MSU-COM Discussion Thread 2009-2010

[dr.z]

Yep. We get lot 100 passes... apparently they have the possibility of running out due to us sharing the lot with CHM, so sign up for them ASAP :|

In the Summer there is free parking in lot 91 (X lot) which is right next to fee.

Do you happen to know how and when you can sign up for it?

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[Everglide]

Do you happen to know how and when you can sign up for it?

The sign-up is through the parking services website. No clue when, I would imagine someone from the COM office will tell us. My guess would be around a month before classes start in the Fall.

 

[dr.z]

The sign-up is through the parking services website. No clue when, I would imagine someone from the COM office will tell us. My guess would be around a month before classes start in the Fall.

Thanks!

 

[shinny04]

My application is on hold or to be reviewed by dean. I have not had interview yet. Would it be a good idea to send letter of interest? Would they accept it?

 

[HristosKaran]

Hey everyone, I just receive an e-mail notifying me that I have been placed on the wait list. They also gave me the option to visit the school. I'm pretty sure visiting the school will place you much higher on their lists, but due to expenses, will not visiting completely erase my chance of gaining admission? Thanks!

 

[HristosKaran]

double post

 

[CrzyGal]

Is the campus visit offered to the waitlisted specifically targeted for them or is it meant for accepted students and the waitlisted are just "tagging along"?

What does the campus visit include? Does it include one on one time with any advisers? Can someone who has been on a campus visit please comment on their experience?

 

[dr.z]

Is the campus visit offered to the waitlisted specifically targeted for them or is it meant for accepted students and the waitlisted are just "tagging along"?

What does the campus visit include? Does it include one on one time with any advisers? Can someone who has been on a campus visit please comment on their experience?

I think most of the ones that go are accepted students. You get more info about MSUCOM from the associate dean and director of admissions. There are panel of current students that come and answer questions and take you on a tour.

There was no one on one time.

 

[rm2908]

I think most of the ones that go are accepted students. You get more info about MSUCOM from the associate dean and director of admissions. There are panel of current students that come and answer questions and take you on a tour.

There was no one on one time.

Since COM doesn't do interviews (in general), they use visit days for you to "interview" them and get that side of what you would get in a general interview day at another school.


For those asking about parking fees, the amounts you found for DMC and EL are correct and per semester.. for DMC there are no alternative besides the garage which is 2.50/day. The parking is free @ Macomb.

 

[jc3804]

Hi everyone,

I got some interesting stats from the campus visit day that I thought I'd share.

COMLEX first time pass rate is 90-92%.
COMLEX IICE first time pass rate is 93-95%.
COMLEX IIPE first time pass rate is 95-96%.

20-25% of the students take the USMLE and 80-85% pass first time.

(Dr. Falls didn't mention what year these numbers are from though.)

Also, more than 90% of the students match into their first choice residency.

Some bad news... the 2014 class as of right now is full. But this is counting those students who have not yet paid the deposit. Once the deadline for the deposit passes, they will be able to move people off the waiting list etc. I'm not sure if they will be handing out acceptances or will only take people from the waitlist.

Hope this helped!

 

[Anonymous517]

Hi everyone,

I got some interesting stats from the campus visit day that I thought I'd share.
.
..

I agree with all of this from the tour, though I have to believe the Level II PE pass rate is probably lower (the national pass rate dropped significantly). To add:

These facts may or may not be important, I just know some are interested in them
Other facts that aren't easily found on here or online:
-Around 20 students matched into ACGME residencies last year, including one at Cornell Surgery for some specialized variety (ortho I think?)

-It's true Pass/Fail, there is no internal ranking. The only thing that can involve grades is the Dean's Letter. I could not get a clear answer but I'm under the impression you get to choose which grades go onto the Dean's Letter.

-There's one "vacation" between semester-4 summer and semester-5 fall. It lasts from July to August. Other than the standard university breaks (winter/christmas, spring), there's no other real breaks.

- Apparently the wait list has moved roughly 20 to 50 spots in the past, it varies greatly from year to year. They are not allowed to tell you your spot on it (exception the top 10 find out in April?). To the person who mentioned it earlier, attending the visit date will not help your chances, there's no attendance for it. The wait list is ranked evaluated by your "score" given by their admissions system. Don't visit just out of hopes of moving off the list.

-There is one month true month "off" to study (and take) Level I/Step I. This is June before starting clerkships.

-On a random note, there was a lot of OOS people at the tour. What looked like ~40%, this was a lot more than I expected.

