====Virginia Commonwealth Univ/ MCV Class of 2012====

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gstrub said:
Seriously, this is like the 5th time someone asked a question here that has been answered in this thread, articulately.

But just in case, one more time:
Don't buy the VCU health insurance. It is not only expensive, but there is no max out of pocket expense, meaning you could get stiffed with a $50,000+ bill if you are in an accident, etc.
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2nd this. I had it for a little while for UG and it sucked. My wife and I now have a much better independent policy through Anthem that is cheaper and WAY better.
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gstrub said:
Seriously, this is like the 5th time someone asked a question here that has been answered in this thread, articulately.

But just in case, one more time:
Don't buy the VCU health insurance. It is not only expensive, but there is no max out of pocket expense, meaning you could get stiffed with a $50,000+ bill if you are in an accident, etc.
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Well, technically it's not the out of pocket maximum that is the issue, since at a 10% payment for MCV, you would only have a $20k bill before the maximum benefit was reached anyway. Apparently this is quite rare (less than once per year).

And to be fair, the thread has gotten pretty long. I would have read the whole thing before posting, but most people wouldn't.
 
Hey Pseudoknot,
I read about the annual book sale for med students somewhere on "the stethoscope" magazine. Is it worth it to wait and purchase books from the book sale or better to get them used from the net?
 
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vmp200 said:
Hey Pseudoknot,
I read about the annual book sale for med students somewhere on "the stethoscope" magazine. Is it worth it to wait and purchase books from the book sale or better to get them used from the net?
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I didn't need many books 1st year...and just buy from amazon.com. Everything was cheaper online unless you're buying used books from M2s.
 
pseudoknot said:
Well, technically it's not the out of pocket maximum that is the issue, since at a 10% payment for MCV, you would only have a $20k bill before the maximum benefit was reached anyway. Apparently this is quite rare (less than once per year).

And to be fair, the thread has gotten pretty long. I would have read the whole thing before posting, but most people wouldn't.
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That's $40,000 if you happen to be in an accident and are taken to an in-network hospital (not MCV), or...gasp...$80,000 (40%co-insurance) in an out of network hospital. Complete BS. Worst policy ever. EVER.
 
I got mine thru Anthem (Keycare Healthsmart). It was not bad and it includes the maternity rider. It is $154.00 per month and is a much better policy than what is offered thru the school.
 
JasonKanel said:
Is anyone from California and trying to decide between MCV and another school? I am having a hard time choosing between MCV and St. Louis U.

Any input?
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I haven't gone through the whole thread yet, but just wondering how you were able to decide in the end. I'm also from CA, trying to decide between VCU and USF.
 
Btw, I liked both schools when I interviewed. I like that VCU has Dr. Constanzo, perhaps a more ethnically diverse student body, and 8-12 schedule. But it's going to be $156,948 just for tuition and fees for 4 years at VCU vs. $108,564 at USF. That's a ~$50,000 difference that I don't know if I'll be able to make if I end up in PC. Btw, I'm keeping my options open in terms of specialties, but I was interested in peds, so just wondering if I'll suffer from that difference in the future. I also really liked the admin at USF, plus the curriculum seems pretty well integrated (basic sciences and clinical). If people are able to provide factors I should be considering that might help me choose between the two, that'd be great.
 
struggler said:
Btw, I liked both schools when I interviewed. I like that VCU has Dr. Constanzo, perhaps a more ethnically diverse student body, and 8-12 schedule. But it's going to be $156,948 just for tuition and fees for 4 years at VCU vs. $108,564 at USF. That's a ~$50,000 difference that I don't know if I'll be able to make if I end up in PC. Btw, I'm keeping my options open in terms of specialties, but I was interested in peds, so just wondering if I'll suffer from that difference in the future. I also really liked the admin at USF, plus the curriculum seems pretty well integrated (basic sciences and clinical). If people are able to provide factors I should be considering that might help me choose between the two, that'd be great.
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I like VCU but there is no difference between the two schools that would justify an extra $50k. Be sure that you are considering cost of living as well.
 
