Rocky Vista University (RVUCOM) Discussion Thread 2015 - 2016

[sparos]

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[mk2015]

Thanks for the update! Yes the AACOMAS MCAT delay seems to be a really common problem right now, which is frustrating - but it is definitely all on AACOMAS' end. I am assuming that once our MCAT is verified, however, we have to let RVUCOM know about it?

I'm not sure. I was under the impression that my score was verified because it shows as "official score" on my verified transcript and it has been received and processed by other schools. I plan on contacting them either way to clarify.

 

[sparos]

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[Catfish-Cupcake]

Submitted! I had a friend whom interviewed here and loved it. Hoping I get a chance as well.

 

[Stephanopolous]

Secondary submitted!

 

[BGMayagi]

Once you submit your secondary, does the RVU screen look different, I can only look into the home screen and cant preview my reports, is this an error or normal.

 

[Doctoblast]

Once you submit your secondary, does the RVU screen look different, I can only look into the home screen and cant preview my reports, is this an error or normal.

You should get an email that has your answers on the secondary

 

[Eggertdj22]

You should get an email that has your answers on the secondary

Did anyone else not get this email? I got one while I was working on it, but it was one that gave me the option to continue working on it and edit it. I never got one with my complete secondary app.

 

[Stephanopolous]

Did anyone else not get this email? I got one while I was working on it, but it was one that gave me the option to continue working on it and edit it. I never got one with my complete secondary app.

I did not get one when I was complete, only when I left the application half way through.

 

[Doctoblast]

I did not get one when I was complete, only when I left the application half way through.

I was referring to the email that we get when saving your work on the secondary. I assumed that you should get one after submitting as well. Is that not the case?

 

[med candidate]

Got a secondary! Guess I'm not rejected anymore...lol

To all those with similar issues, it has something to do with your official MCAT scores not being in yet.

 

[mk2015]

Got a secondary! Guess I'm not rejected anymore...lol

To all those with similar issues, it has something to do with your official MCAT scores not being in yet.

Same here.

I got an email back from admissions today saying that they've had this problem for a lot of students. Apparently the MCAT scores do not download with the AACOMAS application.

 

[JAYPizzle]

Really liking the overall feel I get from this university. However, after doing research on my own, I am having trouble finding things that sets this university apart. Anyone know any high points that would help sell me on this place? I would love to schedule a visit, but I'm an OOS and I am saving all my monies for possible interviews.

 

[becomingdoctor]

Got a secondary! Guess I'm not rejected anymore...lol

To all those with similar issues, it has something to do with your official MCAT scores not being in yet.

why this school is acting like a kid

 

[med candidate]

Secondary Submitted!

 

[Haxx]

Really liking the overall feel I get from this university. However, after doing research on my own, I am having trouble finding things that sets this university apart. Anyone know any high points that would help sell me on this place? I would love to schedule a visit, but I'm an OOS and I am saving all my monies for possible interviews.

Here's a review I did during this past school year from this thread: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/pros-and-cons-of-your-do-school.407104/page-25

Update for RVUCOM - From a current OMS-I (So take the things I say about clinical years with a grain of salt. I only have my own experience.)


Curriculum: This is arguably the strongest asset of our school. Our curriculum is pretty unique in that we cover all of the systems twice in blocks in our first two years. We have year long classes (OMM, Clinical Medicine, Medical Ethics, Medical Informatics, Anatomy), and then we have our specific systems courses.

First year we start with Molecular and Cellular Mechanisms --> Immuno/Heme/Lymph --> Musculoskeletal (Anatomy and clinical correlations of the back, upper limb and lower limb) --> Cardiovascular --> Respiratory --> Renal --> Holiday Break --> GI --> Endo --> Spring Break (1 week) --> Neuroscience --> Pathologic Basis of Disease I --> Pathologic Basis of Disease II --> Summer (Last day June 15th)

Our first year curriculum focuses primarily on normal anatomy and physiology (with clinical correlations thrown in) until PBD I and II, and then the whole second year curriculum is primarily Pathology and Pharmacology. So for instance, for the CV system, you will see normal anatomy and physiology in year I, talk about some pathology at the end of year I and then have a whole additional block that, after reviewing normal quickly, will focus on CV pathology, labs, pharm, etc. in Year II. So by the time you prepare for boards, you have seen all of systems 3 times before you even start board review. Because of this (IMHO), RVU had the best 1st time COMLEX pass rate in the nation this past year, with the second highest average COMLEX I score (by 2 points). The curriculum really does prepare us well for the future, so if you do poorly on boards, it's your fault and yours alone.

