AZCOM Class of 2008

[MDmiracle]

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Doc Jkrue,

I pm'd you a while back. FYI

 

[fozzy40]

Honestly, school is hard. The hardest part for me was adjusting to the volume of studying and finding what way is best for you. It does take time, patience, but persistence will get you through. Like everyone else, I've had those days where I have felt inadequate, stressed, and just plain frustrated. As long as you understand that this is "normal" I think you should be fine. Aside from that, I love AZCOM education because all of our material is well integrated. If we are studying the abdominal viscera, you can bet that Anatomy, Biochem, OMM, and your clinical medicine class supplements each other.

The schedule isn't horrible. I personally like having tests on Mondays. It gives you the whole weekend for uninterrupted studying. It's better than getting done with classes around 4 or 5pm and then trying to prepare for a test for the rest of the weekend. As far as free time, there is "some." As long as you plan your day accordingly. For me, I like to go out at night so I wake up early and put about 6-7 hours of studying in on the weekend and then go out at night. In my mind, studying more than 7hrs is ineffective. Bottom line, there IS time for fun. I don't care what ANYONE says. Having down time is just as important as that exam on Monday.

I love AZCOM and don't regret coming here for a second. Enjoy your time off now ladies and gents!

Keep the questions coming!

Fred

 

[MDmiracle]

One other question, how close is your class? Do you regularly study together, things along that line?

 

[fozzy40]

One of the things that I love about our school is that everyone in our class is unique in their own way. Everyone has a "story" to tell and I haven't met two people with the same one. Two of my personal favorite, one classmate of mine used to work in a coal mine and another paid for college as a truck driver. Very cool.

I think that we have a very good class dynamic. There are many "groups" of friends throughout the class but we all still work well together. On the average, everyone seems to like one another and enjoys each other's company. In my opinion, 98% of our class are friendly, outgoing, and well spoken! Like any school, we do have some introverts, gunners, all of the above...they don't really seem to hang out but that is to be expected.

Just to give you an idea on our class, we started out w/ about 148 students and we are now down to about 140. A couple students just never showed up to orientation, one student got really sick, and another decided that med school was not for them. There were a couple of students who decelerated for one reason or another.

Our age range is between 22-45 and the average age (I believe) is 26. We have a fair number of married students w/children as well.

As you can tell, I am a HUGE advocate of AZCOM and have had an amazing time at school, thus far. I am sure that you will read some posts from others and/or hear other "experiences" from my school who might have different opinions. I am simply one person so I encourage you to pick the brain of others.

Medical school, like life, is what you make of it. If you are motivated, keep your mind open, and the type of person who takes an active role in making their life better you all will do fine here at AZCOM (or any school for that matter.)

I hope this helps! I am on spring break right now so please keep firing the questions!

Fred

 

[sunystudent]

Fred,
Thanks for all of your advice. I am entering this summer and am very excited. I just want to get the students prospective on how the clinical rotations are in an ambulatory setting. Is the experience just as good?What have you heard?? If anyone has some input please reply

 

[XCanadianRagwee]

Hey y'all...

I figure I'd poke my head in here. I have no idea yet if I'm headed to AZCOM, as I'm waitlisted at one school, and waiting to hear back from another. I've met some of you during interviews, and who knows I might be in class with you this fall.

First thing...drive the 2,200 farking miles to Glendale. Icky poo.

 

[XCanadianRagwee]

In a long roundabout way...I'm going to medical school, just not AZCOM...best of luck y'all.

 

[MDmiracle]

Let's get some more movement on this thread. I see at least five people in the attendings thread so Hello to everyone.

 

[James20062]

Any AZCOM class of 2008 students alive? Where are all of you moving to AZ from? When are you moving?

 

[MDmiracle]

Any AZCOM class of 2008 students alive? Where are all of you moving to AZ from? When are you moving?

Vancouver, WA I am Moving aroung july 1st. Nice to meet you

 

[James20062]

Cool! A fellow Washingtonian, I'm from Spokane. I'll be heading down last minute (second week in aug). Working two jobs to save up money until then.

 

[DFrancyk]

Hey all...

I find it wierd that this post is in the pre-osteopathic since you are all accepted! Well, hopefully you all are. Congrats! Anyhow, I wanted to see if anyone needs a place to stay. I have a house not far from campus and I'm looking for a room mate. Message me if you are interested. And on that note, message me if you have any questions either.

Dave
AZCOM 2007

 

[wbharris]

Congrats, y'all. You'll have a good time here. If you guys have questions about the school, or about where to live, or anything in this area, just post it or PM me.
Again, congratulations and see you folks in the fall!

