NSU-COM Discussion Thread 2011-2012

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i just updated my aacomas info, i have a 3.53 sci gpa (3.6 overall) and 28 mcat (10 bio 10 ps 8 verbal) so should i wait til next cycle to apply early or apply now?
 
LastPolarBear said:
Do you have a third science letter? That could count as a liberal arts.
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So, I have two science faculty + MD letter + Research professor letter + physical therapist letter. I am not sure if any of these letters will count toward a liberal arts professor...

Is it too late to apply? or I can't apply here by not meeting the letter requirement?
 
WaterDragon said:
So, I have two science faculty + MD letter + Research professor letter + physical therapist letter. I am not sure if any of these letters will count toward a liberal arts professor...

Is it too late to apply? or I can't apply here by not meeting the letter requirement?
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I think they do allow people to interview without having all the letter requirements met. Also, you should be ok with your research professor letter and two science faculty. I believe they allow research letters to count as science faculty.
 
LastPolarBear said:
I think they do allow people to interview without having all the letter requirements met. Also, you should be ok with your research professor letter and two science faculty. I believe they allow research letters to count as science faculty.
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I will contact the admission office to make sure if these letters can substitute a liberal arts professor letter. Thanks.

Do you think it is late to apply now, though? I am thinking of adding LECOM-Erie...
 
A friend was asking me about NOVA and their approach to MCAT scores. He took the MCAT and his scores were good enough to send off his application to nova; however, he decided to retake the mcat and try to improve his scores. He sent off his primary, secondary and letters to nova. However, he just got his scores back and actually went down.🙁

Does anyone know what nova's process with looking at mcat scores and extending interviews is? For example, do they wait till you have updated your application with the new scores (he doesn't really want to) or do they consider your application as is and send you an interview (if you are lucky enough) and then you have to update your application after that. Fortunate for him, he has a good gpa.

Would greatly appreciate any info. Thanks!!
 
WaterDragon said:
I will contact the admission office to make sure if these letters can substitute a liberal arts professor letter. Thanks.

Do you think it is late to apply now, though? I am thinking of adding LECOM-Erie...
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I don't think it's too late. It's just not early.
 
LastPolarBear said:
I don't think it's too late. It's just not early.
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Did you add LMU-DCOM to your list?? I am thinking of adding this school instead of LECOM and NOVA. Because for both schools, most people are already accepted, so I don't want to risk so much money for fighting for less seats. I would rather choose the school which just stared to give out interview dates. What do you think?

Do you have any school to recommend to anyone who is thinking of adding few schools to the list??
 
WaterDragon said:
Did you add LMU-DCOM to your list?? I am thinking of adding this school instead of LECOM and NOVA. Because for both schools, most people are already accepted, so I don't want to risk so much money for fighting for less seats. I would rather choose the school which just stared to give out interview dates. What do you think?

Do you have any school to recommend to anyone who is thinking of adding few schools to the list??
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I'd still add LECOM and NOVA if you like them, because it really isn't that late in the game yet. NYCOM hasn't even handed out interviews yet, so maybe add that to your list.
 
accepted
cGPA 3.23 sGPA 3.09 grad school gpa 3.29 33Q, interviewed 9/8 good to luck to everyone else who interviewed with me!
 
Accepted today

3.5 ish c and s GPA. 29 MCAT

Interviewed 9/6

Complete around 7/9
 
Does anyone here have Anastasia's e-mail? I have a few questions, but maybe someone here could answer them also. Even though the curriculum is posted on their website, it doesn't say exactly how long each rotation is. Do we even get the chance to do an elective rotation 3rd year? And how exactly does the lottery system work? The reason why I ask about the electives is because in case we want to specialize (do anesthesiology for instance), I would think we would need a rotation in that field before applying for residency in the beginning of 4th year, and without any elective rotations 3rd, wouldn't this put us at a huge disadvantage?

