Texas Tech Class of 2014

[aggie08]

Am I the only one? I felt like I was the least likely to match to Texas Tech because they rely so heavily on the prematch offers! Get your guns up!!!

We match a lot of people. A LOT of our class was matched....dunno where you got the idea they rely mostly on prematch. BUT, it doesn't matter. You're in and we'll be seeing you soon!

Yes -- I'm about 7-8 hours away from Lubbock in College Station. (I assume from your username you're familiar with the drive!) I only get about 2 weekends off from work in College Station ALL semester so I figured I had better get out there as soon as I can to take care of a few items. I'd love to come on the weekend of April 10th if I can get someone to cover my shifts -- but my parents really want to make a trip out there as well and see the campus, etc. so we'll be coming in February! If I can't find a place to live this time another trip may be inevitable

Thanks for the heads up! I'll be looking for ways to get out of work that weekend and hopefully head that way to meet all of y'all and my new classmates!

Yay for more people from College Station!! Are you an Aggie?? AgShan and I need some more gold rings running around. Where do you work?

Congratulations!! I'm looking forward to meeting you all. Hopefully at spring training, but if not there's always orientation

Thanks for the heads up on spring training AgShan.

Spring Training is great. A lot of people met their roommates and future friends during it! We went house hunting and met a lot of people. Very fun, definitely come if you can!

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[braek12]

^

 

[justdoit31]

Anyway I couldn't be happier. I definitely need a roommate, is spring training the best way to find one?

I know that several people found roommates at spring training- our class also had a facebook group for people searching for roommates or housing ideas. I personally don't have a roommate and am happy with my decision.

I heard good things about spring training but I am OOS and couldn't make it so I just made a trip last spring on a weekend that worked with my schedule and found my apartment. There is a website www.lubbockapartments.com that has a lot of info available. In general South Lubbock (I'm SW) is a nicer area but the campus is considered North and there are some nice complexes right around the hospital around 4th Street.

I am sure any of the MSI's on here would be happy to answer questions so feel free to post them or send us a message.

 

[KLFmd2014]

Yay for more people from College Station!! Are you an Aggie?? AgShan and I need some more gold rings running around. Where do you work?

Yes, I'm a fightin' texas aggie, class of 2010, whoop! I work at the MSC Box Office in Rudder Tower -- a place I'm sure you all visited to get your FYP Chemistry Lecture tickets (the bane of my existence at the moment) but we also sell all the OPAS events, friday night $1 movies, etc. I love my job but there are a few Fridays a semester that I work until 7pm or later and that makes it almost impossible to make the trip to Lubbock and back in a weekend!
I'm so excited to see that there are aggies out in Lubbock! One of my interviewers at Tech went to A&M's medical school so we talked about College Station the whole time - it was awesome. I'll have to bring you guys some Layne's chicken.

Gig'em!

 

[maggie08]

I'll have to bring you guys some Layne's chicken.
Gig'em!

and some blue baker!!!!

i'm a fightin texas aggie c/o '08 as well!!! being in raider land isn't all that bad. and when you see another person around town sportin an aggie t-shirt, there's an instant intense connection!!!

 

[aggie08]

Yes, I'm a fightin' texas aggie, class of 2010, whoop! I work at the MSC Box Office in Rudder Tower -- a place I'm sure you all visited to get your FYP Chemistry Lecture tickets (the bane of my existence at the moment) but we also sell all the OPAS events, friday night $1 movies, etc. I love my job but there are a few Fridays a semester that I work until 7pm or later and that makes it almost impossible to make the trip to Lubbock and back in a weekend!
I'm so excited to see that there are aggies out in Lubbock! One of my interviewers at Tech went to A&M's medical school so we talked about College Station the whole time - it was awesome. I'll have to bring you guys some Layne's chicken.

Gig'em!

