2024-2025 Rocky Vista University College of Osteopathic Medicine (RVUCOM-Montana)

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i have an interview here on monday.. for anyone that has interviewed how was it? I feel like 20 min is always so short
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ilovebiology1010 said:
i have an interview here on monday.. for anyone that has interviewed how was it? I feel like 20 min is always so short
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Super chill! Mine just asked me a couple questions and then gave time for me to ask a couple. They also gave time at the end to talk about anything they didn’t specifically ask about. It was open file which I feel like allowed them to ask better questions about unique experiences.
 
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MinnieTONY said:
Has anyone started an accepted student facebook group?
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Jaime will usually start one and reach out to everyone over email when she does! I think ours began in December if I’m not mistaken. But a bunch of us did a GroupMe after the first accepted student day
 
+1 OOS II. The "available dates" for the deans overview and student qa are in the past? Also in the visit us section the deans overview and student qa are absent so its not like they just had a typo in the email they are also not in the portal.
 
Got the "MCOM application has been successfully received and is currently undergoing review for interview consideration." on 9/30, am I getting my hopes up for receiving an ii? Can someone share how long it has taken to get an ii after such an email?
 
waspmachine said:
Got the "MCOM application has been successfully received and is currently undergoing review for interview consideration." on 9/30, am I getting my hopes up for receiving an ii? Can someone share how long it has taken to get an ii after such an email?
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hi! got the same email on 08/27 and got my ii on 10/03 🙂 good luck!!!
 
.docloading said:
+1 OOS II. The "available dates" for the deans overview and student qa are in the past? Also in the visit us section the deans overview and student qa are absent so its not like they just had a typo in the email they are also not in the portal.
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Update: it was a technical issue.
 
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Just got an email invite for deans overview and interview invite to follow that. How soon after the overview was y’alls interview scheduled?
 
+1 OOS Acceptance, provisional acceptance without attending interview. Attended dean's overview 11/4 got acceptance next morning.
 
for those who also interviewed today wishing y’all the absolute best of luck💗🤍im sure y’all crushed it!!!
 
wellbutrinbish said:
Did you prepare for the overview and if so, how?
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I did not say a word during the overview. It is an info session that does not play a role in the admissions decision. There is an opportunity to ask questions if you want. I think people need to calm down during these sessions though, most of the questions asked were pointless and you could tell people were just trying to get admissions attention. Again, the session does not play any role in the decision made by the school its purely to inform you everything about the school/area.
 
.docloading said:
I did not say a word during the overview. It is an info session that does not play a role in the admissions decision. There is an opportunity to ask questions if you want. I think people need to calm down during these sessions though, most of the questions asked were pointless and you could tell people were just trying to get admissions attention. Again, the session does not play any role in the decision made by the school its purely to inform you everything about the school/area.
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Totally echo this! If you’ve been invited to the session/for an interview you already have admissions’ attention, no need to cast yourself in a potentially negative light.

Edit: I didn’t say a single word during my Dean’s session last year and got accepted. Just be yourself and it will all work out!
 
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Hey, I just got accepted to rvu mcom. I'd love to know about your experience before accepting. Is there anything to do in Montana or is it pretty boring. Also, do you think your experience has been positive, and if so what are some downsides? Sorry if thats a lot, the location of Montana is the main thing holding me back, since I have never been there and don't know what it would be like
 
Acetub said:
OOS acceptance just now. The only thing that concerns me is whether or not the school will get federal loans by the time classes start
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i have the exact same concern :/ i really wonder if i should be able to count on it or not
 
ar00 said:
Hey, I just got accepted to rvu mcom. I'd love to know about your experience before accepting. Is there anything to do in Montana or is it pretty boring. Also, do you think your experience has been positive, and if so what are some downsides? Sorry if thats a lot, the location of Montana is the main thing holding me back, since I have never been there and don't know what it would be like
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Billings has over 100,000 people which means there’s quite a few businesses here! We have a lot of “big” brand businesses here like Costco, Sam’s club, WinCo, Chick Fil A, Dave’s Hot Chicken etc etc.

