VCU/MCV Post Bac Pre Med CERT Fall 2009
Started by likekekaika
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when does the program start?
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Orientation starts Monday Aug 17, first day of classes is the 20th.Anyone need housing? I actually just got into medschool off a waitlist and need someone to take my place. Its in a 4bedrm 4 bath (YES!! your very own bathroom, and a walk in closet and big bed room) with likekalika (or however he spells that) and 2 other students in the program. Its $500/month +utilities. I am really sad to have to let it go b/c its an amazing place. If you are interested please PM me or email me: [email protected]
I got in!!! 😀 Hopefully I'll get my financial aid all squared away.. I tried calling financial aid a couple times but seemed like I was listening to a never-ending loop of "Thank you for calling VCU Financial Aid ..... the next available person will assist you" So maybe someone here can help me. 😀
I got an email "2009-2010 Request for Documents" and after following their directions I was taken to this website, and told to fill out the forms http://www.enrollment.vcu.edu/finaid/forms.html ... Which forms do we have to fill out? All the verification forms and additional forms??
I got an email "2009-2010 Request for Documents" and after following their directions I was taken to this website, and told to fill out the forms http://www.enrollment.vcu.edu/finaid/forms.html ... Which forms do we have to fill out? All the verification forms and additional forms??
thanks! i called the som financial aid and they were very helpful!
I have seen a lot of people talking about financial aid but I just spoke with the financial aid office anD was told that federal aid is not offered for certificate programs.. I know the program awards a Masters after teh second year but TECHNICALYL is a certificate program so ... how are those of you who have gotten it received finacial aid?? Am I not speaking to the right people? Please help!! Need money!! lol Thanks alot 😕
I know this may sound dumb, but I just found this program. Is it too late to apply? I went ahead and submitted my fast track application tonight along with my transcript.
It says there is technically no deadline, but its strongly rec. that we submit by June 30th... I'm a little late, I guess?
It says there is technically no deadline, but its strongly rec. that we submit by June 30th... I'm a little late, I guess?
With a gpa that high, I wouldn't risk doing an smp. Your mcat might be holding you back. Just something to consider.
Hi all just got in a week ago and so excited to come down to Virginia! just 2 quick questions, I am finishing up my last course (online) and will be done 2 weeks after the first day of classes, is it possible to send the official degree bearing transcript a little later?
Secondly, I was wondering where most of the CERT program students live? It would prob be better to be around people from the same program for convenience sakes.
Thanks so much in advance for your answers and l look forward to meeting you all ! 🙂
Secondly, I was wondering where most of the CERT program students live? It would prob be better to be around people from the same program for convenience sakes.
Thanks so much in advance for your answers and l look forward to meeting you all ! 🙂
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It shouldn't be a problem as long as it gets sent to them.
Most students live in the surrounding area either in "the fan" or "shockoe slip" or "Church hill." The students, at least when I was in the program, were pretty spread out.
Here is an old post that should help you with figuring out where to live:
I am a Richmond native. This should help you guys out. I posted this a couple years ago:
in the above picture MCV is located right above where the purple line intersects the 2nd O of downtown
Sketch areas that you probably don't want to live in include: oregon hill, Jackson ward, Randolph, or anything with court in it (ie Gilpin court). Also, dont live right across the river from downtown (ie called manchester on the second picture). Finally dont live too far north of broad street in church hill. For those of you that went to the financial aid workshop the director lady told you that Jackson ward is a good area to live in. I pretty much crapped myself when she told you that. Jackson ward is a really sketchy, really dangerous part of Richmond. Don't live there.
Here is a second picture that shows things a bit further east
Here MCV is located right around where it says "court end"
The Fan: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fan_District
Note that while Wikipedia doesnt consider west of boulevard 'the fan' many in Richmond do. Others refer to west of boulevard as "the museum district." Either way it is nice to live near carytown (shopping/eating area). You will be good living pretty much anywhere in the fan area. But the further away (west) from the undergrad campus, the quieter things will be. Generally around the 2000 block (of streets parallel w/ broad st) you should be in good shape. Other considerations are that there are a lot of bars on Robinson. So you might want to live around there (i think about 2500 block). The further west you go, generally the safer things get.
