I just received an acceptance from Touro-CA (and the above listed schools) and of course I am very excited! However, Toura-CA has a two week deadline before requiring a decision and deposit, and I am very conflicted about which school to attend. I have read a couple other posts comparing two of the schools but most of them are not recent or the poster was from the area of one of the schools which is a personal benefit. I really need some help!
Some background: I am from and really want to stay in southern California (Los Angeles region). I want to go to a school with a supportive (as opposed to competitive) student body who are more likely to work together than screw each other over. I also want the option to watch lectures from home, and patient/standardized patient exposure during pre-clinical years. Of course high board scores and residencies in California are probably most important (but maybe residency placement is more based on the individual?). Here's what I've been comparing:
RVUCOM
Pros: LOVED the community feel here. The staff and students were SO nice and enthusiastic, they really seemed genuinely happy to be there. The curriculum seemed very conducive to board studying (it was integrative so they taught everything about a particular system at the same time) and the board scores were very high. Also class size was less than 150 and lectures are recorded. Basically, if this school was located in socal I wouldn't be posting this.
Cons: Don't know anyone in the Denver area, although it's a super awesome city. Also year-long curriculum, so barely a couple weeks of summer break after first year (I know this only impacts first year but burn-out is real and breaks are important). Also I was advised that this may be the least helpful choice if I want connections to southern California.
AZCOM
Pros: reputation, opportunity to rotate in LA 3rd year (!!!), mannequin patients to practice on, know some people in phoenix, only 5 hours from home, long summer break so can conduct research or do nothing, lots of california students and residency placements (that I can see, the date is kind of ambiguous recently)
Cons: Tests every monday, letter grade system, heard some iffy things about rotations, large class size (250), some classes shared with students from other programs so may include some unneeded information, highest tuition of the three
Touro-CA
Pros: in California, kind of close to some family and friends but not my main support systems, many residency placements in CA but mostly northern CA, high pass/pass/fail grading, block exams instead of weekly, students are younger and seem more cohesive
Cons: Haven't heard a lot of positives, interview day was mostly focused on their combined DO/MPH program and hardly any time was spent discussing the program (consequently don't know much about their rotations or curriculum in general despite asking many questions), location is not great and expensive, a student shouted out not to go there (but I think he was joking..?)
Any input would be really appreciated, again I only have two weeks and I don't feel any closer to deciding.
Some background: I am from and really want to stay in southern California (Los Angeles region). I want to go to a school with a supportive (as opposed to competitive) student body who are more likely to work together than screw each other over. I also want the option to watch lectures from home, and patient/standardized patient exposure during pre-clinical years. Of course high board scores and residencies in California are probably most important (but maybe residency placement is more based on the individual?). Here's what I've been comparing:
RVUCOM
Pros: LOVED the community feel here. The staff and students were SO nice and enthusiastic, they really seemed genuinely happy to be there. The curriculum seemed very conducive to board studying (it was integrative so they taught everything about a particular system at the same time) and the board scores were very high. Also class size was less than 150 and lectures are recorded. Basically, if this school was located in socal I wouldn't be posting this.
Cons: Don't know anyone in the Denver area, although it's a super awesome city. Also year-long curriculum, so barely a couple weeks of summer break after first year (I know this only impacts first year but burn-out is real and breaks are important). Also I was advised that this may be the least helpful choice if I want connections to southern California.
AZCOM
Pros: reputation, opportunity to rotate in LA 3rd year (!!!), mannequin patients to practice on, know some people in phoenix, only 5 hours from home, long summer break so can conduct research or do nothing, lots of california students and residency placements (that I can see, the date is kind of ambiguous recently)
Cons: Tests every monday, letter grade system, heard some iffy things about rotations, large class size (250), some classes shared with students from other programs so may include some unneeded information, highest tuition of the three
Touro-CA
Pros: in California, kind of close to some family and friends but not my main support systems, many residency placements in CA but mostly northern CA, high pass/pass/fail grading, block exams instead of weekly, students are younger and seem more cohesive
Cons: Haven't heard a lot of positives, interview day was mostly focused on their combined DO/MPH program and hardly any time was spent discussing the program (consequently don't know much about their rotations or curriculum in general despite asking many questions), location is not great and expensive, a student shouted out not to go there (but I think he was joking..?)
Any input would be really appreciated, again I only have two weeks and I don't feel any closer to deciding.