A few details:
- Passing for each class is 70% (no letter grades).
- Most lectures are not mandatory, with only special interactive sessions and labs being mandatory.
- Lectures are recorded and are posted within 15 minutes of the lecturer finishing up.
- We have standardized patients in our simulation labs on campus to test us on Clinical Medicine skills (pass/fail grading)
- We have 4 honors tracks: Rural and Wilderness Medicine, Global, Physician Scientist/Research, and Military Medicine (for all HPSP students)
- We have CutSuits! (for military and rural/wilderness tracks) -->

Location: RVU is located in a suburb of Denver called Parker. Parker itself is a very suburban community. If you're into that kind of thing (ultra safe neighborhoods, lots of shopping, etc.), awesome! You can live right next to school. I am a city guy myself, so I live in Aurora, which has cheaper rent, and is closer to downtown Denver, which has everything anyone could want from a big city (awesome food, good nightlife, all kinds of stuff to do, etc.). The beauty of it is that no matter what type of living situation you want, you can make it happen. I have classmates who are boarding their horses at ranches nearby that they go ride every day.

Mountains. Duh. The school itself is about an hour and a half-ish from the major ski resorts (Keystone, A Basin, Breckenridge, Vail, Beaver Creek, Copper, etc.) and closer to places to hike, mountain bike, climb, etc. Being active outdoors is a big deal at school. Everyone gets into the mountains. See social scene below.

Cost: $49,500ish?

Faculty: Like any school, there are some professors that are more engaging to listen to in lecture, but the overriding theme is that our faculty knows their stuff, and they are happy to meet with you to go over concepts you may not understand. Every single one of them has an open door policy, and we've even had a prof this year come in on the Saturday before her final and do an interactive whiteboard session to go over the immune response from start to finish with those that wanted to see it again (it took about 3 hours out of her weekend). I'm sure everyone says this, but our faculty really do care about us!

Reputation: RVU is still a fairly new school (first graduating class in 2010), but our reputation is growing really fast. I could tell stories all day of 3rd and 4th years that have received incredible feedback from their preceptors. Additionally, some of the first graduates are starting to land chief resident spots at great locations, so it's only getting better.

Clinical Rotations: This is my weakest area of knowledge. I know we have great rotations set up in the greater Denver area as well as a dedicated program in Colorado Springs, but that's about all I know. I'm originally from MN, and I plan on doing my whole third and as many audition rotations as I can land back there, so my research and time has been spent on those rotation sites. What I do know is that our clinical affairs office is super helpful and accommodating in setting up away rotations. All I need to do is get the OK from a doc that I can rotate with (I already have sites at the U of MN, a Neuro Clinic and Abbott Northwestern mostly lined up) and the office will coordinate the relationship and get all of the paperwork that needs to be done lined up for me.

Housing: There is no on-campus housing, but there are all kinds of apartments, houses and condos within 10 minutes from school. Like I said earlier, housing costs are higher in the Parker area, but if you want to save some money, Aurora and Englewood are 15ish minutes from school, and are much more affordable.

Study areas: LOTS! There are 10 study rooms on the third floor equipped with flatscreen TV's that have HDMI hookups, whiteboard walls, and all kinds of plug-ins. There are also probably 25-ish more between the library and study nooks scattered around. There are lots of individual study areas as well all throughout the school, and they put like 87238947928734 plug ins throughout the school, with associated comfy chairs.

Social Scene: The social scene here is whatever you want it to be. We have students who are parents who spend time with other families, we have married couples without kids who group together, we have single people who like to keep to small groups, and we have single/dating/married people who like to hit up the scene in downtown Denver. We've had parties with classmates, etc. etc.

