PCOM-GA Discussion Thread 2011-2012

[familyaerospace]

Thank you so much for posting those! Did you get an impression of how long of answers you needed to provide for each one? It seems like there's not much asked, so they would expect you to talk for 5-10 minutes... I don't want to ramble though.

You talk until you answer the question. If you can say it in a few sentences, then do that. If you take longer, then so be it.

My Why Medicine section basically recapped my personal statement so went on for a few minutes. Since that is how I created the statement it flowed as if I've told the story a thousand times which I have.

Why DO was short because I admitted that I didn't even KNOW about DOs until a DO was partially responsible for saving my life and I said a few words about him and said that since he did save me, maybe it was worth looking into so when I applied to medical schools I wanted at least one DO school represented.

Hobbies, I gave a few sentences (apparently the male interviewer knew someone who does reenactment too). Specialties, I mentioned that I've so far shadowed like 7 or 8 specialties and I mentioned a few I liked the best and gave one or two sentences about why. One interviewer knew about one of my weirder specialties (aerospace) and so I said a few more sentences on that since he mentioned needing an MPH.

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[rjelalam]

Congrats to all those that were accepted!

Got my letter yesterday.

They are holding my acceptance decision pending my January MCAT.

I'll be busting my butt for the next three months.

Hope to see you all in the fall.

Just out of curiosity, did they give you like a certain minimum score you needed to get this time around? Good luck!! I have all of the Kaplan materials from my class for sale if you're interested.

 

[familyaerospace]

The school is growing, but there is plenty of space. I am a first year and our class is not "squished" in anywhere. We have a large classroom that can accomodate everyone. I havent heard anyone complain of space issues yet

That's not what I heard from the people who lead the tour when I went. I have to admit, what they said did tend to cloud my view. Of course it probably helps that a lot of students simply don't come to class except to OMM.

 

[Manders]

Just out of curiosity, did they give you like a certain minimum score you needed to get this time around? Good luck!! I have all of the Kaplan materials from my class for sale if you're interested.

No, they didnt give me a minimum. But i emailed admissions and she specifically said physical sciences need to come up. I'm gonna make it happen. I currently have a lot of materials to study but Ill keep your Kaplan stuff mind. Thanks and Good Luck!

 

[MedicineMike]

That's not what I heard from the people who lead the tour when I went. I have to admit, what they said did tend to cloud my view. Of course it probably helps that a lot of students simply don't come to class except to OMM.

I mean, I don't know who is leading your tour but that couldn't be further from the truth. Our classroom is more than accommodating for everyone. Yes, some people don't come to class, and even if they did, it wouldnt matter. It's not like we have to fight for a seat in the classroom or anything. I mean do you really think there wouldnt be enough seats for everyone??? This isnt some under-funded inner city middle school with an overcrowding problem.

 

[familyaerospace]

I mean, I don't know who is leading your tour but that couldn't be further from the truth. Our classroom is more than accommodating for everyone. Yes, some people don't come to class, and even if they did, it wouldnt matter. It's not like we have to fight for a seat in the classroom or anything. I mean do you really think there wouldnt be enough seats for everyone??? This isnt some under-funded inner city middle school with an overcrowding problem.

If you want to get defensive be my guest. There were three students leading the tour. All said similar for their class and said work was going to be done to make several of the classrooms bigger to accommodate the larger size. I did see the classroom for the M1s. It did look rather small for 130-something people, in my experience. But hey if you guys can make it happen, more power to you. I found parking to be a bit of a pain in the butt and that is something that surely needs to be dealt with.

 

[LifeTake2]

I mean, I don't know who is leading your tour but that couldn't be further from the truth. Our classroom is more than accommodating for everyone. Yes, some people don't come to class, and even if they did, it wouldnt matter. It's not like we have to fight for a seat in the classroom or anything. I mean do you really think there wouldnt be enough seats for everyone??? This isnt some under-funded inner city middle school with an overcrowding problem.

Mike, relax a bit. The fact is the lecture rooms were used for a class of 90 originally and this year the class is 135.

