2017-2018 Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine (ACOM)

[studentdr12]

II today!

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[BobbyT]

for you guys who got an II today, when was your apps complete?

 

[harkas]

The curriculum is geared more towards passing COMLEX. USMLE step 1 has a lot more detailed biochem questions and more statistics/epidemiology questions compared to COMLEX, and I felt our molecular medicine department was weak in preparing us for USMLE, which is fine because not everyone will take it. I thought our OPP department prepared us really well for the OPP section of COMLEX.

My class was the first to sit through the Wolfpacc program. Before the program began, I didn't think it would benefit me because I learn differently and did not want to sit through lectures. I would have liked using those 4 weeks to focus on doing UWorld and COMBANK questions and reviewing my weak areas on my own. After sitting through Wolfpacc, it definitely did not benefit me at all. It made me fatigued to sit through their lectures and then study on my own afterward. The material they taught were too basic and seemed to be more as a foundation of all the organ systems for the students who were weaker with their medical knowledge. Dr. Wolf is a good lecturer, but he only taught for a few days, and the remaining weeks were taught by another professor who basically read off the slides.

Preparing yourself for COMLEX and/or USMLE is more of an individual factor, like how much work are you putting in and do you know the material well enough to begin with. If you tend to do well in class and actually understand the concepts, then you are likely to do well on boards.

Thank you. That's really helpful. I agree, it really is about how hard you work. That being said, with the mandatory attendance do you feel like you had adequate time to study for boards or was it tough? I know they've decreased the requirement to 60% but just wondering.

 

[pb_kines]

for you guys who got an II today, when was your apps complete?

Complete September 6.

 

[BobbyT]

Complete September 6.

Same here I'm wondering if I got rejected

 

[moyamoya6]

Thank you. That's really helpful. I agree, it really is about how hard you work. That being said, with the mandatory attendance do you feel like you had adequate time to study for boards or was it tough? I know they've decreased the requirement to 60% but just wondering.

The mandatory attendance throughout the first two years for regular lecture classes wouldn't have made a difference for me for boards because I didn't start light studying until 6 months before, but what killed me was the mandatory Wolfpacc attendance - 4-7 hours per day, 5 days a week, for 4 weeks, plus mandatory study sessions with Wolfpacc faculty in the late afternoon/early evening 2-3x a week for 30m - 1.5hr each session. Those mandatory attendance sessions during my peak board prep month gave me inadequate time to intensify my board studies without getting burnt out. I wish they would have made it optional for students who were able to score well on the COMSAE (practice COMLEX tests), but they might change it this year or in the next few years. ACOM's main goal at the time was to raise the overall COMLEX average of the entire class.

 

[beaucoup]

Super chill, probably all of 3 turns with no traffic. The only thing to remember is to make SURE to account for time change.

Thank you!! Didn't even realize that ATL/Dothan were different time zones until you mentioned it!

 

[Snork]

Thank you!! Didn't even realize that ATL/Dothan were different time zones until you mentioned it!

Lol, np. Almost missed a flight because of it. Best of luck to ya.

 

[kamakazi5]

for you guys who got an II today, when was your apps complete?

Sept 6 as well.

 

[harkas]

The mandatory attendance throughout the first two years for regular lecture classes wouldn't have made a difference for me for boards because I didn't start light studying until 6 months before, but what killed me was the mandatory Wolfpacc attendance - 4-7 hours per day, 5 days a week, for 4 weeks, plus mandatory study sessions with Wolfpacc faculty in the late afternoon/early evening 2-3x a week for 30m - 1.5hr each session. Those mandatory attendance sessions during my peak board prep month gave me inadequate time to intensify my board studies without getting burnt out. I wish they would have made it optional for students who were able to score well on the COMSAE (practice COMLEX tests), but they might change it this year or in the next few years. ACOM's main goal at the time was to raise the overall COMLEX average of the entire class.

Wow, that's tough! It sounds like they will keep Wolfpacc considering their passing rate went from 89 -> 94. Is Wolfpacc some special program that is proven to help with COMLEX? I only have heard about it with ACOM and no one else.