struggler said:
Btw, I liked both schools when I interviewed. I like that VCU has Dr. Constanzo, perhaps a more ethnically diverse student body, and 8-12 schedule. But it's going to be $156,948 just for tuition and fees for 4 years at VCU vs. $108,564 at USF. That's a ~$50,000 difference that I don't know if I'll be able to make if I end up in PC. Btw, I'm keeping my options open in terms of specialties, but I was interested in peds, so just wondering if I'll suffer from that difference in the future. I also really liked the admin at USF, plus the curriculum seems pretty well integrated (basic sciences and clinical). If people are able to provide factors I should be considering that might help me choose between the two, that'd be great.
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Something to keep in mind is that there seem to be a lot of scholarship and loan repayment opportunities for primary care docs (e.g. NHSC loan repayment at $25k per year). So I wouldnt be too worried about suffering from the $50k difference. If it's the only difference you notice, then I guess the choice is easy.

The most significant factor I would look at would be clinical opportunities at each school.
 
I've asked students at both schools and both schools seem to have a lot of clinical opportunities. How do you really determine? I do want to keep my options open, and maybe I'll go into a non-PC specialty despite my interest in peds all these years. So it is quite important to be able to get an idea of what might interest me early on.

Also, I'm out of the country and probably will be here until a few weeks before school starts. I saw that somebody was thinking about the dorms and someone advised against it. I was wondering if somebody had a link to the dorm information (parking, meal plan, specific living situations, etc.) Also, how often is the preceptorship? I remember that a car is a must for that reason, if not living far from school.

Out of curiosity, are there many south asians and east asians? Do they have big bro/sis type of things at the beginning to help us transition into med school?

Another question about curriculum and the boards. I heard that the first year and the second year courseload is unevenly distributed (with the second year being a lot harder than the first), is that true? As for boards, I've heard great things about Dr. Constanzo, which is one of things that attract me to VCU. How long do you have to prepare for the boards and are classes somewhat lighter around that time to facilitate studying for the boards?

Thanks for the advice!
 
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I just saw a link for residential living. http://www.housing.vcu.edu/

Are the dorms for med students the same as for undergrads? I know dorms aren't ideal, but given that i'm not familiar with the area and have limited time to go before school starts to shop around, what would be the "best" choice for dorms, if there's even a choice. i haven't looked at the page very carefully yet, but it seemed like there were a couple of places to stay.
 
struggler said:
I've asked students at both schools and both schools seem to have a lot of clinical opportunities. How do you really determine? I do want to keep my options open, and maybe I'll go into a non-PC specialty despite my interest in peds all these years. So it is quite important to be able to get an idea of what might interest me early on.

Also, I'm out of the country and probably will be here until a few weeks before school starts. I saw that somebody was thinking about the dorms and someone advised against it. I was wondering if somebody had a link to the dorm information (parking, meal plan, specific living situations, etc.) Also, how often is the preceptorship? I remember that a car is a must for that reason, if not living far from school.

Out of curiosity, are there many south asians and east asians? Do they have big bro/sis type of things at the beginning to help us transition into med school?

Another question about curriculum and the boards. I heard that the first year and the second year courseload is unevenly distributed (with the second year being a lot harder than the first), is that true? As for boards, I've heard great things about Dr. Constanzo, which is one of things that attract me to VCU. How long do you have to prepare for the boards and are classes somewhat lighter around that time to facilitate studying for the boards?

Thanks for the advice!
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Let's see if Instatewaiter comes out of his/her study jail and can answer that. He/she just completed second year and is either getting ready to take the boards or has recently.

From what I know so far, some people start studying boards at the beginning of first year but the bulk of the studying begins in Spring semester before the test. I also think 2nd years get ~30 days of no classes at the end of the year so they can finish their board prep and take the test.

And about the course load: I just finished 1st year, but from what I've heard second year is more intense but you are able to handle it by the time you survive first year. At that point your study habits should be pretty well developed and your Phys/anatomy/Neuro/etc from first year serve as some of the building blocks for what you learn second year.

