Guest fox Posted April 8, 2003 Report Share Posted April 8, 2003 i know that some prospective u of a students, myself included, were wondering what the class is like at u of a? if anyone in first or second year med who like to comment on their experiences, it would be greatly appreciated. also, how come u of a is sending out their acceptances (both rounds) earlier this year? are they becoming more efficient, or are they losing too many students to other schools? thanks in advance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest summervirus Posted April 8, 2003 Report Share Posted April 8, 2003 Hi, I'll be glad to comment. Just give me a few days. The first years (i.e. all the moderators) have an exam on Thursday so we're kinda busy right now... we're not ignoring you guys. Acceptances are sent out earlier this year because they're more efficient with the new electronic system and because there were less applications to process by hand after the interviews. After all, the number of interviews was cut down by 25%. I guess you can speculate that they made these changes (i.e. the electronic application and reduction in interviews) because they lost too many students. But, officially, they told us they installed the changes because it'll save a lot of time and resources. Anyway, if you look at the statistics, the UofA doesn't lose that many applicants. When I have the time, I'll put up some statistics and numbers that compare the different schools in Canada: how many people are offered admission and how many people ultimately turn down the offer. The UofA has always done okay... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest fox Posted April 8, 2003 Report Share Posted April 8, 2003 thanks summervirus. i look forward to hearing everything you have to tell us about your class and your experiences at u of a. i was also wondering what your exam schedule is like. do you guys have blocks of exams set at the beginning of the year? (or are they announced more sporadically?) how many exams do you have this year? any insight into the academic side of med school would be appreciated as well. thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest summervirus Posted April 10, 2003 Report Share Posted April 10, 2003 I added a little comment thingy in another thread, here. One more thing I would like to add; I was from out of town and didn't know anyone coming into med. But, I was fortunate enough to have a really nice class. I think everyone is very welcoming. We have a lot of fun and even when it's time to study, I know that there's always someone willing to help me out. My experience in PBL has been great because there hasn't been any competitive atmosphere. Rather, all the students really try to help others learn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mirrille Posted April 11, 2003 Report Share Posted April 11, 2003 Another comment on class dynamics: Every year at every school is going to be different. I'm pretty sure that my class isn't the same as the class above us and I'm pretty sure that you new people coming in are going to be different too. I really like my class. Like summervirus, I am from out of town and there was not a single person in this class that I knew from before. But I found it extraordinarily easy to make friends, much more so than undergrad or even high school, and even I will admit that I tend to fall more on the shy side than most, so that says alot. Social events. There's oodles of social events. If I went to every party there was out there, I would not have time to study. We have dances. We have potlucks. We have picnics and bbqs. We have ski trips, intramural teams, karaoke nights, movie nights, dinners, laser tag, house parties, water park, and the list goes on. There is more than enough chance to get to know your class outside of school. Class competition. There's probably always the odd person who is really competitive and doesn't know how to share the love, but this would not be the majority. People are generally eager to help each other out. I routinely get stuff in my email that turns out to be links to websites or papers that other people found useful for understanding lectures, PBL, doing assignments, or studying off and decided to share with everyone else. I found that to be quite a change from undergrad. Don't forget that no matter where you go, you will be a part of the class and play a part in building the class dynamic. And your attitude will go a long way in determining how you perceive and interact with your classmates. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest kellyl20 Posted April 11, 2003 Report Share Posted April 11, 2003 Hmmmmm...Mirrille and Summervirus seemed to share the same sentiment re their class. What you have two have been describing is very positive ie no one is excluded and everyone is so helpful to one another. It seems to me that EB is another one of UA's moderators and just wondering would there be a different view of the classmates from EB's perspective. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest EB Posted April 11, 2003 Report Share Posted April 11, 2003 i think it's pretty hard to describe class dynamics on this forum... but i'll try my best. there are plenty of events that totally include all members of the class. for instance it's not unusual for an invite to go out over our majordomo annoucing a party, potluck or event for the whole class and I think any member of our ~160 Med/Dent class would comfortable showing up for one of these events... i guarantee that there will be a handful of people that you CAN'T stand in your class. Each person will have certain people they like/dislike... It's human nature not to love everyone. Truthfully though, it can be annoying as hell to see someone who rubs your the wrong way 5 days a week with the chance of them being put in your PBL/POMD/Anatomy group... Outside of Med school you can totally avoid people you don't like, but you can't avoid your classmates! Basically, I think many med students are naturally outgoing and this can lead to some small clashes seeing as we have so many alpha personalities... but this is a very small part of med school, and not the predominating behavior of the class. If at any time you feel that you can't handle the class dynamics (ie you feel singled out as an "outcast"), there is a wonderful Student Affairs Dept here that can help you with your problems. If you're coming from out of town, one of the best tips I can give you is to study in the Scott Library... I rarely do (I prefer to study at home with my dog snuggled up beside me), but whenever I'm down there it's full of my classmates (and students from higher years)... you'll meet a lot of people while you're (not) studying! There are definately little groups of friends though... from what i've seen there are a lot of little ethnic cliques and also a lot of "girl" cliques. I think it's natural to gravitate to people you have a lot in common with, so I understand why these little groups form, but at the same time if you're someone who can feel a little shy/overwhelmed in social situations (like I am) I think it can be a little hard to approach people in these groups just because you're worried about what they *might* (not necessarily do) think about you... For the upcoming class of Med 2007 at U of A: there will be a ton of activities scheduled (like pubcrawls) for you to get to know eachother and our (Med 2006) class... As long as you give everyone a chance before you decide who you like/dislike I'm sure Medicine will be a very positive experience for you. I really recommend attending as many activities as possible, because you will have some truly great memories from many of these events (my favorite "med" memories are from this year's Mexico trip - which will most likely be put on again next year, e-mail me for details)... If you have any private concerns or worries, feel free to e-mail me (eab2@ualberta.ca)... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest fox Posted April 11, 2003 Report Share Posted April 11, 2003 is the first week of school a big party week? what kind of things did you guys do to get to know one another? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest EB Posted April 11, 2003 Report Share Posted April 11, 2003 fox, yup first week (I think it's only 3 days of classes) is a big party week. there was a pub crawl, BBQ lunch, "team building" day, golf tournament... i'm sure i'm missing something, but i can't remember what it is... if i think of it, i'll edit my post. after the first week, you start real classes... but it's only intro block which is VERY VERY easy... actually, i would say there is a lot of partying in med... especially after exams. so, if you like to go out, i'm sure you'll enjoy the school year... erin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest kellyl20 Posted April 11, 2003 Report Share Posted April 11, 2003 EB: thanks for what appears to be a very honest answer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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