Quillen COM 2010 Thread

[Kris1]

For those who are Johnson City, TN bound like me, here is our place to discuss what lies ahead.

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[Kris1]

I submitted my FAFSA in February but the financial aid office insists they haven't received it. Has anyone else had this problem so far or is the financial aid process going smoothly?

 

[Kris1]

Does anyone know of any housing that is coming open? Preferably a 3 br house for rent. How about some apartments that can be suggested? I'm going to keep talking to myself until someone replies.

 

[BOHICA-FIGMO]

I'd like to extend a welcome to everyone from the class of 2009! A few of us lurk the SDN so fire away with questions! Congrats and see you in August!

 

[manta]

I submitted my FAFSA in February but the financial aid office insists they haven't received it. Has anyone else had this problem so far or is the financial aid process going smoothly?

Hey Kris - Congrats! QCOM's FAFSA code is E00171 - which isn't on FAFSA's list online if I'm remembering correctly. The ETSU code is for the undergrads. Hope that works!

My 1 BD apartment will most likely be going up for rent soon. It sounds smaller than what you need, but if anyone else is interested, please PM me. It's a great place, and the landlord is also a medical student.

Good luck to you. Enjoy these next few months before school starts!
--manta (MS-2)

 

[henryjekyl]

I have a two bedroom condo for sale in Johnson City.
It is about 10 minutes from campus in a quiet and convenient neighborhood.
All appliances, Washer and Dryer, New central heat and air. Good price- 62K.
Email: [email protected]

 

[theman1990]

Well I was 2010 bound, but I deferred to 2011! I guess that makes me the First Student of 2011!!!

Yah..... Afghanistan will just have to take priority till I get back...

Good luck to the rest of you!

 

[OrnotMajestic]

Hey Kris, your wife added me to MySpace. If you have any questions ( I know ya'll are moving soon) feel free to either PM me here, or have your wife contact me on MySpace!

 

[Kris1]

Hey Kris, your wife added me to MySpace. If you have any questions ( I know ya'll are moving soon) feel free to either PM me here, or have your wife contact me on MySpace!

Yeah, she told me. Thanks for adding her. She is doing a wonderful job of making friends already. Also, a preemptive "thanks" for any help you provide.

 

[OrnotMajestic]

Yeah, she told me. Thanks for adding her. She is doing a wonderful job of making friends already. Also, a preemptive "thanks" for any help you provide.

No worries. Anything to help newcomers get adjusted. I moved 3200 miles to come to this school, and people were AWESOME to me. It's the least I can do.

 

[Kris1]

No worries. Anything to help newcomers get adjusted. I moved 3200 miles to come to this school, and people were AWESOME to me. It's the least I can do.

By the way, first year is coming up quick for me, and I know that you are finishing it up. Any tidbits of advice, i.e. textbook purchases, favorite classes, classes you wouldn't skip...?

 

[OrnotMajestic]

By the way, first year is coming up quick for me, and I know that you are finishing it up. Any tidbits of advice, i.e. textbook purchases, favorite classes, classes you wouldn't skip...?

Textbooks: WAIT. I say this, because we have a big sib program here, and often they give you all you need. Not only that, but the biggest mistake you can make is purchasing hundreds of dollars of textbooks that you NEVER USE. The notes are thick enough, and there is only so much time. For anatomy, I can tell you this...pretty much all you need is a Netter's Color Atlas. That's it. If you are a textbook reader, then I guess you can buy the text...but trust me, you don't have time to read hundreds of pages of notes, PLUS hundreds of textbook pages, PLUS memorizing Netter's AND spending time in lab. Unless you are freaking insane.

There is also another first semester class that is horrid. HORRID. "Human Developmental Biology and Genetics". If you can actually figure out just what the f**k that class is about everyday, you are ahead of me. The only textbook that you need for that is Langmans Embryology. The rest you can check out at the library if you need to.

Equipment: This is easy. DO NOT BUY THE BEST STUFF AT THE "SALE". This is a waste of money. Go online now, and purchase these things for WAY cheaper (I recommend Ebay):
-Oto/Opthalmascope. Don't buy the stupid pan-optic crap. You'll spend like $400 on something you'll use five times during first year. A simple old-standard set is all you need. I got mine on Ebay for $200. Welsch-Allan is the way to go, and get an older used set. Trust me on this. You'll see everyone freaking out and spending nearly a grand on equipment you will NEVER use.
-Stethoscope. The prices at the "sale" during orientation week were actually dead on internet prices. But who cares. I recommend the Litman Cardiology III. Do an internet search, find the cheapest price, and get it.
-The rest you can get for super cheap at the sale: reflex hammer and tuning fork. Trust me on the first two items (otoscope and steth)...you'll thank me later.

