~*~University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine Class of 2011 ~*~

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Since I graduated in December, I will have had a bit more time to play around than average, I suppose. Either way, I'm taking a hodgepodge of little trips interspersed with work. I was in China for 30 days earlier this year, spent about 20 days leisurely road-tripping from Missouri to the east coast and back, will be taking another road trip out to California and the Grand Canyon and back, a trip to Colorado for some more hiking, and a 2-3 week trip to Italy and eastern Europe probably in June. The general philosophy is to have no money left by the time school starts, since I'll be going hopelessly into debt anyway.
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I am SO jealous of all these cool summer plans! Unfortunately, my plans to go to Europe this summer fell through. I'd still like to travel, but most of my friends will be starting work/in school so I'm lacking in the "travel companions" department. I may end up just taking a few short weekend trips within the U.S. to visit friends while working part-time somewhere. I was offered a research position for the summer, but it's a bit intense, and I'd rather do something a bit more relaxing.

On an unrelated note, did anyone else hear from their second look host? I just got an email this afternoon -- I'm getting excited for the visit to Pitt!
 
I haven't heard anything yet from a second look host, no. I also haven't received the email address and password mailing that some people seem to have gotten.
 
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Since I'll be in Pittsburgh during the summer, and the US Open is ~20 minutes from the city (Oakmont, PA), I plan to go there for a day. I've been looking at tickets and it seems like I'll be trying to go on Sunday.

I :biglove: golf.
 
dottore07 said:
On an unrelated note, did anyone else hear from their second look host? I just got an email this afternoon -- I'm getting excited for the visit to Pitt!
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Yup, just got it today. And I'm now realizing that I might be a little late getting to Pitt on Thursday since traffic might be bad when I land at 4pm (assuming I leave on time). Just a few days!
 
Is anyone here applying for need based financial aid?? The deadline for that is tomorrow...has anyone recieved anything concerning financial aid yet??
 
I thought we wouldnt get need based until post May 1st, and I haven't got high hopes for good fin aid...but surprise me, Pitt
 
moomix906 said:
I thought we wouldnt get need based until post May 1st, and I haven't got high hopes for good fin aid...but surprise me, Pitt
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Supposedly to get need based financial aid you have to full out some supplemental forms in addition to the fafsa, plus include a copy of your parents income tax returns from 2005 and yours. The deadline is April 17th to turn all these forms in. I would have had no idea if I wasn't checking out the financial aid website this weekend.

I've been calling to ask for help on the forms, and can't say the financial aid department has been very helpful. I was pretty pumped to go to Pitt, but after dealing with financial aid so far, I have to say I'm pretty dissapointed.
 
The need-based financial aid forms were certainly a pain, but I suppose I expected them to be. I just mailed mine in this past week. Personally, I don't think you should let the difficulty of the forms--or what was perhaps a lack of help from the financial aid department with the forms--influence your opinion of the school at large. It seems like such a minor thing in the larger scheme; financial aid will never be fun, irrespective of where you go.

EDIT: By the way, be sure that you're using the correct forms. On the general financial aid website for the med school, they link to last year's forms (which is why it says they require copies of tax returns from 2005). You need to go to www.zone.medschool.pitt.edu, click on Student Life, go down to Apply for Financial Aid, and find this year's forms there. Granted, today is the stated deadline, but I imagine they would grant an extension if you need it.
 
Looque said:
Since I graduated in December, I will have had a bit more time to play around than average, I suppose. Either way, I'm taking a hodgepodge of little trips interspersed with work. I was in China for 30 days earlier this year, spent about 20 days leisurely road-tripping from Missouri to the east coast and back, will be taking another road trip out to California and the Grand Canyon and back, a trip to Colorado for some more hiking, and a 2-3 week trip to Italy and eastern Europe probably in June. The general philosophy is to have no money left by the time school starts, since I'll be going hopelessly into debt anyway.
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Looque, did you go to China as part of a program, or just on your own? I've always wanted to go to China, and so I'm curious how you went about making the trip (especially if you found a way to do it cheaply!).
 
