VCOM MABS 2020-2021

Started by Nucellina97
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Hey guys. I'm planning to focus on meeting benchmarks for VCOM. Do I need to apply right now theough aacomas or we do ones in the program after july?
 
predmedp said:
That's great, do you mind sharing your stats?
Click to expand...
Sure!

CGPA - 3.47cgpa
SGPA - 3.3
MCAT - 494 (plan to retake June 20th)
- From Virginia & went to school in North Carolina
- Public Health major, graduated 2018
- I've worked in clinical research for the last 2 years with a lot of hands-on patient experience
- Research assistant & shadow for a local pediatric neurosurgeon for the past year & got to shadow a few other surgeons in the children's hospital as well
- Pretty good EC's from undergrad with a decent amount of volunteer but definitely on the lower end of hours
 
Hey guys, has anyone else had trouble submitting their $500 deposit? I called the number in the email, and was told to then call another number. I've called for two days, and the mailbox is full, and I never get an answer. I'm nearing my 15 days, as I just decided to attend, and am getting nervous that I won't be able to reach anyone.
 
FuturePsych14 said:
Hey guys, has anyone else had trouble submitting their $500 deposit? I called the number in the email, and was told to then call another number. I've called for two days, and the mailbox is full, and I never get an answer. I'm nearing my 15 days, as I just decided to attend, and am getting nervous that I won't be able to reach anyone.
Click to expand...
I called her yesterday a few times and she never picked up. But then she called me back around 5pm and said that she was having phone problems. I was able to pay my deposit after that.
 
FuturePsych14 said:
Hey guys, has anyone else had trouble submitting their $500 deposit? I called the number in the email, and was told to then call another number. I've called for two days, and the mailbox is full, and I never get an answer. I'm nearing my 15 days, as I just decided to attend, and am getting nervous that I won't be able to reach anyone.
Click to expand...
I had the same issue last Friday and this Tuesday. I had left 1 message on Friday before the mailbox was full, but never got anything back that day or Tuesday (since they were closed Monday).

I chose to reach out to the main line again (x4215) on Tuesday and I told someone that I was not getting through to Michelle, that I had called 3 times 30 minutes or more apart each day and couldn't leave a message because of the full mailbox.

They took my name, cell #, and BC ID# and emailed Michelle. Within 20 minutes of that interaction, Michelle called my cell phone. Payment took less than 2 minutes once I got to talk to her.

Just know, the call back will come from her personal cell x4309. I'm not going to give the whole number to respect her privacy.
 
Hey guys I got accepted on Friday! Any guys looking for a roommate?

Also, I don't have a facebook (most people in my school growing up used insta). Should I make a facebook and join the group? I don't want to look suspicious by having 0 facebook friends lol.

Good luck to everyone still waiting and don't lose hope. I'm not gonna lie, I almost did. BELIEVE TO ACHIEVE!
 
osteopathicdreamer said:
Hey guys I got accepted on Friday! Any guys looking for a roommate?

Also, I don't have a facebook (most people in my school growing up used insta). Should I make a facebook and join the group? I don't want to look suspicious by having 0 facebook friends lol.

Good luck to everyone still waiting and don't lose hope. I'm not gonna lie, I almost did. BELIEVE TO ACHIEVE!
Click to expand...
Hey! Congrats. I only made Facebook for this program. You good. Make it and join. Very helpful!
 
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Hey folks! I was recently accepted into the program!!!

I have been silently watching this thread for the past week. I'm also looking for roommates in the NRV.

My stats: cGPA: 3.2 sGPA: 3.45
-3+ years EMS experience
-1 year of research
-Lots of shadowing experience with an MD and DO
-2 years as a tutor/TA
 
adk2722 said:
Hey folks! I was recently accepted into the program!!!

I have been silently watching this thread for the past week. I'm also looking for roommates in the NRV.

My stats: cGPA: 3.2 sGPA: 3.45
-3+ years EMS experience
-1 year of research
-Lots of shadowing experience with an MD and DO
-2 years as a tutor/TA
Click to expand...
Congratulations!!!
 
