Michigan State University (MSUCOM) Discussion Thread 2015 - 2016

[bakr89]

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Has anyone received any rejection letters recently from MSUCOM? I still haven't heard anything at all and I submitted my secondary back in August

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[MP_Speed]

Does anyone know of how the waitlist is ranked beside the tier system and the approximate amount of applicants on each waitlist? I was waitlisted as a tier 2 and was wonder my chances. I was waitlisted last year and rejected the end of May. I'm hoping for a different outcome this cycle. I have a meeting with Anne Snyder the Admissions Advisor on March 3 to see if I can do anything to improve my chances on the waitlist.

 

[DrPatriot]

Does anyone know of how the waitlist is ranked beside the tier system and the approximate amount of applicants on each waitlist? I was waitlisted as a tier 2 and was wonder my chances. I was waitlisted last year and rejected the end of May. I'm hoping for a different outcome this cycle. I have a meeting with Anne Snyder the Admissions Advisor on March 3 to see if I can do anything to improve my chances on the waitlist.

This is the first year for the tier system and I don't believe MSU has said how many are on the wait list so I doubt any applicant can help there. I believe someone earlier in the cycle put on here tier 2 was a 50/50 chance.

Mrs. Snyder is awesome though! She was really helpful and honest when I met with her. She helped me out a lot!

 

[MP_Speed]

This is the first year for the tier system and I don't believe MSU has said how many are on the wait list so I doubt any applicant can help there. I believe someone earlier in the cycle put on here tier 2 was a 50/50 chance.

Mrs. Snyder is awesome though! She was really helpful and honest when I met with her. She helped me out a lot!

I agree. I met with her last year after I was waitlisted. I improved on my application from last year per her advice. I'm meeting with her again to see what the reasons were for placing me on the waitlist this cycle again and to see if there is any way to improve me chances.

 

[Ty223]

Do a lot of rejections go out post interview? Or does pretty much everyone who interviews either get accepted or waitlisted?

 

[DrPatriot]

I agree. I met with her last year after I was waitlisted. I improved on my application from last year per her advice. I'm meeting with her again to see what the reasons were for placing me on the waitlist this cycle again and to see if there is any way to improve me chances.

Gotcha. Best of luck to you!

 

[Throwaway201536]

Do a lot of rejections go out post interview? Or does pretty much everyone who interviews either get accepted or waitlisted?

I know someone who was rejected post interview.

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[Laito]

Does anyone have any information about the Macomb campus? How is the quality of the institution compared to East lansing and DMC campuses? Why is it least favored? Is it because of the area or the campus itself (community college)?

 

[Throwaway201536]

Does anyone have any information about the Macomb campus? How is the quality of the institution compared to East lansing and DMC campuses? Why is it least favored? Is it because of the area or the campus itself (community college)?

Nicest facilities of the three. Area is nice. Filled with more non traditional students (i.e. those who have a family, older).

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[DrPatriot]

Does anyone have any information about the Macomb campus? How is the quality of the institution compared to East lansing and DMC campuses? Why is it least favored? Is it because of the area or the campus itself (community college)?

The Macomb campus itself is super nice! It is located in a suburban setting so there is plenty to do there outside of school as well.
DMC is in a large city and EL is a college town. Younger/average age students tend to prefer the DMC and EL campuses for the activities outside of school.

I would have no problem attending any of the sites and I thought they all had pros and cons. It's nice they have 3 campuses.

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[Laito]

Just got an email from ADCOM. 1st tier waitlist!! I know it's not an acceptance, but I am so excited and grateful!! Does anyone know when I might hear back?? Also, what are the chances for me to get off the waitlist?

 

[bakr89]

Just got an email from ADCOM. 1st tier waitlist!! I know it's not an acceptance, but I am so excited and grateful!! Does anyone know when I might hear back?? Also, what are the chances for me to get off the waitlist?

Nice! Would you mind posting your stats?

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[Laito]

PM'ed.

 

[Dr. Bojangles]

Just got an email from ADCOM. 1st tier waitlist!! I know it's not an acceptance, but I am so excited and grateful!! Does anyone know when I might hear back?? Also, what are the chances for me to get off the waitlist?

Congrats!!! Still just sitting in silence over here...

 

[Laito]

Congrats!!! Still just sitting in silence over here...

Maybe it's a good thing! They are taking their time to give you THE CALL=). I wish you the best!

 

[FBurnaby]

The WL silence is deafening....