 

[kristing]

Fred,
Thanks for all of your advice. I am entering this summer and am very excited. I just want to get the students prospective on how the clinical rotations are in an ambulatory setting. Is the experience just as good?What have you heard?? If anyone has some input please reply

Go see DrNickiTay's thread that she started - it's called "Any questions for a current AZCOM student." This was discussed a lot over there. We're all just tired of talking about it... sorry.

In short - the rotations have their plusses and minusses. I would recommend if you can get hospital based IM and peds to do it. Those experiences, working in a team environment with residents and interns and other meds students are very unique and the ambulatory set up at AZCOM will not allow you to get that experience (which will better prepare you for residency) unless you are proactive.

So how do you get these rotations? In your sencond year, start calling places. You can get IM hospital based in Tucson (2 hours south), but there is no hospital based peds available to us in the state. Plus, the Tucson IM spots fill through the lottery, so your best bet is to go out of state if you can travel. It's worth the travel. I promise.

Other than that. I like our ambulatory program. I got a lot of hands on in my surgery rotation I may not have gotten in a traditional rotation. It's also nice to just be accountable to ONE doctor instead of having to figure out several attending's preferences.

🙂

kristin
MSIII (almost MSIV!)
AZCOM

 

[FowlersGap]

Cool! A fellow Washingtonian, I'm from Spokane. I'll be heading down last minute (second week in aug). Working two jobs to save up money until then.

i thought you were gonna COMP it with us

i liked AZ though; it was a nice campus, but i think the heat would have made me melt

 

[cookypuss3]

Oh Kristing, always so smiley!!! But since we are so removed from that foreign land, the classroom, let me answer a very important question someone asked a while back:

YES the rooms are absolutely freezing even if it's nice and 55 degrees outside. Women will hate this. Men will love it. Medical school is when I started buying those bras with LOTS of lining. Bring a hoodie and don't wear shorts.

Brrrrr just thinking about it!!!!!

Back to a comment on clinicals -- because there is no organization or official program of any kind, it's entirely possible that you and your classmates will have wildly different experiences during given rotations. Kristing was just saying how fabulous her surgery experience was -- well, I had a different doc and was basically her little bitch all month, cutting sutures and holding retractors. I didn't place a single suture or learn a damn thing about surgery while actually in it. It sucked. It's a good thing that I don't give a rat's ass about surgery. You basically have to set up your own stuff if you want to be guaranteed a certain kind of experience. It's a pain in the butt and no one wants to think about it at the end of second year when boards are impending.

 

[snooze7]

Hey, does anyone know when the white coat ceremony and/or the first day of classes is scheduled? I've tried to get in touch with admissions, but they don't seem to want to respond in too prompt a manner 😡 . Just trying to let family/friends know when to expect certain things. Thanks and I'll see everybody in the summer!

 

[cdreed]

Hi!

Last year we started orientation on the last Wed in Aug. Classes actually began the following Mon. And the white coat ceremony wasn't until mid-Oct. Don't worry. You should be receiving more info from the school by the end of July. Just relax until then.

 

[kristing]

Back to a comment on clinicals -- because there is no organization or official program of any kind, it's entirely possible that you and your classmates will have wildly different experiences during given rotations. Kristing was just saying how fabulous her surgery experience was -- well, I had a different doc and was basically her little bitch all month, cutting sutures and holding retractors. I didn't place a single suture or learn a damn thing about surgery while actually in it. It sucked. It's a good thing that I don't give a rat's ass about surgery. You basically have to set up your own stuff if you want to be guaranteed a certain kind of experience. It's a pain in the butt and no one wants to think about it at the end of second year when boards are impending.

Dude - didn't think my surgery rotation was fabulous. I hated f%$king surgery. Just thought it was worthwhile and that I learned a lot. Another classmate of ours did her surgery rotation in a more traditional place (teaching hospital with other med students), and learned a whole hell of a lot more than me, though. But her rotation sucked A$$, too. Her hours were horrendous, she was often very sleep deprived, she didn't get to do teaching rounds on many of her patients, etc. But wow, can she throw some ties! woohee. She blows me away, there. As a future pediatrician, though, it doesn't really matter how well I throw ties.

So like cookypuss3 says, your rotation experiences may be very different from your peers in class. Is this a bad thing? I don't know. I did several of my rotations at a hospital where numerous other med students from other schools were (TUCOM, Kansas City) and they were there all of 3rd year. Some of those rotations for them were horrible - not a lot of patient care, not a lot of interaction. Some were great, OB especially. (fyi - hospital is closing residency and also student training). So you see, you can have great experiences, you can have crappy ones. The main difference between our school and others is that our experiences are not uniform among our classmates since there is no one teaching hospital. I am glad I wasn't stuck at the previous mentioned hospital for the whole 3rd year. If I hadn't been proactive in my IM rotation, I would have seen a total of 2 patients a day, max. Not kidding at all. I glued myself to another intern and wandered around with him and then got a lot more experience.

