Urbana-Champaign Questions

[ayo302]

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1.) how necessary is a car during m1? i'll be living on campus and am trying to justify paying $300 for parking.. will public transportation be enough to get me around town for the usual necessities?

2.) any recommendations for cellular service? i've heard that a lot of providers have terrible reception in the area... which carrier would give me the best reception on campus?

3.) which is better: bank one or national city?

other suggestions/advice would be greatly appreciated

thanks

 

[Aziandr3am]

Hi! I'm going to be a M1 too. I went to undergrad at U of I in Urbana-Champaign and didn't have a car there for the entire four years. It was survivable, but it was a real pain not having one (especially during the winters). Having a car will really save you time when you need to go to off-campus places because the bus takes forever just to get to the grocery store.

If you're interested, here's a summary of what it took to just go grocery shopping from my apartment (which was on campus). Take a bus to the bus stop where you can transfer to a bus that will take you to Market Place. Wait there for the next bus (anywhere between 0-30 minutes). Take a nice 30-40 minute trip to Meijer. Get off the bus, walk to Meijer from bus stop. Shop for groceries. Try to get as light and compact stuff as possible because you're going to have to carry everything back onto the bus. Buy your stuff, smush as many things you can in your backpack and then hand-carry the rest. Walk to the bus stop. Wait for the bus. Another 30-40 minute trip back to campus (pray that there will be seats open to sit, otherwise you'll be standing for awhile knocking people over with your over-stuffed backpack). Depending on the bus, sometimes you have to transfer buses at the Illini Terminal...in which case, then you'd have to wait even more for the transfer bus to come. Get off bus at transfer bus stop to wait for the other bus that can take you home. Total hours passed to go grocery shopping without a car...on average about 3-4 hours. Now, if you can find someone that won't mind driving you to the store once in awhile, then all problems are solved. Sorry if that went on a little long...I think it's some residual bitter hostility from having to go through torture just to get some groceries.

The bus system there is actually really good and is a great way for transportation for on and off campus locations. It's best to use the bus when you're staying on-campus because finding decent parking without being ticketed by the parking Nazis is quite a challenge. So if I were you, I'd bring a car because relying solely on the bus, which I had to do four years, was really inconvenient time-wise.

Cell phones work fine in U-C as far as my experience goes. I used a cell phone there for all four years, and so did most of my friends. I never ran into problems with connection except for in some lecture halls.

And as for banks, either one is fine in my opinion. (I personally like Bank One though).

Well, I hope this helps you out! 🙂

 

[ayo302]

thank you so much for your reply, Aziandr3am!

i will definitely be shelling out for parking then..

one more thing, though.. can you suggest a specific cellular service provider? do you happen to know how good t-mobile or sprint reception is in the area?

really appreciate it.. thanks again

 

[Aziandr3am]

Hi again!

I used Verizon Wireless, which worked really well and I never had any problems. Some of my friends who used Sprint got reception fine, but whenever I would talk to them it would sometimes sound fuzzy. I can't say for sure about T-Mobile because I don't think anyone I knew used that service provider? A lot of students used Sprint, US Cellular, and Cingular I think. Those probably have the best deals and good service. Verizon Wireless is sometimes a little more on the steeper side, but the service is really good and get really good reception depending on what type of phone you have. But Sprint will work just fine too.

By the way, just in case you were interested... Dr. Els is a phenomenal professor. I had him for physiology (cardio/renal/respiratory) during undergrad, but he also teaches the medical students there and he is just absolutely great! I loved him! Dr. Salyers, who teaches Microbiology, is also really really good. Dr. Kemper, who teaches pharmacology is pretty tough I heard. I think it's just his class that's tough and not actually him. (Although I never had him for a professor). I had his wife for endocrinology and she told me that his class is pretty hard in the sense that it's purely memorization and tons of it. But if you're really good at memorization, you'll be just fine. I think you're going to be really pleased with the faculty there if you haven't already met some them.


