A.T. Still University Kirksville (ATSU-KCOM) Discussion Thread 2013 - 2014

[stlrams22]

I called and talked to the aid office. max package for this year is 78K to cover tuition and the living expenses. They provide a worksheet to help w budgeting. The package consists of the federal loan for tuition and then the plus loan offering, I believe they do in fall/spring installments. Thats all i know so far, im waiting for my package as well

That should leave just under 30k for living expenses. I hope the tuition doesn't rise each year like it did this year.

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[607454]

The project it to rise by a percentage each year but I think they factor it in to what their max package will be and then you can take private loans outside those offered for overages. buttttt i dont want to do that at all. So mid June we should know and go from there. Yay for Class of 2018!

 

[abolt18]

That should leave just under 30k for living expenses. I hope the tuition doesn't rise each year like it did this year.

It goes up every year, some years more than others (last yr 1.5%, previous years more than that). Cleveland, the budget should be more than enough. Kirksville is super cheap to live in.

 

[Superman09]

Does anyone know if they start meeting next week to fill spots? Also, does anyone know how often a week they meet?

 

[abolt18]

Does anyone know if they start meeting next week to fill spots? Also, does anyone know how often a week they meet?

No way for us to know that. Sorry. Hope you get good news soon!

 

[meowmeow5]

Does anyone know if they start meeting next week to fill spots? Also, does anyone know how often a week they meet?

If it helps, I was notified via email that I was the next person who was going to come off the wait list on May 16th. I was called yesterday (the 22nd) letting me know that a spot had opened up that morning and I accepted my spot. I think they are literally doing a spot-by-spot fill at this point, but that is just speculation.

 

[Winterland]

As a medical student do you ever wear scrubs? If so are they a certain color? I have loads of scrubs from my current job, should I save any of those, or sell them in a yard sale?

 

[607454]

my apartment for kirksville is 700 a month, is that outrageous or on par w the area? i have a feeling its a bit high but hoping i can cut corners elsewhere. ALSO faced with new hard decision- accepted to Michigan State (MD) program, and now i must decide - which would mean breaking my lease in Missouri and also losing my deposits. the Michigan State acceptance is contingent upon an additional year post bacc. I have a low MCAT score and I am worried that maybe I wont have a strong COMLEX/USMLE if i decide to not to do this intensive program w Michigan State - but its going to cost me an extra year and 30K more.

any thoughts?

torn....

I just want to be successful and supported.

 

[Winterland]

my apartment for kirksville is 700 a month, is that outrageous or on par w the area? i have a feeling its a bit high but hoping i can cut corners elsewhere. ALSO faced with new hard decision- accepted to Michigan State (MD) program, and now i must decide - which would mean breaking my lease in Missouri and also losing my deposits. the Michigan State acceptance is contingent upon an additional year post bacc. I have a low MCAT score and I am worried that maybe I wont have a strong COMLEX/USMLE if i decide to not to do this intensive program w Michigan State - but its going to cost me an extra year and 30K more.

any thoughts?

torn....

I just want to be successful and supported.

I would say 700 a month is on the pricey end for an apartment. I rented a two bedroom house for $575, just to give you an idea. Also depends on if your $700/month includes utilities, gas, electric, internet etc. I have no advice for you on whether to attend Michigan over KCOM, other than go with your gut! I would try not to think about the money too much, you have to do what feels right for you! Good luck on your decision!

 

[abolt18]

I have a 3 bedroom for $575 a month. If it's just you and it's 700 a month, I'd say you're getting taken advantage of.

 

[stlrams22]

my apartment for kirksville is 700 a month, is that outrageous or on par w the area? i have a feeling its a bit high but hoping i can cut corners elsewhere. ALSO faced with new hard decision- accepted to Michigan State (MD) program, and now i must decide - which would mean breaking my lease in Missouri and also losing my deposits. the Michigan State acceptance is contingent upon an additional year post bacc. I have a low MCAT score and I am worried that maybe I wont have a strong COMLEX/USMLE if i decide to not to do this intensive program w Michigan State - but its going to cost me an extra year and 30K more.

any thoughts?

torn....

I just want to be successful and supported.

I would consider 700 a month outrageous unless it is a nicer place with several bedrooms and utilities included. @abolt18 and I may be staying in the same complex since our bedrooms and rent is exactly the same, regardless I looked at lots of places and not one of them was $700. I recall seeing a few places listed for $700+, but they seemed more like the luxurious type places than the type of place most of us poor medical students would stay in.

As far as Michigan State, I would say you're crazy to turn down an acceptance for another year of not starting medical school and more debt.

 

[desdes]

As far as the apartments are they pet friendly I am thinking of applying and just want a idea of some good apartments to live

 

[abolt18]

As far as the apartments are they pet friendly I am thinking of applying and just want a idea of some good apartments to live

A LOT of my classmates have pets. You just have to look around a bit and you can find a good place.

 

[desdes]

A LOT of my classmates have pets. You just have to look around a bit and you can find a good place.

Thank you! I am looking at applying and just wanted to make sure

 

[karate134]

As a medical student do you ever wear scrubs? If so are they a certain color? I have loads of scrubs from my current job, should I save any of those, or sell them in a yard sale?

