New Medical School
Started by CarrieBad
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When I registered there were I think 5 (maybe 6?) time slots each Wed/Fri...starting at 9am.
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This may be a silly question but what type of school this is? Because the website says that they do receive some federal assistance in forms of grants. I recently got an interview and wanted to know if I were to join the National Guard in PA would they pay 100% tuition. I suppose these are questions that I should ask at the open house. I am very excited about this new medical school and Im honored that they picked me to have an interview with 🙂
I need some advice. I was complete 11/11 and have not received an interview invite, where others seem to have (even OOS applicants like me). So, I will be in Cleveland for Thanksgiving and am totally willing to travel to Scranton Thursday evening for the Friday open house however, I feel if I'm not going to get an interview invite, why spend the money and totally alter my Thanksgiving plans (I am married, so it affects my husband also). Am I being impatient (expecting an interview invite too soon) or realistic (I'm probably not going to get one)?
Dont know the answer to the National Guard question you may have to ask them. We are a private, not for profit med school.
Option C: none of the above?
This isn't an either/or situation. A ton of people are applying to TCMC and expecting to know one way or another from any medical school within ten days of being complete might be expecting a little much.
Good luck!
I have a interview at the school coming up in a couple of weeks and am a OOS student. I will be flying in and just wanted to ask which airport is most commonly used to get to the scranton area and whether I should rent a car or is there a shuttle service.
Thanks for the help
Thanks for the help
.🙂 Just interviewed. My impression: TCMC = #1. Amazing school.
For those of you considering applying, here is what I'll say. I had 3 MD interview offers and 4 DO offers, so I have other options. But, I will attend TCMC if I get the opportunity to because I agree with how they are going to train physicians. In the clinical years, you'll actually get to establish yourself as a member of the community rather than moving every 6 weeks. Additionally, there is patient contact from day 1. One of the things that is very important to me is to be able to understand what it means to be sick from the patient's perspective by the time I graduate medical school. That will happen at TCMC.
Lastly, there are going to be great extracurriculars. I interviewed with an emergency physician, and he said he wants to be the faculty advisor of the disaster/emergency preparedness club that I want to establish if I get in. I could just relate to everyone I talked with. It was a great day!
Now for the info you all want to know:
1 hour interview with PhD and MD
Conversational (talk about your life and your goals)
Open file
Adcom meets every Tuesday...Notice within 2 weeks.
Everyone in the afternoon was in-state. However, a lot of the people in the morning were OOS.
Now for the fun part...waiting.
Oh, PS. Scranton was a great community. I couldn't find the entrance to TCMC when I got to Scranton so I asked some people in the community and they walked me there. At my Philadelphia interviews, people looked at me like I was going to mug them when I asked them which subway stop to get off at. When I told these ladies that I was interviewing for the new medical school, they were so excited for me. The community is very supportive of this school.
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For those of you considering applying, here is what I'll say. I had 3 MD interview offers and 4 DO offers, so I have other options. But, I will attend TCMC if I get the opportunity to because I agree with how they are going to train physicians. In the clinical years, you'll actually get to establish yourself as a member of the community rather than moving every 6 weeks. Additionally, there is patient contact from day 1. One of the things that is very important to me is to be able to understand what it means to be sick from the patient's perspective by the time I graduate medical school. That will happen at TCMC.
Lastly, there are going to be great extracurriculars. I interviewed with an emergency physician, and he said he wants to be the faculty advisor of the disaster/emergency preparedness club that I want to establish if I get in. I could just relate to everyone I talked with. It was a great day!
Now for the info you all want to know:
1 hour interview with PhD and MD
Conversational (talk about your life and your goals)
Open file
Adcom meets every Tuesday...Notice within 2 weeks.
Everyone in the afternoon was in-state. However, a lot of the people in the morning were OOS.
Now for the fun part...waiting.
Oh, PS. Scranton was a great community. I couldn't find the entrance to TCMC when I got to Scranton so I asked some people in the community and they walked me there. At my Philadelphia interviews, people looked at me like I was going to mug them when I asked them which subway stop to get off at. When I told these ladies that I was interviewing for the new medical school, they were so excited for me. The community is very supportive of this school.
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Did they establish what is being done for financial aid?
$80,000 scholarship for every student. You will not be eligible for federal aid until 2011 (estimate from school). They said you will have to take out private loans. Make sure you have a good credit score and get someone to co-sign. They said they are working on getting a lender to agree to allow us defer payments while in school.
