VCU/MCV Class of 2014

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Nice! koko you seem to be on top of everything :)

I didnt' even come across that checklist, is that pretty much everything?!
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you're awesome :highfive:

first lecture and quiz during orientation :eek:

have u done your housing yet btw?
 
first lecture and quiz during orientation
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Dr. Kordula is a good lecturer, so don't worry! Actually, don't worry about orientation at all. I skipped everything that wasn't mandatory so I could spend more time exploring the city, and that worked out just fine. Take the time to meet your classmates and explore Richmond!
 
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thanks so much for the info! i will have to start chugging along and take care of business between sightseeing and relaxing on the beach. :cool:
 
queenbee said:
thanks so much for the info! i will have to start chugging along and take care of business between sightseeing and relaxing on the beach. :cool:
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where are you right now? it sounds like fun place wherever it is :D
 
RevDM said:
Koko, if I'm not mistaken the form does not require chicken pox?
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Unless they've changed it since I was accepted it DOES require verification that you've had either chicken pox or the vaccine. You need to get the antibody titer drawn if you've had chicken pox. I did it at student health during orientation week.
 
Hey,
Two rising M4 looking for a housemate. We live in near 25th street and East Franklin Street. It is a very quiet and safe area, within walking distance to a grocery store and a bank. It is about 15-20 walk to campus.

The townhouse is about 1350 square feet. The place is fully furnished with cable and wireless internet. Rent is $450, electricity and utilities cost between $100-120 per person. A bimonthly cleaning service is included. Parking is on the street but never a problem.

Email me at [email protected] if interested and want pictures.
 
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Hi!

I am planning on living in a house in Bon Air (about 15 minutes outside the city) and am looking for 2 roommates (preferably female). It is actually my grandmother's house, but she is no longer living there. It has been newly renovated with a new kitchen and all hardwood floors. You would have your own room. Rent would only be ~$350. We could potentially carpool to school. I am out of the country for most of the summer, but if you are interested let me know and I can arrange for someone in my family to show you the house. Thanks!
 
So it seems like financial aid packages have finally been sent out.

*Warning - Possible stupid question forthcoming*

So if we did not receive any scholarships in the financial aid that we can view through e-services, is there no chance that we will receive a scholarship before school starts, or have all of the scholarships now been handed out? I would especially appreciate comments from any current students.

I apologize if the answer to this question is obvious.
 
reveille16 said:
So it seems like financial aid packages have finally been sent out.

*Warning - Possible stupid question forthcoming*

So if we did not receive any scholarships in the financial aid that we can view through e-services, is there no chance that we will receive a scholarship before school starts, or have all of the scholarships now been handed out? I would especially appreciate comments from any current students.

I apologize if the answer to this question is obvious.
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Dr. Palmer said some people might still get scholarships. It isn't set in stone yet and she'll will send out emails during the school year about scholarships you can apply for.
 
hung said:
Dr. Palmer said some people might still get scholarships. It isn't set in stone yet and she'll will send out emails during the school year about scholarships you can apply for.
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Thank you for your reply:thumbup: I appreciate your insight.
 
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OneMCATAway said:
where are the financial aid informations posted?
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login to www.eservices.vcu.edu
your VCU eID is the same as your email, same password
click the financial aid tab

if you don't know your VCU eID, sign on the vcu medicine/orientation website to get that information.

hopefully, this helps.
 
Hi guys,

I just received word of acceptance from the waitlist a week ago, and am in the process of looking for housing. I was wondering if anyone could provide some information on the good/bad sides of downtown Richmond and possibly where most of the med students live....any information is greatly appreciated! Thanks!

-Out of State and Clueless :D
 
hung said:
login to www.eservices.vcu.edu
your VCU eID is the same as your email, same password
click the financial aid tab

if you don't know your VCU eID, sign on the vcu medicine/orientation website to get that information.

hopefully, this helps.
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Thanks :)

and of course i have lost my pw :p
 
I looked over the thread, and I don't think anyone has posted general housing info so here's a quick overview.

VCU is downtown near Church Hill. A lot of students live in River Lofts, which is walking distance from school but a little pricy.
Another popular option is to live by the undergraduate campus. It's a little farther, but there are plenty of buses and a lot of apartment complexes.
There's also the Fan, a housing distract on the far side of the undergrad campus. It's mostly houses, but there are some people who have taken over a house.
I live in River Towers, an apartment complex across the river. I like it here, but it's a little more expensive than some of the other options in town.
There are also dorms at the school. I don't much about them, except that they're right by the gym.
Southside is dangerous, and be careful about where you live in Church Hill

That's a quick overview of Richmond. If anyone has specific questions, feel free to pm me.
 
Hello fellow classmates!