Steve203 said:
Supposedly to get need based financial aid you have to full out some supplemental forms in addition to the fafsa, plus include a copy of your parents income tax returns from 2005 and yours. The deadline is April 17th to turn all these forms in. I would have had no idea if I wasn't checking out the financial aid website this weekend.

I've been calling to ask for help on the forms, and can't say the financial aid department has been very helpful. I was pretty pumped to go to Pitt, but after dealing with financial aid so far, I have to say I'm pretty dissapointed.
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Bummer - although I've never particularly found any financial aid office to be helpful...Hopefully you got everything straightened out. The assistant deans in the admissions office were actually able to answer a few of my financial aid questions awhile back so maybe you could try contacting them via email? Good luck! :luck:
 
shantster said:
Actually no. I called him on Thursday to see what the status was on that, and he said that they filled up since they started moving people to prepare for the renovations. Apparently the admissions office has set something up with one of the undergrad dorms so that PSTP people could stay there, but the cost was outrageous (~$2500 for the summer) for a single dorm room and since I'd have all my stuff with me, I'd need to pay for storage as well. I've found some subleases on Craigslist and so I'm checking a few out this weekend.
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Hmm - sorry to hear the Ruskin idea didn't work out Shanster! Hopefully you'll fall in love with one of the places you visit during second look (at least enough to conceive living there a few months). Best of luck! :luck:
 
stiffany said:
Hmm - sorry to hear the Ruskin idea didn't work out Shanster! Hopefully you'll fall in love with one of the places you visit during second look (at least enough to conceive living there a few months). Best of luck! :luck:
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Thanks. It was disappointing, especially since if I would have known, I would have tried to come early to look for an apartment for the whole year. I had thought about it when I heard so that I wouldn't have to move in the middle of the summer, but there isn't that much time to look for apartments. I figured this way, if I end up in an apartment I hate, it will only be for two and a half months at the most rather than being stuck there for a full year.
 
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dottore07 said:
Looque, did you go to China as part of a program, or just on your own? I've always wanted to go to China, and so I'm curious how you went about making the trip (especially if you found a way to do it cheaply!).
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Find me at the revisit and I'll tell you all about it. Look for the shaved head.

Speaking of the revisit, my car's oil has been changed, its tires inflated, and I'm ready to start my eastward drive from the Kansas City area later today. (...just need to remember to bring at least one decent set of clothes.) I hope to see all of you there.
 
shantster said:
Thanks. It was disappointing, especially since if I would have known, I would have tried to come early to look for an apartment for the whole year. I had thought about it when I heard so that I wouldn't have to move in the middle of the summer, but there isn't that much time to look for apartments. I figured this way, if I end up in an apartment I hate, it will only be for two and a half months at the most rather than being stuck there for a full year.
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Good luck shanster! Hopefully you'll be able to find something decent. I'd imagine that if you're subletting from a student from Pitt or CMU the place won't be too bad. :luck: :luck: I'm really hoping we'll get our final lease letters soon so I won't have a frantic trip to Pittsburgh come July. When does the PSTP start? (I keep wanting to type PSTP program - lol).
 
Looque said:
Find me at the revisit and I'll tell you all about it. Look for the shaved head.

Speaking of the revisit, my car's oil has been changed, its tires inflated, and I'm ready to start my eastward drive from the Kansas City area later today. (...just need to remember to bring at least one decent set of clothes.) I hope to see all of you there.
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Have a great drive Looque! Hopefully you'll have nice weather and few traffic sharfoos on the way up.

dotorre: I'm a big fan of www.travelzoo.com's weekly email with specials for last minute cheap fares to Asia, Europe, and the like (With periodic fares to Japan for $400 roundtrip or like week long inclusive trips to London or Bangkok for $700). The only problem with China is that you kind of have to plan ahead since you'll need to get a visa from one of the Chinese consulates. Still, it's an awesome place and I imagine could be very nice in the spring/summer (I went over winter break a few years ago and it was pretty miserable in terms of the cold!) Plus, once you actually get there it's cheap to get around and eat. Why'd you pick out China as the place to go Looque?
 
