2017-2018 Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine (BCOM)

[Magus5454]

Waitlisted here, interviewed 12/9. can anyone speak of the chances of the waitlist moving?

As deposit dates come there will be some movement for sure.

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[Sammmmmy]

+1

I withdrew acceptance from Burrell last week. I know some others withdrew as well. From what I know, they go through the deferred list first. Then, they move the alternate list. So it really depends on how many applicants are in the deferred list. Personally, I think there won't be a lot of movement because program seems to attract pretty good amount of students. I really hope you get in tho!

FYI, no one in the alternate list got in last year because they moved almost everyone in the deferred list first.

 

[kliavosh]

Waitlisted here, interviewed 12/9. can anyone speak of the chances of the waitlist moving?

Possible

 

[A Mysterious Stranger]

Possible, some negative

I interviewed last year and was wait listed. All but 3 deferred list folks were accepted. No movement on AL. I am glad that I was not accepted because the things worked out in the end. I got into another school this year. I want to be honest here as well. As I was interviewing for other schools I was thinking about withdrawing from here regardless of my acceptance. I was concerned that gross anatomy is option and the recent bad wrap on the earlier posts about cheating in school. I spoke with DO and MD friends ans all were concerned about gross anatomy. My DO friends cautioned me about not having gross anatomy while learning OMM. Another issue is cheating. I was concerned that if the school gets bad reputation, it may become hard for students to match into residencies. E.g. EVMS does not accept Caribbean school grad for a similar reason. I noticed that a lot of people are withdrawing so people on the WL may get a better chance of getting in. I also hope that the school administration takes the feedback seriously and makes improvements. BCOM can be a fantastic school but needs some tweaking especially if cheating allegations are true. Guys, I am not trying to disparage the school and wanted to have an honest conversation.

I think the cheating thing is just rumor mill BS. There's a lot of misinformation out here. My understanding is that a second year allegedly gave test answers to a first year, but nothing came of that after the investigation. That doesn't even make sense either - why would someone risk their career to help someone else in another class cheat?

As for the anatomy, we will all have the option to take dissection. Honestly, I was concerned about it as well when I interviewed, but the way we are learning anatomy is at least on par with a full dissection, so I may just opt to do something else. I spoke with a relative of mine who was an emergency medicine physician, and he said that for the majority of specialties, learning anatomy on imaging is actually an advantage, with the exception of surgery. But then it's nothing you can't overcome with a little effort.

As for OMM... well we learn OMM in conjunction with our block subjects. So the OMM techniques we learn come as we learn of after we learn the appropriate anatomical knowledge to competently practice it.

In regards to the reputation of the school, I think we're going to be fine. I don't see any major scandals, incompetent professors (currently employed that is, there was a couple that got the boot a while ago), or any notable disadvantages in the content or curriculum. Our classes should have a high board score average, given that the school intentionally over-prepares us for the USMLE. Also, before I interviewed, I spoke with a residency coordinator about the reputation of the school. He was very impressed at the speed of it's development and outreach and expressed his confidence that BCOM will become a very good school.

Between you guys and me, I suspect BCOM will become a very competitive school to get into in the coming years.

If you have any questions, feel free to shoot me a PM.

Edit: I doubt we'll go deep into the waitlist. People have not been giving up their acceptances here like they do in other schools. If you end up waitlisted, I would recommend addressing all of your weaknesses, meaning retake the MCAT if you scored low, more shadowing hours to get a better understanding of why you want to become a physician, and possible put some volunteer hours in around the area to show you're dedicated to serving the New Mexico underserved population.

 

[kliavosh]

I think the cheating thing is just rumor mill BS. There's a lot of misinformation out here. My understanding is that a second year allegedly gave test answers to a first year, but nothing came of that after the investigation. That doesn't even make sense either - why would someone risk their career to help someone else in another class cheat?

As for the anatomy, we will all have the option to take dissection. Honestly, I was concerned about it as well when I interviewed, but the way we are learning anatomy is at least on par with a full dissection, so I may just opt to do something else. I spoke with a relative of mine who was an emergency medicine physician, and he said that for the majority of specialties, learning anatomy on imaging is actually an advantage, with the exception of surgery. But then it's nothing you can't overcome with a little effort.

As for OMM... well we learn OMM in conjunction with our block subjects. So the OMM techniques we learn come as we learn of after we learn the appropriate anatomical knowledge to competently practice it.

