Des Moines University (DMU-COM) Discussion 2015 - 2016

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II today. complete a little under a month ago. Now to figure out when i can interview
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Anyone still on pre-II hold?


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Wooo! I just got my acceptance email ( 2/12 interview date). They are extremely fast at getting back decisions! Now I have to decide between DMU and NYIT.
 
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Toyz said:
Wooo! I just got my acceptance email ( 2/12 interview date). They are extremely fast at getting back decisions! Now I have to decide between DMU and NYIT.
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Same! Which one are you leaning towards?
 
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For students who interviewed at DMU already, did you guys like the school/campus/atmosphere??

I have already been accepted to CCOM and Western and I would be very happy at either one of those choices, but I was just offered an interview at DMU and I want to go to check out the school (and who knows, maybe I'll love it) but the flight to Des Moines alone is $700! So I'm trying to decide if I should interview or not...
 
The DMU facility is probably the best facility I have seen amongst the schools I visited. If atmosphere/learning environment is a very important factor for you, I suggest you visit it so there is no regret when you make your final decision.
 
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Got my acceptance here today. Interviewed Feb 11th. I'm sure theres a facebook group for the new class I was wondering if someone could help me reach the link?
 
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Interview yesterday, but withdrew today so one of you lucky ones can grab it!
 
Can anyone tell me about research opportunities (clinical) that students have if they wish to publish?
 
Anybody else on here interviewing Friday?
 
is there a bank/ atm close to the school? where do students usually get accounts?
 
Independencebaby said:
Does anyone know approximately how full the class is?
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1 month ago the class was approximately two-thirds full. I imagine that it is getting close to being full at this time. But let's work this out:

- ~1/3 of the seats were open 1 month ago, or about ~70 seats left to fill.
- I'd say roughly 20 applicants interview weekly
-----If half of those who interviewed were accepted (10/week), there are about 30 seats left.

Now, that's really a rough estimate because no school goes by a we-must-accept-x-number-of-applicants-each-week rule, and this late in the game many people that DMU accepts might actually have already been accepted elsewhere and end up withdrawing their application altogether. If you believe that you have a strong application and you are invited to interview, at this point I surmise that you will still be receiving full consideration for admission.

Hope this helps!
 
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drdopamine said:
is there a bank/ atm close to the school? where do students usually get accounts?
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Within a few blocks of school there are branches for US Bank and Bank of America. I don't know where people generally start new accounts, but I've had a US Bank account since I was 16 and they're all over the place in the cities I've lived, so it's been convenient for me.
 
Independencebaby said:
For students who interviewed at DMU already, did you guys like the school/campus/atmosphere??

I have already been accepted to CCOM and Western and I would be very happy at either one of those choices, but I was just offered an interview at DMU and I want to go to check out the school (and who knows, maybe I'll love it) but the flight to Des Moines alone is $700! So I'm trying to decide if I should interview or not...
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Do it!! You wont regret it!
 
buttfrogs said:
Within a few blocks of school there are branches for US Bank and Bank of America. I don't know where people generally start new accounts, but I've had a US Bank account since I was 16 and they're all over the place in the cities I've lived, so it's been convenient for me.
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Thank you!
 
Independencebaby said:
For students who interviewed at DMU already, did you guys like the school/campus/atmosphere??

I have already been accepted to CCOM and Western and I would be very happy at either one of those choices, but I was just offered an interview at DMU and I want to go to check out the school (and who knows, maybe I'll love it) but the flight to Des Moines alone is $700! So I'm trying to decide if I should interview or not...
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I loved DMU and it is currently my top choice. I got accepted into both CCOM and DMU, but liked DMU significantly more. The environment at DMU is super kind and supportive, and from an academic standpoint they have phenomenal board pass rates and matching rates. Although CCOM is a great school too, it seemed like more of a teach yourself type of atmosphere since the lectures aren't very important (some students prefer this). I think the main advantage CCOM has over DMU is stronger clinical rotations. $700 is quite a bit of money, but I would recommend going for the interview. If you end up liking/going to DMU you'd save about 15-20K per year compared to CCOM, so that's also something to consider. You may not love it as much as I did, but it's a great school and would be a worthwhile addition to your "consider list". That being said, people look for different things when choosing a school. So carefully read through DMU's website again and determine if it's somewhere that you can see yourself attending.
 
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Just got a II here, but I will be turning it down. Hope somebody else gets my spot!
 
Independencebaby said:
For students who interviewed at DMU already, did you guys like the school/campus/atmosphere??