Have fun at second look guys!! It's a shame I won't be heading out there with you all (because I'm a loser like that)... if this thread is any indication, Pitt's incoming class is going to be a lot of fun and totally bada$$. :D :cool:

Edit: Yeaaaaaaaaaaaah... but not too torn up over missing the run, I'm not going to lie. :oops:
 
shantster said:
Since I'll be in Pittsburgh during the summer, and the US Open is ~20 minutes from the city (Oakmont, PA), I plan to go there for a day. I've been looking at tickets and it seems like I'll be trying to go on Sunday.

I :biglove: golf.
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That's great! My dad and I are pretty hardcore about golf - we're going to fly in from Chicago for the final 2 rounds (Sat, Sun) and I'm sure I'll end up showing him around campus. I hope the tickets aren't too bad now...for me to get $95/day tickets I had to enter a random drawing last summer.

I wonder what the golfing scene is like in Pgh...seems like with all the hills and tree cover it shouldn't be too hard to find some great courses. Anyone else play?
 
Phoenix2185 said:
That's great! My dad and I are pretty hardcore about golf - we're going to fly in from Chicago for the final 2 rounds (Sat, Sun) and I'm sure I'll end up showing him around campus. I hope the tickets aren't too bad now...for me to get $95/day tickets I had to enter a random drawing last summer.

I wonder what the golfing scene is like in Pgh...seems like with all the hills and tree cover it shouldn't be too hard to find some great courses. Anyone else play?
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i'm atrocious at golf, but i do play disc golf. i think there's a course at schenely (sic) park.
 
Doctor~Detroit said:
i'm atrocious at golf, but i do play disc golf. i think there's a course at schenely (sic) park.
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Disc golf? What's that? (This question coming courtesy from the girl who thought the US Open had something to do with tennis....;) :laugh: )
 
stiffany said:
Disc golf? What's that? (This question coming courtesy from the girl who thought the US Open had something to do with tennis....;) :laugh: )
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keeping score and moving down the field works like it does in golf. but instead of hitting the ball with a club, one throws a heavy frisbee disc down the field. the discs come in different weights, distances, and left/right pulls. instead of putting a ball in a hole one puts the disc in a basket with suspended chains. it's easier to pick up than golf although it can be tough on the arm. it's also cheaper (all courses i've been to are on public parks). i see it as the workin man's golf. i think it's pretty fun.
 
stiffany said:
Disc golf? What's that? (This question coming courtesy from the girl who thought the US Open had something to do with tennis....;) :laugh: )
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I believe that's what we in the Northeast refer to as Frisbee golf; correct me if I'm wrong. I'm not really sure what it is, though, something like a cross between Frisbee and miniature golf, right?

My husband and I fly in to Pittsburgh tonight - can't wait to see you all there!
 
stiffany said:
Have a great drive Looque! Hopefully you'll have nice weather and few traffic sharfoos on the way up.
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It looks like a very nice day for a drive, actually. I'm taking off momentarily.

By the way, I hope no one forgets that this Thursday is National High Five Day...

scrubs1-20.jpg
 
Doctor~Detroit said:
keeping score and moving down the field works like it does in golf. but instead of hitting the ball with a club, one throws a heavy frisbee disc down the field. the discs come in different weights, distances, and left/right pulls. instead of putting a ball in a hole one puts the disc in a basket with suspended chains. it's easier to pick up than golf although it can be tough on the arm. it's also cheaper (all courses i've been to are on public parks). i see it as the workin man's golf. i think it's pretty fun.
Click to expand...

pedsdoc2b said:
I believe that's what we in the Northeast refer to as Frisbee golf; correct me if I'm wrong. I'm not really sure what it is, though, something like a cross between Frisbee and miniature golf, right?

