thanks eastwest, that is great news. makes me want to go to ATSU more. they have my MCAT scores now, and I am awaiting the call/correspondence any day now. do they call or write? anyway lets hope the low MCAT is enough with the high GPA and experience. ps.. you said brooklyn is full, correct?Ok talked with Dr. Kirsch today. This is the OMM plan for yrs 2-4. Each CHC will have a designated, OMM faculty who will continue the OMM training like year 1, with weekly 4 hr training sessions between the 10 2nd yrs at each CHC. In our 3rd year, during rotations we will each be assigned to come back once a month to one of these weekly practices to both practice and assist the facilitator in teaching the 2nd years--This means every weekly OMM session will have approx. 2 3rd years involved. Year 4 which is a bit more tricky due to elective rotations possibly away from the CHC, is still according to Kirsch supposed to be mandatory (if you are in town) once a month trainings in which 4th years again come back on assigned weeks to practice and assist the facilitator. So in my 4th year, me and another 4th year come back on one 'Thursday' a month to practice OMM, with 1 facilitator, two 3rd years, and ten 2nd years. Should make for a great learning environment, if it works. So i take one of my previous posts back--Doc Khalsa we potentially have the BEST OMM training among all the other COMs!!
PS. DK as I mentioned before Brooklyn CHC has its own fellowship in OMM, so its is arguably the best CHC for learning OMM. (But dont quote me on that yet--give us 3 more years)
Yeah, I was just gonna post this, its too bad, I guess they must be on spring break or something? I dunno. So I guess the suspense continues! Im just bumbed I had to send in my DCOM deposit and risk losing it if I get into SOMA. DCOM is a fantastic school so its all good, but SOMA is a better fit for what I want to go into. Definately gonna be hard to enjoy Easter, im gonna be so nervous!
Yeah, I was just gonna post this, its too bad, I guess they must be on spring break or something? I dunno. So I guess the suspense continues! Im just bumbed I had to send in my DCOM deposit and risk losing it if I get into SOMA. DCOM is a fantastic school so its all good, but SOMA is a better fit for what I want to go into. Definately gonna be hard to enjoy Easter, im gonna be so nervous!
I know losing the money is hard. Last year I was already set to go to another school, and had my $2000 already deposited by the school, before I even had an interview at SOMA. When I came to SOMA for my interview I told my family and friends I would have to blown away to want to turn down my other acceptance. Well i was, and so lost the money. But really you need to decide on the school that best fits you. The pain of losing that money quickly gets forgotten when you know you are going to the school that YOU want to go to.
Oh and if money is an issue for the SOMA deposit, talk to Joyce they are flexible with the deposit if you decide on SOMA.
hey crunchy, i am looking into the HPSP and actually already applied. i just need a letter of acceptance to get things rolling. was ATSU receptive to the whole HPSP thing? How does the HPSP thing jive with the CHC thing? any insight is welcome. thanks
thanks crunchy, did HPSP come up in your interview last year? how was ATSU admin with the idea. it is kind of different commiting to the army than a CHC; were the powers that be okay with that? there is the new signing bonus which will help, but thanks for the tip on moving expenses to the CHC, i will ask about that. glad you said something. ps thanks for trailblazing you guys...Hello Khalsa,
I am not too sure how the HPSP is going to play out with the CHC's yet. We will have to find out. As of right now I cannot attend the training required for the first year students of the HPSP program but myself and the other HPSPer's have gotten waivers. So far so good really. To tell you the truth it makes things really nice during the year because money is not an issue. A WORD OF WARNING: You may want to take out student loans your first year, regardless. This way you can actually rent an apartment because most will require income far more than you can make with just the stipend. That is unless you get the new 20,000 signing bonus. IF you get that you should be golden for sure especially when moving costs to the CHC are barely covered (as my class is finding out right now, but this may be different next year). I think though that next year will be much more tight and cohesive as far as organization goes. Hopefully we can smooth out the bumps in the road
thanks crunchy, i didn't expect the extra buck thirty, but good to know. i will definitely bring up the HPSP in the interview. Oh wait, i have to get one of those first. still waiting to hear. they have had my MCAT scores for over a week now, and the rest of the app. since last aug....we'll see. all i can think about now is finishing this semster, and having a little break for my brain. thanks againI just looked at your profile EasttoWest and your quote is very revealing
I brought up the HPSP myself because admissions offices usually look at that as a great opportunity to reduce their school loans and for boasting purposes. I also think it was one of the main reasons for my acceptance, but I could be wrong.
