AZCOM Discussion Thread 2010-2011

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randomusername,

That sounds like a great idea, however, I can't post to that wall since I'm not part of the AZCOM 2014 group. I'm thinking of calling MWU to see if they can give me the contact info of any of the current students with WICHE. Also, does Midwestern do any kind of a "second look" day where accepted students can tour the campus, sit in on a couple of classes, and ask questions related to their acceptance? Thanks for always being so helpful.

 

[randomusername]

randomusername,

That sounds like a great idea, however, I can't post to that wall since I'm not part of the AZCOM 2014 group. I'm thinking of calling MWU to see if they can give me the contact info of any of the current students with WICHE. Also, does Midwestern do any kind of a "second look" day where accepted students can tour the campus, sit in on a couple of classes, and ask questions related to their acceptance? Thanks for always being so helpful.

It's an open group so you can join and post in there if you want (I believe we have people from 2011-2015 in that group), though it never hurts to just call the school as you've mentioned. To my knowledge, there is no official second-look day but it couldn't hurt to ask about getting one either. I'd be willing to bet they'd allow you to do some of those things at the very least.

 

[theone1979]

randomusername,

That sounds like a great idea, however, I can't post to that wall since I'm not part of the AZCOM 2014 group. I'm thinking of calling MWU to see if they can give me the contact info of any of the current students with WICHE. Also, does Midwestern do any kind of a "second look" day where accepted students can tour the campus, sit in on a couple of classes, and ask questions related to their acceptance? Thanks for always being so helpful.

I doubt anything official like this is offered, but what's stopping you from just heading over to AZCOM, walking around campus, stumbling into a lecture or two, etc? And if you have further questions you can certainly drop by or just call admissions.

 

[k4osth30ry]

does anyone know how many people are accepted from the alternate list every year?

 

[Flushot]

Well, I've learned about as much from "the source" as I can. I've also done research elsewhere including old SDN threads but was just wanting someone to share their experience. At any rate, thanks for your response!

Yeah, sorry I can't help. This is a case where you need to meet them in person when you get down there. Still, it sounds like it won't stop you from applying and you're just seeing how likely it is to get the scholarship.

I doubt anything official like this is offered, but what's stopping you from just heading over to AZCOM, walking around campus, stumbling into a lecture or two, etc? And if you have further questions you can certainly drop by or just call admissions.

Unless it's lab, you can sit in just about any class; the auditorium is big enough. Just download the map to the school and a MS1 block schedule and follow that. I wouldn't dress up formally or anything either; just check things out and have a good time.

It seems that a second look is more of a residency thing but these seem to be hit or miss as well. They're mainly for people to see if they fit and have no bearing on the final decision.

Anyhow, come on down if you want a look. It's a pretty open campus so there shouldn't be any problem.

 

[drhckey]

anyone know what the rotations situation is looking like at this point? like which are available, if any are full, the like

 

[MedIsInMyBlood]

does anyone know how many people are accepted from the alternate list every year?

I'd also like to know this.

Thanks in advance.

 

[xXSovereignXx]

Also, assuming I can get an interview, once scheduled, is there a way to find out if earlier spots become available? Meaning if someone has decided to withdraw or cancel the interview?

I imagine the class is filling up. If you don't have an interview date yet you might be cutting it extremely close.

 

[Dyingduck]

Did anyone get a call today from AZCOM concerning your acceptance? (Feb people).

 

[DbDan]

I'd also like to know this.

Thanks in advance.

IMO something like this is too difficult to determine to give you a good idea of your shot off the waitlist. Take a look back in previous year's threads but to me it seems like it is incredibly highly variable. From experience last year, Touro-NV barely got through their accepted waitlist when normally they make it all the way through their high waitlist. LECOM-B was similar in that they barely moved through their waitlist.

It really depends on movement from other people, how early people drop a AZCOM acceptance, etc. Movement is going to vary so much that I don't imagine it'd be very helpful to you. Best advice is if you do wind up on the waitlist to stay incredibly active in updating them with relevant information and send a letter of intent. Don't bank on the waitlist moving, try to move yourself up the waitlist.

