VCOM (Carolina) Discussion Thread 2011-2012

SDN Members don't see this ad. (About Ads)

New Year, good luck everyone.

Good luck from those of us in the inaugural Class of 2015 to the Class of 2016 applicants!

Just received email from VCOM stating they are reviewing my primary. Does anyone know the turn around for receiving invite for supplemental?

Originally Posted by panaylor

Just received email from VCOM stating they are reviewing my primary. Does anyone know the turn around for receiving invite for supplemental?

I received my secondary application the same day as VCOM received my AACOMAS (primary) application. However, it may still be a little early for them to be sending a secondary out if you did not apply for early decision. Keep in mind that VCOM is selective towards applications from the region. Interviews are also more selective as VCOM only interviews 500-600 students for the class of 150 out of thousands of applications that they receive. If you receive an interview, you probably have at least a 25% chance of acceptance, so getting an interview is an accomplishment in itself.

Good Luck!

Originally Posted by tigerdude

I received my secondary application the same day as VCOM received my AACOMAS (primary) application. However, it may still be a little early for them to be sending a secondary out if you did not apply for early decision. Keep in mind that VCOM is selective towards applications from the region. Interviews are also more selective as VCOM only interviews 500-600 students for the class of 150 out of thousands of applications that they receive. If you receive an interview, you probably have at least a 25% chance of acceptance, so getting an interview is an accomplishment in itself.

Good Luck!

Thanks, I will wait patiently. Maybe even give them a buzz.... as patiently as I can anyway.

This is the second year for this school correct?

Originally Posted by Robert De Niro

This is the second year for this school correct?

Yes, the Class of 2016 will be so those applying this cycle will be the second class.

Ok I am seeking help from my fellow SDN members who are in the 2015 class. First I am an OOS, and not from appalachian area. Second my undergrad cGPA is a 3.49 and my sGPA is a 3.4. I would like to point out that both GPAs are signifacantly higher if you remove my freshmen year (both around 3.6). This was bc I transfered to another school and started to work harder in my studies. My MCAT is low at a 22 but I am retaking it in Aug. Finally, I am going to spend this year in a Biomedical graduate program.

Is it worth applying here or will I be screened out once they receive my primary? Thanks for any and all advice, and good luck to everyone!

Got the supplemental invite.
I was worried for a moment.



Good luck to all.

Originally Posted by Robert De Niro

Ok I am seeking help from my fellow SDN members who are in the 2015 class. First I am an OOS, and not from appalachian area. Second my undergrad cGPA is a 3.49 and my sGPA is a 3.4. I would like to point out that both GPAs are signifacantly higher if you remove my freshmen year (both around 3.6). This was bc I transfered to another school and started to work harder in my studies. My MCAT is low at a 22 but I am retaking it in Aug. Finally, I am going to spend this year in a Biomedical graduate program.

Is it worth applying here or will I be screened out once they receive my primary? Thanks for any and all advice, and good luck to everyone!

You are borderline at best with those stats. If your GPA was higher, then it might off set your low MCAT. But, schools don't just look at the numbers. Right a killer personal statement, don't make excuses for your low grades freshman year, but be sure to highlight the fact that your grades increased because of your maturity and strong work ethic. I don't think you will be automatically screened out, especially if you are able to do what I mentioned above. But, you will have a tough road to acceptance.

Originally Posted by SCAR17

You are borderline at best with those stats. If your GPA was higher, then it might off set your low MCAT. But, schools don't just look at the numbers. Right a killer personal statement, don't make excuses for your low grades freshman year, but be sure to highlight the fact that your grades increased because of your maturity and strong work ethic. I don't think you will be automatically screened out, especially if you are able to do what I mentioned above. But, you will have a tough road to acceptance.

Thanks for the advice. My personal statement does hit those points so I am comfortable with what I wrote. I am also hoping that if I do well in my grad program, which is similar to first year med school classes, will also increase my GPA and help off set my low MCAT (if I don't raise it in Aug.). Are you applying this year or are in med school now?

Originally Posted by Robert De Niro

Ok I am seeking help from my fellow SDN members who are in the 2015 class. First I am an OOS, and not from appalachian area. Second my undergrad cGPA is a 3.49 and my sGPA is a 3.4. I would like to point out that both GPAs are signifacantly higher if you remove my freshmen year (both around 3.6). This was bc I transfered to another school and started to work harder in my studies. My MCAT is low at a 22 but I am retaking it in Aug. Finally, I am going to spend this year in a Biomedical graduate program.