Okay well enough rambling, let me know if you have any more other questions and I'll be more than happy to help you out. 🙂

 

[ayo302]

wow.. thanks so much.. i've been really nervous about moving to U-C and especially about starting classes, since i really didn't know what to expect at all.. it seems like there aren't very many urbana-champaigners on sdn, so i really appreciate that you took time to shed a little light on things.. 🙂

just one more month of freedom 😛

 

[skiz knot]

I'll be in Urbana/Champaign next year too! There are hardly any UIC students at all on SDN. It kinda sucks. I tried to start a UIC-non chicago thread in pre allo two days ago, but it died quickly🙁

 

[edgesofsanity]

1.) how necessary is a car during m1? i'll be living on campus and am trying to justify paying $300 for parking.. will public transportation be enough to get me around town for the usual necessities?

2.) any recommendations for cellular service? i've heard that a lot of providers have terrible reception in the area... which carrier would give me the best reception on campus?

3.) which is better: bank one or national city?

other suggestions/advice would be greatly appreciated

thanks

Having just finished my M1 year down here at UIUC, I'll take a stab at these.

1.) A lot of it depends on your tolerance for waiting, but for downstate the public transportation here is terrific. The major bus lines come by every half hour, and you can flag them down from any street corner on their route. I have a car, so I can't speak to the difficulties of grocery shopping without one. I know the Orange line goes around Meijer's where I do my shopping. However, trips to and from school are simple. If you would like to see the bus routes, visit http://www.cumtd.com for more details.

If you don't want to pay for parking, you may be able to find a nearby residential area to stash your car. However, you have to move it every 3 days or else face getting an abandoned vehicle ticket. CU police are notorious for their parking enforcement rules - this goes for the meters in front of the school as well.

Finally, CU is a very bike friendly town. Not only are there paths in the heart of campus, but the drivers are very courteous.

2.) A number of providers supposedly cover the area, but the only consistently happy customers I've run into were the Sprint ones. However, keep an eye on which campus you'll be moving to in the fall. I have used US Cellular this past year, and it occasionally goes into roaming even though I'm on campus proper. However, I have never been charged roaming bills (US Cellular rents out space from Verizon so that they can have coverage over all of CU, as their tower west of here isn't able to quite cover the town), and as I'm moving to Peoria next month the service looks to be a lot better.

3.) I can't speak for Bank One, but I have had no problems with National City. It's been a snap to withdraw money from the ATMs too. I believe the nearby Student Union has ATMs for both services. My favorite ATM is located right next to the Campustown bar area. I haven't found one near the downtown bars though.

 

[skiz knot]

Hey, edgeofsanity,

Do you have M1 books to sell? Or what ones are necessary to buy, which can be skipped?

 

[ayo302]

thanks so much edgesofsanity...

i don't have much patience in terms of waiting for public transportation, so i think i'll just give in and pay for parking..

and i think i'm gonna go for sprint, since it looks like it has the best deals that i've come across so far..

i'm also on the peoria track, so i'll probably have similar 'settling in' questions next year 🙂



i'm with you skiz knot.. advice on books would be nice, too..

 

[skiz knot]

thanks so much edgesofsanity...

i don't have much patience in terms of waiting for public transportation, so i think i'll just give in and pay for parking..

and i think i'm gonna go for sprint, since it looks like it has the best deals that i've come across so far..

i'm also on the peoria track, so i'll probably have similar 'settling in' questions next year 🙂



i'm with you skiz knot.. advice on books would be nice, too..

When I was down looking for a place to live (and most of the other times I was down there) I had really strong reception with T-mobile. The most recent time I was there I probably placed 75 calls to different apartment rental places and ads in the paper and had no probs (maybe one or two dropped, but better then chicago).

