KCUMB Discussion thread 2007-2008

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I have been looking at the Liberty area. What do you think of the Gladstone area? I have a 9 and a 2 year old so I definately want a good school system. Thanks.

Gladstone is a nice, relatively crime free, "family" type area with pretty good housing prices. Not a whole lot going on up there, but reasonably close to downtown KC, and conveniently close to KCUMB and the airport. A pretty long drive down to the Overland Park shopping areas and restaurants. Not sure about the school districts.

Schools in Johnson County (specifically in the Overland Park area, but even closer to campus in the Shawnee/Mission/Prarie Village/Fairway areas) are considered to be some of the finest in the country. Housing prices are higher than Gladstone (or Liberty, or most anywhere else but right on the plaza).
 
Thanks Osli. I don't think I'll really be shopping or going out to eat much while in med school so that isn't really important to me. What's most important is a lack of crime so my kids can freely play in the street or walk to school or whatever and the school system. My older son was diagnosed at 2 as autistic but did show dramatic improvement by 6. For many years, he was simultaneously in the special ed and gifted programs. The school he is in now is great but I have had to go into the principal's office on occasion to 'talk'. I need a school district that can understand my son and I heard that the Liberty schools were 'award winning' but I don't know what that means. Do you think the southwestern area schools are better than the Liberty schools?

Another issue is that we have 4 vehicles, an RV, and a boat so I need a house in a neighborhood that is cool with that and is still inexpensive.
 
t-funk, if we go to school together can i ride on your boat? 😀
 
Thanks Osli. I don't think I'll really be shopping or going out to eat much while in med school so that isn't really important to me. What's most important is a lack of crime so my kids can freely play in the street or walk to school or whatever and the school system. My older son was diagnosed at 2 as autistic but did show dramatic improvement by 6. For many years, he was simultaneously in the special ed and gifted programs. The school he is in now is great but I have had to go into the principal's office on occasion to 'talk'. I need a school district that can understand my son and I heard that the Liberty schools were 'award winning' but I don't know what that means. Do you think the southwestern area schools are better than the Liberty schools?

Another issue is that we have 4 vehicles, an RV, and a boat so I need a house in a neighborhood that is cool with that and is still inexpensive.

I don't know too much about the KS side for schools and neighborhoods, but here is a link to the Liberty School District: http://www.liberty.k12.mo.us/about
I do know that KS is more expensive on gas as they have an additional tax. Some suburbs like Leawood and Overland Park have more expensive tastes, and might not allow RVs and boats to be parked in front of houses. One more point...if you technically live in Kansas City and you have a spouse that works, there will be an additional 1% earnings tax deducted from paychecks. Some businesses will advertise as one town when they are really classified as another, the post office allows for both if the address is on the border. Just ask to be sure. Kansas City has had a lot of annexations extending into the northland and other areas.

I spend quite a bit of time in Gladstone for my current job and Gladstone is a pretty good town. The stores along N. Oak Street are a little run down but there are some nice neighborhoods that aren't too old or too pricey. I don't worry about crime in Liberty or Gladstone, nothing like in downtown Kansas City.
 
So I am really excited to start school and to get involved with clubs, meet new people and learn! But how much is too much? For instance, if I am interested in becoming a member in 3 clubs, is that too much?
 
Three clubs is probably fine to join in your first year. Most people settle into one or two that they try to be regular attenders for meetings and involved in. Some stretch that to three, but they probably aren't very involved in more than one of those.

You can join as many as you want, but you'll quickly find that all the clubs seem to congregate around the same meeting times - afternoons around 5-6... you could theoretically make all the meetings, but then you'd have no time for anything but classes and club meetings! A lot of people joint SOMA, AMSA, etc. by default and then find a club or two they enjoy.
 
Hey DiverDoc,

What clubs were thinking about joining? Just wondering.
 
I'm completing an Excel file for many of the DO schools for the purpose of comparison. The main stats I'm missing however is

1) % of students that match to First Choice Residency
2) % of students that Match
3) Required Attendance?
4) ECurriculum?

