KANSAS CITY, KAN. ? Zac Huston built houses for two years after graduating from Geneva College in Pennsylvania, waiting for acceptance into the Kansas University School of Medicine.

Friday, Huston was one of 175 incoming KU medical students to receive white physician coats at a ceremony marking the start of four years of medical school.

“I’m nervous and excited at the same time,” the 1996 Lawrence High School graduate said. “I’ve got to trust that what got me here will get me through the next four years.”

Huston now faces eight hours in a classroom five days a week, followed by four to six hours of nightly studies. He’ll likely owe $80,000 to $100,000 in student loans by the time he’s done.

The KU class of 2006 includes 97 men and 78 women. There are 156 Kansas residents and 19 from out of state. Twenty-eight list Lawrence as their home address.

Seventy received their undergraduate degrees from KU, with 105 receiving degrees from other universities. Thirteen percent are minorities.

And nearly all are beginning the biggest challenge of their lives.

“When you put on that white coat, it’s like, ‘OK. I’d better stop messing around,'” said Jennifer Andrews of Overland Park, who will follow in her mother’s footsteps to become a doctor.

Mark Meyer, associate dean for student affairs, said medical training was less brutal now than it had been a few decades ago. Student medical societies offer support, as do administrators and training counselors.

“Medicine, fortunately, has evolved for the better,” Meyer said. “A lot of academic medicine was, ‘Suck it up, and if you can’t take it, see you later. Get out of here.’ Only the tough made it through. Our approach now is, students are more informed about medicine, knowing this is a big, big deal and a lifetime investment.”

John Trombold of Leawood, who received his undergraduate degree from KU in May, said he was ready.

“I’m not that worried about it,” he said. “I’ll have no free time, but I have had enough free time the last four years (at KU) to make up for it.”

Medical students spend most of their first two years in a classroom. They don’t spend significant time with patients until their third and fourth years. Barbara Atkinson, executive dean of the School of Medicine, challenged the students to stay focused on their goal of becoming a physician, even when they spend more time in a classroom than in a hospital room.

After donning their new coats, the students walked to Atkinson. Like a mother preparing her children to leave the house for school, she straightened many of their collars before they turned around to face the audience.

“It’s always fun to see a new generation of physicians,” she said. “It’s the reason medical school faculty stay as medical school faculty.”