2011-2012 The Commonwealth Medical College Application Thread

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Please PM the essays or lack thereof to me when the secondary is available and I will update this.

Best of luck with your application :luck::luck::luck:!
 
this is a new med school but what is the general opinion? what kinds of schools would it be similar to?
 
edge of desire said:
this is a new med school but what is the general opinion? what kinds of schools would it be similar to?
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I interviewed here this past cycle and just recently withdrew from the waitlist so I can give you some info. It is difficult to say which schools TCMC would be similar to as it is still in it's developmental stage. The new medical sciences building looks great and I would recommend you to check it out on their website. Unfortunately I wasn't able to tour it as it was still in the process of being built. It will, however, be ready for the 2011-2012 academic year. The curriculum seemed promising with less emphasis on lecture and more on PBL. I also like that for clinical rotations you don't focus on just one specialty (ex: pediatrics) for a month and then move on to the next one. You basically do a different rotation every day. Students also said that the faculty were very receptive to any feedback they received about the curriculum and classes. Students have a voice there and can help change any aspects of the curriculum that they feel are problematic.

However, whenever I talked to the second years, they weren't very enthusiastic about their school. They weren't displeased with it by any means, but when I asked "why tcmc over other schools?" they couldn't really give me a reason.That was only several students, however, and so I don't know what the general consensus there is. Hopefully a medical student from TCMC can give you more insight on here. I personally felt like I would be content here.

Also, be forewarned, as this was a big deal for many (including myself) for the 2010-2011 cycle (see TCMC's 2010-2011 application thread), that TCMC is not expanding their class size from 65 students to 100-115 like they said they were. LCME denied their request for expansion and the explanation that was given was that they wanted to wait until the first class (which will now be entering their third year) graduates.

Finally, keep in mind that while they are a private school, preference is given to PA residents.
 
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Thanks for the lowdown, Tapepsi. This school sounds intriguing to me. The new schools themselves are interesting to me because I think it would be cool to be a part of the beginnings of a growing school. Can't wait to fill out the secondary.
 
Oh and one more thing for those of you who are OOSers. Having family in PA (especially if they're in the northeastern region) or some other ties to PA can definitely help out your application if you're OOS. They're looking for physicians who want to practice in PA and who are dedicated to their community.
 
tapepsi, does connecticut count as "NE" region?
 
edge of desire said:
tapepsi, does connecticut count as "NE" region?
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Sorry I should have clarified. I meant having ties in the NE region of PA can help. Although since connecticut is closer to PA (especially Scranton) it could possibly help you convince TCMC that you'd stay closer during residency say compared to a CA applicant (who may want to go back to the west coast).

Edit: I found this on their website under MD Program FAQ:

Is TCMC a public or private Medical School?
We are a private medical school located in Scranton, Pennsylvania. We do give preference to PA residents however we accept applications from qualified residents throughout the United States.
Why does TCMC prefer applicants from PA?
One of our primary goals is to improve the quality of healthcare in Northeast Pennsylvania (NEPA) by increasing the numbers of practicing physicians in NEPA. Our expectation is that applicants who are already residents of PA are more likely to return to this area to practice medicine. Therefore we do give preference to PA residents however all applicants are reviewed holistically to match their qualifications with our mission and values.
 
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Hm, I have tons of fam in Pittsburgh. Does this count? I really love it out that way. 😀

I know Pitt is western PA.
 
SteveJMarist said:
Hm, I have tons of fam in Pittsburgh. Does this count? I really love it out that way. 😀
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SteveJMarist said:
I know Pitt is western PA.
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Yeah I live near Pitt and it takes me 7 hours to drive to Scranton so that may not necessarily convince them that you'd stay there. :laugh: In the secondary for last year one of the prompt q's was "Also, if you have any special connection to Northeast Pennsylvania, please include this information here. Please answer using the space provided." If you get this question I think that you should mention that while you don't have family specifically in the NE region, you do have family here in PA. Something is better than nothing.
 
Tapepsi said:


Yeah I live near Pitt and it takes me 7 hours to drive to Scranton so that may not necessarily convince them that you'd stay there. :laugh: In the secondary for last year one of the prompt q's was "Also, if you have any special connection to Northeast Pennsylvania, please include this information here. Please answer using the space provided." If you get this question I think that you should mention that while you don't have family specifically in the NE region, you do have family here in PA. Something is better than nothing.
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Haha. Yea, I agree- I will def at least mention the Pitt connection.

On another note, this waiting game is killing me!
 
