DMU-COM Discussion Thread 2011-2012

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So I was initially surfing the net to find out more information about electives at DMU... but came across another topic I'm beginning to worry about: rotations.

I've read on older threads that DMU students stay can stay in Des Moines their third year, but fourth year they have to find their own elective rotations at different places. I'm a little confused on how this works...

I read that DMU harps on this to be a positive since you can pick where you want to go, but it seems like a negative to me to have to constantly up-root every 4 weeks. Sounds pricey too! DMU has affiliations with rotation sites in Ohio, Michigan, Florida... etc, but is it possible for someone to rotate at... let's say, a Texas hospital? Do the rotation sites have to be strictly for DO students or can the majority be MD students?

Sorry for my very vague questions... I just haven't been able to find a solid answer to this (assuming their is one)!! Maybe if someone could give an example of a second year student approaching third year, and how he/she would go about figuring their rotation sites... that'd be helpful.

Thanks in advance!
 
I can understand what you are saying, and yes, this sounds expensive. I am sure this laid out in a way I will later understand, but being that the biggest factor dealing with residency placement is an audition rotation, this effectively gives you an entire year of auditioning. Huge help for residency placement. I can see how this would make it a giant positive. Yes you will have to constantly uproot, but being that it is in essence, job interviews, it seems worth it.
 
FrkyBgStok said:
I can understand what you are saying, and yes, this sounds expensive. I am sure this laid out in a way I will later understand, but being that the biggest factor dealing with residency placement is an audition rotation, this effectively gives you an entire year of auditioning. Huge help for residency placement. I can see how this would make it a giant positive. Yes you will have to constantly uproot, but being that it is in essence, job interviews, it seems worth it.
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this is true and not true...honestly only about 2-3 of the rotations are audition rotations as after that you will have already applied for the match (AOA that is...the ACGME is later on)...registration for AOA match is ~november and your 4th year GENERALLY starts august I think so that only gives you a few months


I shadow a director of clinical education and although its not at DMU I think the process is relatively similiar...during your 2nd or 3rd year you submit to your advisor/director of clinical education your list of 4th yr electives (What specialty, the location/specific hospital if you have 1) they call up the people and see if they have room for you...some hospitals in specific specialties get booked very very early (almost 2+ years in advance)...some hospitals have places for you to stay some don't some allow families some don't so its good to research the hospitals that will fit your needs

its definitely such a big decision that you make fairly early!
 
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IDFsoldierboy said:
this is true and not true...honestly only about 2-3 of the rotations are audition rotations as after that you will have already applied for the match (AOA that is...the ACGME is later on)...registration for AOA match is ~november and your 4th year GENERALLY starts august I think so that only gives you a few months


I shadow a director of clinical education and although its not at DMU I think the process is relatively similiar...during your 2nd or 3rd year you submit to your advisor/director of clinical education your list of 4th yr electives (What specialty, the location/specific hospital if you have 1) they call up the people and see if they have room for you...some hospitals in specific specialties get booked very very early (almost 2+ years in advance)...some hospitals have places for you to stay some don't some allow families some don't so its good to research the hospitals that will fit your needs

its definitely such a big decision that you make fairly early!
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Well......that benefit dropped for me. Bummer. Oh well.
 
Brazen said:
Did it not mention fasTrack in the email? I thought they didn't sent out regular interview invites until later, whether your packet is complete or not.

I wonder what their criteria is for fasTrack. I have a 2.990 GPA and was surprised to get an interview invite at all. I got a fasTrack interview and scheduled for Sept 1st 😀
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if you don't mind, what was ur mcat score? I have a 3.02 gpa and was wondering what my chances are
 
anjali25 said:
if you don't mind, what was ur mcat score? I have a 3.02 gpa and was wondering what my chances are
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I think he got a fast track interview which would be an mcat over 30 I think. With a 3.02 gpa at this point, if you don't have a 32+ I wouldn't bother with DMU. Their average is 3.68 and 28.
 
I got a fasttrack with a 27 MCAT... but my GPA was pretty high so that might be why. And I submitted in August... so it was still mildly early.
 
Complete on 10/31, called a few days ago to check my status, and the admin assistant said I need to wait a whole 60 days before having to check back. I have lower-ish stats, is there cause for concern here? What sort of timeline should I be looking at?
 
