SDN Logo
 
 

Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine

Philadelphia, PA

Osteopathic Medical Schools | Private Non-Profit

📚 General Info

What graduating class are you in?

2013

Are you pursuing any joint degrees (MD/PhD, MD/MPH, etc.)?

No

Are you considered in-state or out-of-state for tuition purposes?

in-state

What is your race/ethnic background?

Asian or Pacific Islander

Overall, how would you rate this medical program?

10 out of 10

What is the reputation of the school in the medical community?

10 out of 10

What is the reputation of the research that goes on at this school?

6 out of 10

What was your MCAT score?

513

What was your undergrad GPA?

3.4

What was your undergrad science GPA?

3.5

What was the zip code of your residence in high school?

17602

What do you like most about this school?

Reputation, Faculty, Location, Extensive Alumni Network, and Philadelphia 76ers practicing at the school's gym

What do you like least about this school?

Technology department sometimes seems to lag behind with technical problems

Please provide any other general comments on your school

A DO school that has managed to survive and compete with 4, count 'em, 4 other MD schools in the city for the past 100+ years. If that sentence doesn't convince you to choose PCOM, I'm not sure what will.
Curriculum

How is the curriculum structured?

Systems-based

How many courses are taken at a given time?

3

How long are you typically in class per day?

4-5 hours

Are courses recorded for medical students?

Fee-based note taking service Video recording

How many days per week is anatomy lab?

4

How many students per cadaver?

5-6

How long (in months) do you have anatomy?

3 months

Is the curriculum lecture-centric or small-group centric?

0 out of 10

Are standardized patients used?

yes

How much patient interaction is there in the pre-clinical years?

6 out of 10

Are syllabi provided for the student?

yes

How frequently do pre-clinical medical school activities have mandatory attendance?

The only activities which require mandatory attendances are: Primary Care Skills lab where physical examination skills are taught (usually an hour once every 2-3 weeks), OMM lab (hour and half once every week), Standardized Patient where you take history and perform physical exam on a patient-actor (2 SP sessions each trimester), and case conferences that usually last 1-2 hours once every 2-3 weeks. This is a fairly reasonable schedule of mandatory attendance activities.

What books are necessary?

Board review books (school doesn't require them though)

What books are unnecessary?

Almost every single one required...they're too expensive, too big, and majority of them are available for free from school library and/or the material is covered well in board review books

Is the curriculum designed to promote a specialty? If so, which specialty?

No responses
Location & Housing

How do you feel about the location of the school?

10 out of 10

Do you feel safe on campus?

10 out of 10

How available and convenient is public transportation?

10 out of 10

Is a car necessary at any point during your education here?

Clinical years

If a car is required for education, how available and convenient is the parking provided to students?

7 out of 10

Is on-campus housing available?

no

What is the quality of available on-campus housing?

5 out of 10

What percentage of your medical school classmates would you estimate live on campus, if on-campus housing is available?

5 out of 10

Is couples housing available?

No responses

Is nearby off-campus housing available?

yes

How expensive is nearby off-campus housing?

10 out of 10

Please describe the on-campus housing if available (i.e., cost, type - studios, 1-br, 2-br, etc.)?

No responses
Cost/Financial Aid

Are fees/tuition expensive?

8 out of 10

How is the cost of living (rent, food, bills, etc.)?

10 out of 10

Are many institutional scholarships/grants available?

8 out of 10

Is institutional aid need-based or merit-based?

Both
Faculty/Grades

Are faculty members very open to students during office hours?

10 out of 10

Are faculty members very available to students via email/message board?

10 out of 10

Are there many opportunities to shadow/work with clinical faculty?

10 out of 10

Are the faculty willing to mentor students in regards to career guidance?

10 out of 10

Is the class ranked?

yes

How is the instructional faculty during pre-clinical years?

So far, pretty well-rounded and carry a great reputation of their own within their respective fields

How is the instructional faculty during clinical years?

No responses

What is the grading scale used during pre-clinical years?

0-100

What is the grading scale used during clinical years?

No responses
Clinical Rotations

Are the desired rotation sites easy to obtain?

9 out of 10

Is desired rotation order easy to obtain?

4 out of 10

Are the elective rotations easy to obtain?

7 out of 10

Is there substantial hands-on experience for medical students?

10 out of 10

Are the rotation sites conveniently accessible for medical students?

10 out of 10

How far are the clinical sites from the main campus?

6 out of 10

How are clinical rotations scheduled? What are the required rotations?

Each rotation last 4 weeks. Required rotations are your typical rotations: FM, IM, Surgery, Peds, Ob/Gyn, Psych, OMT

What responsibility do med students have on the wards?

No responses

What is the status/condition of the affiliated hospital(s)?

No responses

What is the typical patient population medical students work with?

No responses
Social Environment

Do students do a lot of activities outside of school together?

10 out of 10

How would you rank student involvement in extracurricular clubs?

10 out of 10

What is the range of extracurricular clubs available?

10 out of 10

Is the student body cooperative or competitive?

8 out of 10

Is the environment supportive for underrepresented minorities?

10 out of 10

Is the environment supportive for lesbian/gay/bisexual/transsexual students?

10 out of 10

Is the environment supportive for students with disabilities?

10 out of 10

Is the environment supportive for married students?

10 out of 10

Is the environment supportive for older/non-traditional students?

10 out of 10

What do the students typically like to do in the area?

No responses
Post Graduation

How do graduates from this school fare in residency and clinical practice?

No responses

Is this school known for producing physicians strong in a certain area? If so, which area?

No responses

What do you believe residency directors think about graduates from this program?

No responses