Wayne State Class of 2011 thread!

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if you have no qualms with walmart.... however, i'd said go to the closest meijer instead.

(that way you don't contribute to walmart continuing to outsource, which only leads to more people in the US losing jobs, which causes them to work at walmart for little pay and horrible benefits... walmart does have good prices, but is it worth the cost.. meijer has comparable prices and does not have as many issues that walmart has had... at least in the news)

but...this is what i was trying to... uhm.. nevermind.

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pre-matriculation program? what's that? I am looking for somethign to do this summer!

also, are any current students involved with the EMIG? I hear they are quite active still, and have a really popular program called 'A night in the ER'. Is this still going on?
 
pre-matriculation program? what's that? I am looking for somethign to do this summer!

also, are any current students involved with the EMIG? I hear they are quite active still, and have a really popular program called 'A night in the ER'. Is this still going on?

yes, emig is still going on and pretty popular.. i was a little involved first year and it was fun. they also had EM residency directors from michigan come in and talk to us. I believe a couple went as far to say that they would take wayne grads over any other med school in MI.. that was nice to hear. They also have a procedure night where you get to learn some of the common procedures (on manikins, robots, latex dummies)- intubation, how to insert catheters, etc.
 
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pre-matriculation program? what's that? I am looking for somethign to do this summer!

also, are any current students involved with the EMIG? I hear they are quite active still, and have a really popular program called 'A night in the ER'. Is this still going on?

Its a programm held by wayne to teach incoming med student learning and anatomy tackling techniques, giving them head start in 1st year...Anyone knows more about the program?
 
yes, emig is still going on and pretty popular.. i was a little involved first year and it was fun. they also had EM residency directors from michigan come in and talk to us. I believe a couple went as far to say that they would take wayne grads over any other med school in MI.. that was nice to hear. They also have a procedure night where you get to learn some of the common procedures (on manikins, robots, latex dummies)- intubation, how to insert catheters, etc.

cool, i really looking forward to that kind of stuff...
 
Its a programm held by wayne to teach incoming med student learning and anatomy tackling techniques, giving them head start in 1st year...Anyone knows more about the program?

hmm... i am looking forward to starting school and all, but not THAT much. i thought it would be more playing golf and having bbqs and socializing or something. maybe that is more during orientation week...
 
hmm... i am looking forward to starting school and all, but not THAT much. i thought it would be more playing golf and having bbqs and socializing or something. maybe that is more during orientation week...

definitely take this summer off and have fun! don't waste it studying... more likely than not you will study more than you have ever studied in your entire life these first 2 years!
 
more likely than not you will study more than you have ever studied in your entire life these first 2 years!

I am wondering how this will go for me... i have never been a big studier: when I went back for a postbacc ten five years after I graduated, I really felt like I was 'studying hard' - five hours a day only a few days before exams. It will be interesting to see what happens in med school; hopefully i find most things interesting enough/am afraid enough that I finally actually work hard at school.

That being said, not this summer! I am going to take a photography course, play tennis, and rock out twice a week with my band. :smuggrin: :horns:

How soon before Orientation week do you suggest arriving to Detroit? I will need to find somewhere temporary to live while I find a nice apartment somewhere in midtown. Is there enough free time during orientation to look for apartments? Is there a cheap hostel or something near the school?
 
I am wondering how this will go for me... i have never been a big studier: when I went back for a postbacc ten five years after I graduated, I really felt like I was 'studying hard' - five hours a day only a few days before exams. It will be interesting to see what happens in med school; hopefully i find most things interesting enough/am afraid enough that I finally actually work hard at school.

That being said, not this summer! I am going to take a photography course, play tennis, and rock out twice a week with my band. :smuggrin: :horns:

How soon before Orientation week do you suggest arriving to Detroit? I will need to find somewhere temporary to live while I find a nice apartment somewhere in midtown. Is there enough free time during orientation to look for apartments? Is there a cheap hostel or something near the school?

although I know at least 2 people who did what you plan on doing from my class (waited until orientation week to find an apartment- i am not sure where they stayed in the mean time!), i would recommend trying to find an apartment before orientation week! It sounds like you will have a little free time this summer, you might want to look into trying to start trying to find a place now (online- rent.com, etc), contact these places to see if there are waiting lists, visit the places all in a 1-2 day tour, and sign the lease for the one you like the week of orientation. You are from Canada? Are you close to Detroit? If you are with driving distance, I would highly recommend this... I wouldn't want the extra headache of trying to find a place and move in once school starts, but this is just my personal opinion. Other people have done it, so it can be done! i don't know of any hostels, but i have never looked! good luck! edit: you could also just email/call student affairs and ask them their opinion on this.
 
