<p>at my school it’s not actually a “formal” some people show up in tuxes, most in suits, some in less.</p>
<p>I think we call it “formal,” but the attire is actually “semi-formal.” Guys usually wear suits!</p>
<p>^^
So, do people bring dates from outside the SOM or what? Are these functions, “dances”? (as you can tell, I’m fascinated by all of this…lol).</p>
<p>Usually the only outsiders are bf/GF/spouses. Ours is an open bar with a table of hors d’oeuvres and either a student volunteers to dj or we make a playlist beforehand.</p>
<p>Back to a more stressful topic:</p>
<p>I noticed the spring semester for MS2 at DS’s school is ended on April 10. I think the purpose is to give the students some time to study before STEP-1.</p>
<p>However, if the student schedules his/her STEP-1 test toward the end of May, he will have very few days off for the “summer break” between MS2 and MS3.</p>
<p>Does your med school have a longer summer break between MS2 and MS3? Do you think 6-week study time right before such a big test long enough? I thought a (premed) student would spend more time on MCAT preparation if he takes MCAT in summer, even though MCAT is a test that is simpler than STEP-1.</p>
<p>I think that, in terms of stress level of tests, the order is likely,</p>
<p>STEP-1 > final or midterm (of a prereq class) > MCAT.</p>
<p>But I have never been in DS’s shoes. So what do I know?!</p>
<p>Is it likely that the summer break between MS1 and MS2 is the last “true” summer break for a student in the med school? Here, a true" summer break = a summer break that is as long as one in UG years.</p>
<p>Summer break? D1 has no summer break between MS2 and MS3. She has 1 month off to study for her Step 1 (must be done by March 3), then 4 weeks to do lab research for her mandatory research thesis, then she starts her clinical rotations on April 1. </p>
<p>She had no summer break last year either (between MS1 and MS2)–she had a mandatory 6 week summer clinical rotation.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>:confused: Is there something missing here(i.e. is this a period of time to put together work that has been ongoing for a while)?</p>
<p>Yes. Thesis projects are not approved until mid-winter MS2. And most med students are not accepted into a research lab until sometime during fall MS2–when they have a better idea about their clinical interests. Involvement in research has not been an on-going process for the straight MD students, especially not during MS1. </p>
<p>MD/PhDs are treated differently–they are required to complete 3-4 lab rotations between MS1-MS2 and some start lab rotations as soon they pass anatomy. By the beginning of MS2 all MD/PhDs have been accepted into a lab and have started on their PhD research.</p>
<p>At this school all med students (not just MD/PhDs) are required to write a research-based thesis (which is atypical for straight MDs) and publish at least one journal article by graduation.</p>
<p>Regarding the thesis and the research related to it, I think many students at DS’s school may dedicate a full year to it, making med school years longer by a year.</p>
<p>Still, many PhD students (not MD-PhD ones) in DS’s med school would regard the research done by MD students as “light-weighted” (They jokingly call it a “Micky Mouse” research, iikely refer to the fact that these MDs likely do not use the real animals much in their research as the time is too short.)</p>
<p>I really do not know the differences between the PhD programs in the med school and those in the graduate school. DS once told me that the research programs in PhD programs in the med school tend to be larger and has more money, as compared to the PhD programs in the graduate school. (Ironically, the dean of the graduate school is an MD, not a PhD.)</p>
<p>I guess it is mostly those PhD students, postdocs (not MD students) and PIs who really help boost the ranking of the med school. DS knew a PhD student on that side of med school who received quite a lot money from NIH for some research proposal he had helped written some time ago. (I wonder why he still knows something about that side of medical schools. Does he still have time to socialize with them??)</p>
<p>^ oh, so this 4 week period represents the beginning of the process? I assume they will then have some connection to this lab for the duration of their stay at the school?(or until the paper is done)</p>
<p>^^That’s how it works. D1 will continue to work with this lab for the next 2 years (or until she completes her research and publishes).</p>
