2022-2023 Rocky Vista University College of Osteopathic Medicine (RVUCOM-Montana)

[darkeon]

turned offer down politely. hope one of yall gets it!! much luck to you all

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[DOctorCAL1]

lmao pre ii R

 

[Dinocaur]

lmao pre ii R

I thought I received one as well, but then emailed me shortly after saying it was in error.

 

[murilo]

I thought I received one as well, but then emailed me shortly after saying it was in error.

I got the apology email saying it was an error, but I never actually got the rejection email they apologized for. Not even the rejection is making to my inbox. hahaha

 

[Miyaki]

Interviewed today. The faculty is super nice. Especially Dr. Park. Low-Stress interview-conversational.

 

[KingOfReinvention]

Withdrew my A! Hope it goes to one of you!

 

[Jacwag]

Just got the A call!
Complete: 10/12
II: 10/15
Interview: 12/1

 

[Miyaki]

Same. Just got A call from Ms. Jaime Sparling. Interviewed: 12/13.

 

[fatcat23]

Does anyone know how often they send out ii's?

 

[fordraptor]

Hey everyone, so I haven’t received an interview or a rejection. Secondary was completed late October. Does anyone know if that means its a rejection?

 

[pacopollo]

Does anyone know how often they send out ii's?

Hey everyone, so I haven’t received an interview or a rejection. Secondary was completed late October. Does anyone know if that means its a rejection?

I suspect neither of you are getting replies because nobody really knows. It's a brand new school. We have no idea how it works or what their application cycle looks like.

Just keep your hopes up. As they're new, there's likely to be a lot of Waitlist movement.

 

[abysswalker]

Anyone considering going to accepted students day?

 

[MuscleCarDoc]

Anyone considering going to accepted students day?

I will be going to the February one with my wife.

 

[TJR22]

Anyone considering going to accepted students day?

Went to the one in December. Very chill day- presentation, campus tour, city bus tour and dinner at a sports bar. Definitely gives you a feel for Billings and the school.

 

[murilo]

II received on ??
Just saw I got the II in the portal, but never got the email about the II. I’ll be withdrawing.

 

[mdoriphone]

Got an II. Complete early Jan.

 

[The Premed Geek]

lmao pre ii R

Same 😭

 

[johnwilliamsdueloffates]

Got the A call! Interview was mid-January.

 

[mdoriphone]

Got the A call! Interviewed this month in Feb.

 

[leia314]

Pre-II R. Can’t even get into a brand new school. Jesus.

 

[Moms_spaghetti]

II this morning, will be declining!
Good luck to you all <3

 

[pacopollo]

Pre-II R. Can’t even get into a brand new school. Jesus.

When did you submit your secondary? I was told their class is full and at this point they are mainly interviewing for the WL, though they anticipate a great degree of WL movement.

 

[ICEverythingHide]

Interview Invite for march 10!!! 😭Applied late since I tested in January. Any tips?

 

[pacopollo]

Interview Invite for march 10!!! 😭Applied late since I tested in January. Any tips?

Congrats! My interview with MCOM was, by far, the most pleasant of any of my interviews. They wanted to learn about me and the school (particularly Dr. Park) went out of his way to prove the school to us, the cohort of interviewees. My interview day 180'ed me on the school.

Make sure you read up on the commonly asked RVU questions on SDN (google it). There were specific questions on that list that were asked on interview day. If you're living across the country, maybe be ready to explain why you want to come to Montana.

 

[Binolas]

Is it still worthwhile to apply? I just learned I can be less limited geographically and now I’m looking into this school.

 

[kelef]

Is it still worthwhile to apply? I just learned I can be less limited geographically and now I’m looking into this school.

i’ve heard that their cycle is winding down, but with it being a new school a lot of WL movement wouldn’t be surprising

 

[ICEverythingHide]

Is it still worthwhile to apply? I just learned I can be less limited geographically and now I’m looking into this school.

I have my interview with this school tomorrow. I also know they have more interviews on the 16th of this month, might be worth the try! Regardless, as mentioned above, I'm sure the WL movement will massive since it is a new school.

 

[Binolas]

I was looking up Billings and it looks like it‘s pretty violent. Anyone concerned about that?

 

[Moly B Denum]

I was looking up Billings and it looks like it‘s pretty violent. Anyone concerned about that?

Are you talking violent as far as crime rates go? I think it’s true that Billings has more crime than most other cities in MT, but it’s absolutely nothing compared to big cities in other states. If I were thinking about moving to Billings (granted I already live in MT), the crime rate would never be significant enough to factor in to my decision.

 

[pacopollo]

I was looking up Billings and it looks like it‘s pretty violent. Anyone concerned about that?

I live in Billings. I agree with what Moly B Denum said. Perhaps Billings is a little rougher than montanas other cities, but it's definitely a long ways from any large city. Remember, Billings only has ~120k people.

