ATSU/KCOM Discussion Thread 2010-2011

BU Medical Sciences
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I just want to reassure upcoming interviewees of how relexed the interview format is. I had heard that the hour long conversations were laid back, but I was still nervous as I woke up on interview day. Once I sat down in my first interviewer's office though, I was so relieved. They really just want to have a conversation with you, and it is easy to let your guard down here. The admissions staff makes the day enjoyable too. Good luck all!
 
apple3 said:
Cool-thanks for the encouraging words! I have heard the same as well. I've had hour long interviews in the past and it sounds like a long amount of time but I'm sure it goes by fast.

Has anyone had a portfolio or a page of notes they used during the interview? Just words or small phrases to remind you of ways you wanted to answer specific questions?
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From my experiences at KCOM and DMU - where they had very conversational interviews -- none of the basic answers I rehersed came up. It was really just a chat. Nonetheless, preparation is key: I would have some substantial opinions on the current events of healthcare, be ready to discuss every experience on your application (academic and non), and perhaps what you envision in your future as a physician. Some people in my interview groups got grilled a little.

I also found Radio Rounds to offer great perspective, especially the "In the Hot Seat: Medical School Interviews" episode, which can be found on iTunes podcasts for free. The take-away from that is the same thing I would tell you -- just be yourself and display your personal enthusiasm for medicine.
 
I'm interviewing on the 19th, and there are no returning flights on the 20th... Anyone driving from the east coast or renting a car from st. louis, or is there carpooling available?? I'm actually only 20, so I can't rent a car >.<
Does anybody have any thread links for that or would be willing to carpool to any degree themselves?
Thanks! :scared:
 
valkener said:
I'm interviewing on the 19th, and there are no returning flights on the 20th... Anyone driving from the east coast or renting a car from st. louis, or is there carpooling available?? I'm actually only 20, so I can't rent a car >.<
Does anybody have any thread links for that or would be willing to carpool to any degree themselves?
Thanks! :scared:
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There are companies that rent cars to you when you are that young. There is often a fee associated with being <25 though. Check with your insurance company as well. I know that certain insurance companies and maybe even AAA will have discounts where they will waive the young driver fee. I know for a fact USAA does because I've used it at every interview.
 
valkener said:
I'm interviewing on the 19th, and there are no returning flights on the 20th... Anyone driving from the east coast or renting a car from st. louis, or is there carpooling available?? I'm actually only 20, so I can't rent a car >.<
Does anybody have any thread links for that or would be willing to carpool to any degree themselves?
Thanks! :scared:
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I interviewed last week and I took a tiny plane operated by Cape Air from St. Louis to Kirksville, and a student ambassador picked me up at the airport (you could also take a cab). Also, on interview day you are free to leave any time after your interviews (done by 12:30), and the admissions staff knows that many people have tight travel schedules. If you have any questions PM me.
 
I interviewed last Friday (10/29) and was accepted today. I will not be attending, but I will try to answer any questions people might have regarding the interview (travel, format, schedule, etc.). Best wishes to all 🙂
 
for anyone interviewing tmrw, I'm staying at Days Inn PM me if you need a ride tmrw morning.
 
good luck to everyone interviewing !! i interviewed last week and was really impressed with the school. Also got an acceptance today!!! but still deciding between a couple other schools. If any future interviewers have questions about lodging/getting to campus feel free to ask.
 
just got back to KC from my interview at KCOM, I was very impressed with the school, the students and the faculty! I will right up a longer reviews after I get back home. PM me if you have any questions in the meanwhile.
 
wolverinepwns said:
just got back to KC from my interview at KCOM, I was very impressed with the school, the students and the faculty! I will right up a longer reviews after I get back home. PM me if you have any questions in the meanwhile.
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Was it my tie?! Lol I interviewed at KCOM today too, seemed like an awesome school with a supportive community... good luck with your KC interview
 
Heard about my acceptance this afternoon! I kept checking my phone all day (interviewed Monday) then finally gave up, went to a 2 hour meeting and saw the missed call from a Kirksville, MO number when I was done with the meeting. My gut feeling is that this is the school for me - I was incredibly impressed with everyone and everything.

