Texas A&M

[lollipop9902]

Does anyone know when they will start calling people off the waiting list?

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[y0mama]

Does anyone know when they will start calling people off the waiting list?

I'm guessing April 16. The letter I got said your deposit had to be received by the 15th.

I talked to Dr. Robertson, and he said a pre-orientation would be in June sometime. He said orientation would be early-mid August. He said he'd send a bunch of information sometime after the 15th.

 

[pharm B]

I know P2's go off-site for their IPPE hours on Mondays. The P1 curriculum has 1 hour of IPPE. What does that consist of?

 

[XeroSkills]

I know P2's go off-site for their IPPE hours on Mondays. The P1 curriculum has 1 hour of IPPE. What does that consist of?

pack a snack cuz you'll be driving far (1-2 hrs usually for most students?)
unless youre extremely lucky, you and almost everyone else will have sites out of kingsville;
that was one of the primary reasons why i turned down my acceptance; it would just be too strenuous to have to do that every week for at least 3 years; so assuming you begin early mornings, you'll have to wake up pretty early; get off late and then you get to see the sun set on the way home; i need my sleep

 

[pharm B]

pack a snack cuz you'll be driving far (1-2 hrs usually for most students?)
unless youre extremely lucky, you and almost everyone else will have sites out of kingsville;
that was one of the primary reasons why i turned down my acceptance; it would just be too strenuous to have to do that every week for at least 3 years; so assuming you begin early mornings, you'll have to wake up pretty early; get off late and then you get to see the sun set on the way home; i need my sleep

I thought that started 2nd year. Ah well, I guess we'll all find out during orientation. Anyone else excited about starting in the Fall?

 

[talkingdonkey]

pack a snack cuz you'll be driving far (1-2 hrs usually for most students?)
unless youre extremely lucky, you and almost everyone else will have sites out of kingsville;
that was one of the primary reasons why i turned down my acceptance; it would just be too strenuous to have to do that every week for at least 3 years; so assuming you begin early mornings, you'll have to wake up pretty early; get off late and then you get to see the sun set on the way home; i need my sleep

Actually that is not correct. Only during the P2 year do we do an off-site IPPE every Monday, and it is actually 11 weeks each semester (93.5 Pharmacist Intern Hours added into the P4 year). The P1 IPPE hours consist of mostly service learning/community service ~25 - 30 hours worth divided up between the 2 semesters. P2's do another 25 hours of community service. P3's just help out where they can, and P4's are too busy. Good planning and the sacrifice of a little sleep make getting everything in possible. I remember the P1's also learning patient counseling, phone transfers and prescription taking, OTC diagnositic tests and other very introductory material. Do not let the 1 credit hour fool you, there is still plenty of work to do.

The P1 curriculum has 1 hour of IPPE. What does that consist of

And of course you will see when you get there.

 

[ShadowRX]

pack a snack cuz you'll be driving far (1-2 hrs usually for most students?)
unless youre extremely lucky, you and almost everyone else will have sites out of kingsville;
that was one of the primary reasons why i turned down my acceptance; it would just be too strenuous to have to do that every week for at least 3 years; so assuming you begin early mornings, you'll have to wake up pretty early; get off late and then you get to see the sun set on the way home; i need my sleep

Well, for the ones that have no choice this year but to go to A&M... we want to know.

Good job that you got in somewhere else, but if you got any positives to share, please feel free to let us know.

 

[pharm B]

It looks like it's as described above. I think IPPE for P1's involves community service, etc.

Shadow, are you committed to A&M now?

 

[ShadowRX]

It looks like it's as described above. I think IPPE for P1's involves community service, etc.

Shadow, are you committed to A&M now?

Yessir.

 

[pharm B]

Yessir.

Good deal. See you at orientation.

 

[1pharmdplz]

Does someone who hasn't given up facebook to focus on their exams want to make a "Texas A&M Health Science Center - Rangel College of Pharmacy - Class of 2014" facebook group?

