Nova Southeastern Univ (NSU-COM) Discussion Thread 2015 - 2016

[AvrgPreMedKid]

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Did any of your accepted students send in thank you letters? I really want to but I don't want to get rejected because of it lol.


I got waitlisted to every school I sent thank you letters to and I got in to every school that I didn't lol

I didn't.

 

[mspeedwagon]

Student here and can second all the below EXCEPT #5. I haven't heard those rumors. I also don't think #4 is that big of a deal.

1. The school refuses to go to good old fashion scantrons in one of our classes because national testing is moving toward ipads, but they really aren't set-up for it. Honestly, I never took a test on my computer in my life and did fine on the computer administered MCAT. I think the need to have all exams on iPads is over-rated. I'd rather focus on really learning the information first. I can learn to take tests on iPads when the time comes. Not having sufficient science knowledge seems like a much greater weakness than not having prior iPad testing experience when it comes to national boards... but what do I know.

2. Not only was that exam cancelled 30 mins in (after a lot of confusion and chaos), it was then re-scheduled to be right on the back of another exam. So, if you were like me, and you basically said... great. I have exam 1 on Monday and then have the whole wk to study for exam 2 on Friday. Well, exam 1 got moved to Thursday and then we still had exam 2 Friday. Because of the timing of these exams (these exams were cram heavy so it wasn't like you could say I studied for exam 1, let me just move on to exam 2), we had to do quite the balancing act and it didn't go well for some folks.

3. Classes not being run directly by COM is a bigger deal than I originally thought (my initial thinking... who cares what dept runs the classes? They are going to cover the same material). Turns out faculty that aren't directly in COM tend to test as if they were PhD faculty teaching classes. Honestly, most med students just want all material to be geared to boards at the hope is to pass the COMLEX/USMLE. I would rather not learn about random research. Just my preference.

4. I don't think the MBS student thing is a big deal. This is true of almost all schools these days. Those students have yet gotten into medical school. I think giving them a leg up in order to compete is the right thing to do. Considering there are 250 med students or so, the roughly 20 MBS kids (I actually don't know the number, but I'm assuming that's how many there are) aren't changing ranks considerably (if at all... I think they are ranked separately).

All the above said, while I think the first year at Nova can be improved greatly, I still think it's a good school and one to consider. One you get past the first year, I've heard rave reviews for the rest of your time. Is there room for improvement... definitely! But, all schools are going to have their issues.

If anyone with authority is reading this then here are ways to improve the semester:
- Do away with iPad testing until it can go flawlessly. Then use it only in one class so people are familiar with it. Almost all of us are from the iPad generation. Having a test on an iPad won't throw us off (unless of course, it doesn't work).
- Start the semester a wk earlier and have a mid-semester break. The constant studying is tiring and a wk break mid-semester would be great.
- Have a protocol in place should something go wrong during testing.
- Offer training to faculty on how to write tests specifically for med students. If the passing grade is going to be 70, then tests should be written so the class average is in the low 80s (not 67 or in the low 70s, with a good portion of the class failing). Penalize the profs for a class avg that ends up lower than 80. They aren't teaching the material correctly.
- Spend a lot of time in the beginning of the semester teaching students how to study. Allow non-trads to come in a week or two earlier and have workshop targeted at them. We had a slow start and an easy first exam, which really set us all up for catching-up from behind.
- Get rid of some of the supplemental classes first semester. I would replace FACR with review sessions where practice test questions are reviewed so people know what to expect on exams. Then introduce FACR later. If you don't know what this class is, it's ok, most won't first semester till it says FACR exam on your calendar.
- Make sure all lectures get recorded. Nothing more frustrating than expecting lectures to be recorded when they really aren't.
- Implement a big sibling. Having peer mentors alone isn't enough. A person to check-in on you from time to time is really helpful during your first year.

There are quite a number of Nova kids on sdn. The person below used a throw-away account. I am using my actual one. A lot of kids are afraid to speak up about their school b/c of a fear of getting in trouble. I will forever wear the Nova name on me so I want things to improve if they can. I feel it's in everyone's best interest. I want quality kids to come to Nova to receive a truly great education. Good luck with your med school apps!

Topics to consider:

1. iPads have been failing during test taking, school hasn't tried to remedy this error. Ipads are a big obstacle being faced, starting next semester all exams will be given on iPads. Last exam given on ipad resulted in many students losing time to take the exam.
2. Testing in general has been rocky. In one exam, it was cancelled 30 mins after starting due to answers being provided on the exams.
3. Not all classes are run by COM because there are so many other programs on campus, therefore grading policies are not uniformed.
4. Classes are shared with MBS students, this means test averages include MBS students that have more time to study than their counterparts. This affects the class ranking.
5. Anatomy lab is still closed and there are rumors it might not be ready by this spring.

 

[deleted714452]

@mspeedwagon, thanks for the input. It really helps to see a current student's perspective and I never thought I could use this....