And also for those you still deciding...the 8-12 schedule most days is great. It allows me to treat med school like an 8-5 job because unless we are getting ready for a test I can be done studying by the time my husband gets home from work. I feel like the schedule makes it much easier to have a life.

Good luck deciding. Maybe Instatewaiter will chime in to let you know more about second year.
 
Smctbone said:
Something to keep in mind is that there seem to be a lot of scholarship and loan repayment opportunities for primary care docs (e.g. NHSC loan repayment at $25k per year). So I wouldnt be too worried about suffering from the $50k difference. If it's the only difference you notice, then I guess the choice is easy.

The most significant factor I would look at would be clinical opportunities at each school.
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1. You never really know what specialty you're going to want to do before you start med school.

2. Some of the loan repayment programs are quite competitive and may require you to spend years in places you don't want to be. You also have no idea what funding will be available in another 8 years when you might be finishing residency.

3. The financial situation for physicians gets worse every year, and given the economic meltdown that will likely result if we get into a war with Iran, I'd say there's a lot of uncertainty about the future.

$50k is a lot of money. That's all I'm saying.

As for clinical opportunities, evaluating that as a premed is easier said than done. I suppose one could look to see if there are residency programs in a broad range of specialties at USF. That's a pretty good proxy for med student training opportunities.
 
struggler said:
Also, I'm out of the country and probably will be here until a few weeks before school starts. I saw that somebody was thinking about the dorms and someone advised against it. I was wondering if somebody had a link to the dorm information (parking, meal plan, specific living situations, etc.) Also, how often is the preceptorship? I remember that a car is a must for that reason, if not living far from school.

Out of curiosity, are there many south asians and east asians? Do they have big bro/sis type of things at the beginning to help us transition into med school?

Another question about curriculum and the boards. I heard that the first year and the second year courseload is unevenly distributed (with the second year being a lot harder than the first), is that true? As for boards, I've heard great things about Dr. Constanzo, which is one of things that attract me to VCU. How long do you have to prepare for the boards and are classes somewhat lighter around that time to facilitate studying for the boards?

Thanks for the advice!
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1. Don't live in the dorms. A few weeks should be enough time to find real housing here, especially if you're willing to have a roommate. If you do want to live in the dorms, talk to the housing office about options available or look at the web site. You're looking for stuff at the MCV campus, not Monroe Park.

2. You go to your preceptor every two weeks or so on Wednesday or Thursday.

3. It depends on what you mean by "many." I know a few but certainly there aren't as many as there would be in California. And the school does have a big brother program but it's not that hard to get to know M2s outside of it as well.

4. Most people say that M2 is a little harder than M1 but it balances out because it's more interesting. You have almost two months off between the end of M2 and the beginning of M3 and most people take about a month to study for boards.

I wouldn't worry so much about how hard it's going to be. It's going to be hard at either school, but if you got in then you can probably handle it. Again, I'd think very hard about debt load though.
 
pseudoknot said:
1. You never really know what specialty you're going to want to do before you start med school.

2. Some of the loan repayment programs are quite competitive and may require you to spend years in places you don't want to be. You also have no idea what funding will be available in another 8 years when you might be finishing residency.

3. The financial situation for physicians gets worse every year, and given the economic meltdown that will likely result if we get into a war with Iran, I'd say there's a lot of uncertainty about the future.

$50k is a lot of money. That's all I'm saying.
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I completely agree on all those points; definitely something to keep in mind. I just dont see how $48k (or $32k if struggler chooses Toledo) would ultimately cause any suffering once he/she has to start paying it back. Take the avg Peds salary (assuming we dont socialize and end up working for free :scared:), $93k ($155k - 40% taxes,medicare,SS). Living on $40k/yr is far from suffering, and that will leave you with $53k to pay back loans. The loans will be gone in no time. Sure, you'll have to give up the porsche and million dollar home, but you'll live :p It's definitely a lot of money, but if youre able to justify the cost (in some strange way) dont stress over having to pay it back in the end.

struggler, having a car at VCU seems necessary because of the preceptor (have any of yall current students been able to get by without one? the busline maybe?). You might need to add that to the price diff if you dont have a car yet.
Also, as far as 3rd/4th yr clinical experience goes, I've heard from quite a few local docs that it's incredible at USF. USF students get tons of hands on experience.

