A.T. Still University Arizona (ATSU-SOMA) Discussion Thread 2016-2017

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Just gave up my seat, hope it goes to one who really wants it. Good luck everybody.
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fakedoctordoctor said:
Any current students live in Phoenix, Tempe, or Scottsdale? Do you find the commute to school inconvenient or is it a pretty common thing to live in these areas?
I am on the accept pending list but this school is my number one so I'm looking around for housing. If anybody has any suggestions or contacts regarding rentals, please pm me
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There are a few students in my class who commute from Scottsdale. It isn't ideal - especially on test weeks when we have mandatory group sessions mixed in, etc. - but it is doable.
 
futuredoc654321 said:
Hi! Can talk about you experience at the CHC and rotations? I am interested in Chicago CHC but am concerned about the rotation experience since there are already so many medical schools in Chicago... What hospital do students do their rotations at? Thanks!
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Someone from that CHC can expound on that topic more than I can, but I know they do their surgery rotation at stroger/cook county. I don't think saturation is an issue there, due to the sheer amount of hospitals in the area. I do know that my year (c/o 2018) is the first year to have the Chicago CHC, so there are sure to be growing pains.

I love the CHC model, it's why I chose SOMA. I am very much a self learner, and the fact that we are twenty minutes from the beach makes my wife very happy. Happy wife=happy med student. Haha.
 
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SmilingTooth said:
Did you get off the pending list? If yes, Congrats! I don't think commute will be a problem if you are willing to drive about an hour or so. I'll matriculate with you so don't know anyone on campus yet. Given that most lectures are not mandatory, but the labs are! So I think we will have to be on campus pretty much everyday for the first year at least. I was in Mesa recently and I think it will definitely benefit you to stay close to the main freeways if you are planning to commute. Maybe, the current students might be able to give you a better response. Good Luck!
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2nd year here. As a heads up you will not have to be at campus every day. It depends on how many clubs/interest groups you take part in but if you don't go to lecture you are looking at 3 days a week max. More likely 1-2.
 
medschoolplease123 said:
can current students comment on what they do and don't like about SOMA?
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Do like: curriculum, professor support, preparedness for COMLEX

Don't like: useless opp assignments during clinical years, preparedness for USMLE
 
Anyone have any idea on approximately how many people they have on the "accepted pending open seat" list?
 
Has anyone who interviewed on 3/31 heard anything?
 
I just received the call...accepted pending an open seat! She said that currently there are 60 people on it but that everyone is ranked also
 
az16 said:
I just received the call...accepted pending an open seat! She said that currently there are 60 people on it but that everyone is ranked also
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Thank you!!!
 
60 seems like a lot of people! Anyone have an idea if the people on pending open seat usually get a spot?
 
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shinosuke said:
60 seems like a lot of people! Anyone have an idea if the people on pending open seat usually get a spot?
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They do an alternate list as well here, so I'm assuming there's a lot of movement on the accepted pending seat list. Normal waitlists are about 100 students, so 60 is a pretty select pool with good odds. I'm on pending accept list also.
 
Future_Dr.N said:
Yes it is!

When I spoke to admissions, they said at this time Ohio and SC are the only CHCs open but of if course to rank the others and they will get you as close to your first choice as possible if anyone was wondering about that



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SC is a great academic CHC FYI. Consistently great board scores. People matched DO Derm, DO DR, DO ENT, DO gen surg at Cleveland clinic, ACGME EM, and ACGME IM this year.
 
jrlob91 said:
SC is a great academic CHC FYI. Consistently great board scores. People matched DO Derm, DO DR, DO ENT, DO gen surg at Cleveland clinic, ACGME EM, and ACGME IM this year.
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Another fellow third year who is currently in SC. The local faculty and attendings here are also top notch. Every one back in Mesa consistenly ranks out faculty as some of the best and they really are. They're great teachers and even better people. When you make it to your third year, you are with at the side of your attending almost 100% of the time since there are no residents or students to compete with. This is different from some of the big city CHCs like DC, Chicago and NY. This is helpful because you get to learn a lot but also can be a setback because you're not used to the setting that you will encounter on auditions or in residency. With that said the doctor's here let you be hands on from day one and you really have the autonomy to do things unlike most other third years in my opinion. SC gets a bad rep because it seems it's out in the middle of. nowhere but it's really not. It's a great environment to learn, combine that with great weather, great people, amazing food and just a beautiful place to live, you really can't go wrong coming down to SC. If you have any other questions feel free to hit me up as well, hope you don't mind if I take some questions away from you jrlob 😉
 
I called and asked where I was on the pending list and found out that I was <25! I hope that's a promising number. I put down a deposit for another school until I hear back from SOMA too, so I hope a lot of students are in the same boat and we'll see some musical chairs over summer.
 