In regards to the reputation of the school, I think we're going to be fine. I don't see any major scandals, incompetent professors (currently employed that is, there was a couple that got the boot a while ago), or any notable disadvantages in the content or curriculum. Our classes should have a high board score average, given that the school intentionally over-prepares us for the USMLE. Also, before I interviewed, I spoke with a residency coordinator about the reputation of the school. He was very impressed at the speed of it's development and outreach and expressed his confidence that BCOM will become a very good school.

Between you guys and me, I suspect BCOM will become a very competitive school to get into in the coming years.

If you have any questions, feel free to shoot me a PM.

Edit: I doubt we'll go deep into the waitlist. People have not been giving up their acceptances here like they do in other schools. If you end up waitlisted, I would recommend addressing all of your weaknesses, meaning retake the MCAT if you scored low, more shadowing hours to get a better understanding of why you want to become a physician, and possible put some volunteer hours in around the area to show you're dedicated to serving the New Mexico underserved population.

 

[PNWDoctor]

Canceled my 1/26 interview here. Best of luck to you all!

 

[FEHLBN]

Does anyone know at what point you'll be able to get federal loans for BCOM?

 

[485686J]

Does anyone know at what point you'll be able to get federal loans for BCOM?

According to the email sent to me from the BCOM financial aid office, they will be applying for Title IV funding fall of 2018 which is the earliest they are able to. The financial aid office seems pretty on top of things so I’m betting they have all their ducks lined up ready to go and should go smoothly once they get the ball rolling. Hope that helps.




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[FEHLBN]

According to the email sent to me from the BCOM financial aid office, they will be applying for Title IV funding fall of 2018 which is the earliest they are able to. The financial aid office seems pretty on top of things so I’m betting they have all their ducks lined up ready to go and should go smoothly once they get the ball rolling. Hope that helps.




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But does the fact they're applying in fall 2018 mean that students can receive federal loans for the 2018-2019 school year or will there be an additional wait after the school applies? Hope that makes sense.

 

[485686J]

But does the fact they're applying in fall 2018 mean that students can receive federal loans for the 2018-2019 school year or will there be an additional wait after the school applies? Hope that makes sense.

I’m guessing at the earliest would be second term. Fall of 2018 would be all private loans I’d imagine.


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[busycan]

But does the fact they're applying in fall 2018 mean that students can receive federal loans for the 2018-2019 school year or will there be an additional wait after the school applies? Hope that makes sense.

I just called the Financial Aid Office about this. Iddeally, we would only have to take out private loans for the Fall of 2018. They said that they are applying for Title IV (?), and it could take anywhere between 3-9 months for approval. He said he was pretty confident that federal loans would be available for the second term, Spring 2019. We'd be expected to get approval for private loans for the entire year (~70k), but they dont disperse until the beginning of the semester. Once they receive the approval for federal loans in Spring, they can deny disbursement of the private loans and implement federal loans.

 

[busycan]

I read somewhere that BCOM is P/F, but ranked. For awhile, I thought that BCOM was unranked. Can any current students comment on what the grading system is actually like (and if it is ranked, how has that affected the way that you interact with other students?) From my understanding, there's no point in having P/F if you're still going to rank because... well, competition.

 

[Blue2016]

I read somewhere that BCOM is P/F, but ranked. For awhile, I thought that BCOM was unranked. Can any current students comment on what the grading system is actually like (and if it is ranked, how has that affected the way that you interact with other students?) From my understanding, there's no point in having P/F if you're still going to rank because... well, competition.

I heard its not P/F but the regular A/B grading system

 

[busycan]

I heard its not P/F but the regular A/B grading system

If that's true... It's kind of a deal breaker for me... Can any current students comment?

 

[FutureDO08]

If that's true... It's kind of a deal breaker for me... Can any current students comment?

You get a percentage grade, we have class rank, and you get top 10% letters in your file if you achieve that per block


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[DrStephenStrange]

Withdrew my II for 01/08 yesterday. Hope it goes to anyone of you guys.

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[Magulick81]

Have any accepted students started looking for personal loans yet? Just wondering how you guys went about doing this and what lenders you may have used.

 

[SkipBaeless]

alternate list is for those who they want to accept now but don't have room in their class because it is currently full, thus they are accepted into next year's class instead. WL is for those who they do not want to accept just yet but might be if spots open up for this year's cycle. they will first go through the AL (because they want all those students first) and then hit the WL. Last year they didn't touch the WL and had 3 people left on the AL. Hope that helps!

I think you may have gotten confused with alternate list and deferred list. 3 people were left deferred last year. Alternate list is just another phrase for waitlist. When they sent me my waitlist email the email title was "Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine You Are on the Waitlist," but the body of the email also said " Admissions Committee recommended your application be placed on the alternate list for the 2018 class."

