Okay. I have been checking out the posts the past few days looking at everything being said. It's almost kind of funny seeing the questions here. They are the exact same questions and worries I had coming here. I came expecting for the worst, but I ended up loving it! Rdcastro gave a lot of good advice. But I just wanted to add a few things. These are things I brought and didn't need, or things I brought and used heavily, or things I wish I had!

1. LOTS OF INK CARTRIDGES! My quad shared my printer. We went through about 6-7 ink carts between the 4 of us over the course of the whole semester. Someone of us did more printing than others. If you're a paper kind of studier - then take that into account. Some people like to study from their power points and their word documents on their computer. Here's a tid bit about how your notes work: For anatomy, you'll get a power point presentation for every lecture. Do not print these! It's a waste of ink and paper. You also get a word document full of all the information you need to know. (And when I say that - I mean you have to know everything on the documents!) Soon you'll be getting your mentors and all of last semester's word docs and ppts will be given to you. I liked to print the word docs before every Anatomy (and Embryology!) class. To me, I find that I listen more if I have the information on paper in front of me. Then, I can add my own notes to it if the profs say something that is not in the document. They also tend to draw pictures that help out in understanding concepts. So for me, it was nice to already have the information in front of me. Before every class, you can download the documents and power points. Most of the class ended up taking their notes by computer - just by adding extra information to the word documents. That works too! Then you can print it out afterwards to study that nignt. As far as histo goes, you only get a powerpoint presentation. They are organized very nicely, and everything you need to know is on the power points. Since I am not a power point learner, I would copy and paste all the text into a word document and print that out for my studying. It worked well for me. Then I would go back and look at the histology slides within the power point to study for slide questions. I think the majority of the class, though, just studied from their computers. It's a matter of preference! If you are more of a paper studying, then make sure you bring extra ink and paper to accomodate that!

2. A PANCHO IS NOT NECESSARILY A MUST! I used mine only two times the whole semester. It's nice to have it over your backpack to protect your computer. But to be honest, the rain on Saba comes and goes very quickly. 99 out of 100 times, an umbrella will keep you as dry as you need!

3. A LAMP DESK. I definitely needed one. The bulbs in your dorm will go out. Maybe I am an ID, but I couldn't figure out how to change the dang light bulbs. Even then, they will dim out and the light into the quad rooms is pretty low at night. Having an extra light on my desk was definitely a must for me.

4. MOVE AROUND YOUR DORM FURNITURE. The desks in the quads are like a computer hutch, which limits your space. I took the hutch off of my desk and used it as a book case. It totally opened up my desk. I had room for my computer, my lamp, my alarm clock, and all my other study materials on my desk! It worked out quite nicely.

5. COSMETIC AND BATH SUPPLIES. If you need something VERY particular then bring it. BUT, I found that everything I used, or some derivation of it, was found quite easily. They aren't crazily priced either. In fact, some brands, like Aveeno for instance, was reasonably priced, and maybe even cheaper than most places in the states.

6. A POWER CORD/SURGE PROTECTOR. Is a definite must! Especially if you are supplying the internet for the quad. I only had a 6 prong one and it wasn't enough room for me! I had to switch with a quad mate to make sure I could fit everything in! Between the modem adapters, my printer, my lamp, my alarm clock, my external hard drive, and other bits, I needed at the very least, a 6 prong surge protector. If you only have a 6 one, buy a cheap little extension cord and plug your 2 prong plugs into that. It will help as well.

7. EXTERNAL HARD DRIVE. You will need for sure - that is, if you want to have space for all the dissection videos. You will be getting them from our semester. We are no longer allowed to tape the dissections or reviews due to privacy issues of the cadavers, but there are old videos floating around (and lots of them!) that can be very helpful for you. Also, you may not want to get rid of all your lecture notes at the end of the semester, and storing them on an external will save tons of space on your computer!

8. A FLASH DRIVE. Definitely must to carry data, although I am sure all of you know this by now!

9. GRANT'S DISSECTOR - YOU DO NOT NEED IT! Definitely don'tt waste your money on a grant's dissector. There are tons in the lab, and to be honest, our group may have looked at it 1 time during dissection. Dr. Rao and Dr. Samuel tell you how to dissect from day 1. It's not rocket science, and even if you're unsure exactly how to do something, you find ways to get around it during dissection. Don't bring one!

10. DISSECTION KITS - DO NOT NEED THIS EITHER! There are tons of supplies there. You may want to bring 1 box of blades, but don't sweat yourself over it. There are still loads of blades left over from semesters beforehand. Also - if you get here and you find you need them, you can always buy them off a higher semester student.

11. STORAGE BINS. I didn't bring these over or ship them, but it's a good idea! A lot of people ship their stuff through ICS or Hassell within the big plastic bins. They are great for shipping your items, and also great to have as storage in the dorms and boxes when you get ready to move out at the end of the semester!