Arguably the best part about our social scene, however, is how active our class is. Any day of the week, there will be someone doing something active where anyone who wants to can get in on. We ski, hike, mountain and road bike, outdoor and indoor climb, play pickup football, basketball, hockey, volleyball, ultimate, disc golf, etc. You name it, there's someone in the class who wants to join. Right now, skiing and boarding are the main players, with groups carpooling up every weekend and many weekdays. Most of our classmates have the EPIC pass in one if its incarnations.

Edit: I forgot my favorite thing about the school. OMG. I'm willing to put money down that our class collaborates as much as or more than any other one in the nation. Our facebook group is filled with mnemonics, helpful videos, etc. So much so, that as a class we're putting together our own version of the classic board review book, First Aid, that is school specific. In other words, we're posting all of these helpful tips and tricks, mnemonics, study resources, full flashcard sets, and more to Google docs where they will become immortalized. We are planning on passing this link down to future classes with the hopes that we will all benefit. We have NO gunners to my knowledge. The people here are really awesome.
Tl;dr for edit: No gunners, we help each other. Seriously.

Local Hospitals: We are not affiliated with a hospital per se, but RVU runs a AOA IM program at skyridge hospital about 10 minutes from the school that we have very close ties to. As far as notable/regarded major hospitals go in the area, National Jewish is in Denver (#1 ranked respiratory medicine hospital in the nation repeatedly), and Denver Children's (in Aurora) was ranked a top 10 overall children's hospital in 2014.

Board Prep: We have board prep built in. To my knowledge, that includes a full KAPLAN course that's integrated into our tuition, and time off for self study. Like I said earlier, it seems to be paying off. We are also required to take both the COMLEX and USMLE, which means we're prepared for both, and therefore keep our options open as we're deciding on what residencies we're interested in.

Grades: 70% is passing, Some classes/competencies are Pass/Fail

For Profit Status: Just gonna address this before I get messages. This is not an issue for us students. We get an awesome education, they have not and are not holding money back instead of spending it on facilities, faculty are great, etc. If anything, this is a positive for students. When we ask for things, instead of having to go through the red tape of getting projects approved, things can be turned around extremely quickly. For example, a few years ago students were concerned that there weren't quite enough group study spaces on campus, they brought this to the administration at the end of their first year (with maybe a month to go?) and by the next year the 10 rooms with TV's and whiteboard walls were built. Quick.

I'm sure I'm forgetting stuff. If you have additional questions PM me and I'll get to them when I have a night off. Cheers!

Curriculum: A+
Location: A
Cost: B
Financial Aid: C
Faculty: A
Reputation: B+
Technology: A
Study Space/Library: A+
Library technology/Resources: A+
Rotations: A-
Social: A
Hospitals: A-
Post Grad: A


Overall Grade: A

 

[Doctoblast]

Is anyone's secondary still glitchy? I'm using google chrome. Does it work better with other browsers?

 

[sparos]

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[mk2015]

Whatttt. I still haven't gotten anything! Now I'm worried...

I would send them an email or call them if you don't get the secondary. They responded fairly quickly to mine and sent the secondary at the same time.

 

[Michander125]

Just got a second secondary with a different username and password. Anybody else? Kinda wondering if it matters which one I submit.

 

[Doctoblast]

Just got a second secondary with a different username and password. Anybody else? Kinda wondering if it matters which one I submit.

I would probably give them a call. They might've made a mistake.

 

[Decremaster]

So I'm a 3rd year here aaaannnddd - we just got an email that there is going to be a dress code now. So stupid - sorry you will all have to put up with it.

 

[Doctoblast]

So I'm a 3rd year here aaaannnddd - we just got an email that there is going to be a dress code now. So stupid - sorry you will all have to put up with it.

Well that sucks

 

[mk2015]

So I'm a 3rd year here aaaannnddd - we just got an email that there is going to be a dress code now. So stupid - sorry you will all have to put up with it.

Withdrawn...

 

[Doctoblast]

So I'm a 3rd year here aaaannnddd - we just got an email that there is going to be a dress code now. So stupid - sorry you will all have to put up with it.

@alijen @Haxx Do you guys know the specifics of this?

 

[Decremaster]

@alijen @Haxx Do you guys know the specifics of this?

So Freakin' stupid. In general I'm proud to go to school here but... this... this is just embarrassing.

