AZCOM Discussion Thread 2010-2011

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Ok, thanks for the quick responses. I think I will just try to find some earlier dates that may open up, it is always nice to know sooner than later.

I was complete sometime around August and was put on hold late September.

That's great! You've already obviously done something to impress them further, just keep it up. 👍
 
Hey everyone, I recently started to apply to DO schools. I thought I should chime in. I completed on the 7th of Jan, and just got interview invite yesterday. I am stoke.

The current interview dates are the 23, 24, 25, and 28. Looking at past trend on this thread, does this mean the ad com. will most likely meet on the 29th (Tuesday)?

(I keep wondering if it is better to attend a latter interview dates[out of the four]).
 
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These are rough numbers, so bear with me. I interviewed in the middle of April last year, from what I was able to gather, of that group about a third were accepted, and a third were wait-listed (including myself). I don't need to tell you what happened to the other third.

Hope is not lost. Personally, I don't think a Feb. interview is bad at all.

Sweet! That is uplifting.
 
Hey everybody I know that we are all in the smack dab middle of interview season now so I just wanted to say good luck to everyone interviewing this spring. For those of you wondering, interviewing right now or even further on down the road IS NOT A BAD THING. Just to ease your minds, as of this morning only 101 slots have been filled out of the 250. The adcoms are purposely interviewing and accepting fewer students this year to make sure they evaluate as many good applicants as they can. So no matter when you're interview is, just be yourself and do the best you can. And remember, there is no difference between DO's and MD's except that we learn OMM and they don't. Good Luck!
 
I interviewed late-February last year but here I am; I don't remember the exact date but I found a "thank you for visiting MWU" email they sent me after my interview dated the 25th. Don't freak out about the date, just be confident and kill your interview. Good luck! 👍

Edit: I suppose I should clarify. Interviewing in February isn't a bad thing. As Cody pointed out, there's still about 150 slots left. Granted if an earlier date becomes available and you're prepared or feel like you have enough time to prepare, definitely snag it. Obviously as time passes, more and more slots will fill, to a point where they're interviewing for waitlist candidates. Regardless, put your best foot forward and convince them that you're the type person they want as a student and also a future physician representing Midwestern.
 
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Did you guys pay out-of-pocket for things like books and medical supplies or did you borrow extra to cover tuition + all that crap? Would there be any sense in buying things like a stethoscope now? I see those being purchased by proud parents for their little accepted sons and daughters but is there even a use for one as an MS1? Will AZCOM tell us what stuff we should buy and when?
 
How important do you think Jan (19th) interview date compared to Feb (24th)?

I happen to snatch a much earlier interview date (see above), but this is my first interview EVER, and I have yet to prepare/book anything.
 
Please take the 19th of Jan! I did that last year, I applied late and got an invite mid april. I saw one end of Feb but I didn't feel prepared so I waited....not really anything to prepare for now looking back though. But by the time I interviewed almost all of us were waitlisted. This year I interviewed in Sept and got in right away. The timing really really matters in my opinion.
 
Did you guys pay out-of-pocket for things like books and medical supplies or did you borrow extra to cover tuition + all that crap? Would there be any sense in buying things like a stethoscope now? I see those being purchased by proud parents for their little accepted sons and daughters but is there even a use for one as an MS1? Will AZCOM tell us what stuff we should buy and when?

Depends on the person really, but for the most part most people likely purchased stuff with loan money if they purchased any of the books. You will need to have a stethoscope, bp cuff, and diagnostic set for your clinical medicine class by the middle of the fall quarter, but there's not too much of a rush on that and the first lecture you get in that class will address equipment and what the minimum you'll need is and what you don't need. If you really, really want to know what you'll need in terms of equipment "style" let me know.
 
Please take the 19th of Jan! I did that last year, I applied late and got an invite mid april. I saw one end of Feb but I didn't feel prepared so I waited....not really anything to prepare for now looking back though. But by the time I interviewed almost all of us were waitlisted. This year I interviewed in Sept and got in right away. The timing really really matters in my opinion.

Thanks for sharing your experience 🙂. Yeah, I would think so too. Yours was Feb vs April, though.

