Oklahoma Anyone? part 01

[DrMom]

Current students-- do you think we should buy a PDA for MSI? Do you ever use it before MSIII? Thanks!

wait until you start rotations.

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[Amxcvbcv]

wait until you start rotations.

I agree! That technology develops and moves so fast you'll most likely be wanting a newer/faster one once you actually start using it more in MSIII. Although I do know that Hippocrates does have downloadable pda schedules for MSI-II... *shrug* If you've got money to burn, burn it. You can always call it part of your computer budget, if you want. Are you a technophile?

 

[oudoc08]

Current students-- do you think we should buy a PDA for MSI? Do you ever use it before MSIII? Thanks!

No. First of all, there's no reason to have one that pertains to MS1 (unless you have a few extra hundred bucks you want to get rid of for an organizer)
Second of all, MSIII is when you really need one, and by then, yours would be two years old and you'd probably have to get a new one anyway to handle whatever tech developments have come out by that time.

I was on Dell's website the other night, and went so far as the checkiout page, but then I couldn't even think of one good reason to have one, other than it being a cool new toy to play with. So, I closed out the page, and went to bed knowing I wasn't five hundred bucks poorer.

Ad_Sharp had one, but he's independently wealthy

 

[lfesiam]

I had one, but actually went back to paper planner because my pda always ran out of battery!!!!! Then I ended up losing everything if I didn't sync the pda to my comp. poop.

 

[biendesalud]

Is there any reason to shop around and not get the Maconi health insurance offered through OU?

 

[ad_sharp]

Ad_Sharp had one, but he's independently wealthy

Yeah, I wish.

 

[ad_sharp]

I haven't been here in a while. Looks like the flame wars are over (I hope). Are the pre-MSIs looking forward to the fall semester? Have a good summer 'cause your fall is going to be busy.

 

[lfesiam]

sdn is finally back online! calling all former MS1, any advice for us newbies? academics, social stuffs, & interesting tidbits?

 

[Ginz20]

I got a packet from OU yesterday. Everything seems pretty straight forward, but I was wondering if anyone had advice on what to do for health insurance?

 

[ad_sharp]

I got a packet from OU yesterday. Everything seems pretty straight forward, but I was wondering if anyone had advice on what to do for health insurance?

The Macori stuff is cheap and easy-unless something really bad happens (I haven't looked at it in over a year, but I think the copay/deductible was fairly high for surgeries/hospitilizations). I think that it's probably the best for unmarried people in good health-people who won't use it often. I am on my spouses insurance through her work so I don't use the Macori. OU will take care of you when you have the small stuff like headaches, colds, etc over at the Family Medicine Dept at no cost (correct me if I'm wrong on that OUdoc). Many people in the class use the Macori. You might look for another plan on ehealthinsurance.com. I had a plan with them prior to entering medical school. Their site is fairly easy to use and you can get quotes quickly. I think OUdoc uses the Macori, but I could be wrong. You might PM him about it if he doesn't respond on the board.

 

[ad_sharp]

sdn is finally back online! calling all former MS1, any advice for us newbies? academics, social stuffs, & interesting tidbits?

Keep a life outside of medical school, don't take yourself too seriously, have fun, study hard, and any other generic thing that somebody says to you when entering med school.

My biggest advice-Find balance and find it early. In addition to setting aside time to study, set aside time for fun, exercise, sex, moveis, video games, books, etc.

 

[lfesiam]

First off, i didn't get the OU NSO (new student orientation) package, so pardon me if this info is repetitive:

so I called IT Help desk today, they said that we can buy a dell through the OU-Dell Premier Site anytime we want as long as we have our student id. you can get your student id from michelle english (she's a great resource!)

 

[ad_sharp]

First off, i didn't get the OU NSO (new student orientation) package, so pardon me if this info is repetitive:

so I called IT Help desk today, they said that we can buy a dell through the OU-Dell Premier Site anytime we want as long as we have our student id. you can get your student id from michelle english (she's a great resource!)

That would be the first place I'd look, but they may not have put everyone into the system yet.

