2017-2018 University of the Incarnate Word School of Osteopathic Medicine

[limetree4]

So, correct me if I am wrong but I don't believe that I have seen someone on here get an interview and then be rejected? I have seen several that were rejected pre II. Also seen people get wait listed after their interview, but no rejections - right? Wait list must be getting pretty long, but considering how many Texas residents may match come February I guess it is understandable.

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[It's lupus!]

So, correct me if I am wrong but I don't believe that I have seen someone on here get an interview and then be rejected? I have seen several that were rejected pre II. Also seen people get wait listed after their interview, but no rejections - right? Wait list must be getting pretty long, but considering how many Texas residents may match come February I guess it is understandable.

Keep in mind people who get rejected are also less likely to advertise that they did. This might lead you to think there are less rejections. That being said, they are a new school and as such are on the losing end when competing for high MCAT/GPA/EC candidates so it is in their best interest to keep a lot of people in the back up column. In other words, yes but also no. lol

 

[It's lupus!]

No, I just submitted my secondary tonight. Just was wondering if it was even worth submitting...

Submit it. Past history of these emails getting sent out is that spots open up later on. I interviewed on the 9th because it was the only "available day". Since then more days have opened up and in the past people got these email notifications that there were no interview slots. So I'm not sure what in the world they are doing. If you're interested in the school, I say go for it.

 

[Welp.Theres.That]

Anxious.


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[limetree4]

Keep in mind people who get rejected are also less likely to advertise that they did. This might lead you to think there are less rejections. That being said, they are a new school and as such are on the losing end when competing for high MCAT/GPA/EC candidates so it is in their best interest to keep a lot of people in the back up column. In other words, yes but also no. lol

Definitely a good point there. Thank you!

Welp this is the week! 12/9/17 interviewees should be hearing back this week!!!

I wonder if it will be before the holiday? I hope so, fingers crossed! Though I wouldn't be surprised if it were late next week.

 

[It's lupus!]

Definitely a good point there. Thank you!

I wonder if it will be before the holiday? I hope so, fingers crossed! Though I wouldn't be surprised if it were late next week.

They said that we'd know before the holidays, buttttt I mean is Thursday and I haven't gotten a rejection email or anything haha

 

[limetree4]

They said that we'd know before the holidays, buttttt I mean is Thursday and I haven't gotten a rejection email or anything haha

Maybe tomorrow is the day!! At least we have Christmas to cheer us up if the news isn't good.

 

[Welp.Theres.That]

Yes they definitely said before the Holidays. It’s gotta be today, right? Ughhhh the wait is so real.


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[It's lupus!]

Maybe tomorrow is the day!! At least we have Christmas to cheer us up if the news isn't good.

lmao very true.

 

[Welp.Theres.That]

Some information no one asked for— I checked the older forum and last year they sent out decisions for their 12/10/16 group on 12/22/16 (Thursday before the holiday). Time stamped comments around 2:30ish at the earliest. I’m still hoping today’s the day!

The wait is literally just killing me. I just want to know, YES OR NO?!

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[It's lupus!]

Some information no one asked for— I checked the older forum and last year they sent out decisions for their 12/10/16 group on 12/22/16 (Thursday before the holiday). Time stamped comments around 2:30ish at the earliest. I’m still hoping today’s the day!

The wait is literally just killing me. I just want to know, YES OR NO?!

Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

Well I've gotten no word and it's after 5pm lol

 

[Welp.Theres.That]

Well I've gotten no word and it's after 5pm lol

Yeah me either. New mindset: TOMORROWS THE DAY!!!


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[It's lupus!]

Yeah me either. New mindset: TOMORROWS THE DAY!!!


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Lol. Good attitude.

 

[It's lupus!]

Acceptance received 10 minutes ago

 

[MJCoston82]

Check your emails! I just received my acceptance!

 

[Welp.Theres.That]

Waitlisted bleh.


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[bluegorilla]

Waitlisted bleh.


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Me too, waitlisted. Interviewed 12/9

 

[Welp.Theres.That]

Me too, waitlisted. Interviewed 12/9

Same date. Welp. I guess just hoping my other interviews go well and that we get some WL movement in the next couple months.


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[It's lupus!]

Same date. Welp. I guess just hoping my other interviews go well and that we get some WL movement in the next couple months.
I suspect after the match there will be much waitlist movement.

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[It's lupus!]

.

 

[monkey9898]

Waitlisted too anyone know how much the waitlist moves last year? Looks like a lot of people get waitlisted

 

[Welp.Theres.That]

I’m OOS. Anyone else WL OOS? I’m thinking that also has to do with it


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[bluegorilla]

I’m OOS. Anyone else WL OOS? I’m thinking that also has to do with it


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I’m OOS too

 

[Samson'sMom]

Waitlisted bleh.


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Don't fret... I'm on the waitlist too... since September, lol.

 

[Rusrus]

Waitlisted, in-state.

 

[Angel252]

Waitlisted in-state as well! I believe there will be a lot of wait-list movement after Feb. 1 (TMDSAS match day) and early January due to deposits.