I'm obviously leaning toward USF>VCU, but VCU>Toledo IMO.
 
So, I'm flying into Richmond Sunday afternoon (June 29th) to search for an apartment ... any chance anyone has a spare couch they're willing to offer to a fellow classmate for a few nights? I don't bite and have fairly good hygiene. And will buy you dinner/beverage of choice as a Thank You.

thanks!
 
yeah, so I tried to sign up for cbil training on the orientation website but all of the sessions are filled! Does anyone else have this problem?
 
Thanks for all the advice! I appreciate it. It seems like a difficult decision now, but I'm sure I'll laugh about it years later.
 
nka1985 said:
Let's see if Instatewaiter comes out of his/her study jail and can answer that. He/she just completed second year and is either getting ready to take the boards or has recently.
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And here I am. I just finished taking the boards this afternoon.


nka1985 said:
From what I know so far, some people start studying boards at the beginning of first year but the bulk of the studying begins in Spring semester before the test. I also think 2nd years get ~30 days of no classes at the end of the year so they can finish their board prep and take the test.
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Anything you do between 1st and second year is going to be relatively worthless. Take it from me. Outside of physiology everything from first year is pretty low yield or will be re-covered during second year. 2nd semester of second year things begin to pick up and people generally start reviewing some of the material for boards. Then 2nd year ends and you have 25-35 days (depending on your preference, or more if you want) of morning to night studying.

The boards
The school has board reviews during ~2 afternoons a week (1h each) during the 2nd semester of M2. You come in, eat your lunch and listen. They review your anatomy, immuno, neuroanat, phys etc.

In addition, you have 3 full days (8h) of high yield review of pharm, phys and path right after classes end. You then sequester yourself for around a month.

Most students meet w/ Dr Costanzo and based on your grades, your weaknesses and your test date she gives you a day by day hour by hour plan to study. She does a ton of research on the best methods, best books etc for the boards so she knows what she is talking about. It takes a lot of the guess work out of it which, in turn, takes some of the anxiety out of an anxiety ridden thing.

She is also the writer of the physiology book(s) almost every medical student in the country uses and recommends. Note that phys is one of the 2 highest yield subjects on the boards- the other is path- so having the person who writes the book advise you is a good thing.

I think She is also one of the editors of First Aid that literally every medical student uses but I dont feel like checking my sources right now.

There is a reason we have below average MCAT scores yet above average board scores.

nka1985 said:
And about the course load: I just finished 1st year, but from what I've heard second year is more intense but you are able to handle it by the time you survive first year. At that point your study habits should be pretty well developed and your Phys/anatomy/Neuro/etc from first year serve as some of the building blocks for what you learn second year.
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Depending on the course, second year can be more or less time consuming. I thought anatomy was the hardest course in med school thus far (M1) followed by cardio (M2) and then micro (M2) and then pharm (M2).

By the time you get to second year you are used to it. It takes a bit of time to get used to the organ systems but by the middle of second year it is second nature.

So second year starts with 3 basic science (Pharm, path and micro) and then moves into organ systems (heme/onc, endocrine, Respiratory, Cardio, GI, behavioral science, neuro, women's health etc).