P.S. I'm Peoria track too🙂

 

[ayo302]

i wish i would have read that post before i went cell phone shopping today.. i had my eye on a tmobile phone with a ridiculous rebate on amazon, but since i've heard not so great things about reception, i signed a contract with verizon instead.. oh well, at least the phone was free...

i thought about getting an apartment, but since i'll only be in urbana for 9 months, i didn't feel like having to deal with a lease, or buying furniture for that matter.. hope you found a decent place to stay

... 4 more weeks!

 

[dcpark74]

Hey, edgeofsanity,

Do you have M1 books to sell? Or what ones are necessary to buy, which can be skipped?

Most classes use curriculum notes:

-Buy the micro curriculum...all material tested comes from this.
-I think you'll have a new physiology professor for most of the year (we had 3 last year...Best, Els, Katzenellenbogen (sp?)-but we used Rhoades and Tanner (all material tested came from powerpoint (ppt) lecture notes though)
-Unfortunately you'll have a different medical genetics professor...we had a good one last year (all material came from a curriculum)
-Behavioral Science (powerpoint lectures)
-Histology (pdf lecture notes)...suggestion: get a color printer it made it a lot easier
-Anatomy...web notes
-Immunology...you'll have a different required text book
-Neuroscience...just use the ppt lectures
-Statistics...DO NOT BUY THE BOOK!!! pdf notes
-Intro to human disease...nothing needed
-Biochem...buy Lippincott review book 420 pp. (lectures follow book for 1st semester)...mainly for future reference (all but 1 professor provides you with handouts); BUY second semester required book.

Have fun next year.

 

[edgesofsanity]

As far as books go, I'd recommend almost to the word what dcpark74 has listed. The only exceptions would be:

Anatomy - don't buy the text, but consider BRS Anatomy instead. It almost goes into the level of detail you'll need for the Anatomy skills exams, which themselves serve as a good review for the paper exams.

Physiology - Some people swore by BRS Physiology. Personally, I enjoyed the R&T so much I ended up buying it, but it's pricier then BRS.

Finally, all curriculum books are available in the library for loan overnight, or you can do like I did and just read them if a certain area confuses you in the library between labs.

If you do it right, you'll only buy like 3 books.

Next, I can help you with your Peoria housing right now. A significant number of students live in Section 8 housing right across from the campus. There are two units: Glen Oak Towers and Landmark Apartments. You will not find a better deal anywhere around - however, due to that you need to be on the ball about applying there. They have a limited number of spaces come open each year, so I would recommend applying over Christmas break so you can get a top number on the wait list.

However, quite a number of students live elsewhere as well (like moi). Housing in Peoria is a breeze compared to finding a good place in CU.

 

[ayo302]

thanks guys

 

[skiz knot]

THank you very much! Very informative.

 

[neriberi]

Is it worth trying to place out of classes like Med Stats? I took four stat courses (bio stat, epidemiology stat, etc.) in grad school and I just don't want to sit through another semester of statistics when I could use the time to study or relax.

 

[edgesofsanity]

Personally, I'm a fan of trying to test out of any class you can. It doesn't count against you in any way and even if you don't pass, you'll have an early heads-up on what the testing style is. If you've taken 4 stat classes, I'm positive you have a good shot at passing out. Whether it's worth it or not is up to you. If you can use the class time for other purposeful activities, go for it. If you feel you need the 'O' on your transcript, don't.

Other random advice: unless by some miracle they get it fixed, start wearing pants and bring a jacket in the dog days of September. The air conditioning in the auditorium can be brutally cold.

 

[Daiphon]

neriberi -

do keep in mind that if you're headed to the rockford campus in a year, and plan to do the MPH program, that you will need to take stats up here UNLESS you have completed the UIUC M1 stats class....

in other words, testing out of it your m1 year will just make you have to take it in rockford (if you plan to MPH it); but slogging through a class that is quite easy, especially for someone with 4 stats courses, might be worth it in the long run...

just fyi,
-tim

 

[neriberi]

thanks for the feedback, guys. you raised some points that I was not aware about. it's overwhelming to think that i'll be starting in less than a month! I am rockford headed; any other useful pointers? The tip about the AC was great because I'm always freezing inside buildings. 😉

 

[neriberi]

Daiphon,

Can you tell me more about the SPH program? Do you need an extra year to finish, or can you complete it with summer school, etc. within the four years for med school? And how much more do you have to pay for tuition? I have a masters in social service administration with a specialization in health admin. and policy, so I'm not sure if it will be redundant...but I was just curious.

