2022-2023 Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM-PA)

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AFilmDoctor said:
Well that was certainly quick after you reached the 7th bar. CONGRATS!!!
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Thank you! I was thinking the same thing, I wasn’t expecting an answer until at least the next day.
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Havent heard anything about an interview. Been at Stage 4 for the last 4-5 months. Safe to assume I am not gonna hear anything?
 
Interview tomorrow. Does anyone have any last minute advice on how to crush it and possibly still get in (because it’s so late, I feel like I’m interviewing for the waitlist or something).
I have heard people say PCOM’s interview is tough compared to other DO schools. What about the interview makes it tough? Is it the questions? The vibes of the interviewers?

ALSO: what is the interview format? Open or closed file? How many interviewer(s)? How long is the interview?
Why do they schedule for 4 whole hours?!?
 
trotro said:
Congrats! Any chance you remember how long interviews are going until when you scheduled?
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Hey there, they only gave me 3 date options to schedule, all 3 options were this week.
I can’t be sure with what that means. Doesn’t necessarily mean this is the last week of interviews, but maybe it does. No idea, sorry :/
 
from_clubs_to_scrubs said:
Interview tomorrow. Does anyone have any last minute advice on how to crush it and possibly still get in (because it’s so late, I feel like I’m interviewing for the waitlist or something).
I have heard people say PCOM’s interview is tough compared to other DO schools. What about the interview makes it tough? Is it the questions? The vibes of the interviewers?

ALSO: what is the interview format? Open or closed file? How many interviewer(s)? How long is the interview?
Why do they schedule for 4 whole hours?!?
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Just make sure you have answers for the big commonly asked interview questions. It’s closed file and there are three interviewers and my interviewers were insanely kind. It’s a one hour intro/Q&A with current students, a lot of waiting depend on what time your interview is, and then thirty minutes for the interview.

Never count yourself out, they are definitely still sending out acceptances.

from_clubs_to_scrubs said:
Hey there, they only gave me 3 date options to schedule, all 3 options were this week.
I can’t be sure with what that means. Doesn’t necessarily mean this is the last week of interviews, but maybe it does. No idea, sorry :/
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This probably lines up with April 15th where it’s recommended for applicants with multiple acceptances to narrow it down to three before the big 30 April deadline. It’s safe to assume this is the final week of interviews.
 
Actually, the quantity of interviewers varies. I had two interviewers. I believe that you could have a mix of faculty, students, and admissions people
 
sw2090 said:
Yeah I'm in the same boat. Had some hope in March but given that interview end in April I'm calling this an R.
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Feeling the same way unfortunately 🙁 submitted in august so going to assume it’s an R at this point
 
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Anyone know if this school offers deferred acceptances? I would prefer to go to an MD, but applied to this school as a backup. I got the acceptance, but wanted to apply to MD schools next cycle, and only go here if I do not get into any MD schools next cycle. Would they hold this acceptance for me until next cycle? I want MD 🙁
 
TheCarotidMasseur said:
Anyone know if this school offers deferred acceptances? I would prefer to go to an MD, but applied to this school as a backup. I got the acceptance, but wanted to apply to MD schools next cycle, and only go here if I do not get into any MD schools next cycle. Would they hold this acceptance for me until next cycle? I want MD 🙁
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If you defer you will also be agreeing to not apply to other schools during your year of deferment.
 
TheCarotidMasseur said:
Anyone know if this school offers deferred acceptances? I would prefer to go to an MD, but applied to this school as a backup. I got the acceptance, but wanted to apply to MD schools next cycle, and only go here if I do not get into any MD schools next cycle. Would they hold this acceptance for me until next cycle? I want MD 🙁
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Highly highly highly doubt it. What would you tell them? Hey thanks for accepting me but I want to go to an MD and you’re just a backup to me?

I don’t see how that would fly. And imo it’s not worth the risk of declining acceptances just to apply again. There is no guarantee you will get accepted next year.
 
TheCarotidMasseur said:
Anyone know if this school offers deferred acceptances? I would prefer to go to an MD, but applied to this school as a backup. I got the acceptance, but wanted to apply to MD schools next cycle, and only go here if I do not get into any MD schools next cycle. Would they hold this acceptance for me until next cycle? I want MD 🙁
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Nah you already have a med school acceptance in hand. That seems misguided.
 
TheCarotidMasseur said:
Anyone know if this school offers deferred acceptances? I would prefer to go to an MD, but applied to this school as a backup. I got the acceptance, but wanted to apply to MD schools next cycle, and only go here if I do not get into any MD schools next cycle. Would they hold this acceptance for me until next cycle? I want MD 🙁
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Rather not spam this thread but if you wanted to only go MD, then you shouldn’t have applied DO at all if you were going to be upset about a DO acceptance, nonetheless at one of the most distinguished DO schools. Give up your seat for another WL applicant if those two letters at the back of your last name mean that much.
 
TheCarotidMasseur said:
Anyone know if this school offers deferred acceptances? I would prefer to go to an MD, but applied to this school as a backup. I got the acceptance, but wanted to apply to MD schools next cycle, and only go here if I do not get into any MD schools next cycle. Would they hold this acceptance for me until next cycle? I want MD 🙁
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It's almost guaranteed PCOM will deny you a deferral unless you blatantly lie about your reason for requesting it.