 

[BoonCroft]

Waitlisted in-state as well! I believe there will be a lot of wait-list movement after Feb. 10 (TMDSAS match day) and early January due to deposits.

Feb. 1*

 

[steakandeggs007]

Washington state resident here. Submitted secondary on Nov 29th received interview email on 12/11. Interviewing on 01/19! Top DO school. #GOSPURS!

 

[mandyads]

Hi Guys, please keep up the updates! Don't know if I should be here or not, but this is my top choice for medical school and I plan on applying for the class beginning in 2019. I'm not sure what the average stats look like for this school. I'm still working on improving my quite terrible MCAT score of 493 (taken in 2016), so I'm not sure when I can apply. I've also just realized that grade forgiveness is no longer a thing for medical schools, so I know that's going to bring my GPA down... I haven't calculated the new number yet, though. Originally, I wanted to apply as soon as the applications opened but I may not have my score by then.

I'd love to know what the environment was like when you interviewed, what you felt comfortable discussing, as well as the stats of you and the people who know who were accepted... and rejected.

 

[It's lupus!]

Hi Guys, please keep up the updates! Don't know if I should be here or not, but this is my top choice for medical school and I plan on applying for the class beginning in 2019. I'm not sure what the average stats look like for this school. I'm still working on improving my quite terrible MCAT score of 493 (taken in 2016), so I'm not sure when I can apply. I've also just realized that grade forgiveness is no longer a thing for medical schools, so I know that's going to bring my GPA down... I haven't calculated the new number yet, though. Originally, I wanted to apply as soon as the applications opened but I may not have my score by then.

I'd love to know what the environment was like when you interviewed, what you felt comfortable discussing, as well as the stats of you and the people who know who were accepted... and rejected.

Definitely retake the MCAT when you feel confident you'll do better. We can't share anything about the interview process but it is an MMI format. That being said, they do consider your background and your story. They have said they will consider motivation, commitment to social accountability, academic achievement and scholarship, and life experience. Obviously GPA and MCAT score are important but they are definitely not the only factors that they consider. If I were you I would start developing a compelling story about yourself and why you two will match well with each other. Grades and MCAT have obvious solutions to them. An increased MCAT score plus a solid narrative may be exactly what you need.

 

[mandyads]

Definitely retake the MCAT when you feel confident you'll do better. We can't share anything about the interview process but it is an MMI format. That being said, they do consider your background and your story. They have said they will consider motivation, commitment to social accountability, academic achievement and scholarship, and life experience. Obviously GPA and MCAT score are important but they are definitely not the only factors that they consider. If I were you I would start developing a compelling story about yourself and why you two will match well with each other. Grades and MCAT have obvious solutions to them. An increased MCAT score plus a solid narrative may be exactly what you need.

The great thing is that I'm very confident that I have a connection to this school. My whole life has aligned me to this point and I know it is the right time and the right place!! I just took another practice test for my MCAT and it only went up to a 495. So I'm not sure if 3 months (while working a full-time job in business) is going to be enough time to get my score up 10 points. I refuse to test before I'm ready - LESSON LEARNED!!

I don't want to use spirituality as a baiter for admissions, but God's confirmation has a lot to do with my story. Is that still taboo even though it's a Catholic university? If I can only get to the interview!! I'm a bit nervous, though. I don't have a huge amount of extracurricular and I've been working outside of the medical field for a while now (no DO shadowing experience... stopped volunteering because I work/study 75+ hours a week)... My MCAT score is probably not going to be 505+... My grades are just average... but hey, I'm one of those students who trended up from retaking courses to making 4.0 semesters. I definitely have a story. A student who graduated in 2015 and still hasn't given up on their dream!

It's good they look past the numbers - we are so much more than that! And we deserve physicians who are more than numbers too!

 

[steakandeggs007]

Hi Guys, please keep up the updates! Don't know if I should be here or not, but this is my top choice for medical school and I plan on applying for the class beginning in 2019. I'm not sure what the average stats look like for this school. I'm still working on improving my quite terrible MCAT score of 493 (taken in 2016), so I'm not sure when I can apply. I've also just realized that grade forgiveness is no longer a thing for medical schools, so I know that's going to bring my GPA down... I haven't calculated the new number yet, though. Originally, I wanted to apply as soon as the applications opened but I may not have my score by then.

I'd love to know what the environment was like when you interviewed, what you felt comfortable discussing, as well as the stats of you and the people who know who were accepted... and rejected.

I have retaken the MCAT 3 times! Don't lose hope. Many individuals told me I was never going to get into a school and I just received an interview to an MD school as well. For me, the best approach was to self-study. What I did is I bought two sets of books, the Berkeley review, and Exam Crackers. I read all the Berkeley review books in a month. Then I took the BR practice exams which allowed me to see my weaknesses. After reviewing my exam I read all the Exam Cracker books again, making sure I did all the practice problems to fill in the gaps. I suggest reading Kaplan psych book and doing the exam cracker problems for this section as the Berekely review is deficient in this area. Scored 97% in psych using that process! #trusttheprocess

 

[Meaka]

The great thing is that I'm very confident that I have a connection to this school. My whole life has aligned me to this point and I know it is the right time and the right place!! I just took another practice test for my MCAT and it only went up to a 495. So I'm not sure if 3 months (while working a full-time job in business) is going to be enough time to get my score up 10 points. I refuse to test before I'm ready - LESSON LEARNED!!

