2017-2018 William Carey University College of Osteopathic Medicine (WCU-COM)

[Njp46]

Really? I recently got an II and they only gave me one interview day option which is in April. Do they typically offer people only one day when they have other days available?

I was only offered one interview day option back in October, so it’s possible they just offer day by day.


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[StudentDoctorAnon]

Really? I recently got an II and they only gave me one interview day option which is in April. Do they typically offer people only one day when they have other days available?

I don't know? I was only offered one interview optional last year when I interviewed. But last year was weird because the Tornado threw everything off it seems. Seems like this year they have kept the interview groups really small. Like 5 to 6 people max per session from what I've seen. I guess it wouldn't hurt to ask if you can come a different day, or maybe they only have one day in April set for interviews...who knows? I can ask around and shoot you a message if you want.

 

[FuzzyPeaches]

Always wondered how many people get these each year.... Could it be that you did get a final decision but due to a grammar error you didn't get the message? I mean is it "No final decision" or "No, final decision" ? Two very different meanings you would agree. You should call and ask them to clear that up for you as it could be easily misunderstood. Then you will know.

Yes im very sure lmao. It was something like "the admissions committee decided defer a final decision on your application."

 

[WorldChanger36]

Yes im very sure lmao. It was something like "the admissions committee decided defer a final decision on your application."

Right on. I am just hassling you. Be chill. Its nothing you can do. Just sit back and wait.

 

[HonestyIsTheBestPolicy]

WORLD’S MOST HONEST REVIEW:

Why would you consider WCUCOM?

· You have no other acceptance

· You are insane

· You get paid by Trump

Why you SHOULD NOT consider WCUCOM:

· Attendance policy

· Attrition rate is very high

· School treats you like children

· School is located at an extremely shady, all black neighborhood. Seriously, you can hear GUN SHOTS at night. Please pay attention to your surroundings during the interview

· Classes are designed to be much more difficult. This FACT is even admitted by the administration. Please do not be surprised when you have study harder for OPP than Anatomy

· And most importantly, the stress of being stuck here will drive you crazy. The school will try HARD to eliminate the weaker students and prevent them from taking the board. They have little respect for their students and never accept the fact that THEY are the reason why students do not perform well.

ADVICE: PLEASE STAY AWAY. If you already paid your deposit, I’m sorry but it’s best just to forget about it. You would have a much better chance to succeed at different school. $3000 means nothing comparing to the stress they are going to put you through. This school has so many problems that will severely affect your performance, but nobody is willing to fix anything. Every day of my life, I regret for choosing this school and I am willing to pay $30000 just to be transferred. Do not waste money here people, YOU DESERVE BETTER. Once you are in, that’s it!


FIRST YEAR COURSES REVIEW:

Anatomy: The lab tends to be easier which helps your overall grade. However, this course is not well organized so be ready to find mistakes as you go through the semester.

· Course Director: Sometimes he knows what he is talking about, sometimes he does not. He tends to put random information on the test.

· The other two instructors are very nice. They give questions straight from their slides.

Overall: 7.5/10. These professors are very friendly. They care about you and are willing to help you. The director curves the course in the end to help students with borderline grade. If you put enough effort, you would have no problem passing this class.


Physiology: 2 out of 3 professors are great. The other one is probably laughing at your misery while cuddling with your wife. There is no extra credit opportunity and the course is not curved no matter how close your grade is.

· Course Director: Just a bad example of a human being who tends to ruin everything. He cannot teach and does not even care to teach. His notes are trash and he expects you to read from 4 different text books. He gives extremely difficult test questions which do not reflect the board in any way. He is the reason that WCUCOM has the lowest board score for Physiology.

· Instructor 2: Very funny and friendly. He is one of the more effective instructors here

· Instructor 3: Her soothing voice will bring you to sleep in 5 minutes. However, her slides are the best in the country. She only asks questions from her slides, period.

Overall: 6/10. Many people fail this class due to the course director. Seriously, this dude offers no help to the students and needs to be FIRED. I’m sure the other 2 remaining professors can do a great job handling this course


Biochemistry: I have no complaints other than this course takes attendance every day. Lectures are straight to the point and the volume of quizzes are very reasonable.

· Course Director: He carefully selects his information and clearly tells you what he wants you to know. He always gives a practice exam which is very helpful

Overall: 8.5/10. This course has the lowest failing rate.


Histology: you are gambling with the Devil

· Course Director: Every time you come to class, you better pray that he is in a good mood. Otherwise, prepare to spend the next 20 mins for him to torture your ears. He has little respect for us and yells at you more often than your own parents. He can never finish his lectures on time and always gives extra recordings before the exam. This is the most unprofessional person that I have ever seen in my life but ironically, he oversees student’s professionalism. He admits in front of class that he does not enjoy helping people. Close to 30% of our class failed last semester and the school did nothing to address this issue except putting all the blames on students.

Overall course: 5.5/10. For god sake, his tantrum is the worst; someone please give him snickers. I do not care who you are but any person in his late 70s who cannot control his emotion needs to retire. Stop sticking around to ruin students’ lives, we already have another better lecturer here


Doctoring Skills: This is the easiest course at WCUCOM. Professors are all very chill

Overall: 7.5/10. This course is surprisingly organized but nobody seems to have the time to appreciate it.


OPP: This course is so disturbingly disorganized. Some instructors go to class without having a clue what are being taught that day. They do not communicate to each other and can never seem to be on the same page during the lab exams.

Course director:

He is a great instructor and his expectation is very high. His test questions are much more difficult than the board’s, or even the most difficult in the country. He is a new course director, so I can see why there are many problems. 5 other instructors are relatively nice. One of them is notoriously well known for tardiness. They can teach OPP techniques differently which can be troublesome when it comes to test day.

Overall: 7/10. The OPP department has the most potential to improve.


FINAL WORDS: a few students may disagree with my post while the rest is too afraid to raise their voice. Shame on WCUCOM for brain washing students into a bunch of obedient lambs. I am sure the administration will be annoyed after reading my post and will torture our class even more. But WCUCOM must fix their problems. Otherwise, they deserve to lose all their students. We have done everything we can to address the issues but nothing seems to be resolved. After last semester, we have lost some very talent students. Do not let all your years of hard work to be destroyed by this evil school. WCUCOM is purely a business. They only care about keeping the money flowing.

Please go back and review what students have said about WCUCOM on previous cycles, this might save your whole career.

 

[UnschooledDO]

WORLD’S MOST HONEST REVIEW:

Why would you consider WCUCOM?

· You have no other acceptance

· You are insane

· You get paid by Trump

Why you SHOULD NOT consider WCUCOM:

· Attendance policy

· Attrition rate is very high

· School treats you like children

· School is located at an extremely shady, all black neighborhood. Seriously, you can hear GUN SHOTS at night. Please pay attention to your surroundings during the interview

· Classes are designed to be much more difficult. This FACT is even admitted by the administration. Please do not be surprised when you have study harder for OPP than Anatomy

· And most importantly, the stress of being stuck here will drive you crazy. The school will try HARD to eliminate the weaker students and prevent them from taking the board. They have little respect for their students and never accept the fact that THEY are the reason why students do not perform well.

ADVICE: PLEASE STAY AWAY. If you already paid your deposit, I’m sorry but it’s best just to forget about it. You would have a much better chance to succeed at different school. $3000 means nothing comparing to the stress they are going to put you through. This school has so many problems that will severely affect your performance, but nobody is willing to fix anything. Every day of my life, I regret for choosing this school and I am willing to pay $30000 just to be transferred. Do not waste money here people, YOU DESERVE BETTER. Once you are in, that’s it!


FIRST YEAR COURSES REVIEW:

Anatomy: The lab tends to be easier which helps your overall grade. However, this course is not well organized so be ready to find mistakes as you go through the semester.

· Course Director: Sometimes he knows what he is talking about, sometimes he does not. He tends to put random information on the test.

· The other two instructors are very nice. They give questions straight from their slides.

Overall: 7.5/10. These professors are very friendly. They care about you and are willing to help you. The director curves the course in the end to help students with borderline grade. If you put enough effort, you would have no problem passing this class.


Physiology: 2 out of 3 professors are great. The other one is probably laughing at your misery while cuddling with your wife. There is no extra credit opportunity and the course is not curved no matter how close your grade is.

· Course Director: Just a bad example of a human being who tends to ruin everything. He cannot teach and does not even care to teach. His notes are trash and he expects you to read from 4 different text books. He gives extremely difficult test questions which do not reflect the board in any way. He is the reason that WCUCOM has the lowest board score for Physiology.

· Instructor 2: Very funny and friendly. He is one of the more effective instructors here

· Instructor 3: Her soothing voice will bring you to sleep in 5 minutes. However, her slides are the best in the country. She only asks questions from her slides, period.

Overall: 6/10. Many people fail this class due to the course director. Seriously, this dude offers no help to the students and needs to be FIRED. I’m sure the other 2 remaining professors can do a great job handling this course


Biochemistry: I have no complaints other than this course takes attendance every day. Lectures are straight to the point and the volume of quizzes are very reasonable.

· Course Director: He carefully selects his information and clearly tells you what he wants you to know. He always gives a practice exam which is very helpful

Overall: 8.5/10. This course has the lowest failing rate.


Histology: you are gambling with the Devil

· Course Director: Every time you come to class, you better pray that he is in a good mood. Otherwise, prepare to spend the next 20 mins for him to torture your ears. He has little respect for us and yells at you more often than your own parents. He can never finish his lectures on time and always gives extra recordings before the exam. This is the most unprofessional person that I have ever seen in my life but ironically, he oversees student’s professionalism. He admits in front of class that he does not enjoy helping people. Close to 30% of our class failed last semester and the school did nothing to address this issue except putting all the blames on students.

Overall course: 5.5/10. For god sake, his tantrum is the worst; someone please give him snickers. I do not care who you are but any person in his late 70s who cannot control his emotion needs to retire. Stop sticking around to ruin students’ lives, we already have another better lecturer here


Doctoring Skills: This is the easiest course at WCUCOM. Professors are all very chill

Overall: 7.5/10. This course is surprisingly organized but nobody seems to have the time to appreciate it.


OPP: This course is so disturbingly disorganized. Some instructors go to class without having a clue what are being taught that day. They do not communicate to each other and can never seem to be on the same page during the lab exams.

Course director:

He is a great instructor and his expectation is very high. His test questions are much more difficult than the board’s, or even the most difficult in the country. He is a new course director, so I can see why there are many problems. 5 other instructors are relatively nice. One of them is notoriously well known for tardiness. They can teach OPP techniques differently which can be troublesome when it comes to test day.

Overall: 7/10. The OPP department has the most potential to improve.


FINAL WORDS: a few students may disagree with my post while the rest is too afraid to raise their voice. Shame on WCUCOM for brain washing students into a bunch of obedient lambs. I am sure the administration will be annoyed after reading my post and will torture our class even more. But WCUCOM must fix their problems. Otherwise, they deserve to lose all their students. We have done everything we can to address the issues but nothing seems to be resolved. After last semester, we have lost some very talent students. Do not let all your years of hard work to be destroyed by this evil school. WCUCOM is purely a business. They only care about keeping the money flowing.