 

[Spartan300H]

Are there any spots left in the class?? I received an interview invite today and want to gauge my chances. Also, why do they have an alternate list and waitlist? I get the impression that they interview a lot more people than they can reasonably accept. Thanks for any help.

Can I ask when you submitted your secondary app?

 

[Spartan300H]

I was complete December 14th so less than a month ago.

Got it. One last question, when was the earliest round of interview dates available?

 

[It's lupus!]

For those who flew into El Paso, what’s the cheapest way to get to campus?

I rented a car. For getting around town I do t regret it at all.

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[485686J]

I found a semi truck headed that direction and asked for a ride. Not recommended. They have a bus shuttle from El Paso to las cruces. They provided a link in the interview invite email. I believe it was like 88 dollars round trip and you get to choose the days and times.


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[485686J]

I rented a car. For getting around town I do t regret it at all.

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Wish I would’ve done that just because there was so much I wanted to see. But at this point I had spent so much money between applications and interviews I couldn’t make myself spend more money. But going back I definitely would have rented a car!


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[e-doc21]

For those who flew into El Paso, what’s the cheapest way to get to campus?

Renting a car worked the best for me due to the shuttle times not working with my flight schedule.

 

[capri1722]

For those who flew into El Paso, what’s the cheapest way to get to campus?

I rented a car. For getting around town I do t regret it at all.

They have a bus shuttle from El Paso to las cruces. They provided a link in the interview invite email. I believe it was like 88 dollars round trip and you get to choose the days and times.

Current NMSU undergrad here.

If you have the means to rent a car, absolutely do that. Getting to Las Cruces isn’t too hard, but getting around Las Cruces is a chore if you don’t have a car. We have a public transit system, but only 10 or so sparsely-placed routes that stop running at 7pm. I grew up in Denver which, while it doesn’t have the best public transit, is far better than in Las Cruces.

I believe the shuttle mentioned is Las Cruces Airport Shuttle, which I’ve used once or twice. It has two drop off points in town, the Ramada Palms or Hotel Encanto, but you can get dropped off at a location of your choice for an extra fee. Safe, and cheaper than a rental car.

If you want to be super economical about it, you can take public transit from the airport to campus for less than $5 each way. You’d take Route 33 from the airport to the Downtown Transfer Center (you can also take Route 50 but it has a more roundabout path on your return trip), then the Gold Route bus goes from there directly to the NMSU campus. The downside is that, while Sun Metro (El Paso’s public transit) runs 7 days a week, the Gold Route only operates on weekdays. You also need exact change for this option: Sun Metro is $1.50 each way, Gold is $3 each way.

So TL;DR, if you want the freedom to explore Las Cruces and have the means necessary, get a rental car. If you’re looking for a cheaper option, take the shuttle. If you’re super frugal and comfortable with taking public transit in an unfamiliar city, take Sun Metro/Gold Route.

Edit: Updated with more specific info on public transit in El Paso.

 

[Dr. Avery]

II 2/7/18. Anyone else inteviewing on that day?

 

[Spartan300H]

II 2/7/18. Anyone else inteviewing on that day?

Did you just get the II today? When did you submit your secondary??

 

[Dr. Avery]

Did you just get the II today? When did you submit your secondary??

No I received the II on 1/10/18, but I just decided on the date today. I completed my secondary on 12/8/17.

 

[hopefulmedgal1]

Does BCOM send a complete email for your app? I tossed in an application super late here but haven't gotten any confirmation?

 

[SkipBaeless]

Does BCOM send a complete email for your app? I tossed in an application super late here but haven't gotten any confirmation?

They did not send me one. It took around a month to get an II though

 

[hopefulmedgal1]

They did not send me one. It took around a month to get an II though

Got it! Thanks so much!

 

[485686J]

I have finished the bulk of my interview prep, is this interview considered low or high stress? Heard varying things.. Thanks for any advice.

I had a great experience. The one at BCOM was my first one. They were super nice, laid back and much lower stress than others. Just be urself, relax and u will be fine. Easier said than done I know. Good luck!


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[Mentallyblonde]

Do any of the recommended hotels from BCOM offer a discount?

 

[Royvioli]

First acceptance! I thought I did horrible in the interview, but the holistic review came in clutch

 

[IOWAhawkeyes373]

II 2/7/18. Anyone else inteviewing on that day?

Just signed up for that date as well!

 

[Royvioli]

Congrats! When did you interview? Trying to get a sense of how long it takes to hear back.

