Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine (ACOM) Discussion Thread 2015 - 2016

Getting into Med School is Hard? Not with BeMo.
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Hey guys, I accidentally posted this into the new 2016-2017 forum, but I emailed the school and asked them about the white coat ceremony this fall and I was told that it will be on October 9th! See you all soon enough!
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Endorphins98 said:
Hey guys, I accidentally posted this into the new 2016-2017 forum, but I emailed the school and asked them about the white coat ceremony this fall and I was told that it will be on October 9th! See you all soon enough!
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Awesome, some schools wait until the end of yr 2 to do the ceremony.

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Got the acceptance call from Dr. Reynolds yesterday as I lined up to walk the stage for my Master's graduation in Boston. I interviewed March 4th and was waitlisted. I am the happiest girl in the world and wish you all the best of luck and can't wait to meet my future classmates! :soexcited::soexcited::soexcited:
 
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doctorgirl1616 said:
Got the acceptance call from Dr. Reynolds yesterday as I lined up to walk the stage for my Master's graduation in Boston. I interviewed March 4th and was waitlisted. I am the happiest girl in the world and wish you all the best of luck and can't wait to meet my future classmates! :soexcited::soexcited::soexcited:
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That's kind of epic!!! Can't wait to meet you!!!!
 
doctorgirl1616 said:
Got the acceptance call from Dr. Reynolds yesterday as I lined up to walk the stage for my Master's graduation in Boston. I interviewed March 4th and was waitlisted. I am the happiest girl in the world and wish you all the best of luck and can't wait to meet my future classmates! :soexcited::soexcited::soexcited:
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Congrats! Check out the ACOM 2020 class page on facebook, lots of us on there.

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DynamicMD said:
When should we expect the big wait list movement?
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Last years thread it looked like some people were pulled the last Friday of May and first Friday of June. Hopefully sooner this year!
 
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Quick question, are the drug tests and background checks covered by ACOM or are we responsible to pay for them?
 
FutureD.O said:
Quick question, are the drug tests and background checks covered by ACOM or are we responsible to pay for them?
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You should print off a code from the background check website (follow the instructions on there). I brought that with me to my screening and it didn't cost a dime!
 
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DynamicMD said:
When should we expect the big wait list movement?
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I called them on Thursday and they said they were going to start reviewing wait list applications in a couple days so I feel like people should be getting calls soon.
 
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spidey066 said:
I called them on Thursday and they said they were going to start reviewing wait list applications in a couple days so I feel like people should be getting calls soon.
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I really hope so. I've already completed my application for the next cycle in preparation.
 
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Hang in there guys, do your best to remain optimistic as being stressed out isn't going to affect the outcome!

On a side note, did anyone else get excited reading the laptop choice email lol?
 
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I just checked to see if there are any more interview dates since April 22nd and they have an interview date for May 23rd now. Hopefully, we get pulled from the waitlist before then.
 
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FutureD.O said:
Hang in there guys, do your best to remain optimistic as being stressed out isn't going to affect the outcome!

On a side note, did anyone else get excited reading the laptop choice email lol?
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I didn't get one... guess I'm not cool enough
 
orgolover2 said:
I just checked to see if there are any more interview dates since April 22nd and they have an interview date for May 23rd now. Hopefully, we get pulled from the waitlist before then.
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Geez...what's the waitlist gonna be at by then, 500?
 
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DrMikeP said:
Just got it today, did you complete you financial aid stuff?

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Ahhh, that must be it. I'm about to mail mine in tomorrow. Good thing you pointed that out, I was about to make an emotionally charged phone call to my mom...
 
I haven't completed my financial aid stuff yet but I did get the email. Maybe it's because I called them a while back asking about the computers, so they marked me as "let him know"? I did send in all the other documentation though.

I'm still not totally sure which computer to go for, but leaning towards the Mac. The Dell appears to be a more expensive machine though. I wish we had information on the screen resolution - maybe I'll call about the other specs.
 
DoctorDingo said:
I haven't completed my financial aid stuff yet but I did get the email. Maybe it's because I called them a while back asking about the computers, so they marked me as "let him know"? I did send in all the other documentation though.

I'm still not totally sure which computer to go for, but leaning towards the Mac. The Dell appears to be a more expensive machine though. I wish we had information on the screen resolution - maybe I'll call about the other specs.
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let us know if/what you find out
 
You can look the specs up online. Dell E7270

I went with the Dell as that's the OS I know best and I don't like the Mac OS. Go with what you know and like as from what I hear it doesn't make much difference.

I'm sure everyone will get the email at some near point so I wouldn't sweat it if you haven't yet.

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The model has a long range of specs it can come with. Anyone care to copy paste what the email said in regards to specs, if they were provided at all?
 
DrMikeP said:
The specs are good for both, the mac has slightly longer battery, the dell has more processing power. I'm going with the dell, as I personally like windows 10 with a few tweaks better than the mac os.
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Dude! Ur gettin' a Dell.
 
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DrMikeP said:
The specs are good for both, the mac has slightly longer battery, the dell has more processing power. I'm going with the dell, as I personally like windows 10 with a few tweaks better than the mac os.
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Didn't the email said it was Windows 7 professional?
 
37Base said:
Didn't the email said it was Windows 7 professional?
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My classmates seem to prefer the Mac. The dell folks always have their chargers with them and i have seen 2 different ones where the rubber gasket that goes between the screen and keyboard is coming loose. Mac all the way for me. I have never had a problem with a single one of the MacBooks that i have owned; air, pro, iMac, and more.
 
spidey066 said:
I called them on Thursday and they said they were going to start reviewing wait list applications in a couple days so I feel like people should be getting calls soon.
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I hope so. I was expecting 1st of May...
 
