Des Moines University (DMU-COM) Discussion Thread 2012 - 2013

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FrkyBgStok said:
good luck! keep an eye open for fast track interviews. if your scores are above 3.7 and 30 (i think), you may get an interview invite within a couple days. at least that is how it was last year.
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virtuoso735 said:
Gah! I have a 3.4 but 31 MCAT. I also don't have my LOR's in yet and won't for another few weeks. Do people with missing LOR's also get these fast track interviews?
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FrkyBgStok said:
Doubtful. Fast track saves you about a week so don't put much weight. I had a 3.7/28 and I didn't get a fast track. The first interview date last year was september 1st and my interview was on the 12th. I also needed a Monday but I know there were earlier dates when I scheduled. Stay ahead of the game and you will be fine. To top it off, Toytles had fast track but he also interviewed way after I did. Point is, you are fine.
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Fast track interviews huh? I have a 3.2/3.2/33. I wonder if I qualify.

Anyway, I know we all just want an acceptance, but to offer a different perspective, I wouldn't mind getting my acceptance(s) a little later in the season. Why? Well, most schools give you ~2 weeks to get back to them after they give you an acceptance. If you accept, you have to pay for your spot right away, correct? So say you get into DMU on Aug 1 and don't hear back from anyone the day before your deadline. You'll accept your spot at DMU, pay the fee, and then possibly get another acceptance(s) at a top choice or a school you'd rather attend than DMU. Now you've wasted the fee!
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MedPR said:
Fast track interviews huh? I have a 3.2/3.2/33. I wonder if I qualify.

Anyway, I know we all just want an acceptance, but to offer a different perspective, I wouldn't mind getting my acceptance(s) a little later in the season. Why? Well, most schools give you ~2 weeks to get back to them after they give you an acceptance. If you accept, you have to pay for your spot right away, correct? So say you get into DMU on Aug 1 and don't hear back from anyone the day before your deadline. You'll accept your spot at DMU, pay the fee, and then possibly get another acceptance(s) at a top choice or a school you'd rather attend than DMU. Now you've wasted the fee!
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Exactly!! It can be a hefty acceptance fee too....
 
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DMU requires your first deposit by december 15th if you get an acceptance early. Actually, most schools use that timeline. Only school I am positive doesn't is Lecom.

And dmu's is $500 which comparatively cheap.
 
FrkyBgStok said:
Doubtful. Fast track saves you about a week so don't put much weight. I had a 3.7/28 and I didn't get a fast track. The first interview date last year was september 1st and my interview was on the 12th. I also needed a Monday but I know there were earlier dates when I scheduled. Stay ahead of the game and you will be fine. To top it off, Toytles had fast track but he also interviewed way after I did. Point is, you are fine.
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This is true. HopefulMD, your stats are great so whether you get fasttrack or not, DMU will most likely be interested in you enough to invite you for an interview. And as a general comment, you all seem super early this cycle, so even if you don't get the fast track it's no big deal. I'm not sure why I got it... but like Stok said, I ended up interviewing after him. Just stay patient and let your application speak for itself. You all are in great shape this cycle, so far. :)
 
FrkyBgStok said:
DMU requires your first deposit by december 15th if you get an acceptance early. Actually, most schools use that timeline. Only school I am positive doesn't is Lecom.

And dmu's is $500 which comparatively cheap.
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Oh. I don't know where I got that 2 week time limit from then.. :/
 
MedPR said:
Yea. Idk about the rest of you, but I can't afford to be throwing money around.
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+1. Ive got a family to feed! Hahaha. Isnt lecom's deposit like 1500?? Wtf dude.
 
FrkyBgStok said:
DMU requires your first deposit by december 15th if you get an acceptance early. Actually, most schools use that timeline. Only school I am positive doesn't is Lecom.

And dmu's is $500 which comparatively cheap.
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This.

Sriously guys just look this stuff up in the CIB. Its not hard to find. Generally speaking, the later in the cycle you get an acceptance offer, the less time you have to reply with your decision. If you receive an early acceptance, you have until Nov/Dec to reply.
 