You know, to maybe find your future roomies that you'll end up hating? kidding of course.

 

[ShadowRX]

Does someone who hasn't given up facebook to focus on their exams want to make a "Texas A&M Health Science Center - Rangel College of Pharmacy - Class of 2014" facebook group?

You know, to maybe find your future roomies that you'll end up hating? kidding of course.

Made it: http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/group.php?v=info&ref=ts&gid=112683645426056

I'm James, btw. I myself will be looking for an apartment... if not, I'm free to be a roomie @ Javelina Station with y'all.

EDIT: Ok, now I know Javelina Station is an apt complex...

 

[Garfield3d]

Last year they gave out an optional summer assignment about the top 200 drugs. Do they provide their version of the list?

Hopefully someone else can provide more info on this, but I don't know if they provide the list or if you have to seek it out yourself. While you can always try to Google the list, there doesn't seem to be one authoritative list that everyone instantly cites as "the" list to follow.

Personally, I didn't even go to the pre-orientation during the summer, and so I had no idea that we even had this optional assignment, and... I'd like to think I turned out okay. I had a summer research program that I couldn't break out of, so I e-mailed Dr. Robertson to be excepted from that.

Hi I just into the A&M COP and found this post while searching for info

I had a few questions about living there
Is Javelina Station the main location for good furnished apartments for COP students?
What other furnished or non-furnished apartments can you recommend?

When it comes to furnished apartments, Javelina Station is the only apartment to go to. It's literally next to campus (probably about a 7-10 minute walk from the pharmacy building), so it's probably the most convenient location of all the apartments to live at. The apartments themselves are a bit on the small side, but the entire complex is new (maybe... 5 years old?) and the inside of the apartments are still pretty clean and white in color. The internet isn't the greatest, nor is it terribly quick, but at least it's functional (and it's a million times better than what it was in the previous year); it's still good enough to watch Youtube if you're waiting to give it a half minute to buffer.

My main gripes against Javelina Station is that it's a bit pricey (it'll be about $570 per person per month for a 2 bedroom / 2 bathroom apartment), and the internet could be better. But, as someone who didn't want to move furniture down here, Javelina Station is the only option.

If you don't mind moving down some furniture, then your options widen a lot. I don't know if I can list all of them, but off the top of my head, there's Hawk's Landing, Apple Creek, University Squares, and King's Crossing. Keep in mind, none of these places are furnished, but it's certainly cheaper than Javelina Station. Most of these locations are about 4-6 miles away from campus, so it's not as conveniently located as Javelina Station. I would like to point out, though, that while University Squares is next to campus, the quality of the establishment... uh, "varies." I'll just leave that open for interpretation.

At my interview a P3 stated that alot of the COP students do live in Javalina Station.

On my acceptance letter it was stated that my acceptance was contingent on two things. Completion of pre-pharmacy coursework and maintaining or improving my GPA in pre-pharmacy coursework. Does anyone know how strict they are on maintaining or improving your GPA or what the cutoff is? Would a few C's cancel my admission to the program?

That's odd. I suppose I've never read my acceptance letter too closely. Most colleges say that your acceptance is contingent upon you passing your classes, so I think you will be okay if you strings a line of C's until the end of the semester.

Do you have any idea what time P1's get out on a Friday during the first two weeks of classes? I've been invited to attend a conference, but it takes place over a Friday and Saturday.

I can tell you that, depending on your luck, if you had the same schedule that we did... class will end either as early as 11AM or as late as 5PM. During our P1 Fall semester, we had Dean's Hour from 11AM-12PM, which is a block of time that is reserved for guest speakers or special presentations. Lunch runs from 12PM-1PM, and then IPPE runs from 1PM-5PM. Sometimes there will be days where there is nothing scheduled for IPPE, and when IPPE is scheduled, it may only last 1 or 2 hours instead of the full 4 hour block. If things land poorly for you, you can always e-mail the professor for permission to leave early (or, I suppose you could just leave unannounced, but maybe you don't want to roll the dice that early in your academic career....)