Ohhh mannn. My husband and I were talking about how much we miss Layne's LAST NIGHT. So funny. We used to eat lunch there together when we first started dating. We love it! I also miss Fish Daddy's (and their margaritas) and Ninfa's with my whole heart. *sad face*

 

[Ftr Tx Md]

Ohhh mannn. My husband and I were talking about how much we miss Layne's LAST NIGHT. So funny. We used to eat lunch there together when we first started dating. We love it! I also miss Fish Daddy's (and their margaritas) and Ninfa's with my whole heart. *sad face*

Gotta add Wings N More and Papa Perez to that list...would never admit to having an M.S. from A&M but we do miss the food

 

[AgShan08]

Wings 'n' more margarita night = my first experience getting tipsy Good memories.

Not sure what/where papa perez was though... was it open in the last 5 yrs?

 

[aggie08]

Wings 'n' more margarita night = my first experience getting tipsy Good memories.

Not sure what/where papa perez was though... was it open in the last 5 yrs?

Yes crazy woman. Amazing Mexican food in Bryan. You missed out.

 

[Ftr Tx Md]

Yes crazy woman. Amazing Mexican food in Bryan. You missed out.

Yeah, it's been there for several years, but it's amazing how many people don't know about it. It is close to Revolutions and right next to Los Nortenos in downtown Bryan.

 

[BiochemBuddy]

I sent in my acceptance and standards information. Does anyone know how soon I will probably need to get in my immunization and drug screening tests?

 

[aggie08]

I sent in my acceptance and standards information. Does anyone know how soon I will probably need to get in my immunization and drug screening tests?

I don't remember doing a drug-tes, but I would recommend taking care of your immunizations ASAP. Find a city health dept. that will do them cheap - it's ridiculously expensive at the clinic here and the health dept. is only open when you're supposed to be in class. Get 'em outta the way in the Summer, at the latest, so you can forget about them. I did this the hard way, and it cost a lot of money and was a pain in the rear.

Tb tests at the HSC are free, though. So if your dr. wants you to pay for that wait and do it here.

 

[maggie08]

Get 'em outta the way in the Summer, at the latest, so you can forget about them. I did this the hard way, and it cost a lot of money and was a pain in the rear.

Ditto. LISTEN TO THIS ADVICE PEOPLE!!!

 

[justdoit31]

I sent in my acceptance and standards information. Does anyone know how soon I will probably need to get in my immunization and drug screening tests?

I don't recall drug screening either... we had to have several titers done, 2 TB test, and then immunizataions. I had all the immunizations from travel but only had 1 TB test- if you only need TB it is free at the family med clinic... also the titers I believe cost around $100 but am not 100% sure.

 

[TexasPhysician]

If we didn't have our immunizations done, we were kept out of clinical experiences (I'm an MSIV so policy may be different now). Get it done soon!

 

[RevDoc]

Class of 2014 here - though still trying to make up my mind (matched at Tech). Can anyone give me some more info (specifics) on Spring Training - can PM me if you dont want to post on here. It would be much appreciated.

 

[kingofthehill]

If we didn't have our immunizations done, we were kept out of clinical experiences (I'm an MSIV so policy may be different now). Get it done soon!

There were ppl who still hadn't gotten all of their immunizations done when we took our final before Christmas break, but yeah I think starting in the spring semester if you don't have them all done this is the case.

I will agree, get em done somewhere else than Tech if you can. I spent a fortune on immunizations and titer tests. People go to your docs and they can do them for way less.

 

[AgShan08]

Class of 2014 here - though still trying to make up my mind (matched at Tech). Can anyone give me some more info (specifics) on Spring Training - can PM me if you dont want to post on here. It would be much appreciated.

Congrats on getting accepted! The MS1 class officers are finalizing the details on spring training right now and you should be getting an email sometime in the next week or so. Spring training is scheduled for the weekend of April 10th.