Can someone enlighten me?

In case someone needs the info, so far I have..

GPA 3.45
MCAT 25
Grading Letter
% Primary Care 50
Class Size 270
Tuition $37920

Let me know if any of my stats are off (Include source plz)
 
Hey DiverDoc,

What clubs were thinking about joining? Just wondering.

Im interested in the following:

CMDA- Christian Medical and Dental Association (definitely joining)
SOMA- Student Osteopathic Medical Association (definitely joining)
UAAO- Undergraduate American Academy of Osteopathy
IM- Internal Medicine Club
ACOFP - American College of Family Physicians
 
Wow, that is a lot. I'm not sure yet myself about clubs but I will probably do Osteopera if I attend KCUMB. :laugh: That sounds fun. Other than that, maybe SOMA or AMSA. I don't know.


Do you think that you want to be an internal medicine family practicioner?
 
Wow, that is a lot. I'm not sure yet myself about clubs but I will probably do Osteopera if I attend KCUMB. :laugh: That sounds fun. Other than that, maybe SOMA or AMSA. I don't know.


Do you think that you want to be an internal medicine family practicioner?


Yeah, I like the idea of seeing patients to the end. ( end of their hospital stay). Being strictly a clinician and handing off my patient to a hospitalist would not be gratifying to me. I want to be their doc and see their issue till its recovery. Still, I could get that from other specialties as well. I am interested in what you described as well as EmergencyMed-Family Medicine residencies.
 
In case someone needs the info, so far I have..

GPA 3.45
MCAT 25
Grading Letter
% Primary Care 50
Class Size 270
Tuition $37920

Let me know if any of my stats are off (Include source plz)

A few corrections (I am student at KCUMB):

Class of 2011:

Average Overall GPA: 3.60
Average Science GPA: 3.49
Average MCAT subsection: 8.75

Class Size: 251
Women: 125
Men: 126
 
The guy at our interview also said 60% go into specialties but I have no source for that.
 
A few corrections (I am student at KCUMB):

Class of 2011:

Average Overall GPA: 3.60
Average Science GPA: 3.49
Average MCAT subsection: 8.75

Class Size: 251
Women: 125
Men: 126

holy crap. Spiced is back ! Let me take a guess and make an understatement that your glad MSK is over with?
 
holy crap. Spiced is back ! Let me take a guess and make an understatement that your glad MSK is over with?

:laugh: Glad to be back. And yes, MSK was quite the ordeal. I am so glad and relieved that it is finally over. It kicked my butt all over the place and I lost many hours of sleep. The Anatomy practical was very tough, among other things, and at the end, I just hoped I was going to be able to pass. Luckily, I made it through relatively unscathed. However, now I'm going to need some serious recovery time. Unfortunately, we already started Cardiopulm...so no rest still.
 
Im interested in the following:

CMDA- Christian Medical and Dental Association (definitely joining)
SOMA- Student Osteopathic Medical Association (definitely joining)
UAAO- Undergraduate American Academy of Osteopathy
IM- Internal Medicine Club
ACOFP - American College of Family Physicians

UAAO is good as a supplement to OMM lab. At the meetings, lab topics are reviewed for members. Also, UAAO holds a mock OMM practical for its members. Well worth joining just for these things...

ACOFP has free membership. They hold a mock anatomy practical for its members. I highly recommend it, because I feel that it helped me a lot.

The Pathology Club offers its members an opportunity to attend an autopsy. I missed my chance due to a schedule conflict, but folks seemed to think it was a pretty neat opportunity. Also, the club offers a mock pathology practical for its members.

Lots of folks join SOMA so that they can get a free copy of Netter's, but I never joined.

Anyway, there are lots of great clubs... You'll get the chance to check them all out during orientation week.
 
has anyone gotten a notification saying their application is on hold and will be reviewed again at another date? 😕

any hope after this waitlist-ish sort of response?
 