We are an hour away from Red Lodge, MT which is an outdoorsman’s paradise with lots of hiking, fishing, and a ski resort in the winter! I wouldn’t say we have a ton of free time due to how busy school is, but in my free time I’ve done a lot of bass fishing and hikes. There’s other stuff to do here as well but I’m an outdoorsman at heart so you’ll get that bias from my response haha.

I’ve had a really positive experience overall so far. Not perfect by any means but no school is. The faculty are great and they really care about your success. The block system has been really nice so we can focus on one system at a time, which includes having a dedicated block to OMM/Ultrasound/Clinical Skills (the exception to this is having 4 standardized patient encounters throughout each semester that are usually related to the block you’re in).

Speaking of blocks system we have the CARES block which happens twice a semester (2 weeks each block) which is a time to focus on elective classes, clinical skills workshops like suturing/EKG/intubation/injections, remediation of a previous block (if needed), research, wellness workshops, and just overall R&R. Now there’s still some mandatory classes for CARES but it’s way more laidback compared to normal.


There’s tons of housing really close to the school (it takes me 1 minute to drive or 5 minutes to walk) and some of the housing has deals with the school to waive application and security deposit fees for accepted MCOM students.

I hope this helps! Let me know if you need clarification or any more specific questions answered. I would highly recommend considering a visit to MCOM on one of their accepted student days to get a better feel for the school and the surrounding community! I am one of the MCOM ambassadors so this is part of my role haha.
 
Is there a list of the clinical rotation sites by clinic/hospital name yet (not just by location or state)? I've only seen lists for Utah and Colorado. I’m nervous about the rotational sites being all set up, especially for more competitive specialties, and the federal loans as well. I would really love to attend.
 
I’m not super knowledgeable on this but I’ll do my best. Rotation sites are going to be set up in Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, and South Dakota. I know MCOM is partnered with Billings Clinic and Intermountain Healthcare who have a bunch of hospitals/clinics all throughout the region. There are efforts being made to have rotation sites available at residency programs as well as community programs so everyone gets a good mix of both aspects of medicine. MCOM is really unique that we are taking NBME shelf exams for 3rd and 4th year which almost all other DO schools do the NBOME shelfs. Our dean of clinical education explained that it will be to our benefit when we apply to residency programs to have that. Also the RVU name and reputation will help as well.

As far as federal loans go there’s no guarantee it’s happening yet but up till now everything that needs to happen has happened. RVU was able to get federal loans for their Utah campus 2 years after opening and based on the current trajectory with MCOM they anticipate the same being able to happen!
 
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Celloboss said:
Billings has over 100,000 people which means there’s quite a few businesses here! We have a lot of “big” brand businesses here like Costco, Sam’s club, WinCo, Chick Fil A, Dave’s Hot Chicken etc etc.

We are an hour away from Red Lodge, MT which is an outdoorsman’s paradise with lots of hiking, fishing, and a ski resort in the winter! I wouldn’t say we have a ton of free time due to how busy school is, but in my free time I’ve done a lot of bass fishing and hikes. There’s other stuff to do here as well but I’m an outdoorsman at heart so you’ll get that bias from my response haha.

I’ve had a really positive experience overall so far. Not perfect by any means but no school is. The faculty are great and they really care about your success. The block system has been really nice so we can focus on one system at a time, which includes having a dedicated block to OMM/Ultrasound/Clinical Skills (the exception to this is having 4 standardized patient encounters throughout each semester that are usually related to the block you’re in).

Speaking of blocks system we have the CARES block which happens twice a semester (2 weeks each block) which is a time to focus on elective classes, clinical skills workshops like suturing/EKG/intubation/injections, remediation of a previous block (if needed), research, wellness workshops, and just overall R&R. Now there’s still some mandatory classes for CARES but it’s way more laidback compared to normal.


There’s tons of housing really close to the school (it takes me 1 minute to drive or 5 minutes to walk) and some of the housing has deals with the school to waive application and security deposit fees for accepted MCOM students.