I am from vancouver, on the westcoast, so not really within easy driving distance! I am basically planning on packing everything i own into my car and driving for four days to detroit.

It sounds like I should maybe come out even a week before orientation and start looking - a week before the end of the month is not usually the best time to find places.

I did find a bunch of great looking (and cheap, wow) places on craigslist - close to the DMC in midtown - so like you suggested I will look again closer to the end of july and set up some viewing time.

i'll look into temp housing, and post what i find out if anyone lurking here is in the same boat as me.

thanks fun8.
 
I am from vancouver, on the westcoast, so not really within easy driving distance! I am basically planning on packing everything i own into my car and driving for four days to detroit.

It sounds like I should maybe come out even a week before orientation and start looking - a week before the end of the month is not usually the best time to find places.

I did find a bunch of great looking (and cheap, wow) places on craigslist - close to the DMC in midtown - so like you suggested I will look again closer to the end of july and set up some viewing time.

i'll look into temp housing, and post what i find out if anyone lurking here is in the same boat as me.

thanks fun8.

wow! good luck with that! i assumed you were from ontario! good luck with that!
 
I am from vancouver, on the westcoast, so not really within easy driving distance! I am basically planning on packing everything i own into my car and driving for four days to detroit.

It sounds like I should maybe come out even a week before orientation and start looking - a week before the end of the month is not usually the best time to find places.

Man, if you're moving to the D from Vancouver, you're gonna need more than a place to stay...you're gonna need some counseling.

There's a hotel chain called Extended Stay America that caters to people needing, well, an extended... I know that they have a site at Metro airport. If you're really adventurous, you can find an ultra cheap motel/hotel in the city, but just make sure you don't leave your family heirlooms in your car. You may also try the yellow pages for a cheap motel in a blue collar suburb just outside of the city. Try Madison Heights, Warren, Lincoln Park, Redford, Allen Park, Roseville, Garden City, etc. There are no official youth hostels in the city. There may be one in Ann Arbor (I know they have a Chabad House, and you don't have to be Jewish to stay there).

For an apt., take a look at the Metro Times's classified section (www.metrotimes.com/classified/browse.asp?Class=Apartment%20- Detroit). The Boston Edison flat listed there sounds good. That's one of the choice neighborhoods (www.urbanplanet.org/forums/lofiversion/index.php/t7692.html and http://citylivingdetroit.com/05/neighborh_bostone.php)
 
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Hey, I am trying to decide which med school I should go to next year. I know that this is the last minute but I have to choose between Wayne State and the University of Toledo School of Medicine. I am heavily leaning toward Wayne State but Toledo has a nicer campus and is not in Detroit. But having said that, it is in Toledo. The cirriculum seems pretty comprable. Does anyone have any suggestions/ information that might help me make my decission?

If you choose Wayne State over Toledo, even though I am currently sitting on Wayne's waitlist. Why you might ask?

Because you might have been the person who freed up a spot for my friend. So I can't fault anyone for helping her get into med school. :laugh:
 
thanks for the advice fun8 and dr. d.

yep, moving to detroit from vancouver is going to be quite the change...cold winters, guns, driving everywhere - can't wait.

For anyone (Canadians particulary) interested in temp accomodation near Detroit, I only found one cheap(ish) place to stay - at the university of Windsor across the bridge for only $35 CAD/night:

https://web4.uwindsor.ca/units/AEC/Hospitality/conferenceServices/hotelres.nsf/Hostel?OpenForm

Before school starts at U of Windsor you can rent dorm rooms - and its still only about 15 minutes across the bridge to wayne. hopefully this will be good for the last part of july while i look for something permanent in the d, and maybe also less likely that my car full of absolutely everything i own will go missing.

well, only about two months left of freedom!

supa
 
What's most important to know about orientation week?
 
What's most important to know about orientation week?

UPs:
1) You don't have any real class.
2) Locations of all the parties every night.
3) AMSA book sale and the gooey "dirty netters" and lab stuff sale.

DOWNs:
1) HIPPA training
2) Infectious disease/blood born pathogen stuff
3) Actually having to show up for some of the more boring stuff.



On a positive note - Orientation week has really changed in the past couple of years due to some current 3rd & 4th years basically taking over. You have tours of the buildings/city. Much better "get to know your classmate" junk. And some really cool town-hall type of meetings with upperclassmen where there are no faculty present, so you can really ask whatever you want to. I did one of those last year and am hoping to get in on one this year as well since I'll be at Children's during your guys' orientation.
 
