Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine (ACOM) Discussion Thread 2014 – 2015

[hiijakd]

Thanks!!!!

The two schools I can't quite choose between are LMU-DCOM. Because this is an undergraduate campus, there are several gyms on campus and one is being built for the med students now. I am someone who recently started trying to change my lifestyle and having a gym would be great. I really do appreciate hearing about the local options, though!!!!

I also am grateful t o have you respond to how students feel about the attendance policy.

I personally feel like I am paying a lot of money and therefore I should go to class and soak it all in. I definitely appreciate the attendance policy when it comes to lab sessions. there is no way you can become proficient without actually being in there. for lectures it is not as necessary since they are all recorded and you can watch them later at 2x normal speed so they have an 80% attendance policy.

ACOM is rural for some but you really have just about everything you could need within this town or at most 1.5 hours away. DCOM is a bit more rural than that and doesn't have the retail base that we do here.

Also, some of the DCOM faculty are here in Dothan now and I wouldn't trade them for anyone, particularly one of our OMT professors.

Make a pros and cons list and see which one fits you best.
I have no regrets about coming to ACOM, in fact I would tell everyone I know to join me.

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Members don't see this ad.

 

[Non sibi sed omnibus]

Oh okay great. I figured it was through the myACOM portal. Thanks.

Me too. I didn't find it under the Resources tab, either: I found it by using the site search tool LOL.

Glad I finally got it figured out; I felt like I was missing out on something for quite a while.

 

[cakes99]

I received a request for a secondary, wondering does that mean they want my $$ or are they actually interested in my application?

 

[BactiDoc]

I received a request for a secondary, wondering does that mean they want my $$ or are they actually interested in my application?

Thought the same thing myself..lol.

 

[EarthToDoc]

Still waiting to hear about my interview. Hopefully Dr.Lenz will find time to get on those decisions. Just got rejected from another school so hoping this won't be one too.

 

[Non sibi sed omnibus]

Still waiting to hear about my interview. Hopefully Dr.Lenz will find time to get on those decisions. Just got rejected from another school so hoping this won't be one too.

Yeah, I'm hearing crickets as well. Going to make my weekly call tomorrow.

A rejection is simply a push into what will be your ultimate path. Fear not.

 

[Fegbert]

Still waiting to hear about my interview. Hopefully Dr.Lenz will find time to get on those decisions. Just got rejected from another school so hoping this won't be one too.

Are you a November 14 interviewee too? From what I can gather, the admissions committee met on Tuesday, and will be sending their decisions for final approval to Dr. Lenz and Dr. Reynolds on Friday (11/20). We could hear tomorrow, or early week.

EDIT: If you are referring to II's, then it seems to generally take 2-3 weeks after being complete.

 

[kalat]

On the self-service if your application is complete does it specify? I've had all my documents in for 3-4 days now and haven't received a complete e-mail and it just says secondary and fee received as my status.

 

[yocharlie]

On the self-service if your application is complete does it specify? I've had all my documents in for 3-4 days now and haven't received a complete e-mail and it just says secondary and fee received as my status.

Mine changed from that to Paperwork Complete DATE

EDIT: 3 days later, I also received a complete email.

 

[BorntobeDO?]

Linda/admissions office, I know your reading this thread. Please tell Dr. Phillips to accept me!

Are you a November 14 interviewee too? From what I can gather, the admissions committee met on Tuesday, and will be sending their decisions for final approval to Dr. Lenz and Dr. Reynolds on Friday (11/20). We could hear tomorrow, or early week.

EDIT: If you are referring to II's, then it seems to generally take 2-3 weeks after being complete.

Today huh? Well GL guys. I hope we get a call!

 

[MADNEMO]

Thanks!!!!

The two schools I can't quite choose between are LMU-DCOM. Because this is an undergraduate campus, there are several gyms on campus and one is being built for the med students now. I am someone who recently started trying to change my lifestyle and having a gym would be great. I really do appreciate hearing about the local options, though!!!!

I also am grateful t o have you respond to how students feel about the attendance policy.

I also had to choose between LMU and ACOM last year. The factors that contributed to my decision were clinical rotations and location. I felt that ACOM has a much better rotation set up and being directly affiliated with a large tertiary care center thats half a mile away was a huge plus. Also, LMU was too rural for me. While Dothan AL is a small city, it is still a city with most of the amenities that come with living in a city. As for the gym, we have a few gyms in town that offer really cheap monthly membership fees (Like around 10-15 dollars). The attendance policy is not a big inconvenience to the students. You can still miss class here and there, you just need to make it to 80% of your classes (except mandatory labs). Good luck in your decision!

 

[yocharlie]

Anyone having a hard time getting a hold of admissions over the phone? Called yesterday and today but goes to voicemail.

 

[Throwaway6969420]

Linda/admissions office, I know your reading this thread. Please tell Dr. Phillips to accept me!


Today huh? Well GL guys. I hope we get a call!

Today indeed. Someone from our interviewing group got a phone call and acceptance yesterday.

 

[Fegbert]

Today indeed. Someone from our interviewing group got a phone call and acceptance yesterday.

They made calls yesterday? This makes me think I am waitlisted or worse

 

[PostModernMed]

Any II's gone out recently?

 

[Throwaway6969420]

They made calls yesterday? This makes me think I am waitlisted or worse

Yep. We should hear back by 5pm today at the earliest.

 

[MPham1]

I was part of the Nov.14 interview group. Got an acceptance call from Dr. Reynolds yesterday at around 4-5pm!

 

[Throwaway6969420]

I was part of the Nov.14 interview group. Got an acceptance call from Dr. Reynolds yesterday at around 4-5pm!

What are your thoughts about ACOM?

 

[MPham1]

What are your thoughts about ACOM?

