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2010-2011 University of Arizona Application Thread
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word. good luck to everyone!
Accepted. Email came at 5 PM AZ time. Took a hike for the afternoon to get away from the email. Good luck to everyone the rest of the way.
And from my soapbox...this is my second round of applying, so I know what it feels like to have to sweat it out. I was in the first round of interviews (so September) a couple years ago and then had to deal with silence for the next 6 months only to find out I wasn't even wait listed. So don't worry yet, its still early. Just keep reciting Styx, "You better get a bigger gun, I'm not dead yet".
And from my soapbox...this is my second round of applying, so I know what it feels like to have to sweat it out. I was in the first round of interviews (so September) a couple years ago and then had to deal with silence for the next 6 months only to find out I wasn't even wait listed. So don't worry yet, its still early. Just keep reciting Styx, "You better get a bigger gun, I'm not dead yet".
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no love here either.
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Hey congratulations to you guys! Welcome to the COM Phx family. Bask in the feeling! For you guys who haven't heard back yet keep your chin up and take it one day at a time. I've got my fingers crossed for you.
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Congrats guys (or gals maybe). RoundTwo, what was your SDN screen name last year? I'm just trying to remember who you were (if you were even on here).
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congrats guys and thanks for letting us know early so we didn't have to sweat bullets all day. guess the rest of us will have to play this game again in another two weeks.
Hey Guys,
I am applying to Arizona (both Tucson and Phoenix) and wanted to know if anyone knew when orientation is typically held. (i.e. What were last years dates or if you know what will be for this year.)
(Also, I have searched online and it is suprisingly hard to find orientation dates.)
Thanks, James
I am applying to Arizona (both Tucson and Phoenix) and wanted to know if anyone knew when orientation is typically held. (i.e. What were last years dates or if you know what will be for this year.)
(Also, I have searched online and it is suprisingly hard to find orientation dates.)
Thanks, James
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I believe it's going to be the same as this year for Phoenix which means third week of July. And I think it's the first week of August for Tucson, but I would need Lrk to tell me if that's fo sho or not.
Hi lrkoehle! Thanks for the congrats! I actually applied two applications seasons ago (took a whole cycle off to improve my app), and I know I read SDN, but I don't think I ever made screen name at that time... and if I did I'm pretty sure I just lurked. 🙂 Figured I would join the conversation this year. Nice to meet you...virtually, of course. And thanks again for the congrats! Go UA! 🙂
So I finally had my Phoenix interview, and I was so blown away by the school! Everything was very organized and the people running everything couldn't have been more helpful.
I love the school's philosophy, their flexibility and their committment to working in and serving their community. Now comes the hardest part- the waiting!
I love the school's philosophy, their flexibility and their committment to working in and serving their community. Now comes the hardest part- the waiting!
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Awesome, Psych, I'll be rooting for you (and of course, all of you on SDN)! That's exactly how most of us felt and why we chose this particular school. I can definitely tell you that, even as an MSII now, I still feel this way and am only even more impressed now that I've been here a while.
Good luck to you! Of course, post to the thread or PM any of us if you have any questions.
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Hi I have a couple questions about the phoenix campus.
1. I have heard they are adding more seats next year? is that true and if so how many seat will phoenix have?
2. I heard phoenix is opening a new medical school building???did I hear wrong? and when will it be built? (if it exists)
1. I have heard they are adding more seats next year? is that true and if so how many seat will phoenix have?
2. I heard phoenix is opening a new medical school building???did I hear wrong? and when will it be built? (if it exists)
Hi I have a couple questions about the phoenix campus.
1. I have heard they are adding more seats next year? is that true and if so how many seat will phoenix have?
80, see note below.
2. I heard phoenix is opening a new medical school building???did I hear wrong? and when will it be built? (if it exists)
It's under construction right now - I interviewed early-October and have been by since my last visit and am surprised how quickly the area has changed. You can see the hole in the ground for the basement. I remember from the interview that the building is projected to be finished by 2012, hence the increased class size.
1. I have heard they are adding more seats next year? is that true and if so how many seat will phoenix have?
80, see note below.
2. I heard phoenix is opening a new medical school building???did I hear wrong? and when will it be built? (if it exists)
It's under construction right now - I interviewed early-October and have been by since my last visit and am surprised how quickly the area has changed. You can see the hole in the ground for the basement. I remember from the interview that the building is projected to be finished by 2012, hence the increased class size.
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I thought I'd add to this, even though Ichy already answered:
1. Yes, we have been told that the incoming class of 2011 will likely be the last class of 48; after that, it will be increased (likely to 84 or something like that).
