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Dremt said:
Congrats to all of you on the Interviews.
@Mrd7889 they still have 50% of the seats left to give out, I would not worry yet.

If we don’t have the “very interested” status by now, are we goners?
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How do you know they still have 50% of the seats left? I am also an applicant without the “very interested” status but haven’t gotten rejected yet. Was wondering the same thing
 
youngvisionary said:
How do you know they still have 50% of the seats left? I am also an applicant without the “very interested” status but haven’t gotten rejected yet. Was wondering the same thing
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I think there have been two acceptance dates (and two left), and they fill 25% of the seats at each date. This was confirmed by Dean Mission earlier in the thread
 
If it's worth anything, my portal mentions that the next acceptance date is for February 1st rather than the 16th. I think that info you pulled from their website is dated?
 
I was just wondering what the chances of still receiving an II would be if we did not have the very interested status?
 
ThreatLevelMidnight said:
So are the portal and the letter we received during the interview both incorrect? Those two say Feb 1st and March 16th.
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That's what I'm wondering too! I've been counting on Feb 1st as the next decision date -- I know it's only 2 extra weeks to Feb 16 but right now every day waiting feels like an eternity :nailbiting:


ETA: Last year's thread shows decisions were released on Feb 1st so I'm hoping that holds true for this year too.
 
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eagle179 said:
That's what I'm wondering too! I've been counting on Feb 1st as the next decision date -- I know it's only 2 extra weeks to Feb 16 but right now every day waiting feels like an eternity :nailbiting:
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Given their website and Dean Mission both said Feb 16th, it’s likely Feb 16th 🙂 but you’ll always be able to tell -if acceptances come out, then that’s the day!
 
Exli said:
Given their website and Dean Mission both said Feb 16th, it’s likely Feb 16th 🙂 but you’ll always be able to tell -if acceptances come out, then that’s the day!
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Well the website still has 2016-2017 dates so idk how credible that is.
 
VCU/MCV graduate (and current resident) here. I am on a quiet rotation, so thought I'd offer an A.M.A. on VCU/MCV.
 
itsmcv2015 said:
VCU/MCV graduate (and current resident) here. I am on a quiet rotation, so thought I'd offer an A.M.A. on VCU/MCV.
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How did you like the school? Was the class competitive? And do you think that the school is looked at favorable during residency interviews?
 
kitkat13 said:
How did you like the school? Was the class competitive? And do you think that the school is looked at favorable during residency interviews?
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Right for the jugular questions, ha.

I enjoyed my time at VCU. We were one of the last old curriculum classes, so I cannot speak to the first two years of medical school now. I know students who were in the years behind me had a lot of complaints but I hope the administration has been responsive.

The clinical years (M3/M4) are really what define a school, though. I know classmates who did INOVA loved it. They seemed to have gotten a better clinical education and support than we got at MCV, so I would do INOVA if possible. The MCV campus has had some issues with student mistreatment. Some of us residents were asked to give input as to what was going on.

My class was always very cooperative. I never experienced anything malicious with my classmates.

I had no problems on residency interviews. VCU/MCV is a mid-tier program with a good reputation. I have no reason to think that will not continue as every place has weaknesses and MCV's issues seem to be related to student well-being rather than any issues with clinical training. We got a good clinical training in residency as well, but I do feel like some of the same things that made the medical students feel mistreated are done to us as well. I think the cycle of abuse involves everyone.
 
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itsmcv2015 said:
VCU/MCV graduate (and current resident) here. I am on a quiet rotation, so thought I'd offer an A.M.A. on VCU/MCV.
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Hi!

What made you choose VCU/MCV (if you had other options available)?

What was one of your favorite parts about VCU/MCV?

What was one of your least favorite parts about VCU/MCV?

Thanks!
 
itsmcv2015 said:
VCU/MCV graduate (and current resident) here. I am on a quiet rotation, so thought I'd offer an A.M.A. on VCU/MCV.
Click to expand...

How were the professors? Did you have good mentors throughout your education? How much research did a typical student do, and was it bench work or clinical, or could you choose?
 
Do you think you received good step preparation? Were the exams instructor created or pulled from old step exams?
 
Checked my portal today....my very interested status turned into

Your File Review is now complete. If you are granted an interview, you will receive a status update on your applicant portal. Please do not call the Admissions Office requesting special dates.

@Dean Mission does this mean I was downgraded?
 
EarthOneFlash said:
Checked my portal today....my very interested status turned into

Your File Review is now complete. If you are granted an interview, you will receive a status update on your applicant portal. Please do not call the Admissions Office requesting special dates.

@Dean Mission does this mean I was downgraded?
Click to expand...


Yeah same here


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile
 
EarthOneFlash said:
Checked my portal today....my very interested status turned into

Your File Review is now complete. If you are granted an interview, you will receive a status update on your applicant portal. Please do not call the Admissions Office requesting special dates.

