2016-2017 Virginia Commonwealth University Application Thread

[Renomitsu]

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Anyone got IIs lately? I called in last month, and they said that their last interview day is 2/28....does that mean they already sent out all the invites? Since it's mid February already....


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I received an invite on 1/26 for 1/28 (rescheduled to 2/4, but that's not important here). Based on what Taekdeplej and I have experienced (i.e. a two-to-three-day notice for invites), I'd say there is still definitely a chance for IIs to be sent out.

 

[HughBlackfyre]

Anyone got IIs lately? I called in last month, and they said that their last interview day is 2/28....does that mean they already sent out all the invites? Since it's mid February already....


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They said the last interview day was 02/28? I'm scheduled for March 1st

 

[Until2021]

They said the last interview day was 02/28? I'm scheduled for March 1st

Yeah, that's what they told me, 2/28. Well I guess it's good that you are scheduled March 1st! That means they opened more slots?


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[HughBlackfyre]

Yeah, that's what they told me, 2/28. Well I guess it's good that you are scheduled March 1st! That means they opened more slots?


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Been scheduled for March 1st since December. Was the only day available at that time for me. Maybe because I'm OOS?

 

[phantomlimb]

are you serious? this gives me some hope in this world...[/

Dead serious! There are all types of personalities in our class which makes things more fun. Med school is rough sometimes so it's always a good idea to find ways to chill out. Good luck and hope to see you around next year!

 

[XxThaDoggxX]

VCU is my top choice, but I heard that they drug test all students even before classes start. can anyone verify this?

my friends and I wanted to smoke a joint together after finals at the end of May but the potential of not passing a drug screen for marijuana is completely terrifying. Especially if VCU uses a hair test, and not a urine test... I live in a state where marijuana is legal, and I realize that it's illegal federally. i dont plan on smoking in medical school, but just wanted to hear what you gents and ladies have to say.

To echo another poster on here, this is completely false. That being said--A new Dean just took over our school ~1 month ago. This policy could absolutely change and you could be subjected to a drug test at the beginning of M1...food for thought.

 

[Alma1989]

Are you guys having a discussion? About smoking marijuana. On a public message board. For medical school. For the medical school that you will possibly be going to?

Just checking. Carry on.

 

[Sunshizzle]

drug testing happens and is mandatory before you start your rotations third year

 

[purplegold201635]

When should we start accepting financial aid estimate packages?

 

[greenturtle22]

When should we start accepting financial aid estimate packages?

Have you received a financial aid estimate already? I submitted my FAFSA like a month ago and they haven't even confirmed that they received it lol

 

[purplegold201635]

Have you received a financial aid estimate already? I submitted my FAFSA like a month ago and they haven't even confirmed that they received it lol

Oh no, I haven't. I filled out my FAFSA a while back too. I was just wondering when we were going to get this ball rolling

 

[greenturtle22]

Oh no, I haven't. I filled out my FAFSA a while back too. I was just wondering when we were going to get this ball rolling

Ah, gotcha - same boat here. I also haven't had any communication at all from them since my acceptance in December - I'm about ready for some news/information haha

 

[PooshBag]

I've been in touch with other accepted students, and it seems that some have received email invites for second-looks or some type of campus visit type thing. I was accepted in october and have received no such email. Has anyone else heard anything from the school? The facebook page is basically silent, and no updates have been provided on the portal. Several other of my accepted friends at other schools have already been asked for immunizations and the like.

If anyone gets additional information in regards to accepted students and what to do next, could they please share that information here? Thank you.

 

[purplegold201635]

I've been in touch with other accepted students, and it seems that some have received email invites for second-looks or some type of campus visit type thing. I was accepted in october and have received no such email. Has anyone else heard anything from the school? The facebook page is basically silent, and no updates have been provided on the portal. Several other of my accepted friends at other schools have already been asked for immunizations and the like.

If anyone gets additional information in regards to accepted students and what to do next, could they please share that information here? Thank you.

