PCOM Class of 2013

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Gas in Philadelphia is outrageous. If it means not getting Beekman, but getting gas included, I would do it. To give you an idea, my last gas bill was $330, the one before that $253, and the one before that about $150. If my gas were to price out like last year, that gives me $50 to spend over the next four months. Not happening.


dang! do you live in a small apartment or a huge ass house or somewhere in between?

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A 4-BR horribly insulated bilevel apartment. My landlord points out the double paned windows to which I say, they have gaps around them.

Lol!!! I feel for you, I just moved out of a place I've been at 2 years where the landlord constantly patted himself on the back for the great insulation job he did on my third floor unit's ceiling/roof. I scoff, because his windows are 50-60 years old or older, and I had to put painters tape around the perimeter of them (highly recommend it, the blue tape) to keep the cold wind out.

Landlords are mostly cheap and by and large clueless as to what they make their tenants suffer, if you permit me to stereotype a moment ;)
There's a few great one's out there, look for one.
Anyhow, I can offer any PCOM 2013 student a referral to a great building, just PM me.

Xan
 
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Any other pet owners out there?! Whats the housing market like out there right now? I know where I am it is definitely the time to buy; it couldn't be better! What about buying a home rather than renting? My husband will be working ft so it would make it manageable for rent/mortgage...any ideas? :confused:
 
I think it depends. You can probably find cheaper places on West City Ave and in that general area as long as you don't get out to the Haverford/Villanova area. Overall, real estate in Philly is ridiculous. Its not uncommon for run-down, fixer-uppers to run 350, 400, or even 450k here in University City. You have to look around is my best advice. Its cheaper in unsavory places, of course, but that won't be the best environment to live in. Personally, if I was in your situation, would look for a nice foreclosed home that is selling for cheap.
 
Hello,
I have been accepted to several schools (RVU, PCOM, CCOM, DMU, etc...), but was really excited when I visited PCOM. The only thing that I am not sure about is how my living situation is going to be. I am married and we have a small dog. Are many PCOM students married and if so, do they rent an apartment out there? Or do they rent/own a home? Ideally we would like to rent a house with our dog, but from what I have seen, most places do not rent to people with pets. Can anyone share any advice or knowledge on PCOM's student's living situations? Do any married couples live together in ahome and split rent? :oops: I am at a loss on this aspect. Otherwise, LOVED PCOM and all it had to offer. Thanks for any feedback!

One place I'd recommend looking at is greenbriar apartments they allow pets, I live in imperial which is literally a football throw away from greebriar. I live with my fiance and she's also a med student. For some reason a lot of people don't go down Conshohocken Ave which has a lot of living choices which are very affordable. I "use" to live at Lincoln Green which was clean and nice but definitely not worth the price so I made the switch to imperial and never regretted it (utilities included!). Well hope that helps and if you got any questions feel free to message me
 
Hey everyone!

So I've heard really good things about Imperial towers. It's within walking distance of PCOM and qutie cheap per person (this website says between $1,030 - $1,055 for a two bedroom flat). For me, that's all I need.

So: for those of you who are going to PCOM this August, second years too, do you need a roommate? $500 a month plus utilities is not bad. I would prefer a male, otherwise my girlfriend will kill me :) So if you are chap who doesn't want to pay an arm and a leg for rent, then please PM me. I'm not messy or loud.

Cheers!
 
Hey everyone!

So I've heard really good things about Imperial towers. It's within walking distance of PCOM and qutie cheap per person (this website says between $1,030 - $1,055 for a two bedroom flat). For me, that's all I need.

So: for those of you who are going to PCOM this August, second years too, do you need a roommate? $500 a month plus utilities is not bad. I would prefer a male, otherwise my girlfriend will kill me :) So if you are chap who doesn't want to pay an arm and a leg for rent, then please PM me. I'm not messy or loud.

Cheers!
When we get our binders (hopefully soon) there should be a login for Nucleus which will have roommate listings, I'm told.
 
uhhh, I can't wait till this semester is over already. I'm gonna have a nice chillaxin summer vacation to help ease into the fiery inferno that is medical school
 
Anyone feel not so confident after leaving their interview and still got accepted to PCOM? I guess I'm just trying to calm my nerves because I don't think my interview went too well but I loved the school!
 
