Medical College of Wisconsin class of 2013

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Delo_Ohm said:
Another question or two for all you vets...

1- Does MCW provide USMLE prep to any degree? I noticed something about getting access to prep books. Do they run any classes (would you have / did you use them)? Also, it looks like the curriculum schedule allows for adequate study time before step 1, does that seem like an accurate observation?

2- Also, I know that you can "opt-in" to the MD/PhD program at MCW, but that is the traditional basic science research track. Have you heard of any MD students pursuing the new community and public health PhD program simultaneously?

Thanks.
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1) Just in the past couple of years, one of the student groups started up a small group study program that pairs some M2s up with a couple M3 or M4 group leaders. They meet every couple of weeks and go over topics that are high yield for the boards. I think the feedback from the groups has been very positive.

The 5 or 6 weeks the school gives you after 2nd year for boards studying is MORE than enough. I would say 4 weeks is probably the absolute max that anyone could study without having it become counterproductive by the end.

I'll tell you what I tell all the applicants I interview who ask about board scores: The school does a great job of preparing you for the boards just through the regular curriculum, but the whole hoopla people raise about average board scores or pass rates misses the point that boards performance is all about the individual -- how hard you personally want to work to ace the boards. In the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.

2) Nope. Haven't even heard of the program.
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Delo_Ohm said:
Another question or two for all you vets...

1- Does MCW provide USMLE prep to any degree? I noticed something about getting access to prep books. Do they run any classes (would you have / did you use them)? Also, it looks like the curriculum schedule allows for adequate study time before step 1, does that seem like an accurate observation?
Click to expand...
Yes, they do. There's a program for M2s (now in its second year) where there's a small group of students, led by an M3, to prepare for Step 1. They meet at least once a week, for as long as each group would like. I think you can pick your partners or just be assigned to a group. I didn't join it, but a lot of people did. We also had a number of talks from the upper classmen about how they prepared for Step 1 - also useful. SDN is good for that sort of thing too, but it's also nice to hear from people who went to your school, because some schools are good at some subjects and not at others, so it's good to know what works.

There are also book sales, usually once a semester, and you can get some good stuff. I also gave my "little sib" (she's a year behind me) a lot of prep materials, many of which I got from DoctorFunk.

I felt like we had plenty of time for Step 1. I studied almost the entire time (a little over 4 weeks), and that was plenty. I would be pretty pissed if my school didn't give me at least a month.
 
Delo_Ohm said:
Another question or two for all you vets...

1- Does MCW provide USMLE prep to any degree? I noticed something about getting access to prep books. Do they run any classes (would you have / did you use them)? Also, it looks like the curriculum schedule allows for adequate study time before step 1, does that seem like an accurate observation?
Click to expand...

Yes, they do. There's a program for M2s (now in its second year) where there's a small group of students, led by an M3, to prepare for Step 1. They meet at least once a week, for as long as each group would like. I think you can pick your partners or just be assigned to a group. I didn't join it, but a lot of people did. We also had a number of talks from the upper classmen about how they prepared for Step 1 - also useful. SDN is good for that sort of thing too, but it's also nice to hear from people who went to your school, because some schools are good at some subjects and not at others, so it's good to know what works.
 
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That's good to know that students get enough time to study for Step I and that there is a group for help.

How do MCW's students perform on the Step I?
 
TheProwler said:
I felt like we had plenty of time for Step 1. I studied almost the entire time (a little over 4 weeks), and that was plenty. I would be pretty pissed if my school didn't give me at least a month.
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Thanks for the input... are you who I think you are Prowler??
 
medking said:
That's good to know that students get enough time to study for Step I and that there is a group for help.

How do MCW's students perform on the Step I?
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average I guess. Anywhere from not passing first time around (usually at or above national pass rate) to 270ish.
 
medking said:
That's good to know that students get enough time to study for Step I and that there is a group for help.

How do MCW's students perform on the Step I?
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85% of how you do on the steps is how hard you worked and how bad you want to do well. Most people I know what "needed" to do well cause they knew they wanted to do something uber competitive like derm, ortho, rads, ent did well enough.
 
TheProwler said:
Yeah, this is who you think it is. ;)
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Wow, I didn't know you were a chronic sdn'er. That is good to hear.

I'm excited to say that I did get in (this whole cycle is going very well), now we just have to coordinate my wife's work options with mine... Do you know of people who dealt with long term relationships during the first and second year?
 
Delo_Ohm said:
Wow, I didn't know you were a chronic sdn'er. That is good to hear.

I'm excited to say that I did get in (this whole cycle is going very well), now we just have to coordinate my wife's work options with mine... Do you know of people who dealt with long term relationships during the first and second year?
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the key is making them understand how you have to study. set a schedule, discuss it with the significant other, and stick to it. None of this "hey, I want to go shopping at that place 2 hours away this weekend" stuff a week before exams. The schedule of 3rd and 4th year (mostly third), honestly, is what was more stressful for my relationship.
 
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Delo_Ohm said:
Wow, I didn't know you were a chronic sdn'er. That is good to hear.

