Usf Ims????

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Thank you. I gather from reading the thread, but current situations considered, the online works best for me right now.
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gator2008 said:
I agree with this too, and apologize for getting frustrated with you Guju. I was simply trying to show my experiences and what I did to get in. I in no way meant to say that research was an absolute to getting into USF or med school in general, but still believe that if an opportunity is there then go with it. Whitehair, you're right that I haven't kept in touch with everyone from my program, so there very well could be others who got into allopathic schools, but I doubt that there are many. Still, like it's been said many times before on here, success in this program is necessary to get into med school, but the MCAT will be what makes or breaks you. Some students may do extremely well in the classes here, but still be hovering in the low 20's on the MCAT and sadly, they'll have no shot in hell at an allopathic school. That is what leads me to believe that the numbers of acceptances from this program will always be low-some students will just never be able to get that test score up. And, the numbers of enrollees in the program is rising. According to my boss, the number of MM students for next year is already in the 80's and climbing. So, the competition is there. I'm not trying to discourage anyone or tell anyone to save their money, I'd be a hypocrite for that. I am saying that it's going to take an above average effort in all things, not just grades and MCAT, to make yourself stand out and get lucky come admission time, and that's where the research, volunteering, shadowing, etc. are going to be important. That's the reality of it, regardless of what anyone else says. I think sdn is a great resource, but the one thing I dislike is when you people read something that they don't want to hear, they are quick to try and make arguments against it. So, with that said, I'll stop trying to sound mean and try to be more helpful. :thumbup:
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Well said. I completely agree with the below. Thanks for your help.
Jvillegator said:
I agree with this too, and apologize for getting frustrated with you Guju. I was simply trying to show my experiences and what I did to get in. I in no way meant to say that research was an absolute to getting into USF or med school in general, but still believe that if an opportunity is there then go with it. Whitehair, you're right that I haven't kept in touch with everyone from my program, so there very well could be others who got into allopathic schools, but I doubt that there are many. Still, like it's been said many times before on here, success in this program is necessary to get into med school, but the MCAT will be what makes or breaks you. Some students may do extremely well in the classes here, but still be hovering in the low 20's on the MCAT and sadly, they'll have no shot in hell at an allopathic school. That is what leads me to believe that the numbers of acceptances from this program will always be low-some students will just never be able to get that test score up. And, the numbers of enrollees in the program is rising. According to my boss, the number of MM students for next year is already in the 80's and climbing. So, the competition is there. I'm not trying to discourage anyone or tell anyone to save their money, I'd be a hypocrite for that. I am saying that it's going to take an above average effort in all things, not just grades and MCAT, to make yourself stand out and get lucky come admission time, and that's where the research, volunteering, shadowing, etc. are going to be important. That's the reality of it, regardless of what anyone else says. I think sdn is a great resource, but the one thing I dislike is when you people read something that they don't want to hear, they are quick to try and make arguments against it. So, with that said, I'll stop trying to sound mean and try to be more helpful. :thumbup:
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Is anyone taking TPR for the Jan MCAT? I would love to have a committed study partner who is willing to work as hard as I am.
 
So as it turns out, up until today I have completely pushed aside the thought that an acceptance into the molecular medicine program could have been routed to my spam email. Every time I saw someone say that they saw it in they're spam i thought it was completely BS, thinking that spam was for viagra and other drug solicitors.

Then I checked my spam today and found out I'M IN! LOL see u guys in a couple months!

Oh and AWhiteHair....TPR class is absolutely awesome, especially if your not strong in physical sciences, which most people are not. If I could change anything I did it would have been to read the physical science review book chapters and the bio science review book chapters BEFORE the class that corresponds to the chapter. ALSO, for verbal, I would try their mapping strategy out to the fullest! You'll find that although your not gonna use it come time of the test, it prepares you very well as over time you learn to map the passage out in your head. Just my 2 cents though.
 
LoveMyRam said:
So as it turns out, up until today I have completely pushed aside the thought that an acceptance into the molecular medicine program could have been routed to my spam email. Every time I saw someone say that they saw it in they're spam i thought it was completely BS, thinking that spam was for viagra and other drug solicitors.

Then I checked my spam today and found out I'M IN! LOL see u guys in a couple months!

