Any questions for a 1st year student at KSUCPM?

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Still on conditional acceptance, MCAT score comes back on Tuesday, so don't wanna jinx it by joining before haha!
Do you know the condition?

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I have a question. What are breaks like? (Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, spring break etc.) do you only get those days off or do you get the regular 1 week for thanksgiving, 3 for Christmas and 1 week for spring break?
Btw can't wait to start this fall! :soexcited:
 
I have a question. What are breaks like? (Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, spring break etc.) do you only get those days off or do you get the regular 1 week for thanksgiving, 3 for Christmas and 1 week for spring break?
Btw can't wait to start this fall! :soexcited:
Hi,
So classes start this year the last day of July, they run through Aug and you'll get Labor Day off in September. In November for Thanksgiving you'll get that Wednesday through Friday off and then finals start that following Monday. After finals, which lasts about till the middle of the second week of December fall semester is over and you have the rest of December off, a little over 3 weeks.

Spring semester starts after New Years. You have a week off in March for Spring break and then spring semester ends about the middle of the second week of March. You have a little over 2 weeks off and then start 6 weeks of summer classes. After the 6 weeks you have 2 weeks off in July and then second year starts.

It sounds like there aren't a ton of breaks and it's true, you'll be in school more time than not but there's plenty of time to plan trips and all that. After a couple of weeks off I'm usually bored and ready to go back.

Congrats on your acceptance, I mentioned to another user that the schedule was posted in the FB class page so make sure you join and check that out.
 
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(1) Overall, do you feel KSUCPM was the right choice after being there for a year now?
(2) Have any students dropped out during/after your first year? Any reasons why?
(3) Any clue if there are any spots still open for this cycle? Is it true that applications are down compared to last cycle?
(4) How's the vibe among your classmates about the future of podiatry? Is it what people expected it to be or are there folks who regret it?
 
(1) Overall, do you feel KSUCPM was the right choice after being there for a year now?
(2) Have any students dropped out during/after your first year? Any reasons why?
(3) Any clue if there are any spots still open for this cycle? Is it true that applications are down compared to last cycle?
(4) How's the vibe among your classmates about the future of podiatry? Is it what people expected it to be or are there folks who regret it?

I'm a KSUCPM student, so I can answer some of your questions here.

(1) I think it's a fine choice. You'll be more than prepared for boards and residency, so long as you put the work in. While there are things here and there that I would change, that goes for literally every school out there.
(2) We've probably lost around 20 students this year. Some dropped out for personal reasons (personal issues, loss of motivation etc.) and others for academic reasons. I'm not aware why all of them left, but I'd imagine there's a variety of reasons for each person.
(3) I'm not 100% sure if there are still spots right now, but there were a few around this time last year.
(4) Among the people I've spoken to, most are still pretty excited about the podiatry and what it has to offer. It's important to be realistic and there are definite challenges for the profession in the future, but the progress has been tremendous over the past 10 years and the trajectory is very good. There might be some who regret it, but most seem to still be positive about it.
 
I'm a KSUCPM student, so I can answer some of your questions here.

(1) I think it's a fine choice. You'll be more than prepared for boards and residency, so long as you put the work in. While there are things here and there that I would change, that goes for literally every school out there.
(2) We've probably lost around 20 students this year. Some dropped out for personal reasons (personal issues, loss of motivation etc.) and others for academic reasons. I'm not aware why all of them left, but I'd imagine there's a variety of reasons for each person.
(3) I'm not 100% sure if there are still spots right now, but there were a few around this time last year.
(4) Among the people I've spoken to, most are still pretty excited about the podiatry and what it has to offer. It's important to be realistic and there are definite challenges for the profession in the future, but the progress has been tremendous over the past 10 years and the trajectory is very good. There might be some who regret it, but most seem to still be positive about it.
20 students? That seems like a lot! Is that normal to have that many drop out in a year??
 
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1. It's not the best school for everyone but it was the best school for me. Wouldn't change my decision to attend for a second, it was all I wanted and more.
2. I think that we started with 111 and are now at 96 I believe (lost 18, gained 3). Don't quote me on those numbers though. Not all were academic reasons, some got into DO schools, one went into a PhD program, some decided podiatry wasn't for them. Some had health problems, some had personal tragedies, some weren't able to keep up with the rigor of school. It depends. There's plenty of different reasons people didn't continue on. We lost 16% of our class, I would say a loss of 15ish percent is probably around the norm for a lot of schools but again, don't quote me on numbers.
3. I can't say if there are lots of spots open but we do have people interviewing in July so I would assume there are at least some. I can't say about the number of applicants this year compared to last year. Our year was an unusually smaller class size and I don't know of this incoming year will be bigger. If you do wanna apply do so asap, applications close the 30th I think and finding apartments will be a scramble this late.
4. Most of the people who come to school and find out they don't like podiatry leave in the first year. The rest of us are very much in favor of this field and excited about future prospects.
 