I don't want to use spirituality as a baiter for admissions, but God's confirmation has a lot to do with my story. Is that still taboo even though it's a Catholic university? If I can only get to the interview!! I'm a bit nervous, though. I don't have a huge amount of extracurricular and I've been working outside of the medical field for a while now (no DO shadowing experience... stopped volunteering because I work/study 75+ hours a week)... My MCAT score is probably not going to be 505+... My grades are just average... but hey, I'm one of those students who trended up from retaking courses to making 4.0 semesters. I definitely have a story. A student who graduated in 2015 and still hasn't given up on their dream!

It's good they look past the numbers - we are so much more than that! And we deserve physicians who are more than numbers too!

They definitely look at your history. I can say my MCAT def wasn't 505 or higher and my undergraduate GPA was just average (less than 3.5) and they accepted me still (entering 2018). For me it was a personal fit versus the school. How much do I want to change myself to hopefully get grabbed by a school. (obviously things like MCAT and grades are not as negotiable as life experience.) Definitely put that story, your voice in your essays. Don't merely stick with responses everyone wants to hear. You ARE different, not show them. Best of luck!

 

[Marge3]

Hi Mandyads,
I was very open during the interview, which was a nice change! Some schools are so political, and faith does seem taboo at those schools. I also discussed my faith in my essays, as it was an important reason for applying to UIWSOM over other schools. I interviewed this cycle and was accepted!
How do you learn? I like Steakandeggs007’s study plan, and I loved ExamKrackers; I used Khan a lot and other resources, too. You don’t know what you can do on the MCAT if you haven’t been studying the right way for you. Would it be possible to take a course? Do you learn better when you have someone to discuss things with? Or make a study group? Are there any gaps in your coursework? I found Biochem and A&P really helpful. There are quizzes out there that help you determine your learning style. I’d take a couple of those and then come up with a solid plan, and you may really surprise yourself!

 

[mandyads]

I have retaken the MCAT 3 times! Don't lose hope. Many individuals told me I was never going to get into a school and I just received an interview to an MD school as well. For me, the best approach was to self-study. What I did is I bought two sets of books, the Berkeley review, and Exam Crackers. I read all the Berkeley review books in a month. Then I took the BR practice exams which allowed me to see my weaknesses. After reviewing my exam I read all the Exam Cracker books again, making sure I did all the practice problems to fill in the gaps. I suggest reading Kaplan psych book and doing the exam cracker problems for this section as the Berekely review is deficient in this area. Scored 97% in psych using that process! #trusttheprocess

Congratulations to you! That is amazing. I don't think many people understand what it's like to take the MCAT multiple times and not do well. This is my 3rd time around too. I started out the gate with everything I hadn't done before - practice problems, MCAT study group, digging in deep! Unfortunately, my study group dissipated so I'm back at it alone, but I'm definitely looking into tutoring as I review my practice exams or topics I just cant get straight. I'm using Kaplan books for content with some Examcrackers for Chem & Phys (which is kicking my butt! Those questions are HARD). I'm trying to figure out what actually advances me rather than exhausts me.

 

[mandyads]

Hi Mandyads,
I was very open during the interview, which was a nice change! Some schools are so political, and faith does seem taboo at those schools. I also discussed my faith in my essays, as it was an important reason for applying to UIWSOM over other schools. I interviewed this cycle and was accepted!
How do you learn? I like Steakandeggs007’s study plan, and I loved ExamKrackers; I used Khan a lot and other resources, too. You don’t know what you can do on the MCAT if you haven’t been studying the right way for you. Would it be possible to take a course? Do you learn better when you have someone to discuss things with? Or make a study group? Are there any gaps in your coursework? I found Biochem and A&P really helpful. There are quizzes out there that help you determine your learning style. I’d take a couple of those and then come up with a solid plan, and you may really surprise yourself!

That is good to know! I've never been good at the whole "social norms" thing and I tend to be an open book - I'd rather be genuine.

In regards to how I learn, I'm not sure if I could tell you. I feel like it's different depending on the subject matter. Is there a specific quiz you would recommend?

 

[It's lupus!]

Forewarning to any of you who have been accepted. Do not try to use a saving account to pay the admission fee. It did not work out for me. Payment was returned. Now I can't pay on the portal anymore and of course its the holidays so I can't reach the office. Just figured I would save a few of you the grief.

 

[Meaka]

Forewarning to any of you who have been accepted. Do not try to use a saving account to pay the admission fee. It did not work out for me. Payment was returned. Now I can't pay on the portal anymore and of course its the holidays so I can't reach the office. Just figured I would save a few of you the grief.

Thanks for looking out. With my bank I can't pay using a savings account so I had to transfer to checking first then make payment. (I don't know if this is typical) Hope the issue is resolved smoothly!