Hey guys! For those who are in the program right now, have the benchmarks that are on the website been changed for the new class or were those your benchmarks as well?
Thanks!
 
zamem said:
Hey guys! For those who are in the program right now, have the benchmarks that are on the website been changed for the new class or were those your benchmarks as well?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
I'm not a current student but this was given out by someone who is, earlier in the thread.

For the current class it was 494+ MCAT then you need a 3.6+ GPA in the program/492+ MCAT get a 3.7 or higher/490+ MCAT get a 3.9 or higher

So the MCAT requirements are higher for the incoming MABS class of 2021

I believe the GPA minimum is different as well. Once benchmarks were met for this class and prior they only needed to maintain a 3.4 cumulative average on the year but it has now been raised to 3.6 (which makes sense since this is the bottom benchmark)

All of the current students seem to say the spring is easier since we'll have a good study schedule by then (the material is still difficult) but most people were getting higher GPAs in the spring (before going online, we don't know those results). So the 3.6 should still be very attainable especially for people that meet December benchmarks
 
Accepted today. Anyone please inform me about housing as I am from NJ and not familiar with the area at all.
 
Did anyone else notice the change in mcat benchmarks again on their website? They changed it to minimum of 496 apparently. Idk if it's for this years class coming in or next. Before they had 494 or higher with 3.75 and 496 or higher with 3.6. Now its 496 mcat. Does anyone know about this? Cause when I got accepted couple weeks back they didnt have this
 
Futurebonedoc said:
Did anyone else notice the change in mcat benchmarks again on their website? They changed it to minimum of 496 apparently. Idk if it's for this years class coming in or next. Before they had 494 or higher with 3.75 and 496 or higher with 3.6. Now its 496 mcat. Does anyone know about this? Cause when I got accepted couple weeks back they didnt have this
Click to expand...
Yeah, I'd definitely give them a call. This page is not correct. There should be 3 GPA/MCAT benchmarks and should not be changing any of them after several students have committed here. It should be 3.6 GPA for a 496 MCAT, 3.75 for 494, and a 3.8ish/3.9ish GPA with the 490ish/492ish MCAT (can't recall the last benchmark rn).
 
DeterminedSoul19 said:
Yeah, I'd definitely give them a call. This page is not correct. There should be 3 GPA/MCAT benchmarks and should not be changing any of them after several students have committed here. It should be 3.6 GPA for a 496 MCAT, 3.75 for 494, and a 3.8ish/3.9ish GPA with the 490ish/492ish MCAT (can't recall the last benchmark rn).
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Yeah exactly. I emailed the application services and even she was shocked. I'm guessing so many of us have picked the program due to options and some flexibility with mcat. I hope it's just a glitch
 
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Futurebonedoc said:
Yeah exactly. I emailed the application services and even she was shocked. I'm guessing so many of us have picked the program due to options and some flexibility with mcat. I hope it's just a glitch
Click to expand...
I think it is. There's no way the school would do that especially 2 months before the program starts with a majority of students probably committing by now. That would be a very huge liability on their end so I assume they will be fixing it.
 
DeterminedSoul19 said:
I think it is. There's no way the school would do that especially 2 months before the program starts with a majority of students probably committing by now. That would be a very huge liability on their end so I assume they will be fixing it.
Click to expand...
Yeah that's what I thought also. I committed due to their benchmarks. I just checked the webpage and it changed recently because I checked benchmark page like 10 days ago literally.
 
Futurebonedoc said:
Yeah that's what I thought also. I committed due to their benchmarks. I just checked the webpage and it changed recently because I checked benchmark page like 10 days ago literally.
Click to expand...
Benchmarks.png

Same; checked after seeing your post. Pretty certain this is incorrect lol. I'm sure they're working on it.
 
Accepted on Tuesday! I’m from SC, so if anyone is looking for a (female) roomie, let me know.
 