Spring training is just a chance for the people who have been accepted to meet each other and current students, get to know a little bit more about Lubbock, possibly find roommates and/or housing, and just have a good time.

It is going to be Friday afternoon/evening through Sunday morning. You can stay with a current student so you don't have to spend money on a hotel room. Friday will be dinner & information followed by going "out" with the new class. Saturday there is a picnic/grill with outdoor games etc. Saturday night is the main event dinner at Melt a local martini bar followed by a night "out". We have entertainment and it's a great way to just talk and get to know everyone. Then Sunday morning is a short breakfast, goodbye, church information thingy on campus.

Hope this helps. Feel free to PM me if you have more specific questions. Look forward to meeting you!

 

[RevDoc]

Thanks for the info Ag. Sounds like fun!

 

[KLFmd2014]

Hey guys!
I was interested to know if any of you all or any of your friends had done the master's program at UNT in Ft. Worth in order to boost your medical school application...I have a really good friend of mine that didn't interview this cycle and was considering this program. I was interested to see if anyone had heard of success out of this program, what it's like, etc.
Any information would be helpful!
Can't wait to meet you all soon -- made a trip to Lubbock last weekend to look at apartments, deal with financial aid, etc. It's all coming so fast!

 

[maggie08]

Hey guys!
I was interested to know if any of you all or any of your friends had done the master's program at UNT in Ft. Worth in order to boost your medical school application...I have a really good friend of mine that didn't interview this cycle and was considering this program. I was interested to see if anyone had heard of success out of this program, what it's like, etc.
Any information would be helpful!
Can't wait to meet you all soon -- made a trip to Lubbock last weekend to look at apartments, deal with financial aid, etc. It's all coming so fast!

You should post this in the Republic of Texas thread, too. (Probably more likely to get traffic than here?) And possibly PM bobsagat... he can be found in the RepOfTex/A&M threads and can tell you lots and lots of details.

but in general, i've heard lots of really great things about their program, and that it can often help bump someone into a successful application cycle... (but i have no first hand knowledge about it).

 

[RevDoc]

Signed up for Spring Training. Anyone else going? Also wondering - Are we dutch on the food, or does the school cover that?

 

[AgShan08]

Glad that you got the invite!

We will provide dinner friday night, lunch saturday, dinner saturday night, and breakfast on sunday. Drinks friday and saturday night will be "dutch" and i think you are on your own for breakfast on sat. morning.

All the newbies feel free to tell me Hi at spring training. I'll historian and i'll be doing a lot of friday night's stuff. so if you see a girl taking pictures that's me

 

[Tex706]

Do any of you have recommendations or comments about the Dominion, Springfield, or Ashton Pointe apartments? Most of the comments online date to 2008 or earlier, but these apartments seem nice.

 

[gobaylor]

Do any of you have recommendations or comments about the Dominion, Springfield, or Ashton Pointe apartments? Most of the comments online date to 2008 or earlier, but these apartments seem nice.

Ashton pointe is nice and very popular among our class. I think the units are pretty small though. Ended up in something 50+% larger for several hundred less.

Only knew one person at springfield and they had nothing but bad things to say about it.

Dominion is about as nice as you're going to get for apartments in lubbock, but you're going to pay for it.

 

[justdoit31]

Do any of you have recommendations or comments about the Dominion, Springfield, or Ashton Pointe apartments? Most of the comments online date to 2008 or earlier, but these apartments seem nice.

I agree with GoBaylor- Ashton Pointe is nice and several classmates are there. I heard bad things on springfield. Dominion is right down the street from where I live and it looks nice but I don't know anyone actually living there (it is a lil pricey if living solely on the financial aid given). There is also a new complex being built right by Dominion called Windsor Creek and they will start leasing this spring.

 

[tmac11]

I agree with GoBaylor- Ashton Pointe is nice and several classmates are there. I heard bad things on springfield. Dominion is right down the street from where I live and it looks nice but I don't know anyone actually living there (it is a lil pricey if living solely on the financial aid given). There is also a new complex being built right by Dominion called Windsor Creek and they will start leasing this spring.

