2020-2021 Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (Georgia Campus)

[PapaGuava]

Please feel free to tag a pre-medical moderator when the secondary prompt is posted.

Good luck to everyone applying!

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Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine - Suwanee, GA

Review of Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine - Suwanee, GA . Get the latest information, opinions of fellow students, and LizzyM and SDN Rankings.

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[getfat]

New 4th year here. I'm out of touch on the application process for GAPCOM so I can't help with 1° /secondary questions but if you have any questions about rotations i'm available.

 

[medicalschoolhopeful]

If we're applying to PCOM south georgia and PCOM georgia, would it be ok to use the same supplemental essays for each app?

 

[paradoxic_toxic]

If we're applying to PCOM south georgia and PCOM georgia, would it be ok to use the same supplemental essays for each app?

Yes, they will be evaluated by seperate adcoms

 

[medicalschoolhopeful]

Yes, they will be evaluated by seperate adcoms

Awesome, thanks!

 

[Dr.Janitor22]

Upcoming second year here for any questions and I'll answer the best I can. For 3rd and 4th year info @getfat is probably the better resource.

 

[deleted872555]

just for clarity purposes, i have 3 LORs from all science profs. that’s cool right?

the description on their website says the 3rd letter must come from “any other faculty member” so i’m not sure if it’s supposed to be 2 science and 1 non-science..

 

[paradoxic_toxic]

Yeah the last letter can be science or non-science

 

[deleted872555]

Yeah the last letter can be science or non-science

okay thank you!
another SDN member just told me the opposite, whereas she submitted 3 science LORs and PCOM wouldnt mark her secondary app complete until she got a non-science LOR.

not entirely sure what to do.

 

[futurexray]

okay thank you!
another SDN member just told me the opposite, whereas she submitted 3 science LORs and PCOM wouldnt mark her secondary app complete until she got a non-science LOR.

not entirely sure what to do.

That is not the case and they do not send incomplete or complete emails. It is up to the applicant to check their portal to see when items are received. If a letter is not accepted it can usually mean it was not on letterhead

 

[paradoxic_toxic]

I applied with 3 sci letters and my secondary was marked complete.

 

[Jeanne d'Arc]

How long does it take for secondaries? I am new to this process.

 

[paradoxic_toxic]

PCOM is notoriously slow at every step of the process. Expect to wait at least of month to get a secondary, and another month and half for secondary processing.

 

[deleted872555]

for future reference, i dm-ed them on Twitter and they said 3 science LORs is perfectly acceptable.
thanks for all the help!

 

[Jeanne d'Arc]

PCOM is notoriously slow at every step of the process. Expect to wait at least of month to get a secondary, and another month and half for secondary processing.

Thanks for the info, I am patient I just wanted to calculate time so I can plan my secondaries out since they take time to write. This goes for all 3 campuses since I applied to all 3 and I dont care about which one of the 3 interviews me.

 

[Dr.Janitor22]

Thanks for the info, I am patient I just wanted to calculate time so I can plan my secondaries out since they take time to write. This goes for all 3 campuses since I applied to all 3 and I dont care about which one of the 3 interviews me.

Besides PCOM, a lot of secondaries get released in early July (perhaps COVID has shifted things?). But you can go to the prior year's threads and see the secondary questions that typically don't change and you can prewrite to save yourself some hassle and overwhelming essay writing later.

 

[sfa59]

Hey everyone, I had a question about the supplemental essays
When asked about what aspect of the community resonates with you, are they speaking from a demographic point or like personal values from the mission statement sort of thing? I was doing some research from the school's website but it didn't really clarify anything for me

 

[skripa]

Hey everyone, I had a question about the supplemental essays
When asked about what aspect of the community resonates with you, are they speaking from a demographic point or like personal values from the mission statement sort of thing? I was doing some research from the school's website but it didn't really clarify anything for me

Hey there! Personally, I answered the question in regards to the university's dedication to a close-knit learning community with an encouragement of diversity I hope this helps!! These are a couple of the values that the school holds that I agree with.
Best of luck to you!!!