WorldChanger36 said:
Yeah but if you get an acceptance offer to DMU there really are not that many other schools left to throw your money at .... IMO
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Agreed. For me maybe PCOM or my state MD are the only schools I would pick over DMU.
 
hopefulMD9 said:
Agreed. For me maybe PCOM or my state MD are the only schools I would pick over DMU.
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There are not too many schools that top DMU and honestly I put CCOM, PCOM, NYCOM and DMU all on the same level so it is one of those I have to see the school to know which one would prefer. Most of my state MD schools I would go to over the above DO schools and St.Louis university but I would only go to those over these schools because of family and friend support.... Thats really it. So if they asked me for a deposit... its there yesterday...
 
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i dont have any experience with rural health or primary care and im an underdog, am i totally screwed???
 
toxicwombat said:
This.

Sriously guys just look this stuff up in the CIB. Its not hard to find. Generally speaking, the later in the cycle you get an acceptance offer, the less time you have to reply with your decision. If you receive an early acceptance, you have until Nov/Dec to reply.
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Nobody was actually asking about anything that needed to be looked up in the cib, but thanks.

WorldChanger36 said:
Yeah but if you get an acceptance offer to DMU there really are not that many other schools left to throw your money at .... IMO
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I'm applying MD as well. But for DO, yes I agree.
 
Not sure what the "fast track" interview is that you all are talking about. However, when I applied, I applied right when the applications came out. I had a 3.7 GPA and a 29 on the MCAT and interviewed the first day of interviews. I was accepted in less than 1 week. They do rolling admissions so the sooner you apply, the better. They don't take a certain number of interviewees/day so they could accept everyone on a given day (though probably unlikely).
 
touchpause13 said:
i dont have any experience with rural health or primary care and im an underdog, am i totally screwed???
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No. Let's be honest, most applicants don't have experience with rural health and primary care. You'll be fine.

If you're ever asked about any involvement with rural health or your understanding of it, just discuss anything you learned from any community service experience you've had and extrapolate it to rural health. But be honest and say that you don't have any involvement in rural health; otherwise you're going to look like a fool.

This is assuming that it becomes an issue. It might not even be brought up. You'll be fine. :cool:
 
Iliketoytles said:
No. Let's be honest, most applicants don't have experience with rural health and primary care. You'll be fine.

If you're ever asked about any involvement with rural health or your understanding of it, just discuss anything you learned from any community service experience you've had and extrapolate it to rural health. But be honest and say that you don't have any involvement in rural health; otherwise you're going to look like a fool.

This is assuming that it becomes an issue. It might not even be brought up. You'll be fine. :cool:
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+1:thumbup:
 
MedPR said:
Nobody was actually asking about anything that needed to be looked up in the cib, but thanks.
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True but it's a lot quicker than searching through individual schools' websites.
 
So I am still waiting on my DO letter... Should I send in the other ones or just wait until the DO LOR comes in a send them?
 
WorldChanger36 said:
So I am still waiting on my DO letter... Should I send in the other ones or just wait until the DO LOR comes in a send them?
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That's what I did... just sent the others in so they'd have them and I'm hoping I'll be able to send my DO letter soon! :xf:
 
So they said one of my science letters didn't count as a science letter (the class was health and disease neuroscience).

Just e-mailed to ask if I could submit the class syllabus for reconsideration since I graduated in May 2011 and it might be difficult to get a letter from basic science professors (I would have taken the class in 2007 or 2008..yikes).

The class was really biology based, so I hope they allow this.
 
Whistle said:
So they said one of my science letters didn't count as a science letter (the class was health and disease neuroscience).

Just e-mailed to ask if I could submit the class syllabus for reconsideration since I graduated in May 2011 and it might be difficult to get a letter from basic science professors (I would have taken the class in 2007 or 2008..yikes).

The class was really biology based, so I hope they allow this.
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I had the same problem. BOTH my DO letter AND my hard science professor wasn't accepted. The DO letter I understand, the woman is a good friend of mine. I'll just have to get the letter from the one I shadowed. My hard science LOR however was from my Research in Genetics professor. I sent Ms. Bair a polite e-mail asking "the science LOR I sent was from my Research in Genetics professor at **** University. I received credit for the course. I was curious as to why he did not count as a science professor?" She wrote back apologizing and said they'll accept it. I'm sure you'll be fine.
 
Wow they are really strict on those letters. My science letter was from my endocrinology professor but I also have a committee. I hope I won't have problems.

