CCOM Discussion Thread 2009-2010

Started by slamindesi
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oh man, i interviewed 11/30. still no news!

i wonder when/if the admissions office goes on "winter break."

clearly i should've called/e-mailed last week. bah!
 
I was put on the alternate list back in November. I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions for getting off the list or heard any past success stories. Thanks!
 
Does anyone have any negative things to say about CCOM? Or, constructive criticism? I have to decide between here and NYCOM, and I can't remember anything bad about CCOM... Did any applicants have any complaints? Any students have anything they don't particularly like? Thanks a lot! Any input is appreciated! (I know there is the "rank you do school" thread, but no one has put anything on there about ccom recently.)
 
jcm14 said:
Does anyone have any negative things to say about CCOM? Or, constructive criticism? I have to decide between here and NYCOM, and I can't remember anything bad about CCOM... Did any applicants have any complaints? Any students have anything they don't particularly like? Thanks a lot! Any input is appreciated! (I know there is the "rank you do school" thread, but no one has put anything on there about ccom recently.)
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The two things I didn't like about CCOM are:

1) Clinical rotations - only 2 elective rotations can be in the same field. I've read that this is really to benefit the applicant but if you want to go into a competitive field, this may be a disadvantage. However, you can clearly see in the matchlist that it is not impossible and the rotation list, in general, is sufficient for great exposure.

2) Patient exposure. From what I can tell, there isn't much (if any??) patient exposure integrated into the curriculum. However, there are a lot of opportunities to gain patient exposure through volunteer.

But to clarify... there is a lot more I love about the school! 🙂
 
Accepted. Complete Oct 8. Interviewed Dec 4.
MCAT: 32(8/09) 34(8/06)
GPA: 3.55
~5 yrs Research, ~3yrs CNA
 
Accepted! Interviewed on Dec. 7th. This is my #1 choice so I am so excited. Congratulations to all who were accepted.
 
I just rescheduled my interview from Jan 12th to Feb 8th, for financial reasons (argh). Posting so someone can snap up my original date... Good luck to everyone still in this crazy process!
 
drplease said:
Hey! Which one were you? I was there that day - the asian CA girl? My stats are actually very similar to yours too.
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Pricetag's a little high, but rotations are awesome. Although only 2 elective rotations can be done in the same field, with a core rotation also in that field you could potentially do 3 (6wks(?) a piece = ~4.5 months). That should be more than enough time to get acquainted.
 
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just found out I was put on the alternate list 🙁 2-2 on interviews and being put on waitlist, this blows!
 
Thanks, drplease! Your post pretty much confirms what I thought, mostly great things about CCOM, and the bad things are not a huge deal. This decision won't be easy! Thanks again!
 
TopQuark said:
Good to know these SDNers actually exist! I was the blonde guy from Colorado. I have another interview, but right now CCOM is my top choice.

Pricetag's a little high, but rotations are awesome. Although only 2 elective rotations can be done in the same field, with a core rotation also in that field you could potentially do 3 (6wks(?) a piece = ~4.5 months). That should be more than enough time to get acquainted.
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just got accepted from 12/04 interview too, what a lucky day! (im the girl from ny.)
 
lentilfarm said:
I also received a rejection pre-interview yesterday. I was complete mid-October. Thought my stats were competitive, but I guess something else in my app wasn't what they were looking for. Oh well!

Chemistry major, 3.65 cGPA, 31N MCAT (BS 10, PS 10, VR 11)
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You're right, it probably isn't your stats. I was accepted Nov 7th, interviewed Oct 19, was a chemistry major with a 3.97 gpa and 30O MCAT.
 
jcm14 said:
Does anyone have any negative things to say about CCOM? Or, constructive criticism? I have to decide between here and NYCOM, and I can't remember anything bad about CCOM... Did any applicants have any complaints? Any students have anything they don't particularly like? Thanks a lot! Any input is appreciated! (I know there is the "rank you do school" thread, but no one has put anything on there about ccom recently.)
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The one thing I noticed that it lacks is technology, relative to the other DO schools I interviewed at. It doesn't have any patient simulators, there aren't any Tv's in the anatomy lab to observe the instructor, and I think some of the buildings do not have Wi-Fi (please correct me on this one, I only thought I heard this from a student there). Also, and if it matters to you, the fitness center is very small, but being in DG, theres a Gym pretty close by. I'm going to CCOM, so obviously these things didn't bother me too much 🙂
 
Wildebeest said:
The one thing I noticed that it lacks is technology, relative to the other DO schools I interviewed at. It doesn't have any patient simulators, there aren't any Tv's in the anatomy lab to observe the instructor, and I think some of the buildings do not have Wi-Fi (please correct me on this one, I only thought I heard this from a student there). Also, and if it matters to you, the fitness center is very small, but being in DG, theres a Gym pretty close by. I'm going to CCOM, so obviously these things didn't bother me too much 🙂
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Oh yeah, I second the whole lack of technology. I thought it was slightly strange. However, I don't think technology makes or breaks an education so I didn't put too much thought into that.
 
