Vanderbilt University School of Medicine Class of 2011

[QuantumMechanic]

I'm really glad that these lenders are very clear about all this stuff

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Members don't see this ad.

 

[Meeher]

I'm really glad that these lenders are very clear about all this stuff

As wrong as it may sound, it's how they make money. They trick innocent, unsuspecting professional students like us with lucrative terms when in reality, they aren't so great...and in the end we get screwed over for the rest of our lives (pardon the slight exaggeration).

 

[Meeher]

So I just called Graduate Leverage and Bretticus is right--the effective APR is a function of interest rate and origination fees. The company has no IRR's during repayment except for the immediate 1% reduction from disbursement onward. She told me that you can take advantage of the 5.8% while in school, then consolidate to get a lower interest rate after school to get the best of both worlds, though I'm kind of hesitant to believe that. I'm not too sure about this company anymore...

 

[Meeher]

Thanks for the update. It looks like Medloans is still in the lead, as unfortunate as that is to say.

Actually, I was talking to a friend at another school who basically had his Stafford lender chosen for him by the school (with no IRRs or incentives) so it's a blessing that we at least get a choice.

Good way to learn about some finance too. And a good way to get some headaches before school starts .

 

[ChocoCowie]

Hey Everyone,

Hope everyone is enjoying summer and excited to be VMS I students!

I'm a rising second year @ Vandy med looking for a roommate to share a 2bedroom/2.5bathroom new townhome-available on/after July 16.

The house is 3 mins driving distance to Vanderbilt, 10 min bikeride and 20 min walk to the med school.
You will takeover one bedroom, one bathroom. I can have furniture ready for you if requested. No pets. No smoking/outside smoker.

The townhome is in a quiet safe community of young professionals and Vanderbilt graduate/professional school students. It is within walking distance to Centenial Park (great place to play, has a running path, grilling, the Parthenon!), coffee shops, bars, and a commercial center.

Love to hear from you! PM please!

looking forward to meeting everyone,
Lucy

 

[QuantumMechanic]

when do we get our VUnetID and email address? I would really like a new .edu address since my college took mine away.

 

[Meeher]

when do we get our VUnetID and email address? I would really like a new .edu address since my college took mine away.

I'm hoping soon. According to the waitlist thread, the class is full and they don't expect much more movement (if any), so hopefully we'll be getting registration materials soon. My college doesn't take away our email until a year after graduation, but it would be nice to join the Vanderbilt network on Facebook and using the Exchange servers hehe .

 

[QuantumMechanic]

I'm hoping soon. According to the waitlist thread, the class is full and they don't expect much more movement (if any), so hopefully we'll be getting registration materials soon. My college doesn't take away our email until a year after graduation, but it would be nice to join the Vanderbilt network on Facebook and using the Exchange servers hehe .

I have a friend at some other grad college at Vandy who already has hers!

 

[Meeher]

I have a friend at some other grad college at Vandy who already has hers!

I think they wait until class movement is very limited to start finalizing registration material, since medical school admissions is highy reliant on waitlists unlike other graduate admissions programs.

 

[QuantumMechanic]

I think they wait until class movement is very limited to start finalizing registration material, since medical school admissions is highy reliant on waitlists unlike other graduate admissions programs.

did I mention that most of my other friends going to med school also have their new email addresses as well?

 

[Meeher]

did I mention that most of my other friends going to med school also have their new email addresses as well?

Oh, maybe Vandy is just slow . After all, they DID use snail mail to give us our secondary/interview invites!

EDIT: So I called them and asked and they said during orientation. Definitely a weird conversation haha.

 

[QuantumMechanic]

Oh, maybe Vandy is just slow . After all, they DID use snail mail to give us our secondary/interview invites!

EDIT: So I called them and asked and they said during orientation. Definitely a weird conversation haha.

during orientation??? BOOOOOOOOO thumbdown


btw...we need our student ID to decline the student health insurance. how the hell are we supposed to do that when we don't even have our ID yet, and won't get it until orientation????????????? thumbdown

 

[bretticus]

The site for activating your VUNetID is here. Unfortunately, it's still not working for me. I had an email at Emory two months ago, and I'm not even going there!