Thanks guys!
 
xajtx said:
Does anyone here have Anastasia's e-mail? I have a few questions, but maybe someone here could answer them also. Even though the curriculum is posted on their website, it doesn't say exactly how long each rotation is. Do we even get the chance to do an elective rotation 3rd year? And how exactly does the lottery system work? The reason why I ask about the electives is because in case we want to specialize (do anesthesiology for instance), I would think we would need a rotation in that field before applying for residency in the beginning of 4th year, and without any elective rotations 3rd, wouldn't this put us at a huge disadvantage?

Thanks guys!
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[email protected]
 
Do they fee waive for the secondary application if you are granted AACOMAS Fee Waiver?
 
3.6cGPA, 3.3sGPA, 28Q MCAT

Interviewed 9/13

Complete at the end of June
 
Just got an interview invite for here this morning! Not even complete here yet but I submitted my secondary 9/21. Anyone else interviewing Nov 29?
 
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I was complete around mid-end of July and still haven't heard from them yet. Is it too early to send an update letter reiterating my interest? Not a letter of intent or anything, but just a "hey, still hoping to here from you, here are some of the new things i'm doing since my app was sent..."

What do you all think?
 
On my way to FLL now! Excited to meet everyone interviewing on Thursday! Good luck to all!
 
I don't seem to be getting a response from Anastasia, so I was hoping that a current M3 or M4 at NSU could answer these questions for me:

1. Even though the 3rd and 4th year curriculum is posted on the website, it doesn't say how long every rotation is. How long is each rotation exactly?

2. What are our options for the rural medicine selective? And how is a selective different from an elective? Where do we go for rural rotations? Also, do we change hospitals for each rotation or stay at one hospital for all of them?

3. As it appears on the website, all of our core rotations are done 3rd year and our entire 4th year is composed of electives. Is it possible to do some electives 3rd year, and if so, how many and for how long? The reason why I am concerned about this is because in case I should decide I want to specialize, or pursue something outside of primary care (anesthesiology for instance), I've read it's best to be able to do a rotation in your area of interest 3rd year so that when you apply for residency early 4th year you actually have a bit if knowledge and experience in that area. How do students obtain residencies in anesthesiology if they never experience it until after they put in their applications for residency?

4. I was hoping you could tell me how the lottery system works and what are students' chances of obtaining their first choice.

5. How many slots are there for the summer anatomy fellowship program? I'm assuming it is based on who performs the best in anatomy?

6. I am a CA resident and would like the option to go back to CA for residency. However, I noticed that very few students match into CA from NSU. I'm not sure if it's because they simply didn't apply or if it's because in general, medical school location = most likely location of residency...

7. I know it's a silly question but are mosquitoes a problem at NSU? I didn't notice anything when I interviewed but I just happen to be very allergic lol

Thank you so much for taking the time to answer all these questions! When I interviewed at NSU I got a great gut feeling and really loved the school. I would say aside from my gut instinct, the reason why I'm leaning towards NSU is because of the quality of clinical rotations sites (high caliber level 1 trauma center hospitals and wide variety of electives offered). But I want to be sure I'm making the right decision for myself and weigh all my options carefully. Thanks again in advance!
 
I've received acceptances from both LECOM-B and Nova this week. Due to LECOM's 30-day deposit rule, I need to make some sort of decision between the two schools so that I don't waste $1500. Anybody else in the same position as me, and do you have any thoughts about the two universities?
 
avril3 said:
I've received acceptances from both LECOM-B and Nova this week. Due to LECOM's 30-day deposit rule, I need to make some sort of decision between the two schools so that I don't waste $1500. Anybody else in the same position as me, and do you have any thoughts about the two universities?
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Nova gets my vote. Rotations are stronger and the campus just looks nicer.
 