Now I am doing a rotation that other 3rd years would die for. As is cookypuss, btw. (She's in a different place, though). Our set up at our school allows us to do these sorts of things. We at least have flexibility.

Wow. That was long.

whew. 😳

 

[bluedog2323]

I just started looking around on this site and was excited to see so many people from AZCOM on here! So, sorry if I ask questions you've already answered! So...it sounds like you can do rotations anywhere in the country at AZCOM for 3rd and 4th year? I'm really glad I choose AZCOM now! I heard so many concerns about not being able to get hospital based rotations. I've thought about pediatrics, but not sure I want to go into it because it's such a low paying specialty and there's hardly any DO residencies I know I'll have to apply allopathic which has it's own challenges. Oh well, I have time to figure it out!

Where are you doing your rotation now and where are those "to die for" rotations and how do you set them up? HELP!!
___________________________
AZCOM Class of 2008

 

[MDmiracle]

Wow, it seems that a change of venue is just what was needed to revive this thread. Anywho, I want to take the time to say thank you to everyone who takes thier limited time to offer insight and advice. I'm not sure if this is normal, but I am getting really nervous. I know classes are 4 months away, but i am starting to doubt myself. I am really stressing out about financial aid and moving. I know I am just being nuerotic, but is this normal?

I am very glad I chose azcom I really like the fact that I can set up my own rotations. I think that overall it is a very good system, although things could change when I actually have to deal with it. Enough rambling. Thank You to everyone who gives advice and insight. I know all of us appreciate it. It probably is the only thing that keeps me from hyperventilating.

Oh, and here is the link to DrNicki's thread that kristing alluded to earlier.
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=56846&highlight=azcom

 

[James20062]

Hey, does anyone know when the white coat ceremony and/or the first day of classes is scheduled? I've tried to get in touch with admissions, but they don't seem to want to respond in too prompt a manner 😡 . Just trying to let family/friends know when to expect certain things. Thanks and I'll see everybody in the summer!

Orientation Aug 25th-27th... whitecoat somewhere in there. First day of class is the 30th.

 

[DFrancyk]

Orientation Aug 25th-27th... whitecoat somewhere in there. First day of class is the 30th.

I promise, white coat ceremony isn't until after your first anatomy exam at least. So don't fret it. There will be plenty of time for relatives to get plane tickets and all. Anyhow, offer still stands on a room to rent in my house. And if you all have any questions pertaining to life in medical school, I'd be happy to entertain them.

Take care,
Dave
AZCOM 2007 (I really don't know if I call myself a MSI or a MSII since I took a leave of absense... if you know tell me. LOL )

 

[Boomer]

I promise, white coat ceremony isn't until after your first anatomy exam at least. So don't fret it. There will be plenty of time for relatives to get plane tickets and all. Anyhow, offer still stands on a room to rent in my house. And if you all have any questions pertaining to life in medical school, I'd be happy to entertain them.

Take care,
Dave
AZCOM 2007 (I really don't know if I call myself a MSI or a MSII since I took a leave of absense... if you know tell me. LOL )

Yeah, they wait until after the first anatomy test to see how many people drop out so they don't waste a coat on 'em....ohhhh, couldn't resist.

Let's see if I can reply to this post without getting people's panties in a bunch. Regarding rotations (as I've said on here numerous times before): cookypuss and kristing are telling you a lot of what you need to know. Experiences are extremely variable. Is this a good thing? I don't know. I like to think that for the amount of money I'm spending, I'm not getting shorted anywhere, and that I'm getting the same level of experience as my colleagues. Maybe that's too idealistic, but that's me.

By and large, the AZCOM system WORKS fine. It still produces competent graduates who do fairly well in matching in what they want. There are changes in the MECHANISM that several AZCOM students would like to see, such as more elective time and less REQUIRED family medicine time, but this is largely an individual choice.

Using the surgery example from above, my third year surgery rotation BLEW DOG. I thought I was very interested in surgery, then, based on my 3rd year experience, thought again. I did my 4th year subspecialty surgery rotation (after applying to the field I matched in) and loved being in the OR. Although I'm very pleased with what I'm going into, I sometimes wonder if my decision would have been different if my surgery experience had been more educational.

Overall, I'm slightly happy with my rotations. I've had a handful that I've loved, and some that I've detested. I really didn't enjoy leaving my wife for weeks/months at time to travel for quality rotations late 3rd and early 4th year, but you do what you have to do. Personally, I think I would have preferred a more traditional approach, but I ended up at my number one choice in the end.

And this will be all I have to say on this thread......OUT

 

[snooze7]

Hey, admissions replied and said the ceremony is Fri, Dec. 3. A little later than I had thought.

