Class of 2018

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Pod Zilla

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I created this so we can stay in touch with each other; share things you find interesting in your education; bounce ideas off each other; or just anonymously post about whatever. I started to do this but realized it was in the pre-podiatry section and figured we should be over here instead.

Please share what the first couple months have been like. What do you think about the school you chose and what are some things you like or dislike about it?

DMU: This is the end of week 7 for us. We took our third Biochem exam today. We all came out looking like this: :wideyed: We've had five exams in the last three weeks. We are all sleep-deprived, probably full of self-doubt, and have the next exam on our minds: anatomy written and practical. Despite all of this, I love this school. The curriculum is definitely tough but I really enjoy taking classes alongside DOs. I think having an affiliation with a well-established medical institution is doing our profession a lot of good. There are a lot of DO students that I've ran into that really didn't know what we really do. The other day, one of my anatomy lab partners (DO student), asked if we can prescribe medications. o_O I think that goes to show us that in order for our profession to grow, we as first year DPM students need to do our due diligence in spreading the word out about our profession, starting with going back to our alma mater and providing them with resources about your school and the profession you chose to pursue.

Is anyone participating in student clubs?

I am in SCACFAS, ACFAOM, and the podiatry advocacy club. I think joining these clubs and attending their events help me remember what I am here for: to be a darn good foot and ankle surgeon!

I'm just gonna tag some of you from the other thread. If you are in the Class of 2018, please chime in.
@SLCpod @BIH91 @rayovac @PrePodDoc @acromium @itsallgood19 @Claveaut

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How are the lab practicals set up at DMU? I've heard (second hand so I don't necessarily believe it) they are multiple choice?
 
The rumor is true, our lab practicals are indeed multiple choice. I can't tell you much about it right now because we haven't had a practical yet. But I can't imagine it being easy. The upperclassmen tells me that they ask a lot of second order questions.
 
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Dang, that's insane to me. I can't imagine having an anatomy lab practical being multiple choice. Good luck on your first one!
 
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Hey guys, I just finished my 5th week at Temple. So far we have taken a neuroscience exam and a cardiovascular physiology exam. We have a big histology/embryology/cell biology exam this monday and I am so glad I have been studying every day for this or I would not be having a good time this weekend. But this histology exam 1 is only 15% of our grade and I am way more worried about our cumulative final that's 50% of our grade... so yeah I'm still adjusting to the sheer volume of information we are required to know and it has only been a couple of weeks. Most of our professors are also very busy and have erratic schedules because they rotate between the medical, dental, and podiatry schools. A week after our histology test we have our first anatomy written exam and lab practical on the back and upper limb, so I'm with you there. I don't think our lab practical is multiple choice though, but I'm not certain. I would have to agree that publicity for the profession is the only way it will ever grow. Right now I'm a member of ACFAS/APMA. I go to practice management, sports medicine, and spanish clubs mostly for the free food right now haha.
 
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Hey guys, I just finished my 5th week at Temple. So far we have taken a neuroscience exam and a cardiovascular physiology exam. We have a big histology/embryology/cell biology exam this monday and I am so glad I have been studying every day for this or I would not be having a good time this weekend. But this histology exam 1 is only 15% of our grade and I am way more worried about our cumulative final that's 50% of our grade... so yeah I'm still adjusting to the sheer volume of information we are required to know and it has only been a couple of weeks. Most of our professors are also very busy and have erratic schedules because they rotate between the medical, dental, and podiatry schools. A week after our histology test we have our first anatomy written exam and lab practical on the back and upper limb, so I'm with you there. I don't think our lab practical is multiple choice though, but I'm not certain. I would have to agree that publicity for the profession is the only way it will ever grow. Right now I'm a member of ACFAS/APMA. I go to practice management, sports medicine, and spanish clubs mostly for the free food right now haha.

Edit: Never mind, for some reason I took it as you don't have a dedicated basic science faculty, which is not the case. So what other classes are you in currently besides histo and anatomy?
 
