2023-2024 TouroCOM-CA - Touro University College of Osteopathic Medicine - California

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2023-2024 TouroCom-CA Secondary Essay Prompts: (Update: 3000 chapters maximum each essay)

1) Are you a TUCOM re-applicant who has previously interviewed? If yes, what was the result of that interview and what changes, if any, have you made which should effect a different outcome?

2) Have you attended any TUCOM information sessions on campus, at another location, or virtually? If yes, please list the event(s) in which you participated.

3) Please describe your understanding of osteopathic medicine including osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT). Please include your personal exposure to osteopathic medicine (if any) and demonstrate your understanding of the osteopathic principles and history of the profession.

4) Please describe your hobbies (or non-academic pursuits) and how they will influence your success as an Osteopathic medical student and/or Osteopathic physician in the future.

5) Please discuss how your life experiences and personal characteristics will contribute to your future success as an outstanding osteopathic physician.

6) When considering medical schools, what criteria are important to you and how does TUCOM align with those criteria?

7) Have you graduated or do you plan to graduate from a High School or equivalent (e.g. GED, ATB, etc.) - OR - College whose primary method of instruction is English?

8) Have you ever had a criminal conviction (this includes a judge or jury verdict, guilty plea, a plea of no contest or nolo contendere, and/or juvenile offenses), or any criminal conviction that you are currently appealing?


Good luck to everyone applying!

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Received email confirming submission of application today.
 
Received secondary invite yesterday. Prompts are the same as last year's.
 
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Submitted 5/30, Secondary received today 6/20
 
For those that got a secondary, do you have a higher mcat? I heard that they prescreen under 503 mcat
 
What is the character limit for the secondary questions this cycle? I know they have changed them in previous years.
 
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Haha they don’t want to read that much I would guess!
haha how long do you think secondaries should be if there is no limit? I don't want them to think I barely thought about the prompt but also want them to read it lol
 
I don't believe this is correct - on my end I tried to max out the char limit and it's at 4000
oh whoops, I didn't know.... I didn't try maxing out the character limit. I guess to be more specific, there wasn't a character limit that was specified.
 
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Are secondary emails sent by invite only? I got an email today from TUCOM saying that my primary has been downloaded and is being reviewed and that I should hear back 14-21 business days. Confused because I never received a secondary app from them
 
I received that email, and the day after I received an email regarding the secondary invitation. You probably might hear back tomorrow maybe? Also, the secondary emails are sent by invite only.
 
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Are secondary emails sent by invite only? I got an email today from TUCOM saying that my primary has been downloaded and is being reviewed and that I should hear back 14-21 business days. Confused because I never received a secondary app from them
I got that same email and a few hours later received the secondary email. You'll likely hear back very soon!
 
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Am I trippin, but I just checked the Touro Portal. On the Application dashboard, I had an entry for "Application Registration: TUC-OC-Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine - Supplemental Application (TUC)." However, a new entry just showed up today that saids " Application Registration: My name". The Program and Semester is blank as well. Does anyone else who submitted their secondary have this new entry? I never saw it before until today.
 
How much should we be writing for these? I saw it's a 4000 character limit but that feels like too much for some of the questions, like "Please describe your hobbies (or non-academic pursuits) and how they will influence your success as an Osteopathic medical student and/or Osteopathic physician in the future"

Feels like it'd be a bunch of fluff to hit 4000
 
How much should we be writing for these? I saw it's a 4000 character limit but that feels like too much for some of the questions, like "Please describe your hobbies (or non-academic pursuits) and how they will influence your success as an Osteopathic medical student and/or Osteopathic physician in the future"

Feels like it'd be a bunch of fluff to hit 4000
I believe last year their max character limit was 2000, which is what I stuck with for my own submissions. I'd go with whatever you're comfortable with, as long as you're not adding fluff just to hit their 4k limit.
 
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Am I trippin, but I just checked the Touro Portal. On the Application dashboard, I had an entry for "Application Registration: TUC-OC-Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine - Supplemental Application (TUC)." However, a new entry just showed up today that saids " Application Registration: My name". The Program and Semester is blank as well. Does anyone else who submitted their secondary have this new entry? I never saw it before until today.
I don't see this on my portal. Did you maybe forget to hit submit on your application? I had to go back after I paid the fee just to hit the Submit button, so maybe it's that.
 
I don't see this on my portal. Did you maybe forget to hit submit on your application? I had to go back after I paid the fee just to hit the Submit button, so maybe it's that.
No I submitted and paid the fees already. My application has been completed for awhile... It just showed up randomly one day and its still there. I wonder if this means anything?
 
Am I trippin, but I just checked the Touro Portal. On the Application dashboard, I had an entry for "Application Registration: TUC-OC-Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine - Supplemental Application (TUC)." However, a new entry just showed up today that saids " Application Registration: My name". The Program and Semester is blank as well. Does anyone else who submitted their secondary have this new entry? I never saw it before until today.
Just to give some context, in case this happens to anyone in the future. This is what it looks like. I attached a screenshot and blocked out my name for privacy reasons.
 

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Hello everyone! This account is run by students of the admissions team branch of the College of Osteopathic Medicine Student Executive Council (COMSEC). You may have seen this account post in old year threads.