 

[NekoBeats]

Topics to consider:

1. iPads have been failing during test taking, school hasn't tried to remedy this error. Ipads are a big obstacle being faced, starting next semester all exams will be given on iPads. Last exam given on ipad resulted in many students losing time to take the exam.
2. Testing in general has been rocky. In one exam, it was cancelled 30 mins after starting due to answers being provided on the exams.
3. Not all classes are run by COM because there are so many other programs on campus, therefore grading policies are not uniformed.
4. Classes are shared with MBS students, this means test averages include MBS students that have more time to study than their counterparts. This affects the class ranking.
5. Anatomy lab is still closed and there are rumors it might not be ready by this spring.

#4 is incorrect. Classes are shared with MBS but their performance in class doesn't help or hurt your ranking. They're ranked alongside you during M1/M2 year, so if there are 240 people in the class and 20 MBS people, there will still be 240 rankings. Some people will be given the same rank. Additionally, I heard the opposite for #5, #2 was a one-time thing, and #3 really doesn't matter. I agree that testing on iPads is weird

If I were an M1, I too would probably list some of these things as problems. But honestly these are not major flaws. A large drop-out rate, horrible quality of clinical rotations, and low board passing rate are bigger, more important problems (none of which NSU has).

thanks for the info. Are you a student there or did u just hear these things? I'm also interested in learning more about that rural rotation. Can we push it towards the end of fourth year if we want to?

I doubt Randel is a resident or even an upper-classman, so I'll address your question. You will have 2 months of "rurals" at an assigned site during your 4th year. As far as I know, you can't move them. You also have a third month of a rural selective. For that one you can chose where you do it- it can be in the US or outside the US, as long as it addresses the underserved. Some students use one of their audition rotations during M4 year to fulfill that requirement because the hospital they auditioned at states that they aim to help underserved populations. I believe the rural selective you can choose when do to it.

 

[NekoBeats]

I'm going to quote what I wrote in the 'pros/cons of your DO school' thread below since it has a lot of info about nsu. If you're wondering, the thread is in the osteo forum

Current M3 at NSU-COM writing a more up-to-date review. I agree with most of what mspeedwagon mentioned in his/her post. Take everything I say with a grain of salt. I used the original formatting to keep things organized and tried to stay objective. I hope it helps.

Curriculum: M1 year- multiple classes every semester and there are exams pretty much every week. Once in a while there will be a week without exams and it's the best thing ever. I won't lie- the exam schedule is hell, and I'm sure M1s can attest to that. The combination of the crazy exam schedule plus the sheer amount of material you're exposed to is enough to stress a lot of people out. Over the course of the year though, you'll learn to adapt and figure out how you study best. That's pretty much the point of M1 year anyway- figuring out how you study. Something kind of unusual that happened this year for the M1s was that their anatomy course got moved to spring semester. This was because NSU is re-vamping the anatomy lab after being sited by OSHA (https://www.osha.gov/newsrelease/reg4-20150316.html). The lab couldn't be updated on time for Fall, so the gross anatomy course got moved back. I assume that this won’t be an issue for future entering M1s and that after this year, anatomy will resume being offered in Fall semester.

Before the M1 summer session started, my class got an email saying that attendance for all classes is going to be mandatory. Until that point we probably only had 2 classes that we absolutely had to go to. With the new change in attendance policy, we would now have to swipe our ID cards within the first 10 minutes of every lecture hour for every class. If you missed a certain number of lectures by forgetting to swipe, or by arriving over 10 minutes late, you failed the class. We were pretty upset about it considering it was such short notice and our entire class clamored together to fight it. Administration eventually changed their minds apparently after realizing that our current auditoriums don’t even have enough outlets for students to charge their computers. After a lot of back and forth between administration and us, a compromise was eventually reached where only our OMM and Principles of Clinical Medicine lectures would become mandatory with a minimum of 70% attendance. The OMM and PCM lectures combined only took up 2-3 hours a week, so we were okay with that. They were also on the same day as mandatory labs, so we had to be on campus anyway. Lecture attendance for all the systems courses remained ‘highly encouraged’, but not mandatory.

M2 year is composed of 4 system blocks, each block consisting of 3-4 organ systems. The good thing with M2 year is that you go weeks without an exam. The trade-off is that the exams are high stakes: there's only one midterm and one final per system. Also, when it’s exam week, it’s crazy. All the system exams are lined up with midterms and finals for the other non-system classes so you get hit hard with tests. Over the course of days you could have 3-4 system finals + finals for non-system classes. Personally I thought M2 was worse than M1 year, at least in the beginning just because of the exams.

Something different from M1 year is the M2 Principles of Clinical Medicine 'lab'. You get broken up into small groups, each one lead by an attending. There are SPs that come in and one of the students is supposed to do the interview. Then you all discuss the case together and come up with 3 differentials and a plan for each one. It's kind of like PBL. At the end, everyone writes a SOAP note timed in under 10 minutes and turns it in for grading/critique. I liked PCM but when I compare it to how rotations actually are I think they could do a lot to improve the course. I guess for an M2 though, it's okay.

