2020-2021 Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine (VCOM-Virginia)

[Rogue42]

Got an email 3 weeks ago that says I'm missing LOR, got my LOR uploaded 2 weeks ago and it still doesn't show up on the portal. Should I email them to let them know they've sent it in or would they review it again soon for completion?

No, you should call them 100%.

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[microbe enthusiast]

Can any current students speak on the block schedule at VCOM? Do you like it? How are you able to manage having 10 classes during that first block? Do you have exams weekly or does it vary? Thanks!!

 

[soccer96]

Can any current students speak on the block schedule at VCOM? Do you like it? How are you able to manage having 10 classes during that first block? Do you have exams weekly or does it vary? Thanks!!

It’s not bad, it’s fast pace for sure, we have at least 2 exams a week and towards the end of the block it’s 3. You feel like you have more time to study in my opinion tho because there isn’t hw.

 

[Rogue42]

Can any current students speak on the block schedule at VCOM? Do you like it? How are you able to manage having 10 classes during that first block? Do you have exams weekly or does it vary? Thanks!!

Love the block schedule; keeps you honest on your studies and accountable on what you know. Tests are usually 2 a week - but there are some weeks its three and some weeks that it is one. Near the end of the block, three a week is common, but class time also drastically falls so there is more time to study for those tests.

Also, the classes are staggered, you're rarely taking more than 4 classes at a time. For example, ethics will end within 3 weeks, and another class will take its place so to speak.

 

[microbe enthusiast]

Awesome that makes a lot more sense!

Any interview advice? Mine is Thursday and I'm super excited but also freaking out a little lol

 

[soccer96]

Awesome that makes a lot more sense!

Any interview advice? Mine is Thursday and I'm super excited but also freaking out a little lol

Just be yourself! My interview was super relaxed and conversational. I actually enjoyed the interview day at VCOM. Make sure you know what osteopathic med and expected interview questions and it’ll be a breeze

 

[GAMING4FUNN]

For the the three one on one interviews, is it a mixture of faculty and staff? Additionally, are the questioned in some cases repetitious meaning what one interviewer might ask you may be repeated by another interviewer? Thank you!

 

[GAMING4FUNN]

Just be yourself! My interview was super relaxed and conversational. I actually enjoyed the interview day at VCOM. Make sure you know what osteopathic med and expected interview questions and it’ll be a breeze

When you mean conversational, do you mean just laid back kind of relaxed and open ended. They did not attempt to dig into your application as a means to see if you would slip up, or perhaps direct a difficult question to see if you could handle it, or find issues in your application they demanded explanations to?

 

[Rogue42]

When you mean conversational, do you mean just laid back kind of relaxed and open ended. They did not attempt to dig into your application as a means to see if you would slip up, or perhaps direct a difficult question to see if you could handle it, or find issues in your application they demanded explanations to?

its mixed between faculty and staff - you might get a DO or you might get the front desk lady, but they’ve all been deemed appropriate to interview.

It’s conversational I’m they aren’t there to drill you. But you may catch a difficult question or two, and they will ask about your profile if they feel inclined to. But again, they aren’t there to drill you.

 

[soccer96]

For the the three one on one interviews, is it a mixture of faculty and staff? Additionally, are the questioned in some cases repetitious meaning what one interviewer might ask you may be repeated by another interviewer? Thank you!

Mine was set up so each interviewer asked a different set of questions so it wasn’t repetitive at all. I had done a lot of research prior to applying so I had a faculty member who just asked me about my research not to trip me up but because they were interested.

 

[MedG0rl999]

Is anyone having trouble submitting after the fee waiver has been applied? It's marked with a red X on my secondary but when you click it it says "Fee is marked as paid". A submit button is literally not appearing on my app

 

[futuremedstudent1212]

How was interview day? How long were the interviews? Was there an information session? What was the agenda for the entire day? Thank you!

 

[Rogue42]

How was interview day? How long were the interviews? Was there an information session? What was the agenda for the entire day? Thank you!

I enjoyed interview day; it is rather relaxed. Interview itself is 3, 30 minute interviews. Interview day is 4/5 ish hours long. There is an agenda that they give you at the beginning during the information session.

I don't know how any of this works during zoom interviews though.

 

[okjoint]

Has anyone who submitted their secondary around 7/26 not yet receive a complete email?

 

[Mill314]

Has anyone who submitted their secondary around 7/26 not yet receive a complete email?

My secondary was marked as received on 7/7/20 and still no complete email. I reached out to admissions and this was the response. “Thank you for contacting VCOM Admissions. Your file is currently in the final stages of review for completeness. This can take a while due to the amount of applicants in the system. You will receive an email once your application is marked as complete. Please let us know if you have any questions.”

