Albany Medical College c/o 2013!

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BGKQS2008

BGKQS2008

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Anyone else strongly considering Albany???
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BGKQS2008 said:
Good luck! Albany's really fast with decisions, so hopefully you'll hear good news soon!
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thank you, good luck with everything to you as well...

write back when you know for sure! :thumbup:
 
I'm definitely going - I grew up in Albany and it was my first choice.
 
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RainerMaria said:
Also, interesting tidbit that JD from Scrubs (or his inspiration) went to AMC:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albany_Medical_College
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UH, don't forget James Salisbury M.D., inventor of the Salisbury Steak....


So, I take it you're going then? cool. Where are you from, etc. etc.?

I'll start.

My name is Sean, I grew up in albany, attended bethlehem central highschool, which is right outside of albany.

Went to College of the holy cross for undergrad, psych BA, went immediately on to a 2 year post bacc at columbia, then applied.

I'm psyched to be going to school at a hospital I'm familiar with (I work there now as an aide on a trauma/surgical unit).

I have my living situation set. I have a bunch of friends that are in albany either going to other grad schools (albany law, pharm) or working. I am living in a house in my home town of bethlehem just outside albany (20 min drive from the hospital). I have a car, so I'm not concerned about being far away.

I'm not an overly serious person, and hope there will be some easy going people to kick back with, party with... when we have a reprieve that is.

Albany is a great town, and has something for everyone within reasonable traveling distance. Lake george, my favorite place in the world, is only an hour north, while NYC is only 2.5 hours south, or an easy train ride. You get the night life of a good sized city, and the culture, but you don't get the awful nightmare traffic and lack of nature. There is an amazing state park a 20 minute drive away where my roomate and I walk his dogs or we go to bbq in the summer.

ok that's all I can think of to ramble about albany this late at night. I look forward to talking with/meeting my future classmates.
 
Yo Conky, I have my Albany interview on March 26th. My close cousin went to Albany Medical School and really liked it there, I would go 100% if I get accepted too. Got any interview tips for me? :D I'm a really easy going guy too, but I hear the interviewers at Albany are cynical and condescending and I'm kinda nervous :eek:. Not sure how you would react to their interviewers. Also do you mind me asking what were your stats?
 
Conky said:
UH, don't forget James Salisbury M.D., inventor of the Salisbury Steak....


So, I take it you're going then? cool. Where are you from, etc. etc.?

I'll start.

My name is Sean, I grew up in albany, attended bethlehem central highschool, which is right outside of albany.

Went to College of the holy cross for undergrad, psych BA, went immediately on to a 2 year post bacc at columbia, then applied.

I'm psyched to be going to school at a hospital I'm familiar with (I work there now as an aide on a trauma/surgical unit).

I have my living situation set. I have a bunch of friends that are in albany either going to other grad schools (albany law, pharm) or working. I am living in a house in my home town of bethlehem just outside albany (20 min drive from the hospital). I have a car, so I'm not concerned about being far away.

I'm not an overly serious person, and hope there will be some easy going people to kick back with, party with... when we have a reprieve that is.

Albany is a great town, and has something for everyone within reasonable traveling distance. Lake george, my favorite place in the world, is only an hour north, while NYC is only 2.5 hours south, or an easy train ride. You get the night life of a good sized city, and the culture, but you don't get the awful nightmare traffic and lack of nature. There is an amazing state park a 20 minute drive away where my roomate and I walk his dogs or we go to bbq in the summer.

ok that's all I can think of to ramble about albany this late at night. I look forward to talking with/meeting my future classmates.
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I'm finishing my 2nd year right now and live near Bethlehem. Since you grew up here you wouldn't happen to know of anyone renting or thinking of renting a 3 bdrm house or duplex would you? Figured it's worth a shot. I'm in a 2 bedroom, but it's a little cramped.
 