Please go back and review what students have said about WCUCOM on previous cycles, this might save your whole career.

WORLD’S MOST HONEST REVIEW:

Why would you consider WCUCOM?

· You have no other acceptance

· You are insane

· You get paid by Trump

Why you SHOULD NOT consider WCUCOM:

· Attendance policy

· Attrition rate is very high

· School treats you like children

· School is located at an extremely shady, all black neighborhood. Seriously, you can hear GUN SHOTS at night. Please pay attention to your surroundings during the interview

· Classes are designed to be much more difficult. This FACT is even admitted by the administration. Please do not be surprised when you have study harder for OPP than Anatomy

· And most importantly, the stress of being stuck here will drive you crazy. The school will try HARD to eliminate the weaker students and prevent them from taking the board. They have little respect for their students and never accept the fact that THEY are the reason why students do not perform well.

ADVICE: PLEASE STAY AWAY. If you already paid your deposit, I’m sorry but it’s best just to forget about it. You would have a much better chance to succeed at different school. $3000 means nothing comparing to the stress they are going to put you through. This school has so many problems that will severely affect your performance, but nobody is willing to fix anything. Every day of my life, I regret for choosing this school and I am willing to pay $30000 just to be transferred. Do not waste money here people, YOU DESERVE BETTER. Once you are in, that’s it!


FIRST YEAR COURSES REVIEW:

Anatomy: The lab tends to be easier which helps your overall grade. However, this course is not well organized so be ready to find mistakes as you go through the semester.

· Course Director: Sometimes he knows what he is talking about, sometimes he does not. He tends to put random information on the test.

· The other two instructors are very nice. They give questions straight from their slides.

Overall: 7.5/10. These professors are very friendly. They care about you and are willing to help you. The director curves the course in the end to help students with borderline grade. If you put enough effort, you would have no problem passing this class.


Physiology: 2 out of 3 professors are great. The other one is probably laughing at your misery while cuddling with your wife. There is no extra credit opportunity and the course is not curved no matter how close your grade is.

· Course Director: Just a bad example of a human being who tends to ruin everything. He cannot teach and does not even care to teach. His notes are trash and he expects you to read from 4 different text books. He gives extremely difficult test questions which do not reflect the board in any way. He is the reason that WCUCOM has the lowest board score for Physiology.

· Instructor 2: Very funny and friendly. He is one of the more effective instructors here

· Instructor 3: Her soothing voice will bring you to sleep in 5 minutes. However, her slides are the best in the country. She only asks questions from her slides, period.

Overall: 6/10. Many people fail this class due to the course director. Seriously, this dude offers no help to the students and needs to be FIRED. I’m sure the other 2 remaining professors can do a great job handling this course


Biochemistry: I have no complaints other than this course takes attendance every day. Lectures are straight to the point and the volume of quizzes are very reasonable.

· Course Director: He carefully selects his information and clearly tells you what he wants you to know. He always gives a practice exam which is very helpful

Overall: 8.5/10. This course has the lowest failing rate.


Histology: you are gambling with the Devil

· Course Director: Every time you come to class, you better pray that he is in a good mood. Otherwise, prepare to spend the next 20 mins for him to torture your ears. He has little respect for us and yells at you more often than your own parents. He can never finish his lectures on time and always gives extra recordings before the exam. This is the most unprofessional person that I have ever seen in my life but ironically, he oversees student’s professionalism. He admits in front of class that he does not enjoy helping people. Close to 30% of our class failed last semester and the school did nothing to address this issue except putting all the blames on students.

Overall course: 5.5/10. For god sake, his tantrum is the worst; someone please give him snickers. I do not care who you are but any person in his late 70s who cannot control his emotion needs to retire. Stop sticking around to ruin students’ lives, we already have another better lecturer here


Doctoring Skills: This is the easiest course at WCUCOM. Professors are all very chill

Overall: 7.5/10. This course is surprisingly organized but nobody seems to have the time to appreciate it.


OPP: This course is so disturbingly disorganized. Some instructors go to class without having a clue what are being taught that day. They do not communicate to each other and can never seem to be on the same page during the lab exams.

Course director:

He is a great instructor and his expectation is very high. His test questions are much more difficult than the board’s, or even the most difficult in the country. He is a new course director, so I can see why there are many problems. 5 other instructors are relatively nice. One of them is notoriously well known for tardiness. They can teach OPP techniques differently which can be troublesome when it comes to test day.

Overall: 7/10. The OPP department has the most potential to improve.


FINAL WORDS: a few students may disagree with my post while the rest is too afraid to raise their voice. Shame on WCUCOM for brain washing students into a bunch of obedient lambs. I am sure the administration will be annoyed after reading my post and will torture our class even more. But WCUCOM must fix their problems. Otherwise, they deserve to lose all their students. We have done everything we can to address the issues but nothing seems to be resolved. After last semester, we have lost some very talent students. Do not let all your years of hard work to be destroyed by this evil school. WCUCOM is purely a business. They only care about keeping the money flowing.

Please go back and review what students have said about WCUCOM on previous cycles, this might save your whole career.

Don't hate THE PLAYER, hate THE GAME. The PLAYER being WCUCOM and the GAME being medicine.

Do you think that you would have an easier time at any other medical school? Answer is NO.

Every single medical school is hard and difficult, and filled with difficult people. I have friends in way, way, way better medical schools than any US osteopathic medical program and they complain as well about the difficulties of becoming a physician.

Every course I have taken in my life is disorganized and hard and stressful. The difference between people who smash the boards and get residency (like the overwhelmingly vast majority of WCUCOM graduate have) is that we work harder and have a vast and strong grasp of biomedical concepts before entering medical school (which should be supported by MCAT performance). PERIOD.

 

[WorldChanger36]

WORLD’S MOST HONEST REVIEW:

Why would you consider WCUCOM?

· You have no other acceptance

· You are insane

· You get paid by Trump

Why you SHOULD NOT consider WCUCOM:

· Attendance policy

· Attrition rate is very high

· School treats you like children

· School is located at an extremely shady, all black neighborhood. Seriously, you can hear GUN SHOTS at night. Please pay attention to your surroundings during the interview

· Classes are designed to be much more difficult. This FACT is even admitted by the administration. Please do not be surprised when you have study harder for OPP than Anatomy

· And most importantly, the stress of being stuck here will drive you crazy. The school will try HARD to eliminate the weaker students and prevent them from taking the board. They have little respect for their students and never accept the fact that THEY are the reason why students do not perform well.

ADVICE: PLEASE STAY AWAY. If you already paid your deposit, I’m sorry but it’s best just to forget about it. You would have a much better chance to succeed at different school. $3000 means nothing comparing to the stress they are going to put you through. This school has so many problems that will severely affect your performance, but nobody is willing to fix anything. Every day of my life, I regret for choosing this school and I am willing to pay $30000 just to be transferred. Do not waste money here people, YOU DESERVE BETTER. Once you are in, that’s it!


FIRST YEAR COURSES REVIEW:

Anatomy: The lab tends to be easier which helps your overall grade. However, this course is not well organized so be ready to find mistakes as you go through the semester.

· Course Director: Sometimes he knows what he is talking about, sometimes he does not. He tends to put random information on the test.

· The other two instructors are very nice. They give questions straight from their slides.

Overall: 7.5/10. These professors are very friendly. They care about you and are willing to help you. The director curves the course in the end to help students with borderline grade. If you put enough effort, you would have no problem passing this class.


Physiology: 2 out of 3 professors are great. The other one is probably laughing at your misery while cuddling with your wife. There is no extra credit opportunity and the course is not curved no matter how close your grade is.

· Course Director: Just a bad example of a human being who tends to ruin everything. He cannot teach and does not even care to teach. His notes are trash and he expects you to read from 4 different text books. He gives extremely difficult test questions which do not reflect the board in any way. He is the reason that WCUCOM has the lowest board score for Physiology.

· Instructor 2: Very funny and friendly. He is one of the more effective instructors here

· Instructor 3: Her soothing voice will bring you to sleep in 5 minutes. However, her slides are the best in the country. She only asks questions from her slides, period.

Overall: 6/10. Many people fail this class due to the course director. Seriously, this dude offers no help to the students and needs to be FIRED. I’m sure the other 2 remaining professors can do a great job handling this course


Biochemistry: I have no complaints other than this course takes attendance every day. Lectures are straight to the point and the volume of quizzes are very reasonable.

· Course Director: He carefully selects his information and clearly tells you what he wants you to know. He always gives a practice exam which is very helpful

Overall: 8.5/10. This course has the lowest failing rate.


Histology: you are gambling with the Devil

· Course Director: Every time you come to class, you better pray that he is in a good mood. Otherwise, prepare to spend the next 20 mins for him to torture your ears. He has little respect for us and yells at you more often than your own parents. He can never finish his lectures on time and always gives extra recordings before the exam. This is the most unprofessional person that I have ever seen in my life but ironically, he oversees student’s professionalism. He admits in front of class that he does not enjoy helping people. Close to 30% of our class failed last semester and the school did nothing to address this issue except putting all the blames on students.

Overall course: 5.5/10. For god sake, his tantrum is the worst; someone please give him snickers. I do not care who you are but any person in his late 70s who cannot control his emotion needs to retire. Stop sticking around to ruin students’ lives, we already have another better lecturer here


Doctoring Skills: This is the easiest course at WCUCOM. Professors are all very chill

Overall: 7.5/10. This course is surprisingly organized but nobody seems to have the time to appreciate it.


OPP: This course is so disturbingly disorganized. Some instructors go to class without having a clue what are being taught that day. They do not communicate to each other and can never seem to be on the same page during the lab exams.

Course director:

He is a great instructor and his expectation is very high. His test questions are much more difficult than the board’s, or even the most difficult in the country. He is a new course director, so I can see why there are many problems. 5 other instructors are relatively nice. One of them is notoriously well known for tardiness. They can teach OPP techniques differently which can be troublesome when it comes to test day.

Overall: 7/10. The OPP department has the most potential to improve.


FINAL WORDS: a few students may disagree with my post while the rest is too afraid to raise their voice. Shame on WCUCOM for brain washing students into a bunch of obedient lambs. I am sure the administration will be annoyed after reading my post and will torture our class even more. But WCUCOM must fix their problems. Otherwise, they deserve to lose all their students. We have done everything we can to address the issues but nothing seems to be resolved. After last semester, we have lost some very talent students. Do not let all your years of hard work to be destroyed by this evil school. WCUCOM is purely a business. They only care about keeping the money flowing.

Please go back and review what students have said about WCUCOM on previous cycles, this might save your whole career.

Thank you for posting. I know it is terrifying to post this kind of thing and you are gonna get lots of haters that tell you that you can't hack it but they don't know how damaged they are nor how much they have lost because of Carey. You see there are a few psychological effects that happen in these situations. I will leave that to you and others to figure out which ones but there will always be some that no mter what happens to them or others around them they can only think of how awesome the school is or how great a thing something is even when its an in your face contradiction of facts. Try not to worry yourself with it, let them talk.
Big take away here is that you can make it. Keep your head down, get used to feeling stupid, smile and move on. Once you graduate you win.

Others considering Carey and other schools read this post and others like it, look for trends from year to year. Look for similarities and differences, look at the responses. Does it seem like things are better, worse or still the same? This tells you alot about a school.