Does anyone have access to a typical class schedule for a first and second year student at PCOM? Like what times class starts on each day, what time we get done each day, when the labs are etc. (I am trying to figure out my living arrangements).

If there are any first or second year students, can you please PM me?

Thanks for your help!
 
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declined my acceptance after much consideration... :( good luck to everybody still holding out for that thin envelope! :luck:
 
Does anyone have access to a typical class schedule for a first and second year student at PCOM? Like what times class starts on each day, what time we get done each day, when the labs are etc. (I am trying to figure out my living arrangements).

If there are any first or second year students, can you please PM me?

Thanks for your help!

We got our binders that include a sample schedule. It looks like on most days classes will be from about 8-3 or 4, with a 1 hour break around lunch time. It looks like labs are typically after lunch. I think I heard from a student that OMM lab usually doesn't last the whole time, so maybe on those days we'd get out of class earlier then 3 or 4, but I could be wrong. Hope that helps.
 
We got our binders that include a sample schedule. It looks like on most days classes will be from about 8-3 or 4, with a 1 hour break around lunch time. It looks like labs are typically after lunch. I think I heard from a student that OMM lab usually doesn't last the whole time, so maybe on those days we'd get out of class earlier then 3 or 4, but I could be wrong. Hope that helps.

Thank you very much for the response.

- ARR
 
Hey guys! I have an interview coming up at PCOM. I heard a lot of good things and from this discussion, it seems like it would be a great choice. I was wondering if anyone recently interviewed might have some advice for me? Do they ever send out a complete itinerary for the day? If not, what does the interview day consist of? Are we interviewed by students and faculty as well?

Hopefully I will see you guys in the Fall!!
 
esteemed and generally revered Pathology Professor Fogel <?> is gone, flew the coop,
class of 13 will live on but damn...really.. i was looking forward to having him instruct. hey, life happens. just an fyi to all my fellow classmates who may be better informed than most.

+pity+
 
If you go to the top of the the page and click on the medical tab you'll be able to scroll through the list for interview feedback. The interview day for me consisted of breakfast with an ambassador (we had both faculty and student) serving as a Q and A session. Then it was time for interviews. When you weren't interviewing, you were sitting in the fish bowl talking with your other interviewees and student ambassador. The interview consisted of 3 people (you might be +/-) that ask you questions regarding your application - this lasted for about 20 minutes for me. After everyone interviews there is a campus tour. I believe the whole process is over by 1.
 
does anyone know what classes we will be taking first semester? SPOM OMM and histo i assume..what else? i saw a sample thing in the binder but didn't know if that was something to go by
 
esteemed and generally revered Pathology Professor Fogel <?> is gone, flew the coop,
class of 13 will live on but damn...really.. i was looking forward to having him instruct. hey, life happens. just an fyi to all my fellow classmates who may be better informed than most.

+pity+

Man that stinks. I heard many great things about Dr. Fogel. Do you know why he left? Retirement?
 
Man that stinks. I heard many great things about Dr. Fogel. Do you know why he left? Retirement?

I'm pretty sure he went to teach somewhere else. Not sure where.
 
Man that stinks. I heard many great things about Dr. Fogel. Do you know why he left? Retirement?

He decided to retire in St. Kitts and teach at a school there. It really sucks that he's gone because people really loved him and his lectures and test questions were far better than what we are getting now. Hopefully the dept will get their stuff together and have it more organized for you because we've had a bit of a **** show with the profs trying to replace the lectures that Fogel would have done.
 
He decided to retire in St. Kitts and teach at a school there. It really sucks that he's gone because people really loved him and his lectures and test questions were far better than what we are getting now. Hopefully the dept will get their stuff together and have it more organized for you because we've had a bit of a **** show with the profs trying to replace the lectures that Fogel would have done.

:confused:
 
Lol!!! I feel for you...Landlords are mostly cheap and by and large clueless as to what they make their tenants suffer, if you permit me to stereotype a moment ;)

I'll let that one pass this time :) I'm lucky if I can get 2 hrs of sleep when I have an tenant issue come up...when I was studying for my 'cats, I would have to drive 2.5 hrs just to do a 2 minute fix that you CANNOT get a plumber/friend/relative to do at 4:30pm on a Friday afternoon. That was despite telling the plumber EXACTLY what do to b/c such-and-such would happen.