I'm a bad example for class. I never go, and I do just fine. Then again, I'm able to self-motivate to study. I recommend you GO to anatomy (most of the time). Dr. Kwasigroch is a fantastic lecturer, and is the best person to ask questions about during lab. Spend time in lab, compare EVERYTHING to Netter's, do old tests. I can tell you better which lecturers to avoid at all cost, since they aid in nothing but a slow destruction of your confidence in the material. Personally, I got NOTHING out of HDBG (that crazy embryology and genetics class I told you about)...so I hardly went. Trust me, you'll figure it out within a month.

This got really long. Sorry.

 

[sstockto]

hey folks

chances are very good Ill be starting there in August. My question involves my significant other that will be joining me in JC. While JC is obviously beautiful, it seems the culture/social scene may be a little less than desired. She is very outgoing and funloving. Can any M 2, 3, or 4s comment as to her chances of finding friends/things to do there? Is there a community,etc?

any/all comments much appreciated. thanks a bunch

 

[OrnotMajestic]

Depends on what social scene she's into. JC is not a huge city, and it's cultural life is lacking a bit...but where there is a will, there is a way. We get good bands coming through on occasion, so that's a start.

hey folks

chances are very good Ill be starting there in August. My question involves my significant other that will be joining me in JC. While JC is obviously beautiful, it seems the culture/social scene may be a little less than desired. She is very outgoing and funloving. Can any M 2, 3, or 4s comment as to her chances of finding friends/things to do there? Is there a community,etc?

any/all comments much appreciated. thanks a bunch

 

[aa58]

Just thought I'd say hello. I am new to SDN.
I will be arriving at JC towards the end of June from Cali.
See you all soon.

 

[BOHICA-FIGMO]

Bump! Welcome to Johnson City!

 

[Kris1]

I love QCOM! I think it is the best kept secret in medical education!

 

[Dr. V]

Johnson City is the perfect sized city for me. Big enough to have what I want and small enough I can be in the woods or on the lake within 10 minutes or so.

Quillen is great, I can't say enough good things about it. I just graduated and I couldn't have been happier at Harvard. It's a great education with instructors and attendings that really want you to excell.

About HDBG, it's a great class if you are prepared for it and can put up with a little deviation from the norm. It's a bit much for those that don't have an excellent background in Biology though, they have to learn a new language plus the material.

However, you will find that a very, very large portion of it will be on both Step I and Step II so even if you hate it know it. (believe it or not HDBG has gotten BETTER since I had it, not nearly the laundry list of transcription factors there used to be, but it's still a work in progress.)

Really there were no truly BAD courses there when compared to other schools. Sure there were 2 that I had small issues with and some of them may be somewhat different, but if that's all you have to complain about your med school ROCKS, and Quillen ROCKS.

Feel free to call me or email any time with questions. I loved it so much I had Quillen as my #1 choice for Residency and got it so I will be here for the next 5 years in Surgery. My info is on my homepage.

 

[BOHICA-FIGMO]

Johnson City is the perfect sized city for me. Big enough to have what I want and small enough I can be in the woods or on the lake within 10 minutes or so.

Quillen is great, I can't say enough good things about it. I just graduated and I couldn't have been happier at Harvard. It's a great education with instructors and attendings that really want you to excell.

About HDBG, it's a great class if you are prepared for it and can put up with a little deviation from the norm. It's a bit much for those that don't have an excellent background in Biology though, they have to learn a new language plus the material.

However, you will find that a very, very large portion of it will be on both Step I and Step II so even if you hate it know it. (believe it or not HDBG has gotten BETTER since I had it, not nearly the laundry list of transcription factors there used to be, but it's still a work in progress.)

Really there were no truly BAD courses there when compared to other schools. Sure there were 2 that I had small issues with and some of them may be somewhat different, but if that's all you have to complain about your med school ROCKS, and Quillen ROCKS.

Feel free to call me or email any time with questions. I loved it so much I had Quillen as my #1 choice for Residency and got it so I will be here for the next 5 years in Surgery. My info is on my homepage.