You would wear them to anatomy lab. There's usually a sale of used stuff at the begining of the year. Sounds gross to use used scrubs, but they get nasty quick in the anatomy lab.
Other than that, nope. While the dental students have a dress code, we really don't.

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[tulips123]

I believe this has already been talked about before..but I was wondering if anyone had any input on the iPad requirement. Is it better to receive the one from the school or to buy one ourselves...which is cheaper and more efficient?

 

[abolt18]

I believe this has already been talked about before..but I was wondering if anyone had any input on the iPad requirement. Is it better to receive the one from the school or to buy one ourselves...which is cheaper and more efficient?

Well, would you rather pay for it yourself? Or with loans? Loans = get it from the school.

 

[insidevoice]

It really depends on what your financial situation is. If you don't have much cash on hand and really value having some cash set aside for emergencies, it may be better to get equipment on loans. If you can afford to get something using money that you don't pay back at about 1.3 times the rate, (a.k.a. loans) then get that equipment with your own interest free cash money. You may thank yourself for that when you are making small money and paying big loans in residency.

 

[stlrams22]

I believe this has already been talked about before..but I was wondering if anyone had any input on the iPad requirement. Is it better to receive the one from the school or to buy one ourselves...which is cheaper and more efficient?

I considered buying a refurbished ipad air, but decided not to because of sales tax. Schools can get them for us tax free.

If you want to save a little money you could get a refurbished ipad 3, that is listed as the minimum.

 

[stlrams22]

The ipad is 30$ cheaper through school.

 

[stlrams22]

Are the lectures streamed only as audio or is it video showing the professor and anything they draw/reference?

 

[abolt18]

Are the lectures streamed only as audio or is it video showing the professor and anything they draw/reference?

Video shows whatever is in the screen (like the slides or video if one is showed) but not video of the instructor.

 

[FutureDoc312]

Hello everyone, just got taken off the accepted pending a seat list and will be joining this years class! Does anyone have any suggestions on apartments that are half decent/good price? I'm from Michigan so it's a mad scramble trying to get all this together as I cant really go down to check the apartments out ahead of time. Thanks!

 

[insidevoice]

Award letter came today. Kind of weird to be so happy signing my life away to vicious creditors who will likely prowl my bank account and haunt my dreams for years to come.

 

[abolt18]

Award letter came today. Kind of weird to be so happy signing my life away to vicious creditors who will likely prowl my bank account and haunt my dreams for years to come.

Yes, that's called the government!

 

[yogacat]

Award letter came today. Kind of weird to be so happy signing my life away to vicious creditors who will likely prowl my bank account and haunt my dreams for years to come.

I know the feeling!

Has anyone else received their award letter yet? I'm getting antsy... I have this nightmare that I show up to the first day of school and find out I have no money.

 

[Bdfiddy]

I know the feeling!

Has anyone else received their award letter yet? I'm getting antsy... I have this nightmare that I show up to the first day of school and find out I have no money.

I got mine yesterday as well.

 

[Life Eternal]

I know the feeling!

Has anyone else received their award letter yet? I'm getting antsy... I have this nightmare that I show up to the first day of school and find out I have no money.

I haven't received mine yet either.

 

[mistermahdy]

Hello everyone, just got taken off the accepted pending a seat list and will be joining this years class! Does anyone have any suggestions on apartments that are half decent/good price? I'm from Michigan so it's a mad scramble trying to get all this together as I cant really go down to check the apartments out ahead of time. Thanks!

Ooh hey what part of Michigan :O. I'm from the mitten too.

As for rent, I managed to get a place for 325.

 

[Life Eternal]

Ooh hey what part of Michigan :O. I'm from the mitten too.

As for rent, I managed to get a place for 325.

I'm from Michigan also.

 

[FutureDoc312]

Ooh hey what part of Michigan :O. I'm from the mitten too.

As for rent, I managed to get a place for 325.

Nice! I'm from the Mt. Pleasant area and went to CMU. I was able to get a hold of a two bedroom apt at foxfire, and trying to decide if I should try to get a roommate. $550/month without one.

 

[stlrams22]

Award letter came today. Kind of weird to be so happy signing my life away to vicious creditors who will likely prowl my bank account and haunt my dreams for years to come.

Did you receive by usps?

 

[Bdfiddy]

No, you get an e-mail saying it's available online through the CampusVue Portal (one of the links on my.atsu.edu)

 

[yogacat]

No, you get an e-mail saying it's available online through the CampusVue Portal (one of the links on my.atsu.edu)

Just got my email. Now I finally feel comfortable saying I'll be a med student in a month!

 

[tulips123]

Speaking of award letters..I'm not sure if anyone can assist with this because it may be personal preference...however if anyone can provide some insight that would be greatly appreciated!

I was wondering, in regards to the budget the school provides for us, are they excessively overestimating costs for books and supplies? other fees, and etc?
Is it wiser to not accept the entirety of loans received..if we can help it..

 

[stlrams22]

Speaking of award letters..I'm not sure if anyone can assist with this because it may be personal preference...however if anyone can provide some insight that would be greatly appreciated!

