TUCOM-CA Discussion Thread 2008-2009

Applying to Med School? Get In Or Your Money Back
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did you guys handwrite your secondary apps or type it out? (if type, how'd you do it) ... did you guys print out your essay and just attach it to the essay?
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dangit said:
did you guys handwrite your secondary apps or type it out? (if type, how'd you do it) ... did you guys print out your essay and just attach it to the essay?
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I typed everything out and attached the essay to the app and sent it out.
 
does tuoro accept more than three LOR (two sci prof, one MD/DO)?
 
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dangit said:
did you guys handwrite your secondary apps or type it out? (if type, how'd you do it) ... did you guys print out your essay and just attach it to the essay?
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The TUCOM website has a template you can type your supp app in the empty boxes. It can't be downloaded or saved so be prepared to type the whole thing (I believe it's 4 pages) and print it out in one sitting.

I printed my essay and attached it via paper clip to the back of the supp. app.
 
dwein2007 said:
Nope. just those 3. I believe they keep the 1st 3 and throw out any extras.
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interesting, I sent them 3 science professors and a MD LOR, it is possible they trashed one, but regardless they gave me an interview :)
 
Chocolate Bear said:
How do you know that that's their policy? Did you ask them this, specifically?

I ask because most schools don't throw out superfluous letters. They read them.
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Yes I know this specifically and the admissions officer told me they take your 1st three letters; this may or may not be listed on the website. Feel free to send more professor LORs.. they may read it. At the very least, it won't hurt you (providing they are all good letters). Most likely it's destiny is the industrial shredder.
 
dwein2007 said:
Yes I know this specifically and the admissions officer told me they take your 1st three letters; this may or may not be listed on the website. Feel free to send more professor LORs.. they may read it. At the very least, it won't hurt you (providing they are all good letters). Most likely it's destiny is the industrial shredder.
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Interesting.

For anyone reading, I don't think you need to go through any trouble of excluding certain letters (I'm thinking of LOR services like Interfolio/VE). Apparently several of us have successfully inundated them without ramifications. :cool:
 
anybody try to call the office lately? it says the mailbox is full :(
 
FiLLiBEANO said:
does PCOM send their secondary after reviewing the primaries? Or do i just start filling out their secondary? thanks
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Wrong thread I think.


Anyway, I'm probably going to remove myself from the high alternate waitlist. I'm in at two schools so far that I both found more to my style than Touro-CA, so I want to give somebody that truly clicks with the school a chance. Best of luck to all that apply there. I'll be peeping in to answer any questions still. I can answer much of the interview and travel logistics type questions. Its a fine school, but I had a hard time getting over the feel of the campus regardless of how much I love the region.
 
anyone interviewing tues??? Im staying at marriott mon-wed so let me know
 
soccerchicoc said:
anyone interviewing tues??? Im staying at marriott mon-wed so let me know
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I'm interviewing on monday. Is their interview format still multiple interviewees in a group, with about 10 mins allocated for each interviewee?
 
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redrumi said:
I'm interviewing on monday. Is their interview format still multiple interviewees in a group, with about 10 mins allocated for each interviewee?
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There really is no time allocated per interviewee. I answered A LOT less than a few other people. Basically each interviewer asks each interviewee 2 or 3 questions, but I probably only answered 4 or 5 total since they exhausted the main questions really fast and didn't have anything else to ask me. I had to sit there and feign interest for about 25 minutes
 
MossPoh said:
There really is no time allocated per interviewee. I answered A LOT less than a few other people. Basically each interviewer asks each interviewee 2 or 3 questions, but I probably only answered 4 or 5 total since they exhausted the main questions really fast and didn't have anything else to ask me. I had to sit there and feign interest for about 25 minutes
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Thanks for the quick reply! If the schools goal is to access motivation, passion for medicine and communication skill this seems like a poor way to interview people. C'est la vie.
 
redrumi said:
Thanks for the quick reply! If the schools goal is to access motivation, passion for medicine and communication skill this seems like a poor way to interview people. C'est la vie.
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I agree. The group interview is just dumb. IMO it is unprofessional. It makes it seem as if they don't have the time to devote to each applicant. :/
 
do you think that perhaps a lot of decisions on whether to accept an applicant are made before the interview takes place?
where the interview just serves as a formality and to screen out any "weirdos"?
 
I believe they conduct interviews in a panel format to assess if you are able to communicate in front of peers. Since medical students will have to provide patient assessments in front of their colleagues, they want to see if you are able to communicate efficiently and are capable and competent.

For those interviewing, they may not ask you a lot of questions, but they will ask you really specific questions regarding your application.
 