Class schedules for both M1 and M2 year are basically lecture from 8-3 or 5 on days with no lab. On days with labs, lectures are from 8-12 with labs from 1-5. Attendance is not mandatory for most courses and the ones where attendance is mandatory usually require a minimum 70% attendance rate, meaning you can still miss some lectures. Labs are mandatory with the exception of histo and neuroanatomy. Take all the attendance stuff with a grain of salt since a lot has changed over the past several years.

Location: The main campus is located in Davie. The nice thing is that there are a bunch of shops, grocery stores, banks, etc around the school. There are also some decent places to eat if you explore the surrounding areas. IMO, a car is pretty essential. If you ever need to 'escape' from school, studying, or classmates, the beach and downtown Las Olas are about 15-20 minutes away. And of course if you're willing to drive a little bit more and/or deal with traffic, Miami is about 35-40 minutes away.

Cost: Expensive. I don't have an exact figure on me but NSU is notoriously pricey. There's a survey somewhere out there by US News ranking the top medical schools where graduating students have the most debt. If I remember correctly NSU was in the top 5.

Faculty: M1- faculty is good, most are decent lecturers. The professors for some subjects, like biochem, teach under the College of Medical Sciences instead of the College of Osteopathic Medicine. This makes it hard for the COM to implement changes w/ regards to the course since they can't really do anything about it, at least that’s what we were told my M1 year. It’s not that big of a deal. Only a handful of the professors aren’t good at teaching, but they’re still brilliant. NSU has an open door policy where if you don’t understand a concept, you can always swing by the professor’s office to ask questions and get some clarification. All the professors are also pretty quick with email. I’ve never had a problem getting in touch with a professor or reaching out to them for help. Lots of the faculty members also do research. Most of the people I know that got involved in research projects actually met their PI through one of our M1 classes.

M2- Most, if not all of the professors are physicians so they drop lots of great clinical pearls while lecturing which makes the subject material more interesting and engaging. I believe a lot of them also have privileges at the major hospitals that NSU students rotate at. As such, teaching is a passion of theirs and you can tell when they lecture. A lot of them also emphasize topics on boards and they’ll make it a point to talk about it more in depth. After taking the COMLEX I can tell you that there were a bunch of things that I remembered partially because those professors emphasized it so much during class and on their exams. I thought the professors we had as M2s were all fantastic.

Reputation: NSU is pretty well known with a good reputation. I get good feedback from my patients, residents, and attendings when I tell them I go to NSU. Even lay people know about NSU-COM. Large network of alumni and the program itself has been around for decades.

Clinical Rotations: In my opinion, probably the biggest pro about Nova. We have 14 in-state core sites and many of them are statutory teaching hospitals with a multitude of affiliated residency and fellowship programs. Tons of patient exposure and tons of pathology. If you want the big hospital feel and work alongside residents and attendings on a team, then you will definitely get that here. However, if you’re looking for one-on-one with an attending with no residents or other students, you’ll also get that here if you end up at one of the community hospitals for your core site.

Where you end up for rotations is based on a random lottery system and a rank list that you fill out. A majority of people get one of their top 3 choices. The school also assigns your schedule for you so you don't have to go about setting up third year by yourself.

With all that being said, you actually don’t spend all of M3 year at wherever your core is. You’ll most likely do your main rotations there, like IM or surgery. But other things like peds and EM will be done elsewhere. It’s completely random which rotations are done at your hospital and which aren’t so that part of it is unpredictable. The good thing is that if there’s a rotation you really wanted and one of your classmates has it, the school will let you switch.

Core rotations are as follows: Peds (2 months), FM (2 months), IM (3 months), Ob/Gyn (1 month), Surgery (2 months), Geriatrics (1 month), EM (1 month), Psych (1 month).

The month of July between M3 and M4 year is considered either an independent study month for Level 2/Step 2, or it can also be used as an audition rotation. There are 3 mandatory rural rotations you have to do as part of your M4 year. Two of these months are done at a community health center. Some people get assigned a site in Orlando, some people get a random place in Miami, and others get a place in between. It's really random. If you have to go far away for rurals the school will provide you with housing and a stipend. There's also a chance you'll get assigned your 2 months of community center rural rotations during the so-called "golden months" of M4 year in which case I don't think there's anything you can do except deal with it and try to work around it. One of the three rural rotations is considered a rural selective and can be done somewhere in the US. Some students use it as a type of audition rotation month. Another option is to use the rural selective as an opportunity to go abroad.

Housing: There’s an on-campus dorm called Rolling Hills about 3 blocks or so from the school. It’s only open to professional and graduate students. The units all come furnished and there’s a shuttle that comes by and takes people to and from various locations on both the HPD campus and the undergrad NSU campus.