 

[oudoc08]

The Macori stuff is cheap and easy-unless something really bad happens (I haven't looked at it in over a year, but I think the copay/deductible was fairly high for surgeries/hospitilizations). I think that it's probably the best for unmarried people in good health-people who won't use it often. I am on my spouses insurance through her work so I don't use the Macori. OU will take care of you when you have the small stuff like headaches, colds, etc over at the Family Medicine Dept at no cost (correct me if I'm wrong on that OUdoc). Many people in the class use the Macori. You might look for another plan on ehealthinsurance.com. I had a plan with them prior to entering medical school. Their site is fairly easy to use and you can get quotes quickly. I think OUdoc uses the Macori, but I could be wrong. You might PM him about it if he doesn't respond on the board.

Macori works well, especially if you are single w/ no kids. You can go to the FMC for anything and everything, without being charged a penny. I believe what happens is they bill Macori, and then eat the rest. It's all covered under your student health fee. However, if you need any extended care, except for emergency services, you must go to the FMC first for referral, otherwise Macori won't pay.

If you are married and/or have kids, and include them, they do not have to go to the FMC first, and are covered under PPO of Oklahoma, and so can go to whatever doc they want. However, even if they go to the FMC, you are still responsible for any and all charges up to your deductible.

For example, both of my kids, but not my wife are on Macori. I thought I could take them to FMC for free care, since I had been seen there for free, but a few weeks later, I got several bills from them (rather expensive ones I might add (~$135.00 each for a sore throat visit, where they saw a PA no less). Turns out, only students get the free visits, and the dependents/spouse are just like any other patient with any other kind of insurance.

Bottom line, macori is ok, they have two different plans. The more expensive plan pays for 80/20 after $200 deductible/person, the cheaper plan pays 70/30 after $1000 deductible/person

I have the cheap insurance, which works well since I don't hardly ever use it, however, in hindsight, this year, it would've been better to have gotten the more expensive pkg, as the kids have had a few sore throats, 5 yr. old broke his arm and had to have emer. surgery, etc. Oh, well, I'll rack it up under med/dental on taxes this year.

Anyway, if you're single, just get the minimum, since your student health fee will cover you for just about anything.

 

[Dr Turninkoff]

If my fellow younger students were previously under your parents insurance, it wouldn't hurt to check to see if they will continue covering you. I called Cigna and found out that I will be covered until the end of the month that I turn 23, which will save me about a grand. I also spoke with Tammy at the FMC and was told that Macori will make a special package for you if you don't enroll in their policy at the beginning of the semester. This will carry you over until the beginning of the following academic year, at which point you can buy one of their standard plans if you choose Macori. On an unrelated note, you can get your tb skin tests for $12.50 at the FMC m-w, and friday from 8:30-11:30am. On another unrelated note, I checked that soonerconnect.net website that was listed in the info packet and saw that Cox cable modem service is only 29.95/month for ouhsc students, 10.00 cheaper than the standard rate.

 

[ad_sharp]

If my fellow younger students were previously under your parents insurance, it wouldn't hurt to check to see if they will continue covering you. I called Cigna and found out that I will be covered until the end of the month that I turn 23, which will save me about a grand. I also spoke with Tammy at the FMC and was told that Macori will make a special package for you if you don't enroll in their policy at the beginning of the semester. This will carry you over until the beginning of the following academic year, at which point you can buy one of their standard plans if you choose Macori. On an unrelated note, you can get your tb skin tests for $12.50 at the FMC m-w, and friday from 8:30-11:30am. On another unrelated note, I checked that soonerconnect.net website that was listed in the info packet and saw that Cox cable modem service is only 29.95/month for ouhsc students, 10.00 cheaper than the standard rate.

I've got a 4mb/s cable connection through cox and it rocks.

 

[Dr Turninkoff]

I've got a 4mb/s cable connection through cox and it rocks.

how much do you pay for the 4mb/s connection?

 

[Amxcvbcv]

Soonerconnect is through Cox. It's just a reduced rate for OU students.

I have the same Cox connection he has and with the bundled services my wife and I use it's currently 39.95 per month.

