Philadelphia COM - Philadelphia (PCOM) Discussion Thread 2013 - 2014

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Makaar said:
Interviewed January 30th.
Received deferral 3/1
Deferred until April

Anyone know the chances after deferral or how the process works?

Good luck to those still waiting!
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Sorry to hear that man. How did you feel about your interview?
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Ski.the.East said:
Hey guys, I am looking for some current students of PCOM to get their feedback on some things I read about PCOM from prior years that were a little concerning. I am most curious to see if these things that students had brought up about what they did not like about PCOM have been addressed and fixed for either current students or incoming students like us! Any and all feedback is great, thank you!

Below are "problems" with PCOM from past year students I found from PCOM SDN 2012-2013 (pg. 11)


1) Lack of board prep… whether it be from things not being covered in lecture, to lack of board style exam questions, and lack of time to study for boards.

2) OMM. OPP has been taught by the brothers Nicholai for seemingly thousands of years. They make blanket statements about how OPP taught at other schools is wrong with nothing to back it up. The department has some really bright professors who know how to teach practical OPP and understand its role. For me, the 'fun' of OMM/OPP was sucked out by those in charge and it doesn't have to be that way.

3) We run a systems curriculum which everybody pretty much universally loves. One of the big problems is that during your third term (we do trimesters) of second year, there are some really, really dumb classes where it seems like the only goal is to prevent us from studying for boards. We have many redundant lectures (i.e. we had 5 acid/base lectures). In some blocks, the course directors would all but give us the answers to their questions. Awesome, right? Not really. It's cool getting their questions right but, as a result, I don't know renal as well as I should.

4) We have some professors who are just goddamn outdated. One of our GI professors is a really great guy but he hasn't practiced GI in some time and the treatments he talks about are out of date. How do I know? I know because younger docs come in and blast those treatments.

5) I think the biggest flaw at PCOM is the lack of direction and organization during 3rd and 4th year with rotations and residency apps.
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Any 1st or 2nd years out there able to comment on this^^^^^^^^?! Thanks!
 
vagitarian001 said:
Sorry to hear that man. How did you feel about your interview?
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Felt fine. Nothing stuck out in my mind. Overall was very okay when I left. Definitely disappointed w/ outcome.
Stats are 3.8cGPA, 3.68sGpa, and 31 MCAT, in-state
 
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Makaar said:
Felt fine. Nothing stuck out in my mind. Overall was very okay when I left. Definitely disappointed w/ outcome.
Stats are 3.8cGPA, 3.68sGpa, and 31 MCAT, in-state
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wow those are great stats. i dont see why you wouldnt get into several other amazing schools though
 
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Does anyone know if PCOM adcoms take letters of intent into their decisions? I know they take them, but not all schools actually pay attention to them.

Also, if it is important to PCOM adcoms, should I wait to send one after the interview, or can I send one now?
 
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The interview has got to be huge in their decision making, you'd imagine those numbers would get a direct acceptance.
 
DomoKunMD said:
The interview has got to be huge in their decision making, you'd imagine those numbers would get a direct acceptance.
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I had a first lower MCAT which likely is the cause, but from previous years threads, many people post 1/20 were deferred until April and later accepted! So there is still hope!
 
Oh yess that's true, I do remember seeing that in the previous thread
 
I want to get in so bad. Im thinking of sending a letter of intent but I think you're only supposed to send that until after you hear post interview if you get waitlist. not sure. can't wait until this process is over!
 
chocolateislife said:
I want to get in so bad. Im thinking of sending a letter of intent but I think you're only supposed to send that until after you hear post interview if you get waitlist. not sure. can't wait until this process is over!
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hmm idk, they say they have their mind made up about you as soon as you leave the interview.
 
TopTomato said:
That's nuts dude. My first MCAT was extremely low which I took in May, then I retook it one month later and scored significantly higher. During the interview they did question me so I did have to explain why I didn't perform as well as I did the first time around, especially since they were taken relatively close to each other. I'm just curious as to if they asked you what you did to improve?
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No they did not, in fact, questioning regarding the MCAT score did not even come up if I remember correctly.
 
I cannot seem to find the list of hospitals/locations where clinical rotations are done in the third and fourth year... does anyone have those or know where to find them? Thanks!
 
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So far I've received masters acceptances from barry, usf, pcom, mississippi college. Does anyone know if PCOM offers just interviews or automatic acceptances to their med school for their SMP students that perform well in their program.
 
anthony78001 said:
So far I've received masters acceptances from barry, usf, pcom, mississippi college. Does anyone know if PCOM offers just interviews or automatic acceptances to their med school for their SMP students that perform well in their program.
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Neither. You'll apply as a general applicant even if you do the SMP at PCOM. They don't reserve any seats for their masters kids either, but 1/2 the kids wind up getting into a professional school (according to their FAQ section).

It doesn't really matter where you do a masters for PCOM, just make sure you do well in it, they love non-trad students who get their act together and do well in Graduate coursework.
 
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I was crazy late getting my II app fee in (2/24). What do you think my chances of being offered an interview are?
 
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Hey, I just recently got into PCOM!! Awesome school. It was definitely my #1 choice.

My question is: Does anyone know any good places to live near PCOM? I know I'd prefer a one bedroom with a kitchen and washer/dryer. Any help would greatly appreciated.
 
reen44 said:
I was crazy late getting my II app fee in (2/24). What do you think my chances of being offered an interview are?
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I was there last week and they said that they are still reviewing apps and interviewing for spots in the class. If you look good in the application, you still have a shot.
 