Overall i have to stay MCV/VCU did a good job of preparing us for boards. There was very little in my board studying that I hadnt been exposed to.



pseudoknot said:
I wouldn't worry so much about how hard it's going to be. It's going to be hard at either school, but if you got in then you can probably handle it. Again, I'd think very hard about debt load though.
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Debt load is an impt thing to consider. I didnt read the earlier posts but anything north of 30-40K is going to be relatively significant. Other things equal, that debt load could be the deciding factor. However, 30K is nothing if you are going to be unhappy at the other school.
 
anyone looking for a male roommate? i am new to the richmond area and plan on visiting soon to look for a place. pm me if you are interested.
 
struggler said:
I just saw a link for residential living. http://www.housing.vcu.edu/

Are the dorms for med students the same as for undergrads? I know dorms aren't ideal, but given that i'm not familiar with the area and have limited time to go before school starts to shop around, what would be the "best" choice for dorms, if there's even a choice. i haven't looked at the page very carefully yet, but it seemed like there were a couple of places to stay.
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there is graduate housing available at the MCV campus. You get a single room, but it's community showers, and the rooms don't include a microwave or small refrigerator. I think it came out to be about ~6k for the year. If you go to the housing.vcu.edu website and click on the link for graduate students, it'll show you which dorms are for graduate students.

With plane ticket prices at their current levels combined with the fact that I don't really know the area all that well, I just decided to skip the extra trip to Richmond to go apartment hunting and am staying in a dorm for the 1st year.
 
what are some areas with good restaurants/night life, where a lot of students live? do more students live in the Shockoe Bottom or Fan districts? These two seem like the best areas imo
 
rahooligan said:
what are some areas with good restaurants/night life, where a lot of students live? do more students live in the Shockoe Bottom or Fan districts? These two seem like the best areas imo
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It's a lot of work but I would really go back and read the rest of the thread. There has been a lot of good advice posted about neighborhoods and such.

It's too bad we don't have a table of contents for these.

Anyway, yeah, those are both good places to live. Further west is usually cheaper.
 
What I've been using on my housing search:

1) the orientation housing list on the vcu mcv website
2) Google Earth
3) Craigslist (search the housing list for MCV if you want)
4) city-data.com (Richmond)
5) googling names of apartment complexes and neighborhoods to pull up more details

That said, I've decided not to make a decision on housing till later. I found someone to stay with through August and I figure that gives me enough time to find something permanent later. Anyone know 4th years doing away rotations who want a housesitter? I'm good with dogs ;)
 
pseudoknot said:
No, the grad plus loans have nothing to do with your parents (although there is or was an undergrad loan program for parents with a similar name). You apply for the loan and it is disbursed to you through the school.
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When does one typically apply for the grad PLUS loan? Do you get it at a decently early time in the school year? Thanks for all your help pseudoknot.

boundthapn said:
I got mine thru Anthem (Keycare Healthsmart). It was not bad and it includes the maternity rider. It is $154.00 per month and is a much better policy than what is offered thru the school.
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Yes, this is the policy I got for my family. Me, the wife and the kid for about $350/mo. (includes maternity coverage). Pretty decent policy overall. Basically you pay 20% out of pocket until you hit whatever deductible you've chosen then it goes to 0%. Works for me! Plus I don't have to pay for immunizations for the kid. Yay.
 
meister said:
When does one typically apply for the grad PLUS loan? Do you get it at a decently early time in the school year? Thanks for all your help pseudoknot.

Yes, this is the policy I got for my family. Me, the wife and the kid for about $350/mo. (includes maternity coverage). Pretty decent policy overall. Basically you pay 20% out of pocket until you hit whatever deductible you've chosen then it goes to 0%. Works for me! Plus I don't have to pay for immunizations for the kid. Yay.
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The requirements listed for alternative insurance plans seem pretty stringent. Did you go through and make sure the Anthem plan met each one, or did you get authorization from the school to use that plan? I see a lot of people choosing this plan, and I wonder if I have to perform a line item comparison between the plans, or if they'll just accept it.
 
meister said:
When does one typically apply for the grad PLUS loan? Do you get it at a decently early time in the school year?
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You can apply for it anytime from now until the end of the school year, as far as I know. If you get the paperwork in before the start of school, you'll probably get the money pretty soon after it starts.

You need to fill out the application form for the Grad PLUS loan (which is here) and also a Master Promissory Note (separate from the one for your Stafford loans) which can be done electronically (see here).
 
