AZCOM Discussion Thread 2011-2012

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xajtx said:
Wait, so they will automatically send us an e-mail or something telling us where we will be placed for clinical rotations? I thought we would have to put down a deposit and stuff first (confirm that we are attending)? And when is the deadline for the deposit? December 14th I assume?
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What do u mean placed for clinical rotations I thought u organize ur own rotations
 
i was under the impression that we get a region assigned to us sometime before matriculation. maybe it's after we put in a deposit.. now that i think of it more, i'm not so sure as my days have started to all blend together.
 
sunshine 3 said:
i was under the impression that we get a region assigned to us sometime before matriculation. maybe it's after we put in a deposit.. now that i think of it more, i'm not so sure as my days have started to all blend together.
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The way I understood it, is that ultimately AZCOM assigns the rotation sites. However, they give you a preference form for your top 3 choices. I also heard that people who are accepted early usually get the area they request. Some of the areas were East and West Valley (Phoenix area), LA, and Ohio. I can't recall, but I think that there were a few others...
 
I just got off the phone with admissions because I was curious about the rotation situation. I was told in my interview that we would be able to choose our rotation site, and being the first group of interviewers we should get our top choice. But on the phone with admissions, he thought that we would be assigned with our rotation site on acceptance. He thought we should be receiving a letter in the mail regarding rotations. He told me to wait for that letter and see where I am placed, and if I wanted to change it we could discuss it. He said the person in charge of rotations is out of town right now, but he thinks this is the way it works.

I guess we wait for snail mail...
 
AustinLAS said:
I just got off the phone with admissions because I was curious about the rotation situation. I was told in my interview that we would be able to choose our rotation site, and being the first group of interviewers we should get our top choice. But on the phone with admissions, he thought that we would be assigned with our rotation site on acceptance. He thought we should be receiving a letter in the mail regarding rotations. He told me to wait for that letter and see where I am placed, and if I wanted to change it we could discuss it. He said the person in charge of rotations is out of town right now, but he thinks this is the way it works.

I guess we wait for snail mail...
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Thanks for the info! I was just about to call myself. Any idea when we should be getting that letter? Really hoping for rotations in L.A.!
 
Just checked, deposit is due 12/19.

My interviewer also said we should have no problem getting the rotation sites we want since we interviewed early. Hoping for LA as well.
 
LastPolarBear said:
Just checked, deposit is due 12/19.

My interviewer also said we should have no problem getting the rotation sites we want since we interviewed early. Hoping for LA as well.
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That's nice to hear, but what's kind of confusing me is that we never got a chance to rank our preferences! lol so I'm assuming they'll just do it totally randomly...

Anyone know where we can get a list of their rotation sites in L.A.?
 
Grats you guys. Making me anxious now for my interview on 10/17. Really really REALLY wanna get into AZCOM.
 
xajtx said:
That's nice to hear, but what's kind of confusing me is that we never got a chance to rank our preferences! lol so I'm assuming they'll just do it totally randomly...

Anyone know where we can get a list of their rotation sites in L.A.?
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I don't think they choose for us without a preference list. That makes no sense at all. If we do get something in the mail, it's probably a list of the places asking us to pick our top 3 or whatever. Of course I am guessing as well, but they told us specifically we'd have input into this so don't worry about them just assigning. That's not what they did last year.
 
stefspets said:
I don't think they choose for us without a preference list. That makes no sense at all. If we do get something in the mail, it's probably a list of the places asking us to pick our top 3 or whatever. Of course I am guessing as well, but they told us specifically we'd have input into this so don't worry about them just assigning. That's not what they did last year.
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That totally makes sense lol for some reason I was thinking that they would already send us our rotation site in the mail
 
Yes, the man I talked to on the phone didn't sound very sure of the process. So, it wouldn't surprise me if we were waiting to rank our top three choices via snail mail.
 
So after my portal didn't change for quite a few weeks I called today and was told I was on the wait list for an interview. I have a couple questions:

1. What is my chance of getting an interview?
2. What can I do to better my chances for an interview?
3. If the thought is "the ball is in my court" I need to show them I'm truly interested in their school, why would the not notify that you are on hold?