 

[irish79]

DECEMBER 3? Why would they wait that long? I thought it was late when we did it in October. It seems to me that it would make more sense to do it in that first week when parents, etc. are here--like almost every other medical school in the country does. Doing it then would avoid family coming in the middle of the quarter while you are trying to study for that next Monday test.

 

[kristing]

I just started looking around on this site and was excited to see so many people from AZCOM on here! So, sorry if I ask questions you've already answered! So...it sounds like you can do rotations anywhere in the country at AZCOM for 3rd and 4th year? I'm really glad I choose AZCOM now! I heard so many concerns about not being able to get hospital based rotations. I've thought about pediatrics, but not sure I want to go into it because it's such a low paying specialty and there's hardly any DO residencies I know I'll have to apply allopathic which has it's own challenges. Oh well, I have time to figure it out!

Where are you doing your rotation now and where are those "to die for" rotations and how do you set them up? HELP!!
___________________________
AZCOM Class of 2008

To get the good rotations, you need to be proactive in your second year. (At least that helps your chances.) And make friends with Linda, over in clinical ed. I have seen her referred to as a "little old lady" in other threads, and I can guarantee you, she is, by far, the most competent person in clinical ed (and NOT a little old lady). Ask her advice, let her feel you out and she will help you. A lot. (But wait until it is the appropriate time to do so in 2nd year.) Also realize, that she is doing her job, and maybe sometimes, will recommend rotations to the whole class that some people have had issues with. Cookypuss's surgery rotation as well as one of her family med rotations come to mind. In the clinical ed office, there are a lot of reviews written by students about different preceptors. I was religious about reading them. I looked online for board actions against doctors I was interested in (this is a very important thing to do). And for the most part, I got decent rotations with decent people.

Oh - and to get the good ones that are out of state, ask Linda first. Then if you need some more data, get ON THE PHONE, and start calling places. Ask for the medical education department (or go online and find out exactly where to call). I find scutwork.com to be a decent avenue for looking at how hospital rotations work at various teaching hospitals. (Go to the residency section and look at residencies that have been reviewed, as so many of these reviews are done by med students on their rotations.) I was amazed at how EASY it was to set up rotations at places when you call early enough. I have a peds ER one set up for this summer in Chicago. It was easy! For 3rd year rotations, you will have better luck setting up hospital based ones at osteopathic teaching hospitals. A few that our students go to a lot are St Vincents in Toledo and Doctor's in Columbus.

Do realize that some rotations may be cancelled, and you may get stuck with something unexpected. This happened to me and it worked out for the better. Some people, it works out for the worse.

I do have a little insight on our rotations, though. I am currently doing a 4th year peds rotation at an allopathic teaching hospital. I am amazed at the big glaring differences in this vs my office based peds rotation (as I'm sure you all can figure out). I can say, that I am learning a lot in terms of hospital medicine, but if the hospital were my only learning experience for peds, I wouldn't get the physical exam skills I got while on my office based peds rotation. (And my first peds rotation wasn't stellar, by any stretch of the imagination.) Ditto for IM. There is no comparison to seeing 20 - 40 patients a day vs seeing 5 in the hospital. We do need the education in both arenas, that's for sure, but I do feel I have a leg up on my colleagues in different schools who are at the hospital for all/most of their rotations in terms of physical exam skills. In the hospital, I am learning how to present to an attending. I am learning the logistics of a hospital. I am learning what things are urgent and emergent. Just a few differences. 🙂

alrighty then. Thankgod for caffeine or else you all would not be getting my glorious wisdom. hah.

 

[bluedog2323]

To get the good rotations, you need to be proactive in your second year. (At least that helps your chances.) And make friends with Linda, over in clinical ed. I have referred to her as a "little old lady" in other threads, and I can guarantee you, she is, by far, the most competent person in clinical ed (and NOT a little old lady). Ask her advice, let her feel you out and she will help you. A lot. (But wait until it is the appropriate time to do so in 2nd year.) Also realize, that she is doing her job, and maybe sometimes, will recommend rotations to the whole class that some people have had issues with. Cookypuss's surgery rotation as well as one of her family med rotations come to mind. In the clinical ed office, there are a lot of reviews written by students about different preceptors. I was religious about reading them. I looked online for board actions against doctors I was interested in (this is a very important thing to do). And for the most part, I got decent rotations with decent people.

