CCOM Discussion Thread 2010-2011

Started by cbrons
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: )

Thanks guys!

Yep, just got it today... Complete on Aug 19th....

My app was in for a while before that and I dunno if they were looking at it before the letters got in.

Tiger, when's your interview?
 
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NHBPFA5 said:
: )

Thanks guys!

Yep, just got it today... Complete on Aug 19th....

My app was in for a while before that and I dunno if they were looking at it before the letters got in.

Tiger, when's your interview?
Click to expand...
Sept. 27th. How about you? If they have an opening that day, you should come then 🙂
 
Hey all!

Just moved my interview from the 4th to the 18th of October. Just thought I'd let you know in case anyone wants to move their interview date up! 🙂
 
The secondary is killing me! For the "why CCOM" question, I have 1900 characters....and i need to lose 400 haha and i really feel like i cant take anything out. Its not going so well🙁 lol

Did you guys have a similar problem?
 
drctother said:
The secondary is killing me! For the "why CCOM" question, I have 1900 characters....and i need to lose 400 haha and i really feel like i cant take anything out. Its not going so well🙁 lol

Did you guys have a similar problem?
Click to expand...

Oh yeah, I had to cut a bunch out too. With 400 characters to cut you might have to take out a whole sentence (or two short sentences). It's all about finding ways to reword things into fewer characters when you are like 100-200 over the limit. I believe my second essay was exactly 1500 characters when I submitted, lol.

Atom bum said:
Anyone get an interview from CCOM and AZCOM?
Click to expand...

Yep
 
here's to hoping for some interview invites soon. it seems like they're taking forever since the first wave.
 
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sedaniel said:
Oh yeah, I had to cut a bunch out too. With 400 characters to cut you might have to take out a whole sentence (or two short sentences). It's all about finding ways to reword things into fewer characters when you are like 100-200 over the limit. I believe my second essay was exactly 1500 characters when I submitted, lol.
Yep
Click to expand...

Ya i gotta speed this up, I have only completed two secondaries out of 11 or so
CCOM i wanna have done by end today🙂

Congrats on those who got interview😀
 
Well my August MCAT scores were lower than the ones the school looked at before they offered me an interview.

Do you think this will have any bearing on whether or not they'll accept me or will they simply use my highest scores (In other words, the ones they looked at prior to offering me an interview).

It's bad enough that I got this bad news about my new scores today but the fact that it could potentially hurt my chances at acceptance makes it all the worse. By the way, it wasn't a drop from a 40T to a 39T. I think my old scores are mediocre at best and pretty below average at worst. I'll leave it that. Any insight would be helpful.
 
cbrons said:
Well my August MCAT scores were lower than the ones the school looked at before they offered me an interview.

Do you think this will have any bearing on whether or not they'll accept me or will they simply use my highest scores (In other words, the ones they looked at prior to offering me an interview).

It's bad enough that I got this bad news about my new scores today but the fact that it could potentially hurt my chances at acceptance makes it all the worse. By the way, it wasn't a drop from a 40T to a 39T. I think my old scores are mediocre at best and pretty below average at worst. I'll leave it that. Any insight would be helpful.
Click to expand...

I toured the school about 2 months ago, and I asked this question during the Q&A session. They only look at your highest score, so no worries.
 
I uploaded the my RESUME, but I don't see it anywhere after the upload! is normal. Like any advice? am I suppose to see the uploaded file after uploading it or not?
 
wolverinepwns said:
I uploaded the my RESUME, but I don't see it anywhere after the upload! is normal. Like any advice? am I suppose to see the uploaded file after uploading it or not?
Click to expand...

I remember that after uploading the CV, there should be a link of it right there that you can click on and look at it. But it will not show your entire CV on the site.
 
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cbrons said:
Wonderful 🙂 Looking forward to meeting you and all the other students and professors in attendance.

Can you or another student review CCOM in this thread?:

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=414441

I really wanna read a lot more about each school I interview at prior to my interview
Click to expand...

i would but since we have only been there a month i do not really feel that well qualified to answer.
the previous review i would say stands.
it is an excellent school with a truely small campus feel.


on an aside i *highly* recommend for anyone coming in to allow extra time as 355 is a disaster in the morning as is 88. allow extra travel time.
if you are on 355 heading north i recommend getting off at ogden and taking that up to highland over to 31st.
if you are on 355 headed south i recommend getting off at roosevelt and taking that up to highland or you can scoot over on other side streets to get to highland as well.
all i can say is that the highland exit off of 88 can be really backed up in the morning and the butterfield exit off 355 only has one lane to turn left if you are coming from the north so they are both a mess.
 
cbrons said:
Wonderful 🙂 Looking forward to meeting you and all the other students and professors in attendance.

Can you or another student review CCOM in this thread?:

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=414441

I really wanna read a lot more about each school I interview at prior to my interview
Click to expand...

