Tips for Surviving!
People often say the hardest part of PA School is getting accepted. While this may be true, it doesn’t always feel like it. To make the next 27 months more bearable, take in mind this advice from current and past students at MUSC:
- Join the Facebook group “MUSC PA Class of 2013” to communicate with other incoming students.
- You are in the program (congratulations!). The time for worrying about making As is over. If you are struggling understanding a concept or even a whole class, don’t worry; there are tutors, fellow classmates, second years, and awesome faculty to get you where you need to be. Everyone struggles in something. But if you are worried about points on a test or GPA…DON’T! You will drive yourself (not to mention your professors) nuts and you will lose focus of why you are here. Focus on learning the material and the grades will take care of themselves.
- Participate in every extra credit opportunity you are offered.
- Make sure that you study something every night and be sure to review the material on the weekend. It may be a pain to sacrifice a Saturday to study, but once you’re behind it’s very difficult and highly stressful to get caught up!
- Find a few of your classmates with similar study habits to work with. Studying alone can lead to insanity, so having a study partner or two will not only help you learn more but will help make studying more fun, too.
- Before buying all the books, make sure to ask your professors and consult with second year students which ones are most helpful.
- For surviving anatomy, be sure to get involved in lab, keep peaceful relations with your lab group and get to know your TAs and tutors as they will be very helpful throughout the semester.
- In any class you find challenging, sign up for tutoring – even if you understand the subject matter, it’s still a good way to study.
- Sometimes when it rains in downtown Charleston, it floods. And when it rains when it is high tide, it floods even more. On days where rain is forecast, we recommend that you plan ahead, leave early, and don’t wear your favorite shoes. No matter where you park, you are likely to have to walk through some puddles. You may also want to check the tide chart before you leave home (if you are driving). In December 2008, heavy rain and high tide coincided with rush hour traffic, causing one of the worst floods in Charleston history. Please do not attempt to drive through flooded areas…you never know how deep the water is!
- You must stay flexible with this program! You will hear this a million times, but if you aren’t flexible, you will drive yourself nuts. There are many occasions where you will be asked to attend extra sessions, such as Interprofessional Day, the AIDS symposium or rescheduled lectures. Try to keep the complaining to a minimum, as the faculty already realizes any changes to the schedule are an inconvenience to you (and often to them, too).
- Don’t forget to remember why you are in PA school. Don’t lose sight of your goals!
- Get to know your faculty members; they are truly here to help!
- Get sleep! Really, it helps so much more than that extra hour of nodding off on your books!
- Make an appointment at the CAE (Center for Academic Excellence) to work on test taking skills since there are differences between undergrad and grad school tests.
- During your breaks, try to actually take a BREAK. It’s going to be hard not to feel obligated to crack open a few books, but you’ll appreciate it once your classes start back.
- Keep your life balanced by doing things outside of school, whether it is going to the gym, having dinner with friends or just a little trashy TV.
- Enjoy the beach while you can!