 

[deleted872555]

Hey everyone, I had a question about the supplemental essays
When asked about what aspect of the community resonates with you, are they speaking from a demographic point or like personal values from the mission statement sort of thing? I was doing some research from the school's website but it didn't really clarify anything for me

i kinda mixed in both! even though i'm from TX, i have a strong connection to Philly due to family, so i mentioned that. additionally, i threw in some community/demographic factors which aligned with a personal value of mine.

hope this helps!

 

[deleted872555]

How much ideally should we be writing for the supplemental questions? Is it best to use as much of the 2000 characters as possible or is it better to have more concise answers without them dragging too much?

for what it's worth, i made my answer pretty concise! hovered around 900-1100 characters for Philly, SG, and GA.
quality > quantity!

 

[3.1415927]

How did you guys find information on the aspect question? I'm trying to find some extracurriculars/organizations that they offer to answer the question but it seems like their list of organizations does not clarify which campus has which

 

[BlueLion]

Incoming first year here that was accepted this past cycle. I have some time on my hands so hit me if you got any Qs

 

[Coolio1995]

this is my first choice my
ugpa is a 2.89
MASTERS biomedical sciences 3.26 1 YEAR all science classes only
MCAT 499 ( 125/122/124/128)
IM AN URM AFRICAN AMERICAN FEMALE
i know 3 people that got in with way lower mcat scores

 

[DrAmbition]

Incoming first year here that was accepted this past cycle. I have some time on my hands so hit me if you got any Qs

Where do students usually live Suwannee or Atlanta?

 

[Dr.Janitor22]

Where do students usually live Suwannee or Atlanta?

For the Suwanee campus, most are within 10-20 minutes around campus usually in Duluth, Suwanee, or Lawrenceville. But people live all over like in Alpharetta, Midtown, Brookhaven, Norcross. Many people not in the immediate area have significant others/partners/etc or are living with family so they took that into consideration.

 

[xvndr]

First choice DO program. I love their mission & values as a school that I haven't seen at many other DO schools. Horrible undergrad stats, but pretty decent SMP stats. Good luck to everyone this cycle

uGPA: 2.75
SMP GPA: 3.82 (first year, currently entering my second year)
MCAT: 498, retaking in September
ECs: ~1500 hr as CNA, ~500 hr in clubs and as an RA, ~200 hr volunteering, ~40 hr shadowing MD

I did terrible in undergrad, but really hoping my SMP will show that I've changed dramatically.

 

[Jeanne d'Arc]

First choice DO program. I love their mission & values as a school that I haven't seen at many other DO schools. Horrible undergrad stats, but pretty decent SMP stats. Good luck to everyone this cycle

uGPA: 2.75
SMP GPA: 3.82 (first year, currently entering my second year)
MCAT: 498, retaking in September
ECs: ~1500 hr as CNA, ~500 hr in clubs and as an RA, ~200 hr volunteering, ~40 hr shadowing MD

I did terrible in undergrad, but really hoping my SMP will show that I've changed dramatically.

You got this, I believe in you. Good job on kicking that SMP, sell yourself as someone who radically changed.

 

[xvndr]

You got this, I believe in you. Good job on kicking that SMP, sell yourself as someone who radically changed.

Thank you, friend! You've got this too! Hopefully we'll see each other next year

 

[deleted872555]

Hi! So I currently have 3 letters of recommendations: from 1 science professor, 1 english professor and 1 physician I worked with. Would the lack of "2 SCIENCE professors," as listed on the PCOM website, be problematic? (Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine Admission Requirements | PCOM)

If my statistics are slightly above the average matriculant (3.6gpa 509 mcat), could this help in getting the adcom to review my acpplication or would I be wasting my money applying to PCOM? I am passionate about community health/education, and thus quite interested in PCOM's programs

from what I've seen from previous threads, they are very strict on their LOR requirement. to fulfill their requirement, you would need an additional science LOR. (doesn't hurt to contact their admissions though. from my experience, they are very responsive through Twitter DMs.)

they start reviewing apps pretty late so i feel like you still have some time in retrieving this last letter!