 

[QuantumMechanic]

The site for activating your VUNetID is here. Unfortunately, it's still not working for me. I had an email at Emory two months ago, and I'm not even going there!

yeah I already tried that earlier today before I made my concerns known to SDN...I wish they'd realize that we have communication needs (as much as I love gmail, I know its not going to be my primary email address once I get this email, and I want this new email address ASAP so I can make it my main point of contact)...this "wait till orientation" bull**** is aggravating since other incoming Vandy grad students have their email addresses already...cmon Vandy Med make me happy!

 

[Meeher]

And where's the Paddle?!?!

 

[bretticus]

So... anyone already read Mountains Beyond Mountains?

 

[Meeher]

Why? Do we need to read it?

 

[bretticus]

Why? Do we need to read it?

Apparently so. I got mine in the mail yesterday. It's pretty nice that they'd send it to us, when they could've just as easily said "go buy it." I was intending on reading a couple of other books I got before school starts, but I guess this will do

 

[Meeher]

Apparently so. I got mine in the mail yesterday. It's pretty nice that they'd send it to us, when they could've just as easily said "go buy it." I was intending on reading a couple of other books I got before school starts, but I guess this will do

Ohhhh...haven't received it yet. Duke made the incoming class the year after us read it for their summer reading, so I've heard a lot about it. I know the guy in it went to Duke for undergrad .

 

[SuziQ]

I read it for a class in college! It's a pretty good book.

 

[Meeher]

I know this is totally off-topic, but does anyone have any experience with Europe? I'm planning a trip there before school starts, and I want to know which city or cities would be worth visiting if I've never been to Europe before. I'm thinking about Rome, Florence, and Pompeii right now (from recommendations by a few friends), but I don't know if I'd be better off in Paris or London or Germany. Problem is I don't know Italian or French or German hehe. I also don't want to spend a lot of money because, well, medical school sucked away all the money I never had . I get the plane ticket with my airline miles, so that's free.

 

[SuziQ]

Did y'all get the MAG/MOO info?! So exciting! Which are you going to try to go on?

 

[QuantumMechanic]

Did y'all get the MAG/MOO info?! So exciting! Which are you going to try to go on?

did it come via snail mail?

 

[SuziQ]

did it come via snail mail?

yep...i probably got it already because i'm in nashville

 

[Meeher]

Haven't gotten anything either, but I'm in LA right now.

 

[bretticus]

Nothing here, I'm about an hour from Nashville.

 

[Meeher]

Got it today (in LA!). I'm totally into either the hiking or whitewater rafting ones. I did whitewater rafting in Yosemite and it was soooooo much fun. Too bad I suck at it hehe (I fell out of the boat when we hit one of the rip currents ).

 

[abbaroodle]

Hi all,

My 1 BR\1 BA furnished condo is still for rent available end of July in time for you to move in before orientation. I just put a flier in the admissions office binder a couple days ago. Its a 10 min walk from class on Fairfax ave in Hillsboro village. Kitchen and bathroom recently renovated, huge walk-in closet, dishwasher, hardwood floors, central air. I love the location and the place is really cute. (Its at The Columns for anyone who is driving around the area or flipping through the Paddle.) Drop me an e-mail for pics or if you want to see it when you are in town.

Mag trips are awesome - I went rafting and had a blast. If you fall out, its even more fun. The Ocoee is by far the best river I have rafted - the current is great so you barely have to paddle!

Meeher - I havent spent much time in Europe, but I loved the Swiss alps! You gotta like being outdoors in beautiful mountains though to appreciate it. But in my mind, you cant beat hiking through wide open hills with cows with bells roaming freely, stopping for lunch consisting of gruyere cheese in Grueyere, visiting cute towns, and ending the evening with fondue. (Yes, I like cheese!) Salzburg is "Mozart disney-land" with some great concerts in chateaus and a really fun trick water-garden a bit away (I bet you can google for more info), but a neat place to stop if you are crossing the country. Lucerne has the most gorgeous medieval bridges and cityscapes and Berne is pretty cute based on the couple hours I spent there. I would skip Geneva (or spend no more than a day there in passing) unless you want to take a tour of the WHO or the UN or something which I hear are pretty dull. I also liked Vienna - the Klint museum and the castles were amazing. (I know thats not Swiss!) BTW - I dont speak any German either and I didnt have a problem except with menus on occassion. They seemed to think it was weird that I didnt want to eat their sausage and wanted veg food. But that may not have been a language problem.

