2011-2012 The Commonwealth Medical College Application Thread

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Don15 said:
I wasn't even aware they give straight rejections, I haven't heard anything since june when I submitted. Did they email you?
Click to expand...

Yup email sent with the rejection
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docbrill said:
Thanks for the explanation, I didn't know any of this. I was complete 07/25. So they don't send applications to screeners based on stats? Hmm, okay. I guess I need to be a little more patient :)
Click to expand...

:laugh: Yeah I'm in the same boat...complete 7/26 and haven't been sent to the screeners. It's too bad about the non-rolling admissions, especially for how crazy that secondary was. Good luck anyway!
 
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Does anyone know if you can send more than 3 letters of recommendations?
 
I am flying to Scranton now. If anyone is interviewing sept 12th and will be there tonight PM me. We should catch some dinner and grab a brew.
 
Last edited:
So I just interviewed there on the 12th, and here's my experience.

First of all, the interview process is different than before. The way it worked for me is that you get an email with a bunch of available dates, and you schedule whatever is convenient for you.

The interview day looks like this:

9:30 Check in (they give u a little mini intro and hi and stuff)
10: Interview #1 - Faculty
1030: Interivew #2 - Student (the order of the interviews can vary definitely).
11-12 - some presentations about curriculum and the school
12-1 lunch
1-2 tour
2-20 they'll take u in one by one. it's called the exit interview. you'll meet with an admissions committee for 5 minutes or so. the ad com actually knows ur grades. they'll see if you have any feedback about your interview day... again, my guy was pretty amazing haha. we had a ton of fun just talking. we almost ran out of time too haha... and he'll tell u some minor comments about ur mcat/gpa and it's strictly private just u and an adcome... if they have any questions or concerns they'll bring them up... for me, i just told him that despite the fact that i'm from california, i'd be down to live in PA and i'd be down to my residency in PA (if I get in of course)... I wasn't making this up: I really would live here if I get into residency there

(Note: The interviews are designed to be very conversational/laid back. They are semi-blind, which means the person interviewing you would have read your PS and secondaries, but won't know ur gpa or mcat. They do that on purpose because they don't want to cloud the interviewer's judgment of you; moreover, they do that because they want to see if you are qualified to be a physician outside of the academic picture. they really stress service to humanities and stuff. my interviewer was the coolest person ever (Dr. Tracy). He was very laid back, and we just talked forever... My Student interviewer was a cool guy, but it was his first time doing it. Anyways, I had fun interviewing with both of them!)

PS: I had a lot of fun with my interviews, but some of the people there got pretty hard/ethical questions haha... it was interesting, but idk i didn't have any of that, so i'll leave someone else to comment on that haha...

the staff is VERY excited to have u. Everyone is so friendly. I come from california, so Scranton was pretty small, but i loved the whole community feeling.

Everyone that said this school is selective is right haha. They like PA residents. Their breakdown is roughly 70% PA area and 30% CA. don't stress over this too much. once you're granted the interview, if you're a decent human being who wants to help the community, u won't be discriminated against because of residence...

tips for applicants: this school is really into its community and they to train u to be their physicians, so just keep that in mind when writing ur stuff. they really do like u, and they want u to succeed. they are really into community service and contribution to surroundings (not necessarily medical contributions). the whole town is excited about the med school. also, they are helping out the places that were just flooded haha... so yea it's awesome. you'll be very excited when u get there.

the new building is now open. everything is there. no more lackawanna community college which is pretty tight. everything is up to date. as a med student, u get 24/7 access to the building and everything.

there is a student lounge and everything

the M1s were very excited to be there and were happy to help answer questions.

the M2s weren't very talkative, but they were helpful...we just had to pick their brain lol...


lastly, they're not ready to reject anyone. they have a unique way of determining who gets in and who doesn't. they'll explain in more thorough detail at the interview, but essentially if you don't hear back, that's good news. it means they're still considering you. so they consider u with the people that were just interviewed. it'll make more sense when u hear it from them.

hope this was helpful for everyone who is getting ready to go to the interivew.


if u have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me. i'd be happy to chit chat with u for a lil about this school. i really like haha!!!
 
hey everyone-what is the username and password we use when logging into the status checking page? my original pin isn't working, so i assume it's something else?
 
eh400149 said:
hey everyone-what is the username and password we use when logging into the status checking page? my original pin isn't working, so i assume it's something else?
Click to expand...

I know your username is your first initial and then your last name (example: if your name is John Smith your username would be jsmith) and your password is the last 4 digits of your social security number but once you are in you can change your password to whatever you want.
 
Hey guys i have a question on filling out the secondary questions.