2. Yes, the new building should be finished in 2012 and will be awesome! It will be something like 6 stories and also house some programs from NAU (PT, OT, PA maybe, which will be cool because there has been talk of some integrated learning with these students). It will have large classrooms, more club meeting spaces and space for Student Government, etc. I believe it may have its own anatomy space, but I'm not sure about this so don't quote me... but yeah, it will be a really great facility and I'm very jealous of the students who will get to use it, though I really do love our campus now. 🙂
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It takes a bit of searching initially, but you can find the entire calendar for Tucson next year online here (that link is supposed to take you to the schedule for 1st year's next year). Orientation looks to be July 28th.
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So I submitted my AMCAS app in early September. I immediately received an invite to complete the Tucson secondary, and within hours of submitting that secondary I received an interview invite. Great! But the Phoenix campus made no contact with me at all, not even a confirmation of receipt of the AMCAS primary. In late October I emailed them, they said my app was under consideration for a secondary and sent me a link where I could check my status. I am apparently still under consideration for a secondary. I am IS, 3.5 undergrad GPA, 3.7 grad GPA, 31Q MCAT. I'm not saying those are the most stellar stats ever, but last year they gave secondaries to 533 out of 590 IS applicants. Anyone else think I should give the office a call to check on my app? I find it hard to believe I would be in the bottom 10% of IS applicants. 😱 Thanks for any advice! 🙂
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i'd say you are justified in bugging them about it. i, too, would think someone with your stats and residency should be given an automatic secondary.
You haven't received the essay questions or an interview invite? Are you sure you mailed in the pieces of info required (photo, form and payment)? This is required before you can move forward. I would definately call them instead of asking us - we are your competition and we are going to tell you to not worry about it
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You haven't received the essay questions or an interview invite? Are you sure you mailed in the pieces of info required (photo, form and payment)? This is required before you can move forward. I would definately call them instead of asking us - we are your competition and we are going to tell you to not worry about it
Wow, no I haven't received anything from them stating they need that stuff. Nothing at all. Lol well I will call them tomorrow, thanks for the advice you two. Hope you didn't just cost yourself a spot ichy4life.
😉Wow, no I haven't received anything from them stating they need that stuff. Nothing at all. Lol well I will call them tomorrow, thanks for the advice you two. Hope you didn't just cost yourself a spot ichy4life.
I think the universities are closed tomorrow for Veteran's Day...I was accepted in an earlier round. 😉 Good luck. Just call and ask. They are really an awesome group of really nice ladies who want to make the process as easy as can be.
While I have already been accepted, I keep an eye on these decision days. I like to see who my new potential classmates will be. I checked the 'future classmates' list tonight and there are new names, which I think means the emails have gone out. It looks like they go out around 5 PM pretty consistently. I think if there is a change, Tara will email everyone like she did the first decision round when there was a delay.
I just don't want people's weekend being ruined because of the stress of waiting around. I don't mean to be the bearer of bad news, but if you are at all like me, you just want to know. Enjoy the weekend and remember it is still very early in the process. Lots of seats left to be offered.
I just don't want people's weekend being ruined because of the stress of waiting around. I don't mean to be the bearer of bad news, but if you are at all like me, you just want to know. Enjoy the weekend and remember it is still very early in the process. Lots of seats left to be offered.
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Just got the acceptance email from UA-Phoenix so excited 😀 IS, Interviewed 9/20...stats on my MDapps
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To those of you accepted, congratulations. Its been a long road and you can finally see the light. However, I wouldn't be too pleased with an acceptance to the UACOM. I've been a student in Phoenix for a few years and completely regret matriculating. I hope this post will help steer those of you with more than one acceptance away from the UACOM-P and into what I can only hope will be a better, more enjoyable medical school experience.
For starters, every student you interacted with during your campus visit was highly coached to help sell you the "new, small school" experience. The administration has gone out of its way to highlight the "student centric atmosphere" but in reality, they care very little about student input and believe that medical students should be seen not heard. This is most apparent with Deans Flynn and Pagel. Flynn does a great job of making you feel welcome, he goes out of his way to learn your name, and like he says, does maintain an open door policy. The issue is that he really doesn't care about you and he cringes every time a student walks through that open door. Overall, Pagel is a poor excuse for a Dean of student affairs. She'll also tell you whatever is necessary to get you out of her office. Need help finding a mentor? Looking to take a leave of absence? Don't expect her to help you. Finally, there is an overabundance of secretarial and administrative support staff on campus, 96.4% of which are either completely incompetent or refuse to do their jobs. They spend 38 of their 40 hours per week on macys.com or taking personal phone calls. Accept the fact that your emails will go unanswered and you will be greeted with looks of disappointment and cluelessness anytime you stop by their desks. The exceptions to the above are Lynch, Palmer, Loposki, Cunningham who go out of their way to make your experience less complicated.
