2018-2019 Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine (ACOM)

Getting into Med School is Hard? Not with BeMo.
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DOthebestyoucan said:
Do you know if ACOM updates on your position on their waitlist?
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They won’t automatically update you. You’d have to call or email them asking about your position or if there’s a certain tier you’re in.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
Waitlisted! Actually kinda relieved. Now I don’t need to make a decision by 30 days, and I can wait for other schools to respond
 
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For those that have stayed in the on campus apartments, how is the internet? I’ve stayed in apartments where the internet is unusable during peak hours so I wanted to make sure it is good enough


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Jtm0032 said:
For those that have stayed in the on campus apartments, how is the internet? I’ve stayed in apartments where the internet is unusable during peak hours so I wanted to make sure it is good enough


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Internet was good when I was there two years ago. Had no problems surfing the net or watching Netflix. Apartments are not very well sound-proof though.
 
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3rdTimesTheCharmer said:
Any tips for the interview? I have an interview coming up soon.
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Be relaxed. It’s pretty much a conversation with a few questions thrown in. It’s probably the first thing you do so be ready to go and have your questions thought up when you get there. It’s open file so if there’s anything worrisome about certain classes or scores just answer truthfully and explain how you’ve matured. That’s the toughest part there’s no real hardball questions thrown at you.


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Hey guys! I have an inside tip for all of you that are finding yourselves on the waitlist. On April 26th, ACOM is having an event called ShaDO day where they have undergrad students visit the school, tour around, watch the students do SIM, and get a hands on OPP session. There is a bit more that goes on but a key thing to note is, last year we had about 4-6 students from the waitlist show up and stay for the event and a member of the ACOM admissions committee came, in-person, and took their names down and, if I'm not mistaken, they all received an acceptance from the waitlist. I don't know if all of them chose to attend but if you are on the waitlist and know you really want to come here, this is an event that is worth the extra trip to ACOM. If you are interviewing on this day, I recommend flying out the next day and attending this event. But I thought I would put the date out there for you guys in case some of you on the waitlist want to make the trip.
 
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ACCEPTED!!!! Got the call around 4:30 p.m. EST
For those of you out there, resiliency is key! Never give up. WOOO
 
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3rdTimesTheCharmer said:
Any tips for the interview? I have an interview coming up soon.
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Going to chime in on this as well in case you didn't interview yesterday (and for others that have theirs coming up). The interview is 2-1 for about 30 minutes depending on how the conversation goes. From speaking to other members in my group, the general consensus was that everyone felt okay-pretty good about theirs. I didn't hear of anyone who felt awful about theirs but... then again, would anyone say theirs went terribly? Anyway, the interviewing faculty seemed very engaged. My interview was specifically about understanding motivations for applying and getting into medicine. I felt somewhat relaxed and was asked very specific questions about how I would handle medical school (I'm a nontrad and have red flags on my application).

I love ACOM and am hoping for the best! The other applicants seemed so nice, it really was an honor to interview here and I really felt at home. Best of luck to everyone who is applying/interviewing!
 
3rdTimesTheCharmer said:
Any tips for the interview? I have an interview coming up soon.
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I recently interviewed so I can definitely provide a few tips as well! The interview is the first thing you will do when you arrive on interview day. Registration is 7:30-8:00, and then right around 8:00 they will take you upstairs for your 2 on 1 interview. We were told that the interviews would be around 30 minutes each, but mine went from ~8:05-9:02. It was right under an hour but the time went by so quickly because it was so relaxed and really just felt like a conversation. They asked the typical "Why medicine, why DO, why ACOM" and then we talked more about my specific application/experiences/academics. There were a few other questions tossed in periodically but it wasn't back to back Q&A like typical interviews, there was a lot more conversational dialogue in between. My advice would be to know "Why medicine, why DO, why ACOM", know your own application inside and out, and definitely go in relaxed and be yourself.

It was truly a great interview experience and I really enjoyed being there! Goodluck to you and everyone applying/interviewing!
 
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Members don't see this ad :)
I did not. I got an email a few weeks ago from Mr Willis that he would email it today. But in the deposit email, it says it will go out around 1/25.
 
Just withdrew my application from here. I was set to interview 2/8 so that spot might open up. Best of luck everyone! I know how difficult this process is.
 
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Any current student and/or person who has already interviewed I can message?
Have an interview coming up here on 02/08. Also feel free to reach out, anyone who is interviewing on the same date
 
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flying angel said:
Any current student and/or person who has already interviewed I can message?
Have an interview coming up here on 02/08. Also feel free to reach out, anyone who is interviewing on the same date
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If it’s about third and fourth year, I can try and answer any of your questions.
 
flying angel said:
Any current student and/or person who has already interviewed I can message?
Have an interview coming up here on 02/08. Also feel free to reach out, anyone who is interviewing on the same date
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I can answer questions about 1st/2nd year! :)
 
II today! Scheduled for 3/22. Would this just be for the waitlist at this point?
 