My husband and I fly in to Pittsburgh tonight - can't wait to see you all there!
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I've never even heard of that (guess that's my southern roots showing even though I've been an unofficial Yankee for the past six years...;) ) That sounds really awesome! Wishing you all safe trips to Pittsburgh. :) You'll have to fill in the rest of us with tidbits when you get back!
 
pedsdoc2b said:
My husband and I fly in to Pittsburgh tonight - can't wait to see you all there!
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Speaking of flying... does anyone know what stop to get off at on the 28X bus if going directly to the school? The website is not that helpful.
 
stiffany said:
Good luck shanster! Hopefully you'll be able to find something decent. I'd imagine that if you're subletting from a student from Pitt or CMU the place won't be too bad. :luck: :luck: I'm really hoping we'll get our final lease letters soon so I won't have a frantic trip to Pittsburgh come July. When does the PSTP start? (I keep wanting to type PSTP program - lol).
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PSTP starts June 1st, which makes things more hectic than I'd like. I'm going to be moving out right after graduation on May 20th (and by right out, I mean, the next day we will be making our way slowly to Pittsburgh). At least I'll be used to the area before school starts.
 
Looque said:
Find me at the revisit and I'll tell you all about it. Look for the shaved head.

Speaking of the revisit, my car's oil has been changed, its tires inflated, and I'm ready to start my eastward drive from the Kansas City area later today. (...just need to remember to bring at least one decent set of clothes.) I hope to see all of you there.
Click to expand...

Sounds good -- will do!

stiffany said:
Have a great drive Looque! Hopefully you'll have nice weather and few traffic sharfoos on the way up.

dotorre: I'm a big fan of www.travelzoo.com's weekly email with specials for last minute cheap fares to Asia, Europe, and the like (With periodic fares to Japan for $400 roundtrip or like week long inclusive trips to London or Bangkok for $700). The only problem with China is that you kind of have to plan ahead since you'll need to get a visa from one of the Chinese consulates. Still, it's an awesome place and I imagine could be very nice in the spring/summer (I went over winter break a few years ago and it was pretty miserable in terms of the cold!) Plus, once you actually get there it's cheap to get around and eat. Why'd you pick out China as the place to go Looque?
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Thanks for the info stiffany, I'll check out travelzoo
 
You have to get off on lower campus, the bus drives along Forbes Ave and you can get off at Mckee, Atwood, Bouquet, or Bigelow. It's about a 45 min- 1 hr drive. McKee is the stop where the Wyndam is, Bigelow is the closest to the Cathedral and the Holiday Inn. This is on lower campus however, so to get to the medical school you'd have to find another way up the hill (walk, hotel shuttle, etc). Pitt undergrad here, on the waitlist and desperately trying to get accepted but I thought I'd help out :)
 
Karrisma117 said:
You have to get off on lower campus, the bus drives along Forbes Ave and you can get off at Mckee, Atwood, Bouquet, or Bigelow. It's about a 45 min- 1 hr drive. McKee is the stop where the Wyndam is, Bigelow is the closest to the Cathedral and the Holiday Inn. This is on lower campus however, so to get to the medical school you'd have to find another way up the hill (walk, hotel shuttle, etc). Pitt undergrad here, on the waitlist and desperately trying to get accepted but I thought I'd help out :)
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Thanks. Unfortunately, this site was down the morning I left and so I didn't get this beforehand. I called the admissions office and they told me 5th and Atwood, which isn't a stop on dropping off, but is one for picking up, so I had a little bit of a hike to take. Oh well.

Good luck getting off the waitlist:luck:
 
I'm back from Second Look (quite early too since my flight landed in O'hare 30 minutes early... that's just unheard of)! I hope you all had a wonderful time. :)
 
Second Look was great! It was great meeting many of you over the course of the weekend -- hope to see you all next year
 
Doctor~Detroit said:
details, please.
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Let's see if I can hit the highlights...

When we first arrived, there was a reception with food. Then they broke us into our families (a larger group that had a few hosts/prospectives). Our family went to dinner and then we met up with everyone else at the bowling alley. They had reserved a portion of the bowling alley and so we had unlimited bowling from 9 to midnight.

