TUCOM-CA (Touro University) Class of 2020

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CaffeinatedForLife

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Since nobody's started one yet, I thought I'd go ahead and make it happen!

Post your questions/comments here about housing, matriculation requirements, waitlists, etc.

I'm excited to meet y'all next year!
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Housing-- Anyone looking to live on the island? I'm in need of a place and some cool roommates.
 
Hey guys, I was wondering what made you guys decide you want to attend here? Is location the main factor? I would really like to know
 
camng22 said:
Hey guys, I was wondering what made you guys decide you want to attend here? Is location the main factor? I would really like to know
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Well, most importantly: I got accepted here. Factor number one. I couldn't get a private loan to attend Northstate after being accepted so that fell through, and there's some other schools I haven't heard from yet....but that said, Touro CA was about the top of my list anyway.

Location is nice, I have a lot of family here and that's a huge plus. Bay area is great.

Mostly though I want a DO degree and I want to be in primary care and Touro is very good for both of these. I'm really big on community service and, as far as I understand, there's a lot of opportunity here for getting involved pretty quickly. Hopefully this is true and I can build some good connections in this area.

That's about it. My standards are probably way skewed though: almost two years ago at work in a job I hate a coworker says "Hey check out this school in the Caribbean (St. Georges), I bet we could get in there." I always dreamed of being a doctor, but life happened....now I'm 30....the task of getting accepted just seemed way too huge...but St. Georges actually seemed doable. I made the effort and it went really really well so to get accepted to a mainland school after shooting for St. George (nothing against them), I'm just super excited.

So, from my point of view, I'm like "TOURO! TOURO!"
 
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So...let me just insist, the class of 2020 should do Hawaiian shirt Fridays.
 
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I am in a similar situation. This is so far my only acceptance, BUT, it seems like a really good fit for me personally for a few reasons. For one, I am getting married this summer and the area has a lot of opportunities for my fiance in terms of jobs and such, so that is important to him, since we will be leaving LA, where his work currently is. That is kind of beside the point because we are going to move where I need to for med school but it is a plus. I like the area a lot, so, bonus there. But when I visited for my interview, I felt like every single person I encountered was really friendly and encouraging and interested in our success. It is basically my #1 priority in a med school that it not be like my postbac program... I want to be in a place that really feels like a community and like both students and teachers want everyone to do well. I felt that at Touro. So that is a main reason why I am not only excited to be accepted somewhere but excited to be accepted specifically here.
 
camng22 said:
Hey guys, I was wondering what made you guys decide you want to attend here? Is location the main factor? I would really like to know
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Sorry I replied on the thread and not directly to this post. I am only just now an active member of this website... spent a lot of time stalking it before... anyway, see below for my response. I will also add that I was offered an interview at the Middletown campus in NY (I am from NY), but I was told by my premed office that the CA location is the best. Also I am living in Los Angeles right now so it is closer.

EDIT: actually, see ABOVE. I know how forums work.... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
 
Location was the most important factor for me. I got accepted to several schools, and liked one in particular ALOT (Western U-Pomona), but it was not going to work for my partner to move to L.A. It was a kind of mini-heartbreak for me, but ultimately we decided to stay here in the Bay Area. That said, I've known a few people who have gone to Touro and they really liked it. From what they say, and from the general consensus on SDN, medical school is what you make of it. You can succeed at any school as long as you put in the work.
 
Thanks for the response guys. I'll be attending touro-CA too. When is everyone handling the housing stuff?
 
camng22 said:
Thanks for the response guys. I'll be attending touro-CA too. When is everyone handling the housing stuff?
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Probably not until the summer since I am planning on renting a house in the area. Does everyone pretty much live in Vallejo? I was looking at rentals online and there are some on Mare Island but not many.

Anyone know people who already go there who have insight on this? My tour guide told us some stuff but I can't remember the specifics now.
 
