition here is cheaper than the instate tuition in Oregon. I'm going to appeal for next year, but I'm prepared for it not to work out.

So I'll just have a lot of debt when I graduate.

 

[Doctor Bagel]

Seems like that Guide to Surviving Med School said to go to every class from the sections I read for semester two... so that wasn't helpful.

The classes I went to regularly (embryo and GA) I got C's in.
The ones I almost never went to (HB and Biochem) I got B's...I got 96/106 correct on that psycho biochem final and didn't go to a single review. So I'm thinking maybe I'm more of a solo-studier than a lecture-dude.

And you know that easy Nutrition stuff on Biochem they gave us to make the exam easier.... 6 of the 10 I missed were from the nutrition section. What the heck is that about...I think I'm `tarded sometimes.

I'm still just relieved as h*ll I passed. A major load off...been "SuperLazyMan" since classes ended...playing with the boyz and just acting like a stoner. 👍

Yeah, that guide tells you to go to every class. Those crazy 2009ers like the class, I guess.

Hey, I missed half of Weigel's stuff because I didn't study. Wasn't that stuff supposed to be easy, too? The nutrition stuff had some weird wording. Honestly, I learned everything of relevance taught in that section (yes, I'm egotistical 🙂 ), but I still missed some. I had a real drop in biochem performance at the end there. 😳

 

[WhoisJohnGalt]

Yeah, that guide tells you to go to every class. Those crazy 2009ers like the class, I guess.

You have to understand that the people that write for the guide sort of self-select... for example, I didn't volunteer to write anything about whether or not to go to class, because I didn't go to class... I can't say "it's a waste of time to go to class!" when I didn't really try it. I can't offer individualized criticism of each lecturer, because... well I didn't listen to them. So the guide is mostly written by the 10 people that go to class regularly. And of course, they wouldn't have gone to class if they'd thought it was a waste of time 🙂 But we definitely don't like going to class as a whole. Many of our classes have less than 25% attendance.

 

[JohnnyOU]

Honestly, I learned everything of relevance taught in that section (yes, I'm egotistical 🙂 ),

You're so awesome exlaw...sheesh, if you weren't married I'd give you the chance to turn me down flat!!! 😉

 

[JohnnyOU]

What are your thoughts on this...

someone posted that this was their guess at the number of questions on USMLE1.

Pathology > Physiology > Biochemistry (genetics + cell biology) > Pharmacology > Microbiology > Immunology > Behavioral Science > Neuroanatomy anatomy

I'd love to hear someone else's thoughts. And we're the he*l are those 4 months of GA I struggled through and almost failed expect for the GA wiZard Freeze ?
BTW...any of you newbees needing GA help...pay top dollar for Freeze...he's a GA pimp...and can answer almost every question...he was quoting Chung at age 4....it's true...he could tell you every insertion point by age 6...I think he's an alien.

 

[Wizard of Oz]

And you know that easy Nutrition stuff on Biochem they gave us to make the exam easier.... 6 of the 10 I missed were from the nutrition section. What the heck is that about...I think I'm `tarded sometimes.

I missed more than that, dawg. Mucho test material not in the syllabus = Wizard scratching head while frantically trying to calculate his own BMI by long division.

And you didn't even get burnt by living in a state like Oregon when you applied that only has one state school with about 115 spots and gives very little preference to instate students. Not to mention that said state school is super subjective, so getting in hinges on luck more than anything else. 😡 Anyway, I'm stuck with oos tuition for this year. The sad thing is that with my scholarship, the oos tuition here is cheaper than the instate tuition in Oregon. I'm going to appeal for next year, but I'm prepared for it not to work out.

So I'll just have a lot of debt when I graduate.

Aw, you didn't want to go there anyway. Their med school is on the top of a mountain, and it rains there all the time. Besides, we'd have a void in our lives without you. 😀 {exlaw}

If your husband is working, then he should be considered a resident. You should be able to win your appeal.

