2020-2021 A.T. Still University (Mesa, Arizona) ATSU-SOMA

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Does anyone have any thoughts on SOMA vs DMU.
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paradoxic_toxic said:
UPDATE: 4/28
From the ATSU-SOMA Student Government Association

Dear Students,

As you may know, SGA's three primary goals for this year have been to increase transparency, improve communication, and maintain strong advocacy on behalf of the students.

Thus, we would like to share with you recently discussed updates for the upcoming academic year (2021-2022). Please bear in mind that most of these changes pertain specifically to the incoming class (2025) and should not impact any of the current students.

On Friday, April 23, ATSU Admissions hosted a Zoom Meeting with the Class of 2025 in which Dr. Coty and Dr. Heath described upcoming curriculum changes and answered the students' questions. The recording from this meeting was provided by Dr. Coty and Admissions to the student body president and vice president and has been transcribed by [redacted] so that students may be up-to-date. The summary/transcript from the meeting is attached
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Wow seriously thank you for posting this!! Just so I am clear.. they provide no resources? They expect us to read a medical textbook to lay our OWN foundation? And there are literally no experts on the subject that we can just easily ask questions to and learn from.. we would need to make an appt to speak with them?
 
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Aspiringphysician1 said:
For those who have received an acceptance and accepted the offer can you please elaborate on why you chose ATSU? I'm a bit concerned about the new curriculum and the tuition. I have an offer to an MD school which is cheaper but would love to attend DO
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I suggest taking the MD acceptance. There are less hurdles along the way and you won't face DO bias when applying to residencies.
 
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jt280 said:
Wow seriously thank you for posting this!! Just so I am clear.. they provide no resources? They expect us to read a medical textbook to lay our OWN foundation? And there are literally no experts on the subject that we can just easily ask questions to and learn from.. we would need to make an appt to speak with them?
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They'll tell you which materials to use (books, websites, etc.) and a professor will present when your group meets up. There will be professors that have weekly office hours, and some can be reached easily through email.
 
paradoxic_toxic said:
They'll tell you which materials to use (books, websites, etc.) and a professor will present when your group meets up. There will be professors that have weekly office hours, and some can be reached easily through email.
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Are exams taken as a group? And do you know if books are easily available in abundance to check out? Also, what is the threshold to obtain honors and pass?
Thanks for all your help!!
 
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jt280 said:
Are exams taken as a group? And do you know if books are easily available in abundance to check out? Also, what is the threshold to obtain honors and pass?
Thanks for all your help!!
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It seems like each group will have a personalized exam based on what was covered in each session.

The required resources should be available through their ATSU library website as eBooks (which is a pain to use IMO). Some of the books are physically available in the actual library if the campus returns to normal operations.

Honors = 90% or higher
Pass = 89.99% to 70%
 
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It’s been a fun ride with you all. I just withdrew my acceptance, which includes the highly sought after Mesa CHC. I wish you all good luck and stay positive because that’s all we should be!
 
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paradoxic_toxic said:
It seems like each group will have a personalized exam based on what was covered in each session.

The required resources should be available through their ATSU library website as eBooks (which is a pain to use IMO). Some of the books are physically available in the actual library if the campus returns to normal operations.

Honors = 90% or higher
Pass = 89.99% to 70%
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I have a few more questions, if its possible for you to answer them...
1. So they say exam questions come from textbook.. is the ENTIRE textbook fair game or is it certain chapters? Also, are there weekly quizzes or are exams at the end of the block?
2. Are exams multiple choice and taken on the laptop?
3. ATSU says its p/f but they rank the students.. would you know if this ranking is provided to residency programs?

I really appreciate you taking the time to provide us with more info <3
 
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jt280 said:
I have a few more questions, if its possible for you to answer them...
1. So they say exam questions come from textbook.. is the ENTIRE textbook fair game or is it certain chapters? Also, are there weekly quizzes or are exams at the end of the block?
2. Are exams multiple choice and taken on the laptop?
3. ATSU says its p/f but they rank the students.. would you know if this ranking is provided to residency programs?

I really appreciate you taking the time to provide us with more info <3
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1. I can't say for certain. Those details are being worked and are still subject to change. All we know is that your group's professor will be encouraged to write questions based on what your group has discussed in each session.

