Got PM'd some questions and thought I'd post the answers in case anyone else had similar ones (keep in mind these are my personal opinions as a 3rd year student and don't pretend to believe everyone would agree with me):
Most students either live on Marshcreek Ln. in Rootstown or the Highlands in Kent (it is right behind Salsitas mexican restaurant and one of the roads is Lightning lane if you want to google map it). Both places are just lots of duplexes rather than apartment style. I ended up living in a duplex in Ravenna with a few guys which was a double edged sword because I missed out on some of the random gatherings of friends because I didn't live right next to everyone, but at the same time I wasn't really distracted by having people over all the time.
How do students get research for the summers in between? One mentioned an application process, but do all they see are grades?
Research in the summer is fairly easy to attain, especially at the medical school. I ended up doing something at Aultman Hospital in Canton because it was more clinically focused. Summa and Akron General also have medical student specific programs that have an application process. If you go through the school, all of those projects are lab based on campus at NEOUCOM. I found that once you're a medical student research isn't as difficult to find as it was in undergrad. As far as grades as a marker for acceptance for research, yes they'll see your transcript, but for the majority of people it will be all pass with no honors (a very small set of people get honors ~10% of each class you take) so grades aren't really a factor unless there are multiple remediations or otherwise jarring things on your transcript.
Do you need to be doing extracurriculars during the year?
Most people would recommend that you do some kind of extracurricular during the year, but your priority should be your classes. That being said, volunteerism, research, leadership, etc is much more important if you are seeking a competitive specialty (derm, ortho, ophtho, etc.). I just joined a couple interest groups with a leadership role in one, but many people far surpassed that.
How is the interaction between 6yr program students and direct entries? do the direct entries face much competition from the 6yrs?
The interaction between the BS/MD (6 yrs) and direct entry students is probably no different than all other medical schools. I think starting out there is a worry that they're gonna be unbelievable immature, but for the most part that's not true. If you go out on weekends (or weekdays lol) you're gonna be going out with majority BS/MD students since 80% of the class is 6 year students. In terms of competitiveness I think a good majority of the smartest people in our class are BS/MD students, but on the other hand so are the ones who struggle the most. I look at it this way, NEOUCOM ends up getting some competitive people through the 6 year program that would have probably gone to a more competitive school had they gone the traditional route, but they also get the people who were very good high school students that really weren't ready for the rigors of medical education. Regardless, I'd much rather be a direct entry and I have not had a rotation yet where an attending has not asked "are you BS/MD or direct entry?" and the response when I say direct entry is always "good, I think that's better." I'm not sure if it's true, but it certainly feels like attendings automatically assume I'm more competent because I went to a 4 year undergraduate program.