I don't think that there is a second look event. On their website, they offer a "Virtual Second Look."

 

[amy88]

i'm thinking of bringing my desktop PC and not having a laptop. will this work? If all class video/audio is recorded, I could relisten after lecture.. would just pen and notebook work out for all classes or is this unreasonable? I'm not sure what kind of mandatory participation is required. any advice from current students?

 

[Birdman15]

i'm thinking of bringing my desktop PC and not having a laptop. will this work? If all class video/audio is recorded, I could relisten after lecture.. would just pen and notebook work out for all classes or is this unreasonable? I'm not sure what kind of mandatory participation is required. any advice from current students?

You're probably going to want a laptop.

https://ts.som.vcu.edu/services/purchasing/medrequirements.html

 

[RockyMountainMD]

i'm thinking of bringing my desktop PC and not having a laptop. will this work? If all class video/audio is recorded, I could relisten after lecture.. would just pen and notebook work out for all classes or is this unreasonable? I'm not sure what kind of mandatory participation is required. any advice from current students?

I'm a Current M2 and would strongly advise you to have a laptop. Even though most lectures are recorded, there are a handful that aren't. We have required small group case-based studies and other activities that require participation and are not recorded. Further, lectures are generally pretty quick paced and have a lot of slides...it's not really feasible to take all of your notes on pen and paper. I know some people who take little bullet point "buzzwords" on paper, but type their real notes on their laptops. Last and most important: All exams and quizzes are taken on your laptops in class. While I guess it's possible to rent a computer from the library for every quiz and exam, it's probably not worth the hassle considering how many times you would have to do it.

In short, go ahead and bring your desk top, but it's pretty much a requirement to have a laptop for daily use in class. Financial aid should have some bucks in there that will cover a new laptop.

Hope this helps!


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[trainracepace]

I'm a Current M2 and would strongly advise you to have a laptop. Even though most lectures are recorded, there are a handful that aren't. We have required small group case-based studies and other activities that require participation and are not recorded. Further, lectures are generally pretty quick paced and have a lot of slides...it's not really feasible to take all of your notes on pen and paper. I know some people who take little bullet point "buzzwords" on paper, but type their real notes on their laptops. Last and most important: All exams and quizzes are taken on your laptops in class. While I guess it's possible to rent a computer from the library for every quiz and exam, it's probably not worth the hassle considering how many times you would have to do it.

In short, go ahead and bring your desk top, but it's pretty much a requirement to have a laptop for daily use in class. Financial aid should have some bucks in there that will cover a new laptop.

Hope this helps!


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on the topic of laptops, do a lot of students use MacBooks? I'd like to keep mine from undergrad but it looks like they discourage Apple products. It does have Bootcamp and runs Windows as well.

 

[amy88]

I'm a Current M2 and would strongly advise you to have a laptop. Even though most lectures are recorded, there are a handful that aren't. We have required small group case-based studies and other activities that require participation and are not recorded. Further, lectures are generally pretty quick paced and have a lot of slides...it's not really feasible to take all of your notes on pen and paper. I know some people who take little bullet point "buzzwords" on paper, but type their real notes on their laptops. Last and most important: All exams and quizzes are taken on your laptops in class. While I guess it's possible to rent a computer from the library for every quiz and exam, it's probably not worth the hassle considering how many times you would have to do it.

In short, go ahead and bring your desk top, but it's pretty much a requirement to have a laptop for daily use in class. Financial aid should have some bucks in there that will cover a new laptop.

Hope this helps!


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that's great to know. thank you for sharing. Is getting a dell through VCU IT a good deal, generally? I'm not sure if you have one, or if other students have complained about anything re: these computers.

 

[scarlet_begonias]

1-2 days ago. I definitely don't have an acceptance yet to this school. I loved this school when I interviewed in October but I've had absolute silence since then. I saw in a thread from the 2014-2015 that not all admitted or waitlisted students are invited to it.

