MSUCOM vs. Central Michigan, which one should I choose?

[kem22]

I'm a michigan resident and cost of tuition for both schools is about the same. Love the DO philosophy but not dead set on it. How do you compare a really good DO school to a new MD school?

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[miszfifi820]

go MD

 

[tiedyeddog]

This is a pretty hard question to answer. I would say go MD but MSU is actually a pretty well regarded DO school. Does location matter to you?

 

[WingedOx]

Do they tell you which campus of MSU?

 

[Doug Underhill]

Did you like one significantly better than the other? Pick that one.

If not, Central Michigan is probably the pick

 

[kem22]

I would be at the east lansing campus for MSU. Location doesn't necessarily matter to me. I'd prefer not to have to rotate in Saginaw (if I went to Central) but it hasn't eliminated it as an option so far.

 

[itsogre]

Go with the MD school OP. If costs are essentially the same, you don't want to limit yourself out by having to deal with left-over DO stigma. If my choice was 4 years of study and work in a less desirable location vs dealing with unwarranted bias rest of your career, I'd go with first option.

 

[Dr.Jekyll75]

I would go md as well . My friend also was in the same situation and she choose wmu over MSUCom she said she had no regrets.

 

[raiderette]

.
(edited for wrong school)

 

[Salt Salt]

MSUCOM is one of the very best DO schools. A lot of very cool research goes on there.

I say DO.

 

[tiedyeddog]

Please explain further this "stigma" you're talking about.

Just do a search of the forums. No need to start a flame war over MD vs DO.

It is real, especially in academic medicine.

 

[kem22]

So you love the DO philosophy, and you'd rather not rotate in Saginaw (Check out the rotation link for MSUCOM posted earlier). Did you visit both schools? Are you planning on practicing in Michigan?

I did visit both schools! I was super impressed by both. The one thing that sticks out to me about CMU is the students seemed so happy. Also, I am planning on staying in Michigan.

 

[tiedyeddog]

Asking for an explanation of the "stigma" he's talking about isn't a flame war.

It will start one...

 

[WingedOx]

I did visit both schools! I was super impressed by both. The one thing that sticks out to me about CMU is the students seemed so happy. Also, I am planning on staying in Michigan.

Saginaw may be not the greatest place on earth, but I know MSU CHM sends students to places like Flint and Marquette for rotations. Not sure if it's the same for the DOs. I know there's a major osteopathic hospital in Flint, but not sure if it's an MSU site.

/though for what it's worth, we had some Flint-based MSU students interview with me last year who loved it there.

 

[referee3]

Go with the school you like better and feels like it fits better. Do not listen to all the uninformed premeds on here telling you that going do will hurt you. You will be fine at either school.

 

[SpartanWolverine]

It's definitely a close knit community at MSUCOM, but I think @johnamo could explain further (please? Lol)

Haha yes, we have a good community here at MSUCOM as well. It is a significantly larger pool of people than CMU, but I can honestly say that I really like the majority of the faculty, staff, and students here.

When it comes down to it, I don't think you can go particularly wrong with either school. I was very impressed with what I saw at CMU during my interview but also really like being at MSUCOM (just finishing up my first year).

To me, my final school decision came down to feeling like I had the most options at MSU (rotation sites, physician connections, research opportunities, etc) along with being closer to home and paying less than a private school. I do agree to some extent that choosing MD over DO is not a bad blanket rule to follow if you're totally unclear about your future plans (e.g., if you might want to do a surgical subspecialty residency at somewhere like MGH the DO degree in and of itself may indeed hurt you), but if you want to stay in Michigan your chances for a competitive residency are, right now, arguably better at MSUCOM due to the number of AOA residency spots in the MSU SCS system. With the upcoming merger it's not totally clear how these spots will open up to MD applicants, and we've been told that there will likely be a unified match process for the class of 2018+. Anyhow, the point of all that is to say that I feel like COM certainly gives you everything you need to be successful. Whether you end up at MSUCOM or CMU, I would say your future depends much more on what you make of your education than the degree or school.

So... basically, go where you feel you have the most opportunities to be the best you can be. Medical education is a long and painful process, so I cannot overemphasize how important it is to be with supportive people in a community where you fit in. Everyone struggles at times, but it's important to be somewhere where you can bounce back and be excited to move on to the next phase.

Good luck with your decision! Feel free to shoot me a message if you have other questions.

 

[itsogre]

Asking for an explanation of the "stigma" he's talking about isn't a flame war.

man c'mon I said the stigma was unwarranted, but it does make it harder to break into surgical subspecialities or highly-regarded coastal university programs... just check out the talk on the DO student subforum.

OP, you don't know what can happen in a few years... maybe you'll want to move to New York or DC or other highly competitive markets... or do translational/basic science research with R01 funding in academe... or maybe you'll find a burning passion for urology lol. It wouldn't be right to limit yourself right now. You'll have a lot of support from a new medical school - the administrations obviously wants their initial graduates to match as strongly as possible to establish a good reputation, so they'll give you a lot of support to ensure you can do as exceptionally as you can.

edit... yes, you can do all of the above as a DO, but you will have to work harder than MDs to get it. Fair? no. but unfortunately, it is what it is.