Church Hill: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_Hill
Note that you dont want to live very far north of Broad street. If you can, stay SOUTH of broad street (red line going up church hill). Really I cant stress this enough. If you go like 10 blocks north of broad around church hill you will get shot. Only half kidding about this. South of broad street has some very beautiful areas and some very nice apts. North of broad is a great place to buy crack. You see the dark black line going north of church hill, that is where the projects are and is arguably one of the most dangerous area of Richmond. So stay away from it.
Shockoe Bottom: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shockoe_Bottom
Apts are spotted throughout here generally above shops or in converted industrial buildings. The apts generally have a lot of character but, it can get loud if you are near the clubs/bars. Most of my class lives in the bottom so that is a consideration, plus it is nice and close to MCV. Basically on a decent day you can walk from the bottom. Things can get pricey here but if you look you can find a cheap place.
__________________________________________________________________________
Here is my update from this past year:
I had been hearing a lot of talk about the new revitalization of the Manchester area. I was curious about how much they could have done and my girlfriend was looking for a place to live so we decided to head across the river. I am not too sure what people consider a 'revitalization' but it didnt look a whole lot different. I'd still recommend not living there (well that is unless you plan to sling crack to pay for school-which i also do not recommend- but Glenda Palmer, the financial aid lady, always encourages us to be creative to save money so she may recommend differently).
Now a bit west from manchester you get to the Westover Hills/Forrest Hill Ave area (still in the southside). It is a bit of a drive but using the Nickel Bridge (which funny enough has a 35 cent toll) it takes around 10 minutes to get to school. This is a pretty safe area and you can get a pretty nice house to rent or buy for really, really cheap. Of the south-side area, this is probably one of your better options based on price and distance from school. This is right across the river from where the "fan" turns into the "museum district"
The Fan
Stretches of the fan are surrounded by kinda sketchy areas. In some stretches of broad you may feel unsafe. My GF lived on Grace a few years back and the alley behind her building was shared with the shops on broad. While I felt perfectly safe, she often felt uneasy walking alone at night. So if you are a female or would like to feel safer, if you choose to live in the fan, living either on the south side of grace (so you dont share an alley w/ broad) or just living south of grace st would be best.
The West end-
This is where I grew up so if you have any questions feel free to PM me. Unquestionably the safest and nicest area of Richmond. Can be a bit of a hike to class ranging from 15-45 minutes based on what part of the west end you live in. The apt prices vary wildly from obscenely expensive to pretty cheap.
Church Hill
I re-read what I wrote and it basically sounds like church hill is a war zone. It is not. South of broad is very very nice. Some of the nicest apts I have seen in R-Va are in Church hill. The people I know that live there feel safe. That said, stay south of broad because the projects really are about 10-15 blocks north with a nice little transition zone starting about 6 blocks north of broad. Stay south of broad and you will be fine and shouldnt feel unsafe.
I currently live in the fan/museum district. There are pros and cons about each area. My class is spread mainly in Downtown and the fan. There are probably a few dozen who live in the southside or west end. If you have questions feel free to PM me. If you have a specific apt complex in mind I probably wont be able to help you since I have limited exposure to the thousands of apt complexes in Richmond. But if you are worried about an area or want some input, feel free to PM me.
Most students live in the surrounding area either in "the fan" or "shockoe slip" or "Church hill." The students, at least when I was in the program, were pretty spread out.
Here is an old post that should help you with figuring out where to live:
I am a Richmond native. This should help you guys out. I posted this a couple years ago:
in the above picture MCV is located right above where the purple line intersects the 2nd O of downtown
Sketch areas that you probably don't want to live in include: oregon hill, Jackson ward, Randolph, or anything with court in it (ie Gilpin court). Also, dont live right across the river from downtown (ie called manchester on the second picture). Finally dont live too far north of broad street in church hill. For those of you that went to the financial aid workshop the director lady told you that Jackson ward is a good area to live in. I pretty much crapped myself when she told you that. Jackson ward is a really sketchy, really dangerous part of Richmond. Don't live there.
