PCOM (Philadelphia) Discussion Thread 2011-2012

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jimsmith49i said:
Thanks for the advice Kalman and Serenity - you are the kind of folks who make this website so awesome!

Serenity, when I called, they just said to keep waiting. How did you ask that prompted them to actually look and see if they received your secondary?
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I had a similar problem as well and just kept calling them over and over again. Today, they literally went into my file and looked, as well as saying that they promised to email me when they found my DO letter that was sent. Honestly, I would just tell them your situation and keep trying. Also, did you email or mail it? I did both and found that mailing the stuff got the stuff into your file faster then email for some reason.
 
Serenity17 said:
No problem! I told them I had submitted back in August and never received a "Complete" e-mail. 3 months seemed to be the red flag. They did mention that it can take 15-20 days for them to update applications. You should hear soon. I'd give it another week or so, then call.
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I received the "acknowledged" email back in sept 3 and was worried since I didn't get a "complete" email and haven't heard anything from them so I called about 3 weeks ago and the lady was very rude saying whatever email I received is the status of my application and she would not tell me anything more saying i'll be complete when I'm complete. I mailed in my secondary and when I looked at my status on the website it looks like they received everything. I'm so confused as to why I haven't heard from them yet.
 
I'm not sure that the complete email is essential to getting an interview. I just now got an email stating that my secondary and fee had been received and that I was complete, but I got an interview invite a week ago...

I sent in my secondary (via email) two weeks ago
 
Just as Kalman predicted, got my secondary confirm email today. So, seems about 10 business days to get confirm email after sending email version of completed secondary, for those wondering about realistic wait times (noting major exceptions as has happened with others on this thread of course).
 
How late are interviews being scheduled right now? any openings in late November and december yet?
 
Was anyone else at the open house Friday night? Thought it was a great program and very impressed with how proud/happy the students, faculty, and staff are of the school. Hoping for that interview...good luck everyone!
 
anyone else interviewing next wednesday 11/16?
 
If I submitted the secondary but submitted the committee letter by early December (that's when my advisor will be done writing it), will that still land me an interview before LORs are sent in? Or should I just send in whatever LORs I have now (I made sure to get one from the head of the Psych dept, since I graduated with a Psych degree), and then send in the committee packet after?

Or should I just hit myself over the head with a bat repeatedly for not realizing my school is slow as hell when it comes to writing committee letters? 😛
 
fly higher said:
If I submitted the secondary but submitted the committee letter by early December (that's when my advisor will be done writing it), will that still land me an interview before LORs are sent in? Or should I just send in whatever LORs I have now (I made sure to get one from the head of the Psych dept, since I graduated with a Psych degree), and then send in the committee packet after?

Or should I just hit myself over the head with a bat repeatedly for not realizing my school is slow as hell when it comes to writing committee letters? 😛
Click to expand...

I actually had a sorta similar dilemma. My committee chairmen was diagnosed with cancer right after I asked him for a letter. Really sad situation but took twice as long and I, of course, was freaking out about getting complete. SO I ended up asking PCOM what to do and I had the department chair turn one in (got it done in 2wks) so that my file would at least be complete and start getting reviewed.

So if you graduated with a psych degree, I am sure you could ask your department chair to right one for ya🙂

Good Luck!
 
The dept chair actually already wrote one for me. But I figured it would be redundant to have my entire packet resubmitted with just the new committee letter... what are your thoughts on that? I've only got a 3.21/3.29 and 29 MCAT so I guess I figured a committee letter would work much more in my favor than dept head, but I have a feeling I'm just looking too much into it. Did you end up getting accepted?

soccerbabe7582 said:
I actually had a sorta similar dilemma. My committee chairmen was diagnosed with cancer right after I asked him for a letter. Really sad situation but took twice as long and I, of course, was freaking out about getting complete. SO I ended up asking PCOM what to do and I had the department chair turn one in (got it done in 2wks) so that my file would at least be complete and start getting reviewed.

So if you graduated with a psych degree, I am sure you could ask your department chair to right one for ya🙂

Good Luck!
Click to expand...
 
fly higher said:
The dept chair actually already wrote one for me. But I figured it would be redundant to have my entire packet resubmitted with just the new committee letter... what are your thoughts on that? I've only got a 3.21/3.29 and 29 MCAT so I guess I figured a committee letter would work much more in my favor than dept head, but I have a feeling I'm just looking too much into it. Did you end up getting accepted?
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I just got completed a week and a half ago so No🙁 ! lol But I made sure that my second letter emphasized things that my committee letter did not when I talked to my dept chair. For one, since he was writing my letter soley for PCOM and not the other school (since PCOM is my number one choice), I asked him to say things about the med school classes I had already taken (and made A's in), my most recent research endeavors and awards, as well as how PCOM and I are a perfect fit (and visa versa). The committee let him see the draft to that point to try not to be redundant.