 

[BlueJaysFan]

Hey everyone,
Just curious, does anyone know when the deposit is due for accepted students? Also does anyone know how many people approx are on the waitlist where they guarantee students a spot for the following year?

Thanks

 

[momanddoc]

Hi everyone! I have been offered an acceptance from my state school and have decided that I am going to give up my spot at MSUCOM!

I really hope one of you gets my spot - Good luck to all of you!

 

[p1acebo]

Hi everyone! I have been offered an acceptance from my state school and have decided that I am going to give up my spot at MSUCOM!

I really hope one of you gets my spot - Good luck to all of you!

Well congrats on your acceptance! You are going to make someone on the wait list very happy

 

[likeagozilla]

For students who have already been accepted (congrats!), I have a question.

In the emails that MSUCOM sends about financial aid, they keep reminding the student to activate his/her MSU email account.

Does anyone know how to do this, or when we will be able to do this? I just submitted my FAFSA for the summer semester, and the financial aid results are supposed to be sent to the MSU email address.

 

[dr.z]

For students who have already been accepted (congrats!), I have a question.

In the emails that MSUCOM sends about financial aid, they keep reminding the student to activate his/her MSU email account.

Does anyone know how to do this, or when we will be able to do this? I just submitted my FAFSA for the summer semester, and the financial aid results are supposed to be sent to the MSU email address.

Good question. I don't know either. I did the summer one myself too...

 

[g5chand]

Is the campus visit offered to the waitlisted specifically targeted for them or is it meant for accepted students and the waitlisted are just "tagging along"?

What does the campus visit include? Does it include one on one time with any advisers? Can someone who has been on a campus visit please comment on their experience?

Going on the tour will not increase your chances just as not going will not decrease them.

The tour was cool, but my most important experience was meeting with an adviser to go over my application to discuss its weaknesses.

 

[g5chand]

Hey everyone,
Just curious, does anyone know when the deposit is due for accepted students? Also does anyone know how many people approx are on the waitlist where they guarantee students a spot for the following year?

Thanks

February 1st.

 

[spence]

For students who have already been accepted (congrats!), I have a question.

In the emails that MSUCOM sends about financial aid, they keep reminding the student to activate his/her MSU email account.

Does anyone know how to do this, or when we will be able to do this? I just submitted my FAFSA for the summer semester, and the financial aid results are supposed to be sent to the MSU email address.

Once you get your PID and PAN numbers you go to https://netid.msu.edu/ and click "Activate NetID" to get your accounts set up. I'm not sure when you'll get them since I already have mine set up because I went to undergrad at MSU. You could try calling admissions or the registrar's office.

 

[likeagozilla]

Once you get your PID and PAN numbers you go to https://netid.msu.edu/ and click "Activate NetID" to get your accounts set up. I'm not sure when you'll get them since I already have mine set up because I went to undergrad at MSU. You could try calling admissions or the registrar's office.

Good call, Spence. I phoned Kathie at Student Services, and she said she was printing the letters with the PID and PANs right now! They'll be mailed out tomorrow, so we can expect them within the next week.

 

[shinny04]

Is the class is full? Are they still giving out interviews or just people on the waitlist? Thanks.

 

[p1acebo]

Is the class is full? Are they still giving out interviews or just people on the waitlist? Thanks.

Last I heard the class was full, but I don't know for sure :-\

 

[donblackbelt300]

For students who have already been accepted (congrats!), I have a question.

In the emails that MSUCOM sends about financial aid, they keep reminding the student to activate his/her MSU email account.

Does anyone know how to do this, or when we will be able to do this? I just submitted my FAFSA for the summer semester, and the financial aid results are supposed to be sent to the MSU email address.

Could you tell me what emails they are sending? I didn't receive any info about financial aid. The e-mails I got from them was the visiting MSU one, and the other one I got was the important info letter, the fingerprinting, and also contains this site http://www.com.msu.edu/admissions/newstudent2014.html

I did however know I was supposed to apply for summer aid because I called them about a few weeks ago.
Did they e-mail info about financial aid?

 

[Everglide]

Could you tell me what emails they are sending? I didn't receive any info about financial aid. I e-mails I got from them is the visiting MSU one, and the other e-mail I got is the important info letter, the fingerprinting, and also contains this site http://www.com.msu.edu/admissions/newstudent2014.html

I did however know I was supposed to apply for summer aid because I called them about a few weeks ago.
Did they e-mail info about financial aid?

I got the email Tuesday. There isn't anything urgent in it other than a reminder of filling out both fafsas. There's also info about 09-10 tuition, average debt, budgeting, loan repayment.

