2014-2015 California Northstate University College of Medicine

[Spector1]

I'm pretty sure this will be the saltiest med school class of the 2015 application cycle.

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[Eat.Treat.Repeat.]

EDIT: Can't even with this thread right now lol.

 

[Dohnut]

Dear CNUCOM applicants,
Do you ever wonder why they have to start the cycle on June 15th when all of you were getting rejections from the previous cycle?
Also,worth thinking is the fact that the website keeps changing the faculty, is mostly under construction (in their prime time), and last checked has absolutely all international medical graduates who could not pass their own medical licensing examination to become US physicians-how can they be good teachers of US medicine.
There is no infrastructure,research base,rotation sites, or even a decent building to tour you around.
The interviewing faculty consists of pharmacists (who are unfit to check empathy,patient-doctor relationship) and the others are rushing during their lunch break to fill in.
Where will you get residency,who will know about the quality of this program ,who will be your mentor, and above all who will teach you the art and science of medicine-just standing next to an extremely busy physician in HMO will not !?
I am hoping they will not hire Kaplan to teach you medicine and skim through step 1 like Caribbean schools.
As a very rich community of physicians based in Sacramento and our commitment to be socially responsible, me and my colleagues are very concerned by the unplanned,hastily done medical college.
The fact that all of you are spending your weekend defending this school speaks volume and is quite perplexing to me too.
Don't sell yourself so low.
Good luck.

Well I'm a pharmacist of 6+ years and I show empathy everyday I'm at work, and checking physician-patient relationship is part of my job.

Everything else in this post I agree with.... The retired physician that rushed in to sit by my lunch table happened to be my very first interviewer. I thought being a Pharm.D. would inevitably get me a pharmacist interviewer so that I'd be able to talk with him/her from pharmacist's point of view about this medical school and pharmacy school upstairs but nooo didn't get one.

Interestingly both the retired physicians that did the interview with me said they had been practicing in the Sacramento area for 25 years, which makes me suspect at least one of them was Dr. Ossicles or Dr. FaithInTheLight?

Just guessing, no factual basis whatsoever, lol. Probably just a coincidence.


Edit: I'm definitely not the desperate type so I can sit back and look at things more clearly..... And pray to get in a Texas school so I'll only have to pay 14k tuition a year

 

[Dohnut]

On another note, Moose and 4401, I can't describe with words how much I want to be studying medicine with y'all in the same class, but I just cannot stand the Hyde type in the first group of 2 interviews.

 

[Neurozot]

Well I'm a pharmacist of 6+ years and I show empathy everyday I'm at work, and checking physician-patient relationship is part of my job.

Everything else in this post I agree with.... The retired physician that rushed in to sit by my lunch table happened to be my very first interviewer. I thought being a Pharm.D. would inevitably get me a pharmacist interviewer so that I'd be able to talk with him/her from pharmacist's point of view about this medical school and pharmacy school upstairs but nooo didn't get one.

Interestingly both the retired physicians that did the interview with me said they had been practicing in the Sacramento area for 25 years, which makes me suspect at least one of them was Dr. Ossicles or Dr. FaithInTheLight?

Just guessing, no factual basis whatsoever, lol. Probably just a coincidence.


Edit: I'm definitely not the desperate type so I can sit back and look at things more clearly..... And pray to get in a Texas school so I'll only have to pay 14k tuition a year

Wow, two of the retired physicians you interviewed with were retired after 25 years? Could be one of them... or that could just be a very typical length of a career as a physician. Its the same principle that allows horoscopes to make "Predictions."

If their plan was to snatch up desperate medical students, by waiting till the 11th hour, then that would be a silly tactic. This is the only year where they would be able to employ it. Something makes me doubt they started a whole medical school just to trick a single class into admittance. Besides every year there will be solid applicants in California that never made it off the waitlist to a UC. Why wait till the end of the year then? Because thats when they received their LCME Prelim Accreditation. They were not allowed to pursue a class till receiving that key accreditation. They were faced with an option, wait a year or try and put together a class they believe would be suitable in 3 months. They want this class to be good. The LCME is going to be scrutinizing every aspect of this inaugural class. Their full accreditation will depend on them.

Was it a business decision to pursue a class for 2015? Yes, I'm sure a in large part it was. However, if they did not believe there was a suitable applicant pool that would make fine physicians, they would have waited. It's basic risk analysis. Which is more costly? missing a years tuition and having to pay staff. Or invest heavily into the first two or three classes just to find out that you are being shut down due to lack of quality, and lose the millions they invested into the school. Investors are looking for a safe return.