Also you gotta keep in mind that although your dept letter may get there first, if you have other letters that are coming in later, they will revisit your file. Once I got my dept letter in, I was still waiting on my DO letter to be on file and the committee letter. If anything, at least your name will be in the door. Lastly, I called PCOM and let them know that I had three letters that should be in my file just so to be safe.
 
Invite today - complete 9/2...hang in there folks! There is hope.
 
kalman921 said:
If you don't mind me asking, what are your stats? 🙂
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I won't share stats only because I want to remain as anonymous as possible, but I will say that they take your WHOLE application into consideration not just numbers.
 
They take thed best overall score if u took the mcat multiple times? So if one had a 22, 24, 28, they would take the 28
 
Or do they make the recent one? My problem is I went down a pt upon a retake
 
koala37 said:
Or do they make the recent one? My problem is I went down a pt upon a retake
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They take into consideration the highest score. They may ask during the interview why your newest one went down, but if it's just a point, I don't think it matters much.
 
Whats the easiest or cheapest way to get from Center City, Philly to PCOM?
 
Ianmodo- I submitted on 8/17 and the complete/acknowledgement email with the sign-in information for the website was 9/2.
 
For those who have been accepted and/or invited for interviews (congratulations btw), can you help clear up a procedural concern that I think most of us are confused about?!

Is the email from PCOM confirming that they received your check and secondary, which also gives you the user name and password for their banner website to keep tabs on your application, the last email you will get from them until you get an interview email?

Some people seem to indicate that there is an additional "your application is fully complete" type email, which comes before the interview email, but I am not sure if they are just referring to the aforementioned "we got your check and secondary/password" email.

Thanks for any contributions to help those of us a few laps behind!
 
Jim-

For me, PCOM had everything when I sent in my secondary (letters through AMCAS, scores, etc.). Therefore, when I received the login information that was the last email I received before interview invite. The email with the login information also stated that my file was fully complete. I would hypothesize that if everything wasn't present, or processed, at the time the login info was sent out, there may be an additional complete email after that and before interview invite, but that is only speculation as that was not the case for me. Hope that helps.
 
Do they meet at a set time each month? I interviewed last week and I am already anxious😉 They did say it could take up to 4 weeks but we may hear something within two!
 
Hey all, I just interviewed today, 11/10, and absolutley loved this school. I'm not sure what to think of the actual interview though; everyone was friendly, but they didn't ask many questions (nothing about my work/research/volunteer/personal statement) and the whole thing was probably about 15min long. Then again, most people in my group also had short interviews. How was everyone else's experiences?
 
lysase said:
Hey all, I just interviewed today, 11/10, and absolutley loved this school. I'm not sure what to think of the actual interview though; everyone was friendly, but they didn't ask many questions (nothing about my work/research/volunteer/personal statement) and the whole thing was probably about 15min long. Then again, most people in my group also had short interviews. How was everyone else's experiences?
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Sounds awesome to me. Although, I haven't interviewed there, that was exactly how my PCOM-GA interview went.
 
Interviewing 11/16!

Sent in my app late October,,, invited 3 days after. Complete email came about a week after the invite.

Good luck all! Looking forward to the visit a lot
 
UGA2008 said:
Interviewing 11/16!

Sent in my app late October,,, invited 3 days after. Complete email came about a week after the invite.

Good luck all! Looking forward to the visit a lot
Click to expand...

Man, how do I get an interview that fast?!? uhh lol
 
R1MD said:
Was anyone else at the open house Friday night? Thought it was a great program and very impressed with how proud/happy the students, faculty, and staff are of the school. Hoping for that interview...good luck everyone!
Click to expand...


I was there....I had a great time! Very excited about PCOM :soexcited:
 
is the complete email different from the "Acknowledgment: Receipt of PCOM Supplemental - DO Philadelphia Campus" email?

i got the acknowledgement on oct 19th.. haven't heard anything yet..i spoke to the lady on the phone and she said that my app was complete... but nothing in terms of an interview...
 
qpqp123 said:
is the complete email different from the "Acknowledgment: Receipt of PCOM Supplemental - DO Philadelphia Campus" email?

i got the acknowledgement on oct 19th.. haven't heard anything yet..i spoke to the lady on the phone and she said that my app was complete... but nothing in terms of an interview...
Click to expand...


No, there isn't a complete email...just the Acknowledgment
 
New to the DO scene, so pardon my ignorance: Do you think it's still worthwhile to submit a primary here?
 
lysase said:
Hey all, I just interviewed today, 11/10, and absolutley loved this school. I'm not sure what to think of the actual interview though; everyone was friendly, but they didn't ask many questions (nothing about my work/research/volunteer/personal statement) and the whole thing was probably about 15min long. Then again, most people in my group also had short interviews. How was everyone else's experiences?
Click to expand...

Since it's an open file interview and they spend some time reviewing the application before you come in, they are really just trying to get to know you during the interview. They probably just didn't have any questions about the rest of your application and wanted to have a conversation with you to see your personality is like.