 

[Dr.Janitor22]

Hi! So I currently have 3 letters of recommendations: from 1 science professor, 1 english professor and 1 physician I worked with. Would the lack of "2 SCIENCE professors," as listed on the PCOM website, be problematic? (Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine Admission Requirements | PCOM)

If my statistics are slightly above the average matriculant (3.6gpa 509 mcat), could this help in getting the adcom to review my acpplication or would I be wasting my money applying to PCOM? I am passionate about community health/education, and thus quite interested in PCOM's programs

I'd definitely ask admissions, but as far as getting another LOR, reach out to a professor you had recently and ask for a meeting. Even if you weren't a star in the class, if you can show your passion and show you've learned from your mistakes in their class, they could still write you a positive LOR. I'd also be straight forward in saying that you're looking for a LOR and would love the chance to meet and explain why you've chosen them and why you would be a good candidate. But make sure to ask if they are willing to write a positive LOR and not just ask if they'd write a LOR.

 

[rrj11]

can i submit the same essay for PCOM-PA and PCOM-GA?

 

[brokennail]

can i submit the same essay for PCOM-PA and PCOM-GA?

Truthfully, I did with a small tweak in the last sentence or two.
My guess is as long as it's specific enough to both campuses, you should be good!

Feel free to disagree!

 

[Dr.Janitor22]

can i submit the same essay for PCOM-PA and PCOM-GA?

Technically you can. They are two different admissions comittees and essays won't be seen by both. But agreed with Brokennail, as long as you don't say anything specific about a particular campus.

 

[pat108]

what is the secondary prompt?

 

[moderatelysufficient]

what is the secondary prompt?

No official secondary this year, per the AACOMAS app. There are some small essays on the primary.

 

[pat108]

No official secondary this year, per the AACOMAS app. There are some small essays on the primary.

wait im sorry if this is a dumb question, but what do you mean by small essays on the primary? I thought the AACOMAS primary just requires a personal statement?

 

[type1fiber]

wait im sorry if this is a dumb question, but what do you mean by small essays on the primary? I thought the AACOMAS primary just requires a personal statement?

Not it you choose PCOM, and I think New Englands too, they have secondaries in the AACOMAS app and you can't submit the AACOMAS for them until they are complete.

 

[pat108]

Not it you choose PCOM, and I think New Englands too, they have secondaries in the AACOMAS app and you can't submit the AACOMAS for them until they are complete.

Oh I see it now, thank you!!

 

[Airvino47]

Not it you choose PCOM, and I think New Englands too, they have secondaries in the AACOMAS app and you can't submit the AACOMAS for them until they are complete.

Yeah, for PCOM under the "questions" section it asks for your campus preference.

 

[Severedbox53]

Just checked my portal and it shows two separate applications
one for south georgia and one for the philadelphia campus
it also looks like there's a secondary fee for both?
anyone else seeing this?

 

[pat108]

Just checked my portal and it shows two separate applications
one for south georgia and one for the philadelphia campus
it also looks like there's a secondary fee for both?
anyone else seeing this?

So i think there are 3 campuses in total - PCOM Georgia and PCOM/PCOM South Georgia
PCOM Georgia is only for a Georgia location, and PCOM/PCOM South Georgia is for either Philadelphia, South Georgia, or both!

 

[let-me-take-my-mcat]

I haven't heard anything at all from any of the PCOMs -should I be worried?

 

[medicalschoolhopeful]

I haven't heard anything at all from any of the PCOMs -should I be worried?

I don't think so, I haven't either

 

[deleted872555]

I haven't heard anything at all from any of the PCOMs -should I be worried?

same

 

[rachillthefout]

same

same too but I was verified 7/1

 

[MisterMukwa]

I haven't heard anything and I was verified 6/4. If I don't receive one in the next 2-3 weeks I'll contact them but otherwise just going to wait.

 

[deleted872555]

I haven't heard anything and I was verified 6/4. If I don't receive one in the next 2-3 weeks I'll contact them but otherwise just going to wait.

i’m assuming they send out the portal links in: 1) waves to not overwhelm their servers
and 2) in no particular order.

best thing we can do is play the waiting game

 

[Dr.Janitor22]

PCOM is known to be slow at this stage and with COVID still, perhaps slower. I know this game sucks, but patience is key. I think they usually start sending things early August usually.

 

[premed1139724]

Payment portal just showed up on my account for PCOM-GA!

 

[rachillthefout]

Payment portal just showed up on my account for PCOM-GA!

?? did you submit secondary?