Texas A&M Accepted for Class of 2013

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do you need ethernet (wired cable) or wireless internet?

do they give you printed syllabi or electronic syllabi/slides for study materials?

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do you need ethernet (wired cable) or wireless internet?

do they give you printed syllabi or electronic syllabi/slides for study materials?

You need ethernet. That is the one thing on which they will nail you.

And we don't have syllabi per se, we get handouts for classes. E.g. for gross anatomy your given handouts in outline form that you pretty much need to memorize for the test. For biochem we're given slides in PDF format that you would go nuts if you tried to memorize. For organ systems (physio + hist) it depends on who you have for professor. I'm pretty sure that 2nd year is all slides in PDF format like biochem.
 
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I'm pretty sure that 2nd year is all slides in PDF format like biochem.

This is correct. ~60 slides/hr, ~40 hrs per test, every 3 weeks.

It's a good idea to get used to electronic notes during your first year because the amount of paper you would end up with second year is ridiculous. I feel like every day I need to look back at old notes for clarification, and it would be difficult to carry around thousands of sheets of paper.
 
it would be difficult to carry around thousands of sheets of paper.

Taking electronic notes is crucial I've been told by top-of-the class friends at A&M. Not only does it increase speed and efficiency, but also helps keep you organized. Spiral notebooks and loose leaf notebook paper needs to stay in undergrad, or you need to work out more.
 
Taking electronic notes is crucial I've been told by top-of-the class friends at A&M. Not only does it increase speed and efficiency, but also helps keep you organized. Spiral notebooks and loose leaf notebook paper needs to stay in undergrad, or you need to work out more.

I'm doing well without electronic notes, as are plenty of people. It just depends on what you like. If you live in Temple you get free printing at the Scott & White library. Some people swear by their tablets, some people don't even have them and print out all of their notes (me).
 
I'm doing well without electronic notes, as are plenty of people. It just depends on what you like. If you live in Temple you get free printing at the Scott & White library. Some people swear by their tablets, some people don't even have them and print out all of their notes (me).

okay aggiesean, i really like my paper notes. according to mullie:

This is correct. ~60 slides/hr, ~40 hrs per test, every 3 weeks.

which equates to 2400 slides. if i print 6 slides/page, double sided, i can get away with 200 pages per test. does this sound about right to you?
 
okay aggiesean, i really like my paper notes. according to mullie:
which equates to 2400 slides. if i print 6 slides/page, double sided, i can get away with 200 pages per test. does this sound about right to you?

Per my TI-89, your calculations are correct. ;) However, 6 slides per page really shrinks those things down and they can be jam packed with info in small font, and that could be really difficult to read.
 
Per my TI-89, your calculations are correct. ;) However, 6 slides per page really shrinks those things down and they can be jam packed with info in small font, and that could be really difficult to read.

haha :p and *sigh* i guess i better get used to electronic notes. how easy is it to write detailed notes on your tablet? i have small handwriting.
 
okay aggiesean, i really like my paper notes. according to mullie:



which equates to 2400 slides. if i print 6 slides/page, double sided, i can get away with 200 pages per test. does this sound about right to you?

This is the big difference between first and second year. First year the notes are condensed into an outline or slide sets are short. Second year its all long slide sets and usually the smallest you can go is 2 slides per page because of small writing or pictures/diagrams that are difficult to see. Most professors also use dark backgrounds, so printed slides look bad. In second year they are a lot less concerned that you have to study from their slides and they are created for their presentation and not your convenience. Its assumed you are reading the book to get your information, especially in Pathology and IMED.

A lot of the people who still use paper notes type the slides into outlines and study from that. This works because they don't go to class and don't need anything to follow along. However most people who didn't transition to electronic last year have done so this year.

In the end, do what's most efficient for you. It's the key to success in medical school.
 