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I flew into Philadelphia and then rented a car for about $130 including gas...don't know if there's a better, more cost-efficient way to do things but that was easiest. The staff at the Radisson, where I stayed, told me that they would pick me up or drive me anywhere if I needed (free of charge), so you might call and ask if they'd pick you up (from the Scranton airport). I also heard a rumor that they give discounts to TCMC interviewees, but I didn't ask.
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fly in to Scranton (AVP) which has regional jet service and may have an airport shuttle depending on the hotel. We ofter fly from Philly or Newark but you will need to rent a car (2 hours)
Okay so here is my view on TCMC
PROS: The curriculum is perfect for me. The close interaction with local families, Case based learning, and some lecture just seems awesome. All of the teachers and staff seem to be really excited about starting the school. Also the technology that they will have is great as well. For example most schools have patient simulators, maybe 1 or 2. They are buying several.
CONS: The building, while the temporary site has everything you need it is still rather small. The private loans at the beginning, which with the 80,000 dollar scholarship is not that bad. Finally my interview, out of the 4 I have had so far, was the least conversational. I was asked clinical relevance, specific, questions. I felt at points that my one interviewer was asking questions JUST to throw me off.... Disappointing
Everything considered I still really like the school, and would love to have the chance to attend. In my opinion the pros far outweigh the cons
PROS: The curriculum is perfect for me. The close interaction with local families, Case based learning, and some lecture just seems awesome. All of the teachers and staff seem to be really excited about starting the school. Also the technology that they will have is great as well. For example most schools have patient simulators, maybe 1 or 2. They are buying several.
CONS: The building, while the temporary site has everything you need it is still rather small. The private loans at the beginning, which with the 80,000 dollar scholarship is not that bad. Finally my interview, out of the 4 I have had so far, was the least conversational. I was asked clinical relevance, specific, questions. I felt at points that my one interviewer was asking questions JUST to throw me off.... Disappointing
Everything considered I still really like the school, and would love to have the chance to attend. In my opinion the pros far outweigh the cons
Wow, I had the opposite interview impression. Where did you see the curriculum. I did not see the curriculum.
whats this $80,000 scholarship? This is a loan they give every year? is it a grant every year? or a grant for your entire 4 year stay there. Any info would be great. Thanks.
Chessodoc:
Curriculum / course descriptions are on the "MD academic advising guidebook" (PDF file) at the bottom of this page:
http://www.thecommonwealthmedical.com/oth/Page.asp?PageID=OTH000147
Persia:
Negative. It's a one-time scholarship for their charter class, $20,000/year for 4 years. See the following link (it's on their homepage):
http://www.thecommonwealthmedical.com/oth/Page.asp?PageID=OTH000219
Curriculum / course descriptions are on the "MD academic advising guidebook" (PDF file) at the bottom of this page:
http://www.thecommonwealthmedical.com/oth/Page.asp?PageID=OTH000147
Persia:
Negative. It's a one-time scholarship for their charter class, $20,000/year for 4 years. See the following link (it's on their homepage):
http://www.thecommonwealthmedical.com/oth/Page.asp?PageID=OTH000219
You mind elaborate a little more on this? Or probably he/she would like you to give them more details on the things you worked on?
Also, did they focus on knowing you as a person and a student and what you did aside from the common things that each and everyone of us more less all have? ? To me, holistic view is very important =)
Thank you!
From another point of view:
The first thing I was asked was about the rivalry in my family (Duke and UNC grads for parents, and I'm at UNC). We basically spent an hour talking about my ECs, like my experience as a paramedic, my work in Haiti, physician shadowing, etc. They asked a little bit about academics, but not much, and were very complimentary about everything. It was a two-way interview, really. I found out a lot about my interviewers as well, who've had many of the same experiences I have had.
I really felt like they were just trying to get a better sense of who I am, rather than look for deficiencies. It was the most enjoyable interview experience I've had so far. It seems like they're just looking for enthusiastic, well-rounded students who are up for taking on the responsibility of being in a charter class.
