Choosing between Touro NV and CCOM

["abcd"]

Any advice would be appreciated.

I have to choose between Touro-NV and CCOM and I really like both of them. The big factor for CCOM is that it is established and has a good clinical education with high tuition. Touro-NV is a newer school with the only medical school within the area, but the tuition is a bit less and would be a bit closer to home. I’m from CA and I do want to do my residency and eventually practice in CA. For now, I’m sort of interested in the IM, ER and surgery. Would going to CCOM help me get higher chances of going into my desire field since it has better rotation? Or should I based my decision on where I wanna do my residency and where I want to practice later?

Anything would be helpful to me relating to education, curriculum, tuition, residency, board score, etc.

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[pericardium]

Not sure how much this helps, but there are a good number of IM residents from Touro NV in the Bay Area. Can't say the same for CCOM.

 

[CanIdoIt?]

I was between the same two schools and decided on Touro-NV. I chose it for many reasons but here are my major ones. I hope this helps.

#1) CCOM doesn't record lectures
#2) Bc Touro is the only med school in a VERY large radius you get the more access to attendings and w/e specialities you want.
#3) Touro follows there student's grades and if you start to fall behind they force you into tutoring so you can do better.
#4) NV weather is WAY better than IL weather (I'm born and raised in chicago so I can tell you this for sure)
#5) The class size is much smaller at touro then ccom so you could get more one-on-one attention.
#6) MUCH MUCH fewer students to each cadaver and MUCH MUCH more time spent on anatomy in general at Touro.

I hope this helps. If you have any other questions for me please let me know.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

As much as all of the above matter.

CCOM is CCOM. It's arguably the strongest DO school in the nation and has the strongest rotations of all of them. It has an alumni base that almost every part of the nation has been touched by.

Touro-NV is a good midtier school. But there's no comparing CCOM and Touro.

 

[CanIdoIt?]

As much as all of the above matter.

CCOM is CCOM. It's arguably the strongest DO school in the nation and has the strongest rotations of all of them. It has an alumni base that almost every part of the nation has been touched by.

Touro-NV is a good midtier school. But there's no comparing CCOM and Touro.

There is no such thing as tiers in the DO world and quite honestly your statement is offensive. OP, you need to pick the school that will best educate YOU. The rest will come in terms of rotations and residency. A name does nothing. Its the same thing we thought as undergrads when we were picking schools. I went to a small unknown school in a burb of chicago and had as much, if not more success, than anyone of my piers from major universities. Don't pick based on a name. Pick based on who teaches best for your learning style.

 

[JimmyB123]

I was between the same two schools and decided on Touro-NV. I chose it for many reasons but here are my major ones. I hope this helps.

#1) CCOM doesn't record lectures
#2) Bc Touro is the only med school in a VERY large radius you get the more access to attendings and w/e specialities you want.
#3) Touro follows there student's grades and if you start to fall behind they force you into tutoring so you can do better.
#4) NV weather is WAY better than IL weather (I'm born and raised in chicago so I can tell you this for sure)
#5) The class size is much smaller at touro then ccom so you could get more one-on-one attention.
#6) MUCH MUCH fewer students to each cadaver and MUCH MUCH more time spent on anatomy in general at Touro.

I hope this helps. If you have any other questions for me please let me know.

Just a small correction, CCOM just started recording

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

There is no such thing as tiers in the DO world and quite honestly your statement is offensive. OP, you need to pick the school that will best educate YOU. The rest will come in terms of rotations and residency. A name does nothing. Its the same thing we thought as undergrads when we were picking schools. I went to a small unknown school in a burb of chicago and had as much, if not more success, than anyone of my piers from major universities. Don't pick based on a name. Pick based on who teaches best for your learning style.

Let's be entirely fair, name carries weight. Going to one of the most established DO schools holds weight. And to some extent not informing people that your medical school is built on a former warehouse or storage building next to stores and car dealerships also has some worth.

I don't know. I interviewed at Touro-Nv. It is a nice school, but it's not impressive, it feels cramped, and it's only been around for like 10 years. Maybe I value prestige and what not, but at least in my opinion CCOM offers significantly more valuable opportunities.

 

[mspeedwagon]

This might just be self-selection. I noticed this in comparing Nova with PCOM (schools I am debating between). Nova has a lot of matches in Florida and the neighboring states and PCOM has a lot in the Pennsylvania and neighboring states. I also noticed in my interview groups at the respective schools that there were a lot of people that were interviewing at the schools because they hoped to stay in the general area of the school.

Given the choices of the OP, I would lean toward CCOM (although, I didn't apply there personally given the brutal winters), but I agree go where you think you'll do best. Obviously, a hint at scholarship money might help sway me one way or the other.

And, while I also value prestige like the above poster, I don't think these schools are so vastly different that's is the only factor to consider (I don't dispute that CCOM is the better of the two). However, if you learn significantly better at one versus other, I think a stronger Step 1 score will compensate for the prestige factor (it's not like you are comparing Harvard Medical School to Touro-NV... if you were, then go to Harvard ).

Not sure how much this helps, but there are a good number of IM residents from Touro NV in the Bay Area. Can't say the same for CCOM.

 

[JimmyB123]

Let's be entirely fair, name carries weight. Going to one of the most established DO schools holds weight.

Honestly this is a huge pre-med fad. Who says that going to one of the original 5 DO schools holds more weight? This is a subjective statement and it's not a fair one to make at all. Most DO schools post similar matches. It's not like a PD of an ACGME program is going to see that you want to CCOM or TCOM, instead of say PCOM-GA, and all of a sudden be more inclined to interview you. The more established DO schools may have better resources but lets not delude ourselves into an overarching generalization that the 'name is going to carry weight.' The name will carry weight in the respective geographic region, at most.

