AZCOM Discussion thread 2008-2009

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Interviewed 10/20......jsut called and GOT IN. YES! though western is my top choice (WL) i would be VERY HAPPY at AZCOM. Good luck to everyone. Congrats French MD.
 
Hey Teamzissou.......quick question.....

I see you got into both CCOM and AZCOM.

Which did u like better and why?

thanks.
 
Hey Shlifer its actually a REALLY tough decision that I'm struggling with and I've been researching into it quite a bit.

I'm actually from Tempe AZ which is about 30 minutes away from Glendale so I have the local perspective on AZCOM. AZCOM has gorgeous weather and improving rotations but they are not on par with CCOM. The campus is located in a great place with plenty of places to eat and some small bars nearby. Housing options are great, there are a lot of apartments very close and the houses aren't priced badly either. My friend goes to AZCOM now and she is completely happy with everything so far but she is an MS I so hasn't experienced rotations yet. You have to like the fact they would have the new lecture halls and exercise facility completed for our class (although recently I'm hearing otherwise so I'm still trying to get the straight story on it) and also we wouldn't be the first class they expanded for so at least they will have delt with having the 250 students for one year. She also RAVES about their anatomy teacher and how good she is so thats a plus.

For CCOM the buildings and campus are set up very similar and when I interviewed there we didn't actually get to look into the new classrooms but the buildings actually have some of the same architecture as AZCOM. The biggest plus for CCOM is rotations in Chicago are known to be one of the best places to obtain medical training in the country and CCOM has affiliations with some really great hospitals there so its hard to pass that up and that is where I'm stuck. I'm really not a fan of the "preceptor" rotations that AZCOM has going, especially in places like Kingman AZ, but I've heard you can request ward based rotations and get them. So as of now I'm stuck wondering how much better the rotations at CCOM are and if its worth losing my sunshine😀

I would really LOVE to get a MS III or IV's opinion on the AZCOM rotations. Anyone......?🙂
 
when i interviewed at Western they said the tuition was gonna be 41 or 42 K for the 2013 class. So i think AZCOM and western are pretty much the same. Whats a few K when your 250K+ in debt?

Zissou - im also very concerned about AZCOMs rotations and i dont think we will get a good answer since the first 250 person class isnt there yet. I have ehard CCOM is very solid training so i can see how its a tough choice. But your lucky to be choosing 🙂 ..... right now i have an AZCOM acceptance and a western WL so i have no choice......still waiting to hear from CCOM and PCOM.

Post updates if you get more info on the rotation......thanks for all the feedback
 
Cost of living will also be significantly more in the CA schools than in Glendale AZ. Something I took into consideration when deciding among AZCOM and schools with lower tuition.

PreMed5112 said:
regarding the tuition at azcom, i know a lot of people have been saying its really high- AACOMAS college info book says 41K . Comparing this to for example; touro ca 35k and western 39K
Isn't ~5K more/yr not that much relatively comparing to how much we're already going to be paying?
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I have an interview coming up with TUCOM-CA in late november. I also got an interview invite from AZCOM and my options are mid November or early February. My primary choice schools are CCOM, PCOM, and a couple other allopathic schools.

I am considering the early February interview date for AZCOM, because if I do get an acceptance offer, I still want time to consider other schools if they also offer interviews (since according to the osteopathic traffic guidelines, u have a 15-30 days to accept an offer and then give the school a large deposit).

If u accept an offer to a school, is that absolute?? Are ur chances of getting an acceptance less if u interview later? Do you think my decisionof choosing to inverview AZCOM in Februray justifiable?

I know I am being optimisitic, but I'm not sure what to do considering al this.

Any ideas?? 🙂
 
Nutella123 said:
If u accept an offer to a school, is that absolute?? Are ur chances of getting an acceptance less if u interview later? Do you think my decisionof choosing to inverview AZCOM in Februray justifiable?
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If you accept an offer and send a deposit you are not obligated to go...But if you decide not to go you will not get your deposit back. If you are accepted to AZCOM you will have until 12/15 to send in your deposit.