Iliketoytles said:
So I was initially surfing the net to find out more information about electives at DMU... but came across another topic I'm beginning to worry about: rotations.

I've read on older threads that DMU students stay can stay in Des Moines their third year, but fourth year they have to find their own elective rotations at different places. I'm a little confused on how this works...

I read that DMU harps on this to be a positive since you can pick where you want to go, but it seems like a negative to me to have to constantly up-root every 4 weeks. Sounds pricey too! DMU has affiliations with rotation sites in Ohio, Michigan, Florida... etc, but is it possible for someone to rotate at... let's say, a Texas hospital? Do the rotation sites have to be strictly for DO students or can the majority be MD students?


Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...

Heyo! I'm a first year at DMU and have some thoughts on this. For 3rd year rotations, the administration is trying to get enough sites in Iowa for everybody, but they are not there yet. The majority of the rotation sites are in Iowa, but not all in Des Moines. If you get placed in the "Central Iowa" sites, housing is provided for you. At the end of the 3rd year, you must come back to DMU, no matter where you are, and take the 3rd year comps. For your 4th year, you can rotate anywhere (including Texas) that has an opening. They have a whole department dedicated to helping you get into the rotation sites you are interested in. DMU is not unique in the 4th year rotation deal, I encountered it during my interviews at both osteo and allo schools. Remeber, you will only be at the distance sites for 4-6 weeks and not expected to make a full move.
 
The Lady Grey said:
Heyo! I'm a first year at DMU and have some thoughts on this. For 3rd year rotations, the administration is trying to get enough sites in Iowa for everybody, but they are not there yet. The majority of the rotation sites are in Iowa, but not all in Des Moines. If you get placed in the "Central Iowa" sites, housing is provided for you. At the end of the 3rd year, you must come back to DMU, no matter where you are, and take the 3rd year comps. For your 4th year, you can rotate anywhere (including Texas) that has an opening. They have a whole department dedicated to helping you get into the rotation sites you are interested in. DMU is not unique in the 4th year rotation deal, I encountered it during my interviews at both osteo and allo schools. Remeber, you will only be at the distance sites for 4-6 weeks and not expected to make a full move.
Click to expand...

Thanks for your insight on this! It's reassuring to know that DMU is interested and helpful in getting us rotation sites that the students prefer.

I also didn't think about the partial-move... and not a full move. It'd still suck to pay rent for 2 apartments, but hopefully housing will be provided at my future rotation sites. 👍
 
I am currently a 2nd year DO student at DMU an we are in process of undergoing our 3rd year matches for rotation sites as well as 4th year clinical rotation explanations. Here is the run down!! 3rd year allows the student a couple different options, it is a year set up with mainly core rotations, meaning that no matter where you end up the year is scheduled with your primary care, surgery, OB/GYN and other "core" rotations, within the 3rd year there are 2 elective rotation options that can be done anywhere the student feels they would like to go, these are researched by the student, but secured by the clinical affairs staff who are at the students disposal during the clinical years, and are great at what they do! Timing as well as other student demand may not allow a student to rotate at a specific site, so the earlier you know where you want an elective to be, the better chance of rotating there! 4th year as I understand it now is basically the opposite of 3rd, there are about 8 four week elective rotations and only 2 core rotations, again the student needs to "search them out" however the staff at DMU will be in charge of contacting and securing the position, so you don't need to do any real leg work outside of deciding where and when you want to go somewhere, again there will be many of factors at play regarding whether or not you get a spot for elective rotations, such as timing, when you apply, preference for specific in state schools as well as DO vs. MD in some very few instances, it will all depend on where you want to go and when you want to do it, so I suggest during those times you plan well in advance, or as much as possible and try to secure those sites soon. Regarding DMU 3rd year options, each year will change as sites are always changing, the nice thing is that the school offers a few choices of state and city options for 3rd year, most of the class will stay in the Central Iowa Core Rotation, upon my understanding, this places rotations at no more than 2-3 hour drive from Des Moines, and many of the sites that are farther away do provide housing for you, however that is not a constant thing, and if you stay in Des Moines I believe it is assumed you will stay in the apartment or home you are currently renting. Any other site such as Michigan, Ohio, Missouri, and other states are year long core sites, so you would pick up and move to that city and live for the 3rd year and do core rotations, again housing is not necessarily provided and most students have to rent an apartment or home for the year, the specifics change a bit from time to time, I hope this was helpful and if you have any other questions just let me know!!
 
