West Virginia (WVSOM) Discussion Thread 2014 - 2015
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Has anyone who had an interview this past week heard back about a decision yet?
Does anybody know if they are still offering interviews? I am trying to stay hopeful for an interview in April. I would appreciate any insight.
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I really hate to break it to u but when I spoke to someone in the office last week they said the last interviews were gonna be conducted this past Friday march 20th. You can give em a call to confirm that though.
Does anyone have an insight as to how much movement there was on the alternate list last cycle?
Angie said there was a lot of movement in May/June... If I remember correctly it was about 40% of the list. Not exactly sure how long the list was though. I was also told that some years the movement is great while others its not. Crossing my fingers there's a lot this year lol. They also offered rollover admissions last year which are decided based on the circumstances at the end of the cycle.
The best way to get answers however is to just call admissions. They are always happy to help you with any questions! Don't be afraid to call like I was for a long time haha🙂
Wow thank you so much for the information! That all seems like pretty good news. I just recently interviewed so I'm still waiting on a portal change but keeping my fingers crossed too haha
Not to be a pain but do you happen to know a timeframe for when they would offer rollover acceptances? I just ask because I guess early may is when everyone will be filling out the new AACOMAS for the following year. I had some complications with mine and it would be nice to not have to fill that out all and jump through the same hoops again.
Not a pain at all! Whoever I spoke to regarding rollovers did not give an exact time but said that decision is generally made at the end of everything so I would assume in July. I know that's a little annoying since it keeps us on all the fence for a really long time..
The decision seems to vary from year to year. About three years back, in the discussion threads, the students heard about being accepted into next years class in May. It does leave you on pins and needles still.
I was wondering when the calendar for the academic year 2015-2016 will be released. Also, how similar are the books from the previous year? (May be a current first or second year can answer this). I am hoping to save money on book. Are the stethoscopes and other items provided by the school? Is there a particular type the school suggests to use? What other items are possibly needed? I am trying to plan a ahead. Thank you for the information. 🙂
The books for this next year should be similar to the ones from this current year. The difference will probably be in edition of the textbook if it changed. As far as purchasing books go, just wait until orientation and the start of class. Get a feel for how lectures go. I didn't purchase any books until neurology which we started in January. I was able to get enough information from lecture, internet resources, and from my college books. I'm really glad I kept my college books as I use them quite often for references (especially if you took anatomy in college and still have your atlas). If you need to learn from books, wait until orientation and they will tell you what you need and you can purchase it at that time.
You buy your own stethoscope. A laptop is provided for you guys (I heard from the grape vine that you guys are getting Surface Pros, but that's just a rumor, not confirmed).
I would invest in a medium to large sized white board. I have used mine so much for writing out formulas and tables. If I remember anything else I'll post it, but I would just relax until orientation, don't fret too much. They did a really good job of telling us everything we need to be prepared for the onslaught that is med school 🙂
One last thing, relax this summer! For real, don't do any crazy studying or review sessions. Once school starts, that's when you can focus and study hard. You were all bright enough to get in to school so don't worry if you feel like you know nothing because you do!
You buy your own stethoscope. A laptop is provided for you guys (I heard from the grape vine that you guys are getting Surface Pros, but that's just a rumor, not confirmed).
I would invest in a medium to large sized white board. I have used mine so much for writing out formulas and tables. If I remember anything else I'll post it, but I would just relax until orientation, don't fret too much. They did a really good job of telling us everything we need to be prepared for the onslaught that is med school 🙂
One last thing, relax this summer! For real, don't do any crazy studying or review sessions. Once school starts, that's when you can focus and study hard. You were all bright enough to get in to school so don't worry if you feel like you know nothing because you do!
I just found out last night that I was accepted. I was wondering if anyone else has checked to see if they have also been. Good luck to everyone still on the wait list. There still seems to be movement so don't give up hope! Hope to see you all there on orientation day.
Thank you for this thoughtful post! Very helpful. Just one correction, I called Admissions and it looks like we will be provided with Levono Yogas (not sure which generation) as our computer. I did my research on it and it looks like a fairly good device that is marketed to be one of those laptop-tablet hybrids...however, most reviews suggest it functions more as a laptop. I've considered getting a tablet for note-taking, but will likely hold off until I've had a chance to play with the Yoga for a bit.
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Congrats! Mind sharing when u interviewed and if you're oos or from wv? Thanks!
Thank you so much for your suggestions. All of this is very helpful since it will prepare us better for the first few days. 🙂
I interviewed 2/23 and am from WV
Does WVSOM have a minimum MCAT score?
