Midwestern University Chicago (CCOM) Discussion Thread 2013 - 2014

[BecksTriad]

Why do they ask for a resume? What was the point of filling out the AACOMAS....

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Shinobiz11]

Secondary as well, I don't take my MCAT until August so I might wait a bit on this one.

 

[dollarbill]

Why do they ask for a resume? What was the point of filling out the AACOMAS....

great question......here are some reasons why I think they require resume:
1) Do you know how to write a resume? Most people struggle on how to write a proper resume or use proper language required in a resume.
2) Can you sell yourself? A resume is basically showing how qualified you are for going after a position
3) Can you follow directions? You will be surprised how many people do not include the parts of the resume that they ask for or do not attach a resume all together
4)Clarification of AACOMAS. I know we have all be there on the AACOMAS; does this go under this section or this section? With your resume it should be point blank
5) Given to interviewers....really not much to add here.

good luck!

 

[MackandBlues]

Is it a resume they want or a CV? Thanks!

 

[MD2BHA]

How are you guys being notified of the secondary invite? Through your personal email? Or the AACOMAS homepage?

 

[XFireMedic]

How are you guys being notified of the secondary invite? Through your personal email? Or the AACOMAS homepage?

Personal email. Make sure you check your junk folder, I missed an AACOMAS message because of that...

 

[dollarbill]

Is it a resume they want or a CV? Thanks!

I believe they ask for a resume or CV. I think your safest bet is a resume as it will tend to be more concise while getting all your points across. Obviously the more you write, the more you need to be prepared to take questions on any of those things.

Good luck!

 

[CanePreMed]

Secondary submitted!! I also just got an email from my Pre-Health office saying that my committee letter has been uploaded to VirtualEvals, so i should be complete soon!! I am very excited!!

 

[Yehoshua24]

Excited for you all. Hoping mine is coming shortly. I submitted my AACOMAS about 5 min after it was open, and it was just verified this past friday. Is that the time scale that those who got secondaries are working with?

 

[psquared22]

Hang in there. I submitted mine on the 3rd and was verified on the 5th, they had my transcripts by the middle of May though.

 

[BecksTriad]

also just submitted my secondary app. would love to go here! hoping for the best good luck all

 

[Yehoshua24]

Hang in there. I submitted mine on the 3rd and was verified on the 5th, they had my transcripts by the middle of May though.

My transcripts were all in by May as well. I wonder why mine took so long to verify....

 

[eyebrowdoc]

Secondary submitted!! I also just got an email from my Pre-Health office saying that my committee letter has been uploaded to VirtualEvals, so i should be complete soon!! I am very excited!!

damn son wait for us

 

[psquared22]

Submitted here as well. Now just need to follow up with my school on the status of my letters.

 

[CanePreMed]

damn son wait for us

The earlier worm beats the bird.

 

[pepes1lv1a]

Question about the secondary...one of the major reasons I wanted to apply to MU (DO v MD reasons aside--already addressed those) was because when I went to an undergraduate school OOS, I lost a lot of the conncetion with my Jewish identity/family traditions. I'm not religious, but Jewish holidays are the one thing that really brought my family together and I value being able to observe holidays with them. Most of them live in the Chicago suburbs. Is this kosher to write about or no?

 

[CanePreMed]

Question about the secondary...one of the major reasons I wanted to apply to MU (DO v MD reasons aside--already addressed those) was because when I went to an undergraduate school OOS, I lost a lot of the conncetion with my Jewish identity/family traditions. I'm not religious, but Jewish holidays are the one thing that really brought my family together and I value being able to observe holidays with them. Most of them live in the Chicago suburbs. Is this kosher to write about or no?

Just my opinion....

What you want to write about seems out of the scope of the questions. "Why do believe CCOM would provide you with the type of osteopathic medical education you are seeking?" and "Why should CCOM accept you...?" have nothing to do with why you want to live in Chicago. They want to know why CCOM is a great place to train you and what would make you valuable to CCOM. What you want to write answers neither of those questions.

 

[pepes1lv1a]

Just my opinion....

What you want to write about seems out of the scope of the questions. "Why do believe CCOM would provide you with the type of osteopathic medical education you are seeking?" and "Why should CCOM accept you...?" have nothing to do with why you want to live in Chicago. They want to know why CCOM is a great place to train you and what would make you valuable to CCOM. What you want to write answers neither of those questions.

I think you're right. Got it a little back on track, but now I'm struggling on how much to write about why DO and how much to write about why CCOM. It's hard for me to come up with topics for the latter, like residency placement or linkage in OM-3 and OM-4, that I can discuss knowledgably at any length.

 

[CanePreMed]

I think you're right. Got it a little back on track, but now I'm struggling on how much to write about why DO and how much to write about why CCOM. It's hard for me to come up with topics for the latter, like residency placement or linkage in OM-3 and OM-4, that I can discuss knowledgably at any length.

