Hi Everyone, I'll be starting my 2nd year at UIC-COM, i m in the chicago M1-M4 track. If anyone has any Q's please feel free to ask me. U'll soon realize that ure seniors are your best source of information.
A couple things i want to say for u guys as u get ready to start skool (orientation) in one month. Orientation week can feel really overwhelming u are meeting all ure classmates and basically put on a happy smiley face from like 8:30am til like 1 or 2 in the morning (if u go to the bars and night activities). But everyone is really anxious and trying to make friends can seem very tedious. Please be assured that as the year goes on u'll make great relationships with people mainly because u'll be with them soooooooo much. U practically live and breathe with ure classmates during the day, and through labs and other such activities u'll truly build bonds. So if u dont have a blast at orientation, don't worry because every1 is really stressed out and anxious at that time anyway. Things will get better in he social realm as time goes on. Also, dress in layers, the orientation rooms were FREEZING last year to the point that many of us (including myself) got a cold from it. Bring a pull over or something. Temperature control at the Chicago site is awful!
2ndly, classes wise, be prepared to really work hard. Personally speaking (not to scare any1), I felt like i was thrown in a moshpit and had to fight my way out. Creepy analogy yes i know, but not every1 will have this same experience. All pre-meds who have gotten in are great students who work hard. Realize that you may at times have to push ureself past what you have in undergrad. It isn't always that the material is difficult it is the sheer volume thrown at you which can be overwhelming. People will consistently tell u to keep up with lecture. This is sometimes very difficult to do. Just do ure best and realize that no matter what 1)u will never know it all and 2) u'll get through it just fine. One class that it's almost integral to stay on top of is Gross Anatomy. Our professor is one of the best and he really wants us to know the in's and out's of the human body. He is allocated two hours to lecture but never finishes before 3 hrs each day, and after lecture we head to lab for the dissections. Advice: Attend lab and lecture! Take good notes in lecture, prepare for lab by reading the manual and having an understanding of where things will be, and review each lecture+lab before the next. The amt of info in this class is insane, and you really should do ure best to stay upto date. Every1 falls behind here n there, yes, but just make sure u are not learning EVERYTHING 2 weeks before the test. Yes 2 weeks to learn everytn without having seen it before in anatomy is NOT enuf. This is generally the tuffest class 1st sem for M1's.
If going to certain classes seems useless DON'T go. It's a waste of time if u arent getting anything out of it and ure better off learning it on ure own. Pick and choose which classes are useful to attend and which are not for u. It's ok to not attend class. I hardly ever skipped class in undergrad, but in med skool, i really had to pick n choose because there is not time for everythin.
And last but not least, DONT STUDY ALL THE TIME! Yes I said it. You must make time to relax and do things u enjoy. Med skool is draining, competitive, and monotonous, but do not lose ure mind. Med skool is the main purpose of ure existence for the next 4 yrs, but its not the ONLY purpose. Take time to go out to eat, spend time with friends/family/bfs/gfs, movies, etc.
Attending UIC has been great! I love the clinical exposure and the fact that no1 holds our hands. We end up being great on the wards and wonderful physicians. Only drawback...the administration is not the most efficient. My experience as with other students has been not the easiest with any of the admin offices. U need to stay on their tail, and take copies of everytn u turn in b/c the chances that they'll lose it and u might need to re-show them stuff is somewhat high!
Hope this helped, again feel free to contact me with any Q's/comments/concerns!
Congrats and I'll meet you all in about a month!