Does anyone know when they will start calling people off the waiting list?

Personally, during my application cycle, I remember this happening 3 weeks after the first-round of acceptances. At that point, people on the wait list start receiving phone calls from Dr. Robertson instead of straight e-mails (though you'll still get an e-mail and a snail-mail acceptance letter if you accept).

Actually that is not correct. Only during the P2 year do we do an off-site IPPE every Monday, and it is actually 11 weeks each semester (93.5 Pharmacist Intern Hours added into the P4 year). The P1 IPPE hours consist of mostly service learning/community service ~25 - 30 hours worth divided up between the 2 semesters. P2's do another 25 hours of community service. P3's just help out where they can, and P4's are too busy. Good planning and the sacrifice of a little sleep make getting everything in possible. I remember the P1's also learning patient counseling, phone transfers and prescription taking, OTC diagnositic tests and other very introductory material. Do not let the 1 credit hour fool you, there is still plenty of work to do.

Er, yes, what he said.... Your weekly rotations occur only during the Fall and Spring semester of your P2 year. In your P1 and P3 years, you do not have to perform weekly rotations. You will, however, have to perform required community service. For your P1 year, I think you have to do 15 hours of community service per semester. A lot of student organizations sponsor events (such as patient education classes, BP/Glucose screening, and immunizations during the flu season), and there are stand-by places, such as Family Planning, that you can use to snag a few volunteer hours, so you don't have to worry about seeking out volunteer sites by yourself. For the most part, you just have to keep an eye out during the school
semester and sign up for the school-sponsored activities to get your hours.

Oh, and congrats to Shadow, y0, Dharm P, GoGo, Theta, and PharmGirl on the acceptances! Glad to have you guys on board. I'm going to preemptively strike and say you guys should consider joining your local chapter of SSHP when you get on campus.

--Garfield3d

 

[emogrrrrl]

I know acceptance letters have gone out, but have any rejections gone out the first round? Or is everyone waitlisted?

Em

 

[enchanted]

If you haven't received the letter acceptance letter than you are waitlisted. Texas AM doesn't send out rejection letters until the first day of class. I'm still crossing my fingers for a call from Dr. Robertson.

 

[emogrrrrl]

If you haven't received the letter acceptance letter than you are waitlisted. Texas AM doesn't send out rejection letters until the first day of class. I'm still crossing my fingers for a call from Dr. Robertson.

Are you serious?? I'm not sure what I think about that. If someone was the bottom of the barrel why would you keep them on a waitlist so that by the off chance everyone turns down your school then you end up with them? How often do they notify people off the waitlist?

 

[pharm B]

I wouldn't classify someone as "bottom of the barrel" just because they weren't on the initial acceptance list, which is essentially what you're doing. By "waitlisting" everyone, they essentially give a passive rejection to those people who are at the bottom of the list and a (real) hope of late acceptance to those towards the top. And keep in mind you had to be competitive to even interview. They aren't going to call old Drinky Joe from the street corner and tell him he's in!

 

[pharmfoxx]

I am from Corpus, and I was accepted on the 2nd .

 

[emogrrrrl]

I wouldn't classify someone as "bottom of the barrel" just because they weren't on the initial acceptance list, which is essentially what you're doing. By "waitlisting" everyone, they essentially give a passive rejection to those people who are at the bottom of the list and a (real) hope of late acceptance to those towards the top. And keep in mind you had to be competitive to even interview. They aren't going to call old Drinky Joe from the street corner and tell him he's in!

