Temple Univ. Post-bacc

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Hey PearlJam. I just spoke with a Temple post-bac admission officer last week. The woman I spoke to was very nice and informative. You would be competitive for the post-bac with stats like that, but it woul dbe even better if your science GPA was boosted a bit. She said that they will focus heavily on the personal statement.

Are you going for ACMS or BCMS?
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connerm said:
Hey PearlJam. I just spoke with a Temple post-bac admission officer last week. The woman I spoke to was very nice and informative. You would be competitive for the post-bac with stats like that, but it woul dbe even better if your science GPA was boosted a bit. She said that they will focus heavily on the personal statement.

Are you going for ACMS or BCMS?
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Thank you so much for the info Connerm, yes i would be applying to the ACMS, taking MCAT in May22, so i would submit my SAT score and the GRE score if i do really well (taking in january). SO personal statement in terms of why you would be a good fit for the program I assume? Yes i am from a top25 university and have a degree in biology i have 2 publications and extensive volunteer/shadow in LA area operating rooms and letters of rec from some surgeons...its my gpa that is holding me back so i am hoping i have at least a little bit of a shot since people report average 3.59ish gpa's that get admitted to the program so im hoping since that is the average they have some <3.3's and some >3.7's that create the average... i don't know, i just don't want my app to be overlooked simply because they see a low GPA... so you're saying i have a shot>? i guess that good to know i will do my best to submit a great hollistic app.. are you applying too?
 
No problem! I'm glad that my recently acquired knowledge could help someone else out.

I'll be applying in the cycle after this upcoming one. You really should be competitive with all the stats you just listed. I did not ask her for much extra information about the personal statement, but I assume that it is exactly what you just said.

One other very important aspect of the admissions process is that it is NOT rolling. This means that you will be considered on the same footing as other candidates no matter when you apply during the cycle and gives you a bit more time to polish your resume.
 
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connerm said:
No problem! I'm glad that my recently acquired knowledge could help someone else out.

I'll be applying in the cycle after this upcoming one. You really should be competitive with all the stats you just listed. I did not ask her for much extra information about the personal statement, but I assume that it is exactly what you just said.

One other very important aspect of the admissions process is that it is NOT rolling. This means that you will be considered on the same footing as other candidates no matter when you apply during the cycle and gives you a bit more time to polish your resume.
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really? i could have sworn it was rolling.. i guess that is good i will submit my app around february and tell them i will submit mcat score june 30... i guess i gotta really focus on the personal statement and getting stuff in order :)
 
Who's applying this year?

I just sent in my application. 3.16 sGPA, 3.24 cGPA, 33 MCAT, 4.0 gGPA (fwiw).

When do the first interview invites get sent out?
 
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makeyrmark said:
Question: Would it be ok to submit the same letters of rec. used for current med school application cycle? Or is it better to submit letters that address this program specifically?
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"For ACMS applicants to TUSM for 2015 application cycle: If you applied to Temple School of Medicine through AMCAS, we will use your validated AMCAS application and the letters of recommendation submitted on your behalf through AMCAS, we will accept your AMCAS validated grades in lieu of a transcript and MCAT scores. Your validated AMCAS grades will be used in lieu of the required SGPA calculator. We do require that you submit a Resume and SAT/ACT score validation through “Send-Us-Stuff”.

Source: https://tmo.temple.edu/postbac/Application Instructions.pdf
 
Hi everyone,

I'm thinking about applying this year, since this program looks amazing! Do you guys happen to know the essay prompts?

Thanks!
 
Chocolatepumpkinpie said:
Hi everyone,

I'm thinking about applying this year, since this program looks amazing! Do you guys happen to know the essay prompts?

Thanks!
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Once you enter the application portal and open up the application page, the essay questions are posed beginning about halfway down the page. There are ~8 questions. Three of the questions were basically word-for-word lifted from Temple's secondary application; because of this, I treated the essay questions like I would a secondary application, in terms of content, length of response, etc.

EDIT: There is an 800 character limit, thanks to gtbROX for catching that.
 
