2010-2011 The Commonwealth Medical College Application Thread

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Thanks for the medical advice to calm down. I have the right to have an opinion. I understand that they have known since January that they only were accepting 65 and they still told applicants 100-110. That is deceptive. Just try being honsest - I understand that FOR SOME REASON the number of students that they can accept changed. I just think they should have shared that when they became aware of it - not 3 months later.
 
I think you need to calm down. For all we know they didn't know how big their class size is gonna be up until the second look fair and not everybody knew (especially the people who spoke to us). Are we really trying to demonize a community based med school that is trying to get accreditation? We don't even know the circumstances of why the dean resigned and what other factors lead the accreditation committee reduce the class size. I can understand your frustration but this is the whole process of applying to med school. You are treated as a name that resides in a state with stats. Don't hate the playa hate the game.

Wow are you actually applying here? It is a huge impact on my life that suddenly a school that I am wait-listed for cuts its admission number in half. Why don't we know the circumstances of the dean resigning and of why the accreditation reduced the class size? Isn't that the main beef that Cash has? That there has been a total lack of communication. I didn't know this happened until today when I read it HERE! I have applied to 11 medical schools and this is not the process of applying. Some schools turned me down without an interview - I didn't like it but they didn't waste my time. Does anyone know if there is any online source that allows us to read the findings of the accreditation committee? I fnd it hard to believe they would half the med school's number of students based on wanting to wait until a junior class goes through.
 
When do you think they will tell us wait-listed people officially? Seems like it should have happened already.
 
1) Thank you Tapepsi for [basically] confirming that the dean was asked to step down. Called that one.

2) Thank you MaVieenRose for confirming that the reason why practically no acceptances were given out over the past 3 months was due to a significant internal issue. Called that one, too.

3) TCMC is a great school; however, it handled this year's application process with immense immaturity and inconsideration. Clearly, it still has a lot of work to do in order to make itself competitive as a medical school in this state. Unless something miraculous happens (i.e. getting accepted off the waitlist), I think I'm going to end up asking for my deposit back from the MBS program. I'd rather pay $60,000/year to a medical/graduate school that actually respects the application process as well as its applicants & interviewees.

Good luck to everyone and I wish you all the best! 🙂
 
Cash Strapped said:
That is BS - are you actually an applicant or an employee of the medical school? This med school that brags about integrity needs to find some!
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You are really embarrassing yourself. Regardless of how many seats there are its the same as any other waitlist - chances of getting in off a wl are always low but if you are lucky than you get a call. What med school is constantly updating waitlisted applicants when only a small percentage will end up matriculating?
 
the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

this school doesn't yet have a reputation to hang their hat on, all they have is their word. things I know: 1) I was told many times at the interview I would hear back quickly and I did not. 2) The dean left at a very awkward time. the press release made no mention of him having another job, or of him retiring, just that he left to pursue other opportunities. this alone is cause for concern. 3) they planned on having 110 people in their class and are now only going to take 65. besides the fact that not disclosing this to applicants immediately is shady, how about the bigger issue which is why on earth were they not allowed or able to expand as planned? If it was at the request of LCME, that cannot possibly be a good sign. their intentions may be noble and good, but applicants should definitely proceed with caution!! if this were my only acceptance, I would seriously consider not going and reapplying. thank god it isn't.
 
motomed said:
the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

this school doesn't yet have a reputation to hang their hat on, all they have is their word. things I know: 1) I was told many times at the interview I would hear back quickly and I did not. 2) The dean left at a very awkward time. the press release made no mention of him having another job, or of him retiring, just that he left to pursue other opportunities. this alone is cause for concern. 3) they planned on having 110 people in their class and are now only going to take 65. besides the fact that not disclosing this to applicants immediately is shady, how about the bigger issue which is why on earth were they not allowed or able to expand as planned? If it was at the request of LCME, that cannot possibly be a good sign. their intentions may be noble and good, but applicants should definitely proceed with caution!! if this were my only acceptance, I would seriously consider not going and reapplying. thank god it isn't.
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My thoughts exactly!

1) I agree with DANIJOCK; halving your class size mid cycle is not typical of medical schools, so it is a bit of a stretch to say that it is part of the process. Therefore, I can understand Cash's frustration, its just not constructive nor conducive to anyone on this forum...

2) I am beginning to agree with Alejandro87 that the lack of substantial communication on part of TCMC is becoming problematic. I did let the whole dean issue slide with that special announcement they sent a week and a half later. But really; I shouldn't have to find out about major program changes from SDN.

3) Compounded these issues (the dean's resignation/termination and LCME's request to not expand, both for reasons unknown) make me slightly nervous about TCMC. Now, I understand it is a new school and changes are bound to happen. All the same, I'd like to echo motomed: proceed with caution.
 
