MSU-COM Discussion thread 2008-2009

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I am applying DO/PhD and just got released by AACOMAS this week. How long does it usually take to get the secondaries? I really hope to get them to my recommenders early. And so many acceptance already makes me nervous.
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prettyispink,

What do you look like on paper?

The option of being guaranteed a spot for the following year intrigues me. . .
 
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DoggieHowsterMD said:
has anyone visited msu and had a really positive experience? i visited recently and walked away feeling totally underwhelmed and really disappointed. i would really like to hear some positive feedback!
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I agree. I have been accepted, but my interview of the school wasn't very good. My tour guides were second year's that just made jokes about how we should all say good bye to life as we know it. I left with the impression that MSU didn't care at all if any of us actually chose to go to school there...sad seeing that i will be spending over $200,000. What does everyone like about MSU so much...I know its a great school that is ranked well but I would love to hear some positive feedback from students or prospective students. I have mixed feelings about the school. Sadly, only one person in my tour group said at the end of the day that he would be attending, everyone else said that they would probably go else where. I have been offered an interview at Des Moines and i think i might go out there but i dont know....help! :)
 
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Go check out des moines, you definitely want to spend your next 2-4 years in a place where you feel comfortable. Dont worry about rankings, cost etc etc...

That being said, the reasons why i would go to MSU (in addition to that it would be really cheap for me) are location of the school (love EL, did my undergrad there), location of rotations (detroit area options), the students get along and are pretty chill.

Reasons why I wouldn't go? the fact that they bunch MD and DO students into the same class, but the pass/fail percentages are different (any current students want to elaborate on this?) and because I feel like they dont get to know their students (very few interviews)
 
p1acebo, are you originally from Troy??
 
meganmarie said:
p1acebo, are you originally from Troy??
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haha yes I am... how did you know that?!?!\


oh wait... it says it on my thing, haha, ya I am but I did my undergrad at MSU
 
Has anyone been accepted today? Around what time of the day on Wednesdays do Adcom start emailing acceptances or waitlists? I'm anxious!
 
1troy said:
Has anyone been accepted today? Around what time of the day on Wednesdays do Adcom start emailing acceptances or waitlists? I'm anxious!
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I am anxious as well, maybe they are taking a break in the month of nov., because I haven't heard of anyone hearing anything back during this month.
 
Another week of no news? What on earth is going on?:(
 
I've got a question maybe a current student can answer. I'm currently trying to decide between MSU and another admissions offer. Does anyone know how students are assigned years 3 and 4 clinical sites? Do they get an option, assigned randomly, or a lottery system, etc.? The other school I'm looking at pretty much lets their students choose which site they want to go to.
 
My GF is a 2nd year, so I am familiar with the process, I think. Basically, you choose sometime near the end of your first year and the beginning of the second year. Right around the first day of class during second year, base hospital assignments are announced. Any hospital that is over goes to lottery. Everybody that listed that hospital as their choice goes to lottery - so it's anybodies game. Lottery night is certainly a night of drama - I was there.

The part that I didn't like was that there was nothing you could do if your hospital went to lottery. It didn't matter if you were responsible and picked your base hospital early - if your hospital goes over you go to lottery with people who picked at the last minute, and they have just as much of a chance getting that hospital as you do.
 
BTW...even with the lottery, most people at least got their second choice.
 
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For classes that we share with the MD's, it's only the basic sciences/labs. We had anatomy and its lab alone. We currently have genetics and physiology together and we had biochemistry together earlier in the semester. We obviously have OMM separate from the MD's as well as our doctor-patient relationship class.

As for having no life, I wouldn't say that is true. Some students will study 24/7 and not have a life, but most get out and have fun. I have time to go to the gym nearly everyday of the week and I still go out with my friends. The second years may say that because the number of credits that they take is nearly double of what first years take during the fall.

The faculty really do care about you here. If you ever have any questions, they will try to answer them for you. If they don't know the answer, they will find out and tell you when they do. In anatomy lab, we always had 2-3 professors available to ask questions and probably about 7-10 TA's. During the summer, Dr. Bice held review sessions for anatomy even though she did not teach the course. For our first biochem exam, students who failed were promptly contacted and offered help with the class.

