Edward Via - Carolinas (VCOM-CC) Discussion Thread 2012 - 2013

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JamesLMT

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New Year, New Thread!!! Discuss Away!!!
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I just got the secondary for VCOM today. It has a campus preference section on it so I believe it is the same for the Virginia campus and Carolina campus AACOMAS selections.
 
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did you apply right around june 1st? just wondering how long the "pre screening" takes. Thanks!
 
Got my secondary as well. This is the most ridiculous secondary I have ever seen. All these questions about is your personal physician an MD/DO, has any of your family members ever been seen by a DO. And lots and lots of rural med questions - what size community did you grow up in, what size community would you prefer. It makes me really paranoid that they're looking for a very specific type of applicant and I'm not it... but I don't want to think that way.

My uncle is a dean at one of the colleges at Virginia Tech so I was really hoping I could name drop a little on the application, but they ask only if you know someone at VCOM so I don't think that counts....
 
Here's the essays:

-List/Describe any work or volunteer opportunities NOT on AACOMAS (this one is more of a fill in the blank one rather than an essay

-What are the top five qualities you feel you bring to VCOM that would enhance the overall climate of our college? (500 words)

-Osteopathic medicine parallels allopathic medicine but has principles and practices that are distinct. Which of these principles and practices are of greatest interest to you and why? (500 words)

-There are many problems facing healthcare in America today. Describe your interpretation of the status of healthcare in the United States today and those challenges the patients and physicians of tomorrow will face.(500 words)

-In the event you submitted an application to VCOM last year, what improvements have you made to your application? (500 words)

-If you have not completed all the prerequisite coursework, please state how you intend on completing it prior to matriculation. (500 words)

This is going to be a tough one! I better get to work.....
 
futchadoc89 said:
Here's the essays:

-List/Describe any work or volunteer opportunities NOT on AACOMAS (this one is more of a fill in the blank one rather than an essay

-What are the top five qualities you feel you bring to VCOM that would enhance the overall climate of our college? (500 words)

-Osteopathic medicine parallels allopathic medicine but has principles and practices that are distinct. Which of these principles and practices are of greatest interest to you and why? (500 words)

-There are many problems facing healthcare in America today. Describe your interpretation of the status of healthcare in the United States today and those challenges the patients and physicians of tomorrow will face.(500 words)

-In the event you submitted an application to VCOM last year, what improvements have you made to your application? (500 words)

-If you have not completed all the prerequisite coursework, please state how you intend on completing it prior to matriculation. (500 words)

This is going to be a tough one! I better get to work.....
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Holy Cow this is long! Thank you for posting this though. I got an email from them saying they will review my app after my MCAT scores come in so I have some time to work on these I guess.
 
People keep saying they got the secondary and since these VCOM threads are kind of mixed up on here, I don't know if you guys are getting the Virginia campus secondary or the South Carolina campus secondary. I know VA ones are out, but are the SC ones out yet? I was verified and completed on the first day you could be with AACOMAS, got a notice they were screening, but haven't received a secondary yet. If they're already coming out for the SC campus I'm kind of nervous :scared:
 
I'm in your exact same boat and I have not heard anything about a decision on a secondary from VCOM-Carolina yet....hopefully just the Virginia are out as of now!
 
they are labeled as one school on AACOMAS...
and on their secondary application you mark which campus you prefer.
it's not two separate ones.
 
mdny said:
they are labeled as one school on AACOMAS...
and on their secondary application you mark which campus you prefer.
it's not two separate ones.
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Who are you responding to with this...?
 
mdny said:
you :)
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Ohhh I didn't know that lol sorry! I knew that when it came to the primary, but as far as I know they are two different admissions committees right? So their process when it comes to giving out secondaries isn't just from one office? I'm just trying to figure out whether the Carolina campus has started handing out secondaries yet...
 
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Pretty sure the initial review of the primary comes from the same committee and they get turned over to the respective adcoms at each school.
 
I marked the "Carolinas" campus on my AACOMAS and received my secondary today...hopefully you get yours tomorrow!
 
secondary submitted...and now the anxious wait begins :/
 
I visited Spartanburg a few weeks ago... seemed like a pretty nice place, a lot of small shops and family owned type places. However, I was kinda surprised that it wasn't rural location at all, because I though VCOM was really known for rural medicine?
 
I STILL haven't received my secondary for VCOM's Carolina's Campus - I got the email saying they received my primary over a month ago. Should I be worried? Is anyone else in this position? :scared:
 
DrMeows said:
I STILL haven't received my secondary for VCOM's Carolina's Campus - I got the email saying they received my primary over a month ago. Should I be worried? Is anyone else in this position? :scared:
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I would give them a call, it took them about 2 weeks after that email for me before they sent the secondary
 
Are there any current VCOM Carolina students that would mind sharing how they are liking the school and location? Have you guys heard much about rotation sites?
 