 

[WorldChanger36]

Don't hate THE PLAYER, hate THE GAME. The PLAYER being WCUCOM and the GAME being medicine. By posting this you have showed that medicine is a career not suited for you.

Do you think that you would have an easier time at any other medical school? Answer is NO.

Every single medical school is hard and difficult, and filled with difficult people. I have friends in way, way, way better medical schools than any US osteopathic medical program and they complain as well about the difficulties of becoming a physician.

It sounds like you don't have what it takes, sorry. Every course I have taken in my life is disorganized and hard and stressful. The difference between people who smash the boards and get residency (like the overwhelmingly vast majority of WCUCOM graduate have) is that we work harder than you and have a vast and strong grasp of biomedical concepts before entering medical school (which should be supported by your MCAT performance). PERIOD. Move to the side and let us smash the boards.

WCUCOM stand up!

That didn't take long.
Look this reads like you don't even go to school here nor have you ever studied for board exams. It would be better to read the post, and look for others like it and see if it is consistent. Then look at others threads from years before it. Perhaps this student and the others before him/her may actually be a identifying a major problem the school has.
If you don't agree, say so and give a good argument as to why. This would be helpful to others reading the thread trying to figure out if they even want to apply here or not.
Being critical of your school or profession does not mean a person can't handle the profession nor does silence in the face of obvious wrongs mean you can.

 

[UnschooledDO]

Thank you for posting. I know it is terrifying to post this kind of thing and you are gonna get lots of haters that tell you that you can't hack it but they don't know how damaged they are nor how much they have lost because of Carey. You see there are a few psychological effects that happen in these situations. I will leave that to you and others to figure out which ones but there will always be some that no mter what happens to them or others around them they can only think of how awesome the school is or how great a thing something is even when its an in your face contradiction of facts. Try not to worry yourself with it, let them talk.
Big take away here is that you can make it. Keep your head down, get used to feeling stupid, smile and move on. Once you graduate you win.

Others considering Carey and other schools read this post and others like it, look for trends from year to year. Look for similarities and differences, look at the responses. Does it seem like things are better, worse or still the same? This tells you alot about a school.

Heres the deal, .... I think that Carey has let in some students that simply aren't cut out for medicine - and so SOME of them come here and complain. This goes for any "newer" DO school or any DO program period, where the admissions standards may be lower (than allopathic programs) and so statistically there will be more unprepared students that come to SDN and criticize in poor taste about conditions at their school.

The sample size on SDN may be too small, especially when it is lead by a few main contributors that succeed in progressing a narrative about med school (look into the Pareto distribution on wikipedia, it'll shed some light on this)

I would love see a comparison of MCAT scores/biomedical GPAs for those that criticize vs those that do not complain about WCUCOM.

If one is unable to recite intermediary metabolism/biochemisrty like a song, basic cell and molecular biology like the back of your hand, and meat and potatoes physiology backwards and forward, then surprise, surprise.... medical school will be tough.

Its just really sour to read something like what was posted, because there are some of us that are blessed to have admission into medical school and REALIZE WHAT WE ARE GETTING OURSELVES INTO. Those who do not realize what they are getting themselves into will criticize unhealthily.

And also realize that overwhelmingly, the vast majority of WCUCOM graduates have attained residency (which is the most important step in medical education, not whether a professor coughs every 5 seconds or screams once in while...)

 

[GEToutLADYits6AM]

Don't hate THE PLAYER, hate THE GAME. The PLAYER being WCUCOM and the GAME being medicine.

Do you think that you would have an easier time at any other medical school? Answer is NO.

Every single medical school is hard and difficult, and filled with difficult people. I have friends in way, way, way better medical schools than any US osteopathic medical program and they complain as well about the difficulties of becoming a physician.

Every course I have taken in my life is disorganized and hard and stressful. The difference between people who smash the boards and get residency (like the overwhelmingly vast majority of WCUCOM graduate have) is that we work harder and have a vast and strong grasp of biomedical concepts before entering medical school (which should be supported by MCAT performance). PERIOD.

This person is probably a faculty member who just made an account two weeks ago and has kept their profile private. I wonder why? LOL

 

[UnschooledDO]

This person is probably a faculty member

unfortunately, no lol

 

[WorldChanger36]

Heres the deal, .... I think that Carey has let in some students that simply aren't cut out for medicine - and so SOME of them come here and complain. This goes for any "newer" DO school or any DO program period, where the admissions standards may be lower (than allopathic programs) and so statistically there will be more unprepared students that come to SDN and criticize in poor taste about conditions at their school.

The sample size on SDN may be too small, especially when it is lead by a few main contributors that succeed in progressing a narrative about med school (look into the Pareto distribution on wikipedia, it'll shed some light on this)

I would love see a comparison of MCAT scores/biomedical GPAs for those that criticize vs those that do not complain about WCUCOM.

If one is unable to recite intermediary metabolism/biochemisrty like a song, basic cell and molecular biology like the back of your hand, and meat and potatoes physiology backwards and forward, then surprise, surprise.... medical school will be tough.

Its just really sour to read something like what was posted, because there are some of us that are blessed to have admission into medical school and REALIZE WHAT WE ARE GETTING OURSELVES INTO. Those who do not realize what they are getting themselves into will criticize unhealthily.

And also realize that overwhelmingly, the vast majority of WCUCOM graduates have attained residency (which is the most important step in medical education, not whether a professor coughs every 5 seconds or screams once in while...)

Yeah Carey lets in quite a few questionable persons and yes they do struggle. They really are not the ones that complain and if they do its pretty consistent with many other complaints.
I can also tell that many people in the school feel the same way as the poster does and it has been a repeating trend for many years. It is a thing. Histology being an issue for people is a newer thing but this too is a common concern to many students now. 30% fail rate is not a good thing and this is not the only person I have heard this from. This isnt just some whining failure its consistent.
I know it leaves a bad taste in your mouth to read reviews like that but you have to understand that maybe just maybe this isnt such a great school and you may have not made the best choice.
You may think you know what you are getting into but just for a second consider what if all of these negative reviews are true and they are not just losers. What would you do then? How would you feel then? And now you are stuck...
I am gonna clue you in on a little secret there was a student at Carey with high MCAT scores and multiple published works and two or three PhDs in biomedical science, medical physiology and biochem that taught medical school and he couldnt make it through the first semester and there have been some people with the lowest MCAT scores that majored in music and whatnot that didnt have a problem. Your previous knowledge and experience is not as helpful as you think here nor does it make you more likely to do well on boards. Some of the success at Carey is luck but most is being able to figure out the system.

This person is probably a faculty member who just made an account two weeks ago and has kept their profile private. I wonder why? LOL
The administration watch these threads like a hawk and make fake accounts and try to counter students who do not think highly of wcucom . Don't believe me just look at the previous thread where one of the first year professors got into it with one of the students.

No I dont think this is faculty based on previous posts. Just someone on the outside of the glass looking in...
There are two that really do seem like faculty, this isnt one of them.

 

[Voch119]

WORLD’S MOST HONEST REVIEW:

Why would you consider WCUCOM?

· You have no other acceptance

· You are insane

· You get paid by Trump

Why you SHOULD NOT consider WCUCOM:

· Attendance policy

· Attrition rate is very high

· School treats you like children

· School is located at an extremely shady, all black neighborhood. Seriously, you can hear GUN SHOTS at night. Please pay attention to your surroundings during the interview

· Classes are designed to be much more difficult. This FACT is even admitted by the administration. Please do not be surprised when you have study harder for OPP than Anatomy

· And most importantly, the stress of being stuck here will drive you crazy. The school will try HARD to eliminate the weaker students and prevent them from taking the board. They have little respect for their students and never accept the fact that THEY are the reason why students do not perform well.

ADVICE: PLEASE STAY AWAY. If you already paid your deposit, I’m sorry but it’s best just to forget about it. You would have a much better chance to succeed at different school. $3000 means nothing comparing to the stress they are going to put you through. This school has so many problems that will severely affect your performance, but nobody is willing to fix anything. Every day of my life, I regret for choosing this school and I am willing to pay $30000 just to be transferred. Do not waste money here people, YOU DESERVE BETTER. Once you are in, that’s it!


FIRST YEAR COURSES REVIEW:

Anatomy: The lab tends to be easier which helps your overall grade. However, this course is not well organized so be ready to find mistakes as you go through the semester.

· Course Director: Sometimes he knows what he is talking about, sometimes he does not. He tends to put random information on the test.

· The other two instructors are very nice. They give questions straight from their slides.

Overall: 7.5/10. These professors are very friendly. They care about you and are willing to help you. The director curves the course in the end to help students with borderline grade. If you put enough effort, you would have no problem passing this class.


Physiology: 2 out of 3 professors are great. The other one is probably laughing at your misery while cuddling with your wife. There is no extra credit opportunity and the course is not curved no matter how close your grade is.

· Course Director: Just a bad example of a human being who tends to ruin everything. He cannot teach and does not even care to teach. His notes are trash and he expects you to read from 4 different text books. He gives extremely difficult test questions which do not reflect the board in any way. He is the reason that WCUCOM has the lowest board score for Physiology.

· Instructor 2: Very funny and friendly. He is one of the more effective instructors here

· Instructor 3: Her soothing voice will bring you to sleep in 5 minutes. However, her slides are the best in the country. She only asks questions from her slides, period.

Overall: 6/10. Many people fail this class due to the course director. Seriously, this dude offers no help to the students and needs to be FIRED. I’m sure the other 2 remaining professors can do a great job handling this course


Biochemistry: I have no complaints other than this course takes attendance every day. Lectures are straight to the point and the volume of quizzes are very reasonable.

· Course Director: He carefully selects his information and clearly tells you what he wants you to know. He always gives a practice exam which is very helpful

Overall: 8.5/10. This course has the lowest failing rate.


Histology: you are gambling with the Devil

· Course Director: Every time you come to class, you better pray that he is in a good mood. Otherwise, prepare to spend the next 20 mins for him to torture your ears. He has little respect for us and yells at you more often than your own parents. He can never finish his lectures on time and always gives extra recordings before the exam. This is the most unprofessional person that I have ever seen in my life but ironically, he oversees student’s professionalism. He admits in front of class that he does not enjoy helping people. Close to 30% of our class failed last semester and the school did nothing to address this issue except putting all the blames on students.

Overall course: 5.5/10. For god sake, his tantrum is the worst; someone please give him snickers. I do not care who you are but any person in his late 70s who cannot control his emotion needs to retire. Stop sticking around to ruin students’ lives, we already have another better lecturer here


Doctoring Skills: This is the easiest course at WCUCOM. Professors are all very chill

Overall: 7.5/10. This course is surprisingly organized but nobody seems to have the time to appreciate it.


OPP: This course is so disturbingly disorganized. Some instructors go to class without having a clue what are being taught that day. They do not communicate to each other and can never seem to be on the same page during the lab exams.

Course director:

He is a great instructor and his expectation is very high. His test questions are much more difficult than the board’s, or even the most difficult in the country. He is a new course director, so I can see why there are many problems. 5 other instructors are relatively nice. One of them is notoriously well known for tardiness. They can teach OPP techniques differently which can be troublesome when it comes to test day.