 

[robertch8]

Did anyone get a call today from AZCOM concerning your acceptance? (Feb people).

Yeah, I got a call yesterday around noon time out east 🙂 ....nice to know that the Accepted Student Checklist on my portal was really real haha.

 

[Dyingduck]

Yeah, I got a call yesterday around noon time out east 🙂 ....nice to know that the Accepted Student Checklist on my portal was really real haha.

Did she mention anything important? I wasn't home, but my parents couldn't remember much.

 

[robertch8]

Did she mention anything important? I wasn't home, but my parents couldn't remember much.

The call was just to congratulate me on getting in and to remind me to agree to the matriculation agreement and pay my deposit and to send them my original transcripts. Nothing new....Congrats anyways!

 

[JonMD26]

Yea she just called to congratulate us

 

[drhckey]

i know that we get a specific rotation assignment, but it says something like '3rd year rotation assignment'. is this only for the 3rd year? or does that just imply that the 4th year will be mostly us scheduling individual rotations on our own

 

[DbDan]

My understanding is that 4th year is made up of a large majority of elective rotations which you are to schedule on your own. I'm sure the clinical department will help with some of it but you are going to be schedule away rotations, etc. for your specialty of choice so you'll largely be scheduling your own 4th year.

 

[uniquerabbit]

Hey guys. I have a question. I was accepted to AZCOM and already paid the 1000 deposit by 12/15/10. Is there another 1,000 I have to put down. For some reason I thought there was two of them and that the second one was due by March 15th.

Anybody know about this?

 

[randomusername]

Hey guys. I have a question. I was accepted to AZCOM and already paid the 1000 deposit by 12/15/10. Is there another 1,000 I have to put down. For some reason I thought there was two of them and that the second one was due by March 15th.

Anybody know about this?

Unless things have changed, last year only one $1000 deposit was required.

 

[slars96]

Did anyone get a call today from AZCOM concerning your acceptance? (Feb people).

i had my interview on 2/25 and havent gotten a call yet, but i saw the accepted checklist on the website and emailed admissions about a question and they got back to me so unless ive been tricked i think im in! depending on what happens with western/COMP pomona, i might see some of you guys in the fall at AZCOM! good luck to the rest of you

 

[rls303]

Well, I have updated them with my MCAT scores...so lets see!

Assuming I get an interview, would they potentially ask me about how my senior year grades have been? They haven't been really good honestly!

I know that if I eventually end up getting accepted I will have to submit a final official transcript...I got a couple of C's in Bio classes this past quarter, but I'm trying to finish strong!

With relation to the interview, from what I understand, once one has been granted an interview...he/she is on equal playing field with all other applicants...and it just boils down to how well you interview, correct? Your academic stats have no bearing on the decision as your stats were evaluated in order to grant you a secondary and then an interview. Then the decision to reject/accept/waitlist is based on the interview remarks...is this all correct?

I'm not as qualified academically as some of those who are getting interviews so I just want to keep my expectations realistic.

Thanks for any help and many Congrats to those who were accepted! 🙂

 

[randomusername]

i had my interview on 2/25 and havent gotten a call yet, but i saw the accepted checklist on the website and emailed admissions about a question and they got back to me so unless ive been tricked i think im in! depending on what happens with western/COMP pomona, i might see some of you guys in the fall at AZCOM! good luck to the rest of you

You're in. Getting a call from the administrators is more of the exception than the rule as they only call applicants to congratulate them sporadically.

 

[xXSovereignXx]

Can any current students comment on the financial situation? The estimated expenses are supposedly up to $80k per year. Does this sound accurate if one is minimizing expenses wherever possible? (I am single and will have limited support from my parents.) Also, the lifetime limit on federal student loans is $224,000 which would apparently only last part of the way through the 3rd year at that rate. I have been applying for scholarships wherever I see them, but I regard those largely as a long shot. I'm from Nevada, which is a WICHE state, but apparently NV to AZ osteopathic students are ineligible (I know, right.) Do most people take out private loans on top of their federal loans, or do the internal (limited, need based) scholarships step in before that? I'm calling financial aid tomorrow about most of this, but I thought a student's perspective might be helpful as well.