Did anyone who requested iNOVA program get an email today?
Does it mean we got into the program?
Or are they just letting us know that they are aware of our interest?
rrrggghhh...it shouldn't be this confusing:confused:
 
this may also be a stupid question, but how do you get your password to log-in using your eID? i am hoping it is something generic. if it gets snail mailed, would appreciate if someone let me know so i can have a family member check out my mail for me. thank you!!
 
It's all in the application website under the Orientation tab for Matriculation Status.
 
Does anyone have any insights on INOVA for M3/M4? I understand it's a huge benefit for NOVA people to be close to home but what about the quality of the rotations? Are they comparable to those at VCU?
 
was the credit report required for the loans? i finally logged in for my fin aide and there's no loan info :annoyed:
 
did you all get info on the amount of loans you will get?
 
Is anyone looking for a roommate? I've found a couple places I'd like to live that are walking distance to MCV. I'm turning 24 this year, male, from San Diego, and am pretty quiet and clean. I'm looking for someone who has a similar lifestyle and study habits as myself.

Also, if you already have a place let me know if you need a roommate!

PM me :)
 
Hey guys,

I have just put down a deposit on the last available two bedroom apartment at Atrium Lofts at Cold Storage and I am currently looking for a roommate as well. Its a brand new apartment and each bedroom has its own bathroom. The building is .3 miles away from the Egyptian building so it is very close to campus. Besides the proximity, the beauty of this building is that there are a lot of M1 students so it will be quite a friendly community. The rent is $1500 or $750 each, which already includes all the utilities, cable, internet and parking. If you still have not found a place and are interested in this building let me know and I would be happy to provide you with more details.

I look forward to meeting all of you in August.
Anton
 
I have a question about the Church Hill area. At what point north of Broad in Church Hill does it become sketchy?

Am I safe up to P, Q, or R street? Is E Leight Street pushing it?

Thanks! Its hard to find and commit to housing without actually seeing the place!!
 
SoWhat said:
I have a question about the Church Hill area. At what point north of Broad in Church Hill does it become sketchy?

Am I safe up to P, Q, or R street? Is E Leight Street pushing it?

Thanks! Its hard to find and commit to housing without actually seeing the place!!
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As a general rule of thumb in Church Hill, you want to stay away from any street that has a letter designation instead of a number. Leigh Street is pushing it, but has some good areas depending on where you are. Try to stay on Broad, Marshall, or Jefferson, and try not to get anything above 26th street.
 
I have a question for current students: Do students usually take computers to class? Do you guys recommend getting a netbook/small laptop? I noticed that the minimum required specs for computers was pretty high. Would having a top of the line laptop be necessary?

Thanks!
 
antarctica said:
I have a question for current students: Do students usually take computers to class? Do you guys recommend getting a netbook/small laptop? I noticed that the minimum required specs for computers was pretty high. Would having a top of the line laptop be necessary?

Thanks!
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To run some of the M1 software (specifically anatomy), you need some version of windows, and you'll want a pretty big hard drive (I downloaded every syllabus, and a lot of the ppts, etc, but you can always pick up a cheap external hard drive). I'm not sure what part of the requirements you find hardcore. I know the tech specs had "requirements" and "recommendations" when I started. Maybe they only give the recommendations now? Part of the problem is, the school wants to make sure students reimbursed for purchase (military, mostly) can get the system they "need". So don't take it too seriously. If you want a netbook, it's no biggie, you can always go to the lab(s) if you need to use something you don't have enough RAM, etc to handle. You could in theory get by w/o a computer at all.

I would want to make sure that I had enough ram and speed to handle streaming lecture, running USMLEWorld, and to download things like images/video pretty quickly. You could probably talk to someone at the computer lab (CIRC) if you really wanted to be sure. Neurosci gave us a dvd on the pathways, I heard they were going to be able to have that as a download, don't know if that's true yet. But a dvd player might not be a bad idea. Histology has downloadable software, it works for windows or mac.

I would also want a color printer w/ cheap ink, so I could print out key ppts at home (you can print in CIRC, but color is expensive).

40% of the class uses mac.

A few people in my class brought laptops to class. I tried it, found that it was too tempting to check my email, etc in class instead of actually following lecture. Most people bring their syllabus and annotate. In M2, laptops are used a lot in path lab, as the computers are usually lighter than Robbins (robbins is online). I think in M1 we had like one day where we had an activity where we needed some of the students to bring a laptop.
 
tmntdonjuan said:
Does anyone have any insights on INOVA for M3/M4? I understand it's a huge benefit for NOVA people to be close to home but what about the quality of the rotations? Are they comparable to those at VCU?
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So, the MCV campus and INOVA are pretty different, as far as the nuts and bolts go. The thing is, most of the Cali people I know who were initially interested in INOVA lost interest by M2, because 1) they didn't want to move again and 2) they had friends in Richmond by then. If you have connections to NoVa, then you don't care so much about "leaving" your buddies in your class.