It rocks except for second semester, 1st year, which will undoubtedly will be the worst 6 months of your life!

 

[Dr. V]

It rocks except for second semester, 1st year, which will undoubtedly will be the worst 6 months of your life!

LOL Come on now it's not that bad.

The worst semester for me was 1st semester of 2nd year. I mortally HATED Neuro, not because of the instructors or the class mind you, just because I am not a neuro kind of guy. Looking back on it now it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it was at the time. You just finished 1st year right? If so your feelings will likely change with time as well.

By the way keep your head up cause GREAT things are coming your way. Path with Dr. Earl Brown during 2nd year is possibly the best class in the Universe. That dude is somethin else.

 

[OrnotMajestic]

Yeah, I'm not looking forward to neuro next semester (who would be?)...but I'm all about path!

This semester hasn't been the worst of my life, but these finals are killer. They pretty much completely dumped on us. Too much to explain right now, considering I have a histo shelf in 20 minutes! I'm just looking forward to this summer break...I need it!!

 

[aa58]

Does anyone know if there is a major difference between the lenders?
I am filling out the paperwork for both sallie mae and T.H.E and its kind of hard to tell which one is screwing you more.

 

[OrnotMajestic]

Does anyone know if there is a major difference between the lenders?
I am filling out the paperwork for both sallie mae and T.H.E and its kind of hard to tell which one is screwing you more.

T.H.E. is non-profit. Sallie Mae is not. I just re-consolidated throught T.H.E. and if nothing else, dealing with them in person is an absolute pleasure. They are VERY friendly and helpful, and were able to lock me in at a percentage even lower than expected. I recommend T.H.E. personally.

 

[sstockto]

Ill be staring at Quillen in July, but im a newbie to the lingo,. what is T.H.E.? do they offer loans or just consolidate loans? should I look into them instead of stafford loans, etc? thanks

 

[Dr. V]

Ill be staring at Quillen in July, but im a newbie to the lingo,. what is T.H.E.? do they offer loans or just consolidate loans? should I look into them instead of stafford loans, etc? thanks

There are two major types of student loans that I am aware of, Stafford and Perkins. Of those part of the loans are subsidized by the government and part are not. It's income dependant so it would vary from individual to individual.

I will echo what OrnotMajestic posted, T.H.E is great to deal with. I am pretty sure they are a loan clearinghouse though as my loans are now owned by Great Lakes, an equally nice company. I am very satisfied with how my dealings with both of them went.

I think Sallie Mae handles the government aspect of the loans because I still get statements from them about interest even though I know I owe all the money to Great Lakes after consolidation and have the paperwork that shows it.

At any rate, I am very satisfied with the loans I have.

 

[aa58]

what is T.H.E.?

if you go to this link
http://com.etsu.edu/default.asp?V_DOC_ID=837
you will find a list of lenders that give both subsidized loans and private loans. you have to chose one and sign a master promissory note (MPN) so that the school can disperse the money to you in July.
I have contacted T.H.E and Sallie Mae and found that T.H.E is in fact easier to deal with and more user friendly overall.
Good luck
See you in July.

 

[OrnotMajestic]

Ill be staring at Quillen in July, but im a newbie to the lingo,. what is T.H.E.? do they offer loans or just consolidate loans? should I look into them instead of stafford loans, etc? thanks

T.H.E. = Total Higher Education. It's a non-profit loan company. You still fill out a FAFSA for federal loans/grants(HA HA HA HA) and T.H.E. will organize things, including private loans. Lots of schools make YOU find private loans, QCOM makes it really easy. Just sign the dotted line and try not to cry. Well, if you are in-state it's not that bad. Us out-of-staters cry when we sign the paper.

Welcome to QCOM!! See you all in July!! Usually there is a first year-second year party sometime in the first week of school (or is it second week?) where we all get together, ingest some EtOH and get to know eachother. It's fun. I think we hold it the second weekend of school cause all y'all first years have your first exam after the first weekend. I'm not saying that to scare you, because it's not that big of an exam, just giving you fair warning that you start your year with a running start!

 

[Kris1]

I'm glad to see this thread finally getting some action!

 

[BOHICA-FIGMO]

Make sure you dress/look good on the first day of orientation, because that photo will be follow you for 4yrs! Not that that is a bad thing, but I swear they hang our photos everywhere! Even the janitors have copies. Welcome to Quillen!