Dress Code Policy

Students are expected to dress in a manner which demonstrates respect for other students, faculty, administration, staff, and visitors. As part of professionalism, students must abide by a business casual dress code.

In accordance with business casual guidelines, slacks/trousers and jeans are appropriate, as are dresses and skirts with modest lengths. Collared shirts, sweaters, blouses, and turtlenecks are acceptable. Examples of clothing that are not appropriate include the following: shorts, mini-skirts, sweatpants, pajama pants, exercise pants, leggings (made of spandex or other form-fitting materials), t-shirts, shirts with spaghetti straps, halter tops, and clothing that may expose the midriff and torso. In addition, flip-flops and baseball caps are inappropriate. Questions regarding appropriate attire may be directed to the Office of Student Affairs.

Students should refer to the course syllabi for further dress code requirements in OPP, PCM, Anatomy, and clinical laboratory sessions. While on rotation, proper hospital/clinical office attire must be worn. Further, students must wear their RVU white coats and RVU name tags at all times when on clinical rotations, standardized patient encounters, and shadowing experiences. Students must also wear their white coats when participating in RVU-sponsored co-curricular activities, such as staffing a health fair. Note that when students wear their official RVU identifications, they should conduct themselves in a professional manner as they are representing the University and the College.

Students inappropriately dressed will be requested to leave the campus and not return until appropriately dressed. Questionable or disputed cases of attire shall be presented to the Associate Dean for Student Affairs, whose decision will be final. Repeated violations will be considered unprofessional behavior and may result in disciplinary action.

Students are not required to maintain business casual attire Monday through Friday after 5:00pm, or on weekends, unless notified by the college administration to be professionally dressed.

 

[Haxx]

@alijen @Haxx Do you guys know the specifics of this?

Just found out about 10 minutes ago. Will report back. One could say (putting it mildly) that our class is not happy, and I know we will be putting up a fight. We were not consulted nor warned about this, but it also isn't a final decision. Don't go pulling apps yet. But yeah. Boo.

 

[Doctoblast]

So Freakin' stupid. In general I'm proud to go to school here but... this... this is just embarrassing.

Dress Code Policy

Students are expected to dress in a manner which demonstrates respect for other students, faculty, administration, staff, and visitors. As part of professionalism, students must abide by a business casual dress code.

In accordance with business casual guidelines, slacks/trousers and jeans are appropriate, as are dresses and skirts with modest lengths. Collared shirts, sweaters, blouses, and turtlenecks are acceptable. Examples of clothing that are not appropriate include the following: shorts, mini-skirts, sweatpants, pajama pants, exercise pants, leggings (made of spandex or other form-fitting materials), t-shirts, shirts with spaghetti straps, halter tops, and clothing that may expose the midriff and torso. In addition, flip-flops and baseball caps are inappropriate. Questions regarding appropriate attire may be directed to the Office of Student Affairs.

Students should refer to the course syllabi for further dress code requirements in OPP, PCM, Anatomy, and clinical laboratory sessions. While on rotation, proper hospital/clinical office attire must be worn. Further, students must wear their RVU white coats and RVU name tags at all times when on clinical rotations, standardized patient encounters, and shadowing experiences. Students must also wear their white coats when participating in RVU-sponsored co-curricular activities, such as staffing a health fair. Note that when students wear their official RVU identifications, they should conduct themselves in a professional manner as they are representing the University and the College.

Students inappropriately dressed will be requested to leave the campus and not return until appropriately dressed. Questionable or disputed cases of attire shall be presented to the Associate Dean for Student Affairs, whose decision will be final. Repeated violations will be considered unprofessional behavior and may result in disciplinary action.

Students are not required to maintain business casual attire Monday through Friday after 5:00pm, or on weekends, unless notified by the college administration to be professionally dressed.

Just found out about 10 minutes ago. Will report back. One could say (putting it mildly) that our class is not happy, and I know we will be putting up a fight. We were not consulted nor warned about this, but it also isn't a final decision. Don't go pulling apps yet. But yeah. Boo.

Looks like it's not as intense as LECOM, but yeah that sucks. I mainly wear sweats when I go to class! They're comfy... :/

 

[soondoc]

For those of you considering RVU I just wanted give you all a heads up. I am currently at the end of my 3rd year here at RVU and there has been some recent changes with our admin that is really concerning.