Oh and AWhiteHair....TPR class is absolutely awesome, especially if your not strong in physical sciences, which most people are not. If I could change anything I did it would have been to read the physical science review book chapters and the bio science review book chapters BEFORE the class that corresponds to the chapter. ALSO, for verbal, I would try their mapping strategy out to the fullest! You'll find that although your not gonna use it come time of the test, it prepares you very well as over time you learn to map the passage out in your head. Just my 2 cents though.
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Congratulations! :hardy: Thanks for the info. Are you retaking the exam?
 
I have a very negative impression of TPR. I was scheduled to take the fall course last year. Apparently, they only had a few kids sign up so they cancelled the class. I was very bitter about it because I could have started the Kaplan course the prior month. It is a sign of a very poor company when they don't commit to a set schedule due to profit. A good company would have proceeded with the class and used it for future word of mouth advertising. I also did a free event from TPR. The instructor took our emails down and was going to send out the notes that we went over, but he never got around to it. Which sucked b/c I didn't take notes during the lecture b/c he said that the notes would be provided.

I am using EK and the Kaplan online course. I am supplementing physics with NOVA. I have plenty of material, it is just a matter of getting through it all.
 
mike1618 said:
I have a very negative impression of TPR. I was scheduled to take the fall course last year. Apparently, they only had a few kids sign up so they cancelled the class. I was very bitter about it because I could have started the Kaplan course the prior month. It is a sign of a very poor company when they don't commit to a set schedule due to profit. A good company would have proceeded with the class and used it for future word of mouth advertising. I also did a free event from TPR. The instructor took our emails down and was going to send out the notes that we went over, but he never got around to it. Which sucked b/c I didn't take notes during the lecture b/c he said that the notes would be provided.

I am using EK and the Kaplan online course. I am supplementing physics with NOVA. I have plenty of material, it is just a matter of getting through it all.
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Yeah, I have way too much material myself. I have already taken Kaplan, and was not the biggest fan, so I wanted to try something different. I don't know, I might just self study because I have so much material already, but I wanted the consistency of the schedule and the TPR materials which I've heard are pretty good.
 
I don't blame you. Once I get through most of this material, I am going to do nothing but the EK 1001's and practice tests. I am hoping that I will be able to see so many problems that there will be repeats and recognizable question types on the MCAT.

Have you decided which elective you are going to take during the Fall?
 
mike1618 said:
I don't blame you. Once I get through most of this material, I am going to do nothing but the EK 1001's and practice tests. I am hoping that I will be able to see so many problems that there will be repeats and recognizable question types on the MCAT.

Have you decided which elective you are going to take during the Fall?
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I don't know yet, but probably bioinformatics or cell immunology. I am interested in Molecular Biology of Tumor Viruses in the summer, which is 2 credit hours. I'm really trying to work around that, but there isn't much luck unless I take a 3 cr hour course in the fall because the 3credit hour spring courses do not interest me.
 
Bioinformatics is 3 credit hours, right? I just requested for a permit.

Before the semester starts, I would like to chat with you regarding strategy, such as which books you think should be bought and how to study for each course. I know that everyone is different, but at least we could communicate what we have heard from others.

As for finances, I am going to max out on student loans and basically use up most of my savings. Hopefully, my lab volunteering will turn into a part-time gig.
 
mike1618 said:
Bioinformatics is 3 credit hours, right? I just requested for a permit.

Before the semester starts, I would like to chat with you regarding strategy, such as which books you think should be bought and how to study for each course. I know that everyone is different, but at least we could communicate what we have heard from others.

As for finances, I am going to max out on student loans and basically use up most of my savings. Hopefully, my lab volunteering will turn into a part-time gig.
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Yeah, Bioinformatics is 3 cr hours, but it puts a big gap in my schedule on M&W and since I will possibly have to be at TPR from 6-10:15pm after classes on M&W, I don't know if I want to do that to myself. Besides, I could use the extra time to study for the MCAT. I think bioinformatics sounds pretty easy though, especially since I use a lot of the software for the job I have now, and some of the research I have done in the past.

I'm really going to have to do something about my study tactics because in undergrad they were virtually non-existent. Pretty much, I would study the night before or the day of an exam and walk away with an A or B. I know that will not fly in grad school.

As for books, I never really bought them in ugrad. I will probably buy the minimum and focus on the lectures/ppts. We can definitely get together and exchange the beginnings of our strategies though, because I am sure they will change as the semester progresses. Trial and error.
 
