Hi! I'll be an MS-II at UNECOM this fall, so I thought I'd throw my two cents in on all this. I'm not from Maine, but I lived out here for almost a year before school started, during which time I moved three times (and almost bought a house).
On the D.O. letter: NOT required, I don't even know what difference it makes, I got in without one and so did alot of people in my class. If you already know one, great, but if you don't, how good of a letter can someone write who hardly knows you anyway? I doubt a lukewarm D.O. letter would be a plus in your file just because it's a "D.O" letter.
On Beach housing: it's usually seasonal (Labor Day to memorial Day). Good luck finding something that lets you stay year-round. It happens, rarely. Many of my classmates who live on the beach had to live in B&B's, etc. until their place opened up.
On HEAT: My classmate wasn't kidding - alot of the beach places are either not heated or poorly heated. Since it will be cold most of the time you are here, make heat a #1 issue when looking at houses. Some places are heated, but super drafty and you'll kill your bank account buying oil, even with plastic over the windows and the whole winter prep shabang.
On Mailings: Pretty soon, you'll get tons of mailings with things that (supposedly) need to be bought/filled out/etc. I think we started getting junk in mid-June. If you don't get anything by then, call the GMSA office. The most important mailings are the financial aid and the TB test/shots records.
On buying things: from the first mailing to the end of your first year, you'll be bothered to buy things, and you don't need half the crap. Here's my opinion on it all:
Medical equipment: Buy the required stuff and nothing more. You don't need the expensive oto/ophthalmoscope. I bought a mid-priced stethoscope but haven't noticed a difference between mine and my classmates, cheap or expensive. My BP cuff is made of this plastic material, and it is uncomfortable because of this. If there's a cloth one, I'd get that. I bought the bag from SOIMA (a club here - you'll get a mailing with tons of crap being sold by clubs). It's a nice bag, but now that I've spiffed out my medical bag (I have first aid stuff, an ear thermometer, etc. in it now), there's not enough room for all my stuff. If you plan on stocking your bag, you may want to get a bigger bag from somewhere else. Also, I went nuts over how we got to pick our own colors, got all creative and bought a burgundy bag, and it looks ******ed and unprofessional when I'm in my preceptorship gear (you go to doc's offices about once a month your first year). I wish I'd bought a better bag.
Books: You'll have tons of MS-IIs trying to sell you books. Most of the people this year were selling stupid books that they never even used themselves. Some classes you can get by without ANY book, so before you start buying books, consult with a second year who ISN'T selling books about whether or not it's necessary. As for the "Required" books - we (the MS-IIs) made this survey packet on all the classes you will be taking, with our tips on how to study, what books are best, etc. You'll get that within the first week. Buy your Grant's Dissector, and wait for that survey before buying any other books. Also, last year AMSA gave out a free Netter's Atlas for signing up. So wait on buying that too.
On buying a house - Houses are ridiculously overpriced in southern Maine. I looked for a house to buy (Portland, S. Portland,Gorham, Westbrook, Biddeford, Scarborough, Saco, Cape Elizabeth, Kennebunk, Falmouth - everywhere!) and there were two main problems: 1) very low vacancy rate around here, so not much choice - therefore, overpriced. 2) Only ~25 rotations for 3rd year are in Maine, so if you buy a house, chances are you'll be selling it within two years. Biddeford is considered a trashy area (in-town Biddeford, not the Pool, which is where the school is) by most of the state and houses around here are harder to sell, even with the low supply.
On apartments: Try <a href="http://www.mainetoday.com" target="_blank">www.mainetoday.com</a> and <a href="http://www.journaltribune.com" target="_blank">www.journaltribune.com</a> as well as the UNE housing website. That should be a good start. Also, email
[email protected] and
[email protected] and ask my classmates if they know of any places that are opening up.
Buy the gloves. (an echo)
You don't need the clogs (but they're comfortable). (another echo)
I bought two pairs of the glasses the EM Club was selling, and couldn't wear then because they don't fit over my regular glasses. Think about that when buying goggles/glasses for anatomy lab.
Scrubs: Gank some scrubs from the healthcare place you work at (or have a friend who works at such a place get some). The ones we sell are pretty expensive. I bought one pair to help out the club selling them, and to have some with the school logo on them, but I didn't wear them to anatomy lab. You'll end up burning the crap you wear in there anyway.
Checking out houses: I live here, and will be around Biddeford all summer. If you get an address of a place, I'll be happy to whiz by with my digital camera and email you a picture or two. I'll leave my email address at the end of this message.
Any other questions: PM me or email me. I'm happy to help anyone interested in coming here. I love it here, and have no regrets about choosing UNE.
Doc Oc
[email protected]
UNECOM Class of 2005