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Yeah we do, some just rotate throughout the medical and dental schools as well. Our histo teacher is always talking about the dental students and how unprepared they were for lab. I'm also in neuroscience and physiology. We don't take biochem until next semester.
 
@Pod Zilla You read my mind! I was thinking about posting a class of 2018 thread here in the podiatry student section, now that we are officially not pre pods anymore!
Here at scholl we just finished our 6th week of school. I have my second anatomy exam on monday on Upper extremity and I so far have had 2 biochem exams and a structure and function exam (which essentially is our physiology and histology combined.) and ECR (essentials of clinical reasoning which has taught us how to write a proper history, perform a physical exam, ROS, the most clinical relevant course so far) . Rosalind Franklin which is the Umbrella school that houses all of the different programs (our MD, PA, path assist, nurse anesthesia etc) really emphasizes this interprofessionalism and so far we have taken courses with the med students and also the path assistants for our histology. Also all of our exams have been taken on computer. Do all the other schools take tests on computer? I do miss the satisfaction of crossing off an answer choice that is wrong on paper, but the turn around for grading is uncanny, we get our results usually a couple hours later.

Club wise, I literally signed up for everyone that had a booth that was offering free gifts haha. I will narrow it down here soon and pay the dues. Anyone have any advice on which ones are nationally ran and worth paying the dues to join?
 
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We also do online exams here at DMU and we use the laptops they pass out at the beginning of the year. Honestly, it doesn't bother me that much. They give us paper to write on and we still have to write down all the answer choices, which can be a pain sometimes. Our school also emphasizes interprofessionalism a great deal. So much so that we have a mandatory "interprofessional day" coming up. We also take a class called Clinical Medicine, which is essentially what you described for ECR. Yeah, I really like this class because it makes me feel doctorly :happy:. So this is what I'm curious about: for that class, we have what they called SPAL (Standardized Performance Assessment Lab) where they actually have paid patients to come in and let us practice our H&P. My first one a couple weeks ago was very nerve-wrecking. Do any other schools have something similar to this?

And thanks for that anatomy link, I'll definitely check it out!
 
We just finished our second biochem test today at Nycpm and on Thursday we have our bacteriology 3rd exam and on Monday we have our first neuroscience exam and on that Thursday we have our 4th BACT exam then we have histology the Monday following. So basically throughout the semester we have an average of 2 tests per week! Not easy guys :)
 
We do have the paid individuals who we will get to practice on. We had a couple already come through, but they were used by the physician as example for everyone to see so we indivually have not had the chance yet to interact with them on a 1 on 1 basis (this will be later on in the year). The interprofessionalism here is extensive. We have a mandatory attendance 16 total sessions once a week for about 1.5 hours with all these community projects we have to do together and quiz assignments prior to each. I feel it is overkill, but others may disagree. We start lower extemity in anatomy this week, finally the good stuff!

I also felt very nervous during my clinical reasoning course. We are doing a graded h&p throughout the next couple weeks so it will count this time. Do you have to do a full head to toe exam as the final in the class with the paid patients at the end of the year?
 
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Yes, we will have to do a complete head to toe physical exam. We have three total patient encounters and we have to get 80% on each of them to pass. Anything below 90 we will get counseled on. Our first one was a couple weeksd ago and that was just history taking, vital signs and drafting a SOAP note (partial one).

I can't wait to leave the damn head and neck area in anatomy! All those damn nerves are killing me.

We do have the paid individuals who we will get to practice on. We had a couple already come through, but they were used by the physician as example for everyone to see so we indivually have not had the chance yet to interact with them on a 1 on 1 basis (this will be later on in the year). The interprofessionalism here is extensive. We have a mandatory attendance 16 total sessions once a week for about 1.5 hours with all these community projects we have to do together and quiz assignments prior to each. I feel it is overkill, but others may disagree. We start lower extemity in anatomy this week, finally the good stuff!

I also felt very nervous during my clinical reasoning course. We are doing a graded h&p throughout the next couple weeks so it will count this time. Do you have to do a full head to toe exam as the final in the class with the paid patients at the end of the year?
 
