2023-2024 Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences (Kansas City) KCU-COM

Discover Your Odds of Getting into Medical School
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honestandmodest said:
Hello KCU,

Guess what? In a few days I will finally be outa here! Just a few honest and down to earth messages to you guys before I move on..

COMET has been the most corrupt, self involved group of delinquents this school had to offer. They've got no soul and they've made heck on earth for all of us during the first 2 years. I was a minute late to one of my OMM labs and they wouldn't let me in? Sorry that I had to be stuck in traffic while we had a tornado warning.

The next 2 years wasn't as great either.. finding my own rotations and having my clinical coordinator yell at me for not sending in a simple doc? All the while I had 2 board exams to study for with a shameless surg rotation (who has been removed by his surgery group btw, so nice job having us rotate with him!) :) so thank you for that.

Oh mandatory volunteering 2 days before my exams? Thank you!

I can't go to my friends wedding because I used up my "sick days" during my grandma's funeral? Thanks!

Forcing me to drop a whole rotation just because your stupid contract wouldn't go through.. on your side! How professional!

Huge amount of staff turnover to other schools? How loyal!

However with all that being said, I am glad to finally become a physician. Outa this place and onto residency in a few months. Thank you KCU, sincerely. Many downs, but I always kept my head up.
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Please post a thorough review of the school. If I had known what I know now, including how awful some of the professors are, I would never have enrolled.
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anonymous234 said:
Please post a thorough review of the school. If I had known what I know now, including how awful some of the professors are, I would never have enrolled.
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People who are going here are fully committed at this point and posts like this this late in the cycle are just not helpful. I chose KCU over other schools earlier in the cycle because of the information I had at the time. Now KCU is my only option and these posts just aren’t helpful. If you want to be helpful, post them earlier in the cycle on the new thread for new students. For all of us who are admitted students, let’s make our experience the best we can. No school is perfect, but a positive attitude can be the difference between an adventure and an ordeal.
 
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Is it possible to transfer from one campus to another? From Joplin to KC? I can't drive... and Joplin has no public transport.
 
anonymous234 said:
Please post a thorough review of the school. If I had known what I know now, including how awful some of the professors are, I would never have enrolled.
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Here's the thing- The grass is never greener on the other side. Every med school has flaws. Will parts of KCU suck, for sure. But I can't guarantee that other med schools wont suck as much. Do I have more complaints about KCU than praises? Probably.

My biggest grip with KCU is the board scores. If you note 5 years ago, KCU had a pass rate of 98%. 5 years later, we are like at 89%. Admin isn't too transparent on what's been going on, but I think this trend is something that is worrying.
 
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weekendwarrior92 said:
Here's the thing- The grass is never greener on the other side. Every med school has flaws. Will parts of KCU suck, for sure. But I can't guarantee that other med schools wont suck as much. Do I have more complaints about KCU than praises? Probably.

My biggest grip with KCU is the board scores. If you note 5 years ago, KCU had a pass rate of 98%. 5 years later, we are like at 89%. Admin isn't too transparent on what's been going on, but I think this trend is something that is worrying.
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To be fair, Step 1/Level 1 were scored 5 years ago so there was way more incentive to study harder.

Not saying the school has nothing to do with the lower pass rate because some of our curriculum is definitely terrible (hello pharmacology). If I had to do preclinical again I'd probably focus way more on 3rd party materials and just enough of the low yield in house BS to pass the exams.
 
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kcubonewizard said:
To be fair, Step 1/Level 1 were scored 5 years ago so there was way more incentive to study harder.

Not saying the school has nothing to do with the lower pass rate because some of our curriculum is definitely terrible (hello pharmacology). If I had to do preclinical again I'd probably focus way more on 3rd party materials and just enough of the low yield in house BS to pass the exams.
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Fair- But even before the pass fail boards, the fail rate was rising along with a decrease in the school average score. KCU does need a revamp on their curriculum. They have to figure out how to fix pharmacology. But I'd also argue that the pass fail system needs fine tuning and is a cause of the increased fail rate. The whole grading system with 70% is passing and a curve to 85% was implemented when there was letter grades. Essentially they changed it so that pass is 70% still with a curve to 85%, and honors being the top 10% of the block. There really is no incentive to work harder when you are consistently at 85%, where you have no shot of honoring, but are also low risk to fail. I think they really need to reexamine how the grading system is done and modify it as it really is outdated.
More importantly they have to figure out how they are going to keep their staff members. Faculty turnover is so high right now, and so many great professors are leaving.
 