The curriculum is loaded with redundancy and nonsense. For example, you'll be writing journals discussing your feelings for four years instead of studying real medicine. The scholarly project is a joke. In my time on campus, the project has had three different directors, an infinite number of revisions to the syllabus, and absolutely no concrete instruction from faculty. The running joke amongst students is that they couldn't possibly fail all of us. It has quickly become the bane of our existence. Furthermore, there is very little research space on campus and you'll be vying for research opportunities with senior students. Case based instruction is valuable, but the UACOM-P has even complicated this. You'll run through a case, be expected to create presentations about whatever the topic is and only after you and classmates have expended considerably energy will you be told what you were expected to learn. Classmates often won't pull their weight and you'll be left researching more things in preparation for tests. On a positive note, clinical anatomy is perhaps the best class on campus, you'll learn everything you need to know, nothing you don't, and you'll murder USMLE anatomy questions.
The clinical years are even worse. Clerkship directors prove the adage that "those who can do, those who can't teach." Expect an unprecedented amount of bull**** in your third and fourth years. You'll have an infinite number of suggestions to make things better but no one will listen because the student centric atmosphere they sold you on was a sham. The only positive aspect of the clinical curriculum is Dr. Moffitt's doctoring course. This lady is a diamond in the rough. She has made the last few years bearable.
Finally, your classmates will be genuinely good people. You'll learn each of their names and know most of the upperclassmen. You'll share some fun times, many late nights, and bitch about your school. Eventually, you'll realize that some of them are just plain dumb. You might even wonder "how did you get accepted to medical school?" I'm relatively confident this is not the case at more prestigious schools across the country. While the national board pass rate is around average, what admissions is not telling you is that their statistic includes students failing their first attempt and passing on a second or third try.
If I could repeat the last couple of years, I certainly would not pick the UACOM-Phoenix. I've heard Tucson is not much better. Medical school is a huge investment in terms of finances and effort. Make sure you get the most out of you money and hard work, choose a different school.
For starters, every student you interacted with during your campus visit was highly coached to help sell you the "new, small school" experience. The administration has gone out of its way to highlight the "student centric atmosphere" but in reality, they care very little about student input and believe that medical students should be seen not heard. This is most apparent with Deans Flynn and Pagel. Flynn does a great job of making you feel welcome, he goes out of his way to learn your name, and like he says, does maintain an open door policy. The issue is that he really doesn't care about you and he cringes every time a student walks through that open door. Overall, Pagel is a poor excuse for a Dean of student affairs. She'll also tell you whatever is necessary to get you out of her office. Need help finding a mentor? Looking to take a leave of absence? Don't expect her to help you. Finally, there is an overabundance of secretarial and administrative support staff on campus, 96.4% of which are either completely incompetent or refuse to do their jobs. They spend 38 of their 40 hours per week on macys.com or taking personal phone calls. Accept the fact that your emails will go unanswered and you will be greeted with looks of disappointment and cluelessness anytime you stop by their desks. The exceptions to the above are Lynch, Palmer, Loposki, Cunningham who go out of their way to make your experience less complicated.
The curriculum is loaded with redundancy and nonsense. For example, you'll be writing journals discussing your feelings for four years instead of studying real medicine. The scholarly project is a joke. In my time on campus, the project has had three different directors, an infinite number of revisions to the syllabus, and absolutely no concrete instruction from faculty. The running joke amongst students is that they couldn't possibly fail all of us. It has quickly become the bane of our existence. Furthermore, there is very little research space on campus and you'll be vying for research opportunities with senior students. Case based instruction is valuable, but the UACOM-P has even complicated this. You'll run through a case, be expected to create presentations about whatever the topic is and only after you and classmates have expended considerably energy will you be told what you were expected to learn. Classmates often won't pull their weight and you'll be left researching more things in preparation for tests. On a positive note, clinical anatomy is perhaps the best class on campus, you'll learn everything you need to know, nothing you don't, and you'll murder USMLE anatomy questions.
The clinical years are even worse. Clerkship directors prove the adage that "those who can do, those who can't teach." Expect an unprecedented amount of bull**** in your third and fourth years. You'll have an infinite number of suggestions to make things better but no one will listen because the student centric atmosphere they sold you on was a sham. The only positive aspect of the clinical curriculum is Dr. Moffitt's doctoring course. This lady is a diamond in the rough. She has made the last few years bearable.
Finally, your classmates will be genuinely good people. You'll learn each of their names and know most of the upperclassmen. You'll share some fun times, many late nights, and bitch about your school. Eventually, you'll realize that some of them are just plain dumb. You might even wonder "how did you get accepted to medical school?" I'm relatively confident this is not the case at more prestigious schools across the country. While the national board pass rate is around average, what admissions is not telling you is that their statistic includes students failing their first attempt and passing on a second or third try.
If I could repeat the last couple of years, I certainly would not pick the UACOM-Phoenix. I've heard Tucson is not much better. Medical school is a huge investment in terms of finances and effort. Make sure you get the most out of you money and hard work, choose a different school.