Glad to see you were able to get yours accepted! That would have been really awful if they didn't.
 
JaBoomDay said:
Wow they are really strict on those letters. My science letter was from my endocrinology professor but I also have a committee. I hope I won't have problems.

Glad to see you were able to get yours accepted! That would have been really awful if they didn't.
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Haha thanks, yeahh now I just need to wait on that DO letter, argh. If you didn't receive an email about your LOR's after you submitted your supplemental, then you don't have a problem.
 
Sent my committee LOR and an MD LOR. Sucks that the LOR from my job of 4 years won't be considered here. Think sending the the MD LOR will be a killer here? I just have no idea when I'll have a DO one by and the MD one is good as it is a physician I have worked with for months, as opposed to one I'll see for a few hours. Figured I'd get the ball rolling and then update with a DO one whenever I get it.
 
azide10 said:
Sent my committee LOR and an MD LOR. Sucks that the LOR from my job of 4 years won't be considered here. Think sending the the MD LOR will be a killer here? I just have no idea when I'll have a DO one by and the MD one is good as it is a physician I have worked with for months, as opposed to one I'll see for a few hours. Figured I'd get the ball rolling and then update with a DO one whenever I get it.
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Last year, I had an MD letter. No problems.
 
playaodamonth said:
Haha thanks, yeahh now I just need to wait on that DO letter, argh. If you didn't receive an email about your LOR's after you submitted your supplemental, then you don't have a problem.
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I can't submit my letters until I get my committee letter and my committee letter won't be written until they get my MCAT scores on July 24th. I'm sitting in a waiting game! AHHH!HH!!!!!:scared:
 
JaBoomDay said:
I can't submit my letters until I get my committee letter and my committee letter won't be written until they get my MCAT scores on July 24th. I'm sitting in a waiting game! AHHH!HH!!!!!:scared:
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You don't have a science professor LOR? I'm waiting on my committee letter also, they too are waiting for my MCAT score ha. Luckily I had that letter from my research professor.
 
playaodamonth said:
You don't have a science professor LOR? I'm waiting on my committee letter also, they too are waiting for my MCAT score ha. Luckily I had that letter from my research professor.
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Yeah I have a science letter too. The committee at my school has similar requirements that medical schools have. Two science, 1 non-science, 1 physician. Then they draft their letter and send them all as a packet to my schools.
 
JaBoomDay said:
Yeah I have a science letter too. The committee at my school has similar requirements that medical schools have. Two science, 1 non-science, 1 physician. Then they draft their letter and send them all as a packet to my schools.
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Same here. So why can't they send the letters that you have now? Or do you just prefer sending a committee letter to DMU rather than a science letter?
 
playaodamonth said:
Same here. So why can't they send the letters that you have now? Or do you just prefer sending a committee letter to DMU rather than a science letter?
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My school only sends them all together and I kinda prefer it that way. Since most schools require a committee letter if the service is available to me then I'd rather send the packet than a bunch of odds and ends letters here and there. I am trying to tell myself that it's worth the wait. lol. They will still get my individual letters too along with the committee letter.
 
JaBoomDay said:
My school only sends them all together and I kinda prefer it that way. Since most schools require a committee letter if the service is available to me then I'd rather send the packet than a bunch of odds and ends letters here and there. I am trying to tell myself that it's worth the wait. lol. They will still get my individual letters too along with the committee letter.
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Ah I see. My school is the same way, except they send the LOR's through virtual evals. Which means the med schools can download the LOR's whenever they want and my committee can add new LOR's to the file as they come in. But I agree, I feel like a committee letter looks better than a science professor letter. Wish you all the best.:thumbup:
 
playaodamonth said:
Ah I see. My school is the same way, except they send the LOR's through virtual evals. Which means the med schools can download the LOR's whenever they want and my committee can add new LOR's to the file as they come in. But I agree, I feel like a committee letter looks better than a science professor letter. Wish you all the best.:thumbup:
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Thanks! Same to you! :)
 
playaodamonth said:
Ah I see. My school is the same way, except they send the LOR's through virtual evals. Which means the med schools can download the LOR's whenever they want and my committee can add new LOR's to the file as they come in. But I agree, I feel like a committee letter looks better than a science professor letter. Wish you all the best.:thumbup:
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If you can get a committee letter then yes, but you have to have a committee in order to do this and many schools don't
 
WorldChanger36 said:
If you can get a committee letter then yes, but you have to have a committee in order to do this and many schools don't
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I wouldn't even want a committee letter if I had the option, since I stayed away from advisers like the plague throughout my undergraduate studies.