I have already been accepted to CCOM and Western and I would be very happy at either one of those choices, but I was just offered an interview at DMU and I want to go to check out the school (and who knows, maybe I'll love it) but the flight to Des Moines alone is $700! So I'm trying to decide if I should interview or not...
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When I interviewed at DMU, I absolutely loved the school!
The facilities were great, the entire interview day was terrific, informative, and everybody was super friendly. The current students even helped us with our interviews! We were given the names of the faculty members interviewing us and students answered all of our questions, gave us tips on specific professors, and wished us luck.
It really did feel like I was at home.
 
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Hi!
I'm a jaded 2nd year at DMU procrastinating a renal exam who is willing to be brutally honest about the school. AMA
 
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Lil'Sebastian said:
Hi!
I'm a jaded 2nd year at DMU procrastinating a renal exam who is willing to be brutally honest about the school. AMA
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1) What do you like and dislike about the school?

2) Any advice for incoming 1st years?

3) Lastly, were DMU and Des Moines in general easy to adjust to if you're not from the area?

Thanks for doing this!
 
almostnever said:
1) What do you like and dislike about the school?
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Love my classmates. Love that I am learning medicine. Facilities are nice. Some professors are very approachable. Parts of the curriculum are progressive and student centered.

Dislike the +/-A,B,C grading system. Hate the instability in the administration. Hate the OMM worship. Awful clinical rotations for next year (some aren't too bad) . Some systems classes are very poorly organized. Some of the clinicians they bring in to lecture are terrible.


I could keep going for either in pros and cons if you have specific questions.

almostnever said:
2) Any advice for incoming 1st years?
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Don't date your classmates. Be prepared to sacrifice things that you care about. Find an "anchor" (faith, family, etc.) that is separate from med school. Use Anki for flash cards.

These are pretty random; tried to steer away from the generic ones.

almostnever said:
3) Lastly, were DMU and Des Moines in general easy to adjust to if you're not from the area?
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I'm not local. DM is tolerable. Very easy place to live. Lots of cheap housing. Most of it is very suburban. Some great restaurants. Ugly in the winter. Gorgeous in spring/summer. Absolutely nothing in the way of recreation, but you wont really have time for that anyways. Homogeneous and white, but fairly progressive for the Midwest. Great for families.


Boom, honesty.
 
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Lil'Sebastian said:
Hi!
I'm a jaded 2nd year at DMU procrastinating a renal exam who is willing to be brutally honest about the school. AMA
Click to expand...

Also a 2nd year, enjoying the mystery of trying to find out who a new SDN member is...

Doesn't like OMM, doesn't like the rotations, possibly dated a classmate? Hmmmm

EDIT: Likes Anki, likes Parks and Rec. Really narrowing this down now.
 
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(I'm also procrastinating when I should be studying for renal. This stuff is no fun.)
 
songl4a said:
Residency placement? Seems like a lot of internal medicine and family medicine. It was interesting that they didn't list the actual numbers, just had a list of the residincies. Is 'transitional year/int' a euphemism?
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DMU, like most DO schools, focuses on primary care in curriculum and clinical years.

I'm not sure about transitional year, but I know that some residencies require one. Maybe radiology... I dunno.
 
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@Lil'Sebastian thanks for the input!

How hard is it to get good rotations 3rd year? Dr. Green (I think that was his name) mentioned on interview day that he was trying to allow 3rd years to schedule rotations wherever they want, instead of doing year long sites. Will that be an option for you as of now?
 
almostnever said:
@Lil'Sebastian thanks for the input!

How hard is it to get good rotations 3rd year? Dr. Green (I think that was his name) mentioned on interview day that he was trying to allow 3rd years to schedule rotations wherever they want, instead of doing year long sites. Will that be an option for you as of now?
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This is a really big question, that (full-disclosure) I'm pretty salty about.

If you do the "non-year long" track you do have the ability to schedule your own rotations. So if you personally know program directors who are interested in investing in you, then you will have a really good time third year. If you can't pre-schedule, the school schedules for you at sites of their choice.

For the rest of us it's kind of a crap-shoot. There are some sites in Des Moines, some out of state (MI and OH mostly) and more in rural iowa.
 
almostnever said:
@Lil'Sebastian thanks for the input!

How hard is it to get good rotations 3rd year? Dr. Green (I think that was his name) mentioned on interview day that he was trying to allow 3rd years to schedule rotations wherever they want, instead of doing year long sites. Will that be an option for you as of now?
Click to expand...