Only dilemma is that I have two interviews next week (this was my first) and I can't decide if I should go to them - I'm 95% sure that I won't change my mind...
 
mhami said:
Heard about my acceptance this afternoon! I kept checking my phone all day (interviewed Monday) then finally gave up, went to a 2 hour meeting and saw the missed call from a Kirksville, MO number when I was done with the meeting. My gut feeling is that this is the school for me - I was incredibly impressed with everyone and everything.

Only dilemma is that I have two interviews next week (this was my first) and I can't decide if I should go to them - I'm 95% sure that I won't change my mind...
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Same here, I walked out of a test and received the acceptance call! I'm thinking this is where I'll end up unless I somehow get into my undergrad's med school.

Did I meet you on Monday? I was the guy from Texas.
 
Yep, we were in the same group - I was the one who has the house that is demolished inside🙂
 
I decided to go with KCUMB for school, and as such I forfeited my interview spot on November 8. Hopefully this helps someone.

Best.
 
apple3 said:
What was your overall feeling during the interview/day? What were you impressed with/not impressed with? Was the interview laid back and do you remember any questions you were asked?
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I was impressed with the genuine interest the admissions staff and faculty expressed in getting to know me as an individual. The school itself if great..but Kirksville is sort of in the middle of nowhere. There is definitely a sense of camaraderie present on campus. Everyone was very inviting and the whole day was enjoyable.
The interviews were very laid back. In the interview with a physician he basically talked the whole time and just asked me a few situational questions (which were random and can't really be prepared for), in the interview with the professor we just went through my application (courses, shadowing experience, EC's). The last interview was with an admission staff member, and I think the hardest question I was asked was to verify my address (she didn't really ask much of anything).
Really just try to enjoy the day and be enthusiastic about osteopathic medicine.
Feel free to PM me, I will probably get back to you much faster that way.
 
Howdy ya'll! Anyone interviewing on the 15th? I'm thinking of staying in a hotel, renting a car, and checking out the town the day before. Any specific interview questions I should expect? Where are the local haunts for students?:xf:
 
I just got a letter today saying I am put on hold and that my file would be reviewed at a later date. Anyone in the same situation? My DO just turned his letter of rec. in this week-I wish they had seen that before making their decision, but I guess they will when they review my file again. I really want to interview at this school, it's my top 2!
 
So as promised here's my short review of KCOM interview day:

-The days starts out at 8 and my group was around 12 people. we have had a info session about the school first followed by the interviews. This was definately the most draining part of the day since it is a 3 hr long process. You will interview with three people (two professors, and one admission staff (equally as important)) each interview runs about 45-1hr long although my first two went over. The interviews can be question based or a long enjoyable conversation based on your personality and how you interview. Although the second interviewer will ask you certain application specific questions so know your application very well (which you should anyways). the third interview will be with an admin and he/she will ask you about your address/phone number and a few other questions like how do you like the town, .... then you have lunch and OMM demo and tour of the school

- The town is small, very small and feels like a college town mainly due to Truman College that is right next door to KCOM. Housing is super cheap, I mean supppper cheap so thats a huge plus. the school itself does not look special from the outside, but man its nice from the inside, very high tech and modern and Clean! everyone is super friendly and the student reps were very friendly and answered all our questions. the Admin were VERY nice as well and made us all feel very welcome. LOTS of outdoor stuff to do on your free time, from Big game hunting to triathlons. very solid rotations sites, anatomy lab was great also with a great 4:1 ratio per cadaver. its definately a huge change if you come from a large city but i wouldn't say its a negative, if anything its less distractions which is a positive. I enjoyed the day very much, feel free to PM with any questions you may have. 👍
 
Bdwy said:
I just got a letter today saying I am put on hold and that my file would be reviewed at a later date. Anyone in the same situation? My DO just turned his letter of rec. in this week-I wish they had seen that before making their decision, but I guess they will when they review my file again. I really want to interview at this school, it's my top 2!
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I was put on hold at 2 schools. I just received a letter Saturday from one (about 2 months after the hold letter) saying that I will not be invited for an interview and haven't heard from the other (it's been about a month for that one). It just means that they're not sure about you - they don't want to outright reject you but aren't sure to offer an interview.