Iliketoytles said:
So I was initially surfing the net to find out more information about electives at DMU... but came across another topic I'm beginning to worry about: rotations.

I've read on older threads that DMU students stay can stay in Des Moines their third year, but fourth year they have to find their own elective rotations at different places. I'm a little confused on how this works...

I read that DMU harps on this to be a positive since you can pick where you want to go, but it seems like a negative to me to have to constantly up-root every 4 weeks. Sounds pricey too! DMU has affiliations with rotation sites in Ohio, Michigan, Florida... etc, but is it possible for someone to rotate at... let's say, a Texas hospital? Do the rotation sites have to be strictly for DO students or can the majority be MD students?

Sorry for my very vague questions... I just haven't been able to find a solid answer to this (assuming their is one)!! Maybe if someone could give an example of a second year student approaching third year, and how he/she would go about figuring their rotation sites... that'd be helpful.

Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...


Something to understand is that no matter what medical school you go to, Osteopath or Allopathic, the set up will basically be the same year regarding your 4th year. You will be in charge of deciding what electives and where you want them, you will be responsible for payment of housing if none is provided, it would be nice to say the frivilous spending is done after the application and interviewing process, but its not the case, it will continue throughout school and especially during residency interviews! Again, you will have options to rotate anywhere they accept students, timing will be the only hinderance, that is why securing the sites you REALLY want to visit first is important. Another thing to remember is that even though you may only have 8-10 audition rotations, you will apply to many other programs through ERAS, many of which do not require that you have done an audition rotation, these programs will still interview you and you will still have a good chance of matching. Many programs actually feel the audition rotation is a hinderance to some because many students who look "great" on paper are crap in the rotation!! Good luck, IT ALL WORKS OUT!!
 
dannydickman said:
Complete on 10/31, called a few days ago to check my status, and the admin assistant said I need to wait a whole 60 days before having to check back. I have lower-ish stats, is there cause for concern here? What sort of timeline should I be looking at?
Click to expand...

At least give them 30 days before you start calling and checking up... this is one of the most busy times as far as application volume goes. And with lowerish stats, there is some concern, your are a bit late in the cycle and DMU can be pretty competitive even early in the cycle. Just wait out the 60 day decision timeline, DMU will get back to you by then.

Best of luck
 
jdawg146 said:
Something to understand is that no matter what medical school you go to, Osteopath or Allopathic, the set up will basically be the same year regarding your 4th year. You will be in charge of deciding what electives and where you want them, you will be responsible for payment of housing if none is provided, it would be nice to say the frivilous spending is done after the application and interviewing process, but its not the case, it will continue throughout school and especially during residency interviews! Again, you will have options to rotate anywhere they accept students, timing will be the only hinderance, that is why securing the sites you REALLY want to visit first is important. Another thing to remember is that even though you may only have 8-10 audition rotations, you will apply to many other programs through ERAS, many of which do not require that you have done an audition rotation, these programs will still interview you and you will still have a good chance of matching. Many programs actually feel the audition rotation is a hinderance to some because many students who look "great" on paper are crap in the rotation!! Good luck, IT ALL WORKS OUT!!
Click to expand...

I know it may be too early to be thinking about rotations and whatnot... but I like to at least have a brief sketch of what my plan is for the next few years so I know what direction to go. With that said, thank you so much for you're posts jdawg. It helped clear up a lot of things I was a little confused about. :bow:
 
Got accepted today, Interviewed November 11th. I received another offer so I will be declining here. I really liked the school and somewhat bummed that I wont be going here. Good luck to everyone applying!!
 
CompuMod said:
Thank you! I think I'll attend. I narrowed it down to this or KCOM. I think DMU is the right choice. What do you think?
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Well I turned down my KCOM interview since I liked this school so much. I only went to this and KCUMB (only went to KCUMB interview because I hadn't heard back from DMU yet... wasn't going to take any chances!) After acceptance at DMU, I declined my KCUMB acceptance.