Overall: 7/10. The OPP department has the most potential to improve.


FINAL WORDS: a few students may disagree with my post while the rest is too afraid to raise their voice. Shame on WCUCOM for brain washing students into a bunch of obedient lambs. I am sure the administration will be annoyed after reading my post and will torture our class even more. But WCUCOM must fix their problems. Otherwise, they deserve to lose all their students. We have done everything we can to address the issues but nothing seems to be resolved. After last semester, we have lost some very talent students. Do not let all your years of hard work to be destroyed by this evil school. WCUCOM is purely a business. They only care about keeping the money flowing.

Please go back and review what students have said about WCUCOM on previous cycles, this might save your whole career.

I wish this poster would understand that these problems are not endemic only to William Carey. Is there some busy work? Yup. Is there mandatory attendance for some class sessions? Yes (although frequently you can miss classes that don't take attendance, but they conveniently left that part out). Are there a few professors that don't really teach that well? Indeed, although I like a majority of the profs. Is the coursework difficult at times? Of course, goes with the territory. Many medical schools have these issues. Just peruse some of the boards on here and you'll see similar complaints. Just from my first hand knowledge I've been roommates with two people at different MD med schools and they complained similarly. Their friends and classmates that I met also had these issues. They had their professors that they didn't like, they had particular lectures and guest speakers that they had to be there for, they had random little group projects and papers to do as well. They also complained about their leadership and their faculty reps. From my limited experience I've found that med students pretty much detest their first two years. I'm no fan of my first year so far, but I've been doing ok given my effort I've put in. I'm mostly a B student, so I'm no gunner looking down on anyone, but I try to keep things in the perspective that your first two years are just something to endure wherever you are. You just have to get prepped for Step I, and the best thing in my opinion to do is get some info from your class work, but do board prep along the way. To quote Meatballs (old movie, look up the scene), "it just doesn't matter", i.e blowing your pre-clinical grades out of the water. Residencies don't really care about them, there's actually a program director survey, from the NRMP I think, that basically says as much for most specialties. Make it through and get ready for Step I.

I don't want to sound mean but there are some people in this class that weren't ready for medical school. It's unfortunate that the school accepted them and the students thought that they were up to it, but at least they were given their shot. I will say that I think the number of such students is very small, but they're definitely there, and I really hope they improve and make it through to clinicals. As mentioned by another poster, it's often the students that are doing better that complain, I think there's some truth to that, but I think they get so wrapped up in the undergrad mindset of being accustomed to a 4.0 GPA or such that they the start looking for an external entity to blame when things aren't going according to their plan. That's just my theory, but then again, to an extent I hold to the philosophy stated in the above paragraph.

Also, to whoever wrote this post, "school is located at an extremely shady, all black neighborhood. Seriously, you can hear GUN SHOTS at night. Please pay attention to your surroundings during the interview." Really, you're that nervous? The last two cities I've lived in the middle of and I had to actually worry about getting robbed while outside. I had my car windows smashed and broken into in both of them. If you think Hattiesburg is rough then you don't have a clue about many of the cities out there. Also, you're essentially equating a majority black neighborhood as somewhere where you'll automatically get assaulted or robbed, a pretty horrible generalization in my opinion.

Basically most of my post sums up what I've posted in the past, WC isn't the top med school out there of course, but in no way do I agree with the above poster's belief that "every day of my life I regret choosing this school." Also, they'd be willing to pay $30k to transfer? I know it's hyperbole but what?? My advice to the pre-meds is just go to the interview to get a feel of the school and talk to the students taking you to lunch on interview day. To be honest I don't know who does them any more, but at least you'll get an actual face to go along with a discussion versus reading anonymous forum posts. Sorry for the length of this btw.

 

[suddenlyexposed]

I recently Interviewed at an MD school and I have an interview with WC next week. I want to compare a little about the school before I make any decisions in case I get accepted to both ( fingers crossed)! There are a few points that I want to as about that I don't know if I would get this information on my interview: Research, course exams, and 4th year rotations.
Research: I know that the other school had a mandatory summer research requirement. This can be done at any institution of with the NIH and the school helps you find some ( one of the students that I met during the interview had done her research at Johns Hopkins). My question is, after M1, do students get the summer off to potentially do research, since it seems that research is not a strong point in WC. And if so, will the school help you land a good research spot?

#2: Do the professors make their own exams? The other school had some issues with inconsistencies with exams in the past, so they brought in a consultant and now they get all their course exams from NBME which makes the STEPS. It seemed like their last class had a 97% pass rate on Step 1, at least that's what the student at the interview said and they had pretty good matches this year including UM Jackson, UF, Johns Hopkins, and UChicago. However, their overall match rate was lower that WC at 89%. My question is how does WC prepare their course exams, and overall, how do they help the students prepare for boards. I don't want any negatives. I want to know what the school is doing right. I have read enough about what people think its doing wrong.

#3: Can 4th year students do away rotations?


Thanks for the inputs!! Do you think it would be wise to ask these questions on interview day?

 

[Voch119]

I recently Interviewed at an MD school and I have an interview with WC next week. I want to compare a little about the school before I make any decisions in case I get accepted to both ( fingers crossed)! There are a few points that I want to as about that I don't know if I would get this information on my interview: Research, course exams, and 4th year rotations.
Research: I know that the other school had a mandatory summer research requirement. This can be done at any institution of with the NIH and the school helps you find some ( one of the students that I met during the interview had done her research at Johns Hopkins). My question is, after M1, do students get the summer off to potentially do research, since it seems that research is not a strong point in WC. And if so, will the school help you land a good research spot?

#2: Do the professors make their own exams? The other school had some issues with inconsistencies with exams in the past, so they brought in a consultant and now they get all their course exams from NBME which makes the STEPS. It seemed like their last class had a 97% pass rate on Step 1, at least that's what the student at the interview said and they had pretty good matches this year including UM Jackson, UF, Johns Hopkins, and UChicago. However, their overall match rate was lower that WC at 89%. My question is how does WC prepare their course exams, and overall, how do they help the students prepare for boards. I don't want any negatives. I want to know what the school is doing right. I have read enough about what people think its doing wrong.

#3: Can 4th year students do away rotations?


Thanks for the inputs!! Do you think it would be wise to ask these questions on interview day?

If you're down to a MD program and William Carey, go to that MD program if accepted (unless its a Caribbean or foreign MD program of course). It's just more practical to do so, no judgement against any DO schools. This is for numerous reasons: cost (probably cheaper than WC if a MD state school; you won't have to take the Step exams along with the COMLEXs), DO discrimination (many residency programs will have the propensity to not put you on the same playing field as MD applicants, along with possible complete silence from upper end programs/competitive specialties), in house clinical rotations (most DO schools don't have a home institution/teaching hospital for rotations), and extra time spent studying OMT/OPP. All in all it's just an easier path with going to a MD med school, no matter if it's the "best" DO school vs. one of the worse MD schools. Unfortunately that's just the way the system is, especially more so now that there aren't any protected DO residencies (at least by 2020).

Bench/transnational research is largely non existent at WC, as with many DO schools. That's not really their role. Their main idea is to send students into primary care. It's in their mission statement, so they're up front about it. If you're one of the many med students starting out dead set on ENT, derm, neurosurg, some surgical sub specialty, etc., then DO is probably not the best route for you. It can happen for certain DO students, but the odds are against you. That being said, no offense but that's kind of a pre-med cliche and many people eventually realize these specialties are not for them anyway, or their board scores decide for them. If you're ok with that and have an interest in OMT, or are prepared to go through whatever and do what it takes, then you might be ok with a DO school. Research is possible the summer between your first and second years but it's pretty much all on you to make it happen somehow. It seems like a couple students a year might go off and do research somewhere.

Yes, the professors make their own exams. They usually test straight from their powerpoints that they prepare for us, some straight from the assigned reading. They bought us Kaplan Q bank and video review access for us at the end of our Fall semester first year, and they have some other resources/question banks that they provide you access to. You have to pass a barrier exam the Spring of your second year to sit for the COMLEX. Then it's about 3-4 weeks of self study before your boards. That time frame I'm not as clear on.

You can do audition rotations your fourth year. Pretty much every school lets you do that. I wouldn't worry too much about that at the moment to be honest.

 

[suddenlyexposed]

If you're down to a MD program and William Carey, go to that MD program if accepted (unless its a Caribbean or foreign MD program of course). It's just more practical to do so, no judgement against any DO schools. This is for numerous reasons: cost (probably cheaper than WC if a MD state school; you won't have to take the Step exams along with the COMLEXs), DO discrimination (many residency programs will have the propensity to not put you on the same playing field as MD applicants, along with possible complete silence from upper end programs/competitive specialties), in house clinical rotations (most DO schools don't have a home institution/teaching hospital for rotations), and extra time spent studying OMT/OPP. All in all it's just an easier path with going to a MD med school, no matter if it's the "best" DO school vs. one of the worse MD schools. Unfortunately that's just the way the system is, especially more so now that there aren't any protected DO residencies (at least by 2020).

Bench/transnational research is largely non existent at WC, as with many DO schools. That's not really their role. Their main idea is to send students into primary care. It's in their mission statement, so they're up front about it. If you're one of the many med students starting out dead set on ENT, derm, neurosurg, some surgical sub specialty, etc., then DO is probably not the best route for you. It can happen for certain DO students, but the odds are against you. That being said, no offense but that's kind of a pre-med cliche and many people eventually realize these specialties are not for them anyway, or their board scores decide for them. If you're ok with that and have an interest in OMT, or are prepared to go through whatever and do what it takes, then you might be ok with a DO school. Research is possible the summer between your first and second years but it's pretty much all on you to make it happen somehow. It seems like a couple students a year might go off and do research somewhere.

Yes, the professors make their own exams. They usually test straight from their powerpoints that they prepare for us, some straight from the assigned reading. They bought us Kaplan Q bank and video review access for us at the end of our Fall semester first year, and they have some other resources/question banks that they provide you access to. You have to pass a barrier exam the Spring of your second year to sit for the COMLEX. Then it's about 3-4 weeks of self study before your boards. That time frame I'm not as clear on.

You can do audition rotations your fourth year. Pretty much every school lets you do that. I wouldn't worry too much about that at the moment to be honest.

Thank you!! This was very informative!

 

[Voch119]

Except for class remediations. PD's DO care about those. Unfortunately, due to said professor, 30% of the OMS-I class will now have that on their record. And this is coming from someone who also essentially a straight B student. Student's wanted help, and they weren't given it. I don't know what else could have been done by the class.

Very true. Note that I said that residencies don't really care that much about a high pre-clinical GPA, not failing a class. They definitely don't want to see any red flags in any form. That was pretty rough when I heard how many failed histo, and I wonder what the administration thought about all that. I wonder if they realized how much of an issue it would be in the end. I was fortunate enough to heed the second years' advice of making sure you don't come close to the edge of failing with histo and phys, so I definitely put more time into them when my grades dropped in both. Histo in particular can be somewhat foreign for people who haven't had it previously, so I feel like a solid professor is required for that class. Granted you can make it pretty easy if you wanted to as a course director.

 

[Voch119]

I don’t think administration cares, as it will force more students into the primary care roles Carey is looking to fill.