LOL....another time a well pump quit working for our commercial building....when? 5 minutes after my PCOM interview!! :mad: Found out b/c I setup gmail to forward msgs to my cellphone...I just felt my phone pulse in the chair when I got back to the fishbowl...so, the day of my pcom interview, I cut out of the tour and spent the next 15 minutes in the lobby calling tenants in the building/plumbers/well drillers. Then another 30 minutes in the clinical building, and another hour on the way back home and I somehow manage to get a well driller to replace the well pump (the only guy in 2 counties who has the equipment to deal with the size of our building), starting 8:30am the next morning, despite his guys being involved in repairing a water outage affecting a 25 trailerpark neighborhood (25 x ~2-3 pp/trailer). Me: "Do the works...even if it doesn't seem like it needs it for another two years or so...do it."

They wrapped up at 10:00 the next day, but didn't do what I said...so water was running continuously for 4 hours @ 20 gal/min until I finished up at the ED writing a program for my ex-associate director in a new facility. That night, brand new $2000 pump stopped working. Dead. 6 tenants w/o water again, but its the middle of the night. Not much I can do, but get my program done, which took me until 8:00am the following morning.

I call up, after being awake all night, and they say "well, I thought we could get away without replacing the $50 relay box". wtf....$50 part for a $3500 job? ARG....They repair it, but don't do what I said again...they just leave the property without even looking to make sure that the switch they turned on didn't cause some huge problem inside....Water dumps out from a urinal onto the floor...in 15 minutes, water was pouring onto the floor (again, 20gal/min but no drain this time!) and streaming through the ceiling into the animal hospital below, right next to the surgery area, the breaker box serving their entire 3500SF suite, soaking their supplies, etc, etc, etc. I get the call ~ 8:30am, fly up there (8 min drive), stop the water < 1 minute, skip developmental class and barely make it to the lab after spending the whole morning mopping up the floor (~ 3 inches of water in a 300 SF bathroom), calming the vet down (who had all of his stuff SOAKED), etc, etc, etc....fortunately, the x-ray machine (250v x MANY amps!) about 20 feet away wasn't affected and I moved the autoclave...

Response from a 8-5pm female tenant (clerical...hospice call center...consists of 4 ppl, 1200 SF suite) who was not affected other than the water being off for ~ 7 hours MAX? And they could still use the four toilets for 60% of the time...the other 40% of the time they just couldn't flush when they were done...

Nevin,

I cannot tell you in how many ways this has been unacceptable, I have had my corporate office here this week doing audits and they have had to keep leaving to drive to the bathroom down the street, not too mention my staff's time that I pay for and mileage to do the same. This is absolutely not an appropriate response time.

Corinna

How far away is said bathroom? 24/7 Wawa < 1 mile away in rural PA...< 3min drive - and that's not an exaggeration...:annoyed:

Response from the vet (staff of 5 ppl and active user of water for hands, exams, baths, surgeries 2x/week, restrooms, 3500SF suite)?

Thanks for responding so quickly!!!

I for one, am looking forward to medical school and becoming a doctor! Can't I get a shortcut to EM, gen surgery, or trauma surgery? :laugh:
 
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Lol! <highfive> I look forward to meeting you my friend.




I'll let that one pass this time :) I'm lucky if I can get 2 hrs of sleep when I have an tenant issue come up...when I was studying for my 'cats, I would have to drive 2.5 hrs just to do a 2 minute fix that you CANNOT get a plumber/friend/relative to do at 4:30pm on a Friday afternoon. That was despite telling the plumber EXACTLY what do to b/c such-and-such would happen.

LOL....another time a well pump quit working for our commercial building....when? 5 minutes after my PCOM interview!! :mad: Found out b/c I setup gmail to forward msgs to my cellphone...I just felt my phone pulse in the chair when I got back to the fishbowl...so, the day of my pcom interview, I cut out of the tour and spent the next 15 minutes in the lobby calling tenants in the building/plumbers/well drillers. Then another 30 minutes in the clinical building, and another hour on the way back home and I somehow manage to get a well driller to replace the well pump (the only guy in 2 counties who has the equipment to deal with the size of our building), starting 8:30am the next morning, despite his guys being involved in repairing a water outage affecting a 25 trailerpark neighborhood (25 x ~2-3 pp/trailer). Me: "Do the works...even if it doesn't seem like it needs it for another two years or so...do it."

