Yosh and Melancholy,
Yes...that was me on the OMAC panel last August. You know, the only one on the panel who was arguing against going into med school with the "2.0 = D.O." philosphy. Not that I'm a "gunner" (not even the slightest) but I believe in giving it your absolute best and not settling with just passing by.
As far as what recreation activities have happened, just go to our class website and there's a picture gallery (and a baby gallery of some students in our class!) of events that have happened. WARNING: it's a pretty long address....
http://student.westernu.edu/aecuenca/DO2004/homepage.htm
I'm just an amateur at this webpage stuff and am still trying to learn. but it's just a hobby after all.
Many of you are asking about the SAP and ISAC program, so I'll throw in my two cents...
The people that I know that took SAP said that they were glad they took it since it helped them get acquainted with the terminology.
My personal experience with ISAC people during the first semester was mixed. There were some people who were quite helpful and modest, but there were those that were completely stuck on themselves and thought they were the $hit. The plusses of this particular program were that ISAC students didn't have to take Anatomy with us, leaving them A LOT of time to excel in other classes. About half of the people on the Dean's list (the top 10% of our class) are from the ISAC program. In addition, for serving as a facilitator, you also supposedly get extra points which helped many ISAC students get A's in the class (they were also included in the 6% curve as well). I knew a couple who got close to 100% totals.
The negatives are that if you are a prick as a facilitator, you won't win any favors among your classmates, and they WILL despise you. (that's because they will be stressing out w/ anatomy plus all of the other classes). As a facilitator, your fellow classmates will look to you as a Teaching Assistant (which is an unfair assumption) putting unnecessary stress on your life. Also, should you not meet the satisfactory requirement of passing ISAC, you will have wasted 7 weeks of your summer. There was one guy I know who went through this and he hated being at COMP.
there are + and - with the ISAC program, as with any medical school. One thing you want to also keep in mind: grades aren't everything. All of the clinicians that come in (especially the COMP alumni) stress that grades don't have a major influence in where you will practice, or what residency you will land. Your board scores and your rotations performance are the most important. Grades do have some role, but if you think about it, some medical schools have "more difficult" programs than others (teaching quality, course scheduling, etc.). What equalizes everyone? Your board scores and your rotation performance. again, something to keep in mind (I'm still promoting do your best by the way....).
thanks for listening,
Arnold