 

[patzan]

Got it today (in LA!). I'm totally into either the hiking or whitewater rafting ones. I did whitewater rafting in Yosemite and it was soooooo much fun. Too bad I suck at it hehe (I fell out of the boat when we hit one of the rip currents ).

Rafting is the best, and usually most popular. I'd say 50-60% of people do rafting with the other 40-50% doing the other stuff.

 

[jin_gamble]

did everyone receive something in the mail by now?
haven't received anything in the mail yet (the last thing i received was the health clearance form)
i'm in cali. i was wondering if anyone else didn't get anything yet.
b/c i changed my address and was wondering if for some reason it was sent to my old address
did anyone else notice that the price of housing in the paddle and the actual current price shot up significantly. >$100...
did nashville market price overall just jump?

 

[Meeher]

did everyone receive something in the mail by now?
haven't received anything in the mail yet (the last thing i received was the health clearance form)
i'm in cali. i was wondering if anyone else didn't get anything yet.
b/c i changed my address and was wondering if for some reason it was sent to my old address
did anyone else notice that the price of housing in the paddle and the actual current price shot up significantly. >$100...
did nashville market price overall just jump?

Yeah, I've too noticed that the apartment rents have gone up. It's probably because as more people come to live in Nashville, demand is naturally going up and new apartment buildings can't be built faster than the rate of influx of people (a lot of Southern and Western cities are recording steady increases in their population). That and housing prices are going up throughout the country (especially in CA), though I think they're starting to go down now.

 

[fleetgoddess]

It's not really that all rent went up. If you looked on acklen they went up because of some new development in the past year. I'm guessing you looked at village at vanderbilt for that significant of an increase. its a rip off anyway they remodeled rooms and ajcked up the price. mine is still cheap. so are a lot of peoples.

 

[chocchip]

Hello Class of 2011,

Welcome to Vandy! As a recent Vandy grad and soon to be new intern, I wanted to welcome you to med school. I am sure many of you have already settled on apartments or houses for the upcoming year, but for those who have not, I would like to highly discourage you from dealing with Gianikas Property Management (Blythewood Apt on Hillsboro Pike, Convent Park on Convent Place, Parkridge Apt on Acklen Park Dr., Poston West, Westwood, etc.)

My roommate and I moved out of an apartment that we rented from this company in May. After having been great tenants with them for 4 years (3 years in the same apartment), we were appalled to find out that they not only refused to give us our security deposit back, but they also charged us over $300 for replacing the carpeting in our apartment, which had suffered no more than average wear and tear. They were unable to even provide documentation of the "damages" we inflicted. While I probably can't save myself this added expense, I hope I can prevent any of you from having to deal with them.

Also of note, my friend who rented from Hamilton Fairfax has had pretty poor service with them as well. They are not responsive about maintenance issues and even tried to kick my friends out early from their apartment before their lease ended (ie 2 months early), because "they wanted to rent the unit to the incoming students."

Sorry we didn't add to the Paddle, but usually the rising 2nd years take care of it and being 4th years, we were a little scattered the last half of the year! Please pass this information to other students that you may know who do not check this forum - I wouldn't want this to happen to anyone!

Enjoy your last months of summer break and good luck in August. Please don't hesitate to email if you have any questions about the next few years.

 

[Meeher]

Thanks for the info! Glad I didn't rent at Blythewood then!!

 

[QuantumMechanic]

did everyone receive something in the mail by now?
haven't received anything in the mail yet (the last thing i received was the health clearance form)
i'm in cali. i was wondering if anyone else didn't get anything yet.
b/c i changed my address and was wondering if for some reason it was sent to my old address
did anyone else notice that the price of housing in the paddle and the actual current price shot up significantly. >$100...
did nashville market price overall just jump?

that issue of the paddle is from 2002 or something...5 years is a long time in the real estate world, esp these past 5 years as nationwide real estate has shot up in value. Nashville is a good, growing city so this 10-20% increase in prices is not surprising.