Cash Strapped definitely has a valid reason to react in this way. I was very surprised learning about this from the SDN forum as well! They should have at least sent an email because it obviously affects the waitlisted students more! Why waitlist/interview so many people and waste their time when u barely have spots left? The school that claims to believe in "transparency" completely disappointed me. As many people above said it definitely points out to their major internal issues. If the "founding dean" of a school leaves within two years of its establishment without any solid reason, that definitely says something. First of all, they don't have record of residency placements, USMLE pass rates etc yet, and on top of that they are building a bad reputation by misleading people!
 
in their defense, I'm sure they have to go a long ways into their waitlist to fill a class. TCMC isn't going to be the first choice for many students. that's not a knock, just part of what comes with being a new school, even if you do everything right. there are many well established schools with good reputations that end up taking a large percentage of the class from the waitlist, I'm guessing most of the matriculants at TCMC were waitlisted at some point. just sayin not to come down on them too hard for interviewing and waitlisting so many students.
 
Heres to hoping they get into their waitlist a bit this year (even with 65). :xf:
 
To be fair, they did send an e-mail to those accepted and were willing to discuss it openly at Second Look Weekend. It doesn't seem that they will have any problem with accreditation. And the new building is sweet!
 
Wow, that really does suck to hear about the class size. I mean, it was never set in stone and they "expected" to accept 100-110, but it really does hit hard to hear it. Hopefully everyone here still gets in. 🙂
 
We understand from the previous postings that you are concerned about the school, our communication and TCMC’s future.

While the medical school is undergoing a leadership change, be assured the Board of Trustees, faculty and staff remain committed to the mission of developing this new and unique school in Northeastern Pennsylvania. The decision to maintain our class size at 65 students and not increase to 100 was made after the interview season ended and was based on the LCME wanting us to graduate our beginning class of 65 students before we expand. We realize that the lateness of notifying our applicants was less than optimal, but we are hopeful that an understanding of the reasons eases some of the frustration. Our commitment to transparency remains steadfast and look forward to sharing our new developments in a timely fashion.
 
TCMC-Admin, was there any precedence for new medical schools being asked to wait or was this particular to TCMC's situation? If there was a precedent, could you have known and informed applicants? If there was no precedent, why was TCMC asked to limit its class size?
 
I like pie said:
I was at second-look day this weekend. The school announced that the class of 2015 will be 65 students. This only happened after the January accreditation visit by LCME-they requested that the school not expand the class size (2014- is 65 students) until they had run a class through the third year. Best of luck to those on the waitlist!
Click to expand...

Quizno - my frustration is that according to this post the school knew from January on. Now the school is saying they only knew after the finished interviews. If that is true why were people interviewed from mid-January on not told their status for as long as 10-12 weeks? I think the whole thing is stinky and puts unnecessary stress into an already stressful situation. Plus when I called on Tuesday and asked if the class was truly 65 - the woman wouldn't tell me but instead put me into a voice mail and no one has called me back still. If it is true why can't the receptionist just say it? I understand that things can change but this all makes me wonder "What Do You Know (And When Did You Know It)?"
 
TCMC Admin said:
We understand from the previous postings that you are concerned about the school, our communication and TCMC’s future.

While the medical school is undergoing a leadership change, be assured the Board of Trustees, faculty and staff remain committed to the mission of developing this new and unique school in Northeastern Pennsylvania. The decision to maintain our class size at 65 students and not increase to 100 was made after the interview season ended and was based on the LCME wanting us to graduate our beginning class of 65 students before we expand. We realize that the lateness of notifying our applicants was less than optimal, but we are hopeful that an understanding of the reasons eases some of the frustration. Our commitment to transparency remains steadfast and look forward to sharing our new developments in a timely fashion.
Click to expand...

TCMC, unfortunately the administration has still not officially informed those of us on the waitlist that the number of admitted students was reduced to 65. The only way I came to know of this information is through student doctor network. I believe this information is most relevant to those on the waitlist, so why have we still not been officially informed? Not everyone reads student doctor so hopefully you aren't considering your post above an official notification.

Furthermore, your commitment to transparency has unfortunately been marred not only by your inability to inform students of a change in admission procedure but also the fact that the Dean seems to be stepping down at a very inopportune time but the reasons for this are still unclear. His resignation couldn't even wait until the school year was over.

If transparency is your commitment you have failed in this respect whether your intentions were there or not.
 
Overfloater said:
You are really embarrassing yourself. Regardless of how many seats there are its the same as any other waitlist - chances of getting in off a wl are always low but if you are lucky than you get a call. What med school is constantly updating waitlisted applicants when only a small percentage will end up matriculating?
Click to expand...

I know for a fact that many medical schools do update their waitlistees. For example, University of Maryland sends out a letter on May 15th to those on the waitlist with their rank on the waitlist. Then, later in the summer, some time around mid-June, the school sends an e-mail telling how many people have thus far been accepted off of the waitlist and how many more the expect to take.