They wrapped up at 10:00 the next day, but didn't do what I said...so water was running continuously for 4 hours @ 20 gal/min until I finished up at the ED writing a program for my ex-associate director in a new facility. That night, brand new $2000 pump stopped working. Dead. 6 tenants w/o water again, but its the middle of the night. Not much I can do, but get my program done, which took me until 8:00am the following morning.

I call up, after being awake all night, and they say "well, I thought we could get away without replacing the $50 relay box". wtf....$50 part for a $3500 job? ARG....They repair it, but don't do what I said again...they just leave the property without even looking to make sure that the switch they turned on didn't cause some huge problem inside....Water dumps out from a urinal onto the floor...in 15 minutes, water was pouring onto the floor (again, 20gal/min but no drain this time!) and streaming through the ceiling into the animal hospital below, right next to the surgery area, the breaker box serving their entire 3500SF suite, soaking their supplies, etc, etc, etc. I get the call ~ 8:30am, fly up there (8 min drive), stop the water < 1 minute, skip developmental class and barely make it to the lab after spending the whole morning mopping up the floor (~ 3 inches of water in a 300 SF bathroom), calming the vet down (who had all of his stuff SOAKED), etc, etc, etc....fortunately, the x-ray machine (250v x MANY amps!) about 20 feet away wasn't affected and I moved the autoclave...

Response from a 8-5pm female tenant (clerical...hospice call center...consists of 4 ppl, 1200 SF suite) who was not affected other than the water being off for ~ 7 hours MAX? And they could still use the four toilets for 60% of the time...the other 40% of the time they just couldn't flush when they were done...
Nevin,

I cannot tell you in how many ways this has been unacceptable, I have had my corporate office here this week doing audits and they have had to keep leaving to drive to the bathroom down the street, not too mention my staff's time that I pay for and mileage to do the same. This is absolutely not an appropriate response time.

Corinna
How far away is said bathroom? 24/7 Wawa < 1 mile away in rural PA...< 3min drive - and that's not an exaggeration...:annoyed:

Response from the vet (staff of 5 ppl and active user of water for hands, exams, baths, surgeries 2x/week, restrooms, 3500SF suite)?
Thanks for responding so quickly!!!
I for one, am looking forward to medical school and becoming a doctor! Can't I get a shortcut to EM, gen surgery, or trauma surgery? :laugh:
 
Lol! <highfive> I look forward to meeting you my friend.

Ditto :highfive:

Anyone else going to the March 29th luncheon? What did they present or discuss? Does anyone have an itinerary/speaker list?
 
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Ditto :highfive:

Anyone else going to the March 29th luncheon? What did they present or discuss? Does anyone have an itinerary/speaker list?

I'm wondering, too. I think last brunch, which I was unfortunately detained from by a fastidious anatomy exam, they announced the speaker in the invite, and I didn't see any such announcement this time. But hey, we can just eat, that's fine.
 
Hi everyone, congratulations on your acceptance. I am a PCOM OMS-III. My fiance and I have a business about an hour away from where he is presently living, so we are looking to rent the house to 2-3 reliable med students. We are looking at May 1 as a move-in date although we can be flexible, and are still working out the rent but it will most likely be moderate to low for Philly with utilities paid by tenants. The third bedroom is quite small so one person may want to take both the smaller bedrooms; on the other hand there is plenty of space to hang out downstairs. The house is about 2 miles down City Line Avenue with plenty of shopping nearby. The neighborhood is composed mostly of young families.
Please contact me at [email protected] with any questions. We are anxious to see our house in good hands!
 
I have withdrawn my acceptance from all schools except AZCOM and PCOM. I can't decide whether to attend PCOM or AZCOM...I know they are very different, but they are both GREAT schools.