1. How do you insert a space b/w paragraphs? I insert a line in between each paragraph, but then on the main sheet, the blank line disappears.

Thanks
 
KiroMD said:
So I just interviewed there on the 12th, and here's my experience.

First of all, the interview process is different than before. The way it worked for me is that you get an email with a bunch of available dates, and you schedule whatever is convenient for you.

The interview day looks like this:

9:30 Check in (they give u a little mini intro and hi and stuff)
10: Interview #1 - Faculty
1030: Interivew #2 - Student (the order of the interviews can vary definitely).
11-12 - some presentations about curriculum and the school
12-1 lunch
1-2 tour
2-20 they'll take u in one by one. it's called the exit interview. you'll meet with an admissions committee for 5 minutes or so. the ad com actually knows ur grades. they'll see if you have any feedback about your interview day... again, my guy was pretty amazing haha. we had a ton of fun just talking. we almost ran out of time too haha... and he'll tell u some minor comments about ur mcat/gpa and it's strictly private just u and an adcome... if they have any questions or concerns they'll bring them up... for me, i just told him that despite the fact that i'm from california, i'd be down to live in PA and i'd be down to my residency in PA (if I get in of course)... I wasn't making this up: I really would live here if I get into residency there

(Note: The interviews are designed to be very conversational/laid back. They are semi-blind, which means the person interviewing you would have read your PS and secondaries, but won't know ur gpa or mcat. They do that on purpose because they don't want to cloud the interviewer's judgment of you; moreover, they do that because they want to see if you are qualified to be a physician outside of the academic picture. they really stress service to humanities and stuff. my interviewer was the coolest person ever (Dr. Tracy). He was very laid back, and we just talked forever... My Student interviewer was a cool guy, but it was his first time doing it. Anyways, I had fun interviewing with both of them!)

PS: I had a lot of fun with my interviews, but some of the people there got pretty hard/ethical questions haha... it was interesting, but idk i didn't have any of that, so i'll leave someone else to comment on that haha...

the staff is VERY excited to have u. Everyone is so friendly. I come from california, so Scranton was pretty small, but i loved the whole community feeling.

Everyone that said this school is selective is right haha. They like PA residents. Their breakdown is roughly 70% PA area and 30% CA. don't stress over this too much. once you're granted the interview, if you're a decent human being who wants to help the community, u won't be discriminated against because of residence...

tips for applicants: this school is really into its community and they to train u to be their physicians, so just keep that in mind when writing ur stuff. they really do like u, and they want u to succeed. they are really into community service and contribution to surroundings (not necessarily medical contributions). the whole town is excited about the med school. also, they are helping out the places that were just flooded haha... so yea it's awesome. you'll be very excited when u get there.

the new building is now open. everything is there. no more lackawanna community college which is pretty tight. everything is up to date. as a med student, u get 24/7 access to the building and everything.

there is a student lounge and everything

the M1s were very excited to be there and were happy to help answer questions.

the M2s weren't very talkative, but they were helpful...we just had to pick their brain lol...


lastly, they're not ready to reject anyone. they have a unique way of determining who gets in and who doesn't. they'll explain in more thorough detail at the interview, but essentially if you don't hear back, that's good news. it means they're still considering you. so they consider u with the people that were just interviewed. it'll make more sense when u hear it from them.

hope this was helpful for everyone who is getting ready to go to the interivew.


if u have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me. i'd be happy to chit chat with u for a lil about this school. i really like haha!!!
Click to expand...
Thanks for the detailed review. Who is the lunch with, like professors or anything? Is the faculty interviewer always a clinical faculty? Thats what the website said I believe.
 
Recently sent to the screeners. Do people also get rejected after this update? Hoping for an II! :xf:
 
Members don't see this ad :)
KiroMD said:
So I just interviewed there on the 12th, and here's my experience.

First of all, the interview process is different than before. The way it worked for me is that you get an email with a bunch of available dates, and you schedule whatever is convenient for you.

The interview day looks like this:

9:30 Check in (they give u a little mini intro and hi and stuff)
10: Interview #1 - Faculty
1030: Interivew #2 - Student (the order of the interviews can vary definitely).
11-12 - some presentations about curriculum and the school
12-1 lunch
1-2 tour
2-20 they'll take u in one by one. it's called the exit interview. you'll meet with an admissions committee for 5 minutes or so. the ad com actually knows ur grades. they'll see if you have any feedback about your interview day... again, my guy was pretty amazing haha. we had a ton of fun just talking. we almost ran out of time too haha... and he'll tell u some minor comments about ur mcat/gpa and it's strictly private just u and an adcome... if they have any questions or concerns they'll bring them up... for me, i just told him that despite the fact that i'm from california, i'd be down to live in PA and i'd be down to my residency in PA (if I get in of course)... I wasn't making this up: I really would live here if I get into residency there

(Note: The interviews are designed to be very conversational/laid back. They are semi-blind, which means the person interviewing you would have read your PS and secondaries, but won't know ur gpa or mcat. They do that on purpose because they don't want to cloud the interviewer's judgment of you; moreover, they do that because they want to see if you are qualified to be a physician outside of the academic picture. they really stress service to humanities and stuff. my interviewer was the coolest person ever (Dr. Tracy). He was very laid back, and we just talked forever... My Student interviewer was a cool guy, but it was his first time doing it. Anyways, I had fun interviewing with both of them!)

