USN class of 2013

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spam10123 said:
thanks everyone for the input, i really appreciate all the great info. i've decided on UNM, so yes... another empty seat up for grabs :) guess i'll just be making trips up to good old vegas instead! good luck to everyone! i'll definitely stay up to date with this class though, to see what i missed ;)
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Thanx for letting us know and thanx for giving us waitlisters an opportunity :). Good luck in your future education and wish you the best! :thumbup:
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AutumnCloud said:
Yeah, they will be transferring to Henderson as P2s (I think about 10 of them). I guess that works out for the better because some people are coming back as P2s from our current class too. :)
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AutumnCloud are you saying that some P2's in your class are repeating that year?

And Diastole are you saying there's a substantial amount of your P1 class has had to drop out as well??:(
 
Hey. Need some help....I'm in the Top 50 on the waitlist and the classes I'm taking this semester are O. Chem II, Calc I, and a writing class. I was wondering I am not doing well in O. Chem II. I'm most likely going to get a C in the class. I was wondering since I'm gong to get a C in my O chem class (which is 4 credits), an A in my Calculus class (5 credits) and an A in my Writing class (3 credits), will that not look good when I give in those grades to Dr. DeYoung to see where I'm at in the ranking list. Will I get a lower rank because of the O Chem II grade? I have a chance to get a B in O. Chem II (assuming if I get a A on my final tomorrow). My teacher doesn't curve. That class is unbelievably hard. Any grades are good at this point...Other than Religion class (I screwed around), this is only going to be the second class I get a C in :(. I usually get A's and B's and my overall GPA is 3.5 overall with a science of 3.6...Any help will be great! Thank you.
 
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pharmdout said:
AutumnCloud are you saying that some P2's in your class are repeating that year?

And Diastole are you saying there's a substantial amount of your P1 class has had to drop out as well??:(
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I think we lost somewhere between 15 to 20 people out of 147 but I don't have an exact count. It is starting to become noticeable because on test day, they like to leave the first row mostly empty. Not everyone left because of academic difficulty so I think some will be back. And some just left because they didn't like the stress even though they were passing. Maybe they thought that the P2 year would be too hard?
 
JEW UNIT said:
Hey. Need some help....I'm in the Top 50 on the waitlist and the classes I'm taking this semester are O. Chem II, Calc I, and a writing class. I was wondering I am not doing well in O. Chem II. I'm most likely going to get a C in the class. I was wondering since I'm gong to get a C in my O chem class (which is 4 credits), an A in my Calculus class (5 credits) and an A in my Writing class (3 credits), will that not look good when I give in those grades to Dr. DeYoung to see where I'm at in the ranking list. Will I get a lower rank because of the O Chem II grade? I have a chance to get a B in O. Chem II (assuming if I get a A on my final tomorrow). My teacher doesn't curve. That class is unbelievably hard. Any grades are good at this point...Other than Religion class (I screwed around), this is only going to be the second class I get a C in :(. I usually get A's and B's and my overall GPA is 3.5 overall with a science of 3.6...Any help will be great! Thank you.
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You really don't have a choice do you? You need to send in your transcripts so that your pre-req's are complete? I think they really only look at your total science gpa. I don't think they look at specific classes. If those are the last classes you have to take, then it will help you that you have everything done. If it doesn't affect your gpa that much, you should be fine. I guess just do your best to get a B and that's all you can do. O chem just sucks :)
 
Scratch my last question...Ended up getting a B in O CHM II :).
 
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There will be a few people from our P2 class coming back to retake next year. Some people have personal problems, some have academic reasons and some took leave of absences. The people transferring to Henderson are not due to academic reason, they wanted to go there because it's closer to home and Henderson was their initial choice.


pharmdout said:
AutumnCloud are you saying that some P2's in your class are repeating that year?