 

[GAMING4FUNN]

For anyone who has completed the virtual interview day at VCOM, how was your experience?

 

[jlunsford]

For anyone who has completed the virtual interview day at VCOM, how was your experience?

It was great. The interviews were really relaxed and the presentations were very informative.

 

[meeeeeededed]

I'm having trouble completing the "experience" portion of secondary. It says to only add something if you've earned a new experience since submitting AACOMAS. but if I leave it blank then it just marks the tab as incomplete and doesn't save my other questions either. Can anyone please answer how they completed this section?

 

[DrBeWell]

I'm having trouble completing the "experience" portion of secondary. It says to only add something if you've earned a new experience since submitting AACOMAS. but if I leave it blank then it just marks the tab as incomplete and doesn't save my other questions either. Can anyone please answer how they completed this section?

Put "N/A" if you have nothing to update.

 

[astix3]

Finally got a complete email 2 months after submitting my secondary

 

[medi2020]

Completed on 8/13 but still haven't heard anything should I be concerned?

 

[premedtriguy]

Submitted my primary in early July, emailed them to confirm I met the GPA and MCAT requirements about a month ago, and still no secondary

 

[mel0099]

Submitted my primary in early July, emailed them to confirm I met the GPA and MCAT requirements about a month ago, and still no secondary

Same! Submitted primary 7/2. I actually just emailed and got a response yesterday that my app hasn't been reviewed because I'm outside of their "target region" (I'm a CT resident) but that my GPA and MCAT meet the requirements. So maybe thats the issue? Seems like a weird reason for not sending a secondary but whatever

 

[GAMING4FUNN]

Has anyone received a phone call or email post-interview for VCOM for a decision? I am anxiously waiting. Based off of last year's sdn forum the acceptances calls were on September 6th.

 

[xtinagrey_2]

Same! Submitted primary 7/2. I actually just emailed and got a response yesterday that my app hasn't been reviewed because I'm outside of their "target region" (I'm a CT resident) but that my GPA and MCAT meet the requirements. So maybe thats the issue? Seems like a weird reason for not sending a secondary but whatever

I'm OOS + submitted early July and haven't received a secondary yet too :/

 

[microbe enthusiast]

Has anyone received a phone call or email post-interview for VCOM for a decision? I am anxiously waiting. Based off of last year's sdn forum the acceptances calls were on September 6th.

Same here. I haven't heard anything yet but they said they would meet in 3-4 weeks when I interviewed last week. I feel like I didn't do so great but I'm really hoping for the best. The days are going by so slow!

 

[GAMING4FUNN]

So I guess it is just a waiting game now. Why do you think you didn't do so great? Was it the interviewers responses that felt odd or were the questions too tricky?

 

[microbe enthusiast]

So I guess it is just a waiting game now. Why do you think you didn't do so great? Was it the interviewers responses that felt odd or were the questions too tricky?

No my interviewers were extremely nice and the interview was pretty simple and straight forward!

It was just so conversational that a lot of the things I really wanted them to know about me didn’t naturally come up... and I definitely choked on a few questions by not being concise with my answer lol. But even as I was rambling they still were so nice and made me feel comfortable so if you haven’t interviewed yet don’t stress! I wish I would have been more relaxed for sure

 

[Scienceolympian]

has anyone OOS gotten an interview invite?

 

[loveangel2206]

has anyone OOS gotten an interview invite?

Not yet! Still waiting...

 

[futuremedstudent1212]

has anyone OOS gotten an interview invite?

I'm OOS and I received one.

 

[easyacadem]

Completed on 8/13 but still haven't heard anything should I be concerned?

I was completed on 8/10 and haven't heard anything either! I don't think we should be concerned yet, just playing the waiting game We've got this!!

 

[okjoint]

I was completed on 8/10 and haven't heard anything either! I don't think we should be concerned yet, just playing the waiting game We've got this!!

I have still not received a complete email...submitted secondary 7/26

 

[stdr1]

Do you get an email after scheduling the virtual shadowing? I scheduled mine for Sept weeks ago but did not receive any instructions or anything

 

[DrBeWell]

Do you get an email after scheduling the virtual shadowing? I scheduled mine for Sept weeks ago but did not receive any instructions or anything

I signed up for the virtual shadowing on 9/15--no email w/ instructions on attendance here yet though!

 

[NatV]

Hi everyone, I was wondering if it’s possible to update VCOM in experiences following submission of secondaries. I recently started a new job and gaining more clinical experiences.

 

[deleted92121]

So VCOM stresses a high GPA and they mention they calculate the last 120 credits

So, does that mean the ONLY use the last 120 credits when calculating your GPA? If so, my calculated AACOMAS GPA of 2.35/2.39 (cumulative and science respectively) jumps to a 3.65 and 3.5, respectively. This includes a SMP/Master of Medical Science. Plus a 501 MCAT and 40k hours as a medic.

