Kansas City University (KCU-COM) Discussion Thread 2015 - 2016

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Interview went well! I had Dr. Stephens. Super chill guy and easy to have a conversation with. Hopefully I get an acceptance! They have an acceptance day March 4th. congrats to all who interviewed thus far and best of luck. Met some pretty great people yesterday.
 
Misch Ievus said:
Yes! Like the good old days. But honestly, based on my impression of the school, if there's enough demand we might even get them to buy a couple of goals for us.
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Just FYI, every month there's an SGA meeting with the admin and a lot of things we request happen so I bet getting some goals wouldn't be too hard to do 🙂


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Does anyone know whether we will be given ipad air 3(which is supposed to be released late March), air 2, or an ipad pro?

Also, @AlteredScale , I have heard that there are more gunners in some of the newer classes at KCU. Do you know if this is true?
 
AlteredScale said:
Just FYI, every month there's an SGA meeting with the admin and a lot of things we request happen so I bet getting some goals wouldn't be too hard to do 🙂


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My goal is to graduate.


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letmein1992 said:
Does anyone know whether we will be given ipad air 3(which is supposed to be released late March), air 2, or an ipad pro?

Also, @AlteredScale , I have heard that there are more gunners in some of the newer classes at KCU. Do you know if this is true?
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Newer classes?


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letmein1992 said:
Does anyone know whether we will be given ipad air 3(which is supposed to be released late March), air 2, or an ipad pro?

Also, @AlteredScale , I have heard that there are more gunners in some of the newer classes at KCU. Do you know if this is true?
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I'd be willing to pay the difference to get a pro even if it wasn't planned. Nice sized tablet.


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letmein1992 said:
Does anyone know whether we will be given ipad air 3(which is supposed to be released late March), air 2, or an ipad pro?

Also, @AlteredScale , I have heard that there are more gunners in some of the newer classes at KCU. Do you know if this is true?
Click to expand...

There are no gunners in the traditional definition of a medical school gunner but the competitive nature of our class is for sure much higher than that of our previous years class (they admit it themselves). I will be honest I do believe a big part of that is what universities these classmates came from: UCLA, UC Berkely, Brigham Young University, UToronto, UChicago. Most of us are used to the having to outcompete each other but at the end of the day, there is collaboration and support amongst the class. I can literally find any classmate and ask them to helpe with a subject and they will 🙂

A bigger drawback is that a lot of times the test avg for a class are so high that there's little to no curve.


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DNC127 said:
@AlteredScale any chance you have any more info about the specialty tracks you could release?
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Current second year here- the honors tracks that are available for you third year are: Pediatrics, Internal Medicine, Surgery, Ortho, Women's Health, and Family Medicine. There may be more by the time you're a third year, since the program just started last year and they're still tweaking it. From what we can tell so far, the main benefit of the tracks is that you're set up with the best preceptors and locations for the blocks that correlate with your interest. For example, if you are in the Peds track, you do your pediatrics rotations at Children's Mercy hospital (considered to be the best- and toughest!- site in KC) and then your two electives are set up for you in some type of peds specialty. You also get a special "honors" designation on your resume if you keep up with the track requirements, for whatever that's worth 🙂 a note to those who are thinking of doing the MBA- you can't do a specialty track because you lose both of your elective blocks to MBA third year, but you can still just be in a general honors track and get the same benefits.
 
letmein1992 said:
Does anyone know whether we will be given ipad air 3(which is supposed to be released late March), air 2, or an ipad pro?

Also, @AlteredScale , I have heard that there are more gunners in some of the newer classes at KCU. Do you know if this is true?
Click to expand...

I would guess an air 3. A reasonably portable size considering you have to take it station to station for practicals; and the fact that it's supposed to last us the duration of med school so the most up-to-date model would be in our best interest.
 
Transcripts submitted, background check cleared, and now matriculation fee paid today!!!!! Only a couple more vaccines and I'm all set! Looking forward to this Fall!


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How does a typical first year schedule look like? Also, how many hours do you usually study outside of classes everyday? I'm trying to see if it would be plausible for me to bring my dog with me to KCU. I just don't want her to be alone in the apartment by herself for a longtime.
 
letmein1992 said:
How does a typical first year schedule look like? Also, how many hours do you usually study outside of classes everyday? I'm trying to see if it would be plausible for me to bring my dog with me to KCU. I just don't want her to be alone in the apartment by herself for a longtime.
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From what I hear, most of the lectures are recorded/non-mandatory so really it's just lab time that you'll HAVE to be out of the house. 10 times out of 10 I say bring the pup haha
 
AzizImSorry said:
From what I hear, most of the lectures are recorded/non-mandatory so really it's just lab time that you'll HAVE to be out of the house. 10 times out of 10 I say bring the pup haha
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Do you know how many hours we are going to be in lecture? I would prefer to go to lecture in the beginning, and not attend later in the semester if I feel like going to lecture isn't all that practical.
 