I couldn't get a map to pull up but I'm assuming that is the Overland Park region. I'm not sure if I am going to be able to afford a house in that area but I will definately look and see. Thanks.
 
I couldn't get a map to pull up but I'm assuming that is the Overland Park region. I'm not sure if I am going to be able to afford a house in that area but I will definately look and see. Thanks.

T-funk: are you settled on KCUMB then for sure?

We're coming up in a few weeks to look around a bit more. Mid-December will be here before we know it!
 
I've decided on it. My SO, not so much. Everytime I ask him where he wants to go, he says anywhere but KC. He's a small town boy. For me, I grew up 2-3 hours away from KC and everytime we would go to Worlds of Fun, my grandparents would freak out like we wouldn't come back alive. It's pretty funny but that's how a lot of people around here feel so it's just going to take a little convincing. I've been gently putting in cool things about KC during our conversations and how we could live in a small town (Liberty) etc. But really, I went to the interview thinking it was just a warm up interview and left feeling like it was 'the one.' If I had been accepted to KCOM or DMU, I probably would have gone to either of those places just to feel like I was going to a safe town and to make my SO happy but I didn't and am kind of happy about that. I am 95% sure I will send my deposit in and 80% sure I will be there next year and I'm so excited about it!! I've already had my gradplus loan approval sent there and am getting ready to send my immunizations in so I'm pretty sure. DCOM was an excellent school but it was 14 hours away from my ex-husband in Omaha and I can still bring my son up to Omaha every weekend from KC. My ex-husband and I are best friends so he didn't care where I went but the thought of moving to Tennessee was breaking my son's heart.

Are you sure about KCUMB? I'm really excited to start getting know my future classmates. Have fun looking around, I think KCUMB is going to be awesome!!
 
But really, I went to the interview thinking it was just a warm up interview and left feeling like it was 'the one.'

You summed it up perfectly. It was my first interview, and I compared everyone else to them. I just need to win over the hubby, and finding a job is the biggest issue for us. I may end up elsewhere b/c of the employment issue.

I have read up on the crime rate on KC, but I am still not convinced it is as bad as everyone says it is. And besides, it is for 2 years, you can always move if want for the last two years anyhow.
 
Part of me also thinks there are some perception issues with KC that are fragments of a time passed. In doing my research, I'm beginning to think that KC somewhat comparable to Omaha, just a little bigger. Out of curiosity, what field is your husband in? I thought KC had every type of employment opportunity possible.
 
T-Funk, i also went in thinking it was going to be a warmup haha.

I just got an interview to NYCOM today, i dunno if i even want to go.
 
You summed it up perfectly. It was my first interview, and I compared everyone else to them. I just need to win over the hubby, and finding a job is the biggest issue for us. I may end up elsewhere b/c of the employment issue.

I have read up on the crime rate on KC, but I am still not convinced it is as bad as everyone says it is. And besides, it is for 2 years, you can always move if want for the last two years anyhow.


I haven't had any problem with crime. It depends on what neighborhood you live in and the type of people you associate with. I don't think KCs crime is any worse than any other city with 1.8 million people.
 
Well I have to agree with T-funks SO.. I love KCUMB... I'm very excited about being accepted there. I just hate Kansas city with a passion... I will be sending in my deposit right after thanksgiving. I'm currently waitlisted at OSU-COM so I don't know how that will turn out. I will probably give OSU until the end of January. If I'm not in by then I will be looking at real estate in KC..

For those already there or from around there.... Where is a nicer area to live in that is within an hour's commute to campus?? My wife and I will be buying a house... She's a graphic design major and will be working somewhere in the city.. I'm thinking like the 150k$ range for the house... I'd like safe and reasonably quiet.. any ideas????

Also is there a SOAR group on campus?? (Radiology group)... The SOMA sounds worthwhile even if you do just join for Netters... I know that sounds bad, but I use Netters religously in our Human Dissection lab now......
 
