Pixie - it seemed odd to me, but it is done to begin your working with patients. You will be shadowing a family doc in your first semester at the clinic (not a whole lot, but a little) as soon as you have had the content on taking a history. It’s a symbol of your professional commitment. Just enjoy it 
Kate
Orientation week starts 2 weeks from today - culminates in the White Coat Ceremony on 8/3. Then classes start full-force 8/6. Still have to order my laptop and put up my white board.
Pixie, I know that University of Maryland doesn’t hold their white coat ceremony until the end of anatomy, so that you feel like you’ve earned it. I think this is a nice touch. Still, I’ll be glad to have mine in a few weeks. Like Kate said, I think it will make it feel official, even if I won’t yet have any skills 
Pre-Orientation 8/2 (pick up laptop, badge, measure for White Coat)
Orientation 8/7-8/9
First Class on 8/13 (five classes that week, add 2 more classes the next week, then add Gross on 8/30)
White Coat 8/25
One question, I hear a lot of talk about white boards, but am wondering what their importance is. I’ve never used one academically before and am just curious.
Oh Bailey, how could you not be part of the white board cult? 
I LOVE WHITEBOARDS. For my ‘undergrad’ I managed to get a 4’x5’ board next to my desk and used it daily. For exams it was priceless, because anything I self-tested on and got wrong became a whiteboard fact, so I could review and review and review it.
It’s also great for things like physio/anat/biochem, because any structures you struggle with you can just draw and re-draw, until they’re imprinted on your brain. 
Also, there is research that using color in notes helps our brains retain information better, so the huge array of whiteboard marker colors just helps even more.
I’m debating about getting some IdeaPaint for the office in this house, since the only whiteboards in town are too small to use, and ordering them from Amazon is more expensive than I like. Plus, who doesn’t love the idea of writing on their walls?
Kate - Oooh, I didn’t know that. Awesome!
Switz - That’s an interesting way of doing it, too. I suppose I could just look at it as “here’s your coat, now go earn it”
pixie - i found some adhesive white board things you stick to the wall at kinkos/office max. they do not leave a residue when you remove them.
they were my godsend - i had some outside my kitchen and soem downstairs and one in my bathroom. so waiting for a pot of water to boil - go draw out the brachial plexus, helping munchkins with homework - work on glycolysis, etc etc etc.
Registration - 7/27
Orientation - 7/30, plus some afternoons for the rest of the week
Classes - 7/31 and for the rest of the week in the AM, going full-day the following week
White Coat Ceremony - 9/15 (or after anatomy)
This is assuming I don’t throw all caution the the wind and switch to VCOM last minute…
PHCat, let me know if you end of switching to VCOM. Have you considered VCOM’s schedule? Classes are arranged in something called block scheduling which people seem to have mixed feelings about. I don’t think that there is an option to do a PBL type curriculum. I don’t know how you like to learn but I remember that LECOM has PBL type scheduling and I have heard that is pretty popular.
Best of luck with whatever you decide. Orientation is 8/2, 8/3. Classes begin 8/6. White coat ceremony is in October.
I’m definitely not into PBL - I’m in the traditional “lecture discussion” pathway at LECOM (you can opt for either).
VCOM was my top choice, but at this point I’ve got everything lined up at LECOM so it would be a beast and a pretty big financial loss to switch over. If my housing situation (which seems settled but is kind of up in the air until the 18th) doesn’t pan out I’m definitely going to reconsider.
Wow - just accepted to Pitt off the waitlist. I did not see that coming. Unfortunately I’m in too deep here in Hershey to even consider accepting - lease is signed, moving is done, husband established at new job and starting classes in the fall. This is certainly a wild ride!
Switz - Hahaha, congrats!
I’ve been getting waitlist update emails from the school in San Francisco, and the first one came while I was driving across the country to WV! Honestly, the timing is just terrible for these things. LOL.
While I’d have leapt at the chance to be in California 3 months ago, now I’ve invested too much in our new home to consider moving elsewhere. Plus, there are squirrels outside my office window here.
PHCat, I’m not into PBL either. The block scheduling allows VCOM to set aside time for medical outreach trips during remediation weeks. I’m hoping to do one at the beginning of second year.
Switerland, congratulations! Hershey is a great place too.
wow congrats switz. pitt is a great school. even though you’re going to PSU, at least you’ll always know that you still got into pitt.
These last minute acceptances are a nice ego boost but it seems like timing could have been a little better for all of us! =)
telomerase, I definitely hope you get to take advantage of VCOM’s medical outreach programs - all of the students I spoke with on interview day had done so and highly recommended it.
Now I need to look up IdeaPaint before I head off to bed…
pH - They have a new version that’s clear - can keep whatever paint you like.
http://www.ideapaint.com/
Ugh - that was difficult. Had to call and say no to Pitt. She did suggest that I consider them for residency though I hope I made the right decision, but I think the legalities of my lease, etc made the decision for me.
Advice for those applying this cycle: I had zero research on my app, and Pitt is a research powerhouse AND it was a reach school for me. So don’t be afraid to apply to some reach schools or to a school whose “profile” you don’t exactly fit.
WOW Ideapaint! Kind of pricey but I am totally considering it. I should probably check into the adhesive things onawing suggested first… save a little money and not have to deal with painting.
Switz, congrats on acceptance to a reach school even if you couldn’t end up going there! Pitt is pretty amazing and yes, very heavy into research but I think Hershey Med is a great school too!
pH - It is pretty expensive. In my case, it comes out to about the same as ordering enough boards to give me the space I want. The office in this house has some terrible wood paneling from the floor up about 3’. And since I’m not the tallest of people, if I bought regular boards I’d have a lot of wasted space where I couldn’t reach without standing on a chair. IdeaPaint works to give me a 6’x2’ space of study area, and is something that really helped me before, so the expense is worth it.
Those little adhesive boards Becky mentioned are pretty good, but don’t stand up to the amount of use I put them through. For normal use, and for quick lists and reminders on the fridge and by the door, they’re perfect.
Pixie, I seriously want to open a coffee house or something and paint all the walls with ideapaint! I’m going to try to make do with my 3’x2’ whiteboard for at home studying and see how it goes.
I’m feeling a lot better about the LECOM/VCOM decision after my first time at LECOM’s awesome fitness center and after moving into the house I’m renting, which I am really loving! It’s old enough to have some cute quirks but the owners did lots of updates (they were trying to sell before deciding to rent it) so it is really nice.
Not Applying yet, but Thank you Switzerland, Pitt, Penn, and Yale are on my list and sometimes I think, “Am I Crazy??”