You only have 1500 characters so it doesn't take much. I was only able to write 2 short paragraphs for each prompt.

 

[Anicetus]

Can we send more than just 2 letters....?

And what if we did not provide our AACOMAS ID next to our name on the letter like it says on the site??

Should we also address the school as CCOM? Or Midwestern University? Or MWU-CCOM in the essays?

 

[spleencakes]

Can we send more than just 2 letters....?

And what if we did not provide our AACOMAS ID next to our name on the letter like it says on the site??

Should we also address the school as CCOM? Or Midwestern University? Or MWU-CCOM in the essays?

Unless things have changed, you can send more than 2 and can also continue to send additional letters while on the waitlist, if you want.

I think CCOM is fine.

 

[eyebrowdoc]

did they already read our primary app essay?

 

[Shinobiz11]

did they already read our primary app essay?

Doubt it. Based on the email, it looks like they have a cutoff GPA.

Also, was reading on the LMU thread; should I wait to submit my secondary until I get my MCAT back (IN SEPTEMBER)

I mean, I want to get it in early, but I don't want to waste money.

 

[SmartiePants]

Has anyone had problems attaching their CV?

Mine is word format. I have tried .doc and .docx and it is not working.

 

[cyaneidae]

Has anyone had problems attaching their CV?

Mine is word format. I have tried .doc and .docx and it is not working.

I haven't submitted yet, but try saving it as a PDF (which you can do in word; just change the doc format).

 

[dj0607]

I was wondering if anyone can shed some light regarding my chances of getting admitted to this school. My cGPA is 3.4 and sGPA is 3.3. I just took the MCAT and won't find out until July 23rd but I'm hoping it's around 29. I have 2 great letters from physicians but they're both MDs. I have also been published as a 3rd author recently. I have a ton of volunteering from undergrad and 4.5 years of research experience. I will also be attending an SMP program this year (I already got accepted at Rush U' MS in Biotech program and currently waitlisted at RFU's BMS program) Will my application be too late since I won't have my MCAT score until July 23rd? Also, will my lack of DO letters jeopardize my application?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[dollarbill]

I was wondering if anyone can shed some light regarding my chances of getting admitted to this school. My cGPA is 3.4 and sGPA is 3.3. I just took the MCAT and won't find out until July 23rd but I'm hoping it's around 29. I have 2 great letters from physicians but they're both MDs. I have also been published as a 3rd author recently. I have a ton of volunteering from undergrad and 4.5 years of research experience. I will also be attending an SMP program this year (I already got accepted at Rush U' MS in Biotech program and currently waitlisted at RFU's BMS program) Will my application be too late since I won't have my MCAT score until July 23rd? Also, will my lack of DO letters jeopardize my application?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Think you have a shot. GPA is lower then average for last year and if you get a 29 you will have the average MCAT score for CCOM. Helps you have a publication and tons research experience. As far as your application time, you are fine. I also believe lacking a DO letter doesn't totally jeopardize your app but I think it hurts you(do you know why DO, have you ever seen OMT)...Get your app in and hope for the best...CCOM receives almost 7000 apps

EDIT: Also, since you are planning on doing an SMP and are considering CCOM you might want to look into the 1 year and 2 year programs at midwestern

 

[dj0607]

Think you have a shot. GPA is lower then average for last year and if you get a 29 you will have the average MCAT score for CCOM. Helps you have a publication and tons research experience. As far as your application time, you are fine. I also believe lacking a DO letter doesn't totally jeopardize your app but I think it hurts you(do you know why DO, have you ever seen OMT)...Get your app in and hope for the best...CCOM receives almost 7000 apps

EDIT: Also, since you are planning on doing an SMP and are considering CCOM you might want to look into the 1 year and 2 year programs at midwestern

Yeah I didn't get a chance to apply for Midwestern's post-bacc program. I'm hoping that Rush U's MS in Biotech can provide some sort of advantage. I'll work on shadowing a DO while I wait for school to start Thanks for the response!

 

[dollarbill]

Yeah I didn't get a chance to apply for Midwestern's post-bacc program. I'm hoping that Rush U's MS in Biotech can provide some sort of advantage. I'll work on shadowing a DO while I wait for school to start Thanks for the response!

Yea, obviously having a MS will help tremendously. Im starting at CCOM this fall...I just finished my masters and I think almost 1/2 of the people interviewing that day were working on a masters. I think there are a lot of neg views of a masters degree on sdn (mostly being a waste of money) but I can tell you that I learned a lot about myself and my capabilities. I think it gave me the confidence as to what type of student I can be if I really put my 110% into something and it also helped me get into medical school so I believe it helps. As far as shadowing a DO...you can search through AOA i believe or just do a google search, find DOs and most sites contain info on where they did their education...find a CCOM alumni. From there just express that your interested in going to CCOM and learning more about osteopathic medicine...also state that you are in a MS program(they'll presume you are a little more serious). BEST OF LUCK!