I got the shaft, too. I was a resident of no state.

You have to understand that the people that write for the guide sort of self-select... for example, I didn't volunteer to write anything about whether or not to go to class, because I didn't go to class...

I better get to write a little. Some of the material about eating places on campus is out-dated, and there are a few things I'd like to include that aren't in there. And if one of my poems is not quoted, I'm gonna be sad. 🙁

 

[SoonerGeek]

Emm, I hate to point out the obvious, but aren't your semesters over? Shouldn't you be slacking off or doing something otherwise un-medical school related? Not that your advice isn't appreciated, but soon-to-be Dr. Geek is prescribing some "Slack Time." Go visit the "straights" for a while and watch something frivolous on a very large screen. Thats right, I'm talkin to you Wizard...

 

[JohnnyOU]

Emm, I hate to point out the obvious, but aren't your semesters over? Shouldn't you be slacking off or doing something otherwise un-medical school related? Not that your advice isn't appreciated, but soon-to-be Dr. Geek is prescribing some "Slack Time." Go visit the "straights" for a while and watch something frivolous on a very large screen. Thats right, I'm talkin to you Wizard...

We aint even crackin books....can't get more friv than that for doc dorks 👍

 

[Antigunner]

If your husband is working, then he should be considered a resident. You should be able to win your appeal.

I wish it were that easy - my wife works full time, we're both registered voters, own a home, and yet... I remain OOS. They seem to be extremely reluctant to change your status. You have to somehow prove that you (you, not your spouse) moved here for a purpose other than school. Good luck with that - the suggestion they gave me was to provide paperwork showing that I had a job lined up here immediately after graduation to prove that I was going to stay in the state. How the heck am I supposed to do that 😕

 

[Jwax]

As for the roommate issue, it can probably have as many benefits as drawbacks. You can study together, for instance, assuming that you like to do that.

I was kinda wondering about that... I normally study solo, but I've found the few times I've studied with a small group of others (in a we are actually studying, not sitting around chatting), it's been very useful for understanding material that I didn't follow when I went over it alone. So, how many of ya'll study with others? Did you do so before medical school or decide that it was necessary for med school?

*Gulp* about the fact that all interview offers have been made. Even though I have an interview set up, that still makes me nervous. I don't know why. I have been thinking about my interview a lot lately, along with everything med school related for the future. Also lots of thoughts about residency & specialties & marriage & children.

3 weeks & 3 days 'til interview! I'm SO ready... if you didn't know already 😉 It's not like I don't post on here daily telling everyone how ready I am to be a med student!!! It's a shame there are so few posters for the future 2011 class; there were so many more for the 2010 class.

 

[poppytart]

Not to cause you any more panic or anything, but just to pass on some information I have so you are better informed, I have a friend who recieved an interview offer for one of the February dates. I don't know if this means they've sent out all the interview offers for those 2 days, but it does means that they have at least started to send out some. I would directly check with the office. Good luck and I wish you the best!

**Also, that Jan. 10th date is a rescheduling for those who were supposed to interview on Nov. 30th.**

Really? Hmm...I just checked my email and didn't get anything! Do you know when your friend got that email? Isn't the office closed right now for the holidays? Oh geez....

 

[poppytart]

Do they send interview invites via email or snail mail?

 

[Non-TradTulsa]

Do they send interview invites via email or snail mail?

Interview invites come by e-mail. At least they did last year - the whole system's new this year.

I've got my fingers crossed for exlaw. She grew up here - she'll have to make up some story about how her family couldn't live without her anymore and *that's* why she moved here. Hey, I'll back it up.

We do need to get more 2011's posting on here. We've kinda used it as our 2010 chat room, more so than 2009 did last year. And we've been telling too much of the truth - we're gonna scare the poor applicants away!!!

