Choosing between a New D.O. School or an established one, need help asap

[asiddiqui6]

Hi, I have offers from both CHSU-COM (to join as part of their second class) and from ATSU-SOMA. I’m a California resident and CHSU offers me to stay in California but what are the risks of attending a new school? The grading is also A-F

ATSU-Soma has a 99% match rate but I may have to move to a more random state from year 2-4 like Illinois (that’s what the current offer is), and be far from any people I know.

Any insight is appreciated

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[Surgeon D.O.]

ATSU-SOMA

 

[asiddiqui6]

ATSU-SOMA

Appreciate the response, is it because it’s established you would suggest it?

 

[zNoodlez]

Hi, I have offers from both CHSU-COM (to join as part of their second class) and from ATSU-SOMA. I’m a California resident and CHSU offers me to stay in California but what are the risks of attending a new school? The grading is also A-F

ATSU-Soma has a 99% match rate but I may have to move to a more random state from year 2-4 like Illinois (that’s what the current offer is), and be far from any people I know.

Any insight is appreciated

Can you stay at home while attending CHSU rent-free? If not then ATSU-SOMA.

 

[asiddiqui6]

Can you stay at home while attending CHSU rent-free? If not then ATSU-SOMA.

No it’s 4hrs from home

 

[zNoodlez]

No it’s 4hrs from home

ATSU it is. Good luck on your journey to become a physician

 

[Surgeon D.O.]

Appreciate the response, is it because it’s established you would suggest it?

Absolutely.

Established DO school >>>> new DO school and its not even close.

None of us have any idea what CHSU will produce over the next few years and you don't want to be one of their guinea pigs that may find out the hard way.

 

[deleted1066189]

CHSU is for profit and private loans only. I know someone who will be attending there and their loan interest rate is 10%.
There's some drama in the SOMA threads, as the administration is switching to a 100% PBL curriculum.

 

[asiddiqui6]

CHSU is for profit and private loans only. I know someone who will be attending there and their loan interest rate is 10%.
There's some drama in the SOMA threads, as the administration is switching to a 100% PBL curriculum.

Yeah, you’re right, CHSU is hoping to get approval for federal loans starting ‘22-‘23. And it is also mostly Team based learning, so I don’t mind SOMA being all PBL I guess

 

[asiddiqui6]

CHSU is for profit and private loans only. I know someone who will be attending there and their loan interest rate is 10%.
There's some drama in the SOMA threads, as the administration is switching to a 100% PBL curriculum.

Do you know what the down side to for-profit is, I didn’t really understand that but I’ve seen people point out that’s negative

 

[Ho0v-man]

Med school is already a disaster at a school that knows what it’s doing. The first 5 ish classes of any new school are basically guinea pigs.

The for profit status means you’ll have at least 2 years of private loans. These loans often have higher interest rates and are not eligible for loan forgiveness programs/IBR.

So you’re paying more for a lesser educational experience. Go to SOMA. 4 hours is nothing.

 

[Allosteopath]

Yeah, you’re right, CHSU is hoping to get approval for federal loans starting ‘22-‘23. And it is also mostly Team based learning, so I don’t mind SOMA being all PBL I guess

Do not rely on them saying they will receive federal loans by then. In all likelihood it will require them to graduate their first class before they are eligible.

 

[xnnsx1]

ATSU 100000%

 

[Kardio]

Where will CHSU students be doing their rotations?

 

[asiddiqui6]

Where will CHSU students be doing their rotations?

Around the area in Fresno, they have multiple locations all within an hour

 

[FutureDoctor5000]

Always choose the more established school, the alumni network helps a lot...

 

[asiddiqui6]

Also I am hoping to match in California and keep seeing that it’s more likely if you go to school in California, any thoughts?

 

[DOVinciRobot]

Do not attend a new DO school. Ever. I legit don't care if they gave you a free ride (which in this case they didn't). New DO schools are a cancer until proven otherwise (4-5ish graduated classes with consistent outcomes).

 

[MDMechEngr]

Also I am hoping to match in California and keep seeing that it’s more likely if you go to school in California, any thoughts?