Your chances are probably less if you go to a later interview because schools have rolling admissions which means the spots fill up as time goes by...But they also keep spots open or they wouldn't have the later interviews in the first place.
 
Friday Morning, Oct 31, 2008
Tuesday Morning, Nov 4, 2008
Wednesday Morning, Nov 5, 2008
Monday Morning, Nov 10, 2008
Monday Morning, Jan 26, 2009
Tuesday Morning, Jan 27, 2009
Wednesday Morning, Jan 28, 2009

Those were my choices, i saw someone post that their chioces were mid november or early feb
do we all get different dates to chose from? whats up with that?
I'm not going to be scheduling until i hear from KCUMB and/or DMU. If i get into one of those I probably wont check out AZCOM, unless I want to escape the cold michigan winter...
Plus I just took 5 days off from work last 2 weeks because of my KCUMB and DMU interviews...
 
rajaholick said:
Friday Morning, Oct 31, 2008
Tuesday Morning, Nov 4, 2008
Wednesday Morning, Nov 5, 2008
Monday Morning, Nov 10, 2008
Monday Morning, Jan 26, 2009
Tuesday Morning, Jan 27, 2009
Wednesday Morning, Jan 28, 2009

...
Click to expand...

So are these the only interview dates that AZCOM gives out? If January 28th is the last interview date, does someone who interviews on that date have a really low chance of acceptance (since i am guessing barely any spots would be left??)

How does this all work, in terms of how many spots they reserve for interviewees?
 
I dunno if those are the only dates, but i suspect that they are not.
Someone earlier said their choices were mid november, early feb
which are completely different than mine, early november and late january
i might call them and ask for a mid november date and see how that works out
they probably dont interview late november through early jan because they have student interviewers
and students will be busy or on vacation during that time
 
Hi all,
Looks like I got an interview from AZCOM as well. I am going to another one at RVU on the Nov. 7th so, I probably will have to go in January. Hope it won't be too late!
 
iLikeTea said:
So are these the only interview dates that AZCOM gives out? If January 28th is the last interview date, does someone who interviews on that date have a really low chance of acceptance (since i am guessing barely any spots would be left??)

How does this all work, in terms of how many spots they reserve for interviewees?
Click to expand...

I have a DO student friend here (I'm currently at AZCOM for their SMP) and he says he got interviewed in March, so these are not the last dates. Furthermore, they plan to interview all of the SMP people who meet certain requirements after the 2nd Quarter (which ends on Feb 20th).

Their deposit date for people already accepted is Dec 15th so after that day, they'll probably see how many people withdraw and send out more interviews accordingly. There's still a lot of time, so stay hopeful.
 
Has anyone who has been accepted recently seen if their status page online has changed? And does anyone remember when they are sending out the acceptance letters? I think the lady said the end of this week, but I was too excited from being accepted that it all seemed like a blur and I can't remember. Congratulations to all who have been accepted!
 
how similar is AZCOM to CCOM....bc I really like CCOM from what I have read.
 
I scheduled mine for Jan. 30th. I am also interested in interviewing at the other DO school in mesa but I have not applied there yet. So, may be I will get to do both in one shot.
 
my dates changed to end of jan days
oh well..probably gonna withdraw anyway
 
boo waitlisted!! 🙁

was thinking of calling the school and seeing if i can talk to someone and find out if they just want my fall grades or if it was my interview...anyone else in this situation???
 
just collecting the info about AZCOM and deciding if it is good for me.

Can anybody tell me if the atmosphere at AZCOM competitive or laid back. I also know that they have grades for their classes. Is it on a curve ?

How do students study for those specialties that are competitive and require USMLE instead of COMLEX?

I would appreciate for everybody's input.
 
m323 said:
just collecting the info about AZCOM and deciding if it is good for me.

Can anybody tell me if the atmosphere at AZCOM competitive or laid back. I also know that they have grades for their classes. Is it on a curve ?