This is the big difference between first and second year. First year the notes are condensed into an outline or slide sets are short. Second year its all long slide sets and usually the smallest you can go is 2 slides per page because of small writing or pictures/diagrams that are difficult to see. Most professors also use dark backgrounds, so printed slides look bad. In second year they are a lot less concerned that you have to study from their slides and they are created for their presentation and not your convenience. Its assumed you are reading the book to get your information, especially in Pathology and IMED.

thanks mullie :) i think i'll bite the bullet and get a tablet.

and before i forget.. happy turkey day!!
 
hope everyone had a great holiday!!

definitely got guitar hero world tour and have been addicted. i will be bringing it with me to temple :-D i heart my wii. :p

soooOOoo i got the official email about how we have to get tablets. so i was like ok...for real? so i e-mailed the official guy about it and he said yes...even if you have a laptop already you gotta get a new one. so i had to suck it up and return my new laptop to best buy which had a ****** 15% restocking fee = loss of $97 for me and then went onto HP to buy the tablet laptop cuz i need a new laptop. *sighs* that's what i get for being overly excited. at least i got a free printer :)
 
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hope everyone had a great holiday!!

definitely got guitar hero world tour and have been addicted. i will be bringing it with me to temple :-D i heart my wii. :p

soooOOoo i got the official email about how we have to get tablets. so i was like ok...for real? so i e-mailed the official guy about it and he said yes...even if you have a laptop already you gotta get a new one. so i had to suck it up and return my new laptop to best buy which had a ****** 15% restocking fee = loss of $97 for me and then went onto HP to buy the tablet laptop cuz i need a new laptop. *sighs* that's what i get for being overly excited. at least i got a free printer :)

This might come out wrong, but you shouldn't have done that. Let me reiterate:

ATTENTION INCOMING STUDENTS. YOU DO NOT NEED A TABLET NO MATTER WHAT THE IT OFFICE SAYS. YOU CAN SIMPLY USE YOUR OWN LAPTOP IF IT HAS A WORKING ETHERNET CARD. DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY!!!!

That is all.
 
This might come out wrong, but you shouldn't have done that. Let me reiterate:

ATTENTION INCOMING STUDENTS. YOU DO NOT NEED A TABLET NO MATTER WHAT THE IT OFFICE SAYS. YOU CAN SIMPLY USE YOUR OWN LAPTOP IF IT HAS A WORKING ETHERNET CARD. DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY!!!!

That is all.

:thumbup: Well stated Sean. I guess my previous warnings were disregarded.

For the third time, ignore everything IT says.
 
so guys, I'm thinking about getting a tablet since IT says it's required.. is it OK if we don't get the Dell they suggest? can I go with like an IBM or HP?

TIA
 
so guys, I'm thinking about getting a tablet since IT says it's required.. is it OK if we don't get the Dell they suggest? can I go with like an IBM or HP?

TIA

Your money would be better spent on a vacation with your wife before school. I can't believe the IT department keeps pushing this crap. Shoot there are people that use macs to take tests in our class. I just check out a computer (there aren't many so don't fall back on this idea) before every test. You can't even use the things for school in 3rd and 4th years. Fail.
 
I just bought the exact computer IT suggested, I'm so excited!!!
 
so guys, I'm thinking about getting a tablet since IT says it's required.. is it OK if we don't get the Dell they suggest? can I go with like an IBM or HP?

TIA
I'm interested in a tablet, so I think I'm going with an HP. Even one that has a few nice upgrades from the standard model (including a full four-year warranty) is going to run about $700 less than Dell's standard model without updgrades. After doing some checking, I'm finding that the Dell is mostly designed for business rather than personal use, hence the high price.
 
Hey, I just got my acceptance from A&M today... so excited to say the least. But, their email really pushed a 2 week deadline to send back the acceptance letter. I have another offer from UTMB, and I really haven't decided to which school I'd like to go. Do I really have to make that decision in 2 weeks? Can I accept both offers and decline one later?

Also, I checked out the Lenovo laptop today, and was really impressed. Give it a look if yall have a chance
 
I'll weigh in on the whole tablet thing...I'm old, and should be a slow adopter, but I LOVE my tablet. I have the Gateway that was recommended, but I bought it (new) on eBay for less than 1/2 the price IT wanted for it.

