John,
Sorry I didnt get back to you sooner, but Ill try and run down my first semester classes here, hopefully itll be helpful.
Physiology - Easy class, probably going to be your easiest class first semester. It was at 8 a.m. mon-fri so I didnt go that often. Just read the book, learn the material, and youll do well. Only buy the book if you dont plan on going to class.
Anatomy I got owned on the first exam (practical and written) because I went to a wedding out of town the weekend before the exam which was on Monday
whoops. But damn, was it an awesome wedding 😉 After that I got on it and, kicked ass. Study hard for anatomy, its the hardest first year class, by far. Dont get behind or youll be screwed. I suggest buying the Netters atlas and the text is helpful if you like to read. The board review book is very good, too, and is much cheaper than the recommended text. Use the note co-ops for this class, they were very helpful when I studied.
Histology Not too bad of a class, well taught, and straight forward. Our class finally figured out at the end of the semester that we could take pictures of the chotochromes that the profs showed during the review sessions (exactly the same ones they tested us on), and that was very helpful. The book was ok, but isnt that helpful. I would suggest buying the Oral Histo book, though, it is good.
Micro Micro was a lot harder than people thought it would be. The first exam was exactly like the old ones, but then a bunch of do-gooder d-bags in our class complained and they started to write new questions from there on out. Study hard for the second and third exams, and just memorizes everything that they fly through, especially immunology.
Biology of Human Dentition (BHD) - Not bad at all, work hard on your carvings and use the professors. I never really asked questions, but did well. Some people are going to be naturally more gifted at carving teeth out of wax blocks, but I just keep practicing and got much, much better towards the end of the year. Dr. Kolar is an awesome guy, and is a pretty descent lecturer.
Comprehensive Care This was a super easy class, and I did well by just going. BUT, they changed everything around this semester for us, so it looks like its going to be a llittle harder. Were starting operative and radiology this semester, so Im assuming that it will be a lot different for your class. Just show up and do the work, and you should be fine.
Overall the first semester wasnt horrible (second semester is going to suck, 25 credit hours). Stay on top of your stuff and dont be a huge anal gunner. Most of the kids in my class who started out hardcore didnt do as well as they thought they would
and ended up getting pretty burnt out. I was pretty laid back about everything, but studied hard on Mon-Fri, went out most Fridays and Saturdays, and studied hard on Sundays, and did well. I dont want to specialize, but I can assure you that your class will be super competitive. The school overall is very disorganized, but I could care less. I taught myself a lot of stuff throughout the semester and met some awesome people, so I cant complain too much. I have a few friends at other schools, and they seem to be much more organized and with-it, so to speak, but they dont get to live in Chicago, so its a trade off. Let me know if I can do anything for you, and enjoy your last few months of freedom.
is it more of the same this year, I thought peoria headed the list in step board scores, are the curriculums different on the 3 campuses???? Man thats gonna blow but we shall see! thanx for the heads up; good luck on the rest of ur ****!