 

[Sjose514]

Hey guys, do any of ya'll know more about the curriculum at UIW?
Is it mainly independent studying and then we just have group discussions? Or is there some sort of lecture?
Does anyone have any insight on how UIW structures their curriculum?
Sorry for the weird question, I'm just worried that without some sort of lectures, it'll be easy to fall behind schedule. When I talked to the current students they didn't seem too stressed out, so I'm sure it's doable, but I'm just interested in learning a bit more about the UIW's style of teaching.

 

[BoonCroft]

Hey guys, do any of ya'll know more about the curriculum at UIW?
Is it mainly independent studying and then we just have group discussions? Or is there some sort of lecture?
Does anyone have any insight on how UIW structures their curriculum?
Sorry for the weird question, I'm just worried that without some sort of lectures, it'll be easy to fall behind schedule. When I talked to the current students they didn't seem too stressed out, so I'm sure it's doable, but I'm just interested in learning a bit more about the UIW's style of teaching.

From what I understand, UIWSOM employs a case-based curriculum. Basically, students are assigned daily pre-readings (~40 pages long), and then go to campus 8am-12pm MTWTF to meet in both small groups and large groups to discuss the topics. Tue&Thu are also 8-12, but encompass anatomy/histo/embryo & clinical skills/OMM. After 12pm students can go home and study the pre-readings to prep for the following days discussions.

Its a very novel curriculum. The idea is that mandatory classroom lectures are antiquated and millennials learn better teaching themselves. Thus, schools like Hofstra, Case Western, and now UIWSOM adopted this curriculum and allow their students to use what ever resources they prefer to learn medicine (preferred text books, Boards and Beyond, YouTube, Sketchy Micro, Kaplan, or the readings that UIWSOM suggests) and don't waste their time with lectures. In place of mandatory lectures are the discussions and patient-based cases we're presented during our group activities. This is supposed to catalyze our thinking about specific topics and how they apply to medicine. Also, it aims to mimic how M3s M4s and residents learn medicine (i.e., you're exposed to X disease or an attending talks to you about X disease --> you're clueless --> you go home and learn about X disease --> you return next day more informed and able to talk about it with attending).

Formal structure and pacing of what to learn is defined by:
1. The weekly/daily topics presented in group discussions
2. The assigned/suggested pre-readings
3. The lists of learning objectives made by the course facilitators
4. The weekly, non-graded short answer assessments (sounds like quiz questions)

Students are formally tested (graded) via essay-based questions. I'm not sure if this is bi-weekly or one exam at the end of a unit. Also, Idk if your group discussions count toward your unit grade. Ultimately, the course facilitator determines if you learned enough to earn a PASS grade and move on to the next unit. I'm assuming anatomy has lab practicals and clinical/OMM skills have physical exams.

I like the progressiveness of this curriculum. However, without having taken any of these courses yet, its tough to tell a lot of things. like:
1. Are the essay-based exams WAY tougher than MCQ exams would be?
2. Can we truly use any resources to learn the material? Or are the topics discussed and essay-based exams so specific to the pre-readings that they become 100% mandatory? If the former, students can study for class and Step/Level 1 starting Day 1! If the latter, then the time required to learn the pre-readings and attend class 8-12 will take as much time as if they had just had formal lectures that we'd study for. This effectively leaving less time to learn for our board exams (which is basically the single most important filter for residency placement).
3. Are the topics discussed and tested on focused on board-relevant material? This is very important. Most schools have adopted NBME-based exams solely for the purpose of getting their students ready to kill Step/Level 1. Teaching ourselves during our dedicate study period right before the exam is not enough. Lectures (discussions in UIWSOM's case) should be teaching their students the high-yield stuff so that we can just focus on practice tests and weak subjects during our 6-week dedicated study time.

Obviously, learning the low yield is important, too. But schools do a disservice to their students when a curriculum focuses on low-yield material that doesn't correlate with boards. As a testament to this, there are scores of students on Reddit lamenting the fact that their formal lectures are completely irrelevant and they never have time learn high-yield board stuff. On the other hand, others claim how grateful they are for their curriculum's focus on high-yield board material via NBME-based exams. I understand learning to become a good doctor doesn't only exist in the high-yield, but being competitive and getting into the specialty/residency we want is the only way we'll become the good doctors we want to be.

None of this is to say UIWSOM does any of these disservices. For all I know their curriculum is hands down the best way for a person to learn medicine. The truth is I don't know. But I have faith in UIWSOM to do right by their students! If any current students what to chime in, it'd be great!

 

[Ruraldoc18]

From what I understand, UIWSOM employs a case-based curriculum. Basically, students are assigned daily pre-readings (~40 pages long), and then go to campus 8am-12pm MTWTF to meet in both small groups and large groups to discuss the topics. Tue&Thu are also 8-12, but encompass anatomy/histo/embryo & clinical skills/OMM. After 12pm students can go home and study the pre-readings to prep for the following days discussions.