As for the administration and the HPSP: they are big fans. One reason is because there are faculty with military experience. For instance the guy in charge of med skills was previously the guy who essentially ran the HPSP program for the Air Force. Also the school sees the money right away, its from the government, and I'm sure that gives em' a warm fuzzy feeling inside
As for commitment, my reasoning (which I used during my interview), is that serving the military is in essence much like serving a CHC. Albeit they are not directly underserved but from what I've heard and seen there are some instances where CHC healthcare is much better than some military hospitals. I mean just look at the Walter Reed shennanigans. And many enlisted folks come from very poor backgrounds. Regardless they really like the fact there will be some of us serving in the military and I think you will find there is little conflict.
To tell you the truth the Army doesn't even care about me right now. They don't call me, bother me, tell me what to do, or give me any orders (for now at least). This is how it most likely will be for the next four years. They are mainly concerned with how your education proceeds and the rest will come later. I think you'll find it is a really nice program to pay your stuff with and get into a unique field of medicine. And before you sign up I might suggest watching Baghdad ER. It is a little old but I think most of the aspects of the film still hold true.
And I wouldn't bring up moving-to-CHC costs just yet. I mean they just starting working that stuff out this past month or so for us. I'm sure things next year will be better. I was just trying to get the point across that even with the HPSP you will probably still need a buffer of cash so you don't have to constantly worry. Although the signing bonus will probably be more than enough.
Just my $1.32
Respectfully,
Crunchy
Yeah, I was just gonna post this, its too bad, I guess they must be on spring break or something? I dunno. So I guess the suspense continues! Im just bumbed I had to send in my DCOM deposit and risk losing it if I get into SOMA. DCOM is a fantastic school so its all good, but SOMA is a better fit for what I want to go into. Definately gonna be hard to enjoy Easter, im gonna be so nervous!
with all this talk of MCATs I am getting a little nervous with my 21P. I had a month to study and that just seems too low to even be competitive. I do have a 4.0GPA, and a bunch of experience as a medic (five years as a critical care paramedic, and ten years as a massage therapist). someone say that is enough......do you think it is enough to get an interview, then i can retake MCAT with a little more preparation.
thanks, i agree. just got an email from sharon palmer, she said 6 weeks to hear about an interview though..that is crazy.. alas....I think with everything else you have going for you there is def a good chance you can get in to a school. I mean a 4.0 GPA is pretty darn good and if your volunteer, extracurriculars, and job experiances are substantial DO schools really look at those things and in the interview you have a chance to explain your MCAT and let them know what was going. My friend got an interview and he had a 23 MCAT and 3.0 GPA, were both still waiting to hear if we got accepted or not. Keep your hopes up! If you dont get in this time you can always re-take the MCAt and try again next year, waiting a year is nothing to fullfill your dream of becoming a physician. Good luck!
yeah, if i don't get in this year, i will retake the MCAT in August, and have everything in place for the next round. the ****ty thing is that they have had my application since aug. last year, they just wouldn't look at it without an MCAT score. I feel very confident I will knock it out of the ballpark if I have to take the MCAT again. Everything was just rushed. I had planned to take the MCAT in April, but when I found out the schools wouldn't look at the app. without a score, the test got expedited to the end of the semester break. oh well, we will see what transpires.Yikes that sucks to wait 6 weeks. That puts you at the end of April before hearing about an interview. Do you have a backup plan, like preparing for the MCAT again and reapplying as soon as the application is available. The one part of your application that sticks out is the MCAT. Our average this first year was a 24 and the rumor is that this 2nd year class will be higher (maybe 25???). I think medic experience is good, im not sure how important the massage experience is though(and for the record i was also a massage therapist prior to becoming an acupuncturist). For me it was my acupuncture and Chinese Medicine degree that really helped me in ALL my interviews. Once interviewers found out about my background, thats all the interviewers wanted to talk about. It was great, and made interviewing a lot easier for me.
I always believe in prepare for the worst, and hope for the best. But good luck.