Hi everyone, Im a sophomore at the University of Georgia, and I had a few questions. Okay so first, My GPA is currently a 3.7 with both classes of Gen chem done. I still have to take Ochem, Biochem, genetics, etc. So my question is, when would they not accept me for this program? I am scared that if my GPA will stay about a 3.5, they will not accept me because their targeted students have about a 3.2-3.4 GPA. My other question is, If we meet the December benchmark, will we have to complete the spring semester as well? If so, do we have to maintain that benchmark ie. make a 3.6 that spring semester as well? Also, If I chose Auburn campus, what are the chances I would be put there? What are the waitlists like for this medical school if I didn't meet the benchmark in the spring semester? Thanks so much, im just scared that with a SMP program im wasting money if we dont meet the benchmarks. Also, how hard are the classes? Every class in the curriculum, i've taken and or will take during undergrad... Thanks everyone! good luck in the Fall!
 
futureDr.Rohme said:
Hi everyone, Im a sophomore at the University of Georgia, and I had a few questions. Okay so first, My GPA is currently a 3.7 with both classes of Gen chem done. I still have to take Ochem, Biochem, genetics, etc. So my question is, when would they not accept me for this program? I am scared that if my GPA will stay about a 3.5, they will not accept me because their targeted students have about a 3.2-3.4 GPA. My other question is, If we meet the December benchmark, will we have to complete the spring semester as well? If so, do we have to maintain that benchmark ie. make a 3.6 that spring semester as well? Also, If I chose Auburn campus, what are the chances I would be put there? What are the waitlists like for this medical school if I didn't meet the benchmark in the spring semester? Thanks so much, im just scared that with a SMP program im wasting money if we dont meet the benchmarks. Also, how hard are the classes? Every class in the curriculum, i've taken and or will take during undergrad... Thanks everyone! good luck in the Fall!
Click to expand...
I’m not sure where you got their GPA target to be 3.2-3.4 other than maybe seeing posts on this forum, but there is no explicit limit to what they accept. I personally finished my undergrad with a 3.67 cGPA and 3.5 sGPA. I have a friend accepted this year as well that has a 3.8 cGPA. Also, I’d be more focused on your GPA right now and try to go to DO school back to back if your MCAT becomes competitive when you take it. From my perspective this program is really helping those that might have a higher GPA but low MCAT, or vice versa. You do not have to put a cap on yourself to realistically expect an acceptance to this program.

The program is for an entire year, and the benchmarks are provisional pending continued success in the spring semester. Therefore, you have to complete the entire program.

I’m not certain as I am a new student but previous students have stated that once you meet the benchmarks, it is maintaining that GPA as a whole/cumulative on the year, not necessarily 3.6 or higher each semester. Therefore, you could obtain a 3.8 in the fall and a 3.4 in the spring but still have your guaranteed seat from December benchmarks because your cGPA on the year would be 3.6. This could be wrong though, I cannot speak first hand yet for that info. However, it is important to keep in mind they changed it beginning with my class from a minimum of 3.4 to 3.6.

The placement of people that meet the benchmarks all depends on their permanent address at the time in which they apply to the MABS program. For example, I’m from PA and would be granted to stay at the Blacksburg campus, pending I qualify for the benchmarks. If you are from AL I would think your chances are good for Auburn, or if you are from a nearby state that is closer to Auburn than their SC or LA campuses. They know all of this information ahead of time, and consult it before granting people admission.

I know that you would be prioritized on their med school waitlist to any of the campuses if you meet the benchmarks at any point because they like to know their own people and who they are accepting (they will know us more than other candidates they decide to waitlist). People that are reviewed in March will obviously have better chances than those that meet benchmarks in May, but still. Worst case you will be guaranteed a seat for the following year and can take a year off to travel, shadow, gain more clinical experience etc. Though if you meant what if you never meet the benchmarks at any point in the program, I cannot say for certain but technically their DO application cycle is over by then and I’m not sure what they could offer to a MABS student that does not meet any of the benchmarks; it would likely be on a case by case basis (whether they missed because of a low MCAT or maybe got a 3.5 GPA with an acceptable MCAT etc.).

Again I’m a new student so I cannot speak from experience about class difficulty, though I encourage you to read through the entire forum as current and prior students have made posts already. However, to assuage any fears I can say that each student has said it is manageable, and isn’t really about the difficulty; it is more about the pace of the program. It will pick up and you will have an exam pretty much every week; they want to try and get their students acclimated to the pace of medical school, or at least a little taste of it. Essentially, what OMSIs do at all VCOM campuses in Block 1, the MABS program spreads out over 9 months. VCOM splits their first two years of med school into 8 blocks; 1-4 is year one and 5-8 is year two. Though block 8 is essentially allotted time to study for COMLEX.