dabrownsensation said:
Another fellow third year who is currently in SC. The local faculty and attendings here are also top notch. Every one back in Mesa consistenly ranks out faculty as some of the best and they really are. They're great teachers and even better people. When you make it to your third year, you are with at the side of your attending almost 100% of the time since there are no residents or students to compete with. This is different from some of the big city CHCs like DC, Chicago and NY. This is helpful because you get to learn a lot but also can be a setback because you're not used to the setting that you will encounter on auditions or in residency. With that said the doctor's here let you be hands on from day one and you really have the autonomy to do things unlike most other third years in my opinion. SC gets a bad rep because it seems it's out in the middle of. nowhere but it's really not. It's a great environment to learn, combine that with great weather, great people, amazing food and just a beautiful place to live, you really can't go wrong coming down to SC. If you have any other questions feel free to hit me up as well, hope you don't mind if I take some questions away from you jrlob 😉
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What a gunner^^^
 
medschoolplease123 said:
does anyone know the grading system for SOMA? pass/fail or A/B/C etc...?
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Even though the grading is pass/fail, etc. the school still calculates your class rank at the end of each year: "Class ranks are calculated at the end of each academic year and may be requested through SOMA’s Dean’s Office. GPA is calculated using the final actual percentage score a student achieved in a course or system, weighted in proportion to the units of the course or system. Class rank is determined by ordering the GPA’s of the members of the class from highest to lowest."
 
To a certain extent grades don't matter, but they do calculate GPA for class rank purposes and for high pass purposes. I think there are benefits and downfalls. For example, a 70% and an 89% on the transcript will be "pass" but a 90% or above will earn you "high pass" for preclinical years. This essentially means no matter how much effort (to an extent) you put in, you will end up passing, but the difference in study time for some people to get a 70 vs an 89 can be vastly different. This does two things: it decreases the malignant grade competition we hear about other places and allows you to board study in place of the schools material for some systems. I am a big fan of the pass/high pass system. You get what you put in, and don't need to worry about the letter grade of a 71 on your transcript.
 
jrlob91 said:
To a certain extent grades don't matter, but they do calculate GPA for class rank purposes and for high pass purposes. I think there are benefits and downfalls. For example, a 70% and an 89% on the transcript will be "pass" but a 90% or above will earn you "high pass" for preclinical years. This essentially means no matter how much effort (to an extent) you put in, you will end up passing, but the difference in study time for some people to get a 70 vs an 89 can be vastly different. This does two things: it decreases the malignant grade competition we hear about other places and allows you to board study in place of the schools material for some systems. I am a big fan of the pass/high pass system. You get what you put in, and don't need to worry about the letter grade of a 71 on your transcript.
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Do we get to know what we make on an individual test? Or is it just labeled pass, etc.?
 
dabrownsensation said:
each exam is taken through the test taking software examsoft so you get your grade (a percentage) immediately when you submit
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also...after everyone is done with the test yor answers are printed out and you can go over the test to see which questions you got wrong, the professors are all their to answer any clarifications or you can (politely) challenge the answer and try and get the question thrown out or get credit for the answer you chose. good times lol
 
dabrownsensation said:
also...after everyone is done with the test yor answers are printed out and you can go over the test to see which questions you got wrong, the professors are all their to answer any clarifications or you can (politely) challenge the answer and try and get the question thrown out or get credit for the answer you chose. good times lol
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Can students take exams on Microsoft Surface Pros/iPads?
 
Future_Dr.N said:
Accepted today from the accepted pending list!


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I've seen one acceptance from the pending seat list so far and he sent in a LoI, so that probably matters a bit. Last interview is 4/28, so the pending seat list won't move much until after then. I'd set your expectations on news in mid-May.
 
I'm interviewing here this upcoming Friday (yes, they told us it was for the whole pending-an-open-seat thing, but consider I'm sitting on four other wait lists, what do I have to lose), anyone mind sharing what the interview is like, what questions they ask, etc? Thanks in advance!
 
We signed a non-disclosure agreement, but you should practice for all the popular interview styles, hint hint. Wink wink

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After the 1st deposit (2 weeks after acceptance), is there another set specific date that accepted students are expected to pay a 2nd deposit (to secure their CHC / to further secure their spot, etc.)? I'm just trying to gage when there would be the most movement on the accepted pending list.
 
Just got off the pending accept list today, after receiving a call. Is there a Facebook group for the 2021 class? I would like to meet some of my classmates; PM me if you're looking for a potential roommate! Thanks
 
livind2 said:
Just got off the pending accept list today, after receiving a call. Is there a Facebook group for the 2021 class? I would like to meet some of my classmates; PM me if you're looking for a potential roommate! Thanks
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What chc spot?
 
ctran019 said:
Nope, but I hope Western lets me know before ATSU gets back to me on the acceptance so I can save on that deposit $$$
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Which one do you prefer? I got accepted to COMP-NW, but ended up choosing ATSU SOMA. Good luck!
 
livind2 said:
Just got off the pending accept list today, after receiving a call. Is there a Facebook group for the 2021 class? I would like to meet some of my classmates; PM me if you're looking for a potential roommate! Thanks
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Congrats!! If you won't mind me asking, when did you interview?
 
shope said:
Congrats!! If you won't mind me asking, when did you interview?
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The interview date is supposedly irrelevant for pending-list placement. It's organized by stats, interview score, and maybe Letter of Intent.
 
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