PS: I had a lot of fun with my interviews, but some of the people there got pretty hard/ethical questions haha... it was interesting, but idk i didn't have any of that, so i'll leave someone else to comment on that haha...

the staff is VERY excited to have u. Everyone is so friendly. I come from california, so Scranton was pretty small, but i loved the whole community feeling.

Everyone that said this school is selective is right haha. They like PA residents. Their breakdown is roughly 70% PA area and 30% CA. don't stress over this too much. once you're granted the interview, if you're a decent human being who wants to help the community, u won't be discriminated against because of residence...

tips for applicants: this school is really into its community and they to train u to be their physicians, so just keep that in mind when writing ur stuff. they really do like u, and they want u to succeed. they are really into community service and contribution to surroundings (not necessarily medical contributions). the whole town is excited about the med school. also, they are helping out the places that were just flooded haha... so yea it's awesome. you'll be very excited when u get there.

the new building is now open. everything is there. no more lackawanna community college which is pretty tight. everything is up to date. as a med student, u get 24/7 access to the building and everything.

there is a student lounge and everything

the M1s were very excited to be there and were happy to help answer questions.

the M2s weren't very talkative, but they were helpful...we just had to pick their brain lol...


lastly, they're not ready to reject anyone. they have a unique way of determining who gets in and who doesn't. they'll explain in more thorough detail at the interview, but essentially if you don't hear back, that's good news. it means they're still considering you. so they consider u with the people that were just interviewed. it'll make more sense when u hear it from them.

hope this was helpful for everyone who is getting ready to go to the interivew.


if u have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me. i'd be happy to chit chat with u for a lil about this school. i really like haha!!!
Click to expand...
this is very informative. thank you!

wow this thread is pretty inactive. am i the only one who got interview invite email yesterday?
 
Hey guys! Did you happen to get a complete e-mail? My letters have still not been uploaded to the site since the beginning of september, and no one is picking up the phone. Thanks!
 
Stoich08 said:
Hey guys! Did you happen to get a complete e-mail? My letters have still not been uploaded to the site since the beginning of september, and no one is picking up the phone. Thanks!
Click to expand...

Ya, I did receive a complete email.
 
My status still says Holding for MCAT scores (which I got back the 20th). I emailed them yesterday, but no response. Hopefully it will be automatically added, and I will go through their system soon :/
 
Can someone please tell me how they received their Username and Password to check their status? Did TCMC send you your username and password via email?

I know I got the pin# in the original secondary email, but the pin# in combination with my email address no longer lets me into the system.
Thanks!
 
aint settling said:
Can someone please tell me how they received their Username and Password to check their status? Did TCMC send you your username and password via email?

I know I got the pin# in the original secondary email, but the pin# in combination with my email address no longer lets me into the system.
Thanks!
Click to expand...

i think let say you are john smith, then it would be jsmith, at least that's how it is for me. It is different from secondary username. the password should be the same though, at least for me. hope that helps.
 
Under my status thing, it says Interview Pending, does that mean I'm getting an invite soon? :scared:
 
Complete: 7/27
Sent to screeners: 9/28

=Looks like they are VERY BUSY!
 
can someone tell me how low it took them to have their LORs show up as received on their application? how long did it take to have your online portal reflect that your secondary was recieved?

I submitted this secondary about a week ago and my online applicat status just reflects that my AMCAS was received and my fee was paid. nothing less nothing more.

My AMCAS LORs were received by AMCAS weeks ago and I submitted.

Thanks for the help!
 
aint settling said:
can someone tell me how low it took them to have their LORs show up as received on their application? how long did it take to have your online portal reflect that your secondary was recieved?

I submitted this secondary about a week ago and my online applicat status just reflects that my AMCAS was received and my fee was paid. nothing less nothing more.

My AMCAS LORs were received by AMCAS weeks ago and I submitted.

Thanks for the help!
Click to expand...

mine says AMCAS received 7/25
app fee paid 8/25
complete 8/26
sent to screeners 9/28
interview pending 10/4

so mine doesn't say anything about LORs specifically, but they definitely received them because I was marked complete within a day.
 
