Q&A With Mac Med 2015

[shady]

Med students are not part of this deal.

We 'voted' to get out of it and instead pay a lower ancillary fee because by the time you're in 2nd and 3rd year, you're mostly driving, and may not even be in Hamilton for months at a time.

 

oh crap

 

10 char

[benge88]

Speaking as a student who already had a car - you can get a parking pass for 50-100$ a month on campus, where the bus pass is something like 87$ a month (Not sure...) For me, it was NOT worth the hassles and pain in the ass that the bus can be for that price

[shady]

Speaking as a student who already had a car - you can get a parking pass for 50-100$ a month on campus, where the bus pass is something like 87$ a month (Not sure...) For me, it was NOT worth the hassles and pain in the ass that the bus can be for that price

 

I won't have a car until second year. It would have been nice if I could have a discount on a bus pass. But ah well ...

[nikki dale]

I've been getting away with using bus tickets somehow. Maybe I don't go out much or maybe it's because I make good use of transfers...even when they might be slightly expired...

 

Tickets are 5 for $10 and for the month I usually spend about 60-70 max.

 

Also it's not really a 30 day month for me because I go home on weekends and each month somehow we end up with a good chunk of time off so far (~4 day vacations...Christmas holidays..Easter holiday...each month has their own holiday going on). You have to take a look at what your use is. I got a pass the first month I moved to Hamilton when I discovered it was not worth it.

 

There are other ways of saving on bussing that you might learn later...

 

But having a car is definitely more convenient.

 

I know some people in our class who have a car but they only reserve it's use for when they have to go somewhere 'out of the way' like the hospital. They normally take the bus to campus because it's really easy if you live along Main or King, and it's cheaper than parking.

[Rext]

I won't have a car until second year. It would have been nice if I could have a discount on a bus pass. But ah well ...

 

I am currently in the middle of negotiations about this. I will keep you all posted about the outcome

[docmm]

Deleted post.

[shady]

Thanks guys. I guess I'll have to figure something out.

 

I am currently in the middle of negotiations about this. I will keep you all posted about the outcome

 

Perry if you can get us bus passes that would be awesome . On a serious note though, it seems that there are people who don't want to be paying for passes because they have cars. Maybe have a compromise whereby first year students (kids who are new to Hamilton, Mac and med in general) get passes to help them get going while upper year students (established students who are in their clerkship and most likely have cars) do not have to pay for and do not get passes.

 

That might be difficult to implement, however

[Big Bird]

Perry if you can get us bus passes that would be awesome . On a serious note though, it seems that there are people who don't want to be paying for passes because they have cars. Maybe have a compromise whereby first year students (kids who are new to Hamilton, Mac and med in general) get passes to help them get going while upper year students (established students who are in their clerkship and most likely have cars) do not have to pay for and do not get passes.

 

That might be difficult to implement, however

 

This is actually a fantastic idea. +1

[benge88]

Thanks guys. I guess I'll have to figure something out.

 

 

 

Perry if you can get us bus passes that would be awesome . On a serious note though, it seems that there are people who don't want to be paying for passes because they have cars. Maybe have a compromise whereby first year students (kids who are new to Hamilton, Mac and med in general) get passes to help them get going while upper year students (established students who are in their clerkship and most likely have cars) do not have to pay for and do not get passes.

 

That might be difficult to implement, however

 

Also, not helpful for those of us who already had cars at the start of first year, and in no way wanted to pay for a bus pass

[shady]

Also, not helpful for those of us who already had cars at the start of first year, and in no way wanted to pay for a bus pass

 

True that. But I mean in first year, do the majority have cars or is it the other way around? Also, if mac includes monthly passes, what would the price be? If it's just the monthly price x 12 there is really no point, but if we get a significant discount then it's worth it.

 

I wonder how these things balance out. I know at Western med students get passes, and even those who have cars enjoy the passes because you don't always want to be driving and/or worrying about parking.

[RememberTwce]

All MSU students pay $126.15 for an 8 month HSR pass.

 

Hope the negotiations result in a bus pass, or a discounted rate, for those who don't own a car

[shady]

All MSU students pay $126.15 for an 8 month HSR pass.

 

Hope the negotiations result in a bus pass, or a discounted rate, for those who don't own a car

 

Whaaat? Are you serious? That's it? How can anyone turn this down ... I doubt there are more than a handful of people who would actually lose by accepting the deal. Even people with cars will benefit because a bus pass this cheap can come in quite handy.

 

Just to be clear: 8 months of a bus pass would be $696. That means the subsidized cost is 126.15/696 = 82% discount!!