 

[jjtheairplane]

Honestly this is a huge pre-med fad. Who says that going to one of the original 5 DO schools holds more weight? This is a subjective statement and it's not a fair one to make at all. Most DO schools post similar matches. It's not like a PD of an ACGME program is going to see that you want to CCOM or TCOM, instead of say PCOM-GA, and all of a sudden be more inclined to interview you. The more established DO schools may have better resources but lets not delude ourselves into an overarching generalization that the 'name is going to carry weight.' The name will carry weight in the respective geographic region, at most.

Actually, as even evidenced several times on SDN, some PD's are aware of certain DO schools more than others. Why? Because they is are in the area and produce impressive students. These schools receive more weight in their app's because they have that reputation, think the state DO schools and original ones.

For example, in California and Tri-state area respectively, Western U and NYIT/PCOM/Rowan are known to produce quality students.

 

[JimmyB123]

Actually, as even evidenced several times on SDN, some PD's are aware of certain DO schools more than others. Why? Because they is are in the area and produce impressive students. These schools receive more weight in their app's because they have that reputation, think the state DO schools and original ones.

For example, in California and Tri-state area respectively, Western U and NYIT/PCOM/Rowan are known to produce quality students.

Yeah but that just reverberates my point that the school names are weighted in a geographic context.

Trust me, I also think that some DO schools offer better training than others. But that doesn't mean that the "better" DO school carries a better name outside the DO world. For the purposes of the entire medical community, I think that X DO school = Y DO school.

 

[67552931811]

Honestly this is a huge pre-med fad. Who says that going to one of the original 5 DO schools holds more weight? This is a subjective statement and it's not a fair one to make at all. Most DO schools post similar matches. It's not like a PD of an ACGME program is going to see that you want to CCOM or TCOM, instead of say PCOM-GA, and all of a sudden be more inclined to interview you. The more established DO schools may have better resources but lets not delude ourselves into an overarching generalization that the 'name is going to carry weight.' The name will carry weight in the respective geographic region, at most.

I know several MDs who are involved in residency selection (midwest and east coast) and it 100% does.

 

[meliora27]

I was at an interview at what is described on SDN as an "upper mid-tier" ACGME university program.

Learned that they only accept DO applications from 5 DO schools. CCOM was on the list. Touro-NV was not.

For those wondering the schools were: CCOM/KCUMB/TCOM/PCOM/MSUCOM

 

[AlteredScale]

Moving to School Specific Discussions.

 

[CrossfitMama]

I can't speak much to the differences in the schools, but not sure I would agree about the weather being better. Henderson is HOT. Great in the winter, but I have never felt horrible dry heat like I have in Vegas.

 

["abcd"]

Thank you guys for the input. I think the name does carry some weight and just like someone mentioned above, it also seems like students want to attend particular school because they want to stay in general area around the school. It's nice that CCOM will start recording the lectures. Is there a major difference in curriculum between the schools (like how LECOM does PBL)? I guess it will come down to whether if I wanna stay close to home or a chance at the "upper mid-tier" residency program like someone mentioned above. So things that I should consider are like location of the school, where I want to spend the next 7+ years, board scores, residency opportunities, tuition, opportunities that come with more established school?

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

Honestly this is a huge pre-med fad. Who says that going to one of the original 5 DO schools holds more weight? This is a subjective statement and it's not a fair one to make at all. Most DO schools post similar matches. It's not like a PD of an ACGME program is going to see that you want to CCOM or TCOM, instead of say PCOM-GA, and all of a sudden be more inclined to interview you. The more established DO schools may have better resources but lets not delude ourselves into an overarching generalization that the 'name is going to carry weight.' The name will carry weight in the respective geographic region, at most.

Except they are. A PD who's worked in his field for a while and trained plenty of doctors will likely know what a student who comes from CCOM looks like, may have bumped heads with one while working, or even have trained alongside a graduate of such a program. The same cannot be said of someone from New-COM.

So while the point above mentioning that there's not a huge difference. There is a difference. I personally think that when it comes down to it, going to CCOM will likely train you and prepare you better simply by virtue that it is an older school, has strong rotation, and will match you better by virtue of its alumni base.

 

[JimmyB123]

Except they are. A PD who's worked in his field for a while and trained plenty of doctors will likely know what a student who comes from CCOM looks like, may have bumped heads with one while working, or even have trained alongside a graduate of such a program. The same cannot be said of someone from New-COM.

So while the point above mentioning that there's not a huge difference. There is a difference. I personally think that when it comes down to it, going to CCOM will likely train you and prepare you better simply by virtue that it is an older school, has strong rotation, and will match you better by virtue of its alumni base.

Fair enough. I respect your conclusions.

 

[CanIdoIt?]

Let's be entirely fair, name carries weight. Going to one of the most established DO schools holds weight. And to some extent not informing people that your medical school is built on a former warehouse or storage building next to stores and car dealerships also has some worth.

I don't know. I interviewed at Touro-Nv. It is a nice school, but it's not impressive, it feels cramped, and it's only been around for like 10 years. Maybe I value prestige and what not, but at least in my opinion CCOM offers significantly more valuable opportunities.

I would have had respect for your opinion until you decided to bash the building. NO ONE cares what the campus of your medical school looks like.

 

[CanIdoIt?]

Just a small correction, CCOM just started recording

During my interview in January they said that they only record a selective few classes.