How do students study for those specialties that are competitive and require USMLE instead of COMLEX?

I would appreciate for everybody's input.
Click to expand...

The vibe I got at the interview was that the school itself is very competitive. The Dean of Academics gave a Powerpoint that was supposed to introduce the school, I think, but instead was just graph after graph of how AZCOM's COMLEX scores are 3rd highest but how they want them to be the highest in the nation. He also outlined all the changes they were making in the curriculum to make more people pass the first time. Everything was about ranking and scores.

As far as the individual students go, I have no idea, but I wouldn't think that it would be any diffferent that at any other school.
 
PreMed5112 said:
did anyone else hear was possible to set up your own rotation in CA? which year would this be in ? im afraid of ending up in Ohio 🙁 i assume since 40 students had to go to ohio before, it will be even more with the class size increase? Or does anyone know if more are opening in AZ? thx
Click to expand...

No one has had to go to Ohio yet. 20 of the CURRENT MSIIs will go there next year. Our class will send 40 and yours will send 40.

I don't know if you'll be able to get any CA rotations third year, but you can do 4th year (audition) rotations anywhere you like.
 
I have a question about letters of recommendation. I was reading the midwestern site and they say they requires an AACOMAS ID, and letterhead for each letter.

My premed advisor informed me that my DO letter doesn't have a letterhead. I don't have AACOMAS IDs on any of them. I sent my first batch two days ago from Interfolio. Are they stringent with this requirement? Has anybody run into issues?
 
ILikeFood said:
I have a question about letters of recommendation. I was reading the midwestern site and they say they requires an AACOMAS ID, and letterhead for each letter.

My premed advisor informed me that my DO letter doesn't have a letterhead. I don't have AACOMAS IDs on any of them. I sent my first batch two days ago from Interfolio. Are they stringent with this requirement? Has anybody run into issues?
Click to expand...

My DO letter didn't look official (no letterhead, special paper, things like that).
Nobody gave me any problems. I had 5 interviews, leading to 4 acceptances (still waiting on UNECOM). AZCOM is among the schools that accepted me.

They are far more interested in your GPA, your MCAT, your personal statements, and how well you conduct yourself during the interview than silly stuff like a letter format or envelope size.
 
minah86 said:
where in ohio, exactly?
Click to expand...

Exact locations are still being determined, but they will be within one of the affiliated hospitals with the Ohio Core. You can find more information about them at this website.

http://www.ohiocore.org/

This is actually and EXCELLENT opportunity if you are willing to travel. These are very fine ward-based rotations. If you are interested in specializing and don't mind going to Ohio for a year then this is a very good route to take. For that reason, I'm really not worried that many people will be "forced" to go to Ohio because a lot of people will probably volunteer. I know that I probably would if I was single, but my wife vetoed that.
 
I just found this post written by harmlessfun21.
I would like AZCOM students give their opinion on this post, whether it is true or not. I got acceptance and am deciding if I should go there. Thank you


When I was applying to Osteopathic schools I got a lot of feedback from SDN and current and former AZCOM students - both the good and the bad. I think it's time that I post my own opinions and contribute to information sharing. In the end, we're all responsible for our own lives and educations, but I believe that we should all contribute our best to the sharing of knowlege and opinions - so we can all make informed decisions.

I just finished my second year, and will soon be starting my third, and I do plan on taking both board exams relatively soon. When I applied to AZCOM, the school was doing quite well, the previous matchlists were quite good, students were relatively happy with their educations, and although the clinical education wasn't very strong, they did allow students to do as many out of state as they wanted - and this was a good thing because there were many residency programs that loved to take our 3rd/4th students - and they even provided housing and meals. A few things have changed.....

If you look up AZCOM's accreditation report, you'll notice that for a second time in a row they have brought up the concern of high faculty turnover. During the time that I have been here, the 2 head faculty memebers in the physiology department left the school (Drs. Stanley, married), a top anatomy professor (Dr. Fischer), pathology professor (Dr. McCarver, who now does the occasional 'pity' lecture), and rumor has it that this is last year for Dr. Walters (the head of the anatomy department and and awesome professor), Dr. Mann (head of the biochemistry department), and Dr. Lovecchio (head of Clinical Correlates). Who else is leaving? THE DEAN! And the new dean? A local family practioner! Did students have any input on this? Of course not! Obviously there is something seriously wrong.....