What I am saying is that, while someone may be qualified on paper, in person they may not be. There are some students who may have fantastic GPA's, PCAT scores, etc, etc, but have no business being in the healthcare profession in general. That is why you have interviews, to weed those people out. Yes, I do believe there are some people who may be considered bottom of the barrel and have no business being in pharmacy school. You are preaching to the choir by telling me how competitive it is to get into pharmacy school.

 

[Garfield3d]

What I am saying is that, while someone may be qualified on paper, in person they may not be. There are some students who may have fantastic GPA's, PCAT scores, etc, etc, but have no business being in the healthcare profession in general. That is why you have interviews, to weed those people out. Yes, I do believe there are some people who may be considered bottom of the barrel and have no business being in pharmacy school. You are preaching to the choir by telling me how competitive it is to get into pharmacy school.

I think you have a misconception of Texas A&M's admissions policy.

Texas A&M isn't waitlisting the grand total of all of the applications that they received for this application cycle. Instead, Texas A&M is waitlisting only the applications that were interviewed.

So, everyone who came in for an interview but who did not receive an invitation earlier this month is technically on the waitlist. The only people still on the waitlist for Texas A&M are people the college has seen "in person." These individuals will never receive a rejection letter. Instead, they will be on a "perpetual" waitlist until the P1 class starts their Fall semester.

Individuals who sent in an application but did not receive an invitation to interview are not considered to be on the waitlist. Hypothetically, I suppose the college could run through the entirety of its interviewed-list and then start to pull non-interviewed people off for an interview, but I don't think this has ever happened. So, for the sake of practicality, people who haven't been interviewed aren't considered to be on the wait list since the college will first go through everyone who has interviewed already.

The call that people are waiting for isn't for an invitation to interview. The "call from Dr. Robertson" that people allude is for people on the waitlist (who have been interviewed). When people are pulled off the waitlist, Dr. Robertson sends them a telephone call first to see if they are still available. This way, the college moves through their wait list more quickly.

I hope this clears up some confusion on the matter.

--Garfield3d

 

[emogrrrrl]

I think you have a misconception of Texas A&M's admissions policy.

Texas A&M isn't waitlisting the grand total of all of the applications that they received for this application cycle. Instead, Texas A&M is waitlisting only the applications that were interviewed.

So, everyone who came in for an interview but who did not receive an invitation earlier this month is technically on the waitlist. The only people still on the waitlist for Texas A&M are people the college has seen "in person." These individuals will never receive a rejection letter. Instead, they will be on a "perpetual" waitlist until the P1 class starts their Fall semester.

Individuals who sent in an application but did not receive an invitation to interview are not considered to be on the waitlist. Hypothetically, I suppose the college could run through the entirety of its interviewed-list and then start to pull non-interviewed people off for an interview, but I don't think this has ever happened. So, for the sake of practicality, people who haven't been interviewed aren't considered to be on the wait list since the college will first go through everyone who has interviewed already.

The call that people are waiting for isn't for an invitation to interview. The "call from Dr. Robertson" that people allude is for people on the waitlist (who have been interviewed). When people are pulled off the waitlist, Dr. Robertson sends them a telephone call first to see if they are still available. This way, the college moves through their wait list more quickly.

I hope this clears up some confusion on the matter.

--Garfield3d

Haha, yeah I did understand that the people on the waitlist were those already interviewed . No confusion there at all. I still think it's odd. But thanks anyways for the clarification.

 

[Angel2003]

UUGGHHH I should of applied to A&M....

 

[pharm B]

What schools did you apply to, again? UIW and U of H?

 

[lollipop9902]

Has anyone received a phone call off the wait list yet?

 

[pharm B]

I'm still waiting to hear back from the school regarding the next step. I assume financial aid and background checks are part of it.

good luck, lolli! I'm curious as to how many spots are left, and I guess we'll find out in the coming weeks/months.

For those that know they're in, join us!
http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#%21/group.php?v=info&ref=ts&gid=112683645426056

 

[ShadowRX]

Yes... my deposit got taken out of my account the day before the deadline, so probably by next week, we'll see some more paperwork.