I hope this helps! Let me know if you need clarification or any more specific questions answered. I would highly recommend considering a visit to MCOM on one of their accepted student days to get a better feel for the school and the surrounding community! I am one of the MCOM ambassadors so this is part of my role haha.
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Every Montana native I’ve talked to says Billings is the meth capital of the state and there’s a lot of crime because it’s so close to the res and industrialized. I know campus is on the other side of town, but what are your thoughts?
 
wellbutrinbish said:
Every Montana native I’ve talked to says Billings is the meth capital of the state and there’s a lot of crime because it’s so close to the res and industrialized. I know campus is on the other side of town, but what are your thoughts?
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There’s crime for sure but it’s in south Billings and certain areas of downtown. The school/apartments/everything is on the far west side of town and I can tell you the vibes are very different out here compared to over there. The only time I’ve found myself in south Billings is when I go to Sam’s club or fishing on a lake I like and even then both are right off the freeway. But otherwise all the shops and places you need are in west Billings so you almost never go downtown or to south Billings. So tldr: West Billings is really nice/new while south Billings is not an area you’ll frequent.
 
Anyone currently attending MCOM from Canada or know one who is from Canada? Hoping to ask some questions!
 
givnov said:
@Celloboss How many hours of OMM do you do per week? Also, what's mandatory in your weekly schedule?
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We have a dedicated 4 week block each semester where we do OMM which is called “OCS”. In that block we have 6 hours a week of OMM lab (2 hours a day Tuesday-Thursday). The OCS block is usually broken up throughout the semester (2 week chunk and then 2 separate 1 week chunks later on)

Mandatory wise it depends on the block. Right now in CARES the only truly mandatory stuff is SiMS/Immersion events which are an hour long and there’s two each CARES block, along with some activities from student affairs (wellness, learning stuff etc). I’m taking a half credit elective course right now so there’s 4 2 hour classes spread out among the 2 week CARES block.

In a normal systems block you’ll have engaged learning sessions in the afternoon (1pm) and those are usually 2 hours long but sometimes there’s a double class so it’ll be like 1-3pm and then a 30 minute break and then 3:30pm-4:30pm. We don’t necessarily have class every day and that just depends on quite a few factors. We also have anatomy lab and we have a group A, B, C dissecting schedule so one day you’ll dissect and then the next day you’ll spend an hour teaching the other two groups about your dissection (1/2 hour each group). Then the following day you’d come in for 1/2 an hour to learn the next groups dissection and so on. We mostly have written exams on Monday although that fluctuates sometimes but not often.

Hope this helps!
 
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Just got done with the pre-interview session and loved learning about RVUMCOM
 
Just visited the admitted students day this past friday as someone who liked the school but was hesitant about Billings. I can say I really enjoyed it, the town was bigger than I anticipated and had anything you could want from day to day including Target, Costco, REI, Scheels, TJ Maxx which are good indicators. The school was BEAUTIFUL and the faculty was SO excited for the students and they were passionate about a curriculum that was evidence-based to best prepare medical students so I was thoroughly impressed. I think also I was concerned a lot about the town but we aren't going to have much extra time in med school anyways so I'm not as concerned.
 
radnotsad said:
Just visited the admitted students day this past friday as someone who liked the school but was hesitant about Billings. I can say I really enjoyed it, the town was bigger than I anticipated and had anything you could want from day to day including Target, Costco, REI, Scheels, TJ Maxx which are good indicators. The school was BEAUTIFUL and the faculty was SO excited for the students and they were passionate about a curriculum that was evidence-based to best prepare medical students so I was thoroughly impressed. I think also I was concerned a lot about the town but we aren't going to have much extra time in med school anyways so I'm not as concerned.
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so good to hear!!! my only concern is the loans🥲i really wonder if we can count on them being available in time
 
also what is dress code like for the school? is it scrubs, business casual, or just whatever?
 
Do you guys know if we’d be able to coordinate our own rotations if we don’t get our 1st or 2nd choice? I feel like it’d be more productive to utilize our previous professional connections to get better recommendations for residency.
 
wellbutrinbish said:
Do you guys know if we’d be able to coordinate our own rotations if we don’t get our 1st or 2nd choice? I feel like it’d be more productive to utilize our previous professional connections to get better recommendations for residency.
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I think there’s more flexibility with 4th year regarding this but I’m not entirely sure on the matter.
 
is it too late to apply to this school? Do they have a hard GPA cutoff?
 
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