In the past 3 years, AZCOM's tuition has increased 9k, and the number of hospital positions that they offer students has decreased. This is for a number or reason, among them, the new ASU-downtown medical school and the old UofA are eating up spots, Kirksville's new Mesa, AZ campus is staking their claim, and Creighton University (Nebraska) paid and took all of the spots at St. Joe's hospital. The average loan amount for students next year (everything included) is a little less than 70k. More expensive than USC in Southern California, and this Glendale, AZ - one of the cheapest places to live that you can think of. Obviously there is something seriously wrong.....

Please compare the matchlists from this past 2 years, to thosefrom 3-7 years ago. Now compare them to other DO schools, and CCOM http://mwunet.midwestern.edu/academic/AZCOM/azcomDean_Match.htm
http://mwunet.midwestern.edu/academic/CCOMClinEd/studentArea.htm
You will notice that competitive placements took a HUGE downturn at AZCOM. Obviously there is something seriously wrong.....
Please take a look at the 3rd year rotations: http://mwunet.midwestern.edu/academic/AZCOMClinEd_Dept/ceMSIII.htm
This is somewhat misleading, as we only get one elective, not two. Moreover, there is one rotation missing! "RURAL MEDICINE" - i.e. you WILL be going to the middle of nowhere for 4 weeks. Also please note that there are 12 weeks of family medicine, and 4 of internal, and 4 or surgery. Compare this to that of NYCOM: 6weeks family, 12 weeks internal med., 12 weeks surgery (and no RURAL MED!!!). When I interviewed at AZCOM I specifically asked if the school was going to try and 'push' me into primary care - as I already knew that I would never go into that field...I was told that AZCOM is a private school that does not receive state funding, and as such did not care what their students wanted to do and that as a 'new and small school we don't have any red-tape and tailor to each students needs.' Moreover I was told that they encouraged their students to do out-of-state residency-based rotations (without limits). All lies of course. The school is very much set on it's students going into family medicine (I'm still dumbfunded as to their reasoning), and as of my year, we are no longer allowed to do more than 3 out of state rotations!!! Keep in mind that the school doesn't have dedicated hospital sites, so the vast majority of our rotations (myself included) are with preceptors in their office - these preceptors are not paid, they are not 'designed' to teach, they have an office to run, and many have terrible student evaluations - but there aren't enough preceptors to go around, in order to weed our the 'bad ones.' Obviously there is something seriously wrong....

The school has decided to add 100 new students to the cl***** (to bring the total to 250), but it does not have basic science and clinical science resources or faculty to do this. We all know it, we've raised alarms (on deaf ears) and I feel sorry for incoming clueless freshman. Obviously there is something seriously wrong....

Let's do the math! 150 students in my class, paying 42k+ in tuition = about 6.3 million dollars. How much of that goes to pay for our clinical education? NOTHING. All clinical education sites are basically either free (volunteer preceptors, needy community hospitals), or are paid in peanuts ($50 a student) etc. OTHER SCHOOLS PAY BIG MONEY FOR THE STUDENTS TO ROTATE AT QUALITY HOSPITALS. AZCOM refuses. The Mayo clinic in scottsdale offered for our students to rotate at their hospital for 1.5 mil, AZCOM refused! Instead we have (and not enough apparently) preceptors with bad evals, and no longer allowed to do more than 3 out-of-state. Meanwhile, the school has put of 3 new buildings since the time that I've been here - and they refuse to release their line-item 'non-profit' financial statements. I wonder why... Perhaps it has something to do with a recently published article about how AZCOM's CEO (yes, you heard me right, CEO) Goeppinger's 600k+, base salary, her private jet, the absolute refusal to release line-item NON-PROFIT financial statements, and something about this article: http://www.nasfaa.org/publications/2007/awsalchallenge020107.html & http://www.azcentral.com/community/peoria/articles/0131gl-midwestern27Z2.html. Obviously there is something seriously wrong.....