Plus individual letters gives you customization. Say, for example, a school only requires two letters. Then send your strongest two. If they require more, then send the next best ones.

Of course, this doesn't matter if all your letters are rock solid, but I doubt all of us fall in this camp.
 
toxicwombat said:
I wouldn't even want a committee letter if I had the option, since I stayed away from advisers like the plague throughout my undergraduate studies.

Plus individual letters gives you customization. Say, for example, a school only requires two letters. Then send your strongest two. If they require more, then send the next best ones.

Of course, this doesn't matter if all your letters are rock solid, but I doubt all of us fall in this camp.
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It doesn't matter how strong your individual LORs are. It's a red flag if your school has a committee and you don't get a committee letter
 
MedPR said:
It doesn't matter how strong your individual LORs are. It's a red flag if your school has a committee and you don't get a committee letter
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I don't think this is true.
 
MedPR said:
It doesn't matter how strong your individual LORs are. It's a red flag if your school has a committee and you don't get a committee letter
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I actually used to believe this... but then I thought about it. How would a medschool know if an undergrad college has a prehealth committee? There are tons of undergraduate institutions, some without committees. I doubt adcoms pay attention to this stuff as they rifle through thousands of applications... so as long as the LOR requirement is met somehow, everything is good.
 
michow87 said:
I don't think this is true.
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Iliketoytles said:
I actually used to believe this... but then I thought about it. How would a medschool know if an undergrad college has a prehealth committee? There are tons of undergraduate institutions, some without committees. I doubt adcoms pay attention to this stuff as they rifle through thousands of applications... so as long as the LOR requirement is met somehow, everything is good.
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I'll try and dig up the post where an ADCOM suggested it.
 
Iliketoytles said:
I actually used to believe this... but then I thought about it. How would a medschool know if an undergrad college has a prehealth committee? There are tons of undergraduate institutions, some without committees. I doubt adcoms pay attention to this stuff as they rifle through thousands of applications... so as long as the LOR requirement is met somehow, everything is good.
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Plus, a lot of committees have a minimum GPA/MCAT requirement before they'll write an LOR. My committee's min. requirement is a 3.40 cumulative and a 27N MCAT. Not too hard to do I know, but there are applicants with those scores and lower so are ineligible for a committee letter.
 
MedPR said:
It doesn't matter how strong your individual LORs are. It's a red flag if your school has a committee and you don't get a committee letter
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Source?

I've only come across 1-2 schools with such a policy, and I believe they were both allopathic. Regardless, my school doesn't have one so it's irrelevant in my case.
 
toxicwombat said:
Source?

I've only come across 1-2 schools with such a policy, and I believe they were both allopathic. Regardless, my school doesn't have one so it's irrelevant in my case.
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True... I don't think I have ever seen this be an issue for DO schools. They just want the letters doesn't matter how.
 
toxicwombat said:
I wouldn't even want a committee letter if I had the option, since I stayed away from advisers like the plague throughout my undergraduate studies.

Plus individual letters gives you customization. Say, for example, a school only requires two letters. Then send your strongest two. If they require more, then send the next best ones.

Of course, this doesn't matter if all your letters are rock solid, but I doubt all of us fall in this camp.
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My school submits their committee letter AND my other letters with it. So technically my schools will be receiving 5 letters total in one packet. They do have the option to just quote some of my letters of recommendation and then omit them if they feel they are weak letters too. Plus, I'm not allowed to see my letters so it would be kind of difficult to send my "best ones."

I think schools really like those committee letters. I don't know how everyone's committee works but our committee writes pretty detailed letters and they can stretch to be 3-4 pages sometimes. We have to interview, we have to see our advisers at least twice so that they can get to know us, we wrote tons of essays (annoying), we had workshops to go to... It's helpful in my case because I have quite a story to tell but maybe some people don't need it. It's a long process but I think this letter is so valuable. I guess we'll see!
 
Anybody else get an email saying they were complete this morning?
 
How accurate is their "we'll get back to you within 60 days" statement?
 
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