Its a very novel curriculum. The idea is that mandatory classroom lectures are antiquated and millennials learn better teaching themselves. Thus, schools like Hofstra, Case Western, and now UIWSOM adopted this curriculum and allow their students to use what ever resources they prefer to learn medicine (preferred text books, Boards and Beyond, YouTube, Sketchy Micro, Kaplan, or the readings that UIWSOM suggests) and don't waste their time with lectures. In place of mandatory lectures are the discussions and patient-based cases we're presented during out group activities. This is supposed to catalyze our thinking about specific topics and how they apply to medicine. Also, it aims to mimic how M3s M4s and residents learn medicine (i.e., you're exposed to X disease or an attending talks to you about X disease --> you're clueless --> you go home and learn about X disease --> you return next day more informed and able to talk about it with attending).

Formal structure and pacing of what to learn is defined by:
1. The weekly/daily topics presented in group discussions
2. The assigned/suggested pre-readings
3. The lists of learning objectives made by the course facilitators
4. The weekly, non-graded short answer assessments (sounds like quiz questions)

Students are formally tested (graded) via essay-based questions. I'm not sure if this is bi-weekly or one exam at the end of a unit. Also, Idk if your group discussions count toward your unit grade. Ultimately, the course facilitator determines if you learned enough to earn a PASS grade and move on to the next unit. I'm assuming anatomy has lab practicals and clinical/OMM skills have physical exams.

I like the progressiveness of this curriculum. However, without having taken any of these courses yet, its tough to tell a lot of things. like:
1. Are the essay-based exams WAY tougher than MCQ exams would be?
2. Can we truly use any resources to learn the material? Or are the topics discussed and essay-based exams so specific to the pre-readings that they become 100% mandatory? If the former, students can study for class and Step/Level 1 starting Day 1! If the latter, then the time required to learn the pre-readings and attend class 8-12 will take as much time as if they had just had formal lectures that we'd study for. Effectively leaving less time to learn for our board exams (which is basically the single most important filter for residency placement).
3. Are the topics discussed and tested on focused on board-relevant material? This is very important. Most schools have adopted NBME-based exams solely for the purpose of getting their students ready to kill Step/Level 1. Teaching ourselves during our dedicate study period right before the exam is not enough. Lectures (discussions in UIWSOM's case) should be teaching their students the high-yield stuff so that we can just focus on practice tests and weak subjects during our 6-week dedicated study time.

Obviously, learning the low yield is important, too. But schools do a disservice to their students when a curriculum focuses on low-yield material that doesn't correlate with boards. As a testament to this, there are scores of students on Reddit lamenting the fact that their formal lectures are completely irrelevant and they never have time learn high-yield board stuff. On the other hand, others claim how grateful they are for their curriculum's focus on high-yield board material via NBME-based exams. I understand learning to become a good doctor doesn't only exist in the high-yield, but being competitive and getting into the specialty/residency we want is the only way we'll become the good doctors we want to be.

None of this is to say UIWSOM does any of these disservices. For all I know their curriculum is hands down the best way for a person to learn medicine. The truth is I don't know. But I have faith in UIWSOM to do right by their students! If any current students what time chime in, it'd be great!

You nailed it, BoonCroft! I would add that I took a look at Hofstra's curriculum on their website and it is VERY similar to UIWSOM's, even down to them also obtaining EMT certification in the beginning block of their education. This seems to work very well for them as a new MD school that is steadily marching up the rankings. As a new school, we will certainly have to have a bit of faith in UIWSOM to do the right thing, but I haven't seen anything to hint at them not doing so.

 

[Sjose514]

From what I understand, UIWSOM employs a case-based curriculum. Basically, students are assigned daily pre-readings (~40 pages long), and then go to campus 8am-12pm MTWTF to meet in both small groups and large groups to discuss the topics. Tue&Thu are also 8-12, but encompass anatomy/histo/embryo & clinical skills/OMM. After 12pm students can go home and study the pre-readings to prep for the following days discussions.

Its a very novel curriculum. The idea is that mandatory classroom lectures are antiquated and millennials learn better teaching themselves. Thus, schools like Hofstra, Case Western, and now UIWSOM adopted this curriculum and allow their students to use what ever resources they prefer to learn medicine (preferred text books, Boards and Beyond, YouTube, Sketchy Micro, Kaplan, or the readings that UIWSOM suggests) and don't waste their time with lectures. In place of mandatory lectures are the discussions and patient-based cases we're presented during our group activities. This is supposed to catalyze our thinking about specific topics and how they apply to medicine. Also, it aims to mimic how M3s M4s and residents learn medicine (i.e., you're exposed to X disease or an attending talks to you about X disease --> you're clueless --> you go home and learn about X disease --> you return next day more informed and able to talk about it with attending).

Formal structure and pacing of what to learn is defined by:
1. The weekly/daily topics presented in group discussions
2. The assigned/suggested pre-readings
3. The lists of learning objectives made by the course facilitators
4. The weekly, non-graded short answer assessments (sounds like quiz questions)

Students are formally tested (graded) via essay-based questions. I'm not sure if this is bi-weekly or one exam at the end of a unit. Also, Idk if your group discussions count toward your unit grade. Ultimately, the course facilitator determines if you learned enough to earn a PASS grade and move on to the next unit. I'm assuming anatomy has lab practicals and clinical/OMM skills have physical exams.

