Philadelphia COM - Georgia (GA-PCOM) Discussion Thread 2014 - 2015

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Speaking from a 2nd perspective- when my class applied there wasn't a MCAT cut off really. I know people in our class that have 30's and people that have 20's (34-20) so don't let that 1 score define you.
 
George Isaac said:
I have yet to hear back from pcom. I submitted way back in the summer... anyone else in the same boat?
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Yeah... I haven't been very impressed with the PCOM staff... The two times I called they were pretty rude and acted like I annoyed them with my call. Haven't called since and am just going to let it be.
 
Dylan4081 said:
Yeah... I haven't been very impressed with the PCOM staff... The two times I called they were pretty rude and acted like I annoyed them with my call. Haven't called since and am just going to let it be.
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I love when we don't get what we want we consider other people rude - if they can't answer your question that does not make them rude. Their Committee is pretty strict on information, allowing letters of recommendation and they are just the messengers. 8000 applications, probably as many phone calls, with applicant who don't follow the directions or instructions. Can not image their task at hand.
 
futurexray said:
I love when we don't get what we want we consider other people rude - if they can't answer your question that does not make them rude. Their Committee is pretty strict on information, allowing letters of recommendation and they are just the messengers. 8000 applications, probably as many phone calls, with applicant who don't follow the directions or instructions. Can not image their task at hand.
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I called to ask about their program and they hurried me off the phone. Their website did not answer all of my questions, so I decided to not call them. I didn't say in my post I asked anything about my application, but thanks for assuming. Lol Good job.
 
Hey everyone! I guess it's just that time of year when these schools reach their peak load of applications received. Any recent ii's? Care to share date submitted/turnaround to receive the ii? Thanks!
 
futurexray said:
I love when we don't get what we want we consider other people rude - if they can't answer your question that does not make them rude. Their Committee is pretty strict on information, allowing letters of recommendation and they are just the messengers. 8000 applications, probably as many phone calls, with applicant who don't follow the directions or instructions. Can not image their task at hand.
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If your job is to answer phones and answer questions to current applicants (who have invested considerable time and money to apply) then you should be good at it. Sad to hear that people are caught off guard and surprised when people are actually cordial, patient, understanding and helpful when answering phones.
 
ChiefComplaint said:
If your job is to answer phones and answer questions to current applicants (who have invested considerable time and money to apply) then you should be good at it. Sad to hear that people are caught off guard and surprised when people are actually cordial, patient, understanding and helpful when answering phones.
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That's so true. I've sent a couple of personalized thank you emails to admissions people who actually were prompt and courteous in helping me with updates and questions. But you're right; they're being paid to do this, so it shouldn't be a shock when they do their job!
 
hey, so anyone else out there go to a school that doesn't have a pre-med committee?

mine didn't, and i don't think my adviser is officially listed as a pre-med adviser, so I'm confused as to if my application will be processed if that box isn't checked on the portal.

anyone have any insight?
 
baxt1412 said:
hey, so anyone else out there go to a school that doesn't have a pre-med committee?

mine didn't, and i don't think my adviser is officially listed as a pre-med adviser, so I'm confused as to if my application will be processed if that box isn't checked on the portal.

anyone have any insight?
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On the portal (at the top) it states that if you send 2 science profs and 1 non-science prof LOR then it will cover the requirement. This is what I am doing because I did not take all of my pre-req classes in the same place so I did not qualify for a committee letter at either place. I also did not have any particular adviser to write one, and my undergrad adviser retired after I graduated from there. I e-mailed PCOM admissions about it also to confirm. They were pretty quick in getting back to me about it, too.
 
ALF85 said:
On the portal (at the top) it states that if you send 2 science profs and 1 non-science prof LOR then it will cover the requirement. This is what I am doing because I did not take all of my pre-req classes in the same place so I did not qualify for a committee letter at either place. I also did not have any particular adviser to write one, and my undergrad adviser retired after I graduated from there. I e-mailed PCOM admissions about it also to confirm. They were pretty quick in getting back to me about it, too.
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well i sent letters for those requirements all at the same time and so far only the science faculty ones are on there. i sent all of the letters on 10/27. this is frustrating... gonna email them.
 
baxt1412 said:
well i sent letters for those requirements all at the same time and so far only the science faculty ones are on there. i sent all of the letters on 10/27. this is frustrating... gonna email them.
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If one of your letters isn't listed it's possible it wasn't on letterhead in which case they don't accept it, and they also don't inform you of this until you contact them.