avril3 said:
I've received acceptances from both LECOM-B and Nova this week. Due to LECOM's 30-day deposit rule, I need to make some sort of decision between the two schools so that I don't waste $1500. Anybody else in the same position as me, and do you have any thoughts about the two universities?
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Personally, I wouldn't go to LECOM-B unless you are absolutely sure that a nearly all PBL curriculum is for you. Majority of classes won't have lectures and students there have to be very independent, self-directed learners. This could either work to your advantage or disadvantage, but if you do choose LECOM-B, be prepared for tons of reading and individual learning. You will also have to do a lot of leg work in setting up your own rotations, but this could be a good or bad thing depending on how you look at it. The tuition is a huge pro though, so I think ultimately you have to weigh the pros and cons of each school. Factors that I am considering in choosing between med schools are tuition and estimated debt, location, quality of clinical rotations (which I think is VERY important), when electives are offered (better if you get to do some 3rd year if you want to pursue something outside of primary care), grading system, what the daily class schedule is like, curriculum, and the overall gut instinct you got about the school when interviewing there. One thing that really impressed me about NSU is the quality of clinical rotations (many hospitals are Level 1 trauma centers). My vote goes towards NSU, but if you can do PBL and money is a big factor for you, I can see why LECOM-B would also be appealing. Good luck and let us know what you decide!
 
Received acceptances from MSU COM last week and Nova this week.
 
xajtx said:
I don't seem to be getting a response from Anastasia, so I was hoping that a current M3 or M4 at NSU could answer these questions for me:

1. Even though the 3rd and 4th year curriculum is posted on the website, it doesn't say how long every rotation is. How long is each rotation exactly?

2. What are our options for the rural medicine selective? And how is a selective different from an elective? Where do we go for rural rotations? Also, do we change hospitals for each rotation or stay at one hospital for all of them?

3. As it appears on the website, all of our core rotations are done 3rd year and our entire 4th year is composed of electives. Is it possible to do some electives 3rd year, and if so, how many and for how long? The reason why I am concerned about this is because in case I should decide I want to specialize, or pursue something outside of primary care (anesthesiology for instance), I've read it's best to be able to do a rotation in your area of interest 3rd year so that when you apply for residency early 4th year you actually have a bit if knowledge and experience in that area. How do students obtain residencies in anesthesiology if they never experience it until after they put in their applications for residency?

4. I was hoping you could tell me how the lottery system works and what are students' chances of obtaining their first choice.

5. How many slots are there for the summer anatomy fellowship program? I'm assuming it is based on who performs the best in anatomy?

6. I am a CA resident and would like the option to go back to CA for residency. However, I noticed that very few students match into CA from NSU. I'm not sure if it's because they simply didn't apply or if it's because in general, medical school location = most likely location of residency...

7. I know it's a silly question but are mosquitoes a problem at NSU? I didn't notice anything when I interviewed but I just happen to be very allergic lol

Thank you so much for taking the time to answer all these questions! When I interviewed at NSU I got a great gut feeling and really loved the school. I would say aside from my gut instinct, the reason why I'm leaning towards NSU is because of the quality of clinical rotations sites (high caliber level 1 trauma center hospitals and wide variety of electives offered). But I want to be sure I'm making the right decision for myself and weigh all my options carefully. Thanks again in advance!
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I would like to know this too. Especially #3
 
Just got into my hotel. Interviewing 9/29...tomorrow morning. I am very nervous but from the sound of everyone who has already interviewed, the more relaxed the better! See you all there tomorrow! 😀
 
Does anyone know how much tuition will be for the Class of 2016? I know in 2011 it was 44k so I'm just curious how much it has gone up. Is it also true that we can expect tuition costs to rise 10% every year?
 
ILikeFood said:
My schedule:
3rd year (July 2011-June 2012): 3 months of IM, 2 months of General Surgery, 1 month of OB/Gyn, 2 months of FM, 2 months of Peds, 1 month of Psych, 1 month of Geriatrics

4th year I have 2 months of rurals in September and October (right in the MIDDLE of audition months) and 1 month of EM at my core hospital in January.