Word on the street was that some OMS-II bragged to the professor about how easy the class was last year, which really pissed him/her off. The image exams this year are markedly more difficult. I would ace the practice image exams from previous years, and then go into the actual exam and struggle to get a B. Things clearly changed.

I agree with your opinion that the actual image exams are more difficult than the practice exams, but I think that your first sentence is kind of out there in conspiracy theory land. I don't think they're intentionally letting students do poorly just to knock their residency possibilities down. Also, I never get the primary care hate on these boards, notably from DO students. A good PCP is invaluable and I've seen them make what turned out to be pretty good catches. I worked in research in a primary care setting along with shadowing some so I got some fair exposure. Many I worked with or observed were sharp and actually had a good gig. Nice, clean clinics with good support staff and good hours (in around 8:30-9, out by 5-5:30). They didn't have to take call either and made solid pay, just depends on what you can land as far as a position. I mean like I noted earlier, that's the main idea behind DO schools and they're up front about it. I'm unsure of what specialty I'd pursue but I went into WC knowing that I'd be ok with working IM or whatever if it came to that. There are always fellowships afterwards if you really can't stand it, so it's not a bad path.

 

[WorldChanger36]

I agree with your opinion that the actual image exams are more difficult than the practice exams, but I think that your first sentence is kind of out there in conspiracy theory land. I don't think they're intentionally letting students do poorly just to knock their residency possibilities down. Also, I never get the primary care hate on these boards, notably from DO students. A good PCP is invaluable and I've seen them make what turned out to be pretty good catches. I worked in research in a primary care setting along with shadowing some so I got some fair exposure. Many I worked with or observed were sharp and actually had a good gig. Nice, clean clinics with good support staff and good hours (in around 8:30-9, out by 5-5:30). They didn't have to take call either and made solid pay, just depends on what you can land as far as a position. I mean like I noted earlier, that's the main idea behind DO schools and they're up front about it. I'm unsure of what specialty I'd pursue but I went into WC knowing that I'd be ok with working IM or whatever if it came to that. There are always fellowships afterwards if you really can't stand it, so it's not a bad path.

I think the issue is with Carey forcing people into Family to make numbers work out. I dont think it FM hate, just wanting thing to be more open not just being told you can do anything while being denied the things you need to get into programs that get you out of primary care.

 

[theoriginalsandman]

Hi All,

There have been many repeat questions from new interviewees or newly accepted students. I am going to partially recycle a post I made a few months back with a lot of new updates and info. I have tried to make this post easy to scroll through its crazy long, I added headings by timeline year by year as follows:

Q&A – short and to the point
Premed - detailed
OMS1- detailed
OMS2- detailed
OMS3- detailed
OMS4 - detailed
I have been as unbiased as I can, based on my experience, successes and mistakes. I truly wish you all the best.

Context: This is my SDN swansong. I am a fourth year and recently matched my first-choice program. It felt REALLY GOOD to see DO next to my name in the residency contract! Here is my experience and perspective.

• Q&A
  

Premed/OMS1 Q&A
Carey vs MD schools?
MD 100% see premed below.

Carey vs Caribbean schools?
Carey 100% see premed below.

Carey vs other DO schools?
Too much arguing on this topic on this thread. ACGME doesn’t care; seriously they don’t care if you’re from Carey or Touro, PCOM, TCOM, ZCOM, QCOM or wherever, unless the program is located by the specific DO school and they interact with the students on rotation. No ACGME program where I interviewed knew anything about Carey good or bad. They lumped all DO schools into the same general category and don’t know enough about them to stratify schools. See last few paragraphs in premed below.

Is Carey geared towards primary care?
Absolutely, its in the mission statement.

Is the attendance policy excessive?
Yes, according to most, but its there. Work around it.

Can I do 4th year away rotations away or in Hattiesburg?
Yes, and yes, but you need to plan them yourself. See OMS4 above

Best part about Carey?
Students 100%, also the newer, younger faculty seems to be pretty invested in the students.

Worst part?
Red tape all 4 years.

Best (most relevant to intended goal) educational aspect of Carey?
COMLEX level 2 PE prep.

Worst?
USMLE 1 or 2 anything

What is OMS1 or 2 like?
Ask an OMS1 or 2, its changed dramatically since my class.

Can I become a great Doctor after graduating Carey?
100%

OMS2-4 Q&A

Is there OMT work in OMS3 and 4?
Yes, to the very last OMS4 rotation.

Do I have to perform OMT on Rotations?
No

Should I take the USMLE?
Yes, if you want anything in ACGME other than FM or IM.

Is there an MD bias?
Not that I ever saw. Competent is competent. This seems to be a premed construct.

ACGME or AOA?
If you are class of 2019, IMO 100% ACGME if you can, IMO.
2020, this is a problem that will not exist, but the competition will no doubt increase because many AOA spots are going by the wayside.

Will I get much support with my application to residency?
No. I believe it will improve in the next few years though.

Has attending Carey helped or hurt my match?
UGH. I, along with many are very happy with match, but many are not. See OMS4 paragraphs below.

What about uber competitive specialties ex. ENT, derm etc.?
Unlikely based on past stats. If you want Derm, etc. go to a top 40 NIH funded MD school, kill the boards AND have a family member or close friend in that field. They are crazy hard to get no matter where you go!
Based on this year, if you apply from here 95%+ of you will get FM, IM, Peds, Psych, OB, ER, Gen Surg, Rads, Gas in that or similar order. There were a couple outliers this year, but this is what you can expect.

Will it help my match chances to apply in my home state?
Yes 100%

What is the 2018 placement / match rate this year?
Placement rate and match rate are vastly different things. Placement also includes AOA scramble, ACGME SOAP and post SOAP AOA empty spots, TRIs etc.
Placement rate TBD.
AOA match by school link
2018 Summary by College

Those numbers are convoluted, what does the above link mean?
Yep, that’s AOA. Basically, WCU matched similarly to the other DO schools in the AOA match.

What was the 2018 ACGME match rate?
Anecdotal at this point, nothing released by the school yet.

NRMP match link
http://www.nrmp.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Results-and-Data-SMS-2018.pdf

What can I do to have the best match from Carey?
Work hard, make connections, do well on boards, be realistic about your field based on stats, be really cool to your attendings, residents, and other med students on rotations and interviews. Don’t brown nose or act like you know more than you do, it irritates PDs and attendings. Be willing to learn from anyone.

Detailed Info by year:

• Premed students:

No offense meant, but you truly have no idea yet. Knowing undergard or grad level biochem and cell bio is a tiny fraction of med school. This is likely the single biggest decision of your life which will impact you for the next 30+ years. Listen to a wide array of people who have been through it and plan accordingly. There is a spectrum of people in med school and more specifically at Carey ranging from completely miserable to reasonably content.

I don’t remember anyone doing backflips down the hall in OMS1 or 2.

OMS3 is pretty good

4th year is awesome!

Getting in: Take all the interviews you can until you get an acceptance (or 2), then you can afford to be choosey. IMO I would NOT forego an acceptance ANYWHERE to do an MBS or the like. There is no point in adding a year of school, debt etc. to maybe have a shot at a place you may or may not like better. This process is a grind; take the bird in hand.

Getting into Carey: If you get an interview you have a great chance to be accepted unless you completely blow the interview which is very unlikely If you are waitlisted, hang in there, you still have a shot. In my first year they added people from the list until the second day of classes.

Carey vs other DO schools vs MD vs Caribbean (classic SDN debate):

In truth I hated the first two preclinical years at Carey, there are plenty of specifics as to why by other students in this thread. After two years of rotations / residency interviews meeting other DO, MD, and IMG grads, no one has told me their first two years of med school were fantastic. Many if not most of the things that infuriate students at Carey exist at the other DO schools as well.

I had several options. I chose Carey because of the students. Honestly, if I did not have the friends I made at Carey, med school would have been a lot harder. There are gunners at every school, but I think we have fewer than most.

RE: Experiences of My MD friends

Less frustration in the preclinical years

Better environment to succeed on the boards. That statement is not speculative, I have seen course materials and syllabi from friends, and it is better. MD programs have had more time to ferret out things that do not benefit the students and typically are set in established academic environments, whereas DO schools are almost universally newer and still figuring out what works. Also, keep in mind we spend 20%+ of our time on OMT material which never appears on USMLE, theoretically giving them less material to study in the same time frame.

Better opportunities to match in highly competitive fields-see above + agreements with academic hospital systems, more help from admin, advisors, match stats, connections, etc.

MD students generally have less hands-on experience in years 3-4 because there are multiple layers of students, interns, residents, fellows, etc. above them getting in on procedures and patient care.
I believe the relationships a student can make with a preceptor at Carey is one of the better selling points of the school. My LORs to ERAS were outstanding, and even better my preceptors discussed them with me prior to submission. Without question, they opened doors for me to residency interviews I may have not had if I only worked with residents and had cookie cutter fill in the blank LORs.

The IMG grads (Caribbean or elsewhere) I have met have a rough go all around. DON’T DO IT UNLESS YOU HAVE NO OTHER OPTION!

They are basically on their own and self-study for the first two years and then struggle to get rotations in the U.S. I met an IMG MD at one of my interviews who was in her third application cycle and working as a nurse to pay loans until she found a residency. Access to good preceptors is extremely important along with a chance at an AI (acting internship) to get the attention of a specific program. The students in the Caribbean are encouraged to apply to 150-250 programs to try and get a residency spot. Again, not speculation but information offered by a Ross grad during an interview dinner. The IMGs I know lumped U.S. grads together, MD and DO when they compared their experience to ours.

• OMS1

Goal: make it unscathed to OMS2.

Don’t get caught up in the med school frenzy, politics or the like. There is plenty of time for you to worry about residency, boards etc. Grind, study your power points, do as well as you can in class to lay a framework of knowledge onto which you will add to over the next 2 years. There are many things which will infuriate you but don’t let it get to you. Getting angry with things admin does will not help you nor will it change their outlook or position. It’s going to bring you down and your relationships with your studies, family, SOs, and friends will suffer if you’re irritated from things beyond your control. You are here; suck it up and remember you will soon be a doctor. Things will get better, I promise.

Enjoy your summer, maybe do some research if you can.

• OMS2
  

Goal: don’t get tripped up by a class and work hard for Step/Level 1

You know how the classes work by now. Mind your attendance so you don’t fail but do what is best for your board studies. If you don’t learn from them in class, duck out and make better use of your time (while still maintaining 80%). Use your most precious commodity (time) wisely. Don’t sit back in class playing games or watching Netflix and then complain about barely passing or poor board scores. You will regret it at match time. Keep grinding and do things outside of school when you can to preserve your sanity.

UFAP (uworld first aid pathoma) or something similar. Pick a boards program and stick with it. Everybody and their brother is going to try and sell you something this year, emails, classmates trying to rep a program for a discount, sales people coming to school, you will see it all. Its all expensive. Everyone learns in their own way, looking back I used too many resources and spread myself too thin among them. I probably could have squeezed out more points by sticking with the tried and true resources. Keep in mind to do COMLEX style questions as well. It is a terribly written, vague exam but you MUST pass it.