Thanks in advance. 😕

 

[Dyingduck]

Has any recent accepted receive mail concerning choose rotations for 3rd/4th year?

 

[DbDan]

Can any current students comment on the financial situation? The estimated expenses are supposedly up to $80k per year. Does this sound accurate if one is minimizing expenses wherever possible? (I am single and will have limited support from my parents.) Also, the lifetime limit on federal student loans is $224,000 which would apparently only last part of the way through the 3rd year at that rate. I have been applying for scholarships wherever I see them, but I regard those largely as a long shot. I'm from Nevada, which is a WICHE state, but apparently NV to AZ osteopathic students are ineligible (I know, right.) Do most people take out private loans on top of their federal loans, or do the internal (limited, need based) scholarships step in before that? I'm calling financial aid tomorrow about most of this, but I thought a student's perspective might be helpful as well.

Thanks in advance. 😕

Haven't seen anything saying 80k, then again I'm put in as living on campus so I'll be at around 73k thus far. No support here either.

As far as the lifetime cap for stafford, its only for stafford. Stafford loans top out at (I believe) 20,500 a year 😕 The remainder is taken out in GradPLUS loans and do not count against that cap. Don't worry, you will have funding for your entire 4 years.

 

[randomusername]

Can any current students comment on the financial situation? The estimated expenses are supposedly up to $80k per year. Does this sound accurate if one is minimizing expenses wherever possible? (I am single and will have limited support from my parents.) Also, the lifetime limit on federal student loans is $224,000 which would apparently only last part of the way through the 3rd year at that rate. I have been applying for scholarships wherever I see them, but I regard those largely as a long shot. I'm from Nevada, which is a WICHE state, but apparently NV to AZ osteopathic students are ineligible (I know, right.) Do most people take out private loans on top of their federal loans, or do the internal (limited, need based) scholarships step in before that? I'm calling financial aid tomorrow about most of this, but I thought a student's perspective might be helpful as well.

Thanks in advance. 😕

$224k is the lifetime limit for Stafford loans (including those taken out during undergrad) but medical students actually qualify for larger annual Stafford awards than most other educational programs. Also, as Db mentioned, anything you borrow above the Stafford limit/year is made up for with GradPlus loans.

Here's the link to the loans table the school provides in case you're curious about annual limits and things of that nature:
http://www.midwestern.edu/Programs_and_Admission/Financial_Aid/Loans.html#staffordsub

 

[xXSovereignXx]

Thanks for the info. I'll definitely be using Grad PLUS, as 22,000 isn't even close to enough. : / I thought that was part of the 224k limit. If not, then I'm fine.

Has any recent accepted receive mail concerning choose rotations for 3rd/4th year?

I was accepted about 10 days ago and paid the deposit, but have yet to receive anything in the mail.

 

[DocMiles]

Has any recent accepted receive mail concerning choose rotations for 3rd/4th year?

I was accepted on 3/3 and I haven't gotten anything yet. Hopefully it comes soon!!!

 

[DocMiles]

I was accepted on 3/3 and I haven't gotten anything yet. Hopefully it comes soon!!!

Scratch that. Just checked the mail and the acceptance packet came today. Looks like they were mailed out 3/9. The packet had the OFFICIAL acceptance letter along with a clinical rotation packet with all the affiliated hospitals for each site as well as a paper to list your top three preferred sites.

 

[Dyingduck]

Scratch that. Just checked the mail and the acceptance packet came today. Looks like they were mailed out 3/9. The packet had the OFFICIAL acceptance letter along with a clinical rotation packet with all the affiliated hospitals for each site as well as a paper to list your top three preferred sites.

Thanks for letting us know. I was able to get my 3rd year rotation site (1st choice) by sending an email to Dr. Speicher ahead of time before I even got the letter. Maybe if you live far away and can't wait, go for it.