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Guju or JVille,

Did your instructors use blackboard?
 
gujuDoc said:
Th only possible electives unless you are a former PhD student that has transferred down to a masters program are as follows:
Fall options
Biostats
Bioinformatics
Sping options:
Proteomics
Virology
Summer Options:
Biostats
Methods in Molecular Biology

Cellular immunology is no longer offered due to its likeness to immunology in the spring

Blackboard is used for discussions and to post assignments or powerpoints and sometimes review questions. So yes it is used.
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Oh, I see. This is where I was getting my info from: http://health.usf.edu/medicine/molecularmedicine/printableversion.htm
 
gujuDoc said:
Bioinforatics requires you to write a review paper. You will already have 1 review aper to write for scientific ethics and writing and a cumm. final in biochem and other tests before the cumm final plus med micro tests.

doing that on top of MCAT studying especially with a baby on the way is a lot more stress then i'd recommend for you. If you are going to wait to apply another year, I'd recommend doing it in the following fall or doing biostats which is less stress because if you do it in a group, it will be easier as it is all online and just tests.
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Sounds like a plan. I was definitely worried about that all being way too much on my plate.
 
gujuDoc said:
Th only possible electives unless you are a former PhD student that has transferred down to a masters program are as follows:
Fall options
Biostats
Bioinformatics
Sping options:
Proteomics
Virology
Summer Options:
Biostats
Methods in Molecular Biology

Cellular immunology is no longer offered due to its likeness to immunology in the spring

Blackboard is used for discussions and to post assignments or powerpoints and sometimes review questions. So yes it is used.
Click to expand...

Well, from those options I think I would go with Virology in the Spring and Biostats in the summer, but we'll see.
 
I just got the permit for Bioinformatics and registered. Does anybody know anything about that biotechnology course? It is not listed in the schedule search.
 
I don't know much about the biotech or bioinformatics electives b/c I did not take them, but I don't believe either were very tough. As far as the bioinformatics paper goes, I believe it's more of a project that you work on during the course where you turn different parts in at different times, and then you have a presentation at the end. I agree though that the virology course has more clinical relevance and wasn't very challenging. You also get to see a good # of gross pictures, which is always good in my book.
 
No, I am not trying to do both electives in the fall. I just thought that biotech sounded interesting. I will probably go with Virology in the Spring, given your reasoning.
 
I wish that histology class was an option for us in the Fall. Blast!
 
AWhitehair said:
I wish that histology class was an option for us in the Fall. Blast!
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I know that there are certain electives that are "singled out" for the MM students, but if you are really interested in the histology class, you should consider talking to Dr. Barber or whoever is in charge of the program about letting you take it and have it count toward your degree. The only reason I say this is b/c one of my friends in the program took a pharm/physio class only offered to the PhD students as one of his courses after asking for permission, and no one had a problem with it. It wouldn't hurt to ask if you're really interested, the worst they can say is no. A caveat is that some of these classes might be adding additional difficulty to your course load in addition to any MCAT prep you might be doing, so you should probably always consider that.
 
Jvillegator said:
I know that there are certain electives that are "singled out" for the MM students, but if you are really interested in the histology class, you should consider talking to Dr. Barber or whoever is in charge of the program about letting you take it and have it count toward your degree. The only reason I say this is b/c one of my friends in the program took a pharm/physio class only offered to the PhD students as one of his courses after asking for permission, and no one had a problem with it. It wouldn't hurt to ask if you're really interested, the worst they can say is no. A caveat is that some of these classes might be adding additional difficulty to your course load in addition to any MCAT prep you might be doing, so you should probably always consider that.
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Nice to know, but like you said, probably not a good idea to take in the fall while studying for the MCAT.
 
gujuDoc said:
Ok that makes sense. Yeah doing one of the electives in fall and one in spring is your best bet.

Its more stressful when you have to do it in the summer cuz the rest of the classes are so fast paced that you really shouldn't do what I did on that count.

Oh and if clinical correlations is offered as summer C again, don't be stupid like me and take summer A. Its so much work because he expects more then what the book expected when they wrote the questions at the end of the chapters. its 14 assignments and its a lot of busy work. Its stressful when the other 2 classes are summer A which have exams. So my recommendation is that you all sign up for the summer C option if it is offered again next year as it was this year.
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So how are the summer classes broken down in the summer sections or are the required courses all summer?
 
AWhitehair said:
Congratulations! :hardy: Thanks for the info. Are you retaking the exam?
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Yep...in two days, and thankfully I feel as ready as i'll ever be at this point without forgetting the important stuff from undergrad
 
Does anyone know if we can start using the gym on the med school campus if we have registered for classes? Or do we have to be currently enrolled in summer courses?
 
gujuDoc said:
I don't know if this was true for you, but they told us that while we could take extra classes like those, it would not count towards the MM degree. they further told us that we could not pick courses from other departments such as anatomy as an elective.