There are many other things (the schools lack of support funding for basic science research), the general hostility of Phoenix physicians towards the school (I wonder why?), and most of all: the students are treated like objects - we are not heard nor listened to. Our opinions mean nothing, and change nothing...and why should they? As long as we're dollar signs, trapped, and forced to keep on giving. Sadly, I had many other offers, and chose AZCOM for what it should have been, not what it is now.

There are many other things wrong with this program. I've only given you a taste from my own personal perspective. I can't change anything at this school, and frankly I don't really care to try, as I am almost done. I didn't get from my education what I had anticipated to get, but I don't live my life with regrets either. To those of you considering coming here (especially if you see yourself as a 'gunner') - think twice. And then a third time. Then a forth. Then hit yourself with a shovel, and think again.

Lastly, a final note about the rumored boards scores etc. It's all BS and I'll explain: AZCOM has a very high pass rate, but low average board scores. In other words "we all know the bare minimum to pass, but not enough to do well." This is true for the comlex. The usmle is a different story - the average score is a fail (not-passed). Of course, neither average is ever published. Only the fact that our students 'pass' the comlex. Woopdie-doo-hurray...we all barely pass the complex, and barely anyone matched into surgery this past year, radiology, etc.

Medical school is a one time deal. Your education, board scores, and residency placements are one time deals. Think long and hard, and don't rush it. You've put in way too much time, effort, energy, and money to sell yourself short on the most important part of it all. Research carefully, talk to current students, and don't go by the 'pretty campus.' Make your first medical decision! Is this school healthy? Are their finances healthy? Will my finances be healthy? Are the current students healthy? Is their matchlist healthy? Is their clinical education (arguably the most important part of your education) healthy? Is their basic science program still healthy? Is their having the highest facualty turnover of any other school healthy? Is the lack of research funding healthy? Is the increase in incoming class sizes healthy? Are the schools resources healthy? Is this school technologically integrated (i.e. the paid to bring their resources uptodate)? Will I be where I want to be by the time I graduate from here based on the current trends? (i.e. is this patients fever increasing or decreasing over time?)

Be strong. Medicine is still a great field, very rewarding and enriching. Just do your best to prepare for your life-long journey. I wish you all the best of luck, and god bless. 😎
 
i am pretty much set on going to AZCOM...but i had and still have reservations and some of them (high faculty turnover, weak average scores, weak clinical expedrience, lack of rotations) were brought up by the last poster.

What does everyone think. Im so worried that i could be making a mistake with AZCOM.
 
Whatever....I've heard the same ramble from EVeRYONE, not to say it isn't all false. I've been accepted to DO and MD programs and these rants are universal. Skewed board scores. Bad rotations. Lack of clinical experience, or not the right kind. Something is wrong with the faculty. Students drop out....The stigma of osteopathy still exists........

Seriously, med school is what YOU make of it. You need to do good on YOUR boards. You need to do good in YOUR classes. If you can pick your rotations try to work in the place you want to do residency. If you're in a big city, like Phoenix and another med school near by, there is most likely opportunity for good/decent clinical experience, especially if you can set up your own rotations.

If you look through every thread of studentdoctornetwork.com you get these neg posts. Some people have a bad experience, your going to get that anywhere. And as far as they money go, unless your parents can pay for your med school your going to be in 300K debt anway. Most of my family went to Emory med school and are in the same boat, but soon they'll be most of it off.

Where in this bc we want to make a difference, you can do it thru AZCOM, as long as your motivated and proactive.....
 
Yeah, that post was pretty negative (especially the part about rethinking AZCOM up to 4 times then hitting yourself with a shovel), but I think it is important to discuss the issues of the school. You know all of the schools have them and it's up to an applicant to decide if they can handle it or not.

