thanks so much fergustsi! that is really helpful. now i'm definitely going to go back to take a look at it and take into account the colors. so how did you feel about free time first year (if you had any). i guess the common question is...did you have a life? someone told me if you study four hours everyday then you're good, but i just wanted to hear different opinions.
and do you really use all of those books in the book list? i think i remember my student ambassador saying something about the books but i don't remember what....
thanks a bunch, again!
will you have a life...that is probably the most popular question to ask. the answer unfortunately is not set in stone. it depends on you. if you want to be a gunner and #1 in your class then no, you wont have a life. the people at the top of our class basically are extremely disciplined and can be seen studying almost exclusively at all times of the day (we have probably about 35-40 people whose cumulative gpa right is above 93% or so)if you wanna be middle of the pack or ranking isnt that important to you, then 4 hours a day is plenty. you can probably skate by on even less. but just remember, its not just about passing the classes (of which about 10% of your class will fail 1st year) its also about learning because come second year, when youre prepping for the comlex and usmle, that is when itll make a difference between refreshing your memory and having to learn something new because you initially just memorized it.
the books. i honestly used every single book i bought EXCEPT two or three. those are, patient centered interviewing. youll get a few ppts and lectures about this and have several role playing exercises so its really a useless read. Osteopathic principles in practice and Foundations of Osteopathic medicine. both of these books will have assigned readings from it, both books are very dry and quite large. i read one two page assignment out of one of those books. oh, i just remember the pharma book sucks. its just bad. buy something else. BRS pharma, Lippincott illustrated pharma (top choice probably). all the physiology books are excellent except gi phys which is mediocre. i would buy thieme anatomy series (3 books) vs netters. its a heck lot more expensive but the difference is amazing (computer drawn images vs hand drawn). go to a store and look at the difference between those anatomy books.
Sadly, the booklist is incomplete. there are other books which arent required but you basically need to have.
First Aid for USMLE step 1 current edition (2009 just came out)
Kimberly manual of omm techniques
Robbins review of pathology (robbins pathology question book is a MUST HAVE)
Pocket robbins pathology (referred to as baby robbins is a great condensed version of big robbins and great for reviewing)
These last two books you will use sporadically at first and more and more as you go on, until itll basically be your sole source in second year.
BRS review series books are good and can help you point out what is really a must know and they make them for all subjects. anatomy, physiology, etc.
So now that i have scared you with even more books. the good news is you dont need them all at the same time.
half the books you wont use until second semester so you can use your second financial aid disbursement to cover that.
also, first years usually sell their used books to incoming class for about half price. act fast, if you see someone selling them though, because the supply wont be as great as the demand.
And lastly, you dont need to buy the books. i know some people who bought just the anatomy book and nothing else. they studied of ppt and their additional notes and they did fine. for my case, i find ppts to succint and need more detail in order to make things stick. i cant just memorize a bunch of slides, so hence why i read the books too. youll see what works for you, it took me all of first semester to find my groove and realize i needed to do the readings.
As for me, I found time to have a life in between all of this. found my girlfriend in school the first week in classes and are still dating. several people have gotten engaged, a few married, some kids born, several inter med school relationships started/ended and yes even some unfortunate divorces. Youll have plenty of opportunites to go out drinking and partying (responsibly of course which is only after exams and in between course changes). youll have a blast. TCOM is a great school with a real family attitude. I love it here, but i also cant wait to be booted out to hospital rotations in 5 months
😛
One more note, at first, time seems to drag on and it seems like youll never end. but take things one week at a time and before you know it your first semester/year/second year are over. it really feels like i just got here just a few months ago and not 18.
Congrats again to all joining our family, and to those who havent heard or are wait listed, keep up your faith. My friend got waitlisted and got the call for a spot 12 days before the start of orientation. so late acceptance calls do happen.
Feel free to respond with any other questions or concerns you guys might have and ill try to answer them as best as i can.
). And uh, thanks for the congratulations Teacher & Flu...again. 😛 I interviewed at TCOM on October 30th.
Sorry for forgetting.
