2020-2021 Midwestern University (Chicago, Illinois) CCOM

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Hi all!
Congrats to those accepted post-alternate list placement.
For those accepted off the waitlist, is it always a response on Monday mornings or does it fluctuate?

Thanks!
 
pigsinacloth said:
How long did it take them to get back to you with the financial aid package?
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I was accepted back in the fall. I got the award letter April 27th. It was under the “Financials” tab on the portal. I didn’t get an email or anything, I just found it on the portal.
 
yogadoc23 said:
I was accepted back in the fall. I got the award letter April 27th. It was under the “Financials” tab on the portal. I didn’t get an email or anything, I just found it on the portal.
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Ok thank you for the information!
 
admitted students.. where ya living? can’t find anything decently priced with okay reviews.
 
For accepted students, how long do we have to submit immunization forms, drug test etc.? Wondering if I should start pulling out my forms and have them ready in case the WL has some movement
 
Mcdreamy102 said:
For accepted students, how long do we have to submit immunization forms, drug test etc.? Wondering if I should start pulling out my forms and have them ready in case the WL has some movement
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I believe we just need to have them in by the time classes start. I would work on getting titers completed if I were you, because if you find out you're not immune to something you need to get booster shots.
 
yogadoc23 said:
I was accepted back in the fall. I got the award letter April 27th. It was under the “Financials” tab on the portal. I didn’t get an email or anything, I just found it on the portal.
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I was accepted in fall as well and still haven't received my award letter 🙁
 
Does anyone know if lectures are recorded? For the first 2 years how many days will I need to be on campus?
 
Also wanted to ask if curriculum is pass/fail or graded?
 
Current M1 at CCOM here.

Successful Doge Investor said:
Also wanted to ask if curriculum is pass/fail or graded?
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Curriculum is very much graded (even to the level of A/A-, which is super unusual among med schools).
Successful Doge Investor said:
Does anyone know if lectures are recorded? For the first 2 years how many days will I need to be on campus?
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Lectures are recorded. This year, they have been good about posting them within a day or two, but I am not sure how diligent they will be next year. Lectures have also been live steamed this year, but administration just announced today that no lectures will be live streamed next year and all examinations will be required to be taken on campus. There is strong student opposition to both of these decisions, so maybe that will change, but don't hold your breath. The decision was made by administration on the university-wide level who have never been responsive to CCOM students.
 
medschoolapplicant123 said:
Curriculum is very much graded (even to the level of A/A-, which is super unusual among med schools).
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Do you think this is a big negative of CCOM? I am still debating between going to CCOM vs my other A which has pass/fail with internal top quartile ranking though.
 
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Successful Doge Investor said:
Do you think this is a big negative of CCOM? I am still debating between going to CCOM vs my other A which has pass/fail with internal top quartile ranking though.
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Hi! Congratulations on your acceptances! Pass/fail is a super divisive issue and I don't think there is one answer that is best for every med student. Full disclosure, I do cool things I'm proud of outside of school but my grades are barely passing, so it is 100% self-serving for me not to like grades. That being said, I am a big fan of pass/fail because I think grades are a silly way of ranking students, and our ability to pass boards plus evaluations on rotations and extracurriculars are more reflective of how we will be as residents. I also think that if you attend a school where you get a GPA, it can only hurt you to have a bad GPA, not help you to have a great one.

Now, how does that actually affect residency? Every program director is different, and I haven't talked to enough to get a good sense of trends.

Our class did fill out a poll from our student government and 75% of first years stated a preference for pass/fail for 2020/2021 due to COVID. My impression is that a permanent change is less popular, but probably still a little over 50% of students would prefer it.

Overall, I think grades suck and take away from your ability to do other things that would make you a better doctor, like volunteer in clinics, do research, and participate in service projects. I'm also just one person and might be wrong. If you get great grades, it might help some, but probably not a ton. You can become a great doctor no matter where you go to school.

Sorry if that wasn't totally helpful. I'm happy to answer other questions too and promise to be honest with my experience.
 
@osman99 @medschoolapplicant123 thank you for the thoughtful response. Appreciate it. Yes P/F seems to be what every single med student wants.