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Just received the call, pretty sure I'll be seeing you all in July!!
 
groovyleaf said:
Just received the call, pretty sure I'll be seeing you all in July!!
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+1 accepted! \o/

I thought Mr. Willis said he'd be calling us Thursday, so when I saw the call from Dothan I figured "gee I must've screwed up the interview really badly if they're personally calling to reject me early.".
 
WoundupKnight said:
+1 accepted! \o/

I thought Mr. Willis said he'd be calling us Thursday, so when I saw the call from Dothan I figured "gee I must've screwed up the interview really badly if they're personally calling to reject me early.".
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+1 ACCEPTED!!!! I got so worried as well when I saw the call come in today!
 
Congrats to those who got accepted! I have my interview coming up on Feb 15th, but I'm a little hesitant to go just bc I have already been accepted elsewhere. Can anyone who have interviewed/accepted or current students speak out to the quality of education/clerkship experience and their overall impression of the school? Thank you.
 
Takeshiwarrior said:
Congrats to those who got accepted! I have my interview coming up on Feb 15th, but I'm a little hesitant to go just bc I have already been accepted elsewhere. Can anyone who have interviewed/accepted or current students speak out to the quality of education/clerkship experience and their overall impression of the school? Thank you.
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I can only parrot the info they've given us and what I heard after talking to some students.

The state setup its clerkships/training to draw more students to Alabama. So later when they started ACOM, they already had strong rotations in place. The school has strong affiliations with Southeast Health which is a major hospital right next to the school and the AMEC pipeline pretty much guarantees that students aren't going to be dropped from rotations. Southeast health also has its own IM program and they're trying to open up a EM/Psych program. From what I heard there's quite a few research opportunities and they're trying to expand as well.

Overall, the school was a lot better than I expected. The facilities look new, everyone was really friendly and the staff seem supportive regardless of what you want to do. There's not much to do in the city but there's quite a bit if you're outdoorsy. I'm looking forward to going fishing on the weekends. They also have a lot of restaurants (and I mean a LOT of restaurants).
 
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WoundupKnight said:
I can only parrot the info they've given us and what I heard after talking to some students.

The state setup its clerkships/training to draw more students to Alabama. So later when they started ACOM, they already had strong rotations in place. The school has strong affiliations with Southeast Health which is a major hospital right next to the school and the AMEC pipeline pretty much guarantees that students aren't going to be dropped from rotations. Southeast health also has its own IM program and they're trying to open up a EM/Psych program. From what I heard there's quite a few research opportunities and they're trying to expand as well.

Overall, the school was a lot better than I expected. The facilities look new, everyone was really friendly and the staff seem supportive regardless of what you want to do. There's not much to do in the city but there's quite a bit if you're outdoorsy. I'm looking forward to going fishing on the weekends. They also have a lot of restaurants (and I mean a LOT of restaurants).
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RT all that + that the community seemed very tight-knit and supportive. While there might not be as many commercial attractions as larger cities, the current students didn't seem to mind. Allows you to focus on studying when you're in the thick of it. When they want to blow off steam after a block they sometimes take road trips into ATL etc. I guess that atmosphere really appealed to me coming from a relatively smaller UG. Their sim lab also really tipped me over.
 
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WoundupKnight said:
I can only parrot the info they've given us and what I heard after talking to some students.

The state setup its clerkships/training to draw more students to Alabama. So later when they started ACOM, they already had strong rotations in place. The school has strong affiliations with Southeast Health which is a major hospital right next to the school and the AMEC pipeline pretty much guarantees that students aren't going to be dropped from rotations. Southeast health also has its own IM program and they're trying to open up a EM/Psych program. From what I heard there's quite a few research opportunities and they're trying to expand as well.

Overall, the school was a lot better than I expected. The facilities look new, everyone was really friendly and the staff seem supportive regardless of what you want to do. There's not much to do in the city but there's quite a bit if you're outdoorsy. I'm looking forward to going fishing on the weekends. They also have a lot of restaurants (and I mean a LOT of restaurants).
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Thanks all for responding! This will definitely helps me a lot going in for the interview.
 
What month do they stop interviewing? March or April?
 
Anyone else interviewing on 2/15? I am getting there 2/14 and staying thru Saturday to wander around. If anyone wants to meet up please DM me!

Also my timeline below...

Applied: 11/13
Complete: 11/28
II: 12/4
 
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Harry.Potter said:
Anyone else interviewing on 2/15? I am getting there 2/14 and staying thru Saturday to wander around. If anyone wants to meet up please DM me!

Also my timeline below...