Also, AMCAS has guidelines about deferrals stating how it is a violation to reapply to medical school without preapproval from the school granting you the deferred acceptance. So while AACOMAS and AMCAS are separate applications, who knows what risks you'll be taking and the potential repercussions if they/other schools found out you broke your agreement.

I think you should withdraw your acceptance, reapply for MD, and give your seat to someone on the WL who actually wants to go to PCOM (aka me and countless others).

The only thing that matters to you is the two letters, and this will result in you walking into PCOM being a self-hating DO and you being miserable and making those around you miserable for four years. So either accept becoming a DO and all of the unfortunate/unfair biases that come along with it and go to PCOM, one of if not the top DO school, or withdraw and apply MD and avoid living your life with a constant "grass is greener" mentality.

What matters more to you? A guaranteed path to becoming a physician, or the letters that will come after your name?
 
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TheCarotidMasseur said:
Anyone know if this school offers deferred acceptances? I would prefer to go to an MD, but applied to this school as a backup. I got the acceptance, but wanted to apply to MD schools next cycle, and only go here if I do not get into any MD schools next cycle. Would they hold this acceptance for me until next cycle? I want MD 🙁
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I agree with what everyone else has said in response to you but I want to give the perspective of a current student. PCOM does offer deferred acceptances (I know someone coming into the class of 2027 who was accepted into the class of 2026 but deferred). But they probably won’t offer you one for this reason. Please do not take the seat away from someone else who does want to attend PCOM and sees the value in being a DO. If you reapply, only apply to schools that you would truly go to if accepted. As a current medical student, I personally would not want a classmate who has this mentality.

Now that residencies are merged and both Step 1 and COMLEX-1 are P/F, MD and DO are much more equal than they used to be. Ask yourself: do you want to be a doctor or do you want to be an MD? And if you want to be an MD, are you becoming a physician because of pride and ego or because you genuinely want to help your patients?

PCOM had a 100% match rate this year. PCOM has had at least a 99% match rate every year since 2017. A PCOM student matched at CHOP for pediatrics this year, which is outstanding for DOs and PCOM. A PCOM student matched into cardiothoracic surgery last year. Many PCOM students match at Penn. A DO student (although not PCOM) matched into anesthesiology at Stanford. I could keep going but the point is that your future career is not determined by the letters after your name. It is determined by how hard you work and what you make of the opportunities presented to you. Do whatever you want but my honest advice is to take the acceptance and be grateful that you were accepted to a medical school, something that so many others worked really hard for this cycle but weren’t able to achieve because it’s a numbers game, or give the seat to someone else who can actually appreciate and honor it. Just know, if you reapply to MD schools next cycle, they will probably see that you were accepted this cycle and turned down the seat. This will come across as a red flag and you may not be accepted again. Are the letters at the end of your name really worth risking the entire possibility of becoming a doctor?
 
smallfry804 said:
Just got a II today. Is it worth it or am I just interviewing for a R/WL?
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I would imagine it would be for actual consideration as there’s people finalizing their choices and withdrawing their seats if necessary so it would be worth it. Best of luck! Feel free to ask any questions
 
Can anyone speak to the amount of waitlist movement this school has? I'm really confused on what their system is. I saw applicants with way higher stats than me get rejected post-II. I have very low stats and ended up on the waitlist. Not sure how they're selecting people
 
catcatcat45 said:
Can anyone speak to the amount of waitlist movement this school has? I'm really confused on what their system is. I saw applicants with way higher stats than me get rejected post-II. I have very low stats and ended up on the waitlist. Not sure how they're selecting people
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PCOM states they have an unranked waitlist and they review all waitlisted applications again when it’s time for movement. Not sure how feasible that is exactly, but in years past PCOM has averaged a 64% post interview acceptance rate which includes those accepted from the waitlist.

There really is no way to know their reason for why some were waitlisted while others were rejected and it’s not worth reading too much into. Also since no one posting here works on PCOM admissions, it’s impossible to know how they will choose who comes off the waitlist when the time comes.

I went through the last few years PCOM threads looking at waitlist movement and while it did start as expected at the beginning of May, most people that posted stating they got off the waitlist were those who interviewed after February. One guy in a previous thread even asked if they have taken anyone off the WL who interviewed before Feb but no one answered. So while I wouldn’t take it as any sort of indication into how movement will go since not everyone who applied/WL posts on SDN, it was something that gave me pause.
 
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catcatcat45 said:
Can anyone speak to the amount of waitlist movement this school has? I'm really confused on what their system is. I saw applicants with way higher stats than me get rejected post-II. I have very low stats and ended up on the waitlist. Not sure how they're selecting people
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The WL does move however you may be in for long haul waiting for an A. Sometimes even into July and August.
 
fxryker said:
My friend interviewed over twelve weeks ago (1/24), and still hasn't received a decision. Is anyone else experiencing this?
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I interviewed around that time , and it took me 9 weeks to get my decision, so it took me a little while too!
 
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