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Dro133 said:
Once you enter the application portal and open up the application page, the essay questions are posed beginning about halfway down the page. There are ~8 questions, with no character limit. Three of the questions were basically word-for-word lifted from Temple's secondary application; because of this, I treated the essay questions like I would a secondary application, in terms of content, length of response, etc.
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Per Section 9 of the application instruction pdf:

"Your responses to our essay questions are extremely important in helping us
asses your motivation for medicine. There is an 800 character limit for the essays; please be
concise while also answering the question to your satisfaction."

https://tmo.temple.edu/postbac/Application Instructions.pdf
 
Dro133 said:
Once you enter the application portal and open up the application page, the essay questions are posed beginning about halfway down the page. There are ~8 questions. Three of the questions were basically word-for-word lifted from Temple's secondary application; because of this, I treated the essay questions like I would a secondary application, in terms of content, length of response, etc.

EDIT: There is an 800 character limit, thanks to gtbROX for catching that.
Click to expand...

gtbROX said:
Per Section 9 of the application instruction pdf:

"Your responses to our essay questions are extremely important in helping us
asses your motivation for medicine. There is an 800 character limit for the essays; please be
concise while also answering the question to your satisfaction."

https://tmo.temple.edu/postbac/Application Instructions.pdf
Click to expand...


Thank you Dro133 and gtbROX! Are you guys applying as well?
 
Chocolatepumpkinpie said:
Thank you Dro133 and gtbROX! Are you guys applying as well?
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Yep. Unfortunately, admission into this program appears to be nearly as competitive as admission into med school itself, so I'm also applying to SMP programs at UCincy and RFU as backups.
 
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Dro133 said:
"For ACMS applicants to TUSM for 2015 application cycle: If you applied to Temple School of Medicine through AMCAS, we will use your validated AMCAS application and the letters of recommendation submitted on your behalf through AMCAS, we will accept your AMCAS validated grades in lieu of a transcript and MCAT scores. Your validated AMCAS grades will be used in lieu of the required SGPA calculator. We do require that you submit a Resume and SAT/ACT score validation through “Send-Us-Stuff”.

Source: https://tmo.temple.edu/postbac/Application Instructions.pdf
Click to expand...


Does anyone know if they will take GRE rather than SAT/ACT?
 
Dro133 said:
Yep. Unfortunately, admission into this program appears to be nearly as competitive as admission into med school itself, so I'm also applying to SMP programs at UCincy and RFU as backups.
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Yes. Look at the stats for recent years of acceptances. Very competitive.
 
I submitted last week (didn't see the character limit, but I only went ~400 characters over so I don't know if it will matter -_-).

Does anyone have a good ballpark estimate of the total cost of the program? Is it relatively easy to keep the cost of living and personal expenses below 20k a year?
 
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oweri23 said:
You will be able to keep your living expenses below $20,000. Not all living options, such as those in downtown for example, will be available to you. But you will be able to find a safe place to live and keep your expenses below 20k.
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Great, thanks! One of the big reasons I want to go to Temple is its location in a low income area, so I definitely don't care about being in the nicest area.
 
I would actually avoid living near Temple. This is coming from a Temple student who has lived in Philadelphia for a couple of years now. If you want to live inexpensively, you could try West Philly or oweri's suggestions of Fishtown/Northern Liberties (though NL is a bit pricey these days.) Other options in the city are East Falls and Passyunk. All of these are easy to access Temple from via public transportation. Rent is low, safety is good, and you're surrounded by people who are a similar age and income status.
 
Oweri do you attend ACMS/BCMS? I'm definitely planning to apply to ACMS for 2016-2017.
 
I'm far from actually being accepted to the program, so I'll look at the different neighborhoods if I get in. I just wanted to gauge how much this whole med school process will be.
 
Helse23 said:
Great, thanks! One of the big reasons I want to go to Temple is its location in a low income area, so I definitely don't care about being in the nicest area.
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Well, Temple, as nice of a school as it is, is NOT is a nice or even safe area. Don't want to be walking around that area when it's dark. They've been trying to build-up/bring back NL area.
 
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Thinking of applying here, but it seems as if this program is as difficult to get into as medical school itself. No harm in applying though.

Does anyone know if there is rolling admissions? Or is there no real benefit of applying early lol??
 
Haven't posted in quite a while then received an email notification that a response was posted on this thread. I can't believe that it's been almost 15 years since I started the post bac program at Temple (July 2000). It was waaaaay more informal then. You impressed Bill Nathan, you were in. How the times have changed! TUSM '06
 
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ussdfiant said:
Haven't posted in quite a while then received an email notification that a response was posted on this thread. I can't believe that it's been almost 15 years since I started the post bac program at Temple (July 2000). It was waaaaay more informal then. You impressed Bill Nathan, you were in. How the times have changed! TUSM '06
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This is so interesting to hear! Times have indeed changed.