I hear KCOM is a fantastic school! It seems to be like an older sibling school to DMU, since they were the first 2 DO schools. So both are great... but DMU stole my heart *cue dramatic music*

Just go with whatever you feel most comfortable with. Both are great schools. Compare the match lists, curriculum, rotation sites, and if nothing else... location!

Good luck!
 
Iliketoytles said:
Well I turned down my KCOM interview since I liked this school so much. I only went to this and KCUMB (only went to KCUMB interview because I hadn't heard back from DMU yet... wasn't going to take any chances!) After acceptance at DMU, I declined my KCUMB acceptance.

I hear KCOM is a fantastic school! It seems to be like an older sibling school to DMU, since they were the first 2 DO schools. So both are great... but DMU stole my heart *cue dramatic music*

Just go with whatever you feel most comfortable with. Both are great schools. Compare the match lists, curriculum, rotation sites, and if nothing else... location!

Good luck!
Click to expand...

Location is a big reason why I'm probably going to go here. It's just convenient if I need something. Kirksville might be too small for me. I have a friend that goes there and he loves it, but DMU has an edginess to them. I can't put a finger on it. I'll look closer but I might join you guys at DMU unless something comes up. They seem to do everything well, but that might be because everyone is so smart.
 
Does anyone else still need the biochem prereq? I was planning on taking it online through the University of Minnesota, but I looked into the online course through the University of New England last night and it's cheaper. Anyone know of any other online options?
Thank you 😀
 
Just dropped my interview for 12/8, in case someone is looking for a closer date.
 
I am stoked to interview on 1/20!! I hope it's not too late in the cycle and all the seats are filled by then. 🙄

hmmm....I'm just so excited to see what everybody is talking about when they say that the facilities are nice and the school is SWEET! I'd love to go to this school and I haven't even seen the darn place...😀
 
NeedsToKnow said:
I am stoked to interview on 1/20!! I hope it's not too late in the cycle and all the seats are filled by then. 🙄

hmmm....I'm just so excited to see what everybody is talking about when they say that the facilities are nice and the school is SWEET! I'd love to go to this school and I haven't even seen the darn place...😀
Click to expand...

Yeah, Des Moines is a fine school. You should have a decent shot still, just make sure you rock your interview! Good luck!
 
Hi FrkyBgStok, I sent you a PM if you could check it
 
Finally withdrew my acceptance today. Hard to do because I loved the school, but had to be done. Good luck to the rest of you next year!
 
Have any of you interviewed on 11/21? If so, have you heard back? I am getting anxious here!
 
I recieved a hand-written letter from Dr. Mueller today encouraging me to consider attending next fall. I've already paid my deposite at another school but now I am having second thoughts. Do letters like this seem like common practice at DMU or is this a serious interest in my attendance? This is really making my decision difficult....
 
Juice9 said:
I recieved a hand-written letter from Dr. Mueller today encouraging me to consider attending next fall. I've already paid my deposite at another school but now I am having second thoughts. Do letters like this seem like common practice at DMU or is this a serious interest in my attendance? This is really making my decision difficult....
Click to expand...

Yeah man.. I got 10 of these.

JKJK. Sounds pretty legit. It is a good question if a lot of people got these.
What school did you secure your seat at?
 
Juice9 said:
I recieved a hand-written letter from Dr. Mueller today encouraging me to consider attending next fall. I've already paid my deposite at another school but now I am having second thoughts. Do letters like this seem like common practice at DMU or is this a serious interest in my attendance? This is really making my decision difficult....
Click to expand...

I got one as well a while ago. I know another guy who got one. I think anyone who has been accepted and hasn't paid their deposit may get one. just a guess
 
I got one too. Even if everyone got one (which I think they did) it still is a nice touch. No other school has done anything like that.
 
Indeed, it is a very nice gesture. I got one even after I paid my deposit... but it was probably already in the mail before I paid it. It really shows how great the DMU administration is.
 
I actually rubbed my finger to see if it was really handwritten.

Finally paid my seat deposit and emailed the enrollment agreement tonight.
 