As it stands right now, if you have the willpower and the connections, you can set up your entire 3rd year by yourself. You just have to put together a schedule that meets all the core rotation requirements and get the proper paperwork done. I don't know exactly how the system that Dr. Green mentioned to you would work.

I think the current lottery system for selection of 3rd year rotation sites is fine. The problem is that year-long sites are limited and in very high demand, and people are bound to rank 10 year-long sites in the lottery and still not get one. Most people would like to be in one place for the entire year and not move around or commute too far, and there just aren't enough of those sites for everyone. Some people got lucky this year and loved their result, and some people were pissed. The stat this year was that 60% of people in the lottery got their #1 choice and 85% got one of their top 5 choices. But a lot of people didn't get any of their choices. So that's a lot of room for disappointment.
 
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Flux10567 said:
Do you feel the school prepares you sufficiently for boards?
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Haven't take boards yet. But practice questions make me think so.

Most of your board prep is self-guided, but the school provided us with firecracker this year (not a huge fan, but some like it).
DMU's areas of weakness for board material: embryology and certain parts of oncology.
 
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Lil'Sebastian said:
Haven't take boards yet. But practice questions make me think so.

Most of your board prep is self-guided, but the school provided us with firecracker this year (not a huge fan, but some like it).
DMU's areas of weakness for board material: embryology and certain parts of oncology.
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buttfrogs said:
As it stands right now, if you have the willpower and the connections, you can set up your entire 3rd year by yourself. You just have to put together a schedule that meets all the core rotation requirements and get the proper paperwork done. I don't know exactly how the system that Dr. Green mentioned to you would work.

I think the current lottery system for selection of 3rd year rotation sites is fine. The problem is that year-long sites are limited and in very high demand, and people are bound to rank 10 year-long sites in the lottery and still not get one. Most people would like to be in one place for the entire year and not move around or commute too far, and there just aren't enough of those sites for everyone. Some people got lucky this year and loved their result, and some people were pissed. The stat this year was that 60% of people in the lottery got their #1 choice and 85% got one of their top 5 choices. But a lot of people didn't get any of their choices. So that's a lot of room for disappointment.
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When do you select for 3rd year rotations sites? And for your class, which year long sites do you believe were in the highest demand?
 
We just had our "lottery" this last week. HUGE demand for one of the two hospitals in Des Moines (Unity Point and Mercy). Some of the out of state sites were pretty popular this year: e.g. Des Peres Hospital in St. Louis.
 
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Lil'Sebastian said:
We just had our "lottery" this last week. HUGE demand for one of the two hospitals in Des Moines (Unity Point and Mercy). Some of the out of state sites were pretty popular this year: e.g. Des Peres Hospital in St. Louis.
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You said certain rotation sites are awful. Which ones were you referring to?
 
Flux10567 said:
You said certain rotation sites are awful. Which ones were you referring to?
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I think that small town Iowa sites (Clinton, Fort Madison, Mason City, etc.) seem pretty dismal. This is going to sound harsh, but I can't think of much of a reason to go to small town unless you have family there or you're really interested in rural medicine.

You'll hear the argument that you will have more one-on-one time with attendings, but you will get that on non-year long too. And non-year long means that you live in DM.
 
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Lil'Sebastian said:
I think that small town Iowa sites (Clinton, Fort Madison, Mason City, etc.) seem pretty dismal. This is going to sound harsh, but I can't think of much of a reason to go to small town unless you have family there or you're really interested in rural medicine.

You'll hear the argument that you will have more one-on-one time with attendings, but you will get that on non-year long too. And non-year long means that you live in DM.
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Lil'Sebastian said:
Hi!
I'm a jaded 2nd year at DMU procrastinating a renal exam who is willing to be brutally honest about the school. AMA
Click to expand...

Any advice you would give to incoming 1st year's?
And thanks for all the help answering my questions!
 
Flux10567 said:
Any advice you would give to incoming 1st year's?
And thanks for all the help answering my questions!
Click to expand...

I gave a few things I learned in my 2nd post.
Here's another for free: Plan a crazy trip after 1st year as soon as you start, then you'll always have something to look forward to.
 
For those who have interviewed: were you allowed to park on campus or is there a restriction? Do you need a parking pass? If so where do I get that?
 
Dr.Pilot said:
For those who have interviewed: were you allowed to park on campus or is there a restriction? Do you need a parking pass? If so where do I get that?
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There is parking on campus. No pass needed.
 
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