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Wow is right. Someone is mad about something, that's for sure. I completely disagree and would not be on here talking about how great my school is if I didn't completely believe it. Really. I mean, what's in it for me? I'm only a cheerleader for my school because I have had a wonderful experience the last two years, with tons of great opportunities and professors bending over backwards for me. Med school is what you make of it, so go to the school that is the best fit for you. I did.
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Yeah. Wow. We have a neuro test this week so I'm not going to be able to sit and go through a deconstruction of this but if it is actually a real student there are some other issues going on. I just want to say two things to people who read this and address what I think are the most dangerous aspects of that statement but
1. students that you interact with on campus are "coached" only in the sense that we are asked not to say stupid things like "I promise you'll be accepted to this medical school!" or "I'll put in a good word for you with Dean Flinn *wink wink*". The entire point of having student ambassadors is to present a true perspective from the students point of view and those of you who have attended the pre-visit day mixers I hope see how candid we are in discussing the things that we love and the things that we think could use a little work, so to imply that we're all little ADCOM manchurian candidates is really stupid.
2. The guys' statement abounds with hyperbole and really crazy generalizations. Maybe as an upperclassman things were significantly different for him, and if they were, they've changed now, but when I read things like "The curriculum is loaded with redundancy and nonsense. For example, you'll be writing journals discussing your feelings for four years instead of studying real medicine." I get a little upset. Yes, you write journals. They are two pages long at the end of a nine to eleven week block where "real medicine" has been painstakingly shoved down your throat for five days a week. So of the total amount of time I've spent in school so far, two or three hours has been spent writing two journal entries and 3958359384 hours has been spent studying "real medicine." I wish all we had to do is write journal entries, then I wouldn't feel so stressed out about our neuroendocrine test.
And finally, anyone who implies that Dean Flynn is somehow insincere or not interested in the concerns of students is kind of a jerk.
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I'm actually a little relieved to hear to hear a dissenting opinion of the school. Obviously Dirtyduncan had a bad day and went overboard, but as a prospective matriculant I'd appreciate to hear some of the "things [you] think could use a little work." So if Brrooother, Shep or any other current UA students could explain some of their reasoned criticisms I'd appreciate it. 🙂 Feel free to PM me if you prefer...Thx
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The scholarly project is far from a perfect program, and many of Duncan's criticisms are fair, especially for the fourth years. But I think this in and of itself raises an important point, in that if Duncan is a 3rd/4th year he's part of a class that certainly had its fair share of growing pains as the school tried new ideas in building the curriculum. I think it's a little unfair to matriculate in a school that's in its absolute infancy and then complain later about the fact that certain programs still need work. I know that for me, I felt comfortable joining this school after three years knowing that they'd have time to fix the things that absolutely didn't work, while stile accepting that there might be some changes even in my own experience as the school grows. That was an acceptable trade-off for the chance to join a small class size and the opportunity to really influence the direction of curriculum. I respect the upper 3rd and 4th years because they've really taken some hits for us. The biomedical informatics block, the concentrated immunology term, doctoring, humanities, scholarly project stuff- all of these needed guinea pigs to a certain extent to figure out the best way to do these things and I think the 1st and 2nd years enjoy that fact to a certain extent.
But I digress. Scholarly project is a good idea that allows us to try and be competitive in a world where medical school research is an increasingly emphasized point of residency applications. If everything worked perfectly as intended we'd all have it finished up during the summer of 1st year and be perfectly clear on what our obligations are. Obviously this isn't the case, and certainly the upheaval in the director's position hasn't helped matters. Dr. Feurstein is a nice guy who has a lot of contacts in the field, but even the 1st years have had a couple of sessions already that have been somewhat frustrating because of miscommunication and unclear objectives. So yes, scholarly project is an area that is still in development and evolving. I would sort of disagree with Duncan's assessment of the availability of research. Perhaps he means the availability of last minute research to start a project 4th year, I don't know. Many of my classmates have been successful already in speaking with professors they liked and getting set up in their labs, and many, like me are continuing or starting our work at outside institutions like Biodesign, TGen, and Phoenix Children's. So yes, still a lot of work to be done, but acceptable to me as part of the growing pains I knew I'd experience going in but was happy to trade for the chance to get into this great place at the ground floor.
I really can't sit here in class all day and write everything I'd like to so I'm hoping some of my SDN buddies will tag team with me on stuff like faculty responsiveness to students, curriculum, and the humanities stuff that seems to bother Duncan so much.
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Basically, UofA Phx is a young program. Make sure to consider that if you get multiple acceptances.