We just finished our second biochem test today at Nycpm and on Thursday we have our bacteriology 3rd exam and on Monday we have our first neuroscience exam and on that Thursday we have our 4th BACT exam then we have histology the Monday following. So basically throughout the semester we have an average of 2 tests per week! Not easy guys :)

Yeah, it may be easy to get into pod school, but the curriculum is no joke! I just live to the next exam. They tell us don't leapfrog but it's easier said than done.
 
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We just had our first anatomy practical and all in all wasn't as horrible as I thought. They were all pretty straight forward and honestly it being multiple choice didn't really make a difference. It's either you know the answer or you don't. The additional answer choices didn't help or hurt. Maybe it'll increase your guessing rate when you narrow down to two answer choices? I'm just glad we are finally done with the head and neck, which in my opinion, the hardest part of the body.
 
That's good to hear. I'm busy studying for my anatomy exam on the back and upper limb (mostly just knowing the brachial plexus inside and out). Each cadaver has a slightly different brachial plexus but as long as you can find the median nerve it's all good. The forearm and hand muscles are probably the hardest part and every cadaver's muscles are a different size and shape making it harder to identify. I'm not too worried about the written part, but the practical might be harder since I don't really know what to expect.
 
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Yeah, I would say the first exam of each subject is always hard. You just don't know what to expect. Good luck with your anatomy practical. We are starting another class this week, cell bio. This bumps us up to 5 classes and it'll remain like that until biochem ends in the first week of November. Here at DMU, first year October is referred to as Dark-tober. We'll see how that goes. I think as long as I survive biochem, I'll be fine. I hope everyone else is hanging in there!

I was recently replying to a pre-pod thread and ran into someone who wanted early clinical exposure. Can any first year in a school that has early clinical exposure comment? How often are you there? What is it like having to be in clinic in such an early stage of your education? And do you feel it is impeding your basic science education in such a way that you think it'll affect your performance on boards?
 
It looks like all of us from every school are all experiencing the same struggles of too many exams and very little sleep. Here are NYCPM we have been averaging about 2 exams a week, every week, until the semester ends (I want to crawl in a hole and die) but we are managing. We have our third biochem exam on Monday and the we follow that up with our 3rd Histology exam the following Monday and 3rd Neuroscience exam the Thursday after Histology. Just think though everyone, we are basically halfway done with our first semester of Pod School (well my third since I started at NYCPM back in January)! We can all do this and make it to 3rd year and the much more interesting and less stressful Clinic work!

@Pod Zilla At NYCPM, a first year student is more than welcome to go to the Clinic and shadow to get exposure to pathologies and such but we can't interact with patients. First year students can also sign up for foot screenings (for diabetics, sporting events, etc) and do those to get some first hand experience working with real people and real pathologies.
 
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It looks like all of us from every school are all experiencing the same struggles of too many exams and very little sleep. Here are NYCPM we have been averaging about 2 exams a week, every week, until the semester ends (I want to crawl in a hole and die) but we are managing. We have our third biochem exam on Monday and the we follow that up with our 3rd Histology exam the following Monday and 3rd Neuroscience exam the Thursday after Histology. Just think though everyone, we are basically halfway done with our first semester of Pod School (well my third since I started at NYCPM back in January)! We can all do this and make it to 3rd year and the much more interesting and less stressful Clinic work!

@Pod Zilla At NYCPM, a first year student is more than welcome to go to the Clinic and shadow to get exposure to pathologies and such but we can't interact with patients. First year students can also sign up for foot screenings (for diabetics, sporting events, etc) and do those to get some first hand experience working with real people and real pathologies.

So do you have a mandatory number of hours that you have to log in at the clinic? Or is just a come-as-please kind of experience?
 
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Is everyone on a quarter system or semester? Scholl is on a quarter system and our fall break is the week of the 9th. Sadly, i will be using this time to prep for the 3 exams we have when we return.
 
