2020-2021 Midwestern University (Chicago, Illinois) CCOM

[Doge 1]

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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[akt12]

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

Yeah first thing should be 8/3. Also if any newly accepted people are looking for a guy roommate, feel free to message!

 

[happytree101]

Hey so I also had a similar dilemma. I had to decide between another good DO school and CCOM.

But I did the math and when it comes to paying back loans it makes a difference of 600-800$/month. Now yeah 600-800$ is a borderline concerning amount when your take home salary will be 11-13k/month (assuming you are a internal medicine attending who did residency for 3 years and didnt pay a penny to loans during that time.)

If that difference in finances guarantees you will have a happier and relaxed time at CCOM, then go with it. But you should be fine at DMU also since it's a great school

So as per the math it looks "okay" financially. Also fyi I did the math with assuming I commute from home for the first two years and then move out to city for 3rd and 4th year (in case my rotation is not in the suburbs). I would love to stay near school but want to save money as much as I can when possible. You mentioned that you live an hour away. Anything upwards of 40 mins each way for preclinicals will only be feasible if you have good time management skills. Its doable but will require effort.

For me personally I am planning to take out my savings and yoloing first two years, so my loan will be low and the payback amount even lower.

Now apart from finances. DMU is a great school and I rank it pretty high. That school left me on complete radio silence since I was marked complete there. Either school is fine, but for me since I have connections here since i been working in clinics, I decided to stay. DMU has easier curriculum though if that matters to you. I don't remember exactly but I think you can rotate in Chicagoland even if you attend DMU.

I would recommend you look a bit more in academics of DMU if that could be a deciding factor. You should prefer to go to a school with optional attendance, and pass/fail classes. If DMU has a pass fail curriculum, they must have a way of ranking students during pre clinicals, so search what that will be.

Good luck.

Thank you for the amazing reply!! What made you pick Midwestern over the other DO school?

 

[Doge 1]

Thank you for the amazing reply!! What made you pick Midwestern over the other DO school?

My reasons for going with CCOM are pretty vague. One was that I didnt wanna put effort into moving. And second I kind of know handful of docs here so maybe in the future they could be of some help, I dont think so but maybe.

^make of that what you will lol

 

[Ozymandias D.O]

So I paid my deposit and all that jazz, how do we get into our new MWU emails?

 

[Mcdreamy102]

Congrats to all those who have been accepted! Just wondering what did you guys do while you were on the WL between interview till the day you got accepted

 

[happytree101]

Congrats to all those who have been accepted! Just wondering what did you guys do while you were on the WL between interview till the day you got accepted

I wrote a LOI the day I got waitlisted and that was it!

 

[happytree101]

how do I set up my student email?

 

[happytree101]

After you pay your deposit, you should get a confirmation email that confirms your payment and gives you your MWU email. Then you should have a link show up in your MWU portal to finish setting up that email account. It can take up to a day for your email to be ready if it’s not there already. You can call Midwestern IT services if it still does not show.

Where is it supposed to show up on the portal?

 

[Ozymandias D.O]

Your home page. There should be a link that says MWU Email with instructions as well. If you don't see it and you paid your deposit over 24 hours ago, I would just contact IT services.

It actually took 4 days for it to show up on my portal so I think they may just be a little behind right now

 

[FreeFun]

Withdrew acceptance. Hope it goes to one of WLers. Good luck.

 

[Doge 1]

How did you guys log into your outlook emails? I never received my log in password.

 

[pigsinacloth]

How did you guys log into your outlook emails? I never received my log in password.

It's the same as your password for the midwestern portal.

 

[Doge 1]

It's the same as your password for the midwestern portal.

Thanks !

 

[premed_person]

Is there any chance a current student would mind answering a few questions that I have?

 

[tempaccount]

Does anyone know what color scrubs we are required to buy?