If you look there is a thread called "Pros and cons of your DO school" that has a lot of the info. If you have specific questions please just ask or PM me. I'm sorry but I don't browse SDN as much as I used to because I'm quite a bit busier this year.
 
mommy2three said:
on an aside i *highly* recommend for anyone coming in to allow extra time as 355 is a disaster in the morning as is 88. allow extra travel time.
if you are on 355 heading north i recommend getting off at ogden and taking that up to highland over to 31st.
if you are on 355 headed south i recommend getting off at roosevelt and taking that up to highland or you can scoot over on other side streets to get to highland as well.
all i can say is that the highland exit off of 88 can be really backed up in the morning and the butterfield exit off 355 only has one lane to turn left if you are coming from the north so they are both a mess.
Click to expand...


It's like they blew up the highway... Chicagoland is really good at starting multiple construction projects, and going really slow on all of them.
 
Thanks TZ.

I was wondering about this big sibling thing. How does that work? What is the atmosphere like at CCOM? Do people help each other out or are there a lot of gunners? Social life?

I've heard a lot about curriculum and how it's more "traditional" there. What does that mean? Some people have said you don't have a lot of time after second year to prepare for board exams. Is that true and how much of a hindrance is that?
 
cbrons said:
I was wondering about this big sibling thing. How does that work? What is the atmosphere like at CCOM? Do people help each other out or are there a lot of gunners? Social life?
Click to expand...

The big sib is a formal pairing of the class below with a person in the class ahead of you. Basically it's just trying to give you a "go to" person to ask questions to initially. That being said it's really only useful for the old tests and other study aids each big sib gives to their little. Even this varies, some big sibs have boxes full of old tests and stuff, others don't have anything so you get what is available in your class's electronic test file (a online library of old tests). After the first few months you develop friends/contacts in the years ahead of you that are interested in the same fields you are and from that point on their advice is probably more useful.

My class helps each other out quite often. Prior to tests there are usually study guides circulating around the class that someone made up and just shared. Overall I'd say the atmosphere is VERY friendly and straightforward. (but that's also just my personality so take it for what it's worth.) Others don't consider the school to be like this and think we are stuck up (one interviewee's perception last year). Point is med school really is what you make it. If you wanna be a gunner then do it. There are gunners in our class but there are also some really awesome people who try REALLY hard and do VERY well. (gunner just has the negative connotation, but in all seriousness if you're interested in a competitive specialty then go ahead an gun and try and get it.)

Social life- Again it is what you make it. There are different groups that form over the course of first year; you typically become close with the people who are like yourself (go out a lot vs sometimes vs hardly ever). Those people with families generally relate to each other more. However I meant what I said about friendliness, there are people in my class who I've NEVER seen outside of school but if I ran into at the grocery store I could easily have a friendly 15 min convo with them.

cbrons said:
I've heard a lot about curriculum and how it's more "traditional" there. What does that mean? Some people have said you don't have a lot of time after second year to prepare for board exams. Is that true and how much of a hindrance is that?
Click to expand...

Our curriculum is traditional in the sense that it is taught by subject and not by system. Now within each subject the tests are generally broken down to system or some other logical way to categorize the material. Frankly I think I would have done well in a systems based school but you end up learning so much so fast I doubt whether it makes that big of a difference.

Our school technically only gets ~2 weeks off between spring quarter and when we start rotations. While this is different from most schools (usually 4 weeks off), our spring quarter is a lighter load and we are suppose to be studying for boards throughout. As far as how this works out, our school's scores have usually been slightly above average. I'll let you know what I think of it when I go through it at the end of this year. There are other ways around the 2 weeks of prep-time. For instance, you can schedule your elective time at the beginning of 3rd year and use it as a "vacation" to study for boards. You then would have 6 weeks to use for it. However the general consensus from prior students is that by the time you get to June you just want to have boards behind you and they would rather save their "vacation" time for 4th year to travel abroad or visit family prior to starting residency.

Bottom line about the board prep-time is that the school has been like this for a while and people are still coming out of it and doing well, so it works.

Did I miss anything?👍
 
TeamZissou said:
The big sib is a formal pairing of the class below with a person in the class ahead of you. Basically it's just trying to give you a "go to" person to ask questions to initially. That being said it's really only useful for the old tests and other study aids each big sib gives to their little. Even this varies, some big sibs have boxes full of old tests and stuff, others don't have anything so you get what is available in your class's electronic test file (a online library of old tests). After the first few months you develop friends/contacts in the years ahead of you that are interested in the same fields you are and from that point on their advice is probably more useful.

My class helps each other out quite often. Prior to tests there are usually study guides circulating around the class that someone made up and just shared. Overall I'd say the atmosphere is VERY friendly and straightforward. (but that's also just my personality so take it for what it's worth.) Others don't consider the school to be like this and think we are stuck up (one interviewee's perception last year). Point is med school really is what you make it. If you wanna be a gunner then do it. There are gunners in our class but there are also some really awesome people who try REALLY hard and do VERY well. (gunner just has the negative connotation, but in all seriousness if you're interested in a competitive specialty then go ahead an gun and try and get it.)