Hi Chimpanzee,

I just checked with the office re: alternate health insurance requirements. I was told that you don't need to worry about the specifics; as long as you show a copy of your policy at the office you will be ok'ed.
 
pseudoknot said:
Also, if you haven't sent in your picture and information for the Faces Book (this has nothing to do with Facebook), please do so. We're going to start putting it together soon and it is really nice to have everyone in it.
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One more thing:
if you haven't done this already, make sure to send a picture that is large enough for about half a page (at least 500 pixels on a side minimum). If you have questions about this feel free to contact me. We want to make your class' Faces Book the best one yet!
 
boundthapn said:
I got mine thru Anthem (Keycare Healthsmart). It was not bad and it includes the maternity rider. It is $154.00 per month and is a much better policy than what is offered thru the school.
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How did you go about doing this? Through the website? Or by calling them? The maternity rider doesn't even appear to be an option on the website, and there's no way to indicate that one is a student on there (it says check if student, but there is no checkbox there).

That Healthsmart plan is a high deductible plan that doesn't seem to meet the requirements they listed in the announcement where they listed the requirements.

Here's a link to said requirements: http://www.admissions.som.vcu.edu/orientation/admissions/documents/2008Announcement3_001.pdf
 
pseudoknot said:
One more thing:
if you haven't done this already, make sure to send a picture that is large enough for about half a page (at least 500 pixels on a side minimum). If you have questions about this feel free to contact me. We want to make your class' Faces Book the best one yet!
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Is there a website for this on the VCU SOM page? This is the first I've heard of it.
 
ChimpanzeeMinky said:
How did you go about doing this? Through the website? Or by calling them? The maternity rider doesn't even appear to be an option on the website, and there's no way to indicate that one is a student on there (it says check if student, but there is no checkbox there).

That Healthsmart plan is a high deductible plan that doesn't seem to meet the requirements they listed in the announcement where they listed the requirements.

Here's a link to said requirements: http://www.admissions.som.vcu.edu/orientation/admissions/documents/2008Announcement3_001.pdf
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What requirements specifically don't you think the Anthem plans meet? Seem fine to me. And the maternity rider is a checkbox under optional coverage, listed with life insurance and dental plans.
 
meister said:
What requirements specifically don't you think the Anthem plans meet? Seem fine to me. And the maternity rider is a checkbox under optional coverage, listed with life insurance and dental plans.
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I'll go through and compare them line by line. It's just a gut instinct, so I have to stop being lazy and do the work and compare.

When I do it, I get "Not available" under the maternity rider section. I don't need such coverage, but the disparity was making me wonder.
 
ChimpanzeeMinky said:
When I do it, I get "Not available" under the maternity rider section. I don't need such coverage, but the disparity was making me wonder.
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Well the plan we are doing with optional maternity coverage is the Individual KeyCare Flexible Choice plan, with a 20% coinsurance up to the $2500 deductible then a 0% coinsurance after deductible. The maternity rider costs an additional $71/month. Anthem has five plans, four of which offer maternity coverage. The only one that doesn't is the Essential KeyCare one. I think all the plans meet the basic requirements that VCU has, and even if they don't if you show proof of coverage I seriously doubt they'll get an actuary to run the numbers and make sure your plan meets each and every one of their requirements.

Edit: By the way, anyone commuting from the West End to school? I'll be like 9 miles northwest of campus, probably going to take the bus every day (takes about an hour from my apartment). Anyone interested in carpooling?
 
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meister said:
Well the plan we are doing with optional maternity coverage is the Individual KeyCare Flexible Choice plan, with a 20% coinsurance up to the $2500 deductible then a 0% coinsurance after deductible. The maternity rider costs an additional $71/month. Anthem has five plans, four of which offer maternity coverage. The only one that doesn't is the Essential KeyCare one. I think all the plans meet the basic requirements that VCU has, and even if they don't if you show proof of coverage I seriously doubt they'll get an actuary to run the numbers and make sure your plan meets each and every one of their requirements.