letmein1992 said:
Do you know how many hours we are going to be in lecture? I would prefer to go to lecture in the beginning, and not attend later in the semester if I feel like going to lecture isn't all that practical.
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It looks like lecture is before lunch so 3-4 hours per morning. A current student might be able to help you out a bit more though. If you watch the recording though, current students say you can speed it up to 1.6-2x
 
justkeepswimming said:
Current second year here- the honors tracks that are available for you third year are: Pediatrics, Internal Medicine, Surgery, Ortho, Women's Health, and Family Medicine. There may be more by the time you're a third year, since the program just started last year and they're still tweaking it. From what we can tell so far, the main benefit of the tracks is that you're set up with the best preceptors and locations for the blocks that correlate with your interest. For example, if you are in the Peds track, you do your pediatrics rotations at Children's Mercy hospital (considered to be the best- and toughest!- site in KC) and then your two electives are set up for you in some type of peds specialty. You also get a special "honors" designation on your resume if you keep up with the track requirements, for whatever that's worth 🙂 a note to those who are thinking of doing the MBA- you can't do a specialty track because you lose both of your elective blocks to MBA third year, but you can still just be in a general honors track and get the same benefits.
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Do you know why Children's Mercy is one of the "toughest" sites for pediatrics?
 
SynapticDoctah said:
It's a great hospital. I was there this morning shadowing in radiology!


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Awesome! I heard it was a great hospital from family down there, I was just wondering what he meant by "toughest" spots for rotations
 
Halcyon45 said:
Do you know why Children's Mercy is one of the "toughest" sites for pediatrics?
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From what I've heard from students who rotated there, it's an intense rotation because the attendings have very high expectations of the students and you work long hours, including taking call. It's not a bad thing- you learn the most that way!
 
justkeepswimming said:
From what I've heard from students who rotated there, it's an intense rotation because the attendings have very high expectations of the students and you work long hours, including taking call. It's not a bad thing- you learn the most that way!
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That's literally the opposite I heard from the doctor I just shadowed. I am sure it varies between specialty though.


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What does it take to stay in KC for rotations? I'd really prefer not to move for 3rd or 4th year, but I'm just wondering how probable that is to arrange. Or is it even possible?
 
Just got accepted today! I interviewed only a week ago. I'm suprised by the early response but no complaints. Literally the greatest news after finding out I was waitlisted to another school yesterday.
 
Misch Ievus said:
What does it take to stay in KC for rotations? I'd really prefer not to move for 3rd or 4th year, but I'm just wondering how probable that is to arrange. Or is it even possible?
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Only extreme cases of having family who are ill and you need to care for them here would be considered to stay. Also if you are in the honors tracks I believe you will stay as well. We are transition the dual degree DO/MBA in that it won't be necessary to stay third year as well to open up more spots.


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letmein1992 said:
Do you know how many hours we are going to be in lecture? I would prefer to go to lecture in the beginning, and not attend later in the semester if I feel like going to lecture isn't all that practical.
Click to expand...

I spent the first three blocks going to lecture, now I do what synapticdoctah does and listens to the recordings on my own. We have a lot of hours of lecture but it varies per day . Some days you'll have three hours. Some just one. Afternoons are mostly labs with a few hour lectures sprinkled in.

The only required lectures you'll have are CIS lectures which IMO can be very beneficial for the exams..especially during the renal block.

Also FYI we have a thing called Follies here which is like a med school prom. Ours is this Friday and includes a cool dinner and we also create little videos to share with the class that are usually parodies of med school 🙂


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AlteredScale said:
Only extreme cases of having family who are ill and you need to care for them here would be considered to stay. Also if you are in the honors tracks I believe you will stay as well. We are transition the dual degree DO/MBA in that it won't be necessary to stay third year as well to open up more spots.
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Thanks for all the help! But, as you might expect, I have more questions.
What are the requirements for the new honors tracks (I couldn't find them on the website)?
Also, how much is the stipend for the two fellowships? What are the benefits of doing a fellowship (career-wise)?
 
Misch Ievus said:
Thanks for all the help! But, as you might expect, I have more questions.
What are the requirements for the new honors tracks (I couldn't find them on the website)?
Also, how much is the stipend for the two fellowships? What are the benefits of doing a fellowship (career-wise)?
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Each track is very different when it comes to their requirements I believe. Surgery has a higher GPA requirement vs. Peds or FM. @justkeepswimming do you know more about this and would be so kind to explain? 🙂

I don't know the exact stipend but I do know they essentially pay for you to teach the whole year! In terms of benefits you do receive a M.S. in Biomedical Sciences with a focus on anatomical sciences if you do the anatomy fellowship. During that time you are doing research and can potentially get a publication or two under your belt which I'm sure is always beneficial for residency. Idk know much about the perks of the OMM fellowship unfortunately except that you are also paid for that one as well and you get time to do OMM-specific research.
 
