KCOM 2007 Class Profiles

[docslytherin]

Hi!! I saw a similar thread for DMU's incoming class so I thought I would get one started for us KCOMers. Here is goes!!

Name: John Cantrell
Age:27
Location: Arab, AL
Email[email protected]
Degree(s):English and Philosophy
College:Huntingdon College
Interest (Medicine): Internal Medicine
Interest (Extracurricular): Photography, Guitar, Reading, Hiking, Movies

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[DRek]

Good Idea, I think it would be nice to get to know the other KCOMers.

Name: Derek Ellingson
Age: 24
Location: Salt Lake City, UT
Email[email protected]
Degree: Biochemistry (BS)
College: Brigham YOung University
Interests (medical): Peds, Internal Medicine, Preventative Medicine, International medicine.
Non-Medical interests: Rock climbing, hiking, camping, reading, gymnastics.

HOpe to hear from you all

 

[tristan]

Docslytherin,

Do you remember me. I'm the one that had problems deciding betwwen DMU and KCOM. Guess what? I'm going to KCOM. I just made the decision today. I'm counting down because I have until next week to send my fee. Anyway, i'll see you there.

 

[docslytherin]

Tristan,
I remember. Glad to hear that you've decided on KCOM!! I'm really excited about starting. It seemed like every step of the application process has taken SO long... but now that I'm in, I think it's dragging worse than ever! I'm ready to go now!

See you there in the fall!!

 

[DRek]

Welcome aboard mate!!

See ya in K-ville

Drek

 

[docslytherin]

bump

 

[youngjock]

i just got my rejection letter today. I don't know why.

i am just wondering if this school is mostly white? I don't have anything against or anything, I am just wondering. since this school is located in such a secluded area, i just assume that most are whites.

 

[dkwyler94]

I guess how diverse the class is depends on what you are comparing it to. Having lived in Idaho, Utah, Colorado, and Germany, I would say it is more diverse than any of the places I have yet lived.

I don't know the actual numbers, I am just making up the following percentages based on my observations.
Probably about 35% XX-Americans and 65% XY-Americans.
About 10% Asian-Americans
About 5% with Middle-eastern-Americans.
About 80% European-Americans
About 5% other something-Americans.

One of the people I know in admissions has said they try to accept more minorities to make it more diverse, but a larger percentage of minorities accepted turn the school down than do others.

 

[docpetey]

Finally made a decision...

Name: Peter Rhee
Age:22
Location: Chandler, Arizona
Email: [email protected]
Degree(s): Biology
College: Grinnell College (Iowa)
Interest (Medicine): Family Medicine, Pediatrics, Pediatric Surgery
Interest (Extracurricular): ALL sports (volleyball, basketball, baseball, softball, swimming), college football (4 years), guitar, running, anything outdoors (camping & hiking), reading.

I'm very happy with my decision, and I cannot wait to meet all of my future classmates and colleagues!

P.S. If anyone is interested in intramurals...let me know! Take care!

 

[rbassdo]

KCOM is NOT a diverse place. Diversity is not at the top of my list when it comes to choosing anything. Even so, it's impossible to ignore the fact that KCOM lacks anthing resembling diversity. In fact...KCOM seems to be partial to applicants of a certain religious persuasion and admits them in great numbers. This is simply a fact - nothing personal.

 

[bustinbooty]

I have to respectfully, but whole-heartedly disagree with rbassdo concerning diversity at KCOM.
Several issues to address:
1. KCOM is an EXTREMELY diverse population compared to the surrounding population of Kirksville, Northeast Missouri, and the Midwest. Is it as diverse as the east or west coast? NO. But consider the surrounding demographics in this area, and you would realize that KCOM is the most diverse population of the entire area. My high school in missouri of over 2000 students was 99% white....KCOM, with a population of only approx 300 is much more diverse than that.

2. There is no religious bias at KCOM concerning acceptance. THere is a certain religious population that submits a large number of applications to KCOM, and many are accepted. This doesn't reflect a bias of the school, but a bias of this group in submitting a very large number of applications to this school.

3. KCOM is the only medical school I know of that has it's own diversity Day and Diversity WEek, as well as different diversity awareness programs.

 

[rbassdo]

Originally posted by bustinbooty
I have to respectfully, but whole-heartedly disagree with rbassdo concerning diversity at KCOM.
Several issues to address:
1. KCOM is an EXTREMELY diverse population compared to the surrounding population of Kirksville, Northeast Missouri, and the Midwest. Is it as diverse as the east or west coast? NO. But consider the surrounding demographics in this area, and you would realize that KCOM is the most diverse population of the entire area. My high school in missouri of over 2000 students was 99% white....KCOM, with a population of only approx 300 is much more diverse than that.