MedicMike13 said:
I visited Spartanburg a few weeks ago... seemed like a pretty nice place, a lot of small shops and family owned type places. However, I was kinda surprised that it wasn't rural location at all, because I though VCOM was really known for rural medicine?
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Spartanburg isn't rural but there are several small towns to the east that are rural (Greenville is to the west and is another city). I think VCOM is helping the economically disadvantaged group in Spartanburg and then spreading out into the adjacent areas for rural medicine.

I hope that helps.
 
BrittanieY said:
Spartanburg isn't rural but there are several small towns to the east that are rural (Greenville is to the west and is another city). I think VCOM is helping the economically disadvantaged group in Spartanburg and then spreading out into the adjacent areas for rural medicine.

I hope that helps.
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Thanks for your response, I was just surprised when I was driving in bc I was expecting the area to be really rural. That makes sense though, it kinda seems like its the best of both worlds... you get rural, and a little city :D
 
DrMeows said:
Thanks! I'll do that tomorrow then :)
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Did you call and ask them, out of curiosity? I haven't received one yet, and it's been a month, so I was going to call tomorrow. I think they screen fairly high for a certain GPA.
 
jccalalafc said:
Did you call and ask them, out of curiosity? I haven't received one yet, and it's been a month, so I was going to call tomorrow. I think they screen fairly high for a certain GPA.
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I emailed this afternoon. I know they like higher GPAs, but I'm a reapplicant ( :( ) and applied last year and got one so was a bit confused that I hadn't gotten one yet. I'll post when I get a response :) I guess it's good to know I'm not alone...
 
anyone gotten a complete email from VCOM-Carolinas?
 
My application just verified (after 5 weeks of waiting) so now the wait for the Supplemental is on!

Good luck folks :).
 
FINALLY got a secondary. 6. Weeks. Later. :clap: :clap:
 
scguy16 said:
I'm a first year... As far as the school goes, love it, professors and students are fun and friendly, class and testing schedule is fair, and the lifestyle transition has been smooth IMO. Don't get me wrong - it's hard, but nowhere near impossible, and the support system is great. The greatest stress is the fear of having to spend your break between blocks doing remediation if you fail a class, but at least they give you this opportunity instead of kicking you out. The gated campus is beautiful and safe, but walking to downtown or Wofford probably isn't a good idea...

As far as location, could be better, could be worse. Spartanburg is definitely a dirty town, but it does have a few clean blocks downtown that are worth checking out. Pretty much all the standard suburban shops, restaurants, and big boxes you could want are here. At the top of my wishlist would be an upscale apartment complex within 5 miles of campus, but unfortunately nobody has that here. Safe apartments are mostly older and not near campus. Having said that, it is cheap to live, and there are plenty of places to go for a day or weekend trip within 1-2 hours of town.
As far as rotation sites, they are pretty much all going to be in the Carolinas or VA. Apparently they are working on acquiring more sites for us in SC (such as in Greenville and Columbia), but for now we are just listening in for news from the 2nd years...
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Thanks for the insight! :thumbup: good to know! :)
 
This thread is so quiet... Can any current student at the Virginia campus comment on their experience with VCOM?
 
Thanks! I actually applied for this year but I got put on a waitlist. My name never came up for this year but they guaranteed me a spot for next year. So I was thrilled. Don't have to reapply :) Good luck to you all!
 
auck88 said:
Thanks! I actually applied for this year but I got put on a waitlist. My name never came up for this year but they guaranteed me a spot for next year. So I was thrilled. Don't have to reapply :) Good luck to you all!
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That's awesome! I was waitlisted at two DO schools last cycle but nothing good ended up happening (obviously lol) - wish I were you right now! :thumbup:
 
They just guaranteed me an acceptance for fall 2013, but I have to reject it since I already started at another school, closer to home. If they took me off the waitlist for fall 2012, I may have gone here:/
 
I was also just accepted through guaranteed admission from the wait list! Incredibly excited. Cheers everyone!
 