AlteredScale said:
Each track is very different when it comes to their requirements I believe. Surgery has a higher GPA requirement vs. Peds or FM. @justkeepswimming do you know more about this and would be so kind to explain? 🙂

I don't know the exact stipend but I do know they essentially pay for you to teach the whole year! In terms of benefits you do receive a M.S. in Biomedical Sciences with a focus on anatomical sciences if you do the anatomy fellowship. During that time you are doing research and can potentially get a publication or two under your belt which I'm sure is always beneficial for residency. Idk know much about the perks of the OMM fellowship unfortunately except that you are also paid for that one as well and you get time to do OMM-specific research.
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1. Right now, all of the honors tracks require a 3.25 GPA except for Family Med, which requires a 2.75. They're only available for students who rotate in KC, at least at this point in time, so once you receive your rotation site assignment you'll be sent a second application for the honors tracks if you are interested. The tracks are new as of last year and are still being piloted, so keep in mind that what we do now may be a little different than what you end up experiencing your third year.
2. The stipend for the fellowships is not publicized, but people have implied that it's somewhere around what you'd expect from a year in any sort of student research-related position (between 20-30K) in order to cover your living expenses, plus your loans are deferred during that time. Also, when you do the OMM fellowship you get your 3rd and 4th year tuition paid for, and when you do the Anatomy fellowship you get one year of tuition paid for (it used to be 2, but they changed it now that you get an extra degree by doing the program). The benefit is mainly that you get a year to do research and develop your residency application. Most people who do the anatomy fellowship are interested in going into surgery, and you can imagine how much better of an applicant (and surgeon!) you could be with an extensive knowledge of anatomy. It's also a great program to do if you might be interested in teaching or academic medicine, since a lot of the fellows' responsibilities are related to teaching first and second year classes.

Hope that helps!
 
Are there any current students that went to the Acceptance Day that can chime in on what the experience was like? I would be flying in from California and would need to stay at a hotel, so I'm weighing out whether I should attend or not. Thanks!
 
I would say that it is not worth attending the accepted students day unless you are planning to get additional stuff done(housing search, get to know the city) and you have the time and money to fly out here and stay. Nothing happens during accepted students day that you won't experience again during orientation.
 
Has anyone who interviewed on 2/9/16 heard back yet? If not, how long does it traditionally take to hear back from the school? At the interview day they mentioned 4 weeks but I've noticed that some people heard back earlier. Thanks!
 
jklhg said:
Has anyone who interviewed on 2/9/16 heard back yet? If not, how long does it traditionally take to hear back from the school? At the interview day they mentioned 4 weeks but I've noticed that some people heard back earlier. Thanks!
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I thought the 4 weeks was to get a post-secondary decision? I got my acceptance a week and a half after my interview.
 
Does anyone know the chances of being accepted from the KCUMB Waiting List and around how long before one should expect to hear back?
 
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jayhawk2311 said:
Does anyone know the chances of being accepted from the KCUMB Waiting List and around how long before one should expect to hear back?
Interviewed 2/9
Waitlisted 2/22
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I would def call admissions for this question. They are the only ones who really know how deep they'll teach into the wait list pool.


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jayhawk2311 said:
Does anyone know the chances of being accepted from the KCUMB Waiting List and around how long before one should expect to hear back?
Interviewed 2/9
Waitlisted 2/22
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When I spoke with admissions prior to Christmas I was told they would look at the waitlist once prior to the new year and then not again until later March to early April. Calling wouldn't hurt, however, as things can always change.


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jayhawk2311 said:
Does anyone know the chances of being accepted from the KCUMB Waiting List and around how long before one should expect to hear back?
Interviewed 2/9
Waitlisted 2/22
Click to expand...
At this point, I would guess they wouldn't look at the wait list until after the next deposit deadline on March 15.


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I was recently wait listed for KCU this past week in an email they sent. Do they send out letters to inform you of the wait list? I got a letter today that I haven't had a chance to open. Any ideas on what that could mean?
 
KCMDF87 said:
I was recently wait listed for KCU this past week in an email they sent. Do they send out letters to inform you of the wait list? I got a letter today that I haven't had a chance to open. Any ideas on what that could mean?
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They send letters in the mail for all decisions. So it's probably just the exact same thing you got in the email on paper.


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It
reunic said:
They send letters in the mail for all decisions. So it's probably just the exact same thing you got in the email on paper.


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It was. I made my mom drive up to my work to give me the letter. Lol. Then she handed me a rice crispy treat. Ha..moms.
 
can anyone here recommend other apartments besides century towers?
 
takis said:
can anyone here recommend other apartments besides century towers?
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Cityview Living in NKC. Briarcliff apartments. Market station apartments. There are many places to look for affordable housing in Overland Park top but it's sort of a drive.


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