Oh - and to get the good ones that are out of state, ask Linda first. Then if you need some more data, get ON THE PHONE, and start calling places. Ask for the medical education department (or go online and find out exactly where to call). I find scutwork.com to be a decent avenue for looking at how hospital rotations work at various teaching hospitals. (Go to the residency section and look at residencies that have been reviewed, as so many of these reviews are done by med students on their rotations.) I was amazed at how EASY it was to set up rotations at places when you call early enough. I have a peds ER one set up for this summer in Chicago. It was easy! For 3rd year rotations, you will have better luck setting up hospital based ones at osteopathic teaching hospitals. A few that our students go to a lot are St Vincents in Toledo and Doctor's in Columbus.

Do realize that some rotations may be cancelled, and you may get stuck with something unexpected. This happened to me and it worked out for the better. Some people, it works out for the worse.

I do have a little insight on our rotations, though. I am currently doing a 4th year peds rotation at an allopathic teaching hospital. I am amazed at the big glaring differences in this vs my office based peds rotation (as I'm sure you all can figure out). I can say, that I am learning a lot in terms of hospital medicine, but if the hospital were my only learning experience for peds, I wouldn't get the physical exam skills I got while on my office based peds rotation. (And my first peds rotation wasn't stellar, by any stretch of the imagination.) Ditto for IM. There is no comparison to seeing 20 - 40 patients a day vs seeing 5 in the hospital. We do need the education in both arenas, that's for sure, but I do feel I have a leg up on my colleagues in different schools who are at the hospital for all/most of their rotations in terms of physical exam skills. In the hospital, I am learning how to present to an attending. I am learning the logistics of a hospital. I am learning what things are urgent and emergent. Just a few differences. 🙂

alrighty then. Thankgod for caffeine or else you all would not be getting my glorious wisdom. hah.

WOW! You can do rotations at allopathic hospitals as an osteopathic student! Are there certain ones that allow that?? Or do they all allow that?? Which one are you at? One in Michigan or something? Is it associated with an osteopathic medical school too? It sounds like AZCOM is pretty lenient on where you get your rotations done, you just have to know what you are doing and do the legwork. Which, if it's important to you, I suppose you'll find a way to learn the system and do it right like you said! You seem to know so much about all of this! I'm so glad you are on this site! Thank you for all of your help!

___________________
AZCOM Class of 2008

 

[LukeWhite]

Bluedog,

Being able to do rotations at allopathic hospitals is the rule rather than the exception...there's really not an allopathic/osteopathic hospital dichotomy anymore...some osteopathic hospitals have stuck around (mainly because of inertia, in my opinion) but more or less everything except school and residencies is integrated, and the residencies are following fast.

As long as you do your research, pick your targets, and present yourself well, the impression I get is that you'll have no problem going where you want to unless there are nasty restrictions like UoA's little decade-long fit. Check out scutwork.com to get a feel for hospitals you might want to eventually do rotations at...never too early to get a feel for the residencies you might eventually angle for!

 

[kristing]

WOW! You can do rotations at allopathic hospitals as an osteopathic student! Are there certain ones that allow that?? Or do they all allow that?? Which one are you at? One in Michigan or something? Is it associated with an osteopathic medical school too? It sounds like AZCOM is pretty lenient on where you get your rotations done, you just have to know what you are doing and do the legwork. Which, if it's important to you, I suppose you'll find a way to learn the system and do it right like you said! You seem to know so much about all of this! I'm so glad you are on this site! Thank you for all of your help!

___________________
AZCOM Class of 2008

I'm at Children's Hospital of Austin - it's with the allopthic residency program associated with teh Austin Medical Education Program. In the future, this rotation will require prior hospital experience to get it (hence why I recommend attempting a 3rd year rotation at an osteo hospital first, as they're easier to get into in your 3rd year). I kind of got lucky to be here, in terms of the hospital. My point, though, was that our school allowed me this experience in the 3d year if I could find it, and, since one of my classmates found it, I got to come here. I am very very lucky.

The trick with some of the allo rotations that are hospital based is that the teaching hospitals contract with allo med school X and hence cannot take you in your 3rd year if you are not a student at allo med school X. 4th year, it is not a big deal, since lots of students from all over will be doing rotations at the hospitals. The issue arises when you need hospital experience in order to gain the 4th year rotation. Like at Phoenix Children's and St Joe's, you will need hospital experience first. But they can't give you the hospital experience. So it's a catch 22.

My feeling, after being here in Austin at a great program, and applying to it, though, is that there is some wiggle room at other programs. I think some programs may just need to know that you have hospital experience, and I don't think it necessarily has to be in a teaching program. So if you work with a hospitalist for your ped rotation or IM rotation, maybe that's good enough for them. I don't know this for sure, but this is the impression I get from being here. On my application for a rotation here I was asked what hospital experience I had and that was it. Our rotations at AZCOM can be set up with hospitalists easily, generally. (Lots of my compadres do IM rotations with hospitalists, and I know there are pediatric hospitalist groups in Phoenix, so I imagine it's possible in peds, too).