I finally dug this class of 2007 match list out of KCUMB's website:

http://www.kcumb.edu/pstudents/RM-MedSpecialty.asp

They also state 60% go to allopathic residencies. And different parts of the website report either 91% or 93% of graduates match to their first residency choice.
 
Osli: how much time do you get to study for step 1?
 
Osli: how much time do you get to study for step 1?
There are four empty weeks in the MSII schedule (this year, from May 12 to June 9). The school requires you to be in the city (a handful of short "required attendance" sessions that basically make sure you aren't somewhere else), and offers a set of review lectures covering every major topic and organ system provided by the faculty that students may optionally attend. Many study on their own or attend Kaplan.

From June 9 to June 20 is a "medical decision making" section that is essentially a crash course for the wards, chock full of basic procedures training (suturing etc.) and rules of thumb, with required attendance. There is some sort of summer elective required, but I don't know the details. Two weeks I think. Otherwise, you are free from June 20 to the first of September (when your rotations begin), so that's two months or more if you want to take the boards late in the summer.

Most use the four weeks in May/June to prepare, and take the boards in mid/late June. I'm not sure what I'll do. So you essentially get a full four weeks of dedicated board prep time (that is built into the schedule), and then another two months if you need it (I think they also use it for remediations and such).
 
Thanks for the stats.

I have pretty odd stats:
3.9 GPA
4.0 Science
22 MCAT!!👎 (After getting mid-30's on all practice tests)

I guess I'll just have to wait for the call.🙂

I just interviewed their, and they didn't tell me what their average acceptances were, but they did say that they accept 87% of the people they interview, so if you get an interview, you are pretty much in. Oh and by the way my cousin is a 3rd year at KCUMB, and he got a 21 on the MCAT the 2nd time, and an 18 on the MCAT the first time he took it.
 
There are four empty weeks in the MSII schedule (this year, from May 12 to June 9). The school requires you to be in the city (a handful of short "required attendance" sessions that basically make sure you aren't somewhere else), and offers a set of review lectures covering every major topic and organ system provided by the faculty that students may optionally attend. Many study on their own or attend Kaplan.

From June 9 to June 20 is a "medical decision making" section that is essentially a crash course for the wards, chock full of basic procedures training (suturing etc.) and rules of thumb, with required attendance. There is some sort of summer elective required, but I don't know the details. Two weeks I think. Otherwise, you are free from June 20 to the first of September (when your rotations begin), so that's two months or more if you want to take the boards late in the summer.

Most use the four weeks in May/June to prepare, and take the boards in mid/late June. I'm not sure what I'll do. So you essentially get a full four weeks of dedicated board prep time (that is built into the schedule), and then another two months if you need it (I think they also use it for remediations and such).

Thanks so much.

One more question for you: when do you start your 4th year? September?
 
Anyone know how many months 3rd year lasts? When I look at the curriculum it shows 9 required and 1 elective rotation, for a total of 10 rotations. It says 4th year consists of 9 more rotations for a total of 19 rotations in 2 years. It says each rotation lasts 4 weeks or 1 month. I am wondering what about the other 5 months of the 2 years? I'm comparing to NSU which has 12 required rotations 3rd year and I'm assuming the same (or maybe 1 month vacation) for 4th year. Does this mean more time off compared to NSU?
 
Thanks so much.

One more question for you: when do you start your 4th year? September?
Just wanted to provide a bit of an update and correction to my previous post. It looks like the school review and board prep block is from around April 16 to May 18. The block from the end of May to June 9 must be the "summer electives." Our schedule for sections later than the current one are pretty sketchy... only major test dates show up, and I think I misinterpreted some 'empty looking' blocks in there.

In any case, you still get a month off for board prep (or can attend some/all of the faculty review sessions for prep if you wish). I asked about putting boards off until later in the summer and using the month and a half of off time there for prep, and was told that the obstacle is getting your scores back before rotations begin Sept. 1. You are required to pass boards before beginning your clinical rotations. Not sure if that is a "hard" rule from the school (i.e., can't take it during the summer) or just a soft rule that you have to take it early enough to get scores by such-and-such date and you'd better not need to retake it!