 

[OrnotMajestic]

Make sure you dress/look good on the first day of orientation, because that photo will be follow you for 4yrs! Not that that is a bad thing, but I swear they hang our photos everywhere! Even the janitors have copies. Welcome to Quillen!

Oh yes. Back during the two months of my life when I spiked my hair in an effort to mentally revolt against what aging has done to my hairline. The result? I looked like a douche, and due to my quickly retreating hairline, it makes my forehead look huge. Awesome.

On another note, our janitors are awesome! Sherri is a really nice woman.

 

[Dr. V]

For the most part everyone that comes in contact with students at Quillen is awesome from the janitors to the administration.

I can't stress this enough as I know people that went to other medical schools. At Quillen every person there seems to have one goal, to make your life as a student there as easy as possible. Heck they will even fill out your taxes for you. Other places you are a number, here you are a person with a name, family etc. We were the first class in the new building. A few weeks after the first classes started they asked what they could do to make things easier. There weren't enough microwaves in the lounge for lunch time. Wala, the next day there were more microwaves AND a couple of toaster ovens.

You will find that the instructors will know every one of you by name on the first day of orientation.

Don't take these gestures as meaning you can get away with things, you can't as others have quickly found out. While they will bend over backwards to help you in any way possible they expect you to uphold the values of the school at all times. If you do something unethical expect to be kicked out. If you don't make the grade expect to fail. While they are the definition of helpful and nice they take making doctors very seriously and expect you to do the same. They display good Southern hospitality and good Southern backbone at the same time.

Quillen is a great school that prepares you well for the real world of being a MD. Their classes are good to excellent and the clinical experience is excellent. You can get that at several places. What sets them apart is the way they treat their students.

 

[manta]

i am *so* glad i never have to take neuro ever again. my brain just doesn't work like that. i kept hearing that it was an easy class, but it ended up being one of the most difficult classes i've taken. not to scare anyone, but don't blow it off (it's easy to do while you're taking immuno!) don't decide to finally find out what a pulvinar is the day before the midterm. if you did well in anatomy, i imagine the word jumble in neuro won't be so bad. but i certainly wouldn't know. my only other advice is to definitely not miss dr. baisden's addiction lecture, and go to the review sessions.

in the grand scheme of things, second year is a lot better than first because you are learning interesting, relevant information. that's not to say that i'm not glad it's over.

good luck on your shelves guys!

LOL Come on now it's not that bad.

The worst semester for me was 1st semester of 2nd year. I mortally HATED Neuro, not because of the instructors or the class mind you, just because I am not a neuro kind of guy. Looking back on it now it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it was at the time. You just finished 1st year right? If so your feelings will likely change with time as well.

 

[OrnotMajestic]

i am *so* glad i never have to take neuro ever again. my brain just doesn't work like that. i kept hearing that it was an easy class, but it ended up being one of the most difficult classes i've taken. not to scare anyone, but don't blow it off (it's easy to do while you're taking immuno!) don't decide to finally find out what a pulvinar is the day before the midterm. if you did well in anatomy, i imagine the word jumble in neuro won't be so bad. but i certainly wouldn't know. my only other advice is to definitely not miss dr. baisden's addiction lecture, and go to the review sessions.

in the grand scheme of things, second year is a lot better than first because you are learning interesting, relevant information. that's not to say that i'm not glad it's over.

good luck on your shelves guys!

Neuro is the class I'm actually dreading the most next semester (for all the reasons you mentioned). I did moderately well in anatomy, so I'm hoping for at least the same performance in Neuro. I am indeed looking forward to Path and Micro, due to the clinical relevance. Not to mention that ANYTHING has to be better than studying for biochem.

Phys shelf is tomorrow, and it's been a struggle to study for it. I didn't study as hard as I should have (not even nearly as hard as I should have), so I'm hoping that I remember most of the key points so I can at least figure it out from there!

 

[ColinHay]

I am looking for a house. What are some good neighborhoods in the campus area?
More importantly, what are the bad ones I should avoid.

 

[OrnotMajestic]

I am looking for a house. What are some good neighborhoods in the campus area?
More importantly, what are the bad ones I should avoid.