My interview was very laid back like this as well, and definitely my favorite.
 
Deutsch Arzt said:
New to the DO scene, so pardon my ignorance: Do you think it's still worthwhile to submit a primary here?
Click to expand...

What are your stats? I never like to say anything is impossible, but PCOM received over 7500 applications last year for about 800 interview spots for about 400 acceptances, and it is late in the season. If you have the money and want to take the chance, go for it.
 
Lewist02 said:
What are your stats? I never like to say anything is impossible, but PCOM received over 7500 applications last year for about 800 interview spots for about 400 acceptances, and it is late in the season. If you have the money and want to take the chance, go for it.
Click to expand...

Well, everything is stellar minus my MCAT. Take a look at the profile link below my screen name.
 
Deutsch Arzt said:
Well, everything is stellar minus my MCAT. Take a look at the profile link below my screen name.
Click to expand...

Sorry, didn't even think to look to see if you had an MDapp. Our average MCAT for the class of 2014 was a 27, but I was accepted with a 24. Have you submitted other primaries for AACOMAS yet? If you have, PCOM's will not be much more to submit.

If you haven't submitted yet, and you submit now (and assuming AACOMAS is not still backed up and is taking the normal 6 wks), the secondary probably won't be confirmed until the middle of January. We do interview through April, but 20-30 of those spots are designated for Bio-meds. I'm not sure I would personally spend the hundreds of dollars to start submitting primaries now, especially when if you were averaging a 30 on previous practice tests (you could clearly do very well if you retook the exam).

Do you have a D.O. letter?

I think overall my advice would be, if you haven't submitted to AACOMAS yet, wait out the rest of the year in the MD pool, plan to retake the MCAT, get a D.O letter, and then apply broadly to MD and DO programs to give yourself the best shot. If you had a bad exam due to personal reasons, i'm sure you will do better the second time around.
 
Lewist02 said:
Sorry, didn't even think to look to see if you had an MDapp. Our average MCAT for the class of 2014 was a 27, but I was accepted with a 24. Have you submitted other primaries for
AACOMAS yet? If you have, PCOM's will not be much more to submit.

If you haven't submitted yet, and you submit now (and assuming AACOMAS is not still backed up and is taking the normal 6 wks), the secondary probably won't be confirmed until the middle of January. We do interview through April, but 20-30 of those spots are designated for Bio-meds. I'm not sure I would personally spend the hundreds of dollars to start submitting primaries now, especially when if you were averaging a 30 on previous practice tests (you could clearly do very well if you retook the exam).

Do you have a D.O. letter

I think overall my advice would be, if you haven't submitted to AACOMAS yet, wait out the rest of the year in the MD pool, plan to retake the MCAT, get a D.O letter, and then apply broadly to MD and DO programs to give yourself the best shot. If you had a bad exam due to personal reasons, i'm sure you will do better thesecond time around.
Click to expand...

U got in with a 24? Thtas what I hv. Wat was ur gpa? N did u apply very early? I got my acknowlegement email like oct 21st
 
koala37 said:
U got in with a 24? Thtas what I hv. Wat was ur gpa? N did u apply very early? I got my acknowlegement email like oct 21st
Click to expand...

My cGPA was a 3.54, sGPA was a 3.33. I'm a second year, so I sent in my secondary in the beginning of August, interviewed in October, was accepted in November.
 
Thread is getting a little thin - if anyone gets updates from PCOM, share with our little community on here and get this thing back up and runnin'!

Looking at last years thread, I estimate people will be getting updates (interview invites, acceptances, etc) within the next 7 days.

Best wishes to all...and don't forget to share your news on the thread!!!
 
Lewist02 said:
Sorry, didn't even think to look to see if you had an MDapp. Our average MCAT for the class of 2014 was a 27, but I was accepted with a 24. Have you submitted other primaries for AACOMAS yet? If you have, PCOM's will not be much more to submit.

If you haven't submitted yet, and you submit now (and assuming AACOMAS is not still backed up and is taking the normal 6 wks), the secondary probably won't be confirmed until the middle of January. We do interview through April, but 20-30 of those spots are designated for Bio-meds. I'm not sure I would personally spend the hundreds of dollars to start submitting primaries now, especially when if you were averaging a 30 on previous practice tests (you could clearly do very well if you retook the exam).

Do you have a D.O. letter?

I think overall my advice would be, if you haven't submitted to AACOMAS yet, wait out the rest of the year in the MD pool, plan to retake the MCAT, get a D.O letter, and then apply broadly to MD and DO programs to give yourself the best shot. If you had a bad exam due to personal reasons, i'm sure you will do better the second time around.
Click to expand...

Thanks, that's good advice. As hard as it is, especially as a nontrad that's been waiting forever to get in, I'll wait out the year and retake. Grr. Good luck to everyone else.
 
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