I'm pretty sure it used to be a 3mbit/s download rate sometime in the last year, but I don't know if I want to go back to that to save $10 per month.

 

[ad_sharp]

Soonerconnect is through Cox. It's just a reduced rate for OU students.

I have the same Cox connection he has and with the bundled services my wife and I use it's currently 39.95 per month.

I'm pretty sure it used to be a 3mbit/s download rate sometime in the last year, but I don't know if I want to go back to that to save $10 per month.

I also have the bundle telephone/digital cable/cable internet through cox.

 

[biendesalud]

Amxcvbcv - I don't have the insurance forms in front of me, but I don't think Macori covers private pilots in non-commercial aircrafts (I'm not sure if that's standard). Just some small print for you in case you picked up flying again.

 

[oudoc08]

Amxcvbcv - I don't have the insurance forms in front of me, but I don't think Macori covers private pilots in non-commercial aircrafts (I'm not sure if that's standard). Just some small print for you in case you picked up flying again.

Exclusion:
"Riding as a passenger or otherwise in any vehicle or device for aerial navigation except as a fare paing passenger in an aircraft operated by a commercial scheduled airline".

To circumvent this, I have insurance through Avemco that covers my renter's deductible, as well as property damage and personal/medical liability for myself and passengers.

Other exclusions include injuries incurred as a result of riding snowmobiles, motorcycles or 3 or 4 wheel ATV's.

Keep in mind that although any injuries incurred as a result of any of these activities won't be covered by Macori in the arena of emergency care, hospitalization, etc., any care necessary that can be provided at the FMC will be free for the student.

Other excluded conditions include any form of abdominal pain, headaches, infections, chest pain, shortness of breath, unconsciousness, dizziness, sore throats, sinus problems, swollen nodes, arthritis, musculoskeletal pain, anxiety, depression, insomnia, and the treatment for said conditions, including x-rays, lab work, hospitalization, surgery, anesthesia, nursing care, outpatient care, follow-up care and rehab.

Ok, I was kidding about the last part, but reading through the exclusion conditions pisses me off, because I'm like, who the hell knows that their insurance companiy specifically excludes snowmobile related injuries?
Woe to the spring-breaker who breaks their arm on the Ski-Doo trip at Durango. I forsee someone wrecking their snowmobile and breaking their damn leg, then making sure they hide their ride in the snow, after which they hop on a pair of skis brought along for such an incident, and lay down next to a pine tree before the ski patrol gets there.

 

[Amxcvbcv]

Amxcvbcv - I don't have the insurance forms in front of me, but I don't think Macori covers private pilots in non-commercial aircrafts (I'm not sure if that's standard). Just some small print for you in case you picked up flying again.

Yeah, I noticed that with much disgust.

I'm pretty sure that's a standard disclaimer for personal medical insurance.

I flew before without worrying about it, but when I eventually start flying again and hopefully someday purchase my own plane I'll have to find something.

I'm honestly more worried about liability and insurance for whatever plane I will eventually have. Insurance companies are already wary enough about low-time pilots (I have just 100ish hours), but if you couple that with the fact that I'm also pilot with a spinal-cord injury and I can foresee having outrageous premiums.

At least the government still sees me as a fully-qualified pilot.

 

[Amxcvbcv]

For those of you still shopping for a laptop and want to go with Dell, check out this link. It's different than the one I was following off sin.ou.edu.

http://www.ouhsc.edu/it/DellPersonal.htm

This one offers a little bit more of a discount.

 

[Cricket09]

Does anyone know if the sooner connect is slower than, for example, regular cox high speed internet? I don't really know much about internet speeds and such, but the faster the better as far as I'm concerned...I'm not very patient thanks

 

[Amxcvbcv]

It is, but only by a little bit.

Unless you're often downloading movies/files or an avid internet gamer I doubt you'd notice. As far as I can tell, Soonerconnect's speed is 3 Mbps downstream and 256 Kbps upstream.

The standard Cox service, available here at $39.95 per month, is 4 Mbps downstream and 512 Kbps upstream. You can upgrade that to their premiere service, $54.95 per month, which features 5 Mbps down and 768 Kbps up.