Applied: 11/13
Complete: 11/28
II: 12/4
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I cant DM you for some reason. But I’m down to hang out on 2/14.
 
Harry.Potter said:
Anyone else interviewing on 2/15? I am getting there 2/14 and staying thru Saturday to wander around. If anyone wants to meet up please DM me!

Also my timeline below...

Applied: 11/13
Complete: 11/28
II: 12/4
Click to expand...

I am, and I'm also getting there on the 14th!
 
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kacohen88 said:
Yea. Last I heard they were hoping to have an EM residency in 2021. They need a Program director and I think a couple more Board Certified EM Docs. I'm not sure about the Neuro though.
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I'm a recent graduate and matched in neurology. There's zero chance a neurology residency is starting anytime soon. They may be advertising for future plans, but it would be years before anything could realistically be started. The IM program that just started took years of planning to get going and they already had plenty of internists for it, there's very few neurologists in Dothan.
 
WoundupKnight said:
I can only parrot the info they've given us and what I heard after talking to some students.

The state setup its clerkships/training to draw more students to Alabama. So later when they started ACOM, they already had strong rotations in place. The school has strong affiliations with Southeast Health which is a major hospital right next to the school and the AMEC pipeline pretty much guarantees that students aren't going to be dropped from rotations. Southeast health also has its own IM program and they're trying to open up a EM/Psych program. From what I heard there's quite a few research opportunities and they're trying to expand as well.

Overall, the school was a lot better than I expected. The facilities look new, everyone was really friendly and the staff seem supportive regardless of what you want to do. There's not much to do in the city but there's quite a bit if you're outdoorsy. I'm looking forward to going fishing on the weekends. They also have a lot of restaurants (and I mean a LOT of restaurants).
Click to expand...

Technically, ACOM is the academic division of SAMC (now known as Southeast Health). ACOM is pretty much working around the clock to get residencies started up there as well as expanding the clinical rotation catalogue. The clinical rotations are why I ended up choosing ACOM over my other acceptances. Two things will get you into a good residency: good board scores and solid clinical experiences during your clinical years. Board scores are 90% dependent on the individual student's effort. Clinical rotations, on the other hand, are mostly dependent on what the school you attend can offer you. ACOM is new, but it's clinical rotations are on another level. We just submitted our ranked list of clinical sites a couple weeks ago. You would think it was a mini-match since we had THIRTY core rotation sites we had to choose from, many of which are in very desirable locations (Birmingham, Huntsville, Mobile, Tallahassee, Panama City, Biloxi, Montgomery, etc.)

A lot of the hate that DO schools get is based around the fact that these schools pop up with makeshift clinical rotations and for not making serious attempts at increasing residency slots available (while simultaneously pumping out 150 graduates every year). Thankfully, ACOM has really taken the bull by the horns and I could tell as much when I interviewed here over two years ago. Bookmark my post and come back to it in 10 years, because I honestly think that ACOM is a sleeper that is going to break out pretty soon. Pretty much all of the gripes that people had when the school first opened are nearly gone (the 60% attendance policy is likely to gone in the next year, and Wolfpack is now optional), while the things the school has been praised for has continued to improve.
 
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@Kalam how do you know that they will likely not have a mandatory attendance policy next year? This is one factor that is really deterring me from attending ACOM, and I have an interview coming up at the end of February.
 
Kalam said:
Technically, ACOM is the academic division of SAMC (now known as Southeast Health). ACOM is pretty much working around the clock to get residencies started up there as well as expanding the clinical rotation catalogue. The clinical rotations are why I ended up choosing ACOM over my other acceptances. Two things will get you into a good residency: good board scores and solid clinical experiences during your clinical years. Board scores are 90% dependent on the individual student's effort. Clinical rotations, on the other hand, are mostly dependent on what the school you attend can offer you. ACOM is new, but it's clinical rotations are on another level. We just submitted our ranked list of clinical sites a couple weeks ago. You would think it was a mini-match since we had THIRTY core rotation sites we had to choose from, many of which are in very desirable locations (Birmingham, Huntsville, Mobile, Tallahassee, Panama City, Biloxi, Montgomery, etc.)

A lot of the hate that DO schools get is based around the fact that these schools pop up with makeshift clinical rotations and for not making serious attempts at increasing residency slots available (while simultaneously pumping out 150 graduates every year). Thankfully, ACOM has really taken the bull by the horns and I could tell as much when I interviewed here over two years ago. Bookmark my post and come back to it in 10 years, because I honestly think that ACOM is a sleeper that is going to break out pretty soon. Pretty much all of the gripes that people had when the school first opened are nearly gone (the 60% attendance policy is likely to gone in the next year, and Wolfpack is now optional), while the things the school has been praised for has continued to improve.
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So lucky that they’re making Wolfpacc optional for you guys and future classes!
 
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