I appreciate your feedback, and it matches another student I have spoken with. But the tour guides are not in agreement with you.

 

[jkhanh]

Our tour guides said it was gonna be interesting how they will be dealing with the classroom sizes since this years class increased, too.

 

[jkhanh]

Just got my letter also! Accepted!

 

[taylor26]

Got my acceptance letter yesterday..Congrats to all the others who got in yesterday as well. I'm super pumped about it now. I take some of the stuff back I said earlier about my first visit. I went by PCOM today because I was in the area and the atmosphere was great and for some reason just got excited about attending. I thought it fit a lot better the second time around seeing it. I am about 90% sure I will go now

 

[MedicineMike]

Mike, relax a bit. The fact is the lecture rooms were used for a class of 90 originally and this year the class is 135.

I appreciate your feedback, and it matches another student I have spoken with. But the tour guides are not in agreement with you.

Well, for one, you are completely wrong. The MS2 classrooms were the ones used for 90 people, and they are still used for that class. Our class is in a brand new classroom that is definitely big enough for our class. You may have been shown the MS2 classroom (as I was too on my tour last year).

 

[vandyam]

Congrats to all those who got accepted!!!! What an awesome feeling.

I know this may seem like a stupid question, but was the envelope thin or thick? Just trying to get an idea of what to expect, either way... kinda nervous, because I really like this school.

 

[jkhanh]

Congrats to all those who got accepted!!!! What an awesome feeling.

I know this may seem like a stupid question, but was the envelope thin or thick? Just trying to get an idea of what to expect, either way... kinda nervous, because I really like this school.

The envelope was kind of thick. The first 2 pages is your acceptance. The other few pages are on PCOM-GA's technical standards you have to read and sign that you meet it all, and the other few are on other stuff. I didn't even look through all of them yet lol.

 

[vandyam]

The envelope was kind of thick. The first 2 pages is your acceptance. The other few pages are on PCOM-GA's technical standards you have to read and sign that you meet it all, and the other few are on other stuff. I didn't even look through all of them yet lol.

Thanks a lot...I'll be looking for lots of papers here in a couple weeks. Super thin= bad. Good to know!

 

[familyaerospace]

I apologize on behalf of what was said to you by the biomeds. Yes, they were correct in saying that the school is expanding and is certainly more populated than last year, but unfortunately, saying that the school is "overcrowded" is both a bit of an exaggeration and misleading in nature. And seeing as how their classes are generally in the late afternoon/evening when most of the other programs have been dismissed, I'd take what you heard with a grain of salt.

My tour was given by osteopathic students. The guy was an M2, but I don't remember what year the two women were. I do know they all said they were osteopathic students and seemed to have a bit of a playful rivalry with pharmacy (which I found charming). The osteopathic courses run from around 8 am to 3 pm is what my notes say. I got there at about 11:30 am and was simply looking for the first parking space I saw.

Also, my tour saw the M1 classroom, not M2. I would have liked to see M2 in order to compare sizes.

The guides were also talking about eliminating some of the research lab space in order to expand other areas.

 

[Manders]

To those that have been accepted:

Do you mind sharing your stats? Also what were your MCAT subsection scores?

Muchos Gracias!

 

[komikos]

To those that have been accepted:

Do you mind sharing your stats? Also what were your MCAT subsection scores?

Muchos Gracias!

cPGA - 3.62
sGPA - 3.58
MCAT - 29 - 12PS/7VR/10BS

 

[jkhanh]

To those that have been accepted:

Do you mind sharing your stats? Also what were your MCAT subsection scores?

Muchos Gracias!

cGPA 3.77
sGPA 3.67

And I sadly have 3 MCAT attemps and never did that well lol.
24, 21, 26. I don't think PCOM-GA even officially received my 26, yet, but I told them it should be coming in and explained why I got the 21. For the 26, I got 10PS, 8VR, 8BS, L.

 

[LifeTake2]

To those that have been accepted:

Do you mind sharing your stats? Also what were your MCAT subsection scores?