Anyone else? I need to make a decision by tonight.

This is my first (and maybe my only) interview, and I am nervous as...😀 (and, can anyone help me with recommending for car-rental?) I am from SoCal. Thanks, again!

Edit: Yikes, I can save ~200 dollars booking airfare on Feb vs now...
 
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Also, does anyone know how/where I can find shuttle service to AZCOM from Sky Harbor Airport (and back)? Thanks. 😍
 
I was invited to interview back in October for sometime in January and an interview date for the next week came available (Oct. !9th) and it was my first interview ever as well. I can't tell you how happy I was that I made the decision to interview earlier! I prepared only by going over my application a little and thinking about answers to the basic questions and looking a the interview/invite experience thread the night before in my hotel room. Hope this helps and good luck! :luck:

Thanks for sharing your experience 🙂. Yeah, I would think so too. Yours was Feb vs April, though.

Anyone else? I need to make a decision by tonight.

This is my first (and maybe my only) interview, and I am nervous as...😀 (and, can anyone help me with recommending for car-rental?) I am from SoCal. Thanks, again!

Edit: Yikes, I can save ~200 dollars booking airfare on Feb vs now...
 
Thanks for sharing your experience 🙂. Yeah, I would think so too. Yours was Feb vs April, though.

Anyone else? I need to make a decision by tonight.

This is my first (and maybe my only) interview, and I am nervous as...😀 (and, can anyone help me with recommending for car-rental?) I am from SoCal. Thanks, again!

Edit: Yikes, I can save ~200 dollars booking airfare on Feb vs now...


I may be a little too late but take the earlier interview. Don't let fear get in the way of your goals so take it even if you don't think you will be prepared. Do the best you can with some of the common interview questions but remember that they can ask you anything, and sometimes they may ask you the most oddball questions. So just be prepared for weird questions and try to avoid any added pressure put on yourself because you have gotten this far. Definitely be prepared to answer these questions as they will guaranteed: Why Medicine? Why Midwestern? Why D.O.?
 
Thanks, everyone. You're definitely not too late. Still here. I am leaning toward Jan 19th, and I am looking to book a 8-10 hours Greyhound trip to AZ from Socal to save airfare.

Any other input would be most helpful. 😍

Edit: Then, after thinking, If I were accepted to AZCOM (hypothetical), I will only have 14 days for a 1000 deposit, and I am still waiting on Western U........................
 
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Thanks, everyone. You're definitely not too late. Still here. I am leaning toward Jan 19th, and I am looking to book a 8-10 hours Greyhound trip to AZ from Socal to save airfare.

Any other input would be most helpful. 😍

Edit: Then, after thinking, If I were accepted to AZCOM (hypothetical), I will only have 14 days for a 1000 deposit, and I am still waiting on Western U........................

Look into Southwest Airlines if you haven't already. They fly out of LAX (just taking a wild guess that that would be your most convenient airport) and you should be able to find airfare for ~$157/each way if you book soon. As for a shuttle to/from the airport, anytime I've flown home I've used SuperShuttle and haven't encountered any issues, so it's something to look into if you end up flying.
 
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Look into Southwest Airlines if you haven't already. They fly out of LAX (just taking a wild guess that that would be your most convenient airport) and you should be able to find airfare for ~$157/each way if you book soon. As for a shuttle to/from the airport, anytime I've flown home I've used SuperShuttle and haven't encountered any issues, so it's something to look into if you end up flying.

Thanks. I will look into SuperShuttle. Anyway, I have decided to just wait until Feb n drop Jan 19th. I didn't want to hog this date for too long and I am sure someone can use it.
 
you should be able to find airfare for ~$157/each way if you book soon.

I must have been lucky then. Connecticut to Phoenix in February was $109 each way with Southwest. Keep checking, the prices seem to change daily!

Also since people are talking about it, I took a look and the currently available dates are Jan 19, Jan 21, Feb 23, Feb 24, and Feb 25.
 
Look into Southwest Airlines if you haven't already. They fly out of LAX (just taking a wild guess that that would be your most convenient airport) and you should be able to find airfare for ~$157/each way if you book soon. As for a shuttle to/from the airport, anytime I've flown home I've used SuperShuttle and haven't encountered any issues, so it's something to look into if you end up flying.