2. There is no religious bias at KCOM concerning acceptance. THere is a certain religious population that submits a large number of applications to KCOM, and many are accepted. This doesn't reflect a bias of the school, but a bias of this group in submitting a very large number of applications to this school.

3. KCOM is the only medical school I know of that has it's own diversity Day and Diversity WEek, as well as different diversity awareness programs.

KCOM EXTREMELY diverse? Have you been to the south-side McDonalds? It's tons more diverse than KCOM. I go there just to feel like I'm back home for a while. Okay...maybe the city of K'ville is more diverse than the surrounding villages and towns. Big deal! You'd have a hard time finding someone from one of those towns who was able to spell D-I-V-E-R-S-I-T-Y.

About the religious bias. There may be relatively large number of LDS'ers who apply to KCOM, but do those applicants account for approximately 25-35% of the total number of applicants? (even if this were true, why would it be in the interest of KCOM to accomodate this if diversity is what they seek?) KCOM could probably choose 5-6 classes, of equal quality, from each applicant pool without overlapping any students. Students get rejected/accepted at any given school on, at times, a whim. All this is to say that I know that KCOM isn't forced to accept so many of one religious persuation (which happens to be a huge religious minority). I don't mean any disrespect to anyone personally. In this case...I just see my logic as better than bustinbooty's.

 

[CoolDOguy]

RBassDO up in the house! I will be keeping my eye on you......

 

[Ronnie James DO]

I don't know what they're doing out there at KCOM, but I don't recall ever filling in a "religion: __________" slot anywhere on MY med-school application. (I go to LECOM)

My point is that religion, despite breaking people into groups on a more social level, is typically a very private thing...especially in the professional setting. Race and sex? Well, obviously, they can't be all that private (for reasons of visual impossibility), so therefore religion really shouldn't be included in this particular version of the "diversity" argument.

 

[bustinbooty]

As stated by the last poster, the only way to claim that the school had any religious bias would be in a situation where you had to fill in your religion on the application. Under our current application process, to say that the school has bias in accepting students of a particular religion is to say that the school has a magic ability to guess the religion of all of its applicants.
After living in Kirksville for 8 years and attending the undergraduate university here as well, I have experienced almost every facet of this town, and can assure everyone that KCOM represents the largest range of ethnic and religious cultures in the area, even over southside McDonalds (which a demographic sampling would show to be 99% rural white retired farmer drinking coffee)

 

[rbassdo]

Originally posted by bustinbooty
I have experienced almost every facet of this town, and can assure everyone that KCOM represents the largest range of ethnic and religious cultures in the area, even over southside McDonalds (which a demographic sampling would show to be 99% rural white retired farmer drinking coffee)

Nope...that's the Northside McD's. BTW...anyone from Utah (especially) or a Northwestern US state, who's done a two year mission and knows French, Dutch, or Chinese, etc. can be safely labelled - in my estimation. But...you have a point. One could never truly prove that KCOM favored certain students - or at least recruited heavily at BYU, UofU, etc.

 

[nebaker]

I must say that I strongly agree with Bustinbooty on this issue. I to went to undergrad in Kirksville. I worked closely with the admissions office in undergrand and at KCOM giving tours to and housing applicants. I can definitly say that KCOM is much more diverse than Truman State (the undergrad university in Kirksville) and that Truman is more diverse than Kirksville and Kirksville is more diverse than the surrounding area. From my experience the applicant pool is also much more diverse at KCOM than at Truman.

Bass, I don't know what kind of area you are from or what your definition of diversity is but I think what we have at KCOM is the best you're going to get in a small mid western town.

I also don't know what you have against those who are LDS. They make up a smaller percentage of the class of 2005 than Truman students make up. The admissions departments gets the most applications from Truman and BYU. That's why those two groups make up a large percentage of students at KCOM. I assure eveyone who is reading this that the only reason the admissions office would pick someone from BYU or Truman over someone from somewhere else is because they are either better quailifed candidates or they know what kind of students they can expect from those two schools.

Thanks for reading.

 

[ramsestiger]

Hello everyone. I hope you're doing well.

Name: Amit Sharma
Age: 23
Location: Born near New Delhi, India, but currently in Pittsburgh
e-mail: [email protected]
Degree: B.S. Psychology-Honors
College: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Tar Heels)
Medical Interests: Not too sure
Hobbies: Chess, table tennis, website design, movies, television, reading, and basketball

I look forward to seeing everyone this fall.