I never look to see whose questions I missed. Once the exam is over, I want my grade and forget the rest. Although, on biochem Block 3, I do know that the questions I missed were Weigel's, just like Block 2. His Block 3 material was easy and short, I went through it several times, I actually read the whole chapter in Lippincott's, I attended his review, I looked at his PowerPoints and listened to his .mp3's (I was a good boy about the material, but I didn't attend lecture), and I still had no idea what the h*ll he was talking about on several questions. But I knew that was gonna happen. I was just on my knees thanking heaven that Fuller was merciful. I still think Leon throws out the ridiculously hard questions, but that still left plenty of room for Fuller to roast us on a spit. Even Hanas had questions that made sense, and his carcinogenesis lecture was actually quite interesting.

My grade on the GA practical was the lowest I've ever scored on any college exam, ever. I just didn't care at that point - a few of the bodies I just thought "next!" and that one cadaver that had gotten a little ripe I refused to bend over for a close look. If I'd known that I actually had done well on the written, I'd have spent lunch hour reading Rohen's instead of eating pizza. I got the grade I wanted, but with only 4 points to spare.

It's WONDERFUL being home in Tulsa. For the last two nights I've been playing at parties and in nightclubs and I slept until well after noon Sunday. For the first time since starting medical school, I actually feel like a college student again!!

 

[glp]

I got the grade I wanted, but with only 4 points to spare.

4 percentage points != 4 points

 

[Wizard of Oz]

Go visit the "straights" for a while and watch something frivolous on a very large screen. Thats right, I'm talkin to you Wizard...

Man I'm BORED! Rented three movies, exercised, watched football, even went to a small social gathering last night. I'm going back to work tomorrow to break the monotony. What's a person with social anxiety disorder to do?

Besides, since I am one of the few defenders of homosexuals, PA's, and former graduate students, I have to troll the other forums of SDN looking for fights to stick my nose into.

They seem to be extremely reluctant to change your status. You have to somehow prove that you (you, not your spouse) moved here for a purpose other than school.

😱 That blows! I would think that if you showed that your spouse supported you, worked here, and paid taxes, then you'd have satisfied the requirement. Man if that were me, I'd consider sending a check for $0 in every April on tax day. After all, if your spouse was applying to a program at OU, she would be considered a resident, eh? I work with a guy whose wife moved here from Kansas to enroll in the OUHSC AuD program, and they let her have in-state based on her husband's state of residency alone. They seem to be very conservative in this part of the country when it comes to residency.

So, how many of ya'll study with others? Did you do so before medical school or decide that it was necessary for med school?

Well it had been years since I actually had to study, but when I did, it was always alone. Likewise here. The group or pair thing can work out if everybody is nearly ready for exams. Then you can quiz each other and quickly fill in the gaps. If people aren't close to being ready, then it deteriorates into a waste of time in a hurry.

Also good luck with studying in the module around exam time.

It's a shame there are so few posters for the future 2011 class; there were so many more for the 2010 class.

I agree, and I didn't even find the site until two weeks before school started.

Isn't the office closed right now for the holidays? Oh geez....

Some staff members have taken off for the holiday, but I believe that the campus is officially still open for another few days.

We do need to get more 2011's posting on here. We've kinda used it as our 2010 chat room, more so than 2009 did last year. And we've been telling too much of the truth - we're gonna scare the poor applicants away!!!

I second that! I have also wondered if we shouldn't have a different thread for our whining or go back to posting on the 2010 thread, but alas, I think that this one might slide off of the front page? Actually I have gotten some useful info from looking back at 2010 to see what was up with Amx and WIJG when THEY were battling Weigel and company.

I think that maybe our class is just talkative in general? It's obvious that this seems to be a safer and more user-friendly place to chat than the school discussion board.

At any rate, 11er's, I think that we try to answer whenever you have something to ask. We may have some alarming opinions, but I don't think we've described anything that doesn't go on at every other medical school.

 

[soonereng]

I have also wondered if we shouldn't have a different thread for our whining or go back to posting on the 2010 thread, but alas, I think that this one might slide off of the front page?