Is everyone on a quarter system or semester? Scholl is on a quarter system and our fall break is the week of the 9th. Sadly, i will be using this time to prep for the 3 exams we have when we return.

Fall break? What is this non-sense?! j/k, go enjoy yourself at least a little bit. DMU is on a semester system and I'm definitely looking forward to Thanksgiving break!
 
So do you have a mandatory number of hours that you have to log in at the clinic? Or is just a come-as-please kind of experience?

It is much more of just come and go as you please. We have no requirements for clinic but we are welcome down there whenever we want but most of us don't have time. This whole studying for 4+ hours a day plus lectures from 9-4 almost everyday doesn't let us get into the clinic much at all. We get all the clinic we need in our 3rd and 4th years. We do not stop since we such a large patient load being located in NYC. The only thing is that you have to make it through the first 2 years.
 
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On fall break! I enjoyed a few days not studying but back on the grind for 3 exams before thanksgiving. Those of you on a semester system take some time for yourselves over your thanksgiving break, it really does wonders.
 
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Man, I am so glad I've made it this far! Just came off three consecutive weeks of two exams per week. Just happy to have passed all my exams. It's funny how in the beginning my attitude was to thrive, now it's just to survive. I think one of the biggest challenge in med school is learning how to cope with the fact that everyone else is either as smart as you or smarter. And everyone works just as hard as you or harder so the competition is nonstop and I think sometimes it's hard to cope with. I find it hard to have to admit that my best is a B-. I'm so used to getting good grades and having to settle can beat you down sometimes. Good news is we didn't get much time in between exams to really think about how we did on the last one. But this does make me wonder why schools don't just do pass/fails instead. I know a lot of MD schools do that and I think taking grades out of the equation will help take the competition down a notch and really allow us to focus on becoming a good doctor. Rant over.

I hope everyone is hanging in there! I cannot wait until Thanksgiving break next week to have a few days off.
 
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The main reason why grades are involved is because our board exam is pass/fail. There needs to be be some relative measurement of 'competitiveness'. For better or for worse, that's how it is. There are talks of transitioning to the USMLE exam, however...
 
Just finished up our consecutive exam weeks as well. The competition and tension is definitely much more apparent now than it was in the beginning of the semester.

As for the boards, word from APMSA is that the AACPM is now looking to reformat the APMLE to be like the USLME format. As in transitioning our boards from discrete questions into clinically based questions. I don't know when this will happen, but AACPM just got approved to start making a pilot exam. This is definitely an important step in making Vision 2015 a reality.
 
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The main reason why grades are involved is because our board exam is pass/fail. There needs to be be some relative measurement of 'competitiveness'. For better or for worse, that's how it is. There are talks of transitioning to the USMLE exam, however...

I would much rather have our boards be scored in a point system rather than pass/fail. The curriculum between all the schools are very similar but not the same. I think the most accurate measurement is not in our GPA or class rank but in our performance on the board exam.
 
Just out of curiosity: are there curves in your classes? I was reading someone's post from Kent and they said there's a curve in anatomy. Just curious if this was a widespread thing throughout all the other schools or just Kent. Btw, this is another reason why I think our GPA is not an accurate measurement of our performance.
 
I havent had a curve yet in any of our classes at scholl. Points were contested on poorly written exam questions, but we never received a bump just for the sake of a curve yet. I dont expect one in the future anytime as well.

Dont sweat the differences between the schools, use that energy to focus on improving your grades. Maybe in the future boards may have more weight, but right now gpa is important so do your best. I'm not trying to talkdown your point as we do not receive curves as well, but nobody is going to give us a pity party for going to a school that doesnt curve. Your preparedness will show in residency. Keep up your hard work.
 
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I would much rather have our boards be scored in a point system rather than pass/fail. The curriculum between all the schools are very similar but not the same. I think the most accurate measurement is not in our GPA or class rank but in our performance on the board exam.
have you taken boards yet? you definitely do NOT want it to be based on a poorly written exam such the APMLE.

also, i think class rank is more important than GPA.
 