At MCV, M3 consists of teams of roughly 12 medical students/ rotation. It's not like you all walk around like a bunch of ducklings all the time, but there are 12 of you. You have a "group leader" who deals w/ schedules, etc. You have 4th years, interns, residents, attendings -in general, it is traditional academic medical center life.

At INOVA, M3 consists of teams of TWO students, presently. Occasionally they throw in a Georgetown or GWU student with you. Occasionally there are 4 VCU students. But basically it's 2 students and an attending, with maybe a resident, a 4th year. INOVA is primarily a community hospital, with a few residency programs. The match list out of INOVA has been very solid, so the "non-academic" aspect does not hurt you as far as that is concerned. You can still do research, INOVA has hundreds of studies ongoing. The patient populations are very different, and an important consideration. INOVA administration and MCV administration are also very different, as are their staffs.

INOVA bends over backwards to help students transition from Richmond to Falls Church, IMHO. The major downside, other than moving, is $$$ -housing costs more in NoVa. On the flipside, the hospital tries to offset that with food and parking and coffee. Oh, and the traffic sucks.

I chose to do INOVA b/c my spouse works just outside DC, but I also think it will be good for me because I think I have a personality that would allow me to hide in the crowd instead of trying an LP on a live patient for the first time, or placing a central line. With just 1 other student with me, and my attending knowing me pretty well, I don't think I'll get away with that.

The only thing that would make me suggest you need to stay at MCV would be if you really want to spend the rest of your life in academic medicine at a large center.
 
montessori2md said:
So, the MCV campus and INOVA are pretty different, as far as the nuts and bolts go. The thing is, most of the Cali people I know who were initially interested in INOVA lost interest by M2, because 1) they didn't want to move again and 2) they had friends in Richmond by then. If you have connections to NoVa, then you don't care so much about "leaving" your buddies in your class.

At MCV, M3 consists of teams of roughly 12 medical students/ rotation. It's not like you all walk around like a bunch of ducklings all the time, but there are 12 of you. You have a "group leader" who deals w/ schedules, etc. You have 4th years, interns, residents, attendings -in general, it is traditional academic medical center life.

At INOVA, M3 consists of teams of TWO students, presently. Occasionally they throw in a Georgetown or GWU student with you. Occasionally there are 4 VCU students. But basically it's 2 students and an attending, with maybe a resident, a 4th year. INOVA is primarily a community hospital, with a few residency programs. The match list out of INOVA has been very solid, so the "non-academic" aspect does not hurt you as far as that is concerned. You can still do research, INOVA has hundreds of studies ongoing. The patient populations are very different, and an important consideration. INOVA administration and MCV administration are also very different, as are their staffs.

INOVA bends over backwards to help students transition from Richmond to Falls Church, IMHO. The major downside, other than moving, is $$$ -housing costs more in NoVa. On the flipside, the hospital tries to offset that with food and parking and coffee. Oh, and the traffic sucks.

I chose to do INOVA b/c my spouse works just outside DC, but I also think it will be good for me because I think I have a personality that would allow me to hide in the crowd instead of trying an LP on a live patient for the first time, or placing a central line. With just 1 other student with me, and my attending knowing me pretty well, I don't think I'll get away with that.

The only thing that would make me suggest you need to stay at MCV would be if you really want to spend the rest of your life in academic medicine at a large center.
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I did my rotations at MCV and I was pretty happy with the rotations and where I ended up for residency. I think the 24 INOVA students had a similar match list as the MCV people. The person who matched Neurosurg came from INOVA so clearly it is not much of a detriment. Almost all of the people who chose INOVA were from northern Va originally so they were basically going home. Most others stayed at MCV because they didn't want to move or pay a lot more for rent.

MCV rotations are generally pretty well run (with a few exceptions) While there may be 12 people per rotation at MCV, they are split up on multiple different teams. For the most part, it is 2-5 people per team and there are plenty of patients to go around. Except on Neuro, I never felt like there was an enormous team or that I was in the way/useless.

If you want to do neurology, MCV is not the place to do your training. The attendings are good. The residents are generally poor quality. For pretty much everything else, MCV is great (especially IM). They also let you do a lot. I did 2 LPs, a few paracentes, multiple ABGs, EJ insertions, I opened in surgery and closed as well.

Either way you will get a solid education. I think the big issue is whether or not you really want to move again. If you have family/SOs up there then it makes sense. Otherwise I don't think it's worth the effort.
 
Have you started residency yet?
 
Orientation has started. I start work on thurs. Scary...
 
anyone who lives with in walking distance of school and still looking for a roommate please email me ASAP!!

Thank you
 
Deciding between NJMS, Stony Brook, VCU MCV or Albany. Any help is appreciated.
 
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