KCU (Kansas City Campus) vs ATSU SOMA

[ilovetresleches]

KCU pros

• more established, top DO school
• Better residency placements
• Normal lecture curriculum
• Liked the interview a lot
• Tuition is 10k less/year
• Better curriculum
• P/F grading

KCU cons

• harder curriculum that’s more rigorous
• Scheduling is tough, more exams than ATSU
• Hard to get research and your preferred rotation site
• Hard to make your own rotations for your 4th year, have to rely on connections and the normal application online to get placement
• Kansas City not as good as Chicago
• Hard to get your rotation site of your choice

ATSU pros

• Great location, 1 year in AZ and potentially 3 years in chicago
• No mandatory events during testing weeks so you can fully focus on the exams
• Can rotate every rotation at 1 hospital (Cook County)
• More research opportunities in chicago via connections I made
• P/F grading

ATSU cons

• problem based learning, you do not know what is exactly going to be on the exam and you are not guided well
• Higher tuition
• Chicago is not a 100% guarantee
• Residency placement is not as strong as KCU
• Instability within the school

I’m leaning towards KCU, but this is such a hard decision. ATSU SOMA also has its pros and cons.

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[drthedude]

KCU!

 

[chilly_md]

I second KCU. Avoid SOMA’s shifting environment. Their clinical rotation sites seem to also be unstable at the moment.

 

[MateoGM416]

KCU cons

• harder curriculum that’s more rigorous
• Scheduling is tough, more exams than ATSU
• Hard to get research and your preferred rotation site
• Hard to make your own rotations for your 4th year, have to rely on connections and the normal application online to get placement
• Kansas City not as good as Chicago
• Hard to get your rotation site of your choice

The first, second and fifth bullets are true, the fourth is true at most DO schools, the rest are not. If you're smart and hardworking enough to get into KCU, you're smart and hardworking enough to deal with KCU's preclinical exams and scheduling. They picked you a for a reason

Unless you have strong family or friend ties to Chicago, I would pick KCU. Also, you'll save 40k overall by attending KCU. Congrats on your acceptances.