 

[QuantumMechanic]

Who do we return the white coat/other info email to?

Have they sent us anymore emails since then? ...my college email account got taken away in early June

 

[Meeher]

Who do we return the white coat/other info email to?

Have they sent us anymore emails since then? ...my college email account got taken away in early June

I recently got a letter in the mail with all that info. It includes our scrub order form and academic calendar and other junk too. Did you get that one? We should send the email to Judy according to the letter. I haven't sent anything in yet though. I'm actually going back to Nashville on Friday (have to store my car and computer there), so I'm going to try to just give the finaid and scrub forms to them directly.

 

[burkart555]

Hi all,
I've been abroad since April. So I don't know what has been mailed to us.
Could somebody please tell me what stuff has been mailed and if anything needs to be returned.
From this forum I believe that a book has been sent??? Is this a required summer reading book?
Also I returned the form that came with the financial package. Was there anything else from the Financial Services that came after that?
Thanks so much.

 

[Meeher]

Hi all,
I've been abroad since April. So I don't know what has been mailed to us.
Could somebody please tell me what stuff has been mailed and if anything needs to be returned.
From this forum I believe that a book has been sent??? Is this a required summer reading book?
Also I returned the form that came with the financial package. Was there anything else from the Financial Services that came after that?
Thanks so much.

Via mail, I've received the health forms, the MAG/MOO info, the book, the finaid forms, and the scrubs order form. Everything needs to be returned except the book. White coat stuff needs to be returned via email July 1 too. I made the list of three things about me response kind of funny...hope they don't mind .

 

[SoFla62]

So...I'm trying to buy a computer. I HATE shopping for computers.

I know we got that sheet with the basic requirements for the laptops and one of them is the ability to run Windows XP. Until that, I had been looking at purchasing a Mac. I know Apple makes that Parallels software that is supposed to emulate Windows. Any thoughts on whether that will do? Should I just play it safe and stick with a PC?

 

[Meeher]

So...I'm trying to buy a computer. I HATE shopping for computers.

I know we got that sheet with the basic requirements for the laptops and one of them is the ability to run Windows XP. Until that, I had been looking at purchasing a Mac. I know Apple makes that Parallels software that is supposed to emulate Windows. Any thoughts on whether that will do? Should I just play it safe and stick with a PC?

My cousin has a mac and uses the parallel software whenever he needs to run windows only applications. You can also go with boot camp which partitions your computer between the windows and mac os. So I don't necessarily foresee a problem with using a mac if you can live with the added inconvenience of switching operating systems a few times a day maybe.

A lot of cool PC's have been coming out so I would maybe look into those as well. Macs are becoming too heavy for their class but I guess go with whatever is more comfortable for you. I'm using my tablet PC (even though it doesn't have a CD drive) until Intel comes out with its new PC in early 2008--it looks sweet.

 

[bretticus]

I'm planning on going with OSX + Parallels (or VMWare since the beta is free I believe). The only problem is that you'll have to pony up around $100 for an XP license if you don't have one (plus $70 for Parallels).

Meeher is right though, the new Macs are PCs just like any other. Pretty much anything should run in Parallels (even games in 3.0), but if it doesn't, you can reboot and have a "real" XP installation. There shouldn't be any problem with that.

I think the reason they want us to have XP is either KnowledgeMap (Internet Explorer only?) or possibly for syncing PDAs during clinicals, or both. Neither of these should be a problem, IMO.

I'm trying to decide between getting a Macbook Pro or a Macbook + nice LCD display (like 24"). What do you guys think? I don't plan on playing many games, just my Wii.

 

[Meeher]

I'm planning on going with OSX + Parallels (or VMWare since the beta is free I believe). The only problem is that you'll have to pony up around $100 for an XP license if you don't have one (plus $70 for Parallels).