Here is a second picture that shows things a bit further east
Here MCV is located right around where it says "court end"
The Fan: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fan_District
Note that while Wikipedia doesnt consider west of boulevard 'the fan' many in Richmond do. Others refer to west of boulevard as "the museum district." Either way it is nice to live near carytown (shopping/eating area). You will be good living pretty much anywhere in the fan area. But the further away (west) from the undergrad campus, the quieter things will be. Generally around the 2000 block (of streets parallel w/ broad st) you should be in good shape. Other considerations are that there are a lot of bars on Robinson. So you might want to live around there (i think about 2500 block). The further west you go, generally the safer things get.
Church Hill: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_Hill
Note that you dont want to live very far north of Broad street. If you can, stay SOUTH of broad street (red line going up church hill). Really I cant stress this enough. If you go like 10 blocks north of broad around church hill you will get shot. Only half kidding about this. South of broad street has some very beautiful areas and some very nice apts. North of broad is a great place to buy crack. You see the dark black line going north of church hill, that is where the projects are and is arguably one of the most dangerous area of Richmond. So stay away from it.
Shockoe Bottom: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shockoe_Bottom
Apts are spotted throughout here generally above shops or in converted industrial buildings. The apts generally have a lot of character but, it can get loud if you are near the clubs/bars. Most of my class lives in the bottom so that is a consideration, plus it is nice and close to MCV. Basically on a decent day you can walk from the bottom. Things can get pricey here but if you look you can find a cheap place.
__________________________________________________________________________
Here is my update from this past year:
I had been hearing a lot of talk about the new revitalization of the Manchester area. I was curious about how much they could have done and my girlfriend was looking for a place to live so we decided to head across the river. I am not too sure what people consider a 'revitalization' but it didnt look a whole lot different. I'd still recommend not living there (well that is unless you plan to sling crack to pay for school-which i also do not recommend- but Glenda Palmer, the financial aid lady, always encourages us to be creative to save money so she may recommend differently).
Now a bit west from manchester you get to the Westover Hills/Forrest Hill Ave area (still in the southside). It is a bit of a drive but using the Nickel Bridge (which funny enough has a 35 cent toll) it takes around 10 minutes to get to school. This is a pretty safe area and you can get a pretty nice house to rent or buy for really, really cheap. Of the south-side area, this is probably one of your better options based on price and distance from school. This is right across the river from where the "fan" turns into the "museum district"
The Fan
Stretches of the fan are surrounded by kinda sketchy areas. In some stretches of broad you may feel unsafe. My GF lived on Grace a few years back and the alley behind her building was shared with the shops on broad. While I felt perfectly safe, she often felt uneasy walking alone at night. So if you are a female or would like to feel safer, if you choose to live in the fan, living either on the south side of grace (so you dont share an alley w/ broad) or just living south of grace st would be best.
The West end-
This is where I grew up so if you have any questions feel free to PM me. Unquestionably the safest and nicest area of Richmond. Can be a bit of a hike to class ranging from 15-45 minutes based on what part of the west end you live in. The apt prices vary wildly from obscenely expensive to pretty cheap.
Church Hill
I re-read what I wrote and it basically sounds like church hill is a war zone. It is not. South of broad is very very nice. Some of the nicest apts I have seen in R-Va are in Church hill. The people I know that live there feel safe. That said, stay south of broad because the projects really are about 10-15 blocks north with a nice little transition zone starting about 6 blocks north of broad. Stay south of broad and you will be fine and shouldnt feel unsafe.
I currently live in the fan/museum district. There are pros and cons about each area. My class is spread mainly in Downtown and the fan. There are probably a few dozen who live in the southside or west end. If you have questions feel free to PM me. If you have a specific apt complex in mind I probably wont be able to help you since I have limited exposure to the thousands of apt complexes in Richmond. But if you are worried about an area or want some input, feel free to PM me.