There is an online histo course for the health certificate which one can do if they want a histo course.

But ask Dr. Barber again. though I don't think much has changed as many students in my program asked this very question. But again, do ask Dr. Barber because it is ultimately down to him what he chooses to do. I think most people I know who have been able to transfer over courses have done so via PhD courses they had permission to take for various reasons. It was not necessarily from other masters classes though.

Again, its all up to him and I'd email as soon as possible if you are toying with that idea.
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this is probably true, both b/c when I did the program there were probably about 2/3 as many students in it as there are now, and his deciding to take an extra class was probably a more isolated incident so they might have given permission. You're probably right that they wouldn't let it go toward the degree b/c that could lead to students essentially taking whatever classes they wanted instead of the suggested curriculum. With that many students, things could probably get out of hand pretty quickly.
 
Who did you guys go to for registration information? I've sent several emails to F. Jackson without a response.
 
Your acceptance email should have given you a contact for registration. Although, I am not sure what you would need. You can set everything up on your own.
 
My acceptance email and letter came telling me to contact my faculty advisor. The website tells me that the program's person to contact is F. Jackson. No mention of a faculty advisor.
 
I log into Oasis, proceed to the Registration menu and find the CRNs for my classes. I enter the numbers into the Add Classes Worksheet and hit Submit Changes. The website then says Registration Add Errors. Giving me no error reason or code, no number number to contact to fix it.

I will try contacting those people you mentioned on Monday.

Any additional suggestions are appreciated.
 
Thank you.

Got my answers today. Apparently enrolling in classes is not the first step, as the acceptance letter claims. It is the final step; after things like getting cleared by the health center (shot record), setting up a computer account (university email) and waiving things you don't need (like the parking permit they tried to charge an online student for).
 
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I am trying to pick my elective and had some questions. What do you learn in bioinformatics? How time consuming? Same goes for intro to biotechnology, what do you do/learn in the class. Also Biostats 1?

I know you cant take courses for your electives outside your concentration, but can you take them just to take them. I would love to take the neuroimmunology course.
 
AirForceK10001 said:
Thank you.

Got my answers today. Apparently enrolling in classes is not the first step, as the acceptance letter claims. It is the final step; after things like getting cleared by the health center (shot record), setting up a computer account (university email) and waiving things you don't need (like the parking permit they tried to charge an online student for).
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lol. :rolleyes: They are always trying to make an extra buck off of us poor college students.
 
Two questions:

- Which MCAT testing center in Tampa is the best?

-Which MM classes have mandatory attendance in the Spring?
 
I registered for the aug. 22nd MCAT and the only one that had seats was downtown. I called to find out what type of monitors they employed and luckily, they use LCD screens.
 
Thanks. Yay for LCD monitors! The last time I took the MCAT the screen was flickering the whole time.
 
Just took the MCAT exam last weekend. Hoping for a 30...in the meantime, I need to get registered for fall classes. I remeber someone stating in a previous post that a health clearance must be obtained from the health center before registering for classes. How is that obtained?
 
I got a form in the mail that I had to fill out w/ vacc dates and used my ugrad immunization records for the physician's signature/stamp requirement and was able to register <24 hrs after faxing it in

this is the form if you don't have it

http://shsweb.shs.usf.edu/forms/ImmHlthForm.pdf
 
Is anyone else applying to med school for 2009 admission? If so, are you going to wait for the first semester of grades from USF or submit and update when you get them?
 
I need help with where to live. I lived oncampus for all 4 years, so apartment searching is new to me.

I would like a 2/2 or 1/1, furnished preferable, close to campus (but not necessary, I will have a car), and <$600 (might be hard with 1/1). I dont want something too expensive. I am trying to limit my debt as much a possible. I was looking on the USF website and online and found some places. Could you guys share opinions on the places below or add places I should look into? Where do you live, if you dont mind sharing?

The Pointe at South Florida
Malibu USF (looks like its geared towards freshmen)
The Park at Conventry
Cambridge Woods

For people who went to USF for undergrad, I was also considering going on-campus as a resident or maybe apply for a job as a graduate hall director and get free housing. Which are the nicer upperclassmen or grad student oriented residence halls?
 
Airforce, I will be applying this summer and then updating. Applying with first semester grades will push your apps back too far. It is going to be very hard for us to get into '09 unless we get kickass MCAT scores...