What bad things have you heard about Springfield? Also, has anyone heard anything about The Wyndham?

 

[justdoit31]

deleted

 

[mimi2kul]

I have heard the management isn't very good- one girl in our class had to move out right before our BCT final due to issues (I think it was a pipe bust but not 100%) It is also pretty expensive compared to some of the other places here.

Haven't heard much about Wyndham

wydham is great and i have a friend that currently lives there.

 

[KLFmd2014]

Any helpful hints on picking a campus assignment for years 3 and 4 for the MS0s that know nothing of west Texas??

 

[tmac11]

I have heard the management isn't very good- one girl in our class had to move out right before our BCT final due to issues (I think it was a pipe bust but not 100%) It is also pretty expensive compared to some of the other places here.

Haven't heard much about Wyndham

wydham is great and i have a friend that currently lives there.

Thanks for the information.

 

[justdoit31]

Any helpful hints on picking a campus assignment for years 3 and 4 for the MS0s that know nothing of west Texas??

You should get a brief description of each site with the forms to pick- here is what I know

Amarillo (this is my assignment and also where I spent my childhood)- there are less residents here so the surgery and OB/GYN programs have really good experiences. Amarillo rotates you through 3 hospitals and private clinics.

Lubbock- UMC is the only Level 1 Trauma center so it has the burn unit and gets the major traumas from all of West Texas. Downside is that there are more residents in Lubbock and that it is harder to get since a majority of people list it as number one (they say you get it if you have a spouse working or in school in LBK or own a home but I know people who got it who don't have either of those) You will do rotations at UMC and in private clinics- an advantage is you still can attend sporting events or other TTU stuff (if you pick another campus those fees get waived in 3rd/4th years)

Midland- this is the newest site- the people I know going there say the community is beyond excited to have the medical students and it is like Amarillo that you get good experiences due to less residents on site. Also, I have heard there is pretty cool patho there due to location but don't know that 100%. This site has the fewest medical students assigned to it.

I would encourage you to look on the website at fourth year electives and see if there are any specific ones that you want that are at only one location (though you can do 4th years at any location it might help you to see each locations strengths).

 

[mimi2kul]

bump!

 

[sw3b]

I'm having trouble finding a place in lubbock that will take my dog. Any suggestions on pet friendly rental properties?

 

[Ftr Tx Md]

I'm having trouble finding a place in lubbock that will take my dog. Any suggestions on pet friendly rental properties?

Have you looked at renting a house instead of an apartment? I imagine there will be quite a few houses coming available in May. Here's a link to the TTU newspaper if you feel like glancing at the rentals in the classified section: http://www.dailytoreador.com/

 

[sw3b]

Thanks for the link. A rental house is actually my primary focus; I'll need a yard, but every owner I've spoken with has rejected pets.

 

[AgShan08]

sw3b I don't have a house, but I do have a miniature schnauzer and I love my apartment complex (very pet friendly, no weight restrictions, lots of grass) and if you get on the first floor you have a very small fenced in "yard" although i would hesitate to call it a yard cuz it is probably 3 ft by 6 ft. The apartments are called "Quail Creek" and you get 100 off per month for being a med student

If you really need a house you could try http://www.westmarkrealtors.com , they have a lot of "pets considered" properties.

Good luck!

 

[teacherman]

Not sure how many of you on here were at spring training, but it was great meeting many of the incoming students. Hope you all had a great time and look forward to seeing you all in the fall! Let any of us know if you have any questions.

 

[bbfthegirl]

Has anyone heard any good or bad things about the savannah oak apartments?
Also Las colinas vs Quail creek any opinions on which one is better? I will be living with my husband and daughter (newborn) so any in sight will be greatly appreciated.

