Hi everyone,
I'm a first year med student who attended COT last summer. I browse these forums occasionally and figured I would add some random tips/info from my COT experience after not seeing any on here. I know this is some stuff that I would have liked to have known before I went.
In no particular order...
-Try to purchase your uniforms before you get there & have them altered and pressed before you arrive. The first couple of days are extremely long and tiring just trying to wait in line to get your uniform, hoping that they still have your size. I envied those who already had everything. Also, start shining your boots.
-Print off and know the OI's (operating instructions) before you arrive (They should be on the COT website.) When I arrived there they starting yelling as we got off the bus. I expected that, but some people were surprised. They will yell at you to tuck in your shirt (ladies, think carefully about wearing skimpy tops). Don't wear sandals. They will want $5 and your travel orders in hand. Then they will give you a copy of your OI's and tell you to learn them. You will need to know how to report in that night, which can be humiliating if you can't think of the correct reporting statement.
-Try to do your IAAP training before you arrive.
-Get there asap on the day of arrival. I arrived later in the afternoon, along with a ton of other people so we were up really late that night waiting to get checked in. My roomie had already unpacked all her stuff and was ready for bed by the time I made it up to my room.
-The dorm rooms are very nice! They were much nicer than my college dorm room. You have your own captain's bed, night stand, chest of drawers (one drawer locks, bring a combination lock), desk, sink, and a large walk in closet. You only have to share the toilet and shower with your roomie.
-Most rooms have a computer with restricted internet access. Most people could not check private e-mail, but it is a 10 minute walk to the library for full internet access.
-Bring at least one dressy outfit to go out to dinner. My flight and I went out a few times.
-But do not pack too much because you will be returning with A LOT more luggage (especially if you don't buy your uniforms ahead of time)
-Practice running the 1.5 mile. I am not much of an athlete, but I ran 3 miles/walked 1 mile almost every day for about a month and a half before COT. I did really well in the run compared to other members of my flight (with the exception of a few really good athletes).
-You won't get much sleep. You have to get up at 4:30 am every morning for PT. What time you go to bed varies. My roomie and I often didn't get to bed until 12:30am. A rare number of people managed to get to bed by 10.
-Get started on your samples of behavior (lesson objectives) as soon as lectures start. It'll make it easier when the exam comes instead of trying to do them all the night before.
-HAVE A GOOD ATTITUDE! You'll enjoy it more.
-The first few days may be high stress. You'll adjust after the 2nd week.
- The July course that I took was shortened and had the most people of all the sessions. I think that you normally have your weekends off, but we didn't because our session was shortened. I had 317 people in my class. It was composed of highly intelligent MDs, DOs, medical & dental students, dentists, JAGs, chaplains, nurses, and others.
-Try to bring all $10 bills and smaller. You need smaller bills for the cafeteria. The food wasn't too bad tasting but not the healthiest. It is supercheap. You can talk and eat freely, although in the beginning they may try to limit your time to eat. The OTS and ROTC cadets had to sometimes eat with us. I felt bad for them having to eat at attention while we were pretty loud.
-You will be able to use your cell phone in the dorm and in break rooms during the day. They also have phones in the dorm that you can use a calling card with.
-Last year was the first year that they allowed you to store non-perishable food in your dorm room.
-We only had one room inspection, and that was when we were checking out.
-There is a ton of marching to do, but it's not that bad. Just get it down right away because if you keep on making mistakes you will get targeted.
-The days can be long, with classes taking the majority of the day. PT was usually at 5:15am. Then classes started at either 7 or 8 am and sometimes went until 6pm. Then you ate dinner and spent the rest of the evening studying, shining your boots, ironing, etc. One of the hardest struggles was to stay awake in class. My flight members and I had to watch out for each other to make sure we didn't fall asleep and get targeted.
-If you are a major or above, or a captain who was commissioned a while ago, prepare to be a leader right away.
- We had a ton of fun at the formal event at the end of our training (I'm having a brain fart right now on what they called it....something like a military ball). However, some people exceeded their alcohol limits and embarrassed themselves by having to be carried, puking, to their dorm rooms.
-Overall COT was a really good experience and I was sad to say goodbye to some people.
Feel free to PM me or post other questions on here.
