So how was first year?

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dgu334 said:
I've only been scoring around 80% on my first year exams. This worries me because I feel like I will not be able to score at least the average on step 1. Our class average on exams are usually around 85%. Anyone else in my shoes?
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Step 1 is very much a test that can be successfully done with 5 weeks dedicated study time.
If you are hoping to score "at least the average" on Step 1, I wouldn't panic about scoring 80% on your exams.
 
Frazier said:
Step 1 is very much a test that can be successfully done with 5 weeks dedicated study time.
If you are hoping to score "at least the average" on Step 1, I wouldn't panic about scoring 80% on your exams.
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Would you say its useful to use Pathoma, BRS, etc. alongside all of MS2?
 
wiggitywack12 said:
Would you say its useful to use Pathoma, BRS, etc. alongside all of MS2?
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Useful for prepping for Step 1? "Yes" to Pathoma and FA.
(I did not and, in retrospect, I can easily see how it could have helped expedite my prep.)

Useful for prepping for MS2 exams? That depends on your exam writers.
 
tvelocity514 said:
Lol I took a 2 hour break from 3-5. So did 9-3 and 5-10. really isn't bad. Just 6 hours then 2 hour break then 5 hours then dinner and bed. I like routines and this way I was able to go to bed around 11pm on test nights because somehow I almost always had just enough time to get to where I wanted to be by test day by then. I definitely am going to not stress as much during second year except when boards gets close haha
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So do you spend the entire 9-3 time studying or do you study for 45min+10min break and just repeat till 3pm?
 
Yadster101 said:
So do you spend the entire 9-3 time studying or do you study for 45min+10min break and just repeat till 3pm?
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I put my phone in my room and study in the living room so I don't know what time it is or if anyone is texting me. But I would probably say 55 min studying and 5 min break (for the random times I accidentally start searching something on my computer and hit Facebook instead haha). If it is something interesting, I will go all 5-6 hours straight with 1-2 10 min breaks. The goal is to try and tell yourself that everything is interesting/important and it helps out a little. I think getting exercise and going to bed at a decent time each night really helps me mentally. I did notice on nights that I didn't go to bed at a decent time, it was a LOT harder for me to focus the next day.
 
TheShaker said:
As rough as I expected, which is pretty ****ing rough. I always felt like I had some slight mental health problems but this year really fleshed them out. I never had such intense suicide ideations before. There was a lot of external pressure for me though.
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I know that feel. Similar thing happened to me by the end of first year too.
I had some minor anxiety issues growing up, but it was never that bad. Med school and some other life stresses outside combined brought it out in the open. Ended up with my doc diagnosing me the summer after M1, and telling me to get help.

Hang in there friend. Hope the summer helps you recover and recharge. Also, counseling is always an option. I ended up getting help and was more used to school and stuff, so second year was far better.
Honestly, I hated first year. It's not even the academics (which are still brutal), it's that you don't know anyone, you're new, you're getting used to everything...and there's a ton of work on top of all that too.
 
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While going through it, some parts were really difficult for me. But looking back at the past year, doesn't seem like it was so bad. Easier than undergrad in some ways. I was involved in a lot of ECs as an undergrad, and that made me feel really stretched thin. Now, I mainly focus on my school work, and feel like I have a lot of free time.
 
tvelocity514 said:
1st year was awesome and I loved learning all these new things. I pretty much just studied 9a-10p every day with a 2 hour break from 3-5 and I did really well. If you have never had immuno before I HIGHLY advise you to actually pre read that wkend before . I never pre read my first year but I wish I had bc I spent the first wk of that module figuring out the basics so I could then study wk 1 stuff. It isn't that bad of a class once you understand what the prof means when he/she says stuff like CD and IL.

It was really stressful and next year I'm not going to try and stay at the top of my class like I did this year. Yes I'm top 10%, but I also just got diagnosed with shingles from too much stress and I'm in my early 20s. Yay me lol. Next year I'm honestly just studying from boards books and hoping to just get a B on all my exams so I don't stress out as much (except when it gets close to boards haha)
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LOL I got shingles too. Stressing out studying for my GI/hepatobiliary final all week and then I noticed the vesicular eruption. Having to deal with the shingles on top of continuing studying definitely helped with the stress.
 
It was incredibly frustrating at times, difficult at others, and fun as well. I was scared at first being non-traditional and having to buckle down and study all this material, but I eventually learned what study strategies worked for me and what didn't. I greatly enjoyed my first year and look forward to what's to come. I am amazed at just how much I was able to learn and really at how well I did in some classes (especially the ones where I initially struggled, like anatomy oh lawd the struggle was real) so I now believe I can handle anything med school throws my way (I hope).
 