I have printed out (literally) less than 20 pages this whole semester - mostly stuff to turn in for some of our ancillary classes. All my notes are in one place - if I have a brain freeze about something old, three taps and I'm there looking at my notes.

Do you have to have a tablet? No. Is there a learning curve to a tablet? Sure. Play minesweeper for a few hours. Is it worth an extra $1000? Probably not. An extra $200? Yes. Get the warranty, though, as I've heard the screens can go out fairly readily. New screens are availble on eBay for about $250, so it's not the end of the world if you don't have the warranty. I'm more afraid of dropping mine since I carry it with me EVERYWHERE. Beats the heck out of toting text books and notebooks.

That is all.
 
I can see that there has been a lot of chatter on this topic, but my particular question has not been addressed.

I had a tablet for several years. I am a chemistry major and it was great for taking notes of equations, structures etc. However, I got fed up with windows and all associated BS, and when my tablet went kaput, I converted to a MacBook (aluminum unibody baby!). Been using it for several weeks now and it is so much better. Even with my tablet, I preferred to type my notes as opposed to hand-write them. I only used the tablet feature for classes with math, chemical structures, etc. Stuff that is impossible or a pain to type. Since I am pretty much through with those classes, I am not sweating the loss of the tablet feature.

So, my question is, how important is a tablet for someone who wants to take electronic notes. I have onenote, so if the extent of note takeing in medical school is text (as opposed to structures, formulas, etc) then I am not worried. Also, I got the impression that there is no wireless internet available? Is that true??
 
I have gotten multiple offers, and I am torn between UTMB and A&M. I was not overly impressed with CS (didn't visit the hospital during the tour), but I have heard really good things about Scott and White. I would very much like to hear about the facilities in Temple (classroom and hospital). I am married and so I want to do four years in one location. I get the feeling that Temple has the better situation. Is that the case?
 
I can see that there has been a lot of chatter on this topic, but my particular question has not been addressed.

I had a tablet for several years. I am a chemistry major and it was great for taking notes of equations, structures etc. However, I got fed up with windows and all associated BS, and when my tablet went kaput, I converted to a MacBook (aluminum unibody baby!). Been using it for several weeks now and it is so much better. Even with my tablet, I preferred to type my notes as opposed to hand-write them. I only used the tablet feature for classes with math, chemical structures, etc. Stuff that is impossible or a pain to type. Since I am pretty much through with those classes, I am not sweating the loss of the tablet feature.

So, my question is, how important is a tablet for someone who wants to take electronic notes. I have onenote, so if the extent of note takeing in medical school is text (as opposed to structures, formulas, etc) then I am not worried. Also, I got the impression that there is no wireless internet available? Is that true??

People who use Macs get frowned upon, but survive. They do just fine.

We ABSOLUTELY have wireless - it's everywhere! The issue is that for tests they REALLY want us hardwired - just in case. We have some tests (our finals) for which we are REQUIRED to be hardwired. 99.9% of the time, we're wireless.
 
I have gotten multiple offers, and I am torn between UTMB and A&M. I was not overly impressed with CS (didn't visit the hospital during the tour), but I have heard really good things about Scott and White. I would very much like to hear about the facilities in Temple (classroom and hospital). I am married and so I want to do four years in one location. I get the feeling that Temple has the better situation. Is that the case?

I should've looked at both questions and hit multiquote. Oh, well.

You need to see Scott and White. It is fabulous. The classrooms are classrooms - nothing special. You sit in a chair for 5 hours a day, and it gets hard. Our labs are brand new, sparkling and pretty. They do smell like labs, though.

Temple is very different from CS as a town, too. There is nothing college town about it. It's for grown-ups.;)

Those of us in Temple will tell you hands-down we have the better end of the deal - from parking to facilities to where we live.

I don't know how indicitive it is of things, but 1/3 of the Temple M1s are married. Don't know about CS.
 