I like the progressiveness of this curriculum. However, without having taken any of these courses yet, its tough to tell a lot of things. like:
1. Are the essay-based exams WAY tougher than MCQ exams would be?
2. Can we truly use any resources to learn the material? Or are the topics discussed and essay-based exams so specific to the pre-readings that they become 100% mandatory? If the former, students can study for class and Step/Level 1 starting Day 1! If the latter, then the time required to learn the pre-readings and attend class 8-12 will take as much time as if they had just had formal lectures that we'd study for. Effectively leaving less time to learn for our board exams (which is basically the single most important filter for residency placement).
3. Are the topics discussed and tested on focused on board-relevant material? This is very important. Most schools have adopted NBME-based exams solely for the purpose of getting their students ready to kill Step/Level 1. Teaching ourselves during our dedicate study period right before the exam is not enough. Lectures (discussions in UIWSOM's case) should be teaching their students the high-yield stuff so that we can just focus on practice tests and weak subjects during our 6-week dedicated study time.

Obviously, learning the low yield is important, too. But schools do a disservice to their students when a curriculum focuses on low-yield material that doesn't correlate with boards. As a testament to this, there are scores of students on Reddit lamenting the fact that their formal lectures are completely irrelevant and they never have time learn high-yield board stuff. On the other hand, others claim how grateful they are for their curriculum's focus on high-yield board material via NBME-based exams. I understand learning to become a good doctor doesn't only exist in the high-yield, but being competitive and getting into the specialty/residency we want is the only way we'll become the good doctors we want to be.

None of this is to say UIWSOM does any of these disservices. For all I know their curriculum is hands down the best way for a person to learn medicine. The truth is I don't know. But I have faith in UIWSOM to do right by their students! If any current students what time chime in, it'd be great!

This response made me shed a tear. It was so beautiful, especially the second to last paragraph!
Thank you for your help!!! :')

 

[It's lupus!]

From what I understand, UIWSOM employs a case-based curriculum. Basically, students are assigned daily pre-readings (~40 pages long), and then go to campus 8am-12pm MTWTF to meet in both small groups and large groups to discuss the topics. Tue&Thu are also 8-12, but encompass anatomy/histo/embryo & clinical skills/OMM. After 12pm students can go home and study the pre-readings to prep for the following days discussions.

Its a very novel curriculum. The idea is that mandatory classroom lectures are antiquated and millennials learn better teaching themselves. Thus, schools like Hofstra, Case Western, and now UIWSOM adopted this curriculum and allow their students to use what ever resources they prefer to learn medicine (preferred text books, Boards and Beyond, YouTube, Sketchy Micro, Kaplan, or the readings that UIWSOM suggests) and don't waste their time with lectures. In place of mandatory lectures are the discussions and patient-based cases we're presented during our group activities. This is supposed to catalyze our thinking about specific topics and how they apply to medicine. Also, it aims to mimic how M3s M4s and residents learn medicine (i.e., you're exposed to X disease or an attending talks to you about X disease --> you're clueless --> you go home and learn about X disease --> you return next day more informed and able to talk about it with attending).

Formal structure and pacing of what to learn is defined by:
1. The weekly/daily topics presented in group discussions
2. The assigned/suggested pre-readings
3. The lists of learning objectives made by the course facilitators
4. The weekly, non-graded short answer assessments (sounds like quiz questions)

Students are formally tested (graded) via essay-based questions. I'm not sure if this is bi-weekly or one exam at the end of a unit. Also, Idk if your group discussions count toward your unit grade. Ultimately, the course facilitator determines if you learned enough to earn a PASS grade and move on to the next unit. I'm assuming anatomy has lab practicals and clinical/OMM skills have physical exams.

I like the progressiveness of this curriculum. However, without having taken any of these courses yet, its tough to tell a lot of things. like:
1. Are the essay-based exams WAY tougher than MCQ exams would be?
2. Can we truly use any resources to learn the material? Or are the topics discussed and essay-based exams so specific to the pre-readings that they become 100% mandatory? If the former, students can study for class and Step/Level 1 starting Day 1! If the latter, then the time required to learn the pre-readings and attend class 8-12 will take as much time as if they had just had formal lectures that we'd study for. Effectively leaving less time to learn for our board exams (which is basically the single most important filter for residency placement).
3. Are the topics discussed and tested on focused on board-relevant material? This is very important. Most schools have adopted NBME-based exams solely for the purpose of getting their students ready to kill Step/Level 1. Teaching ourselves during our dedicate study period right before the exam is not enough. Lectures (discussions in UIWSOM's case) should be teaching their students the high-yield stuff so that we can just focus on practice tests and weak subjects during our 6-week dedicated study time.

Obviously, learning the low yield is important, too. But schools do a disservice to their students when a curriculum focuses on low-yield material that doesn't correlate with boards. As a testament to this, there are scores of students on Reddit lamenting the fact that their formal lectures are completely irrelevant and they never have time learn high-yield board stuff. On the other hand, others claim how grateful they are for their curriculum's focus on high-yield board material via NBME-based exams. I understand learning to become a good doctor doesn't only exist in the high-yield, but being competitive and getting into the specialty/residency we want is the only way we'll become the good doctors we want to be.