Thanks you guys
 
Waitlisted for the second year in a row at azcom.

As awesome as the school itself is, I am done with it. Withdrawing my application.
 
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IDFsoldierboy said:
What do u mean placed for clinical rotations I thought u organize ur own rotations
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Yes and no. Third year rotations are almost entirely assigned by the school but fourth year is mostly self-organized because there are 20+ weeks of auditions/electives. And by self-organized, I mean you come up with ideas and whatnot yourself but there should actually be a clinical coordinator you work with to help you actually setup and brainstorm.

xajtx said:
Thanks for the list! Also, I wonder if we can choose the hospital we would like to rotate at as well or if it's just the general location
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Nope. The way rotations work are first you're assigned a region, then you select a track (the order in which you do your rotations [FP --> psych --> surg, etc]), then you'll actually choose your preceptors. Where your preceptors have privileges is what gets you into certain hospitals.


dinos go moo said:
So after my portal didn't change for quite a few weeks I called today and was told I was on the wait list for an interview. I have a couple questions:

1. What is my chance of getting an interview?
2. What can I do to better my chances for an interview?
3. If the thought is "the ball is in my court" I need to show them I'm truly interested in their school, why would the not notify that you are on hold?

Thanks you guys
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1. They're decent if you're proactive.
2. Keep the school up-to-date with new MCAT scores, new grades, publications, activities, etc.
3. So that you're not wondering what's going on with your application...

SavoirFaire said:
Waitlisted for the second year in a row at azcom.

As awesome as the school itself is, I am done with it. Withdrawing my application.
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I'm sorry to hear that. I know it sucks, but if you'd still like to go to AZCOM (disregard the insult of being wait-listed again in thinking about this, if possible), you've already spent the money on the application, secondary, and coming here to interview. There's nothing to be gained by throwing away the money and withdrawing if you really want to attend here and it won't hurt to just leave your application active with the school to see if you can get in off of the wait-list. If you want to better your chances of getting in, just send in a LOI and keep the school up-to-date with stuff going on with you in regards to academics and activities.

Or, you can just take your LECOM-B acceptance, spend <1/2 of what you would on tuition, and have your loans paid off well before I will. 😉
Best of luck with whatever you decide to do though!
 
randomusername said:
Yes and no. Third year rotations are almost entirely assigned by the school but fourth year is mostly self-organized because there are 20+ weeks of auditions/electives. And by self-organized, I mean you come up with ideas and whatnot yourself but there should actually be a clinical coordinator you work with to help you actually setup and brainstorm.



Nope. The way rotations work are first you're assigned a region, then you select a track (the order in which you do your rotations [FP --> psych --> surg, etc]), then you'll actually choose your preceptors. Where your preceptors have privileges is what gets you into certain hospitals.




1. They're decent if you're proactive.
2. Keep the school up-to-date with new MCAT scores, new grades, publications, activities, etc.
3. So that you're not wondering what's going on with your application...



I'm sorry to hear that. I know it sucks, but if you'd still like to go to AZCOM (disregard the insult of being wait-listed again in thinking about this, if possible), you've already spent the money on the application, secondary, and coming here to interview. There's nothing to be gained by throwing away the money and withdrawing if you really want to attend here and it won't hurt to just leave your application active with the school to see if you can get in off of the wait-list. If you want to better your chances of getting in, just send in a LOI and keep the school up-to-date with stuff going on with you in regards to academics and activities.

Or, you can just take your LECOM-B acceptance, spend <1/2 of what you would on tuition, and have your loans paid off well before I will. 😉
Best of luck with whatever you decide to do though!
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Thanks for the info, randomusername! Is this the way all medical schools do it in terms of rotations? I was also wondering how much of your rotations are preceptor-based and ward-based and what the pros and cons are for each.
 
1. They're decent if you're proactive.
2. Keep the school up-to-date with new MCAT scores, new grades, publications, activities, etc.
3. So that you're not wondering what's going on with your application...

Thank you very much for the response. I'm kind of in a pickle because I'm not taking any classes (I graduated in May) and I'm not retaking the MCAT (I've already taken it twice). I'm not working on research so no publications and as far as activities I'm already volunteering at 2 places a week and I work full time (40-48 hours a week). This is all on top of filling out secondaries and planning a wedding.