Friday... We skipped the breakfast, so I don't know whether the speaker was good or not. Then we had a sample anatomy lecture about the heart. Though I was bored, I liked that the prof. stopped and asked if anyone had questions. I'm hoping that's how they teach the classes since I'm very used to that now. Then we had this really nice lunch with tons of food. Then we went to an activities fair and were able to sign up for a few organizations. After that was clinical experiences. I had to go to PSTP meetings so I missed it. I heard some people had some really interesting experiences. Later that night we went to dinner with our families and we all met up again at a bar in Shadyside.

Saturday... In the morning there were tours of the new apartments. We were able to see both of the one-bedrooms, but they were not near finished yet. There were walls and a shower, but that was about it. They were a little smaller than I was expecting, but they are extremely close to the med school. We went the WISER next, and saw a sample patient interview/physical that the first years were able to do by this point. Then we went on rotations through the center, and everyone in our small group learned how to intubate. That was exciting. After that was family time and I went with another person and her host to the Carnegie Mellon carnival. We all met up at Sweet Basil, this Tai resturant. The school picked up the bill and we had everything family style. After that was a party in Oakland at one of the med student's house.

Hope that gave all that couldn't go a good idea! It was a really wonderful weekend.
 
shantster said:
Let's see if I can hit the highlights...

When we first arrived, there was a reception with food. Then they broke us into our families (a larger group that had a few hosts/prospectives). Our family went to dinner and then we met up with everyone else at the bowling alley. They had reserved a portion of the bowling alley and so we had unlimited bowling from 9 to midnight.

Friday... We skipped the breakfast, so I don't know whether the speaker was good or not. Then we had a sample anatomy lecture about the heart. Though I was bored, I liked that the prof. stopped and asked if anyone had questions. I'm hoping that's how they teach the classes since I'm very used to that now. Then we had this really nice lunch with tons of food. Then we went to an activities fair and were able to sign up for a few organizations. After that was clinical experiences. I had to go to PSTP meetings so I missed it. I heard some people had some really interesting experiences. Later that night we went to dinner with our families and we all met up again at a bar in Shadyside.

Saturday... In the morning there were tours of the new apartments. We were able to see both of the one-bedrooms, but they were not near finished yet. There were walls and a shower, but that was about it. They were a little smaller than I was expecting, but they are extremely close to the med school. We went the WISER next, and saw a sample patient interview/physical that the first years were able to do by this point. Then we went on rotations through the center, and everyone in our small group learned how to intubate. That was exciting. After that was family time and I went with another person and her host to the Carnegie Mellon carnival. We all met up at Sweet Basil, this Tai resturant. The school picked up the bill and we had everything family style. After that was a party in Oakland at one of the med student's house.

Hope that gave all that couldn't go a good idea! It was a really wonderful weekend.
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Wow, that does sound really awesome (and jam packed)! :thumbup: The wedding I attended was very beautiful, but not quite as exciting as second look sounds. Any important tidbits those of us that missed it should know about? (Like financial aid, housing, filling out paperwork, when we should be on campus aside from white coat, all that jazz?) :hardy:
 
2nd Look was great, and it was good to meet those of you I saw there. My husband and I did a lot of apartment hunting; when we saw how small the student housing was we decided we could definitely not live there. We found a great place on 5th Ave about a mile from school, but it's not available until August 20, so we'll have to live in an extended-stay hotel for the first three weeks of August! At least we'll be able to move in before anatomy starts!

Can't wait to see you at White Coat in August. Just 111 days!
 
pedsdoc2b said:
2nd Look was great, and it was good to meet those of you I saw there. My husband and I did a lot of apartment hunting; when we saw how small the student housing was we decided we could definitely not live there. We found a great place on 5th Ave about a mile from school, but it's not available until August 20, so we'll have to live in an extended-stay hotel for the first three weeks of August! At least we'll be able to move in before anatomy starts!