I have gotten multiple offers, and I am torn between UTMB and A&M. I was not overly impressed with CS (didn't visit the hospital during the tour), but I have heard really good things about Scott and White. I would very much like to hear about the facilities in Temple (classroom and hospital). I am married and so I want to do four years in one location. I get the feeling that Temple has the better situation. Is that the case?

Facilities will be all new in summer 2010 in CS; I posted about this earlier in this thread. Clinical experience is better at one location over another depending on what you're interested in. I talked to a 4th year today who had decided the best location for every rotation and they were evenly split from Temple and College Station, as well as Corpus for peds. For my class the best situation for first two years is probably CS, but it might be different for the class below me. No one has had both experiences, so it will be hard to say.

If you are comparing S&W to what's in Galveston, keep an eye out for what's going on with the hospitals there. The opportunities at both were similar pre-hurricane. JMPeffer (who hasn't posted in a while) told me today that a third year UTMB student was rotating at his family med preceptor clinic in Bryan. I'm sure UTMB will get back to normal, but it could take months to years.
 
:thumbup: Well stated Sean. I guess my previous warnings were disregarded.

For the third time, ignore everything IT says.

It's not that I disregarded any of your comments. I'm a paranoid pre-med student....so meh. I mean it's my loss of $97. I'm not about to go turn around and return my HP and buy back my other one. *sighs* I don't think it's that big of a deal...however if it's not that important why does the IT department keep sending these emails out to us? I dunno wutev....you're telling me...I hate tablet PCs but what is done is done. I feel like I'm being chastised, shoot...:(
 
People who use Macs get frowned upon, but survive. They do just fine.

We ABSOLUTELY have wireless - it's everywhere! The issue is that for tests they REALLY want us hardwired - just in case. We have some tests (our finals) for which we are REQUIRED to be hardwired. 99.9% of the time, we're wireless.

Makes sense about hardwired for tests. I run Windows side by side with Mac OS X so there should be no compatibility issues. I don't plan on using IT support for my mac so that shouldn't be a problem either. Does anyone know if there is a mac dealer in Temple?
 
It's not that I disregarded any of your comments. I'm a paranoid pre-med student....so meh. I mean it's my loss of $97. I'm not about to go turn around and return my HP and buy back my other one. *sighs* I don't think it's that big of a deal...however if it's not that important why does the IT department keep sending these emails out to us? I dunno wutev....you're telling me...I hate tablet PCs but what is done is done. I feel like I'm being chastised, shoot...:(

No no, not chastised! I just hate to see y'all lose money because our IT department is ridiculous. And some people like tablets/laptops and using them for school, which is fine. To each his or her own. :)
 
I can see that there has been a lot of chatter on this topic, but my particular question has not been addressed.

I had a tablet for several years. I am a chemistry major and it was great for taking notes of equations, structures etc. However, I got fed up with windows and all associated BS, and when my tablet went kaput, I converted to a MacBook (aluminum unibody baby!). Been using it for several weeks now and it is so much better. Even with my tablet, I preferred to type my notes as opposed to hand-write them. I only used the tablet feature for classes with math, chemical structures, etc. Stuff that is impossible or a pain to type. Since I am pretty much through with those classes, I am not sweating the loss of the tablet feature.

So, my question is, how important is a tablet for someone who wants to take electronic notes. I have onenote, so if the extent of note takeing in medical school is text (as opposed to structures, formulas, etc) then I am not worried. Also, I got the impression that there is no wireless internet available? Is that true??

So to reiterate my question, does the majority of notetaking in Med School consist of straight text (for which a tablet is unecessary), or is there a significant amount of structures, mechanisms, formulas, etc that need to be handwritten (enough to justify the purchase of a tablet for one who wants to take electronic notes)?
 
I was just kidding about wanting a tablet. I see absolutely no reason to own a tablet. If IT thinks hospitals are moving towards tablets, they obviously haven't done their research.
 
I had this strange dream last night where A&M told us to show up and start dissecting cadavers like.. today.. well before people had even decided if they were going to go to A&M, and before the school year started. I think they were trying to strong-arm us into going there or something.