And Diastole are you saying there's a substantial amount of your P1 class has had to drop out as well??:(
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I will also get my grades by next week or 2, they are not pre-reqs, but they are post-bach(master's classes), do you think I should send my unofficial transcript to school? I will probably get A on all of them, at least my overall GPA will improve?!! I really want to call Dr. De Young next week when he is back from vacation but I am afraid!! Is anybody planning to call?! Is he going to start calling the wait listed people next week? oooooh! So many questions!!
 
50% of students not achieving 90% is not bad. Actually it's pretty normal in any other pharmacy schools. I don't think it's the problem of teachers, rather it sounds more like the school's problem with unrealistic expectations of both teachers and students. No matter how great a teacher is or how prestigious a school is, they cannot make everyone straight A students.

mrblah said:
Congrats to those who got accepted, but here is some food for thought, a PM from a fellow classmate who didn't make it though her p1 year. By the way, head count in the p2 class as of today is 109/145 (with another 2 more students about to be kicked out and at least 30% the class with 2 or more summer remediations), and you wonder what USN faculty did to be proactive about the dropout rate??? NOTHING. Here are some other stats:

Nutrition block (which was today): 50% fail/remediationn
Pulmonary Block (last month): 60% fail/remediation
HIV block (combined): 50% fail/remediation
Cardio block (combined): 40% fail/remediation

Here is some interesting news, my class found out today that HIV block and Nutrition block was taught by a NON-PAID/non-faculty member (Dr. FULLER), who happens to have taught 2 of the hardest blocks and with the highest fail rates.... Now you are going to pay 40,000+ per year, and you are being taught by a non-faculty member........ Real way to get your moneys worth. FYI, I'm a p2 student who is warning you guys to reconsider. IF you don't believe me, go talk to a P2 or any of the P1's for that matter (its funny that for those that interviewed, you didn't see any p2's around did ya??).

You are wondering why I'm telling you this? It's quite simple, nobody should go through what USN calls a "curriculum", its really no better than those internet schools, and I don't want you guys to make the same mistakes that the P2/P1's have made by turning down other schools to attend USN. Now, if you got nothing to lose, by all means attend USN, but don't say nobody warned you.

Here is a letter that shows what it like if you don't make it. By the way, if you choose USN, you CANNOT TRANSFER OUT, you have two choices, kicked out or defer, and you lose the tuition you've already paid for.




Hi,

Im sure you get some hate email from people at USN but I want to thank you for your postings. I left the USN program during my P2 year, (last fall) and felt that your information has hit the nail on the head as far as the USN experience. I left school feeling misinformed and almost violated. I too, had offers from other programs that would have been an overall better learning experience...life experience, and less stressfull.

Since I left the USN program last fall, I reapplied to schools, thinking it would be better to start over than to go through that experience again. However, schools that previously accepted me have been quick to dismiss my application because 'I had my chance'...really sucks.

I'm now faced with the choice of going back or giving up on Pharmacy all together. Why Im considering going back is that I have the P2 material so I can study ahead. Im still trying to decide if I will come back... but I might not have another option. The decision is making me sick to my stomach. :(

Best of luck with the rest of the year,

XXXXXX

PS.

Im very sorry that you got stuck in this situation. I know how upset I was for the few months I was in the program.....and would hate to be in the same situation without having studied ahead. Have you considered making a complaint to the state board?

Chereeoooooos!!!!!
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Does anyone know if USN has a bookstore? i know we don't really have books for pharmacy, but how about Nursing and Dental? I am thinking about doing the MBA program, and I got the booklist from them......now I just don't know how to get those books. Whether to go to their bookstore, buy it online, or is it reserve at the library? btw, is that library for ALL students (Pharm, Dental, Nurse, MBA?) :confused:
 
pharmvn13 said:
Does anyone know if USN has a bookstore? i know we don't really have books for pharmacy, but how about Nursing and Dental? I am thinking about doing the MBA program, and I got the booklist from them......now I just don't know how to get those books. Whether to go to their bookstore, buy it online, or is it reserve at the library? btw, is that library for ALL students (Pharm, Dental, Nurse, MBA?) :confused:
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Just like any other book...I suggest going to places like half.com ebay amazon or even rent it (if you can) on chegg.com (I really liked this website...It saved me money on books for classes that weren't science related)
 
Shimmery said:
Well there's that library that they have.....I guess you can look up information on topics you don't understand...