 

[ElDeBarge]

it is not surprising that KCOM is more diverse than Truman State. KCOM is a private medical school that attracts students from around the country and occasionally from locales across the lake, while truman is a state school recruiting from within the missouri borders primarily. however, that comparison seems quite irrelevant. it might be of value if one was choosing between KCOM and truman but that is not the case. that being said, KCOM is far from diverse. if your definition of diversity is one or two from one ethnicity or another, then you could say it is diverse. there are many ethnicities, minorities, philisophical persuasions, religions, and free-thinkers at KCOM. unfortunately, the numbers of students within each minority represented is quite small. representation of many different groups by one member of that group does not a diverse environment make.

KCOM is primarily filled with western-european descendants. this is an observation not a judement. this issue of diversity has little to do with surrounding communities. who cares if KCOM is more diverse than novinger or milan or la plata. that is simply a statement of the obvious. it is the largest town in this part of the state (NE MO) and has two academic institutions which draw students from many places. to say that KCOM is more diverse than its surroundings does not equate to diversity at KCOM.

it does not seem to me that rbassdo has anything "against" the LDS church or its members. i have not read any judgement that he has passed, only personal observations. LDSers do not make up a smaller percentage of the 2005 class than Truman students. a brief period spent with the class composite will quickly show otherwise. KCOM receives many applications from Truman, that is true. it is also true that KCOM and Truman have joined forces and provide a 7 year BS(BA)/DO track (called PRIMO - its purpose is to serve the underserved and underrepresented areas of missouri) so there is reason behind the numbers.

i might also point out that in the last 4 years a large percentage (possibly the majority) of those KCOM students who unfortunately 5th-year or fail out were Truman students, again, not a judgement, just a factual observation that can be supported with numbers if you wish. if the admissions people find better quality students from Truman or perceive that they will be stellar students and thus admit more of them, then i think it is time for the higher-ups to reevaluate their batting average.

lastly, KCOM does receive many, many applications from those in the LDS church. the majority of them are extremely qualified and subsequently excel at KCOM and later down the road as superb physicians. however, it should be stated that they receive so many applications because they heavily recruit from BYU and UT and Utah in general (they were there last week). there is nothing wrong with that. KCOM has obviously found success in the LDS students that they attract so why not continue with the trend. but to state that KCOM does not actively recruit from the area most populus with LDS is wrong and a denial of the obvious. the admissions people make recruiting trips to Utah numerous times a year, spend several days each trip, throw picnics and parties (that is a relative term in Utah) and walk away with a huge number of applicants, and subsequently a large number of accepted and admitted students.

i have enjoyed my time here at KCOM and appreciate immensely the education i have been provided. i enjoy all of my classmates and what they have taught me. i pass no judgement or harbor any animosity towards my colleagues. simple observations not antagonism. party on the peace train, peace on the party train.

if you have made it through this to here, congratulations. thank you, i'm here every saturday night. try the crab puffs.

 

[rbassdo]

Originally posted by ElDeBarge

i have enjoyed my time here at KCOM and appreciate immensely the education i have been provided. i enjoy all of my classmates and what they have taught me. i pass no judgement or harbor any animosity towards my colleagues. simple observations not antagonism. party on the peace train, peace on the party train.

Well written entry, and I second the above quote. No animosity here - just observations. I hold nothing against the LDS church. I do wish KCOM addmissions would make more trips to certain other places - let's spread our wings a little, eh? There are outstanding students in every nook and cranny of this great nation. BTW - I'm very certain that of all the LDS students in my class (approximately 30), one is a female. Just another observation.

 

[bustinbooty]

Maybe we should start a new forum to discuss diversity at KCOM....but I want to address some of ElDeBarge's quotes so......

representation of many different groups by one member of that group does not a diverse environment make.

It doesn't? I think even Yoda would agree that quality, not quantity, creates diversity. Don't confuse diversity with homogeneity.

KCOM is primarily filled with western-european descendants. this is an observation not a judement. this issue of diversity has little to do with surrounding communities. who cares if KCOM is more diverse than novinger or milan or la plata. that is simply a statement of the obvious. it is the largest town in this part of the state (NE MO) and has two academic institutions which draw students from many places. to say that KCOM is more diverse than its surroundings does not equate to diversity at KCOM.

