Michigan State University (MSUCOM) Discussion Thread 2015 - 2016

[kingston77]

anyone know what the policy for online/distance education courses are for prerequisites, are they acceptable? Didnt find anything on the admissions page...

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[Throwaway201536]

anyone know what the policy for online/distance education courses are for prerequisites, are they acceptable? Didnt find anything on the admissions page...

They are. One of the admissions team members told a buddy of mine they could take biochemistry online to fulfill the requirement

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[Throwaway201536]

Does anyone know when MSUCOM's matriculation fee is due?

I know all the orientation fees are due May 9th (soma membership, name tags, etc)

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[lahaiesi]

Does anyone know when MSUCOM's matriculation fee is due?

I believe it varies on when you were accepted


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[porkandbeans]

Ok, its been 6 weeks since the Jan 26th interview, anybody hear yet?

Should we start calling or wait until this week is over? I am trying to be patient but it's so hard!

 

[Dr. Bojangles]

Ok, its been 6 weeks since the Jan 26th interview, anybody hear yet?

Should we start calling or wait until this week is over? I am trying to be patient but it's so hard!

Waiting just gets harder and harder. When I called they said they couldn't say how much longer. Maybe if more people call they'll review them faster haha wishful thinking

 

[porkandbeans]

Waiting just gets harder and harder. When I called they said they couldn't say how much longer. Maybe if more people call they'll review them faster haha wishful thinking

Waiting is always the hardest part. I guess it makes me feel better to know everyone is in the same boat. I just want to be able to start making plans and find a place to live. I suppose if I get on the wait list though it wont get any better.. *sigh*

 

[kingston77]

Can any accepted Canadian here comment on whether they're thinking of forfeiting their spot/deposit for any reason? This would really help to see how the small waitlist for Canadian students might change in the coming weeks. Obviously I expect their to be a lot of movement for American students, but the Canadian movement I am not so sure...

 

[FBurnaby]

I'm not that familiar with the MD cycle, presuming there will be shake ups/trick down effects once applicants have to commit to one school, what dates could we expect wait list movement? People have really been accepted during orientation week in past years?

 

[porkandbeans]

I'm not that familiar with the MD cycle, presuming there will be shake ups/trick down effects once applicants have to commit to one school, what dates could we expect wait list movement? People have really been accepted during orientation week in past years?

I'm assuming you meant DO? If so, it works much the same as the MD cycle, lots of movement once students have to commit to one school, more so because some students may get off an MD waitlist and chose that over a DO acceptance. And I believe that the last acceptance is before orientation, but I could be wrong. There are usually a few students at every school who get in at the last minute.

Per the website: "You could be admitted at any time after you have been placed on the waitlist until the week before the entering class matriculates in June. Typically, the greatest movement on the waitlist occurs from late April to mid-May. For Canadian applicants, May 1 is the latest admission date due to the time needed to process student visas/I-20s."

So the week before the entering class matriculates is orientation week.

 

[Dr. Bojangles]

FINALLY! I heard back just now. First tier wait list. It's not an acceptance but at least I'm not rejected either! Good luck to everyone still waiting!

 

[Gaucho22]

FINALLY! I heard back just now. First tier wait list. It's not an acceptance but at least I'm not rejected either! Good luck to everyone still waiting!

Same here just got the email this morning ... I wonder how much movement there is. Seems like there are a lot of people of the first tier waitlist.

 

[Dr. Bojangles]

Same here just got the email this morning ... I wonder how much movement there is. Seems like there are a lot of people of the first tier waitlist.

That't what I was thinking, but the email said they're "optimistic" so I guess we should be too!

 

[FBurnaby]

Alas, it does sound like there are many on first tier. And with <20 seats left I'm getting less optimistic.

 

[Ty223]

From previous years, it appears the waitlist is around 150 students. Lets say they have interviewed roughly 650 people as of today. Let's say they accept 400 people, and of those accepted 325 actually pay the seat deposit. That means there are around 150 people on the wait list. Three tiers means around 50 people in each tier. Are there any issues I did not take into account? It sounds like there are way more than 50 people in Tier 1.

 

[Bbev]

From previous years, it appears the waitlist is around 150 students. Lets say they have interviewed roughly 650 people as of today. Let's say they accept 400 people, and of those accepted 325 actually pay the seat deposit. That means there are around 150 people on the wait list. Three tiers means around 50 people in each tier. Are there any issues I did not take into account? It sounds like there are way more than 50 people in Tier 1.

Thanks for doing this. I've been trying to figure out possible numbers for the past few weeks. Did they say anything about having equal numbers of students per tier?