Is that a consistent number each year for Kent? Thats crazy and just makes it seem like they accept people pretty easily!
 
Is that a consistent number each year for Kent? Thats crazy and just makes it seem like they accept people pretty easily!
No no, my year is just kind of a weird one. That 18 number even includes a guy who committed to the school and didn't show up for the white coat ceremony. There are some people who just stopped coming due to whatever personal reason, several of them are coming back as members of the class of 2021. The school is really good about working with students where even if they aren't able to complete the year for personal/health issues they are able to come back and join the following.
 
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How much more difficult would u say podiatry school is verses undergrad?

How does a school "gain 3" people? Were they transfers or something?

What makes a person decide to not stick around podiatry? Not liking feet? Limited license?

1. It's not the best school for everyone but it was the best school for me. Wouldn't change my decision to attend for a second, it was all I wanted and more.
2. I think that we started with 111 and are now at 96 I believe (lost 18, gained 3). Don't quote me on those numbers though. Not all were academic reasons, some got into DO schools, one went into a PhD program, some decided podiatry wasn't for them. Some had health problems, some had personal tragedies, some weren't able to keep up with the rigor of school. It depends. There's plenty of different reasons people didn't continue on. We lost 16% of our class, I would say a loss of 15ish percent is probably around the norm for a lot of schools but again, don't quote me on numbers.
3. I can't say if there are lots of spots open but we do have people interviewing in July so I would assume there are at least some. I can't say about the number of applicants this year compared to last year. Our year was an unusually smaller class size and I don't know of this incoming year will be bigger. If you do wanna apply do so asap, applications close the 30th I think and finding apartments will be a scramble this late.
4. Most of the people who come to school and find out they don't like podiatry leave in the first year. The rest of us are very much in favor of this field and excited about future prospects.
 
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How much more difficult would u say podiatry school is verses undergrad?

How does a school "gain 3" people? Were they transfers or something?

What makes a person decide to not stick around podiatry? Not liking feet? Limited license?
I would say it is much more difficult than undergrad but only slightly more difficult than grad school (Master's program). Biggest issue is that the transition from undergrad to pod school can be jarring. This of course depends on the rigor of your undergrad and other personal factors so I can't speak for everyone. I felt like my Master's program helped me adjust to the academic standards of KSUCPM faster than some of my peers who came straight from undergrad.

The students my class gained were not transfers from other schools but people who had left their classes in previous years for various reasons (health/personal/academic) and came back.

I think one of the main issues is that students do not shadow a podiatrist beforehand and do not know exactly what the job entails before enrolling. It's a great profession but it's not for everyone. I can't really say anything other than that because the majority of us here know what we're getting into and like what we're doing.
 
I would say it is much more difficult than undergrad but only slightly more difficult than grad school (Master's program). Biggest issue is that the transition from undergrad to pod school can be jarring. This of course depends on the rigor of your undergrad and other personal factors so I can't speak for everyone. I felt like my Master's program helped me adjust to the academic standards of KSUCPM faster than some of my peers who came straight from undergrad.

Was it an SMP or a regular Masters? Just curious.
I did a regular masters but felt the difficulty in terms of academics wasn't the issue, it was work+school that was hard.
 
Was it an SMP or a regular Masters? Just curious.
I did a regular masters but felt the difficulty in terms of academics wasn't the issue, it was work+school that was hard.
It was a Master's in Medical Physiology at Case Western Reserve University. It wasn't horribly rigorous or anything but it was a good indicator of academic expectations beyond undergrad, in my opinion.

KSUCPM hits you with a ton of credits in the first year so managing time is probably one of the most difficult parts of it. I work two work study jobs but I wouldn't dream of having an outside job right now.
 
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How many days do you have to physically go to campus a week?
 
How many days do you have to physically go to campus a week?
You only have to go to things that are mandatory, it will be very clear what those are. So some weeks you might technically not need to go in at all. I'm on campus myself at least 5 days a week, sometimes all 7.

I do recommend going to all classes in the beginning for at least a month to see how you like it and also to make friends, you don't wanna be the guy who only shows up for exams and nobody knows who you are.
 
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Is it true that the top 10 in each class gets a $10,000 scholarship every year?
 
Is it true that the top 10 in each class gets a $10,000 scholarship every year?

I can vouch for this , yes that's the contract i signed to. There was 2500, 5000, 10000 based on rank.
I am not even that amazing of a student and I got 10000 off, before I even started.
 