There are also a bunch of apartments and condos around the school itself. Some students also live by the beach. Rent isn’t super expensive, but it’s not super cheap either. Living with classmates definitely cuts down the costs. My personal advice with apartments down here is to live on any floor except the 1st. Lots of strange bugs and creatures make their way into your place if you live on the ground floor.

Study areas: Most people study at the Health Professions Division Library. We share it with all the other HPD programs though, so it gets crowded during finals when it seems like every single program has an exam that week. I personally have never had a problem finding a cubicle there, even when it was packed. There’s also an adjacent building with 24/7 study rooms and two other large libraries on campus where students go to study. The Alvin Sherman Library is massive. I know some classmates that also choose to study at the University Center, probably because there’s a Starbucks there. If you know where to look, there are a lot of places to study.

Social Scene: I don’t really think I need to say much here. You have the beach and downtown Ft. Lauderdale less than 30 minutes away and Miami to the south. Other than going to bars and clubs, there are a bunch of art events and music festivals/concerts year round as well as some decent food and drink events. My class would usually go to Las Olas after a major exam and go down to Miami for special occasions. It’s a lot of fun, but I think it can be a negative in that some people get distracted and do poorly in classes. If you come to NSU, you need to be able to focus.

Local Hospitals: Big ones in Dade and Broward County are Palmetto General, Mt. Sinai, Broward Health, and Memorial. They’re 4 of 14 in-state rotation sites for students. There's some overlap with the University of Miami and FIU medical students but no issues have come up.

Board Prep: In M1 year, there’s a mandatory 2 hour class every Friday that’s supposed to help students think like a clinician. A professor usually presents a case for the first hour and we participate by asking appropriate questions with regards to the H&P, PMHx, FHx, SHx, etc. At the end of the first hour, they reveal what the diagnosis is. The second hour is then spent going into depth about the pathophys about whatever the patient was diagnosed with. Some people really like the class and other people don’t. I don’t think it’s a horrible thing but we get really antsy and impatient when there’s an exam on the immediate horizon.

M2 year you still have the mandatory 2 hour class on Fridays except now you have an additional 2 hours of board review immediately afterwards. It’s basically 2 hours of one of the professors going through a ton of board questions. I want to point out that most of the questions aren’t really board-quality. They're pretty short and are only really good for drilling some facts and those knee-jerk diagnoses when given a certain set of symptoms. Again, some people really like it, and others don’t.

At the end of 1st semester, the school distributes First Aid for the USMLE books to the M2s M1s. Everyone also gets access to the Doctors in Training (DIT) USMLE videos and their massive workbook. It’s a relatively new (and expensive) prep program. Most of my class liked it a lot so we were happy with it. We also get DIT for Level 2/Step 2.

The OMM department at NSU starts prepping you for the OMM portion of boards starting Day 1. As an M2, you’ll still be tested on M1 OMM material. It helps to keep everything fresh.

Specialty: We usually do pretty good with the match list. Below are the # of matches for some random specialties I picked for the class of 2015. More info on http://osteopathic.nova.edu/do/residency-board-scores.html.

Anesthesiology- 3
EM- 18
Rads- 8
Surgery and surgical subspecialties (general, neuro, ortho, ophtho, ENT & plastics) - 18

Grades: Grades are percentage for M1/M2 years and your numerical class rank is emailed out at the beginning of M2 year. Some classes are pass/fail. Grades for M3/M4 years are Fail/Pass/Honors.


Curriculum: B-. Needs some tweaking. Exams could be better written and be more board-like/actual board questions. Lecture content could be more streamlined especially during M1 year.
Location: A
Cost: C-
Faculty: A
Reputation: A+
Technology: B, only because sometimes there are recording issues. Something to mention is that how quickly the recordings are uploaded or fixed has to do with how good the AV captains for the class are. The ones for my class were awesome so even when something didn’t work, they were able to find the recording and have it online by the end of the day.
Study Space/Library: B+. Gets kind of crowded. Study rooms can only be checked out for 3 hours at a time. If someone is waiting you have to give up your room at the end of the 3 hours.
Library technology/Resources: B+. Sometimes the printers are down. Not a super huge deal though since there are a ton of printers on campus. We got about $60 worth of printer money for the year during M1 and slightly more for M2 year. Lots of people ran out of printer money and had to use their own funds. We get access to a lot of major medical journals and online medical resources through the library, so that's nice.
Rotations: A+
Social: A+
Hospitals: A+
Post Grad: A+

Overall Grade: A-

I’m happy with my education so far. I’ve met a lot of Nova grads on rotations and they know their stuff. I'm glad I decided to go here. I'm learning a lot and I've met a lot of cool people along the way. PM me with questions.

 

[mydogiscool]

I'm going to quote what I wrote in the 'pros/cons of your DO school' thread below since it has a lot of info about nsu. If you're wondering, the thread is in the osteo forum

This is incredibly helpful. Thank you so much!