<p>^ I like this idea. Do you know how common this is around the country? The state of the art in clinical practice is a moving target and this requirement seems to underscore the dynamic nature of the student’s future career.</p>
<p>From what I understand requiring a research thesis from MD-only students is pretty uncommon. I don’t have current access to the MSAR, but whether or not a thesis is required is included in there.</p>
<p>Mcat2,</p>
<p>At my school classes ended in mid may and 3rd year started at the end of June. The more time you spent studying the less vacation you had. Unlike studying for the MCAT, step 1 studying is usually 10-14 hours per day so the 6 weeks is more than enough.</p>
<p>i<em>wanna</em>be_brown,</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>DS’s classes ended on April 10. A “transition” period (like an orientation?) to clinical years started on June 5, which lasts about 12 days. Then the official blocks started.</p>
<p>Hmm…interesting, I just noticed there is nothing scheduled in December (the whole month.) Maybe it is for students who would rather take the STEP-1 test in December? I think their school requires the students to pass the test by the end of December but it appears most students take it in May.</p>
<p>I once learned from SDN that a student at BCM claimed that , on average, the students at BCM have allocated more time (including more exposure to clinical training in hospital) to prepare for STEP-1 than the students at its rival school, UTSW. Thus, a higher score. A UTSW student argued that “with so much more time allocated for this test, but with so little gain in scores. Is it really worth it?”</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Same for me. (except more like mid-June)</p>
<p>And our formal is: $10/person, bring a date if you want, semiformal, open bar, DJ, unlimited photo booth, indoor and outdoor dance floors, appetizers and desserts. It’s usually very well attended by M1s, M2s, and M4s, plus whichever M3s are friends with M2s. Goes form 8p-1a on a Saturday in the spring. </p>
<p>(We also have a summer trip (camping and floating) that requires everyone attending to put down like, a $10 refundable deposit, but the company sends one big refund check to the social chair who made the reservations in the first place. So that + $10/person + whatever our social chair’s budget is pays for it. I’m pretty sure I wrote a small ($50?) check at the beginning of M1 yr to cover social events for future years, kinda like you do in Greek life, so I don’t think it’s part of tuition. There’s also a graduation gala for M4s only.)</p>
<p>“DS’s classes ended on April 10. A “transition” period (like an orientation?) to clinical years started on June 5, which lasts about 12 days. Then the official blocks started.”
-Interesting how different is every school. D. takes her last exam at the beginning of March and after that, she is MS3 and starts her rotations right away. She has lined up first 2 and in a process of dong the same for the third one - in a fall, no summers off. I assume that other schools do not have summers off either after second year, well I heard that this is the case at least in our state.</p>
<p>
If there is no gap between MS2 and MS3 at all, when do most students take STEP-1 at your D’s school? Isn’t there a period of time for the students to self-study for and then take STEP-1?! </p>
<p>Somehow I have the impression that the preparation for STEP-1 is mostly individual’s own effort and the best the school can help several weeks before the test is to give students some free time (i.e., no classes for a few weeks) so that the students can study or review what they have learned.</p>
<p>^We’re done with finals in mid-May and third year starts in mid-June. Our final two-month block (Mar-May) is the lightest one we have so we have time to study for boards while doing school. Our mean scores are comfortably above the national mean, so I guess this system works fine. I’m self-studying using a method that was outlined (I believe?) by some SDN god. Reasonably sure the kid named the method after himself, but I deleted the title of the document I’m using so I can’t recall his name. It basically involves systematically reading through a bunch of review books for the various topics covered–in case you were curious, my stack of review books is currently at least 8" tall. Plus, I’ll do a few thousand practice questions from “Q-banks” put out by the USMLE. Boooo</p>
<p>* I’m self-studying using a method that was outlined (I believe?) by some SDN god*</p>
<p>K…what method is that? Can you share?</p>