It's Win XP that they pulled support for, a couple years ago.
 
DoctorDingo said:
I haven't completed my financial aid stuff yet but I did get the email. Maybe it's because I called them a while back asking about the computers, so they marked me as "let him know"? I did send in all the other documentation though.

I'm still not totally sure which computer to go for, but leaning towards the Mac. The Dell appears to be a more expensive machine though. I wish we had information on the screen resolution - maybe I'll call about the other specs.
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I would go with the Mac. I know several people with Dells that regret making that choice. On paper the battery life looks better but the Dell people are always charging. I go the whole day of class plus studying without needing to charge. Also, Macs have airdrop, which is a super convenient thing to have when everybody is sharing study resources with each other.
 
MADNEMO said:
I would go with the Mac. I know several people with Dells that regret making that choice. On paper the battery life looks better but the Dell people are always charging. I go the whole day of class plus studying without needing to charge. Also, Macs have airdrop, which is a super convenient thing to have when everybody is sharing study resources with each other.
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When do we get the laptops?
 
DynamicMD said:
Really??????? How much of the class has been filled at this point??
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Yeah that's a REALLY late interview date. It could actually be a good thing tho cus it might mean that they still have a bunch of seats that need to be filled (enough to warrant another interview date). That's a good thing for us waitlisted ppl lol.
 
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Hey guys, does anyone know whether or not either of the loans for med school are private? I am pretty certain the stafford loans aren't, but what about the grad plus loans? If so, has anyone shopped around for better interest rates?
 
I'm fairly certain they are both federal loans. I think I read somewhere that with private loans you forfeit eligibility for programs such as REPAYE or any of the "pay what you earn" percentage plans. Again, this might just be my delusions of grandeur as I haven't researched this too much.
 
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FutureD.O said:
Hey guys, does anyone know whether or not either of the loans for med school are private? I am pretty certain the stafford loans aren't, but what about the grad plus loans? If so, has anyone shopped around for better interest rates?
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The direct unsubsidized and direct plus are both federal government loans. I would not recommend private loans unless you absolutely need them. Whereas the government loans have flexible repayment plans, most private loans require repayment beginning much earlier (sometimes even during medical school). And the interest rates are typically higher and require more stringent approval process.
 
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Endorphins98 said:
I'm fairly certain they are both federal loans. I think I read somewhere that with private loans you forfeit eligibility for programs such as REPAYE or any of the "pay what you earn" percentage plans. Again, this might just be my delusions of grandeur as I haven't researched this too much.
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37Base said:
The direct unsubsidized and direct plus are both federal government loans. I would not recommend private loans unless you absolutely need them. Whereas the government loans have flexible repayment plans, most private loans require repayment beginning much earlier (sometimes even during medical school). And the interest rates are typically higher and require more stringent approval process.
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Thanks for the replies guys. I don't plan on taking private loans outside of the stafford and grad plus loans, I just wanted to see whether or not I would be able to shop around for the best interest rate possible. At this point in time I am trying to develop a budget plan so I know where I'll fall 4 years down the line. The estimated numbers on ACOM's website seem too high as I'm sure I could definitely live decent for considerably less.
 
Also, I have heard our financial aid packages are going to be completed at different dates..does anyone have a concrete answer as to when we will be aware of our awards? I've called several times today but it seems like everyone is out.
 
FutureD.O said:
Hey guys, does anyone know whether or not either of the loans for med school are private? I am pretty certain the stafford loans aren't, but what about the grad plus loans? If so, has anyone shopped around for better interest rates?
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The grad plus is federal. If you go private you lose the opportunity for income based repayment and public service loan forgiveness in 10yrs if it is still around at that time.

Check out ibrinfo.org

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FutureD.O said:
Also, I have heard our financial aid packages are going to be completed at different dates..does anyone have a concrete answer as to when we will be aware of our awards? I've called several times today but it seems like everyone is out.
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Heard back on mine already, it took about a 2-3 weeks after everything was complete on fafsa.



We do get quite a bit extra for living BUT don't forget to budget in for residency interviews, moving exp for y3&4 and res, study materials for steps, insurance, etc etc etc.

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FutureD.O said:
Thanks for the replies guys. I don't plan on taking private loans outside of the stafford and grad plus loans, I just wanted to see whether or not I would be able to shop around for the best interest rate possible. At this point in time I am trying to develop a budget plan so I know where I'll fall 4 years down the line. The estimated numbers on ACOM's website seem too high as I'm sure I could definitely live decent for considerably less.
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The loans are fed. if you go private your options for repayment plans are more limited. Depending on your situation you can live on less than the "budget" the school produces. We had it increased this year because many of us were not able to make ends meet. I have a wife and child, life insurance, health insurance, and numerous other expenses from my pre-med school life that many others don't so i have used every dime i could get.
you can always take out the max $$ and then pay what you don't use directly back to principle when you decide you don't need it.
 
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hiijakd said:
The loans are fed. if you go private your options for repayment plans are more limited. Depending on your situation you can live on less than the "budget" the school produces. We had it increased this year because many of us were not able to make ends meet. I have a wife and child, life insurance, health insurance, and numerous other expenses from my pre-med school life that many others don't so i have used every dime i could get.
you can always take out the max $$ and then pay what you don't use directly back to principle when you decide you don't need it.
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Does the interest compound while in Med school or does it only begin to compound once you graduate? I've heard conflicting things on this
 
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