PCOM-GA Discussion Thread 2011-2012

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New year, new discussion here!

No posts for GA yet. Is any one else applying or should I be expecting automatic acceptance due to lack of applications?

Any current students want to leave some tips/advice?

Originally Posted by carp56

No posts for GA yet. Is any one else applying or should I be expecting automatic acceptance due to lack of applications?

Any current students want to leave some tips/advice?

I can't speak for the last admissions cycle, but my class had over 3,000 applications for 86 seats. So no, there is no automatic acceptance, we're kind of a big deal

I'm a 1st year transitioning into 2nd year. If you have any specific questions, feel free to post here or PM me. Good luck to you and the rest of the pre-med hopefuls!

Good luck to all the applicants this cycle

Hi everyone! I'll be applying to PCOM-GA as soon as AACOMAS verifies my application. I'll be visiting my parents next week. They live about an hour from PCOM-GA, so I was planning on at least driving by the facilities to take a peak. Given that it's summer, does anyone think there would be any benefit in arranging something formal?

Originally Posted by whatageek

Hi everyone! I'll be applying to PCOM-GA as soon as AACOMAS verifies my application. I'll be visiting my parents next week. They live about an hour from PCOM-GA, so I was planning on at least driving by the facilities to take a peak. Given that it's summer, does anyone think there would be any benefit in arranging something formal?

You're more than welcome to have a tour of the school, but you might be better off waiting until later towards the end of the summer. Right now, there is a lot of construction going on to accommodate for the larger class size. Both the library and the OMM lab are going through some major overhauls, so you either 1) won't be able to go in or 2) you'll need to use your imagination to see what it would like. I think the anatomy lab is also undergoing construction, but I haven't seen it, so I don't know for sure. So really, you won't be able to get a clear picture of what the building really looks like until school starts again in August, it's up to you.

Good luck on your application process!

Originally Posted by jesscsanchez

You're more than welcome to have a tour of the school, but you might be better off waiting until later towards the end of the summer. Right now, there is a lot of construction going on to accommodate for the larger class size. Both the library and the OMM lab are going through some major overhauls, so you either 1) won't be able to go in or 2) you'll need to use your imagination to see what it would like. I think the anatomy lab is also undergoing construction, but I haven't seen it, so I don't know for sure. So really, you won't be able to get a clear picture of what the building really looks like until school starts again in August, it's up to you.

Good luck on your application process!

Thanks for your reply. I think I'll take your advice and hold off on a formal visit until the fall. I still may drive by just to see exactly where y'all are situated and get a feel for the surrounding area. Thanks for the information!

Hello everyone,

Does anyone know if PCOM accepts science faculty/professors LORs instead of a pre-medical advisor or pre-medical committee LOR?

I don't have the latter, but I do have science faculty, MD, and DO LORs. Hope someone can help me out!

thanks

Originally Posted by whatageek

Thanks for your reply. I think I'll take your advice and hold off on a formal visit until the fall. I still may drive by just to see exactly where y'all are situated and get a feel for the surrounding area. Thanks for the information!

Obviously feel free to drive by, but just so you aware the school is a building in an industrial park.

Inside is great, and it is my #2 pick (I have a local allo school that is 40% of the cost so that is #1 overall for obvious reasons) but just be forewarned that if you are expecting a traditional college campus GA-PCOM is not it.

That said, I did tour there earlier this Spring and enjoyed it but if they are doing construction you won't get much from the tour right now.

Originally Posted by LifeTake2

Obviously feel free to drive by, but just so you aware the school is a building in an industrial park.

Inside is great, and it is my #2 pick (I have a local allo school that is 40% of the cost so that is #1 overall for obvious reasons) but just be forewarned that if you are expecting a traditional college campus GA-PCOM is not it.