Lakama said:
Yo Conky, I have my Albany interview on March 26th. My close cousin went to Albany Medical School and really liked it there, I would go 100% if I get accepted too. Got any interview tips for me? :D I'm a really easy going guy too, but I hear the interviewers at Albany are cynical and condescending and I'm kinda nervous :eek:. Not sure how you would react to their interviewers. Also do you mind me asking what were your stats?
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hey lakama - my interviewers at albany were probably the nicest i had encountered throughout all my interviews. their attitude totally changed my view of AMC. it was truly a casual conversation (we spent half the time talking about where i grew up). don't know about the other interviewers, but if you have dr. smith or mr. falzano you will have a good time.
 
Wow, thats a relief! Thanks for the response, it'll definitely ease some things up before I go in.
 
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Steiner said:
I'm finishing my 2nd year right now and live near Bethlehem. Since you grew up here you wouldn't happen to know of anyone renting or thinking of renting a 3 bdrm house or duplex would you? Figured it's worth a shot. I'm in a 2 bedroom, but it's a little cramped.
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Me and my friend live in a house house. Our potential roomate backed out and is moving down south.

It is sweet in terms of the extra space, but it is a 20 minute drive from the hospital (its in glenmont, technically selkirk.)

So are you looking to rent a room in a 3 bedroom apartment with other students? I don't know of anyone looking to do that right now except for me and my roomate, but like I said, it's outside of albany. I'm guessing not a lot of people are going to want to do that.
 
Conky said:
Me and my friend live in a house house. Our potential roomate backed out and is moving down south.

It is sweet in terms of the extra space, but it is a 20 minute drive from the hospital (its in glenmont, technically selkirk.)

So are you looking to rent a room in a 3 bedroom apartment with other students? I don't know of anyone looking to do that right now except for me and my roomate, but like I said, it's outside of albany. I'm guessing not a lot of people are going to want to do that.
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I live in glenmont now, so commuting the 10 minutes is no big deal. I have a family so that's why I'm looking for a 3 bdrm. I figured it was worth a shot to see if you'd heard anything b/c your from the area. I was thinking family friends or something like that though, not from incoming students.

Good luck next year to everyone
 
Hey guys, I'm in. I'm currently sitting on a bunch of other waitlists but I am really happy that I was accepted to Albany. I was pleasantly suprised with the school when I went up to interview. Anyone considering other schools also? I guess as we move closer to May 15, everyone will start having to make some decisions.

One thing I am slightly concerned about is the large amount of primary care residencies that come out of Albany. Is this out of choice or out of necessity? I don't know what I want to do yet, but I at least want the option of surgery. I can't seem to find a matchlist either, anyone know where I can find one?
 
ceilngsdontexst said:
hey lakama - my interviewers at albany were probably the nicest i had encountered throughout all my interviews. their attitude totally changed my view of AMC. it was truly a casual conversation (we spent half the time talking about where i grew up). don't know about the other interviewers, but if you have dr. smith or mr. falzano you will have a good time.
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I second this sentiment. I went into my interview expecting to be attacked. While we did cover many controversial topics, the interview was more like a discussion than a quiz. I left Albany very impressed with the people there.
 
Hello,
Congrats on your acceptance! I interviewed at Albany v. recently but haven't heard anything today (the Tuesday after the interview)- just wondering if you interviewed at Albany last week as well, and how you were notified

thanks!
 
I interviewed on Thursday, March 5. I found out officially on the following Wednesday when I got an official email. So maybe you'll hear tomorrow? If you don't, I wouldn't be overly concerned as I am sure sometimes the process gets a little delayed. Good luck.
 
Nice to know! I'm new to this site and slowly figuring it out...
Thanks for the info ; )
 
Jfasten said:
Hey guys, I'm in. I'm currently sitting on a bunch of other waitlists but I am really happy that I was accepted to Albany. I was pleasantly suprised with the school when I went up to interview. Anyone considering other schools also? I guess as we move closer to May 15, everyone will start having to make some decisions.