Meeher is right though, the new Macs are PCs just like any other. Pretty much anything should run in Parallels (even games in 3.0), but if it doesn't, you can reboot and have a "real" XP installation. There shouldn't be any problem with that.

I think the reason they want us to have XP is either KnowledgeMap (Internet Explorer only?) or possibly for syncing PDAs during clinicals, or both. Neither of these should be a problem, IMO.

I'm trying to decide between getting a Macbook Pro or a Macbook + nice LCD display (like 24"). What do you guys think? I don't plan on playing many games, just my Wii.

They did a refresh of the Macbook Pro's recently, so I would say go with them for sure. They are much more powerful than the Macbooks now and they incorporate energy-saving stuff like LED screens rather than LCD. And you can get draft N wireless! I'm fundamentally opposed to Apple, but if I wasn't, I would get the Pro.

I would also make sure that they will get the Parallels or boot camp software to work with Vista since that's what the standard OS will become in less than a year when SP1 comes out. XP is a dying breed now.

 

[bretticus]

They did a refresh of the Macbook Pro's recently, so I would say go with them for sure. They are much more powerful than the Macbooks now and they incorporate energy-saving stuff like LED screens rather than LCD. And you can get draft N wireless! I'm fundamentally opposed to Apple, but if I wasn't, I would get the Pro.

I would also make sure that they will get the Parallels or boot camp software to work with Vista since that's what the standard OS will become in less than a year when SP1 comes out. XP is a dying breed now.

If you compare the Pros to the regular MacBooks, the only real difference is the screen size and the graphics chipset. The Pros do have Santa Rosa and LED, but I don't see any huge benefit. As far as screen size goes, I would get a nice monitor at home and have a very portable laptop when I need to take it class. I don't play games except for Wii, so the graphics aren't really going to matter either. It's a very significant difference in price, plus we have a tax free weekend coming up in TN that applies to the MacBooks but not the Pros. A 2GB upgrade is only about $100 aftermarket as well.

Parallels and BootCamp both work with Vista, also.

I still haven't made up my mind though. The Pros are defintely sleek... Stupid decisions

 

[QuantumMechanic]

Typing on my MacBook right now....

I have XP running in the background with Parallels...cost me about $160 to get it fully set up but its worth it for some of the stuff I need for the computer (some music software I like to have).

No need to go with Vista, in fact MS just recently began to allow corporations to revert new computers to XP since Vista blows. Alot of software won't work with Vista and for the lifespan of your computer you probably won't need to have Vista on it. Plus, you technically need the expensive versions of Vista to run it on a Mac with Parallels.

As for the MacBook vs. MacBook Pro, there is no need for the MBP unless you want to spend more money. The chipset and the graphics card and slightly better display are nice luxuries, but they don't compensate for something very important: size. My MB will fit easily in my backpack and is just big enough, but not too big. I don't need a graphics card since I do no video editing or gaming on my computer (gaming on a Mac is lame anyway). My MB does everything I need a computer to do in a very small package. Wha more could I ask for? (Well maybe touch screen technology a la iPhone)

I couldn't be happier with my new MacBook, it is sleek, sexy, and has a great user interface. I used to disdain Macs since they were different, but I have seen the light, and I will never turn back. The MacBooks come standard wihth 802.11n wireless (even on mine which I got in May). The technology is clearly superior to what I could've gotten in a PC for the same price.

As for 'needing' Windows (as the letter said), I talked to some students at 2nd look who said they highly recommended Mac and they said Windows wasn't necessary at Vandy Med.

 

[Meeher]

Hehe, here goes my anti-Apple sentiment: if size is really important to you, Toshiba just released a computer that is 1.72 pounds. Only potential downside is it has a 12.1 inch screen. If you'd like to stick to 13 inch screens like the MacBook has, Dell just released an XPS laptop that is under 4 pounds and includes many high-end options. It looks pretty nice too, a clear departure for Dell. The MacBook is cheaper than these two options though (but it's Apple ). Man, I hope I'm not the only one who uses PC's in this group!!!

And I think that Vista will be needed during the life of the computer. Once SP1 comes out, more people will revert to Vista, and right now, new applications are being written exclusively for Vista. It may not be needed right now or within the next year, but considering a computer typically lasts between 2-3 years, Vista is definitely something to consider.

