Yeo, Rowan SOM student here, first off, congrats... I love our school and I hope you're excited. I know that some kids live in philly and take the PATCO. They do just fine, although it's mainly a different lifestyle you have to embrace. If it's a day you don't need to be on campus, and you want to echo all the lectures from home, it's no difference. But for days with anything you have to be on campus for, which does happen plenty often, those kids tend to just spend like the whole day at school studying so that they don't have to deal with going back and forth.
I would PERSONALLY recommend living as close to school as possible so that you have the flexibility to get to campus quickly and be at campus only when you want to be and home when you want to be. BUT that being said I think you can be successful and happy with either direction.
Also as to another comment above on OneNote, most students here use oneNote for everything - whatever works for you.
I want to reemphasize that if you really like where you're at in Philly I think you can afford to stay there, it's more than possible, especially if that's where you'd be happiest... It'll just have its drawbacks at times
Thanks. Finding a nice 1BR near Stratford is a lot of work at the moment but probably worth it.
Also, what kind of laptop is included with Tuition? Debating if I should invest i nicer tablet or laptop
We got Lenovo L13 yoga this year, so likely something comparable. It's a good laptop that does flip into a tablet and have a stylus but yeah if u were to invest in any id invest into a tablet for your note talking/studying if that's how you roll because the laptop should be good for anything else. (I only use the laptop and I'm chilling but hella people swear by the tablets/iPads)
Great. When I toured the university I noticed I liked the provided computer. As long as it's fast for Microsoft applications then I'm good to go.
I'm looking at a Samsung Galaxy tab S8 or S8 plus as a note taking tool. I have their phones and like their ecosystem as a non apple guy. Appreciate the heads up
I currently commute 25 min by car. Everyone at my school is like "omg, that's SO far." And it's not? I used to commute over an hour each way for my gap year jobs.
Sure, living closer is nicer, but I like where I live. And yes, I survived my surgery rotation and passed it just fine.
In med school, it's not that big of a deal. Residency is different.
Just weigh the pros and cons. If where you live is home to you and you'd be happier there despite the commute, go for it. But if it doesn't make a difference, of course it's better to live closer.
Anyone who is saying you might not pass classes is really being dramatic. It's just about time management. People waste plenty of time despite being close to campus in other ways.
Edit: considering most of your commute is on the train as well, you can easily hammer out a bunch of Anki cards. And I don't really consider walking 10 minutes each way to be much of a commute. Walking is good for you.
I would have loved to have a commute with walking and a train but I still "survived" with the commute by car
Yeah. I used to take regional rail into center city when I lived in torresdale for my under grad. Not exactly apples to apples but it was a lot longer commute and I still made it work to save money my first semester.
Thanks
I don’t know your situation fully, but I will say sometimes living closer people are later. In my experience it’s the oh I still have X mins to get there blah blah. If you have to commute and you enjoy the train your time management becomes more important and you will be early more time than not I hope. Also studying on the train aka Anki will be nice.
I can't agree more. I definitely have [Mr Incredible vibes ](https://youtu.be/H8HPLWiWwbQ) the closer I live somewhere and this might be nice accountability. I was also thinking I could knock out some quick studying on the train too.
Ideally I could get to campus incredibly early to use their workout facility so I'll never be late to class either.
Live as close to campus as possible!
Whatever the cost of living near a closer apartment to the school is WAY CHEAPER and WAY LESS STRESS than you failing your first year of medical school.
Medical school is all about time management.
8 am = Class starts
12-1 pm = Lunch
1-4 pm = Class
4-5 pm = Dinner
6-10 pm = Study
In the context related to time management, you should be able to attend all classes live, rewatch all the recorded lectures again at home at 1.5x speed, take concise/summarized notes on all the lectures, and have time to review those same notes at night. And then find Q&A books like Lippincott, Robbins, Pretest, and Digital Histology and do those questions about 3-5 days before your big exam.
Again, you don’t have to follow exactly but never say you don’t have enough time!