 

[Gaucho22]

I feel you Bojangles, just twiddling my thumbs too waiting around for something

 

[Dr. Bojangles]

I feel you Bojangles, just twiddling my thumbs too waiting around for something

When did you interview?

 

[Gaucho22]

When did you interview?

On Jan 26th.. What about you?

 

[KNEWGUY]

Does Michigan have a secondary deposit date? I am guessing that waitlist movement will probably happen after this.

 

[Dr. Bojangles]

On Jan 26th.. What about you?

Same! I was in the afternoon session

 

[Dridder]

Same! I was in the afternoon session

Same as both of you, morning session and still waiting to hear back. Haven't heard anything yet from them except the general admission #'s Feb Email.

The anticipation is killing me! MSUCOM is my top pick

 

[Gaucho22]

Same! I was in the afternoon session

When the heck do you think we will hear back?! It's been almost 5 weeks since our interview

 

[Dr. Bojangles]

Same as both of you, morning session and still waiting to hear back. Haven't heard anything yet from them except the general admission #'s Feb Email.

The anticipation is killing me! MSUCOM is my top pick

When the heck do you think we will hear back?! It's been almost 5 weeks since our interview

I'm holding out for Monday! When I searched the past interviews in his thread I noticed people found out Thursday, Friday, or Monday. So let's all be hopeful for Monday I guess! it's my top choice too so I'm getting more and more anxious each week we have to wait!

 

[DrMeowMeow]

Does anyone have any information about the Macomb campus? How is the quality of the institution compared to East lansing and DMC campuses? Why is it least favored? Is it because of the area or the campus itself (community college)?

I went to the macomb campus and loved it a lot!! Facilities are great, the staff is super helpful, nice, and supportive. We have the freshest cadavers (which is actually helpful for anatomy lab exams because structures are easier to identify when everything doesn't look like beef jerky). Lots of restaurants and partridge creek mall is there with a big movie theater.

A bunch of attendings (including program directors) from nearby base hospitals teach clinical skills there so it's good networking for if you're interested in a residency at St. John macomb, mclaren macomb, Henry ford macomb, or even Beaumont. I know a bunch of students would talk to the ER program director and now they have residency spots there.

Cost of living is low and the area is safe, so I know why it appeals to both non traditional and traditional students. I'm traditional and picked macomb as my first choice even though I was accepted early enough to go anywhere. Some of my friends chose it as first choice too for cost of living and safety. I wanted to go there so I could live with my parents (and save TONS of money!!) but many others chose to live in apartments despite their parents living 5 minutes away.

We pretty much get our own building so we rarely see community college students. Sometimes they'll have classes at night but there are plenty of empty classrooms and study spaces for us to utilize. It's great for most people to be able to study with their buddies! East Lansing and Detroit don't really have much in terms of study spaces so a lot of them are forced to study by themselves at home which is more distracting.

We have a great sense of community among our 50 classmates. Everyone knows and talks to each other. I liked having so many friends to study with and going to eat after exams. We have the most people coming to lectures and studying in the building (even compared to the 200 people in east Lansing)

Also, our student lounge is by far way bigger than the ones at the other campuses. We have TWO ping pong tables, 2 refrigerators, foosball table, a few couches, a big screen TV, various gaming consoles. The DMC lounge only has room for one ping pong table and you're pretty much playing against the walls. Obviously very important factor to consider ;P

 

[Laito]

I went to the macomb campus and loved it a lot!! Facilities are great, the staff is super helpful, nice, and supportive. We have the freshest cadavers (which is actually helpful for anatomy lab exams because structures are easier to identify when everything doesn't look like beef jerky). Lots of restaurants and partridge creek mall is there with a big movie theater.

A bunch of attendings (including program directors) from nearby base hospitals teach clinical skills there so it's good networking for if you're interested in a residency at St. John macomb, mclaren macomb, Henry ford macomb, or even Beaumont. I know a bunch of students would talk to the ER program director and now they have residency spots there.

Cost of living is low and the area is safe, so I know why it appeals to both non traditional and traditional students. I'm traditional and picked macomb as my first choice even though I was accepted early enough to go anywhere. Some of my friends chose it as first choice too for cost of living and safety. I wanted to go there so I could live with my parents (and save TONS of money!!) but many others chose to live in apartments despite their parents living 5 minutes away.