@Dean Mission does this mean I was downgraded?
Click to expand...

+1

Checked after I saw this post and the same thing happened on my portal :/
 
I went from "very interested" to "your file is now complete. If you are granted an interview, you will receive a status update on the applicant portal". Lol did I downgrade?
 
on the portal, the schedule seems to imply that interviews start right off the bat at 8am. is this true, or is there some kind of 30 min to 1 hour intro before interviews? was planning to get there way before 8am to make sure i have time to chill before interviews and not be potentially late
 
tomatocarrot said:
on the portal, the schedule seems to imply that interviews start right off the bat at 8am. is this true, or is there some kind of 30 min to 1 hour intro before interviews? was planning to get there way before 8am to make sure i have time to chill before interviews and not be potentially late
Click to expand...

You will get an introduction before the actual interview. You will have plenty of time to chill 🙂
 
fluffysquirrel said:
My status used to say "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."

Now, it says "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."

Anyone else?? I'm not taking the mcat again or adding new grades...
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Mine said that before I got put on VI status, but that was a while ago
 
tomatocarrot said:
on the portal, the schedule seems to imply that interviews start right off the bat at 8am. is this true, or is there some kind of 30 min to 1 hour intro before interviews? was planning to get there way before 8am to make sure i have time to chill before interviews and not be potentially late
Click to expand...
At mine, we all chilled in the lobby for a while, then admissions people came and got all of us. We sat in the admissions office for another ~30 min drinking water, listening to some of the other interviewees brag about their other IIs until Dr. Cook came in and did some mindfulness exercises with us/ explained how the day would go. If you're in the morning group, your interview won't start until around 9. Afternoon people started around 1
 
pewpew95 said:
Like we will have a chance to talk to an adcom member about why medicine etc?
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It looks that way, or that we'll at least get asked a standard question and a few follow ups before moving into MMI stuff
 
SwellWell said:
Hi!

What made you choose VCU/MCV (if you had other options available)?

Richmond is a great city. It had some programs that were interesting to me.

What was one of your favorite parts about VCU/MCV?

We get great prep for Step 1 from Dr. Costanzo herself.

What was one of your least favorite parts about VCU/MCV?

The clinical experience on the MCV campus is severely lacking. Our Internal Medicine clerkship, in particular, has a reputation for being malignant.

I also spoke with resident friends in Surgery, Peds, and OB/Gyn, and unfortunately they had similar opinions about their programs. Of course, we can't really speak up, so nothing is likely to change.

Thanks!
Click to expand...


pewpew95 said:
How were the professors? Did you have good mentors throughout your education? How much research did a typical student do, and was it bench work or clinical, or could you choose?
Click to expand...

M1/M2 were a long time ago for me, but they were okay -- a lot of PHDs taught us. I hope that has changed since then.

You can do both clinical and bench research.

Mrd7889 said:
Do you think you received good step preparation?

Step 1 prep at MCV is unparalleled. Step 2 CK prep is pretty non-existent here (and probably most places). I have heard we have had a lot of failures in recent years on Step 2 CS but I have no idea what that means.

Were the exams instructor created or pulled from old step exams?

Instructor-written questions.
Click to expand...
 
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Hey all! If you interviewed with the cohort today (1/27) and told an M2a you were into peds, shoot me a message! I wanted to get a chance to talk to some of you after the interview but time-wise it didn't end up quite working out.

To answer some questions from the tour guide perspective:

M3s/M4s here seem to agree that Step 1 prep at MCV is pretty good. On the other hand, the statistic we were given for the Class of 2017's Step 2 was a 99% pass rate on first try; I'm not familiar with classes with large numbers of failures.
The first semester is still taught by a number of PhDs, but most non-lecture classes were taught by clinicians (PPS, PCM). Our genetics block in particular had a few patient panels and was taught by more clinicians & geneticists than other blocks. The first block this semester (our first clinical science block) was taught overwhelmingly by clinicians, with a PharmD teaching us drug-specific lectures a couple of times over the past few weeks.
 
My portal now says "Your File Review is now complete. If you are granted an interview, you will receive a status update on your applicant portal. Please do not call the Admissions Office requesting special dates." There's no other info on the portal, and I haven't gotten any emails. Is this essentially a rejection?
 
Exli said:
I believe he is trying to reference the Feb 16th decision wave, but maybe not
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Ah! Gotcha! I interview yesterday on 1/27 (yesterday), and they had mistakenly printed Feb 1st on one of the forms during the presentation. I think its def Feb 16th! Let's all hope! Truly loved everything about this school and can very much see myself going here!
 
Exli said:
I believe he is trying to reference the Feb 16th decision wave, but maybe not
Click to expand...

I still think it's February 1st? My portal says that and I did some snooping of last year's thread which showed Feb 1st was a decision date for them. Not that it absolutely means the same for us but I'm still hopeful
 
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