Medical students play a major role in the admissions process at TUCOM. Every interview panel has a current medical student. That student's review is weighted equally to either of the other faculty's. There is also a student who is elected by the student body, and gets to sit on all admissions committee meetings as a voting member.

We will do our best to answer questions on this page, but please note we CANNOT give out specific information to your application (such as the status of your application, position on the WL, etc). We also ask you post your questions here publicly if they can at all relevant to the general applicant pool. That way we do not have to answer general questions multiple times, and people have access to the previous answers whenever.

Please understand that we are medical students, and are thus extremely busy. We may not be able to answer every question, especially in a timely manner. We will better be able to answer personal questions if sent to our official email address: [email protected]

Another amazing opportunity to ask questions regarding the School of Osteopathic Medicine is our WEEKLY TOURO TALKS, held on FRIDAYS on ZOOM, from 12-1pm (It is completely fine to come later or leave earlier). It is an informal Q&A session staffed by at least one medical student, usually from our admissions team, and Lynn Huckle, the COM admissions administrator. It also frequently features the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs when she has time. Anyone is welcome, and you do NOT have to turn on your video or talk if you do not want to. You can just use the chat or even just sit in and listen. It is a great place to ask your questions and get real answers from the people directly involved in admissions!
Link is here Join our Cloud HD Video Meeting
You can also access the link here Touro Talks Info Session - Osteopathic Medicine

Please note that while this is an informal setting and we are not looking to judge anyone, any rude or blatantly unprofessional behavior will not be tolerated.

Good luck everyone! Best of luck in your medical school endeavors! As a former applicant, I can promise that once you get in, all these pre-med horrors fade into the past, like a ponytail.
 
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@tucomadcom is there a suggested length for this year’s essays?
LENGTH OF SECONDARY RESPONSES

So per the admissions administrator: "Short answers/Essays should be limited to no more than 3,000 characters (600 words) PER ESSAY. This includes spaces."
 
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LENGTH OF SECONDARY RESPONSES

So per the admissions administrator: "Short answers/Essays should be limited to no more than 3,000 characters (600 words) PER ESSAY. This includes spaces."
As someone who personally reads some applications, I would emphasize that is NOT NECESSARY to write the maximum amount possible. If anything I would say it would be a detriment to write the maximum each answer. Being concise is key. No one wants to read a bunch of "fluff"
 
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Hey @tucomadcom quick question, is there a timeline of when we could expect interview invites to be start being sent out?
 
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Hey @tucomadcom quick question, is there a timeline of when we could expect interview invites to be start being sent out?
There is no timeline I am aware of for IIs being sent out. I think it won't be for at least a couple more weeks at the quickest. I would refer to previous threads to see when IIs are typically first sent out but also keep in mind that things can always change year to year
 
Just going to leave this on all the schools I applied to, I did receive secondaries from every DO school:

Submitted all 16 DO Schools on 5/28/23... Verified 5/31/23

States: 3.73 Science, 3.77 Overall, 501 (125/122/127/127) and 508 (125/125/127/131)

For this school, secondary received: 6/20/23
 
Hey all, does anyone know roughly how long it may take to get a secondary? Touro is the last DO school I am waiting to hear from (no confirmation they received my app either if it matters) and is my top choice, so I'm just getting a little antsy.

My application was verified and submitted mid to late June if it matters.

Thanks in advance :)
 
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Hey all, does anyone know roughly how long it may take to get a secondary? Touro is the last DO school I am waiting to hear from (no confirmation they received my app either if it matters) and is my top choice, so I'm just getting a little antsy.

My application was verified mid to late June if it matters.

Thanks in advance :)
I got mine about 3 weeks after submitting and it took about 5 or 6 days to be verified. I submitted mid-June.
 
Do they only accept science LORs from BCPM professors? I have one from Ochem and one from a Neuro class and I dont think it counted :(
 
Do they only accept science LORs from BCPM professors? I have one from Ochem and one from a Neuro class and I dont think it counted :(
I also have a neuro letter and I emailed them about it. It seemed like it was okay, but my portal doesn't say my letter are complete
 
Hey all, does anyone know roughly how long it may take to get a secondary? Touro is the last DO school I am waiting to hear from (no confirmation they received my app either if it matters) and is my top choice, so I'm just getting a little antsy.

My application was verified and submitted mid to late June if it matters.

Thanks in advance :)
I’m not sure! I was verified in early July, but got an email yesterday saying they had received my application and they would get back to me within 14-21 days..but then I got an invite about an hour later! Fastest 14-21 days ever lol
 
II just now IS! Completed 06/15!
 
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does anyone know how high the post interview acceptance rate is?
 
Does anyone know if touro CA is pass fail or honors pass fail or graded for pre clinical?
Looking at a lot of information on different websites that seems to contradict one another.
 
do I need osteopathic experiences to be a successful applicant to this school?
 
Applicant under review by committee email just now
 
Just got an email that they received my primary application, about how long did it take everyone to get a secondary?
 
Has anyone heard anything in regards to the decisions being released today?
 
Got the A email!! Interviewed 09/05!
 
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I find it almost predatory how they are asking for a $2000 deposit due only 2 weeks following the admission decision.
 
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