None of this is to say UIWSOM does any of these disservices. For all I know their curriculum is hands down the best way for a person to learn medicine. The truth is I don't know. But I have faith in UIWSOM to do right by their students! If any current students what to chime in, it'd be great!

Beautiful. Simply beautiful. You the real mvp

 

[sweetdreamzzz14]

Students are formally tested (graded) via essay-based questions. I'm not sure if this is bi-weekly or one exam at the end of a unit. Also, Idk if your group discussions count toward your unit grade. Ultimately, the course facilitator determines if you learned enough to earn a PASS grade and move on to the next unit. I'm assuming anatomy has lab practicals and clinical/OMM skills have physical exams.

I like the progressiveness of this curriculum. However, without having taken any of these courses yet, its tough to tell a lot of things. like:
1. Are the essay-based exams WAY tougher than MCQ exams would be?
2. Can we truly use any resources to learn the material? Or are the topics discussed and essay-based exams so specific to the pre-readings that they become 100% mandatory? If the former, students can study for class and Step/Level 1 starting Day 1! If the latter, then the time required to learn the pre-readings and attend class 8-12 will take as much time as if they had just had formal lectures that we'd study for. Effectively leaving less time to learn for our board exams (which is basically the single most important filter for residency placement).
3. Are the topics discussed and tested on focused on board-relevant material? This is very important. Most schools have adopted NBME-based exams solely for the purpose of getting their students ready to kill Step/Level 1. Teaching ourselves during our dedicate study period right before the exam is not enough. Lectures (discussions in UIWSOM's case) should be teaching their students the high-yield stuff so that we can just focus on practice tests and weak subjects during our 6-week dedicated study time.

There are three "summatives" at the end of each unit (5 units each year)
-Cognitive exam (typing on your own laptop): very similar to weekly short answer assessments
-DOCS summative (focused physical exam): structured like the NBOME COMLEX Level 2 PE (with your fellow students as your patient)
-Structures summative (all handwritten on paper): practical (pinned structures on donors) component + knowledge component (combines many different subjects like histology, pathology, and radiology)

1. Essay-based exams aren't way tougher in my opinion but it does mean that the question stem is up to interpretation. Some of my peers like to write a maximum of 3-4 sentences to answer the question while others write a novel (not encouraged). Each question earns a 2, 1, or 0.

2. I've always at least skimmed all of the suggested readings. I tend to stress over not being able to finish all the readings sometimes but have faired fine by focusing on the discussions prior to summatives. When I'm lost on a topic, videos from USMLE-Rx, B&B, or Pathoma are very helpful (audiovisual learner). Some facilitators will let you know that they strongly suggest you read their "suggested" readings during their discussion.

3. I haven't taken the Step/Level 1 so it's hard to tell y'all if the curriculum teaches to high yield or not... I have a copy of First Aid & a subscription to Osmosis (provided by UIWSOM), USMLE-Rx, B&B, Pathoma, and Picmonic. FA, UWorld, and Pathoma are regarded as the only resources you really need to nail Step/Level 1 and there isn't a topic that we've covered that wasn't in any of these resources. The depth is similar as well although we sometimes skim a topic before spiraling back to it (Unit 1 is an overview and then spiral back to topics to go into more depth).

I think most of my peers have started (lightly?) studying for the Step/Level 1 since we can structure our time after noon everyday. Some small group sessions even answer some board-style questions at the end from Osmosis/USMLE-Rx/textbooks.

 

[It's lupus!]

There are three "summatives" at the end of each unit (5 units each year)
-Cognitive exam (typing on your own laptop): very similar to weekly short answer assessments
-DOCS summative (focused physical exam): structured like the NBOME COMLEX Level 2 PE (with your fellow students as your patient)
-Structures summative (all handwritten on paper): practical (pinned structures on donors) component + knowledge component (combines many different subjects like histology, pathology, and radiology)

1. Essay-based exams aren't way tougher in my opinion but it does mean that the question stem is up to interpretation. Some of my peers like to write a maximum of 3-4 sentences to answer the question while others write a novel (not encouraged). Each question earns a 2, 1, or 0.

2. I've always at least skimmed all of the suggested readings. I tend to stress over not being able to finish all the readings sometimes but have faired fine by focusing on the discussions prior to summatives. When I'm lost on a topic, videos from USMLE-Rx, B&B, or Pathoma are very helpful (audiovisual learner). Some facilitators will let you know that they strongly suggest you read their "suggested" readings during their discussion.

3. I haven't taken the Step/Level 1 so it's hard to tell y'all if the curriculum teaches to high yield or not... I have a copy of First Aid & a subscription to Osmosis (provided by UIWSOM), USMLE-Rx, B&B, Pathoma, and Picmonic. FA, UWorld, and Pathoma are regarded as the only resources you really need to nail Step/Level 1 and there isn't a topic that we've covered that wasn't in any of these resources. The depth is similar as well although we sometimes skim a topic before spiraling back to it (Unit 1 is an overview and then spiral back to topics to go into more depth).