Muchos Gracias!

cGPA 2.80 (Bachelors was a 2.56)
sGPA 3.09
MCAT: 11P/12V/11B--34

 

[taylor26]

Science GPA: 3.90
Overall: 3.78
MCAT:26
Small Private University

 

[Manders]

Thanks. What was your subsection breakdown for the MCAT?

Science GPA: 3.90
Overall: 3.78
MCAT:26
Small Private University

 

[rjelalam]

Does this school have a status page? I should be getting a complete email any day now, I assume if there is one you get the link in the email? Just being impatient! I hope the class isn't too full, this is my #1 school

 

[taylor26]

thanks. What was your subsection breakdown for the mcat?

vr-8, bs-9, ps-9

 

[familyaerospace]

Does this school have a status page? I should be getting a complete email any day now, I assume if there is one you get the link in the email? Just being impatient! I hope the class isn't too full, this is my #1 school

I didn't get a link to anything that told about status. I had an email that stated my stuff was received and another that invited me for an interview about 2 weeks later.

 

[komikos]

I didn't get a link to anything that told about status. I had an email that stated my stuff was received and another that invited me for an interview about 2 weeks later.

This.

 

[Manders]

Thanks for sharing!

vr-8, bs-9, ps-9

 

[whatageek]

Does this school have a status page? I should be getting a complete email any day now, I assume if there is one you get the link in the email? Just being impatient! I hope the class isn't too full, this is my #1 school

When I received the email that said GA-PCOM had received my secondary email, there was sign-in info and a link for me to check my status contained in that email. It wasn't anything flashy or interactive, just a list of required items with the date received beside each item.

 

[vandyam]

I interviewed today and figured I'd share for future interviewees about the day. Although I don't have much to add to previous experiences. I had an afternoon interview -- everyone arrived a little early. There were two of us from TN (Hi, UTKpremed) and 3 from FL. We toured the building (which they are expanding) with two MS-IIs and they were helpful answering our questions. Then we had lunch and they came in to get us to interview (2 interviewers to one of us) one at a time. The sim area was nice and definitely looked helpful. It was small (the school itself), but I liked that...it seemed very close-knit. There is a gym, a small library, classrooms, and study areas. They have a lot of clubs for different interest groups (i.e. surgery, EM, FM, etc) which seemed helpful/fun. There is currently no cafeteria service, but they have fast food/food carts that come by. The cirriculum seemed solid and the clinical rotation sites offered a lot of choice. Overall, I loved the city and the school....definitely my number one choice. My fingers (and toes!) are crossed hard.

They didn't say when the next admissions committee meeting was, but I'm going to call tomorrow to find out. Dr. Mitchell did say that I should have a decision within 3 weeks. However long it takes, I'm going to be nervous. The interview seemed to go well, but I was nervous (so talked a million miles an hour). And while they both smiled a lot, interviewers are always a little stoic, so you never know. Anyway, good luck to everyone interviewing soon!

 

[LifeTake2]

I interviewed today and figured I'd share for future interviewees about the day. Although I don't have much to add to previous experiences. I had an afternoon interview -- everyone arrived a little early. There were two of us from TN (Hi, UTKpremed) and 3 from FL. We toured the building (which they are expanding) with two MS-IIs and they were helpful answering our questions. Then we had lunch and they came in to get us to interview (2 interviewers to one of us) one at a time. The sim area was nice and definitely looked helpful. It was small (the school itself), but I liked that...it seemed very close-knit. There is a gym, a small library, classrooms, and study areas. They have a lot of clubs for different interest groups (i.e. surgery, EM, FM, etc) which seemed helpful/fun. There is currently no cafeteria service, but they have fast food/food carts that come by. The cirriculum seemed solid and the clinical rotation sites offered a lot of choice. Overall, I loved the city and the school....definitely my number one choice. My fingers (and toes!) are crossed hard.

They didn't say when the next admissions committee meeting was, but I'm going to call tomorrow to find out. Dr. Mitchell did say that I should have a decision within 3 weeks. However long it takes, I'm going to be nervous. The interview seemed to go well, but I was nervous (so talked a million miles an hour). And while they both smiled a lot, interviewers are always a little stoic, so you never know. Anyway, good luck to everyone interviewing soon!