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It's a really nice gesture, and it's very personalized, talked about my medical missions and college athletics. It's definitely making me reconsider my original decision.
 
hey guys im back after being quite busy since i was placed on alternate list. I actually just called up admissions to find out why. They told me there were no red flags in my interview and basically the only reason I was not accepted was because my stats were slightly below their average. the averIage cgpa and spga is 3.6-3.7 and MCATS = 27. My cgpa is 3.5 and sgpa was 3.78.My MCAT was 26. So i missed out by 1 point, which is quite promising if they do choose to pull anyone off their wait list. For all those looking to apply, this may give you some insight before you attempt to waste your money
 
I need advice for my situations. I have completed my secondary for over 1 month. But I didn't receive anything back from DMU. I called DMU admission office. They told me they are still waiting for the decision from comittee. Does anyone have the same situation? Is that meaning I should not wait for DMU just assuming this means NO? Thanks for any advice.
 
j10c said:
I need advice for my situations. I have completed my secondary for over 1 month. But I didn't receive anything back from DMU. I called DMU admission office. They told me they are still waiting for the decision from comittee. Does anyone have the same situation? Is that meaning I should not wait for DMU just assuming this means NO? Thanks for any advice.
Click to expand...

Eh... I think it is what it sounds like. It's only been a month; I think DMU said they'll get back to you in at most 60 days (I might be wrong about this).

Either way, there's nothing you can do about it now... so just sit tight and wait till they get back to you. Don't look too much into them telling you the committee is still making a decision over it, since that's what they have to do with everyone anyway. lol.
 
j10c said:
I need advice for my situations. I have completed my secondary for over 1 month. But I didn't receive anything back from DMU. I called DMU admission office. They told me they are still waiting for the decision from comittee. Does anyone have the same situation? Is that meaning I should not wait for DMU just assuming this means NO? Thanks for any advice.
Click to expand...

it took my app 45 days roughly....I know a ton of people on here got word within 30 days but as the cycle goes on and they receive more apps plus have to do post interview decisions it probably takes them longer to get back with an II or hold

I don't know what you mean by should you not wait for DMU...If you mean you have an acceptance elsewhere but not sure if you should put down a deposit I think you should if its coming up soon
 
Thanks so much for your advice.
IDFsoldierboy said:
it took my app 45 days roughly....I know a ton of people on here got word within 30 days but as the cycle goes on and they receive more apps plus have to do post interview decisions it probably takes them longer to get back with an II or hold

I don't know what you mean by should you not wait for DMU...If you mean you have an acceptance elsewhere but not sure if you should put down a deposit I think you should if its coming up soon
Click to expand...
 
jflash said:
hey guys im back after being quite busy since i was placed on alternate list. I actually just called up admissions to find out why. They told me there were no red flags in my interview and basically the only reason I was not accepted was because my stats were slightly below their average. the averIage cgpa and spga is 3.6-3.7 and MCATS = 27. My cgpa is 3.5 and sgpa was 3.78.My MCAT was 26. So i missed out by 1 point, which is quite promising if they do choose to pull anyone off their wait list. For all those looking to apply, this may give you some insight before you attempt to waste your money
Click to expand...

Does the admissions office actually know the specific reasons as to why you were put on the waitlist/denied? Or does the person that you speak with on the phone just try to come up with easy answers like that?

The answer they gave you seems a bit weak. You should ask for a better one if you don't get pulled off the alternate list.
 
Just found out I was accepted! I am beyond stoked! So unreal...Looking forward to meeting everyone that was accepted as well! :biglove:
 
devochka said:
Have any of you interviewed on 11/21? If so, have you heard back? I am getting anxious here!
Click to expand...

Hey I interviewed on the 21st also!

Just got my acceptance email tonight too!

Im guessing by your avatar your a female but Im trying to remember where the women were from: 1 from Ukraine, 1 from Loyola, 1 from Georgia, 1 from Midwest...Thats all I got. Were you any of those?
 
Haha I'm the one from Ukraine! Judging from your avatar, I am going to assume you're a guy. Which one were you?
 
Accepted... Interviewed 11/21 also... Didn't think I'd get in with the way I answered the survey
 
devochka said:
Haha I'm the one from Ukraine! Judging from your avatar, I am going to assume you're a guy. Which one were you?
Click to expand...

The one from North Carolina...I mentioned I got the interview invite while I was in France. I think I was sitting next to you when we first checked in.

Will you definitely be attending DMU?

IowaDoc07 said:
Accepted... Interviewed 11/21 also... Didn't think I'd get in with the way I answered the survey
Click to expand...

Congrats!...which one were you? Are you planning on attending?
 
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