 

[Bellafiore]

Complete in early July and haven't heard a thing. I called admissions today and they said I'm "under review" ... I wonder if this is a bad sign.

I'm on the same boat >.< so don't worry ... Together we'll be ok lol ... I at least still have a little hope >.<

 

[Bellafiore]

I've been complete since early July and just called their office yesterday. Staff were very friendly yet told be that my application is in line to be reviewed and that all I can really do is wait. I guess it's just a long waiting game.

What phone number did you call?

 

[LuluLovesMe]

Does anyone know how fast the class fills up here? Is it too late to send a secondary with a 72 LizzyM?

 

[GoShawks]

Hey guys, is the letter of intent due on the same date as the deposit or can it be sent later on? Also was anyone sent the "additional materials" that the counselor mentioned in the acceptance letter (dress code policy, etc).

 

[Thoracic Bean]

What phone number did you call?

Their admissions office number, which I believe is 1 (877) 640-0218

 

[docisthegoal]

Does Nova use PBL?

 

[mydogiscool]

Anyone know about how much they are overestimating on the cost of attendance? The off campus and on campus cost are 95,270 and 88613, respectively. Do you really need to draw about that much?? Or can we do fine with $85000?

 

[AMPLITUDER]

Anyone know about how much they are overestimating on the cost of attendance? The off campus and on campus cost are 95,270 and 88613, respectively. Do you really need to draw about that much?? Or can we do fine with $85000?

You should be fine. I think they factor in the books which is a ton of money which you will not have to buy. The way I did it was I looked for a place first and then borrowed accordingly. Higher rent = more to borrow

Also, go Heat.

 

[mspeedwagon]

I responded to your via PM, but will do so publicly as well in case other people are looking for this answer.
- I recommend getting a nice 1 bedroom apartment. These go for 1200-1400. The most expensive I've seen is about 1600.
- For books and med supplies, you don't need 8k+. I bought a physiology txt book and another book for $50 each. Most get by with no books. The medical equipment is $600 and an iPad (64GB) is $500 or so. I'd say $2k at most to cover these things.

Schools overestimate their budge to make sure you don't run out of cash. If I think about real expenses... you basically give a check shy of $20k to the school three times a yr (this includes health insurance and any other school fees). After that, it's basically the lifestyle you want. I think it's realistic to live on $80k total.

Anyone know about how much they are overestimating on the cost of attendance? The off campus and on campus cost are 95,270 and 88613, respectively. Do you really need to draw about that much?? Or can we do fine with $85000?

 

[DGD4L]

II yesterday! OOS, complete since July 8th

 

[csivet21]

II yesterday! OOS, complete since July 8th

Yea that makes me hopeful! I've been complete since July also. Still waiting on II though.

 

[DrBoston]

Received an ii. Complete 10/5. Will not be going.
Hope it goes to someone who really wants it, good luck.

 

[AwayFromReality]

Any current students know if it is easy/difficult to switch rotations with another student, especially if you end up with one your last choices? I know the school allows switching spots but are the students receptive to switching?

 

[nutelly]

Currently deciding between midwestern AZ and NSU. I loved both schools, but I'm really interested in NSU's DO/MPH program - anyone know anything or have experience with that?

 

[NekoBeats]

Any current students know if it is easy/difficult to switch rotations with another student, especially if you end up with one your last choices? I know the school allows switching spots but are the students receptive to switching?

Really just depends what you end up with, and what other people are willing to give up. For the most part it works out okay. I say 'for the most part' because someone will get #240th pick, it's just a fact. The good news is that you can do something like a 5-way switch if that's what it takes for everyone to be satisfied.

Currently deciding between midwestern AZ and NSU. I loved both schools, but I'm really interested in NSU's DO/MPH program - anyone know anything or have experience with that?

I'm not in it, but I know a bunch of people who are. I'll tell you the little information that I know- the classes are usually at night and most are mandatory. You have a separate set of midterm/final exams and there are some projects/presentations mixed in. You're supposed to complete your final project by the end of your M2 year. There are also some online assignments that you have to do. It seems like half the people I know that did it really liked it and the other half regretted it because it took time away from studying for medical school classes. I'm not sure if they continue to do anything during the clinical years.

Anyone in the dual degree program feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[mspeedwagon]

I have yet to hear any of the M3s I met complain about where they ended up. Seems like most are thrilled, happy or tolerating it. I've probably only interacted with around a dozen or so M3s at most since they aren't on-campus.

Here is a review posted to the class page of the MPH:
You don't apply/start the program until second semester your 1st year, so you can get an idea of just your med school work load and whether you think you can handle MPH as well. You take around 2 courses a semester. For the first two years, it's on-campus at night, 2 nights a week. For 3rd and 4th year, everything is online. You graduate in 4 years and because you do the DO/MPH, the cost is subsidized.