The student body is also great. I have made a lot of new friends here. Everyone is very supportive. There is a student group called Study Buddys who prepares review sessions for others and fills out the course objectives for other students to study from. Working together is very encouraged by the college.

If anyone else has any questions, feel free to post them or send me a PM. And if anyone is touring here tomorrow, my friend and I will be leading the tour.
 
:p hey guys, i just got an email indicating my acceptance today. Don't give up hope. Good luck everyone.
 
hey everyone! i just wanted to ask if it is normal to not hear word from MSU yet if you're an out of stater. Is it a bad sign that I haven't heard anything from them yet? any feedback is appreciated
 
1troy said:
:p hey guys, i just got an email indicating my acceptance today. Don't give up hope. Good luck everyone.
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congradulations!, I am keeping my head up high :p
 
I am still waiting to hear from them and I am an in-stater. I was complete in early September. stats 29Q, 3.0 undergrad overall, 2.7 science undergrad, 3.7 grad sci. I am really nervous that I wont hear from them!! When were you complete 1troy and what are your stats? are you in state?
 
rajaholick said:
Go check out des moines, you definitely want to spend your next 2-4 years in a place where you feel comfortable. Dont worry about rankings, cost etc etc...

That being said, the reasons why i would go to MSU (in addition to that it would be really cheap for me) are location of the school (love EL, did my undergrad there), location of rotations (detroit area options), the students get along and are pretty chill.

Reasons why I wouldn't go? the fact that they bunch MD and DO students into the same class, but the pass/fail percentages are different (any current students want to elaborate on this?) and because I feel like they dont get to know their students (very few interviews)
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I guess I'll put in my two cents... I'm a first year at MSUCOM going straight from undergrad at MSU.

I haven't visited Des Moines, but from what I've heard, their facilities are amazing. In the end, a med school is a med school to some extent. You'll do fine wherever you go and as long as you work hard, it probably won't matter THAT much what school you went to. I'd first and foremost recommend that you pick a school based on location... if money's not an issue then by all means go wherever you want, but MSU's out of state tuition is very high.

Side note: MSUCOM is not ranked. In your Dean's letter for residencies, they put in your percentiles for any and all classes that you want included (let's say you were at the 90% for biochem, you would definitely want that in there)... but there is no formal ranking system. Most schools that don't officially rank still do the class by class percentiles because how else are they going to tell you from the next person when applying for residencies?

As for the MD/DO in the same classes... it's not that big of a deal. For the most part, they keep to themselves and we keep to ourselves by the sheer fact that we had anatomy over the summer without them and got to know our class before they even started. Plus, it's really only two semesters that you have combined classes (just your core science classes). By the time we get to systems classes, we go our separate ways. Even this semester we have Epidemiology and Doctor-Patient Relations separate from the MDs (and obviously OMM).

The pass/fail percentage thing is also not that big of a deal. We had to get a 75% in Anatomy just like the MDs do whereas in most other classes we need a 70%. The MDs have this "conditional pass" gray area from 70-75% which really doesn't mean anything I've learned.

As for not knowing the students well because MSUCOM doesn't do interviews, I completely disagree. The admissions committee does a great job of figuring out what kind of person you are from your activities, your essay, etc. What can you really tell from a person in an interview? Most people are fake and just tell the committee what they think will get them in. Honestly, looking around in class this morning, I think COM did a much better job of selecting their class of 2012 than CHM. Of course I'm biased... but I stand by that MSUCOM does fine without interviews and honestly, if they interviewed every applicant, you wouldn't find out an acceptance nearly as early.

Wow. That was a lot... If anyone has any additional questions, feel free to PM me. Like I said, I've been here for going on 5 years now so I'm also open to answering any questions about East Lansing not directly pertaining to medical school.
 
does anyone know, or can anyone guess approximately what percentage of the class is full?
 
detroitdo said:
does anyone know, or can anyone guess approximately what percentage of the class is full?
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Hey people, I'm a first year at COM and I have a few friends applying in this cycle and was curious as too how full the class was too, I talked to admissions probably two weeks ago they said its not yet 50% (remember there are a hundred more seats to fill this year than last, so acceptances will be going out much later into the year). This number (<50%) may have changed since, but the outlook still looks positive. I guess the admissions committee has been on recess for the past few weeks that's probably why little news is coming in.
To everyone who's been accepted: congrats! Come here you'll love it! Fall semester is soo laid back, people are awesome. To everyone still waiting: good luck!
 