That said, I did tour there earlier this Spring and enjoyed it but if they are doing construction you won't get much from the tour right now.

they are doing a lot of construction and are making some awesome improvements. Just did a tour last week (I am an incoming 1st yr) and they are making everything even better than it already was. A lot more big screen monitors around classrooms/anatomy lab, completely re-doing OMM lab, and providing brand all brand new computer equipment for our class.

And yes, MCG is cheaper but you have to live in dis-Gusta!

Originally Posted by TwoBits

Hello everyone,

Does anyone know if PCOM accepts science faculty/professors LORs instead of a pre-medical advisor or pre-medical committee LOR?

I don't have the latter, but I do have science faculty, MD, and DO LORs. Hope someone can help me out!

thanks

No, they are very strict about the advisor/committee letter. Trust me, I missed out last year because my advisor LOR was not on official letterhead. I didn't find this out until the end of the cycle when I called and asked why I was not offered an interview.

I'm reapplying with my LOR situation fixed. Hoping for the best

Has anyone received the secondary yet?

I was wondering the same thing....where are the secondaries??

Originally Posted by TwoBits

Hello everyone,

Does anyone know if PCOM accepts science faculty/professors LORs instead of a pre-medical advisor or pre-medical committee LOR?

I don't have the latter, but I do have science faculty, MD, and DO LORs. Hope someone can help me out!

thanks

I recently emailed Admissions about a similar question. My message and their response contained below. (Note my humorous typo...) I wasn't premed when I got my B.S. so no adviser for me. I emailed the Dean and presented my academic qualifications and he wrote me a great letter. Might work for you.

Dead Sir or Madam,

I am currently completing my prerequisites at a separate institution than the one I graduated from. Is it possible to submit a recommendation letter from the school I am currently attending or must it come from the institution where I graduated from? Thanks,

REPLY:
You can submit a letter from the school where you are taking your prereqs as a supporting letter, however the REQUIRED letter MUST come from your Undergraduate Advisor, Committee or office of the Dean from the school from which you graduated.

Originally Posted by MedicineMike

they are doing a lot of construction and are making some awesome improvements. Just did a tour last week (I am an incoming 1st yr) and they are making everything even better than it already was. A lot more big screen monitors around classrooms/anatomy lab, completely re-doing OMM lab, and providing brand all brand new computer equipment for our class.

And yes, MCG is cheaper but you have to live in dis-Gusta!

hey Mike, I was there last week too.. I didn't see any of the new stuff can you give me an idea what you heard they were doing? I went into a PharmD room and saw some big screen tv's in teh classroom.. is that kinda what our bigger class is gonna have ?

what technology stuff did u hear about? just curious!!! when you moving down?

Originally Posted by prone2xl

hey Mike, I was there last week too.. I didn't see any of the new stuff can you give me an idea what you heard they were doing? I went into a PharmD room and saw some big screen tv's in teh classroom.. is that kinda what our bigger class is gonna have ?

what technology stuff did u hear about? just curious!!! when you moving down?

Hey man, they said they were putting a lot more tables and TVs in the OMM lab, lecture halls, and a few bigger monitors in the anatomy lab. I also think they are expanding the classroom somehow to fit our bigger class. The library was gutted (electronic wise) and they said that they are getting all brand new computers in the library by time we start.

I think I wont be heading down there until about Aug 1st or so...

Did anyone receive secondaries yet from PCOM-GA? Or any updates in general?

Originally Posted by SilenceDoBad

I recently emailed Admissions about a similar question. My message and their response contained below. (Note my humorous typo...) I wasn't premed when I got my B.S. so no adviser for me. I emailed the Dean and presented my academic qualifications and he wrote me a great letter. Might work for you.

Dead Sir or Madam,

I am currently completing my prerequisites at a separate institution than the one I graduated from. Is it possible to submit a recommendation letter from the school I am currently attending or must it come from the institution where I graduated from? Thanks,

REPLY:
You can submit a letter from the school where you are taking your prereqs as a supporting letter, however the REQUIRED letter MUST come from your Undergraduate Advisor, Committee or office of the Dean from the school from which you graduated.