The weirdest part, though, was that my cadaver looked like a slightly more muscular version of Gollum from the Lord of the Rings.
 
I am sure this has been answered before, are the lectures audio/video recorded?
 
The weirdest part, though, was that my cadaver looked like a slightly more muscular version of Gollum from the Lord of the Rings.

:scared:

I am sure this has been answered before, are the lectures audio/video recorded?

and i'm quite sure they're video recorded. i'd wait for mullie or aggiesean to confirm this though.
 
Hi everyone I am new at this. Just wanted to sign up and say hello to my future classmates and also ask some questions.
1) Does anyone know when we get to choose if we would like the college station or Temple campus?
2) If anyone is on the college station campus, I signed up to see this campus because I have not seen it before and want to get a feel for it, does any one have any advice on who I should talk to get some good info on the campus?
3) Also cost of living. I am looking at buying a house. What are the price ranges between both cities if anyone knows. Right now I would be more interested in knowing Temple's price range though because I liked there campus alot while I was there.

I think that is all for now. I can't wait to meet some of you!!!:)
 
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I have been looking around for information on board scores for recent years. Does anyone know where I can find this info for A&M?

Thanks.
 
I have been looking around for information on board scores for recent years. Does anyone know where I can find this info for A&M?

Thanks.

Doesn't exist. What do you want to know? The last two years the average was a couple points above national and I personally know people who scored in the 250-260 range. We also attract more students on average who are interested in primary care, so they have less concern in attaining high scores

The average board scores are not a reflection of the quality of education at any allopathic school in the US. All schools, especially TAMHSC, give you the resources to do really well, but the difference comes in the amount of work you put into it. Think of it as judging colleges and universities based on their average MCAT score.
 
Doesn't exist. What do you want to know? The last two years the average was a couple points above national and I personally know people who scored in the 250-260 range. We also attract more students on average who are interested in primary care, so they have less concern in attaining high scores

The average board scores are not a reflection of the quality of education at any allopathic school in the US. All schools, especially TAMHSC, give you the resources to do really well, but the difference comes in the amount of work you put into it. Think of it as judging colleges and universities based on their average MCAT score.

Makes sense when you put it that way. Thanks for your reply. I thought I had heard that A&M students score pretty well (above average) so thanks for the confirmation. I think I'm sold on A&M!
 
This is a repeat of a previous question that never got fully answered. I am weighing the need to replace my current laptop with a tablet pc. I prefer to take electronic notes (using OneNote) and for classes where the majority of note-taking is text, that does reasonably well since I type much faster than I hand-write. But for classes with a large amount of math/structures/formulas/mechanisms/etc. a tablet would be superior. My question is, does the majority of notetaking in Med School consist of straight text (for which a tablet is unecessary), or is there a significant amount of structures, mechanisms, formulas, etc that need to be handwritten (enough to justify the purchase of a tablet for one who wants to take electronic notes)?
 
Hi everyone I am new at this. Just wanted to sign up and say hello to my future classmates and also ask some questions.
1) Does anyone know when we get to choose if we would like the college station or Temple campus?
2) If anyone is on the college station campus, I signed up to see this campus because I have not seen it before and want to get a feel for it, does any one have any advice on who I should talk to get some good info on the campus?
3) Also cost of living. I am looking at buying a house. What are the price ranges between both cities if anyone knows. Right now I would be more interested in knowing Temple's price range though because I liked there campus alot while I was there.

I think that is all for now. I can't wait to meet some of you!!!:)
the typical 3 bed/1.5-2 bath home in Temple will be ~40-60 years old and cost $60-80,000.
 
majority of notetaking in Med School consist of straight text (for which a tablet is unecessary)

Keep the computer you have. Most everything you need for notes is provided. Any writing you need to do is for your own clarification during lecture (and I type rather than write anyways).
 
There is this great program called OneNote, which makes pdf's editable and allows you to take notes right onto many documents.
I see people using it. I wonder if it really helps. Does anyone know what I'm talking about? I just heard about it recently but it ships with some versions of Office. Does the school provide any software?