 

[DrZoidbergDO]

Didn't Chsus pharmacy school get shut down?

 

[Flareicus]

Do you know what the down side to for-profit is, I didn’t really understand that but I’ve seen people point out that’s negative

The downside of for-profit is that the institution will likely look for any way they can maximize their profits. Most of the time, this shouldn't significantly affect you because they want to be able to consistently get people to attend their school, so they'll put in a honest effort to ensure you have what you need.

However, there are clear, consistent examples where for-profit institutions have made moves which have negatively affected the prospects of their students in pursuit of more money. Just a couple of cases that come off the top of my head was CNUCOM's opening their applications immediately (as well as how their first cycle went) after LCME approval which put them in a bad light (don't have anything to definitively prove this, but I would guess this move has contributed to their lagging accrediation) and RVU opening a satellite campus in Utah which had an atrocious match for their first graduating class this year.

At best, you would be paying a significant premium for a basic medical education that you could get at a lower price elsewhere. At worst, the institution makes decisions which drive up their profit margins at the cost of your ability to succeed.

 

[Goro]

Hi, I have offers from both CHSU-COM (to join as part of their second class) and from ATSU-SOMA. I’m a California resident and CHSU offers me to stay in California but what are the risks of attending a new school? The grading is also A-F

ATSU-Soma has a 99% match rate but I may have to move to a more random state from year 2-4 like Illinois (that’s what the current offer is), and be far from any people I know.

Any insight is appreciated

Being closer to home is not a better trade off for the risk of you getting poor rotations, and limited help for academic or dealing with issues affecting your academics, nor having to deal with a faculty who still don't know how to deliver a unified/integrated curriculum.

Always go with an establish program. Four years will go fast, and you develop your own support group in Mesa

 

[Surgeon D.O.]

It's unanimous OP - go to SOMA

 

[asiddiqui6]

It's unanimous OP - go to SOMA

I put down my deposit today since it seems like the best option, thanks everyone!

 

[Surgeon D.O.]

Good to hear and best of luck!

 

[Osteosaur]

You can always call home.

You can't do anything about them paying some rando doc $500 to let you stand in a corner for a month. While an exaggeration its one of the big issues with DO schools, which is finding rotations if there is no affiliated hospital system.

 

[Goro]

You can always call home.

You can't do anything about them paying some rando doc $500 to let you stand in a corner for a month. While an exaggeration its one of the big issues with DO schools, which is finding rotations if there is no affiliated hospital system.

I've heard that CHSU only has rotations in the Fresno area, which I can see managing to support an entire class of students.

 

[LondonVibes]

I've heard that CHSU only has rotations in the Fresno area, which I can see managing to support an entire class of students.

I could see this as a pro or a con, depending on rotation strength.

 

[8YearsLate]

You can always call home.

You can't do anything about them paying some rando doc $500 to let you stand in a corner for a month. While an exaggeration its one of the big issues with DO schools, which is finding rotations if there is no affiliated hospital system.

Bahaha as someone matriculating at an OOS school painstakingly chosen over 2 closer schools, I love that you summed up my fear of homesickness in a single retort:

"You can always call home."

Thanks man.

 

[LondonVibes]

OP, say no to private loans and go to the established school. Even if the other school wasn’t better, private loans stink.

 

[futuredocz95]

Hi, I have offers from both CHSU-COM (to join as part of their second class) and from ATSU-SOMA. I’m a California resident and CHSU offers me to stay in California but what are the risks of attending a new school? The grading is also A-F

ATSU-Soma has a 99% match rate but I may have to move to a more random state from year 2-4 like Illinois (that’s what the current offer is), and be far from any people I know.

Any insight is appreciated

ATSU SOMA > CHSU.

for profit sucks, their pharm school got shut down, and private loan so much more expensive.

also, moving to a different state will help you prepare for when you have to move for residency and you'll be in a new state where you dont know anyone as well. i guess you could choose to only attend cali interviews to make sure you go back to cali but that's a diff story. the algorithm chooses for you and you might not even get your first pick as was evident in this year's match with covid. anything can happen and you might end up in rural area of the USA.

if you truly wanna match back into cali, you better work your butt off. kill step 2 ck and you should be in good shape. ATSU SOMA has 3 CHC locations in cali and quite a few students match back into cali into primary care. it's not a dead end going to a school out of state but think of it as a challenge and what you need to do to get back to cali for residency.