 

[mspeedwagon]

Hi All, sorry for posting back to back. I got a number of PMs and want to clarify a few things to make them clear. You can PM if you had other questions.
1. The decision of where to attend school is a personal one. Nova may be a perfect fit for you or it may not be. Sadly, I can't tell you the answer. Only you know (or, if not, you'll find out when you attend school).
2. Is Nova a good school? Yes. Could it be better? Absolutely. But, this is likely true of any school out there.
3. The reason I said that faculty being outside of COM matters is that I have found Nova is slow to be able to change things (it looks like the first year has been the same for many yrs). My SO went to another school and they had constant meetings about their curriculum and things were changed quickly. I haven't seen that rapid change at Nova. That said, your faculty after first year are all COM. So 75% of the time you are dealing with COM faculty.
4. Many of my frustrations with Nova were specific to being a member of the Class of 2019. If you are 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2020, you haven't/won't experience these. Having physiology and micro together has been hell. I would have deferred a year to avoid the combo. But, no other class will experience this. And, hopefully exams will never have answers marked again and have to be abruptly re-scheduled.
5. For those wondering, we have ZERO interaction with undergrads. We barely have interaction with people in HPD that aren't DO students.
6. Finally, evaluate schools based on what they offer that best fits your needs (and, no, I don't mean weather and location 😛). And, don't trust one persons opinion.

If you end up at Nova, I look forward to seeing you next year. If you choose to go elsewhere, good luck to you. I want people to be successful and happy wherever they end up, Nova or elsewhere. Keep the PMs coming. I can definitely answer general questions (places to eat, places to stay if you come for an interview and the like) and good luck!

 

[AvrgPreMedKid]

Hi All, sorry for posting back to back. I got a number of PMs and want to clarify a few things to make them clear. You can PM if you had other questions.
1. The decision of where to attend school is a personal one. Nova may be a perfect fit for you or it may not be. Sadly, I can't tell you the answer. Only you know (or, if not, you'll find out when you attend school).
2. Is Nova a good school? Yes. Could it be better? Absolutely. But, this is likely true of any school out there.
3. The reason I said that faculty being outside of COM matters is that I have found Nova is slow to be able to change things (it looks like the first year has been the same for many yrs). My SO went to another school and they had constant meetings about their curriculum and things were changed quickly. I haven't seen that rapid change at Nova. That said, your faculty after first year are all COM. So 75% of the time you are dealing with COM faculty.
4. Many of my frustrations with Nova were specific to being a member of the Class of 2019. If you are 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2020, you haven't/won't experience these. Having physiology and micro together has been hell. I would have deferred a year to avoid the combo. But, no other class will experience this. And, hopefully exams will never have answers marked again and have to be abruptly re-scheduled.
5. For those wondering, we have ZERO interaction with undergrads. We barely have interaction with people in HPD that aren't DO students.
6. Finally, evaluate schools based on what they offer that best fits your needs (and, no, I don't mean weather and location 😛). And, don't trust one persons opinion.

If you end up at Nova, I look forward to seeing you next year. If you choose to go elsewhere, good luck to you. I want people to be successful and happy wherever they end up, Nova or elsewhere. Keep the PMs coming. I can definitely answer general questions (places to eat, places to stay if you come for an interview and the like) and good luck!

Damn. Some hot undergrads there. =/

 

[mspeedwagon]

I already have my sexy, sweet and wonderful woman. That said, there are some ridiculously hot people at Nova. I haven't found the undergrads all that approachable though.

Tip: there is a large window at the basketball court that overlooks the pool. You can stare at rock hard abs and girls in bikinis all day. Granted, you'd probably flunk out.

But, again, you are here for a purpose. Don't let any of that cloud your judgement 😛

Damn. Some hot undergrads there. =/

 

[Teioh]

I already have my sexy, sweet and wonderful woman. That said, there are some ridiculously hot people at Nova. I haven't found the undergrads all that approachable though.

Tip: there is a large window at the basketball court that overlooks the pool. You can stare at rock hard abs and girls in bikinis all day. Granted, you'd probably flunk out.

But, again, you are here for a purpose. Don't let any of that cloud your judgement 😛

legit

 

[GoShawks]

Damn. Some hot undergrads there. =/

I'm not sure about undergrad/grad interactions at the school itself, but I went to Las Olas after my interview for drinks and ran into a lot of undergrads from Nova and surrounding schools. I'm sure you'll be fine 😉

 

[mspeedwagon]

Yes, with all that free time in med school you'll have to drive to Los Olas to pick-up girls 😛.

My advice is find a single hot girl in the Auditorium where first yr classes are held... that way you'll see her.

I'm not sure about undergrad/grad interactions at the school itself, but I went to Las Olas after my interview for drinks and ran into a lot of undergrads from Nova and surrounding schools. I'm sure you'll be fine 😉

 

[psychic_hearts]

Necko, I was wondering- are the 3rd/4th years given a number grade or just pass/honors/high honors. also are there any sites you recommend from hearsay as being easier than others. Thanks a lot for all your help on here!