I have their standard service and use the internet more than most people. It's been great for me, and I use it so much that I don't think it's worth saving $10 per month to cut my upload speed in half.

Relevant web pages:
Cox Pricing
Soonerconnect Pricing

 

[Amxcvbcv]

For those interested in getting a laptop from Dell, they've put up some coupons again. I broke down and purchased one tonight (this morning now, I guess) since the discount beat out the price I could get through the school's discount program.

These only apply to Dell Inspirons purchased through their Home outlet and can't be stacked with Educational discounts.

Use 1$RM$82?PZZT26 to get $750 off an Inspiron priced at $1899 or more.
Use T7T3C0525S$$CS to get $600 off an Inspiron priced at $1499 or more.

I don't know if there's a quantity limit on these coupons (sometimes they expire after 15000 or so uses) but they will expire at 6:00 AM on 6/14/05, so act now if you're in the market!

 

[oudoc08]

How about all of these conversations move to the Univ of Okla 2009 thread in the allopathic forum?

 

[lfesiam]

How about all of these conversations move to the Univ of Okla 2009 thread in the allopathic forum?

sounds good, i'll check if there is a 2009 thread in the allo forum, if not i'll start one.

amx = nice deals man!, i'm looking for a dell too (going to for the latitude X1, yep all about portability) so i'm waiting out for deals on the latitude series.

either that or a fujitsu lifebook.

 

[ad_sharp]

Ah, but look at all of the progress that we've made for the last year or so.......

 

[lfesiam]

i think oumom(dr.ostrich =) moved my OU pre-allo class of 2009 to the allo forum.

i think we should stick to this thread though as the general OU college of medicine thread, lots of memorable posts.. sobs...

anyone signed up for the CPR class on August 2nd and the geriatric pre-matric program thingy?

 

[WhoisJohnGalt]

i think oumom(dr.ostrich =) moved my OU pre-allo class of 2009 to the allo forum.

i think we should stick to this thread though as the general OU college of medicine thread, lots of memorable posts.. sobs...

anyone signed up for the CPR class on August 2nd and the geriatric pre-matric program thingy?

Yeah, it got moved. If we move this thread over to allo, we'll get to keep these posts, won't we? It's sort of a pain to check this one on pre-allo and the rest on allo (of course, maybe that's because I read SDN too much... but that's a different issue ). I'm signed up for the July 19 CPR class. Why'd you sign up for the geriatric program? I thought about it, but then I got lazy Is it all day or just a few hours a day?

 

[ad_sharp]

i think oumom(dr.ostrich =) moved my OU pre-allo class of 2009 to the allo forum.

i think we should stick to this thread though as the general OU college of medicine thread, lots of memorable posts.. sobs...

anyone signed up for the CPR class on August 2nd and the geriatric pre-matric program thingy?

I did the geriatric thing last year. They'll put a letter in your file saying that you completed it. You can start building yourself up early.

 

[oudoc08]

I think this is a good thread for all matters pre-allo, as it is well developed and memorable, and it would be nice to keep it up, especially for each incoming class and those seeking information about the school, program, etc. but for all matters specifically pertaining to class, I'd say to put them in the recently moved OU class of 2009 thread. Thoughts?

 

[aj114]

Did you guys email the guy or mail the form in? I've sent 2 emails and haven't heard anything back.

 

[lfesiam]

What is "GRIDIRON"? I heard it is a MS4 tradition at a selected venue in OKC. However they are running out of places since all the venues banned them from ever coming back.

 

[ad_sharp]

Did you guys email the guy or mail the form in? I've sent 2 emails and haven't heard anything back.

Is it Mr Davis. He did the same thing last year. Just show up on the date that you selected if you can remember it.

 

[ad_sharp]

What is "GRIDIRON"? QUOTE]


Gridiron was like a celebrity roast for the faculty. It seems that some of the jokes went a little too far a few years ago and they did away with it. I heard the specifics once, but I don't remember them.