My secondary sent out and application completed Dec 22nd. Anybody else recently get completed and know about how long its taking for them to review the applications and offer interviews right now?
 
Wildebeest said:
I think some of the buildings do not have Wi-Fi (please correct me on this one, I only thought I heard this from a student there).
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It used to be the case that some of the professors didn't want students to have access to wifi in the lecture halls. Don't really know why they had a problem with it but this was recently changed so now it is available.
 
To those of you who have been accepted, congrats. Did any of you accepted for fall 2010 only have an MD LOR? Thanks.
 
Futuredoc2014 said:
My secondary sent out and application completed Dec 22nd. Anybody else recently get completed and know about how long its taking for them to review the applications and offer interviews right now?
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I was complete on October 5th and I still have not heard anything since the "you are complete" email. I have sent them emails since then (and tried to call but they do not discuss application status over the phone) and they tell me, "Your application is complete." I also applied to AZCOM (application complete around the same time as CCOM) and I was invited for an interview a few weeks ago. I'm hoping to hear something after the holidays...
 
herky010 said:
I was complete on October 5th and I still have not heard anything since the "you are complete" email. I have sent them emails since then (and tried to call but they do not discuss application status over the phone) and they tell me, "Your application is complete." I also applied to AZCOM (application complete around the same time as CCOM) and I was invited for an interview a few weeks ago. I'm hoping to hear something after the holidays...
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Oh man! It sounds like its crawling along very slowly. I might just have to sit back and be very patient. Thanks for the info. I completed AZCOM around the same time as well so we will see. But Good Luck to you. I hope your interview went well and you hear something good back after the holidays, maybe even CCOM will contact you for an interview.... 🙂
 
careerchngr said:
To those of you who have been accepted, congrats. Did any of you accepted for fall 2010 only have an MD LOR? Thanks.
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I had an MD and DO letter, but my DO letter was VERY short and kinda general. The MD letter was glowing and 3 pages long. Not sure which one meant more to them...
 
CCOM is very slow compared to other schools. This is either a good thing or bad thing, in my opinion, lol 😎
 
careerchngr said:
To those of you who have been accepted, congrats. Did any of you accepted for fall 2010 only have an MD LOR? Thanks.
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I only an MD letter but it was a very personal letter. I don't think they will exclude you from consideration just because you specifically didn't shadow a DO. Good Luck
 
Does anyone think that some people just don't get a response at all about their application?? Could that be a possibility for this school?
:idea:
 
does anyone know the address to login to the supplementary application? I accidentally deleted it. 😡
 
does anyone know if orientation is mandatory? according to the tentative calendar, the orientation starts on august 2nd, 2010. i'm wondering because i want to brainstorm ideas of vacation plans before school starts. 🙂
 
drplease said:
does anyone know if orientation is mandatory? according to the tentative calendar, the orientation starts on august 2nd, 2010. i'm wondering because i want to brainstorm ideas of vacation plans before school starts. 🙂
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where did you see the schedule, i've never seen one?
 
Hey all,

I'm really late applying to CCOM. I already submitted my secondaries to a bunch of MD schools and have been rejected at about a quarter of them. I'm filling out my DO apps now, and trying to answer this question:

Why do you believe AZCOM/CCOM would provide you with the type of osteopathic medical education you are seeking?

What do you guys think about CCOM? What should I write about? I've heard that students take a few of their classes mixed with other programs... like pharmacology will have DO students and pharm students. Are a decent amount of the classes like this? Are the lectures posted online?

For those of you who go to CCOM, or have visited, what do you specifically like about CCOM? Thanks guys.
 
seanshah said:
Hey all,

I'm really late applying to CCOM. I already submitted my secondaries to a bunch of MD schools and have been rejected at about a quarter of them. I'm filling out my DO apps now, and trying to answer this question:

Why do you believe AZCOM/CCOM would provide you with the type of osteopathic medical education you are seeking?