I was thinking about it and the only bummer about having split campuses is the inability to go to office hours, not that I'd go and afterclass questions and stuff like that. Was that ever a prob for anyone Mullie, M&M or Sean

Thanks
 
Hi everyone I am new at this. Just wanted to sign up and say hello to my future classmates and also ask some questions.
1) Does anyone know when we get to choose if we would like the college station or Temple campus?
:)

I just spoke with Admissions Officer Ms Amanda Borthes, and she told me that she would be sending out an email after the match (around February) and in that email there will be an opportunity to write about one's preference and ties.

Re:housing :
Coldwell Banker Named Killeen the most affordable housing market in the US for 2007
 
There is this great program called OneNote, which makes pdf's editable and allows you to take notes right onto many documents.
I see people using it. I wonder if it really helps. Does anyone know what I'm talking about? I just heard about it recently but it ships with some versions of Office. Does the school provide any software?

I was thinking about it and the only bummer about having split campuses is the inability to go to office hours, not that I'd go and afterclass questions and stuff like that. Was that ever a prob for anyone Mullie, M&M or Sean

Thanks

Most of us use OneNote. And there are not office hours. Most questions are asked in class or through email (this way answers can be forwarded to everyone). There is rarely any topic that requires further explanation necessitating office hours in medical school, so don't worry about it.
 
i went into my interview at a&m in temple last week with an open mind but after my last interview i can 100% say that if offered a spot i would not go to a&m. my interviewer was very honest and said you are getting a crappy education if you are in temple for the first two years and that you are getting bad clinical experience if you are in college station for years 3 and 4…and another girl i met there said her interviewer said the exact same thing. i was very leery of the "telecast lectures" or whatever they call it and after asking several people the consensus is that over 60% of lectures in temple are broadcast from the college station campus. i really can't believe a single person would want to attend temple for years 1 and 2. the clinical experience you gain in temple the first two years is nothing in the big picture...and for me it is definitely not worth sacrificing good basic science years. not knowing which campus i would be at and whether it would be 4 years or the 2+2 is way to risky for me.

i’m sure i’ll get bombarded by people who love a&m but this is just my take on things.
 
i went into my interview at a&m in temple last week with an open mind but after my last interview i can 100% say that if offered a spot i would not go to a&m. my interviewer was very honest and said you are getting a crappy education if you are in temple for the first two years and that you are getting bad clinical experience if you are in college station for years 3 and 4…and another girl i met there said her interviewer said the exact same thing. i was very leery of the "telecast lectures" or whatever they call it and after asking several people the consensus is that over 60% of lectures in temple are broadcast from the college station campus. i really can't believe a single person would want to attend temple for years 1 and 2. the clinical experience you gain in temple the first two years is nothing in the big picture...and for me it is definitely not worth sacrificing good basic science years. not knowing which campus i would be at and whether it would be 4 years or the 2+2 is way to risky for me.

i’m sure i’ll get bombarded by people who love a&m but this is just my take on things.

This is why most would say that right now 2+2 is a better option. But I know for a fact whoever interviewed you has no part in the 1st or 2nd year curriculum in Temple, so their opinion should be put in perspective. (Sean can speak more on this). I agree with the assessment on 3rd and 4th year in CS, but only for specialties outside of primary care because the pathology that presents is less extensive. You do however get more attention and hands-on experience, so it's a matter of what is important to you. In the end it's better to rely on the opinions of current students.

As for a "crappy education", I highly doubt your interviewer said this.

Your take is appreciated, and hopefully you are not inconvenienced with an acceptance.
 
As for a "crappy education", I highly doubt your interviewer said this.


my interviewer has a son that is a medical student and he stated "i never would have sent him to texas a&m." if this is how your interviewers are portraying the school then it has some issues that need to be cleared up. also, it doesn't take the head of the curriculum department to determine that watching telecast lectures is not the best form of education.

Your take is appreciated, and hopefully you are not inconvenienced with an acceptance.

and...i highly doubt this will be the case. i'll let you know when i get the offer.
 
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