VCOM MABS 2020-2021

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The MCAT being canceled is really stressing me out, is it even possible to study during the program or is it too much? So afraid
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DOvsMDplease said:
The MCAT being canceled is really stressing me out, is it even possible to study during the program or is it too much? So afraid
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There are students who did that and succeeded, but I do feel it would be difficult.

@BlkDoc2024 do you have any extra wisdom on this?
 
DOvsMDplease said:
The MCAT being canceled is really stressing me out, is it even possible to study during the program or is it too much? So afraid
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My MCAT got delayed, too :( But luckily, the VCOM MCAT benchmarks aren't very high, so I think it's definitely possible to achieve an alright score while doing the program (at least I hope)!
 
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For those looking to retake the MCAT, or take it for the first time. The test is now shortened to 5 hours 45 minutes. Only one additional date has been added to June so far, and the test will be held 3 times at each testing center. You will not be able to sign up for a test until May 7th apparently
 
For current students, what does the typical day look like? How long/how many breaks do you get, how long is the day and how many classes per-day? Does it run like undergrad classes with some one MWF and others on TR?
 
123ey123 said:
For current students, what does the typical day look like? How long/how many breaks do you get, how long is the day and how many classes per-day? Does it run like undergrad classes with some one MWF and others on TR?
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They start you out with classes about 3-4 days per week with one exam a week. The day before exams you will not have class. Exams are typically Mondays or Fridays. As the semester progresses you will have classes 4-5 days a week.

Classes are typically from 8am to noon each day with 10 minute breaks between each class. As the semester progresses, you will start having some days where you are not done at noon, but instead about 3 or 4. On those days you get an hour long lunch break.

Classes are not like undergrad where you have set classes on set days. It varies and is subject to change if a professor has a problem arise and can't teach. Some days may be 1 hour of 4 different classes, and other days might be 4 hours of one class.

As you may have read, attendance is mandatory. You can miss 20% only. They take attendance by randomly taking a photo of the classroom each day. You will not know when the photo is taken. You personally can record audio of the lectures but they do not provide audio or visuals to listen to at a later date like they do in the med school.

Hope that helps!
 
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inTheoryyy said:
Hey guys, I ended up submitting my application on April 14, so unfortunately very late. Does anyone know the likelihood of them still having spots open in the program for such late applicants?

3.5 cGPA/sGPA, 504 MCAT, strong ECs, Blacksburg resident (not sure if all of this is needed in any way or not)
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Hey, I know I've mentioned this before, but there is always a chance. Even if they have currently filled every spot, people will reject the acceptance or later in the summer decline due to a different offer. My roommate was accepted one week before the program started. Best of luck!
 
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Hello everyone! I'm a current MABS student and I would love to answer any questions that you may have about the program!
 
Nala_Dawn said:
They start you out with classes about 3-4 days per week with one exam a week. The day before exams you will not have class. Exams are typically Mondays or Fridays. As the semester progresses you will have classes 4-5 days a week.

Classes are typically from 8am to noon each day with 10 minute breaks between each class. As the semester progresses, you will start having some days where you are not done at noon, but instead about 3 or 4. On those days you get an hour long lunch break.

Classes are not like undergrad where you have set classes on set days. It varies and is subject to change if a professor has a problem arise and can't teach. Some days may be 1 hour of 4 different classes, and other days might be 4 hours of one class.

As you may have read, attendance is mandatory. You can miss 20% only. They take attendance by randomly taking a photo of the classroom each day. You will not know when the photo is taken. You personally can record audio of the lectures but they do not provide audio or visuals to listen to at a later date like they do in the med school.

Hope that helps!
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Hey! Are there 24 hour study rooms at VCOM or any campuses that are closer to Blacksburg?
 
Jorr.Jorr said:
Hey! Are there 24 hour study rooms at VCOM or any campuses that are closer to Blacksburg?
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VCOM closes each night and students are kicked out so you can't at VCOM.

Virginia Tech is located in Blacksburg, only a few minutes from Rackspace where the MABS classes are held and about 8 minutes from VCOM. You can study there, but if you park on campus during the day, you will need a parking pass. If you park after hours in certain lots you're fine. Only a few buildings at VTech are 24 hours though. I believe they include the library in some areas and New Classroom Building.
 
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StudentDocGoals said:
Can you tell us about the curriculum and how hard it is to reach the GPA benchmark?
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The fall semester is primarily the core-bio courses and the spring is all the classes that are more advanced which some people may not have taken prior to this program! All the courses are taught by VCOM professors and the powerpoints are borderline identical from MABS and VCOM OMS1 lectures.