Make sure you pass the COMSAE!!! It will mess up your study schedule if you don’t. They will probably force you to take some type of school sponsored course which is unlikely to help you as an individual. Be strategic about when you are taking step/level 1.

Begin to think about a field of interest but don’t fixate because it may change once you get into rotations.

• OMS3
  

Goal: Shine on rotations and get those LORs, and work hard for step 2

There are many great resources for you, onlinemeded is fantastic, FA

Figure out what you want to do when you grow up and explore that field with your electives.

MAKE CONNECTIONS where you can, it’s going to get real, and very soon. Get those VSAS apps out ASAP. The AI spots fill up fast (don’t call it an “audition rotation”, It makes you sound less informed on how the system works). ACGME calls it acting internship (AI) or externship or sub-intership (Sub-I). There are also many good non-VSAS programs including FGH in Hattiesburg. In either case book the AI early.

Boards

Remember what worked or didn’t work for you on step/level 1. No reason to reinvent the wheel. And yes, COMLEX 2 is also terribly written.

Remember you must come back for OMT or OSCE which will take a big chunk away from step/level 2 studies. Plan and schedule accordingly.

The PE: its easy. Don’t stress it. If you have done well on your rotations, it will be fine. Learn how to craft a good SOAP note, you are going to need it for many years to come. Probably the best thing Carey does is prep you for the PE. Its shockingly similar. A+ for them on this one.

• OMS4

Get AIs and WORK HARD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I cannot stress this enough. If you are borderline on paper but kill the rotation. it may be enough to get you that residency spot. If you are great on paper but flub the rotation, you are done. Anecdotally, I have seen it work both ways.

Be fully aware of what you will need for your applications, ex. SLOEs for EM are due by September 15th and plan ahead.

Get your application into ERAS on time!!! The Dean’s letter (or MPSE) comes out in October. Don’t wait for it. Most of your interviews will be booked long before it comes out if you are on your game.

Recognize your strengths and weaknesses and be realistic about your chances; seriously, you need to do this. Are you mediocre or not so great on paper? Do you get under people’s skin? Are your preceptor reviews less than stellar?

Most people who matched in my class did this. Many people who did not match were often unrealistic with their chances into their applied field or program, conversely, there were a few in our class who were tailor made for their field and applied appropriately and unfortunately, it didn’t work out for them. That’s not to say don’t shoot for the moon but have a plan B just in case. There are alternative paths if you do not match ex. TRI.

Remember that when you get to this point it is a job. Refer to the program director survey on the ACGME website to see what is important in obtaining a residency.

Among ALL specialties factors and importance for ranking applicants post interview # 1-4 have nothing to do with scores/ class rank (link below). I am by no means diminishing the importance of board scores. They are very important, and extremely important for a highly competitive specialty. But, keep in mind PD (program directors), faculty and residents want to know if they can work with you for long hours under high stress for 3-5 years straight. Being a decent and modest student/ person and having genuine interest in the field will serve you well in your journey.

http://www.nrmp.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/NRMP-2016-Program-Director-Survey.pdf


MIC DROPPED. GOOD LUCK ALL!

 

[deleted244469]

I agree with your opinion that the actual image exams are more difficult than the practice exams, but I think that your first sentence is kind of out there in conspiracy theory land. I don't think they're intentionally letting students do poorly just to knock their residency possibilities down. Also, I never get the primary care hate on these boards, notably from DO students. A good PCP is invaluable and I've seen them make what turned out to be pretty good catches. I worked in research in a primary care setting along with shadowing some so I got some fair exposure. Many I worked with or observed were sharp and actually had a good gig. Nice, clean clinics with good support staff and good hours (in around 8:30-9, out by 5-5:30). They didn't have to take call either and made solid pay, just depends on what you can land as far as a position. I mean like I noted earlier, that's the main idea behind DO schools and they're up front about it. I'm unsure of what specialty I'd pursue but I went into WC knowing that I'd be ok with working IM or whatever if it came to that. There are always fellowships afterwards if you really can't stand it, so it's not a bad path.

I think you may have misconstrued my post. I apologize. I am in no way bashing PCP's. They are needed as much as the specialty positions are. I simply meant that the school makes you have your hands tied before you can go out and experience rotations/find the specialty that you enjoy the most.

Hi All,

There have been many repeat questions from new interviewees or newly accepted students. I am going to partially recycle a post I made a few months back with a lot of new updates and info. I have tried to make this post easy to scroll through its crazy long, I added headings by timeline year by year as follows:


http://www.nrmp.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/NRMP-2016-Program-Director-Survey.pdf


MIC DROPPED. GOOD LUCK ALL!

Great post!

 

[WorldChanger36]

Hi All,

There have been many repeat questions from new interviewees or newly accepted students. I am going to partially recycle a post I made a few months back with a lot of new updates and info. I have tried to make this post easy to scroll through its crazy long, I added headings by timeline year by year as follows:

Q&A – short and to the point
Premed - detailed
OMS1- detailed
OMS2- detailed
OMS3- detailed
OMS4 - detailed
I have been as unbiased as I can, based on my experience, successes and mistakes. I truly wish you all the best.

Context: This is my SDN swansong. I am a fourth year and recently matched my first-choice program. It felt REALLY GOOD to see DO next to my name in the residency contract! Here is my experience and perspective.

• Q&A

Premed/OMS1 Q&A
Carey vs MD schools?
MD 100% see premed below.

Carey vs Caribbean schools?
Carey 100% see premed below.

Carey vs other DO schools?
Too much arguing on this topic on this thread. ACGME doesn’t care; seriously they don’t care if you’re from Carey or Touro, PCOM, TCOM, ZCOM, QCOM or wherever, unless the program is located by the specific DO school and they interact with the students on rotation. No ACGME program where I interviewed knew anything about Carey good or bad. They lumped all DO schools into the same general category and don’t know enough about them to stratify schools. See last few paragraphs in premed below.

Is Carey geared towards primary care?
Absolutely, its in the mission statement.

Is the attendance policy excessive?
Yes, according to most, but its there. Work around it.

Can I do 4th year away rotations away or in Hattiesburg?
Yes, and yes, but you need to plan them yourself. See OMS4 above

Best part about Carey?
Students 100%, also the newer, younger faculty seems to be pretty invested in the students.

Worst part?
Red tape all 4 years.

Best (most relevant to intended goal) educational aspect of Carey?
COMLEX level 2 PE prep.

Worst?
USMLE 1 or 2 anything

What is OMS1 or 2 like?
Ask an OMS1 or 2, its changed dramatically since my class.

Can I become a great Doctor after graduating Carey?
100%

OMS2-4 Q&A

Is there OMT work in OMS3 and 4?
Yes, to the very last OMS4 rotation.

Do I have to perform OMT on Rotations?
No

Should I take the USMLE?
Yes, if you want anything in ACGME other than FM or IM.

Is there an MD bias?
Not that I ever saw. Competent is competent. This seems to be a premed construct.

ACGME or AOA?
If you are class of 2019, IMO 100% ACGME if you can, IMO.
2020, this is a problem that will not exist, but the competition will no doubt increase because many AOA spots are going by the wayside.

Will I get much support with my application to residency?
No. I believe it will improve in the next few years though.

Has attending Carey helped or hurt my match?
UGH. I, along with many are very happy with match, but many are not. See OMS4 paragraphs below.

What about uber competitive specialties ex. ENT, derm etc.?
Unlikely based on past stats. If you want Derm, etc. go to a top 40 NIH funded MD school, kill the boards AND have a family member or close friend in that field. They are crazy hard to get no matter where you go!
Based on this year, if you apply from here 95%+ of you will get FM, IM, Peds, Psych, OB, ER, Gen Surg, Rads, Gas in that or similar order. There were a couple outliers this year, but this is what you can expect.

Will it help my match chances to apply in my home state?
Yes 100%

What is the 2018 placement / match rate this year?
Placement rate and match rate are vastly different things. Placement also includes AOA scramble, ACGME SOAP and post SOAP AOA empty spots, TRIs etc.
Placement rate TBD.
AOA match by school link
2018 Summary by College

Those numbers are convoluted, what does the above link mean?
Yep, that’s AOA. Basically, WCU matched similarly to the other DO schools in the AOA match.

What was the 2018 ACGME match rate?
Anecdotal at this point, nothing released by the school yet.

NRMP match link
http://www.nrmp.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Results-and-Data-SMS-2018.pdf

What can I do to have the best match from Carey?
Work hard, make connections, do well on boards, be realistic about your field based on stats, be really cool to your attendings, residents, and other med students on rotations and interviews. Don’t brown nose or act like you know more than you do, it irritates PDs and attendings. Be willing to learn from anyone.

Detailed Info by year:

• Premed students:

No offense meant, but you truly have no idea yet. Knowing undergard or grad level biochem and cell bio is a tiny fraction of med school. This is likely the single biggest decision of your life which will impact you for the next 30+ years. Listen to a wide array of people who have been through it and plan accordingly. There is a spectrum of people in med school and more specifically at Carey ranging from completely miserable to reasonably content.

I don’t remember anyone doing backflips down the hall in OMS1 or 2.

OMS3 is pretty good

4th year is awesome!

Getting in: Take all the interviews you can until you get an acceptance (or 2), then you can afford to be choosey. IMO I would NOT forego an acceptance ANYWHERE to do an MBS or the like. There is no point in adding a year of school, debt etc. to maybe have a shot at a place you may or may not like better. This process is a grind; take the bird in hand.

Getting into Carey: If you get an interview you have a great chance to be accepted unless you completely blow the interview which is very unlikely If you are waitlisted, hang in there, you still have a shot. In my first year they added people from the list until the second day of classes.

Carey vs other DO schools vs MD vs Caribbean (classic SDN debate):

In truth I hated the first two preclinical years at Carey, there are plenty of specifics as to why by other students in this thread. After two years of rotations / residency interviews meeting other DO, MD, and IMG grads, no one has told me their first two years of med school were fantastic. Many if not most of the things that infuriate students at Carey exist at the other DO schools as well.

I had several options. I chose Carey because of the students. Honestly, if I did not have the friends I made at Carey, med school would have been a lot harder. There are gunners at every school, but I think we have fewer than most.

RE: Experiences of My MD friends

Less frustration in the preclinical years

Better environment to succeed on the boards. That statement is not speculative, I have seen course materials and syllabi from friends, and it is better. MD programs have had more time to ferret out things that do not benefit the students and typically are set in established academic environments, whereas DO schools are almost universally newer and still figuring out what works. Also, keep in mind we spend 20%+ of our time on OMT material which never appears on USMLE, theoretically giving them less material to study in the same time frame.

Better opportunities to match in highly competitive fields-see above + agreements with academic hospital systems, more help from admin, advisors, match stats, connections, etc.

MD students generally have less hands-on experience in years 3-4 because there are multiple layers of students, interns, residents, fellows, etc. above them getting in on procedures and patient care.
I believe the relationships a student can make with a preceptor at Carey is one of the better selling points of the school. My LORs to ERAS were outstanding, and even better my preceptors discussed them with me prior to submission. Without question, they opened doors for me to residency interviews I may have not had if I only worked with residents and had cookie cutter fill in the blank LORs.

The IMG grads (Caribbean or elsewhere) I have met have a rough go all around. DON’T DO IT UNLESS YOU HAVE NO OTHER OPTION!