We pretty much get our own building so we rarely see community college students. Sometimes they'll have classes at night but there are plenty of empty classrooms and study spaces for us to utilize. It's great for most people to be able to study with their buddies! East Lansing and Detroit don't really have much in terms of study spaces so a lot of them are forced to study by themselves at home which is more distracting.

We have a great sense of community among our 50 classmates. Everyone knows and talks to each other. I liked having so many friends to study with and going to eat after exams. We have the most people coming to lectures and studying in the building (even compared to the 200 people in east Lansing)

Also, our student lounge is by far way bigger than the ones at the other campuses. We have TWO ping pong tables, 2 refrigerators, foosball table, a few couches, a big screen TV, various gaming consoles. The DMC lounge only has room for one ping pong table and you're pretty much playing against the walls. Obviously very important factor to consider ;P

Thank you so much for your response! What is your take on a research opportunities compared to the East Lansing campus? Do you or any of your classmates participate in research?

 

[DrMeowMeow]

Thank you so much for your response! What is your take on a research opportunities compared to the East Lansing campus? Do you or any of your classmates participate in research?

Oh that's a good question I've never thought about. You'll get more research opportunities in east Lansing. I did a year of research in undergrad and didn't like it, so I decided not to do any in med school since it's not nearly as helpful in residency applications, especially not for DO residencies. My two classmates who were going for ortho did research while at the macomb campus, but it was through attendings they already knew. My friend and I were offered a research opportunity on a project about obesity or something located in Detroit, but we decided against it because we would rather use the time to study and pass our exams. You may not have time for extracurriculars in first two years of school because the workload really is a lot. There are a lot of clubs at macomb where you can sign up to be VP and easily get it because no one else signs up. And those positions don't require much work at all. My friend ended up being VP of like 5 clubs because she felt bad that they were empty. There are also a lot of volunteering opportunities where you can volunteer a couple hours a week, but you aren't committed to go to all of them, you can pick and choose which ones you go to depending on how your studying is going. I also did the student OMM clinic which was required 4 hours every other week, and everyone who did that felt it was a struggle to commit to that schedule

In 3rd and 4th year, more people started doing research through attendings of base hospitals because you have more time during those years. If I were you I would make sure you can handle all the science classes and be able to pass all the exams with at least high 70s to 80s (70% is passing with most classes) before considering allocating time to extracurriculars like research. Research seems helpful for applying to top tier academic residencies like U of M, but all the community programs which is the vast majority of them don't really care about research. Step 1 score is by far the biggest factor in your applications.

 

[oopss28]

We have a half-day of interviews on 3/1 -- but that's the last of 'em.

If their latest date for filing secondaries are in Feb, how can March 1st be the last of the interviews?....

 

[FRoz34]

Received first tier waitlist just now. I had called a while back and asked about sending an update letter post II and was told MSU COM does not accept update letters at all; however, this email reads:

"We encourage you to continue strengthening your application by adding your Fall grades and any accomplishments that take place in the next few months."

Does anyone know what this means? How are others sending updates if not in letter format?

 

[lahaiesi]

Received first tier waitlist just now. I had called a while back and asked about sending an update letter post II and was told MSU COM does not accept update letters at all; however, this email reads:

"We encourage you to continue strengthening your application by adding your Fall grades and any accomplishments that take place in the next few months."

Does anyone know what this means? How are others sending updates if not in letter format?

In the application portal, there is a tab where you can submit files that you can provide with new grades, etc.


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[FRoz34]

In the application portal, there is a tab where you can submit files that you can provide with new grades, etc.


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Yes, but in what format? Just a pdf of an unofficial transcript? And how are people updating on activities if not in letter format?

 

[lahaiesi]

Yes, but in what format? Just a pdf of an unofficial transcript? And how are people updating on activities if not in letter format?

Yea, I submitted unofficial grades as pdf. You can list activities bullet pointed or a small summary in a word doc.


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[FRoz34]

Yea, I submitted unofficial grades as pdf. You can list activities bullet pointed or a small summary in a word doc.


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Thank you!

 

[Dr. Bojangles]

Received first tier waitlist just now. I had called a while back and asked about sending an update letter post II and was told MSU COM does not accept update letters at all; however, this email reads:

"We encourage you to continue strengthening your application by adding your Fall grades and any accomplishments that take place in the next few months."

Does anyone know what this means? How are others sending updates if not in letter format?

When did you interview?? I still haven't heard anything...☹

 

[FRoz34]

When did you interview?? I still haven't heard anything...☹

January 26th. I hope you all hear good things soon!

