2018-2019 Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine (Auburn)

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Hey guys here's the prompt for the 2018-2019 Secondary for all the VCOM campuses. They are the same questions as the ones last year as well. 500 words maximum for each one.

1. Describe the top three reasons you have chosen osteopathic medicine as your professional choice in becoming a physician (Please use your own description and not one that widely describes the profession).

2. Professionalism and the ability to gain respect in the community in which you live is of utmost importance as you embark upon a career as a physician. What three professional qualities do you feel a Student Doctor must be able to demonstrate as he/or she makes the transition into the study and practice of medicine. How will you demonstrate those qualities as a medical student at VCOM?

3.) Please describe a volunteer or service activity that played a large part in your decision to become a physician.

*Thank you AcaffinatedMinD.
 
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Does anyone know what VCOM minimum screening requirements are for receiving a secondary? I am re-applicant, and I did not receive a secondary application last cycle or this cycle. My friend has similar stats but he received a secondary a week ago despite us submitting our primary at the same time.
 
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Darth Revan93 said:
Does anyone know what VCOM minimum screening requirements are for receiving a secondary? I am re-applicant, and I did not receive a secondary application last cycle or this cycle. My friend has similar stats but he received a secondary a week ago despite us submitting our primary at the same time.
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So I actually had a chance to meet their admission director a few months ago. She said the screening is a 3.2 science gpa and 500 MCAT assuming you have nothin else on your primary that would deter them from wanting you (arrests and such)


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AcaffinatedMinD said:
So I actually had a chance to meet their admission director a few months ago. She said the screening is a 3.2 science gpa and 500 MCAT assuming you have nothin else on your primary that would deter them from wanting you (arrests and such)


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Thanks for the info! I definitely meet the requirements, so I'm not sure why I didn't get a secondary last year or this year. I think I'm going to call them tomorrow and inquire about it.
 
Darth Revan93 said:
Thanks for the info! I definitely meet the requirements, so I'm not sure why I didn't get a secondary last year or this year. I think I'm going to call them tomorrow and inquire about it.
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I meet the requirements for a secondary and haven't received one yet either. I emailed them and they said my file is currently in review for a secondary and that it could take a while due to the amount of applicants in their system. I wouldn't sweat it just yet! Give em a few more days
 
Darth Revan93 said:
I checked that out, thank you. However, looking at last year's thread, there does not seem to be a consistent method of how they pick who to give secondaries to. My stats are 3.3 sgpa, 3.3 cgpa, 507 MCAT. Not sure why I haven't received anything when I meet their minimum requirements.
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Yeah that’s odd you didn’t get one last year, those stats are competitive for admissions per that FAQ page, lol.
 
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Update: I just called Admissions, and I was told that they are currently only sending secondaries to individuals with GPAs of 3.4 or 3.5 and higher. Seems like a pretty steep minimum cutoff. I hope that helps anyone before sending off a primary and wasting money!
 
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AcaffinatedMinD said:
So I actually had a chance to meet their admission director a few months ago. She said the screening is a 3.2 science gpa and 500 MCAT assuming you have nothin else on your primary that would deter them from wanting you (arrests and such)


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I have a sub-500 MCAT snd received a secondary.
 
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Secondary submitted! FYI, if anyone else is having trouble using the last link they sent in the secondary email to check statuses, you can do a google search to find it. Mine keeps giving me an error, but luckily it popped up when I did a search.
 
lilsebastian18 said:
Secondary submitted! FYI, if anyone else is having trouble using the last link they sent in the secondary email to check statuses, you can do a google search to find it. Mine keeps giving me an error, but luckily it popped up when I did a search.
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I had the same issue. It also works if you just type it in rather than clicking the link or copying and pasting.
 
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Is it the same as before where you have to rank all three meaning that I should only apply to one in my primary?
 
Submitted my application on 6/20 was just emailed that my application is complete and ready for review.
 
Haven't received a secondary yet, should I call them? I got one for the Virginia campus but not the other two.
 