One thing I am slightly concerned about is the large amount of primary care residencies that come out of Albany. Is this out of choice or out of necessity? I don't know what I want to do yet, but I at least want the option of surgery. I can't seem to find a matchlist either, anyone know where I can find one?
Click to expand...

Do well and you'll leave all your options open, whatever they are.

dalilama - yeah, you should hear today. Occasionally, some applications get pushed back a week if they run out of time. Rejections get snail mailed. Good luck. :thumbup:
 
Thought this may interest anyone on their way to AMC

2009 Albany Medical College Match List
4 Anesthesiology
George Washington
Einstein/Montefiore
Beth Israel Deaconess
University of Colorado
1 Dermatology
UMass Worcester
4 Diagnostic Radiology
Albany Medical Center
Stony Brook Teaching Hospitals
Tufts Medical Center
Hartford Hospital
24 Internal Medicine
3 Albany Medical Center
2 Brown University
2 Kaiser Perm-Oakland
Kaiser Perm So.Cal. Region
Dartmouth-Hitchcock Med Center
Long Island Jewish
U Penn
Boston University
Cedars-Sinai
Einstein/Jacobi
Columbia University
North Shore-Long Island Jewish
Einstein/Montefiore
Olive View-UCLA
University of Maryland
SUNY HSC Brooklyn
Weill-Cornell
Pacific Medical Center
Boston University Medical Center
USC
2 Physical Medicine & Rehab
NYU
Jackson Memorial Hospital
15 General Surgery
Albany Medical Center
Brookdale Hospital Med. Center
UC Davis
Drexel University
UMass
St. Barnabas Med. Center
Abington Memorial Hospital
Lahey Clinic
Atlanta Medical Center
UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson
UConn
Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital
University of Florida
Baylor College of Medicine
UC Irvine
8 Orthopedic Surgery
George Washington
2 Albany Medical Center
Tufts Medical Center
UPMC
UC Davis
National Naval Med Center
Thomas Jefferson
14 Emergency Medicine
2 Albany Medical Center
Denver Health Medical Center
Einstein/Jacobi
UConn
University of Louisville
William Beaumont
St Lukes-Roosevelt
George Washington
UC Davis
UPMC
Baystate Medical Center
UCLA
Maricopa Medical Center
18 Pediatrics
Albany Medical Center (Med-Peds)
UMDNJ-Newark (Med-Peds)
3 Albany Medical Center
Tufts Medical Center
UConn
University of Wisconsin
Duke
Johns Hopkins
University of Washington
University of Minnesota
Baylor College of Medicine
Loma Linda
Weill-Cornell Medical Center
North Shore-Long Island Jewish
Winthrop-University Hospital
Westchester Medical Center
5 Pathology
Stanford
University of Vermont
Baystate Medical Center
UMass
Tufts Medical Center
4 Psychiatry
Einstein/Jacobi
Naval Medical Center
Harvard Longwood
UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson
1 Peds Psych/Child Psych
University of Kentucky
9 OB/GYN
2 University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Thomas Jefferson
North Shore-Long Island Jewish
Kaiser Perm-Santa Clara
Einstein/Montefiore
Albany Medical Center
USC
Dartmouth-Hitchcock Med Center
18 Family Medicine
University of Wisconsin
UC San Diego
Maine Medical Center
2 Harbor-UCLA
Providence Hospital-D.C.
Queen’s University
Albany Medical Center
McKay-Dee Hospital
St. Joseph’s-Syracuse
UCLA
Northridge Hospital Medical Center
Kaiser Perm-So. Cal. Region
Columbia University
University of Utah
Beth Israel
Southwest Washington Med. Center
Oregon Health & Science University
1 Neurology
Albany Medical Center
2 Neurosurgery
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
Albany Medical Center
1 Urology
Medical College of Wisconsin
4 Transitional
Portsmouth Naval Med. Center
Naval Medical Center
Mary Imogene Bassett
Hospital of St. Raphael
 
This is a great list. Congratulations to your class.