DreamPills said:
I believe they conduct interviews in a panel format to assess if you are able to communicate in front of peers. Since medical students will have to provide patient assessments in front of their colleagues, they want to see if you are able to communicate efficiently and are capable and competent.
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Yeah, I heard that. I still think it is dumb.
 
redrumi said:
Thanks for the quick reply! If the schools goal is to access motivation, passion for medicine and communication skill this seems like a poor way to interview people. C'est la vie.
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This type of interview is not entirely for accessing motivation and passion, but almost solely for accessing communication ability.

If this school invites you for an interview, on paper, it looks to them as if you have the motivation and passion for medicine as well as the academic qualifications.

Their interview is for assessing your ability to communicate in front of your peers. For anyone interviewing at this school, make sure you pay attention to what the other interviewees say. They may ask you a question about what someone else said. This happened in my interview group to a kid who was not paying attention. :laugh:
 
I never had much of a chance to communicate. Two people had the brunt of the questions during my interview
 
I am interviewing on Nav 17 or 18th....you guys have any tips?
 
Thanks! I actually got a slot on Oct 28...is anyone else going to be there then?
 
I'll be there on Nov. 3rd...so you could possibly wait around for me :rolleyes:

but back to this group interview thing--I feel it might be pertinent to limit the amount of time each 'candidate' gets to use in answering a question. Otherwise, I'd assume some people get waaay more speaking time than others. From what I have read so far on here, it sounds like that has already happened at some of your guys' interviews
 
A fellow interviewee went wayyyy off on a tangent and never answered the original question and had to be re-asked the same question and again went off on a tangent, which was obviously time consuming. So yea time isn't necessarily rationed fairly. Btw I liked the school better than expected, after reading some of the stuff on here I was dreading going.
 
MrMattOglesby said:
...waaay ...
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redrumi said:
...wayyyy ...Btw I liked the school better than expected, after reading some of the stuff on here I was dreading going.
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i just thought that was interesting how we both spelled that word in order to emphasize it.
oh, and im glad you enjoyed your visit. I think I might be prone into reading too much about what others think about a school and not caring enough about what I think.
 
The questions aren't scripted or organized between interviewers, or at least my interviewers. It resulted in many of the people having questions that were too similar to ask. That is what happened to me...I was asked about 3 questions while the guy a few seats down was asked about 6.
 
I'm gonna guess that they wouldn't ask a question like,
"Why should we select you instead of the person sitting next to you?"
It seems like a pretty common interview question, but I don't see it fostering positive group communication in the multiple-applicant interview!

Have things gotten 'ugly' at anybody's interviews in that regard?
I.e., somebody discounting their fellow applicant in order to (hopefully) be perceived as the better choice?
 
One guy in my interview had such ridiculous experiences and was so intense that it made all of us look like crap. He defused bombs underwater and then reenlisted and went to iraq as a medic.

I talked about making stained glass...
 
Haha, well they might. If they do or ask anything similar, it might be wise to just answer that you don’t know the people in the room well enough, but here are the reasons why I’m a qualified applicant…..

Know your application, resume, personal statement, etc. If you wrote it, you should know it. Yes, the panel interview was different, but I felt like it put me at ease. I actually enjoyed listening to the other interviewees and their stories. One thing I found myself doing often, not on purpose, was when asked a ? I addressed the interviewer for the majority of the time, but I also made it a point to look around at the other interviewers and also some of the interviewees. I didn’t do it on purpose, but because there are like 8 others in the room, it just felt natural for me.

As others have mentioned, time might be a constraint. So try not to ramble and answer the ?. Don’t dance. I think if you look over all your material and practice the ?s on the SND interview feedback, you will be more than ready for the interview.
 
MossPoh said:
One guy in my interview had such ridiculous experiences and was so intense that it made all of us look like crap. He defused bombs underwater and then reenlisted and went to iraq as a medic.
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Haha..I know exactly who you are talking about. Glad he wasn't in my group..:D
 
MrMattOglesby said:
I'll be there on Nov. 3rd...so you could possibly wait around for me :rolleyes:

but back to this group interview thing--I feel it might be pertinent to limit the amount of time each 'candidate' gets to use in answering a question. Otherwise, I'd assume some people get waaay more speaking time than others. From what I have read so far on here, it sounds like that has already happened at some of your guys' interviews
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Just keep in mind the purpose of this format. Its to see how you do speaking in a group setting. The winner is not the one who is able to talk the most, infact sometimes its just the opposite. If someone rambles on forever in an attempt to steal the show and look the best its fairly obvious and if their response lacks substance it will hinder far more than help. Its all about quality not quantity. I interviewed there a couple of weeks ago and there were people in my group that talked more/got more questions than me... but I still got accepted in the end. I guess my point is its nothing to get stressed about, just make sure you do well with the time you're given and it will all work out. :thumbup:
 