 

[ChineseKid]

man

all them high GPA and MCAT

Here's my states
cGPA:3.28
MCAT:32
LOR from DO and I would say average EC, with research, hospital, senior homes etc
Canadian

What you guys think?

 

[mommy2three]

Question about the secondary...one of the major reasons I wanted to apply to MU (DO v MD reasons aside--already addressed those) was because when I went to an undergraduate school OOS, I lost a lot of the conncetion with my Jewish identity/family traditions. I'm not religious, but Jewish holidays are the one thing that really brought my family together and I value being able to observe holidays with them. Most of them live in the Chicago suburbs. Is this kosher to write about or no?

i have to disagree with the previous poster who said no go

i say absolutely 100% yes

and here is why. you can incorporate being close to a family support system in chicago as to why CCOM. i did in mine. your family and your observances of your religious traditions with them are part of who you are and part of why you would want to attend CCOM

take it with a grain of salt - but it worked for me

 

[fluorescing]

Application marked as complete as of today. Fingers crossed! CCOM is definitely one of my top choices for med school.

 

[fluorescing]

Anyone wanna read my secondary essays for this school?

I am applying this cycle too, and I already submitted my secondary. If you want, I can read yours. I have a couple of hours to kill at work before heading to the gym.

 

[asanch]

I know these might get a little annoying...I just got my secondary application from CCOM, but I'm wondering what my chances are. I worry because my gpa is a little low, comparatively.

GPA: 3.41
MCAT: 34

Any thoughts? I'm from California, decent EC/some research

 

[BecksTriad]

I know these might get a little annoying...I just got my secondary application from CCOM, but I'm wondering what my chances are. I worry because my gpa is a little low, comparatively.

GPA: 3.41
MCAT: 34

Any thoughts? I'm from California, decent EC/some research

Ur a great candidate for COOM. You should apply to some MD schools as well and try if your luck if you are interested.

 

[asanch]

Ur a great candidate for COOM. You should apply to some MD schools as well and try if your luck if you are interested.

Thank you. I'm applying to some MD schools as well. I'm unsure on how much my 34 MCAT will really make up for my lower GPA. CCOM is my number one osteopathic school right now, so I'd love to get in!

 

[BecksTriad]

Thank you. I'm applying to some MD schools as well. I'm unsure on how much my 34 MCAT will really make up for my lower GPA. CCOM is my number one osteopathic school right now, so I'd love to get in!

i imagine you will get a few MD interviews provided you have solid ECs. Make them count! CCOM is my number one osteopathic school right now as well

 

[Shinobiz11]

Got an email from the director of admissions, saying to contact them if you have questions.

 

[psquared22]

got an email from the director of admissions, saying to contact them if you have questions.

+1

 

[fluorescing]

Got an email from the director of admissions, saying to contact them if you have questions.

It's weird that their automated emails send at 2 AM.

 

[psquared22]

It's weird that their automated emails send at 2 AM.

As if we're not on edge enough during our waking hours checking our email and sdn for updates. Haha

 

[Anicetus]

Has anyone had their LOR's checked off on their checklist? I sent in my LOR's a day earlier (through inter folio) than AZCOM and AZCOM already received them.

 

[CanePreMed]

Has anyone had their LOR's checked off on their checklist? I sent in my LOR's a day earlier (through inter folio) than AZCOM and AZCOM already received them.

Not for Chicago. My letters were sent to all schools at the same time and AZCOM has marked mine received as you.

 

[CanePreMed]

Has anyone had their LOR's checked off on their checklist? I sent in my LOR's a day earlier (through inter folio) than AZCOM and AZCOM already received them.

Take my previous respond back, now showing complete at CCOM

 

[SD3321]

Are people submitting a resume or CV? I'm not sure what to do here. Also this may be a dumb question but do we add a college we just took 2-3 classes at in our resume as colleges attended?

 

[SmartiePants]

I haven't submitted yet, but try saving it as a PDF (which you can do in word; just change the doc format).

Thanks. I called IT. It was an internet explorer issue. If anyone else has issues, google chrome worked for me.

 

[cyaneidae]

Got an email from the director of admissions, saying to contact them if you have questions.

Me too. I like the love from their school so far, even if it's automated. Two emails from them already; from some schools I haven't gotten anything yet.

 

[Shinobiz11]

Me too. I like the love from their school so far, even if it's automated. Two emails from them already; from some schools I haven't gotten anything yet.

It's all a trick, they just want your money!
Haha some schools don't open stuff until Jul so...

 

[cyaneidae]

It's all a trick, they just want your money!
Haha some schools don't open stuff until Jul so...

Haha, too true. Understood on both fronts; perhaps I just like getting email.

 

[eyebrowdoc]

guyz im submitting mine tomorrow. am I being late? cause I know some of you submitted secondaries already