 

[cole10101]

How serious are they about the last 120 credits? Overall, I am just below a 3.2 for cGPA but my last 120 are about a 3.5. I have a 505 on my MCAT as well so I know I'm over the limit for that. I received the email saying "We thank you for taking the time to submit an application to the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine. Your application is scheduled to be reviewed by committee. The purpose of the committee meeting is to determine whether or not to invite you to submit a Secondary Application along with letters of recommendation. " on July 22nd. I know it says it will take a few months, but it seems that other people are hearing back a lot faster or at least are getting some type of update around the one month mark (or maybe it just seems that way!)

 

[Rogue42]

How serious are they about the last 120 credits? Overall, I am just below a 3.2 for cGPA but my last 120 are about a 3.5. I have a 505 on my MCAT as well so I know I'm over the limit for that. I received the email saying "We thank you for taking the time to submit an application to the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine. Your application is scheduled to be reviewed by committee. The purpose of the committee meeting is to determine whether or not to invite you to submit a Secondary Application along with letters of recommendation. " on July 22nd. I know it says it will take a few months, but it seems that other people are hearing back a lot faster or at least are getting some type of update around the one month mark.

I would recommend being patient. It is EXTREMELY early for this cycle. Breathe in and breathe out, relax! I know waiting can be tough, but patience is a virtue in this cycle. Run your race, don't get caught up in what is happening for other peoples!

Your GPA and you MCAT are good.

 

[Calizboosted76]

So VCOM stresses a high GPA and they mention they calculate the last 120 credits

So, does that mean the ONLY use the last 120 credits when calculating your GPA? If so, my calculated AACOMAS GPA of 2.35/2.39 (cumulative and science respectively) jumps to a 3.65 and 3.5, respectively. This includes a SMP/Master of Medical Science. Plus a 501 MCAT and 40k hours as a medic.

Yes bro! Only your recalculated GPA from what I was told by the admissions email.

 

[Calizboosted76]

So VCOM stresses a high GPA and they mention they calculate the last 120 credits

So, does that mean the ONLY use the last 120 credits when calculating your GPA? If so, my calculated AACOMAS GPA of 2.35/2.39 (cumulative and science respectively) jumps to a 3.65 and 3.5, respectively. This includes a SMP/Master of Medical Science. Plus a 501 MCAT and 40k hours as a medic.

This is what I was telling you about!

 

[deleted92121]

This is what I was telling you about!

Ohhhhhh okay. May add it to the list

 

[Calizboosted76]

Ohhhhhh okay. May add it to the list

I would! Just apply to one and you’ll be considered at all campuses.

 

[cole10101]

I would recommend being patient. It is EXTREMELY early for this cycle. Breathe in and breathe out, relax! I know waiting can be tough, but patience is a virtue in this cycle. Run your race, don't get caught up in what is happening for other peoples!

Your GPA and you MCAT are good.

Thank you, I appreciate it!

 

[let-me-take-my-mcat]

Stupid question, then: what if from your undergrad institution you have 128 total credits, and you took roughly 16 credits per semester? To recalculate my sGPA with 120 credits, I need to remove 8 credits from my first semester... does anyone have any idea about how they would pick which two classes to not include in the recalculation?

Also, nevermind. Did some thinking. The dual enrollment classes I did in HS actually helped my overall GPA, so this last 120 credits recalculation is actually going to hurt me.

 

[Calizboosted76]

I just want to point out to @let-me-take-my-mcat and @dxu

VCOM will only recalculate the last 120 credit hours if you have over 140 credit hours.

 

[GAMING4FUNN]

Has anyone received a phone call from from VCOM yet post-interview? I was expecting them to give calls last week on September 5th.

 

[let-me-take-my-mcat]

I just want to point out to @let-me-take-my-mcat and @dxu

VCOM will only recalculate the last 120 credit hours if you have over 140 credit hours.

Unfortunately I have 144

 

[deleted92121]

I just want to point out to @let-me-take-my-mcat and @dxu

VCOM will only recalculate the last 120 credit hours if you have over 140 credit hours.

I have like 210 soooo I should be good to go. And is your science gpa also calculated out of the 120? It’s written strangely on the website. The way I think it works is both overall and science GPA of your last 120 is actually what counts.

 

[Calizboosted76]

I have like 210 soooo I should be good to go. And is your science gpa also calculated out of the 120? It’s written strangely on the website. The way I think it works is both overall and science GPA of your last 120 is actually what counts.

That’s what admissions told me when I emailed them about it.