As for books, from what I understand when I went to the interview, they have everything online, which is why they don't have you pay for books in the first place.
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So far in my experience when you have 500-1000 powerpoint slides to be memorized word for word the last thing on your mind is to try and find more information in the library:thumbdown:

Most of the books are online though if you want to consult them.
 
Jack555 said:
So far in my experience when you have 500-1000 powerpoint slides to be memorized word for word the last thing on your mind is to try and find more information in the library:thumbdown:

Most of the books are online though if you want to consult them.
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Wow, that's hardcore. I pick out the important points on my slides and memorize those. I also strategically skip information that I figure won't be on the exam. It mostly works but I do occasionally get surprised by something I wasn't expecting. It would take three times as long at least to try to memorize everything. Plus I'd be really grumpy all the time.
 
Trying to decide between usn and Midwestern university Glendale. Both three years. What do u guys think?
 
To diastole and any other P1/P2 students,

I'm curious to know how lectures often go about and your methods for taking notes. Based on what I've been reading, most (if not all?) professors use some form of PowerPoint slides and/or Word documents. Do they go through the slides and then make their inputs? Do they ever draw anything extra on a whiteboard (if there is one) or anything like that, that would require you have a notebook handy?

I'm basically asking because I like to take notes via the computer (typing extra info under each slide). It's a lot faster that way for me even though I'll always have paper ready to go. But you never know when you might have to write an extra calculation method down or something, so I'm trying to get a feel for how they present their info and the best method to document those info. Thank you in advance for any of your opinions and tips. :)
 
Saimanji said:
Trying to decide between usn and Midwestern university Glendale. Both three years. What do u guys think?
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I used to live next to MWG. I loved the neighborhood. The interns I work with said they love the school...Please it would be great if you gave us on the waitlist a chance. :D It's worth a try lol. I say go with ever your closer too.
 
Stop reading all the garbage on this thread from disgruntled students, once who have/had bad experiences, and others who just dont know and say things.

Come to the dang school and ask people questions. You'll get the real answers. Im a current student and 90% of this crap is bs.
 
Saimanji said:
Trying to decide between usn and Midwestern university Glendale. Both three years. What do u guys think?
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Hi, did u interview 3/31? Are you the one that got into both Midwestern Chicago and Glendale? :) Congrats by the way on USN acceptance!
 
This school is absolutely worthless. I pass every exam and don't remember most of it a week later. Its just jammed in and out. Hopefully p3 will give me a better knowledge base. If your thinking about doing a 3yr program go rough it out in Stockton. Just maintain an 80% average and you keep your sanity. Here you lose your mind, relationships and life. I'll admit after the first year, I didn't think it was so bad but my whole opinion of this school has changed over the course of this year. Even our professor for today's exam (one of the nicer ones-Manley) noted our fail rate on the previous exam stating "I think is embarassing when 50% of the class fails an exam and the faculty blames it on the students" If your a p1 voicing your opinion, I'm sorry to tell you but p1 is apple sauce. I'd go out and party the night before assessments as a p1. EAZYYYY. P2 is literally DOUBLE what your doing now. So you can say, it's not that bad and blah blah blah, but you have absolutely no idea. Enjoy your summer, cause it's going to be the last time you enjoy life once P2 starts. Happy its over.
 
Hitagi said:
To diastole and any other P1/P2 students,

I'm curious to know how lectures often go about and your methods for taking notes. Based on what I've been reading, most (if not all?) professors use some form of PowerPoint slides and/or Word documents. Do they go through the slides and then make their inputs? Do they ever draw anything extra on a whiteboard (if there is one) or anything like that, that would require you have a notebook handy?