SilentSoldier said:
It was incredibly frustrating at times, difficult at others, and fun as well. I was scared at first being non-traditional and having to buckle down and study all this material, but I eventually learned what study strategies worked for me and what didn't. I greatly enjoyed my first year and look forward to what's to come. I am amazed at just how much I was able to learn and really at how well I did in some classes (especially the ones where I initially struggled, like anatomy oh lawd the struggle was real) so I now believe I can handle anything med school throws my way (I hope).
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The struggle is real is probably the best tagline for med school I can think of haha.

For real tho I had a similar anatomy experience. Just totally screwed up the beginning but came around and did fine at the end.
 
I thought M1 year as a whole was much harder than undergrad. I honestly think it is the equivalent of taking a 35-40 unit courseload/semester. I feel like I study 2-3x as much in medical school. I will say that medical school exams are MUCH easier than undergrad. They're all multiple choice and the questions aren't too crazy. I think it is because they use volume and detail as a way to separate out students, whereas in undergrad, our exams had much more difficult fill in the blank type questions. Overall, I love medical school. Its tedious at times, but I'm having a blast. I love my class, everythings great!
 
Yadster101 said:
So how'd first year go compared to your expectations? Was it harder or easier than you thought it would be?
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It wasn't that bad. I know board scores count way more than first year grades so my grades reflected that attitude. I made As and Bs first semester but didn't fair so well when it came to the two organ system blocks. I will double my efforts next year , knowing that I passed each exam last year by studying 5 days before the test.
 
Yadster101 said:
So how'd first year go compared to your expectations? Was it harder or easier than you thought it would be?
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Still going.

About what I expected. A bit long maybe, we started in early August and go to the end of June.
 
It was great. I discovered that going to class wasn't for me after the first week of classes. I am definitely an independent learner so this left a lot of free time for "life".
 
Anatomy was a living, breathing nightmare in hell. Then it got better but was pretty tough. Neuro was a lot of work, but I didn't think it was hard at all. Toward the end when we stopped having to deal with OMM life became great, so be grateful MDs. OMM is weekly punishment for not doing better in undergrad.
 
AlbinoHawk DO said:
Anatomy was a living, breathing nightmare in hell. Then it got better but was pretty tough. Neuro was a lot of work, but I didn't think it was hard at all. Toward the end when we stopped having to deal with OMM life became great, so be grateful MDs. OMM is weekly punishment for not doing better in undergrad.
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Is OMM that bad? lol I applied to both programs and actually only got accepted at MD schools, but here I thought I was missing out 😉
 
I second @AlbinoHawk DO , med school became significantly more manageable after we got done with OMM.

With that said, first year wasn't nearly as life consuming as I had anticipated. It's tons of work I'm feeling the burn out now that we are a week from finishing first year. However it is very doable. I'm anticipating that next year, and especially the second semester, to be hell because we will be preparing for boards. I would love to be "disappointed" again.
 
LilEngineThatCould said:
Is OMM that bad? lol I applied to both programs and actually only got accepted at MD schools, but here I thought I was missing out 😉
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If you are like most of DO students who care about becoming physicians more than becoming osteopathic physicians, then you are not missing out on anything. Be glad that you have one less thing to worry about.
 
Dr Sosa said:
It wasn't that bad. I know board scores count way more than first year grades so my grades reflected that attitude. I made As and Bs first semester but didn't fair so well when it came to the two organ system blocks. I will double my efforts next year , knowing that I passed each exam last year by studying 5 days before the test.
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We need to start attaching our class rank as of MS1 to our comments about how MS1 was.

The people at the bottom of my class didn't think first year was that hard at all.
 
Anicetus said:
We need to start attaching our class rank as of MS1 to our comments about how MS1 was.

The people at the bottom of my class didn't think first year was that hard at all.
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Lots of schools don't rank during the preclinical years.


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The above is true. however, i know the median, mean, passing grade, and absolute minimum percentage who should achieve honors. Given this, I can estimate where I stand.
 
Tri723 said:
The above is true. however, i know the median, mean, passing grade, and absolute minimum percentage who should achieve honors. Given this, I can estimate where I stand.
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You realize this will make zero difference at a P/F school. Do enough to pass your classes and focus on learning for the boards. Your rank will be determined by getting honors in third year. The only real obstacle is crushing step 1.


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drjay16 said:
You realize this will make zero difference at a P/F school. Do enough to pass your classes and focus on learning for the boards. Your rank will be determined by getting honors in third year. The only real obstacle is crushing step 1.