Billings just gets a particularly bad rap because lots of poor people live here and the rest of the state looks down on it.

 

[ICEverythingHide]

Had a great interview experience today! I can confirm that they asked questions that are posted on this website. Be prepared! Im actually sold on the school, hopefully I get an acceptance! Felt like my interview went great overall.
.

 

[Medicine123456]

Just got the A! Interviewed 3/2

 

[ICEverythingHide]

Just got the A! Interviewed 3/2

Congrats!!! 🙌

 

[mlmmmsmith]

Got an email this morning saying I am on the alternate list. Interviewed 2/23/23

 

[ICEverythingHide]

Anyone hear back from admissions today? They were suppose to meet and discuss the people who interviewed 3/10 and 3/16.

 

[random105683059]

Is there anyone on the Accepted Pending Space list thinking of going to their Accepted Student Day event?

 

[ICEverythingHide]

Is there anyone on the Accepted Pending Space list thinking of going to their Accepted Student Day event?

when's the next one?

 

[random105683059]

when's the next one?

April 14th!

 

[random105683059]

Got the call earlier today!! First A! Interviewed 3/2 and placed on the accepted pending space list 3/14

 

[rivervalley]

Is the alternate list the same as a waitlist? I don't understand what the difference is and why they have both an alternate list and an accepted pending space list when I haven't heard of those at any other school

 

[Cocozecat]

Is the alternate list the same as a waitlist? I don't understand what the difference is and why they have both an alternate list and an accepted pending space list when I haven't heard of those at any other school

i found this on an RVU-utah-2020-2021 forum from jan 7 2021, i would assume it works the same for RVU-MCOM

"I got this email last night:

"Good afternoon, and congratulations again on your invitation to interview with RVUCOM!

We wanted to let you know that we have moved to an "Accepted Pending Space" (APS) status for the upcoming admissions committee review. Because this is the first cycle we have held entirely virtual interviews, and we have had more accepted student deposits at this point than usual, we are being conservative as we watch our number of available seats very closely.

What this means for you is, if after your interview the committee votes to offer you admission, you may be placed on the APS status. Note that APS status is still an acceptance (you are not interviewing only for a waitlist spot at this point). For those students who are accepted APS, when seats become available in the current class, they will be contacted to fill the open space. In previous years, most of those who have been on the accepted pending space status have matriculated into the class to which they applied. If there is not a space for all APS students in this class, they will be automatically moved to the Class of 2026, matriculating in the summer of 2022, with a guaranteed seat. You would not need to submit another AACOMAS application or re-interview.

We will communicate clearly with you on your status after our admissions committee finalizes their decisions, so you will know whether this applies to you.

Please contact us with any questions or concerns. We are always glad to help and it will be our pleasure to continue to work with you through this process.""

 

[Docpepe]

Billings is the largest city in Montana, sitting right over 100k people. Picture Montana...mountains? Green? Pristine rivers? Billings is not exactly that: you're thinking of Western Montana. Billings is more Central/Eastern/more like North Dakota. We're about an hours drive from the nearest place that looks like that, which isn't so bad. Billings is a big working class town. The big industries here are healthcare (2 hospitals of around 300 beds each plus a large FQHC clinic) and an oil refinery. We have a very large native american population with several reservations just a few hours in every direction and we are constantly treating patients from 6+ hour away rural communities, so underserved medicine is a big deal. Billings, unfortunately, is a relatively bland town. There's not lots to do if you're not into outdoors stuff...it's just big enough to not be a small town, but not quite big enough to have all the amenities of large cities. Downtown is very lame and overrun with homeless people (though certainly not a la Portland). West-end Though we do have Costco, if that matters to you. We do have an airport (though, you're better served driving 2 hours to bozeman, as they're a more popular airport). Outdoor activities are pretty excellent. In town we have some rock climbing (though on sandstone) and some excellent mountain biking trails. If you drive, within 2 hours you have world class hiking (look up the Custer National Forrest near Red Lodge Montana, specifically West/East Rosebud), excellent rock climbing, fishing, skiing, whatever you want.

As for cost of living, Billings isn't bad at all. Bozeman was rated like the top place to live in the US, much to the disdain of many Montanans. (Lots of people here constantly complain about "Californians coming and destroying our state." I grew up in Oregon, so I definitely get my share of that from people up here.) Bozeman is very expensive, like more than rent in many large cities, which is nuts given its small population. Billings is fairly cheap. I'm paying $895 for a 2 bedroom apartment with garage and such.

As for MCOM, here are my thoughts.