Biochemist said:
Hey people, I'm a first year at COM and I have a few friends applying in this cycle and was curious as too how full the class was too, I talked to admissions probably two weeks ago they said its not yet 50% (remember there are a hundred more seats to fill this year than last, so acceptances will be going out much later into the year). This number (<50%) may have changed since, but the outlook still looks positive. I guess the admissions committee has been on recess for the past few weeks that's probably why little news is coming in.
To everyone who's been accepted: congrats! Come here you'll love it! Fall semester is soo laid back, people are awesome. To everyone still waiting: good luck!
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Thank you so much for the information, it is truly appreciated. I am still positive on my chances for getting accepted to MSUCOM and I hope everyone else who hasn't heard back is as well.
 
Just paid my deposit today, so it's official, I'm in the Class of 2013!
 
Yup, E. Lansing. Know of any good apts/places for rent close to Lee Hall? I've heard that a lot of med students live at Berrytree...time to start looking for my new home!
 
crewbierae said:
Yup, E. Lansing. Know of any good apts/places for rent close to Lee Hall? I've heard that a lot of med students live at Berrytree...time to start looking for my new home!
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Its Fee Hall. Berrytree is popular but if you ever make it over to MSU for a tour they give you a big packet full of apartments appropriate for med students. Just a suggestion =)
 
I'm a first year and I currently live at Berrytree. I'm moving next year because I want to get a dog, but I really like it here. Feel free to pm me if you have any questions about the complex.

Regarding the so-so visit days:
I kind of felt the same way. I visited on an exam day so everyone was sleep-deprived and rushed. I came back for the open house in the spring and I it was a much better experience. I really feel that COM students are generally happy and they have balance in their lives. As a first year, I don't feel totally overwhelmed and I still have a social life. I'm in a relationship and get to see my partner every weekend. I volunteer for a few hours a week and I'm in a number of the school organizations. I even have enough down-time that I'm considering getting a dog over the summer. Everyone is different and the amount of time you will commit to school will depend on your study habits. I'm a non-trad student so I had a hard time adjusting during anatomy, but this semester has been pretty stress-free. I am very happy with my choice of COM.

As for the difference in MD and DO passing grades: Like someone else stated, we all need 75% to pass anatomy. For the other basic science courses in the first year DOs need 70% whereas MDs need 75%, but if MDs get 70-75% they have to do some extra work to pass (usually re-taking an exam or two). It used to be that 70% was the cut-off for both schools and then CHM changed their policy. COM considered changing their policy but decided that adding a gray area wasn't going to be helpful. Bottom line: If you're consistently scoring in the 70s then you're not mastering the material; focusing on the P/F cut-off won't do you any good.

I posted a while back on this thread about why I chose COM over another school, so if you're interested you can look for it.
 
i got an e-mail today!! msucom class of 2013!! woowoo!!! dont give up, guys!! :oops:
 
Congrats Matriculateme!

For anyone that is deciding to go to the DMC campus, where are you guys going to study besides the computer lab at the MSU site. Apparently MSUCOM students cannot use any of the WSU library computers since they are reserved for students. There are also 2 medical libraries at Children's Hospital and the Rehabilitation institute with 20 computers total at the 2 sites, but they may be full with other medical residents and interns. Basically I just want a place to study perferalbly until 10pm at night with access to a computer. Any input would be appreciated.
 
ACCEPTED TODAY!!! SO excited!!
 
Do4life said:
Its Fee Hall. Berrytree is popular but if you ever make it over to MSU for a tour they give you a big packet full of apartments appropriate for med students. Just a suggestion =)
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Yeah...I knew that...was thinking Fee and wrote Lee, we have a Lee Hall here...now I feel stupid

Thanks for the correction :)
 
Congratz!!!!! I am keeping my hopes up....maybe next week will be my week!
 
crewbierae said:
Yeah...I knew that...was thinking Fee and wrote Lee, we have a Lee Hall here...now I feel stupid

Thanks for the correction :)
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No problem, thought it might be helpful if you were searching for apts around Lee Hall you might not be finding anything. :D
 
Yo.....