Steiner, do you mind sharing your thoughts about AMC? When I interviewed it seemed like a supportive, cohesive bunch of students.

Also, do you know what the 1st time pass rate is on the USMLE?

Thanks,

RM
 
I wish it was, but it's not my class, I'm still 2 years away from matching. AMC is a good school, but I can only tell you about the first two years. I like the curriculum set-up. You learn one organ system and then have a test, then move to the next system. The school is old, but they are always trying to improve to make the students get the best education(e.g.wireless access is only 2 years old). Within the last month they installed a video recording system that syncs the audio lectures, which have been recorded for a while, to the lecture slides. So, if you miss a classroom lecture you can download the lecture at home and follow along with the lecture slides. We also just switched this Spring to NBME exams for the second year class. These are the same type and format as the Step 1, and they are actually from the NBME, not imitations from our faculty. The idea is that these exams are preparing our class for the Boards and our scores will show the improvement. We'll see this Summer. From what I've heard, the clinical years are excellent, but I'm not there yet. You get clinical practice from 1st year on with standardized patients and then in second year with patients in the hospital. Like every school, there are issues that people have. Some teachers are viewed as apathetic and others are just poor teachers. The biggest problem most people have is the location. Albany isn't NYC or Boston, but there are things to do.
 
I spent two years in NYC and they were miserable. I know, it completely depends on the person, but I am not a huge city person. Albany has the best of both worlds. It's a good compromise for everyone, except for the weather.

Also, albany is conveniently situated about 3 hours from boston and nyc, so you can get there no problem to visit. For the amount of free time I have now, which is a lot, Albany has more than enough to do, and I'm sure it will continue to be that way when I'm a busy MS1.
 
I've lived in Boston for nearly a decade, and I drove out to Albany for the first time for my interview. It was wicked easy. Just going down the mass pike for 2.5 hrs. Even some outlets on the way near the Berkshires/Tanglewood

Also, Megabus goes to NYC:
http://www.megabus.com/us/schedules/albany_newyork.php

Amtrak goes to NY and Montreal for pretty cheap. (And to Chicago for 50 bucks, but only if you like sitting in a train for 15 hours.)

For Boston, you can take a Greyhound, and probably a few other smaller bus lines that I don't know about.

This is a good site for indie shows and art galleries in the Capital Region:
http://alloveralbany.com/

Good luck!
 
there's a housing list available to accepted students. When I was accepted there was also a webpage that you could put up a little info about yourself and put that you were searching for roomates. I'm not sure if they still do this.
 
Steiner said:
there's a housing list available to accepted students. When I was accepted there was also a webpage that you could put up a little info about yourself and put that you were searching for roomates. I'm not sure if they still do this.
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Thanks Steiner!
 
My letter said I could e-mail Ms. Graves at [email protected] for a list of incoming students who want to share housing. not sure, however, if this will be available until April/May. I thought I also saw a bulletin board of current students with openings when I interviewed.
 
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If you are for sure coming to AMC you can use this form. Hopefully the attachment worked
 

Attachments

  • roommate listing application.doc
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Hey guys.

I'm pretty sure that this won't interest anyone, but I have to try. My friend and I really need another roommate. We live in a nice house on a suburban street (3 bedroom 2 bath, fully furnished, hot tub, big back yard, etc... the things that make a house nice). That, and the rent will be very similar to living in an apt. (450 a month).

The part that will undoubtedly turn off 99% of you is that the house is located in a suburb outside of albany, a 20 minute drive to the hospital. It doesn't bother me at all, but I grew up here, and can understand why that might really bother someone new to albany.

If anyone who is bringing a car who doesn't mind the commute is interested, here is some more info.

2 nonsmokers. I'm 25, my roommate 24 (works full time/student). There are two very friendly dogs in the house (1 boxer, 1 golden retriever). Washer/drier, no lease required, located on University street in selkirk.

Pm me with any interest.