Pros:
- Cheaper tuition than PNWU, COMP/-NW, ICOM, most OOS public schools
- Run by RVU, which is basically the top DO school (like #1 board rates and awesome match rates)
- Not their first rodeo with satellite campuses, so they may settle into it well
- Big, established school may mean good access to rotations in other locations (it Denver or Utah)
- Brand spankin new and state-of-the-art facilities
- Inagural class means that you will have full access to professors, as they won't be teaching other classes
- Billings/Montana are fairly excited for them (see problems with ICOM). Lots of people in the community excited to have a med school here.

Cons:
- Brand spankin new DO school
- Brand new satellite campus run by RVU... 1/3 of their graduates from the inaugural UT class had to SOAP into residency...yikes
- For profit university (may or may not be a con) run by people associated with the caribbean schools
- I think it's absolutely insane to put 80 (and then 120, and then 160 per class) med students at Billings. Sure, we have 2 hospitals, but several other universities up here are already using those hospitals for clinical rotations (UW, PNWU, ICOM). Where are you going to put all these students for clinical rotations? For heavens sake, the in-state school (UW) only has 30 students per class! 80-120-160 is insane, and really shows the motivations behind the school. I really don't know if Billings can support that many students.

If anyone has other questions, I'm happy to answer them. I'll try and keep an eye on my notifications better.

I had no idea it was associated with the Caribbean schools! How did you find this out? I have been thinking to applying here, but have my heart set on Touro in Great Falls so far.

 

[pacopollo]

I had no idea it was associated with the Caribbean schools! How did you find this out? I have been thinking to applying here, but have my heart set on Touro in Great Falls so far.

They are indirectly associated with the caribbean schools. Medforth Global owns St. George in the caribbean (arguably one of the better caribbean schools). A few years back, RVU was sold to Medforth. My understanding is that they were worried what would happen when their original owner died and wanted better resources to expand the school. Medforth has deep pockets and has helped to fund their two new campuses. At least as far as I understand. (Educational Institutions)

I would be cautious about Touro Great Falls. Between the two of them, I believe that MCOM is much better positioned for success than Touro. Billings is a MUCH better location for a medical school and, through Billings, MCOM is aligned/associated with Intermountain Health. There are 2 or 3 residency programs in Billings and none in Great Falls.

Of course, these are just my thoughts. Perhaps MCOM has just more successfully marketed itself.

 

[Cocozecat]

Interviewed 3/23
Put on alternate list 4/7
OOS
Very fun interview, had a good time and I thought it went well.
Thats life, lets see if any movement, just gonna start studying for the MCAT and get a score that matches my grades. Only one direction. FORWARD!

 

[pacopollo]

Interviewed 3/23
Put on alternate list 4/7
OOS
Very fun interview, had a good time and I thought it went well.
Thats life, lets see if any movement, just gonna start studying for the MCAT and get a score that matches my grades. Only one direction. FORWARD!

Keep your hopes up! I anticipate a great deal of wait-list movement come May.

 

[Cocozecat]

Keep your hopes up! I anticipate a great deal of wait-list movement come May.

I'm cautiously optimistic, MCOM is my first choice, would love to attend

 

[MTCOORRI]

I would be cautious about Touro Great Falls. Between the two of them, I believe that MCOM is much better positioned for success than Touro. Billings is a MUCH better location for a medical school and, through Billings, MCOM is aligned/associated with Intermountain Health. There are 2 or 3 residency programs in Billings and none in Great Falls.

Billings may be a bigger city with more hostpitals but it is worth mentioning that the larger hospital system -Billings Clinic- in the city has a very bad relationship with RVU. The clinic is where most of the residencies are. Additionally, RVU really rushed in to set everything up in Montana. On the otherhand Benfis in Great Falls has been working out how to set up a medical school for amost a decade. Touro Montana seems a lot more thought out, and they have a partnership with a well regarded research institution.

 

[pacopollo]

Billings may be a bigger city with more hostpitals but it is worth mentioning that the larger hospital system -Billings Clinic- in the city has a very bad relationship with RVU. The clinic is where most of the residencies are. Additionally, RVU really rushed in to set everything up in Montana. On the otherhand Benfis in Great Falls has been working out how to set up a medical school for amost a decade. Touro Montana seems a lot more thought out, and they have a partnership with a well regarded research institution.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I was told the new CEO was interested in reestablishing the relationship between RVU and Billings Clinic.

But you're right about the research institution. Definitely a plus for Touro.

I suppose we shall see how it all plays out.

 

[zdog99]

Hello, I am currently accepted to rvu but also waitlisted at another school closer to my home state. Does anyone know how long I can possibly wait until I have to make a decision to enroll if my home state school keeps me on the waitlist?

 

[pacopollo]

Hello, I am currently accepted to rvu but also waitlisted at another school closer to my home state. Does anyone know how long I can possibly wait until I have to make a decision to enroll if my home state school keeps me on the waitlist?

I don't think you have to decide until may, when the final deposit is due.