Hey, I just accepted my admissions offer from the CERT program. Of course now I have to move to Richmond in only a few weeks. Is anyone looking for a roommate/would anyone like to look for a place together? It would be pretty sweet to live with someone doing the same program. Email me: [email protected]
i just got into this program today(late eh?) pretty sure Im not going to go, but where can I find out about the programs success rate at matriculating people into allopathic programs?
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neverrrrrrrrrrrrrmind
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Enjoy your last week of total freedom guys!
Hi, all! I just got the immuno and biochem books I ordered from online but I'm thinking about returning them. Someone mentioned that we can get away with just studying the lectures...can anyone confirm this? I know the PHIS syllabus is a must have, but aside from that would any of you know if I should keep the books I ordered? Thanks in advance! See you all at orientation!
So where can we find the old exams for physiology, biochemistry, and... immunobiology?
So what is the new and improved program like guys?
I'm not participating in the mcat course so I can't speak on that.....
We have Peterson test on Monday but he claims he wont be putting any "some of the above, none of the above, not enough info" questions on the test this year...
Luckily we have a small break for a change following this exam to get ready for Chen and Cardio!!! yay!
Let me say weekly tests and applying to med school is definitely not the business. It doesn't seem like too many other people are applying this year (or at least I don't know who they are...which is probably equally as likely).
How did you manage interviews and staying on top of your work for the program???!
We have Peterson test on Monday but he claims he wont be putting any "some of the above, none of the above, not enough info" questions on the test this year...
Luckily we have a small break for a change following this exam to get ready for Chen and Cardio!!! yay!
Let me say weekly tests and applying to med school is definitely not the business. It doesn't seem like too many other people are applying this year (or at least I don't know who they are...which is probably equally as likely).
How did you manage interviews and staying on top of your work for the program???!
agreed...even though he didn't include multiple options for E...he still had tons of "not enough info", "none of the above" etc....the way he worded it before the test he made it seem like he was going to forgo all those "E" choices all together...not at all! Pretty tricky when you're pretty sure you calculated it correctly and don't see your answer...I feel like I had way too many Es and it's quite disconcerting to do a long calculation and not see your answer as an option (multiple times)!
Are you applying to med school this year hung?
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Lots of E's might be a good thing. Peterson might try to trick you psychologically with too many E's. He even told me last year that he likes having lots of correct answers as E. Did he say when he will be posting the scores?
I am applying right now. I'm still filling out secondaries. Still waiting for VCU to finish reviewing my application. How is it going with you?
I am applying right now. I'm still filling out secondaries. Still waiting for VCU to finish reviewing my application. How is it going with you?
same...I am procrastinating pretty bad. Most of the ones that I have completed I turned in before the program started...and I've put off the ones w/ essays I don't like and now just don't have the time/energy/motivation to write them, but I have a couple of interviews coming up before the Chen and Cardio exams 😱
I don't remember him saying when he would post them...I'm completely at a loss for how to prepare for the next exam! I have a feeling I just need to memorize...everything?!
I don't remember him saying when he would post them...I'm completely at a loss for how to prepare for the next exam! I have a feeling I just need to memorize...everything?!
University of Illinois (I'm from Chicago) and University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine...yay for the corn lol! Everything I read about the school sounds great and the students seem to love it but I don't know if I could really live there for 4 years...the only saving grace *location-wise* is it's only 3 hour drive to Chi-town
It was ~89% I believe. I would shoot for 90% though.
Word, my year it was around an 88. They keep the cutoff so that no more than 20% of the class gets an A.
So that usually falls around an 88-90
So that usually falls around an 88-90
Word, my year it was around an 88. They keep the cutoff so that no more than 20% of the class gets an A.
So that usually falls around an 88-90
So that usually falls around an 88-90
Nope, don't see the average on the phis final.
So what is everyone taking next semester?
So what is everyone taking next semester?
It is brand new. In the past it has not been part of the program. As i have said before, these programs are good for those who have lower GPAs and higher (or at least mediocre) MCATs.