Oh yeah, apparently the iPhone is a great multimedia device but it sucks as a phone, but I'll give it some credit for revolutionizing the stagnant cell phone industry .

 

[QuantumMechanic]

Hehe, here goes my anti-Apple sentiment: if size is really important to you, Toshiba just released a computer that is 1.72 pounds. Only potential downside is it has a 12.1 inch screen. If you'd like to stick to 13 inch screens like the MacBook has, Dell just released an XPS laptop that is under 4 pounds and includes many high-end options. It looks pretty nice too, a clear departure for Dell. The MacBook is cheaper than these two options though (but it's Apple ). Man, I hope I'm not the only one who uses PC's in this group!!!

And I think that Vista will be needed during the life of the computer. Once SP1 comes out, more people will revert to Vista, and right now, new applications are being written exclusively for Vista. It may not be needed right now or within the next year, but considering a computer typically lasts between 2-3 years, Vista is definitely something to consider.

Oh yeah, apparently the iPhone is a great multimedia device but it sucks as a phone, but I'll give it some credit for revolutionizing the stagnant cell phone industry .

Although the MacBook isn't as small as the Dell XPS or some of the new tablets, it is cheaper as you mentioned and in my opinion is better due to some features like the full-size keyboard, trackpad that you can scroll with by using 2 fingers, the magnetically releasing power cord (no more falling laptops!), and slot-loading disc drive. I've used an XPS and a MacBook and both are small and light enough for me. The supersmall stuff (tablets) are probably going to be awesome in a year or so (flash memory etc) but of course that's a constant statement about consumer electronics.

In terms of needing Vista, I really would disagree with that. Look at most software today, alot can run on Windows 98. and virtually all software can run on Windows 2000 and later. It takes a long time for the previous OS to become obsolete in terms of new software (barring power uses like games and such) since there is alot of people who aren't going to upgrade. This is especially true with Vista which has had very bad adoption by current XP users. (I for one have never met anyone who bothered to upgrade to Vista, only friends with new computers have it. There was no buzz about upgrading unlike when 95 came out back in the day). Some schools even don't support Vista yet on their networks (like my old college!), such things will change but it speaks volumes to the lack of innovation and improvement that Vista actually had over XP (other than making it function visually more like OS X). But for now, any software company would be crazy to release a Vista-only product since there aren't too many customers out there currently. True there will be a day when Vista will be required, but that will be at least 4 years from now, probably more, especially in regard to the type of software you will be using as a medical student (new versions of powerpoint, web browsers, itunes will all run on XP for the next 7 years I promise). If you're getting a new Windows computer you might as well get Vista, but there's no need to upgrade XP to Vista.

 

[Meeher]

As the owner of a tablet PC, I would like to second Quantum's claims that they are awesome, especially after Vista's new tablet technology .

But anyway, did anyone do their titers yet? What do they entail aside blood work and how long does it usually take for results to come out? I'm a procrastinator .

 

[QuantumMechanic]

As the owner of a tablet PC, I would like to second Quantum's claims that they are awesome, especially after Vista's new tablet technology .

But anyway, did anyone do their titers yet? What do they entail aside blood work and how long does it usually take for results to come out? I'm a procrastinator .

I got the blood drawn for the titers but my doctor didn't give the orders to the lab

They said we can get titers taken during orientation (paid by our student health fee so why didn't they mention this in the first letter is beyond my comprehension).

 

[bretticus]

I got the blood drawn for the titers but my doctor didn't give the orders to the lab

They said we can get titers taken during orientation (paid by our student health fee so why didn't they mention this in the first letter is beyond my comprehension).

I got my titers after calling Student Health about the cost. The woman there was very rude IMO, and she told me that I would have to pay. I went ahead and got my blood drawn (results back in 3 days). I was then filling out the MAG/MOO stuff and noticed that it said they would be covered by the student health fee. WTF? My IM doc said it would probably be on the order of a couple hundred bucks! I turned it in to insurance anyway, but I highly doubt they'll pick up the tab. Very irritated