 

[thepoopologist]

CHSU is for profit and private loans only. I know someone who will be attending there and their loan interest rate is 10%.
There's some drama in the SOMA threads, as the administration is switching to a 100% PBL curriculum.

This is literally the worst thing I've read about a DO school in awhile. If this is someone's only admission they should reapply the following year.

 

[thepoopologist]

Each year's COA is 92k. Let's say 85k being frugal. That's 8.5k interest the first year alone.
Ball park of $60k interest and total ~400k as PGY1 (higher if have other loans). Growing at 30-40k/year (if not qualified to refinance during residency and/or refinance rates go up to 4-6%). That's $520k if primary care and ~620k+ as a specialist. NO OPTION for PSLF like with federal loans.
This is a disaster waiting to happen... assuming the student doesn't flunk out in the first place as with many newer DO schools

Pair that with high COL and lower salaries in California I don't see how anyone can have a good standard of living

That is absolutely outrageous, CHSU sounds like a Pablo Escobar money laundering operation. There is no scenario in which attending this school is a good idea.

 

[sylvanthus]

Cheapest one.

 

[zNoodlez]

Have you seen dental schools? Paying for Dental School - Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry of USC $150k/year and climbing 3-8% PER YEAR
That's $600k and >$1m if specializing in anything other than OMFS. Not too many dentists want to do PSLF for 10 years and most seem to want to live on the coasts which have horrible starting salaries

I like how midwestern has a "thrifty" option at the bottom Dental 2021 (midwestern.edu)

And what is the starting salary for new dentists working for big corps? 120k I am guessing?.

 

[thepoopologist]

USC dental is an interesting example. I remember a classmate who was accepted there in 2009, the tuition was about 75k/year at that time. She was older and in her 40s. Wonder what she thinks about her choice now.

 

[zNoodlez]

Yea around that. It depends on location. A buddy of mine went to school in WI but moved back to Cali for work (making $135k) while all his buddies got $180k+ offers in WI. I know one person at USC and she expects to make $90k her first year as an associate for another dentist (non corp).

How did dentistry come to this? 90k salary for a north of 400k degree?! Man I hope medicine won't have to face something like this.

 

[8YearsLate]

Have you seen dental schools? Paying for Dental School - Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry of USC $150k/year and climbing 3-8% PER YEAR
That's $600k and >$1m if specializing in anything other than OMFS. Not too many dentists want to do PSLF for 10 years and most seem to want to live on the coasts which have horrible starting salaries

I like how midwestern has a "thrifty" option at the bottom Dental 2021 (midwestern.edu)

Bahahha thrifty!! I love how the "thrifty" independent living option is magically only 2k more than having other people pay all of your bills. I love how financial aid offices pretend to be bad at math.

 

[8YearsLate]

My favorites are the schools that give out almost $0 scholarships and then list average debt $240k but then you do the math and it costs $260k in tuition alone and another $100k for COL. They just lump in all those people with $0-$100k debt due to HPSP, parents, etc.

Yeah it's honestly disgusting the more I see how this process works. It's like, Okay, we get it, it's all crazy expensive. At least be transparent. Filling out the grad plus today, my school's example tuition they gave the studentaid.gov site was a full 20k lower than it actually is. Then they have the nerve to heavily low-ball what they are actually willing to give out for COA. I actually had the person at my school's fin aid office tell me, "well, it's for 9 months, so that's why we only give X amount..." and I was like, "oh, so I don't have to pay rent or eat in the summer?" Like, I'm okay with having a side-hustle and working summers, but like, don't pretend like that's not the situation most students are in if they don't have some external source of income. $2000/month is not enough to live on if the average rents in your area are $1000+. Most rental companies literally won't even approve you with those numbers. I don't know how they step over the dead horse all day long.