They are basically on their own and self-study for the first two years and then struggle to get rotations in the U.S. I met an IMG MD at one of my interviews who was in her third application cycle and working as a nurse to pay loans until she found a residency. Access to good preceptors is extremely important along with a chance at an AI (acting internship) to get the attention of a specific program. The students in the Caribbean are encouraged to apply to 150-250 programs to try and get a residency spot. Again, not speculation but information offered by a Ross grad during an interview dinner. The IMGs I know lumped U.S. grads together, MD and DO when they compared their experience to ours.

• OMS1

Goal: make it unscathed to OMS2.

Don’t get caught up in the med school frenzy, politics or the like. There is plenty of time for you to worry about residency, boards etc. Grind, study your power points, do as well as you can in class to lay a framework of knowledge onto which you will add to over the next 2 years. There are many things which will infuriate you but don’t let it get to you. Getting angry with things admin does will not help you nor will it change their outlook or position. It’s going to bring you down and your relationships with your studies, family, SOs, and friends will suffer if you’re irritated from things beyond your control. You are here; suck it up and remember you will soon be a doctor. Things will get better, I promise.

Enjoy your summer, maybe do some research if you can.

• OMS2

Goal: don’t get tripped up by a class and work hard for Step/Level 1

You know how the classes work by now. Mind your attendance so you don’t fail but do what is best for your board studies. If you don’t learn from them in class, duck out and make better use of your time (while still maintaining 80%). Use your most precious commodity (time) wisely. Don’t sit back in class playing games or watching Netflix and then complain about barely passing or poor board scores. You will regret it at match time. Keep grinding and do things outside of school when you can to preserve your sanity.

UFAP (uworld first aid pathoma) or something similar. Pick a boards program and stick with it. Everybody and their brother is going to try and sell you something this year, emails, classmates trying to rep a program for a discount, sales people coming to school, you will see it all. Its all expensive. Everyone learns in their own way, looking back I used too many resources and spread myself too thin among them. I probably could have squeezed out more points by sticking with the tried and true resources. Keep in mind to do COMLEX style questions as well. It is a terribly written, vague exam but you MUST pass it.

Make sure you pass the COMSAE!!! It will mess up your study schedule if you don’t. They will probably force you to take some type of school sponsored course which is unlikely to help you as an individual. Be strategic about when you are taking step/level 1.

Begin to think about a field of interest but don’t fixate because it may change once you get into rotations.

• OMS3

Goal: Shine on rotations and get those LORs, and work hard for step 2

There are many great resources for you, onlinemeded is fantastic, FA

Figure out what you want to do when you grow up and explore that field with your electives.

MAKE CONNECTIONS where you can, it’s going to get real, and very soon. Get those VSAS apps out ASAP. The AI spots fill up fast (don’t call it an “audition rotation”, It makes you sound less informed on how the system works). ACGME calls it acting internship (AI) or externship or sub-intership (Sub-I). There are also many good non-VSAS programs including FGH in Hattiesburg. In either case book the AI early.

Boards

Remember what worked or didn’t work for you on step/level 1. No reason to reinvent the wheel. And yes, COMLEX 2 is also terribly written.

Remember you must come back for OMT or OSCE which will take a big chunk away from step/level 2 studies. Plan and schedule accordingly.

The PE: its easy. Don’t stress it. If you have done well on your rotations, it will be fine. Learn how to craft a good SOAP note, you are going to need it for many years to come. Probably the best thing Carey does is prep you for the PE. Its shockingly similar. A+ for them on this one.

• OMS4

Get AIs and WORK HARD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I cannot stress this enough. If you are borderline on paper but kill the rotation. it may be enough to get you that residency spot. If you are great on paper but flub the rotation, you are done. Anecdotally, I have seen it work both ways.

Be fully aware of what you will need for your applications, ex. SLOEs for EM are due by September 15th and plan ahead.

Get your application into ERAS on time!!! The Dean’s letter (or MPSE) comes out in October. Don’t wait for it. Most of your interviews will be booked long before it comes out if you are on your game.

Recognize your strengths and weaknesses and be realistic about your chances; seriously, you need to do this. Are you mediocre or not so great on paper? Do you get under people’s skin? Are your preceptor reviews less than stellar?

Most people who matched in my class did this. Many people who did not match were often unrealistic with their chances into their applied field or program, conversely, there were a few in our class who were tailor made for their field and applied appropriately and unfortunately, it didn’t work out for them. That’s not to say don’t shoot for the moon but have a plan B just in case. There are alternative paths if you do not match ex. TRI.

Remember that when you get to this point it is a job. Refer to the program director survey on the ACGME website to see what is important in obtaining a residency.

Among ALL specialties factors and importance for ranking applicants post interview # 1-4 have nothing to do with scores/ class rank (link below). I am by no means diminishing the importance of board scores. They are very important, and extremely important for a highly competitive specialty. But, keep in mind PD (program directors), faculty and residents want to know if they can work with you for long hours under high stress for 3-5 years straight. Being a decent and modest student/ person and having genuine interest in the field will serve you well in your journey.

http://www.nrmp.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/NRMP-2016-Program-Director-Survey.pdf


MIC DROPPED. GOOD LUCK ALL!

Wow. Great advice.

 

[Dr. Callie Torres]

I recently Interviewed at an MD school and I have an interview with WC next week. I want to compare a little about the school before I make any decisions in case I get accepted to both ( fingers crossed)! There are a few points that I want to as about that I don't know if I would get this information on my interview: Research, course exams, and 4th year rotations.
Research: I know that the other school had a mandatory summer research requirement. This can be done at any institution of with the NIH and the school helps you find some ( one of the students that I met during the interview had done her research at Johns Hopkins). My question is, after M1, do students get the summer off to potentially do research, since it seems that research is not a strong point in WC. And if so, will the school help you land a good research spot?

#2: Do the professors make their own exams? The other school had some issues with inconsistencies with exams in the past, so they brought in a consultant and now they get all their course exams from NBME which makes the STEPS. It seemed like their last class had a 97% pass rate on Step 1, at least that's what the student at the interview said and they had pretty good matches this year including UM Jackson, UF, Johns Hopkins, and UChicago. However, their overall match rate was lower that WC at 89%. My question is how does WC prepare their course exams, and overall, how do they help the students prepare for boards. I don't want any negatives. I want to know what the school is doing right. I have read enough about what people think its doing wrong.

#3: Can 4th year students do away rotations?

Thanks for the inputs!! Do you think it would be wise to ask these questions on interview day?

If you have a choice between DO v MD, do MD, unless its a carribean program. Match rates for international graduates are lower than DO overall, but I would ask both about the attrition rate to compare the match #'s, and see where those people are matching, but with how merger seems to be going, its super scary for DO's. Also you're at a disadvantage for a lot of residencies even without the merger.
I am one of the few who even like OMT but if I had to do it again, I'd go MD (within US)

Edited to the post by @theoriginalsandman, very well said.

 

[suddenlyexposed]

If you have a choice between DO v MD, do MD, unless its a carribean program. Match rates for international graduates are lower than DO overall, but I would ask both about the attrition rate to compare the match #'s, and see where those people are matching, but with how merger seems to be going, its super scary for DO's. Also you're at a disadvantage for a lot of residencies even without the merger.
I am one of the few who even like OMT but if I had to do it again, I'd go MD (within US)

Edited to the post by @theoriginalsandman, very well said.

The MD is San Juan Bautista in Puerto Rico, though it’s LCME accredited. Hence my hesitation. I worry mainly because I hear the merger will make it harder for DO’s to match. But that’s about my only hesitation. Thank you for your input though!!

 

[UnschooledDO]

No ACGME program where I interviewed knew anything about Carey good or bad. They lumped all DO schools into the same general category and don’t know enough about them to stratify schools. See last few paragraphs in premed below.

I agree with this 1000% - I've heard this from multiple people who matched this year and last year

 

[Texasmedins]

Hey guys, great advice and points raised. One thing that sticks out to me is Histology; what advice do you guys have for someone who's about to start at Carey this Fall, specifically for Histology?

 

[GEToutLADYits6AM]

Hey guys, great advice and points raised. One thing that sticks out to me is Histology; what advice do you guys have for someone who's about to start at Carey this Fall, specifically for Histology?

The histology professor is retiring and his replacement is a good one. (Lucky you)

 

[suddenlyexposed]

Accepted!! Does anyone know if there’s a Facebook page?!

 

[Texasmedins]

Accepted!! Does anyone know if there’s a Facebook page?!

Yes there is - WCUCOM class of 2022.

 

[WorldChanger36]

The histology professor is retiring and his replacement is a good one. (Lucky you)

I wouldn't be so sure of that yet. Pressure from the top often changes the tune of new professors. Remember everything is approved by the curriculum council, so don't expect drastic changes in the right direction. If anything expect it to be close to the same or a bit better than it was. Remember Carey does get rid of professors that don't play ball.

 

[yawa worht]

WORLD’S MOST HONEST REVIEW:


FINAL WORDS: a few students may disagree with my post while the rest is too afraid to raise their voice. Shame on WCUCOM for brain washing students into a bunch of obedient lambs. I am sure the administration will be annoyed after reading my post and will torture our class even more. But WCUCOM must fix their problems. Otherwise, they deserve to lose all their students. We have done everything we can to address the issues but nothing seems to be resolved. After last semester, we have lost some very talent students. Do not let all your years of hard work to be destroyed by this evil school. WCUCOM is purely a business. They only care about keeping the money flowing.

Please go back and review what students have said about WCUCOM on previous cycles, this might save your whole career.

WOW! Such an awful post. Just all around terrible and full of pointing fingers. What you need is a mirror and some time alone, so you can reflect on what went wrong. It's clear you had a terrible experience, and that sucks. It really does. It's a truly difficult road to get to the point of attaining an acceptance and it doesn't get any easier after that. However, don't try to blame your program for your troubles. There were multiple people in our class with 1 - 4 kids, some of them ran companies on the side, some of them commuted to campus 1+ hours each day, some of them had to deal with family tragedies, the list goes on, but they all made it, and are now in residency and accomplishing their goals.

Point is, there are people in this program, in your class, and every year before you that have had to deal with a lot, not just in school, but out of school as well. They deal with those things, and they excel because they are.... adults.

The curriculum is manageable. It was hectic and still new when I went through school, but it was manageable and having talked to current students this past semester when I was on campus, it seems Carey has come a long way and ironed out the kinks. I hate to say it, but if you failed any classes at WCUCOM, that is totally on YOU and no one else. (And yes, we had that professor who could be a bit moody, but if you met with him one-on-one he turned out to be a good guy, just trying to do his part to prep you for rotations. If you think he's bad, wait until you have to deal with actual patients and hospital administration; you'll wish you were back in his lecture hall getting scolded for not being able to "answer the question asked")

My colleagues and I have shared our med school experiences, MD and DO, and they are not that dissimilar. Every school has THOSE professors, but also, every school has THOSE students as well. The ones that struggle and get it together before it's too late, and the ones that struggle and fail, and blame everyone, but themselves.