12. LOOK FOR HOUSING. It's good to start looking for housing within the first couple of weeks of school. The class sizes are getting larger every semester, and I think housing, especially over the next year, will be sort of thinned out. This isn't to scare anyone. You will find housing, but you want to get an idea about it pretty soon after you're here. That said, be careful who you team up with for housing! You don't want to jump into a housing arrangement and then find out that you don't want to live with person X or Y half way through the semester.

13. DO NOT BUY EVERY BOOK ON YOUR LISTS. You will not need them and you'll spend waaay too much $$. This is also sort of a respective issue. Some people love studying with extra material, especially if they are a reader. But I will tell you, at least for first semester, everything (and I mean _everything) you need to know, will be given to you in your power points and word documents. The BRS books are definitely great to have. They offer concise readings over the subject, good tables and pictures, and of course great review questions. The review questions are good to do before each block exam to give you an idea of how questions are worded. The Anatomy exams, at least, aren't as "clinically oriented" in the real exams, but it will definitely help to answer the clinical questions because not only are you answering the root of the questions that will be asked on your blocks, but it will help prepare you for USMLE questions and also the shelf exam, if you do have one at the end of the semester. (This past semester was the first semester that a shelf was given for Anatomy. Just so you know - we were all very prepared for the shelf, with maybe the exception of Embryology. Not sure if they will offer the shelf again. It was not actually "graded" for our anatomy class, but it serves as a booster if you do well on the exam. We'll see how your semester turns out. Just in case, I would try to get ahold of Kaplan questions or maybe bring a Kaplan Anatomy book. Even if you don't have a shelf, the more practice questions you do, the better!)

14. SNORKEL GEAR! If you're a swimmer, definitely pick up a cheap snorkel set. The snorkeling at Wells Bay and even Fort Bay can be really fun! It's a great break during the block if you can afford some time, and definitely good for after block weekends! If you're staying over in St. Maarten before you come to Saba, I know you can find decent sets there for under $100. I know a handful of people in my class didn't bring them over, and wash they had! They aren't too expensive over on Saba. You can get a decent pair for around $150 - but definitely try to find something beforehand for cheaper if you know you're interested. Also if you are a scuba diver, bring your gear! The diving is very nice here. I have only gone once, but I plan to make up for lost divers next semester.

15. SWEAT SHIRTS. Bring 1 or 2. The dorms can get kind of chilly. (At least the central AC in Hillside!) And the nights are starting to get a bit chilly this time of year. Also, the first semester classroom can be like an ice freezer sometimes. You could bring 1 just to leave at your chair in the classroom. No one will mess with it.

16. TRAVEL COFFEE MUG. If you're a coffee or tea drinker, make sure you bring one! They coffee/tea at the cafe is $1. $1 a day (more like $4 a day in my case), can be very expensive!

OK, I am going to stop now because I could go on and on. Post any specific questions you have here, as you all have been doing, and your questions will be answered!

Don't be too stressed out about all this. Almost everything you need will be here on Saba. And, if you need something in particular, you'll find a way to get it. I think a lot of people end up oversupplying themselves because they expect the worse - which can get kind of exepnsive. And, I am all about saving money!

You have a great semester ahead of you. The professors in first semester are absolutely amazing. You'll be required to do a lot of work and at times, especially toward the end of the semester, you'll be going a bit batty. At times, you feel as though too much is expected from you, but you find a way to get through it.

Here's my advice for Block 1: I am not going to say not to pre-study because I know a lot of you will. I tried, but it didn't help me _at all_. I ended up studying the wrong things. You don't understand really what you're doing until you're in class and the material is presented to you. Do not get behind! Not even 1 day.. _especially_ during Block 1. Your exam lab exam and your first Block exam comes up waay too quickly. I had to go black to the states due to personal reasons the second day of class. I missed 2 classes, and by the time I got back to Anatomy, my head was spinning. As a result, I fell behind, and didn't do as well on Block 1 as I needed to. Block 1 will be your easiest block as far as material goes. You won't realize this until the next block, and then the block after that.. So take advantage of it! Learn what you need to, put your hours into the anatomy lab, and knock the pants off the first block exam. You will thank yourself for it later!

Try to work out a study schedule as soon as you can! It will seem hard to do that at first because you'll be overwhelemed and may not know where to concentrate your time. But, you'll soon figure it out!

This is what I did (and take it with a grain of salt! Everyone is different!):

Block 1:

Wed - cover all Anatomy done that day (including lab!)

Thur - same thing

Fri - you'll have your Welcome party. GO TO IT! It's fun!

Sat - study all anatomy lecs up to that point. Go into lab and study all your structures/secondaries!

Sun - Embryology lec from Fri. And all Histology. Take a few hours off.. and TRY (if you can!) to go over Anatomy one more time.

Mon - cover all Anatomy done that day (including lab!)