 

[SpartanWolverine]

man c'mon I said the stigma was unwarranted, but it does make it harder to break into surgical subspecialities or highly-regarded coastal university programs... just check out the talk on the DO student subforum.

OP, you don't know what can happen in a few years... maybe you'll want to move to New York or DC or other highly competitive markets... or do translational/basic science research with R01 funding in academe... or maybe you'll find a burning passion for urology lol. It wouldn't be right to limit yourself right now. You'll have a lot of support from a new medical school - the administrations obviously wants their initial graduates to match as strongly as possible to establish a good reputation, so they'll give you a lot of support to ensure you can do as exceptionally as you can.

While I'm sure CMU wants their graduates to match into good programs, my feeling was that they are very, very focused on providing primary care physicians for Michigan -- it seemed to me that they heavily recruited students who had a strong and compelling interest in rural/primary care. So I got the vibe that opportunities for focusing on subspecialties may be somewhat limited during clerkship years... However, I suppose it's still a bit too early to really know! I expect their match list will be ultimately pretty similar to MSUCOM with a fair amount into IM/EM/FM/OB/Neuro and a smattering of ortho/anes/derm/ophtho/rads. I'll be interested to see.

 

[Omppu27]

Asking for an explanation of the "stigma" he's talking about isn't a flame war.

... yet...

And based on your posts it seems like you'll be matriculating at MSUCOM?

 

[WingedOx]

While I'm sure CMU wants their graduates to match into good programs, my feeling was that they are very, very focused on providing primary care physicians for Michigan -- it seemed to me that they heavily recruited students who had a strong and compelling interest in rural/primary care. So I got the vibe that opportunities for focusing on subspecialties may be somewhat limited during clerkship years... However, I suppose it's still a bit too early to really know! I expect their match list will be ultimately pretty similar to MSUCOM with a fair amount into IM/EM/FM/OB/Neuro and a smattering of ortho/anes/derm/ophtho/rads. I'll be interested to see.

I had some students from Mich in my college class. Back in the day (not sure if it is the same today), MSU CHM actually didn't give you a secondary if they weren't going to give you an interview. They picked interviews HEAVILY based on your primary essay, so that way you couldn't tell MSU you were going to be a FM in Houghton and tell Ann Arbor you wanted to be a world class research scientist.

I gotta say, it was a smart system considering their mission.

 

[Omppu27]

How'd you guess?!

And based on your likes it seems like you'll be matriculating at an allo school?

Lol... Yes I am. But FWIW I applied both MD and DO. My most impressive interview day was actually at a DO school and I would've been very proud to attend that school. However, regardless of whether I attended a DO school or not, my opinion on this matter wouldn't be different.

 

[kem22]

Haha yes, we have a good community here at MSUCOM as well. It is a significantly larger pool of people than CMU, but I can honestly say that I really like the majority of the faculty, staff, and students here.

When it comes down to it, I don't think you can go particularly wrong with either school. I was very impressed with what I saw at CMU during my interview but also really like being at MSUCOM (just finishing up my first year).

To me, my final school decision came down to feeling like I had the most options at MSU (rotation sites, physician connections, research opportunities, etc) along with being closer to home and paying less than a private school. I do agree to some extent that choosing MD over DO is not a bad blanket rule to follow if you're totally unclear about your future plans (e.g., if you might want to do a surgical subspecialty residency at somewhere like MGH the DO degree in and of itself may indeed hurt you), but if you want to stay in Michigan your chances for a competitive residency are, right now, arguably better at MSUCOM due to the number of AOA residency spots in the MSU SCS system. With the upcoming merger it's not totally clear how these spots will open up to MD applicants, and we've been told that there will likely be a unified match process for the class of 2018+. Anyhow, the point of all that is to say that I feel like COM certainly gives you everything you need to be successful. Whether you end up at MSUCOM or CMU, I would say your future depends much more on what you make of your education than the degree or school.

So... basically, go where you feel you have the most opportunities to be the best you can be. Medical education is a long and painful process, so I cannot overemphasize how important it is to be with supportive people in a community where you fit in. Everyone struggles at times, but it's important to be somewhere where you can bounce back and be excited to move on to the next phase.

Good luck with your decision! Feel free to shoot me a message if you have other questions.

Thank you so much! That's very helpful. And to everyone else, thank you also! I appreciate all the input. I think both schools are great and don't have any issues with going DO, which is why I'm having such a hard time deciding. With central I just had such warm fuzzy feelings while there (might be a little superficial, but hey it matters) and with msucom it would be a shame to turn down all they offer. But looks like either way I'll be okay so long as I work hard and seek out opportunities.

Thanks again everyone!