Get ahold of them as soon as you can and find out because if this is the case, your app won't be completed until a new LOR on letterhead is sent in.
 
so silly. the hoops to jump through for med school are ridonkalous.

some schools want it. some schools have to have it. some schools say they want it but don't care lol. some are paypal payments, some are check in the snail mail, some accept credit cards, some don't. some dont' take visa, etc.
 
So if my check was processed on 10/20..(just over 3 weeks ago) you guys think I should give them a call and ask? From what I gathered they don't like being bothered so I figure I would ask if anyone else has had to call them?
 
baxt1412 said:
so silly. the hoops to jump through for med school are ridonkalous.

some schools want it. some schools have to have it. some schools say they want it but don't care lol. some are paypal payments, some are check in the snail mail, some accept credit cards, some don't. some dont' take visa, etc.
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It really is a crapshoot. I often times wonder how the hell we get through that process. But it's definitely proven worth it. Med school is pretty cool. Good luck to you
 
yeah so one of my letters wasn't on letterhead so it didn't count. didn't realize i needed to directly request that from a professor, it kind of seems like a no brainer to me when you think about official school/business-based correspondence with another school, especially of an importance of this caliber.

they quote 15 days to process once they receive too. *sigh* if i hadn't already paid the secondary i'd probably just say screw it.
 
How do you send your letters? Do you mail them to the Philly address? I sent mine by Interfolio (electronicallt) and they say they don't have them.

It's getting so late 🙁
 
PlasticBag said:
How do you send your letters? Do you mail them to the Philly address? I sent mine by Interfolio (electronicallt) and they say they don't have them.

It's getting so late 🙁
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email them ASAP. they wont' upload the letters if they don't meet the requirements (i just found that out the hard way).


they accept letters via interfolio, postal mail, or email.
 
WhereDaCoffeeAt said:
I sent them to [email protected] via Interfolio.
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likewise i was also able to just send my letters by pulling up PCOM from their list of letter acceptees meaning i typed in philadelphia college and both campuses showed up. if you're applying to both campuses, you only need to send one set of letters to the philly campus btw.
 
baxt1412 said:
email them ASAP. they wont' upload the letters if they don't meet the requirements (i just found that out the hard way).


they accept letters via interfolio, postal mail, or email.
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I emailed them and they said they hadn't received anything.

Now I'm worried about the stupid letterhead, too. I asked my recommenders to include a letterhead but who knows if they did, ugh.
 
baxt1412 said:
likewise i was also able to just send my letters by pulling up PCOM from their list of letter acceptees meaning i typed in philadelphia college and both campuses showed up. if you're applying to both campuses, you only need to send one set of letters to the philly campus btw.
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Thanks. I'm only applying to GA campus but I saw only the PA campus on the interfolio list, maybe that was the problem
 
PlasticBag said:
Thanks. I'm only applying to GA campus but I saw only the PA campus on the interfolio list, maybe that was the problem
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i'm almost positive i was able to see both when i typed in "philadelphia college"

PlasticBag said:
I emailed them and they said they hadn't received anything.

Now I'm worried about the stupid letterhead, too. I asked my recommenders to include a letterhead but who knows if they did, ugh.
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call interfolio and ask for them to view your letters for you. they will confirm it.
 
Did you guys get an email when you submitted the secondary application?..as a confirmation that you submitted the form part of it. It has been 3 weeks since they deposited the check so I email to ask and all they say is I will find out if anything is missing when they process my application. I am like 99.6% sure I submitted everything, but wondering if a confirmation email thing exists. Thanks
 
Ipper91 said:
Did you guys get an email when you submitted the secondary application?..as a confirmation that you submitted the form part of it. It has been 3 weeks since they deposited the check so I email to ask and all they say is I will find out if anything is missing when they process my application. I am like 99.6% sure I submitted everything, but wondering if a confirmation email thing exists. Thanks
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I only got an e-mail once my application was processed along with a link to the online application summary.
 
PlasticBag said:
Thanks. I'm only applying to GA campus but I saw only the PA campus on the interfolio list, maybe that was the problem
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baxt1412 said:
i'm almost positive i was able to see both when i typed in "philadelphia college"
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I think there's only one destination for the letters regardless of which campus you're applying to, because if you're applying to both, you send your letters to the same place.

EDIT: I applied to both and had my letters sent to [email protected], and both campuses got them.
 
So adcom was supposed to meet this week to discuss Nov. 7 interviews so hopefully decisions will be getting mailed out soon! Good luck to everyone!
 