sithr said:
Haha..I know exactly who you are talking about. Glad he wasn't in my group..:D
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That dude was intense. Seemed like a cool guy, but man....talk about story one-uppers
 
the panel group interview isn't all that bad...it actuallys is nice because you don't wonder if your ?s were harder then the last and it helps u evaluate where u stand among ur peers..... we lucked out and had 3 interviewers to the 3 of us interviewing....the other group was 3 to 5... but pay attention to what others say... we never got asked about each other but we had the heads up before hand to look interested... they asked each of us about the same amount of questions
 
ya i agree with soccerchicoc! I was in her interview panel and it was the best interview I had because you can almost prepare for questions if you are the last to go in the line of questions. It also gives you time to recover after a question which was a nice change of pace compared to other interviews. I loved the school, hopefully they liked me as well. October 16th is their decision date for interviewees in my group. good luck to everyone!
 
It just depends on the interview panel. I had THOUGHT I knew where I stood until I get the admission decision. One can be a very poor judge of that stuff.
 
Hey guys,

I'm a first year at TUCOM and I wanted to say congrats to all that are interviewing here. I really like the school and the area (bay area native :)). If you guys have any questions, feel free to PM me and I'll be glad to answer as much as I can.
 
Hey Everyone, good luck to all of you. Keep on chuggin, you're almost there. If you guys have any questions, it's a fall break week for us, so feel free to ask any questions. I'll try to answer them in a timely manner. But any questions, please feel free to PM me.
 
Thanks to all who have shared so far. I really appreciate everyone's advice!!

I have been invited to interview mid-November. I'm coming from Michigan. I've read the interview feedback and the majority of posts in this thread (I think).

I'm trying to decide on the Marriott (which is twice as expensive, even with their "discount") or elsewhere.... How helpful is the shuttle? Would I be better off with a cheaper hotel and getting a taxi or something?

Also, how hard/easy will it be to see the surrounding area, if I don't get a rental car. How reliable is the public transportation? I interview on a Monday, so if I can afford it, I will probably fly out Friday evening. Then I'll have Saturday and Sunday to explore. Any suggestions for things I should see/do?
 
I stayed about 7 miles down the interstate at a hotel for around 70 a night. I had a rental car though. I wanted the opportunity to travel into SF and meet some people as well as see the rest of the area.
 
DrQuinnMW said:
Thanks to all who have shared so far. I really appreciate everyone's advice!!

I have been invited to interview mid-November. I'm coming from Michigan. I've read the interview feedback and the majority of posts in this thread (I think).

I'm trying to decide on the Marriott (which is twice as expensive, even with their "discount") or elsewhere.... How helpful is the shuttle? Would I be better off with a cheaper hotel and getting a taxi or something?

Also, how hard/easy will it be to see the surrounding area, if I don't get a rental car. How reliable is the public transportation? I interview on a Monday, so if I can afford it, I will probably fly out Friday evening. Then I'll have Saturday and Sunday to explore. Any suggestions for things I should see/do?
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Well the school is like a 45 minute drive from San Fran., and there wasn't much to see in the area of the school. There was no public transportation in the area that I noticed, I would definitely recommend renting a car if you can afford it. As far as sightseeing goes I went to fisherman's wharf area ( went on a world war II sub., aquarium, and ate at boudin's bakery famous for their bread they still use the original 150 yr old yeast culture to make it) and to alcatraz (buy tickets online in advance it will sell out) which was a lot of fun. Napa valley is nearby and supposed to be cool, if you are 21+ you might want to take in a tour of a winery, I would have but didn't have time.
 
so i got the disappointing news today that i got high waitlisted oh well....
 
soccerchicoc said:
so i got the disappointing news today that i got high waitlisted oh well....
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It is only mildly disappointing. If you are really dead set on the school, then you just need to wait. I still haven't called, but I'm removing myself from the high waitlist since I won't go there if accepted anyway. Wasn't my thang. Dr. Haight said your chances are beyond good if you are on high waitlist. Medium or low, wouldn't hold your breath.
 
SoccerChic,

Sorry you got waitlisted. Hopefully you will get in off of the waitlist. If so I will see you in the fall. Any one else from the interview group on 10/7 get in?
 
jfischer1 said:
SoccerChic,

Sorry you got waitlisted. Hopefully you will get in off of the waitlist. If so I will see you in the fall. Any one else from the interview group on 10/7 get in?
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hrmm I interviewed on 10/6 and haven't heard yet, maybe it went to my spam folder and i deleted it by mistake
 
Did you email Dr. H? I know he said you needed to email him in order for him to send you an email with your status.
 
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