The Philadelphia Collegeof Osteopathic Medicine has an acceptance rate of between 9 and 10%, with 6127 applicants in the last cycle and 620 being accepted. The average undergraduate GPA is 3.50 and the average MCAT score is 505.
The interview is an open file panel interview, in which you should expect to be interviewed by one faculty member – although you may also have a group interview. Check any material on the university website thoroughly to ensure that you are aware of their latest style.Â
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The most important deadline to be aware of is March 1st, which is the deadline for regular applications. Interviews for the DO program begin in September and continue through March. Earlier applications are encouraged in order to provide the best chance of success.
​Motivation and Insight into Medicine
What makes a good osteopathic physician?
Have you ever worked with sick or dying people?
Why are you interested in studying DO rather than MD?
How can you relate your past work experiences to the moment when you will become a doctor?
Did you apply to both DO and MD schools?
How have your experiences prepared you for a career in medicine?
What class in college do you think most prepared you for medical school?
What do you see as the greatest challenge facing physicians today and in the future?
If you become a physician, what kind of impression do you want to leave your patients with?
What was your most meaningful patient encounter while shadowing/volunteering?
Why do you specifically want to be a physician, instead of another clinical application of medicine like nurse practitioner or physician assistant?
I see that your father is an allopathic physician, what does he think about you becoming a DO?
What are you most nervous about in medical school?
Are you capable of performing osteopathic manipulations on someone and having them performed on you?
What is the most challenging thing for a physician in US Medicine today?
What is one of the surprising complexities you’ve encountered in American medicine?
What did you do at your resident assistant job?
Why apply to Medicine now?
Tell me about your MCAT scores.
Why do you want to be a doctor, and why PCOM?
How are you going to choose which medical school you will go to, assuming you get multiple acceptances?
If you do not get into medical school this year, what will you do next year?
Describe osteopathic medicine without using any of the buzzwords that are commonly used to do so.
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Ethical Dilemmas
If you were driving to work and you noticed a car accident on the side of the road, would you get out and help knowing that you could possibly get sued for any malpractice?
If you caught a fellow student cheating on an exam, what would you do?
If you were a doctor and your patient just tested HIV+ and had not told their spouse would you tell the spouse?
Do you believe in universal health care?
Who do you believe is responsible for a patient’s healthcare?
Would you tell a patient they only had six months to live?
Communication Stations​
Tell me about your experience of communicating with people from other cultures and backgrounds.
Teamwork Tasks
What characteristics are required by roles within a healthcare team?
Do you find it easy to learn in a group?
Your team members are in a conflict, what do you do?
Sales Pitch
What would you like the Admissions Committee to know that we didn’t discuss?
General / Personal Statements
What is one thing you regret or would change about college?
Tell me how you got here.
Out of all the items listed on your application, which would you say is your greatest accomplishment?
Do you think you’ll be comfortable living in a big city?
Name one class you struggled with in college.
What are your techniques for stress management?
What kind of learning style do you have?
What kind of learner are you?
What are your hobbies?
What did you enjoy about your undergrad experience and what would you change in the curriculum?
Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
Which learning tactics work best for you? With which learning tactics do you still struggle with?
What’s the one thing that you think you will miss most, when you start medical school and no longer have time for it?
Tell us about a time you’ve worked among a diverse population. How did it help you grow?