It is indeed valuable to compare the diverse range of people at KCOM compared to the surrounding state university and community because it reveals KCOM's strength of diversity in a part of the country that has a distinct lack of it. Like RBASSDO said, we rednecks in these parts have trouble sounding out big words like D-I-V-E-R-R-S-S-E-D-Y. I must a' been too busy huntin' squirrel or pickin' ticks off ma dog to learn readin' and writin'. (If you wanna knock the people in the surrounding community that supports the school you chose to attend, don't come here in the first place). Our small quantity, but large range of cultures and religions at KCOM reflects the school's ability to attract various cultures into a region where they are guaranteed to be a minority. It's not the quantity of minorities present at our school, but the range of diversity present that is our strength. If our school had a very large population, then quantity may have a chance to matter, but in a population of only 300 students, all cultures have an opportunity to make their presence known. I would be interested to discover the range of cultures and religions at KCOM compared to schools in more "homogenous" parts of the country like Cali or NY. I've seen some of their class composites and the differences are subtle.
My point is, diversity IS a relative topic, and is defined by the situation and the geographical location. Medical school, in itself does not foster a diverse population of students. (If it was, why are measures still being taken to diversify it more?) Compare the demographics at a our school to most others, even those outside the midwest, and my guess is that you would not find many significant differences. Maybe I'll take the time to look up some real numbers, but probably not.

i might also point out that in the last 4 years a large percentage (possibly the majority) of those KCOM students who unfortunately 5th-year or fail out were Truman students

I've actually seen the stats on this one....you are way off. Account for the large pop. of Truman Students who go to KCOM. the attrition rate of Truman students is on par with the cummulative attrition rate of the school.

to state that KCOM does not actively recruit from the area most populus with LDS is wrong and a denial of the obvious

No one ever did state that. the statement was basically that no religious bias is given in accepting or denying a student admission to the school. ...Had nothing to do with recruitment. Recruitment in Utah and that area has is high, but has nothing to do with favoring LDS students....it is simply a sound economic decision. It costs the school money to recruit. They want to get the most for the money they spend. If you want to sell vacuum cleaners, you go to the location where the most people buy vacuum cleaners. Utah is a heavily populated DO region where many students (LDS or not) have been exposed to Osteopathic medicine. this is a region where applicant recruitment is high. Simple economics. KCOM also recruits very highly in other parts of the nation where DO awareness is high and the chances to recruit applicants are greater. The bottom line for the school is money, not religious affiliation.

 

[rbassdo]

Originally posted by bustinbooty


It doesn't? I think even Yoda would agree that quality, not quantity, creates diversity. Don't confuse diversity with homogeneity.

Try telling that to the University of Michigan!


bustinbooty,

I wasn't trying to knock any person living in NEMO. I was just attempting decrease the significance of the little diversity that does exist at KCOM. Even you, judging from your own interpretation of NEMO (squirrel huntin'...etc), understand that NEMO is a "unique" place.

 

[ElDeBarge]

first off, bustinbooty, kudos to you for treading your way through my lenghty post of babblings and similarities.

It doesn't? I think even Yoda would agree that quality, not quantity, creates diversity. Don't confuse diversity with homogeneity.

i don't think that there is going to be a consensus on whether KCOM is diverse of not. it is entirely dependent upon one's environment prior to arriving in the ville as you previously suggested. if you are coming from Bevier, then KCOM is the definition of melting pot. on the other hand, if you are coming from a more new york KCOM's diversity is lacking. i would not necessarily say that quality rather quantity creates diversity. it might be necessary to have both. it certainly increases the diversity of the student body, but it is not enough to qualify as an extremely diverse school as has been stated. if you are the 1 and only member of group x in the class, you certainly are not calling home and raving of the classes diversity. i am simply providing another interpretation and perception. i am corn-fed born and raised midwestern, and i do not perceive the diversity at KCOM or lack thereof is even remotely representative of my experience thus far on this particular planet.

I've actually seen the stats on this one....you are way off. Account for the large pop. of Truman Students who go to KCOM. the attrition rate of Truman students is on par with the cummulative attrition rate of the school.

i must disagree, you are the one that is way off. i stated that a disproportionally large percentage of those that 5th year or fail out have, in the recent past been Truman students. i am not drawing conclusions or stereotyping. it is simply a correlation not a cause and effect relationship. here are some numbers for ya. lets just look at the classes of 2004 and 2005 to keep it simple. from these 2 years there are 23 persons that are no longer with the class they began with due to academic difficulty of some form or another. of those 23, 8 were from Truman. stated in percentages, 35% of those 5th yeared or failed were of Truman descent. in addition, in those 2 years there were only 28 Truman students that matriculated into KCOM. in other words 29% of Truman students in the last two years have not continued with their class. the overall class failure/5th year rate for those two years was approximately 8%. of those 8%, 35% of them were from Truman. it matters little to me, but it was brought up so i shared what i know.