Thanks!

 

[dcpark74]

thanks for the feedback, guys. you raised some points that I was not aware about. it's overwhelming to think that i'll be starting in less than a month! I am rockford headed; any other useful pointers? The tip about the AC was great because I'm always freezing inside buildings. 😉

listen to what Martha (anatomy lab director) has to say...always. She is usually in the lab in the afternoon so use that time to talk to her when you're not in lab. she is an amazing teacher and knows her stuff without exception.

do NOT get behind in microbiology...you will cover around 900 pp. in the 1st semester...a lot of them comes toward the end. (even though they are combining micro and immuno next year, i don't think they are going to remove the micro curriculum notes which are very informative)

i would not go to Dr. Cameron's lectures (2nd semester)...do not go to embryo's reviews...from what i hear they were not helpful. (slight change...anatomy and embryo are going to be separate courses instead of combined) so, with that in mind...spend more time on embryo (if the number of questions are similar for both on the exams)...if not, then anatomy.

get your own printer if possible...the lines for printing in the computer lab can be long at times

get your CV (resume) ready now for potential work over the summer after M1 year...research, etc.

if you want a site switch...do that as early as possible!!! find someone to trade sites with

Your first year will FLY BY!!!

 

[edgesofsanity]

any other useful pointers? The tip about the AC was great because I'm always freezing inside buildings. 😉

Only about a hundred, but you'll find out what works best for you. I could go on and on about the importance of going to class, reading the lecture notes and/or text the night before, reviewing the material after class, etc. But the faculty will do that 10 times during orientation, so no need to bother. 🙂

Commenting on dcpark74's suggestions:

Martha rocks, but make sure the class stays on her good side. Or else. Remember this warning if you don't...

As far as attending lecture - you'll figure out which ones you want to attend. If I wasn't at class, I'd be sleeping; so I made sure to make it to every class so as not to waste my time.

Printing lecture notes - the computer lab is fine (and *free*) if you go during nonpeak hours (i.e., right before the lecture begins); though a color printer for Histology would be appreciated, but I did fine with b&w in the lab. (In case you haven't noticed yet, edgesofsanity=cheap.)

Site switching: do it early. Be aware of the general rankings: staying in CU is the most coveted, next Peoria, and last Rockford. It's much easier to work down the list than it is up, though there are exceptions to every rule. I am aware of only one student in the past 3 years who after their first year made it to Chicago, so that option is almost nonexistant.

Other random tidbits:
Keeping with the cheap tradition, you can borrow dissecting clothes from a pile in the beginning of the year. The bookstores can vary as much as $3 or so on a book; decide for yourself if it's worth hunting for the cheaper deal (and online books are cheaper still).

The most important piece of advice I have would be this: don't neglect your personal life. While you may feel overwhelmed at the beginning of the year, by the 2nd test you will have settled into a groove. C-U has a large bar scene, pool halls, movie theaters, IMPE (and may I recommend Illini TKD Club while I'm speaking of it?), and lots more.

The most annoying complaint I've heard from med students is that they don't feel they have any free time. I'll tell you now - watching my M2 roomates this past year, it doesn't get any easier timewise. Make the time to do the things that are important to you; the rest will fall in line.

 

[neriberi]

hmmmm...., thanks for the advice, edgeofsanity. I'm curious as to why Rockford is everyone's last choice. I actually chose Rockford over the other sites when I found out I'd be on the UPR track. I mostly chose it because it seemed to be closest to Chicago (where my fiance is attending school), and I knew an M2 there that liked it very much. Are there some standout reasons that I should think about?