I like to see what you guys have to say even when not related to my random questions. 😉

I think that you guys should continue just to keep it at the top so I can have something to do when I am bored at work. I come here and read and am like "That's how I'm going to feel in the very near future," but I'm excited about it.

Bring on the pain!

 

[Tiagao]

you guys should definitely keep the thread going. It provides some good info for those of us who are next in line. Plus, it is a great relief from the job. 😀

 

[Doctor Bagel]

I was kinda wondering about that... I normally study solo, but I've found the few times I've studied with a small group of others (in a we are actually studying, not sitting around chatting), it's been very useful for understanding material that I didn't follow when I went over it alone. So, how many of ya'll study with others? Did you do so before medical school or decide that it was necessary for med school?

I'm a solo studier and always have been. I tried group studying briefly, but it involved more time than I was willing to commit. I actually hate how everyone tells you you need to find a study group as if it's universally true for everyone. Some of us actually do better on our own.

However, if group studying is your thing, then go for it. I know some people who have really active study groups. One thing to note, though, is that understanding isn't an issue in med school (at least in the first semester). It's just memorization.

 

[Doctor Bagel]

You're so awesome exlaw...sheesh, if you weren't married I'd give you the chance to turn me down flat!!! 😉

Yeah, I'm fantastic. 😉 Just saying that if you're a typical chick and you've been on every diet known to man, you pick up a thing or two about the nutrition world. 🙂

Now if only I were bald ... 😀

 

[JohnnyOU]

Yeah, I'm fantastic. 😉 Just saying that if you're a typical chick and you've been on every diet known to man, you pick up a thing or two about the nutrition world. 🙂

Now if only I were bald ... 😀

😉

 

[Tiagao]

Could someone explain a little more about the home-schooling? Are all of the lectures streamed online, or do you have to go get info from the profs to do outside of class? 😕

 

[JohnnyOU]

Could someone explain a little more about the home-schooling? Are all of the lectures streamed online, or do you have to go get info from the profs to do outside of class? 😕

Hey Tiago,
All you do is pay the standard $350 (which goes to me) and in return I give you mp3s of ALL the lectures and notes from all the lectures 👍

For another $225 (goes to me too) you'll get the chance to apply for a parking spot that is guaranteed to be within 2 miles of your lecture hall as well.

 

[Tiagao]

Man I was worried that I'd have to ride the bicyle from the burbs to school everyday just to pick up some notes. And I get a parking spot within 2 miles of the school.... All that for a meager $575.....now THAT'S a DEAL. Where do I sign up?

Is my application pre-approved for the parking?

 

[Doctor Bagel]

So anybody know how long we're going to have to wait for our biochem grade to be posted? Supposedly, there's no exam review, so I don't know what the holdup could be (well, yeah, Leon, but still).

Also, I have had it confirmed that our exam review guy indeed does not respond to our emails. For the class of 2011, just make sure to pick your exam review and notegroups people wisely.

 

[Non-TradTulsa]

Could someone explain a little more about the home-schooling? Are all of the lectures streamed online, or do you have to go get info from the profs to do outside of class? 😕

Info from the professor outside of class because you couldn't bother to show up??

:::Thunk... merry laughter heard from guy rolling on the floor.... :::

Homeschooling is very common at OU, but most of the profs don't like it one bit - which is understandable - they have to come to lecture even if only ten people show up (there is a biochem prof named Dr. DeAngelis who lectures just before TB 2 although his material is on TB 3... he gets rather pissy about nobody showing up - but if you never go, you'll only hear his abuse on the audio tapes).

As you probably know, OU has a resource called Hippocrates on the web. Hippocrates is the central place where notegroups, audiotapes, and PowerPoints from lectures are posted. "Notegroups," of course, is the shared note-taking service that nearly all students belong to - you receive notes (so-called notes, in a few cases) from each class lecture.