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Is anatomy Lab once or twice a week?
 
I can vouch for this , yes that's the contract i signed to. There was 2500, 5000, 10000 based on rank.
I am not even that amazing of a student and I got 2500 off, before I even started.

i meant after the first year? for second third and fourth years?
 
i meant after the first year? for second third and fourth years?
KSUCPM awards scholarships for the students with the highest GPA each year, I think the top 10 but I'm not sure.

Incoming students are given scholarships that vary from $2500-$10000.
 
When do you stop going to classes? I saw the schedule and 8-5 every day would be very useless for a medical student as far as time management goes.
 
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When do you stop going to classes? I saw the schedule and 8-5 every day would be very useless for a medical student as far as time management goes.
I went to almost every class all year. You'll only do 8-3 most days the first year. I'm not sure what you mean about it being "useless" as far as time management, part of being a medical student is being an adult and doing what you need to do and finding time to study. This is different for everyone.

If you do decide to stop going to classes I would at least give it a month or two. You don't wanna be the guy who just shows up for exams, you need to make friends, know the staff, know the older students, etc. You're going to have an easier time of it if people know and like you.
 
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Sorry, phone double posted and I can't delete this.
 
In regards to Kent:

How many hours (of concentrated study time) would you say you typically do per day Monday through Friday? Weekends?

Do you personally study in a group, or do you find self study more efficient?

How many hours per day do you usually give yourself to decompress and de-stress?

How are the typical exams, question wise? What would be a typical example of a question? Do the questions mainly come from the powerpoint?

Is there any clinical exposure first year, or is it all strictly academics the first two years?

Thank you!

I went to almost every class all year. You'll only do 8-3 most days the first year. I'm not sure what you mean about it being "useless" as far as time management, part of being a medical student is being an adult and doing what you need to do and finding time to study. This is different for everyone.

If you do decide to stop going to classes I would at least give it a month or two. You don't wanna be the guy who just shows up for exams, you need to make friends, know the staff, know the older students, etc. You're going to have an easier time of it if people know and like you.
 
In regards to Kent:

How many hours (of concentrated study time) would you say you typically do per day Monday through Friday? Weekends?

Do you personally study in a group, or do you find self study more efficient?

How many hours per day do you usually give yourself to decompress and de-stress?

How are the typical exams, question wise? What would be a typical example of a question? Do the questions mainly come from the powerpoint?

Is there any clinical exposure first year, or is it all strictly academics the first two years?

Thank you!

First question, kind of hard to say, I can't quantify it because it depends. I don't study much after exams and start to study more in the weeks leading up to exams. It really varies depending on the time in relation to exams and also depending on the class. I study more on weekends than during the week, I study the most when I'm working at the library.

I study by myself and only by myself. I love my friends but I hate studying in groups. Sometimes I would go to the bone room to review with friends or to tutoring sessions with them but I'm a really visual learner and other people talking just distracts me.

At least a couple of hours. I don't study when I eat dinner and I don't study after 10 PM, that's a personal rule of mine. I won't study right after coming home from school.

Exams are generally fair and usually come from the powerpoints. Most will be like 70ish questions. If the class performs poorly on a question they'll throw it out. As for examples of questions I don't really have any, your big will give you files on Friday and there should be some old practice exams in there. If they don't give you any find me on campus and I'll give you what I have.

Yeah, you'll have a half day at the Midtown Clinic your first year, a full day in the second year. There's also opportunities to go to the clinic here and there through various clubs and other misc ways. The Women's Club AAWP has days at the free clinic, I did that a bunch my first year and would recommend it. You don't have to be a woman to participate.
 
What is the cost of living for family housing? I have a kid due in October and will probably have one more in school, so just trying to get cost estimates before applying
 
What is the cost of living for family housing? I have a kid due in October and will probably have one more in school, so just trying to get cost estimates before applying
You know I don't know the answer to that because I don't have a family living here but I can tell you that the cost of living is very reasonable. My boyfriend has a duplex that he rents for $800 a month in Lakewood.

Message me and I'll give you the contact info of someone in my class who has a spouse and kids.
 
What is the cost of living for family housing? I have a kid due in October and will probably have one more in school, so just trying to get cost estimates before applying

Gas is cheap. A two bedroom apartment is something between 800-1200 a month. Food is food.
 
You know I don't know the answer to that because I don't have a family living here but I can tell you that the cost of living is very reasonable. My boyfriend has a duplex that he rents for $800 a month in Lakewood.

Message me and I'll give you the contact info of someone in my class who has a spouse and kids.
Thatd be great thanks!
 
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