I am definitely up for poker!!! 5 card stud, 5 card draw, texas hold 'em, and many, many other variations of the game....

Newbies to the game should be warned though....It can be very addictive...

Well, orientation week should be interesting. I'll definitely bring a deck of cards. And maybe poker chips.

__________________
SGU Class of 2009

"That's it! You people have stood in my way long enough. I'm going to clown college." - Homer Simpson.

dell.com is a good idea for laptop shopping cuz they have a major presence in the caribbean (at least in Trinidad) which is a good thing when/if it comes to getting servicing, parts etc. But the cheap ones are Celeron, this is true.

I hadn't heard about a digital camera being a good idea, but it makes sense as well. I'd suggest, for anyone camera shopping, and with the voltage differences in Grenada, to get one that uses rechargeable AAs instead of those flat battery packs. I have a Nikon Coolpix 3100, which I bought in the UK, that has it's own rechargeable AAs and therefore has the UK adaptor (which would hopefully work in Grenada). When I got back to Trinidad I got a Radio Shack adaptor (we use the same voltage as the US) to charge the same Nikon AAs as well as radio shack AAs, so whichever way the voltage changes, I guess I'm covered. Plus I always have spare batteries charged and ready to go, which i guess is another advantage.

just a shot... but my undergrad university sold laptops/computers at student rates- a couple hundred dollars less than standard consumer prices- it's the same kind of deal that you get for software like windows or word as a student.

i know that most of us are graduated now, but maybe you still have friends on your old campus.

it would be cool if SGU did that as well, huh. I might have to look into it from here at UWI through friends of mine in grad school.

Product Name
Summary
Price

Dell Latitude D600
1.6GHz Pentium M with a 14.1" XGA display
$1599.00

Dell Latitude X300
1.2GHz Centrino with a 12.1" XGA display
$1850.00

IBM ThinkPad T41
1.7GHz Centrino with 14.1" XGA display
$1749.00

IBM ThinkPad X40
1.2GHz Centrino with 12.1" XGA display
$1999.00

Dell Latitude D800
1.7GHz Pentium M with a 15.4" XGA display
$1999.00

Dell Dimension 2400
2.66GHz Pentium 4 and a 15" Flat Panel Display
$999.00

Dell Dimension 4700
2.8 GHz Pentium 4 and a 17" Flat Panel Display
$1499.00

Dell Dimension 8400
3.0GHz Pentium 4 and 17" LCD Display
$2099.00

Dell Latitude 100L
Portable Power on a Budget
$1199.00

Sony Vaio PCG-Z1WAMP1
$100 Mail-In Rebate
$1999.00

IBM ThinkPad T42
1.7GHz Pentium M (Centrino) with 14.1" XGA display
$1949.00

For Jan 05, classes begin on the 17th i guess. I have to book my plane ticket and I'm just wondering exactly how early do we have to come down. Is there any orientation before? I guess the same goes for coming back? When do finals end? Just trying to get most of these things done and its somewhat overwhelming.

__________________
**-Biology-University at Albany, State University of New York 2004
SGU School of Medicine, Class of 2009

I bought my tickets already and I had a few of the same questions. My counselor told me that we can't move into the dorms until the 12th and there are activities everyday to get to know everyone, the island, etc. In May, we are required to stay until the 18th (for exams) so I am returning the 19th. My airline, though, has told me that I can change dates for no charge so if I have to come home later, I can. Hope this helps.

I have a question of my own too. I am wondering about parents coming down. My parents want to come down and make it a vacation and see the white coat ceremony and the island, but I don't know if other parents are coming. Anyone know?

I am learning how to play poker for all of you poker players. Can't wait to see you all.

__________________
Aggiegirl
Class of 2009
SGU-Term 5-St. Vincent
**-Biology at University of Texas Arlington 2004
BBA-Marketing at Texas A&M University 1999

A lot of parents come... when you make hotel reservations, mention that you are an SGU student.. Many of them have student discounts...

i was wondering if you guys purchased your tickets through your travel agent, the school's agent, or online(ie. expedia.com). what did you find to be the best way? thanks for the info

I just got off the phone with the financial aid people and they were very nice...so I figured I would let you in on a couple of things that we talked about.

They gave me an extension on the October 11th deadline that I had...(I dunno if everyone has the same deadline or not...mine was Oct 11th for the $4000 payment) and since the financial aid is supposed to pick up that payment...and we haven't and won't receive the fin. aid package for another 3 weeks, it made sense that they extended it. If anyone else is in the same situation they might want to do the same. They also recommended getting the credit score at myfico.com.

Also, I haven't gotten air tickets for January yet. I have heard that January is supposed to be in Grenada, but do we really know? I guess getting tickets wouldn't be a bad bet, but if the island is not rebuilt by then would we be able to transfer those tickets? Also, I'm from Charlotte and I do not plan on flying U.S. Airways (chapter 11) even though its the hub. I figured if we are gonna be in Grenada in Jan, I would try to get to the island as early as possible to get set up well before classes start. It would also be nice to relax a bit and get to know some people before we dedicate our lives to studying. From reading the site, poker seems to be the recreational drug of choice.

Anyway, I hope that something I mentioned might help someone out or make someone ask a question that maybe they hadn't thought of. I am a pretty low-key and low stress kinda person...so entering this high stress (is high-key even a real adjective?) medical school world is a bit of a transition. Good luck to everyone in the next couple of months.