SteveJMarist said:
Haha. Yea, I agree- I will def at least mention the Pitt connection.

On another note, this waiting game is killing me!
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Yes and unfortunately it gets worse. It was definitely a looooooonng application cycle for me. I was on the waitlists for 3 schools (including TCMC) and didn't get off the first one until May 5 (and then my top choice called May 20 :soexcited:). So you can imagine how stressful this entire year has been (including those horrible questions like "Should I retake the MCAT?")

The key to this game is getting your apps out early which it looks like you're doing that. I knew a premed who had interviews in early Sept and was accepted in October and was set for the rest of the year. I on the other hand didn't get mine out until late Sept/early Oct and it definitely hurt my chances.
 
Tapepsi said:
Yes and unfortunately it gets worse. It was definitely a looooooonng application cycle for me. I was on the waitlists for 3 schools (including TCMC) and didn't get off the first one until May 5!!! 😱 So you can imagine how stressful this entire year has been (including those horrible questions like "Should I retake the MCAT?")

The key to this game is getting your apps out early which it looks like you're doing that. I knew a premed who had interviews in early Sept and was accepted in October and was set for the rest of the year. I on the other hand didn't get mine out until late Sept/early Oct and it definitely hurt my chances.
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Yea- just hoping my committee gets those letters in ASAP! I should be complete no later than mid-July. AMCAS is already verified.

I think there is a very remote chance that I'd consider retaking the MCAT. Probably would only do that if I got a sub-30 score.

I have no idea how you survived all the way to May 5th! 😱

What were your stats if you don't mind my asking?
 
SteveJMarist said:
Yea- just hoping my committee gets those letters in ASAP! I should be complete no later than mid-July. AMCAS is already verified.

I think there is a very remote chance that I'd consider retaking the MCAT. Probably would only do that if I got a sub-30 score.

I have no idea how you survived all the way to May 5th! 😱

What were your stats if you don't mind my asking?
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For confidential reasons I'll list it according to MSAR categories :laugh:: GPA- 3.8-4.0 and MCAT- 27-29 (long story but I know I can do a lot better).

And yeah I don't know how I survived until May 5th either. This whole last year of college felt like a blur b/c all I really remember are secondaries, interviews, and waiting. It definitely can drive you crazy. :scared:
 
Tapepsi said:
For confidential reasons I'll list it according to MSAR categories :laugh:: GPA- 3.8-4.0 and MCAT- 27-29 (long story but I know I can do a lot better).

And yeah I don't know how I survived until May 5th either. This whole last year of college felt like a blur b/c all I really remember are secondaries, interviews, and waiting. It definitely can drive you crazy. :scared:
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Well, congrats to you, you deserve it! I'm really hoping for even just one acceptance out of the 33 (34 maybe- probably adding Vtech) that I am applying to.
 
SteveJMarist said:
Well, congrats to you, you deserve it! I'm really hoping for even just one acceptance out of the 33 (34 maybe- probably adding Vtech) that I am applying to.
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Thanks and good luck to you for this cycle! 👍 I'm sure your biggest problem will be deciding which accepted school you want to go to.
 
Tapepsi said:
Thanks and good luck to you for this cycle! 👍 I'm sure your biggest problem will be deciding which accepted school you want to go to.
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:laugh: Let's hope so.
 
is anyone who is applying concerned that the school has been put on probation for financial reasons?
 
nyk said:
is anyone who is applying concerned that the school has been put on probation for financial reasons?
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Just read about it. It is definitely concerning. Does anyone know how this could negatively impact someone that matriculates here? It's a shame because I really like this school.
 
I am a student there.

Let me just tell you that this school is merely a pawn in the political struggles of the state government.

This is not to say there is corruption or that they want to fail. Rather, the financial issues stem from the fact that Harrisburg wants to send all available funds to building stadiums in Philadephia and elsewhere, rather than support higher education.

Moreover, Scranton is nothing like Pittsburgh... in the sense of "eds and meds."
 
I really like it as well. They stated that they will be releasing 8 faculty at the end of the year. Also I believe during the application cycle this past year they lowered the number of seats they were offering from I think 120 to 60? So less faculty/less seats is one possibility. Aside from that, the building is newly constructed and the equipment is newly purchased so I don't think that would be significantly affected. My worst fear in medical school would be getting through a year or two and then having the school shut down. The 40-50$ million or whatever it was that they said they need to raise in 5 years seems like a pretty large number.
 