I'm also planning on applying. Good luck to everyone!
 
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Hey guys

so I'm kind of bummed by my mcat score that I received last night. I got a 34 (11/11/12) but I was hoping for higher score to salvage my below avg gpa. I have a 3.45 cGPA and a 3.36 sGPA :( I know thats terrible but I don't want to waste any more years in getting into med school as I graduated recently this may.

Do I have a shot at temple ACMS if I apply by January? please help. I'm planning to take the 2015 MCAT as well but haven't completely decided on it yet.
 
doctordoctor14 said:
Thinking of applying here, but it seems as if this program is as difficult to get into as medical school itself. No harm in applying though.

Does anyone know if there is rolling admissions? Or is there no real benefit of applying early lol??
Click to expand...

It is rolling. There will be interview days spread out over a few months with acceptances sent out in between until the class is full. It would be a good idea to apply sooner rather than later.
 
lazyindy said:
Hey guys

so I'm kind of bummed by my mcat score that I received last night. I got a 34 (11/11/12) but I was hoping for higher score to salvage my below avg gpa. I have a 3.45 cGPA and a 3.36 sGPA :( I know thats terrible but I don't want to waste any more years in getting into med school as I graduated recently this may.

Do I have a shot at temple ACMS if I apply by January? please help. I'm planning to take the 2015 MCAT as well but haven't completely decided on it yet.
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I think you have a great shot, a 34 is a really good MCAT score IMO (congrats! I doubt you need to take the 2015 MCAT) and your GPA is right around the average for previous ACMS class years. I even think you can get into a MD program with those stats if you apply broadly and smartly. I've seen stranger things happen haha. Anyways, def apply as soon as possible, I think you'll be fine.
 
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FormerPhysicist said:
It is rolling. There will be interview days spread out over a few months with acceptances sent out in between until the class is full. It would be a good idea to apply sooner rather than later.
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Thanks for the response. I'm submitting by Friday. It seems from previous years that they don't let you know of the decision until around April, and interviews start in May according to their website.
 
ussdfiant said:
Haven't posted in quite a while then received an email notification that a response was posted on this thread. I can't believe that it's been almost 15 years since I started the post bac program at Temple (July 2000). It was waaaaay more informal then. You impressed Bill Nathan, you were in. How the times have changed! TUSM '06
Click to expand...

Are you a practicing physician? Did they also offer a guaranteed matriculation into the med school back then?
 
They
Dro133 said:
Yep. Unfortunately, admission into this program appears to be nearly as competitive as admission into med school itself, so I'm also applying to SMP programs at UCincy and RFU as backups.
Click to expand...

Cincinatti is also competitive because it only has 40 spots or something
 
lazyindy said:
Hey guys

so I'm kind of bummed by my mcat score that I received last night. I got a 34 (11/11/12) but I was hoping for higher score to salvage my below avg gpa. I have a 3.45 cGPA and a 3.36 sGPA :( I know thats terrible but I don't want to waste any more years in getting into med school as I graduated recently this may.

Do I have a shot at temple ACMS if I apply by January? please help. I'm planning to take the 2015 MCAT as well but haven't completely decided on it yet.
Click to expand...

Ronaldo, you have a good chance with that MCAT score.
 
How long before they change the status of my application from "application submitted and payment pending" to something else? My main concern is that they receive the payment (which they should have) so they can review my application.

They probably won't change it till my LORs are received right?
Also, when do you hear a decision? It seems from previous years they start contacting people around springtime. Is this true for rejections also?
 
Visible Ghost said:
I wish they offered more seats, 40 is not enough.
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It actually ended up only being 34 filled seats this year. I'm sure they accepted closer to 40 and it just ended up that way, but I definitely second applying earlier.
 
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doctordoctor14 said:
How long before they change the status of my application from "application submitted and payment pending" to something else? My main concern is that they receive the payment (which they should have) so they can review my application.

They probably won't change it till my LORs are received right?
Also, when do you hear a decision? It seems from previous years they start contacting people around springtime. Is this true for rejections also?
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It took a while for that to change for me. You can try calling to see if they received the payment since it's probably a bit slower right now than it will be in the upcoming months.

Remember that there is also the BCMS program that starts earlier, so they'll probably be preoccupying them at first (that's what it seemed like last year, at least).