Congrats on the great interview.

 

[vandyam]

Congrats on the great interview.

Thanks, let's hope! I do have a question though. Would anyone suggest sending in a letter of intent before the admissions committee meets? I mean, this is my top choice and I really want to seal this one down so I can stop applying/start planning. Thanks in advance -- very supportive group so far

 

[UTKpremed]

I interviewed today and figured I'd share for future interviewees about the day. Although I don't have much to add to previous experiences. I had an afternoon interview -- everyone arrived a little early. There were two of us from TN (Hi, UTKpremed) and 3 from FL. We toured the building (which they are expanding) with two MS-IIs and they were helpful answering our questions. Then we had lunch and they came in to get us to interview (2 interviewers to one of us) one at a time. The sim area was nice and definitely looked helpful. It was small (the school itself), but I liked that...it seemed very close-knit. There is a gym, a small library, classrooms, and study areas. They have a lot of clubs for different interest groups (i.e. surgery, EM, FM, etc) which seemed helpful/fun. There is currently no cafeteria service, but they have fast food/food carts that come by. The cirriculum seemed solid and the clinical rotation sites offered a lot of choice. Overall, I loved the city and the school....definitely my number one choice. My fingers (and toes!) are crossed hard.

They didn't say when the next admissions committee meeting was, but I'm going to call tomorrow to find out. Dr. Mitchell did say that I should have a decision within 3 weeks. However long it takes, I'm going to be nervous. The interview seemed to go well, but I was nervous (so talked a million miles an hour). And while they both smiled a lot, interviewers are always a little stoic, so you never know. Anyway, good luck to everyone interviewing soon!

It was really great to finally meet you! Let me know what you find out about when the admissions committee meets. Good luck!

 

[rjelalam]

Does anyone know if they accept AACOMAS fee waivers for the supplemental app? My file is complete besides payment. And does anyone have the number for the admissions office, the only number in the emails is the PA number. Thanks

 

[familyaerospace]

Thanks, let's hope! I do have a question though. Would anyone suggest sending in a letter of intent before the admissions committee meets? I mean, this is my top choice and I really want to seal this one down so I can stop applying/start planning. Thanks in advance -- very supportive group so far

Well given that they have been meeting on Thursdays to render decisions, you might not have the time.

 

[vandyam]

Well given that they have been meeting on Thursdays to render decisions, you might not have the time.

I emailed Trena and she said it would be 2-4 wks before I got my decision back (I asked when the committee met, so she didn't directly answer my question. I have a feeling this is in part so they do not have everyone flooding their office with calls/e-mails the day after decisions have been made). When I called admissions, they simply said, "I do not know when they meet next." So that's that. I have no idea. I do not want to continue bugging them though, so I'll just be patient and wait. If they rendered the decision Thursday I would be happy for the quick turn-around, but I'm not sure if I should send the letter just in case they don't meet Thursday. I'll have to think about it. Thanks

 

[GlimmerGlass]

Thanks, let's hope! I do have a question though. Would anyone suggest sending in a letter of intent before the admissions committee meets? I mean, this is my top choice and I really want to seal this one down so I can stop applying/start planning. Thanks in advance -- very supportive group so far

Hmmm usually you send a Letter of Intent if you are trying to get off the waitlist later in the year since some schools do not rank their list and will pull people off based on letters of intent or updates throughout the year. Or a Letter of Interest if you are trying to get an interview, but you already had an interview. So since you have not been put on a waitlist yet and could possibly be accepted, I would wait it out and see what their decision is. But of course this is your application so go with what feels right b/c that may be different for everyone. Good Luck

One more thought: did you send thank you letters yet? If not then I would send those and you could use those as a "form" of a letter of intent by stating in the thank you that this is your number one choice school (obviously phrase it better than that though)

 

[jnthnblndfrd]

Hello all. I just got an interview invite to GA-PCOM for Nov 14 in the afternoon. Anyone else interview that day? I'm stoked, this is my first invite and one of my top choices.