A syllabus in medical school is not what you're used to in undergrad - a 2 or 3 page document with the class rules. A syllabus in medical school is a couple of inches thick and contains outlines of each lecture in the course - some are quite detailed and some aren't nearly as good. If you choose not to go to class, you can look at the syllabus and you can look at the PowerPoints from the lecture - you can also listen to the audio tape from the lecture.

Home schooling works very well for some people - some people don't have the self-discipline to do it. I was kind of in-between - I very often decided that 8 am biochem lectures were just not what I wanted to do on windy, cold mornings. The only drawback to homeschooling is that you can't see where on a PowerPoint a professor is pointing - our class did some experimenting with streaming video, but I doubt they have the web server space for it yet. Some "tapes" are a combined audio with a PowerPoint slide presentation - very nice to know which slide they're working off of (not available for biochem - Leon gets crabby about class attendance and won't release these tapes).

Drawbacks - if you choose to home school, you certainly can, but don't expect any support from your instructors. Some notegroups are absolutely horrible (many are great) - our notegroups chair needs to get a heavier fist. If you listen to the audio all the way through, though, you really don't need somebody else's notes. I think we had one or two mechanical failures all semester where the audio wasn't available - that's a disaster if the notegroups are bad (and was responsible for a lot of missed questions on the nutrition section of the last biochem exam). You probably want to attend anatomy lecture because you get points for answering the questions at the end of lecture which can help your grade - most people do go.

You'll learn from listening to other people when you do need to go to class - for instance, there is a lecturer named Dr. Hanas - his lectures tend to be quite disorganized and he can jump around on his PowerPoint slides - and he tests on what he says in class that is not in the syllabus. Some people just listen to the audio, but I prefer to go to his lectures because he can be so hard to follow. If they get streaming video up and running, I wouldn't go.

 

[Doctor Bagel]

Info from the professor outside of class because you couldn't bother to show up??

:::Thunk... merry laughter heard from guy rolling on the floor.... :::

Homeschooling is very common at OU, but most of the profs don't like it one bit - which is understandable - they have to come to lecture even if only ten people show up (there is a biochem prof named Dr. DeAngelis who lectures just before TB 2 although his material is on TB 3... he gets rather pissy about nobody showing up - but if you never go, you'll only hear his abuse on the audio tapes).

As you probably know, OU has a resource called Hippocrates on the web. Hippocrates is the central place where notegroups, audiotapes, and PowerPoints from lectures are posted. "Notegroups," of course, is the shared note-taking service that nearly all students belong to - you receive notes (so-called notes, in a few cases) from each class lecture.

A syllabus in medical school is not what you're used to in undergrad - a 2 or 3 page document with the class rules. A syllabus in medical school is a couple of inches thick and contains outlines of each lecture in the course - some are quite detailed and some aren't nearly as good. If you choose not to go to class, you can look at the syllabus and you can look at the PowerPoints from the lecture - you can also listen to the audio tape from the lecture.

Home schooling works very well for some people - some people don't have the self-discipline to do it. I was kind of in-between - I very often decided that 8 am biochem lectures were just not what I wanted to do on windy, cold mornings. The only drawback to homeschooling is that you can't see where on a PowerPoint a professor is pointing - our class did some experimenting with streaming video, but I doubt they have the web server space for it yet. Some "tapes" are a combined audio with a PowerPoint slide presentation - very nice to know which slide they're working off of (not available for biochem - Leon gets crabby about class attendance and won't release these tapes).

Drawbacks - if you choose to home school, you certainly can, but don't expect any support from your instructors. Some notegroups are absolutely horrible (many are great) - our notegroups chair needs to get a heavier fist. If you listen to the audio all the way through, though, you really don't need somebody else's notes. I think we had one or two mechanical failures all semester where the audio wasn't available - that's a disaster if the notegroups are bad (and was responsible for a lot of missed questions on the nutrition section of the last biochem exam). You probably want to attend anatomy lecture because you get points for answering the questions at the end of lecture which can help your grade - most people do go.