Thanks so much, <dancinjenn>. This is good info! I hope we'll get to see you at the "townhall" mtg.
 
What's most important to know about orientation week?
this isn't the most important thing, but it might be nice to try to find some of your gross dissection group members so you can coordinate at the sale of dissection kits and dirty books - you only need 2 of everything for each table. for our orientation they put out a list of who was at which table.
 
What the best deal in the detroit area for internet and cable package? Anyone have any idea about good deal service providers?
 
this isn't the most important thing, but it might be nice to try to find some of your gross dissection group members so you can coordinate at the sale of dissection kits and dirty books - you only need 2 of everything for each table. for our orientation they put out a list of who was at which table.

<mendel121> Thank you so much! I had no idea that we would be buying all of those materials during orientation!
How much money - approximately - do people spend during that week?
 
<mendel121> Thank you so much! I had no idea that we would be buying all of those materials during orientation!
How much money - approximately - do people spend during that week?
the prosectors (M2s who work in the gross lab) collect stuff at the end of gross every year and then re-sell it to you guys during orientation - they'll have scrubs, lab coats, dirty books, dissection kits, clipboards. Buying stuff from them is a good idea, because it's pretty cheap - I think I spent $70 and got everything I needed - and once you're done with gross, everything that you took into the lab with you, you'll want to throw away - the smell is indescribable.

other than that, the only cash I shelled out was the $450 parking fee, yeah, that one hurts.

Oops, I forgot books - you'll have to buy a Netter's Atlas (i think you can get one cheap if you join AMSA, or something during orientation) and a Gray's for Students text book at the very least. DO NOT BUY A DISSECTION GUIDE - IT AIN'T WORTH IT - you'll never use it outside of the lab, so buy a dirty one at the prosectors sale.
 
What the best deal in the detroit area for internet and cable package? Anyone have any idea about good deal service providers?

i have mine through comcast. ~200 channels (including some movies) and 6mb cable internet for $60/month. they told this was a special...marked down from the normal $160.. not sure i belive this though.

just internet was like $45. i would have done this, but my wife likes tv and the 200 channel plan wasn't anymore than adding just the basic.

i have also been told that if you sign up under one of comcast's specials you can call when it runs out (6mo internet, 1yr cable) and tell them you are going to cancel and they will extend your discounted special (since you are not under contract to stay with them).

before i moved last month we had sbc/yahoo/at&t dsl. It was the only service available to our apartment complex. It was like $50 month for a slower connection (1.5/3mb burst?), and this included the land-line required for dsl. so they marketed it as something like $30/month for dsl, but the hidden cost was having to pay for a basic land-line. Cable tv was included in our monthy rent.. i think it was like $30/month.
 
hey, just curious, did anyone receive an email from WSU about deferment, b/c i konw some did, but i didnt..
 
Whats the deal with the MD rooms? I remember the tour guide telling us that the entire class gets split into groups of 20-30 people, and you are assigned a room. And then this room and that group of ppl are in the same labs, small group et, for the next two years. Is this true?

Also, about the mandatory attendance stuff. Besides the labs for gross and possibly histo, how many events (small groups, discussions, labs) are mandatory attendance?
 
Whats the deal with the MD rooms? I remember the tour guide telling us that the entire class gets split into groups of 20-30 people, and you are assigned a room. And then this room and that group of ppl are in the same labs, small group et, for the next two years. Is this true?
For the most part that is accurate. There is a bit of flux between rooms depending on where the best teaching is happening. Also, for a few things the class is divided into small groups by other means.

Also, about the mandatory attendance stuff. Besides the labs for gross and possibly histo, how many events (small groups, discussions, labs) are mandatory attendance?
One thing to learn is that there is mandatory and then there is mandatory.
As memory serves the majority of the madatory stuff for the MS1s is gross lab and clinical medicine lectures/sessions (once they get started).
Of course with as many changes as they have made over the last couple of years that has probably changed by now.
 
any Canadians (or those who happen to know) have ideas how health insurance works for us? i don't want to pay $3000/year!

and to anyone else - are the exams during the preclinical years similar to USMLE/shelf exams, or are they mostly not comparable? do most people tend to start thinking about course material in terms of board exams right from first year?

the reason i ask is someone has offered me a bunch of used board review books, and thought these might be good for exam review during the first couple of years.

and one more question: i am on "hold" from registration because of health insurance and from the international services officer. what does this mean?
 