Currently, our exam schedule is:
  • Systems-based course = exam every 2 weeks
    • 4 exams + 1 final
    • Weekly quizzes
  • Anatomy
    • 1 anatomy practical at the end of the block
    • Weekly quizzes
  • Osteopathic principles and practice (OPP) = exams are dispersed throughout the block
    • 2 practical exams + 1 final practical
    • 2 written exams + 1 written final
  • Medical skills
    • 2-3 CSLs and 0-1 OSCEs throughout the block
    • 1 final written exam at the end of the block
Naturally some weeks will be exam heavy.

2. Yep. The only exception is the anatomy practical--some answers need to be typed out.

3. Students are internally ranked and that info is sent out to program directors on your MSPE letter.
 
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If anyone cares to know, there are over 100 students on the accepted pending list (don't know the exact number) but based on recent communication with the admissions team about this, it sounded like there are between 120-150 students on the list....And not everyone is in the top of the list / top 25 or whatever as some were commenting earlier in this thread about. If you're in the top quartile of the accepted pending list based on ranking (ie if you are like in the top 25 or so of the list... not sure what that equates to out of 9), you're very likely going to get offered a Full Admission at some point. I'd say if you are more in the middle or bottom half of the accepted pending list, don't hold your breath as that would require at least 1/3 of the class (note: the class holds 160 students) to withdraw their acceptances. Furthermore, there are no plans currently in place at the moment to offer deferred acceptance for next year's class for those that remain stuck on the conditional acceptance list by July 12th which is the first day of school.
 
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cali-native86 said:
If anyone cares to know, there are over 100 students on the accepted pending list (don't know the exact number) but based on recent communication with the admissions team about this, it sounded like there are between 120-150 students on the list....And not everyone is in the top of the list / top 25 or whatever as some were commenting earlier in this thread about. If you're in the top quartile of the accepted pending list based on ranking (ie if you are like in the top 25 or so of the list... not sure what that equates to out of 9), you're very likely going to get offered a Full Admission at some point. I'd say if you are more in the middle or bottom half of the accepted pending list, don't hold your breath as that would require at least 1/3 of the class (note: the class holds 160 students) to withdraw their acceptances. Furthermore, there are no plans currently in place at the moment to offer deferred acceptance for next year's class for those that remain stuck on the conditional acceptance list by July 12th which is the first day of school.
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I was told about a month ago that those on the APS list who in the rare occasion don’t get offered a seat for this year, will automatically be deferred till next year if they are still interested.
 
furutedoctor0711 said:
I was told about a month ago that those on the APS list who in the rare occasion don’t get offered a seat for this year, will automatically be deferred till next year if they are still interested.
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I asked the lady who called me about this on thursday and this is essentially what she echoed
 
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cali-native86 said:
If anyone cares to know, there are over 100 students on the accepted pending list (don't know the exact number) but based on recent communication with the admissions team about this, it sounded like there are between 120-150 students on the list....And not everyone is in the top of the list / top 25 or whatever as some were commenting earlier in this thread about. If you're in the top quartile of the accepted pending list based on ranking (ie if you are like in the top 25 or so of the list... not sure what that equates to out of 9), you're very likely going to get offered a Full Admission at some point. I'd say if you are more in the middle or bottom half of the accepted pending list, don't hold your breath as that would require at least 1/3 of the class (note: the class holds 160 students) to withdraw their acceptances. Furthermore, there are no plans currently in place at the moment to offer deferred acceptance for next year's class for those that remain stuck on the conditional acceptance list by July 12th which is the first day of school.
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some of the people on the list probably will end up not choosing SOMA too, so I'm guessing the actual # of students they need to "accept" will be lower
 
I’ve been thinking a lot about the new PBL curriculum, and how it seems like there’s not a solid structure, for those who are matriculating how do you feel about these changes?
 
Does anyone know what rank they’ve been accepting lately off the accepted seat? 7?
 
Can I ask, how exactly did you guys ask what ranking you're in? I asked when I called last time and was told "well you're in the top 10 so you hopefully will get a seat." If what the above said was true and there are over 100 people on this waitlist I don't really know what "top 10" means if people are saying something like "seat 7". I'm just very confused and it's hard to be excited when everything feels so uncertain. Especially now that we're questioning if those who got conditional acceptances won't get to roll over into next year if a seat doesn't open up.
 