 

[Ty223]

Thanks for doing this. I've been trying to figure out possible numbers for the past few weeks. Did they say anything about having equal numbers of students per tier?

No I'm just guessing, these are all very rough numbers

 

[cafeverona]

It doesn't seem like that many people match into allopathic residences at MSU...I mean, I guess this will all be obsolete in a few years, but I'm wondering if students aren't actively encouraged to try matching into both. Only 25% of 2015 matches were allopathic. Also, the majority of the matches are for hospitals in Michigan. Do people generally just want to stay? There a lot of great hospitals like Cleveland Clinic, Mayo, etc., but I didn't see any matches there from 2015.

 

[Throwaway201536]

It doesn't seem like that many people match into allopathic residences at MSU...I mean, I guess this will all be obsolete in a few years, but I'm wondering if students aren't actively encouraged to try matching into both. Only 25% of 2015 matches were allopathic. Also, the majority of the matches are for hospitals in Michigan. Do people generally just want to stay? There a lot of great hospitals like Cleveland Clinic, Mayo, etc., but I didn't see any matches there from 2015.

All DO schools will naturally be skewed toward having a very large % of students matching into osteopathic programs, as well as primary care fields. However, this isn't necessarily because the school cannot aid students into matching into allopathic residency programs or competitive specialties, it's just what many students tend to reach for. MSUCOM has had students match into competitive allopathic residency programs in the past, and being that it is one of the few DO schools with large support for research, you shouldn't feel that you can't aim high if you attended msucom.

Edit: I am in no way trying to say that DO students settle for primary care or anything like that, just that it's commonly something many students are interested in. The same is true at many MD schools as well. I'm simply saying, the numbers in regards to where students match isn't too indicative of how good the school is. Where a student matches depends on what their goal is and how hard they want to work for it; I do not believe MSUCOM provides any additional roadblocks for students aiming high.

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[FBurnaby]

Looks like 57 match allopathic in 2015 yet only 69 participated in allopathic match

 

[SpartanWolverine]

It doesn't seem like that many people match into allopathic residences at MSU...I mean, I guess this will all be obsolete in a few years, but I'm wondering if students aren't actively encouraged to try matching into both. Only 25% of 2015 matches were allopathic. Also, the majority of the matches are for hospitals in Michigan. Do people generally just want to stay? There a lot of great hospitals like Cleveland Clinic, Mayo, etc., but I didn't see any matches there from 2015.

25% seems like a lot to me, really. Consider that we have a huge number of osteopathic residencies at very good hospitals in Michigan, and that the vast majority of students are from Michigan. It's not surprising that people build relationships at hospitals here and want to stay.

If you're worried about not being able to get a competitive spot, look at the people matching neurosurgery in CA, a few doing vascular surgery, etc. I also believe we had someone match ENT/Plastics in the San Francisco match this year, which is pretty wild. It's not that people do FM/IM/EM because they can't do anything else... it's just what most people at COM genuinely want to do.

 

[cafeverona]

25% seems like a lot to me, really. Consider that we have a huge number of osteopathic residencies at very good hospitals in Michigan, and that the vast majority of students are from Michigan. It's not surprising that people build relationships at hospitals here and want to stay.

If you're worried about not being able to get a competitive spot, look at the people matching neurosurgery in CA, a few doing vascular surgery, etc. I also believe we had someone match ENT/Plastics in the San Francisco match this year, which is pretty wild. It's not that people do FM/IM/EM because they can't do anything else... it's just what most people at COM genuinely want to do.

Yeah I figured it was because MI is a very osteopathic friendly state. I wasn't really referring to the specialty of medicine, but rather, where the students ended up going.

 

[SpartanWolverine]

Yeah I figured it was because MI is a very osteopathic friendly state. I wasn't really referring to the specialty of medicine, but rather, where the students ended up going.

Gotcha. Yep, Michigan is just about the most friendly state for DOs residency-wise. Besides Michigan, the top three states where our graduates practice are Florida, California, and Arizona... for those who can't deal with the winters. After residency, a fair number do fellowships out-of-state.

 

[lahaiesi]

Dr. Ruger (from MSUCOM) just wrote this article on what to do if you're wait listed. I thought this would be useful to those who are on the list. I met with her last June after I was wait listed and she had great advice so I definitely recommend checking out this article.

http://www.usnews.com/education/blo...donts-for-wait-listed-medical-school-hopefuls


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[stodda57]

How did people who got scholarships get notified? Just got an email saying all scholarships have been offered already. Just curious if you were notified by mail or email!