1 week ago they told our class they were changing graduation requirements to 86 hours between the 3rd and 4th year from 78, which puts many students in jeopardy of not graduating. They are also decreasing the allowable non-clinical rotations by 8 credit hours, essentially extending our required rotations by 4 total months. They told us this information 6 weeks before we are beginning our fourth year. Unfortunately the administration has been reluctant to accept much feedback or change with this topic, and it is causing a lot of uproar within our class.

RVU is a good school and is getting better, but they are not as accepting to feedback as I once believed and was told when applying. They are cut throat with their policies and if you try to stand for something you do not think is right, they will not hesitate to write you up for unprofessional conduct and potentially make you repeat a year or kick you out.

With this new information, unless they change their current policies, as a current student I have to recommend that you do not apply or come to RVU. Everyone has their own opinion, but I wanted to share mine before you start spending 50k a year on a school that is reluctant to input, and jeopardizing their senior class graduating. As it currently stands, most students will not be able to take transit time between rotations without enrolling in an online course, and will also have to forfeit their school assigned breaks to meet graduation requirements.

Good luck in your application process.

Students have been brought into the "principal's office" for some incredibly stupid reasons. Any dissension about the school will land you in an office. I know students who have been written up for FB posts that were vague & the school decided they were about faculty.
What is being said is currently true. We'll see what happens as the students are trying to have things made more reasonable. I should add that the timelines are pretty tight, you have 94 weeks to complete 86 credits. That is including 3 weeks of 3rd year break times. So you have 91 weeks to complete the 86 credits, soooo if you wanted time off for interviews tooooo bad... You have to realize that schools don't use the same calendars & you may have gaps between rotations... Weeeee fun... So don't get pregnant...

We will have to schedule our interviews during rotations, or time off during rotations/clerkships/sub-I's, which will definitely limit the interview process. We are still able to attend audition rotations, and actually required to do 3, but this is only so many out of the potential interviews. Most of the seniors already had plans to take a month off for board studying and interviews, which was recommended by faculty. Most of these plans are now thwarted due to the new changes 2 weeks ago.

Don't make any harsh decisions about medical school due to my word of caution. I just want you all to be aware that RVU isn't as good as I hoped it would be and it was made out to be when I was applying. A large portion of my class would agree. We have been thrown "last minute" changes to the curriculum many times throughout our 3 years without warning, for them to change it back or change it again for the next year. Not only has this turned most of us a little bitter towards RVU, they won't listen to us. They act like our feedback as a class doesn't exist and will send the same email/notification multiple times just to make a point it is staying the same - without explaination.

We've been told these new changes are due to federal funding requirements by the admin, but no other schools have had changes like this. Federal funding requirements haven't changed in quite some time. Make what you want of that.



Some good things: location location location, curriculum, board scores, most faculty, one of the best match lists I've seen from an DO school. I used to be a huge proponent of this school, and told many people to apply/come here due to those things. I can no longer say the same, and am actually pretty sorry I led so many people to come here. Unfortunately, now I just want to graduate and go somewhere else, along with many of my classmates, which they are not making easy.

If I were to go back in time and know these things could happen, like change graduation requirements in the last year for a class (6 weeks prior), I would not have come to this school. They have repeatedly changed our breaks, requirements, added new "barriers" to our curriculum, and changed the grading guidelines for clinical rotations, almost seemingly haphazardly, most without any explanation or possibly even lies to try to tide us over.

I would urge you to contact admissions or the school if you have questions about it, but be careful. As I said earlier, RVU can and will watch for students that may give any resistance of change, and could write you up for it, but highly unlikely as a prospective applicant.

Honestly, it has been a 180 from my point of view. The first 2 years they took feedback after each course and did make appropriate changes. I knew there would be change as a new school, but not this drastic. I expected a little more slow and less sporadic, such as instituting it for the upcoming/incoming class, giving them time to plan their lives and know about the changes before dropping them.

We are in medical school, but people live life during medical school too. What RVU doesn't seem to do is consider the latter, especially the last 2 years. For example: If I were pregnant, and planned on maternity leave during my 4th year, I would be absolutely unable to graduate, or forfeit that leave at this point. If it were next month, I would have an extremely hard time finding a rotation in that time, and the school is limited on rotation spots as it is. If I had a job during medical school and laid out my year for planning, I would be in a jam. If I planned my family reunion during Christmas and now cannot attend due to using my weeks for transition time to drive across the country to my required sub-internships, I wouldn't be able to attend.