 

[DocMiles]

Thanks for letting us know. I was able to get my 3rd year rotation site (1st choice) by sending an email to Dr. Speicher ahead of time before I even got the letter. Maybe if you live far away and can't wait, go for it.

Thats awesome!! Congrats on getting your first choice. If you don't mind me asking, what location was your first choice? How long did it take for Dr. Speicher to get back to you? Thank you in advance.

 

[Dyingduck]

Thats awesome!! Congrats on getting your first choice. If you don't mind me asking, what location was your first choice? How long did it take for Dr. Speicher to get back to you? Thank you in advance.

I chose LA to be close to family. And I emailed him last weekend, so 3-4 days? Not so bad.

 

[DocMiles]

I chose LA to be close to family. And I emailed him last weekend, so 3-4 days? Not so bad.

That's great!! I'm really hoping for West Valley but it seems pretty popular and I'm worried it might be getting full. Oh well, gotta hope for the best.

 

[randomusername]

That's great!! I'm really hoping for West Valley but it seems pretty popular and I'm worried it might be getting full. Oh well, gotta hope for the best.

I'd suggest picking West Valley #1 and East #2 then since there's lots of potential overlap between the two. I kind of doubt West is already full, but I highly doubt both West and East are already full (they're 160 spots, the class is ~250, and a lot of people are into the California sites which are something like 60 spots).

 

[xXSovereignXx]

Anyone looking to get an off-campus apartment with some classmates? Send me a message. 🙂

 

[zachjm2]

Has anyone had any luck getting an interview after getting the "hold for interview" letter? I got one of these back in January and I am still waiting.

 

[theone1979]

I'd suggest picking West Valley #1 and East #2 then since there's lots of potential overlap between the two. I kind of doubt West is already full, but I highly doubt both West and East are already full (they're 180 spots, the class is ~250, and a lot of people are into the California sites which are something like 50 spots).

hey there

I also was able to get my first choice (LA) by emailing the department in charge of clinical education. I see you stated that you would recommend picking west valley as #1 and east as #2. Are you saying that you feel these are the 2 strongest rotation sites? I chose LA because I think it's likely I will want to practice in Cali so I figured I might as well do my cores there. Do the LA rotations have a poorer reputation than the AZ sites? You can be honest-I just want to know what I may be getting into. My guess is I could still switch over to AZ if the consensus is that the AZ sites are of better quality than LA.

 

[DbDan]

hey there

I also was able to get my first choice (LA) by emailing the department in charge of clinical education. I see you stated that you would recommend picking west valley as #1 and east as #2. Are you saying that you feel these are the 2 strongest rotation sites? I chose LA because I think it's likely I will want to practice in Cali so I figured I might as well do my cores there. Do the LA rotations have a poorer reputation than the AZ sites? You can be honest-I just want to know what I may be getting into. My guess is I could still switch over to AZ if the consensus is that the AZ sites are of better quality than LA.

He was saying if you want West Valley then list West #1 and East #2. I'm doing my rotations in LA as well.

 

[DocMiles]

Has anyone had any luck getting an interview after getting the "hold for interview" letter? I got one of these back in January and I am still waiting.

I was a pre-interview hold and just got accepted last week. I was placed on hold in October, sent an additional letter of recommendation in Feb. and received an interview invite the next week. I sent in a letter of intent two days after my interview stating how much I liked the school and how it is my number one choice and was accepted the next day. There is still hope!!!

 

[Flushot]

I recall LA has the benefit of having an elective for 3rd year. For everyone in AZ, our only "elective" is the rural rotation as we can do it any specialty but it must be in a rural location of course.

I chose Tucson due to the guaranteed spot at U of A UMC for the IM ward based rotation, but West Valley may also get sent there. That said, West Valley is split between UMC and Tucson Medical Center (TMC), which is on the East side. WV must go down to Tucson for their ward based IM, at least for our year.

It kind of varies by your track. Also, by being in Tucson, I'm going to have to drive back to Glendale for each shelf and didactics. I can't really say if one region is better than another since I'm not there yet and more importantly, I'll only know one region and even then, I'll only know a handful of the rotations.