 

[AlfredJPrufrock]

AACOMAS Verified: 9/7
Secondary Given: 9/9
Secondary Completed in system: 9/22
Interview Offered: 9/28
Interviewed: 10/11

- The interview went very well. They did not ask me the normal questions due to the fact that I did the first year of an SMP at a D.O. School. The only thing they really didn't like was the 24 MCAT and they said I was on the cusp of acceptance. (There are at least 2 papers that have shown a correlation to a 24+ to a 98% USMLE/COMLEX1 pass rates. Higher physical science scores tend to given higher USMLE/COMLEX1 and higher verbal tend to increase USMLE/COMLEX2.) They said I may have to retake it in Jan. and improving a couple points should get me into the school. One interviewer did focus on my undergrad grades, but the other interviewer said that I've done well since. He said that it's the past, and it definitely made me smile. I've tried to make up for a previous poor performance. I currently live in GA and I can't wait to hear back from them.

 

[vandyam]

Does anyone know if they accept AACOMAS fee waivers for the supplemental app? My file is complete besides payment. And does anyone have the number for the admissions office, the only number in the emails is the PA number. Thanks

Sorry I missed this. Yes, they do offer the fee waiver for the supplemental app. The only schools that didnt (out of the ones I applied to) were the FL schools and LECOM's. I hope this helps!

 

[douglasjre]

Am I reading this right? 250 word essay? How do I respond to their question adequately, with an example, in 250 words? I wrote an amazing essay for that that was 590 words, but I know rules are rules. How do you guys do it? 250? Wow!

 

[rjelalam]

Am I reading this right? 250 word essay? How do I respond to their question adequately, with an example, in 250 words? I wrote an amazing essay for that that was 590 words, but I know rules are rules. How do you guys do it? 250? Wow!

I wrote a little more than 250, mine was like 350ish. I think as long as its not obviously a lot longer, its fine. I doubt they would count the words!

 

[familyaerospace]

Am I reading this right? 250 word essay? How do I respond to their question adequately, with an example, in 250 words? I wrote an amazing essay for that that was 590 words, but I know rules are rules. How do you guys do it? 250? Wow!

Be glad you are not applying to Emory, I believe all of theirs were 100 or something. I don't even remember what I did for GA PCOM.

 

[jnthnblndfrd]

I originally wrote a longer essay (maybe 400 char) and kept reading it over and rearranging sentences and taking out things until I finally got it to 249. I know going over a little isn't a big deal, but I figure humoring their wishes couldn't hurt.

 

[whatageek]

Am I reading this right? 250 word essay? How do I respond to their question adequately, with an example, in 250 words? I wrote an amazing essay for that that was 590 words, but I know rules are rules. How do you guys do it? 250? Wow!

Unfortunately, I think that's kind of the point. Most people can write an excellent essay given enough words. The stricter the word count, the more carefully the essay and argument contained within has to be crafted. Personally, I started way over the word limit and started hacking until I was just under the limitation. It sucked. A lot. Good luck

 

[mtromer13]

Did anybody here go to Emory?
I wonder if that will help.

I submitted my primary on October 5th (late I know) and still waiting for verification and release.

Does anyone know if they give interviews in mid December? That'd be ideal! I don't know if I could handle waiting 'till 2012 to interview.

 

[kalman921]

.

 

[HeadofDoc]

just sent in my secondary - a little late i know but everything on my app took a while to get verified ANYWAYS - i've been trying to look up the general statistics of this campus and haven't been able to find much. Would you say the MCAT/GPA requirements are pretty similar to the Philadelpha campus? Also - how big is the class? I saw earlier in the thread something about 84 students - anyone have any idea if that's going to increase as the years go on? Any info would be appreciated thanks!

I interviewed recently and this is what I learned. The class size is increasing to about 135. I don't know much about the GPA/MCAT requirements, but I will tell you that they look at what each applicant brings to the table. All of the students looked happy to be there. Definitely my top choice....