Definitely. First of all, don't think I am trying to speak negatively of the school, or that I think my interview experience is common there. I really enjoyed everything else during my interview day, and would like to go there. The tone of my interview was very different from other ones that I have been to. One interviewer asked normal, get to know you questions, while the other interviewer asked intricate questions, that really didn't seem to go any where, or shed any light on what I have done. The questions didn't allow me to tell the interviewers about myself, rather were just specific knowledge, not directly related to my work questions. Just uncomfortable, and I felt like I was on defense most of the time. I just really hope they take this into consideration when evaluating me, as I am really interested in the school
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wow... nice Calc and biochem requirement... nice dot com address.
To TCMC
I majored in Bioengineering and besides the basic biology class, I've taken a class called "Analysis of Molecular Cells". However, this class is under my bioengineering class. Will this satisfy the requirement? I was just about to submit my secondary and if this doesn't count, then I guess I will be withdrawing.
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If you're trying to discredit the school... stop. The school's motives are sincere. Our area is extremely underserved in terms of physicians and by placing a medical school in Scranton with 2 other clinical campuses there is a GREAT service being done to the area. We need this. The school is not taking advantage of the situation but is looking out for our community.
Requiring more pre-requisite classes is a way for the school to enhance its incoming class. Since it is just starting, it does have a repuation to build. This is done by getting great candidates, both academically and socially (volunteering, etc).
The school has a dot com because it has provisional accredidation. No university can use an dot edu until fully accredited.
Any other unfound insults?
i know your post was directed toward TCMC, and i'm not an adcom, but to me that course sounds like cell bio [i.e. doesn't sound like anything even remotely resembling biochem]
jmho though, maybe they will go for it 😉
well...on their course requirement site it said cell bio or biochem or related so maybe that'll count? I'm just worried because it's not under Bio, and wasn't counted as a science class in AMCAS. Thanks though, any opinion is appreciated.
wait, actually, their website says "Cell Biology, Biochemistry or equivalent" Does that mean Cell Biology OR Biochemistry?
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To be honest, I was a little shocked by their requirements as well. I totally understand that they want to have a great charter class by having these requirements and if anything, other med schools should include Biochem as a requirement. HOWEVER, since most people have just found out about this school, those from non-trad background, liberal arts background or even engineering like me most likely didn't take biochem. Isn' t the school significantly limiting their applicant pool to those majored in Biology, Chemistry or equivalent whom has to take Biochem for their major? It's almost impossible for non-science majors to schedule in a requirement class now since Spring Semester starts in a month. It would be great if the school adds the calc and biochem requirement for the 2014 or 2015 class because they still have a year to schedule these classes.
I am sincerely interested in this school and would love to be a part of its chartering class. If a biochem requirement is going to prevent me from applying, I'll be very sad
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i'm not trying to argue, but some schools do. i wasn't required to take biochem for my major but i did anyway, specifically for this purpose. 🙂
There are NO requirements per se as it says "Suggested Course Work" and it also says, " Additional science courses may include but are not limited to:" Be careful as to not read this as required when it is NOT REQUIRED. A lot of medical schools are looking for well-rounded students that are willing to serve the local communities or have unique talents that make them a part of the community or as medical scientists. The flexible requirements allow these schools to pick the students that fit best for their programs, just like Commonwealth Medical College.
A_G🙂
According to the website provided in the earlier post, it says: (I'm copying and pasting)
To be considered for admission, successful applicants should hold a baccalaureate degree from an educational institution listed in the current Education Directory of the US Office of Education with the following coursework:
General Biology with laboratory
General Inorganic Chemistry with laboratory
Organic Chemistry with laboratory
Physics with laboratory
Cell Biology, Biochemistry or equivalent
English and English Composition
Mathematics, Calculus or Statistics
The best way to get this ambiguity clarified is to send TCMC admissions office an email instead of trying to guess and postulate what do they expect from prospective students.... They are very very responsive and quick!
Also, from my point of view, requiring a set of comprehensive and vigorous pre-reqs itself really has nothing to do with if TCMC is new or established. Every established institution had a beginning and each one has had set forth its own expectations. Therefore, if we decided to apply to TCMC, then there are several things we are going to take responsibility and one of them being meeting that academic requirement. In sum, I see it as part of our commitment to the school
Ugh...Winter weather warning tonight. Guess I won't be going to the open house. However, they came to my school and I went to Scranton for my interview, so there is probably no new information I can get.
I loved TCMC. 😀 Great school for reasons I encourage you to search for yourself, great chocolate in the folders they hand out, and great people running the school. Tomorrow is the big day.
I loved TCMC. 😀 Great school for reasons I encourage you to search for yourself, great chocolate in the folders they hand out, and great people running the school. Tomorrow is the big day.