Social life- Again it is what you make it. There are different groups that form over the course of first year; you typically become close with the people who are like yourself (go out a lot vs sometimes vs hardly ever). Those people with families generally relate to each other more. However I meant what I said about friendliness, there are people in my class who I've NEVER seen outside of school but if I ran into at the grocery store I could easily have a friendly 15 min convo with them.



Our curriculum is traditional in the sense that it is taught by subject and not by system. Now within each subject the tests are generally broken down to system or some other logical way to categorize the material. Frankly I think I would have done well in a systems based school but you end up learning so much so fast I doubt whether it makes that big of a difference.

Our school technically only gets ~2 weeks off between spring quarter and when we start rotations. While this is different from most schools (usually 4 weeks off), our spring quarter is a lighter load and we are suppose to be studying for boards throughout. As far as how this works out, our school's scores have usually been slightly above average. I'll let you know what I think of it when I go through it at the end of this year. There are other ways around the 2 weeks of prep-time. For instance, you can schedule your elective time at the beginning of 3rd year and use it as a "vacation" to study for boards. You then would have 6 weeks to use for it. However the general consensus from prior students is that by the time you get to June you just want to have boards behind you and they would rather save their "vacation" time for 4th year to travel abroad or visit family prior to starting residency.

Bottom line about the board prep-time is that the school has been like this for a while and people are still coming out of it and doing well, so it works.

Did I miss anything?👍
Click to expand...

Nope, that is a great response. Thanks a lot...

I talked to a pharmacy student there who said the technology in the buildings can be somewhat unreliable. Do you have connectivity problems in lecture halls with laptops and other such things?
 
cbrons said:
Nope, that is a great response. Thanks a lot...

I talked to a pharmacy student there who said the technology in the buildings can be somewhat unreliable. Do you have connectivity problems in lecture halls with laptops and other such things?
Click to expand...

Eh yeah the lecture halls the med students are in (mostly) is a nightmare for phone service. But you kinda just learn to either go without it or to sit in a certain area of the room where you do get it.

Regarding laptop connectivity this is something the university has recently changed (in the last year or two) to allow internet all over campus. It's a work in progress but for the most part you can get internet wherever you are on campus.
 
Hey guys, I am getting a bit worried! I was complete at the end of july (27th I think), and still no interview from the Illinois campus. I did receive an interview from AZ about 3 weeks ago though.

I emailed the admissions director and she basically told me nothing. She said if all the check marks are there than my app is complete.

I'm paranoid that everyone who submitted before me has received invites.

My stats and ECs are great and I have received other interviews...anyone else in my boat? whats going on?
 
uniquerabbit said:
Hey guys, I am getting a bit worried! I was complete at the end of july (27th I think), and still no interview from the Illinois campus. I did receive an interview from AZ about 3 weeks ago though.

I emailed the admissions director and she basically told me nothing. She said if all the check marks are there than my app is complete.

I'm paranoid that everyone who submitted before me has received invites.

My stats and ECs are great and I have received other interviews...anyone else in my boat? whats going on?
Click to expand...

I'm in the same boat. I have 3 other interviews. But, no CCOM love yet
 
uniquerabbit said:
Hey guys, I am getting a bit worried! I was complete at the end of july (27th I think), and still no interview from the Illinois campus. I did receive an interview from AZ about 3 weeks ago though.

I emailed the admissions director and she basically told me nothing. She said if all the check marks are there than my app is complete.

I'm paranoid that everyone who submitted before me has received invites.

My stats and ECs are great and I have received other interviews...anyone else in my boat? whats going on?
Click to expand...

I was complete at the end of June and heard nothing. CCOM didn't send me a word last season until LATE and it was a rejection. I dunno their process. I'm just gonna update as things come along and hope for the best.
 
DbDan said:
I was complete at the end of June and heard nothing. CCOM didn't send me a word last season until LATE and it was a rejection. I dunno their process. I'm just gonna update as things come along and hope for the best.
Click to expand...



How late, exactly?
 
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Anyone know how reg they release new interview dates?

I couldnt do the 4 they gave me and the website says they'll release new ones, which hopefully I can do.
 
robflanker said:
Anyone know how reg they release new interview dates?

I couldnt do the 4 they gave me and the website says they'll release new ones, which hopefully I can do.
Click to expand...

i think you just have to keep checking back. i know i refreshed last year a few times in a short period and then there was a date open that someone must have dropped from so i would keep checking back a few times a day
 
uniquerabbit said:
Hey guys, I am getting a bit worried! I was complete at the end of july (27th I think), and still no interview from the Illinois campus. I did receive an interview from AZ about 3 weeks ago though.

I emailed the admissions director and she basically told me nothing. She said if all the check marks are there than my app is complete.

I'm paranoid that everyone who submitted before me has received invites.

My stats and ECs are great and I have received other interviews...anyone else in my boat? whats going on?
Click to expand...
Same here. I'm starting to think I said something stupid in my secondary.
To be honest, it won't bug me much if they reject me but I would certainly like to know why considering my stats and ECs are good.
 
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