But the key is to get the info yourself. I was really hesitant at first because I am a chicken ****, but after I realized how easy it was, I realized there is no need to be chicken! So learn from me. That's why I post. So everyone can learn from my mistakes. Besides NickiTay, seriously, it was hard for me to get this info. Why whould we all reinvent the wheel?

 

[LukeWhite]

This is great stuff, Kristin! You should write a book. I'm sure I for one will certainly be pestering you if you're still online next year looking for info on the good rotations. Great insights.

 

[Beck928]

Hey,
Congrats to those accepted! 🙂 I'm an AZCOM Class of 2006 student, and wanted to tell everyone they are going to love medical school! I also wanted to let whoever is interested know that I have a room for rent about 5 miles from school. I own a 2 bed/2 bath condo which is furnished except the room. Rent is reasonable ($375 plus utilities) and is cheaper than on campus. I'm a great roommate, and have been through all the first and secon year stuff (and you can borrow my books if you want!). Let me know if anyone is interested, male or female!
-Becky

 

[Christian]

Congratulations on being accepted to one of the best Osteopathic Medical Schools in the Country! It is a long road but definitely fruitful!!! My name is Christian T. Purgason Class 2004 and will be leaving the beautiful valley for residency in California (UCSF Fresno EM). We are currently the renters of a beautiful large home on the lake 1-mile from school that needs future renters. The home is 2200 sq. ft 3br/2ba home 2 car garage, hardwood floors with tile kitchen, separate office, den and living room, vaulted ceilings that sits on a lake making for awesome views and a great spot to sit an study! Beautiful fruit trees line this culdesac home making for some great breakfast grapefruit and lemonade! You will be in a secure family neighborhood surrounded by professionals and families and less than .25 miles to Starbucks, Blockbuster and major shopping/parks. Gardening and some utilities provided by owner. You will not beat this place. Apts around here are about the same for a 3 bedroom (maybe a little cheaper but pretty darn close in price).

Rent $1,300 a month.
I will be happy to email pictures to anyone interested! Come take a look as this will go quick!

Repeat, you will not find a nicer place in the Valley for this price. We have been stoked living here and you will be also!
Christian T. Purgason MSIV
623-334-4674

 

[snooze7]

I was just wondering whether or not there were any cyclists attending this coming year. I want to find some people interested in possibly putting a team together to race on the weekends or if nothing else just to ride on a regular basis. Let me know.

 

[cdreed]

Hi everyone!

I just wanted to welcome you all and let you know that the class of 2007 has just picked our little brothers/sisters. Hopefully each of you will hear from your big brother/sister soon. We are looking forward to meeting you all. Make sure you relax and enjoy the summer. School will be here soon enough...

If anyone has specific q's, don't hesitate to pm me. Although I will be in Alabama for a month doing Air Force training, I will get back to you as soon as I can.

Cyndi

 

[jhug]

i just got my little bro's info...but i don't have an email. I won't post a name on here but if you are from the greater phoenix area pm me and i'll see if you are my little bro...maybe we could do lunch before the madness starts🙂
good luck and congrats to all who will start in the fall...i don't think you'll regret your decision!

 

[fozzy40]

Hey there boys and girls,

I too am searching for me lil' sis. Not to mention any names, all I can say is she's from Hawaii. If you're here, please feel free to email me. I emailed you last week so I was wondering if you received it or not.

Fred

 

[abuchloe]

I am looking for roommates with whom to rent/share. I have two dogs and I hate living in apartments. The school does not have a way for us to connect other than the housing notebook in student services so this forum is it. If anyone is interested in joining me, please let me know.

 

[Azcomstud]

Congradulations to all of you that are accepted. Us first years
(class of 2007) just to our last final on Friday and we now have 3 months off!! First year was awesome, AZCOM is awesome.

 

[kothkg]

Hi there class of 2008,

I see that a few of my classmates have posted messages here. Now that we are finished with our first year and have a little time on our hands I'm sure we would be willing to try to answer a few questions from you guys about AZCOM. I will check this site every few days to see if there are questions that I am able to answer. Congrats to all of you.

 

[doc jkrue]

So I have been living in Glendale at the Sagestone Apartments for awhile now, yet have not really had the chance to meet many people around here. Now that it is summer, I would love to meet up with some of you current students or other 2008'ers living here. Congrats to all, cya soon.

 

[MDmiracle]

So I have been living in Glendale at the Sagestone Apartments for awhile now, yet have not really had the chance to meet many people around here. Now that it is summer, I would love to meet up with some of you current students or other 2008'ers living here. Congrats to all, cya soon.

