How is the friendliness of the admissions office?
9 out of 10
How is the responsiveness of the admissions office?
7 out of 10
How did you prepare for the interview?
SDN feedback, practice interviews, read over my primary and secondary apps
What impressed you positively?
For a new, one building school, VCOM has some nice facilities. The anatomy lab is outstanding! Their association with Virginia Tech was a plus for me. I also liked the fact that they are actively trying to improve the ''campus.'' The students they sent to have lunch with us were informative and enthusiastic. I like the way the school year was set up with breaks between blocks. I was very excited about the chance to go on medical mission trips. The staff and faculty gave the impression that they cared about the students.
What impressed you negatively?
There really isn't much of a campus to speak of. They are very lucky to have Virginia Tech there to make it more enticing, otherwise well there isn't much room and isn't much there at the moment. The students we saw that did not meet us for lunch where not enthusiastic and seemed to try and avoid us. They did not seem happy to be there. The tour of Virginia Tech was done in a van with not enough room. The cirriculum seems to change a lot more than one would think is necessary. Most of the negatives in my expereince came after the itnerview and what I have heard current students and alumni say.
What did you wish you had known ahead of time?
This is where my opinion of the interview turned from very positive to negative. I was very excited to attend VCOM and was impressed with all of my interactions with the admissions department and faculty but I basically had no chance at acceptance. I don?t want to bash the school and I genuinely liked the staff of the admissions department. The admissions department seemed very helpful throughout the application process and tried to keep my best interests in mind. They were quick with responses to questions and provided what I thought was great support and advice. In the end it appeared as though there are some contrasting forces at work like the admissions department did not understand what was important to the admissions committee (they are separate entities and do not seem to communicate much with each other). Some of the advice I was given ending up being detrimental to my application. In the end I felt I had interviewed well, I was told I interviewed well and that and there was nothing I could have done differently when I asked for a review of my application after I received their decision, but was not accepted. The reasons why I was rejected were set before I even got to the interview. What is worse, the all of these reasons could have been fixed in the 3+ months between when I got they received my material and when I interviewed, or if (like I have seen recommended on the SDN forums) I had just lied to get in. I would not be comfortable lying to get into medical school but apparently that would have helped. So to sum up, I wish I known that I would not have a chance at the interview so I did not waste my time and theirs by going down there. As I said the admissions committee was genuinely interested in us and they even helpful after I was rejected but this could all have been addressed before I got there. I am very thankful for the help they gave after the interview and I believe that VCOM could be a great school it just seems like they have some internal issues that can completely blind side applicants. Unfortunately I am not the only one that has experienced this inconsistency and the feeling that they lead on applicants.
What are your general comments?
The interviews themselves were not stressful, this just happened to be my first interview. The school has some very positive points and it could become a high quality institution but the experience after was both disappointing and very frustrating. I was very excited to attend this school but after my experience I had to give it a negative rating.
What are your suggestions for the admissions office?
Please don't waste other people's time. If you give advice to an applicant, please make sure it is