What sort of activities would you suggest?

Thank you again. I truly appreciate any feed back.
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dinos go moo said:
Thank you very much for the response. I'm kind of in a pickle because I'm not taking any classes (I graduated in May) and I'm not retaking the MCAT (I've already taken it twice). I'm not working on research so no publications and as far as activities I'm already volunteering at 2 places a week and I work full time (40-48 hours a week). This is all on top of filling out secondaries and planning a wedding.

What sort of activities would you suggest?

Thank you again. I truly appreciate any feed back.
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Usually (not always) if you are not offered an interview it's reasonable to think its because your stats are not competitive enough. You didn't say what your stats are, so I can only assume this might be the issue. How is your GPA? If it isn't good, perhaps you might consider some post-bac studies, or even retaking some classes that you may not have done as well in as you would have liked.

If it isn't due to stats, then my next guess would be EC's. You are volunteering 2 places a week, so unless you just started doing that, I doubt EC's are the issue.

It doesn't sound like you are willing to do much, or anything for that matter to improve your application in terms of EC's, MCAT scores or research anyway, so unless something gives you might just be at the disposal of the admissions committee.

You can always write a letter of intent, but without some quality updates it might not be as effective.
 
dinos go moo said:
1. They're decent if you're proactive.
2. Keep the school up-to-date with new MCAT scores, new grades, publications, activities, etc.
3. So that you're not wondering what's going on with your application...

Thank you very much for the response. I'm kind of in a pickle because I'm not taking any classes (I graduated in May) and I'm not retaking the MCAT (I've already taken it twice). I'm not working on research so no publications and as far as activities I'm already volunteering at 2 places a week and I work full time (40-48 hours a week). This is all on top of filling out secondaries and planning a wedding.

What sort of activities would you suggest?

Thank you again. I truly appreciate any feed back.
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Eh, activities/volunteer work were never fortes of mine. If you're already volunteering for two different things on a weekly basis, I think your activities are covered.

Most people who get placed on hold for an interview typically have a GPA and/or MCAT that is a bit lower than the school wants to see but looks good in every other regard. The good news is that the school likes enough about you to not completely eliminate you as an applicant already, the bad news is that if you know your issue is GPA or MCAT in nature, only showing a positive effort to amend that will help you out much, granted there's the off chance that the school gets to the end of the cycle and decides to fill in a few empty interview slots...
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Thank you so much for the feed back.

If I were to take a class or retake the MCAT would they wait to invite for an interview until my grades/scores were in? I only ask because I can't enroll in classes untill winter/spring and I wouldn't feel confident taking the MCAT for at least a couple of months and by then I'm afraid it would be too late.
 
dinos go moo said:
Thank you so much for the feed back.

If I were to take a class or retake the MCAT would they wait to invite for an interview until my grades/scores were in? I only ask because I can't enroll in classes untill winter/spring and I wouldn't feel confident taking the MCAT for at least a couple of months and by then I'm afraid it would be too late.
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I'm not sure, but a letter of intent stating that you were currently retaking X class or classes would certainly look good! I think anything that shows them you are making an effort to improve is fantastic. You might also say something about how much you are working, but make sure to say it in a way that doesn't sound like it's hindering or disabling you. (just my 2 cents) Good luck to you! :luck:
 
WaffleDoc said:
Has anybody from the 9/19 interview or later heard back yet?
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I interviewed on 9/22 and heard back. I think some others have as well. I'm not certain, but I think several people have called and received their statuses. They said it could take a couple weeks for an answer though, so hang in there!
 
dinos go moo said:
Thank you so much for the feed back.

If I were to take a class or retake the MCAT would they wait to invite for an interview until my grades/scores were in? I only ask because I can't enroll in classes untill winter/spring and I wouldn't feel confident taking the MCAT for at least a couple of months and by then I'm afraid it would be too late.
Click to expand...