I'm excited to say that I did get in (this whole cycle is going very well), now we just have to coordinate my wife's work options with mine... Do you know of people who dealt with long term relationships during the first and second year?
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Me? Chronic SDNer? I browse every now and then....

Glad you got in, man. I thought you had it locked the last time, but I remember you had a weird interviewer. I recommend against long-distance if you can at all avoid it, but some people in my class had to do it. Either way, M1 and M2 would be far better to do long-distance than M3 and M4. I don't see my wife much as an M3. I'd never see her if we didn't live together. You'll have a fair amount of free time in the first two years. You'll be stressed and tired, but you do have a fair amount of free hours.

Just a thought, now that you've been accepted, you could consider deferring for a year, if it meant you didn't have to do long-distance.


Also, Patty tells me that Beau ended up at a chiropractic school? Didn't see that coming.
 
TheProwler said:
Just a thought, now that you've been accepted, you could consider deferring for a year, if it meant you didn't have to do long-distance.
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Yeah, the problem with a one year deferment is that we will be in a similar place next year since the fellowship she is looking at (health care admin) is a 2 year deal. Also, she will need to find a job then too, so who is to say it'll be any easier to coordinate geographically then?

TheProwler said:
Also, Patty tells me that Beau ended up at a chiropractic school? Didn't see that coming.
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He is in Davenport, IA. He is actually getting married this summer I think. My understanding is that the choice to go chiro came from the father-in-law to be's experience as a chiro, and the fact that it is an easier path I guess (esentially his words).
 
Delo_Ohm said:
PS. Doesn't 11k posts since June '04 equate to about 6 per day? (My mental math may be a little off)
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Total Posts: 11,072
Posts Per Day: 6.82

I had it under 5 for a while...but I try to keep my Internet use G-rated when I'm at school or in a hospital, so I end up on SDN. It's pretty benign here.
 
yeah...and we know he's on here early in the morning.
 
indo said:
yeah...and we know he's on here early in the morning.
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and whines about it.

It's 12:30am in the morning and I'm on here, but you don't hear me whining.
 
Another question for all you vets...

I have heard a lot about the extracurriculars and community atmosphere at MCW, but I am specifically interested in the intramurals. What sort of options are there for intramural sports during the year?

Even more specifically, I have heard of a men's league hockey team that plays at the Pettit Center consisting exclusively of MCW students. Does anyone know about this?
 
Delo_Ohm said:
I am simply in awe, I don't know if there is anything that I can do 6.8 times per day.


Unofficial poll: What do you guys do more than 6.5 times a day?
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Procrastinate.
 
Delo_Ohm said:
Another question for all you vets...

I have heard a lot about the extracurriculars and community atmosphere at MCW, but I am specifically interested in the intramurals. What sort of options are there for intramural sports during the year?

Even more specifically, I have heard of a men's league hockey team that plays at the Pettit Center consisting exclusively of MCW students. Does anyone know about this?
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Softball, flag football, volleyball, basketball i think, curling club, and other random, non-intramurals such as ultimate frisbee.

the hockey league is separate from the school, and yes, is at the petit. the team consists of mcw students, residents, and physicians and some randoms. they play pretty much year-round, on mostly fri, sat, and sun.
 
akpete said:
Softball, flag football, volleyball, basketball i think, curling club, and other random, non-intramurals such as ultimate frisbee.

the hockey league is separate from the school, and yes, is at the petit. the team consists of mcw students, residents, and physicians and some randoms. they play pretty much year-round, on mostly fri, sat, and sun.
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No soccer?

Or if there is, I'm guessing it's not that popular?
 
medking said:
No soccer?

Or if there is, I'm guessing it's not that popular?
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i dunno about soccer. sorry. there might be. i came from a high school that did not have soccer and we never even played it in gym, so it's not the first sport i think of.
 
there are some soccer teams. But, apparently if they judge you as "not good enough" then you can't play with them.

I hate soccer but I like the highlights.


Oh, and with football...the mormon teams take it EXTREMELY seriously so try not to take that game lightly if you play.
 
indo said:
there are some soccer teams. But, apparently if they judge you as "not good enough" then you can't play with them.

I hate soccer but I like the highlights.


Oh, and with football...the mormon teams take it EXTREMELY seriously so try not to take that game lightly if you play.
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I see :cool:
 
medking said:
No soccer?

Or if there is, I'm guessing it's not that popular?
Click to expand...

You can also get into some pickup games down by the lakefront during nice weather. This is the extent of my knowledge on the topic since I do not do well with sports.
 
indo said:
there are some soccer teams. But, apparently if they judge you as "not good enough" then you can't play with them.

I hate soccer but I like the highlights.


Oh, and with football...the mormon teams take it EXTREMELY seriously so try not to take that game lightly if you play.
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The class of 2012 mormon guys are whooping ass.
 
Another question for everyone...

How do you feel about being in a class of 200+ people? I have heard you only know a certain % of them, and that having so many people guarantees that you can find people with similar interests, and so forth. Thoughts?
 