To be honest, there aren't that many "bad" areas of Johnson City. There are some streets that should be avoided (when I remember the names, I will. I have to leave for an OSCE in two minutes), but overall, the only "bad" neighborhoods are ones that aren't close enough to campus or shopping. The tree streets as a general whole are close to campus and nice neighborhoods (I live on the tree streets), but tend to be a bit more expensive. If you don't mind a short drive, living in Jonesborough is often cheaper. When I have more info, I'll post it.

 

[Dr. V]

I am looking for a house. What are some good neighborhoods in the campus area?
More importantly, what are the bad ones I should avoid.

The above poster is correct. Generally the Tree Streets are GREAT untill you cross Buffalo then they start going down hill.


Many times there will be ads on the bulliten board or Student Affairs (somebody there LOL) will have a list of houses for sale/rent that were given up by out going students.

As he said there aren't too many "bad" areas, they exist but driving through they are usually obvious.

I would get a good realtor if I were you. We used Dewy Wolbrite (sp?) as ours. He was an honest man that was patient. I would use him again if that means anything.

 

[OrnotMajestic]

Oh yes, this is true. I live two blocks from Buffalo, so I'm at the "edge" of "decent". The closer you get towards the undergrad campus on the tree streets, the nicer it becomes. But in all honesty, I've never had a problem. Some areas close to "downtown" are a tiny bit shady (or if you are near the projects)...but even the realtors will be honest about it. Besides, if you suddenly cross over a street and the prices drop 35%...yeah, you know.

If you are lucky, you can nab a place on Highland. It's pretty much "med school row". VERY close to campus, and since 95% of your neighbors are elderly or medical students, it makes for a good environment. Yet, strangely enough, if you go to Lamont street (one street up), it can be a hell-hole.

To be honest, if you want a nice house, try the hills behind the undergrad campus. Nice neighborhoods, beautiful scenery, lots of trees, quiet. Lots of professors live back there.

Overall, as I stated and Dr. V backed up...there really aren't any "bad" areas of town. It just isn't that type of town. The only "bad" areas you'll notice right away, and most people/realtors will point them out. Good luck with your search!!

 

[Kris1]

I'm just posting this so that our thread will be at the top of the list again.

 

[BOHICA-FIGMO]

I'm just posting this so that our thread will be at the top of the list again.

What you want to do actually has a name: it's called a "Bump." So next time, just write "bump" in the body of your reply if you want to save some typing.
--C6

 

[BOHICA-FIGMO]

For the most part everyone that comes in contact with students at Quillen is awesome from the janitors to the administration.

I can't stress this enough as I know people that went to other medical schools. At Quillen every person there seems to have one goal, to make your life as a student there as easy as possible. Heck they will even fill out your taxes for you. Other places you are a number, here you are a person with a name, family etc. We were the first class in the new building. A few weeks after the first classes started they asked what they could do to make things easier. There weren't enough microwaves in the lounge for lunch time. Wala, the next day there were more microwaves AND a couple of toaster ovens.

You will find that the instructors will know every one of you by name on the first day of orientation.

Don't take these gestures as meaning you can get away with things, you can't as others have quickly found out. While they will bend over backwards to help you in any way possible they expect you to uphold the values of the school at all times. If you do something unethical expect to be kicked out. If you don't make the grade expect to fail. While they are the definition of helpful and nice they take making doctors very seriously and expect you to do the same. They display good Southern hospitality and good Southern backbone at the same time.

Quillen is a great school that prepares you well for the real world of being a MD. Their classes are good to excellent and the clinical experience is excellent. You can get that at several places. What sets them apart is the way they treat their students.

Dr. V, you paint a rosy picture, but things may have changed over the last four years.

You talk about how prompt the administration was with the microwaves, but we requested a new printer for the computer lab in September '05 and finally received one in May '06. It took 9 months--9 months!!!!--to get us a printer that was built after 1995. That is hardly what I would call "prompt."

I too heard all the "land of milk and honey" talk about Quillen before coming here, but the last two weeks of the semester has left me wondering whether those sentiments expressed to us were genuine or just for show. The way the last two weeks went down has left a bitter taste in my mouth as the situation could have been handled much, much better.

For instance: threatening to fail several with a passing grade in biochem, actually FAILING several people in a sexual history interview OSCE (Dr. V., you didn't have to do this OSCE), informing them of their failure IN PERSON the NIGHT BEFORE THE BIOCHEMISTRY FINAL!!!!, packing more information into the last block of the semester than any other block, giving tests so difficult that ~15% of the class fails (Ornot: 10 people FAILED the Block IV phys exam according to a member of the feedback team) and roughly 25-30% of the class drops a letter grade in at least one class after the last round of block tests, and generally being used as guinea pigs.