Can't wait to see you at White Coat in August. Just 111 days!
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Did they say how many square feet the apartments are?
 
stiffany said:
Did they say how many square feet the apartments are?
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I don't think they gave a total, and the floor plans only gave square feet for the bedroom (9x16 for all plans) and living room (type A: 17x7, type B: 13x9, 2-br: 13x12). I have more materials they gave us at home, but I haven't looked through them much. If they have total square-footage I'll let you know.

I think the 1-br apts. would be okay for 1 person, they were just way too small for me to share with my husband.
 
what did you guys think of the students you met, in terms of how happy they are, what they do for fun, etc.?
 
pedsdoc2b said:
I don't think they gave a total, and the floor plans only gave square feet for the bedroom (9x16 for all plans) and living room (type A: 17x7, type B: 13x9, 2-br: 13x12). I have more materials they gave us at home, but I haven't looked through them much. If they have total square-footage I'll let you know.

I think the 1-br apts. would be okay for 1 person, they were just way too small for me to share with my husband.
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I didn't see anything with total square footage. The apartments are a little smaller than I was expecting, but I agree that they are fine for just one person. I see how it would definitely feel way too small with another person living with me.
 
Doctor~Detroit said:
what did you guys think of the students you met, in terms of how happy they are, what they do for fun, etc.?
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I really liked the people there, both the first years and the other prospectives were extremely nice. All the first years seemed really happy and relaxed. People that I talked to said that even with the honors/pass/fail grading scale, it is extremely noncompetitive. I believe that I heard that they don't rank the class and some people don't even check their grades following a test (they get an email if they fail, and only ~5 people fail a test). After a test, they will go out and party as a group.
 
shantster said:
Friday... We skipped the breakfast, so I don't know whether the speaker was good or not. Then we had a sample anatomy lecture about the heart. Though I was bored, I liked that the prof. stopped and asked if anyone had questions. I'm hoping that's how they teach the classes since I'm very used to that now. Then we had this really nice lunch with tons of food. Then we went to an activities fair and were able to sign up for a few organizations. After that was clinical experiences. I had to go to PSTP meetings so I missed it. I heard some people had some really interesting experiences. Later that night we went to dinner with our families and we all met up again at a bar in Shadyside.
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did anyone sign up for any organizations? i know there's a list of all of them, but what did you guys pick in particular?
 
Erina said:
anyone else get login info today? i haven't read the letter yet but my dad called to tell me my pitt.edu email address and password. maybe we can access all of that zone stuff now!
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has everyone recieved this? I still haven't!
 
Steve203 said:
has everyone recieved this? I still haven't!
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I finally received mine yesterday. I really wouldn't worry about it - all it gives you is your pitt.edu email address and access to my.pitt.edu, which is not terribly relevant for medical school. There is no access to the zone or anything; I assume that will come eventually with a medstudent.pitt.edu address.
 
Erina said:
did anyone sign up for any organizations? i know there's a list of all of them, but what did you guys pick in particular?
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I was pretty disappointed by the showing of various organizations - there really weren't very many there, especially as compared to the list you can view online. I grabbed some information on a few but didn't sign up for any; there will be plenty of opportunity for that later and I want a chance to check out the other organizations before getting my name on a ton of email lists.
 
Steve203 said:
has everyone recieved this? I still haven't!
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Mine came yesterday. I really haven't looked at it, but I believe there isn't that much exciting stuff on there as others have said.
 
pedsdoc2b said:
I was pretty disappointed by the showing of various organizations - there really weren't very many there, especially as compared to the list you can view online. I grabbed some information on a few but didn't sign up for any; there will be plenty of opportunity for that later and I want a chance to check out the other organizations before getting my name on a ton of email lists.
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I was surprised by how few there were as well. I signed up for AMSA and the one that organizes IM sports. I believe that with AMSA you pay your $70 lifetime joining fee and receive a free Netter's.
 
shantster said:
I was surprised by how few there were as well. I signed up for AMSA and the one that organizes IM sports. I believe that with AMSA you pay your $70 lifetime joining fee and receive a free Netter's.
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do med students participate in i.m. ultimate frisbee?
 
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