Another aspect of transparency and frankly, thoughtfulness and consideration.
 
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friendofafriend said:
I know for a fact that many medical schools do update their waitlistees. For example, University of Maryland sends out a letter on May 15th to those on the waitlist with their rank on the waitlist. Then, later in the summer, some time around mid-June, the school sends an e-mail telling how many people have thus far been accepted off of the waitlist and how many more the expect to take.

Another aspect of transparency and frankly, thoughtfulness and consideration.
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I'm wait listed at a few schools and I haven't heard anything, nor will I until it is a rejection or acceptance. They won't tell us where we rank on the list. Though it would be nice if more schools told us.
 
huskysagehen said:
TCMC-Admin, was there any precedence for new medical schools being asked to wait or was this particular to TCMC's situation? If there was a precedent, could you have known and informed applicants? If there was no precedent, why was TCMC asked to limit its class size?
Click to expand...

I believe we were the only school seeking to increase class size prior to completing one full four year cycle.
 
Hmm...well it does make sense that LCME would want to see how students do on the boards before expanding the class size so I understand. I also see how this is not only an inconvenience to applicants, but also to the admissions committee who was planning on accepting 100-110 and how they are probably trying to figure out their next steps.

TCMC school admin I just think that a lot of the frustration on this forum is stemming from the fact that there hasn't been an official email yet saying that the class size has been reduced. I realize it is probably hectic right now with everything that is going on at TCMC but are you planning on notifying those on the waitlist?
 
Sorry, wrong thread.
 
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Cash Strapped said:
Quizno - my frustration is that according to this post the school knew from January on. Now the school is saying they only knew after the finished interviews. If that is true why were people interviewed from mid-January on not told their status for as long as 10-12 weeks? I think the whole thing is stinky and puts unnecessary stress into an already stressful situation. Plus when I called on Tuesday and asked if the class was truly 65 - the woman wouldn't tell me but instead put me into a voice mail and no one has called me back still. If it is true why can't the receptionist just say it? I understand that things can change but this all makes me wonder "What Do You Know (And When Did You Know It)?"
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actually i apologize for calling you out. I took it personally when you asked me did I even apply to this school and accusing me of working for the school. I int feb 4th and heard back two weeks later waitlisted. I feel that I still would have went to the interview if there was 65 students in the class or 100. I already paid the application fee and it was nice seeing scranton. I enjoyed my time there.
 
RaLaRaLa said:
If you are waitlisted here, it's a good thing. You don't want to go here. Trust me.
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Could you expound as to why RaLaRaLa? That would be very helpful for those of us on waitlist (and even those who are deciding between multiple acceptances). Are you a current student there?
 
dctrAM said:
Could you expound as to why RaLaRaLa? That would be very helpful for those of us on waitlist (and even those who are deciding between multiple acceptances). Are you a current student there?
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I personally know someone at TCMC who is going in to year three who loved it.
 
Just withdrew my acceptance. PM if anyone ever needs any advice, SDN has been a great resource for me and I'd love to help others out. Good luck to everyone on the waitlist!
 
Withdrew today! Sorry for not doing it sooner, but I wanted to see the financial aid first. Good luck to all on the waitlist. 🙂
 
I emailed TCMC last night asking a few questions. Depending on the answers, I may be either attending or withdrawing. I'd been really set on going to TCMC until yesterday when some new information from another school came up. Don't have too much time to decide, though.
 
versus said:
I emailed TCMC last night asking a few questions. Depending on the answers, I may be either attending or withdrawing. I'd been really set on going to TCMC until yesterday when some new information from another school came up. Don't have too much time to decide, though.
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I'm fairly certain that the schools can choose to give you an extension on the may 15 deadline if you ask. if you just got some new information that is playing into the decision, that may be enough to convince them to give you a few extra days. may 15 is a softer deadline than it is presented as.
 
After thinking I'd be going here for some time, I'll be withdrawing today. Good luck, everyone!
 
versus said:
After thinking I'd be going here for some time, I'll be withdrawing today. Good luck, everyone!
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Hey Versus, do you think you could share the questions you asked and the response you got from TCMC that lead you to this decision? Totally understand if it's private.

Thanks!
 
dctram said:
hey versus, do you think you could share the questions you asked and the response you got from tcmc that lead you to this decision? Totally understand if it's private.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

+1
 
dctrAM said:
Hey Versus, do you think you could share the questions you asked and the response you got from TCMC that lead you to this decision? Totally understand if it's private.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

Mostly personal stuff, nothing about the school itself. I really liked TCMC, the administration, Scranton, etc. I was also looking forward to seeing the new medical building. Hopefully someone else will be excited to take my spot. Good luck all! 🙂
 
dctrAM said:
Hey Versus, do you think you could share the questions you asked and the response you got from TCMC that lead you to this decision? Totally understand if it's private.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

+1. PM me if necessary. Thanks in advance.
 