I was wondering, in regards to the budget the school provides for us, are they excessively overestimating costs for books and supplies? other fees, and etc?
Is it wiser to not accept the entirety of loans received..if we can help it..

I created an excel spreadsheet with every possible expense i could think of. Then i added that to the other expenses like tuition and other equipment. My first draft didn't include the high origination fees.

 

[abolt18]

Speaking of award letters..I'm not sure if anyone can assist with this because it may be personal preference...however if anyone can provide some insight that would be greatly appreciated!

I was wondering, in regards to the budget the school provides for us, are they excessively overestimating costs for books and supplies? other fees, and etc?
Is it wiser to not accept the entirety of loans received..if we can help it..

I took the full amount and it's enough to support my family of 4 with a good modest budget.

 

[yogacat]

I created an excel spreadsheet with every possible expense i could think of. Then i added that to the other expenses like tuition and other equipment. My first draft didn't include the high origination fees.

I created an excel spreadsheet too and used it to compare my current expenses, estimated expenses (my rent will be cheaper but my health insurance will be more expensive, etc. in Kirksville), and the school's estimated budget. I'll definitely take out enough to cover tuition but I won't take the maximum award because I have some savings.

Speaking of their estimated student budget, is the amount spent on books realistic? I think it was around $3000. I'm pretty sure I met first year students who hadn't purchased any textbooks or maybe just a couple.

 

[abolt18]

I created an excel spreadsheet too and used it to compare my current expenses, estimated expenses (my rent will be cheaper but my health insurance will be more expensive, etc. in Kirksville), and the school's estimated budget. I'll definitely take out enough to cover tuition but I won't take the maximum award because I have some savings.

Speaking of their estimated student budget, is the amount spent on books realistic? I think it was around $3000. I'm pretty sure I met first year students who hadn't purchased any textbooks or maybe just a couple.

I have purchased zero books.

 

[insidevoice]

I have purchased zero books.

Are you finding the class notes sufficient, or hanging out in the library? I'm curious regarding how to pull that off.

 

[abolt18]

Are you finding the class notes sufficient, or hanging out in the library? I'm curious regarding how to pull that off.

Class notes for most things + loads of bootleg digital books that will get passed around to your class.

 

[stlrams22]

Class notes for most things + loads of bootleg digital books that will get passed around to your class.

So far I have been able to resist buying any textbooks and I like the idea of not having to spend any money on them. It seems like nearly all medical students like using Netter's Atlas, how did you get away with not purchasing this book? Is it because you have a digital copy or did you find a way to get a digital copy for free?

 

[stlrams22]

....,

 

[richardst32]

^abolt has been giving out great info and tips throughout this thread. DO NOT feel the need to buy books. I bought one book my entire first year (last year), and that was our dissector for anatomy lab. I would highly recommend an atlas for anatomy, but I didn't buy the Netter's book. Instead, I bought the Netter's iPad app ($100), which includes a self quiz over every single slide (there are something like 400 slides). I found this feature to be extremely helpful.

-also an FYI, when you guys get to campus and meet abolt, you'll find that he's even more awesome in person than he is on here.

 

[tulips123]

I think abolt is right, we get between 4-7 weeks or so. I'm also a 2017 student, and KCOM started a new curriculum for our year that 2018 will get also. I mention the new curriculum because I feel like the way KCOM has structured our testing will be beneficial for board prep during the first 2 years. We have block exams every 3 weeks, and our semester finals are comprehensive ( an 8 hour exam split into 4 tests, similar to the amount of time you'd spend taking a board exam). We just found out this semester that a decent number of our classes (i.e. Infectious Disease, Pharmacology, and some others I haven't looked into yet) will also be comprehensive, for the entire 2 years of material, at the end of our 2nd year. I think to some degree they will also schedule more free study time into our 4th semester to allow more time for board prep, however I need to verify first so don't quote me on it

Sorry to bring this back up, but you mentioned something about the semester final exams. Can someone please explain that a little bit more... so for example our semester 2 final will be an 8 hour exam, on the last friday of the semester? Im going to be in the class of 2018.

 

[abolt18]

Sorry to bring this back up, but you mentioned something about the semester final exams. Can someone please explain that a little bit more... so for example our semester 2 final will be an 8 hour exam, on the last friday of the semester? Im going to be in the class of 2018.

You got it! It's not bad honestly. First semester was way more draining to me but I think I'm just used to the longer tests. So it's broken into 4 sections of 82 questions each. Each section has a set start time so if you're done early you have a lot of down time. (I was really only in the test a bit over 4 hours total). You have an hour for lunch after the second section.

 

[osteohack10]

Does anyone have any suggestions on affordable 1-2 bedroom places close to KCOM? I'll be there in October to interview and would love to look at some housing while I'm in town. Thanks!

 

[Life Eternal]

Pretty much everything is super afforadable here.

 

[osteohack10]

Pretty much everything is super afforadable here.

Awesome! any specific areas that a lot of KCOM students tend to live in? I'm okay with a commute but on nice days if I could make a 20 min or so walk to campus that'd be great.