Nowhere is there listed a minimum MCAT. I imagine some have been accepted with 21-22 (with very solid undergrad grades, good ECs, strong LoRs), but the majority of matriculants fall into the 23-28 range. From my experience, WVSOM acknowledges the importance of the test, but it's just a single component of the app and not weighted more heavily than other parts. Remember that there are plenty of people who could score well on a four hour test that you wouldn't want taking care of you or your family. WVSOM is trying to find the best people to take care of families, and scoring well on tests, while important, is only part of what it takes.
I agree with this. It seems a large majority of our classmates had some sort of previous experience (paramedic, EMT-B, lab tech, nurse, etc). I think WVSOM really values that and I personally think experience is invaluable especially when it comes to the clinical skills portion.
Does anyone know how the health forms work during this process? I am wondering when to get my physical done for their health/immunization forms if I am not yet 100% certain this is where I will attend.
Hey just wondering if anyone could answer my question - I still have a blank space next to the "interview completed" part of my checklist, despite having interviewed already. Just wondering if this stays blank until they review my file or what? Wondering if I should call. Thanks!
When did you interview if you don't mind me asking? Also congrats!
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I am just curious when you interviewed? I interviewed on 3/13/2015 and still haven't had an update to my status, but congrats on the waitlist 🙂
I interviewed on 3/11/15, so just two days before you did. So tomorrow would make exactly 3 weeks from my interview to when I heard. Sounds like you'll hear soon I'm guessing, good luck! and thanks!
awesome thanks 🙂
Just placed on the alternate list as well (interviewed 3/16). Let's all hope for some movement lol
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Only the admissions personnel would know, and that's not something that would be disclosed.
waitlisted as well. interviewed 3/18
I interviewed on the 18 as well and have heard nothing :/
Did you check your status online? Maybe you were accepted! They snail mail final decisions and email for alternate list or decision deferred. Or maybe they just couldn't get through all the applicants at the meeting.
I checked! It still said decision pending. Womp
Awh, pulling for you, I bet they just didn't have time to get through all the recent interviews. Maybe by their next meeting they'll have some spots to accept people and pull some of us off the wait list!
since it says decision pending my guess is they have not gotten through all the interviews
Yea I figured. I just hate being the last to know 🙂
Edit: whoops. Wrong thread.
I've been to Lewisburg a few times and verizon worked well while I was there. However there are several parts of WV where VZW doesn't have coverage. FWIW I would probably get ATTW if I end up at WVSOM.
I have Sprint and it works really well out here. My fiance has Verizon and reception is spotty.
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anyone have any idea when people will start being taken off the wait list?
I am wondering if there are any current WVSOM students on this thread who might be able to answer a few questions.
I'm curious if there is any equipment we should buy in advance (stethoscope, scrubs, etc.) for the first year?
I'm also curious how 3rd/4th year rotations work. It's my understanding that we'll rank the statewide sites by preference, and that we'll most likely be moving to one spot in WV to do all the 3rd year rotations. Do most folks stay at that rotation their 4th year as well (with the exception of a few electives that one might do in one's home state or another state) or do folks move again during their 4th year? During the fourth year, can one arrange to do an elective rotation with any hospital out of state or does it have to be an "approved" hospital, and, if so, is there some sort of list of "approved sites" across the US?
And, finally, loans. I've looked up some options for low-interest loans from my home state to cover the remaining balance after the stafford loans. Are there any benefit to sticking with the grad plus loans? Ie. Can they be consolidated? Are they also forgivable at HPSA sites and NHSC-approved sites? The origination fees seem quite high and the interest rates are quite high too. I'll ask the financial aid department too, but am curious if anyone has some insight as a student on this. Also wondering when WVSOM usually sends financial aid information to folks--ie. what loans you qualify for, etc. ?
I'm curious if there is any equipment we should buy in advance (stethoscope, scrubs, etc.) for the first year?
I'm also curious how 3rd/4th year rotations work. It's my understanding that we'll rank the statewide sites by preference, and that we'll most likely be moving to one spot in WV to do all the 3rd year rotations. Do most folks stay at that rotation their 4th year as well (with the exception of a few electives that one might do in one's home state or another state) or do folks move again during their 4th year? During the fourth year, can one arrange to do an elective rotation with any hospital out of state or does it have to be an "approved" hospital, and, if so, is there some sort of list of "approved sites" across the US?