I honestly can't say if they'd invite you for an interview even if you do those things, but as was suggested, if you do register for classes or another go at the MCAT, it would be beneficial to update the school about that once registered and then again once grades/scores are available. Mostly your aim at this point is to make sure the school knows you're still interested and that you're working on becoming a better applicant.
 
stefspets said:
I was accepted and I interviewed 9/19.
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Hi stef, from the non-trad forum it looks like you're having pretty good success. Congrats! 🙂

How much time do they give you to accept or reject the acceptance offer? Are you going to have time before your UofA interviews? How much deposit do you have to put down? Thanks!
 
all things being equal it is about stats, meaning that if MCATs are 28 or above and you are a 24 you will be on hold/waitlist until all scores above you are given a chance so to get selected you need to get a higher score or wait and see how low the competition gets to, same thing with GPA....hence updating Grades and scores are good, information about plans to take courses or retaking MCAT arenot useful as they are not actual improvements so it does not change were you fall in the competition...short letters of intent are a good idea to show interest but again does not move you in the competition...hope this helps
 
startoverat40 said:
Hi stef, from the non-trad forum it looks like you're having pretty good success. Congrats! 🙂

How much time do they give you to accept or reject the acceptance offer? Are you going to have time before your UofA interviews? How much deposit do you have to put down? Thanks!
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The deposit is $1000 and due 12/19. I think that's it as far as accepting/holding the seat, but I could be wrong about that.
 
Congrats to all of those who got accepted!! I got a letter in the mail today....denied 🙁 Still got one more app pedning at another school though. If that fails as well I will end up having to retake my MCAT because I think that is my problem. My plan of starting in 2012 is looking grim
 
vt2do said:
Congrats to all of those who got accepted!! I got a letter in the mail today....denied 🙁 Still got one more app pedning at another school though. If that fails as well I will end up having to retake my MCAT because I think that is my problem. My plan of starting in 2012 is looking grim
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Sorry to hear that. Good Luck on your last school.
 
Those of you who were accepted and don't mind sharing, what were your stats?
 
For those that were accepted, did you receive anything in the mail or a phone call or email or anything, or was it just the update to the portal?
 
docmedia said:
For those that were accepted, did you receive anything in the mail or a phone call or email or anything, or was it just the update to the portal?
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Just the portal, but I saw somewhere within the accepted student checklist that something was coming via snail mail.
 
MedMusclez said:
Just the portal, but I saw somewhere within the accepted student checklist that something was coming via snail mail.
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OK, cool. Guess I was just waiting for some kind of validation that the change on the portal wasn't just some kind of computer glitch. Congrats to everyone that got accepted! Hope to see you next summer in Glendale, AZ.
 
docmedia said:
OK, cool. Guess I was just waiting for some kind of validation that the change on the portal wasn't just some kind of computer glitch. Congrats to everyone that got accepted! Hope to see you next summer in Glendale, AZ.
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Haha a glitch! How bad would that suck?!? Actually, I thought the same thing at first. I kept checking back every couple of hours to make sure it wasn't a mistake. Then they added the additional information, and I knew everything was fine. Congrats on your acceptance!
 
Withdrawn! Some lucky duck is going to get an October 12th interview! Good luck all!
 
complete as of 9/23/11. Is anyone else in this stage? It looks like most of you have already interviewed or waiting to
 
Have not received a letter, but checked the portal and saw that I was accepted.

sGPA 3.2 and 31P MCAT....also have a graduate degree, 4 publications (two that I 1st authored) and a lot of clinical (4 yrs) and research (7 yrs) experience.

Good luck to all still applying/waiting and congrats to all accepted.🙂
 
Does anyone know who the Dean or Director of Admissions is? I was searching the website and I couldn't find a name, lol.
 
WaffleDoc said:
Does anyone know who the Dean or Director of Admissions is? I was searching the website and I couldn't find a name, lol.
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Mark Speicher is the dean who's most involved with the admissions process.
 
WaffleDoc said:
So if I'm writing a letter of intent, you think I should address it to him?
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I'd just address it to the Office of Admissions or something generic like that (pretty much the same thing you used for sending LORs if you sent any via snail mail). I'd also definitely snail mail it rather than email it.
 
I asked the admissions office if they thought I should send it to the dean of admissions, and they said yeah, so that's what I was planning on doing. But I'll call back again on Monday and ask if I should just send it to the admissions committee instead. Thanks, guys! 🙂
 
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