I'm sure there are a couple spots left, but then again... there's less than 100(?) spots total. Not wanting to put any hopes out, but... yeah, I'll just say that patience is quite a virtue.

Like pharm B, I'll just put this here, like so: http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#%21/group.php?v=info&ref=ts&gid=112683645426056

... for anyone else who is set to jet to K-ville as well. 8)

 

[mrlytran]

nothing yet, Lolli....I wonder if they started yet.

 

[emogrrrrl]

nothing yet, Lolli....I wonder if they started yet.

Apparently they have started notifying people off the waitlist. My friend heard back yesterday. Best of luck

 

[JolPharm]

i just got a phone call from Dr. Robertson at 6pm today! I'm in!!!YAY!!!

 

[barium]

hey everyone! I just got a call too and Im in!
Im so glad and I'll see you guys there!

 

[LSUCPhT]

I got a call from Dr. Roberson today at 6:30! I missed his call, but will return his call!

 

[mrlytran]

I got it also at 4:50pm....I'm so relieved and can't wait to meet all of y'all this fall!

 

[Garfield3d]

Congrats to everyone that got invited off the wait list! It's quite a relief, isn't it?

I remember missing Dr. Robertson's first phone call too (back in the day). I was trying to fit in a nap before going to work, and he called shortly after 5:00PM. I noticed the 361 area code and quickly called back in a tired half-dazed stupor.

--Garfield3d

 

[tweeklulz]

i got waitlisted but i got the call yesterday
this is the only school i got into, it's all good

congrats to all

 

[ShadowRX]

Congrats to y'all who got the call today! Join the club, y'all: http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/group.php?v=info&ref=ts&gid=112683645426056

 

[Pharma4me]

still waiting for a call!!
for those who were in waiting list and just called in....can someone give me info about GPA, PCAT and all?? that will be helpful to see where I m!!
I m getting really nervous now

 

[LSUCPhT]

I am officially part of the Class of 2014! I am still waiting to hear from University of Houston (because I live there and would be a lot easier!), but if I don't I will see all of you in the Fall!!

 

[ShadowRX]

still waiting for a call!!
for those who were in waiting list and just called in....can someone give me info about GPA, PCAT and all?? that will be helpful to see where I m!!
I m getting really nervous now

Pharma4me, mind putting up your stats? Include the amount of volunteer or research work you've done, and if you have, how long you've been a pharm tech.

 

[Garfield3d]

Congrats on getting pulled off the waitlist, LSUCPhT! I know you're still waiting to hear back from the University of Houston, but if you elect to join us in Kingsville, I'll look forward to meeting you in the fall!

Pharma, the waitlist usually runs on for a while, and I would say the class won't be fully rounded out until June (that is just my guesstimate). I can only imagine how anxious things must be on your side, but there's still a lot of time before the door is closed on this.

On a different note:

For everyone joining us in the fall, I thought I'd post a list of the student organizations that everyone can join. Membership in each student organization is optional, and you can certainly go through pharmacy school without ever joining a single-organization. Each organization also has annual membership dues. To avoid looking biased (since I certainly have my favored organizations), I am going to organize the organizations by type and list them in alphabetical order.

Professional Pharmacy Organizations
Each professional organization offers their own "service-learning activities." This is pretty important to students because we are required to perform a certain amount of volunteer hours per semester, and generally the activities sponsored by these organizations count towards the volunteering requirement. It's also a pretty good way to get your feet wet with practical experience. Membership fees generally run from $50-75. If you can spare the money, I would join each organization and see which one you gravitate towards as the year goes on. However, if that sounds like more money than you want to commit, the first meeting of each organization is generally an open meeting, and you can visit those and then try to pick and choose which organization you want to stick with.