Looking at the quality of accepted students on this forum and the Facebook page, there remains little doubt in my mind that they choose a competitive group, with great background in the medical field (not just stats, as has been asserted).

 

[Throwaway41785]

For anyone interested, I averaged accepted students' MCATs and GPAs based on self reported stats on SDN. n=10

Average GPA: 3.49 Average MCAT: 32.8

 

[Spector1]

For anyone interested, I averaged accepted students' MCATs and GPAs based on self reported stats on SDN. n=10

Average GPA: 3.49 Average MCAT: 32.8

seems like they are definitely prioritizing mcat over gpa. I guess they want to boost their msar ranking.

 

[Neurozot]

You're missing the point and you're straw-manning the retired physician's argument. Furthermore the "snatching up desperate students" vs "a business decision" is a false dichotomy. They are making a very smart decision by playing off of applicant desperation and how hard it is to get into medical schools for applications. Only doing it once is also the point, they start off their first class with a smart business move that plays off applicant desperation to establish themselves a year ahead and can recruit the same as every other medical school every other year.


Read this thread and the other and you'll see a significant amount of applicant desperation. You should definitely realize the reality of applicant desperation, as it plays a huge role in considering a place like this, the role it can play medical school admissions in general, and how it may have played a role in your case. It's important for all of us to recognize the final point as we may unknowingly come across as desperate, and in med school interviews that's a big no no, and how it can affect applicant decision making processes causing applicants to potentially lose sight of the forest from the trees.

Finally, your comment about the quality of accepted students on this forum and facebook page says absolutely nothing about the quality of this medical school. They can pick the best of the best by virtue of being a medical school, let-alone in CA, and how they're playing the rush of applicants, who don't want to be reapplicants, or dont want to go through a year of admissions decisions that are strung out. There are many strong applicants who slip through the cracks, so recruiting strong applicants isn't very hard for a med school to do. They can also potentially be a subpar med school, and the caliber of students may not do much to save the place from that situation.

In spite of these points, can this place still be a good school? For sure, but only time will tell.

I didn't fabricate or exaggerate the retired physician part of the discussion, Dohnut mentioned that he/she suspected that one of their interviewers could be faithinthelight or ossicles (who we don't know are even credible). I was simply pointing out that it is problematic to assume that "at least one of them" was one of their interviewers based on a not so extraordinary retirement figure. Thus I wouldn't call it straw-manning since no facts were misrepresented.

Ultimately, I agree with you on many things. We should be cautious and do our due diligence. I also agree that student quality and university quality are not necessarily related. However, I was merely addressing the idea that the school had planned to wait that long before moving on their inaugural class. Its just the amount of time it took to gain accreditation. You can't bank of desperation if you don't even know if the LCME is going to give you the green light or not. That would be a complete crap shoot.

 

[DanteBlack]

Hello,

I was wondering if the 2015-2016 class is full or whether it's too late to apply? I know what the school website says, but it also says it's rolling admissions so any other information would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[paradoctor1]

Has anyone on this thread been accepted here with a 30 or lower MCAT score out of curiosity? Thanks!

 

[GnomeBeGone]

Edit: Duplicate Answer.

Deadlines for this fall (14-15): http://medicine.cnsu.edu/admissions-com/admissions/admissions-timeline-2015

Deadlines for next fall (15-16): http://medicine.cnsu.edu/students-com/admissions/admissions-timeline

 

[DanteBlack]

Ah I see, I didn't know about their two interview process. Good to know.

I'm also applying for the 2015-2016 class, but just came across the 2014-2015 application on their website. Guess I was just a little late. Congrats on your acceptances though!

 

[Spector1]

Has anyone on this thread been accepted here with a 30 or lower MCAT score out of curiosity? Thanks!

no idea, from the people posting here though they seem to favor mcat score at least 32+

is anyone going to bother writing letters of interest?

 

[paradoctor1]

no idea, from the people posting here though they seem to favor mcat score at least 32+

is anyone going to bother writing letters of interest?