 

[edgesofsanity]

A lot of it just comes down to personal preferences: We have a small number of students who come from UIUC into the medical program; so they have ties to the area and would like to stay with their established friend circles. Others enjoy the atmosphere of a major college town. But the major factor is supply is much less than demand. Only 25 students out of the 125 students will stay, and the majority of those are MD/PhD students, thus further lowering the pool of available places (as these students must stay in C-U).

Between Peoria and Rockford is a wash. Peoria has a better reputation for churning out higher Step 1 scores; it also has 100 more class hours than Rockford. Rockford offers the RMED and UHP programs, as well as a more established MPH program. However, you can do what you want in either program. I picked Peoria because 1) I'm from the area and 2) I am inefficient at studying, and generally waste a lot of my free time. Going to Peoria, I'll have less free time to waste (of course, I still feel guilty if I miss class; so this plan may not work for you).

Regardless, the hardest school to transfer to is the Chicago campus. But honestly, once you've come down here you won't even care. I chose UICOMP because I had a terrific interview at Peoria. The Dean took 2.5 hours out of his day to sit and talk about everything and nothing while I waited for my interview; brought drinks for us, the whole nine yards. Students who weren't part of the tour stopped by and offered honest answers to any questions. After accepting, I found the staff during my first year at UIUC to be tremendously upbeat and helpful, and the teachers genuinely motivated to teach. Downstate UICOM is fantastic.

 

[ayo302]

i guess i won't be joining you guys in urbana after all... my state school just came through with a spot for me today...

good luck with everything 🙂

 

[aus1ander]

Being a new M3 in Rockford, I just want to say that Rockford gets a bad rap for a crazy string of Step 1 scores in the class of 2004. They may have had the most people fail in one year, but they also had the most scores over 250. I think our 2004 match list speaks for itself.

Having more class hours doesn't prepare you for clinical medicine. Having patient contact in the second year does. We have the advantage of working at the family practice clinics from early in the M2 year, slowly improving our skills at history-taking and the physical exam--on real patients. I think this is a huge advantage to the Rockford campus compared to Peoria.

I personally like being within 1 hour of the burbs and 1hr 20min of downtown (depending on how fast you drive). Rockford aint too bad of a town once you get used to it. Plus as med students, you don't have much time to miss living in a college town or big city. Plus, we get it easy on rotations (no 24 hour call on IM, no residents to beat to the hospital, laid back community hospitals, etc).

Speaking of UIUC, my only advice, having done pretty well in all the classes down there, is to commit yourself to studying hard until the first exam. You may be studying 6 hours a day on top of classes, but by the end of the first exam, you know exactly how much you need to study to achieve your goal. Then you can scale back on the study hours. The most motivated students tend to do the best, not the smartest.

 

[Daiphon]

I agree with aus... i'm now an m4 working on an EM elective (e.g. trying to get a job. d=) ), and i feel that rockford more than prepared me for this. the lack of residents effectively means that every rotation is a Sub-I, which is very cool... learn lots! in fact, many residency programs have a high opinion of rockford for this reason - we get a s*it ton of patient interaction and skills experience. as one PD has already told me - "rockford students may not be as strong academically as harvard; but they have skills. we can teach smarts, but skills are another story."

neri - as for the MPH, i believe that if you get in in the right year, you can finish in 3. they're stating, however, that you will need to take an extra year. you should email vicki weidenbacher-hoper ([email protected], or [email protected], i can never remember which) about the program and find out. oh, and tuition is free provided that you are a full-time medical student.

i really don't get why rockford gets the bottom of the barrel. we don't have residents (except FP), we have a great clinical experience, rockford is way better than peoria... and the school used to be the TB sanitarium! d=)

my $.02... sorry it took me so long to get back.

-tim

 

[skiz knot]

See everyone at orientation tomorrow! Can't wait to get up at 6:30 am to get there at 8🙁