Since I'm still on "hold" for an acceptance I don't know what to think. Would like to know if any current students got in from a similar situation.

https://forums.studentdoctor.net/th...lication-thread.1074165/page-47#post-16309894

I would be interested to know if any current M1/2s know anything about this as well. Also in the same situation, interviewed in fall but still on hold. Does this mean we have a good chance of getting accepted in the next batch?

 

[saubu]

Does VCU have a second look date for accepted applicants? I found a virtual second look video on their website and am curious if that's their only version of it instead of in-person.

 

[porta]

There are only second looks organized by certain groups on campus, which are mostly for minority/underrepresented students, I believe. There is no general second look.

 

[purplegold201635]

on the topic of laptops, do a lot of students use MacBooks? I'd like to keep mine from undergrad but it looks like they discourage Apple products. It does have Bootcamp and runs Windows as well.

I think you could still use your MacBook, but they require only windows based PCs for tests and quizzes.

 

[Sunshizzle]

on the topic of laptops, do a lot of students use MacBooks? I'd like to keep mine from undergrad but it looks like they discourage Apple products. It does have Bootcamp and runs Windows as well.

you're fine prob with your current laptop. a friend of mine is using a mac that is at least 6 years old

 

[DrBallerBro]

Woah I just bought a new MacBook and am now a bit concerned. So to clarify we won't be able to use MacBooks for any tests? So I would have to buy a new laptop if I go here???

 

[RockyMountainMD]

Half the class uses MacBooks and they don't seem to have any problems. As far as I know, they just need to buy a few extra adapters but that's it. On the topic of buying new vs using old: the vast majority of people have new laptops. Some use old without any trouble. Just keep in mind that the older your machine, the less likely it is to be compatible with exam programs and things like that.


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[RockyMountainMD]

Woah I just bought a new MacBook and am now a bit concerned. So to clarify we won't be able to use MacBooks for any tests? So I would have to buy a new laptop if I go here???

Tons of people use MacBooks for exams. They just need an extra adapter


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[Hospitalized]

As of today, I've visited my portal 921 times. Still under review since mid August.

 

[PooshBag]

Doesn't VCU do some event in like April for all the accepted students to meet each other and find roommates and learn about financial aid?

 

[Skittsie13]

As of today, I've visited my portal 921 times. Still under review since mid August.

Too real. I think it's officially six months for me now. Seems really unprofessional.

 

[mountaineer1212]

As of today, I've visited my portal 921 times. Still under review since mid August.

Too real. I think it's officially six months for me now. Seems really unprofessional.

I'm in the same position as well. Do you think it would make sense for those of us who havent heard back yet to call them and ask about it? Maybe if enough people express a concern they may add additional interview dates? I totally understand that they have a lot of apps to go through, but at this point its unfortunate that our apps may not even be reviewed before the last interview date 🙁

 

[trainracepace]

I'm in the same position as well. Do you think it would make sense for those of us who havent heard back yet to call them and ask about it? Maybe if enough people express a concern they may add additional interview dates? I totally understand that they have a lot of apps to go through, but at this point its unfortunate that our apps may not even be reviewed before the last interview date 🙁

Sorry to be a bearer of bad news, but it's not that your app hasn't been reviewed. My status was this way through the entire cycle last year. They will eventually tell you (last year was around end of March) that you haven't been granted an interview. They said that they don't constantly update statuses and that if there were enough spots I would've been interviewed - but the reality is, there just aren't. But I reapplied and got in so don't be discouraged.

 

[XxThaDoggxX]

i'm thinking of bringing my desktop PC and not having a laptop. will this work? If all class video/audio is recorded, I could relisten after lecture.. would just pen and notebook work out for all classes or is this unreasonable? I'm not sure what kind of mandatory participation is required. any advice from current students?

Laptop is nearly absolutely required. We take in class quizzes fairly often

 

[tinyantibody]

For those accepted, has anyone received an official admissions package in the mail yet? I'm waiting on mine so just wondering when I should expect to receive it. Thanks!

 

[Dreamer1]

Interviewed the 7th. Received "on hold for possible acceptance" today.