 

[familyaerospace]

Did anybody here go to Emory?
I wonder if that will help.

I submitted my primary on October 5th (late I know) and still waiting for verification and release.

Does anyone know if they give interviews in mid December? That'd be ideal! I don't know if I could handle waiting 'till 2012 to interview.

My undergrad was from Emory in 2003 so who knows. I think they care more about other factors.

 

[AlfredJPrufrock]

just sent in my secondary - a little late i know but everything on my app took a while to get verified ANYWAYS - i've been trying to look up the general statistics of this campus and haven't been able to find much. Would you say the MCAT/GPA requirements are pretty similar to the Philadelpha campus? Also - how big is the class? I saw earlier in the thread something about 84 students - anyone have any idea if that's going to increase as the years go on? Any info would be appreciated thanks!

I know there is a general cut-off at a 24 with 8's in all sections. There are several statistical papers that back up the 24 with board scores. I have also heard of a student getting in with a 21, after he received a ~3.7 through the SMP program;so, it is not set in stone. According to my interview they would prefer a 27. (After all, If you don't pass the step 1, we don't call you doctor we just call you 100k in debt.) I've never heard the cut-offs for the GPA and from my interview they like experience. As seats fill the pool gets more competitive. In general, Philadelphia is more competitive. D.O. is just much more common in the area. GA-PCOM also started in 2005 and PCOM was founded in 1899. GA offers a PharmD program which is not in Philly, but outside of that Philly tends to have more programs and a larger more traditional campus. Given that the program is newer in GA there doesn't seem to be as many large hospital rotation positions when I asked at the interview. Acquiring level I trauma hospital rotations, like Grady or Atlanta Medical Center would require more effort. They're also allopathic based hospitals, but all that is a ways off.

 

[kalman921]

.

 

[vandyam]

I know there is a general cut-off at a 24 with 8's in all sections. There are several statistical papers that back up the 24 with board scores. I have also heard of a student getting in with a 21, after he received a ~3.7 through the SMP program;so, it is not set in stone. According to my interview they would prefer a 27. (After all, If you don't pass the step 1, we don't call you doctor we just call you 100k in debt.) I've never heard the cut-offs for the GPA and from my interview they like experience. As seats fill the pool gets more competitive. In general, Philadelphia is more competitive. D.O. is just much more common in the area. GA-PCOM also started in 2005 and PCOM was founded in 1899. GA offers a PharmD program which is not in Philly, but outside of that Philly tends to have more programs and a larger more traditional campus. Given that the program is newer in GA there doesn't seem to be as many large hospital rotation positions when I asked at the interview. Acquiring level I trauma hospital rotations, like Grady or Atlanta Medical Center would require more effort. They're also allopathic based hospitals, but all that is a ways off.

This information is true to the best of my knowledge, but I just want to clarify/emphasis something really quickly. If you go to page 2 (if I remember correctly) on this forum, you will see like 6-7 people who were offered interviews with decent MCAT scores but who did not have an 8 in every section. While this is preferred, it is not mandatory early in the application process. Last year, there were people with scores of 21-24 accepted very early in the application process. Going strictly based on this forum, however, they were highly selective towards the end of the application season (28+ being offered interviews). I just don't want anyone to lose hope and not apply based on posts here on SDN. If you like the school, apply. Worst case scenario, at least you tried. It is still early in the season...no one lose hope yet! (To somewhat contradict myself, everyone should know that there was a person who posted earlier in this forum who was accepted with a 23 MCAT, but that acceptance was pending a raise in MCAT. I do not know the full story of that situation, however.)


Okay, beware....neurotic moment: I was hoping to get some clarification from my fellow SDN'ers. When they have the next admissions committee meeting, will they be reviewing everyone who interviewed after Oct. 3rd?? If this is the case, were those who interviewed in Oct 10th/11th told the same thing that we were on the 18th (that we will hear back within 3 weeks)? If so, that would mean decisions should be out by the beginning of next week (technically, the 31st is 3 weeks from the 10th) for those of us who were in the second "round" of interviews. Does this sound right? Thanks