Ah. Hopefully that score range will be within the top 60 of their interviewees hahaha

 

[Spector1]

Hello,

I was wondering if the 2015-2016 class is full or whether it's too late to apply? I know what the school website says, but it also says it's rolling admissions so any other information would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

if you look at the facebook group, almost all the seats have already been spoken for.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/961988577177010/

 

[paradoctor1]

if you look at the facebook group, almost all the seats have already been spoken for.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/961988577177010/

For those of us who have interviewed, there's still a decent chance. They will finish the last 2 interviews and fill their remaining ~15 seats with the 15 highest MCATs currently in the pool. We can each only hope that we fall into that camp.

 

[genelite]

Are people sure there are more interviews? I haven't heard from anyone that has an upcoming interview and it doesn't seem to make much practical sense with the class starting so soon. possibly one more interview this friday, i would think.

Accepted students, do you know the deadline for tuition fee?

 

[Dohnut]

Edit: wrong convo D:

 

[Spector1]

Are people sure there are more interviews? I haven't heard from anyone that has an upcoming interview and it doesn't seem to make much practical sense with the class starting so soon. possibly one more interview this friday, i would think.

Accepted students, do you know the deadline for tuition fee?

well I knew there were two more after the 27th. no idea if there were anymore going on. I thought the financial aid lady said tuition was due on the 20th or so but we could break it up into four payments a semester if we were granted permission from the financial aid office.

My MCAT was 30 and finished all my prereqs by 2003. Kinda of flopped during the day and the first 2 interviews, but I came back gloriously in the last one. I learned alot about physicians' mental stress and learned alot more about myself as well, honestly wished we had more time to talk, and the retired physician asked for a 5 minute extension twice after 2 door knocks.

Whether or not they'll accept me is up to them. As far as the proverbial comparisons (U of Houston College of pharmacy -red; UT-Austin -orange), I personally think the jury is still out as far as the medical education CNSU offers.

were you accepted?

 

[Dohnut]

[QUOTE"Spector1, post: 16772645, member: 407650"]no idea, from the people posting here though they seem to favor mcat score at least 32+

is anyone going to bother writing letters of interest?[/QUOTE]


Not I. With such a shortened adm process letters of intent are letters of desperation.

 

[Neurozot]

Are people sure there are more interviews? I haven't heard from anyone that has an upcoming interview and it doesn't seem to make much practical sense with the class starting so soon. possibly one more interview this friday, i would think.

Accepted students, do you know the deadline for tuition fee?

The 21st of August for fall semester

 

[Spector1]

The 21st of August for fall semester

is the whole tution due on that date or can you break it up in installments like they said. Do you have to apply for permission to pay in installments or can everybody do that?

 

[Neurozot]

is the whole tution due on that date or can you break it up in installments like they said. Do you have to apply for permission to pay in installments or can everybody do that?

They allow for 2 installments, so one at the beginning of fall semester, and one at the beginning of spring.
They also allow financing through monthly installments, and they have a private loan program though which you can get interest rate above, at, or below gov financial aid depending on your cosigners credit history.

Edit: Ya, everyone can do the semester payment option. I don't think you need any special permission.

 

[SoonToBeDrG]

Just to clarify, after interview there has been zero responses to unaccepted applicants correct ? No email, snail mail, or courtesy phone call?

 

[Spector1]

Just to clarify, after interview there has been zero responses to unaccepted applicants correct ? No email, snail mail, or courtesy phone call?

maybe they'll send an email once they close the waitlist

 

[medicalman35]

No preinterview or post-interview rejections have been given.

i have been told some rejections were sent out

 

[paradoctor1]

i have been told some rejections were sent out

Where did you get this info? When did they start sending them?

 

[medicalman35]

Where did you get this info? When did they start sending them?

an email response from the school.

 

[Spector1]

an email response from the school.

did you have to email them to ask your status or did they just send the reject on their own?

Edit: I guess its 10 days now, so all of us from the 27th pool are on the waitlist now if we didnt get in D:

 

[paradoctor1]

Does anyone know if they are receptive to letters of intent?

 

[Spector1]

Does anyone know if they are receptive to letters of intent?

well since this is the first class, no one has tried it before. Might as well though.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/official-letter-of-intent-letter-of-interest-tips.50676/

 

[paradoctor1]

If you want to send one, send one. If you haven't interviewed yet your chances of getting an interview are pretty negligible now (they already sent out secondaries for the next year), If you already interviewed and are on the waitlist, then it MAY help even more.

Overall - if it makes you feel better, go for it. Letters of intent may often have negligible effects but it never hurts to try it you're invested in doing one.