I'm not trying to disrespct the school or air all our dirty laundry, but I think people need to hear BOTH sides of things about Quillen as most folks only get to hear one, unrealistically sunny, side of the story before they come here. Just my two cents.

 

[Dr. V]

Dr. V, you paint a rosy picture, but things may have changed over the last four years..........

..........I'm not trying to disrespct the school or air all our dirty laundry, but I think people need to hear BOTH sides of things about Quillen as most folks only get to hear one, unrealistically sunny, side of the story before they come here. Just my two cents.

If it's not as I said it was then it indeed has changed. We got dry boards within the next few days after we asked for them in the breakroom as well and the list of things they did for us is pretty huge. When they could help us they did help us. They were very good about keeping requested study rooms open whenever we needed them etc. All we had to do was ask, it was honestly that good in 2002 and 2003.

As for failing test grades, they gave us hard tests too. Med school is tough no matter what but they can't make the tests easier just to make us feel better. For the most part the tests were fair on a medical school level when I was over there, it's not undergrad and everybody can't be at the top of the class with a good GPA (for the record I was nowhere near the top of the class, I graduated exactly in the middle, 27th out of 54 LOL). It was hard to admit that I couldn't be at the top of the class. Personally I think that is one of the hardest things about medical school for people that it happens to. Going from being top dog and being able to get an A on any test without studying to failing a phys test you studied your ass off for is tough (I did that too ) Do they not still have the challenge process? I understand that in Biochem the challenge process is a joke as they never give anything but in Phys was very good about throwing out bad questions etc. There's a difference in a bad question and a good question that everybody missed, but if it was indeed a bad question they pretty much always threw it out.

Personally I failed the OSCE myself . The SP didn't realize that what I had done was a viable way to do it. That made me have to do be tested on an entire H&P and PE for remediation. I wasn't happy but if I had explained my physical exam better to the SP I would have passed. Had I performed better on another part of the OSCE then it would have been enough to pull up those few points the SP unknowingly gyped me out of too. What it comes down to is that it was my fault I failed.

Why were they threatening to fail people with a passing grade in Biochem? That is disheartening to hear unless there is more to the story. Biochem was by far the worst course there when I was there, I just hated Neuro more but it was a better course

While it was great when I was there we still had people failing tests etc. It was still medical school and the material isn't easy anywhere you go. I was talking about how well the students were treated and how the administration and staff supported the students. In speaking to people at other medical schools we were treated like royalty compared to them. Even the residents here from other programs comment on how much better the students are treated on rounds and how much more a part of the team you are here than where they went to med school etc. (Some have even gotten in trouble for scutting med students because that is not allowed here and it was standard practice where they were from).

That said I fully admit that I haven't been in a basic science class over there in over 2 years and I don't have a clue what it is like now. It could very well be horrible for all I know. My information is only from my experience, and if you toured with me on your interview then you did get a rosy picture, but it was 100% true at the time. I was always brutally honest but I honestly had no complaints with some very minor exceptions.

I would love to hear more about it because whether I like it or not I will be connected to Quillen for the rest of my life. I want that to be a good association. Please fill me in either here, PM me or call me.

Also I have some books some of you may be able to use that are not doing me any good. I would just give them to whoever wanted them.

Jimmy
926-3170

 

[OrnotMajestic]

Dr. V,

Please don't let my good friend BOHICA paint you the wrong idea for "how things are" right now. I'm sure he wrote that in the peak of stress and/or frustration. Things rarely are as bad as they seem.

There have been some curriculum changes to basic sciences, which ended up lumping the largest amount of material on us during 4th block. This wasn't much fun considering we were all burnt out, but was fair considering we are in medical school, and we have to do the material anyways. Would I have preferred that they spread more of the material out earlier? Certainly. But they didn't, and most of us have survived.