 

[Ty223]

Does anyone know how many people they plan to put on the waitlist? I.e. how many they plan to put in Tier 1, tier 2, etc. It seems like there are quite a few

 

[Dr. Bojangles]

I know they said not to call but at what point would it be okay to ask about my applications Or maybe when the next adcom meeting is? It's been five weeks since I've interviewed and they said we would hear back in 30 days.

 

[Throwaway201536]

I know they said not to call but at what point would it be okay to ask about my applications Or maybe when the next adcom meeting is? It's been five weeks since I've interviewed and they said we would hear back in 30 days.

You can always call without asking anything specific (i.e. providing your name/aacomas id). Just say you are an applicant who interviewed five weeks ago, wondering when you might hear.

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[Dr. Bojangles]

I called earlier today and no one answered...Forever waiting 🙁

 

[Laito]

Oh that's a good question I've never thought about. You'll get more research opportunities in east Lansing. I did a year of research in undergrad and didn't like it, so I decided not to do any in med school since it's not nearly as helpful in residency applications, especially not for DO residencies. My two classmates who were going for ortho did research while at the macomb campus, but it was through attendings they already knew. My friend and I were offered a research opportunity on a project about obesity or something located in Detroit, but we decided against it because we would rather use the time to study and pass our exams. You may not have time for extracurriculars in first two years of school because the workload really is a lot. There are a lot of clubs at macomb where you can sign up to be VP and easily get it because no one else signs up. And those positions don't require much work at all. My friend ended up being VP of like 5 clubs because she felt bad that they were empty. There are also a lot of volunteering opportunities where you can volunteer a couple hours a week, but you aren't committed to go to all of them, you can pick and choose which ones you go to depending on how your studying is going. I also did the student OMM clinic which was required 4 hours every other week, and everyone who did that felt it was a struggle to commit to that schedule

In 3rd and 4th year, more people started doing research through attendings of base hospitals because you have more time during those years. If I were you I would make sure you can handle all the science classes and be able to pass all the exams with at least high 70s to 80s (70% is passing with most classes) before considering allocating time to extracurriculars like research. Research seems helpful for applying to top tier academic residencies like U of M, but all the community programs which is the vast majority of them don't really care about research. Step 1 score is by far the biggest factor in your applications.

Thank you very much for your response!

 

[cafeverona]

Does anyone know when MSUCOM's matriculation fee is due?

 

[kingston77]

anyone know what the policy for online/distance education courses are for prerequisites, are they acceptable? Didnt find anything on the admissions page...

 

[Throwaway201536]

anyone know what the policy for online/distance education courses are for prerequisites, are they acceptable? Didnt find anything on the admissions page...

They are. One of the admissions team members told a buddy of mine they could take biochemistry online to fulfill the requirement

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[Throwaway201536]

Does anyone know when MSUCOM's matriculation fee is due?

I know all the orientation fees are due May 9th (soma membership, name tags, etc)

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[lahaiesi]

Does anyone know when MSUCOM's matriculation fee is due?

I believe it varies on when you were accepted


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[porkandbeans]

Ok, its been 6 weeks since the Jan 26th interview, anybody hear yet?

Should we start calling or wait until this week is over? I am trying to be patient but it's so hard!

 

[Dr. Bojangles]

Ok, its been 6 weeks since the Jan 26th interview, anybody hear yet?

Should we start calling or wait until this week is over? I am trying to be patient but it's so hard!

Waiting just gets harder and harder. When I called they said they couldn't say how much longer. Maybe if more people call they'll review them faster haha wishful thinking

 

[porkandbeans]

Waiting just gets harder and harder. When I called they said they couldn't say how much longer. Maybe if more people call they'll review them faster haha wishful thinking

Waiting is always the hardest part. I guess it makes me feel better to know everyone is in the same boat. I just want to be able to start making plans and find a place to live. I suppose if I get on the wait list though it wont get any better.. *sigh*

 

[kingston77]

Can any accepted Canadian here comment on whether they're thinking of forfeiting their spot/deposit for any reason? This would really help to see how the small waitlist for Canadian students might change in the coming weeks. Obviously I expect their to be a lot of movement for American students, but the Canadian movement I am not so sure...

 

[FBurnaby]

I'm not that familiar with the MD cycle, presuming there will be shake ups/trick down effects once applicants have to commit to one school, what dates could we expect wait list movement? People have really been accepted during orientation week in past years?