Tues - same thing

Wed - you'll have your mock lab exam. Go to it. It will freak you out. You'll feel like you'll never get everything you're supposed to.. but you will!) After the mock exam, go over the answers and take note of the things you need to concentrate on) Once you go home, go over that day's Anatomy lecture and take out only what you need to know for lab. You won't have enough time to go over the whole lecture, most likely)

Thur - Stay in lab as long as possible this day. Make sure you have seen all the structures in all the bodies. Pair up with someone, ID all structures, and answer any possible secondary questions for that ID. Then, depending on how much of your afternoon/night is left, go over all the material again - just the secondary questions. But only do this if you feel comfortable with ID-ing all the sturctures. Get some sleep for your Lab exam on Fri! If you would rather stay in the lab the whole day, it's not a bad idea. Some people can't do it, though. They will do a review for the whole block. It's good to take notes on everything that is said. Then go to all the bodies and ID everything listed and answer possible secondary questions. Definitely bring your notes in on this day - and it's possible to do all your studying right there in the lab. Personally, when I studied this way, I always did a lot better on the exams. Most people in class, though, liked to go home and study, then come back and study late in the lab. I didn't like being in the lab very late because it got crowded and I didn't have a chance to go look at all the bodies in the detail I wanted to. Again, this is totally a matter of opinion!)

Fri - LAB EXAM! Take a break after for a couple of hours. Maybe go out for some drinks. And then take the rest of that night to catch up on your Histology/Embryology. (You might not get to all the Embryo you want. If not, then save it for Sunday)

Sat - Go over every Anatomy lecture thus far! You need to go over _everything_ in the word documents.

Sun - Take this day for Histo/Embryology again.

Mon - a master review/catch up for anything you need to take a third hard look at.

Tues - your exam! (On exam days, I also woke up 1 1/2 hours early to go over Histology one last time! I always liked going over the pictures one last time before teh exam.. I am not too much of a morning person, but enough that I could do this if I went to bed at a decent time...) After your exam, party it up! It's the only afternoon/night off to have some fun. Get some lunch out. Go to the beach. Go diving. Go hiking. Go out to Lollipop's that night. It's a fun night after first block

Wed - you're into Block 2!

So, everyone is different, and eventually you'll find something that works for you. I used this study method from the Block 3 on. I wish I had figure it out earlier because it really worked! There are some days you'll get behind, and something doesn't work out the way you'll want. You'll have days when you're tired and stressed out, and just can't get to everything. But do not worry! As long as you stay up on your studying, you'll get through it

The 2nd semester students and higher will give you advice based on their experiences. Some will say that Abdomen was their best block, some will say it was their worst. Some will tell you that Head and Neck was their worst, some will tell you it was their best! This all relative. I think you should get advice from others - at least _hear_ what they are saying, but your experiences could (and probably will be!) completely different. Take every day and every block, even, in stride. You'll find out what works for you and what doesn't. Just don't let yourself get in a rut. If something isn't working for you, then try something else... but do this early enough that you can find a routine or a study method that works for you!

You might find your first semester more challenging than others or you might not. We're all different places in our lives, and we all have different backgrounds. Some students (like me) have the bust their butt. Some students don't. Some students get things right away, and for some of us, it takes 2-3 times. But, I know, if you give the time you need and you keep up with your work, all will be well.

For now... relax relax relax! Enjoy your friends, family, and pets, and whatever else! You have an amazing few months ahead of you. Look foward to it, but enjoy what you have right now

Good luck!

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Saba bound Fall 06'

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my eye hurts, but well worth it!

thanks.

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Saba University...

medstudent, tell us about intro to research skills...thanks

People who are organized do well on exams.

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http://www.websitetoolbox.com/mb/shidow1?forum=108401

If you don't already know how to do literature searches on pubmed with skill (which seemed to be about 90% of the class), it's challenging. With that said, it's a pass/fail course and she made sure everyone passed. In summary, that means that unless you already had very proficient literature search skills, you pretty much didn't learn anything (or missed about 80% of what she tried to teach).

Couldn't read the whole thing, but if I was a first semester again (PLEASE, NEVER AGAIN!!!!!!!) I would read this twice through at least!! Spectacular advice and very kind of you to take your time to write it Goodluck to you

Cheers

Gigi

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Third year [x]
Fourth year [ ]
Step II CS [pass]
Step II CK [ ]
ERAS [ ]

thanks for this

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-Dancing for your pleasure

UNBELIVABLE man... Im applying in like 3 days, and if i get accepted (i've got like 3.5-6 cGPA, so probably) I will probably be hassling you for more advice. thanks a lot!!

ironically the semester i drank the least (1st) i got the worst marks of any semester and learned the least

im being dead serious

I read through this and almost everything mentioned above is helpful. I think if you intend to do well in first semester, you should pay attention to what aspiringmedstudent has said.
Good job!