2019-2020 Touro University (Vallejo, California) TUCOM-CA

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danceintomed said:
Do you mind sharing what days are available for interviews?
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I got my invite very early Jan, and they were scheduling for about a month out. Mine is 2/3, and they only schedule on Mondays I think? Not sure if that helps
 
What type of interview style does Touro-CA conduct and what's the best way to prep for it?
 
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aayz345 said:
What type of interview style does Touro-CA conduct and what's the best way to prep for it?
Click to expand...
It's a panel interview. 3 interviewers (mine were 1 current student, 2 professors (1 MD and 1 PhD)). 5 interviewees. They went around and asked us questions that were specific from our applications. Overall, it was pretty relaxed because we weren't competing for the best answer.

Review all the questions on the touro interview feedback on sdn. Some questions were very similar.
 
Did you guys get any sort of correspondence from this school before the II? Like with TUNCOM how they e-mail you telling you they're reviewing your app before they invite you, does TUCOM also do that? I haven't heard anything from this school at all.
 
Retro.viridae said:
Did you guys get any sort of correspondence from this school before the II? Like with TUNCOM how they e-mail you telling you they're reviewing your app before they invite you, does TUCOM also do that? I haven't heard anything from this school at all.
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+1
 
Retro.viridae said:
Did you guys get any sort of correspondence from this school before the II? Like with TUNCOM how they e-mail you telling you they're reviewing your app before they invite you, does TUCOM also do that? I haven't heard anything from this school at all.
Click to expand...

I am not sure about this either! I do know though, that the Admissions Counselors have been very helpful and responsive to my questions about my Application status and remaining interviews!
 
Accepted on 1/31! Interview was overall pretty chill. They do ask specifics from your app. Be prepared to answer questions as to why you want to go DO
 
Retro.viridae said:
Did you guys get any sort of correspondence from this school before the II? Like with TUNCOM how they e-mail you telling you they're reviewing your app before they invite you, does TUCOM also do that? I haven't heard anything from this school at all.
Click to expand...

I received an email from TUCOM saying that all required materials were received and my file was complete, but did not receive any other correspondence before getting an II
 
Accepted! Interviewed 2/10. Totally thought I bombed the interview because I don't do well under group interview at all LOL oh well, I'm grateful for the acceptance 🙂🙂.

Just wondering, any other 2/10 interviewees got the acceptance as well?

Edit: 2/14 to 2/10, put the wrong date oops
 
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Anyone else interview on 2/11? Seeing if any of you are on here
 
allieoop100 said:
Hey everyone! Another 1st year at Touro here. I figured I'd drop in and give my two cents since applying last year was so confusing and posts like these helped me really clear my mind.

Things I love about the school
1. The people. My fellow classmates are pretty amazing. Of course, there are the gunners and the people who kiss every professor's butt, but those are few and far between. Most of my classmates were really chosen for their love of medicine and service, and it shows.

2. Pure P/F!!! I cannot STRESS how much of a blessing a pure P/F system is. You're still getting numbered grades per test, but your transcript will only have the letter 'P' or 'F' on it. This system is so great because you can truly focus on high-yield things, mental health, and just learning the material for the sake of learning it. We don't know our ranks until 3rd year, and even then, they change drastically during rotations, so your first two preclinical years are as stress-free as medical school can possibly be. Of course, school is still hard, and we still feel incredibly overwhelmed at times, but the pure P/F system is so nice when you know you can spend time watching Boards N Beyond instead of memorizing the minor details a professor might emphasize. And remember, board scores >>>>> anything else.

3. Education. The match lists speak for themselves. If I'm correct, we've had ortho surg and derm matches since 2015 (though most people choose to go into primary care), and most matches are in California (again, most people choose this). I can't say a lot on this topic- a fourth year will probably know more since they've been through rotations- but so far, I feel like we're getting a solid education. And for some reason, we're ahead of the game compared to some other D.O schools that my friends go to? Could be a curriculum schedule thing, idk.

4. Location. I'm not originally from the Bay- I'm actually out of state- but Vallejo is strategically placed near some amazing things. SF is a 40 min drive, Napa is 30, Yosemite is 3 hours away in case you wanted to get away for one of our many fall 4-day-weekends (s/o Jewish holidays). My homesickness made me want to hate this place. Now I really love it. You never run the risk of getting bored.

Things I like about the school
1. OMM emphasis. I went into this school not really caring for OMM. Now, I use that cervical long axis stretch all day every day. Learning OMM is interesting because you're actually learning how to relieve or treat pain immediately, which is something most physicians forget is a priority as we learn allopathic med. Of course OMM can't replace standard medical practice, but it's a very cool tool to use on future patients or even just family members.

