I haven't really posted on here since I started at SMU back in 2011 because I stopped reading the forum once I realized that it was all negative. It turns out that my experience at the school was great. I never complained, I just went to class everyday, studied and hung out with my friends at least once a week and I did well. I sailed through basic sciences, passed every single class and Honored most. Finished in 5 semesters and took home just about every single award during the 5th semester award ceremony. Then took step1, got great score and transferred into the 3rd year of a US medical school after taking Step1. Although SMU has it's weaknesses, it's really what you make of it. The question is how bad do you want to be a doctor? If you want it bad enough then you will make your education at SMU work in your favor. Good luck to you all :) And I posted some advice below. Clearly I have too much time on my hands in clinicals lol
Here's my advice!
1. Upon starting your first semester at SMU, listen to your Professors, read the powerpoints or whatever else they tell you to read and do any questions they recommend because 9x out of 10 whatever it is they are telling you to do will be on your test!
*Now you would think this would be common sense, but I know a lot people that would get Kaplan books their first semester or some other
review book for the course and read that instead of the Professor's powerpoints or keypoints. And, guess what? They didn't do too well.
2. Study but have fun too!! I would typically start studying 2-3 days after the semester started. On average I studied about 3 hours a day, I would go over everything that we did that day so that I stayed caught up. Then 2 weeks before blocks I would start reviewing any old material over the weekends. My weekend studying 1 week before block exams would involve 8-12 study hour study days on Saturday and Sunday. And, the weekend of blocks I would study 10 hours a day or more. Of course I took breaks during this period. (Ideally you want to go over material 3-4x before blocks)
*Example: If I were in 3rd semester taking Micro, Behavioral and Neuro. The weekend of blocks I would review all the behavioral ppts on Friday,
then on Saturday I would review all the Neuro ppts and Sunday I would review all the Micro ppts. Then I would wake up at 5am and review any
notes that I took. Note: I would take notes throughout the block for each subject so that I could use these notes to study the morning of the test and
to use as review notes once your tests become comprehensive because it is really overwhelming if you try to go over old ppts for a comprehensive
exam.
*** NEVER let yourself get behind. This is the worse thing you could ever do. And, never go out to party if you are behind.
3. Finances. I was financially stable before coming to SMU so please have your finances in order before even thinking about coming since there are no student loans. Yes, Davenport is available but I could not imagine having to do that on top of medical school. I spent at least $20-25k a semester, that included tuition, living expenses, transportation and spending money even while I was at home on breaks. So, if your stable financially then you can have one less worry and you can really enjoy yourself because you want to be able to hang out with everyone when they go to brunch or out for drinks. And, it's nice to go to Camana Bay and buy something after each block to reward yourself for good performance. Plus, being able to live in a nice comfortable place, have a car and be able to eat out and eat well are all vital to your performance in school.
4. Never complain! Just do your work and avoid complainers. Complaining isn't going to change a thing!! Just study, pass your boards, get a good residency and get licensed then chuck up the dueces!!! Be social but avoid the drama! It's fun to listen to all the foolishness but never get involved. Last but not least, avoid reading posts from valuemd because 90% of it is **! If someone is doing well then they won't have time to post on valuemd but if they are constantly posting and complaining then it's highly likely they are a pissed off student that is failing. So beware of the posts that you read.
Here's my advice!
1. Upon starting your first semester at SMU, listen to your Professors, read the powerpoints or whatever else they tell you to read and do any questions they recommend because 9x out of 10 whatever it is they are telling you to do will be on your test!
*Now you would think this would be common sense, but I know a lot people that would get Kaplan books their first semester or some other
review book for the course and read that instead of the Professor's powerpoints or keypoints. And, guess what? They didn't do too well.
2. Study but have fun too!! I would typically start studying 2-3 days after the semester started. On average I studied about 3 hours a day, I would go over everything that we did that day so that I stayed caught up. Then 2 weeks before blocks I would start reviewing any old material over the weekends. My weekend studying 1 week before block exams would involve 8-12 study hour study days on Saturday and Sunday. And, the weekend of blocks I would study 10 hours a day or more. Of course I took breaks during this period. (Ideally you want to go over material 3-4x before blocks)
*Example: If I were in 3rd semester taking Micro, Behavioral and Neuro. The weekend of blocks I would review all the behavioral ppts on Friday,
then on Saturday I would review all the Neuro ppts and Sunday I would review all the Micro ppts. Then I would wake up at 5am and review any
notes that I took. Note: I would take notes throughout the block for each subject so that I could use these notes to study the morning of the test and
to use as review notes once your tests become comprehensive because it is really overwhelming if you try to go over old ppts for a comprehensive
exam.
*** NEVER let yourself get behind. This is the worse thing you could ever do. And, never go out to party if you are behind.
3. Finances. I was financially stable before coming to SMU so please have your finances in order before even thinking about coming since there are no student loans. Yes, Davenport is available but I could not imagine having to do that on top of medical school. I spent at least $20-25k a semester, that included tuition, living expenses, transportation and spending money even while I was at home on breaks. So, if your stable financially then you can have one less worry and you can really enjoy yourself because you want to be able to hang out with everyone when they go to brunch or out for drinks. And, it's nice to go to Camana Bay and buy something after each block to reward yourself for good performance. Plus, being able to live in a nice comfortable place, have a car and be able to eat out and eat well are all vital to your performance in school.
4. Never complain! Just do your work and avoid complainers. Complaining isn't going to change a thing!! Just study, pass your boards, get a good residency and get licensed then chuck up the dueces!!! Be social but avoid the drama! It's fun to listen to all the foolishness but never get involved. Last but not least, avoid reading posts from valuemd because 90% of it is **! If someone is doing well then they won't have time to post on valuemd but if they are constantly posting and complaining then it's highly likely they are a pissed off student that is failing. So beware of the posts that you read.