If you're struggling, the school will work with you. They will try to help you. They helped me. I felt overwhelmed my entire first year and stumbled mightily out of the gates, but they helped me address my issues, which turned out to simply be that I was lazy and not actually doing the work. I remember feeling like I was doing the work, but I wasn’t. Medical school is hard, and you will have to work more than you ever have, more than you ever knew you could at times.

WCUCOM does not want bad attrition rates, no school does. However, they are not going to hand you grades each semester until boards roll around your second year just so you can go sit for it and fail. I'm sure they would rather have a higher attrition rate and a good board passing rate, than a lower attrition rate, and awful board scores and unprepared student doctors. With that said, the attrition rate seems to be around 5% each year (~5 students). It's not like people are dropping like flies, so don't make it sound doom-and-gloom. If WCUCOM was truly just “after the money”, then they would let you stick around for another year or two while you try to pass your boards and collect a few extra years’ worth tuition instead of weeding you out early and saving you the time and money of a wasted second year and repeat second year.

Lastly, there are more than, "a few" students currently taking great offense to your post. It was brought to my attention from more than "a few" of them. Please don't make gross generalizations like that.

I, and many current and former students who are seeing this post greatly object to it, and sincerely disagree.

In general....
Failure is hard thing to deal with, especially at this level, after so much time and energy, and it’s even harder when you’re not used to experiencing it. Sorry if this comes across as too cold, but you are in a safe bubble during medical school. When you’re out and taking care of people’s moms, dads, brothers, and sisters, failure takes on a whole new meaning.

Better to fail now while you're in school than later when it actually matters.

@HonestyIsTheBestPolicy, KovalCuk71, or anyone else having problems. Message me if you want to talk. I may not respond immediately, but I was there not too long ago and maybe I can help you.

 

[yawa worht]

So if a third of the class is failing histology its not the professors fault right? Its always the students. And whats up with all of these new accounts being made with no history and not being able to see post history? Interesting.....

Btw its never good to fail at anytime lmao. If you fail out of medical school you fail out with thousands of dollars in debt. Its interesting how our opp teacher gave us a lecture that is better to fail while in medical school then in the "outside world" Coincidence? I think not...

These new accounts are being made because the majority of good students and alumni that liked our school don't like seeing one or two tacky and disgruntled students dragging it through the mud on a public forum. Overall, I had a great time there and received a quality education as did my classmates. Was it perfect? No, but then again no place is. Was it terrible? Not even remotely close.

Stop being bitter, suck it up and work harder, take the tin-foil off your head, and mind your studies. You clearly spend way too much time on here, and if you're spending this much time here, then you're probably spending too much time elsewhere other than your books. I barely had enough time for a morning run when I was in school. I certainly did not have enough time to spend all day browsing SDN.

Also, I sincerely hope you are not this immature when you interview for residency positions. That will not fly.

Close your browser, open your books, get active in your school, and you might just find that it isn't as bad as you think it is.

 

[UnschooledDO]

And whats up with all of these new accounts being made with no history and not being able to see post history? Interesting.....

we are the illuminati... paranoid much?

 

[ytlucaf ton]

Why is this thread so hostile? BTW I’m OMS1 or 2 but don’t want to be identified hence this is my first post. Clearly the above poster is faculty. Students don’t speak that way to other students. Hopefully this thread can become more constructive and less devisive. This thread is supposed to be a forum for incoming students to learn about the program, not see arguing and finger pointing from either side. Everyone play nice, make discussion points on facts please.

 

[WorldChanger36]

Why is this thread so hostile? BTW I’m OMS1 or 2 but don’t want to be identified hence this is my first post. Clearly the above poster is faculty. Students don’t speak that way to other students. Hopefully this thread can become more constructive and less devisive. This thread is supposed to be a forum for incoming students to learn about the program, not see arguing and finger pointing from either side. Everyone play nice, make discussion points on facts please.

Exactly. If you disagree with a post please state what parts and why based on your experience or understanding. Attacking posters doesnt help.
Faculty would be better served by identifying themselves to sdn and get creds so that incoming students can address questions accordingly.

 

[ytlucaf ton]

I'm just getting annoyed with random new accounts telling me to "just work harder". I work my ass off, and my grades are fine. Working harder will not change the issues with the administration, however.

Agreed, it’s frustrating. There were two new accounts and posts made back to back yesterday with two similar back to back posts. The second post was deleted today.

 

[JohnSmith100]

If I were to attend William Carey how likely would it be for me to get a residency in or around New Orleans? I'm interested in OB or family medicine, which I understand will probably change once or twice while at school but I don't think I'd be interested in anything outside of primary care. I understand where I end up will all have to do on how well I do at WCUCOM, and maybe this is a dumb question but New Orleans is where I want to end up so I just wanted to know if its a possibility and if so how likely is the possibility?

 

[theoriginalsandman]

If I were to attend William Carey how likely would it be for me to get a residency in or around New Orleans? I'm interested in OB or family medicine, which I understand will probably change once or twice while at school but I don't think I'd be interested in anything outside of primary care. I understand where I end up will all have to do on how well I do at WCUCOM, and maybe this is a dumb question but New Orleans is where I want to end up so I just wanted to know if its a possibility and if so how likely is the possibility?

Definitely a possibility. This year we had people match in Hattiesburg, Baton Rouge, Shreveport, southern Alabama and I think NOLA as well. I believe we have current IM residents @ Ocshner and Tulane. Scroll up to my post #498 for detailed info.
Good Luck.

 

[CajunMedic]

Definitely a possibility. This year we had people match in Hattiesburg, Baton Rouge, Shreveport, southern Alabama and I think NOLA as well. I believe we have current IM residents @ Ocshner and Tulane. Scroll up to my post #514 for detailed info.
Good Luck.

Yep, At least 2 in NOLA this year, plus the LSU IM program in NO is getting DO friendlier-we've got one there now who was trying to recruit more. The East LA hubsite also rotates at Bogalusa (LSU rural FM residency-one matched there this year), and East Jefferson General Hospital in Metairie (ACGME FM program-don't think we have anyone there)

 

[JohnSmith100]

Definitely a possibility. This year we had people match in Hattiesburg, Baton Rouge, Shreveport, southern Alabama and I think NOLA as well. I believe we have current IM residents @ Ocshner and Tulane. Scroll up to my post #514 for detailed info.
Good Luck.

Yep, At least 2 in NOLA this year, plus the LSU IM program in NO is getting DO friendlier-we've got one there now who was trying to recruit more. The East LA hubsite also rotates at Bogalusa (LSU rural FM residency-one matched there this year), and East Jefferson General Hospital in Metairie (ACGME FM program-don't think we have anyone there)

Where do most people end up matching? Are there places that are more "DO friendly" than others?

 

[theoriginalsandman]

Where do most people end up matching? Are there places that are more "DO friendly" than others?

I think our class is mostly matched in the southeast (MS, LA, AL, FL) but we have people in who have matched in many others states theoughout the northeast, Midwest, west coast and down in Texas.

As far as the second part of your question, that is something you will need to research during your second and third year. The landscape will be vastly different beginning class of 2020 and it’s at this point it’s unlikely anyone can predict exactly how this will impact the match. One thing for certain is the unified match will be more competitive in the future.

 

[kus676]

They are still giving out interviews just in case anyone was wondering. Got one yesterday for April 23, which seems like maybe the last day of interviews. Declining it so I hope someone waiting for one gets it!

 

[0dee]

II for April 23rd, but I declined the offer. Hopefully it goes to one of you that wants to go to WCU.

 

[FuzzyPeaches]

Still haven't heard a final decision since my Interview in January! It's killing me!! The office hasn't answered the phone but I sent an email and am praying I get in!

 

[Noni Mousse]

WCU applicants, students, and graduates, why did you choose WCU? I see a lot of negatives here but now I want to know what you like about the school and the Mississippi area.

Also, the website says "With a unique approach to educate and train students..." What unique approach are they specifically referring to?

 

[WorldChanger36]

WCU applicants, students, and graduates, why did you choose WCU? I see a lot of negatives here but now I want to know what you like about the school and the Mississippi area.

Also, the website says "With a unique approach to educate and train students..." What unique approach are they specifically referring to?

I choose Carey because I had friends and at the time I felt it was less risk than some of my other options. Mississippi has an awesome climate most of the year and it is stupid cheap to live in Hattiesburg. Its not horrible but its not a great town. I say its a solid C-, it works for what you are there for.

That unique blab blab blab is just that blab. It is meaningless words to help sell the school.

 

[Noni Mousse]

I choose Carey because I had friends and at the time I felt it was less risk than some of my other options. Mississippi has an awesome climate most of the year and it is stupid cheap to live in Hattiesburg. Its not horrible but its not a great town. I say its a solid C-, it works for what you are there for.

That unique blab blab blab is just that blab. It is meaningless words to help sell the school.

Thanks for the reply. I imagine Mississippi is often humid and very green, right? Probably many scenic nature trails?

I suspected unique approach might be empty words but I wanted to make sure I wasn't missing anything.

 

[theoriginalsandman]

Thanks for the reply. I imagine Mississippi is often humid and very green, right? Probably many scenic nature trails?

I suspected unique approach might be empty words but I wanted to make sure I wasn't missing anything.

My post 498 is pretty detailed on WCU school info.

Hattiesburg is liveable during med school, but not someplace I wanted to make home. The Longleaf Trace and Forrest preserve trails are my favorite part of Hattiesburg. There are a couple festivals during the year and live at 5 is not bad. People are very friendly, there is a handful of decent restaurants, and cost of living is really low. It can get boring, it’s impossible to get quality produce, and it’s very difficult to travel from here due to location. I agree with @WorldChanger36 C- / D+ overall.

 

[Noni Mousse]

My post 498 is pretty detailed on WCU school info.

Hattiesburg is liveable during med school, but not someplace I wanted to make home. The Longleaf Trace and Forrest preserve trails are my favorite part of Hattiesburg. There are a couple festivals during the year and live at 5 is not bad. People are very friendly, there is a handful of decent restaurants, and cost of living is really low. It can get boring, it’s impossible to get quality produce, and it’s very difficult to travel from here due to location. I agree with @WorldChanger36 C- / D+ overall.

Found your post 498. Thank you, it's very helpful!

 

[CajunMedic]

WCU applicants, students, and graduates, why did you choose WCU? I see a lot of negatives here but now I want to know what you like about the school and the Mississippi area.

Also, the website says "With a unique approach to educate and train students..." What unique approach are they specifically referring to?

They were the only ones that accepted me? But seriously, When I interviewed at Carey, everyone seemed to be friendly and helpful, I ran into a couple of non-traditional students like me that had good things to say. It was close to home, so I was able to live on campus 1st year and have an apartment second year. My wife was able to keep her job and our house in LA. 3rd year hubsite was close enough where I could move back home. Classroom years were OK for me, would have preferred not to have the mandatory attendance for 2nd year. I had great experiences 3rd year clinically, and 4th year was wide open. Even though I didn't match (not really WCU's fault), I've had plenty of support and found a solution that works for me.

I was surprised by Hattiesburg, plenty of places to shop, plenty of good restaurants, my only gripe is the quality of grocery stores. I liked it enough, I wanted to stay there for residency and most likely my career. I can be pretty much anywhere in an hour and a half, 3hrs to Gulf Shores at the most.