Most residency programs allow you to request leave and make schedule blocks a year in advance. Usually graduation requirements are set from the time you enter the institution.

This isn't preparing us for residency, it is being completely oblivious to the entire classes already laid plans. As an example: If you were in undergrad, this is the equivalent of the school requiring you to do 16 extra credit hours before you are able to graduate, but they let you know immediately before your senior year, and you are taking courses all over the country. They also haven't considered housing costs, or travel costs in our loans to encompass the new changes.

This isn't about them changing things, change is good, it's about the way they institute the changes.

RVUCOM has instituted so many changes over the past 2 months without any grandfathering current students. I do not recommend you come to this school. I am a 3rd year at RVU. Changes have been with admin and almost secretively done without student input until they drop the news:

• Graduation Requirements were changed for 4th years right before they entered their final year
• New dress code policy - No shorts, No athletic/yoga clothing, no T-Shirts
  
• New problem based group learning was instituted for the 1st and 2nd year classes

Many individuals chose this school at the current state knowing these some things would be changed because it is a newer school. The way the admin has actually instituted these changes feels almost like a slap in the face to current students though, especially how quickly and drastically they do it. I wish I would have known this before I came to this school. I was promised the school was very receptive to feedback and they are not. They will stick to every change they make and not hesitate to bring individuals in for misconduct or unprofessionalism if they fight it.

Also as a side note: RVU IT. We are still stuck in the 2000's at RVU when it comes to the website and computers. They just upgraded our email system after fighting it for years. You can see by your current secondary problems, the new incoming class is having trouble entering their student information on the website, and more. Hopefully this changes, but we were promised a change 3 years ago, and it still hasn't happened.

Yes, I am that person talking poorly about my school while I am attending. I feel a lot of students here feel the same way but are scared to speak up at the moment. People love it as well. I feel you need to know the other side of the story. Take my thoughts with a grain of salt.

Best of luck in your application process.

 

[Gandyy]

I have heard a lot of bad things about this school now.......

 

[swolebrah]

I don't mind lol, **** still going to med school if I get in.

 

[becomingdoctor]

current students must hate this school very bad so that they come to warn prospective students.......

 

[acapnial]

The dress code reminds me of high school. I can't imagine what they were thinking. RVU is an otherwise fine institution, but if an applicant with multiple acceptances elected to go to a school with no dress code, I would totally get it. Banning t shirts? Seriously?

 

[becomingdoctor]

The dress code reminds me of high school. I can't imagine what they were thinking. RVU is an otherwise fine institution, but if an applicant with multiple acceptances elected to go to a school with no dress code, I would totally get it. Banning t shirts? Seriously?

I believe LECOM has strict dress code as well

 

[acapnial]

I believe LECOM has strict dress code as well

Yeah, it has a stricter one. But I never thought RVU would enact one. I'm nonplussed. I also would have told you for sure that RVU would never ban coffee in lecture, or require attendance to lecture. The dress code took me so by surprise... all I can say is who knows?

What are your thoughts on having a dress code?

 

[lyana]

I personally think dress code is appropriate for medical school. After all they are training future professionals.

 

[becomingdoctor]

Yeah, it has a stricter one. But I never thought RVU would enact one. I'm nonplussed. I also would have told you for sure that RVU would never ban coffee in lecture, or require attendance to lecture. The dress code took me so by surprise... all I can say is who knows?

What are your thoughts on having a dress code?

Personally, I think dress code is totally BS but it wouldn't be a factor when I choose a school. Coffee rule (at LECOM) actually makes me a little uncomfortable. No coffee in lecture hall and mandatory lectures cannot co-exist.