To switch schedules with someone I would have to switch my ENTIRE schedule with theirs. There a number of different core tracks associated with different hospitals. Some tracks, like Mount Sinai, have 3rd year students going all over the place. Some tracks, like Bethesda and Palmetto, have you inpatient 9 months and outpatient 3 months. 4th year is entirely up to you, apart from the 2 months of rurals and 1 month of EM.

There is NO elective time 3rd year. Therefore if I wanted to do Anesthesiology for example, I would have to schedule elective rotations July and August of my 4th year (right after 3rd year finishes. Remember that the earliest ERAS can be submitted is September 1st of 4th year). July is open for everyone. It is used as Step 2 studying time or elective time.

Two months of rural rotations were assigned to me. They can be anywhere in Florida. I requested that I stay in S. Florida and was assigned to some clinic in Kendall. (South South South Miami). The selective is something I choose. I hear it's quite flexible with the definition of "rural/underserved." Therefore I don't think a rotation back in Cali is out of the question.


The lottery system works like this, from what I remember: The hospitals come oncampus and do a presentation 2nd year of November. You have a chance to ask questions about each hospital system. You submit a rank list in early January and receive your placement at the end of January. The chances of you getting 1st choice are SUPPOSEDLY high, but you have remember that it is a LOTTERY and NOTHING IS GUARANTEED, regardless of what the administration tells you. I'm sure this is a especially bitter fact for the two people who were placed in that ****hole hospital in Naples.















5. No idea. You interview for the spots and some are given a paid spot, and some are given a volunteer spot. Not everyone gets it and those who see it through can charge $30/hr to the income 1st years if they choose to tutor them.

6. A variety of reasons, some of which may be medical school location. I'm from California myself and there are only 3-4 other people that I know in my class that are also from California.

7. I don't know, I spend more time inside than out to be honest.



I read this as a guideline and typed out the answers afterwards. He's very on the mark about the right questions to ask.
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showpost.php?p=1178185&postcount=1

I am relatively happy at my hospital (Palmetto General Hospital). Very little scut, decent to great teaching, decent to great hands-on experience, and a good variety of patients with 60% of it being bread and butter pathology. From what I HEAR, Broward General gets more of the crazy path.



BUT, what irks me is that I never took into account the PRIMARY CARE focus. NSU wants to graduate primary care doctors and that is why there are no electives 3rd year and that BULL**** rural rotation. It should be MY CHOICE whether to enter PRIMARY CARE or not. The school charges $44,000 a year (and rising each year), I highly doubt FP/IM/Peds pays that type of debt off faster than specialists can. Therefore, if you decide to matriculate here you will be faced with more OBSTACLES if you want to specialize. You CAN specialize because there are opportunities 4th year to do elective rotations, but you aren't exposed to it as early as students at other medical schools.

Also there is this idiotic mandatory attendance M1/M2 year. Dean Silvagni always says the same thing to all incoming students, about some case he was able to solve because of one slide he remembered during preclinical. Newsflash, people learn in a variety of different ways. Some would prefer not to sit in a darkened room while an awful professor mumbles his crap into the microphone. Some professors should learn some ****ing English before they lecture.

M1 year is awful in that sense because this is the year with ****tiest collection of professors. MANY don't allow Video/Audio recording, and then give out **** notes with their **** lectures. You're also scared about the attendance policy because you're new to the school, so you're forcing yourself to sit through that crap.

M2 year is awesome in comparison. No complaints. 50% can be attributed to the more relevant material. 50% can be attributed to the efforts of my classmates, who recorded almost EVERY lecture, and who ran a noteservice for EVERY lecture.



The administration is helpful, but in dealing with them you have to understand that they have a school mission to carry out and that is MANDATORY attendance and rotations that produce PRIMARY CARE doctors. There are also a select few admin that are an embarrassment to humanity and whose small brains are worth their value in dirt. That's not saying you can't work around it because many graduates have, you just have to be aware of it.
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Thanks so much for the response! How many credits are you taking M1 year? Is your schedule basically 9-5 everyday?
 
xajtx said:
Thanks so much for the response! How many credits are you taking M1 year? Is your schedule basically 9-5 everyday?
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Also, one can still choose to specialize after going into internal medicine, correct? Say in gastroenterology or nephrology...it would just take longer to get there than going into another field like anesthesia, right?
 