Is it worth applying here or will I be screened out once they receive my primary? Thanks for any and all advice, and good luck to everyone!

Hey, keep your head up! I had similar GPA stats along with the horrible freshman year as I was a design major and sucked at my classes. While my bad grades came up in the interview they did not seem to negatively affect the interviewers opinion of me or my abilities, it just made for interesting conversation. I'm also from way OOS (New Jersey) and it was not an issue. While your MCAT is lower it is not impossible to get in. I doubt you will be screened out due to your numbers, I know people with lower numbers matriculating in a few weeks. If you liked the school I highly suggest writing some nice secondary essays stressing that you feel this is a great school for you!

Originally Posted by karaoke910

Hey, keep your head up! I had similar GPA stats along with the horrible freshman year as I was a design major and sucked at my classes. While my bad grades came up in the interview they did not seem to negatively affect the interviewers opinion of me or my abilities, it just made for interesting conversation. I'm also from way OOS (New Jersey) and it was not an issue. While your MCAT is lower it is not impossible to get in. I doubt you will be screened out due to your numbers, I know people with lower numbers matriculating in a few weeks. If you liked the school I highly suggest writing some nice secondary essays stressing that you feel this is a great school for you!

I really appreciate your supportive words, really needed them lol. I am really starting to like to this school the more I read about it. Take care.

Notification of primary application receipt and a secondary application from VCOM today! I suppose one day without a secondary application hanging over my head was enough of a vacation. Time to get started on those essays!

Originally Posted by Robert De Niro

Thanks for the advice. My personal statement does hit those points so I am comfortable with what I wrote. I am also hoping that if I do well in my grad program, which is similar to first year med school classes, will also increase my GPA and help off set my low MCAT (if I don't raise it in Aug.). Are you applying this year or are in med school now?

I am currently top tier waitlist for VCOM-CC for 2015. School is just around the corner so I doubt I will be getting off this year, still holding out for a last minute acceptance. I have been told by Maddie that it is "highly likely" (don't you just love the ambiguity of that statement) that I will recieve an invite for early decision for class of 2016. We will see. My stats are 3.78 Science GPA, 3.68 overall GPA with a 23R MCAT. I also have a Master's Degree and I have done a fair amount of volunteer and some paid work in the medical field. Surprisingly, during my interview, they were not at all concerned with my low MCAT. I was told, verbatim by the Dean, that my late application more than likely kept me from getting an outright acceptance. I also believe my personal statement really helped me. I took a leap of faith and wrote a humorous (almost to the point of absurdity) and bluntly honest statement about my life and journey to wanting to be a doctor. I did not lie or embellish, just told it like it was. Every single person who interviewed me loved the my personal statement and said it really painted a great picture of the type of person I was and made them want to know more about me. So we will see what happens. Being on the waitlist is so bittersweet. You are so close to achieving your dream, yet it's just out of your reach. But, it is better than a flat out rejection. Good luck.

Originally Posted by SCAR17

I am currently top tier waitlist for VCOM-CC for 2015. School is just around the corner so I doubt I will be getting off this year, still holding out for a last minute acceptance. I have been told by Maddie that it is "highly likely" (don't you just love the ambiguity of that statement) that I will recieve an invite for early decision for class of 2016. We will see. My stats are 3.78 Science GPA, 3.68 overall GPA with a 23R MCAT. I also have a Master's Degree and I have done a fair amount of volunteer and some paid work in the medical field. Surprisingly, during my interview, they were not at all concerned with my low MCAT. I was told, verbatim by the Dean, that my late application more than likely kept me from getting an outright acceptance. I also believe my personal statement really helped me. I took a leap of faith and wrote a humorous (almost to the point of absurdity) and bluntly honest statement about my life and journey to wanting to be a doctor. I did not lie or embellish, just told it like it was. Every single person who interviewed me loved the my personal statement and said it really painted a great picture of the type of person I was and made them want to know more about me. So we will see what happens. Being on the waitlist is so bittersweet. You are so close to achieving your dream, yet it's just out of your reach. But, it is better than a flat out rejection. Good luck.

Just keep your fingers crossed. They have accepted a few of people of the wait list in the last two weeks. Good luck.

Jeez... these essays

I think out of all the secondary apps I've completed or have in hand, this may have the most difficult essays. The questions combined with the space limitations are killing me.

