It seems like there are quite a few of us starting this year, so I thought maybe a thread to chat and celebrate (and later, commiserate) might be fun.
I’m heading to LECOM-Erie in July. Since undergrad I have worked in a nursing home, farmed, and completed an MPH, and presently I’m cycling between being thrilled and being terrified about starting med school.
good idea, phcat. on my end, i am nothing but excited for med school to begin. already been fitted for my white coat (which was completely awesome) and will move into my new house in a couple weeks.
my school (Univ of Ariz) also has something called the Bridge Program that is geared towards non-trads or others who perhaps didn’t have an undergrad science degree. i applied and was accepted (28 students total) so that starts on July 24. it’s hosted by one of the professors who gives us a 1 week crash course on what med school will be like, i think we have a small test, and then we all celebrate. so it should be a great way to meet some of my fellow non-trad classmates and hit the ground running.
You’re lucky that they gave you a fitting for your white coat! We just had to fill out a form and select a size. I wear anywhere from a 4 to an 8, depending on the cut of whatever I’m buying. I chose size 8 because I guess I’d rather it’s too big than too small? Anyone know if they run big or small?
Shawn, that bridge program sounds great! I did my masters at the U of A and had no idea their med school had that program (although I don’t think I’d have applied here anyway - I’m really interested in osteo and wanted to move back east).
Switzerland, no idea on how the white coats run or even if they are all made the same from school to school. I have a fitting between when I fly back east and when orientation starts. Where are you going?
I’m going to Penn State. Maybe I should check to make sure I wasn’t supposed to go for a fitting since both your and Shawn’s schools had one? Tho I didn’t see that info anywhere…
switz, we also filled out a form with our sleeve length, shoulder width, chest size, etc but we could also go into the store that was supplying the coats and try them on. check with PSU about it. you’ll want to look good for your white coat ceremony pictures!
Switzerland, I’d agree - won’t hurt to give them a call. Even if there’s no measurements/fitting they can probably give you some idea of how sizes tend to run.
Penn State was the one MD school I wanted to apply to (didn’t end up filing AMCAS for just one school) so I’ll be really interested to hear how you like it! My neighbor who is an oncologist went there and speaks very highly of it.
At WVSOM we’re supposed to have 4 days of orientation that seems to be similar to Shawn’s bridge program, then end the week with our first day of real classes. I’m excited for it all to begin.
At some point in all that we get fitted for our coats - which I’m hoping is more of a measurement than Switzerlands! - and the ceremony is two weeks later. Exciting!!!
We’ve been in Des Moines for about a week and are mostly unpacked. My class has a FB group so I have already met like 1/2 of my classmates and am pretty good friends with about 6 of them. Just waiting for everyone else to get to town so we can hang out before school starts.
One thing DMU does is something called “The Primer”, which is a 4 pre-tests in “basic scinces” (ie Histo, Biochem, Physio, Micro.) and after you takethe pre-test it gives you access to a basic lecture notes and some “brush up material” for before schools starts. I just took Histo and got a 5/15 right without the benefit of ever taking Histo (the good news is that I hit the class avg.), so it is really starting to feel real here, even with 6 weeks remaining of summer. They also started a cool summer reading program that will have a discussion group during orientation. All in all still very excited. Haven’t heard a word about white coats here.
Pixie - yes, they will not only fit you, they’ll let you try on till you find one that fits well. One of the “guys” two models fit me better so I went with that.
After white coat ceremony, they’ll make you turn them in to the bookstore in a schedule (20 at a time) and send them off to have your names embroidered on them. That’s nice 
I paid for a second one with my name just a few weeks ago so I will have two for rotations. Hope that will be enough.
Licia
I’m moving at the end of the week to Blacksburg, VA to be in VCOM class of 2016. I’m 32 (33 in August), married with an almost 2 year old son.
I’ve been working so hard to be ready but I’m having such a hard time with frequent panicky feelings. Our son was just diagnosed with high functioning autism so that may have something to do with it. I’m so worried about disrupting his life and whether the therapies he needs will be available in VA. We currently live in PA where there are a lot of services available for autistic children.
Licia - sounds awesome.
Telo - That’s hard. A close friend of mine has a son with autism, and I know it’s tough to find the right personalities in teachers and doctors. However, there are a lot of resources for parents online, I will see if he has any to recommend.
Telomerase, I know Blacksburg is a small town but hopefully with the med school there will be options for your son’s therapies. On another note I’m still on the waitlist at VCOM - love their program - but I doubt there will be much (if any) more movement at this point. Plus I’d lose a big chunk of money if I switched from LECOM now…
As med students, will we be carrying books to classes? or just laptops? I’m trying to decide if I need to use the backpack I used for undergrad (big and supportive enough to carry huge books), or if I will just need a laptop-type bag. Any thoughts?
I’m kind of assuming we’ll just need laptop/note taking materials for classes, but I still might end up carrying books back and forth depending on where I find it most conducive to study.
I’m not even planning on buying paper textbooks. I’ll buy e-books and load them on the iPad I’m getting at the end of August.
I have a 15 minute walk to school, so I’m getting a new backpack that I will carry my laptop, my iPad, and a spiral notebook or legal pad for use as scratch paper. Then I’ll have my lunch and personal items.
I’m moving with my entire family (husband, two kids under 5, and cat) next Friday. We’re not even 10% packed and I’m starting to panic.
Call and make sure no one is in the place you are renting still 
We found out the day we went to Graceland (drive day 4) that “our” house still had another student in it. On the bright side, we have enjoyed our “vacation” next door, the student was quite nice, and we get to move in to the proper house Monday. I’m excited to actually unpack and find my favorite pen.
But seriously, just pack a “first week” box of the important things you need when you arrive (kitchen/bath essentials) and make unpacking the rest a treasure hunt/game. 
switz, the facebook group for my class had 2nd and 3rd years chime in that we would not need to buy any textbooks. they said the notes are enough so only need laptop/iPad. if your class has a fb group perhaps pose the question to them b/c i’m sure it varies by school. the only books i really plan on using are Step I books to supplement the class notes.
aylaanne, i’m also moving soon (over 4th of july) and haven’t packed as much as i’d like so i understand the panic/stress. btw, where are you going to school?
Good advice Pixie, I hadn’t even thought of that! The place I was going to rent fell through since the current tenant decided to stay, but at least I found out about it before actually moving. I’m kind of scrambling now to find a place - there are options but none are totally ideal: renting a room (finished basement) from a married couple where the bathroom is upstairs (I have to pee alot) and no guests are allowed, renting a nice house without having roommates set up (potentially spending a TON of money), or a studio in walking distance to the school that is way overpriced. It’s making me kind of crazy - I’m not really sure what the most ideal situation would be.
Haha - our options here in Hershey were mold, mold, cat pee, mold, 25-year-old carpet (“but we’ve shampooed it A LOT” - mmmm, that’s not helping your case!), and more mold. Oh, and did I mention that the rent on these dives was just as expensive as living outside the nation’s capital?! I was panicked, but kept searching neurotically until FINALLY we found the perfect place. Keep searching and maybe another option will turn up 
It may bring you to the brink of insanity, but it might be worth it in the end.