Yeah. UNECOM would be cold. I am from Texas and out of the ones you mentioned I had an interest in CCOM and NOVA, didn't really know that much about PCOM but have heard good things...its a well grounded school. Probably the best overall for you MIGHT be CCOM. I have met students from CCOM and they seem to have good match lists and strong boards. Both CCOM and PCOM will have their share of chilly nights so you may prefer NOVA. NOVA looks like it has a great campus, but the downside for me was the mandatory attendance. I don't know if attendance is required or dress code for that matter but those were two things I didn't like at all, especially for the first two years where you sit in a classroom all day long. A big factor though is when you visit, do you like it and could you see yourself happy there for four years, which you said you already could about NOVA so that helps your decision.
TUCOM-LV is new and I would rather go to a school more grounded that has a longer history. Having prior graduates get into programs I think can help out when it comes residency application time...because doors have been open. TUCOM-CA I didn't care for because they really have to farm out students for rotations from what I understand because of all the other medical schools in the area...and I haven't been too impressed with their match list, and other things.
The thing I learned most from going through medical school and the residency application process/matching etc....is that location can make a big difference. Some program directors really like ties to the area so for those of you reading this, keep that in mind. For the original poster, he/she will "have" his ties to Houston should he want to come back for residency, but definitely more students who let's say, go to medical school in Florida, might stick around and do residencies in that area, and the reason I bring this up is that the OP mentioned he was interested in Dermatology, which he would probably HAVE to do a residency outside of Florida in should he go to Nova, because Florida requires the AOA internship year, and there aren't that many DO Derm Residencies from what I understand. One of the little things to think about if you are going to DO school in one of the 5 states that like to keep things difficult for DO grads.
Coming from TX I was hoping to match into TCOM, but I didn't get an interview there. I decided to go to WesternU/COMP. And I won't even start on the complaints that I have had about the school, which in hindsight some seem valid and some don't now that I've graduated and seen a "bigger picture."
What I can say is that I think I got a relatively strong education at COMP, but it really took a lot of initiative and self-learning to do well in the match and on boards. That probably goes for any school. And from what I've heard COMP's board passing rates aren't even average for the DO schools in general, but for those applying to DO schools don't let that weigh too much on your decision(not just about Western), because you need to study hard on your own no matter where you go and just because a school has a below average board passing rate, doesn't mean YOU can't do better than average as an individual. Also, I wouldn't have gotten into the residency that I matched to had I gone to another program, because I think the ties to SoCal helped by going to a SoCal school and also Western has a relatively good name in the area. Regardless of board pass rates, when I interviewed, I liked the area, the things to do when not studying, the people were fairly friendly, the rotations were good, and I thought I'd be happy here for four years. I didn't really think about where I'd be going for residency when I applied for DO school, and the specialty I thought I would be going into, EM, was changed before I even did the rotation.
So with that said, and from what the original poster (OP) said his/her goals are, here's my humble opinionated rank list, which the OP will need to make his/her own decisions on based on how the interviews go, etc...(some are ties):
1. NOVA (you already said you liked it and you won't be cold)
1. CCOM (good school, ? better chance at specialty, but you might be cold)
3. Western/COMP (you won't be cold and its primary care oriented, although you could specialize if you work really hard)
3. PCOM (you WILL be cold...not that much farther south than UNECOM, ? better chance at specialization)
5. WVCOM (you might be cold, really really primary care oriented, and tend to take and keep lots of students in WV like other poster said)
6. TUCOM-CA
7. TUCOM-Vegas
As a Texan, I have been happy in SoCal the past four years in medical school and I'll be here another 5-6 for residency, but I don't think I'll wanna practice here. I have spent lots of time in Florida and people and the environment in Florida is definitely more similar to Texas than California, so I can see one reason why NOVA was probably appealing to you. But, see how your other interviews go and go with your gut....Good Luck.
P.S. See if you can see match lists when you interview...I think that's a reasonable request, especially since you are already accepted somewhere.
P.P.S. No I don't want to go back to Texas to practice, and I don't want to go to Florida to practice either....people always ask me that for some reason.
P.P.P.S. As far as Derm, I don't know of anyone in COMP 2004's class that matched into derm, and we only had one in my class who matched into a derm program (a military program in Texas actually). Lots of PM&R in my class, Anesthesiology, and then IM, Peds, FP...with others less common.