Can someone share the secondary essay's?

Originally Posted by Poliscidoc

Can someone share the secondary essay's?

Below are the essays. Keep in mind that VCOM (both campuses) heavily pre-screen applicants before sending a secondary invite. In fact, by the time you get an interview, you have been screened about 4 times. VCOM prefers to interview fewer students who they believe fit their mission goals rather than spend time and money interviewing tons of applicants. Therefore, do not work yourself into a frenzy trying to get essays finished until you receive an actual secondary invite. Good luck!

Directions: Please answer the following questions and limit your response to one-half page (for each response).

1) What are the top five qualities you feel you bring to VCOM that would enhance the overall climate of our college?

2) Osteopathic medicine parallels allopathic medicine but has principles and practices that are distinct. Which of these principles and practices are of greatest interest to you and why?

3) There are many problems facing healthcare in America today. Describe your interpretation of the status of healthcare in the United States today and those challenges the patients and physicians of tomorrow will face.

4) In the event you submitted an application to VCOM last year, what improvements have you made to your application?

The admissions office and other administrative office of the VCOM Carolinas Campus will be moving into the nearly completed building in the coming week. During that time phone and email communications may be temporarily disrupted (1-2 days at the most). Please know that the facilities are well worth it. Below is a link to some of the recent images (inside and out) from earlier in the week.

Construction Pictures - Nearing Completion

Any interview invites???

I emailed the admissions office a few days ago to confirm that they had all of my materials. They confirmed that they had everything and said, "After you receive the official e-mail stating that we have all of your materials, the admissions committee will evaluate your application. We will start interviewing in October." So it may be a little while before we hear anything about interviews.

Originally Posted by UTKpremed

I emailed the admissions office a few days ago to confirm that they had all of my materials. They confirmed that they had everything and said, "After you receive the official e-mail stating that we have all of your materials, the admissions committee will evaluate your application. We will start interviewing in October." So it may be a little while before we hear anything about interviews.

Correct. They will begin interviewing for early decision in early September with regular applicants towards late September and October. The good news is that once you interview, you do not have to wait very long. In some cases, just 24 hours.

Interview Invite!
Secondary Submitted: 8/5
Complete: 8/19

Can any of the first years comment on how things are going thus far? Are your classes running smoothly? Are your concerns being addressed? Any comments, good or bad, about your experiences so far?

Got an interview invite this morning for 9/21!

Originally Posted by whatageek

Can any of the first years comment on how things are going thus far? Are your classes running smoothly? Are your concerns being addressed? Any comments, good or bad, about your experiences so far?

Things are going pretty well. We are finishing up week 5 and just had a third round of exams today. The "official" building dedication was today as well.

Last night, a mountain of us were piled into the Milliken Science Center at Wofford studying for exams. Stressful, but a great experience. The campus is beautiful.

We look forward to seeing all of you that interview!

Originally Posted by tigerdude

Things are going pretty well. We are finishing up week 5 and just had a third round of exams today. The "official" building dedication was today as well.

Last night, a mountain of us were piled into the Milliken Science Center at Wofford studying for exams. Stressful, but a great experience. The campus is beautiful.

We look forward to seeing all of you that interview!

Sweet. This is what I was hoping to hear. It sounds like things are going well at the new campus. Thanks for the information and good luck with your exams!

Woohoo! Interview Invite for October 4th!

How heavily does this school screen? My stats are about average for this school, yet today I received an email that they have all my primary info (they have had it for a few weeks), and that they would be having a committee meeting soon to discuss sending out a secondary. Due to a high volume of applicants, it said this can take up to 2 months. Is this because I am not from the South Carolina area?

Originally Posted by wilg0013

Woohoo! Interview Invite for October 4th!

Originally Posted by fngerscrossed

How heavily does this school screen? My stats are about average for this school, yet today I received an email that they have all my primary info (they have had it for a few weeks), and that they would be having a committee meeting soon to discuss sending out a secondary. Due to a high volume of applicants, it said this can take up to 2 months. Is this because I am not from the South Carolina area?

Congrats on the invite, everyone here is excited to see the interviewees come through!


I doubt the email is because you are not from SC many of us here are not from SC. While they said it might take up to 2 months they may have just been covering in case it does take that long. Last year they had a pretty quick turn around time after their meetings which happened every other week last year, I'm not sure what it is this year. Hopefully you won't have to wait long, it's a great school!