 

[DrPatriot]

How did people who got scholarships get notified? Just got an email saying all scholarships have been offered already. Just curious if you were notified by mail or email!

You had to apply for them by filling out a form and writing essays specific to the scholarship you were applying for. There were not that many for incoming students.

 

[stodda57]

You had to apply for them by filling out a form and writing essays specific to the scholarship you were applying for. There were not that many for incoming students.

I applied, just was curious how people were notified of receiving a scholarship.

 

[SpartanWolverine]

I applied, just was curious how people we notified of receiving a scholarship.

Many (but not all) are first invited via e-mail for an interview, then, after the committee convenes and decides you get a scholarship, you receive an e-mail and postal mail offer with information about how much it will be, when it will be applied to your account, etc.

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[DrMeowMeow]

I'm assuming you meant DO? If so, it works much the same as the MD cycle, lots of movement once students have to commit to one school, more so because some students may get off an MD waitlist and chose that over a DO acceptance. And I believe that the last acceptance is before orientation, but I could be wrong. There are usually a few students at every school who get in at the last minute.

Per the website: "You could be admitted at any time after you have been placed on the waitlist until the week before the entering class matriculates in June. Typically, the greatest movement on the waitlist occurs from late April to mid-May. For Canadian applicants, May 1 is the latest admission date due to the time needed to process student visas/I-20s."

So the week before the entering class matriculates is orientation week.

I know someone who got accepted off the wait list literally the day before orientation. Boy, was she happy!

 

[DrMeowMeow]

It doesn't seem like that many people match into allopathic residences at MSU...I mean, I guess this will all be obsolete in a few years, but I'm wondering if students aren't actively encouraged to try matching into both. Only 25% of 2015 matches were allopathic. Also, the majority of the matches are for hospitals in Michigan. Do people generally just want to stay? There a lot of great hospitals like Cleveland Clinic, Mayo, etc., but I didn't see any matches there from 2015.

MSUCOM did not really encourage/discourage us from any specialty or match. I have heard of some DO schools actively pushing students into primary care by making it difficult for them to do away rotations in other specialties, but MSUCOM seems to give us tons of freedom. There seem to be a lot more people applying allopathic match this year compared to last year, probably because of the merger and a lot of them are interested in acgme fellowships. Most people still pursue osteopathic residencies in Michigan for many reasons.

1. 2/3s of all osteopathic residencies are in Michigan. We have the best networking connections available in the DO world and students from other schools are sometimes salty about it. When we are based in hospitals with tons of spots it's a lot easier to get to know the program directors, attendings, and residents to get these spots.

2. People want to stay in Michigan. We have a lot of non traditional students which means more people are married and more have kids. I know a lot of people who basically have to stay here for their SOs/spouses/children and most are locals who just like being close to their families.

3. It's much easier getting competitive specialties in DO match vs MD match. Allopathic residencies will still favor MDs over DOs. If your dream specialty is ENT and a DO hospital offers you a spot, you are definitely going to take it! I know a Urology resident who was accepted to MSUCOM and Wayne state and he said if he chose to go to Wayne state be probably wouldn't have been competitive enough to get a Urology residency.

4. DO match is 6 weeks earlier than MD match and in the DO culture, a lot program directors will verbally offer you a spot way before the match. Most of my classmates already knew where they were going to match months ahead of time based on that communication and some were confident enough to only rank the one program that promised them a spot. Why risk skipping the DO match to do MD? Most of the people who did DO match didn't even consider the MD match.

5. I don't know if this is true or not, but my classmates believe that you get a lot more hands on training in DO residencies. Sometimes there are rumors that MD residencies don't allow you to do as much while DO residencies give you independence a lot quicker. They believe they can excel better as attendings by getting more hands on experience.

I personally was expecting to do the DO match from the very beginning which is why I didn't take the USMLE. The only reason I'm doing the MD match is because I ended up choosing psychiatry which truly does have way more options in the MD match (very few DO residencies and a lot are brand new). My friend is also doing MD match because she chose Pediatrics which also has few DO options.

The people I know who want to leave Michigan don't have much trouble doing so. They ended up matching to DO residencies in Denver and Seattle.

 

[Dr. Bojangles]

I'm writing a letter of intent since I'm on the waiting list. Does anyone have any tips or things I should definitely include? Thanks!

 

[deleted744041]

Hi guys,

I am hoping that it is not too forward to ask. However, as many of you may have already know that MSUCOM has its second look day on this Saturday (19th). I am in a bind right now. Since it is on Saturday, there will be no bus from East Lansing that will be back in Detroit by 4:30 PM. I will go out on a limb here and asking if there is anyone who will be ever so kind that might need to stop by detroit from East lansing on that day to allow me to share their car? I will happily pay for the gas.