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Talked to admissions today, they said there’s been little to no waitlist movement, hopefully in the next few weeks. They said a lot of students are holding onto their spots which is a reason for not a lot of movement
 
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Does anyone have any suggestions for apartments in downtown KC area? Im not trying to break the bank but am noticing the average is around $1500+? Any input would be great. Thanks yall!! :)
 
yomammamamaam said:
Does anyone have any suggestions for apartments in downtown KC area? Im not trying to break the bank but am noticing the average is around $1500+? Any input would be great. Thanks yall!! :)
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My suggestion would be to live somewhere like North KC or Gladstone and save a ton of money. If you're talking 1 BR, $1500 is nuts.
 
kcubonewizard said:
My suggestion would be to live somewhere like North KC or Gladstone and save a ton of money. If you're talking 1 BR, $1500 is nuts.
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Wait fr? I see everyone else in the incoming gc say $1400-$1600 for a studio is pretty common especially downtown area. Do you think north kc is too far or unsafe? I might as well start looking there lmaoo
 
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yomammamamaam said:
Wait fr? I see everyone else in the incoming gc say $1400-$1600 for a studio is pretty common especially downtown area. Do you think north kc is too far or unsafe? I might as well start looking there lmaoo
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Having just done extensive house hunting in KC- north of the river on the MO side is safer. The more north you go the safer basically. Locals refer to north of the river as northland. Not to be confused with North Kansas City or Gladstone, both of which are technically their own municipalities and not in Kansas City limits. Also good options. If you have a dog- Gladstone dog laws are super restrictive and concerning to me so I didn’t want to live in Gladstone. If you want to be more central- Waldo, or Overland Park KS are also safer- but more pricy and a longer drive. Waldo is such a hipster bougie vibe and I would love to live there if I wasn’t in northland.

Either way- it will be a drive. I found a place that is 11 minutes to campus in a nice quiet neighborhood in northland. Have been here a few weeks now and it has been super quiet and safe. We do have an alarm system which is super common in Kansas City. I made sure to get a place with a garage though because from what I have heard- Kansas City metro in general is terrible for car break ins and or carjacking.
 
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yomammamamaam said:
Wait fr? I see everyone else in the incoming gc say $1400-$1600 for a studio is pretty common especially downtown area. Do you think north kc is too far or unsafe? I might as well start looking there lmaoo
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It’s like 10 mins from campus and it’s safer than downtown
 
Just got an acceptance call for the Joplin location! Still deciding what to do, decision required by Friday
 
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yomammamamaam said:
Wait fr? I see everyone else in the incoming gc say $1400-$1600 for a studio is pretty common especially downtown area. Do you think north kc is too far or unsafe? I might as well start looking there lmaoo
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North of the river is cheaper and much safer according to my spouse who is a police officer. The drive is 15+ mins during typical traffic hours but otherwise there are better amenities up north, easier access to groceries and gas etc. I like living downtown though bc that's where all the fun stuff is like bars, coffee shops, etc. A lot students live in riverfront, river market, or downtown - if you're concerned about cost, you can always get a roommate.
 
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Got accepted off the waitlist to Joplin but my preference is to attend the KC campus as I have family there. Really excited as KCU is a great program but was wondering if it’s possible to leverage my offer to a spot to the KC campus?
 
riseofironking said:
Got accepted off the waitlist to Joplin but my preference is to attend the KC campus as I have family there. Really excited as KCU is a great program but was wondering if it’s possible to leverage my offer to a spot to the KC campus?
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Congrats on your acceptance! Unfortunately, you cannot change campuses once an offer has been made.
 
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Any suggestions on apartment buildings in DT KC that yall are going to? I figured im going to get robbed the first year in rent considering I’ll get more familiar with the area after M1.
 
Was just accepted off the waitlist but I will be declining. Hope it goes to one of y’all!
 
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irenicc said:
Was just accepted off the waitlist but I will be declining. Hope it goes to one of y’all!
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Hi! Was this acceptance for the Joplin or KC campus, if you wouldn't mind sharing?
 
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riseofironking said:
Got accepted off the waitlist to Joplin but my preference is to attend the KC campus as I have family there. Really excited as KCU is a great program but was wondering if it’s possible to leverage my offer to a spot to the KC campus?
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Unfortunately it isnt possible. They do offer rotation sites in KC so you could potentially match there. Drive to Joplin really isnt too far.
If anyone does have questions about Joplin, feel free to DM me.
 
weekendwarrior92 said:
Unfortunately it isnt possible. They do offer rotation sites in KC so you could potentially match there. Drive to Joplin really isnt too far.
If anyone does have questions about Joplin, feel free to DM me.
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not sure about that. I called admissions and they said although its unlikely (she said happened more last year but this year almost slim to zero chance,) you can still have the opportunity to attend the KC campus on the week of orientation if you pester admissions about your reasoning for wanting to be in Kansas City opposed to Joplin.
 
For current students: I read somewhere earlier on this thread that some people traded in the KCU iPad for the iPad pro at the apple store. Will I get the full value of the regular ipad as long as it's unopened, or will it be at a lower value?
 
drak1999 said:
For current students: I read somewhere earlier on this thread that some people traded in the KCU iPad for the iPad pro at the apple store. Will I get the full value of the regular ipad as long as it's unopened, or will it be at a lower value?
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Did you ever find out? I was gonna call the school but they were closed lol
 
Hello everyone! I will be an incoming OMS-I to the Kansas City campus starting in the fall. I was wondering if anyone is looking for a female roommate or knows of someone looking to share a 2 bed/2 bath apartment.
 
8134docdoc8134 said:
Anyone ever get into KC location off the waitlist?
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I called the admissions office about this and they said that most likely they won't be able to offer a spot on the KC campus because their first priority are their master students, but I could be wrong!
 