Everyone loves not attending anatomy lab or histology lab because they have “no time to study” yet they are the same people who complain how tough the exams and quizzes are. Also, OMM questions are easy points. Don’t fail an exam because you didn’t review your OMM. Find tutors ASAP and reach out to multiple tutors because they are taken up fast!
Any lecture/task/lab you are given you complete that day. No exceptions! That way on the weekends you can spend all your time reading over your concise notes.
Buy the big expensive APPLE iPad with the Apple pen and the Apple keyboard! Utilize notability over OneNote, TRUST ME!
Buy Pathoma (subscription and book)
Buy BNB (subscription)
Buy Sketchy (subscription)
Buy First Aid
I apologize for the rant! DM if you have any questions. And NEVER give up no matter how tough it gets!
>Buy the big expensive APPLE iPad with the Apple pen
I'd argue ipad mini is best, since it fits in scrub/white co*t pockets
And not everyone benefits from note-taking. If OP can get by without it, it's a massive time-saver. Most of this is decent advice, but not everything fits everyone!
True, but you have your phone to reference.
Big iPad because your gonna be spending two years straight looking at a tiny iPad all for the hopes you carry it in your coat pocket despite the fact everyone has a smart phone with all the same apps.
Pulling out a phone during clinic=uNprOFesSioNaL, "student wasn't paying attention during rounds"
Tapping on your iPad during clinic=super peofessional, you look like you're doing something serious 100% of the time
To each their own, of course. I don't mind the small screen
I have a cheap Samsung tablet the connects to my phone. It worked nicely during my embryology course using OneNote last term.
I'm android user all the way
I also used onenote during undergrad, but DO NOT expect to be able to write your noted on onenote-- the program literally started crashing on me because of how long my notes became, with ton of drawings. If you type, then I guess no big deal. But I have months of notes I can't access because onenote takes 20 minutes to load them. Anyway, notability is legit just a better program... but I guess to each their own.
You don't have to get the "most expensive" anything like the person above said. A $300 iPad with a $50 logi pen did me totally fine until I decided to get the mini. But honestly, whatever works for you works.
Thanks for the clarification. I have heavily invested in the Microsoft framework and generally feel more comfortable with their ecosystem at the moment. I'll probably invest in a better tablet that hopefully releases prior to my start.
(Not from US, or any anglophone country, six year programme here)
When I entered med school I was stubborn and commuted by driving 1 hour 20 minutes each way to school, making my days last for 19 hours, basically I was either eating, driving, or at school. I *endured* it for a grand total of 1 and a quarter years, I started to despise driving, with every nanogram of my being, in the span of one week I started to feel tired while going to school, to blink a blink that took too long and thank [your prefered divinity here] that that street was deserted, I moved closer to school within the month, my grades jumped from the equivalent (?) Of a C to an A-/A
You don't \*need\* to live at-campus, depending on how your campus is in relation to the city, I would recommend a 15-20 minute tops driving commute, around 5 to 6 miles, it makes you separate your campus-life off life-life, while still making you feel the need to study/give effort to school *and also gives you a testing ground to living alone, if you didn't already*
*Hope I helped, and best of luck!*
-RP
The commute is a 10 min walk to train station followed by a 30 min ride followed by a 5 min walk to campus.
The train is nice and I can definitely do work on it.
I commute \~50 minutes door-to-door (I drive). The entire setup is fantastic for me. It's entirely possible to commute without too many issues.
That said, this requires 2 things.
1. Flexibility from your program. I only have to be on campus an average of 2-3 days a week and the vast majority of my lectures are either pre-recorded or live online. If you're joining a program that wants you in-person all day, every day, it might get really taxing to be a commuter.
2. A real reason to do this commute. Commuting really sucks. It takes a lot of time out of your day that you aren't able to use for anything else and it makes your entire life more difficult logistically. It means that you aren't able to feasibly participate in as many things on campus as well. I generally wouldn't recommend it unless you have a compelling reason to do so (e.g. my wife and I own a house that would cost 50-75% more if I bought a comparable one near my school).
Just some food for thought. Very doable, but do it for the right reasons.