APhA-ASP (American Pharmacists Association - Academy of Student Pharmacists)
http://www.pharmacist.com
The distinguishing characteristic of APhA is its legislative involvement. Of the organizations on campus, APhA is the one organization that has a specific purview on pharmacy policy and advocating on both a state and national level. When it comes to service-learning activities, APhA hosts health fair screenings (focusing on blood pressure and glucose) and immunization clinics (particularly during the flu season). They also have periodic events, such as American Pharmacist Month, to promote community awareness of the pharmacy profession. On a national level, in terms of sheer size, APhA is the largest professional pharmaceutical organization.

In general, while APhA has a broad purview, its activities on campus are oriented more towards the community practice of pharmacy. If you have a keen interest in policy decisions and regulatory pharmacy, APhA is that one organization that you want to be in.

SSHP (Student Society of Health-System Pharmacists, the student arm of the American Society of Health System Pharmacists [ASHP] and TSHP)
http://www.ashp.org and http://www.tshp.org
SSHP's dominating focus is in hospital pharmacy (and institutional pharmacies in general) and promoting pharmacy residencies (PGY1 & PGY2). In terms of service-learning, they generally stick to patient-education classes, such as holding 1-2 hour diabetes awareness classes at a local hospital (Christus Spohn). SSHP also has a side-focus on promoting a Clinical Skills Competition (and a Disease State Management competition on the regional level) which is a good way to analyze mock patient profiles and get some practical critical-thinking experience on treating patient cases.

In general, SSHP is the organization that people join if they're thinking of doing a residency after pharmacy school, or if they're interested in pursuing a career in a hospital setting. Residency accreditation runs through ASHP (which is the parent organization of SSHP... although if you want to be really technical, APhA is the parent organization of ASHP....), and the match process by which people are sorted into residency programs is also done through ASHP.

SNPhA (Student National Pharmaceutical Association)
http://www.snpha.org
Much like APhA, SNPhA has a focus towards community practice. For service-learning, SNPhA focuses strictly on coordinating health screenings (blood pressure and blood glucose) and immunization clinics (primarily flu shots) with local pharmacies. SNPhA doesn't have the legislative slant that APhA does, and in principle it's more narrow-focused than APhA, but this also means that they spent more time promoting health screenings and immunization clinics. Similar to SSHP, SNPhA also promotes a Clinical Skills Competition that is slightly different in its format, but similar in its focus on critically analyzing patient cases and patient profiles.


Pharmaceutical Fraternities
These are kinda like your fraternities from undergraduate school with the Rush process and occasionally odd-ball activities. They're probably not as delinquent as what you've seen in undergrad. However, in contrast to the professional organizations, fraternities are more oriented towards camaraderie and networking. I'm not a member of either of these organizations, so I can only provide a brief overview on them. I can't comment much on their specifics. Maybe someone else can provide more insight.

Kappa Psi
http://www.kappapsi.org
Kappa Psi was the first fraternity to be established at our college of pharmacy. They have various volunteer activities that members are expected to aid, but they also seem to have plenty of get-togethers and that sort of thing. At our college, they tend to be the more... um... "gregarious" group.

Phi Delta Chi
http://www.phideltachi.org
Phi Delta Chi was the second fraternity to be established at our college, but they've quickly grown in size. Like Kappa Psi, PDC has their own array of volunteering and get-togethers.


Honor Societies
In contrast to the fraternities and organizations listed above, honor societies are by invitation only. The invitations happen during the P2 year. The activities of the honor societies listed below are more behind-the-scenes, and that is largely due to their smaller size. Also, like fraternities and professional organizations, you have to pay annual dues.

Rho Chi
http://www.rhochi.org
Rho Chi is the academic honor society of the pharmacy world. Students are invited to join Rho Chi in the spring semester of their P2 year. It is comprised of the top 20% of a class. This year the top 18 students of our class (which has 87 students) were invited to join Rho Chi, and each of them had a GPA of at least 3.7 in their first 3 semesters at the school.