What do you guys think about CCOM? What should I write about? I've heard that students take a few of their classes mixed with other programs... like pharmacology will have DO students and pharm students. Are a decent amount of the classes like this? Are the lectures posted online?

For those of you who go to CCOM, or have visited, what do you specifically like about CCOM? Thanks guys.
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:bang:

Write the secondary yourself. It takes one, maybe two hours worth of meaningful research to answer those questions.
To answer your other questions, check here.
 
yeah just write about what draws you to the school. I specifically talked about the curriculum bc it was a major factor in choosing ccom, to me
 
I also interviewed Dec 4th and was accepted a few weeks ago! (Im the tall red-head from Michigan State for other dec. 4th people). Im pretty set on CCOM and couldn't be more excited!! Good luck to those who are still waiting, and congrats to future CCOMers!!!
 
My application was complete 11/4 and I still have not heard back for an interview. Does that mean I should expect a rejection
 
slacker1001 said:
My application was complete 11/4 and I still have not heard back for an interview. Does that mean I should expect a rejection
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I was about to ask the same thing... but I was complete a bit later (11/19)
I think people had posted that they received interviews about 2.5 months after being complete, add to that time lost during the Christmas break, and we might still get interview invites,

maybe it's just wishful thinking, but I think there is hope
 
Hey, I just wanted to give some hope to the wishful thinkers on here. I've officially decided to decline my acceptance to CCOM. I hope it will endup going to one of you!
 
illini2389 said:
scratch that, just got the email about all of it, and according to the dean, it looks like orientation is mandatory, dunno if you can miss it without it being an issue
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Orientation is mandatory and they take it pretty seriously even though some stuff can be boring or redundant. Also gives you the chance to get to know your classmates, if memory serves me right we went out a lot that week.
 
To any current students out there, would you say since orientation is mandatory that it would be unnecessary to come to the area beforehand to become acquainted with the area?

Also, anyone decide on living in the dorms?? I'm heavily considering it since I'm not from the area but it'd also be nice to pay roughly the same amount for a nicer spot. I wasn't given a tour of the rooms during my interview and I am hesitant to believe what is on the website. I'm not near MWU either so taking a trip out to look at apts would be $$.

If anyone is living in the dorms now, do you happen to know when the move-in date is?
 
drplease said:
To any current students out there, would you say since orientation is mandatory that it would be unnecessary to come to the area beforehand to become acquainted with the area?

Also, anyone decide on living in the dorms?? I'm heavily considering it since I'm not from the area but it'd also be nice to pay roughly the same amount for a nicer spot. I wasn't given a tour of the rooms during my interview and I am hesitant to believe what is on the website. I'm not near MWU either so taking a trip out to look at apts would be $$.

If anyone is living in the dorms now, do you happen to know when the move-in date is?
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You really don't need to come early to get acquainted with the area. It might even be beneficial to wait until you meet people so that you have someone to wander around with or are able to just ask people from the area if you have any questions. There's always a couple that grew up in Downers Grove, Lombard, or some other close suburb.

A housing option might be to contact some of your future classmates and try to get a 2 or 3 bed apartment if you're trying to save some money. You might be able to find some cheaper stuff a little farther away but the longer commute could be a hassle, especially in the winter. Some of the situations where people found roommates before school started worked out great. Others, not so much. I got a 1 bedroom apartment to avoid all that and I live at Cityview so there's a bunch of classmates that live in my building. I considered the dorms because of the cost but ultimately couldn't bring myself to do it because I needed my own kitchen and space. I lived in an apartment the last 3 years of my undergrad because I couldn't stand the dorms but if you're ok with it then it's not a bad option.
 
Hey everyone - I've cancelled my interview for Feb 8th/withdrawn my app. FYI so someone can snag my spot. Best of luck to all! 🙂
 
for ccom..
complete as of jan 3. strong app but 27 mcat and 3.5 science gpa.. still good for interview or too late?
thanks.
 
30mingumbo said:
for ccom..
complete as of jan 3. strong app but 27 mcat and 3.5 science gpa.. still good for interview or too late?
thanks.
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I think you'll be fine. I was complete 13 Jan. I have a 29R MCAT, 3.7 sciGPA, 3.75 cGPA and other stuff. Hang in there. Waiting is the worst thing in the world. I got an interview invite today for early febuary.
 
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