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camng22 said:
Thanks for the response guys. I'll be attending touro-CA too. When is everyone handling the housing stuff?
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I've already secured housing on the island. I'm the kind of guy who likes to prepare ahead just so I don't have to worry about nitty gritty stuff in May-June when I start traveling. The landlords I spoke to recommend to start looking around March if you are looking to sublet and in summer if you are looking to have a house/apt all to yourself.

Mare Island imo is relatively better than Vallejo. For me, I'm single, want to stay close to school, don't want to take a huge loan for housing. I visited downtown Vallejo and it looked sketchy. There are better neighborhoods in Benicia but expensive and about 20 min drive from campus.
 
enter_and_escape said:
I've already secured housing on the island. I'm the kind of guy who likes to prepare ahead just so I don't have to worry about nitty gritty stuff in May-June when I start traveling. The landlords I spoke to recommend to start looking around March if you are looking to sublet and in summer if you are looking to have a house/apt all to yourself.

Mare Island imo is relatively better than Vallejo. For me, I'm single, want to stay close to school, don't want to take a huge loan for housing. I visited downtown Vallejo and it looked sketchy. There are better neighborhoods in Benicia but expensive and about 20 min drive from campus.
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Thanks for sharing the timeline. That gives me a good idea for when to start looking. Are there other housing sources for Mare Island that I should check out besides CL and the Touro student forum?
 
CaffeinatedForLife said:
Thanks for sharing the timeline. That gives me a good idea for when to start looking. Are there other housing sources for Mare Island that I should check out besides CL and the Touro student forum?
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I used this website: http://www.tustudentlife.com/housing/rentals/. Not sure if it's what you are referring to by Touro student forum.

On another note, can anyone comment on library and gym on campus?
 
It's great to hear from future classmates. I am also planning on attending Touro California next fall. I am moving to the Bay Area with my husband from the Pacific Northwest for the combination of a great school with a small collaborative learning environment and an abundance of job opportunities. I haven't completed any of the health history information or found housing yet. I was planning on waiting until May/June and see what houses are available. We were potentially wanting to see if another couple wants to share a large house. Excited to meet everyone next fall.
 
Hi guys, congrats on your acceptance! I'm not class of 2020 but I'm curious if someone can explain further about their grading policy in term of the curve? Is this the same curve that we see in college or is it completely different? Thanks! Sorry for hijacking the thread...
 
New topic!

Hey is anyone else's significant other freaking out about moving to Vallejo after obsessively reading online reviews about the city?
 
Hi everybody,

I'm wondering about the physical/immunizations...has anyone done this? I don't have a regular doc or anything so do we think Doctors on Duty would be able to give the physical? As for immunization records, the local hospital gave me a number to call to get a copy, I have no idea if I've got all the stuff on Touro's list yet.
I'll likely email the school about it all, but SDN never hurts.

thanks for any ideas!
 
Is there any interest in creating a Facebook group so we can all interface in a less impersonal way? I know a big rule around here is to keep your ID secret since some admissions offices lurk on the forums.
 
I'd join a group. We probably should create one at some point. I don't know if y'all should trust me to do it though, I'll choose a really weird picture.
 
PopeChaChaStix said:
I'd join a group. We probably should create one at some point. I don't know if y'all should trust me to do it though, I'll choose a really weird picture.
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Nah, go for it! I thought about it briefly last week, and then totally forgot about it. So I'm glad somebody brought it up!
 
CaffeinatedForLife said:
Nah, go for it! I thought about it briefly last week, and then totally forgot about it. So I'm glad somebody brought it up!
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It is done!
FB group name:

Touro-CA COM Class of 2020

It should be open for joining and all.
 
