2017-2018 Des Moines University (DMU-COM)

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ksjone5 said:
Does anyone know how long it takes them to review the applications? My portal has been stuck on the "DMU Initial Review of Application Items" for some time now. It says I have 9/10 items and this appears to be the only item missing. I am really interested in this school 🙂 so I am hoping this is normal.
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TheWolfOfMainStreet said:
Mine was stuck for a little too long so I emailed them! Got complete the next day
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+1, just email them and they'll update the portal
 
StudentDoc2019 said:
Current 3rd year here. I'll chime in on the rotations - in my n=1 experience, I've had basically the polar opposite of what you described. Of course on any rotation it's going to depend on where you are and who your attending is. For example, I'm at a teaching hospital and if im on a service without residents, I'm expected to function as the intern. That can mean anything from pre-rounding on every patient on the service before the attending arrives, following up on labs and consults, writing up an A&P and any other loose ends that need o be tied up. On my surgical months, I've first assisted nearly every case.

My biggest piece of advice to you when it gets to the point to be out on rotations your experience will be what you make it. If you show up every day and dgaf then you attending is going to treat you like a shadow and not let you do anything. If you're proactive, study and be prepared for the case then they'll be more comfortable in letting you do more and actually do things to be helpful. When they tell you to look something up, do it, and make sure you talk to them about it. Don't be lazy. Be the first one there. Ask for more to do. If you're sitting around and there's other patients on the service that you haven't seen, ask if you can go do an exam and get a history. Little stuff like that shows a lot of initiative and motivation and will get you a long way with most attendings. At the end of the day having a student slows the service down - all they want in return is a student who is interested and willing to learn what they have to teach.
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Thanks a lot for the response and advice. I should have mentioned that the person who had criticisms of DMU's rotations was a student from another school who had heard about the rotations 2nd hand.
 
Do you think it is too late to apply here?
I already for AACOMAS approved.
3.7 GPA 503 MCAT URM
 
DrRow said:
Thanks a lot for the response and advice. I should have mentioned that the person who had criticisms of DMU's rotations was a student from another school who had heard about the rotations 2nd hand.
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Rotations are a tricky thing. I'm very happy with my year long site. It's more of a struggle for those on non-year long schedules, and again, very hit or miss depending on who your attending is/what the site is.
 
Just got a pre-interview hold: app complete 10/12. Any current DMU students know when they start inviting pre-hold applicants for interviews? Thanks!
 
pianoperson12 said:
Just got a pre-interview hold: app complete 10/12. Any current DMU students know when they start inviting pre-hold applicants for interviews? Thanks!
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It looked like it started in the beginning of January last year. I was on pre-interview hold and I interviewed late February.
 
pianoperson12 said:
Just got a pre-interview hold: app complete 10/12. Any current DMU students know when they start inviting pre-hold applicants for interviews? Thanks!
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I was placed on hold on 8/23 and got an II earlier this month. I think they got too backed up with applicants that they couldn't get through all of the applications. If you are a competitive candidate, they'll get back to you.
 
Looks like I am joining the pre-interview hold party
 
For those struggling to make the acceptance deposit:
1. open DMU portal
2. click on "apply online or view application status
3. a table should appear with a column "outstanding requirements" click view
4. scroll down and you should find all that you need to know.

Hope this helps 🙂 Deposit is due by December 14, 2017
 
H_Scheck said:
For those struggling to make the acceptance deposit:
1. open DMU portal
2. click on "apply online or view application status
3. a table should appear with a column "outstanding requirements" click view
4. scroll down and you should find all that you need to know.

Hope this helps 🙂 Deposit is due by December 14, 2017
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For people who cant find it, it took me about a week after my acceptance to show up!
 
II two days ago! Yay!

I wonder what it’s like to live in Des Moines. I’ve never been to Iowa
 
Can someone explain why they love DMU's campus versus newer ones like Joplin and Marian?
 
JonSnowOG said:
II two days ago! Yay!