That said, when 4th year comes, it won't matter anymore, so just do the best you can. If you really can't decide, just pick where you want to live.

 

[randomusername]

He was saying if you want West Valley then list West #1 and East #2.

Correctamundo.

 

[Dyingduck]

Does LA sites have a good ward IM location?

 

[rls303]

I recall LA has the benefit of having an elective for 3rd year. For everyone in AZ, our only "elective" is the rural rotation as we can do it any specialty but it must be in a rural location of course.

I chose Tucson due to the guaranteed spot at U of A UMC for the IM ward based rotation, but West Valley may also get sent there. That said, West Valley is split between UMC and Tucson Medical Center (TMC), which is on the East side. WV must go down to Tucson for their ward based IM, at least for our year.

It kind of varies by your track. Also, by being in Tucson, I'm going to have to drive back to Glendale for each shelf and didactics. I can't really say if one region is better than another since I'm not there yet and more importantly, I'll only know one region and even then, I'll only know a handful of the rotations.

That said, when 4th year comes, it won't matter anymore, so just do the best you can. If you really can't decide, just pick where you want to live.

Anything available in Orange County?

 

[randomusername]

Anything available in Orange County?

If you're just talking about rotations in general, here's the map listed in Flushot's post of the first page of this forum:
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=U...803890777073793.00048d6d0b79e45800f57&t=h&z=5

 

[rls303]

If you're just talking about rotations in general, here's the map listed in Flushot's post of the first page of this forum:
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=U...803890777073793.00048d6d0b79e45800f57&t=h&z=5

Thanks! 🙂

 

[Sinfest]

Sending out my second letter of intent tomorrow.

Wish me luck

 

[Flushot]

Sending out my second letter of intent tomorrow.

Wish me luck

A second one? Well, good luck, but I don't know how much it would help.

What stage are you at in the application process? Waitlist? Pre-interview?

 

[Sinfest]

A second one? Well, good luck, but I don't know how much it would help.

What stage are you at in the application process? Waitlist? Pre-interview?

Pre-interview hold

My first letter was sent out in November, and now that the cycle is winding down I figure I have nothing to lose by seconding out a second letter 4 months later.

 

[Flushot]

Pre-interview hold

My first letter was sent out in November, and now that the cycle is winding down I figure I have nothing to lose by seconding out a second letter 4 months later.

I see. The best case in this scenario would be to call them and update your status weekly to see if any changes have been made. If you want to be really proactive, call both admissions and the AZCOM phone number.

I believe Jim Walters is in general admissions and if you look in the previous thread around this time, people have spoken with him and gotten interviews several days later.

 

[Sinfest]

I see. The best case in this scenario would be to call them and update your status weekly to see if any changes have been made. If you want to be really proactive, call both admissions and the AZCOM phone number.

I believe Jim Walters is in general admissions and if you look in the previous thread around this time, people have spoken with him and gotten interviews several days later.

I've called admissions roughly once a month, but as you can see it hasn't done much. I'll give Jim Walters a call on Monday though. Thanks for the help Flushot 🙂

 

[Flushot]

I've called admissions roughly once a month, but as you can see it hasn't done much. I'll give Jim Walters a call on Monday though. Thanks for the help Flushot 🙂

Sure, no problem.

I think the main thing about calling is you need a reason to call. In your case, you can call and confirm that your LoI has arrived and on the side, ask about your position on the pre-interview hold.

I suggested many reasons to call: you completed new course work and sent in a transcript (call to confirm its arrival) or you did new volunteer work and sent in a letter documenting service (call to confirm its arrival), etc. I noted that calling for the sake of calling doesn't stick out very much and may lead to them forgetting who you are.

Again, you have a reason now to call, but try your best to have a purpose for calling before asking about your status. The only other way I know that works really well when you have nothing to submit is just to show up in person. It's really hard for them to forget you if you come down here, but obviously not everyone can do this just in hopes of getting an interview.