Also apart from grading is there anything else that you guys dislike a lot about CCOM? Something that I should take into factor.
I am falling for CCOM because I live in the region and the clinical rotation sites are probably the best in the country.
 
Successful Doge Investor said:
@osman99 @medschoolapplicant123 thank you for the thoughtful response. Appreciate it. Yes P/F seems to be what every single med student wants.

Also apart from grading is there anything else that you guys dislike a lot about CCOM? Something that I should take into factor.
I am falling for CCOM because I live in the region and the clinical rotation sites are probably the best in the country.
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Happy to give my thoughts! I had a current M2 who I met online and was instrumental in helping me settle into Chicago, so I am happy to help however I can.

The most obvious thing to dislike is the tuition. US News and World Reports (I know not the most reliable source) ranks us and AZ-COM (the other Midwestern) as the schools whose students have the most debt in the country Debt Residents Programs Ranked in 2022 - US News. This is despite all tax information showing the university is very financially healthy MIDWESTERN UNIVERSITY - Form 990 for period ending Jun 2019 - Nonprofit Explorer - ProPublica, Revenues and Expenditures (aacom.org). This discrepancy between the good financial position of the university and extremely bad situation for the student debt is hard to stomach. There was also a tuition increase this year after a freeze last year, so expect those number to continue going up a few percentage points every year.

Administration within CCOM is generally caring and responsive, but many decisions are made my Midwestern University admin who seem to be focused more on expansion of the university than improving our program (for anyone not familiar, CCOM is an old college, but after starting a few other programs in the 90s, "Midwestern University" was founded to house all programs, and now oversees CCOM).

Since I have said bad things, I should probably also mention the pros. Research opportunities is somewhere that I think CCOM stands out above other DO schools. We received a presentation that I am not allowed to share which showed our research spending is 5 x higher than a list of other selected DO school (including PCOM, ATSU). As you said, rotations are good and probably more centralized than most DO schools. Pre-clinical education has felt kind of mediocre, but we score well on boards, so that's probably more to do with me being a med student during COVID. Anatomy faculty are WONDERFUL, other faculty are kind of a mixed bag in their teaching, but pretty uniformly open to talking and helping.

Overall, I think anywhere you go you will be capable of getting a great medical education. CCOM probably provides more opportunities for research than other DO schools if you're passionate about that. If you're a go-getter, Chicago also has lots of opportunities if you knock on enough doors at other medical programs.
 
@medschoolapplicant123 thanks man. Yeah I am falling for CCOM despite high costs. I currently have no intentions of doing research but will see how med school goes and might change mind.

That tution ugh. But I have some plans for it. So not super worried about it at this time.
 
Successful Doge Investor said:
@osman99 @medschoolapplicant123 Does CCOM have mandatory attendance? With COVID going away will it change?
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Lectures are not mandatory attendance. There are usually a few days a week with mandatory activities like Physical Exam Skills Lab, OMM, Biochem workshop, Anatomy Lab (cadaver dissection), and other skills assessments. We usually have 2-3 tests or quizzes a week, and they are planning to make those in-person next year, although they were not this year, so I don't know exactly what that looks like.

I live about 40 minutes from school by car, so I really try to minimize going in. That being said, I think my comfort with touching patients and doing physical exam skills is better than my M1 friends at MD schools because of how much we are required to go in and do hands on activities. And this is coming from someone who really isn't into all the OMM stuff!
 
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just got the call! interviewed 4/19, waitlisted 4/26!

in kind of a dilemma because I was fully planning on attending DMU and now of course I get the A here. I live about an hour away from MWU so I would get to stay close to my family if I attend but the cost is really dragging me down. any advice on what to do in my situation?
 
omg congrats y'all!!! anyone willing to spill the tea regarding their stats/IS/OOS?
 
Hey guys so our orientation is first week of august right? And nothing before that? Asking since I am planning on quitting my job around mid July
 
Successful Doge Investor said:
Hey guys so our orientation is first week of august right? And nothing before that? Asking since I am planning on quitting my job around mid July
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Yeah first thing should be 8/3. Also if any newly accepted people are looking for a guy roommate, feel free to message!
 
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