 

[justdoit31]

Has anyone heard any good or bad things about the savannah oak apartments?
Also Las colinas vs Quail creek any opinions on which one is better? I will be living with my husband and daughter (newborn) so any in sight will be greatly appreciated.

I haven't heard anything on Savannah Oak...

I am in Las Colinas- currently there are 7 students from my class here and 4 at Quail Creek but I know that 2 of those in Quail Creek are moving this summer due to issues they had with management (one to a house and the other to Las Colinas). I absolutely love my townhouse and the staff here has been great. The only downside I could see is that it is 2 stories so if you make one of the bedrooms a nursery you might be going up and down the stairs a lot but then you don't have people under or above you making noise (my friend moving from Quail Creek to Las Colinas is due with her first little girl in 2 weeks)

Feel free to message me with any questions.

 

[AgShan08]

bbf -

I currently live at Quail Creek and i'm renewing my lease. I love it here. I think both Las Colinas and Quail creek are great but they have different strengths. One of the things I love about Quail creek is that it is surrounded by a neighborhood and not by businesses. It is across the street from an elementary school and middle school and there is another park with a lake behind it. So it kind of depends on what you are looking for. I personally have a dog so I like to have lots of grass and safe neighborhoods to run in. Have you had a chance to visit them? I also think quail creek's kitchens are bigger.

I know that one of my classmates had issues with the management, but i've NEVER had a problem. (the other classmate is moving to las colinas because they have units with garages - i don't think it had anything to do with management) When i had a leak they came out within a few hours of me calling them. The ONLY downside i know of is that the hot water heater is outside and i didn't leave a stream of water running (like they told me to) and it did freeze once. But all i did was start a fire in the fireplace (which is back to back with the heater) and I got my water back.

During the winter my unit did get a bit drafty, but during the summer that comes in handy because i have yet to turn my air on and it is always cool. (electricity this month was 35 bucks )

There are lots of families that live here as well as med and law students. Umm.. hope that sums it up. I know the people at las colinas love it there, but i am also very partial to my complex and neighborhood. If you have any questions feel free to PM me!

 

[funnyfilms]

I'm an MS0. Around what time frame should we expect to receive the financial aid package? thanks!

 

[AgShan08]

Hi Funny, I honestly can't remember getting a fin. aid "package" per se. Everyone gets the 2,000 dollars but I don't think I know anyone who got more than that from the school. Maybe a few people got 1,000 grants but I think that is rare. But if you have filled out FAFSA, you'll be approved for a set amount of loans and then I think sometime in late may-to early june you can sign your promisory note on your loans and the actual money is distributed the week before school begins (with tuition having already been taken out of it).

If you want to check your fin. aid status and you have an eraider account you can go to "webraider.ttuhsc.edu" they'll have cost of attendance as well as what scholarships you got etc.

I know i didn't really answer your question but hopefully this helps a little.

 

[funnyfilms]

Thank you AgShan! I was just wondering since it's about to be May and I still see no summary regarding loans or tuition costs on the eraider account, but I guess that's normal for everybody.

Also, I'm not used to living on my own away from home. Did anyone have the same situation and could share their experiences of the pros/cons of living alone or with roommates for med school? On a different topic, does Tech have a note-taking service?

 

[aggie08]

Thank you AgShan! I was just wondering since it's about to be May and I still see no summary regarding loans or tuition costs on the eraider account, but I guess that's normal for everybody.

Also, I'm not used to living on my own away from home. Did anyone have the same situation and could share their experiences of the pros/cons of living alone or with roommates for med school? On a different topic, does Tech have a note-taking service?

The "note-taking service" here is student run. Each class is responsible for setting up their own scribe service, getting volunteers and assigning dates. Our class did a great job setting it up, but it became a useless resource once the lectures were posted with audio recordings. If your class wants a scribe service you can definitely set one up, but our class hasn't needed it because most people will just listen to the audio recordings if they missed something or want to hear the lecture again!