Hope this helps!
 
I'mGonnaKnockYouOut said:
I’m not sure where you got their GPA target to be 3.2-3.4 other than maybe seeing posts on this forum, but there is no explicit limit to what they accept. I personally finished my undergrad with a 3.67 cGPA and 3.5 sGPA. I have a friend accepted this year as well that has a 3.8 cGPA. Also, I’d be more focused on your GPA right now and try to go to DO school back to back if your MCAT becomes competitive when you take it. From my perspective this program is really helping those that might have a higher GPA but low MCAT, or vice versa. You do not have to put a cap on yourself to realistically expect an acceptance to this program.

The program is for an entire year, and the benchmarks are provisional pending continued success in the spring semester. Therefore, you have to complete the entire program.

I’m not certain as I am a new student but previous students have stated that once you meet the benchmarks, it is maintaining that GPA as a whole/cumulative on the year, not necessarily 3.6 or higher each semester. Therefore, you could obtain a 3.8 in the fall and a 3.4 in the spring but still have your guaranteed seat from December benchmarks because your cGPA on the year would be 3.6. This could be wrong though, I cannot speak first hand yet for that info. However, it is important to keep in mind they changed it beginning with my class from a minimum of 3.4 to 3.6.

The placement of people that meet the benchmarks all depends on their permanent address at the time in which they apply to the MABS program. For example, I’m from PA and would be granted to stay at the Blacksburg campus, pending I qualify for the benchmarks. If you are from AL I would think your chances are good for Auburn, or if you are from a nearby state that is closer to Auburn than their SC or LA campuses. They know all of this information ahead of time, and consult it before granting people admission.

I know that you would be prioritized on their med school waitlist to any of the campuses if you meet the benchmarks at any point because they like to know their own people and who they are accepting (they will know us more than other candidates they decide to waitlist). People that are reviewed in March will obviously have better chances than those that meet benchmarks in May, but still. Worst case you will be guaranteed a seat for the following year and can take a year off to travel, shadow, gain more clinical experience etc. Though if you meant what if you never meet the benchmarks at any point in the program, I cannot say for certain but technically their DO application cycle is over by then and I’m not sure what they could offer to a MABS student that does not meet any of the benchmarks; it would likely be on a case by case basis (whether they missed because of a low MCAT or maybe got a 3.5 GPA with an acceptable MCAT etc.).

Again I’m a new student so I cannot speak from experience about class difficulty, though I encourage you to read through the entire forum as current and prior students have made posts already. However, to assuage any fears I can say that each student has said it is manageable, and isn’t really about the difficulty; it is more about the pace of the program. It will pick up and you will have an exam pretty much every week; they want to try and get their students acclimated to the pace of medical school, or at least a little taste of it. Essentially, what OMSIs do at all VCOM campuses in Block 1, the MABS program spreads out over 9 months. VCOM splits their first two years of med school into 8 blocks; 1-4 is year one and 5-8 is year two. Though block 8 is essentially allotted time to study for COMLEX.

Hope this helps!
Click to expand...
wow! Thanks so much for the detailed information! Yeah I’m going to try my hardest to get into a medical school during undergrad. I think this is everyone’s plan, ultimately, but I’m just exploring all options so this is of course a backup. Again thanks for your help, it was very informative.
 
savethebees33 said:
Former students, did professors give access to lecture slides (before quarantine)??
Click to expand...
Yes, professors give access to lecture slides. They are posted on myBC - Bluefield's version of Canvas or some other type of studenthub. Sometimes the professors will forget and it won't get uploaded in time, but for the most part (before quarantine), they were up the night before. Some professors are good and will have an exam's worth of lectures already uploaded so you can get ahead.
 
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I'mGonnaKnockYouOut said:
I’m not sure where you got their GPA target to be 3.2-3.4 other than maybe seeing posts on this forum, but there is no explicit limit to what they accept. I personally finished my undergrad with a 3.67 cGPA and 3.5 sGPA. I have a friend accepted this year as well that has a 3.8 cGPA. Also, I’d be more focused on your GPA right now and try to go to DO school back to back if your MCAT becomes competitive when you take it. From my perspective this program is really helping those that might have a higher GPA but low MCAT, or vice versa. You do not have to put a cap on yourself to realistically expect an acceptance to this program.