 

[moyamoya6]

Wow, that's tough! It sounds like they will keep Wolfpacc considering their passing rate went from 89 -> 94. Is Wolfpacc some special program that is proven to help with COMLEX? I only have heard about it with ACOM and no one else.

It's not a well known program since it's on the newer side and there's no research or statistics on how well the students do after sitting through their program. I think the dean and Dr. Wolf met at a convention and made a deal for Dr. Wolf to teach on the ACOM campus instead of having the students go to St. Augustine, FL for the lectures.

USMLE & COMLEX TEST PREP COURSE

It's not for everyone.

 

[harkas]

It's not a well known program since it's on the newer side and there's no research or statistics on how well the students do after sitting through their program. I think the dean and Dr. Wolf met at a convention and made a deal for Dr. Wolf to teach on the ACOM campus instead of having the students go to St. Augustine, FL for the lectures.

USMLE & COMLEX TEST PREP COURSE

It's not for everyone.

Hmm, interesting. I will take a look at that and see if I can dig up more info. Thank you so much for your insight!!!

 

[Underdog1234567]

does anyone know how strict this school is with pre-reqs? I had a rocky freshman year and didnt get above a C in gen chem 1; gen chem II i did
i ended up doing a SMP and doing really well

 

[moyamoya6]

does anyone know how strict this school is with pre-reqs? I had a rocky freshman year and didnt get above a C in gen chem 1; gen chem II i did
i ended up doing a SMP and doing really well

You'll be fine, especially if you're doing really well in your SMP. I got several C's throughout undergrad and never did a master's program, and ACOM accepted me.

 

[xxxmedicacion]

Hey guys, so I received a II on Friday morning but when I went to sign up for an interview today I saw that all the available time slots were taken. Was I too late for signing up?

 

[pb_kines]

Hey guys, so I received a II on Friday morning but when I went to sign up for an interview today I saw that all the available time slots were taken. Was I too late for signing up?

Nah, I don't think so. Call the admissions office tomorrow and ask.

 

[Lcb22]

Sounds like a pre interview waitlist to me

I got this same message and I have no idea...i guess we weren't chosen for interviews but maybe it is a pre-interiew waitlist? Let me know if you find out!

 

[Lcb22]

Got the email saying no interview at this time but I am on a waiting list. I didn't know they did interview waiting lists. Good luck to everyone interviewing and still waiting for that interview!

Did they actually say waiting list? i got an email that didn't reject me but said no interview at this time! Hoping it is a pre-interview waiting list

 

[Beniacker08]

stats?

Dm me I'll let you know my stats

 

[tiredphilosophile]

they add new interview dates periodically so i would keep checking

 

[Chromatic543]

I was complete on Aug 30! Still have not heard back, and am VERY WORRIED! I have 3 rejections already!

3.20 cGPA
3.21 sGPA
502 MCAT (126-124-126-126)
1000 volunteering hours
4 letters (1 DO letter, 2 science letters, 1 non-science letter)

 

[lnguyen1412]

I was complete on Aug 30! Still have not heard back, and am VERY WORRIED! I have 3 rejections already!

3.20 cGPA
3.21 sGPA
502 MCAT (126-124-126-126)
1000 volunteering hours
4 letters (1 DO letter, 2 science letters, 1 non-science letter)

Your apps look fine to me in term of stats. Is there any red flag?

 

[Chromatic543]

Your apps look fine to me in term of stats. Is there any red flag?

Not that I can think of. What do you mean by red flag, anyway?

I guess the only thing I can think of is the fact that my GPA is low.

 

[lnguyen1412]

Not that I can think of. What do you mean by red flag, anyway?

I guess the only thing I can think of is the fact that my GPA is low.