Would I personally come to this school again? I think it blows all other DO schools out of the water, but had I received an MD school acceptance, no ****ING WAY.
 
xajtx said:
Thanks so much for the response! How many credits are you taking M1 year? Is your schedule basically 9-5 everyday?
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Yes. You will learn how to deal with it. 32 credits I think?


xajtx said:
Also, one can still choose to specialize after going into internal medicine, correct? Say in gastroenterology or nephrology...it would just take longer to get there than going into another field like anesthesia, right?
Click to expand...

Yes, but that's assuming you enjoy internal medicine.
 
ILikeFood said:
Would I personally come to this school again? I think it blows all other DO schools out of the water, but had I received an MD school acceptance, no ****ING WAY.
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Why NSU over other DO schools?
 
As far as the M1 stuff goes, we got away with only 27.5 credits or some such this year. It's still a whole heck of a lot and we work harder than people at a lot of other schools (MD included). Our schedule right now is typically 8-12 MTF, and 8-4 WTh for labs. I came in ready for this and already knew that I am a class guy. Still true, despite the stuff that Food said. At the worst it's an hour of being forced to study and I'm cool with that. M1 is really hard but I don't think that part is any different than other schools even though I do get frustrated with some of what sometimes seem like "extra" classes we take in addition to core sciences. I'm still glad I came here and I also came here over a handful of other DO schools and would do it again in a heartbeat.
 
xajtx said:
Why NSU over other DO schools?
Click to expand...

Good clinicals compared to other schools, big school with lots of faculty (HPD is enormous), big network of associated residency programs, and I came from the northeast so removing the distraction of weather seemed like a great idea (so far so good and it's not even winter yet). Also the match list is historically quite good and they have alumni absolutely everywhere. Find me a city in the US and I bet I can find a Nova grad practicing there.

EDIT: Community! It was only somewhat clear before I came but the DO students really look out for each other. M2s hand down old tests to M1s, we share flashcards, notes, study qs, all sorts of stuff with each other online. I haven't met a gunner yet (I'm a little suspicious about one or two... :ninja: ) and while we compete against the average we don't directly compete with each other.
 
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Should I be concerned about possibly not being able to rotate through an elective of my choosing in the beginning of my 4th year? I have read a little bit about this and I'm not sure what to think? What are the chances of being forced to do the rural requirement during that time period?
 
aacmd said:
should i be concerned about possibly not being able to rotate through an elective of my choosing in the beginning of my 4th year? i have read a little bit about this and i'm not sure what to think? what are the chances of being forced to do the rural requirement during that time period?
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1. No

2. In July, none. July is free for everyone.
 
ILikeFood said:
1. No

2. In July, none. July is free for everyone.
Click to expand...
So it seems I was worried for nothing! I mean as long as we are able to rotate through the elective of our choice before residency applications are due then I couldn't care less about the rural rotation requirement.

Does NSU set you up with your electives 4th year the way they do 3rd? How feasible is it to get the elective of your choice in July? And are the 4th year electives at the same core rotation sites?
 
I know people have already given a synopsis of interview day but I thought I could reassure anyone having any doubts about NSU's interview day. From the time I arrived I felt very comfortable, welcomed, taken care of, etc. All of the other interviewees were nice and talkative. Anastasia was a comic relief and just really cool in general...she was very particular about answering any questions we had and to make sure we were calm and comfortable. Dr. Whitehead came in and spoke with us giving us information about the school in general and what to expect...very honest and candid. After that we were split into two groups. While one group interviewed, the other was lead by current DO students around the health professions building on a mini-tour. The interview was great (for me at least): calm, relaxing, like a conversation.