2. Administration's acceptance of feedback. They change things every year based on what the previous year said; they really do listen and care about how students are feeling.


Things I hate about the school
1. Ok, the physical buildings themselves. Touro made a deal with the gov to get the land for free? or dirt cheap or something? so they can't destroy any of the government-protected WWII buildings. It looks like Shutter Island. I'm used to it now, but on my interview day I was like 0_o. Don't let this deter you- it's only for 2 years and the facilities themselves (like the anatomy lab and the lecture halls) are up-to-date. It's just, well, get used to a sub-par building for 2 years. (We hold all our fancy events in a separate hotel so its ok lol)

2. Finding research on campus is hard. If you're in the MPH or master's program, it's built into your curriculum. But for COM, research isn't emphasized at Touro. Basically, if you don't ask, you won't know, and even if you do ask, you might not get anything. But I do know certain faculty members have research projects, I just haven't had time to look into that yet.
Most medical students who want to do research do it in the summer b/w 1st and 2nd year, at another school or facility.

In addition, Touro does have a summer study-abroad program where you can carry out research projects in different countries. Might not get published, but a poster presentation could be possible with that.

if you have any questions, feel free to PM or ask here. I hope this helped you guys get a better picture of the school. Remember- when in doubt, stay off reddit or SDN and ask an actual student or alumn. Those SDN myths can be bs and the people who know the school best are those who actually attend it.
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Can I PM you? I had some questions about the school.
 
Telomeree said:
Does anyone know if this school does silent R's pre II?
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yes, I don't know if they do outright R's. But they will wait till the very end of the cycle and send you a "the app cycle has closed." and that's how you basically find out your R lol. that's my experience from last year at least
 
Hey guys! I know I'm a little late to the cycle, but I'm also a current first year at Touro and can answer any questions you have. BTW I interviewed super late (like March/April) so for those of you who are still waiting for that II, don't lose hope!
 
nicejewishboi said:
Hey guys! I know I'm a little late to the cycle, but I'm also a current first year at Touro and can answer any questions you have. BTW I interviewed super late (like March/April) so for those of you who are still waiting for that II, don't lose hope!
Click to expand...

How did you adjust to Touro in your first year? Do you have any advice for an incoming student this fall?
 
nicejewishboi said:
Hey guys! I know I'm a little late to the cycle, but I'm also a current first year at Touro and can answer any questions you have. BTW I interviewed super late (like March/April) so for those of you who are still waiting for that II, don't lose hope!
Click to expand...

What's your living situation and what do you recommend? (living alone vs. with roommates, living in a house vs. apartment, living nearby and walking vs. living further and taking car, etc.)

Also, how's the social life at your school? Was it easy to make friends and get to know people?

Thanks for sharing wise one :angelic:
 
I think the main thing that I needed to adjust to was the pace of the classes and the amount of studying I needed to be doing. All the professors and students are extremely supportive and that really helps a lot. In your first semester of first year, you will have a ton of anatomy/ anatomy lab on top of the regular classes of biochem/clinical integration/OMM/Doctoring..etc... With all those classes we had multiple quizzes a week and a test every 1-2 weeks. It may seem like a lot, but if you spread out your studying and go through the material efficiently, that will be no problem. It's actually a good thing bc the quizzes keep you on top of your work. Personally, I learned quickly that if everyday, I reviewed lectures from the last few days and kept up with the material, it's very manageable.
samosamosa said:
How did you adjust to Touro in your first year? Do you have any advice for an incoming student this fall?
Click to expand...
 
peaches_doctor said:
What's your living situation and what do you recommend? (living alone vs. with roommates, living in a house vs. apartment, living nearby and walking vs. living further and taking car, etc.)

Also, how's the social life at your school? Was it easy to make friends and get to know people?

Thanks for sharing wise one :angelic:
Click to expand...
Hey! So most people live on Mare Island (where the campus is) and almost everyone has a car. I live around 15 mins away and the commute is really not that bad and plus I'm close to Costco/In n out/ Safeway. Also, most people rent rooms/ or houses as a group of friends. I would say around 80% of students live with other students in houses, not apartments. Again, I HIGHLY recommend bringing a car because it's almost impossible to get groceries/ go out without one.

As far as the social life, Touro is really good about that. Because of our decently small class size, our class got really close really fast. The atmosphere is extremely relaxed and everyone is willing to help each other out; it is rare that people are competitive here. When you start school you will be put into 2 groups: one is your TBL and the other is your doctoring group. You will spend a LOT of time with both groups and most people somehow find their best friends like that. Also on weekends, people usually have house parties or go on skiing trips/ trips to SF. Always fun things to do.
 