Anything that you think deficit from your application? I suggest maybe send an email update with admission office and ask if you are missing any documents

 

[Chromatic543]

Anything that you think deficit from your application? I suggest maybe send an email update with admission office and ask if you are missing any documents

They said everything was okay with my application in terms of documents received. ACOM is also one of the only schools I see that says, "decision WITHIN three weeks" instead of a minimum of three weeks. Today is exactly three weeks, so I am nervous!

 

[giguerex35]

Anything that you think deficit from your application? I suggest maybe send an email update with admission office and ask if you are missing any documents

hey i hope you dont mind i pmd you a question about ACOM

 

[giguerex35]

is the interview here open file?

 

[aspiremd84]

is the interview here open file?

yes it is. fully-open file.

 

[giguerex35]

yes it is. fully-open file.

ok so im new to this open file means that they have all of your stats like gpa mcat and extra curriculars in front of them right

 

[aspiremd84]

ok so im new to this open file means that they have all of your stats like gpa mcat and extra curriculars in front of them right

you got it. they pointed to an activity I did in freshman year for example and asked me questions about it. all is fair game

 

[giguerex35]

They gave us statistics for the Class 2020, and that year they received 3697 applications, 2462 secondary applications, and invited 579 applicants to an interview. Each year these numbers have been growing though. Hope this helps!

did they give stats for # interviewed to number accepted, WL, and rejected

 

[daveed2]

Is anyone going to an interview on 10/27? Let me know if anyone wants to rent a car together from ATL to Dothan.

 

[aspiremd84]

.

 

[Jaxey]

did they give stats for # interviewed to number accepted, WL, and rejected

They said that they accept over half of interviewed applicants. They waitlist the rest. They did say that unless someone really screws up during the interview day they do not reject anyone they interview.

 

[spes93]

Just got the call! Accepted! Such a long and arduous journey but I made it!

 

[daveed2]

Just got the call! Accepted! Such a long and arduous journey but I made it!

when did you have your interview?

 

[651297]

Also just the acceptance call! Interviewed 9/15!

 

[spes93]

when did you have your interview?

September 15th

 

[flowersz]

Got accepted today too! Interviewed Sept 15 !!

 

[pb_kines]

To those of you guys waiting for interview slots to open, they just added a few more dates in January

 

[Zazam]

II!!! complete Aug. 30... the "within three weeks" thing isn't set in stone.

 

[Thebrainiak123]

Unrelated question that I wish I would have asked on my interview day, but is anyone familiar with whether the school uses Mac/PC for programs/books/etc...?

 

[moyamoya6]

Unrelated question that I wish I would have asked on my interview day, but is another familiar with whether the school uses Mac/PC for programs/books/etc...?

School uses both, but majority of students uses Macs and everyone uses iPads for tests and quizzes.

 

[mixed_aladdin]

Does anyone know the average sgpa/cgpa for matriculants? Their website has the class of 2021 average mcat but I can't find the gpa averages. Just got the secondary today and wanted to know if I was competitive before submitting and paying.
MCAT 501, sGPA 3.5, cGPA 3.6

 

[Chromatic543]

Interview Invite!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[moyamoya6]

Does anyone know the average sgpa/cgpa for matriculants? Their website has the class of 2021 average mcat but I can't find the gpa averages. Just got the secondary today and wanted to know if I was competitive before submitting and paying.
MCAT 501, sGPA 3.5, cGPA 3.6

Someone posted the averages of 2017-2020 on the first page of this thread in PDFs. Your stats are competitive.

 

[eaglehawk]

Submitted Secondary mid August - got II today (3 week notice isn't set in stone). Earliest available date was Jan 12...

 

[Chromatic543]

Submitted Secondary mid August - got II today (3 week notice isn't set in stone). Earliest available date was Jan 12...

You must havw taken the last one! Earliest for me is 19 Jan.

 

[MissAnonLot]

I wonder why their interview dates are so late in the cycle? Do they interview that many people or do they only have few dates each month? Does anyone know their class size?

 

[BobbyKoch]

I wonder why their interview dates are so late in the cycle? Do they interview that many people or do they only have few dates each month? Does anyone know their class size?

Class size is 162 +/-