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Dr. Pagel is doing a great job as the Dean of student affairs. She is new to her position this year and has been working very hard to fulfill all the roles expected of her position and go beyond to develop a relationship with each of the students. I have been going through a difficult personal situation over the last 3 months and she has always been very available to listen and provide encouragement. She also goes out of her way to think of ways to make the best possible environment for my academic success. Dr. Pagel is always available and willing to meet with students. In my personal situation she offered to coordinate a leave of absence if I so desired but I just felt that it would be best to learn how to handle difficult situations and medical school. When we get into the work force, I'm sure we're going to encounter difficult situations and can't always just rely on a leave of absence. In my 4 months here, no faculty on this campus have ever come across as trying to get me out of their office. The ratio of faculty and staff to students on this campus is very high and reflected in the voice students have and the wonderful support of the staff. I have studied on campus past 6 pm many fridays and it's common to see the admission staff working when I'm leaving. All of the faculty and staff try their best to learn the names of all the students in all 4 years. It's almost embarassing to me to be greeted by my first name from staff that I don't even know their name. I'm not the best with names but I am amazed by the effort the staff take to get to know us individually. Duncan is definitely right on when he says that "Lynch, Palmer, Loposki, [and] Cunningham...go out of their way to make your experience less complicated."
The blast would have credibility if you were identified as a true student...until then, I'll hedge my bets on the feedback and interactions felt during my visits to campus. As an accepted student to the UA Phoenix, not only was my day enjoyable (even with the "trained" students), but it is consistent with the campus over the last year.
Every school has "that guy". I guess Phoenix is becoming more and more like the established schools.
DirtyDuncan? Look up the meaning in the urban dictionary...I hope you are a fourth-year student so we don't run into each other next year.
Every school has "that guy". I guess Phoenix is becoming more and more like the established schools.
DirtyDuncan? Look up the meaning in the urban dictionary...I hope you are a fourth-year student so we don't run into each other next year.
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Being a student ambassador is completely voluntary - those of us who choose to be one do so because we are proud of our school and want to attract cool people to fill future classes. The only thing I remember being "coached" on was to make sure we don't disparage other schools when we're making comparisons, and I think that's classy.
I would encourage applicants to not be afraid to ask tough, pointed questions during your time with current students - at the pre-interview day mixer, the breakfast, the lunch, during the tour, and on SDN. We're not afraid to be honest with you about what we like and dislike about our school.
In my experience, though, the culture here isn't fake.
I would encourage applicants to not be afraid to ask tough, pointed questions during your time with current students - at the pre-interview day mixer, the breakfast, the lunch, during the tour, and on SDN. We're not afraid to be honest with you about what we like and dislike about our school.
In my experience, though, the culture here isn't fake.
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This is ridiculous. I am not getting a $100 Best Buy giftcard to promote the school. I am not some mindless robot controlled by the administration. I do it because I absolutely and truly love our campus.
Dean Flynn is one of the main reasons I decided to come to this campus. On my interview day, he shut my file, told me he had all of the academic information he needed, and let me just talk. We discussed my playing the drums, my dogs, and other hobbies I had. I got to ask him about his vision for the school as Dean, why they were taking out of state students for the first time, and any other questions I had about the UACOM-P. I felt like he really got to know me as an individual beyond my AMCAS file and I felt like I got to know him, as well. It was evident that he was passionate about the school and his sincerity was equally obvious. I still think this way today. In the first few weeks of school, he invited our class and family members to his house for appetizers. Despite his busy schedule, he still makes time to lecture to us. At the last town hall meeting, he was receptive to student feedback and amenable to changes where possible.
I havent dealt much with Dr. Pagel, but my classmates who have say positive things. The administration, in general, have helped several of my peers in dealing with their personal issues and my own personal experience with the academic coordinators with regard to testing accommodations have been positive.
Okay, seriously? Weve spent, as Shep said, only a few hours writing journals. We wrote a 1-2 page one (double spaced) reflecting on anatomy lab and a few more pages on our first capstone experience. In undergrad, we wrote plenty of useless papers, so at least this forces me to think about my progression as a physician in training.
I dont feel like the curriculum so far has been overly redundant. In fact, I kind of like repetition. Its conducive to memory, right? In MBLD, we learned about immunology and discussed things like Graves disease being due to autoantibodies to the TSH receptor. In neuro, we revisited Graves, but expanded on it to include the hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid axis and feedback mechanisms. Why didnt we do this all in the beginning or just at one time? Well, because we knew diddly squat about the brain at the time, and it makes sense to cover antibodies in immunology. If anything, this helps me retain the material better.
The scholarly project is another reason I decided to go to this school. If anything, it only makes you a more attractive candidate for residency to have research experience. True, we don't have everything planned for us and our future projects, but as adults, it is my belief that we should be able to seek these things out for ourselves. Even in undergrad labs, you have to be self-sufficient because thats the nature of research. I personally havent had a problem finding a mentor, though. I found a PI in my field of interest within the first few months of school because I actively sought out someone doing something I liked. She has been really helpful, meeting with me often to answer my questions, and takes time out of her already busy schedule to try and get me into an MD/PhD program.