Does anyone knwo if we will be notified of our place on the waitlist?

Also I can no longer log on to see my status - seems as if they've updated their applicant website. Has anyone else had this problem?
 
I haven't been able to login either and wonder if our waitlist rankings are there. Please give it soon so I can plan my life 🙁
 
Hey guys, as far as the waitlist goes, we won't be able to find out our ranking or placement on it; however, the waitlist movement is supposed to begin at the end of this month/beginning of June. Also, I'm pretty sure as a consequence of them updating their system, we are no longer able to login into the system to check our "status". Oh well.


If anyone is curious, I went to the Visit Day and took some mental notes. They are for sure keeping their class at 65 students due to the accreditation board, but there should be a decent waitlist movement... I was told that numerous students are withdrawing acceptances. I think [one of] the biggest deciding factors about this school involves the new medical building. Here are some pros and cons I found:

Pros
- Student Lounge: very epic and massive
- Gross Anatomy Lab: lots of room; computers/projectors make for a great learning environment
- Simulation Rooms: have a central control room that allow you to be evaluated by professors

Cons
- Library: no books; ridiculously small
- Auditorium: beautiful, but none of the seats have desks
- Location: across the street from ghetto apartments; Scranton is boring (but luckily as med students, we won't have lives anyway)


If anyone has any more questions, feel free to ask me! 🙂
 
Alejandro87 said:
Hey guys, as far as the waitlist goes, we won't be able to find out our ranking or placement on it; however, the waitlist movement is supposed to begin at the end of this month/beginning of June. Also, I'm pretty sure as a consequence of them updating their system, we are no longer able to login into the system to check our "status". Oh well.


If anyone is curious, I went to the Visit Day and took some mental notes. They are for sure keeping their class at 65 students due to the accreditation board, but there should be a decent waitlist movement... I was told that numerous students are withdrawing acceptances. I think [one of] the biggest deciding factors about this school involves the new medical building. Here are some pros and cons I found:

Pros
- Student Lounge: very epic and massive
- Gross Anatomy Lab: lots of room; computers/projectors make for a great learning environment
- Simulation Rooms: have a central control room that allow you to be evaluated by professors

Cons
- Library: no books; ridiculously small
- Auditorium: beautiful, but none of the seats have desks
- Location: across the street from ghetto apartments; Scranton is boring (but luckily as med students, we won't have lives anyway)


If anyone has any more questions, feel free to ask me! 🙂
Click to expand...

Do you know if there is a computer lab????
 
Why am I not surprised that we do not know our rank on the waitlist? I feel like they made a list of ways to make this stressful and inconvenient and are checking them off one by one. I either have to sign a new lease or move by May 21st. 6 people have sent me a PM saying they are withdrew their acceptance - so maybe some people are going to get in.
 
Cash Strapped said:
Why am I not surprised that we do not know our rank on the waitlist? I feel like they made a list of ways to make this stressful and inconvenient and are checking them off one by one. I either have to sign a new lease or move by May 21st. 6 people have sent me a PM saying they are withdrew their acceptance - so maybe some people are going to get in.
Click to expand...

6 is a lot. Is that in addition to the 6 or so that have posted here saying they withdrew(any duplicates)?

Have you tried to ask your landlord for a 1-2 month lease extension?
 
Well TCMC School Administrator said they found out after interviews that they weren't allowed to expand their class size. Wouldn't it make sense then that there would be little/no waitlist movement this year since if they were filling a class of 110 and then were told it had to be 65, they had to have overaccepted at that point?
 
Tapepsi said:
Well TCMC School Administrator said they found out after interviews that they weren't allowed to expand their class size. Wouldn't it make sense then that there would be little/no waitlist movement this year since if they were filling a class of 110 and then were told it had to be 65, they had to have overaccepted at that point?
Click to expand...

No, they probably only accepted 65 and wait listed everyone else, because they weren't sure if they'd have that large class size. I'm sure theres plenty of people very highly ranked on the wait list now.

Either way, withdrew yesterday, good luck everyone. 🙂
 
Thanks! That is a very positive thought!

Does anyone at Commonwealth ever answer messages from their machine? I have never gotten a callback from them on any question.
 
Tapepsi said:
Well TCMC School Administrator said they found out after interviews that they weren't allowed to expand their class size. Wouldn't it make sense then that there would be little/no waitlist movement this year since if they were filling a class of 110 and then were told it had to be 65, they had to have overaccepted at that point?
Click to expand...

most schools over admit knowing that many will withdraw and still end up taking plenty of people from the official waitlist. there's still going to be plenty of waitlist movement before all is said and done at TCMC
 
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