Wow, is $3000 the cost for health insurance through WSU? I think I saw three insurance options, basic, medium and high. I assume the $3000 is the high option? I looked up the cost of BCBS of Michigan's individual plans, and its about $175/month for someone 25-29, but I think you have more flexibility since I'm sure you dont have to see the idiots at student health before getting referred to someone else.
 
Wow, is $3000 the cost for health insurance through WSU? I think I saw three insurance options, basic, medium and high. I assume the $3000 is the high option? I looked up the cost of BCBS of Michigan's individual plans, and its about $175/month for someone 25-29, but I think you have more flexibility since I'm sure you dont have to see the idiots at student health before getting referred to someone else.

Through wayne? The last I checked (2 yrs ago) wayne's insurance was about $2600/year for one person under the basic plan and about $5500/year for a family (2 or more people). They require you to have insurance and it must be through them (this way they get a kick back from the insurance company). The only way you can get out of it is if you get insurance through your spouse or have insurance through your parents. They claim to be giving you a great price because it is a "group price", but you as you will find out if you look for prices on your own, you can get it a lot cheaper (but this is not allowed).
 
any Canadians (or those who happen to know) have ideas how health insurance works for us? i don't want to pay $3000/year!

and to anyone else - are the exams during the preclinical years similar to USMLE/shelf exams, or are they mostly not comparable? do most people tend to start thinking about course material in terms of board exams right from first year?

the reason i ask is someone has offered me a bunch of used board review books, and thought these might be good for exam review during the first couple of years.

and one more question: i am on "hold" from registration because of health insurance and from the international services officer. what does this mean?

I'm not canadian, but I do know some people who are. All you have to do is provide proof of your citizenship for Canada and then you will be waived from purchasing any other health care. You should contact the Records and Registration office to see if there is any additional required documentation that you need to provide....you may have to fill out a special form (if my memory is correct).
 
I'm not canadian, but I do know some people who are. All you have to do is provide proof of your citizenship for Canada and then you will be waived from purchasing any other health care. You should contact the Records and Registration office to see if there is any additional required documentation that you need to provide....you may have to fill out a special form (if my memory is correct).

cool - is what i thought. i assume my 'hold' is for the same reason.

when do we actually register so i can finally access my LOC and apply for student loans?
 
cool - is what i thought. i assume my 'hold' is for the same reason.

when do we actually register so i can finally access my LOC and apply for student loans?

You'll register during orientation.
You'll want to have your student loans dealt with prior to that.
LOC???:confused:
If you have something keeping you from applying for your student loans than you want to contact fin. aid, yesterday.
 
ah i need to show my bank (LOC = line of credit) that I am actually 'registered' before i can access the funds. i'm also applying for canadian student loans, which normally likewise requires proof of registration. hmmm interesting...
 
and to anyone else - are the exams during the preclinical years similar to USMLE/shelf exams, or are they mostly not comparable? do most people tend to start thinking about course material in terms of board exams right from first year?

the reason i ask is someone has offered me a bunch of used board review books, and thought these might be good for exam review during the first couple of years.

For my experience, I found USMLE reviews and self exams useful when preparing for the exams in each subject. They help by stating things a little bit differently then in your notes, (Which helps with identifying 'unfamiliar' looking stuff on exams), and these books give you additional practice solving questions.
 
I wanted to know if anybody got any scholarships yet. I am not sure if they were suppose to be disbursed until July or June.
 
I wanted to know if anybody got any scholarships yet. I am not sure if they were suppose to be disbursed until July or June.

i only got $6K, but i'm OOS so it isn't much. does anyone know if most of these "free money" is pretty much renewable the next 4 yrs?
 
Anyone else receive any scholarships from that scholarship application we had to fill out before some time in March or April? I just want to know if they were to be put on our awards letter in June or July.
 
Just wanted to share this article. I'd be interested in hearing the story from the nurses'/doctors' points of view in hopes that their actions were justified.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19207050/?GT1=10056


Thanks for this article! This is absolutely shocking!! Is there a greater paradox than for a death to be caused by an "absence of care" in the realm of a hospital ER?
 