 

[likeagozilla]

I got the email Tuesday. There isn't anything urgent in it other than a reminder of filling out both fafsas. There's also info about 09-10 tuition, average debt, budgeting, loan repayment.

Yeah, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make it sound urgent. Aside from the Tuesday email, there haven't been any others besides the ones sent when you were accepted. MSU's Financial Aid website for MSUCOM students (http://finaid.msu.edu/med/mednewom.asp) was the other place I saw the reminder to activate the account.

 

[donblackbelt300]

Yeah, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make it sound urgent. Aside from the Tuesday email, there haven't been any others besides the ones sent when you were accepted. MSU's Financial Aid website for MSUCOM students (http://finaid.msu.edu/med/mednewom.asp) was the other place I saw the reminder to activate the account.

Thanks for letting me know gozilla, also everglide for the info. I just didn't want to miss out on any emails.

 

[Kingstonhopeful]

Does anyone know in the past when the waitlist for MSU COM started to move?

Thanks

 

[p1acebo]

Does anyone know in the past when the waitlist for MSU COM started to move?

Thanks

Anywhere from March up until June just before orientation.

 

[wannabeaDO]

Does anyone know how the exam schedule is like? Is it like block exams? Or on average how many exams are there in a week?

 

[wannabeaDO]

Does anyone know how the exam schedule is like? Is it like block exams? Or on average how many exams are there in a week?

Never mind... Found it! Exam is whenever the instructor want to hold them.

http://ap.com.msu.edu/preclerkship/

Another question is though, do students actually buy and go through the textbooks? Or just look at them for reference at the library?

 

[teddybaer3388]

Does anyone know why MSUCOM does not send out rejections? I have been complete for months now, so I am most likely not going to get accepted anymore. But why don't they just send out rejections if they know they aren't planning on accepting you.. it annoys me

 

[Everglide]

Never mind... Found it! Exam is whenever the instructor want to hold them.

http://ap.com.msu.edu/preclerkship/

Another question is though, do students actually buy and go through the textbooks? Or just look at them for reference at the library?

Yeah there are no block exams.

For some classes, some people buy the books. My understanding is it varies by class and you can always reference things by library if needed. The upperclassmen can give you advice for this. Definitely do not buy all of the books ahead of time.

 

[Kingstonhopeful]

Hey everyone,
Just had a few questions about the tour for incoming DO medical students.
1) What time did the tour start (need to drive in)
2) What exactly was covered in the tour and how long was it?
3) Is the tour conducted by medical students or the general MSU campus tours office?
4) Was it worth it?

Thanks

 

[Everglide]

Hey everyone,
Just had a few questions about the tour for incoming DO medical students.
1) What time did the tour start (need to drive in)
2) What exactly was covered in the tour and how long was it?
3) Is the tour conducted by medical students or the general MSU campus tours office?
4) Was it worth it?

Thanks

1) The sign-up site shows the times, however mine started at 1:00 Eastern (Jan 29th tour day).

2) There was a general speech about MSUCOM and a lot of info about the three sites and how the broadcasted lectures work. That was followed by a talk about living in/around East Lansing and life at MSU, also some info about the wait list. There was time for Q&A throughout this.

3) The casual tour was guided by current year-1 COM students. This is a good opportunity to ask questions, I would absolutely ask questions to make the tour worth it. The whole tour was supposed to go until 4:30 however my small group (the tour with students is broken in small groups) ended up going until after 5:30...

4 My impression was if you knew nothing about the school or MSU in general, this tour would be great for you. A lot of people had very general basic questions that are answered on the c/o 2014 website. The most worthwhile part of the tour is asking questions to current students, just make sure they actually answer your questions to the extent you want.

 

[Kingstonhopeful]

I was wondering what was mentioned about the waitlist by MSUCOM during the tour and also would it be awkward to go on the tour if you are on the waitlist (were there students on the tour on the waitlist)?

 

[jc3804]

I was wondering what was mentioned about the waitlist by MSUCOM during the tour and also would it be awkward to go on the tour if you are on the waitlist (were there students on the tour on the waitlist)?

At the Jan 29th tour, they told us that the waitlist will start to move soon after the deposit is due (if the deadline hasn't passed already..?). You can always call and see if they can give you info on where you stand in the waitlist and if you're in the top 10, they will let you know.

No, I don't think it would be awkward at all. You don't really know who is accepted/waitlisted unless you tell people. They didn't even take attendance or give name tags. I did meet some students that were on the guarenteed waitlist for next year.