Emilyyyy said:
mine says AMCAS received 7/25
app fee paid 8/25
complete 8/26
sent to screeners 9/28
interview pending 10/4

so mine doesn't say anything about LORs specifically, but they definitely received them because I was marked complete within a day.
Click to expand...

I think I was complete back in mid-July and I haven't been sent to the screeners at all. I guess this means that I've been skipped over :scared:
 
satellite8 said:
I think I was complete back in mid-July and I haven't been sent to the screeners at all. I guess this means that I've been skipped over :scared:
Click to expand...

I think someone said they send them in random bunches, so I think I got lucky :confused: they are non-rolling admissions, right?
 
big rudy said:
Could someone that has already interviewed comment on what time everything was finished up? 2:30pm? 3pm? I want to make sure it's reasonable to catch the 4pm bus to Philadelphia after my interview.
Click to expand...

So they have "exit interviews" that begin at 2.30 and there are 2-3 interviewers across all applicants. I'm not aware if the order was random/ non random but I was finished around 3.30 if I recall correctly. I'm sure if you let them know at the start of the day that you have a 4pm commitment they can probably schedule you as one of the earlier exit interviews.
 
Wow, I was also sent to screeners 9/28. It is like they send them in batches.
lol, saying "sent to screeners" feels like I'm saying "sent to butchers" ...don't know why hahahaha but that is the connection made in the wacky place called my mind.

complete: 8/16

Extra Info for those perusing SDN:
I grew up in a suburban area and go to a huge school (starts with in R, hint hint) in New Brunswick, so my ideal locations are on both ends of the spectrum lol. I'd really like a school in or near a small town (I love the sense of community from a tight knit community) or a school in a really busy city (like New York) more than a school in the middle, but I'm not going to be picky! lol
 
I have submitted my secondary over a week ago and still have not been marked complete. How long does it typically take?

My status online just stays:
App Fee Paid or Waived
AMCAS Application Received

....still not "Complete"
 
prim app on june 26
verified july 21
sent sec app on aug 1st.
complete mid aug.
they sent the notice to screeners on oct 6th, but i havent recieved anyting..

i kept checking on the interview status and it says, "No appointment to be scheduled for application year 2012."
this was up as soon as my app was complete, not after my app was sent to screeners.
does this mean i am rejected?
 
ilubse7en said:
prim app on june 26
verified july 21
sent sec app on aug 1st.
complete mid aug.
they sent the notice to screeners on oct 6th, but i havent recieved anyting..

i kept checking on the interview status and it says, "No appointment to be scheduled for application year 2012."
this was up as soon as my app was complete, not after my app was sent to screeners.
does this mean i am rejected?
Click to expand...

no it does not mean rejected. other people got it (and I do too!). It just means at the moment no appointment can be scheduled.
 
chocofudges said:
no it does not mean rejected. other people got it (and I do too!). It just means at the moment no appointment can be scheduled.
Click to expand...

thank you so much!!!
i wish i read this before i sent them an email, let me ask you another question, when they say it was sent to the screeners, what does it mean?
 
ilubse7en said:
thank you so much!!!
i wish i read this before i sent them an email, let me ask you another question, when they say it was sent to the screeners, what does it mean?
Click to expand...

I am pretty sure it means that it's been sent to the review committee...aka, it is under review.
 
chocofudges said:
I am pretty sure it means that it's been sent to the review committee...aka, it is under review.
Click to expand...

thank you, but seriously, it's been 45 days to get from complete to sent to screeners, its sad to hear that they haven't even seen my app yet...:(
 
Interview in ~6days. Anyone else on the 14th?? I am so excited. I can't wait. Good luck to everyone waiting to hear back:luck:
 
ilubse7en said:
thank you, but seriously, it's been 45 days to get from complete to sent to screeners, its sad to hear that they haven't even seen my app yet...:(
Click to expand...

It took 11 weeks for my application to go from complete to screeners :(
 
Me too, but I think once you are at the screeners, you will be decided upon relatively quickly. I think TCMC is actually being more transparent by updating us with this information. It could be true for other medical schools as well.
 
Interviewed here last month and had a great experience! If anyone has any questions, feel free to ask me.

Also, the school is on probation for financial reasons (not academic... which puts TCMC in a much better situation). Furthermore, numerous well-known med schools around the country have been in this exact predicament and made it out... look it up. Apparently the Dean of the school used to be on the accreditation board and knows exactly what to do and how to do it about getting the school off probation --- everyone was extremely confident with TCMC's future at the interview which I found to be very comforting.

Good luck to everyone! :)
 
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