Is this flight from LAX a non-stop flight? I am looking into it and from I can tell, Southwest does not offer non-stops to Phoenix. Am I right?
 
I must have been lucky then. Connecticut to Phoenix in February was $109 each way with Southwest. Keep checking, the prices seem to change daily!
The prices do change pretty often but booking with them helps if it's a more advanced booking or if you do it, quite nearly, at the very last minute.

Is this flight from LAX a non-stop flight? I am looking into it and from I can tell, Southwest does not offer non-stops to Phoenix. Am I right?
Should be nonstop, as every single one I just checked on 1/18 was a nonstop flight. I think pretty much any flight to and from California that is from and to Arizona will be a direct flight. The nonstop stuff becomes more of an issue if where you're flying isn't in a neighboring state, though after 2014 that should be a non-issue. 🙄
 
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Depends on the person really, but for the most part most people likely purchased stuff with loan money if they purchased any of the books. You will need to have a stethoscope, bp cuff, and diagnostic set for your clinical medicine class by the middle of the fall quarter, but there's not too much of a rush on that and the first lecture you get in that class will address equipment and what the minimum you'll need is and what you don't need. If you really, really want to know what you'll need in terms of equipment "style" let me know.

I agree with Random on this. If some nice person in your life wants to buy you a stethoscope, Lucky You👍 (I was lucky enough to get a Littmann Cardiology III as a gift). Otherwise, buying diagnostic stuff can wait. The one thing I would recommend getting before you start med school is a good, fast, lightweight laptop. Get it all set up with the software you need before school starts. Lots of us are using MS OneNote or Preview (for Mac) to take notes in class. You're laptop is the biggest and (arguably) most important med school resource so if it's time for an upgrade, get a good one!🙂
 
Thanks. I will look into SuperShuttle. Anyway, I have decided to just wait until Feb n drop Jan 19th. I didn't want to hog this date for too long and I am sure someone can use it.

AZCOM sends you a list of hotels that provide shuttle service to/from the school. One of them was comfort inn which I stayed at. And they have breakfast at the hotel too. I used SuperShuttle to get to comfort inn from/to airport. SuperShuttle is also listed in the pdf that AZCOM sends you with the hotels. It'll be $22 one way since you're going for an interview. You could call AZCOM to get the code for the $2 discount code for SuperShuttle or just pay the regular one-way fare of $24 🙄

Since you're going in feb, you should be able to get from Cali (Ontario airport) to Phoenix in about $60 through Expedia. Direct flight too. Earlier you book, the better the savings. I booked that flight closer to the interview so it was 2X the amount 🙁 meh 🙂

Goodluck!
 
RREAAALLLLLYYYY hoping for an interview here.

I've sent in a letter of interest, called multiple times...not sure what else there is I can do to show I'm really interested in attending AZCOM.
 
RREAAALLLLLYYYY hoping for an interview here.

I've sent in a letter of interest, called multiple times...not sure what else there is I can do to show I'm really interested in attending AZCOM.

Don't lose hope.
I applied to AZCOM back in late sept. and about a month later I got a letter in the mail from them stating that they were choosing not to interview me at that time and that my application would be "put on hold".

Needless to say I basically wrote them off and assumed I would never hear anything.

Then a few weeks ago I get an email from them out of the blue inviting me for an interview. So....it's entirely possible they will review your app and invite you.

May I ask Sinfest, why are you so interested in AZCOM? Also, am I correct that at this point you are planning on attending Touro-CA?
 
Don't lose hope.
I applied to AZCOM back in late sept. and about a month later I got a letter in the mail from them stating that they were choosing not to interview me at that time and that my application would be "put on hold".

Needless to say I basically wrote them off and assumed I would never hear anything.

Then a few weeks ago I get an email from them out of the blue inviting me for an interview. So....it's entirely possible they will review your app and invite you.

May I ask Sinfest, why are you so interested in AZCOM? Also, am I correct that at this point you are planning on attending Touro-CA?

Thanks for the encouragement, and congrats on your interview invite! What are your stats if you don't mind me asking?