Anyone else attend the open house on Friday at PCOM-Ga? Thoughts? People were very friendly but I have to say the facility was kind of lacking. No natural sunlight anywhere in the building except at the front entrance and the DO students share a lot of space with the Biomedical and Pharmacy students. Library seemed small, not many places for group study and quite study.
 
cakes99 said:
Anyone else attend the open house on Friday at PCOM-Ga? Thoughts? People were very friendly but I have to say the facility was kind of lacking. No natural sunlight anywhere in the building except at the front entrance and the DO students share a lot of space with the Biomedical and Pharmacy students. Library seemed small, not many places for group study and quite study.
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There's also the large skylight in the atrium. It may seem small and lacking, but the library is more than sufficient. Most of the texts you'd need are available electronically, which reduces the need for volumes and volumes of paper texts. Common areas and study spaces are shared, but I seldom see people that aren't DO students. I think the biomeds have classes in the evenings sometimes, and they usually keep the PharmD students in their kennels, which is as it should be.
 
Does stink, I'm sure they get those calls all the time for people who end up not even having everything turned in, but that doesn't excuse her being completely rude to you. Maybe she was having a bad day, but still doesn't excuse it. Hope that it's just one lady and not the entire staff... but it looks like you are accepted anyway somewhere else?
 
Ladydoctor said:
Ok. So I never actually log in to SDN... but I just had to so I could rant for a second. I am extremely bummed that PCOM-GA has rude people working in the admission office (well, I just talked to one woman, but she was the worst person ever). She interrupted me halfway through every sentence, then gave up, and transferred me to PA. Some super kind lady answered the phone and apologized and said that they have been having a lot of problems at the GA campus with rude applicant interaction. I have already had a few interviews and acceptances, and this has by far been the worst experience in my entire application process to DO programs in general.

And before even trying to call PCOM-GA, I had emailed them and received an automatic (I hate automatic responses OMG) response stating that they would respond to me in 24-72 hours.

It's been a week now.

So I sucked it up and called them (I was avoiding it, I've heard some horror stories calling them). Guess how difficult my question for PCOM-GA was?
"Hi, I think my application has been complete in my portal for two months now, but I have yet to receive any sort of response or communication from PCOM-GA. This program is very important to me, and I would like to have someone check my file and make sure everything is ready for review."

No joke, this lady started huffing and puffing and throwing a hissy fit. She said nothing of value, just "have you ever looked at your portal?" "Did you send in everything?" "*SIGHHHH*"

Exactly!!!! I did not have that problem with any other school. I was calling about their research and a few other things and the lady acted like I was wasting her time. It made me so mad. I don't care if they're with a "prestigious" medical school, that gives them no right to act like that to potential students.

I never had to make this call for any other school.

I live maybe 20 minutes from this campus, and this has been one of my top choices. I'm not so sure about that anymore... but I know I'm completely disappointed.

Sorry, my rant is over.
🙁
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Ladydoctor said:
Ok. So I never actually log in to SDN... but I just had to so I could rant for a second. I am extremely bummed that PCOM-GA has rude people working in the admission office (well, I just talked to one woman, but she was the worst person ever). She interrupted me halfway through every sentence, then gave up, and transferred me to PA. Some super kind lady answered the phone and apologized and said that they have been having a lot of problems at the GA campus with rude applicant interaction. I have already had a few interviews and acceptances, and this has by far been the worst experience in my entire application process to DO programs in general.

And before even trying to call PCOM-GA, I had emailed them and received an automatic (I hate automatic responses OMG) response stating that they would respond to me in 24-72 hours.

It's been a week now.

So I sucked it up and called them (I was avoiding it, I've heard some horror stories calling them). Guess how difficult my question for PCOM-GA was?
"Hi, I think my application has been complete in my portal for two months now, but I have yet to receive any sort of response or communication from PCOM-GA. This program is very important to me, and I would like to have someone check my file and make sure everything is ready for review."

No joke, this lady started huffing and puffing and throwing a hissy fit. She said nothing of value, just "have you ever looked at your portal?" "Did you send in everything?" "*SIGHHHH*"

I never had to make this call for any other school.

I live maybe 20 minutes from this campus, and this has been one of my top choices. I'm not so sure about that anymore... but I know I'm completely disappointed.

Sorry, my rant is over.
🙁
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So, as a current student, I totally understand why that would be so frustrating. I also would like to not make excuses, just because I am a student (especially because I am a student), but let me give you a little backstory and maybe you can understand their frustration a little better. The admissions office is the heaviest part of their admissions cycle (I think that parts obvious), they had a combined admissions tour for all 3 programs here this past week (Bio-med, PharmD, and DO), AND they were given the "opportunity" to move their office from the main building into some new, separate building (so new that I heard about it, but still don't know where it is).

Now, while the admissions office has it's hands full, and even if they are brilliantly rude... I would have to say that choosing your medical education because of the admissions staff is a poor choice. I have had SOOOO little contact with them since I put down my deposit check that I PROMISE you it is not something that will affect your education. In total, I have actually stepped in that office three times, two were to go through to financial aid and the other visit was to ask a question.