Romans614 said:
I was also just accepted through guaranteed admission from the wait list! Incredibly excited. Cheers everyone!
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Same with me! I'm holding out as long as I can just in case something drastic happens between now and Thursday haha. But every day I feel more at peace about it :)
 
Hey guys, I was accepted into the class of 2016 but had to defer at the last minute due to extenuating circumstances so I will be in the class of 2017. I just wanted you guys to know that there is already a Facebook group for the VCOM Class of 2017:Carolinas Campus. Feel free to join once you get an acceptance!
 
treemantyler said:
Hey guys, I was accepted into the class of 2016 but had to defer at the last minute due to extenuating circumstances so I will be in the class of 2017. I just wanted you guys to know that there is already a Facebook group for the VCOM Class of 2017:Carolinas Campus. Feel free to join once you get an acceptance!
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Sweet that's awesome. Do you know if I can defer my early acceptance? Not that I'm going to, but with my situation it might be helpful for me to consider the option.
 
All I know is that the only reason they will allow you to defer is for extreme circumstances such as family or financial crisis or perhaps you are continuing an ongoing research project. You will have to explain your reasoning to them and they will run it past the committee for their decision.
 
This school is absolutely amazing! The campus is beautiful. The technology and layout is state of the art and the school is probably the most "up to date" medical school in the country in that regard. The faculty and staff are incredibly "down to earth", not the pompous, pretentious jerks with the "I'm better than you" attitude you typically encounter at such an institution. You will get a sense of all this once you visit or interview at the school. As soon as you walk in the doors, the laid-back atmosphere is so comfortable and inviting, you will feel right at home.
I'm pretty sure all the faculty were pulled from other medical schools and hospitals to join the VCOM family, so they are by no means inexperienced or unqualified. The board pass ratings are through the roof. I believe I recall it being around 99.2%, an astonishing statistic, even when compared to prestigious MD schools. They have a 100% residency match as well. VCOM follows a block curriculum. A block is made up of 10 weeks which is followed by 1 week off. This goes on year-round except in the month of July, which is the summer break. The cool thing is that once a block is completed, there will be nothing to study going into the next block, so you will have that 1 week completely off, free to do whatever.
VCOM's setting, in the city of Spartanburg, has it's perks as well. Spartanburg is a culturally historic city in SC. It isn't too big to get in trouble or too small to be bored. It is very much a college town. There are now 7 colleges here! That's right, 7, so there is always something going on. In fact, the city hosts several little events that take place in the historic downtown area every week. My favorite aspect of the city is it's convenient central location in the South. There are several interstates that run right through Spartanburg. Wherever you are, you are never more than 5 minutes from hopping on one. You can be in Atlanta, GA in around 2 hours, Charleston, SC in around 3 hours, Columbia, SC in 1 hour, Asheville, NC in 1 hour, or Knoxville, TN in around 3 hours (these are all estimates, more or less, off the top of my head). There is a Class 1 Trauma hospital located only a few block from VCOM. This is where we will do most of our rotations, especially in the 3rd year. There are; however, some cons to Spartanburg. That is, there being some "run down" and "project-like" areas (Which cities don't have these though?). Fortunately, these areas are isolated to only some inner-city parts of the city. Unfortunately, one of these areas seems to be rather close to campus. Not to worry though, the campus is fenced off and has tight security. Any current student will attest that this is nothing to worry about. Nothing bad has ever occurred. I'm telling you this because this is probably the first thing you will notice on your trip to visit or interview at the school and I don't want you to falsely associate the area with the school under this pretense. Other than that, there is nothing else bad to say about VCOM. Oh and yes, for you northerners, sunny Spartanburg has a "vacation-like" climate to it. It doesn't rain much and the temperature is warm pretty much year-round.
Financially, VCOM's tuition is "on par" with most other private medical schools in the country. Fortunately, everyone will be eligible to take out the cost of attendance with 2 loans and VCOM will act as your own personal financial advisor. If you're wondering, public medical schools on average are only around 5-10 thousand dollars less per year than private (so why not attend private?). Medical school is very expensive these days, but well worth it in the end.
That's all I can think to say regarding VCOM right now. If anyone has any questions, please feel free to message me.
 
Has anyone heard anything from this school? It's my #1 but I have three other interviews to schedule already! Ugh. I love you VCOM, please stop ignoring me. :(
 
AmicaVera said:
Has anyone heard anything from this school? It's my #1 but I have three other interviews to schedule already! Ugh. I love you VCOM, please stop ignoring me. :(
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The last thing I heard was that my application was complete and would be reviewed in the next couple of weeks....so nothing.

This is my #1 as well.
 
That's what I got too. But only after I emailed them to confirm that I was indeed complete.
 
BrittanieY said:
Same here.
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I really hope that this isn't reflective of something more serious in their administration. They're losing a lot of great faculty and staff to other schools, and if they can't keep on top of the most important task- recruiting good students- then I'm a little worried about how they plan to treat the students they do accept and who are pretty much stuck there for four years. It's still a new school, and now is not the time to be dropping the ball. :(
 
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