I have interviewed so hopefully there's still a chance haha. Thank you for your feedback, I appreciate it.

 

[Spector1]

I have interviewed so hopefully there's still a chance haha. Thank you for your feedback, I appreciate it.

who are you writing? Dean Silva or Dean Feng and Dean Ely?

 

[Dohnut]

who are you writing? Dean Silva or Dean Feng and Dean Ely?

I smell desperation, lol. But whatever makes you happy. If I were to write a letter of desperation I'd write to Ms. Sylvea (be sure to spell her name right, fyi).

 

[Spector1]

I smell desperation, lol. But whatever makes you happy. If I were to write a letter of desperation I'd write to Ms. Sylvea (be sure to spell her name right, fyi).

But isnt she just administration? I don't think she is the one making the calls on admissions and waitlists.

 

[Dohnut]

But isnt she just administration? I don't think she is the one making the calls on admissions and waitlists.

Hint: Ms. Sylvea was the only one whose business card everyone received without asking for. Did you ever bother reading it?

 

[Dohnut]

But isnt she just administration? I don't think she is the one making the calls on admissions and waitlists.

And in case you didn't notice, all the people with the title of "Dean" were really retired and merely hanging their names up there. Why do you think all their interviewing physicians were retired volunteers and none practicing?

 

[Spector1]

And in case you didn't notice, all the people with the title of "Dean" were really retired and merely hanging their names up there. Why do you think all their interviewing physicians were retired volunteers and none practicing?

I appreciate your tone and helpfulness but I think that the notion of writing a med school letter of intent to someone with an MBA is laughable. There are people who "run" the admissions office, and people "who make the decisions" on admissions and rejections. I'll let you decide who those are.

And in case you didn't notice, all the people with the title of "Dean" were really retired and merely hanging their names up there. Why do you think all their interviewing physicians were retired volunteers and none practicing?

"associate dean" in this case as it does with most means well "associate dean".

 

[Dohnut]

I appreciate your tone and helpfulness but I think that the notion of writing a med school letter of intent to someone with an MBA is laughable. There are people who "run" the admissions office, and people "who make the decisions" on admissions and rejections. I'll let you decide who those are.

"associate dean" in this case as it does with most means well "associate dean".

Tone aside, my pointer to you was attention to detail. Ms. Sylvea's title on her card is: Director of Student Affairs, ADMISSIONS and Outreach. No where on the card says she's any sort of a "Dean."

Best of luck with your letter of desperation. Oops, I mean, intention. I wouldn't bother with it since very very few if not none of the accepted will actually drop out.

Edit: Just as you said, an MBA being the director of med school admissions is laughable. It's a for profit institution afterall, and frankly, they did not pass my interview. MD is just two letters after your name, there are a lot of DO's out there that are actually better physicians for the patients.

 

[Spector1]

MD is just two letters after your name

.......

Hint: Ms. Sylvea was the only one whose business card everyone received without asking for. Did you ever bother reading it?

And I can tell you that
(1) I did read the business card
(2) Its impossible to reach her by phone or email (I've tried)
(3) Her name isn't spelled "Ms. Sylvea", its Silvea Rodriguez. ftfy

 

[Dohnut]

.......



And I can tell you that
(1) I did read the business card
(2) Its impossible to reach her by phone or email (I've tried)
(3) Her name isn't spelled "Ms. Sylvea", its Silvea Rodriguez. ftfy

Best of luck with whatever you decide on doing brah.

 

[terlo]

And in case you didn't notice, all the people with the title of "Dean" were really retired and merely hanging their names up there. Why do you think all their interviewing physicians were retired volunteers and none practicing?

Uh...2/3 of my interviewers were licensed MDs that are practicing in CA. The other was a Ph.D.

Also think it's a ridiculous notion writing your letter of intent to Silvea. She said it herself in the interview that she is involved in the paperwork, but has no involvement whatsoever with acceptances...

Edit: Just as you said, an MBA being the director of med school admissions is laughable. It's a for profit institution afterall, and frankly, they did not pass my interview. MD is just two letters after your name, there are a lot of DO's out there that are actually better physicians for the patients.

Except MBAs or less being directors of admissions/student affairs isn't uncommon at all. The Director of Admissions and the Director of Student Affairs at UCSF aren't even MBAs. Same with UC Davis.