As for CBI, it would be nice to have the learning objectives before the closing session, but the Deans said they were amenable to changing that at the last town hall. In general, I do not find myself having to spend too much time researching the issues that my classmates dont cover and if I do, a quick pubmed search will answer any questions I have. Its my experience that the CBI test questions are the ones that you have to study the least, if you even have to at all since I feel like I retain most of the info I learn in the closing session.
Oh, and clinical anatomy is pretty awesome. Dr Fishers questions will be much harder than the identify-the- pinned-structure type questions from undergrad anatomy, but her in-lab lecture style with tv screens over the cadavers forces even a halfway comatose person who is trying not to pay attention to retain the material against their will. I really love this experience.
I cant say anything about the clerkship years since I havent had those experiences yet, but I will say that as much as I hate being videotaped, being able to see myself on camera interviewing standardized patients forces me to confront my shortcomings. Although the patients illnesses arent real, their perception of you is. Reading their comments and then watching the encounter on video, you really do see when you make them uncomfortable or when you use too much medical jargon. Its good that we get to make these mistakes now when the patients arent really sick and the stakes are low. Also, as someone who used to work in an ER, I see that the doctoring skills that we are taught are used all the time in clinical practice, and now I know the basis for why physicians perform the exams that they do. The progression of the course thus far has been very purposeful and methodical.
My classmates are GREAT people. Ive had a somewhat hard time adjusting to being in a new state, away from all the people I love and the things that are familiar to me, but my classmates do a pretty good job of being my fill-in family. And they really are like a family to me. Weve taken each other out for our birthdays and I personally have had numerous people be there for me whenever Ive needed someone to talk to. Also, Ive never really sat and pondered the intelligence of my peers because I actually dont care whether or not they are smarter than me or are plain dumb, although I doubt anyone in my class is less than intelligent. This has absolutely no bearing on the physician that I will be and I am more concerned with own success.
I guess the point to all of this would be for all you SDNers to know that I am completely happy with my medical school. I am aware that we are a relatively new campus, but do not think anything is very problematic. There will be issues no matter what school you go to, but you can either sit there and just take it, or you can suck it up, take the reins and try to make some changes. UACOM-P routinely sends out block surveys to the students and from what I hear from the upperclassmen so far, changes HAVE BEEN made. If you love UACOM-P as much as I do, come here. If you think somewhere else suits you better, then best of luck and be happy with your choice.
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That does a far better job of summing up my feelings than I could have done. Thanks a lot Phospho. That pretty much ends my response to the original post. If anyone has any questions they can PM me otherwise I don't think I'll continue to give a platform to non-constructive negativity.
Not giving too much thought to the above tirade because I have a good friend at the PHX campus that would tell me straight up if I should steer clear. I think there are some people that expect "doctor" training to be spoon fed to them and when they come to the realization that it takes a lot of work - no matter what school they attend - thats a hard pill to swallow because you realize lives will be in your hands.
As students we have to learn the skills we will ultimately use. I don't expect someone to hold my hand through the process. If you have ever done rotations with residents/students at a teaching hospital it is pretty brutal. I could see how someone might be overwhelmed and complain they were not adequately prepared. But really it comes back to the students.
And about the Tucson program, my brother loved the program and is now in his last year of residency while applying for trauma fellowships. He felt his training at UACOM TUC was absolutely up to par. He has also told me that he has had some great visiting 3rd and 4th years from programs that have bad reputations. Point being its not the school, its the student.
Have you ever read product reviews on amazon? This is the one guy who gives great camera a lousy review because his pictures always turn out blurry. Then he closes with "and I have yet to find a camera that doesn't take blurry photos". That's called user error.
As students we have to learn the skills we will ultimately use. I don't expect someone to hold my hand through the process. If you have ever done rotations with residents/students at a teaching hospital it is pretty brutal. I could see how someone might be overwhelmed and complain they were not adequately prepared. But really it comes back to the students.
And about the Tucson program, my brother loved the program and is now in his last year of residency while applying for trauma fellowships. He felt his training at UACOM TUC was absolutely up to par. He has also told me that he has had some great visiting 3rd and 4th years from programs that have bad reputations. Point being its not the school, its the student.
Have you ever read product reviews on amazon? This is the one guy who gives great camera a lousy review because his pictures always turn out blurry. Then he closes with "and I have yet to find a camera that doesn't take blurry photos". That's called user error.
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Ditto. My point was not to incite any anger or to initiate an argument. I just wanted to show the point of view of a very happy UACOM-P student. This will be my last post regarding the issue, as well.
Big thanks to all the current students that take time out to participate on SDN - even without the Best Buy gift card😉.
