What would you say from your experience is the best thing you did and would recommend new students do to prepare for SMU?

Also, what would you say from your experience was the worst thing you did in preparing for SMU? THANKS!

Study and go over as much as you can before arriving. Pay close attention to Histo, Embryo, and Anat.

This way you hit the ground running. Many 1st Semester students struggle greatly with Histo and Embryo (I wonder why-inside joke). But if you are prepared before arriving, and keep up with the course work, you should be fine.

Good luck!

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get the BRS embryo and the Histo book and study them and you will be fine. Anat is the most important to go over first in my opinion...it seems to take quite alot of time if you come in to SMU without having a good background, and Anat sure moves fast...

I started at SMU in Belize, moved to Cayman, moved to Maine, and now I am in my 4th year clinicals in Atlanta. The best advice I can give you about SMU is to stay far, far away from school politics. Don't listen to the gossip. Don't worry about who has copies of old tests and isn't sharing them. Don't worry about what teacher is doing something kinky with a student. Don't listen to all the gossip about the past and future of the school and why they hired or fired a certain professor. Don't get all worked up if they aren't teaching you "usmle" material. It will only drive you crazy. Keep your head buried in the books during the week and party like an animal on the weekends.

Learning the material is your number one priority. Grades are your number two priority. Grades are always an amazing thing. It is always a big mystery at how the grades turn out. It is always a big mystery how some professors can get away with writing completely crazy tests (questions that make no sense, material that wasn't covered, etc). Do not even try to fight this battle. You will not win. Concentrate on learning the material to the best of your ability. That is what is important for the USMLE, for your clinical rotations, and for your career. Grades are mysterious and everyone knows that. My best advice for preparing for the USMLE is to do every question you can out of every review book you can find. Do questions until your eyes cross. Do these questions while you are taking the class. Many will be over your head, and you will get them wrong. But that is okay. You are being exposed to the material, being exposed to the question, and with time it will all begin to make sense. The best sources of questions..... Kaplan Q bank (this can be done online and tailored to your needs. For instance, you can do just path questions, or just histo questions), Pre-Test series of books, Board Simulator Series (by NMS). Doing these questions will expand your knowledge base. It is sometimes painful, but you will be thankful in the end.
Have fun in Cayman. It is a beautiful place. Don't be afraid to have the time of your life. As long as you study hard, you will be fine. Every single day I look back to those months in Belize in Cayman and I miss that life!

thanks for the advice smuclinicalstudent, so few 3rd and 4th yrs post here, its nice to get an idea of how things are going to be for us down the road (im still in basic science). i think that it helps to see people who have been in our situation when we are struggling with 5 tests in 5 days (3 being with a certainly tough histo and embryo prof)...

thanks!!!

It's gonna be a bloodbath on Monday and Thursday!!!!

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starting in fall 04, i'd like to get a jump start on doing well in my classes and then on the boards.....any advice on what i should do from now till first day of classes?