 

[Jalopycat]

Gridiron is a pretty touchy subject around the school. I wouldn't bring it up within earshot of any faculty. Some really good people lost their jobs over that whole thing. The last Gridiron was several years ago, so there aren't any students left who really know much about it, but there are some residents. It was basically an end of year med school party that got pretty out of control. Each class made a video and showed it at the party. Some of the content of the videos was pretty questionable, as well as the fact that the party(including the alcohol) was being paid for with taxpayer money. There was a big media storm over it, and well, that was the end of Gridiron.

There's still a party (minus the debauchery)at the end of the year, but now you buy your own booze.

Hope that answers your questions.

 

[Mr. Freeze]

Can anyone comment on the likelihood of getting in without a BS? I haven't searched completely through this thread, it may be hidden somewhere. I think if I can get an interview I feel good about everything other than not yet having a degree and was wondering how receptive OU is to applicants in my situation...

 

[Amxcvbcv]

Can anyone comment on the likelihood of getting in without a BS? I haven't searched completely through this thread, it may be hidden somewhere. I think if I can get an interview I feel good about everything other than not yet having a degree and was wondering how receptive OU is to applicants in my situation...

You only need to meet the requirements outlined on the OUHSC webpage. There is no requirement to have your degree when you get started.

 

[lfesiam]

wow i didn't know gridiron was a taboo subject, jalopy thanks for bringing it up. I actually found out about gridiron in Peterson's medschools insider guide.

 

[lfesiam]

whoa

sigh... what a night....

 

[TUHopeful]

Just out of curiosity. What is the lowest GPA, that you know of, that someone had that actually got an interview at OU?

 

[Frogmed]

Just out of curiosity. What is the lowest GPA, that you know of, that someone had that actually got an interview at OU?

According to MDAPPLICANTS.COM 3.2.

 

[centig]

i think oumom(dr.ostrich =) moved my OU pre-allo class of 2009 to the allo forum.

i think we should stick to this thread though as the general OU college of medicine thread, lots of memorable posts.. sobs...

anyone signed up for the CPR class on August 2nd and the geriatric pre-matric program thingy?

I'm signed up for the CPR class on the 2nd. 2 more months until classes start. I'm a bit nervous!! See you at the class if I can remember.

 

[eclectic78]

Just out of curiosity. What is the lowest GPA, that you know of, that someone had that actually got an interview at OU?

3.00

 

[nimanaba]

Hi guys,
I go to OU right now in Norman and am pretty much only interested in going to OUHSC for medical school. I just got my MCAT scores back and I don't know if i should retake it again. I got a 29P (11 Ver, 8 PS, 10 BS) and my GPA is 3.91. Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks.

 

[freesolo]

your gpa is definitely good enough for OU, and i think there avg mcat is like 29-30. I wouldnt retake =p, im studying for august now, and my summer is ruined, in your case will a few points be worth the summer =D.
are you just applying to OU and OSU too?
I dont think any of these outofstate schools are worth da money like SLU, i think i'd reapply to OU and OSU before i apply to more schools.

 

[ad_sharp]

Hi guys,
I go to OU right now in Norman and am pretty much only interested in going to OUHSC for medical school. I just got my MCAT scores back and I don't know if i should retake it again. I got a 29P (11 Ver, 8 PS, 10 BS) and my GPA is 3.91. Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks.

This is just an opinion, but you should be fine with the score as is-unless you don't have any ec's shadowing, etc. I would only retake if you are confident that you can raise your score on the next test. Retaking will also show the adcom that you are not content with your performance and wish to always "do better." They will wonder why you didn't retake if you don't-so I would have an excuse ready for the interview. It wouldn't hurt you to retake (it would probably help), just be sure that your score doesn't go down. In the end, it probably doesn't matter much.

 

[Cricket09]

Hi guys,
I go to OU right now in Norman and am pretty much only interested in going to OUHSC for medical school. I just got my MCAT scores back and I don't know if i should retake it again. I got a 29P (11 Ver, 8 PS, 10 BS) and my GPA is 3.91. Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks.

If I were you I wouldnt retake.You're fine. They'll still ask you why you didn't retake it in your interview (they ask that pretty much no matter what) so come up with an answer (as said above) cause sometimes they try and make you feel like you should've retaken it. But dont worry