And the benchmarks work in your favor because there are 3! and there are weeks in the semester to help people who need to take the MCAT again! It was challenging for me because the pace and the volume of content were so different than undergrad. But if work every day, it's easily doable! It's a plus if you already met the MCAT benchmark and need to just focus on the GPA!
 
123ey123 said:
For current students, what does the typical day look like? How long/how many breaks do you get, how long is the day and how many classes per-day? Does it run like undergrad classes with some one MWF and others on TR?
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classes 8-12 everyday except some weeks you'll go til 5pm. you get 10 min break per lecture and an hour lunch break everyday. and usually, the day before exams, you won't have any classes.
 
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Nala_Dawn said:
VCOM closes each night and students are kicked out so you can't at VCOM.

Virginia Tech is located in Blacksburg, only a few minutes from Rackspace where the MABS classes are held and about 8 minutes from VCOM. You can study there, but if you park on campus during the day, you will need a parking pass. If you park after hours in certain lots you're fine. Only a few buildings at VTech are 24 hours though. I believe they include the library in some areas and New Classroom Building.
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Thank you very much. I know they changed the spring gpa from 3.4 to 3.6. Do you personally think it made a much bigger difference to keep your acceptance ?
 
Jorr.Jorr said:
Thank you very much. I know they changed the spring gpa from 3.4 to 3.6. Do you personally think it made a much bigger difference to keep your acceptance ?
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From what I am aware, that change was made for the upcoming class, as I was informed by Auburn that I only needed to maintain a 3.4 overall, which for me means I can get a 3.1 this spring.

However I don't think it impacted it at all. In fact, I'm currently doing far better this semester GPA wise, and am looking at finishing with a 3.9, so it is absolutely doable despite the changes they made.
 
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16qg said:
Hey is it possible to still apply?? I just heard of this program and it sounds pretty cool with the conditional acceptance.
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The website has been updated and the new deadline is May 15 so apply fast :)
 
How can you predict which campus you get conditionally accepted to? Is it that the higher the GPA you get, the more probable of getting into the main campus?
 
16qg said:
How can you predict which campus you get conditionally accepted to? Is it that the higher the GPA you get, the more probable of getting into the main campus?
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It depends on your state residency. Also, when you get accepted to MABS, they include the specific campus you will be conditionally admitted to.


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16qg said:
How can you predict which campus you get conditionally accepted to? Is it that the higher the GPA you get, the more probable of getting into the main campus?
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Like someone else said, it depends on your state residency somewhat. If you want Blacksburg but are not from Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, etc., then you have to petition to go there if you meet benchmarks. Once the December benchmarks approach, you apply to VCOM and rank the schools. They determine where to place you should you meet benchmarks based on your rankings.
 
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Jazz1997 said:
Why would they do that? Is it because they did not have enough applicants, or because of the Covid19 situation?
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I have absolutely no idea. I so happened to notice the date change on the main page of the MABS website, but not all of the pages have been updated. Im curious to see how the pandemic will affect the fall semester, especially with the anticipated "second wave" of the virus.
 
How long after the application was placed in final review do you usually hear back about a decision?
 
For the students currently in the program, how difficult was the switch to online lectures/exams/practicals? Was it more or less difficult than doing them in person the semester before? I am asking this since we may have to do our first semester online this upcoming summer/fall.
 
Hache757 said:
For the students currently in the program, how difficult was the switch to online lectures/exams/practicals? Was it more or less difficult than doing them in person the semester before? I am asking this since we may have to do our first semester online this upcoming summer/fall.
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I can speak to this being a current MABS student. First, I would like to say that no one could have predicted this pandemic and so our administrations have been working tirelessly to ensure that we can still learn the material that is required of us. Our lecture material is still avaliable but since we don't have in person classes, our lectures are recorded and sent it us. I must say it has been a bit of a learning curve especially for us who depend heavily on that face to face interaction to understand difficult material. But nonetheless, our professors are still available (though Zoom, Skype, and email) to answer any questions we may have. Since we completed anatomy last semester, we don't have any practicals to worry about.
 
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BlkDoc2024 said:
I can speak to this being a current MABS student. First, I would like to say that no one could have predicted this pandemic and so our administrations have been working tirelessly to ensure that we can still learn the material that is required of us. Our lecture material is still avaliable but since we don't have in person classes, our lectures are recorded and sent it us. I must say it has been a bit of a learning curve especially for us who depend heavily on that face to face interaction to understand difficult material. But nonetheless, our professors are still available (though Zoom, Skype, and email) to answer any questions we may have. Since we completed anatomy last semester, we don't have any practicals to worry about.
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Thank you for your response!
 
inTheoryyy said:
Hey guys, I ended up submitting my application on April 14, so unfortunately very late. Does anyone know the likelihood of them still having spots open in the program for such late applicants?