I interviewed on 1/17. They said the admissions committee meets every Wednesday and typically people will hear back on that day or the next. So it took one week exactly!

 

[deleted814471]

I really like what I have heard from this school and am considering applying, but is it too late?

 

[Magus5454]

I really like what I have heard from this school and am considering applying, but is it too late?

I would say so.

 

[A Mysterious Stranger]

I really like what I have heard from this school and am considering applying, but is it too late?

If you don't think you can get in... maybe you shouldn't try.

 

[TheFutureFatMan]

If you don't think you can get in... maybe you shouldn't try.

Yeah, that's always an appropriate response to doubt and uncertainty. :|

 

[485686J]

My stats are above average, and I have a solid extracurricular list. My con would be I'm from outside the southwest. So I'm definitely not from the area, but I received the secondary and am applying!

Don’t let being out of the area deter you. I’m from Oregon with no ties to the Southwest and I got accepted. Good luck!


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[mchen18]

My stats are above average, and I have a solid extracurricular list. My con would be I'm from outside the southwest. So I'm definitely not from the area, but I received the secondary and am applying!

Yeah, I am an average applicant too and I'm from IL. I got accepted too.

 

[Aquarius9017]

Waitlisted just now Good luck to everyone still in the run!!

 

[Spartan300H]

Waitlisted Anyone know if it would be stupid to call and ask for feedback on how my interview went/my application in general?

Edit- decided against calling to ask for feedback. I believe it would look bad. Well I’m hoping for a miracle now. I absolutely loved this school and the location. I’d be so happy to to attend and continue my life in New Mexico. Best of luck to everyone else for this cycle!

 

[NalT96]

Waitlisted Anyone know if it would be stupid to call and ask for feedback on how my interview went/my application in general?

Edit- decided against calling to ask for feedback. I believe it would look bad. Well I’m hoping for a miracle now. I absolutely loved this school and the location. I’d be so happy to to attend and continue my life in New Mexico. Best of luck to everyone else for this cycle!

Hey, the decision is definitely up to you but I just wanted to say that I do not think it would look bad. I would suggest submitting a letter of intent, indicating in it how important it is for you to attend BCOM and that it is your first choice. I would also recommend asking for feedback, because that'll show that you want to learn from your experience. If you do not want to ask, I would still highly recommend you submitting a letter of intent, that could get you off the waitlist.

 

[485686J]

Waitlisted Anyone know if it would be stupid to call and ask for feedback on how my interview went/my application in general?

Edit- decided against calling to ask for feedback. I believe it would look bad. Well I’m hoping for a miracle now. I absolutely loved this school and the location. I’d be so happy to to attend and continue my life in New Mexico. Best of luck to everyone else for this cycle!

I don't think it would look bad at all, in fact many other schools that I interviewed at encouraged people to call and get feedback if they are waitlisted or rejected. I was waitlisted at another school and I called and asked for feedback. They set up a time for an admissions counselor to call me back and were actually super helpful. They pointed out things that I didn't even realize I was doing such as body language etc.. I was able to correct them prior to coming to Burrell and ended up getting accepted. I am sure that had I not of gotten the feedback I would not have been accepted because they were little things that apparently did not highlight my attributes. Also, I agree 100% with NalT96, a letter of intent goes a long way. There are many examples online on how to write one up. Basically just say when you interviewed, that you were waitlisted, why you feel passionately about attending BCOM, both what you would bring to the school as well as what you love about the school and how it would influence your education. Then a paragraph of any updates that are relevant such as education/grades, research, volunteer or work experience. Persistence pays off! Good luck. Hopefully something pulls through!

 

[bigindian4891]

I interviewed last year, and nearly all of us in the interview group were waitlisted before being decided on. Don't lose hope!

 

[Spartan300H]

I interviewed last year, and nearly all of us in the interview group were waitlisted before being decided on. Don't lose hope!

I thought last year no one got pulled off the waitlist? Only people that were offered deffered acceptances were?

 

[NalT96]

I thought last year no one got pulled off the waitlist? Only people that were offered deffered acceptances were?

Yes but this year they do not have a deferred list as far as I know, just a waitlist.

 

[Spartan300H]

Yes but this year they do not have a deferred list as far as I know, just a waitlist.

Hmm so you think that the deferred list was just for the first two years? Because at my interview they said something to the effect of “we do have seats still open for this class so we are not building a deferred list right now” which I interpreted to mean that when they do have a full class they will start building a deferred list. But I could’ve misinterpreted so not sure