PCOM_2018 said:
I was there last week and they said that they are still reviewing apps and interviewing for spots in the class. If you look good in the application, you still have a shot.
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Wait, you interviewed a week ago and already have been accepted? I thought they only send correspondence via snail mail and post interview decisions take about 1 month?
 
Ski.the.East said:
Wait, you interviewed a week ago and already have been accepted? I thought they only send correspondence via snail mail and post interview decisions take about 1 month?
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When I interviewed, I received an acceptance letter 4 days later. I was completely shocked, especially since they stressed during my interview that I would not hear back for at least 3 weeks.
 
corinneselene said:
When I interviewed, I received an acceptance letter 4 days later. I was completely shocked, especially since they stressed during my interview that I would not hear back for at least 3 weeks.
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Wow, awesome, they must have really liked you! Congrats!
 
Submitted secondary on 10/3/2013.
Interviewed 1/23/2014.
Accepted 1/31/2014. Received the acceptance letter on 2/3/2014.

I'm mentioning dates to give you guys an idea of the timeline. The interview was not that stressful. I know that the interview is critical but displaying a good sense of humor definitely helps. It puts both the interviewee and interviewer at ease. Any questions regarding the process, please feel free to pm me.
 
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zrock said:
Submitted secondary on 10/3/2013.
Interviewed 1/23/2014.
Accepted 1/31/2014. Received the acceptance letter on 2/3/2014.

I'm mentioning dates to give you guys an idea of the timeline. The interview was not that stressful. I know that the interview is critical but displaying a good sense of humor definitely helps. It puts both the interviewee and interviewer at ease. Any questions regarding the process, please feel free to pm me.
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Im just curious, how do you know the date of your acceptance? I thought we're notified by snail mail / acceptance letter
 
corinneselene said:
When I interviewed, I received an acceptance letter 4 days later. I was completely shocked, especially since they stressed during my interview that I would not hear back for at least 3 weeks.
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I felt the SAME exact way! I was shocked. I thought they either loved me or hated me. Glad it was the first
 
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Ski.the.East said:
Wait, you interviewed a week ago and already have been accepted? I thought they only send correspondence via snail mail and post interview decisions take about 1 month?
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Last week I was up there for a second interview for a DO/PhD spot.
 
vagitarian001 said:
Im guessing the acceptance letter was probably predated.
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It was the date on the letter which I assume was postmarked shortly. I have been contacted by a couple of members regarding the interview process which I replied with the most minute details. If anyone else is interested, please feel free to pm.
 
I should rephrase that.. I was questioning why someone would ask about the failure policy not that I wanted to know about remediation.
 
medschoolbound7 said:
Do you intend on failing in med school cause you've posted this question in EVERY forum
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Obviously no one intends on failing. But obviously a good number of people fail across all schools--hence why a remediation policy exists in the first place.

In addition, I have spent thousands of dollars and sacrificed many hours just to get to medical school. Medical school isn't cheap in case you were unaware. It is in my (and probably your) best interest in find out what policies there are so you don't lose more time OR money having to repeat classes/the year. Sorry if I want to know everything before I get there.
 
victoriax87 said:
Obviously no one intends on failing. But obviously a good number of people fail across all schools--hence why a remediation policy exists in the first place.

In addition, I have spent thousands of dollars and sacrificed many hours just to get to medical school. Medical school isn't cheap in case you were unaware. It is in my (and probably your) best interest in find out what policies there are so you don't lose more time OR money having to repeat classes/the year. Sorry if I want to know everything before I get there.
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No need to preach to the choir. I understand wanting to know as much as possible about the school before matriculating, but do you think it's in the forums best interest to have members post the same question in numerous threads? Why not do your research PRIOr to posting to avoid cluttering the forums?
 
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To those who have visited the campus, would it be open for me to go there to walk around and see the campus? Or do I need some sort of clearance? I don't have an II, but I'd like to take a look.
 
I received my acceptance letter on Saturday, March 1. They gave us until Tuesday March 11 to submit the $250 deposit and technical standards forms, which I did on Tuesday March 3. I still haven't gotten confirmation that they've received it though. Is anyone else having this problem?
 
You have to remember that those who interview right after the committee meets will take longer to get letters than those who interview the day before committee meets. Also everything shows up on the portal so you should check there, they really don't send out many emails confirming anything.
 
kabooya said:
To those who have visited the campus, would it be open for me to go there to walk around and see the campus? Or do I need some sort of clearance? I don't have an II, but I'd like to take a look.
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Best to go during an open house as security does not like people just roaming around and you can't get past the security guard in one of the buildings without meeting a specific person.
 
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futurexray said:
You have to remember that those who interview right after the committee meets will take longer to get letters than those who interview the day before committee meets. Also everything shows up on the portal so you should check there, they really don't send out many emails confirming anything.
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I had forgotten about the portal, thank you! They had said in an email that a system generated confirmation email would be sent upon receipt of the deposit. I didn't get that, but I did check the portal and they received it March 7. Thanks again!
 
Hello,

Can a current PCOM student give us an idea what a typical day is like during first year?

I think most lectures start at 8am, but how does the day progress, what time are you out of class/lab?

Thank you!
 
any 2/27 interviewers that have heard yet? Im hoping to hear soon to avoid depositing elsewhere
 
Haven't been invited to an interview here. I have been so far to all the other osteopathic schools I applied to (didn't apply to too many).

Submitted everything in October and received an email confirming that I was "complete" in December.

OoS applicant, go to school in PA. Kinda losing hope that I'll be invited to interview.
 
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