Thanks,

Sean
 
Steiner said:
If you are for sure coming to AMC you can use this form. Hopefully the attachment worked
Click to expand...

Thanks again Steiner. As I'm unfamiliar with Albany, I'd probably be looking to live a little closer to the campus, sorry Conky everything else about that living arrangement sounds awesome.
 
09medstudent13 said:
Thanks again Steiner. As I'm unfamiliar with Albany, I'd probably be looking to live a little closer to the campus, sorry Conky everything else about that living arrangement sounds awesome.
Click to expand...

It's ok, just spoke to my roommate tonight, he's listed it on craigslist and has already had some interest. Hopefully no weirdos :xf::laugh:.
 
Can anyone tell me why the amc financial aid app has a page that asks you to list your extracurriculars and hobbies? Is this necessary, or can it be skipped? I signed in under prospective student after obtaining my user id.

To anyone who has filled out the form already, any input would be appreciated. Thanks.
 
I filled it out... it didn't take that long (I play a few instruments, sports, have a bunch of hobbies, etc. etc.). Every little bit of $ helps.:thumbup:
 
I am a MS3 @ AMC. Feel free to ask me questions as well (curriculum, places to live, clinical rotations, whatever). I don't go into this forum all that much, so use the PM function (click on my screen name) to get my attention.

Good luck to everyone, and congratulations.
 
Reposted PM, de-identified:

1) Is the 5-grade system as scary as it sounds, or do very few people fail out of classes / med school in general? It seems a little intimidating to me.
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I don't understand what is meant by the 5 grade system being scary. In general:

Top 5% = Extra Honors (or something like that :laugh:)
Next 10% = Honors
Vast middle = Good
Bottom 15-5% = Marginal
Bottom 5% = Fail

Very few folks get Fs, and these depend on how everyone does. If the exam was horribly unfair (and there have been some, believe you me,) then they at least pass everyone. If everyone got 80% or better (which happened to my class) everyone passed, because everyone put forth a good effort. But if the mean is 75% and someone earned a 50%, then that someone's got some problems.

2) How well do you feel AMC prepares you for the boards & match?
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For the boards? Hurm. For me, there was essentially 2 curricula, what I needed to pass classes, and what I needed to ace the boards. The two didn't match up well. You can see what I did for Step 1 in the USMLE forum. Funny thing is, I don't believe this changes much from school to school (exceptions below). Some schools may teach one subject better than another, but all have gaps and from what I've heard, most don't teach to the exam.

I believe that there should be major reform, resulting in a curriculum matching what is done at Penn and Duke. The school has made the first steps in that direction with using the NBME pre-clinical exam banks. These exams will help you prepare for the boards much better than the old question banks I was tested with.

For the Match, I don't know. Last year, we had a number of people match at competitive places in competitive fields (One in ortho at Duke, of all places). Like most things, it's more about what you want out of your experience than what program X will give you. I have been able to find support for the things I to do (i.e. research), and I've been very happy with the faculty supporting my career choices. How will that help with the Match? Well, talk to me in a year and I'll tell you.

3) Where is the best place to live in or around Albany? I know there are university apartments nearby but they are a little steep.
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West of the school, south of the school, along New Scotland, along Delaware, south of Central Ave, and I know some folks along 2nd Ave. All of those areas are relatively safe (don't even look at Arbor Hill), you can find cheap places, and are generally within walking distance.
 
Hey, so it's starting to look more and more like i'll be heading over to albany med. I;m still holding out hope for my state school (to save 20k a year), but thats a post-interview waitlist right now. I'm interested in getting some preemptive discussions about roomates and looking into appartments. I'm a male, and willing to live with male or female, 1,2,or 3 roomates. I lived with 4 other guys throughout college in a house, but i can live in any situation. PM me if anyone has any interest in starting to look for a place to live.
 
...I'd like to do a little reading that might help me w/ anatomy etc.
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While it's admirable you want to get started right away, there's really no point. The amount of effort you spend studying now really won't add to your comprehension later. Just enjoy your free time.