What's the reason for putting someone in the KC campus rather than the joplin campus? Because I selected both site, but then only offered a seat to the joplin campus.
 
riseofironking said:
not sure about that. I called admissions and they said although its unlikely (she said happened more last year but this year almost slim to zero chance,) you can still have the opportunity to attend the KC campus on the week of orientation if you pester admissions about your reasoning for wanting to be in Kansas City opposed to Joplin.
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What kind of reason worked?
 
Which rotation site(s) is/are the best (as offered by KCU)?

(I know affiliated hospitals of KCU is actually at Joplin. But is KC rotation better than Joplin rotation?)
 
kcubonewizard said:
To be fair, Step 1/Level 1 were scored 5 years ago so there was way more incentive to study harder.

Not saying the school has nothing to do with the lower pass rate because some of our curriculum is definitely terrible (hello pharmacology). If I had to do preclinical again I'd probably focus way more on 3rd party materials and just enough of the low yield in house BS to pass the exams.
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If anyone is worried about board scores I completely agree with this. Given that it is now pass/fail a lot of students take this for granted and don't study as hard, which inevitably ends up in them having to retake. Then they blame their medical school for not preparing them well enough (granted there are people that struggle and have special circumstances/situations)

I do agree that the curriculum isn't the best in terms of mimicking board related material with the exception of the good professors. However, I am biased because from day 1 I have been using 3rd party resources to study for KCU/boards and for the nit-picky KCU material I had additional anki cards (~50-200 per lecture based on what anking didn't have). In all honesty it didn't take too much time and I even made google form question quizzes for my friend group which would count as another pass of material.

KCU had tried truelearn on us, imo and the general consensus is that it is seemed like a moneygrab. The questions are good for OMM only imo and poorly written. Thankfully they gave us access to U-world (golden standard) for both STEP1/COMLEX1 and STEP2/COMLEX2. We never had access to amboss but I would highly recommend that in addition to U-world to succeed. I only did truelearn because during 2nd year they made mandatory quizzes but I owe my success to U-world + Amboss + Anking.

all in all, no matter what medical school you go into it's all about you being a proactive and efficient to get the scores you want. You can't expect the school to provide you with everything and you just need to navigate around various obstacles (that is life) to succeed.
 
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Hey all wanted to know yalls thoughts about century town apartments? Ty
 
I was just accepted to my home state DO school, so I will likely be rescinding my acceptance to the Joplin campus. I was still excited to go here, but finically it makes sense to stay here. I hope it goes to one of y’all!
 
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mia222 said:
Hey all wanted to know yalls thoughts about century town apartments? Ty
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I have been told and also would recommend against going there. During my first 2 years my friends said that they started advertising to the public and got some shady residents. The appliances are dated and they constantly had issues with water and wifi. However, my friends that had the nicer and renovated rooms did not really have much issue. If you want to save money then it is relatively cheaper and quite a bit of students live there so you'll get to know people a lot more. But overall I personally avoided it because I was told to from a friend who had lived there previously to save money. In the end it's just a living space for your 2 years and depends on your priorities when it comes to looking for living situations.
 
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Pineapplealicia said:
What kind of reason worked?
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having real estate in the area, having a significant other who lives in KC, family medical circumstances, familal circumstances (having a family and not wanting to uproot your children). there are plenty of reasons and you can negotiate with admissions and outline why and they are willing to transfer you b/w campuses.
 
riseofironking said:
having real estate in the area, having a significant other who lives in KC, family medical circumstances, familal circumstances (having a family and not wanting to uproot your children). there are plenty of reasons and you can negotiate with admissions and outline why and they are willing to transfer you b/w campuses.
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Unfortunately the majority of reasons you listed aren't really valid reasons in KCU's eyes. I personally know 1 person who transferred after 1st year and that was it. While others may have experienced success, I would not count on it. Plenty of my peers lived in KC and had houses and family there, and still had to go to Joplin. I also know of more than 1 person who had a family and kids, and still had to go to Joplin and commuted for exams and labs. Is it practical? No. But I just want to set realistic expectations.

I will say, for those who are going to Joplin, it really is better than it seems. I enjoyed the city quite a bit. While it isn't as big as KC, youre gonna be busy studying to really be able to go out every weekend. You have access to KC which is 2.5 hours away, but from Joplin you still have NWA, Tulsa, OKC, Springfield- all of which is within 3 hours of driving. It really is a unique small town, and one that does have a lot of community.
 
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Got off the WL yesterday. Decided to decline my offer, as I have an apartment, financial aid, already done for another medical school! Really disappointed it was so last minute. Orientation starts this Monday! Hoping my spot goes to one of you
 
chacothefish said:
Got off the WL yesterday. Decided to decline my offer, as I have an apartment, financial aid, already done for another medical school! Really disappointed it was so last minute. Orientation starts this Monday! Hoping my spot goes to one of you
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Do you mind sharing if you got off the KC or Joplin campus waitlist?
 
Also got off WL last week for KC campus. Similar situation as above - would've loved to attend if informed sooner.
 
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