And, finally, loans. I've looked up some options for low-interest loans from my home state to cover the remaining balance after the stafford loans. Are there any benefit to sticking with the grad plus loans? Ie. Can they be consolidated? Are they also forgivable at HPSA sites and NHSC-approved sites? The origination fees seem quite high and the interest rates are quite high too. I'll ask the financial aid department too, but am curious if anyone has some insight as a student on this. Also wondering when WVSOM usually sends financial aid information to folks--ie. what loans you qualify for, etc. ?
Yes, purchase a stethoscope, scrubs, and general school items (pencils, notebook, etc.). I would also invest in a nice whiteboard. The school will provide a backpack (although you can certainly get your own) and a computer (seems like you are getting a Lenovo tablet or computer, someone posted a few pages ago about it). I would have a car for transportation. Other than that, the school will tell you everything you need to purchase at orientation. You will need an ophthalmoscope/otoscope, tuning fork, among other things. As far as books go, wait until orientation. They will give you a list of books you 'need.' I only purchased maybe 3 books all year out of the tons that they required. One book you will definitely need is a good anatomy atlas. I prefer Netter's atlas. Luckily, I had a lot of good books from undergrad that I was able to use for a lot of the classes. When I did need to read a particular book, I just borrowed it from the library as they have all the required books there.
Tip: If you can get a cheap otoscope/ophthalmoscope from either another student or online, I would definitely do that. I purchased the new one from the book store and we definitely haven't used it enough for the high cost. Although, one could argue that if you did break your scope (bookstore purchased scope), you can send it to Welch Allyn and they will fix it no problem. Plus there is less hassle if you just get it from the bookstore.
What you said as far as rotations go is correct. Third year is a mandatory WV rotation site while fourth year is flexible. There are limited rotation spots are all the affiliated sites in WV and you sign up for a rotation spot that you want. If too many people sign up for a rotation site, then it goes to lottery and they randomly pick people to go to that site while the people who didn't get picked have to go elsewhere. From what I've heard though, there has not been too many problems with this. The sign-ups for the rotation sites are a week or two beforehand and you can actually see where other people sign up. If you see too many people signing up for your location, you can choose a different one if you don't want to deal with the chance of a lottery.
Fourth year you have the option to either continue rotating at a site in WV, or you can go do your own rotations out of state. The positive to staying at a WV affiliated site is that all the paperwork is already done and you just go rotate there. If you choose to go out of state, you essentially have to set everything up yourself. I don't think that will be too big of a deal though as we have superb faculty here that can help you with that.
Loans are a pain man. I first thought I was going to make myself a connoisseur of the loan process. Wrong. After a million hours I just went down the normal route. It's annoying, and the "cheaper rate" loans always had strict stipulations or ended up being about the same price in the end with extra fees, etc. I just went with the stafford loan and the grad plus loan. I talked to the admissions staff before matriculating and they said this is the easiest most reliable option. I would still call them and talk to them, maybe things have changed.
Hope that cleared up some things, anyone can PM me for further inquiry. Back to learning about diarrhea and constipation.
Tip: If you can get a cheap otoscope/ophthalmoscope from either another student or online, I would definitely do that. I purchased the new one from the book store and we definitely haven't used it enough for the high cost. Although, one could argue that if you did break your scope (bookstore purchased scope), you can send it to Welch Allyn and they will fix it no problem. Plus there is less hassle if you just get it from the bookstore.
What you said as far as rotations go is correct. Third year is a mandatory WV rotation site while fourth year is flexible. There are limited rotation spots are all the affiliated sites in WV and you sign up for a rotation spot that you want. If too many people sign up for a rotation site, then it goes to lottery and they randomly pick people to go to that site while the people who didn't get picked have to go elsewhere. From what I've heard though, there has not been too many problems with this. The sign-ups for the rotation sites are a week or two beforehand and you can actually see where other people sign up. If you see too many people signing up for your location, you can choose a different one if you don't want to deal with the chance of a lottery.
Fourth year you have the option to either continue rotating at a site in WV, or you can go do your own rotations out of state. The positive to staying at a WV affiliated site is that all the paperwork is already done and you just go rotate there. If you choose to go out of state, you essentially have to set everything up yourself. I don't think that will be too big of a deal though as we have superb faculty here that can help you with that.
Loans are a pain man. I first thought I was going to make myself a connoisseur of the loan process. Wrong. After a million hours I just went down the normal route. It's annoying, and the "cheaper rate" loans always had strict stipulations or ended up being about the same price in the end with extra fees, etc. I just went with the stafford loan and the grad plus loan. I talked to the admissions staff before matriculating and they said this is the easiest most reliable option. I would still call them and talk to them, maybe things have changed.
Hope that cleared up some things, anyone can PM me for further inquiry. Back to learning about diarrhea and constipation.