Positives: ACOM as a program is really solid! It's also very inclusive for the cost of admission (includes choice of laptop plus iPad, almost all textbooks, practice exams, COMLEX fees, etc). I really like how they start preparing you for boards early and offer the COMSAE right off the bat. Their clinical skills facility layout is exactly like the one for the COMPLEX PE. I'm also very much into mobility work so the fact that they have two amazing OMT instructors there is great. They're also associated with AMAC so rotation sites won't be a problem.

 

[Ipper91]

II within last 10 mins. average stats.. OOS..super pumped..

 

[Careful... Icarus!]

I was accepted here in September, but to add to the II's a friend who's in the same grad program I'm in just got an II like an hour ago.

 

[SMRTdoh]

II within last 10 mins. average stats.. OOS..super pumped..

When were you complete?

 

[Ipper91]

When were you complete?

10/17

 

[The_Sunny_Doc]

I'm doing my first interview at this school. Unbelievably excited! I've gotten more and more excited about osteopathic medicine as I wrote the essays about the holistic philosophy and shadowed family DO.

Thanks for sharing so much helpful information in this thread, everyone. Will be reading it from start to finish. Good luck at your interviews, y'all!

 

[Non sibi sed omnibus]

II today. First available was 2/13/15. Yikes!!!

 

[Elleiram]

II today. First available was 2/13/15. Yikes!!!

Congrats!
Yeah, I got mine 3 weeks ago and the earliest after November was Jan 23. But if you want an earlier date, watch out for occasional ones that free up. They happen more often than I thought they would

 

[Non sibi sed omnibus]

Congrats!
Yeah, I got mine 3 weeks ago and the earliest after November was Jan 23. But if you want an earlier date, watch out for occasional ones that free up. They happen more often than I thought they would

Appreciate that heads up. Thanks! Good luck to you.

 

[Ipper91]

Oh no lol..I picked Dec because it was the first and I was in a hurry, but I wanted to switch to January cuz when I opened it there were plenty available. Don't want to wait all the way until Feb for sure though :\..oh well lol..guess I'll just get ready sooner.

 

[Dr.McCoy]

Anybody from Nov. 7 interview group hear anything yet. I am scared I got rejected cause the Nov.14 have received acceptances.

 

[Liquid Hue]

I received my II Oct. 31 and only had Feb 13 & 20th to pick from. Two and a half weeks (~Nov 18) later I decided to check the interview scheduler just for kicks and found a few open slots earlier and jumped on Dec 5! To those wanted their interview moved up I would say definitely keep your eyes open.

 

[Kerosene Hat]

Got an II yesterday! Unfortunately, I can't follow the link to schedule because it asks for a user name and password, and I was never issued one. (A username is not needed for the supplemental.)

How did everyone get into the interview site?

 

[SMRTdoh]

Got an II yesterday! Unfortunately, I can't follow the link to schedule because it asks for a user name and password, and I was never issued one. (A username is not needed for the supplemental.)

How did everyone get into the interview site?

I found my user info in my spam box. I have a gmail account. (there were three separate emails.) Look there first before you have to call. If you got an II, then they sent it to some email address you listed. Maybe that works?

 

[anniegold]

Got an II yesterday! Unfortunately, I can't follow the link to schedule because it asks for a user name and password, and I was never issued one. (A username is not needed for the supplemental.)

How did everyone get into the interview site?

They said to use the one you had to access the supplemental. Honestly, I didn't remember ever being assigned one so I emailed them. They replied in less than 10 mins and gave me a username and pw.

 

[Kerosene Hat]

They assigned me one promptly. Thanks!

 

[Psychonergic]

Has there been a lot of interview love from ACOM for applicants with a less than stellar MCAT (read as 24) and high GPAs?

 

[BorntobeDO?]

Has there been a lot of interview love from ACOM for applicants with a less than stellar MCAT (read as 24) and high GPAs?

Decent shot at interview if your GPA is like 3.7 + and your app is well-rounded otherwise IMO, but be ready to answer the 'why did you score so low' question.

 

[anniegold]

Might drop mine on 1/30. Pretty late

 

[Ipper91]

If anyone is interested in interviewing much earlier (12/5) and has a reserved date for 1/9 or 1/16 please PM me if interested in switching

 

[Itsjustme3]

I was offered an interview on Friday,but had no portal login credentials until today, so my interview is in March. Is this an interview where I'm probably interviewing for waitlist slots??

 

[Ipper91]

Chances are something will open before that. I had my II seemingly earlier than others on this past Friday, or I just opened the portal very early. The people who received II on OCT 31 said it was full until Feb, and when I logged in there were plenty of open spots in December and January. Just keep watching

 

[Itsjustme3]

Well if anyone decides to give up their interview or move it please message me!

 

[hiijakd]

I was offered an interview on Friday,but had no portal login credentials until today, so my interview is in March. Is this an interview where I'm probably interviewing for waitlist slots??

I interviewed in March and was not waitlisted.

 

[BorntobeDO?]

Waitlist. Check your email. /:

 

[Fegbert]

.

 

[Dr.McCoy]

Waitlisted as well. I was told that they don't look at the waitlist till March. Is this pretty much a rejection considering it will be so late?

 

[Fegbert]

.

 

[BorntobeDO?]

I am waitlisted as well (interviewed 11/14). Had a feeling this would be the outcome, since acceptance calls supposedly went out last Thursday. On the bright side, at least it wasn't a rejection.

I agree about being better than rejection. The email says it is a live list. I understood that people may be accepted on a weekly basis as decisions are made (i.e. deposits are put down or not).

 

[PostModernMed]

If anyone decides they don't want their January interview, please message me!

 

[PostModernMed]

I have Feb. 6.

 

[The_Sunny_Doc]

Anyone else interviewing early December?