Here is my problem: I think PCOMs curriculum is one of the best you could ask for. Their clinical rotations are set in one of the greatest medical cities in the US with a lot of medical history and medical hospitals and unique opportunity. But, the cost of living in Philly is outrageous. I am married and can't split the cost of living with someone else. We have a dog. Renters do not accomodate pet owners in Philly, and it seems unlikely that we could afford to buy a home in Philly. My husband is a firefighter and will hopefully find a job out there doing the same- so possibly could afford a home? (any input from anyone who might be in a similar situation?) However, I am not sure what I think of AZCOM's quarter system for their curriculum and overall I think I would like PCOMs curriculum better. But, AZCOM is set in Glendale, AZ where the cost of living is wayyy cheaper than Philly and the people are friendly and I am from a neighboring state so the transition I imagine would be much easier to go to AZCOM. I feel like my pro and con lists for each school are even. The problem, the pros for PCOM are based only on the school and not the environment and personal reasons. The pros for AZCOM are mainly for personal reasons, environment, and location...

What is more important? Obviously you are paying a TON for this education so you'd think curriculum would take precidence. But, I think in order to be successful you should be happy in your environment and I envision myself happier in Glendale than in Philly. I think AZCOM is still a great school; there really isn't such a thing as a "terrible" med school. I think you make of it what you want and you determine your success. I keep wavering...and I need to make a decision SOON, before more $$ is due!

How did you guys decide which school to go to if you had choices? These are the 2 schools that felt like they would be a good fit for me. But for such different reasons and I am not sure what should take precidence: personal reasons or curriculum/educational reasons?

Thanks for any input!:oops:
 
No need to double post, we're all geeky enough to read both threads.
:D

I have withdrawn my acceptance from all schools except AZCOM and PCOM. I can't decide whether to attend PCOM or AZCOM...I know they are very different, but they are both GREAT schools.

Here is my problem: I think PCOMs curriculum is one of the best you could ask for. Their clinical rotations are set in one of the greatest medical cities in the US with a lot of medical history and medical hospitals and unique opportunity. But, the cost of living in Philly is outrageous. I am married and can't split the cost of living with someone else. We have a dog. Renters do not accomodate pet owners in Philly, and it seems unlikely that we could afford to buy a home in Philly. My husband is a firefighter and will hopefully find a job out there doing the same- so possibly could afford a home? (any input from anyone who might be in a similar situation?) However, I am not sure what I think of AZCOM's quarter system for their curriculum and overall I think I would like PCOMs curriculum better. But, AZCOM is set in Glendale, AZ where the cost of living is wayyy cheaper than Philly and the people are friendly and I am from a neighboring state so the transition I imagine would be much easier to go to AZCOM. I feel like my pro and con lists for each school are even. The problem, the pros for PCOM are based only on the school and not the environment and personal reasons. The pros for AZCOM are mainly for personal reasons, environment, and location...

What is more important? Obviously you are paying a TON for this education so you'd think curriculum would take precidence. But, I think in order to be successful you should be happy in your environment and I envision myself happier in Glendale than in Philly. I think AZCOM is still a great school; there really isn't such a thing as a "terrible" med school. I think you make of it what you want and you determine your success. I keep wavering...and I need to make a decision SOON, before more $$ is due!

How did you guys decide which school to go to if you had choices? These are the 2 schools that felt like they would be a good fit for me. But for such different reasons and I am not sure what should take precidence: personal reasons or curriculum/educational reasons?

Thanks for any input!:oops:
 
Quick question - I'm away from all my PCOM correspondence right now so I can't figure this out. Does PCOM have a second deposit after the $250 required just after being accepted? If there is one, how much and when is it due?
 
I have withdrawn my acceptance from all schools except AZCOM and PCOM. I can't decide whether to attend PCOM or AZCOM...I know they are very different, but they are both GREAT schools.

Here is my problem: I think PCOMs curriculum is one of the best you could ask for. Their clinical rotations are set in one of the greatest medical cities in the US with a lot of medical history and medical hospitals and unique opportunity. But, the cost of living in Philly is outrageous. I am married and can't split the cost of living with someone else. We have a dog. Renters do not accomodate pet owners in Philly, and it seems unlikely that we could afford to buy a home in Philly. My husband is a firefighter and will hopefully find a job out there doing the same- so possibly could afford a home? (any input from anyone who might be in a similar situation?) However, I am not sure what I think of AZCOM's quarter system for their curriculum and overall I think I would like PCOMs curriculum better. But, AZCOM is set in Glendale, AZ where the cost of living is wayyy cheaper than Philly and the people are friendly and I am from a neighboring state so the transition I imagine would be much easier to go to AZCOM. I feel like my pro and con lists for each school are even. The problem, the pros for PCOM are based only on the school and not the environment and personal reasons. The pros for AZCOM are mainly for personal reasons, environment, and location...