 

[AvrgPreMedKid]

Looking at the rates for living in the area, it seems like the 4 bedroom in Rolling Hills C is the cheapest option, including off-campus locations. It actually seems like on-campus housing in general is cheaper than off campus. Who's thinking about a themed Quad at Rolling Hills C?

 

[GoShawks]

Yes, with all that free time in med school you'll have to drive to Los Olas to pick-up girls 😛.

My advice is find a single hot girl in the Auditorium where first yr classes are held... that way you'll see her.

I feel like dating people in your class is a horrible idea haha. You have to see them for the next two years at least.

 

[mspeedwagon]

I guess it depends what you are looking for. If you are looking for a true relationship, there are a lot of talented young people of the opposite sex (granted, most of them will be relationships, but there is a good mix of single people). They share your schedule and stress levels and you will see them. They can double as a study partner and you'll want at least one class friend to practice OPP and clinical skills with (but date within your group. Class is divided into Group A and Group B and schedules may conflict it you are opposite groups). If I were single, I would definitely consider dating my classmates.

If you want a hook-up, then maybe going away from the class might be best. Actually, it's certainly best otherwise it might be an awkward two years.

But, don't delude yourself. You are not going to be going to Los Olas other than maybe, at most, three times in the semester and that includes the one time you have to go for the Humanism class. There is a place in Davie with a lot of hot (albeit redneck) women called Cowboys and Boots. You'll barely have time to go there, but that may be easier to get to than Los Olas. I recommend learning some line dances first though.

I feel like dating people in your class is a horrible idea haha. You have to see them for the next two years at least.

 

[AvrgPreMedKid]

Will you be at our orientation, @mspeedwagon ?

 

[tuxdin]

I was wondering if anyone could give me a better idea of the more recent average stats that matriculants have here. The most recent profile on NSU-COM'S website:
Class of 2017
51% in-state; 49% out-of-state
Avg Undergrad GPA 3.49
Avg Science GPA 3.40
Avg MCAT: 28

 

[GoShawks]

I was wondering if anyone could give me a better idea of the more recent average stats that matriculants have here. The most recent profile on NSU-COM'S website:
Class of 2017
51% in-state; 49% out-of-state
Avg Undergrad GPA 3.49
Avg Science GPA 3.40
Avg MCAT: 28

My MCAT was a 28 and GPA was 3.6 cum, 3.7 science

 

[NekoBeats]

Necko, I was wondering- are the 3rd/4th years given a number grade or just pass/honors/high honors. also are there any sites you recommend from hearsay as being easier than others. Thanks a lot for all your help on here!

M3-M4 is pass/fail/honors, no numerical grade. Your class rank is pretty much set after M2 year.

Easier as in w/ regards to the evaluations? There's too much variability with who you're going to get to really give you any insight. Each hospital has easy attendings and hard attendings. Lots of luck involved and how good your work ethic and/or common sense are. There's isn't a hospital that's known for easier grading- I'm sure the ranking would have been much more skewed if that were the case. The most popular sites are usually Broward County, Mount Sinai, Memorial, and maybe Palmetto.

 

[jta7]

Is it possible to study at NSU-COM without a vehicle?

 

[AMPLITUDER]

Is it possible to study at NSU-COM without a vehicle?

You should be fine m1 and m2 year but will probably need one m3 and m4 when you start your rotations. It's nice having one but if you live at rolling hills, the shuttle takes you to school, grocery store, and Las Olas on Fridays.

 

[GoShawks]

I guess it depends what you are looking for. If you are looking for a true relationship, there are a lot of talented young people of the opposite sex (granted, most of them will be relationships, but there is a good mix of single people). They share your schedule and stress levels and you will see them. They can double as a study partner and you'll want at least one class friend to practice OPP and clinical skills with (but date within your group. Class is divided into Group A and Group B and schedules may conflict it you are opposite groups). If I were single, I would definitely consider dating my classmates.

If you want a hook-up, then maybe going away from the class might be best. Actually, it's certainly best otherwise it might be an awkward two years.

But, don't delude yourself. You are not going to be going to Los Olas other than maybe, at most, three times in the semester and that includes the one time you have to go for the Humanism class. There is a place in Davie with a lot of hot (albeit redneck) women called Cowboys and Boots. You'll barely have time to go there, but that may be easier to get to than Los Olas. I recommend learning some line dances first though.

Appreciate the response, however I have several friends at Nova's medschool as well as their dental school who are actually single. Almost everyone has told me that it is very clique-y and almost high school like. You see the same people every day. They all suggested that dating within the class is a bad idea. I'm not sure if you partake but from what I hear from people I know that go to the school, a lot of the younger crowd goes to Las Olas after tests. I think there is even a shuttle that goes there every Friday. Obviously there will be a lot more studying in medical school than undergrad, but with proper time management I'm sure you can find the time to go out every once in a while. You will burn out if you don't unwind.

 

[mspeedwagon]

I may be. I may not be. I have no idea.