I havent had a curve yet in any of our classes at scholl. Points were contested on poorly written exam questions, but we never received a bump just for the sake of a curve yet. I dont expect one in the future anytime as well.

Dont sweat the differences between the schools, use that energy to focus on improving your grades. Maybe in the future boards may have more weight, but right now gpa is important so do your best. I'm not trying to talkdown your point as we do not receive curves as well, but nobody is going to give us a pity party for going to a school that doesnt curve. Your preparedness will show in residency. Keep up your hard work.

I absolutely agree with all the points you made. I do not regret going to the school I am in right now. Frankly, I am proud to say that I get the grades I get without a curve. I am here to be the best I can be and I sure hope that will be enough when it comes time for residency placement.

have you taken boards yet? you definitely do NOT want it to be based on a poorly written exam such the APMLE.

also, i think class rank is more important than GPA.

Of course I haven't taken boards yet, this is a thread for first year students. I am not asking for the question format of our boards to change or maybe I should? Either way, I just thought that maybe there should be a more standardized measurement besides a pass on boards and GPA/class rank.
 
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Just out of curiosity: are there curves in your classes? I was reading someone's post from Kent and they said there's a curve in anatomy. Just curious if this was a widespread thing throughout all the other schools or just Kent. Btw, this is another reason why I think our GPA is not an accurate measurement of our performance.

No curve here at Temple either (so far). The GPA calculation here is also very different and makes no logical sense. For example, you would need a 100 in a class in order to get a 4.0 or a 93 in a class to get a 3.5. All of the schools' grading systems are different, which is why class rank becomes the most important factor for comparison. To compare someone's grades to that of another school, our GPA/class rank can easily be standardized with z-scores and compared that way. At least I am hoping they have some knowledge of basic statistics or there would be no way to account for said differences between schools. Especially if every school has a different way of calculating their GPA or if certain classes are weighted more/less due to different number of credits.
 
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That grading system is ridiculous! I've never heard of such skewed grading system. Sorry, bro.

On a lighter note, have everyone get a chance to enjoy a well-deserved break!! Happy Thanksgiving!
 
One more exam and freedom for 2 weeks!!! I hope everyone gets to enjoy some well deserved time off. It couldn't have come at a better time, I've been dragging these past couple weeks
 
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How is everyone doing? Did everyone get to enjoy their well deserved break? By the way, we're all an eighth of a doctor! Haha, whatever motivation you need, right?
 
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Break was good. Not long enough! How has classes been going for everyone? Ive been swimming in material, just trying to keep up.
 
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Our schedule is still pretty light right now so things aren't too bad, but it'll pick up next month. I can't wait to be done with first year!
 
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Our schedule will about to pick up soon too. Right now we just have LEA, Biochem, and Fundamentals of Podiatric Practice. Neuroanatomy starts in a month. Yeah I'm looking forward to another break haha.
 
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Do you all have the summer completely off? Scholl has biomechanics in the summer so we dont get the full 2.5 months off :(. Keep up the hard work 1st year almost done!
 
I know you all are busy studying and whatnot, but I'd appreciate any thoughts you all might have on how your first year has gone at your respective schools. Trying to find more ways to help me decide between 2 schools.

PS: Good luck with all your exams!
 
I have the summer completely off!! Woohoo! But it's only two months but it'll be the best two months ever! So how long is your biomechanics class at Scholl? Over 75% done with first year, guys! Full steam ahead!
 
I know you all are busy studying and whatnot, but I'd appreciate any thoughts you all might have on how your first year has gone at your respective schools. Trying to find more ways to help me decide between 2 schools.

PS: Good luck with all your exams!

Which two schools are you debating between? And what do you want to know more about?
 
Which two schools are you debating between? And what do you want to know more about?

I'm really open to hearing any thoughts about why someone chose a school that they did in hopes that it might spark some things for me to focus on when making a decision. Specifically though, I'm torn between Kent and Scholl.
 