I'm in the same situation and this is exactly what I was told as well. They basically said the "Dean's Letter" just needs to state that I graduated in good academic standing from my undergraduate institution. Hello, hoop. I will jump through you now. I guess it's just all part of the application game. Maybe they're just trying to find out how well we follow directions.

Originally Posted by whatageek

I'm in the same situation and this is exactly what I was told as well. They basically said the "Dean's Letter" just needs to state that I graduated in good academic standing from my undergraduate institution. Hello, hoop. I will jump through you now. I guess it's just all part of the application game. Maybe they're just trying to find out how well we follow directions.

Ya, I have to go through the same hoop. What's great is that where was no Dean at my college while I attended--the position was vacant for years. Since then, they went through two of them in the last two-three years. My college forwarded me to the registrar and they were really confused by my request. See said, "So you just want me to create a letter that says the same thing as your transcripts?"

LORs are a really fun time.

Originally Posted by tcritty

Ya, I have to go through the same hoop. What's great is that where was no Dean at my college while I attended--the position was vacant for years. Since then, they went through two of them in the last two-three years. My college forwarded me to the registrar and they were really confused by my request. See said, "So you just want me to create a letter that says the same thing as your transcripts?"

LORs are a really fun time.

I used my academic advisor who was the "Dean" of the college that my major was in. Not the Dean of the entire university.

Did anyone hear back from this school yet? I haven't gotten a single email from them since my primary was submitted (June).

I did hear back from PCOM-PA saying that they would send out their secondaries by August 12th.

Originally Posted by tcritty

Ya, I have to go through the same hoop. What's great is that where was no Dean at my college while I attended--the position was vacant for years. Since then, they went through two of them in the last two-three years. My college forwarded me to the registrar and they were really confused by my request. See said, "So you just want me to create a letter that says the same thing as your transcripts?"

LORs are a really fun time.

So i just sent an email to my advisor about the letter and she wrote back that PCOM will accept 2 science letters from my university in place of an advisor letter...sounds like she either is a lazy advisor or PCOM wont mind...probably should email PCOM about this

Crickets.

Originally Posted by IDFsoldierboy

So i just sent an email to my advisor about the letter and she wrote back that PCOM will accept 2 science letters from my university in place of an advisor letter...sounds like she either is a lazy advisor or PCOM wont mind...probably should email PCOM about this

Email PCOM about this first! I have never heard that and in my experience PCOM-GA was very strict about the advisor LOR requirement. They didn't even look at my application last year because my advisor letter wasn't on letterhead.

Com'on, PCOM-Ga! Being only an hour from my hometown, this place is absolutely one of my top choices. I'm antsy to get this process started. Any new info on whether the secondary app is being issued today?

Originally Posted by whatageek

Com'on, PCOM-Ga! Being only an hour from my hometown, this place is absolutely one of my top choices. I'm antsy to get this process started. Any new info on whether the secondary app is being issued today?

Other than one person on the PCOM thread getting a secondary, I haven't heard anything new.

Originally Posted by mtmed

Other than one person on the PCOM thread getting a secondary, I haven't heard anything new.

That sounds promising.

I have my secondary as of 45 min ago

Originally Posted by SBB2016

I have my secondary as of 45 min ago

Same. The essay is completely new this year. The topic and word limit are posted in the PCOM-Philly forum already.

Finally got my secondary from them today! I've been complete at this school since early July.

If anyone is having technical trouble filling out the secondary, check out the PCOM-Philly thread for suggestions (amidst the bemoaning). It looks like some people are just opting to submit via paper due to complications and frustrations. I'm not having any problems using Adobe Professional thus far.

That's what I was told to do too. Admission just told me to mail them all my documents.

does anyone know what address we should send in the letters? I tried to look for it and found regular one, but I don't want to send them to wrong address.

Originally Posted by komikos

does anyone know what address we should send in the letters? I tried to look for it and found regular one, but I don't want to send them to wrong address.