Will you be at our orientation, @mspeedwagon ?

My stats are identical. Seems like most people have MCATs 26-30 and GPAs around 3.5.

My MCAT was a 28 and GPA was 3.6 cum, 3.7 science

Maybe if you live in Rolling Hills it might be possible. But, likely no. I would NOT recommend it at all. All the people who say yes it's possible tend to have a vehicle and have not really tried to live without a car. I tried it and it TOTALLY sucks. I filled out a form saying I didn't have a car and got IGC (physician shadowing) an hour away. You can't change this assignment (I tried really hard since I didn't have a car). If someone else is assigned to your site, you may be able to get a ride (I was the only one at my site). I had to scramble. Getting to the grocery can also be a pain and you'd live on Shark Shuttle schedule, which isn't super reliable. Imho, don't even consider coming here without a car. It'll cause a lot of anxiety you don't need. Need to go to Walmart (car trip), Target (car trip), Publix (car trip), Trader Joes (car trip)... hell, even HPD to Don Taft or main library (long walk or car trip). There is ample parking everywhere on campus for a reason. Is it technically possible to live without a car? Yes, but in the words of Chris Rock, "you can drive a bus with your feet if you want to, but that don't make it a good ****ing idea."

Is it possible to study at NSU-COM without a vehicle?

I agree, you see the same people every day. However, if med students are going on said shuttle and partying on Los Olas every wknd, we must be talking about different schools. But, yes, I do partake and so far there have been three times I've been on a school shuttle to go to Los Olas. Two were organized party nights and one was the art museum experience for Humanism. I'd imagine we might have one more after finals. We did also go on a cruise before the school yr started, but that seems like a lifetime ago now. There are a handful of days you'll get to go out, but it's not like college.

Appreciate the response, however I have several friends at Nova's medschool as well as their dental school who are actually single. Almost everyone has told me that it is very clique-y and almost high school like. You see the same people every day. They all suggested that dating within the class is a bad idea. I'm not sure if you partake but from what I hear from people I know that go to the school, a lot of the younger crowd goes to Las Olas after tests. I think there is even a shuttle that goes there every Friday. Obviously there will be a lot more studying in medical school than undergrad, but with proper time management I'm sure you can find the time to go out every once in a while. You will burn out if you don't unwind.

 

[pinkpanda18]

If you guys have questions about NSU, I'm an M3 and can answer things boards and rotations related. Just take everything I say with a grain of salt. As for perspective on what it's like being a student here, I have a blog I started when I was an M1 that I update at least once a month. It should be in my signature. Good luck to those that have interviews and congrats to those accepted!

Edit: Apparently not everyone can see the blog link in my signature. https://howaboutasecondopinion.wordpress.com

Do you remember how long it took after your secondary was submitted for them to send you an interview request?

 

[NekoBeats]

Do you remember how long it took after your secondary was submitted for them to send you an interview request?

3 months- Complete in August, interview invite in November

 

[AvrgPreMedKid]

Having a tough time deciding between here and LECOM-B. At first, I thought it was a no-brainer, and I was set on Nova. However, I have been considering the tuition and cost of living differences for the areas (tuition - 50k/yr for Nova, 30k/yr for LECOM). Also, I feel like LECOM makes up for its questionable rotations by having top board scores, and Nova's excellent rotations are balanced by its first year not being taught specifically for medical school. Match lists don't seem to be significantly different, either.

 

[gatoS2K]

Got the weirdest letter in the mail from Nova today. I was complete at the beginning of July and got the phone call from them verifying I was complete. Since then, I have not received any emails or letters or any sort of communication. I just assumed I was still under consideration/review since there is no real way to check your status on the portal. Anyways...the letter says:

"Since there has been no activity in your Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine admissions file and you have not communicated with us, we are withdrawing your file from our records. Thank you for your initial interest in Nova Southeastern University and we wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors."

I'm pretty confused?! Has anyone else gotten this letter? Double checked all email and spam folders and have not received any communication from them whatsoever. I plan to call first thing on Monday. Too bad its a weekend today! Hoping this letter was an error of some sort.

 

[yellowbluegreen]

Anyone know if NSUCOM offers note transcription so you don't have to record the lectures?

 

[AwayFromReality]

.

 

[AMPLITUDER]

Anyone know if NSUCOM offers note transcription so you don't have to record the lectures?

The lectures are all recorded and put online so you won't have to record them. Plus all of the teachers provide you with either powerpoint slides or note packets that covers everything that will be on the exam.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

 

[MidwesternGirl]

Anyone interview on or after Nov 5th heard back yet? They gave us til the 4th, but thought I'd ask!

 

[arredand]

Anyone interview on or after Nov 5th heard back yet? They gave us til the 4th, but thought I'd ask!

Nothing yet on my end; the anxiety is real!

 

[awd222]

Anybody who interviewed Nov 5th hear anything? I literally can't sleep over this!!!