I wonder what it’s like to live in Des Moines. I’ve never been to Iowa
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It's great! 🙂 Everyone here is suuuper nice, and not just the school. The whole city is full of people that are just ridiculously nice.

There's actually a lot to do, despite what you may think. There's great places to eat, whatever your diet is. A lot of the other students are really active, and they have no problem finding other people to run/bike/whatever with. I'm not an active person and I still have found a lot to do. 🙂 10/10 would recommend.
 
JonSnowOG said:
II two days ago! Yay!

I wonder what it’s like to live in Des Moines. I’ve never been to Iowa
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I echo PastandFriends, Des Moines is great. I grew up not far from Des Moines, left Iowa and came back. I have literally traveled the world and while Des Moines is no London, Paris, or New York, it's a fun city. I don't think you'll have a hard time finding places and events that interest you and if you need more, you can always spend a weekend in Chicago or the Twin Cities. I would love to end up at DMU!
 
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ProspectiveDoc1476 said:
Can someone explain why they love DMU's campus versus newer ones like Joplin and Marian?
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Honestly DMU's facilities are nicer than Marian's. The gym, OMM lab, surgical suite, and anatomy lab are better, at least to me. I didn't interview at Joplin so couldn't comment on that though. Its just super easy to get around the area near campus at DMU and the community really loves the school/students because we've been here for so long and do a lot in the community so that's super cool too. You wear DMU stuff around and I get nice comments all the time
 
StudentDoc2019 said:
Current 3rd year here. I'll chime in on the rotations - in my n=1 experience, I've had basically the polar opposite of what you described. Of course on any rotation it's going to depend on where you are and who your attending is. For example, I'm at a teaching hospital and if im on a service without residents, I'm expected to function as the intern. That can mean anything from pre-rounding on every patient on the service before the attending arrives, following up on labs and consults, writing up an A&P and any other loose ends that need o be tied up. On my surgical months, I've first assisted nearly every case.

My biggest piece of advice to you when it gets to the point to be out on rotations your experience will be what you make it. If you show up every day and dgaf then you attending is going to treat you like a shadow and not let you do anything. If you're proactive, study and be prepared for the case then they'll be more comfortable in letting you do more and actually do things to be helpful. When they tell you to look something up, do it, and make sure you talk to them about it. Don't be lazy. Be the first one there. Ask for more to do. If you're sitting around and there's other patients on the service that you haven't seen, ask if you can go do an exam and get a history. Little stuff like that shows a lot of initiative and motivation and will get you a long way with most attendings. At the end of the day having a student slows the service down - all they want in return is a student who is interested and willing to learn what they have to teach.
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As a student at DMU, do you have any opportunities to work in the DMU Clinic?
 
DrDazl said:
As a student at DMU, do you have any opportunities to work in the DMU Clinic?
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Not necessarily in the clinic unless you're doing OMM stuff up there for Grand rounds. There's about 100 different events a year that let you go out in the community and do clinic-type stuff.
 
ProspectiveDoc1476 said:
Can someone explain why they love DMU's campus versus newer ones like Joplin and Marian?
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If you're talking about KCU-Joplin, most people won't be able to compare the facilities as they were still under construction and all interviews were held at the KC campus last cycle. After interviewing at KCU and DMU, I knew 100% I would choose KCU's KC campus over Joplin and that the KC campus and DMU were essentially tied for me. In the end, I got accepted to both and chose DMU but it was a difficult choice.