The thing that surprised me most about this school was it's size and look. I almost felt like I was at a resort! 😎 Taking the optional campus tour at the end of the day actually made me want to go here even more. The gym, the living areas, the student commons, libraries, etc really drew me in. I thought that this part should have been mandatory..honest!

Would love to go to this school :xf:
 
Does NSU set you up with your electives 4th year the way they do 3rd?
NO

How feasible is it to get the elective of your choice in July?
If you can set it up, it's yours to do.

And are the 4th year electives at the same core rotation sites?
Only if you want them to be
 
My dawg Ilikefood has explained quite nicely what goes on here at Nova. I'll further elaborate on what he's said. Rural rotations in Sept and Oct suck big time. If you were going to do primary care, it won't matter, all you need to do is pass and you are in. Specialties such as Anesthesia and EM won't be a problem either. However, if you are looking to do surgery or surgical subspecialties, you're totally ****ed. Surgery as a DO means as many audition rotations as you can. Most DO programs will not interview you if you didn't rotate, hence more audtions means more interviews. For those of you who don't know anything about audition rotations, in the DO surgery world, they start around July and go till end of october to mid november. To have sept/october for rurals blows if you were doing surgery. I have heard the same about DO Rads programs they they want you to rotate through. Just keep this in mind if you are looking in to any of these fields.

As for curriculum, M1 year is hard but very doable. M2 year is definitely harder, especially with the stress that comes with board studying. Anatomy department is awesome, so is Micro. Physio dept sucks, some D-bags teaching that course. The OPP guru Boesler is awesome. There are some bull**** classes you will have to sit through. Attendance is not an issue as long as you are passing all your classes, mine was probably less than 5%. **** hits the fan in spring of M2 year.

I am currently at Broward, I have seen some crazy pathology, Broward is a county hospital with loads of indigent patients. Most residents are great, some residents are POS and are on a power trip and need a reality check. 65 hour work week is about a normal work week at Broward. My OB/Gyn weeks were 90+ hours. I haven't even gotten to surgery yet.

Nova's push to pump out primary care docs is very real. I am interested in surgery and have already discussed this with the clinical ed department. They look at me like I am from some other planet. They will try and do everything they can to make sure you go Primary care. Expect no help whatsoever from the clinical Ed department if you are going for specialties.

Overall, I have mixed feelings about Nova, I declined my interviews at DMU and KCUMB once I got accepted here, stupid stupid stupid. If you can weather the winter up north, those schools are much better, many more resources. I was waitlisted at CCOM and a couple of MD schools, had any of those panned out, I wouldn't be attending NSUCOM.
 
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xajtx said:
So it seems I was worried for nothing! I mean as long as we are able to rotate through the elective of our choice before residency applications are due then I couldn't care less about the rural rotation requirement.

Does NSU set you up with your electives 4th year the way they do 3rd? How feasible is it to get the elective of your choice in July? And are the 4th year electives at the same core rotation sites?
Click to expand...
4th year is electives, meaning if you want to rotate at XYZ hospital in Timbuktu you can do it, you just call the hospital up and ask.
 
I personally don't have any gripes about being a DO, I don't give a **** what people think of it but this sudden explosion of new DO schools on the scene certainly dilutes our education. At the end of the day, my take home income will be what it would be of an MD in a given specialty, and for me thats the bottom line. I am kind of surprised to hear California being so anti-DO, given there are two DO schools. When I say I have mixed feelings about Nova, I mean that I am grateful for the opportunity given to me, however, I had options at the time which I didn't explore and thats where I the mixed feelings come from.

I really didn't pay attention to any clinical education when I was deciding what school to attend. I just thought that if I was gonna leave the home town, I might as well attend a school at a warm place, probably not the best way to choose schools. I had no idea about rural rotations or any thing of that sort. Also this sky rocketing tuition is very concerning, we'll all have to pay it back some day. I feel as long as the govt. will keep increasing the borrowing limit, schools will continue to raise tuition. Anyway, enough with my rant.
 
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