Phi Lambda Sigma
http://www.philambdasigma.org
In contrast to Rho Chi, Phi Lambda Sigma is a leadership society. Whereas Rho Chi's members are determined largely by their GPA, Phi Lambda Sigma's members are nominated by other students across the entire class. I'm not completely certain, but I think 10 P2 students and 5 P3 students are inducted into Phi Lambda Sigma at the end of each academic year. The only restricting requirement is that the student must have a minimum GPA of 2.5 (which should hopefully not be a problem, since the graduating minimum GPA is 2.3).

Okay, well, that's it from my side. If anyone has any questions about any student organizations, or anything else, feel free to ask.

--Garfield3d

 

[pharm B]

Thanks for the info, garfield! I know I definitely want to join SSHP when I get there. Related question: have the P4's already secured residencies? How does that process work?

And has anyone heard anything else from the school? I'm anxious to get my financial aid stuff started (gi bill, etc).

 

[Garfield3d]

Thanks for the info, garfield! I know I definitely want to join SSHP when I get there. Related question: have the P4's already secured residencies? How does that process work?

And has anyone heard anything else from the school? I'm anxious to get my financial aid stuff started (gi bill, etc).

I don't know how many P4's elected to go after residencies, but I do know that several people are going for them. Two are going to Scott & White Hospital in Temple, TX, and I know one person is going to a place in Louisiana. I'll keep an ear out and pass on any other places the P4's are going to.

As for the process, well, that's a pretty big can of worms. I'm not sure I fully understand how that works itself, but in short, it's a highly student-driven process that falls upon a student's own initiative.

ASHP has a list of accredited residency programs across the country on their website, and students interested in a residency look through the list to figure out programs that they may be interested in. Alternatively, there is also the ASHP Midyear Meeting that occurs each December with a big big residency showcase for P4s to toss their resumes and CVs around. You interview at various locations that you're interested in, then you have to go through the "match" process where you rate your top 3 preferred locations, and each hospital will also develop their own list of preferences among the students that they interviewed that year. If the hospital's list and your list of preferences don't match, then on Match Day you'll end up with a bunch of bad news and then you'll have to "scramble," which is a process by where you call and fax hospitals who didn't pick up a student. There's one thread on the Pharmacy Residencies and Fellowships forum (http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=711068) about scrambling. It's... eh, pretty nerve-wracking.

We're actually having a Residency Panel this Friday, so if you have any specific questions about the process, or about residencies in general, I can pass that along.

--Garfield3d

 

[barium]

Hi Garfield3d! Thanks so much for all the info you provided!
One more question, I just saw the computer requirement, does everyone get the dell laptop? Its like $1800 or more! Or do all the students must have a PC? I have a macbook from undergrad, and I dont wanna to spend another 1800 bucks......
Thanks so much for your help....

 

[pharm B]

I'm pretty sure I won't be buying any fancy laptop if it runs $1800. I'd just as soon buy a brand new macbook for less than that.

 

[barium]

well thats the price I saw online, I dont know how much discounts we can get from school.....but anyway I'm not ready for a new laptop....I'm just afriad if some softwares cannot be installed on macs...

 

[pharm B]

The e-mail that went out today said we need to have our laptops ready for day 1 of classes. I'm curious about how this whole financial aid thing is going to work. Are they going to give us a hard time if we don't pay tuition initially due to waiting for fin. aid to be distributed in September?

 

[pharm B]

Speaking of that recent email: did current students buy their sphygmomanometer and stethoscope from the SPhA or elsewhere? I'm assuming we don't need to go jumping for the Littman III since even some med students scoff at that thought.

 

[pharm B]

well thats the price I saw online, I dont know how much discounts we can get from school.....but anyway I'm not ready for a new laptop....I'm just afriad if some softwares cannot be installed on macs...

Where did you find the price? The "Click Here" area is just text and not a link.