I am new to this loan thing, so any help would be greatly appreciated. Right now I am leaning toward using AAMC Medloans as my lender for my stafford. Although there have been numerous posts complaining about the lack of customer service, poor servicer with Sallie Mae, and if you are late once, it takes 24 months of ontime payment to regain your repayment benefits. Now those are the cons. The plus side is you can get up to 1.75% in IRR once you get into repayment, which is competitive compared to other lenders. However the more important aspect is the .30% IRR during disbursement. This could be a huge savings, espcially if you defer your repayment beyond graduation, until after residency. .30% may not seem like much, but if you do the math over 4+ years, that is a significant savings. Plus, if you reconsolidate after graduation like most med students, your repayment benefits go out the window anyways until you a get a new consolidated loan repayment benefits. So doesn't just make more sense to go with medloans and get the upfront savings now?! Not sure what are the options for consolidation flexibility with medloans though? Please correct me if I am totally clueless about this loan situation.
 
I am new to this loan thing, so any help would be greatly appreciated. Right now I am leaning toward using AAMC Medloans as my lender for my stafford. Although there have been numerous posts complaining about the lack of customer service, poor servicer with Sallie Mae, and if you are late once, it takes 24 months of ontime payment to regain your repayment benefits. Now those are the cons. The plus side is you can get up to 1.75% in IRR once you get into repayment, which is competitive compared to other lenders. However the more important aspect is the .30% IRR during disbursement. This could be a huge savings, espcially if you defer your repayment beyond graduation, until after residency. .30% may not seem like much, but if you do the math over 4+ years, that is a significant savings. Plus, if you reconsolidate after graduation like most med students, your repayment benefits go out the window anyways until you a get a new consolidated loan repayment benefits. So doesn't just make more sense to go with medloans and get the upfront savings now?! Not sure what are the options for consolidation flexibility with medloans though? Please correct me if I am totally clueless about this loan situation.

I signed my MPN with THE today.
 
I am new to this loan thing, so any help would be greatly appreciated. Right now I am leaning toward using AAMC Medloans as my lender for my stafford. Although there have been numerous posts complaining about the lack of customer service, poor servicer with Sallie Mae, and if you are late once, it takes 24 months of ontime payment to regain your repayment benefits. Now those are the cons. The plus side is you can get up to 1.75% in IRR once you get into repayment, which is competitive compared to other lenders. However the more important aspect is the .30% IRR during disbursement. This could be a huge savings, espcially if you defer your repayment beyond graduation, until after residency. .30% may not seem like much, but if you do the math over 4+ years, that is a significant savings. Plus, if you reconsolidate after graduation like most med students, your repayment benefits go out the window anyways until you a get a new consolidated loan repayment benefits. So doesn't just make more sense to go with medloans and get the upfront savings now?! Not sure what are the options for consolidation flexibility with medloans though? Please correct me if I am totally clueless about this loan situation.


i'm a bit clueless about this but...after "accepting" funds from the financial aid office (website), what more do we need to do? I need to get around to applying for grad plus loans (????) as well. how do I go about doing this?
 
Whats the deal with the MD rooms? I remember the tour guide telling us that the entire class gets split into groups of 20-30 people, and you are assigned a room. And then this room and that group of ppl are in the same labs, small group et, for the next two years. Is this true?

Also, about the mandatory attendance stuff. Besides the labs for gross and possibly histo, how many events (small groups, discussions, labs) are mandatory attendance?

MD labs are both the first group of people you meet and your general home away from home at Wayne. They're pretty much only for med students, have free printing and computers (freely available anytime except for very peak hours) Seriously, make an effort to get to know your MD lab a bit - I'm still good friends with several of them, two years down the road.

For MANDATORY (penalties for missing) you have clin med: thou shalt not miss clin med.
For Mandatory (nebulous penalties for missing) you have anatomy lab. If you're noticeably not there, you will piss of your dissection group and a lab prof probably will notice. I had to take off a few times, but my group understood - I did the same for them.
For mandatory (ok, you won't get penalties) Histology lab. Yes, you can legally skip. But you're going to have a hell of a time passing, much less doing well in the class if you're not there.

Good luck!
 
I have an odd request, but here goes. I'm in charge of getting people to respond to the 31 question's thread in the mentor forum and am looking for current students at all of the med schools of the US. So, I realize this is the class thread for the incoming class, but perhaps someone from previous classes has been helpful in answering your questions and giving you advice in this thread. I have no time to read through every single class thread to get this info, but if you could post some user names of some such people (or pm them to me, including what school you are from), I can pm them with my request. Thanks!
 
so.. does anyone know a good day during the first week or two to bring family to school? is there some sort of family day or something during orientation week?
 
Hey does anyone know the schedule for orientation? My mom keeps asking about things for parents... is that only on the white coat ceremony day? Any info anyone could provide would be VERY appreciated!
 
Anyone looking for a relatively quiet and clean male roommate? Let me know if you are because I am seeking one.
 
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