I feel like both TUC and PHX students have been very forthright about the programs. They have also always made a point to encourage people to seek what is best for them and not just conclude UofA is right for everyone.
Again, big thanks!
I feel like both TUC and PHX students have been very forthright about the programs. They have also always made a point to encourage people to seek what is best for them and not just conclude UofA is right for everyone.
Again, big thanks!
I am not a frequent poster and I don't have a ton to say because my WONDERFUL, AMAZING classmates have refuted most of what DirtyDuncan has said, but I just wanted to say that I have had the complete opposite experience so far, and I am so happy that I chose this school. It's not perfect, but I don't know of any institution that is perfect! I had far more administrative issues at my well established 150 year old undergraduate information than I do at this new campus! In addition, I am feeling confident in both my medical knowledge and my clinical skills, and I know that I am improving every week! I also know that the faculty and support staff are here for us and will help us out with whatever we need. I have never had any problems getting things done! In fact, just last week I had media services and Kelly Lynch go completely out of their way to help me with a personal matter, and that is not an unusual experience.
I love this school, my classmates, and the faculty and staff here, and am sad that someone has had a negative experience here. I am happy to answer any questions, but I just wanted to let you know that the people you are hearing from reflect the majority opinion, and DirtyDuncan does not by any mean represent how most of the students at UACOM-P feel. Phoenix is not for everyone, but it was the perfect school for me, and I imagine some of you applicants will feel the same way about our school.
I love this school, my classmates, and the faculty and staff here, and am sad that someone has had a negative experience here. I am happy to answer any questions, but I just wanted to let you know that the people you are hearing from reflect the majority opinion, and DirtyDuncan does not by any mean represent how most of the students at UACOM-P feel. Phoenix is not for everyone, but it was the perfect school for me, and I imagine some of you applicants will feel the same way about our school.
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Duncan - I'm really sorry about any bad experience you've had here and none of us can speak to your personal situation. My peers have done a pretty good job addressing your points from their experiences and I'll just briefly add a few rebuttals and personal observations.
1. In regard to the deans - they are fantastic. Dean Pagal has helped many students with issues both academic and nonacademic. I've never heard of anybody having even the slightest bit of trouble getting into her office or of her trying to quickly usher people out of her office. She is very easily accessible (even on short notice) and I doubt that many schools have such a hands on Dean of Student Affairs. Dean Flynn is very approachable and really does listen to student input as is evidenced by the "town hall" meetings he attends and TANGIBLE changes that result from student input. In fact, I remember seeing an email he sent to Shep replying to a question about a dorky interior design idea he had (seriously).
2. The front office staff is lovely and helpful. Granted, I don't utilize them for much, but the few occasions I have asked anything of them, I have received great help. The librarians know your name and are really helpful. One even makes me copies of the NY Times crossword puzzle she knows I like.
3. Interesting point about the journaling assignments. I can only guess that in the time since you've started and I have started my education here, they have drastically decreased the amount of journaling assignments as I've spent probably a total of 1.5 hours on them (without BSing). This goes to show you that they actually DO listen to students and change the curriculum accordingly. Furthermore, this is just one way (among several) that this medical school goes to making sure there is an emotional element to what we're doing. If you want to be the kind of doctor that just runs lab tests and radiological studies to diagnose a patient's symptoms, go somewhere else. UACOM-Phoenix doesn't turn out the kind of unemotional physicians that patients HATE.
4. Sorry about the Scholarly Project issues you're having DD. It seems to me this is your real source of anger with the program. So far, it seems like they really want us to do a good job and don't require THAT much of us. However, I haven't started mine, so I speak about this with any authority.
5. The student population here is amazing. I will concede that the admission criteria have probably gotten more selective since your class has matriculated, so it's possible there are people you can't figure out how they got into medical school. This is not true anymore (if it ever was). The average MCAT score is pretty high. I've often felt that any school would be lucky to have the number of accomplishments and diversity our campus has. In the 2014 class alone, there are your usual biological science types that have lots of research experience; there are also computer programmers, engineers, MBAs, former teachers, psychology majors, people that have worked years in the medical field, those that have done extensive medical work in third world countries, and a host of other awesome accomplishments. As a student now, you are more likely to wonder how YOU got in to medical school when surrounded by all these accomplished people (I do all the time despite a general knowledge that I am incredibly awesome).
6. Importantly, this school desperately wants you to succeed AND to be a better doctor than if you went anywhere else. There are incredible resources provided. To name a couple: a learning coordinator that will make sure you have the skills necessary to succeed and that will personally email you if your grades start to slip to try to find a way to bring them back up; we also have an awesome Longitudinal Clinical Experience program where we follow physicians around starting from essentially the beginning of school. We have great physicians in Phoenix that are eager to teach as well as many teaching institutions and trauma centers that have previously reserved their immense knowledge and experience for residents. We are benefitting so much by being in this metropolis.