[tberry3]

Whaaat? Are you serious? That's it? How can anyone turn this down ... I doubt there are more than a handful of people who would actually lose by accepting the deal. Even people with cars will benefit because a bus pass this cheap can come in quite handy.

 

Just to be clear: 8 months of a bus pass would be $696. That means the subsidized cost is 126.15/696 = 82% discount!!

 

Agreed! I did my undergrad at Western where my parents lived so I had access to a car most of the time, but the bus pass was still useful on those occasions when I didn't want to deal with parking, or being able to drink at a friend's place before going out to a bar or something. Better than cab fare, and basically paid for itself over the course of a school year.

[Rext]

The politics regarding getting the bus pass are unfortunately quite complex and there's a pretty long history to this =(

 

Rest assured, I am doing my best to negotiate the best possible benefits for our students. If you have any specific questions or suggestions, I welcome your input via PM =)

[tberry3]

Here's something I've been wondering: I know this probably varies from person to person but would love to hear people's personal experiences. Given that so much of Mac's program is self-directed (e.g. learn on your own time), how much time to people tend to studying/learning alone? Or is it typical for people to prepare for tutorial sessions together?

 

Also, one thing that friends at other schools have "warned" me about Mac is that because you have to cover the same amount of material in a shorter time frame before clerkship, you either have to spend an excessive amount of time studying or you'll end up behind the curve when you start clerkship. Meanwhile, from my interview day I got the impression that Mac students have more free time than most, which they can use for observerships/research/etc. However, now I'm a bit concerned that if I do those things as much as I'd like to, I won't have enough time to learn all the material I need to learn before clerkship. For current students: how do you balance your time, and do you feel like you're learning as much as people at other schools? (I know that might be impossible to answer, but especially for those who have worked in hospitals with clerks or residents from other schools, I'd be interested to hear how you felt that went)

[RememberTwce]

Might not be set in stone but generally when do incoming students get access to MedPortal?

[inspiring-curmudgeon]

Here's something I've been wondering: I know this probably varies from person to person but would love to hear people's personal experiences. Given that so much of Mac's program is self-directed (e.g. learn on your own time), how much time to people tend to studying/learning alone? Or is it typical for people to prepare for tutorial sessions together?

 

Also, one thing that friends at other schools have "warned" me about Mac is that because you have to cover the same amount of material in a shorter time frame before clerkship, you either have to spend an excessive amount of time studying or you'll end up behind the curve when you start clerkship. Meanwhile, from my interview day I got the impression that Mac students have more free time than most, which they can use for observerships/research/etc. However, now I'm a bit concerned that if I do those things as much as I'd like to, I won't have enough time to learn all the material I need to learn before clerkship. For current students: how do you balance your time, and do you feel like you're learning as much as people at other schools? (I know that might be impossible to answer, but especially for those who have worked in hospitals with clerks or residents from other schools, I'd be interested to hear how you felt that went)

 

Most of what you learn in pre clerkship is useless in clerkship.

[Big Bird]

Most of what you learn in pre clerkship is useless in clerkship.

 

For realz??!

[holiday1001]

but at mac you can tailor your pre-clerkship to own liking, ie focus a bit more on what will be relevant

[inspiring-curmudgeon]

but at mac you can tailor your pre-clerkship to own liking, ie focus a bit more on what will be relevant

 

Exactly. Instead of memorizing the Krebs cycle, you can focus on other, more useful things

[aryastark]

Like everyone has said, actual preclerkship material isn't very useful in clinical settings. Most of the things that stick with me in the long run and will actually be useful when we get to clerkship come from horizontal electives, and we have lots of time/ opportunities for those.

[Applemanv3]

Exactly. Instead of memorizing the Krebs cycle, you can focus on other, more useful things

QFT!!!

 

10char

[RiverCityJill]

So this question is probably a bit premature but it's something I've been wondering about. The doctor who did my immunizations was a Mac grad from a couple of years ago. She was awesome and took time out to talk to me about how much she loved going to Mac and to give me some advice. She also asked me what I was interested in and then took my email address and put me in touch with a doctor in the Hamilton area who works in that specialty and who offered to start a horizontal elective with me once school starts.

 

My question is, I've heard you should wait until you've covered the MF that a specialty is covered in to do a horizontal elective in that area. Is this true? Do people sometimes start horizontal electives at the beginning of 1st year before they've really covered anything?

[h9i9j9]

Hi guys,

 

Quick question, is there still course selection? I haven't gotten any information about it and I know the mac course selection dates (for undergrad programs) have passed. If not, how is it determined which days we get (for PBL I beilieve)?

[benge88]

There is no course selection. You do not get to choose when you have tutorial. You will receive your schedule during O-week