 

[Spoderman]

Does anyone have the financial aid code on hand? The one you input into the FAFSA to add VCU to the list.

 

[dancingbacon]

Interviewed in February, received the "on hold for possible acceptance" message today. Does this mean I "passed" the interview portion? I recall something about how the committee decides on your interview performance first then looks at your whole application again. Do people get rejected right after the interview?

Also can we discuss how I'll never get used to VCU sending you an email to check your portal, because this isn't the first time I had a mini heart attack within two minutes of opening my eyes.

 

[FoolishSwami]

Interviewed in February, received the "on hold for possible acceptance" message today. Does this mean I "passed" the interview portion? I recall something about how the committee decides on your interview performance first then looks at your whole application again. Do people get rejected right after the interview?

Also can we discuss how I'll never get used to VCU sending you an email to check your portal, because this isn't the first time I had a mini heart attack within two minutes of opening my eyes.

+1

 

[Renomitsu]

Does anyone have the financial aid code on hand? The one you input into the FAFSA to add VCU to the list.

Looks like the aid code is 003735 - here's the link to their Financial Aid page (FAFSA is ~2/3 of the way down).

http://www.medschool.vcu.edu/studentaffairs/financial_aid/finaidmd/

 

[tennisgurl]

I guess they are done sending out IIs?

 

[scarlet_begonias]

So i've done a little sleuthing around SDN and other web sources about the second look weekend and what it means.

Only a select group of individuals are invited to second look. However, based on the posts in the past ~3 years of SDN threads, if you have not been accepted yet that does not necessarily mean you are a likely candidate for the next round of accepted applicants. I.e., they're inviting you to second look to get you to like the school on the condition that you MIGHT be accepted off the waitlist. That being said your chances are probably good for getting in but when you get in is unknown.

It would be nice to hear if any current students were invited to second look and got in on the final acceptance date. But most of the people posting on SDN are those who did not. There may be a bit of selection bias in that sense since people who are waitlisted are more likely to post on these threads than people who were outright accepted.

Also I should add that if you were not invited to second look that does not mean you are unlikely to get in off of the waitlist or on the last acceptance date.

Been waiting since the fall anyway, what's another 3 months? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[putmynameinbold]

Looks like the aid code is 003735 - here's the link to their Financial Aid page (FAFSA is ~2/3 of the way down).

http://www.medschool.vcu.edu/studentaffairs/financial_aid/finaidmd/

Has anyone had any luck with NeedAssist?

 

[trainracepace]

Has anyone had any luck with NeedAssist?

I talked to the financial aid office - they aren't using NeedAssist anymore but haven't come out with the new application

 

[PooshBag]

This whole process is a mess. Anyone had any luck with VCU's needaccess for institution scholarships? Additionally, are accepted students invited to an event in the summer to meet and greet other accepted students?

There hasn't been any communication with the schools and accepted students so far.

 

[putmynameinbold]

This whole process is a mess. Anyone had any luck with VCU's needaccess for institution scholarships? Additionally, are accepted students invited to an event in the summer to meet and greet other accepted students?

There hasn't been any communication with the schools and accepted students so far.

According to @trainracepace's call to the Financial Aid office, the new app isn't out yet.

As far as greeting other students, there's a facebook group that has been created, but not much activity on that either so far. I just wanna make friends, y'all 🙁

 

[yungspleen]

After 6 months, my status has changed to:

Your M.D. file is now complete. The Sub-Committee will now do a review of your application. Once this review is complete, you will receive a status update regarding your profile.

Please note that your file may be put on hold for the following reasons:
Hold for MCAT: We are assuming you are scheduled to take the test. The Committee wishes to wait to evaluate your file until those scores are available. MCATS taken after September of the year of application will not be considered. If you are not planning to take or retake the MCAT, please notify us immediately.