I'm basically asking because I like to take notes via the computer (typing extra info under each slide). It's a lot faster that way for me even though I'll always have paper ready to go. But you never know when you might have to write an extra calculation method down or something, so I'm trying to get a feel for how they present their info and the best method to document those info. Thank you in advance for any of your opinions and tips. :)
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All the profs have some sort of notes which you can download or print out if you like. Most of the class ends up printing out the notes because they give us money to do so. I take minimal notes which mostly consists of circling something on a slide or writing "know this" near the important info. Sometimes they will do a calculation or write something that isn't in the notes and project it up on the computer screens. I usually find room in the margins of the slides to copy it but you could bring a separate notebook if you want. It probably isn't necessary though. I have seen people take notes on their computer from time to time so if that is what you prefer, I'm sure you can make it work for you.
 
Ctooz said:
This school is absolutely worthless. I pass every exam and don't remember most of it a week later. Its just jammed in and out. Hopefully p3 will give me a better knowledge base. If your thinking about doing a 3yr program go rough it out in Stockton. Just maintain an 80% average and you keep your sanity. Here you lose your mind, relationships and life. I'll admit after the first year, I didn't think it was so bad but my whole opinion of this school has changed over the course of this year. Even our professor for today's exam (one of the nicer ones-Manley) noted our fail rate on the previous exam stating "I think is embarassing when 50% of the class fails an exam and the faculty blames it on the students" If your a p1 voicing your opinion, I'm sorry to tell you but p1 is apple sauce. I'd go out and party the night before assessments as a p1. EAZYYYY. P2 is literally DOUBLE what your doing now. So you can say, it's not that bad and blah blah blah, but you have absolutely no idea. Enjoy your summer, cause it's going to be the last time you enjoy life once P2 starts. Happy its over.
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I haven't started USN yet so I guess I'm not in a position to talk, but, I've talked to a couple of Pharmacists who'd attended UoP and they said it was crap and they hated it.
 
diastole said:
All the profs have some sort of notes which you can download or print out if you like. Most of the class ends up printing out the notes because they give us money to do so. I take minimal notes which mostly consists of circling something on a slide or writing "know this" near the important info. Sometimes they will do a calculation or write something that isn't in the notes and project it up on the computer screens. I usually find room in the margins of the slides to copy it but you could bring a separate notebook if you want. It probably isn't necessary though. I have seen people take notes on their computer from time to time so if that is what you prefer, I'm sure you can make it work for you.
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Thanks for your answer diastole. I just wanted to make sure we wouldn't suddenly have to copy an extra long mechanism or anything like that. :rolleyes:
 
monica949 said:
I haven't started USN yet so I guess I'm not in a position to talk, but, I've talked to a couple of Pharmacists who'd attended UoP and they said it was crap and they hated it.
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I can imagine living in Stockton would be miserable. I can honestly say I did enjoy the first year as a P1 living in vegas :D. As a p2, maybe went out once a month. I also heard their curriculum could use some work as well but maintaining an average is sooooooooo much better than having to worry about 1 exam destroying your career. Making an 89 and still not becoming a pharmacist where anywhere else you'd be fine. You could bomb one exam and still be fine.
 
Ctooz said:
I can imagine living in Stockton would be miserable. I can honestly say I did enjoy the first year as a P1 living in vegas :D. As a p2, maybe went out once a month. I also heard their curriculum could use some work as well but maintaining an average is sooooooooo much better than having to worry about 1 exam destroying your career. Making an 89 and still not becoming a pharmacist where anywhere else you'd be fine. You could bomb one exam and still be fine.
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You should read the story on the pharmacy forum about this person at another school. They got an A in the class overall but they had to pass the every assignment, quiz, or section of a test with a 70%. They were making IV bags or something and the person missed that section by one point. This wasn't something you could practice at home and there were no make-ups. That person has to repeat a whole year because of one point. It was crazy.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=725011
 
diastole said:
You should read the story on the pharmacy forum about this person at another school. They got an A in the class overall but they had to pass the every assignment, quiz, or section of a test with a 70%. They were making IV bags or something and the person missed that section by one point. This wasn't something you could practice at home and there were no make-ups. That person has to repeat a whole year because of one point. It was crazy.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=725011
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I just finished reading the whole discussion....That really sux for that student...Wonder what schools the person in...I'm not going to be applying there next year.
 