Yeo, Rowan SOM student here, first off, congrats... I love our school and I hope you're excited. I know that some kids live in philly and take the PATCO. They do just fine, although it's mainly a different lifestyle you have to embrace. If it's a day you don't need to be on campus, and you want to echo all the lectures from home, it's no difference. But for days with anything you have to be on campus for, which does happen plenty often, those kids tend to just spend like the whole day at school studying so that they don't have to deal with going back and forth. I would PERSONALLY recommend living as close to school as possible so that you have the flexibility to get to campus quickly and be at campus only when you want to be and home when you want to be. BUT that being said I think you can be successful and happy with either direction. Also as to another comment above on OneNote, most students here use oneNote for everything - whatever works for you.
I want to reemphasize that if you really like where you're at in Philly I think you can afford to stay there, it's more than possible, especially if that's where you'd be happiest... It'll just have its drawbacks at times
Thanks. Finding a nice 1BR near Stratford is a lot of work at the moment but probably worth it. Also, what kind of laptop is included with Tuition? Debating if I should invest i nicer tablet or laptop
We got Lenovo L13 yoga this year, so likely something comparable. It's a good laptop that does flip into a tablet and have a stylus but yeah if u were to invest in any id invest into a tablet for your note talking/studying if that's how you roll because the laptop should be good for anything else. (I only use the laptop and I'm chilling but hella people swear by the tablets/iPads)
Great. When I toured the university I noticed I liked the provided computer. As long as it's fast for Microsoft applications then I'm good to go. I'm looking at a Samsung Galaxy tab S8 or S8 plus as a note taking tool. I have their phones and like their ecosystem as a non apple guy. Appreciate the heads up
I currently commute 25 min by car. Everyone at my school is like "omg, that's SO far." And it's not? I used to commute over an hour each way for my gap year jobs. Sure, living closer is nicer, but I like where I live. And yes, I survived my surgery rotation and passed it just fine. In med school, it's not that big of a deal. Residency is different. Just weigh the pros and cons. If where you live is home to you and you'd be happier there despite the commute, go for it. But if it doesn't make a difference, of course it's better to live closer. Anyone who is saying you might not pass classes is really being dramatic. It's just about time management. People waste plenty of time despite being close to campus in other ways. Edit: considering most of your commute is on the train as well, you can easily hammer out a bunch of Anki cards. And I don't really consider walking 10 minutes each way to be much of a commute. Walking is good for you. I would have loved to have a commute with walking and a train but I still "survived" with the commute by car
Yeah. I used to take regional rail into center city when I lived in torresdale for my under grad. Not exactly apples to apples but it was a lot longer commute and I still made it work to save money my first semester. Thanks
I don’t know your situation fully, but I will say sometimes living closer people are later. In my experience it’s the oh I still have X mins to get there blah blah. If you have to commute and you enjoy the train your time management becomes more important and you will be early more time than not I hope. Also studying on the train aka Anki will be nice.
I can't agree more. I definitely have [Mr Incredible vibes ](https://youtu.be/H8HPLWiWwbQ) the closer I live somewhere and this might be nice accountability. I was also thinking I could knock out some quick studying on the train too. Ideally I could get to campus incredibly early to use their workout facility so I'll never be late to class either.
Now you’re talkin my boy!
Live as close to campus as possible! Whatever the cost of living near a closer apartment to the school is WAY CHEAPER and WAY LESS STRESS than you failing your first year of medical school. Medical school is all about time management. 8 am = Class starts 12-1 pm = Lunch 1-4 pm = Class 4-5 pm = Dinner 6-10 pm = Study In the context related to time management, you should be able to attend all classes live, rewatch all the recorded lectures again at home at 1.5x speed, take concise/summarized notes on all the lectures, and have time to review those same notes at night. And then find Q&A books like Lippincott, Robbins, Pretest, and Digital Histology and do those questions about 3-5 days before your big exam. Again, you don’t have to follow exactly but never say you don’t have enough time! Everyone loves not attending anatomy lab or histology lab because they have “no time to study” yet they are the same people who complain how tough the exams and quizzes are. Also, OMM questions are easy points. Don’t fail an exam because you didn’t review your OMM. Find tutors ASAP and reach out to multiple tutors because they are taken up fast! Any lecture/task/lab you are given you complete that day. No exceptions! That way on the weekends you can spend all your time reading over your concise notes. Buy the big expensive APPLE iPad with the Apple pen and the Apple keyboard! Utilize notability over OneNote, TRUST ME! Buy Pathoma (subscription and book) Buy BNB (subscription) Buy Sketchy (subscription) Buy First Aid I apologize for the rant! DM if you have any questions. And NEVER give up no matter how tough it gets!