Hey doc, long time no see. My family and I are moving on the 1st of july , so maybe we can try to put together a Barbecue for sometime in the 3rd or 4th week. I think we are going to rent a house in surprise. If we Do I'll be more than happy to have it there. See Ya Soon

 

[melmc]

I'm moving down to Arizona the first week of July too. But we're (my husband and I) are still torn between on-campus and off-campus housing. Can I get some feedback from those who are already settled in the Phoenix area concerning housing options. We would like to rent for the first year and then possibly look into buying after we've become more familiar with the area and my husband has found a job.

By doc jkrue: "So I have been living in Glendale at the Sagestone Apartments for awhile now..."
Doc jrue: How is Sagestone? I've been looking on the internet at Sagestone and Arrowhead Highlands as off-campus options. How far is Sagestone actually from campus?

Does anyone feel strongly one way or the other about Arrowhead Highlands or on-campus housing (there is a luxury 1-bed available if we want it)?

Thanks for the help all.. and I look forward to meeting you in the coming months.

 

[Azcomstud]

melmc,
My family (wife and 2 kids) has lived in Arrowhead Highlands for almost a year now and we have absolutely loved the complex. The grounds are always well kept and they have very nice facilities (I mean a sand beach at a pool- what else could you want. 🙂 ) They also can give you reasonable deals such as 1-2 months free rent and I think they also reduce rent by $20 for being a MWU student. I think the only qualm we've had thus far is having my wife's bike stolen off our balcony. We also like living with-in walking distance to the school. It takes only five minutes to walk to school (I don't know if you guys are aware that gas in Phoenix is around $2.25 a gallon right now!! 😡 ) Its a 5 minute walk from Arrowhead.

We have friends that live at Sagestone and on-campus housing. Sagestone has nice apartments, but their facilities aren't that great. Its about a 8-10 minute walk to school from Sagestone.

On-campus housing is appealing because cable and internet are included in your rent and you live only 5 minutes from campus. Other than that, I've heard the apartments aren't that nice. The 2 bedroom plans have less square footage than most off-campus 1 bedroom apartments.

As you can tell, I love living at Arrowhead. My suggestion to you is make a trip down and check out places for yourself. Web sites often make places look nicer than they really are. Good Luck!!

 

[MDmiracle]

melmc,
My family (wife and 2 kids) has lived in Arrowhead Highlands for almost a year now and we have absolutely loved the complex. The grounds are always well kept and they have very nice facilities (I mean a sand beach at a pool- what else could you want. 🙂 ) They also can give you reasonable deals such as 1-2 months free rent and I think they also reduce rent by $20 for being a MWU student. I think the only qualm we've had thus far is having my wife's bike stolen off our balcony. We also like living with-in walking distance to the school. It takes only five minutes to walk to school (I don't know if you guys are aware that gas in Phoenix is around $2.25 a gallon right now!! 😡 ) Its a 5 minute walk from Arrowhead.

We have friends that live at Sagestone and on-campus housing. Sagestone has nice apartments, but their facilities aren't that great. Its about a 8-10 minute walk to school from Sagestone.

On-campus housing is appealing because cable and internet are included in your rent and you live only 5 minutes from campus. Other than that, I've heard the apartments aren't that nice. The 2 bedroom plans have less square footage than most off-campus 1 bedroom apartments.

As you can tell, I love living at Arrowhead. My suggestion to you is make a trip down and check out places for yourself. Web sites often make places look nicer than they really are. Good Luck!!

I have a wife and 3 kids, what size apartment did you get? If you don't mind how much are you paying? PM me if you'd rather not post the details. Thanks for the insight nonethe less.

 

[Azcomstud]

Not a problem. We got 1 1/2 months free rent which brought our rent to about $820 a month for a 15 month lease. In order to get the free rent, you might have to sign a long lease. We have the large 2 bedroom plan (1100 sq. feet). One problem with Arrowhead that I failed to mention- They allow you to rent a one bedroom if there is only two of you and a two bedroom if there's no more than four people living there. This might have changed during the last year though.

Hey, if any of you have any questions about anything let me know.

 

[doc jkrue]

Hey all
Yes its been awhile since I have been here, but its my computer's fault. I had some bug or got hijacked and just got it fixed.

Anyway, sounds like we already got a bunch of people wanting a cookout. I am all for it. Just let the forum know when ya move here and we will get cookin. PM me too if we want to start figuring out dates and things.
=========================================
onto the apartment questions.

I love it here at the Sagestone. The facilities are quite nice. I do not feel that management is a problem. In fact, I feel they are very friendly and treat you very well. Any questions or concerns you have will be answered quickly. There is always plenty of parking here. Some nice grassy areas for pets and kids. The whole place is maintained very nicely. The comlex has 2 pools. One is heated year round and the other is not, but the summer sun has been doing that job very nicely. There are only 2 grilling locations though. boo.