What is more important? Obviously you are paying a TON for this education so you'd think curriculum would take precidence. But, I think in order to be successful you should be happy in your environment and I envision myself happier in Glendale than in Philly. I think AZCOM is still a great school; there really isn't such a thing as a "terrible" med school. I think you make of it what you want and you determine your success. I keep wavering...and I need to make a decision SOON, before more $$ is due!

How did you guys decide which school to go to if you had choices? These are the 2 schools that felt like they would be a good fit for me. But for such different reasons and I am not sure what should take precidence: personal reasons or curriculum/educational reasons?

Thanks for any input!:oops:
Just in case you're not aware of this....but PCOM is not "IN" the city....students live in a wide variety of surrounding neighborhoods and they can vary greatly in $$
 
Just in case you're not aware of this....but PCOM is not "IN" the city....students live in a wide variety of surrounding neighborhoods and they can vary greatly in $$

You know I have nothing but love for you Taus, but yeah, it's in the city.
It's not in the center of the city, but it's Philly alright, and I've got the car insurance quote to prove it.
Good call on the neighborhood situation.
 
You know I have nothing but love for you Taus, but yeah, it's in the city.
It's not in the center of the city, but it's Philly alright, and I've got the car insurance quote to prove it.
Good call on the neighborhood situation.

you know what I meant about not being in the city.... I wasn't talking about what it says on the mailing address....
 
I was kidding around.
 
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Is anyone who went to the first acceptance luncheon going to the one at the end of March? Seems kind of weird to be welcomed twice...
 
Is anyone who went to the first acceptance luncheon going to the one at the end of March? Seems kind of weird to be welcomed twice...

I don't think I'd be shy about doing it, had I made the first one.
 
Hey guys, I just got accepted to PCOM this past week and am excited to attend.

What's the housing situation like? Any websites or resources you guys use to find apartments that are close to school? I've looked around on craigslist and found some good deals though.
 
Is anyone who went to the first acceptance luncheon going to the one at the end of March? Seems kind of weird to be welcomed twice...
I'm going. I've only got to meet one of my roommates in person so its a great opportunity to meet the other face to face. Also, wanna meet up with the people I met there the first time.
 
I'm going. I've only got to meet one of my roommates in person so its a great opportunity to meet the other face to face. Also, wanna meet up with the people I met there the first time.
Email question... anyone know how to get rid of the priority as the first line in the e-mail messages sent out? Also, is there a way to not include the confidentiality clause at the end of the email?
 
I'm going. I've only got to meet one of my roommates in person so its a great opportunity to meet the other face to face. Also, wanna meet up with the people I met there the first time.

You're too funny A-dog.
 
I am excited to be attending PCOM in the fall!!!! Got my acceptance after a long hard days work in the ICU... so i've seen the word "binder" tossed around a few times... what does this "binder" contain?
 
you know what I meant about not being in the city.... I wasn't talking about what it says on the mailing address....


Holy crap, are you Taus of the Taus Study Method!?!?!? Legend has it that Taus is from PCOM...I heard people all over the world study for the USLME/COMLEX step 1 using your technique. I want to be you Taus! just kidding hahah. seriously though, I would like to be you

I didn't know you were still in school! That's so cool. Are you going to be at the new student luncheon??
 
Hey everyone!
I just received my acceptance letter on Saturday and have already sent in my deposit, I'm really excited for PCOM! Anyways, I have started the daunting process of looking at apartments already and was wondering if anyone had heard anything (good, bad indifferent?) about Lincoln Green??? I think I'm going to be looking for a one bedroom, but am no-where close to making any concrete/final decisions.


Thanks in advance!!!
 
Anyone have the exact date for the deposit deadline? April ____?
 
Anyone have the exact date for the deposit deadline? April ____?

It is April 15.

Can anyone help me with this? I am holding onto 3 acceptances. By when do you have to decide on one school and give up all other acceptances? Is it May 1 or May 15? How does that process work? Please let me know. Thanks!
 
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