I think most of my peers have started (lightly?) studying for the Step/Level 1 since we can structure our time after noon everyday. Some small group sessions even answer some board-style questions at the end from Osmosis/USMLE-Rx/textbooks.

As a student attending next year this was great to hear.

 

[Zizou_5]

From what I understand, UIWSOM employs a case-based curriculum. Basically, students are assigned daily pre-readings (~40 pages long), and then go to campus 8am-12pm MTWTF to meet in both small groups and large groups to discuss the topics. Tue&Thu are also 8-12, but encompass anatomy/histo/embryo & clinical skills/OMM. After 12pm students can go home and study the pre-readings to prep for the following days discussions.

Its a very novel curriculum. The idea is that mandatory classroom lectures are antiquated and millennials learn better teaching themselves. Thus, schools like Hofstra, Case Western, and now UIWSOM adopted this curriculum and allow their students to use what ever resources they prefer to learn medicine (preferred text books, Boards and Beyond, YouTube, Sketchy Micro, Kaplan, or the readings that UIWSOM suggests) and don't waste their time with lectures. In place of mandatory lectures are the discussions and patient-based cases we're presented during our group activities. This is supposed to catalyze our thinking about specific topics and how they apply to medicine. Also, it aims to mimic how M3s M4s and residents learn medicine (i.e., you're exposed to X disease or an attending talks to you about X disease --> you're clueless --> you go home and learn about X disease --> you return next day more informed and able to talk about it with attending).

Formal structure and pacing of what to learn is defined by:
1. The weekly/daily topics presented in group discussions
2. The assigned/suggested pre-readings
3. The lists of learning objectives made by the course facilitators
4. The weekly, non-graded short answer assessments (sounds like quiz questions)

Students are formally tested (graded) via essay-based questions. I'm not sure if this is bi-weekly or one exam at the end of a unit. Also, Idk if your group discussions count toward your unit grade. Ultimately, the course facilitator determines if you learned enough to earn a PASS grade and move on to the next unit. I'm assuming anatomy has lab practicals and clinical/OMM skills have physical exams.

I like the progressiveness of this curriculum. However, without having taken any of these courses yet, its tough to tell a lot of things. like:
1. Are the essay-based exams WAY tougher than MCQ exams would be?
2. Can we truly use any resources to learn the material? Or are the topics discussed and essay-based exams so specific to the pre-readings that they become 100% mandatory? If the former, students can study for class and Step/Level 1 starting Day 1! If the latter, then the time required to learn the pre-readings and attend class 8-12 will take as much time as if they had just had formal lectures that we'd study for. This effectively leaving less time to learn for our board exams (which is basically the single most important filter for residency placement).
3. Are the topics discussed and tested on focused on board-relevant material? This is very important. Most schools have adopted NBME-based exams solely for the purpose of getting their students ready to kill Step/Level 1. Teaching ourselves during our dedicate study period right before the exam is not enough. Lectures (discussions in UIWSOM's case) should be teaching their students the high-yield stuff so that we can just focus on practice tests and weak subjects during our 6-week dedicated study time.

Obviously, learning the low yield is important, too. But schools do a disservice to their students when a curriculum focuses on low-yield material that doesn't correlate with boards. As a testament to this, there are scores of students on Reddit lamenting the fact that their formal lectures are completely irrelevant and they never have time learn high-yield board stuff. On the other hand, others claim how grateful they are for their curriculum's focus on high-yield board material via NBME-based exams. I understand learning to become a good doctor doesn't only exist in the high-yield, but being competitive and getting into the specialty/residency we want is the only way we'll become the good doctors we want to be.

None of this is to say UIWSOM does any of these disservices. For all I know their curriculum is hands down the best way for a person to learn medicine. The truth is I don't know. But I have faith in UIWSOM to do right by their students! If any current students what to chime in, it'd be great!

(Current student)

Right. Yes.
So, in order to PASS each unit, you must PASS the cognitive, DOCS and structures exams, as well as the small group interactive session (SIGS). The SIGS pass/fail is based on a number of factors, as you can imagine: attendance, skillful participation, etc...

Passing Unit 1 also requires passing the EMT program.

Hope that helps!

 

[USMWCCOM]

Does anyone know the progress the school is making, taking the holidays into consideration? I submitted my secondary on 12/18 and still have heard nothing. Do they send rejections post secondary or is it more of a silent rejection?

 

[Rx-78-2]

Does anyone know the progress the school is making, taking the holidays into consideration? I submitted my secondary on 12/18 and still have heard nothing. Do they send rejections post secondary or is it more of a silent rejection?

+1 submitted on 12/09/17

 

[Texaschica16]

Does anyone know the progress the school is making, taking the holidays into consideration? I submitted my secondary on 12/18 and still have heard nothing. Do they send rejections post secondary or is it more of a silent rejection?

Yes! I’m anxious tooo!
They do send rejections, but wayyyyy later in spring.

 

[sportsdoc3]

I've asked this question before, but I'm asking again for an update. Did anyone who got the "we don't have any space to interview you right now, maybe later" email hear back? I think one person said they got an II but its been a few months.