 

[Garfield3d]

Hi Garfield3d! Thanks so much for all the info you provided!
One more question, I just saw the computer requirement, does everyone get the dell laptop? Its like $1800 or more! Or do all the students must have a PC? I have a macbook from undergrad, and I dont wanna to spend another 1800 bucks......
Thanks so much for your help....

Although students are required to have a laptop, you do not have to purchase it from the school. Honestly, the things that your laptop need to do are rather simple:
1.) Can it open Microsoft Word?
2.) Can it open Microsoft Powerpoint?
3.) Can it open PDF files?
4.) Can you use the internet on it, with and without an ethernet cord?

There's no software that we use that is exclusive to PC's. The only snag that I've run into with Macs is that a lot of hot-keys and options on Microsoft Office are different in Macs, and it's hard for me to work on a group member's computer if it's a Mac. If you're spry with the ins-and-outs of your Mac, though, then you should be fine.

I spent $980 on a new Lenovo T61 two years ago, and by all accounts, it's overpowered for what we do at school. I wouldn't worry about your MacBook too much, unless it's an antique. You're not going to end up doing some sophisticated molecular rendering, QSAR crunching, or ChemSoft modeling.

The e-mail that went out today said we need to have our laptops ready for day 1 of classes. I'm curious about how this whole financial aid thing is going to work. Are they going to give us a hard time if we don't pay tuition initially due to waiting for fin. aid to be distributed in September?

In past semesters, the disbursement date for the FAFSA loans has typically been 1-3 days before the due date. I use an e-Check, so that hasn't been an issue for me. Where did you find out that the disbursement date would be in September?

Generally, they're rather strict on the tuition payment, and if you enter the first day without having paid for your tuition, they will talk to you about that. I'm not sure if people have been able to work something out from here. I've never been in a situation where classes started and I hadn't paid yet.

If you pay the full amount of your tuition before the disbursement date of your loans, then your loan will still get disbursed to the school, but then you will receive a refund check from the school a few weeks afterwards. If you set up a direct deposit account from the school to your bank account, the refund will be direct deposited into your bank account. If you don't set up a direct deposit, then you'll get an e-mail notice to pick up the refund check, which may be in College Station.... In that case, you can just ask them to mail the check to your address.

Speaking of which, even if you don't need financial aid, there's no reason that you shouldn't at least get a subsidized FAFSA loan. At the very least, you can chuck the money into a savings account or buy a Certificate of Deposit, let the interest accrue, and then pay it off immediately after graduation.

--Garfield3d

 

[barium]

pharm B

i looked up on dell's website with the model number in the email...
I havent looked into the fafsa so I dont really know that....but im not gonna buy sphygmomanometer and stethoscope, i'll just use the ones I have....

Garfield3d

thanks soooo much, im pretty sure my macbook can do that><

OH btw,im going to be out of country for the pre-orientation date for family occasions, is that seriously mandatory to attend?

again thanksssssss

 

[Garfield3d]

pharm B

i looked up on dell's website with the model number in the email...
I havent looked into the fafsa so I dont really know that....but im not gonna buy sphygmomanometer and stethoscope, i'll just use the ones I have....

Garfield3d

thanks soooo much, im pretty sure my macbook can do that><

OH btw,im going to be out of country for the pre-orientation date for family occasions, is that seriously mandatory to attend?

again thanksssssss

The sphygmomanometer and stethoscope are used primarily for checking blood pressure. In your P2 year, you'll use them for listening to murmurs and crackles on the heart and lungs, but it's not nearly as exacting as would be needed for a medical student or a cardiology rotation.

As for missing the pre-orientation... try sending Dr. Robertson or Ms. Knudsen an e-mail about your situation. I was stuck in a research program during pre-orientation, and they made an exception in my case. I imagine that if your situation is unavoidable, then they will make an exception for you. As I understand it, though, attendance at pre-orientation has been high.

--Garfield3d