 

[Asadullah]

Hey All,

If I haven't received an interview from MSUCOM yet, is it safe to say I'm rejected? Not sure why I haven't been formally rejected if the class is already full and the waitlist is already extensive...hate being kept in the dark.

 

[stodda57]

Hey All,

If I haven't received an interview from MSUCOM yet, is it safe to say I'm rejected? Not sure why I haven't been formally rejected if the class is already full and the waitlist is already extensive...hate being kept in the dark.

I believe their last round of interviews has finished. I dont think they have perfected the system since this is the first year of interviews. You will probably hear something from them soon.

 

[Asadullah]

I believe their last round of interviews has finished. I dont think they have perfected the system since this is the first year of interviews. You will probably hear something from them soon.

Hm it would be unusual if they sent me an interview request this late...ah well. Might as well accept it & plan for reapps....

 

[bakr89]

Hm it would be unusual if they sent me an interview request this late...ah well. Might as well accept it & plan for reapps....

I am on the same boat. Planning to do that too. Good luck buddy next time around

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[Asadullah]

I am on the same boat. Planning to do that too. Good luck buddy next time around

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Thanks

 

[becomingdoctor]

accepted off wait list, but will withdraw, DO-PhD

 

[Laito]

accepted off wait list, but will withdraw, DO-PhD

when did you hear from them?

 

[FBurnaby]

@becomingdoctor was there a separate waitlist for DO-PhD? Congrats on wherever you're going!

 

[becomingdoctor]

@becomingdoctor was there a separate waitlist for DO-PhD? Congrats on wherever you're going!

I received the offer this Thursday. I was wait-listed for DO school in Oct after my DO MMI interview. Then I was asked to move forward to my PhD application and attended the recruitment weekend. There is no separate waitlist for DO-PhD applicants. I was told if the DO-PhD wants me in they will just call the dean of COM to pull me off the waitlist. It is a little different than DO only applicant because DO-PhD students dont occupy seats for the current year ( they start med school after their first PhD year).

 

[URMinority]

I received the offer this Thursday. I was wait-listed for DO school in Oct after my DO MMI interview. Then I was asked to move forward to my PhD application and attended the recruitment weekend. There is no separate waitlist for DO-PhD applicants. I was told if the DO-PhD wants me in they will just call the dean of COM to pull me off the waitlist. It is a little different than DO only applicant because DO-PhD students dont occupy seats for the current year ( they start med school after their first PhD year).

Do DO-PhD students get free-tuition or stipends/scholarships that cover tuition?

 

[becomingdoctor]

Do DO-PhD students get free-tuition or stipends/scholarships that cover tuition?

I was told there is still a tuition which is 50% of IS tuition throughout 7-8 years of study, students also get stipends. Stipend > tuition

 

[Dr. Bojangles]

So the portal says to schedule an appointment if you're not off the waitlist by 4/1, but they say most movement happens late April to Early May. Does this mean it's possible to see movement before late April?

 

[Laito]

So the portal says to schedule an appointment if you're not off the waitlist by 4/1, but they say most movement happens late April to Early May. Does this mean it's possible to see movement before late April?

I was thinking the something, but I don't see how we're going to see any movement, since students don't have to give up their seats until end of April (not sure of the exact date).

 

[cafeverona]

^ Has anybody called them recently to talk about this or ask about their chances? It's getting kind of late in the game, and I know they accept people off the WL up until the classes start basically, but I'm sure others are pressed for time with commitments to other schools and such.

 

[genessis42]

I feel like most waitlist movement should happen in the month of May.

Which campus do most people usually choose? I heard Detroit gets filled up very quickly. But someone told me all 3 campuses are identical when it comes to classes, student organizations, etc.

 

[DrPatriot]

Which campus do most people usually choose? I heard Detroit gets filled up very quickly.

Usually fills Detroit>EL>Macomb.

All the campuses have the same opportunities it really comes down to preference of the surrounding environment.

 

[cafeverona]

I feel like most waitlist movement should happen in the month of May.

Which campus do most people usually choose? I heard Detroit gets filled up very quickly. But someone told me all 3 campuses are identical when it comes to classes, student organizations, etc.

ugh that's so late! I wish it was earlier :/ it doesn't help that they never answer the phones!

 

[Dr.Unicorn]

When I received my notification that I was placed on the alternate list, it included a sentence stating there are no guarantees, but I should be optimistic about getting an invitation before 4/1. Did anyone receive a similar message? Has anyone been accepted off the alternate list recently?