I feel compelled to reply to this to give a bit of a different perspective. I will agree that this program has room for improvement, concerns were recently expressed to both the president, Dr. Adams, and the Dean, Dr Told, and once that took place, immediate action was taken! Since that time the director (who was also the physiology instructor) and the anatomy professor (the TA) have been removed from their positions and professors from the medical school have been teaching us ever since. I truly feel administration was unaware of the problems that existed, but once it was brought to their attention, it was immediately addressed. In a way I feel a little cheated that I did not receive the full education I came here for and paid for (in anatomy particularly) but I suppose no one knew these type issues were going to occur until they did. I would also like to say, despite all the challenges and bumps along the way, I have learned more in this program than I have in years of education and training. This program has the potential to build an exceptional foundation for medical school, PA, etc. We had a 2 hour anatomy lab with 3 PHD professors and it was phenomenal so I feel confident things will be better for next years class. Having trained educators who have a sound foundation in the subject they are teaching makes a huge difference!
As to admissions, I would say to anyone looking to apply to this program who want to go to RVU for medical school, IT CAN BE DONE! Despite all the negative feedback, I truly feel each of us had a chance to prove ourselves and some did and some didn't. Think about how much time and effort, YEARS, you've invested into your education and journey to become a doctor up to this point. If you attend this program, you basically have 4 months, to prove yourself, bust your ass, study hard, pay attention in class, participate in class, have a good attitude, demonstrate you can be successful academically by making good grades (NOT JUST B'S AND C'S), and you will have the opportunity to get into the COM. When the dean, Dr. Told, addressed our class recently, he said it best, "This is medical school, not everyone gets a prize." This is true! There are thousands of qualified applicants for medical school every year that get denied, if you want to come and perform average, you're probably not going to get one of those coveted seats in the COM.
You have to be able to succeed academically or else why would they accept you into the COM despite how bad you may think you want it, you might not be able to cut it. You can want to be a doctor all day, but actually being able to be successful in the fast paced, intense rigors of the curriculum is a different story. They are not going to accept you into the COM if you can't cut it in this program. Also, this is not the only criteria, you must be a good fit as well, meaning, no behavior problems, attitude problems, etc. We were told at the beginning of this program, by admissions that, you had to perform well academically and be a good fit to be accepted to the COM. Nothing was guaranteed. We were told we all could be accepted or none of us could be accepted. It was up to us to prove we deserved a spot, and this was our opportunity to do so without having to resit for the MCAT. Again, some did, some didn't. There is a sense of entitlement that seems to be ever present that has no place in this path. I agree there was no clear guidelines going in for us as to what would ensure your acceptance, this has been changed and will be different for subsequent classes. But again, it was up to us to prove ourselves.
I have learned so much in this program, and I feel a LOT more prepared to enter medical school at this point. This program isn't all bad as others have presented it. This program did improve my GPA. It can improve yours also. And yes, some people applied to different schools and got in, one guy in our class is going to Western in California this fall for medial school. As for the students that did not get accepted, administration gave them 3 options moving forward that seemed fair since they didn't have to offer anything. These were the options offered: (Get a 3.5 GPA, 92.5% on comprehensive final, guarantees an interview for this fall with admissions and possible seat in July for COM OR get a 3.2 GPA, 80% on final, and guaranteed interview for next years class, OR get 3.0 GPA, 70-80% on final, MCAT of 500, guarantees an interview as well)
Bottom line, if you are looking to apply to this program in efforts to make yourself a better candidate for medical school, this can be achieved and getting accepted can be done as well. Again, you have 4 months, don't slack off, work hard, put in as much time as it takes to make the grades, and earn it for yourself! If you really want to be a doctor, that's not too much to ask! As with anything in life that you really want, its not up to anyone else, don't make excuses, you are not entitled and its not a given, it must be earned!! (harsh words but very true) From a future doctor here, it is attainable, It can be done!
Feel free to contact me if you have further questions! Best of luck in your journey!