3.5 cGPA/sGPA, 504 MCAT, strong ECs, Blacksburg resident (not sure if all of this is needed in any way or not)
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With those stats they'd probably want you to apply DO right away, not through an SMP.
 
NYCking said:
With those stats they'd probably want you to apply DO right away, not through an SMP.
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To be fair, we had students in our class with better stats than those but after 1-2 cycles had never been accepted anywhere, so this is a great way to have that chance at a guaranteed acceptance potentially. Plus they encourage the students in the program to apply to other schools also. I have classmates who didn't meet benchmarks for VCOM but were accepted at other school.
 
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Does anyone know how to find a roommate since the facebook page does not seem active?
 
danikugler said:
Does anyone know how to find a roommate since the facebook page does not seem active?
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Honestly if you want to find a roommate who is in your class, your Facebook page will probably be the best option. No harm in posting and see who responds. Our Facebook page was kind of dead also until the semester got closer. Maybe re-share the link here for the newly admitted who may have missed it.

Otherwise if you are looking to room with just anyone in school, Virginia tech has a Facebook page for roommates and subleasing. I don't remember the name right now though.
 
Hi everyone, I just found out about this program and it seems really great! Are the chances of applying and gaining admission at this point slim? Is it rolling admissions, and how many applicants on average are admitted each cycle? Thank you!
 
Hache757 said:
For the students currently in the program, how difficult was the switch to online lectures/exams/practicals? Was it more or less difficult than doing them in person the semester before? I am asking this since we may have to do our first semester online this upcoming summer/fall.
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Where did you hear that this fall will be virtual?
 
Jasmine W said:
Where did you hear that this fall will be virtual?
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I did not hear that. I said “we may”, as the university has yet to announce if we will be attending classes on site or doing it virtually as the MABS students did last semester. Was just asking for the sake of the possibility.
 
HBlank said:
I have just been accepted and I am curious if we are given access to the Virginia Tech facilities, tickets to sporting events, etc as well as access to VCOM facilities. Also if anyone is looking for roommates please let me know.
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How long did it take for acceptance email from the date after you received the final review email?
 
GOAT94 said:
How long did it take for acceptance email from the date after you received the final review email?
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It all depends on how full the class is already or if they are taking more time to review applicants. Last year it took about 3-4 weeks for me to get accepted after the final review email but it took my roommate months.
 
ibby2003 said:
Hey guys, I’m extremely excited that the deadline got pushed back to May 15th. I’m sending in my app as soon as I get my last LOR through Postbacs. Unfortunately I’m worried that I’m too late. My stats are:
3.35 cGPA
3.18 sGPA
496 MCAT
Neuro research, hospital/foodbank volunteering, MD/DO shadowing, a leadership position in a school group, as well as a unique EC that I hope will make me standout.

I feel like if I had applied earlier in the year my stats were a safe bet, especially seeing others who were accepted in March and April. The FB group has 43 people, but I’m sure they’re are many more accepted who also haven’t been added yet. I’m worried that my application will be too late. Am I right??


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You're never too late. As I have mentioned many times, they accepted people up until the week before classes last year. My roommate was one of those people, and I think he got in because the person I was originally supposed to live with dropped a week before the start date when he got into medical school.
 
Nala_Dawn said:
You're never too late. As I have mentioned many times, they accepted people up until the week before classes last year. My roommate was one of those people, and I think he got in because the person I was originally supposed to live with dropped a week before the start date when he got into medical school.
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What is the start date for classes?
 
dinanina97 said:
It depends on your state residency. Also, when you get accepted to MABS, they include the specific campus you will be conditionally admitted to.


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Where is that included? I got accepted and am trying to find that.
 
GOAT94 said:
What is the start date for classes?
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I exchanged emails between one of the doctors who were on my acceptance letter and she even briefly spoke with the President of VCOM to verify an official date. They stated the first day of class would start July 27. However, these emails were exchanged 2 weeks ago. Things are constantly changing due to the pandemic, so hopefully we get a set time soon for those who need to look for housing.
 
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DeterminedSoul19 said:
Where is that included? I got accepted and am trying to find that.
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They don't include the campus you will be conditionally assigned to when accepted. You will only find out come December if you meet benchmarks via an email. Before when you apply mid fall for VCOM, then you rank the campuses. I'm a current MABS student.
 
Nala_Dawn said:
They don't include the campus you will be conditionally assigned to when accepted. You will only find out come December if you meet benchmarks via an email. Before when you apply mid fall for VCOM, then you rank the campuses. I'm a current MABS student.
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Maybe because I’m out of state but mine says the Louisiana campus.


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