 

[cjfarrell21]

RVUCOM has instituted so many changes over the past 2 months without any grandfathering current students. I do not recommend you come to this school. I am a 3rd year at RVU. Changes have been with admin and almost secretively done without student input until they drop the news:

• Graduation Requirements were changed for 4th years right before they entered their final year
• New dress code policy - No shorts, No athletic/yoga clothing, no T-Shirts
  
• New problem based group learning was instituted for the 1st and 2nd year classes

Many individuals chose this school at the current state knowing these some things would be changed because it is a newer school. The way the admin has actually instituted these changes feels almost like a slap in the face to current students though, especially how quickly and drastically they do it. I wish I would have known this before I came to this school. I was promised the school was very receptive to feedback and they are not. They will stick to every change they make and not hesitate to bring individuals in for misconduct or unprofessionalism if they fight it.

Also as a side note: RVU IT. We are still stuck in the 2000's at RVU when it comes to the website and computers. They just upgraded our email system after fighting it for years. You can see by your current secondary problems, the new incoming class is having trouble entering their student information on the website, and more. Hopefully this changes, but we were promised a change 3 years ago, and it still hasn't happened.

Yes, I am that person talking poorly about my school while I am attending. I feel a lot of students here feel the same way but are scared to speak up at the moment. People love it as well. I feel you need to know the other side of the story. Take my thoughts with a grain of salt.

Best of luck in your application process.

Dress code thing really doesn't bother me tbh, but the thing that irks me the most about these changes is the lack of warning and opinion on the matter they are giving students. Who's to say other implementations won't occur for future students. Yes I know that's logically a slippery slope.... But still...

Also, If they are changing to problem based group learning does that mean they are doing away with the circular systems based curriculum?

 

[Doctoblast]

Dress code thing really doesn't bother me tbh, but the thing that irks me the most about these changes is the lack of warning and opinion on the matter they are giving students. Who's to say other implementations won't occur for future students. Yes I know that's logically a slippery slope.... But still...

Also, If they are changing to problem based group learning does that mean they are doing away with the circular systems based curriculum?

I feel the same way. The dress code isn't bad at all, but making changes without asking current students or at the very least giving a warning about it is concerning. I don't know how I'd feel about going to a school that does that.

Also, why are they changing the curriculum? I thought what they had was working really well and their board scores were really high? Why fix something that isn't broken?

 

[Haxx]

PBL is being tested in 1 class, Renal II, and it is being done with lots of input from us. It may start and end there.

 

[ChrisMack390]

I have 2 questions for any current students that may be around:

1. How do you feel about the for-profit thing? I am attracted to this school for several reasons, but that factor does leave a bad taste in my mouth. Any thoughts? Has this had an discernible effect on the atmosphere at RVU?

2. My biggest con for this school is no research labs, because I would like to do some research and because I think some publications can go a long way with getting DOs into nice residencies. Not to mention that the search for new treatments/cures is a pretty big piece of the medical community, at least in my mind. However, @Haxx mentioned a physician-scientist track. How does that work? Does RVU have a partnership with some other institution that I do not know about?

Thanks all!

 

[mk2015]

I have 2 questions for any current students that may be around:

1. How do you feel about the for-profit thing? I am attracted to this school for several reasons, but that factor does leave a bad taste in my mouth. Any thoughts? Has this had an discernible effect on the atmosphere at RVU?

2. My biggest con for this school is no research labs, because I would like to do some research and because I think some publications can go a long way with getting DOs into nice residencies. However, @Haxx mentioned a physician-scientist track. How does that work? Does RVU have a partnership with some other institution that I do not know about?

Thanks all!

I'd like to know this too as I have similar sentiments about RVU. Are there any research opportunities with CU, for example?

 

[Stephanopolous]

I would be happy to dress up. Doesn't bother me one bit.

 

[Gandyy]

I have 2 questions for any current students that may be around:

1. How do you feel about the for-profit thing? I am attracted to this school for several reasons, but that factor does leave a bad taste in my mouth. Any thoughts? Has this had an discernible effect on the atmosphere at RVU?

2. My biggest con for this school is no research labs, because I would like to do some research and because I think some publications can go a long way with getting DOs into nice residencies. Not to mention that the search for new treatments/cures is a pretty big piece of the medical community, at least in my mind. However, @Haxx mentioned a physician-scientist track. How does that work? Does RVU have a partnership with some other institution that I do not know about?

Thanks all!

What?

 

[ChrisMack390]

I am under the impression that there are not research opportunities at RV. Is this incorrect? It certainly would not be alone among DO schools.