diastole said:
You should read the story on the pharmacy forum about this person at another school. They got an A in the class overall but they had to pass the every assignment, quiz, or section of a test with a 70%. They were making IV bags or something and the person missed that section by one point. This wasn't something you could practice at home and there were no make-ups. That person has to repeat a whole year because of one point. It was crazy.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=725011
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Woooowww. That is really horrible. Could technically happen at USN. They don't show sympathy at this school. It really sux to see someone spend 2yrs and $80,000 and get kicked out. But some were able to transfer to Kentuckys 3yr program. A friend of mine got kicked out as p2 and she's gonna be attending school in kentucky and will graduating in 2013.
 
There is so much back and forth banter about USN and how tough it is and why you should or shouldn’t attend...it makes me laugh. I’m a former USN student who had the option of returning, but decided to attend a different program that was a better fit for me. I have no ill feelings towards USN, and really feel that posters both.... for and against attending USN are being pretty honest. You say well how can that be? Pretty simple actually, USN has a very diverse student population, from a wide array of backgrounds. I mean...there were a couple former nurses, several guys with masters in bio chemistry, and quite a few people with bachelors in various science related fields in this year’s P1 class. So to each of these students their experience will be very different. When people are posting about their USN experience it’s really important to know what their background is. Former nurses, and biochem majors, will think some of the material is review. I guess you can think of it like this…when you are taking an exam every two weeks…is it better to be learning detailed new material or reviewing old material? Which would be easier? Make sense? Also, some students have an amazing short term memory…that can memorize material for a particular exam… and literally do a mental dump on to scratch paper…. Pass the exam and forget about it. Which is fine…Let’s face it…to be an effective pharmacist…you won’t need to remember all biochem pathways… but regardless of the program you better know it for the exam!

So what does this mean? This means that yes USN is hard… but based on your background it can be incredibly hard or just kind of hard. The material and learning is intense, as it will be for any three year program. The 90% mark is hard to hit, but is often 85% due to the group assessment. People on these boards often say well you get two shots to pass the exam. This is true….however most of the time (not all the time) the second exam is harder because the instructors have to dig deeper into material to create different questions. Also…90% on a second exam is harder to hit without the 5% team points.

My hope is that anyone planning on attending USN will recognize what it takes to be successful depending on your educational background. If you have just the basic pre-requisites to apply and don’t have a tremendous short term memory… you will need to work extremely hard to make up your shortcomings. If you will be attending anyway…. My advice is to take this summer to study ahead. Start memorizing some of the pathways… and maybe the top 200 drugs. Read up on the different topics that are outlined in the first year course materials. (Types of Receptors, Amino Acids and how proteins are broken down by the body, how lipid synthesis occurs..etc..etc etc.) Also, take time to join one of the clubs on campus, and meet some of the P2’s…they often have old notes and tests that will benefit you on exam day.

USN might not have been the right school for me, but it is a good school. Just remember it’s easier to work ahead (ie now and during the year) then to work from behind….once you fall behind... you most likely will be for the whole year.

Best of Luck !
 
IKRPHARMD said:
There is so much back and forth banter about USN and how tough it is and why you should or shouldn’t attend...it makes me laugh. I’m a former USN student who had the option of returning, but decided to attend a different program that was a better fit for me. I have no ill feelings towards USN, and really feel that posters both.... for and against attending USN are being pretty honest. You say well how can that be? Pretty simple actually, USN has a very diverse student population, from a wide array of backgrounds. I mean...there were a couple former nurses, several guys with masters in bio chemistry, and quite a few people with bachelors in various science related fields in this year’s P1 class. So to each of these students their experience will be very different. When people are posting about their USN experience it’s really important to know what their background is. Former nurses, and biochem majors, will think some of the material is review. I guess you can think of it like this…when you are taking an exam every two weeks…is it better to be learning detailed new material or reviewing old material? Which would be easier? Make sense? Also, some students have an amazing short term memory…that can memorize material for a particular exam… and literally do a mental dump on to scratch paper…. Pass the exam and forget about it. Which is fine…Let’s face it…to be an effective pharmacist…you won’t need to remember all biochem pathways… but regardless of the program you better know it for the exam!