Hey guys, for the health forms/transcripts has anyone not turned it in before the 60 day deadline and had everything be ok? I know in the other thread they said previous years the deadline was never enforced. just wondering because my deadlines coming up but idk if I can submit in time. I emailed them to clarify but just wanted to double check with u guys lol
 
conmo said:
Hey guys, for the health forms/transcripts has anyone not turned it in before the 60 day deadline and had everything be ok? I know in the other thread they said previous years the deadline was never enforced. just wondering because my deadlines coming up but idk if I can submit in time. I emailed them to clarify but just wanted to double check with u guys lol
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I don't think transcripts are due within 60 days, just the health forums and immunizations. They're also having trouble with their new vendor that collects information as well, so deadlines are supposed to be extended: http://admissions.tu.edu/newstudentinfo/immunizations.html
 
Hey everyone, I'm a first year at Touro! Just wanted to say congrats on getting admitted :)

We actually have an official Facebook group set up for you guys already - https://www.facebook.com/groups/620729211399056. Myself and other first years are members of this page, so in addition to meeting your future classmates, you can also use that group to ask us any questions about life at Touro. Hope this helps!
 
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I was looking at locker registration (b/c I heavily used lockers in undergrad - I'm one of those guys who'd like to bring food and books and spend all day on campus) and it looks like I'm supposed to share a locker with another student? Is that true? Can any current students comment on this?
 
enter_and_escape said:
I was looking at locker registration (b/c I heavily used lockers in undergrad - I'm one of those guys who'd like to bring food and books and spend all day on campus) and it looks like I'm supposed to share a locker with another student? Is that true? Can any current students comment on this?
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I believe you are required to share your locker with another student. I personally don't need a locker because I keep everything with me or in my car, and the parking lot is centrally located for all your classrooms so it's really convenient to grab things from your car if need be.
 
What other schools were you guys hoping for/accepted to? JOC
 
How big are the library and gym on campus? Do they get crowded easily?
 
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feeling-dizzy said:
Library are ok, not as big as state school of course. The gym is smaller than my restroom and under-equiped, it is just a rip-off
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Thanks for your reply. Is the library as big as a standard community library? and how busy is it usually?
 
feeling-dizzy said:
The library is small but adequate for study, they have like 7 study-room which are usually busy come test time, but you can put your name down to reserve in advance. The books are mainly board prep books and text book, nothing is fancy, but again is adequate.
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Thanks again. It should be ok then. I mostly study on my own, but I study best at a library. That's why I ask.
 
feeling-dizzy said:
and the majority live in Berkely or surrounding city (no one really want to live in Vallejo, you can tell why)
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How often do people live on Mare Island? Is it difficult to get housing on the Island?
 
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feeling-dizzy said:
Library are ok, not as big as state school of course. The gym is smaller than my restroom and under-equiped, it is just a rip-off
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If the gym is so small, is there another gym nearby ( maybe a 24 hour fitness or something) that most students go to?

Also, off-topic question but do you guys happen to know when we need to have our FAFSA done by?
 
Hey all! I recently paid my deposit to touro. I'm still waiting to hear back from my state school but I'm really excited about the possibility of moving to northern California.
 
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Sort of a random question but: How does this school look on students with tattoos? I know that they are in general frowned upon in medicine but I have heard different things about tattoos at medical school. In particular, because DO schools include OMM, it will be impossible to hide them all of the time. I looked at the TUCOM student handbook but it doesn't address this specifically. Does anyone have any experience with this? Particularly current students?

I'm nervous. Acquired a number of tattoos before deciding to pursue medicine and now I am not sure what to do... I don't want to remove them but they are hard to hide and impossible in scrubs.
 
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What's the cheapest insurance plan in NorCal? The student insurance plan from Touro looks pricey.
 
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enter_and_escape said:
What's the cheapest insurance plan in NorCal? The student insurance plan from Touro looks pricey.
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You'd have to check the marketplace in CA. I don't know for sure what it is but I'll bet it's a rip off unless we qualify for Medicaid without any income source.
All I can offer is that Touro's plan is cheaper than keeping what my work offers and paying the full share.
Just figured I'd write since its been pretty quiet on the subject. Sorry I can't add much
 
Are any of you planning on getting the MPH? If so, what do you plan on doing with it?
 
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