There is absolutely no excuse for rudeness, especially as their job is to help perspective students through the difficult process of application/interview. That said, they are also human and are under a bunch of extra stress. Good luck with your application.
 
CaptRetired said:
So, as a current student, I totally understand why that would be so frustrating. I also would like to not make excuses, just because I am a student (especially because I am a student), but let me give you a little backstory and maybe you can understand their frustration a little better. The admissions office is the heaviest part of their admissions cycle (I think that parts obvious), they had a combined admissions tour for all 3 programs here this past week (Bio-med, PharmD, and DO), AND they were given the "opportunity" to move their office from the main building into some new, separate building (so new that I heard about it, but still don't know where it is).

Now, while the admissions office has it's hands full, and even if they are brilliantly rude... I would have to say that choosing your medical education because of the admissions staff is a poor choice. I have had SOOOO little contact with them since I put down my deposit check that I PROMISE you it is not something that will affect your education. In total, I have actually stepped in that office three times, two were to go through to financial aid and the other visit was to ask a question.

There is absolutely no excuse for rudeness, especially as their job is to help perspective students through the difficult process of application/interview. That said, they are also human and are under a bunch of extra stress. Good luck with your application.
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I think the main concern is that the rest of the staff are this way as well. I can imagine that for setting up approved rotations, etc, it would be nice to have helpful and friendly staff. What your experience has been thus far?
 
PlasticBag said:
I think the main concern is that the rest of the staff are this way as well. I can imagine that for setting up approved rotations, etc, it would be nice to have helpful and friendly staff. What your experience has been thus far?
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That is a valid concern... My experience with the staff is somewhat limited by the fact that I have just finished my first term and I am about to start my second, but I have had interaction with multiple parts of the staff and faculty.

Admissions: only during the admissions process. The only other time I have heard from any of them was to solicit volunteers for the ambassador program (when you interview, you'll meet some current student ambassadors). Other than that, admissions is behind you.

The student affairs office is really the main hub if you are having issues as a student. I have dealt with them on several occasions (dealing with a major car wreck interrupting my study/test schedule, requesting accommodations for disability, etc.) and they have been professional, understanding, and helpful. This is the office that should interest you the most as they will be your advocate for anything that a student needs but is not receiving the desired attention. Patience Mason and her staff are awesome.

Every college has some faculty/staff that are "untouchable" and can do whatever they want. While that is somewhat true here at GA-PCOM, too, I feel that I have been able to get the attention I have needed. As there are several members of my class that have caused more work than necessary for the faculty (VERY understated), I am glad that they are still reasonable when approached through appropriate channels and with reason and respect. Warning, though,... if you are going to be an ass clown, they will treat you like one REAL fast.

I hope that helps. Feel free to message me if you have any personal or specific questions...
 
CaptRetired said:
That is a valid concern... My experience with the staff is somewhat limited by the fact that I have just finished my first term and I am about to start my second, but I have had interaction with multiple parts of the staff and faculty.

Admissions: only during the admissions process. The only other time I have heard from any of them was to solicit volunteers for the ambassador program (when you interview, you'll meet some current student ambassadors). Other than that, admissions is behind you.

The student affairs office is really the main hub if you are having issues as a student. I have dealt with them on several occasions (dealing with a major car wreck interrupting my study/test schedule, requesting accommodations for disability, etc.) and they have been professional, understanding, and helpful. This is the office that should interest you the most as they will be your advocate for anything that a student needs but is not receiving the desired attention. Patience Mason and her staff are awesome.

Every college has some faculty/staff that are "untouchable" and can do whatever they want. While that is somewhat true here at GA-PCOM, too, I feel that I have been able to get the attention I have needed. As there are several members of my class that have caused more work than necessary for the faculty (VERY understated), I am glad that they are still reasonable when approached through appropriate channels and with reason and respect. Warning, though,... if you are going to be an ass clown, they will treat you like one REAL fast.

I hope that helps. Feel free to message me if you have any personal or specific questions...
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That's a great response, thank you. Not planning on being an ass clown haha 😉
 
They do not send out rejections to anyone except those who interviewed until the end of everything. So I guess it is slient for the most part.
 
They've deposited my check over a month ago...and still nothing... No portal log in or anything.😡. Emailed them and they said wait until my application is processed. :bang:
 
d-dimer said:
Anyone with a notification from the November 7th interview group?
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Not yet! I know that according to time window they gave at the interview, it's technically still early... I'm anxiously awaiting a decision! GL to you!
 
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