 

[justdoit31]

Thank you AgShan! I was just wondering since it's about to be May and I still see no summary regarding loans or tuition costs on the eraider account, but I guess that's normal for everybody.

Also, I'm not used to living on my own away from home. Did anyone have the same situation and could share their experiences of the pros/cons of living alone or with roommates for med school? On a different topic, does Tech have a note-taking service?

My financial aid info isn't up yet- and I am pretty sure last year it was mid May when I got all my info.

Also I lived at home all the way through undergrad (my univeristy was 3 miles from my parents home and tuition was covered by scholarship). I decided to get my own place here and love it. It was a lil different getting used to it being so quiet but I love the ability to study when I want and where I want in the hosue, watch TV without worrying about a roommate, leave dishes in the sink for 2-3 days before an exam, etc. I know a lot of people with roommates and they have been fine as well so I think it is a personal preference.

 

[funnyfilms]

Thanks alot! I think I am going to get my own place too! So excited to be at Texas Tech!!

 

[Pompeii]

Hey MS-1's

What is the book situation like for TTUHSC Medical school ? Is it like undergrad (half of the books you buy you never use) ? What books do you recommend for anatomy ? I am kind of worried about anatomy because I have never had an anatomy class before. Should I try to study it over the summer, or just relax ? Is anatomy as bad as people make it out to be ? I am so excited/ nervous to start class.

 

[justdoit31]

Hey MS-1's

What is the book situation like for TTUHSC Medical school ? Is it like undergrad (half of the books you buy you never use) ? What books do you recommend for anatomy ? I am kind of worried about anatomy because I have never had an anatomy class before. Should I try to study it over the summer, or just relax ? Is anatomy as bad as people make it out to be ? I am so excited/ nervous to start class.

This is just my .02 because if you ask 50 people you will most likely get 50 different answers...

I did not use all the books and some of the best ones aren't on the list (this will apply for the whole first year).

For Anatomy I used:
Netter (which you can get online free at school but I wanted it to write in and found the online version hard to work- also each tank 5 people will need a Netter at the tank so some people ordered an older edition for that trust me you won't be taking it home with you ever!)
BRS Anatomy (this was the main book I used)
Big Moore for the blue boxes (clinical correlations)
Baby Moore for content reading
High Yield Embryology
I also used some materials for studying off the resource CD the 2nd years sold us- it was worth the $5-10 I spent on it.

The only other book you might consider is Rohen's Atlas- it is a book of photos of real cadavers that have been labeled. I used it fairly often just because I liked to see what an artery or nerve would look like in a body and not just in a drawing but there weren't many of us who used it.
I thought Larsen's Embryology was horrible. Most of the embryo you need to know will be covered in the online lectures for embryo.

I don't think the class is as bad as people make it out to be but it is tough and you will be studying a lot. For me spending time in the library/study rooms drawing things out on the white boards was the best thing. I personally wasn't a fan of the lab but lots of people loved it. When I started spending more time in the lab studying my overall grades did go up.

I hope that helps.

 

[gobaylor]

Hey MS-1's

What is the book situation like for TTUHSC Medical school ? Is it like undergrad (half of the books you buy you never use) ? What books do you recommend for anatomy ? I am kind of worried about anatomy because I have never had an anatomy class before. Should I try to study it over the summer, or just relax ? Is anatomy as bad as people make it out to be ? I am so excited/ nervous to start class.

you'll get to know some of the second years even if just in passing. Feel free to ask for opinions for each block, and like has been said you'll get a different opinion from just about everyone. Try to find someone that studies like you and their advice worked for you in a previous block and ride them the rest of the year.

I've bought maybe 1/4 of the "required" books due to this, but everyone has different styles.

I'd never had anatomy and BRS anatomy, Netters, with a splash of high yield embryo was all i used. Plenty of people swore by the Moore books though.

Do not study over the summer.