I'm really open to hearing any thoughts about why someone chose a school that they did in hopes that it might spark some things for me to focus on when making a decision. Specifically though, I'm torn between Kent and Scholl.

Have you received scholarship offers?
 
I chose DMU based on first time board pass rates, residency placement, and the interprofessional approach. I enjoy taking classes alongside DOs and I think it makes a big difference to the future of our profession. The downside to our school is the lack of cases you'll see at DMU clinic during the third year. But the rest of the rotations around the area is from what I heard, solid. I believe having a solid basic science background is much more important than having a busy clinic. After all, what good are you if you don't know the basic science behind your diagnoses?

When debating between two schools, you have to look at the outcome. Which school has a better first time board pass rate? That tells you which school prepares their students better. Which school has a better residency placement? Which school will make you the best doctor you can be? These are important questions to ask.

As with anything you read on the internet, please take my opinion with a grain of salt. At the end of the day, both Kent and Scholl will also provide you with the education you need to become a podiatric physician because they are both accredited by CPME.

Hope this helped and best of luck to you.

One more thing: if you're not interviewing at Scholl until April, don't you have to reserve a seat at Kent before that?
 
I chose DMU based on first time board pass rates, residency placement, and the interprofessional approach. I enjoy taking classes alongside DOs and I think it makes a big difference to the future of our profession. The downside to our school is the lack of cases you'll see at DMU clinic during the third year. But the rest of the rotations around the area is from what I heard, solid. I believe having a solid basic science background is much more important than having a busy clinic. After all, what good are you if you don't know the basic science behind your diagnoses?

When debating between two schools, you have to look at the outcome. Which school has a better first time board pass rate? That tells you which school prepares their students better. Which school has a better residency placement? Which school will make you the best doctor you can be? These are important questions to ask.

As with anything you read on the internet, please take my opinion with a grain of salt. At the end of the day, both Kent and Scholl will also provide you with the education you need to become a podiatric physician because they are both accredited by CPME.

Hope this helped and best of luck to you.

One more thing: if you're not interviewing at Scholl until April, don't you have to reserve a seat at Kent before that?

Thanks a lot for your help. I'm going to reserve my spot at Kent but still interview at Scholl. I really liked the environment at Kent because I think I would be more comfortable at a smaller institution, although I can see the benefit of having other types of students along side of you.
 
I am a little behind on the thread so I apologize, but as far as deciding between two schools.. Honestly I'd say go with the one that, as cliche as this sounds, felt right to you and most natural from the atmosphere to the people when you visited. For the most part you are going to be as good or bad a Podiatric physician as YOU want to be. Determined by your work ethic and how much you are willing to put in and for lack of a better term.. sacrifice. I really think it is mostly on you as an individual, and yes the professors do matter to a certain extent and some are better then others, but I believe that this is the case pretty much whatever school you go to even whether it be DO, MD, DPM as I have family in all that seem to relate. So I would go with the one that felt best from the get go. Easier said then done perhaps but it always seems to work itself out.

I am a current first year at KSUCPM and we are in our second semester that so far seems to be the most demanding without question, and too many feels a lot like a "weed-out" type term to figure out who really wants to and is capable of being here. This also is something I'm sure every school you'll go to encounter. This term we have Neuro, Phys, Lower Extremity, Immuno/Micro, and Physical Diagnosis. We are currently approaching our second round of exams in just over a week from today. Aside from the consistency of the term I like it here and am happy with my decision from the atmosphere here at school to the city of Cleveland as a whole. It is definitely as demanding as I expected it to be if not more, so for anyone who tells you differently about podiatry school.. let me tell you they are wrong. haha. Also we do have summer classes this year, I believe we have two and a half weeks off then start another load of summer classes which I'm not sure what all it entails at this moment, however I know it is less demanding but still.. well demanding none the less. So with all that being said I guess I've spent enough time away from studying so back to it ha. If anyone has any questions feel free ofcourse tho to ask! Also Good Luck with your decision.
 
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