Just saw this post and would like to add to it, SportsGuyLV and TheTodd are making excellent points, and to those of you considering this as a step between where you are now and medical school, I strongly advise that you take these two posts seriously.
This is going to be a long post, so fair warning
This program is extremely intense, not only does it require you perform well in medical school classes but you must do well in comparison to the DO's in your class. This is difficult. As a school that is very into numbers, the caliber of studying is much different from undergraduate and graduate level classes, I say this having done both myself and having an extensive science background. The classes run on a block schedule as TheTodd explained and the questions are detailed, sometimes poorly written, and you will find yourself arguing for those missing points. As a class we have done this quite often this year.
Now besides doing well in medical school courses you must also have a solid MCAT coming into this program. It's heartbreaking to see students who have worked so diligently throughout the entire year but not make the minimum on the MCAT, and not get an interview. We pay for this online Kaplan course, which in my opinion is completely useless. You will studying mcat during winter break which is not so bad but towards the end of your anatomy block, you will also have started this mcat "class" so you can't fully focus on the mcat until much later. As I'm sure most of you know, students take off 3 solid months to attempt the mcat, and for good reasons. The test is a beast and it counts much much more than you think! Please please take your mcat before starting the program, I promise you it will make your life 10x easier.
Ok so those are the big two points I wanted to make. I also want to make one clarification, yes any postbac/MHS type program requires you to work hard and perform well, that is a given, but what I do not like about this program is that there are a few of us who despite making these cutoffs and doing well, we still weren't offered an interview. Now this is where I get frustrated with TUN.
I don't believe that faculty actually care about this program, instead it feels like we're a nuisance and we have to take some ridiculous classes that are time consuming and really don't help us with respect to a future in medicine. Some of the faculty are great and helpful but there are a good handful that just don't seem to care about how we are doing. After investing 64k into this program you would think that we would have great resources that would help us get into Touro and other schools, but that is not the case. Do your research, apply broadly, DO NOT put all your eggs in one basket. There is NO privilege being an MHS student, you have just as good a chance applying elsewhere and you do here. I know this is hard to believe esp after you pay a horrendous amount of money, but trust me THERE IS NO PRIVILEGE GIVEN AS A MHS STUDENT!
I also want to add that I believe now this was clearly not the program for me. I was in a better place before I came here. For instance, when I came here I had a 3.2 sci and cum gpa after two semesters of classes my gpa can very well fall below a 3.0, meaning I no longer meet cutoffs for half a dozen of the DO schools for the next application cycle. A C will hurt you on AACOMAS and not to mention I worked about 3x harder for my C in anatomy than my grad level physiology classes. This program is great for those who do well, truly, but if you look at it another way. Doing well in your classes and having a stellar mcat score, you probably don't need to spend this much money on a program. I feel that many students fall into thinking that this MHS program makes their medical school dream more realistic, but be careful because it will damage if you don't approach it the right way.
This year they only interviewed 9/30 students which means even if these 9 get in eventually that would make it a 30% acceptance rate, in my opinion that is complete garbage. Looking into other DO school master's programs and even MD programs have much better ratios.
I know many of you truly believe that you know what you're getting into, I was the same way, but trust me you don't. The program will throw many curveballs at you, and you must be prepared to face them and be able to pick yourself and move on. Always keep your bases covered and apply to schools everywhere. I keep saying this because it's pretty damn important! You don't want to be like some of us who relied heavily on our chances at Touro and now have to wait about 2 years min to see a possible medical school acceptance.
Again, do your research, apply broadly, and take the mcat before starting here, and always shoot for a 45. If I remember anything else I will add to this thread. Feel free to message me as well. I wish all of you the best of luck in accomplushing your medical school endeavors, I also want to say that this is not way meant to bash the school but to inform you of the shortcomings I have experienced having gone through this program. When I first started this program, I didn't have current students to speak with, so hopefully this helps you make your decision. Best of luck!