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Easy, he's just trying to stroke his ego to make himself feel better lol
 
charmiedermie said:
Actually very few schools don't rank during the preclinical years.
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Lots of top schools don't and many even if they do rank and do P/F it holds much less weight is sometimes only used for AOA. I can name at least 15 schools that I know that don't use it for rank and are true P/F. Given that I didn't interview at every US MD school when I applied


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drjay16 said:
Lots of top schools don't and many even if they do rank and do P/F it holds much less weight is sometimes only used for AOA. I can name at least 15 schools that I know that don't use it for rank and are true P/F. Given that I didn't interview at every US MD school when I applied


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Yeah, only the top medical schools, which isn't most schools, and preclinical grading goes toward AOA and class rank. It's not a choice.
 
charmiedermie said:
Yeah, only the top medical schools, which isn't most schools, and preclinical grading goes toward AOA and class rank. It's not a choice.
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I was referring to schools that use a P/F system in preclinical years but still hold record of your scores like (NYU)


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My point was that if you go to a P/F school your preclinical grades won't matter much.


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How does ranking work? I'm going to a hp/p/f school for preclinical and I'm guessing the normal grading scheme for clinical.
 
drjay16 said:
My point was that if you go to a P/F school your preclinical grades won't matter much.


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At a school like NYU that still keeps internal grades, it matters.
 
charmiedermie said:
So then it really isn't P/F, is it?
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it somewhat is because if you aren't in the top 10 percent than it makes no difference if you are bottom 10 or top 20. They are more the exception than the rule. I only know this from some fourth years there.


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Idk how many of the P/F schools keep internal ranking from the preclinical years. My school is true P/F.


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I've found that a lot of the things people say don't always hold true. In addition to the whole "grades during first 2 yrs don't count for anything" that is being discussed above I also found that the saying "it doesn't matter where you go to medical school" is also wrong. I'm finding in elite fields/programs there is some preference for top tier schools. Also, if you are not from a top tier school, I am also finding a bias against matching those out of the top tier.

In the end, you can still match, but it helps to be at a higher-up school.
 
Tri723 said:
I've found that a lot of the things people say don't always hold true. In addition to the whole "grades during first 2 yrs don't count for anything" that is being discussed above I also found that the saying "it doesn't matter where you go to medical school" is also wrong. I'm finding in elite fields/programs there is some preference for top tier schools. Also, if you are not from a top tier school, I am also finding a bias against matching those out of the top tier.

In the end, you can still match, but it helps to be at a higher-up school.
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Don't worry, it doesn't stop them from continuing to say it again and again. Preclinical grades don't matter, no one reads the MSPE, the MSPE adjective doesn't matter, etc. Just Step 1. That's it, just Step 1.
 
drjay16 said:
I never said they didn't keep internal grades? I just said they didn't use it like at a not P/F school.


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The only difference between your example and a non-P/F school is how it looks on a transcript.
 
Ibn Alnafis MD said:
If you are like most of DO students who care about becoming physicians more than becoming osteopathic physicians, then you are not missing out on anything. Be glad that you have one less thing to worry about.
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Lol I will def keep that in mind! I thought OMM was cool, but not absolutely necessary.
 
Does anyone else agree with me in that you would compare first year of medical school to a 35-40 units semester/quarter?
 
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Honestly, I worked for 3 years before coming to med school and to some degree first year has been easier than that. Also, in terms of the 4 blocks we've completed, I've received honors in each one so its not that I'm just squeaking by.. FWIW I'd estimate I'm in the top 20%.

Med school has definitely been time consuming, but the material is not that difficult (its really just the volume) and its pretty basic stuff and the faculty spoon feed it to the students. The actual test questions seem pretty easy compared to what I saw in undergrad and again its mainly the volume of material and the pace (the fact that there is basically new material every day) that makes it difficult

I also found that its not extremely difficult to find time for other things.. like I know people have time to go out, I easily have time to go to the gym, I've biked and gone on other trips. So basically, not too bad.
 
FindMeOnTheLinks said:
Do you guys think it would be reasonable to carve out 2 hrs, twice a week to play golf during first year? My family keeps telling me that I won't have time to do anything but study but it's not like they went to medical school so how would they know..
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easily. read above.

seriously, med school is not that hard, except med students always feel the need to have the fact that they're in med school define who they are and constantly talk about how hard it is and how much work it is. Thats why its so much nicer to hang out with people outside of med school who don't give a rats ass about what you're doing or whatever.
 
masaraksh said:
easily. read above.

seriously, med school is not that hard, except med students always feel the need to have the fact that they're in med school define who they are and constantly talk about how hard it is and how much work it is. Thats why its so much nicer to hang out with people outside of med school who don't give a rats ass about what you're doing or whatever.
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Speak for yourself, genius!
 
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