Yep, as of now I plan on attending Touro-CA. There are a few reasons why I'm interested in AZCOM though. I have a few friends that currently attend MWU or will be attending MWU in the fall, and they all have good things to say about the school. That, plus the research I've done on the school just makes me believe I'd be happy there. I also like how AZCOM has solid clinical rotations, including spots in Southern CA. AZCOM's high boards pass rate, quarter system, on campus clinic, on campus housing, the fact that it's not located in a crime-ridden city, along with many other things interest me.

Don't get me wrong, I'm happy with Touro-CA. I just think I'd be happier at AZCOM.
 
Thanks for the encouragement, and congrats on your interview invite! What are your stats if you don't mind me asking?

Yep, as of now I plan on attending Touro-CA. There are a few reasons why I'm interested in AZCOM though. I have a few friends that currently attend MWU or will be attending MWU in the fall, and they all have good things to say about the school. That, plus the research I've done on the school just makes me believe I'd be happy there. I also like how AZCOM has solid clinical rotations, including spots in Southern CA. AZCOM's high boards pass rate, quarter system, on campus clinic, on campus housing, the fact that it's not located in a crime-ridden city, along with many other things interest me.

Don't get me wrong, I'm happy with Touro-CA. I just think I'd be happier at AZCOM.

cumm gpa: 3.67
science gpa: 3.8
Mcat: 27Q

To be honest, I would happily trade my AZCOM interview for your Touro-CA acceptance.

I interviewed at Touro-CA back in November and absolutely loved it. It was obviously still fairly early in the cycle and i thought my interview went amazingly well but for some reason i was placed on "high waitlist".

I have no idea why I was not offered an outright acceptance, but I am still very very hopeful that I will be given a seat off of the waitlist. I called and was told that those of us on "high waitlist" almost always receive an acceptance offer, so I hope it works out that way.

I am interested to check out AZCOM. I have also heard great things about it. Hopefully you will get an interview as well.

May I ask-what are your stats, and was there anything you didn't like about Touro-CA?
 
cumm gpa: 3.67
science gpa: 3.8
Mcat: 27Q

To be honest, I would happily trade my AZCOM interview for your Touro-CA acceptance.

I interviewed at Touro-CA back in November and absolutely loved it. It was obviously still fairly early in the cycle and i thought my interview went amazingly well but for some reason i was placed on "high waitlist".

I have no idea why I was not offered an outright acceptance, but I am still very very hopeful that I will be given a seat off of the waitlist. I called and was told that those of us on "high waitlist" almost always receive an acceptance offer, so I hope it works out that way.

I am interested to check out AZCOM. I have also heard great things about it. Hopefully you will get an interview as well.

May I ask-what are your stats, and was there anything you didn't like about Touro-CA?

Sucks you didn't get an outright acceptance, but from looking at past Touro-CA threads a lot of people seem to get off the "high waitlist". So that's good news if that's where you want to go 🙂

I don't remember my exact stats, but I have a 27 with around a 3.25 sGPA and cGPA. The main thing I'm uncomfortable about regarding Touro-CA is their questionable rotation sites. I've heard many people are forced to move out of state and that many of the affiliated sites in the Bay Area are not the best quality. Besides that everything else is based off my own personal preference and is a bit trivial in the big picture (I dislike the city of Vallejo, the campus looks a little rundown, Touro doesn't have the best reputation, etc).
 
If it gives hope to other applicants, I too was invited to interview after initially being put on the "hold" list. Decision deferred is apparently not the death sentence I thought it was!!
 
Seeing all you guys that were put on hold getting interviews gives me hope. I was put on hold back in late November. I want to go to this school SO bad. About two weeks ago, I emailed them a letter of intent/update letter/asking what I could do to improve my chances next cycle if things don't work out. No response yet. 🙁
 
4th year here...

I interviewed on the very last day of the interview season back in 2007.
So did 4 other of my current classmates.
And we are the last 150 class.

2 of the top 5 people in our class by standing, who scored in the top 5% of the nation on USMLE as well, were wait lists picked up in the summer going into our first year.

So have hope folks. And good luck with the interview season, regardless of which schools you end up choosing.
 