How is the interview like? I have one coming up and would like to know how to best prep for it
 
aayz345 said:
How is the interview like? I have one coming up and would like to know how to best prep for it
Click to expand...

Interviewed a few months ago and got in!

I'll be honest, I didn't like the panel interview. It's you and 2-3 other candidates vs. 2 faculty and 1 med student for I think 30 minutes? They ask you all a question then you have to go down the line and have some kind of answer prepared. I found it awkward since you feel like you need to talk for a long time, since you only get to answer maybe 4-5 question during the time period, plus I felt like I had to have an answer as cool as the person before me.

None of the questions caught me off guard or anything, just normal interview questions. They did their best to be nice but I just don't think it was the right interview style for me personally. Do your best to be confident and friendly and you will be okay.
 
allieoop100 said:
Hey everyone! Another 1st year at Touro here. I figured I'd drop in and give my two cents since applying last year was so confusing and posts like these helped me really clear my mind.

Things I love about the school
1. The people. My fellow classmates are pretty amazing. Of course, there are the gunners and the people who kiss every professor's butt, but those are few and far between. Most of my classmates were really chosen for their love of medicine and service, and it shows.

2. Pure P/F!!! I cannot STRESS how much of a blessing a pure P/F system is. You're still getting numbered grades per test, but your transcript will only have the letter 'P' or 'F' on it. This system is so great because you can truly focus on high-yield things, mental health, and just learning the material for the sake of learning it. We don't know our ranks until 3rd year, and even then, they change drastically during rotations, so your first two preclinical years are as stress-free as medical school can possibly be. Of course, school is still hard, and we still feel incredibly overwhelmed at times, but the pure P/F system is so nice when you know you can spend time watching Boards N Beyond instead of memorizing the minor details a professor might emphasize. And remember, board scores >>>>> anything else.

3. Education. The match lists speak for themselves. If I'm correct, we've had ortho surg and derm matches since 2015 (though most people choose to go into primary care), and most matches are in California (again, most people choose this). I can't say a lot on this topic- a fourth year will probably know more since they've been through rotations- but so far, I feel like we're getting a solid education. And for some reason, we're ahead of the game compared to some other D.O schools that my friends go to? Could be a curriculum schedule thing, idk.

4. Location. I'm not originally from the Bay- I'm actually out of state- but Vallejo is strategically placed near some amazing things. SF is a 40 min drive, Napa is 30, Yosemite is 3 hours away in case you wanted to get away for one of our many fall 4-day-weekends (s/o Jewish holidays). My homesickness made me want to hate this place. Now I really love it. You never run the risk of getting bored.

Things I like about the school
1. OMM emphasis. I went into this school not really caring for OMM. Now, I use that cervical long axis stretch all day every day. Learning OMM is interesting because you're actually learning how to relieve or treat pain immediately, which is something most physicians forget is a priority as we learn allopathic med. Of course OMM can't replace standard medical practice, but it's a very cool tool to use on future patients or even just family members.

2. Administration's acceptance of feedback. They change things every year based on what the previous year said; they really do listen and care about how students are feeling.


Things I hate about the school
1. Ok, the physical buildings themselves. Touro made a deal with the gov to get the land for free? or dirt cheap or something? so they can't destroy any of the government-protected WWII buildings. It looks like Shutter Island. I'm used to it now, but on my interview day I was like 0_o. Don't let this deter you- it's only for 2 years and the facilities themselves (like the anatomy lab and the lecture halls) are up-to-date. It's just, well, get used to a sub-par building for 2 years. (We hold all our fancy events in a separate hotel so its ok lol)

2. Finding research on campus is hard. If you're in the MPH or master's program, it's built into your curriculum. But for COM, research isn't emphasized at Touro. Basically, if you don't ask, you won't know, and even if you do ask, you might not get anything. But I do know certain faculty members have research projects, I just haven't had time to look into that yet.
Most medical students who want to do research do it in the summer b/w 1st and 2nd year, at another school or facility.

In addition, Touro does have a summer study-abroad program where you can carry out research projects in different countries. Might not get published, but a poster presentation could be possible with that.

if you have any questions, feel free to PM or ask here. I hope this helped you guys get a better picture of the school. Remember- when in doubt, stay off reddit or SDN and ask an actual student or alumn. Those SDN myths can be bs and the people who know the school best are those who actually attend it.
Click to expand...
Tucom class of 2024 student here. How does the rotation system work there? Also what is the ratio of student to physician mentor ratio in 3rd rotations? Thank you!
 
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