The thing that really sold me on Sagestone was the open floor plans. The room layout suits me perfectly. The rooms are very large and flow from one to the next. The Highlands however, I felt have smaller spaces. The rooms are very compartmentalized and partitioned off from one another. t was a little too cramped in there for me, ( I did only look at the 1BD and smaller 2BD apts though).

You also cannot beat the Sagesone on the price. For living this close to campus, rent is fairly inexpencive. Depending on when you sign your lease, they also give fantastic deals. I got a 5% MWU discount, no move-in fees, no security deposit. My rent is awesome for the area and large spaces( I live in the A2 for those who are familiar with floorplans). I believe Highlands was a bit more pricey, but closer yet to school.
=======================================

For those who care, Sagestone is exactly 0.7 miles from the gate to the campus entrance. It would be less, but there is only one entrance to campus, which is on the other side of the block.

So, in all, move to Sagestone. It is a great place with fun people (me). And also, I would like people close to study with. hah

 

[mcataz]

melmc,
My family (wife and 2 kids) has lived in Arrowhead Highlands for almost a year now and we have absolutely loved the complex. The grounds are always well kept and they have very nice facilities (I mean a sand beach at a pool- what else could you want. 🙂 ) They also can give you reasonable deals such as 1-2 months free rent and I think they also reduce rent by $20 for being a MWU student. I think the only qualm we've had thus far is having my wife's bike stolen off our balcony. We also like living with-in walking distance to the school. It takes only five minutes to walk to school (I don't know if you guys are aware that gas in Phoenix is around $2.25 a gallon right now!! 😡 ) Its a 5 minute walk from Arrowhead.

We have friends that live at Sagestone and on-campus housing. Sagestone has nice apartments, but their facilities aren't that great. Its about a 8-10 minute walk to school from Sagestone.

On-campus housing is appealing because cable and internet are included in your rent and you live only 5 minutes from campus. Other than that, I've heard the apartments aren't that nice. The 2 bedroom plans have less square footage than most off-campus 1 bedroom apartments.

As you can tell, I love living at Arrowhead. My suggestion to you is make a trip down and check out places for yourself. Web sites often make places look nicer than they really are. Good Luck!!

I compared Arrowhead Highlands to Sagestone and I too liked Arrowhead Highlands better but Sagestone had clearly nicer apartments. Many of the rooms have vaulted ceilings and nicer finishings like that faux granite kitchen counter tops. Also, Sagestone's apartments are much more internet friendly as the rooms all have outlets in various and convenient sections of the walls.

But I would choose Arrowhead Highlands for a couple of reasons.

1. They have a really nice little gym; it's one you can see yourself using Sagestone's gym paled in comparison.
2. The Sagestone management seemed really terrible. One of their office ladies was extremely rude to me. The other lady was very salesy and fake. Mark-Taylor management tends to be more laid back.
3. They don't use Cox service. They use Qwest which means DSL and not cable modem. No thanks!
4. Sagestone had slightly higher rates and it is further from school.

But as far the look of the rooms, the Sagestone rooms were a lot nicer. They have a very nice contemporary look to them whereas the Arrowhead Highland apartments look like your standard Mark-Taylor clone, which are nice but nothing special. Of course, if you haven't lived in Arizona, you will think Mark Taylor apartments are amazing looking. 🙂

 

[cdreed]

Doc Jkrue,

There is an entrance to the campus that is much closer for you. At the 59th Ave and Post office intersection (I forgot the name of the cross street) if you go to the OMM specialty clinic, there is an entrance at the end of the sidewalk. I think that you'll need your student ID to access this gate though. You will receive these on your first day of orientation. However, student services may be willing to give you your ID early.

And for anyone else considering the difference between Cox and Qwest, I have lived in Phoenix for about 10 years and used both services at different times. I currently use Cox, and the cable is as fast as Qwest. I am not computer savvy, but both services are equally good. I would suggest that you go with the service that offers you the best price for phone, internet and tv.

 

[jhug]

i dont' live at arrowheads (i lived on campus until we bought a house)....how big are your kids? one thing, actually the main reason, we didn't live at arrowheads was the fact that it is surrounded by very nice but very ungated ponds. We have three little kids and i couldn't risk anything happening with them in those ponds. Granted, if you have bigger kids that most likely wouldn't be a problem.
I really liked being on campus, we had a 1300sq foot two-bedroom, but i am sure those are probably all taken if you havn't signed up for one yet, still worth checking into. our total living expenses were the rent plus +/- $100 for electricity (that's on the high side but i hate big bill suprises)
I would totally suggest, if you can, to buy a house. The rates are still low, but looking to go up. housing in the area is crazy. we bought a house about two months ago and a similar model just sold for thousands more than what we paid.