I mailed mine to:

Office of Admissions
Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine
4170 City Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19131

I got it from the website. Hopefully that's the correct address.

Interfolio lists the LORs go to an address in Atlanta, but that it's electronic so who knows where they really go.

Hey ....I haven't posted in about a year, but I was wondering for those of you that are complete at PCOM, did they send you an email stating that you were and about how long did it take?....TIA

Did anyone else not receive their "PCOM User ID" in the acknowledgement e-mail? On the secondary it says that it is mandatory, but I was never given one.

Originally Posted by vandyam

Did anyone else not receive their "PCOM User ID" in the acknowledgement e-mail? On the secondary it says that it is mandatory, but I was never given one.

It is the number in the Subject line of the email and not in the actual email itself.

Has anyone gotten a complete email or an interview invite for PCOM-GA yet?

Originally Posted by whatageek

Has anyone gotten a complete email or an interview invite for PCOM-GA yet?

Nope. they cashed the check tho

Originally Posted by mtmed

Nope. they cashed the check tho

Same here. Mine was just cashed on Friday though, so it's way too early for me to worry. I was just curious to see where they were in the process.

About 1.5wks ago I talked to the admissions office and they said interview invites would start "after labor day"

Looks like Philly campus has started based upon SDN, it would be nice to hear from GA since it is my 1st pick.

received the "complete" email this evening. mailed in secondary 8/23.

has anyone been offered an interview?

Originally Posted by Veggies

received the "complete" email this evening. mailed in secondary 8/23.

has anyone been offered an interview?

If you don't mind answering, when did they cash your secondary fee check? Your submission date is really close to mine. It has me a little worried that there's a miscommunication with one of my required letters. Did you use interfolio for your letters? I heard there were issues with it. I don't want to call and be a bother until I'm sure there's a problem

Originally Posted by whatageek

If you don't mind answering, when did they cash your secondary fee check? Your submission date is really close to mine. It has me a little worried that there's a miscommunication with one of my required letters. Did you use interfolio for your letters? I heard there were issues with it. I don't want to call and be a bother until I'm sure there's a problem

the lady in admissions told me they've been having problems with interfolio. I would call.

Originally Posted by mtmed

the lady in admissions told me they've been having problems with interfolio. I would call.

Crap. Do y'all know if everything regarding admissions is directed to the Philly campus regardless of which campus one applies to?

Originally Posted by whatageek

Crap. Do y'all know if everything regarding admissions is directed to the Philly campus regardless of which campus one applies to?

My app online when I could finally check my status said I was missing my school LOR. I am applying to both PCOM's and had issue with both. I called the Philly PCOM and told them the issue and they found my letter and updated my app and I asked if this will also flow through to GA app as well and she said yes. So I get the feeling it is all consolidated in Philly for both campuses.

Originally Posted by GlimmerGlass

My app online when I could finally check my status said I was missing my school LOR. I am applying to both PCOM's and had issue with both. I called the Philly PCOM and told them the issue and they found my letter and updated my app and I asked if this will also flow through to GA app as well and she said yes. So I get the feeling it is all consolidated in Philly for both campuses.

There's a way to check your status online? Whoa, I missed that one. Apparently I slept through that part of the email. Time to go check this out. Thanks for the info!

Originally Posted by whatageek

If you don't mind answering, when did they cash your secondary fee check? Your submission date is really close to mine. It has me a little worried that there's a miscommunication with one of my required letters. Did you use interfolio for your letters? I heard there were issues with it. I don't want to call and be a bother until I'm sure there's a problem

Seems it was cashed Aug 26

Originally Posted by Veggies

Seems it was cashed Aug 26

Thanks! You must be much closer to Philly than me. It took them several days longer to cash my check despite submitting only a day behind. Being patient is difficult.

Is it true that PCOM will not interview/accept people with anything less than an 8 in each MCAT sub-section?