So what does this mean? This means that yes USN is hard… but based on your background it can be incredibly hard or just kind of hard. The material and learning is intense, as it will be for any three year program. The 90% mark is hard to hit, but is often 85% due to the group assessment. People on these boards often say well you get two shots to pass the exam. This is true….however most of the time (not all the time) the second exam is harder because the instructors have to dig deeper into material to create different questions. Also…90% on a second exam is harder to hit without the 5% team points.

My hope is that anyone planning on attending USN will recognize what it takes to be successful depending on your educational background. If you have just the basic pre-requisites to apply and don’t have a tremendous short term memory… you will need to work extremely hard to make up your shortcomings. If you will be attending anyway…. My advice is to take this summer to study ahead. Start memorizing some of the pathways… and maybe the top 200 drugs. Read up on the different topics that are outlined in the first year course materials. (Types of Receptors, Amino Acids and how proteins are broken down by the body, how lipid synthesis occurs..etc..etc etc.) Also, take time to join one of the clubs on campus, and meet some of the P2’s…they often have old notes and tests that will benefit you on exam day.

USN might not have been the right school for me, but it is a good school. Just remember it’s easier to work ahead (ie now and during the year) then to work from behind….once you fall behind... you most likely will be for the whole year.

Best of Luck !
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You brought up some really valid points and I appreciate your constructive insight. I have no other choices so I understand that I will be busting my ***** and this summer will be dedicated to getting whatever type of a head start I can get (given my limited science background and pharmacy experience I know I will need it)
 
Sugadarlin said:
You brought up some really valid points and I appreciate your constructive insight. I have no other choices so I understand that I will be busting my ***** and this summer will be dedicated to getting whatever type of a head start I can get (given my limited science background and pharmacy experience I know I will need it)
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Sugadarlin,

The fact that you recognize you are a bit behind the curve and you are willing to correct it...puts you at a huge advantage. While reading over the module criteria...if you have specific questions on what to study...let me know...I'd be happy to help out. Just send me a private message on what you would like clarification on.
 
IKRPHARMD said:
Sugadarlin,

The fact that you recognize you are a bit behind the curve and you are willing to correct it...puts you at a huge advantage. While reading over the module criteria...if you have specific questions on what to study...let me know...I'd be happy to help out. Just send me a private message on what you would like clarification on.
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That's a good point. I have a background in marketing and music, and hadn't taken a science class in 10 years before going back to take my prereqs. So when I went back to school, I knew I was the underdog and had to study extra hard. Ended up getting A's in all my chemistry and ochem classes. I plan on starting USN with the same mentality. Hopefully it works! LOL!
 
I'm glad to see the conversation has gotten more productive in terms of deciding whether USN is a good individual choice based on how the program works. I noticed some comments about USN that were not true, however. Faculty have 2 year-contracts but they are renewed each year depending on many factors including teaching. If a faculty is really bad their contract can go unrenewed. If something really awful happens, the faculty can be removed earlier as well depending on the reasons. Faculty who can establish that they do a good job can ask for a 5 year-contract. This means USN does not have tenure and that bad faculty with tenure do not stick around for years and years (not the case for other schools). The turnover for faculty is actually pretty low.

Dr. Fuller has been with the school a long time and he is a full-time faculty member who receives a salary from a hospital. There are many other faculy who have similar situations; it is not an indication of anything except that the school utilizes faculty who have real life hands-on experience with patients. This set-up is not unique to USN.