Hi! Question about the secondary invite:

Immediately after your primary was released, did you get an e-mail from VCOM saying that they received your application and "will begin reviewing applications during the next two weeks and will be certain to follow-up with you regarding your status at that time"? Is this typical or is this foreshadowing a pre-rejection?

Edit: Ah, I see the previous SDN-ers brought up this question. Except in my e-mail it said 2 weeks so perhaps everyone will find out sooner than the previously stated 2 months?

yea, mine said that. I got the supplemental that next week

Good luck applicants! If anyone has any questions regarding the school or program, interview advice, Spartanburg or anything else feel free to email me. I remember how stressful this process was last year and am happy to give advice from the other side! Email me at nmoore@vcom.vt.edu

I applied early decision, had my interview on tuesday, and got accepted today! I am so excited! Good luck to everyone else! I don't know how I'm gonna make it all the way until next August!

Originally Posted by tigereliz

I applied early decision, had my interview on tuesday, and got accepted today! I am so excited! Good luck to everyone else! I don't know how I'm gonna make it all the way until next August!

Mind sharing your stats? And congrats on the Acceptance!¡

Anyone else interviewing next wednesday?

Have any non-early decision applicants been accepted for an interview yet?

Originally Posted by Robert De Niro

Have any non-early decision applicants been accepted for an interview yet?

Yeah, I interviewed this week and I'm not early decision, but I think this is the first week of regular decision interviews so it's still really early in their cycle.

Originally Posted by jso89

Yeah, I interviewed this week and I'm not early decision, but I think this is the first week of regular decision interviews so it's still really early in their cycle.

Thanks, sending everything in this weekend. You wouldn't mind sharing turn around time from complete and interview?

Originally Posted by Robert De Niro

Thanks, sending everything in this weekend. You wouldn't mind sharing turn around time from complete and interview?

Not at all. I submitted beginning of August, got a complete e-mail at the end of August and got a call to schedule an interview about a week later. Good luck!

Originally Posted by jso89

Not at all. I submitted beginning of August, got a complete e-mail at the end of August and got a call to schedule an interview about a week later. Good luck!

Thanks man. If you dont mind what are your stats. You do not need to share if you dont like, I'm just wondering how I compare. I have a good GPA, in grad school now, but I have a below MCAT score. Thanks again for the help.

Originally Posted by Robert De Niro

Thanks man. If you dont mind what are your stats. You do not need to share if you dont like, I'm just wondering how I compare. I have a good GPA, in grad school now, but I have a below MCAT score. Thanks again for the help.

v10 b9 p9 Q, cGPA 3.55 sGPA 3.4

Completed undergrad

I interviewed at the Carolina campus yesterday. Everyone, from the faculty down to the students, was friendly. The interviews (3 x 30 min) were incredibly laid back and very conversational. There were no stress questions or random, left field type questions. Everything was really straight forward, mostly focusing on different aspects of my application, my goals for the future, and a little bit on current topics in health care. You absolutely need solid, well reasoned explanations as to why you're pursing the DO route and why you're attracted to VCOM-CC. Those were two questions that every interviewer asked. The interviewers gave straightforward answers to all the questions I asked about 3rd and 4th year clinical rotations. You'll hear a lot about their medical missions (abroad and local), which are impressive in scope and resonate the sense of altruism embedded into the school's mission statement.

I was really impressed by VCOM-CC. The new building is sweet, and the integration of technology into the curriculum is apparent once you tour the building. The anatomy room was top notch, with self-ventilating tables. I was also impressed by the early introduction of standardized patients. I'm assuming school just started in August or so, and they were already doing their first standardized patient exam. After seeing that, there was little reason to question their ridiculously high step 2 pass rate. COMLEX step 1 pass rate, while not stunning, was good enough. We caught one of the faculty in the hallway, and he talked a good bit about the sim robots they'll be getting in (IIRC, two males, a pregnancy, and a ped patient). I'm not too sold on robotics, but it certainly sounded interesting. I left with a really good impression of the school.

I stayed at the Marriott, which is really close to the VCOM campus. It's totally swank albeit a little pricy. Don't eat in the hotel restaurants if you're looking to cut expenses. Also, if you're a really light sleeper like me you might be in for a rough night. There's a railroad track nearby and I woke up several times during the night/early morning due to trains. But, let me stress, I'm a really light sleeper. Also as a word of warning, I was held up by a train on my way in on the day of the interview. Thankfully I left really early due to my paranoia of being late.