The Biochemistry "fails" is a new policy. They now distinguish between "failing" and exam and "significantly failing" an exam. A significant fail is more than a half-standard deviation below passing. If you significantly fail two exams, yet have a passing average in the class, you still fail the entire course and have to remediate. I'm not sure if it was like that when you took it, but it has created significant (ha ha ha) drama in our class. The 4th block exam was quite difficult, and a large number of my classmates significantly failed it. Considering they tossed out the biochem shelf for us, this means they also tossed out any possibility of a curve for the final, which they wrote themselves. People were upset, because they were afraid that a poor performance the last two weeks of school could determine whether or not they have to remediate the entire semester. Considering we have 22 week semesters, having 45% of your class grade be determined in the last 2 weeks of school can be stressful and disheartening. Yet, that's how it is, and somehow I guarantee you that most of the class pulled through. Like you said, tests are tough in med school. I myself got my first "flunk" ever in my life two weeks ago in phys, even though I studied my brains out! It happens. I'm still going to pass the course, though I won't be top of my class. That, in and of itself, is the most difficult thing for me to deal with. Working as hard as I do, and NOT being "the best". Med school is a large wheelbarrow of reality, isn't it?

I, for one, would be quite interested in any books you have to offer. As you know quite well, loan checks only go so far!

 

[Dr. V]

Dr. V,

I, for one, would be quite interested in any books you have to offer. As you know quite well, loan checks only go so far!

You and BOHICA-FIGMO, anybody else for that matter, are welcome to them. I have all kinds of them because I was a "book" person and a computer CD person.

The only stipulation is that when whoever I give them to is finished with them they have to promise to GIVE them to someone else that wants them.

My phone number is in the above post, feel free to call anytime.

PS, I also have tips about which books were most useful for the Shelf exams etc.

Edit: I am fairly certian that we had that provision as well with the exception that there were no absolute numbers set. It was subjective, if the faculty felt you were not making the progress you should you could be forced to remediate no matter what your average. I think if you will check all departments have this policy, biochem may be the only one to put hard numbers on it, but even Anatomy could make you retake an exam if you failed the lab even if your average of lab and written was a B, remediate the entire course etc. That was a long time ago but I am pretty sure that policy has always been in place for every class with the exception of Biochem now defining it with specific parameters.

 

[ColinHay]

You and BOHICA-FIGMO, anybody else for that matter, are welcome to them. I have all kinds of them because I was a "book" person and a computer CD person.

The only stipulation is that when whoever I give them to is finished with them they have to promise to GIVE them to someone else that wants them.

Do you have books for first year too? if so I will give you a call.

 

[GujjuNo1]

I join the thread too.....it is good to see my future classmates.

I am also trying to figure out where to live, when to start moving etc...I am sure things will fall into place as it gets closer to July 24th.

Class of 2010 is going to leave a mark in JohnsonCity. I can feel it!!!!!

Man.....am I ready to start or what?

 

[OrnotMajestic]

Do you have books for first year too? if so I will give you a call.

You will be getting a "Big Sib" when you start, and usually they give you a whole lot of books!! That is, if you get a good Big Sib. Most of the time, you do. But this is a good idea...get free stuff before you buy anything!

 

[Dr. V]

Do you have books for first year too? if so I will give you a call.

I have one or two for first year. I gave most of them away back when I had more contact with first years. There are still one or two though.

You will be getting a "Big Sib" when you start, and usually they give you a whole lot of books!! That is, if you get a good Big Sib. Most of the time, you do. But this is a good idea...get free stuff before you buy anything!

That was one of our glitches. I had two little sibs and some people didn't have one even though they signed up for one. So I find one of them another big sib and gave mine the books that interested him. Then at Cadaver Ball I find out I actually had ANOTHER little sib. I felt so bad not contacting him before but I had absolutely no idea that I had THREE. By that time he was fine with it and settled in LOL. Neither my little sib nor the mystery sib were book people though.

Consequently I have a TON of second and third year books. I haven't seen any underclasmen much since third year started and since my little sibs didn't want them they kind of accumulated.

If someone doesn't want them soon I will take them to the bookstore and sell them back. I would rather give them to someone that can use them, but I won't let them clutter up the computer room much longer

 

[OrnotMajestic]

I'll give you a call this week.

 

[sunshine md]

I thought I'd say hello to my future classmates. I'll be a member of the 2010 class at Quillen! I am so excited and can't wait to start. I appreciate the posts thus far; the information is very helpful. Cheers!

 

[OrnotMajestic]

I thought I'd say hello to my future classmates. I'll be a member of the 2010 class at Quillen! I am so excited and can't wait to start. I appreciate the posts thus far; the information is very helpful. Cheers!

Welcome!! See you in July! (at some point...probably at the M1/M2 get-together)