I didn't send any updates to the schools I was on hold at as I already had interviews at several schools, but if you're very interested I would recommend doing that - maybe any grade updates, extra volunteer experience and, for KCOM especially, any additional clinical shadowing.
 
thegame11 said:
http://www.atsu.edu/kcom/admissions/why_kcom/diversity_on_campus.htm

Is there actually diversity at KCOM? I didn't see much diversity when I was looking at the facebook page for class of 2014. 🙄 Please comment.
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This was literally one of the only downsides to the school that I noticed (the only other was concern for job prospects for a significant other). The student body appears pretty white and homogeneous to me. There is definitely economic diversity and there are several courses that seem to stress cultural awareness, which I liked. I (as a former president of my undergrad's Hispanic/ Latino club and someone who has worked with largely urban populations) noticed this right off the bat but feel comfortable with the school - they are so genuinely nice and supportive that I don't think it will be an issue - it would just be nice if it really was more ethnically/ racially diverse. According to the Princeton Review site, the student body is 15% minority, but it doesn't specify. An outdated article (early 2000s) had 17-20% http://www.jaoa.org/cgi/reprint/101/11/646.pdf - this is a problem in medicine overall though https://services.aamc.org/publicati...ion=Product.displayForm&prd_id=239&prv_id=295.
 
Hey everyone! So I got an interview invite and scheduled it for Dec. 16th. Anyone willing to trade off if you have a December interview? PM if you do!
 
PinkStarburst said:
Hey everyone! So I got an interview invite and scheduled it for Dec. 16th. Anyone willing to trade off if you have a December interview? PM if you do!
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You wouldn't be able to trade, but I would call every friday and positions will open due to people dropping out and you can take their spot!
 
burnettj said:
I decided to go with KCUMB for school, and as such I forfeited my interview spot on November 8. Hopefully this helps someone.

Best.
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Congrats on your acceptance! I was also recently accepted at KCUMB! I really felt comfortable there – the students, faculty and facilities are all awesome! The unique genesis curriculum is also attractive. But I have heard good things about ATSU so I think I want to check out KCOM too! I’m curious - What made you decide to pass on this school? And why did you choose KCUMB over DMU? I do realize and respect that you are giving up your interview spot for someone else!
 
yep, got the accepted call today too... only 6 days after interviewing, awesome turnaround time!
 
Accepted! :soexcited:Got the call yesterday from the admissions office. (Interviewed 10/28) 😎👍
 
A question to those who traveled to K-Ville using cape air...I'm taking the 3:50 flight out and was wondering if anyone who did this before was able to stay for the tour...which according their schedule is till 2:45? I assume you don't need to budget too much time for K-Ville airport and it looks like KCOM is only like 10 mins from the airport..so any thoughts from those who did this in the past would be great! Also, how good/bad is the Kirksville Days Inn? I have had pretty bad experiences with Days Inn's in the past but booked it because their the only one to offer a shuttle from the airport and I'm trying to keep cost's down...
 
*deleted* (nevermind)
 
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Does KCOM give you the option of storing your suitcase while you go through the tour/interview? Or did you past interviewees keep your stuff at your hotel?
 
tman1820 said:
A question to those who traveled to K-Ville using cape air...I'm taking the 3:50 flight out and was wondering if anyone who did this before was able to stay for the tour...which according their schedule is till 2:45? I assume you don't need to budget too much time for K-Ville airport and it looks like KCOM is only like 10 mins from the airport..so any thoughts from those who did this in the past would be great! Also, how good/bad is the Kirksville Days Inn? I have had pretty bad experiences with Days Inn's in the past but booked it because their the only one to offer a shuttle from the airport and I'm trying to keep cost's down...
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I took the 3:50 flight out and still had time for the tour... Actually more than enough time because I waited at the airport for like 30 minutes :/ I think you'll be fine.

I also stayed at the Days Inn, it was fine. The manager was really awesome, he picked me up from the airport and arranged a ride to the campus and said if I couldn't get a ride to the airport he would drive me. I ended up riding with someone to the airport though.

valkener said:
Does KCOM give you the option of storing your suitcase while you go through the tour/interview? Or did you past interviewees keep your stuff at your hotel?
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I brought my suitcase to the interview and they let me keep it on the side in the lobby, it wasn't a problem at all.