SmplyStphy said:
Can I ask, how exactly did you guys ask what ranking you're in? I asked when I called last time and was told "well you're in the top 10 so you hopefully will get a seat." If what the above said was true and there are over 100 people on this waitlist I don't really know what "top 10" means if people are saying something like "seat 7". I'm just very confused and it's hard to be excited when everything feels so uncertain. Especially now that we're questioning if those who got conditional acceptances won't get to roll over into next year if a seat doesn't open up.
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I emailed Desiree asking for some additional information on the process and she just told me
 
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SmplyStphy said:
Can I ask, how exactly did you guys ask what ranking you're in? I asked when I called last time and was told "well you're in the top 10 so you hopefully will get a seat." If what the above said was true and there are over 100 people on this waitlist I don't really know what "top 10" means if people are saying something like "seat 7". I'm just very confused and it's hard to be excited when everything feels so uncertain. Especially now that we're questioning if those who got conditional acceptances won't get to roll over into next year if a seat doesn't open up.
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She told me that my rank was 7 with the highest rank out there atm is 7.8. she then told me I was definitely top 40 and she was very optimistic that I would be hearing soon. I'm guessing top 10 means you'll likely hear in the next few days with their May 14th deadline. She also mentioned that she would be sending out hard strict deadlines to those with dual acceptances all throughout this week. She expects there to be a decent amount of movement in the next few weeks. I think being top ten, your rank is probably up around the 7.6-7.7 range. I think you'll be just fine! The waiting game sucks but you have already waited this long... What's another few weeks.

Ps. When I talked to her today... There were 180 students on the accepted seat pending list. So top ten is awesome! You'll be fine!
 
cali-native86 said:
If anyone cares to know, there are over 100 students on the accepted pending list (don't know the exact number) but based on recent communication with the admissions team about this, it sounded like there are between 120-150 students on the list....And not everyone is in the top of the list / top 25 or whatever as some were commenting earlier in this thread about. If you're in the top quartile of the accepted pending list based on ranking (ie if you are like in the top 25 or so of the list... not sure what that equates to out of 9), you're very likely going to get offered a Full Admission at some point. I'd say if you are more in the middle or bottom half of the accepted pending list, don't hold your breath as that would require at least 1/3 of the class (note: the class holds 160 students) to withdraw their acceptances. Furthermore, there are no plans currently in place at the moment to offer deferred acceptance for next year's class for those that remain stuck on the conditional acceptance list by July 12th which is the first day of school.
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Welp, me and my alt list homies are screwed lol
 
cali-native86 said:
yeah it's unfortunate they have so many people they have conditionally accepted. Honestly being "accepted" in this fashion just feels like a priority waitlist rather than an acceptance and their congratulatory messages and welcome to the class 2025 letter just feels insignificant when you are told in a follow-up call that it might be best to plan a reapplication because your ranking is in the middle of the pack.
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They called you and said to potentially plan a reapplication?
 
Doin'MaBest said:
Does anyone have any thoughts on SOMA vs DMU.
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I was in the same predicament. I ended up turning down DMU for several reasons.

1. The majority of rotation sites will be rural (several with a population > 10,000) and I prefer to serve communities in an urban environment.

2. DMU does have better pass rates, but a pass rate does not provide information about the score average. SOMA has comparable pass rates.

3. The match lists are both "okay" imo.

4. I believe CHC will help me more down the line landing a residency/internship/fellowship/research/etc in the area I want and specialty I want. DMU on the other hand is not as well-known in the area I plan to serve.

5. DMU is in Iowa. Iowa is well... Iowa.

On the contrary, DMU seems to have a fantastic school culture and pride. It is one of the original DO schools so it is respectable. I think ultimately it comes down to where and who you want to serve.
 
Can any current student elaborate on the research project that is assigned during year 2. During my interview they mentioned it and i was just curious on what exactly it is.
 
Is there a GroupMe/ any type of group chat for accepted students?
 
is there a waitlist vs accepted student pending list for this school? At this point it just seems like the APS list is a waitlist especially this late in the application cycle.
 
pretty1doc said:
is there a waitlist vs accepted student pending list for this school? At this point it just seems like the APS list is a waitlist especially this late in the application cycle.
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Yes there are two list first there’s accepted pending seat and then there’s an alternate or waitlist.
 
Has anyone else on this thread been placed on accepted pending seat list? I was accepted in December 2020, and every month when I contact admissions, they advise me to be patient and they inform me that they anticipate numerous students will withdraw their acceptance and that would allow movement to occur. I have been hearing this through January till now. I am also notified that my name has gone higher in the list. I was initially in the middle of the list when I was accepted. Anyone have any feedback on this?
 
cept516 said:
Has anyone else on this thread been placed on accepted pending seat list? I was accepted in December 2020, and every month when I contact admissions, they advise me to be patient and they inform me that they anticipate numerous students will withdraw their acceptance and that would allow movement to occur. I have been hearing this through January till now. I am also notified that my name has gone higher in the list. I was initially in the middle of the list when I was accepted. Anyone have any feedback on this?
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Do you know what your numerical rank is?
 