 

[1stgenmedhopeful]

Hey all! Congrats on recent acceptances!! Current OMSII here (just finished first year!). With a few answers to recent questions:

1. I believe CCOM scrub colors alternate every other year. My year was blue (navy), and I belive your year will be green (I don't know what the exact shade of green is called tbh). But there is actually a scrub-specific store (Scrubs Etc.) within 10 min driving distance of the campus that offers excellent discounts to MWU students!
2. I believe it is pretty standard, but my year we got stethoscopes and a white coat provided to us. There is a diagnostic kit you will need to purchase and you will get that info at orientation. Sadly no iPads provided, but I personally recommend either an iPad or a Surface. My note taking skills directly on powerpoints and note packets was completely transformed using this method!
3. Feel free to message me with more specific questions!

 

[TypicalpremedBore]

did anyone get accepted from the waitlist last week?

 

[Dr.MARKYMARK14]

did anyone get accepted from the waitlist last week?

+1 - that's what I was wondering too - waitlisted and hopeful
Would love to go here, really was impressed with the school and also being local, it ticks all the boxes for me.

 

[vr6rf]

Just withdrew my A, best wishes to all of y’all!

 

[lightningpremed]

is there generally a curve alongside the letter grading?

Current M1 at CCOM here.


Curriculum is very much graded (even to the level of A/A-, which is super unusual among med schools).

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.

 

[1stgenmedhopeful]

is there generally a curve alongside the letter grading?

Nope, no curve. The only caveats - some classes have extra credit points that will boost your score about .5-1% in the final grade. Also, every exam gets reviewed by the faculty that created the exam. Some departments will drop questions that had multiple answers that could have been considered correct due to the language of the questions or other issues. You will have class liasons to submit petitions to individual questions after every exam. I'd say about 10% of petitions (very rough estimate) actually get questions on the exam changed/dropped/more accepted answers.

 

[1stgenmedhopeful]

@1stgenmedhopeful @medschoolapplicant123 - I had some questions if either of you is able to answer them!

1. With the note packets, are there CCOM anki decks with that material from previous med students?

2. How feasible has it been to keep up with Anking/Zanki while also studying these note packets for class.

3. What are your thoughts on having quizzes and exams every week? Do you find it's hard to keep up? Does it get better second year?

4. With lectures not being posted right away (same day), wouldn't it be difficult to miss class, despite not having mandatory attendance, given the very quick turnaround with exams?

5. With no curves or scaling, it sounds like some difficult exams could tank your grades/GPA in certain classes. Is that correct?

Thanks!

1. There was a CCOM student in the year above us that made an anki deck. It proved helpful for some students, it wasn't really my thing. Key is to really find what works for you!

2. I've never touched Anking...I really don't think I have the time for it or I would go insane :/

3. Quizzes and Exams every week are a curse and a blessing. Definitely keeps you busy all the time...but you'll find how easy it is to fall behind. Having frequent quizzes and workshops really force you to keep pace, which is great for when the exam comes around.

4. It depends on what kind of med school lifestyle you want to have. If you want to have your weekends more free, then yeah missing class will put you behind a lot. If you're like me and get most of your "first pass" work done in evenings and on weekends while using the week to study hard and review info for upcoming exams....it's not so bad.

5. Difficult exams are always gonna come around in med school. You really gotta pinpoint your weaknesses and devote the extra time needed to strengthen that. One exam is most likely not going to fail you, but if it puts you in a bad position for the course, the course directors will meet with you to make sure you can recourse that single exam to have fighting chance and give you the opportunity to improve. One thing you'll figure out is that medical school is about absorbing the critical information that will help you in clinical situations (this is true for any medical school!). You do not need to kill yourself mentally for a 3.5 or better anymore! It's good to have that ambition, but in a much smaller dose. The burnout will catch up to you, so just be mindful of that!

 

[pigsinacloth]

This is going to sound like a dumb question, but how do we complete the technical standards form after we have been accepted? Do I just put my initials on each line and then press submit?

 

[UNKN0WN]

did anyone get accepted from the waitlist last week?

Also, curious

 

[scaredymcat]

Just got accepted this morning but will be withdrawing! Good luck all

 

[deme3]

Accepted of the waitlist!

 

[Mcdreamy102]

Just got accepted this morning but will be withdrawing! Good luck all

Accepted of the waitlist!