 

[GnomeBeGone]

@paradoctor1 , I suggest sending it to one of the admissions assistants if you're going to send one. Odds are, it'll go like this: They'll add it to your file. If you're on their radar still, it will be seen when they make their last pass. This won't help if that's not where you stand already (probably on par with a thank you note). Otherwise, listen to el Goro: Don't pester admissions; anyone can shoot you down.

 

[BeornBear]

@paradoctor1 , I suggest sending it to one of the admissions assistants if you're going to send one. Odds are, it'll go like this: They'll add it to your file. If you're on their radar still, it will be seen when they make their last pass. This won't help if that's not where you stand already (probably on par with a thank you note). Otherwise, listen to el Goro: Don't pester admissions; anyone can shoot you down.

Let me help you guys out. Dr. Forshing Lui is the chair of the admissions committee so your best bet is to send him any letters of intent/interest.

 

[4401]

If I were to write a letter of desperation I'd write to Ms. Sylvea (be sure to spell her name right, fyi).

Hint: Ms. Sylvea was the only one whose business card everyone received without asking for. Did you ever bother reading it?

...my pointer to you was attention to detail. Ms. Sylvea's title on her card is: Director of Student Affairs, ADMISSIONS and Outreach. No where on the card says she's any sort of a "Dean."

I'm sorry Dohnut, but I think it's inappropriate for you to remind people to spell a name correctly, sarcastically ask "did you ever bother reading [the business card]?", and then exhort the same person to pay "attention to detail" when you misspelled Ms. Rodriguez's name -- three times in succession.

 

[Spector1]

Let me help you guys out. Dr. Forshing Lui is the chair of the admissions committee so your best bet is to send him any letters of intent/interest.

It doesnt list that on his profile page (http://medicine.cnsu.edu/faculty/faculty-contact-info/faculty-directory/forshing-lui-md-mrcp-frcp) can you post a link to the admissions committee where it says he is the chair?

Dean Feng on the other hand (http://medicine.cnsu.edu/faculty/faculty-contact-info/faculty-directory/xiaodong-feng-phd-pharmd) is the associate dean of admissions

 

[GnomeBeGone]

I'm not saying address the letter to the admissions staff, I'm saying send it to them.
Jumping levels is bad form and that goes for any school (exceptions: you're a strong candidate and have a very specific question, you're a student in another program there or you're an undergrad there, depending on the school). By all means say Dear Dr. Lui or Dear CNU admissions, but it's unlikely that X-high-ranking-admissions-person is going to sort through a flooded inbox and track down your file to add a letter that presumably has no real application updates. Sure there are anecdotes about "____ admired your persistence," but you can't assume that will apply.

I can't say I wouldn't send a letter if I were in your position, but at the same time I feel like you probably shouldn't if you don't have any worthwhile updates. It blows, I know.

 

[BeornBear]

It doesnt list that on his profile page (http://medicine.cnsu.edu/faculty/faculty-contact-info/faculty-directory/forshing-lui-md-mrcp-frcp) can you post a link to the admissions committee where it says he is the chair?

Dean Feng on the other hand (http://medicine.cnsu.edu/faculty/faculty-contact-info/faculty-directory/xiaodong-feng-phd-pharmd) is the associate dean of admissions

I sat with Dr. Lui during lunch on my interview day. He told our table that he was the chair of the admissions committee.

 

[Dohnut]

I'm sorry Dohnut, but I think it's inappropriate for you to remind people to spell a name correctly, sarcastically ask "did you ever bother reading [the business card]?", and then exhort the same person to pay "attention to detail" when you misspelled Ms. Rodriguez's name -- three times in succession.

I'm sorry Dohnut, but I think it's inappropriate for you to remind people to spell a name correctly, sarcastically ask "did you ever bother reading [the business card]?", and then exhort the same person to pay "attention to detail" when you misspelled Ms. Rodriguez's name -- three times in succession.

Yes I have realized that retrospectively. There was no sarcasm intended whatsoever, I just had one drink too many when I wrote those posts without thinking. I should have known better. Apologies to Spector1 and to whomever my posts have rubbed the wrong way.

I will not follow up with CNSU as I've learned a lot more about myself than previously thought thru this interview process. I will continue to pursue the expansion of my career into medicine, except I'm limiting myself down to a few realistic options in the long term. I'm content and happy where I am, medicine and a more active role in patient care would just be a bonus.

It was a great pleasure meetin' y'all and I wish the best in each and everyone of your professional pursuits (except Hyde).

Doh

 

[Spector1]

.