it is of no consequence to me why, how, and from which undergraduate school my classmates have come. i am simply correcting that which i believe to have been misstated. as graduation day approaches i become more and more assured that i have received an excellent education and have befriended many kind and caring souls, socially, religiously and ethnically diverse or not. you say tomayto i say tomaato.

i am the rhythm of the night

 

[Toran]

I have been away too long, you guys are getting to serious there again.

name: toran
email: [email protected]
interests: medical school?
nonmedical: education, staying in medical school

(anyways, I always hated it when I posted a topic and people missed that by the end of the discussion...tyg)

I am in new york right now, on work, and remembered some of the folks in 2005 from here. I exclaimed how diverse the population is here, and how difficult it might be to come from this place to go to k'ville.
I think that you guys are still on too little sleep, and need to recognize this from the a bigger picture. Realize that KCOM is located in the midwest, and it is not a big city which would attract a huge number of people to achieve a really diverse population. Maybe a positive perspective would be to look at the many wonderful and diverse things that the students at KCOM have achieved? I remember each student going around the room and stating their past achievements, and being awe struck at the other things, I felt like a science fair... each student thinking the next person had done something amazing while thinking their own achievement relatively normal....an odd feeling when each person there is extraordinary...that is the diversity...
If you are looking for color differences, don't be so superficial. If you are looking for religious differences, you have a point.
KCOM is a business, like any other place looking for money in the current economy. They will market their product, a med school education, to the most likely populations.... look around and figure it out.
Kirksville actually means town of churches. What kind of churches you might ask...again, look around.
bustin... come on man... relax on the newbie.. just give em a little slack, you remember what it was to be a first year...don't ya?
btw...one last thing... I remember having conversations with other people.. ie it wasn't only me... that were asked what our religious backgrounds were..."because, those **** do really well here". and, of course if I was single....

my main point again, look around and appreciate eachother for what you have achieved together. Learn from eachother about eachother's diversity. Then get the hell out and be in the type of diversity/population that agrees with you.
TDF

work to live, don't live to work

hello to all, sorry it's been so long.

 

[bones]

allright kiddos, enough debating in other folks space. let the 2007ers post here and lets take this to a new board. actually- lets take it to the 2005 board, we need some new life there anyway...
http://www.studentdoctor.net/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=614154

2007ers, congrats and welcome. don't let these silly folks get you down. I'm a Quaker and thus a big time religious minority and they haven't lynched me yet.
If you want more info jump into our debates on the other board and ask your questions there.

 

[medneuro]

Okay colleges, I don?t see why this heated debate is taking place. Obviously it is important to discuss diversity but the fact is that probably the majority of KCOM students are white males. I?m sure the admissions dept doesn?t go searching them out either, they are simply the majority of the applicants. This all just relates back to larger social injustices.
Youngjock, I?m sorry that you didn?t get into KCOM but I?m quite sure that it was not due to your race, religion, etc for the simple reasons that 1. that's illegal!! and 2. KCOM strives for a more diverse student body.
To everyone who is debating about issues such as ?is KCOM more diverse than Missouri? etc. what is the point? Obviously it is a small school in a small town in the mid-west. I?ve lived in a similar place all my life and the simple fact is that it?s not going to be as diverse as a city on the East coast; that doesn?t mean that fosters prejudice or discrimination.
This thread was started to bring together the KCOM class of 2007 and it has turned into a debate. While I appreciate your concerns and applaud you for making your voices heard, lets return to the original purpose. Lets use this forum to promote unity (that?s what we were arguing about in the first place after all) and get to know one another!

 

[medneuro]

Okay colleges, I don?t see why this heated debate is taking place. Obviously it is important to discuss diversity but the fact is that probably the majority of KCOM students are white males. I?m sure the admissions dept doesn?t go searching them out either, they are simply the majority of the applicants. This all just relates back to larger social injustices.
Youngjock, I?m sorry that you didn?t get into KCOM but I?m quite sure that it was not due to your race, religion, etc for the simple reasons that 1. that's illegal!! and 2. KCOM strives for a more diverse student body.
To everyone who is debating about issues such as ?is KCOM more diverse than Missouri? etc. what is the point? Obviously it is a small school in a small town in the mid-west. I?ve lived in a similar place all my life and the simple fact is that it?s not going to be as diverse as a city on the East coast; that doesn?t mean that fosters prejudice or discrimination.
This thread was started to bring together the KCOM class of 2007 and it has turned into a debate. While I appreciate your concerns and applaud you for making your voices heard, lets return to the original purpose. Lets use this forum to promote unity (that?s what we were arguing about in the first place after all) and get to know one another!