Bottom line: Don't be stressed. I'm a complete type A personality who agonizes over everything, and I feel like it was a really laid back interview. No stress. Everyone is nice. Enjoy your time in Spartanburg.

Originally Posted by whatageek

I interviewed at the Carolina campus yesterday. Everyone, from the faculty down to the students, was friendly. The interviews (3 x 30 min) were incredibly laid back and very conversational. There were no stress questions or random, left field type questions. Everything was really straight forward, mostly focusing on different aspects of my application, my goals for the future, and a little bit on current topics in health care. You absolutely need solid, well reasoned explanations as to why you're pursing the DO route and why you're attracted to VCOM-CC. Those were two questions that every interviewer asked. The interviewers gave straightforward answers to all the questions I asked about 3rd and 4th year clinical rotations. You'll hear a lot about their medical missions (abroad and local), which are impressive in scope and resonate the sense of altruism embedded into the school's mission statement.

I was really impressed by VCOM-CC. The new building is sweet, and the integration of technology into the curriculum is apparent once you tour the building. The anatomy room was top notch, with self-ventilating tables. I was also impressed by the early introduction of standardized patients. I'm assuming school just started in August or so, and they were already doing their first standardized patient exam. After seeing that, there was little reason to question their ridiculously high step 2 pass rate. COMLEX step 1 pass rate, while not stunning, was good enough. We caught one of the faculty in the hallway, and he talked a good bit about the sim robots they'll be getting in (IIRC, two males, a pregnancy, and a ped patient). I'm not too sold on robotics, but it certainly sounded interesting. I left with a really good impression of the school.

Also as a word of warning, I was held up by a train on my way in on the day of the interview. Thankfully I left really early due to my paranoia of being late.

Bottom line: Don't be stressed. I'm a complete type A personality who agonizes over everything, and I feel like it was a really laid back interview. No stress. Everyone is nice. Enjoy your time in Spartanburg.

I completely agree with everything you said, verbatim. I interviewed yesterday and I got the same exact vibe from the interview, although I didn't stay in a hotel. Luckily, I had a few friends up there and one was nice enough to let me crash at his place. I will say, I interviewed first with Paulman and I wasn't sure how to take him but I guess I did okay as I just got a call from Mattie saying that I was accepted! What an awesome feeling!

Originally Posted by xlcooplx

I completely agree with everything you said, verbatim. I interviewed yesterday and I got the same exact vibe from the interview, although I didn't stay in a hotel. Luckily, I had a few friends up there and one was nice enough to let me crash at his place. I will say, I interviewed first with Paulman and I wasn't sure how to take him but I guess I did okay as I just got a call from Mattie saying that I was accepted! What an awesome feeling!

Congrats! I got an acceptance call today as well. It definitely takes some pressure off. to everyone schedule to interview.

Alright, I had two traffic violations when I was 17. One was a speeding ticket that I paid a fine for, and the other was running a red light which I took to court which got the charge dismissed so no violation is on my record. I am 23 now and havent had anything since then. Does VCOM really want me to disclose this info, and will it hurt me come admission?

Originally Posted by whatageek

Congrats! I got an acceptance call today as well. It definitely takes some pressure off. to everyone schedule to interview.

Good to hear! Congrats to you as well! I've got a few more interviews. I hope that they can measure up to VCOM. I was really impressed with the school.

Originally Posted by Robert De Niro

Alright, I had two traffic violations when I was 17. One was a speeding ticket that I paid a fine for, and the other was running a red light which I took to court which got the charge dismissed so no violation is on my record. I am 23 now and havent had anything since then. Does VCOM really want me to disclose this info, and will it hurt me come admission?

From what Mattie was saying yesterday, they want to make sure that your record is clean. Obviously, moving violations aren't a big issue unless its something like a DUI. I think they just want to make sure that nothing will interfere with you when a hospital runs a background check on you. So to answer your question, I don't think that you have to put it down, but I don't think that it will hurt you if you did.

To all of you who have been accepted, Congrats! I was also a part of the early decision and am very excited to be heading to Spartanburg next year! If you also know you are going to be heading to VCOM - CC next fall, there is a facebook site for us! Check out: VCOM Class of 2016: Carolinas Campus!

Good luck to everyone and if you have any questions, please feel free to ask! Looking forward to meeting you all!

Hi all,

I withdrew my interview invitation from this school last week. Hope it goes to one of you guys. Best of luck.