Does anyone know when or if any movement there will be or usually is on the waitlist? I've been on it since Early Oct. With a guaranteed admission for 2010, and was told when visiting E.Lansing that i was probably in the upper 1/3rd of the list.....whatever that means. Does anyone know when last years class started to see movement on the waitlist. I would like to know what the deal is way before orientation in June, not no one month in advance notice, in May or April.

Also, I see some people getting acceptances recently. Why would they guarantee me a spot for 2010 but still be admitting people for 2009 and keep me on the wait list......i don't get it?:confused:
 
Dsaab said:
Yo.....

Does anyone know when or if any movement there will be or usually is on the waitlist? I've been on it since Early Oct. With a guaranteed admission for 2010, and was told when visiting E.Lansing that i was probably in the upper 1/3rd of the list.....whatever that means. Does anyone know when last years class started to see movement on the waitlist. I would like to know what the deal is way before orientation in June, not no one month in advance notice, in May or April.

Also, I see some people getting acceptances recently. Why would they guarantee me a spot for 2010 but still be admitting people for 2009 and keep me on the wait list......i don't get it?:confused:
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When I talked to Kathie Schafer, director of admissions, she said that about 80% of people on the waitlist with guaranteed admission will get admitted for the current cycle. Just so you know, there is another waitlist without guaranteed admission. I really don't understand why they would have that waitlist. If 20% of people with guaranteed admission get rolled over, then it seems that no one on the normal waitlist could possibly be accepted? Also, I've heard of people being accepted 2 days before orientation starts. Sorry, that is all the info I have. I do not understand MSUCOM's admissions office either!
 
Thanks for the info my man........on the same page with that regard....from my understanding, students will be able to choose the campus they prefer before orientation starts, Ms. Schaefer told us that after all the Detroit, and Macomb prefrences fill up, all the remaining students will be put in E.L. Does this imply that if your coming off the waitlist at the end of the game, you will definitely be in East Lansing?

It would definetly suck to find out 2 days before orientation. As a rule I probabley will let my admission role over to 2010 if I don't get off the waitlist by April or May (5-6 months from now). This way I can plan stuff out.....
 
Dsaab said:
Also, I see some people getting acceptances recently. Why would they guarantee me a spot for 2010 but still be admitting people for 2009 and keep me on the wait list......i don't get it?:confused:
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Yeah I got the same thing this past Wednesday. I was confused and really excited all at the same time. Oh well, regardless of what happens I'm going to be a Spartan! :D Best of luck! I hope we both make it off the waitlist! :xf:
 
I got in for 2013! By the way, they still do some interviews. I know one guy that had one. Now I have to figure out what I'm doing for living next year. I know COM gives you a packet of the apartments in the area. I just have to find a roommate :0.
 
Has anyone heard anything from MSU in awhile? Is the class already full? I have been complete for some time now and have not had a response, one way or the other. Any info would be great!
 
They are definitely not full yet, they just didn't meet this week due to Thanksgiving break. Also, as I understand it, the committee didn't meet for a while (couple of weeks) due to one of the members having a medical issue.
 
Has any out of staters been accepted yet?
 
for msucom supplement, did you double or single space your essay? thanks!
 
You only get one page, so definitely single-space it.
 
I'M IN!!!!!!!!!!


AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

I can't tell anyone until I tell my girlfriend though!!! And she's in class!

I'm soooooo wired!!!!
 
Has anyone made it off the wait list yet? I'm on the wait list with guaranteed spot for class of 2014 if I don't get off it and I'm wondering when people will start getting off the wait list.
 
FYI...I've started an MSUCOM Class of 2013 thread in the medical students forum.
 
I just want to hear something from them... well anything except a rejection!

I am doing really well this semester though, faxing those grades in ASAP :)
 
skiracr456 said:
I just want to hear something from them... well anything except a rejection!

I am doing really well this semester though, faxing those grades in ASAP :)
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Me too!
 
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