As for 4th year, I don't have that schedule handy. I don't remember there being much of a break at all between 3rd and 4th years... you pretty much go straight from one to the next. You do have plenty of electives during 4th year though, including some blocks that can be either vacation, board prep, or residency interview time.
 
Anyone know how many months 3rd year lasts? When I look at the curriculum it shows 9 required and 1 elective rotation, for a total of 10 rotations. It says 4th year consists of 9 more rotations for a total of 19 rotations in 2 years. It says each rotation lasts 4 weeks or 1 month. I am wondering what about the other 5 months of the 2 years? I'm comparing to NSU which has 12 required rotations 3rd year and I'm assuming the same (or maybe 1 month vacation) for 4th year. Does this mean more time off compared to NSU?

IIRC core rotations for 3rd year are:
Family Practice 8 wks
Surgery 8 wks
Internal Medicine 8 wks
Pediatrics 4 wks
Psychiatry 4 wks
Ob/Gyn 4 wks

So that's 36 weeks. I honestly don't know how many elective blocks are in there as well... I think just one for third year, and a pair for 4th year plus a subinternship or two.
 
Anybody know about their rotation site in Dallas?? What is is like?
 
bump. I am amazed at how many people that live so close to KCUMB and are oblivious to its existence. I live in the town of the Jayhawks, so when I enter into coversation with someone new and occasionally they will ask me my major, so I tell them "molecular science" and they say, "what are you gonna do with that?" To which I reply that I got in to medical school, and I say Kansas City University of Medicine & Bioscience ..... and they typically are like, "what about KU MED, or do you mean KU? responses... drives me nuts.
 
Wow $1000 deposit?! Is any of it refundable?
 
bump. I am amazed at how many people that live so close to KCUMB and are oblivious to its existence. I live in the town of the Jayhawks, so when I enter into coversation with someone new and occasionally they will ask me my major, so I tell them "molecular science" and they say, "what are you gonna do with that?" To which I reply that I got in to medical school, and I say Kansas City University of Medicine & Bioscience ..... and they typically are like, "what about KU MED, or do you mean KU? responses... drives me nuts.

Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences is a new name for an older school. It was previously called university health sciences kansas city... or something similar. This could be why they are oblivious to its existence.
 
what does the "other" point to- on the match list?

Well, the primary care areas are there explicitly, as are anesthesiology, general surgery, and ob/gyn (and ER if you don't consider it primary care). So "other" would include most specialties - radiology, urology, ortho, neurology, ophthalmo, ENT, neurosurg, derm, plastics, psych, and likely a host of others.

Based on my own personal definition of "primary care" (FP and peds), about 3/4 of our class enters non-primary care specialties.
 
I was accepted to KCUMB last year but I deffered my acceptance to KCUMB for this next year. My husband and I moved to KC this past summer to get settled before school. We live in a small town east of Kansas City called Blue Springs. It is a very nice town with low crime and from what we have been told the only nationally ranked school system in Missouri.
 
I was accepted to KCUMB last year but I deffered my acceptance to KCUMB for this next year. My husband and I moved to KC this past summer to get settled before school. We live in a small town east of Kansas City called Blue Springs. It is a very nice town with low crime and from what we have been told the only nationally ranked school system in Missouri.

Thanks for that info. I am looking for a good school system for my 2 kids so I will definitely look into Blue Springs. Are there relatively cheap houses for rent or to buy there? (The price is the main reason why I am not interested in Overland Park area)
 
We are renting right now and are ging to buy thic summer. It is much cheaper than Overland Park and just as nice. There are many parks and even a really cool nature walk. It is only about 20-30 min drive to KCUMB during rush hour traffic and only like 10-15 min drive any other time of day.
 
Perfect, thanks so much!
 
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