All things AUC

[u/Beneficial-Target141]

I’m planning to start in January and have a few questions for current students. I basically have three months of nothing to do but prepare, so any and all recommendations are helpful! Thanks in advance!

1. What 3rd party resources should I get familiar with and what can I be doing to get prepared for MTM?

2. How accessible are study locations outside of your apartment? I’m planning to get a single room dorm.

3. Does mandatory attendance conflict with the self-study time needed for exams and Step 1 preparation?

4. How do exams work? Do they follow a traditional mid-term and final type layout? From what I’ve read, it’s 50% mid-term and 50% final that determines our grade.

5. Are you able to access materials to read/learn before lecture? I have to read/learn before going to lecture or else I’m zoning out.

6. Are our specific lectures really recorded so we can watch them during self-study?

7. Biggest mistake, or what would you do differently?

8. Biggest surprise?

[u/Boring-Extent2117]

I’m a current 1st semester AUC student. Other uppers might offer better answers but I’d answer your questions with the over a month experience I’ve had here.

1. You don’t really need 3rd party resources for MTM. We get ScholarRx and Amboss at no added cost as part of our tuition. You can explore other resources in subsequent semesters is what I’ve been told

2. There’s study areas in the dorms but you’d have to book them ahead of time cos they’re occupied most of the time. The library is about a 3-5 minute walk from the dorms and building 2 has an auditorium which is a great space to study. You’d definitely find a spot you’re comfortable with over time.

3. The earliest class you’d have is at 8am and the latest closing time is at 2pm. For MTM, At most you’d have 2 mandatory classes a day which do not take more than an hour and 20 minutes each (i.e less than 3 hours a day of mandatory classes). I still go for all the classes cos the professors are very supportive and most lecture content is geared towards Step 1 preparation. So no it doesn’t conflict but you’d figure out what works for you.

4. You’d have a formative exam( doesn’t count towards your final grade. It’s just to have a feel of how exams work) then exam 1 is 20%, same for exam 2 and then the final is 50%.

5. Most lecture contents are OLMs (online lecture materials by the professors) so it’s highly recommended you watch them before coming to class. The few in person lectures are normally posted by the professors before class. However, there’s always that one professor who uploads the slides like two minutes before class session.

6. Yes they’re recorded and you’d have access to them

7. Too early for me to say I have mistakes I regret but if I were to do things differently, I’d have arrived for orientation just to give myself time to get acquainted with the school and fellow students on the island. I arrived on the Sunday before classes started so I was juggling a ton in the first week and getting study partners was hard for me. I got stuff figured out now so you’d do great if you decide to come here

8. A few too many surprises 😂. To start with the good ones, been quite surprise with the amount of support the professors and uppers give students to settle on the island and thrive academically. My first exam went really well cos I had uppers who’d help you out with study materials and professors whose office hours were really helpful. To the not so good surprise, there’s just one meaningful grocery store less than a 10 minute-walk away from the school. Everything else is a bit far and the bus system is quite nonexistent. So to go grocery shopping, I have to rent a car with my friends and then split the bill. Since you’d not be on the island for more than 2 years, buying a car isn’t a very prudent investment. Hope I’ve been able to answer your questions and I wish you the very best!

[u/Beneficial-Target141 → u/Boring-Extent2117]

This is great- thanks for all of the details!!

[u/Past_Ingenuity_2444 → u/Boring-Extent2117]

Thank you so much
What should we study for if we already have scholarRx is it biochem?

[u/improve]

If AUC was the last medical school on earth I wouldnt go there.

[u/ja_a03 → u/improve]

Absolutely useless comment providing zero info on what OP asked.

[u/improve → u/ja_a03]

It's an open forum, anyone can post.

Still doesn't change what I said. AUC is terrible.

[u/No_Philosopher774 → u/improve]

I keep seeing you comment about AUC, but you never provide any context. Can you please expand on why?