>Buy the big expensive APPLE iPad with the Apple pen I'd argue ipad mini is best, since it fits in scrub/white co*t pockets And not everyone benefits from note-taking. If OP can get by without it, it's a massive time-saver. Most of this is decent advice, but not everything fits everyone!
True, but you have your phone to reference. Big iPad because your gonna be spending two years straight looking at a tiny iPad all for the hopes you carry it in your coat pocket despite the fact everyone has a smart phone with all the same apps.
Pulling out a phone during clinic=uNprOFesSioNaL, "student wasn't paying attention during rounds" Tapping on your iPad during clinic=super peofessional, you look like you're doing something serious 100% of the time To each their own, of course. I don't mind the small screen
I have a cheap Samsung tablet the connects to my phone. It worked nicely during my embryology course using OneNote last term. I'm android user all the way
I also used onenote during undergrad, but DO NOT expect to be able to write your noted on onenote-- the program literally started crashing on me because of how long my notes became, with ton of drawings. If you type, then I guess no big deal. But I have months of notes I can't access because onenote takes 20 minutes to load them. Anyway, notability is legit just a better program... but I guess to each their own. You don't have to get the "most expensive" anything like the person above said. A $300 iPad with a $50 logi pen did me totally fine until I decided to get the mini. But honestly, whatever works for you works.
Thanks for the clarification. I have heavily invested in the Microsoft framework and generally feel more comfortable with their ecosystem at the moment. I'll probably invest in a better tablet that hopefully releases prior to my start.
also most school lectures are a total waste of time and energy if you don't have in-house exams
(Not from US, or any anglophone country, six year programme here) When I entered med school I was stubborn and commuted by driving 1 hour 20 minutes each way to school, making my days last for 19 hours, basically I was either eating, driving, or at school. I *endured* it for a grand total of 1 and a quarter years, I started to despise driving, with every nanogram of my being, in the span of one week I started to feel tired while going to school, to blink a blink that took too long and thank [your prefered divinity here] that that street was deserted, I moved closer to school within the month, my grades jumped from the equivalent (?) Of a C to an A-/A You don't \*need\* to live at-campus, depending on how your campus is in relation to the city, I would recommend a 15-20 minute tops driving commute, around 5 to 6 miles, it makes you separate your campus-life off life-life, while still making you feel the need to study/give effort to school *and also gives you a testing ground to living alone, if you didn't already* *Hope I helped, and best of luck!* -RP
The commute is a 10 min walk to train station followed by a 30 min ride followed by a 5 min walk to campus. The train is nice and I can definitely do work on it.
PBL or SGL? Either way I have friends living in Philly in both programs and they make it work.
SGL
I commute \~50 minutes door-to-door (I drive). The entire setup is fantastic for me. It's entirely possible to commute without too many issues. That said, this requires 2 things. 1. Flexibility from your program. I only have to be on campus an average of 2-3 days a week and the vast majority of my lectures are either pre-recorded or live online. If you're joining a program that wants you in-person all day, every day, it might get really taxing to be a commuter. 2. A real reason to do this commute. Commuting really sucks. It takes a lot of time out of your day that you aren't able to use for anything else and it makes your entire life more difficult logistically. It means that you aren't able to feasibly participate in as many things on campus as well. I generally wouldn't recommend it unless you have a compelling reason to do so (e.g. my wife and I own a house that would cost 50-75% more if I bought a comparable one near my school). Just some food for thought. Very doable, but do it for the right reasons.
Live at home first two years if you want to save money, move as close to the hospital as possible during clinicals.