Good luck to everyone.
 
I've been complete since the end of September/beginning of Dec and still haven't heard anything from the admissions office..I've also sent an update email/interest letter about two weeks ago....should I take it as a silent rejection or smthing? 🙁
 
been complete since early oct and still no word, also sent in update two weeks ago..getting quite worried...🙁
 
I just submitted my secondary last night. How long does it take to hear back from them?
 
FutureDoc1988 said:
It took about a week and a half for me to hear back after they had received my letters.
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FutureDoc, or anyone else,

How did you submit your letters & how long did it take for them to acknowledge receipt?

I'm curious how long VirtualEvals takes to get to the admissions office. And I admit I have no idea how the VE system works - do they log in once a week/day/biweekly/etc and download letters that are there for them?

Thanks and good luck everyone still in the running!
 
Hey everyone, I submitted my secondary application on October 24, and I still haven't gotten the complete e-mail. Do you think this is just normal processing time? Or should I call and make sure everything is ok?
 
TropicalKitty said:
FutureDoc, or anyone else,

How did you submit your letters & how long did it take for them to acknowledge receipt?

I'm curious how long VirtualEvals takes to get to the admissions office. And I admit I have no idea how the VE system works - do they log in once a week/day/biweekly/etc and download letters that are there for them?

Thanks and good luck everyone still in the running!
Click to expand...

I sent my letters through virtualevals as well. Some schools download them in bunches others download them weekly. with KCOM from the time my letters were submitted to the time I was actually complete was almost a month. After a few weeks give them a call and ask to see if they have received your letters.
 
Total180 said:
Hey everyone, I submitted my secondary application on October 24, and I still haven't gotten the complete e-mail. Do you think this is just normal processing time? Or should I call and make sure everything is ok?
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I don't think I ever got a complete email. Did you look on the portal to see if everything is marked as received. If not, you can call and make sure they have received everything.
 
It took ~10 days for my complete email to come, another 10 days for my confirmation code email (which allows you to check the status of your application... which is essentially worthless). One week later I got an interview invitation. Total wait: ~ 1 month. Also consider that the process has bottlenecked later in the cycle. This whole process is a test of patience.
 
ACCEPTED!!! WEEEEEEEEE 😀😀

they are SO quick with their decisions! I interviewed on Thursday, Nov 11 and received a call from my admissions person on Wednesday, Nov 17. She left me a voicemail, but had already left her office when I called back. However, I received the best wake-up call this morning!! haha

Am cancelling my interviews everywhere else and unless WesternU/COMP accepts me, I will most likely be joining KCOM c/o 2015!
 
thegame11 said:
I just submitted my secondary last night. How long does it take to hear back from them?
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..and to Joliarte:

I had one school invite me to interview even before my AACOMAS was done processing - maybe 10 days after I submitted the primary and less than a week after submitting the secondary.
Four out of five schools gave me their secondaries within a week or week and a half (including KCOM).
Two invited me to interview within ~ 3 weeks from submitting my primary. I'm still waiting to hear from the other 2. I submitted it late September and got the secondaries done immediately. Don't worry, you're fine. It just depends how busy both the COM and AACOMAS are 👍

Btw my interview at KCOM went very well. Everyone at the school was happy to be there, and they're up-to-date with tech stuff, too. It's a very close-knit "family" there, not any competition, only sharing. Idk how much of a "family" I want with my medical school, though. I already have a family with my husband...
 
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Interview invite! December 6th. Now I need to figure out how to change my flight to Kansas City. I have an interview at KCUMB Dec. 10th, and it seems silly to fly to MO twice in one week...
 
i just received the interview invite email, so i thought i'd post on here & subscribe to the thread. i scheduled my interview for january 6th.
 
anyone else interviewing here dec 13th?
also do you guys recommend flying directly into kirksville? or is a neighboring airport cheaper?
any hotel recommendations?
thanks guys!
 
Anyone interviewing 11/22 ? And staying at Days Inn? 🙂
 
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