Just to add to the rest, I also was put on hold in November and now have an interview next month.
 
Congrats. How and when did you find out?

I interviewed on 1/14 and im anxious to find out.

Thank you! I have seen people say on this forum once the accepted checklist appears on the Midwestern portal you are accepted. It was there this afternoon. So I guess I am in. I hope I have not hastily declared acceptance 😳
 
Thank you! I have seen people say on this forum once the accepted checklist appears on the Midwestern portal you are accepted. It was there this afternoon. So I guess I am in. I hope I have not hastily declared acceptance 😳

Congrats VPP!
 
I interviewed 1/14 but no change to my portal🙁 Im guessing waitlisted.
 
yea, same here. i'm calling tomorrow to find out my status. Congrats to all!
 
Accepted!

Interviewed on 1/21/11. Found out by looking on their internet portal.

Cumulative GPA: 3.83
Science GPA: 3.77
MCAT: 30O

A friend of mine who was accepted into AZCOM in December got an email about financial information 2 weeks ago, it seems about ~40 people have actually paid the deposit out of the ~100 that were sent acceptances so far. So there are still plenty of seats to go around!

I was so nervous from the interview too! I had a phd, DO, and a student on my panel. The phd played bad cop ("I'm not convinced, WHY D.O.?"), the DO played good cop, and the student did fact checks ("tell me more about this research project"). The interview was only 30 minutes so they did not ask many questions. So besides the usual why DO and why AZCOM, I was asked an ethical question, and a question about my research experience.
 
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I interviewed 1/14 but no change to my portal🙁 Im guessing waitlisted.

Not necessarily. It's pretty common practice for them to accept applicants from one interview day and then accept other applicants from the same interview day a few weeks later. No harm in calling to make sure though.
 
Woke up this morning, grabbed my phone and checked my email like I usually do. Having just woken up, my eyes were still a little hazy but I saw "Midwestern University *something something something*". Thinking it was an interview invite from AZCOM my heart started racing and I opened the email immediately. It turned out to be an email from CCOM encouraging me to apply to their masters programs

What a disappointment 🙁 hahaha
 
Woke up this morning, grabbed my phone and checked my email like I usually do. Having just woken up, my eyes were still a little hazy but I saw "Midwestern University *something something something*". Thinking it was an interview invite from AZCOM my heart started racing and I opened the email immediately. It turned out to be an email from CCOM encouraging me to apply to their masters programs

What a disappointment 🙁 hahaha

what a slap in the face.
 
Just found out yesterday I got accepted 🙂 I'm glad my first post on SDN is a good one. lol

For those that are curious:

cGPA: 3.3
sGPA: 3.1
MCAT: 31S

Interview wait-listed in November
Interview invite Jan 8th
Interviewed Jan 14th (my options were the 14th of Jan. or the 28th of Feb. I didn't want to wait that long)
Accepted Jan 27th

Out of curiosity what is everyone doing about housing? I have a dog so I can't live on campus. Anyone have and recommendations?
 
Accepted!

Interviewed on 1/21/11. Found out by looking on their internet portal.

Cumulative GPA: 3.83
Science GPA: 3.77
MCAT: 30O

A friend of mine who was accepted into AZCOM in December got an email about financial information 2 weeks ago, it seems about ~40 people have actually paid the deposit out of the ~100 that were sent acceptances so far. So there are still plenty of seats to go around!

I was so nervous from the interview too! I had a phd, DO, and a student on my panel. The phd played bad cop ("I'm not convinced, WHY D.O.?"), the DO played good cop, and the student did fact checks ("tell me more about this research project"). The interview was only 30 minutes so they did not ask many questions. So besides the usual why DO and why AZCOM, I was asked an ethical question, and a question about my research experience.

don't you have to pay the deposit to hold your seat? 😕
 
don't you have to pay the deposit to hold your seat? 😕

Yep, it just means that 60 of them are either attending elsewhere/didn't want to go to AZCOM or haven't encountered their deadline yet (which I think isn't likely since it's early January and I think the most recent deadline was 12/15, but I could have imagined that in a studying-induced stupor).
 
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