Edit: By the way, anyone commuting from the West End to school? I'll be like 9 miles northwest of campus, probably going to take the bus every day (takes about an hour from my apartment). Anyone interested in carpooling?
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I just got a place in the fan with two other M1's. Not sure how we are going to be getting to school, but carpooling could really cut back on costs. I might be interested. The only thing is you would probably have to drive to our place and then we might be able to alternate who drives from there.
 
bawer234 said:
I just got a place in the fan with two other M1's. Not sure how we are going to be getting to school, but carpooling could really cut back on costs. I might be interested. The only thing is you would probably have to drive to our place and then we might be able to alternate who drives from there.
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Hmm I'm a few miles from the fan and in addition I'm not really ever going to have the ability to use a car. If it somehow works out that I can use my car every day I'll let you know though.
 
Hey all,
Is anyone planning on going to the pre-matriculation workshop? i can't decide if I want to give up my last week of summer to sit in class, but it also does sounds helpful. Any thoughts would be great :)
 
meister said:
Well the plan we are doing with optional maternity coverage is the Individual KeyCare Flexible Choice plan, with a 20% coinsurance up to the $2500 deductible then a 0% coinsurance after deductible. The maternity rider costs an additional $71/month. Anthem has five plans, four of which offer maternity coverage. The only one that doesn't is the Essential KeyCare one. I think all the plans meet the basic requirements that VCU has, and even if they don't if you show proof of coverage I seriously doubt they'll get an actuary to run the numbers and make sure your plan meets each and every one of their requirements.

Edit: By the way, anyone commuting from the West End to school? I'll be like 9 miles northwest of campus, probably going to take the bus every day (takes about an hour from my apartment). Anyone interested in carpooling?
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I finally got around to going through the requirements line by line and the only discrepancy I can find is with inpatient mental health coverage. The school requires the maximum duration to be at least 30 days. The Anthem Flexible Choice has a 25 day cap.

Don't think that would be a deal-breaker, but wonder if I should call the school to confirm anyway (what a pain).
 
fitnesspremed said:
Hey all,
Is anyone planning on going to the pre-matriculation workshop? i can't decide if I want to give up my last week of summer to sit in class, but it also does sounds helpful. Any thoughts would be great :)
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I'm not. I'm moving that week, or I would have considered it. Although I went to the financial aid workshop and, while informative, I felt I was comfortable with 95% of what they covered there just by reading information available through the Department of Education and through other lenders. So I'm hoping my time is equally better spent working right up until I leave than taking the time to attend that workshop.
 
Where did you guys buy your stethoscopes from? The MCV bookstore, online, etc.? Also, does anyone have any recommendations for a good stethoscope? And one more question....is it necessary for us to buy any other equipment besides our stethoscopes for M1 (this question is directed to current M1 or above students)? Thank you!
 
Elixir86 said:
Where did you guys buy your stethoscopes from? The MCV bookstore, online, etc.? Also, does anyone have any recommendations for a good stethoscope? And one more question....is it necessary for us to buy any other equipment besides our stethoscopes for M1 (this question is directed to current M1 or above students)? Thank you!
Click to expand...

DO NOT buy any equipment from the bookstore. They will overcharge you by at least 25%. For my stethoscope it was 129, in the bookstore almost 190.
For diagnostic sets they are 450 online and 650 in the bookstore.

They are switching bookstore companies but i suspect the same thing is going to happen. Look online.

Littmann is the standard stethoscope people get. Cardio II will work just fine.
 
Oh and for those interested, I just got my board scores back. Let's just say the costanzo method works very well.
 
2 MCV graduate students are looking for a 3rd female roommate.

$350 including rent and utilities!
Safe neighborhood
Plenty of parking places

You can't find a better deal than this.

email me if you are interested. [email protected]
 
Instatewaiter said:
Oh and for those interested, I just got my board scores back. Let's just say the costanzo method works very well.
Click to expand...

Good to know. I hope that means you're celebrating. :) How long did it take to get your board scores back? Just wondering how many weeks I'll be freaking out waiting next summer.
 
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