DentalGal said:
Congrats everyone on matching to UTMB. I'm so excited! 😀
So, does anyone know of any good apartments close to UTMB?
Yeah! Wow, I remember being in shock about this time last year, but you've matched at an outstanding school. I'm finishing my first year, and so far UTMB has not sucked the life out of me (like I hear from my friends at other schools), so I consider that a big plus for you.
😉
As for housing... err. Close to campus is catch as catch can.
A) You could live in a frat (phi chi and phi rho are coed and fill up fast, email Mike Hunte
[email protected] if you want to find out more about Phi Chi). Both places are under $400/mo for ~9 meals a week, all bills paid, free laundry, close to campus (3 minute bike ride, 10 minute walk). TKY, AKK, & the Beta House are options for males who want to join a frat (TKY just had their "in drag" house meeting tonight... and I got some great photos
😉 ).
B)There are other apartments near campus - carelton courtyard and Casa Caribe have a lot of students,
http://www.tramonterealty.com/ lists apartments and homes near campus, and here's a page:
http://www.galveston.com/apts/.
C) There are condos near campus you can buy/ rent.
Quick hint - the street numbers get smaller the closer you are to UTMB, so, for instance, Phi Chi is 606 University, because it's on 6th street (UTMB is between 6th and 12th). Find a place between 1st and 15th/16th, & Harborside and Avenue H, and you should be close enough to walk to campus (or ride your bike). Don't live between 20th and 45th, if you can help it - you're isolated and the neighborhoods are not that pleasant.
Most people I know just came down here and scoped a place they drove by or found an advertisement for, stayed at a frat, or had their parents buy them a house in Fish Village (close to campus). The rest rented/ bought houses/ apartments around 15th-20th streets, some got expensive lofts downtown, and some students got apartments on the other side of the island (between 45th and 61st).
I totally love being able to wake up 15 mins before class & not have to worry about parking (which is fine until 7:50am - then you have to park far away. That's a pain during the last 2 classes, Pathobio and Neuro, because they have 10am labs on Tuesdays/ Thursdays and you will never find parking near campus). But I gotta admit, Phi Chi is kinda a dump (a CHEAP dump! ;-). However, it also has a "family" type environment that I needed my first year, & I'm staying here again next year.
Good luck with housing - it's probably good you start now, because some places fill up fast.
PS - I gotta plug Scribes Service - it's UTMB's note-taking service. You will **not be able to survive** your first 2 years without buying the scribes from 2009's class and from your own class.
Most people buy the scribes from the class before, get the individual course notes bound (I like Office Depot), and then take notes in the margins. Then 3-4 days later they check with the new scribes listed online for updates (or download the audio recordings). Most of the material stays the same from year to year, but you need both years to supplement your studies.
We're giving a special deal off of our scribes if you order by this summer, so visit
http://www.scribes2009.com and email the treasurer for more info.
Oh yeah, and don't buy books at the beginning of your classes (except for POM - but you have time to order those online from half.com).
You need a gross anatomy text (I liked Grants and Rohens, you can get a "free" netters if you pay the $65 dues to AMSA and sign up for a credit card), get the moores essential clinical anatomy book for gross anatomy.. you probably won't need the radiology book unless you REALLY like the topic...I liked Netter's cards, brs gross anatomy...
Do NOT buy any of the books for MCT, except Lippincott's Biochemistry. The "official" biochem book, medical genetics, etc are all stuff you can look up in the library (so don't get rid of your undergrad science books). And get Clinical Microbiology made ridiculously simple for pathobio!!
And get a copy of First Aid for the USMLE - anything listed in there will definitely be on med school exams, and it gives great memory aids!
Good luck, and try not to go overboard before/ after you get here. You're good enough to be accepted, UTMB will probably choose some awesome classmates for you, the faculty are caring and funny, and just stay under the radar of the associate dean of students & you'll be okay.
That was me all day. But at 12:02 I logged on and then I was 