Zippa, your chances of finding a 2/2 or even a 1/1 that is furnished at that price is slim to none. You may find some really small 1 bedrooms that are not furnished for a little over 600, but the quality will be poor. You may want to focus your efforts towards on-campus living or looking for a roommate.
 
mike1618 said:
Zippa, your chances of finding a 2/2 or even a 1/1 that is furnished at that price is slim to none. You may find some really small 1 bedrooms that are not furnished for a little over 600, but the quality will be poor. You may want to focus your efforts towards on-campus living or looking for a roommate.
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What would the average cost for a 2/2 or 3/3 be then?


To you and others, where do grad students and/or med students tend to live?
 
the range is going to be huge depending on where you want to live. In Tampa Palms, you should expect a 2/2 apartment to 1100-1300. Apartments seem to be more expensive than townhouses or even some houses. There are some townhouses/condos for rent in Tampa Palms that are in the 850 to 950 range, which are a very good deal for the area. If you can afford it, or find a roommate, than the townhouses are the best way to go. I think you will find that the med students and many grad students live pretty far away from USF. Tampa Palms/New Tampa seems to be a popular place for a lot of them. Others go out to Brandon or even South Tampa for the social life.
 
mike1618 said:
Airforce, I will be applying this summer and then updating. Applying with first semester grades will push your apps back too far. It is going to be very hard for us to get into '09 unless we get kickass MCAT scores...

Zippa, your chances of finding a 2/2 or even a 1/1 that is furnished at that price is slim to none. You may find some really small 1 bedrooms that are not furnished for a little over 600, but the quality will be poor. You may want to focus your efforts towards on-campus living or looking for a roommate.
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This is pretty much spot on. I think the majority of 1/1's will start at 700. You may find something cheaper, but it will either be very small, in a garbage location, or both. On the USF c/o 2012 thread there's a good discussion about housing. I think the general consensus that I've heard is not to live anywhere on Bruce B Downs between Bearss and campus, but I don't know how reliable that is. I've lived north in New Tampa for the last 2 years and have renewed my lease for another year. It's further away from campus and the traffic can be a pain sometimes, but it's quiet, I don't have to be around a lot of undergrads, and I've got a good size 1/1 (almost 900 square feet) for a good price. The best thing to do is probably just hit the pavement and see what you can find. Good luck.
 
Jvillegator said:
This is pretty much spot on. I think the majority of 1/1's will start at 700. You may find something cheaper, but it will either be very small, in a garbage location, or both. On the USF c/o 2012 thread there's a good discussion about housing. I think the general consensus that I've heard is not to live anywhere on Bruce B Downs between Bearss and campus, but I don't know how reliable that is. I've lived north in New Tampa for the last 2 years and have renewed my lease for another year. It's further away from campus and the traffic can be a pain sometimes, but it's quiet, I don't have to be around a lot of undergrads, and I've got a good size 1/1 (almost 900 square feet) for a good price. The best thing to do is probably just hit the pavement and see what you can find. Good luck.
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Is the traffic on the Bruce really that bad from New Tampa to campus? Where is it coming from? i-75? What are the rush hour times? How is parking at USF? Since most of my classes start later in the day, would I be able to still get parking or would I need to come to campus early like med students? Or is there a bus going to New Tampa?
 
zippa said:
Is the traffic on the Bruce really that bad from New Tampa to campus? Where is it coming from? i-75? What are the rush hour times? How is parking at USF? Since most of my classes start later in the day, would I be able to still get parking or would I need to come to campus early like med students? Or is there a bus going to New Tampa?
Click to expand...

I don't think the traffic is horrible, but if you get stuck in that 4-6 time period then it can be frustrating. I don't know if there's bus service to the Tampa Palms or New Tampa areas, but I don't believe so. The parking is alright. If you're coming in the early afternoon you might have trouble getting a spot in the med school lot, but there are a couple other lots close so it's usually not a big deal.
 
There is currently construction underway to build a new on-ramp to
I75. Once that is completed, it should lighten things up a bunch. It looks like it will be completed within a month or so.

FYI, I saw an ad in the med school hallway for a 2 bed townhouse for 900. It looked like it was in RainTree, but I am not certain.
 
Thanks for the info! Just submitted the immunization form, so I should be able to register for classes soon. Does anyone know the % med school acceptance rate for students in the molec. medicine masters? Also, do they mostly get into USF or other med schools?
 
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