Hold for Grades: The file review done by the Committee has determined that you are engaged in coursework which may affect their decision about whether to invite you for an interview. It is imperative that you submit grades for current or proposed courses in a timely fashion. Any file on hold for grades that are not submitted by January 31st will automatically be rejected. If you did not take the course indicated on your primary or supplemental application, please notify us immediately.

Can anyone tell my the significance of those last 2 paragraphs?

 

[dental15triodino]

After 6 months, my status has changed to:

Your M.D. file is now complete. The Sub-Committee will now do a review of your application. Once this review is complete, you will receive a status update regarding your profile.

Please note that your file may be put on hold for the following reasons:
Hold for MCAT: We are assuming you are scheduled to take the test. The Committee wishes to wait to evaluate your file until those scores are available. MCATS taken after September of the year of application will not be considered. If you are not planning to take or retake the MCAT, please notify us immediately.

Hold for Grades: The file review done by the Committee has determined that you are engaged in coursework which may affect their decision about whether to invite you for an interview. It is imperative that you submit grades for current or proposed courses in a timely fashion. Any file on hold for grades that are not submitted by January 31st will automatically be rejected. If you did not take the course indicated on your primary or supplemental application, please notify us immediately.

Can anyone tell my the significance of those last 2 paragraphs?

The last two paragraphs aren't applicable to everyone. They're basically just saying that your app may be placed on hold if they don't have your MCAT score or grades from prereq courses.

 

[Enjaulada]

After 6 months, my status has changed to:

Your M.D. file is now complete. The Sub-Committee will now do a review of your application. Once this review is complete, you will receive a status update regarding your profile.

Please note that your file may be put on hold for the following reasons:
Hold for MCAT: We are assuming you are scheduled to take the test. The Committee wishes to wait to evaluate your file until those scores are available. MCATS taken after September of the year of application will not be considered. If you are not planning to take or retake the MCAT, please notify us immediately.

Hold for Grades: The file review done by the Committee has determined that you are engaged in coursework which may affect their decision about whether to invite you for an interview. It is imperative that you submit grades for current or proposed courses in a timely fashion. Any file on hold for grades that are not submitted by January 31st will automatically be rejected. If you did not take the course indicated on your primary or supplemental application, please notify us immediately.

Can anyone tell my the significance of those last 2 paragraphs?

If you're just getting this status now, does that probably mean that A) your app has little chance for serious consideration given the current date, or B) they're still actively reviewing apps and there is, indeed, still considerable hope left for more IIs?

 

[Rovar0]

So i've done a little sleuthing around SDN and other web sources about the second look weekend and what it means.

Only a select group of individuals are invited to second look. However, based on the posts in the past ~3 years of SDN threads, if you have not been accepted yet that does not necessarily mean you are a likely candidate for the next round of accepted applicants. I.e., they're inviting you to second look to get you to like the school on the condition that you MIGHT be accepted off the waitlist. That being said your chances are probably good for getting in but when you get in is unknown.

It would be nice to hear if any current students were invited to second look and got in on the final acceptance date. But most of the people posting on SDN are those who did not. There may be a bit of selection bias in that sense since people who are waitlisted are more likely to post on these threads than people who were outright accepted.

Also I should add that if you were not invited to second look that does not mean you are unlikely to get in off of the waitlist or on the last acceptance date.

Been waiting since the fall anyway, what's another 3 months? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I was invited to the second look thing (or at least I think it's the second look thing you're talking about), so I can explain what the email said. Basically it's a summer program that allows students to try out the curriculum and experience Richmond before actually starting med school. They sent out invitations to a select group of already accepted students. They are trying to fill 25 slots and if they are unable to fill those 25 slots, they will send out an invitation to the rest of the accepted students. The program will take place during the whole month of June and pretty much all expenses will be paid. To attend this program, you HAVE to commit to VCU and no other med school.

It seems like an awesome program, but unfortunately I have a lot going on this June, so I will not be able to go.



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[amy88]

do ya'll know if VCU offers health insurance? I think they have a requirement to have health insurance when starting classes, but I'm not sure if there is an option to purchase it from the school?