 

[Haxx]

I have 2 questions for any current students that may be around:

1. How do you feel about the for-profit thing? I am attracted to this school for several reasons, but that factor does leave a bad taste in my mouth. Any thoughts? Has this had an discernible effect on the atmosphere at RVU?

- I'll just quote what I put in the Pros and Cons thread regarding this.

"For Profit Status: Just gonna address this before I get messages. This is not an issue for us students. We get an awesome education, they have not and are not holding money back instead of spending it on facilities, faculty are great, etc. If anything, this is a positive for students. When we ask for things, instead of having to go through the red tape of getting projects approved, things can be turned around extremely quickly. For example, a few years ago students were concerned that there weren't quite enough group study spaces on campus, they brought this to the administration at the end of their first year (with maybe a month to go?) and by the next year the 10 rooms with TV's and whiteboard walls were built. Quick."

2. My biggest con for this school is no research labs, because I would like to do some research and because I think some publications can go a long way with getting DOs into nice residencies. Not to mention that the search for new treatments/cures is a pretty big piece of the medical community, at least in my mind. However, Haxx mentioned a physician-scientist track. How does that work? Does RVU have a partnership with some other institution that I do not know about?

- So I'm not an expert on the Physician Scientist track as I am not in it. BUT, I am doing research this summer in my hometown, so I know a little bit about the process. The physician scientist track is just like the military/rural med/global tracks in that they're honors programs on top of your normal curriculum. They generally meet for 2 hours/week and go over papers, design mock projects, explore the grant writing process, etc. As a part of the track, it is recommended (required?) that you do research with the many connections that the track faculty have (at CU, National Swedish, Jewish, Children's, etc.) over the summer and beyond. So the track itself does not include actually doing research at the school, but it facilitates relationships with PI's in the area and beyond. Long story short, if you want a research position, you will have no trouble finding one.

 

[ChrisMack390]

Hi @Haxx and thanks for responding quickly!

Your blurb about the for-profit thing seems to contradict what others have been saying in here about RVU quickly making changes without consulting/listening to any students. Do you have any comment on that? Do you simply disagree with the others?

That sounds great about the research track. Hopefully if I end up here I will be able to get >85 percentile OMS1. BTW you are confirming that RVU does not actually have its own research facilities, correct? Doesn't really matter if they have strong partnerships with other places, but @Gandy741 seemed to disagree.

 

[Haxx]

Hi @Haxx and thanks for responding quickly!

Your blurb about the for-profit thing seems to contradict what others have been saying in here about RVU quickly making changes without consulting/listening to any students. Do you have any comment on that? Do you simply disagree with the others?

That sounds great about the research track. Hopefully if I end up here I will be able to get >85 percentile OMS1.

I am frustrated with current changes they're making, but there's a difference in who is making the changes, and these ones (PBL tryout and dress code) aren't final yet, so I'm trying to keep from jumping to judgement and I hope prospective students can do the same.

There's this thing in medicine where because we've worked very hard for this, we tend to get really passionate about trying to make things the best that we can, and we miss the bigger picture sometimes. I am trying to approach this all professionally, and I just want to make it known that despite the things we're working on right now, I would still definitely recommend the school to prospective students.

 

[thehope]

Is anyone still waiting for MCAT score to be verified?
Mine was sent on 6/23, 7/1, and 7/8 but the AACOMAS hasn't updated it yet.
I spoke people in the AACOMAS and in AAMC.
AAMC confirmed that the AACOMAS has an access to my score and AACOMAS keeps saying to wait for 5-7 days.

Is there any way that I send my mcat score directly to the Rocky Vista and get a secondary application invite?

 

[Miguelfrom]

Is anyone still waiting for MCAT score to be verified?
Mine was sent on 6/23, 7/1, and 7/8 but the AACOMAS hasn't updated it yet.
I spoke people in the AACOMAS and in AAMC.
AAMC confirmed that the AACOMAS has an access to my score and AACOMAS keeps saying to wait for 5-7 days.

Is there any way that I send my mcat score directly to the Rocky Vista and get a secondary application invite?

I released my scores on June 30th and they were made official today. I think you should call AACOMAS again... (And wait on hold for, essentially, a lifetime)