The locked-door/"closed door" situation stemmed form an incident where a student stole an exam off of a faculty member's desk. The door between students and faculty is not locked in Henderson but students are welcome to visit faculty if they call first or make an appointment. In Utah the door is locked for security reasons. The building is huge and is still largely unoccupied on the 2nd floor. The faculty I know are open to meeting with students and try to help those who need it and ask for it. USN does not have a formal faculty advisor setup because it is better if those relationships develop more naturally.

I wish the best for Mr. Blah and the others at USN who are working hard to be competent pharmacists.
 
If anyone is looking for a headstart, there are a few things to review and perhaps a few things to learn if you haven't seen it before. If you understand acids and bases that will make your life much easier. Know what pH is, know what pKa means, and know how to use the Henderson-Hasselbach equation. You should have seen all that in gen chem. Briefly review thermodynamics but don't bother working on the problems. Just be able to tell if given a Keq, if it favors products, reactants, or is equilibrium. At the very least, you should be comfortable converting grams of a compound into moles. That is the first step in a lot of the conversions that we have to do so if that part is automatic, the rest won't be so bad.

For biochemistry, there is lots to memorize here. Unless they change things, you are going to have to know all the amino acids. You won't have to draw them but if you are shown a structure, you will have to be name it. You will also need to know the three letter abreviations and be able to say whether it is negative, positive, or neutral and if it is neutral whether it is polar, aromatic, or non-polar. You are going to have to know several pathways. Again you won't have to draw anything but you will need to know the names of molecules in the pathways. One of those guidebooks that you find in books stores like "Biochemistry for Dummies" should be more than enough to get you started.

I'm a firm believer that the more you bring to the table upfront, the less hard you have to work later on. I don't really want to lose sleep or stress out over exams because I have so much to learn. That is no fun. A little work over the summer will save later grief. However, I wouldn't study so much that you are burnt out before school ever starts. You'll be hating life in late winter. So try to relax but if you have a bit of extra time on your hands, these topics will help you out.
 
diastole said:
If anyone is looking for a headstart, there are a few things to review and perhaps a few things to learn if you haven't seen it before. If you understand acids and bases that will make your life much easier. Know what pH is, know what pKa means, and know how to use the Henderson-Hasselbach equation. You should have seen all that in gen chem. Briefly review thermodynamics but don't bother working on the problems. Just be able to tell if given a Keq, if it favors products, reactants, or is equilibrium. At the very least, you should be comfortable converting grams of a compound into moles. That is the first step in a lot of the conversions that we have to do so if that part is automatic, the rest won't be so bad.

For biochemistry, there is lots to memorize here. Unless they change things, you are going to have to know all the amino acids. You won't have to draw them but if you are shown a structure, you will have to be name it. You will also need to know the three letter abreviations and be able to say whether it is negative, positive, or neutral and if it is neutral whether it is polar, aromatic, or non-polar. You are going to have to know several pathways. Again you won't have to draw anything but you will need to know the names of molecules in the pathways. One of those guidebooks that you find in books stores like "Biochemistry for Dummies" should be more than enough to get you started.

I'm a firm believer that the more you bring to the table upfront, the less hard you have to work later on. I don't really want to lose sleep or stress out over exams because I have so much to learn. That is no fun. A little work over the summer will save later grief. However, I wouldn't study so much that you are burnt out before school ever starts. You'll be hating life in late winter. So try to relax but if you have a bit of extra time on your hands, these topics will help you out.
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Thanks a lot! I really appreciate posts like this, while I know I have seen all of these things before I will definitely need to brush up because I must admit I did tend to purge after a lot of my pre-reqs. It's refreshing to see that there are people that are willing to help!
 
IKRPHARMD said:
Sugadarlin,

The fact that you recognize you are a bit behind the curve and you are willing to correct it...puts you at a huge advantage. While reading over the module criteria...if you have specific questions on what to study...let me know...I'd be happy to help out. Just send me a private message on what you would like clarification on.
Click to expand...

Thanks a lot, I appreciate the offer and do not be suprised if I take you up on that so make sure you pop in to visit SDN from time to time (especially this summer)
 
Accepted to nevada campus!!!
got call yesterday from Dr Deyoung..
 
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