You'll learn from listening to other people when you do need to go to class - for instance, there is a lecturer named Dr. Hanas - his lectures tend to be quite disorganized and he can jump around on his PowerPoint slides - and he tests on what he says in class that is not in the syllabus. Some people just listen to the audio, but I prefer to go to his lectures because he can be so hard to follow. If they get streaming video up and running, I wouldn't go.

I'm going to throw something out about the audio thing. I personally don't have the discipline to listen to audio lectures, so if I miss class (something I do frequently), I just miss it. While I'm probably less disciplined than most of my peers, I think it's possible that I'm not the only person who just lacks the ability to sit and listen to the audio files. So, if you're like me and feel that listening to a professor is important, I'd recommend actually going to class. 😱 I thought going in that the mp3s would be great, but they haven't done much for me.

Also, if Leon's irritated by low class attendance, he probably shouldn't make it so lectures frequently don't match with upcoming tests. For example, you really can't blame us for not going to the DeAngelis stuff. It's a predictable result.

Ah yeah, also, those combined audio/powerpoint things don't work if you don't use explorer. I have a mac, so I've never been able to open them. Fortunately, the professors will also release a straight power point without the audio, and the mp3 is still recorded for notegroups.

 

[JohnnyOU]

I'm going to throw something out about the audio thing. I personally don't have the discipline to listen to audio lectures, so if I miss class (something I do frequently), I just miss it. While I'm probably less disciplined than most of my peers, I think it's possible that I'm not the only person who just lacks the ability to sit and listen to the audio files. So, if you're like me and feel that listening to a professor is important, I'd recommend actually going to class. 😱 I thought going in that the mp3s would be great, but they haven't done much for me.

Also, if Leon's irritated by low class attendance, he probably shouldn't make it so lectures frequently don't match with upcoming tests. For example, you really can't blame us for not going to the DeAngelis stuff. It's a predictable result.

Have you "mac people" (exlaw, freeze, etc) been able to view Rada's audio/ppt lectures on your mac?

Their "tech" gurus don't know how to make stuff multiplatform so I think it only runs on internet explorer. It's very irritating 👎

 

[Doctor Bagel]

Have you "mac people" (exlaw, freeze, etc) been able to view Rada's audio/ppt lectures on your mac?

Their "tech" gurus don't know how to make stuff multiplatform so I think it only runs on internet explorer. It's very irritating 👎

Nope. I had edited by post above to add this info, but accidentally forgot to push send. 😳

Yeah, it's totally irritating. I also can't do the biochem question bank stuff because apparently you need explorer for that, too. Why they don't include those questions with the regular question bank stuff, I will never know. 😕

 

[JohnnyOU]

Nope. I had edited by post above to add this info, but accidentally forgot to push send. 😳

Yeah, it's totally irritating. I also can't do the biochem question bank stuff because apparently you need explorer for that, too. Why they don't include those questions with the regular question bank stuff, I will never know. 😕

Probably the same damn reason we have to go to that ******ed Blackboard to get leon's posts on grades. 👎

 

[Smitty3L]

From my experience, the only reason to attend class is to force yourself to stay up on the material, and possible get acquainted with your classmates. It offered me absolutely no benefit, and this was universally true for all classes and lecturers. At home you can listen to the mp3's at 1.4X (or faster depending on how slow the lecturer is) and stop and rewind if you missed something. I frequently did not have enough time to listen to all of the classes (if you don't have children or if you do and you have any kind of spousal support you would though) and found that it was very helpful but not necessary.

Now that I have said that, I do remember missing out on some bonus points in HB for not being there. You can decide how important that is to you. HB is not that difficult of a class, and there weren't that many points.