Ugh...Winter weather warning tonight. Guess I won't be going to the open house. However, they came to my school and I went to Scranton for my interview, so there is probably no new information I can get.
I loved TCMC. 😀 Great school for reasons I encourage you to search for yourself, great chocolate in the folders they hand out, and great people running the school. Tomorrow is the big day.
Congratulations to your acceptance into a med sch haha
For the rest of us who are still waiting, press on! 
Just go to the website address: http://thecommonwealthmedical.com/oth/Page.asp?PageID=OTH000156 and you will see that it says the following:
Suggested Course Work -Applicants to TCMC should take the following courses from an accredited college or university in the United States. On-line coursework will not be accepted for these courses.
General Biology with laboratory
General Inorganic Chemistry with laboratory
Organic Chemistry with laboratory
General Physics with laboratory
Cell Biology, Biochemistry or equivalent
English and English Composition
Mathematics, Calculus or Statistics
I suggest you REVISIT the website and check it out as it has been modified since the material below was posted!!
A_G🙂
Suggested Course Work -Applicants to TCMC should take the following courses from an accredited college or university in the United States. On-line coursework will not be accepted for these courses.
General Biology with laboratory
General Inorganic Chemistry with laboratory
Organic Chemistry with laboratory
General Physics with laboratory
Cell Biology, Biochemistry or equivalent
English and English Composition
Mathematics, Calculus or Statistics
I suggest you REVISIT the website and check it out as it has been modified since the material below was posted!!
A_G🙂
Can't help but be even more impressed by how fast the school moves if that change was caused by this forum.
Just found out about my interview, but couldn't schedule it until later. Anyone have any tips for the interviews, it seems like its pretty straightforward with just reviewing the primary/secondary application and maybe some background on current medical issues to be safe.
Just found out about my interview, but couldn't schedule it until later. Anyone have any tips for the interviews, it seems like its pretty straightforward with just reviewing the primary/secondary application and maybe some background on current medical issues to be safe.
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I don't think the school updated the website, but I'll email the admissions to clear things up.
Congrats! Don't stress too much about the interview. I prepared like crazy for it. However, they just asked me about my life (from childhood to future goals). It was a very comfortable experience. Also, they are responsive (they laugh, they agree with you, etc). Not like a lot of schools were you're looking into a blank stare the entire time.
Lol, I can totally relate to that sentence.
To those who are just getting interviews: nicely done. It looks like you're still very much on the early side of things. I'll pitch in my two cents and say that everyone at TCMC was courteous, thoughtful and genuinely enthused about the prospect of the charter class. The whole interview day was a real pleasure.
To those who are waiting to (potentially) hear tomorrow: best of luck!
To those who are waiting to (potentially) hear tomorrow: best of luck!
How are they deciding which application to look through...I hope i get an acceptance so I can start withdrawing from other schools, lol.
Congrats on the interview! Would you mind telling me when you were complete and what your credentials are (MCAT/GPA/IS)? I'm still waiting to hear back from them. I really like the school and their info session convinced me that its perfect for me! thanks..
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I was complete on Nov. 7th, found out about the interview on the 12th, but due to thanksgiving/exams/finals/life in general, couldn't interview until later.
Stats were:
IS, been in PA for awhile with ties to the state
roughly ~3.3-3.4 cum/sci gpa
30 MCAT
normal ec's maybe even below normal, not sure
Hopefully it helps you or gives a hint to someone.
Good luck to all those who interviewed already, hopefully there is a lot of good news coming today.
Stats were:
IS, been in PA for awhile with ties to the state
roughly ~3.3-3.4 cum/sci gpa
30 MCAT
normal ec's maybe even below normal, not sure
Hopefully it helps you or gives a hint to someone.
Good luck to all those who interviewed already, hopefully there is a lot of good news coming today.
hmm.. i have a 3.2 UG GPA but I went ahead and got a master's in biomedical eng from Cornell as well. 30 on the MCAT and LOTS of ECs.. i'm currently interning in Binghamton, NY which is very close to Scranton, but I'm originally from Illinois so I'm still out of state. I really love the area though.. and I LOVE the school so I really hope i hear from them soon. I was complete on the 19th so I guess I'm being a little impatient but I guess I'm just excited to become a part of the school. Thanks for your stats. Good Luck to everyone else who's waiting as well!
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