Congratulations! What were your stats if you dont mind me asking you both

 

[chotu9]

Wondering about technology recommendations. I have a PC laptop that is touch-screen and can flip 360 degrees. Should I get an iPad as well for note-taking or do some students use their laptops to take notes? My computer isn't the Surface, but I can buy a pen to take hand-written notes on it. Of course, a con is that the iPad is definitely lighter. I know many people will use an iPad and Macbook for school, but curious for those with Windows computers, what they suggest. Or also alternatively, a different, cheaper tablet like the Samsung Galaxy

 

[scaredymcat]

Congratulations! What were your stats if you dont mind me asking you both

I had a 507 mcat and 3.76 gpa

 

[deme3]

Congratulations! What were your stats if you dont mind me asking you both

Thanks! I had a 3.58 and 509

 

[Doge 1]

To those on the WL I recently bumped into a MS3 from CCOM and they told me that "MWU heavily weighs alumni LoR." See if you can get an alumni LoR to turn in now.
I turned in a LoR with my primary from an alumni doc who I used to scribe for. And I think that alumni LoR is what helped me get in.

 

[StayHumble18]

Wondering about technology recommendations. I have a PC laptop that is touch-screen and can flip 360 degrees. Should I get an iPad as well for note-taking or do some students use their laptops to take notes? My computer isn't the Surface, but I can buy a pen to take hand-written notes on it. Of course, a con is that the iPad is definitely lighter. I know many people will use an iPad and Macbook for school, but curious for those with Windows computers, what they suggest. Or also alternatively, a different, cheaper tablet like the Samsung Galaxy

I also own a touch screen non-surface windows laptop, but don't plan on taking notes on it. I think it might be similar to UGrad. If you like taking notes on tablets/laptops you can go the route of buying one. I am pretty sure I will stick to taking notes on paper. I never liked taking notes on tablet, although lots of kids around me did that. It helped them add notes directly to the ppt.
If you own an iPhone/macbook you should buy an ipad to remain in their ecosystem. But if you are used to android yeah buy the Samsung tablet for half the price, twice the capability. I think I might get one for second semester of I will I need one.

 

[deleted1071658]

Those still on the waitlist, what are your stats if you don’t mind sharing?

 

[DragonflyBackground5]

Those still on the waitlist, what are your stats if you don’t mind sharing?

3.5, 506, in state

 

[catsarepotatoes]

3.5, 506, in state

Same stats and on the WL lol

 

[pigsinacloth]

This is going to sound like a dumb question, but how do we complete the technical standards form after we have been accepted? Do I just put my initials on each line and then press submit?

Thanks in advance.

 

[StayHumble18]

This is going to sound like a dumb question, but how do we complete the technical standards form after we have been accepted? Do I just put my initials on each line and then press submit?

Thanks in advance.

Yep. iirc that's what it says in the instructions next to the signature.

 

[pigsinacloth]

Yep. iirc that's what it says in the instructions next to the signature.

Thank you!

 

[StayHumble18]

How do you send in transcripts after being admitted?

 

[happytree101]

How do you send in transcripts after being admitted?

the same way you sent them into AACOMAS but to Midwestern instead, most schools use online systems to do it

 

[missthang]

sending all of us good vibes this week !!

 

[StayHumble18]

Can i send a copy of my official transcripts via email OR do i have to submit it via my UGrad's portal (like how I did it for AACOMAS)?

 

[StayHumble18]

Can i send a copy of my official transcripts via email OR do i have to submit it via my UGrad's portal (like how I did it for AACOMAS)?

Actually nvm, their email says I have to turn in the official transcript from my school directly.

 

[Doge 1]

@Doge 1 my apologies if my previous post was misinterpreted, I was sulking and feelin bad for myself that day!!

Hope you have a good night

? You pinged the wrong person?

 

[StayHumble18]

Anyone else a bit afraid of tution? Some of my friends are going to schools that have COA<tution alone of CCOM. This is my only A so I dont have much choice but to just roll with it.

 

[TypicalpremedBore]

Anyone know when MU typically has their biggest WL movement?

 

[UNKN0WN]

Anyone know when MU typically has their biggest WL movement?

Varies every cycle. No one can really say when or how big the movement will be. At this point, we can only hope. Stay strong!

 

[UNKN0WN]

I hope there's some more waitlist action this week.

 

[Mcdreamy102]

I hope there's some more waitlist action this week.

right there with you bud