A class of 100 people would only have half as many people for you to get along with. Besides, for your 3rd year, you'll only be with 15-30 of them the entire year. I've got a lot of classmates that I haven't seen since the end of second year.
 
Delo_Ohm said:
Another question for everyone...

How do you feel about being in a class of 200+ people? I have heard you only know a certain % of them, and that having so many people guarantees that you can find people with similar interests, and so forth. Thoughts?
Click to expand...

I like it. It's easier to find people with whom you have stuff in common among 200 people instead of like 60. I definitely have the group of friends I hang out with more, then the friend's I'll talk to when I see them, and then people I say hi to, and then the people I don't recognize.

There are people I never spoke to in my class until this year, and there are people in my class with whom I still have never spoken -- mostly because they entered the class later.
 
I need to hear from some more 2013'ers... where are you all? I suppose the latest round of acceptances should be coming out soon, if they did not already. I am not sure how the holiday may have complicated things for anyone interviewing 11/14. Is there anyone out there?? ;)
 
Delo_Ohm said:
I need to hear from some more 2013'ers... where are you all? I suppose the latest round of acceptances should be coming out soon, if they did not already. I am not sure how the holiday may have complicated things for anyone interviewing 11/14. Is there anyone out there?? ;)
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I'm set on MCW for 2013 :love: I'm just now not sure what else I need to be doing... it has been a very strange (but great) feeling. I think there will be more acceptances sent out this week, according to M1s now that I know, they had to wait until after Thanksgiving week I believe. I agree that it would be nice to begin to get to know my future classmates.
 
Marcy1315 said:
I'm set on MCW for 2013 :love: I'm just now not sure what else I need to be doing... it has been a very strange (but great) feeling. I think there will be more acceptances sent out this week, according to M1s now that I know, they had to wait until after Thanksgiving week I believe. I agree that it would be nice to begin to get to know my future classmates.
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Welcome!
 
Marcy1315 said:
I'm set on MCW for 2013 :love: I'm just now not sure what else I need to be doing... it has been a very strange (but great) feeling. I think there will be more acceptances sent out this week, according to M1s now that I know, they had to wait until after Thanksgiving week I believe. I agree that it would be nice to begin to get to know my future classmates.
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Congrats! be sure to join the facebook group!
 
Marcy1315 said:
I'm just now not sure what else I need to be doing... it has been a very strange (but great) feeling.
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I can second that feeling.


To any current students: What is MCW's next move (after they receive your Credit Report, $100 deposit...)?

I remember reading about a second look event. Does anyone remember that? Also, if they hold out on sending more material since some accepted folks will go elsewhere, when do they start sending more info? Any other thoughts?

Thanks

(PS. Marcy, did you interview on November 7th - that was my interview date:D)
 
Delo_Ohm said:
I can second that feeling.


To any current students: What is MCW's next move (after they receive your Credit Report, $100 deposit...)?

I remember reading about a second look event. Does anyone remember that? Also, if they hold out on sending more material since some accepted folks will go elsewhere, when do they start sending more info? Any other thoughts?

Thanks

(PS. Marcy, did you interview on November 7th - that was my interview date:D)
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Don't expect much useful information until summertime. You might get the occasional "make you feel good about your choice" email with some recent recognition MCW received or something about research successes or whatever. Overall the stuff you'll start to freak out about starting yesterday or earlier like financial aid, insurance stuff, housing, etc will be around in several months.
 
Delo_Ohm said:
If this does exist, are there several optional dates? What can use newbies expect?

Thanks
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I haven't heard about anything official, but that doesnt' mean it doesn't exist. I would e-mail Mike Istwan or somebody from admissions about it.
 
How difficult is it to get an apartment around the end of July or early August? I'm thinking about getting one at The Reserve or Serafino Square. Do they usually get full? I'll be in Asia around March until the beginning of August. Should i get it done before i leave or wait until i get back? Thanks
 
I don't think those complexes really change too much based on the school year. I think you should be fine.
 
Informal survey (if you are so inclined)...

Where did you study the most (home, library, starbucks, bathroom), and has that changed at all over time? I know - "it's all individual..." I am just curious.

Second question - how do the other libraries (in childrens or froedtert) compare to the main (Wehr) library?

Thanks
 
Delo_Ohm said:
Informal survey (if you are so inclined)...

Where did you study the most (home, library, starbucks, bathroom), and has that changed at all over time? I know - "it's all individual..." I am just curious.

Second question - how do the other libraries (in childrens or froedtert) compare to the main (Wehr) library?

Thanks
Click to expand...

i studied at home for the first couple months of first year and realized it was a very bad idea so I switched to MCW's library and conference rooms or the MUTS (those multipurpose rooms separated by dividers) with the very rare starbucks night.

The other libraries are useless to you for the most part. You might occasionally hit up the Froedtert's library if you're bored and want a computer but otherwise I don't think I ever even set foot in Children's library. Does Children's HAVE a library? Plus their hours are very un-useful to you.
 
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