DrHopeful12 said:
Haven't received a secondary yet, should I call them? I got one for the Virginia campus but not the other two.
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If I’m not mistaken, I think there’s only one for all 3. I only designated Auburn on my primary and was able to rank my preference for the other two in the secondary.
 
chizledfrmstone said:
Hey guys here's the prompt for the 2018-2019 Secondary for all the VCOM campuses. They are the same questions as the ones last year as well. 500 words maximum for each one.

1. Describe the top three reasons you have chosen osteopathic medicine as your professional choice in becoming a physician (Please use your own description and not one that widely describes the profession).

2. Professionalism and the ability to gain respect in the community in which you live is of utmost importance as you embark upon a career as a physician. What three professional qualities do you feel a Student Doctor must be able to demonstrate as he/or she makes the transition into the study and practice of medicine. How will you demonstrate those qualities as a medical student at VCOM?

3.) Please describe a volunteer or service activity that played a large part in your decision to become a physician.

*Thank you AcaffinatedMinD.
Click to expand...
Does anyone know if being an intern counts as a service activity?
 
CrossFit1221 said:
Does anyone know if being an intern counts as a service activity?
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Initially I would say no, because you are getting internship credit for it. Although the prompt does say volunteer or service, so although I wouldn't say it's volunteering, if you were still helping others in the internship you may still be able to consider it service. I'm not positive though
 
lilsebastian18 said:
If I’m not mistaken, I think there’s only one for all 3. I only designated Auburn on my primary and was able to rank my preference for the other two in the secondary.
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That would make sense, but I thought that was for interview placement?
 
DrHopeful12 said:
That would make sense, but I thought that was for interview placement?
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There’s a sentence right above the ranking asking if you’d like to be considered and would be willing to attend the other campus. So I think whereever you interview and get accepted is where you’ll be. Going through previous years thread, it does look like it’s just one secondary for all 3 campuses.
 
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CrossFit1221 said:
Does anyone know if being an intern counts as a service activity?
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I counted my unpaid internship as service since it was essentially volunteer work that I paid to do (paid for the credits).
 
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I'm working on the secondary application but stumbled when it asked for my letter writers middle names and also the year the DO writer graduated from school. Is this important?
 
Guanine_Cytosine said:
I'm working on the secondary application but stumbled when it asked for my letter writers middle names and also the year the DO writer graduated from school. Is this important?
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Guanine_Cytosine said:
I'm working on the secondary application but stumbled when it asked for my letter writers middle names and also the year the DO writer graduated from school. Is this important?
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I turned mine in without a middle name (there’s no way to really find one) and I even had to ball park the graduation year (try googling the DO?) but they didn’t seem to mind it. They emailed me about my other letter so that’s the only reason I know they were ok with my DO letter
 
mmjones01 said:
For those thinking about applying to VCOM-Carolinas next year, and for those coming here next year, I believe there are a few things you should be aware of that most of us (if not all of us) were not. There are a lot of discrepancies and things wrong with this school and I don’t believe there is much transparency to future students. Interpret this as you wish, but before coming here I would at least take these things into consideration and if possible, speak to another student that you know that already attends this school and gain your own insight and understandings.

VCOM-carolinas is part of a 3 system school with the main campus being the Virginia Campus. Because of this our school is basically a satellite campus run by Virginia. Decisions are hardly made here, and are really made by the provost in Virginia. This means that even though many things that may work for Virginia don’t work here, we still must abide by them and this is a fact that has been acknowledged by the administrators themselves. Many times decisions are made that they are not even aware of. For example, recently our entire pathology department was overturned and we no longer receive any lectures for the class (past 2 averages have been 69, and a 74 respectively), the entire class is self taught (pathophysiology is the most board heavy subject) and our own Dean of VCOM Carolinas was unaware that this happened until student’s brought it to his attention. Yes our own Dean did not know that more than half the class is and was failing a class that we no longer have a professor for. Basically the head of the Pathology department was replaced by a VCOM Virginia graduate (also a major red flag) who is now our Pathology Head but she has chosen to not lecture and instead we read PDFs. This is just one flag though.