If you decide to homeschool, for the first semester of MS1 you will end on campus anyway almost every day. MWF is anatomy lecture/lab. The points you get for going to anatomy lecture are worth 10% of your grade and are major grade padder, however this may all change if Dr. Chung doesn't come back. And then you will have PCM tue or thur, and other random small group activities that require your attendance. There weren't many of these small group things, but it seems like they would fall on days when I had no other reason to come to campus. All in all I spent very little time on campus, but it seems like I was there almost every day.

For all the 2009 and 2010er's - I still haven't heard back from O'Don about my grade. Are our rankings based only on letter grades? Should I fight for every point or be happy if I just get my letter grade?

 

[Mr. Freeze]

I hadn't tried to do the combined ppt/mp3. I usually just open the ppt, and listen to the lecture separate, with Rada @ 2x...but I too never had any luck with the Qbank. I always thought it was on their end, until I logged onto Hippocrates from my PC.

It seems like lectures are usually up the day of, but notegroups may take up to 2 days (barring the shenannigans we put up with...)

Maybe equally as important as what to get for the first 2 semesters: What do y'all think we need to hang on to? Can I pitch my syllabi and notegroups? I just don't see myself keeping a binder for all these and then breaking it out for Step 1, and I've got way too much **** as it is...plus tossing my biochem notegroups would be so cathartic...

 

[JohnnyOU]

if you don't have children or if you do and you have any kind of spousal support you would though come back.

Spousal support? Does an exwife asking me to pay her rent count as spousal support?

Now that I have said that, I do remember missing out on some bonus points in HB for not being there.

I sooooooo lucked out on that one...I never went to HB but happen to be recording for notegroups that day 👍

 

[Smitty3L]

Spousal support? Does an exwife asking me to pay her rent count as spousal support?

Maybe we should start some sort of jilted med student parent support group.

 

[Benoit]

This is something I haven't thought about yet.. PC or Mac laptop? What are my limitations when it comes to hippocrates with Mac? Certainly the wifi and stuff will work fine on campus..

Also, can you charge your PC to your bursar account? I know you can get a discount through the school, and I would rather get money for my Euro trip for undergrad graduation. I guess whether it is charged to my bursar or not, I can always just take out a little more money for it..

 

[Doctor Bagel]

This is something I haven't thought about yet.. PC or Mac laptop? What are my limitations when it comes to hippocrates with Mac? Certainly the wifi and stuff will work fine on campus..

Also, can you charge your PC to your bursar account? I know you can get a discount through the school, and I would rather get money for my Euro trip for undergrad graduation. I guess whether it is charged to my bursar or not, I can always just take out a little more money for it..

If you get one of the new Macs, you can load it with Windows. I haven't done that, but it's always an option. Without Windows (meaning no explorer), the only real limitations are the ones noted above -- the combined audio/pp things don't work, and you can't do most of the biochem qbank stuff. You can do qbank for all the other classes, though -- biochem just does it in some weird way. You do have to download windows media player to watch the anatomy videos, but you can do that from a mac without getting windows.

As for the money issues, the school budgets you $2500 for a computer. That money is given directly to you, so you can do whatever you want with it. You don't even have to buy a computer. 😉

If you haven't lived on financial aid before, here's the lowdown -- your lender sends the money to the school, and the school takes their cut. Everything that's left over is put into your bank account through direct deposit. This happens each semester around the first week of school, so you wind up with what feels like a ton of money at the start of the semester, and you get to feel totally broke by the end of the semester. 🙂

However, OU sort of sucks about getting you your scholarship money. That usually arrives a few weeks after the semester starts. 🙁 I've heard this is normal for lots of schools, but I hadn't experienced it until going to school here.

 

[RachelD]

The phys syllabus on hippocrates is like 700 pages long😱 I guess I won't be printing that one out.

 

[JohnnyOU]

The phys syllabus on hippocrates is like 700 pages long😱 I guess I won't be printing that one out.

That reminds me. Does anyone know if our 150 pg printing credit is per yr or per semester? And if it's per semester does it roll over the pages we didn't print?