To anybody that has any questions, feel free to PM one of us that attend and we will address any concerns completely HONESTLY and without hyperbole. We gain NOTHING from trying to manipulate you into coming here if you're not going to like it. I thank a whole pantheon of deities weekly that I ended up here (sorry God, but I did hedge my bets a little when praying for admission here and I hardly ever pray to Ganesh anymore).
1. In regard to the deans - they are fantastic. Dean Pagal has helped many students with issues both academic and nonacademic. I've never heard of anybody having even the slightest bit of trouble getting into her office or of her trying to quickly usher people out of her office. She is very easily accessible (even on short notice) and I doubt that many schools have such a hands on Dean of Student Affairs. Dean Flynn is very approachable and really does listen to student input as is evidenced by the "town hall" meetings he attends and TANGIBLE changes that result from student input. In fact, I remember seeing an email he sent to Shep replying to a question about a dorky interior design idea he had (seriously).
2. The front office staff is lovely and helpful. Granted, I don't utilize them for much, but the few occasions I have asked anything of them, I have received great help. The librarians know your name and are really helpful. One even makes me copies of the NY Times crossword puzzle she knows I like.
3. Interesting point about the journaling assignments. I can only guess that in the time since you've started and I have started my education here, they have drastically decreased the amount of journaling assignments as I've spent probably a total of 1.5 hours on them (without BSing). This goes to show you that they actually DO listen to students and change the curriculum accordingly. Furthermore, this is just one way (among several) that this medical school goes to making sure there is an emotional element to what we're doing. If you want to be the kind of doctor that just runs lab tests and radiological studies to diagnose a patient's symptoms, go somewhere else. UACOM-Phoenix doesn't turn out the kind of unemotional physicians that patients HATE.
4. Sorry about the Scholarly Project issues you're having DD. It seems to me this is your real source of anger with the program. So far, it seems like they really want us to do a good job and don't require THAT much of us. However, I haven't started mine, so I speak about this with any authority.
5. The student population here is amazing. I will concede that the admission criteria have probably gotten more selective since your class has matriculated, so it's possible there are people you can't figure out how they got into medical school. This is not true anymore (if it ever was). The average MCAT score is pretty high. I've often felt that any school would be lucky to have the number of accomplishments and diversity our campus has. In the 2014 class alone, there are your usual biological science types that have lots of research experience; there are also computer programmers, engineers, MBAs, former teachers, psychology majors, people that have worked years in the medical field, those that have done extensive medical work in third world countries, and a host of other awesome accomplishments. As a student now, you are more likely to wonder how YOU got in to medical school when surrounded by all these accomplished people (I do all the time despite a general knowledge that I am incredibly awesome).
6. Importantly, this school desperately wants you to succeed AND to be a better doctor than if you went anywhere else. There are incredible resources provided. To name a couple: a learning coordinator that will make sure you have the skills necessary to succeed and that will personally email you if your grades start to slip to try to find a way to bring them back up; we also have an awesome Longitudinal Clinical Experience program where we follow physicians around starting from essentially the beginning of school. We have great physicians in Phoenix that are eager to teach as well as many teaching institutions and trauma centers that have previously reserved their immense knowledge and experience for residents. We are benefitting so much by being in this metropolis.
To anybody that has any questions, feel free to PM one of us that attend and we will address any concerns completely HONESTLY and without hyperbole. We gain NOTHING from trying to manipulate you into coming here if you're not going to like it. I thank a whole pantheon of deities weekly that I ended up here (sorry God, but I did hedge my bets a little when praying for admission here and I hardly ever pray to Ganesh anymore).
So far my second year at UA COM-P has been nothing but a positive experience! If you're applying to a school that's only 4 years old, you have to be realistic in your expectations.. so don't expect the curriculum to be perfect or for no kinks to come up. The curriculum changes a every year (less and less each year as the years go by), but this is completely due to student feedback. My class has curriculum changes directly based on feedback from the MSIIIs, and the MS1s have changes that my class suggested last year, and it gets stronger every year. From what my third year friends have said, we are thoroughly taught about 80% of what's tested on the boards, which is on par with what happens at most med schools. All the foundational concepts are covered, and they give us plenty of time to brush up on what they didn't hit very hard. I personally really like having a strong say in what my campus shapes up to be, and my experience with faculty and administration has always been positive, and they seem to truly want to do whatever is best for us students. Of course the school isn't perfect, but I am incredibly glad I went here! I love my class, I love the profs, and love the opportunities that a small school provides. I wouldn't worry about the curriculum or administrative details - there aren't any major problems and the small issues get better each year. Just make sure this school is the right feel for you and you'll be happy here 🙂
Good luck!
Good luck!
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nicely said ichy4life. i'm a 3rd year, i hope i get to meet you next year.
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