Other major and minor concerns:

-Our board scores are below national average.

-One of the biggest red flags is the professor turnover that our school experiences

- we don't have shelf board exams for rotations (only osteopathic school in the country that does not)

- Our entire immunology department is leaving within the next 2 years

- We currently do not have a real anatomy department chair (our current one was demoted for reasons none of us know, and he is bar far one of the biggest advocates we as student have. He is no doubt a difficult professor but is a good one and easily one of the ones that cares most for us as students. He was recently demoted and instead they choose to leave the position unfilled.

- There are many other rumors of other professors leaving, including some of our best

-As a system, VCOM also does not allow us to take the Shelf Exams for rotations (they hand write their own exams), which as any medical student at any allopathic or osteopathic school will tell you, is a very bad sign.

These are just a few of the concerns that exist for the school, there are many many more. Including the quality and experience of many of the professors here. While there is no doubt a collection of professors that are of very high quality, that care, and that can actually teach, these are also all of the ones that rumored to be leaving and themselves complain to us about VCOM and it’s shortcomings. There are unfortunately a majority of professors here that can not teach at all, and again I implore you to reach out to student’s you know here and ask them, we all know who they are. Ask them for their student ID and password and take an hour out of your day and watch some of these professors on VCOM TV, where our lectures are recorded. You will understand the shortcomings instantly.

Before our final exam we were actually asked to “not scare the incoming students” with what we had to say = aka not tell them the truth.
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So after reading the Carolina thread, I'm extremely concerned about VCOM Auburn's staff retention rate and its ability to adapt to its students' needs, considering it's an offshoot of the Virginia Campus. Are there any current students that can talk about Auburn's curriculum (and stability) in response to this message?
 
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animalluver101 said:
So after reading the Carolina thread, I'm extremely concerned about VCOM Auburn's staff retention rate and its ability to adapt to its students' needs, considering it's an offshoot of the Virginia Campus. Are there any current students that can talk about Auburn's curriculum (and stability) in response to this message?
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I’m an OMS I and we just started class this week, so it may be too early for my input. I haven’t heard a lot about staff turnover (only a lecturer that went up north to be closer to family). The curriculum seems like it will be spot on, but like I said, too early for a lot of input.
 
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doctor2be10 said:
did anyone get a ii for this campus?
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I have never even been completed and submitted a secondary weeks ago. Last update I received over 3 weeks ago stated that the college would review my application for completeness and will follow up with email after review.
 
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I haven't heard from any of the VCOM since I submitted my primary a few weeks ago. Should I be worried for a silent rejection pre-secondary?
 
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Just got the e-mail that my secondary was received. Had a couple of glitches when I tried submitting it yesterday, so this is a relief.
 
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ggregory5 said:
I have never even been completed and submitted a secondary weeks ago. Last update I received over 3 weeks ago stated that the college would review my application for completeness and will follow up with email after review.
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im in the same boat. did you email them?
 
Is there a difference between carolina and auburn campus? My mom lives in s carolina, but I'd prefer auburn. Not sure what to select as my first preference
 
Docslizzy said:
Just got the e-mail that my secondary was received. Had a couple of glitches when I tried submitting it yesterday, so this is a relief.
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the same thing happened to me today.. I don't know if they received it. I paid $25 but I didn't receive a confirmation email
 
Just offered an interview!
 
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What was the earliest available interview date for you guys? The soonest available to me was September 11th.
 
II on Sept 12th! Booked a hotel for the 11th if any girls are interested in sharing. There are 2 queen beds. Message me!
 
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jt4 said:
What was the earliest available interview date for you guys? The soonest available to me was September 11th.
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I also had September 11th available and chose that date.
 
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pieces40 said:
II on Sept 12th! Booked a hotel for the 11th if any girls are interested in sharing. There are 2 queen beds. Message me!
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I already have a hotel room, but we should grab an early dinner the night before! It would be nice to know someone before interview day. Message me if you want to set something up!
 
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What are we suppose to put as work experience ....if it states activities not included on AACOMAS?
 
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