The program is for an entire year, and the benchmarks are provisional pending continued success in the spring semester. Therefore, you have to complete the entire program.

I’m not certain as I am a new student but previous students have stated that once you meet the benchmarks, it is maintaining that GPA as a whole/cumulative on the year, not necessarily 3.6 or higher each semester. Therefore, you could obtain a 3.8 in the fall and a 3.4 in the spring but still have your guaranteed seat from December benchmarks because your cGPA on the year would be 3.6. This could be wrong though, I cannot speak first hand yet for that info. However, it is important to keep in mind they changed it beginning with my class from a minimum of 3.4 to 3.6.

The placement of people that meet the benchmarks all depends on their permanent address at the time in which they apply to the MABS program. For example, I’m from PA and would be granted to stay at the Blacksburg campus, pending I qualify for the benchmarks. If you are from AL I would think your chances are good for Auburn, or if you are from a nearby state that is closer to Auburn than their SC or LA campuses. They know all of this information ahead of time, and consult it before granting people admission.

I know that you would be prioritized on their med school waitlist to any of the campuses if you meet the benchmarks at any point because they like to know their own people and who they are accepting (they will know us more than other candidates they decide to waitlist). People that are reviewed in March will obviously have better chances than those that meet benchmarks in May, but still. Worst case you will be guaranteed a seat for the following year and can take a year off to travel, shadow, gain more clinical experience etc. Though if you meant what if you never meet the benchmarks at any point in the program, I cannot say for certain but technically their DO application cycle is over by then and I’m not sure what they could offer to a MABS student that does not meet any of the benchmarks; it would likely be on a case by case basis (whether they missed because of a low MCAT or maybe got a 3.5 GPA with an acceptable MCAT etc.).

Again I’m a new student so I cannot speak from experience about class difficulty, though I encourage you to read through the entire forum as current and prior students have made posts already. However, to assuage any fears I can say that each student has said it is manageable, and isn’t really about the difficulty; it is more about the pace of the program. It will pick up and you will have an exam pretty much every week; they want to try and get their students acclimated to the pace of medical school, or at least a little taste of it. Essentially, what OMSIs do at all VCOM campuses in Block 1, the MABS program spreads out over 9 months. VCOM splits their first two years of med school into 8 blocks; 1-4 is year one and 5-8 is year two. Though block 8 is essentially allotted time to study for COMLEX.

Hope this helps!
Click to expand...
I will add a couple things: if you do get into another school (not VCOM) and don't want to get your Master's, you can leave the program in December/at any point and save your money. I don't know if people did that this past year, but the dean told us that people would do that when it was a Graduate Certificate Program, since they weren't getting a degree. One student got into their dream school in January of the program, quit the program, and hung out until they started med school.

Another thing: you will have mandatory meetings with the dean to talk about your progress throughout the year. If I remember correctly, you meet with him a few weeks into the start of the program, the start of the spring semester and the end of the year. He is also available at other times to talk, you just have to schedule those separately. But he allots about half a week to a week, where you get about 10-30 minutes to talk about what's going on and what resources are available so you can succeed.

It's doable - simple as that. I will add that we basically cram the first two years of VCOM into 9 months. That isn't meant to scare you, because we barely touch the surface of the med school curriculum. But we go through all of the body systems for anatomy, physiology and histology. There are numerous classes that we don't do that the med students do, but this program is like baby/diluted VCOM.

Finally, @jrohme122, I understand that you are trying to lay out all of your options, but focus on undergrad. Don't even think about this program again until like the middle of spring semester of SENIOR year. Do well in pre-med classes so that you don't have to take them again for another year. Your primary goal now should be getting into med school, straight.
 
Eric Qualen said:
Is this the thread for the masters program at Bluefield College? If it is, where are the actual classes held?
Click to expand...

Hi Eric. Yes, this is for the bluefield Mabs program. Classes are located at the rack space building near VCOM in Blacksburg


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Anyone hear back recently? Went in to final review 05/22 which is kinda late but still holding out hope. Anyone know how full the class is?


Sent from my iPhone using SDN
 
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