I honestly didn't expect to like Des Moines because I had this perception of it being a farm town with nothing to do. However, like others have said, the people end up winning you over more than anything and you find a lot great places to hangout/unwind on the weekends. My perception on and off campus was that everyone was genuinely nice and wanted to help other people out. It was just a lot of little things like my interviewer noticing I was slightly uncomfortable in the chair I was in and without hesitation standing up and offering me theirs followed by a random shop owner giving me their number so I could reach out if I needed any help if I moved down there. Then once I did move I ended up with a landlord who's wife made me cookies as a welcome to Des Moines present and reiterated to call them if I ever needed help since they had a son go away for school and knew how hard it can sometimes be in a new city. Like I said, just little things with different people that showed they genuinely cared about other people really set Des Moines apart for me and made it easier to see it as another home. Also, another huge plus is that I literally walk/bike everywhere and havent felt unsafe once in Des Moines (even at 3am). Its one of the safest cities in the country so it's kind of nice not worrying as much about that. Your exact results will vary but everyone I know has a similar perception.

As for the campus itself, the facilities are some of the nicest I've seen. There's really nothing I'd change about them besides updating the Ruza lecture halls. Tons of different spots to study, always pretty quiet, and a few nice perks like standing desks and a huge gym.

What made me nix Joplin was a combo of not wanting to live in the middle of nowhere, not wanting to be the first class through, and my fear of tornadoes. I have family that lived right outside of Joplin for around 8 years and the only positive they came up with for living there was the low housing costs. They did say you get used to the weather and high wind storms though so I guess that's something.
 
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StudentDoc2019 said:
Not necessarily in the clinic unless you're doing OMM stuff up there for Grand rounds. There's about 100 different events a year that let you go out in the community and do clinic-type stuff.
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Thanks! What type of clinic/patient experience is available at DMU before the 3rd year?
 
DrDazl said:
Thanks! What type of clinic/patient experience is available at DMU before the 3rd year?
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There's a bunch of clubs that host events with patient experience in the community, plus shadowing is available if you choose to pursue it. For the Des Moines marathon you can do OMM/medical team for the runners, DMU holds a senior health fair which is a large undertaking and good patient contact, the homeless outreach club also has some opportunities. Clubs organize physician talks and the ability to sit in on Grand Rounds/M&M conferences, along with tumor boards, at local hospitals. I'm sure there's more I'm unaware of but you're still learning all the techniques so I wouldn't expect anything super hands on in terms of 'doctoring'
 
Today marks my 60th day of review! Should I wait around a week before emailing DMU for a status update?
 
Does anybody know if the admissions committee meets on specific days to make decisions post-interview?
 
DrDazl said:
Thanks! What type of clinic/patient experience is available at DMU before the 3rd year?
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Free clinics with HCO, lots of first aid type events for the local events, other club-specific things in the community, senior health fair, back to school physicals and a bunch more that pop up throughout the year. In terms of OMM there is Finish Line and Amish clinic pretty much monthly. State fair is big for OMM, a few events annually at the state legislature like BP screenings and stuff.
 
Congrats! When did you receive your email?
 
Jenny426 said:
Today marks my 60th day of review! Should I wait around a week before emailing DMU for a status update?
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I got my II on the 64th day so I would say give it a bit more time-- a week sounds good.
 
Does anyone know if the campus is accessible on the weekends? I think I want to re-visit before making my deposit decision. However, the only time that I would be able to is on weekends since I'm OOS.
 
Rainbows&Waterfalls said:
Does anyone know if the campus is accessible on the weekends? I think I want to re-visit before making my deposit decision. However, the only time that I would be able to is on weekends since I'm OOS.
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You need a badge to open doors but I’m sure if you go to the back (parking lot) entrance for the SEC building, some student will let you in if you wait or tap on the windows enough!
 
Rainbows&Waterfalls said:
Does anyone know if the campus is accessible on the weekends? I think I want to re-visit before making my deposit decision. However, the only time that I would be able to is on weekends since I'm OOS.
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I would email admissions to see if you can get some sort of after-hours access.
 
I got a complete email...3 months after submitting everything in July. 🙄
 
TheWolfOfMainStreet said:
Complete 8/28 and was just put on hold 🙁
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Did they send you an e-mail telling you that you were on hold? I've been really confused because they merged the primary and secondary in the initial AACOMAS application so there isn't a portal to go to. I just have one e-mail from them telling me I was complete back in mid September :/
 
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