Schools might have similar issues over and over, but they're definitely at a different level. That's why that post, at least to me, was well done because it pointed out very specific issues with the school, from the inside. It wasn't slamming a general issue.

So, if you don't like what was said, investigate and refute it. I think it would be best for all of those who have choices this year if AZCOM is the right place.
 
Well, yeah, from what the comments say, take it for what it is: one person's analysis. I am currently at AZCOM's SMP (I'd say MWU but it's getting confusing) and I talk to the DO students all the time. The thing is Dragonwell and Doctor Bagel were concerned that the thread would be closed because it spoke too critically.

I still think that post had good information, including the posts below it responding to it. This is stuff you need to know before settling down and it would sadden me to see mods shut it down because it is a little too abrasive.
 
So this is awesome. I wake up to an interview invitation to AZCOM in my email box this morning. I was bummed to find the only dates available were the 28th and 29th of Jan. and 2nd of Feb. So I took the earliest date.

Being the obsessive premed I am, I rechecked the site twice and the second time just had this FRIDAY available. So I took it!!! Wow, so now I'm booking a flight, hotel and car for two days away. The worst will be work though. I already had to take two days on short notice for NOVA. Really excited to be interviewing at AZCOM though!!!!!!!!!!!!!:luck::luck:👍:luck:
 
creekfreek24 said:
So this is awesome. I wake up to an interview invitation to AZCOM in my email box this morning. I was bummed to find the only dates available were the 28th and 29th of Jan. and 2nd of Feb. So I took the earliest date.

Being the obsessive premed I am, I rechecked the site twice and the second time just had this FRIDAY available. So I took it!!! Wow, so now I'm booking a flight, hotel and car for two days away. The worst will be work though. I already had to take two days on short notice for NOVA. Really excited to be interviewing at AZCOM though!!!!!!!!!!!!!:luck::luck:👍:luck:
Click to expand...

Cool.I gave up my spot for today and rescheduled for the 28th of Jan.
 
Last edited:
Creekfreek, can you tell me when you were complete? I am anxiously waiting for an interview invite but my file was only completed on friday.
 
Just found out that I was accepted today through the mail in a small envelope so don't freak out when you get a rejection size letter in the mail. I am so excited as I only applied to two schools!
 
Tskibunny said:
Just found out that I was accepted today through the mail in a small envelope so don't freak out when you get a rejection size letter in the mail. I am so excited as I only applied to two schools!
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congrats!!! :hardy::hardy:

what ws the other school?
 
Just got to my hotel! Interviewing tomorrow morning! If anyone's around and wants to hang out, let me know here!
 
kund2 said:
Creekfreek, can you tell me when you were complete? I am anxiously waiting for an interview invite but my file was only completed on friday.
Click to expand...

My secondary was sent in on 08/11 but I retook the MCATs on 08/15 so all my schools put me on hold pending the release of those scores. AACOMAS sent them to schools on Sept. 27th. AZCOM still had me on hold actually until I called and spoke to Mr. Walter on Friday and he realized my MCAT score was received and he told me I'd have a decision by the end of this week, but it came today(tuesday.) So they're pretty quick if you call them and gently inquire as to the status of your application.
 
creekfreek24 said:
My secondary was sent in on 08/11 but I retook the MCATs on 08/15 so all my schools put me on hold pending the release of those scores. AACOMAS sent them to schools on Sept. 27th. AZCOM still had me on hold actually until I called and spoke to Mr. Walter on Friday and he realized my MCAT score was received and he told me I'd have a decision by the end of this week, but it came today(tuesday.) So they're pretty quick if you call them and gently inquire as to the status of your application.
Click to expand...

Thanks! I will give them a call later this week. Congrats on your interview!!
 
Yeah, definitely call admissions if you're concerned about your status. They're opening a new optometry school which they have to interview for, in addition to the dental and pharmacy students, so they're pretty busy. Still, I don't think they would mind if you politely updated your interest.

Congrats on the interviews and acceptances 🙂
 
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