Good luck! This program is awesome.
 
doctordoctor14 said:
How long before they change the status of my application from "application submitted and payment pending" to something else? My main concern is that they receive the payment (which they should have) so they can review my application.

They probably won't change it till my LORs are received right?
Also, when do you hear a decision? It seems from previous years they start contacting people around springtime. Is this true for rejections also?
Click to expand...
My application was updated after about 10 days of me submitting (which was before my LORs were sent).

Does anyone know when the interview offers for the April interviews got sent out last year?
 
Helse23 said:
My application was updated after about 10 days of me submitting (which was before my LORs were sent).

Does anyone know when the interview offers for the April interviews got sent out last year?
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Cool, thanks for the info, I will just be patient then. Good luck to you! I think we'll be waiting to hear back for a while according to this thread haha.

I think interviews start in May, for ACMS at least. BCMS are from December to February according to the website.
 
doctordoctor14 said:
Cool, thanks for the info, I will just be patient then. Good luck to you! I think we'll be waiting to hear back for a while according to this thread haha.

I think interviews start in May, for ACMS at least. BCMS are from December to February according to the website.
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http://www.temple.edu/medicine/ppp/applicant_info/invited_for_interview.htm When the site was updated, this page said that the interviews start in April. The FAQ says May. I'm not really sure which one is right, but I'm going to hope it is this one, hahaha.
 
Helse23 said:
http://www.temple.edu/medicine/ppp/applicant_info/invited_for_interview.htm When the site was updated, this page said that the interviews start in April. The FAQ says May. I'm not really sure which one is right, but I'm going to hope it is this one, hahaha.
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Oops I didn't see that page, I was basing it off the page below. I kinda wish it starts in April too, just so I can hear of a decision sooner!
http://www.temple.edu/medicine/ppp/prospective_students/important_dates.htm
 
Hey guys, I was looking over the LOR waiver form and it seems like kind of a pain to deal with. You gotta scan it at least a couple of times to get both signatures on it. Are you guys even bothering with this?
 
zero0 said:
Hey guys, I was looking over the LOR waiver form and it seems like kind of a pain to deal with. You gotta scan it at least a couple of times to get both signatures on it. Are you guys even bothering with this?
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I think we kinda have to bother with it lol. It's really not that difficult, I would be happy to share my secrets that require only 2 (or even 1!) scanning in total! lol

But in all seriousness, it might be annoying, but well worth it since it kinda is required to have a complete application.
 
doctordoctor14 said:
I think we kinda have to bother with it lol. It's really not that difficult, I would be happy to share my secrets that require only 2 (or even 1!) scanning in total! lol

But in all seriousness, it might be annoying, but well worth it since it kinda is required to have a complete application.
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It's actually not required; it says so on the form. LOR waivers are generally optional. I'd love to hear about your mad sick scanning skills though.
 
zero0 said:
It's actually not required; it says so on the form. LOR waivers are generally optional. I'd love to hear about your mad sick scanning skills though.
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lol my bad I was assuming you would want to waive your right to view it. I've heard that not waiving is considered no bueno but do you dude
 
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doctordoctor14 said:
lol my bad I was assuming you would want to waive your right to view it. I've heard that not waiving is considered no bueno but do you dude
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Yeah I hear that too. Guess it's decided.
 
trishaaah said:
I am. And I love the program, Temple Med and Philly. Any questions feel free to ask!
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how do you like the area you live in? From what I've heard, Temple is in a "shady" area. What are your thoughts?
 
benjaminl1nus said:
how do you like the area you live in? From what I've heard, Temple is in a "shady" area. What are your thoughts?
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The area around Temple is definitely not the best, but it's also not the worse. The medical campus itself is always lit with fog lights at night, and there is a definite presence of security guards and Temple University police officers around. I've definitely felt safe around the school, but do not and would not live around the med campus.

I don't live in Center City Philadelphia which is bittersweet. I love the area that I live in (Chestnut Hill) which is more of a suburb and ~20 minute drive from campus. It's super residential, safe and quiet. But at the same time sometimes I wish that I was closer to the city where most of the students in this program seem to live (like oweri23 - my screen name makes my identity pretty obvious but I'm so curious as to who you are!) If I hadn't moved here with my fiancé and our cat I would hate living out in the suburbs, but it is cheaper and I have all the amenities of the more expensive "luxury" apartments found in the city.
 
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