...What is your schedule the first year...
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Most folks are at class by 9am, class 'till noon, lectures start up again at 1pm. 1pm-3pm would be a late day. Mostly science courses, ethics and biostats classes.

My schedule eventually became get up whenever I wanted, listen to the lectures at 2x speed, read the lecture notes repeatedly, and still have the afternoon off.

...[W]ould it help to get the "textbooks" beforehand?....
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No. AMC will give you syllabi built from the lecture handouts. Or they might go paperless (i.e. require tablet PCs) your year.
 
My main concerns are albany as a city (these may be completely unfounded)...
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My thoughts on where you go for med school:

As long as you aren't getting shot, mugged, or robbed, it really shouldn't matter. You're going to spend so much time working and that can be done anywhere. I also really don't think it's a wise idea to judge a school based on something completely unrelated to the school.

...Staff seemed good and it seems like it isn't a cutthroat environment...
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I don't know about this. In my mind, everyone on the East coast has something to prove. It's also med school, so everyone is competing with each other for grades and evals. Or maybe you aren't, but a lot of others are.

How much time do you spend studying and how much time to you have to go out/leisure, etc...
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I spent 2-3hrs/night studying when I attended lecture. I spent something lie 5-6hrs/day studying when I didn't go to class, which is a much more efficient way to go (for me). Weekends depended on how close the exam was.

At the end of MS2, only about a third of the class attended lecture regularly.

Many kids won't attend or study for the first few weeks of a 4-week theme, but as test time gets close everyone crams. I don't beleive this is a big departure from our school compared to any other school.
 
Many medical schools are in much tougher areas: WUSTL, JHU, Temple, SUNY Downstate. I wasn't particularly worried about Albany when I visited.
 
Anyone know what the deal is with the Lenovo Thinkpad Tablet? I gave up on pc's a while back.. spyware, viruses, slow processors... and love my 12 inch mac powerbook (they may not be making these anymore). Is it possible to install the necessary software on a mac? Any input is appreciated!
 
DaliLamahimself said:
Anyone know what the deal is with the Lenovo Thinkpad Tablet? I gave up on pc's a while back.. spyware, viruses, slow processors... and love my 12 inch mac powerbook (they may not be making these anymore). Is it possible to install the necessary software on a mac? Any input is appreciated!
Click to expand...

My friend's girlfriend is an MSI at albany right now. Here's something she told me about the tablet in an email:

"As for the tablet. If you have a mac or some type of computer where you
can download a PDF annotator or some program with PDF's that you can take notes on, or if you just want to have acomputer that you can download
PDFs and will take notes with Microsoft word, then that is fine. But the
school is no longer printing out paper syllabi and expects everyone to
have a tablet. I have a tablet and I absolutley love it! I would
recommend getting it just so that you don't have to worry about all the
b.s. like if your computer (mac) has the appropriate programs or is
licensed for this or that. "
 
Thanks for the info
I may just stick with my mac and download the software


Conky said:
My friend's girlfriend is an MSI at albany right now. Here's something she told me about the tablet in an email:

"As for the tablet. If you have a mac or some type of computer where you
can download a PDF annotator or some program with PDF's that you can take notes on, or if you just want to have acomputer that you can download
PDFs and will take notes with Microsoft word, then that is fine. But the
school is no longer printing out paper syllabi and expects everyone to
have a tablet. I have a tablet and I absolutley love it! I would
recommend getting it just so that you don't have to worry about all the
b.s. like if your computer (mac) has the appropriate programs or is
licensed for this or that. "
Click to expand...
 
Update about possible living situations. So Me and one other guy have PM'd about a place to live in albany. We wanna live close (within 10 min walk) and we both have cars (thus want off street parking available). hes 24 2 years removed from undergrad. im 22, 1 year removed. Personally I'd like to live in a 3 or 4 person housing situation whether it be apartment or house. PM if youre interested.
 
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