Anyone receive calls today about getting an official acceptance?
 
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I tried reaching out to the office of admissions but my call wasn’t answered. Is there a number some of y’all call?
 
pretty1doc said:
I tried reaching out to the office of admissions but my call wasn’t answered. Is there a number some of y’all call?
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I believe I contacted Desiree from admissions at this number: 480.219.6028. I left a message and she got back to me very quickly.
 
Did those of you who have an official acceptance have to declare your spot to one school due to the May 15th traffic guideline? I'm going crazy over here waiting for a seat to open up lol.
 
puddinhd said:
Did those of you who have an official acceptance have to declare your spot to one school due to the May 15th traffic guideline? I'm going crazy over here waiting for a seat to open up lol.
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I have an acceptance at another school and didn’t have to declare anything.
 
cept516 said:
I was told I was ranked as a 6.8
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I spoke with their admissions office last week and they were calling people ranked between 7.8-7 for full acceptances! It seems like people that got in recently (past few posts) were ranked right around 7, so I think the next acceptance wave should start to include the high 6’s! I’m also ranked similarly to you, so hoping for the best for us!!
 
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wo168 said:
I spoke with their admissions office last week and they were calling people ranked between 7.8-7 for full acceptances! It seems like people that got in recently (past few posts) were ranked right around 7, so I think the next acceptance wave should start to include the high 6’s! I’m also ranked similarly to you, so hoping for the best for us!!
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Every time I speak to Desiree or Lauren, their updates and responses never match up. Whenever I would follow up with them during the past months, I would hear this one like constantly, “historically speaking we have always been able to offer a seat to those that have been accepted.” Every month I was told that I should get a call by next month... next month... and just like that it’s been 5 months. I’m really starting to get concerned as I when been trying to remain patient
 
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cept516 said:
Every time I speak to Desiree or Lauren, their updates and responses never match up. Whenever I would follow up with them during the past months, I would hear this one like constantly, “historically speaking we have always been able to offer a seat to those that have been accepted.” Every month I was told that I should get a call by next month... next month... and just like that it’s been 5 months. I’m really starting to get concerned as I when been trying to remain patient
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I’ve been getting the same responses since January too..... It’s really driving me crazy because I want to start planning!!!! I feel mostly bad for my significant other who is ready to move and start a new job as I thought I’d get an acceptance much sooner. Hang in there, you’re not alone :/
 
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Out of curiosity, how often are you guys contacting Desiree? I, like many of you, am just so anxious about a seat opening up (or not) but don't want to seem like I'm constantly pestering/asking. I'm also still worried about the whole "roll over" situation, like if a seat doesn't open up, for sure we're going to get a seat next cycle right? Should I ask in email so there's a paper trail?
 
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SmplyStphy said:
Out of curiosity, how often are you guys contacting Desiree? I, like many of you, am just so anxious about a seat opening up (or not) but don't want to seem like I'm constantly pestering/asking. I'm also still worried about the whole "roll over" situation, like if a seat doesn't open up, for sure we're going to get a seat next cycle right? Should I ask in email so there's a paper trail?
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I’ve been most successful with emailing Desiree directly! Please let us know what you hear.
 
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cept516 said:
Every time I speak to Desiree or Lauren, their updates and responses never match up. Whenever I would follow up with them during the past months, I would hear this one like constantly, “historically speaking we have always been able to offer a seat to those that have been accepted.” Every month I was told that I should get a call by next month... next month... and just like that it’s been 5 months. I’m really starting to get concerned as I when been trying to remain patient
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I think it might also have been because they were constantly interviewing people and those kids may have shifted your spot on the rank list! I know it sucks and I honestly wish they were more transparent as well! Hoping for good news for all of us!
 
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SmplyStphy said:
Out of curiosity, how often are you guys contacting Desiree? I, like many of you, am just so anxious about a seat opening up (or not) but don't want to seem like I'm constantly pestering/asking. I'm also still worried about the whole "roll over" situation, like if a seat doesn't open up, for sure we're going to get a seat next cycle right? Should I ask in email so there's a paper trail?
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Since December 2020, I have been contacting Desiree about once a month to receive updates and to inquire about the movement on the list. As of right now, the talks about the the deferral (roll over to next year admission) is not official. I think someone previously mentioned that one of the admission counselors mentioned that the committee was "considering it", or only thinking about it as of yet. But if offered, I would suggest to get a written document that states your deferral would be guaranteed for the following year.
 
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