 

[HristosKaran]

I was recently placed on the wait list at MSU-COM, but after notifying the school I wanted to be placed on the waitlist, I haven't heard anything since. Is this normal, or should I call to confirm they have placed me on the alternate list??

 

[enmeds]

Do we have to inform MSUCOM that we want to retain the waitlist spot or is it a given, unless you email and ask to be taken off?

 

[Everglide]

I was recently placed on the wait list at MSU-COM, but after notifying the school I wanted to be placed on the waitlist, I haven't heard anything since. Is this normal, or should I call to confirm they have placed me on the alternate list??

I would call them.

 

[DOxidant]

For those who got accepted and turned in deposit already,

Did you get any additional package from MSUCOM (besides of the package that included the offer of admission letter & site preference questionaire)? I got a financial aid notification about a week ago by email. Is there anything that I'm missing?

 

[p1acebo]

For those who got accepted and turned in deposit already,

Did you get any additional package from MSUCOM (besides of the package that included the offer of admission letter & site preference questionaire)? I got a financial aid notification about a week ago by email. Is there anything that I'm missing?

nope, that is about it.

 

[donblackbelt300]

For those who got accepted and turned in deposit already,

Did you get any additional package from MSUCOM (besides of the package that included the offer of admission letter & site preference questionaire)? I got a financial aid notification about a week ago by email. Is there anything that I'm missing?

Yes, they also mailed a letter which contains your PID number so that you can set up your e-mail. Did you get that?

For some reason I didn't get the financial aid notification a week ago, so I'm worried too that I might not be getting everything in the future. So if anyone received something from the school, please let us know!

 

[wannabeaDO]

I have another question. During rotations, let say I don't get my choice of staying in East Lansing and I get a different city. Would I be able to stay in that city for years 3 and 4? Or would I have to actually go to different places every few weeks? Thanks

 

[spence]

I have another question. During rotations, let say I don't get my choice of staying in East Lansing and I get a different city. Would I be able to stay in that city for years 3 and 4? Or would I have to actually go to different places every few weeks? Thanks

From what I've gathered, you can do all of your rotations at your base hospital during years 3/4 so you don't have to move around. The only reason I think you would really need to go anywhere else would be if you signed up for an elective rotation at another hospital.

 

[Everglide]

From what I've gathered, you can do all of your rotations at your base hospital during years 3/4 so you don't have to move around. The only reason I think you would really need to go anywhere else would be if you signed up for an elective rotation at another hospital.

That is also my impression. You get a base hospital for all of year 3, then you have to do "selective" rotations within the system (could also be your original base hospital) and "electives" that can be aways outside the system, in the system or still at your base hospital. Basically you could stay at your base hospital for every rotation if you wanted to.

 

[wannabeaDO]

Thanks again for your replies.

Does anybody know how "competitive" (for lack of a better term) to have the opportunity to stay in Lansing for rotations? I.E. do many people want or try to stay in Lansing and don't get the Lansing sites?

Do you do a lottery for the 3rd year and again for the 4th year for the base site?

I'm full of today!

 

[p1acebo]

Thanks again for your replies.

Does anybody know how "competitive" (for lack of a better term) to have the opportunity to stay in Lansing for rotations? I.E. do many people want or try to stay in Lansing and don't get the Lansing sites?

Do you do a lottery for the 3rd year and again for the 4th year for the base site?

I'm full of today!

I am pretty sure you one do the one lottery to choose your base hospital. In addition, yes the rotations at Sparrow and Ingham Regional are both competitive... a long with a few other sites in metro Detroit.

 

[spence]

Thanks again for your replies.

Does anybody know how "competitive" (for lack of a better term) to have the opportunity to stay in Lansing for rotations? I.E. do many people want or try to stay in Lansing and don't get the Lansing sites?

Do you do a lottery for the 3rd year and again for the 4th year for the base site?

I'm full of today!

Which hospitals are popular really depends on where the class is from geographically. For example, if a ton of people are from the grand rapids area the hospitals on the west side of the state would probably be really popular that year. Although I would imagine that Sparrow and IRMC are usually popular choices regardless and I think they have gone to lottery in the past few years if I remember reading last year's thread correctly.

The base hospital selection/lottery is during the second year. You get the same base hospital for years 3 and 4 so we only have to go through it once.

 

[spence]

Aah p1acebo, you beat me to that one haha

 

[wannabeaDO]

Maybe St. Joseph Mercy Livingston Hospital in Howell won't be as competitive?

It is still a doable commute... I think.