The main question is where does one go if your school shuts down? Transfer? Would the school have a back-up plan for its students?
 
SteveJMarist said:
The main question is where does one go if your school shuts down? Transfer? Would the school have a back-up plan for its students?
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All schools in the US have back up plans. (Actually the AAMC- Association of American Medical Colleges has one). When Oral Roberts shut its school in the 80s, and with hurricane issues more recently, medical students have always been taken care of and accomodated at other schools with little disruption to their education. That said we have no intention of shutting down. The actions we have taken this week, and the follow up actions we are planning to respond to the LCME, will put the school in a much stronger position going forward.
 
TCMC said:
All schools in the US have back up plans. (Actually the AAMC- Association of American Medical Colleges has one). When Oral Roberts shut its school in the 80s, and with hurricane issues more recently, medical students have always been taken care of and accomodated at other schools with little disruption to their education. That said we have no intention of shutting down. The actions we have taken this week, and the follow up actions we are planning to respond to the LCME, will put the school in a much stronger position going forward.
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Thank you. It was a question that had to be asked due to all of the talk on here. I'm still very much interested in the school and am looking forward to applying.
 
SteveJMarist said:
Thank you. It was a question that had to be asked due to all of the talk on here. I'm still very much interested in the school and am looking forward to applying.
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Good! And I would encourage you to continue to ask questions. Good doctors ask lots of questions!
 
TCMC said:
All schools in the US have back up plans. (Actually the AAMC- Association of American Medical Colleges has one). When Oral Roberts shut its school in the 80s, and with hurricane issues more recently, medical students have always been taken care of and accomodated at other schools with little disruption to their education. That said we have no intention of shutting down. The actions we have taken this week, and the follow up actions we are planning to respond to the LCME, will put the school in a much stronger position going forward.
Click to expand...

👍 👍

I may be partial as my school was put on probation a few years ago, but they have definitely come out for the better because of it.

Good luck to you all applying here. I was going to apply to TCMC last cycle before I decided to limit my applications to the Philadelphia area because of my husband's job.
 
I did apply to TCMC and their new building looked great. It was a great interview day an I recommend others apply there as well.
 
TCMC said:
Good! And I would encourage you to continue to ask questions. Good doctors ask lots of questions!
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Thank you! I will certainly shoot them out as they come.
 
Tapepsi said:
For confidential reasons I'll list it according to MSAR categories :laugh:: GPA- 3.8-4.0 and MCAT- 27-29 (long story but I know I can do a lot better).

And yeah I don't know how I survived until May 5th either. This whole last year of college felt like a blur b/c all I really remember are secondaries, interviews, and waiting. It definitely can drive you crazy. :scared:
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Are you from PA or OOS?
 
Got a secondary this morning
 
nope. mine doesnt have it..you think they send the secondary to everyone to get some more cash money in the bank?
 
docdonny said:
nope. mine doesnt have it..you think they send the secondary to everyone to get some more cash money in the bank?
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Yes, they definitely send it to everyone (according to MSAR), as do almost all of the schools. I think they might have just forgotten to include the link to the app in their email. I will likely email them to see if I can get the link.
 
received an e-mail as well but no link. The e-mail was in my spam folder haha.
 
cafaro said:
received an e-mail as well but no link. The e-mail was in my spam folder haha.
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I emailed them. I will let everyone know the details when I hear back.
 
I also got the email without a link 😕
 
did they put the PIN number somewhere in the e-mail?
 
received a second email with the link but no pin number. anyone get a pin number?
 
Someone else can email them this time 🙂.
 
I also got the email without the link...glad you guys are emailing so I dont have to sit here and vacillate over whether or not I should!
 
As a CA resident with no ties to PA, is this secondary (and $100) worth it? Does anyone know if they have CA residents in their class now?
 
serosanguinous said:
As a CA resident with no ties to PA, is this secondary (and $100) worth it? Does anyone know if they have CA residents in their class now?
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I'm sure they do although I can't confirm it. There were 3-4 people at my interview who were from CA. This was, however, the point at which they thought they would have 115 students instead of 65. So they might be more selective with OOS this time. It's worth a shot though if you're interested in this school.
 
Anyone know where we find the pin number to start the secondary? It says it's on the email they sent, but I can't see it anywhere. thanks!
 
Matthew W said:
Anyone know where we find the pin number to start the secondary? It says it's on the email they sent, but I can't see it anywhere. thanks!
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:smack: Read above. 🙂
 
Thanks Steve. Didn't know if there were any updates.
 
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