Where do you all see this school 10 years from now? Here are my thoughts:
ADVANTAGES
They are affiliated with two large and well established teaching hospitals. In addition, the Stryker cooperation (one of the largest manufactures of medical equipment in the US) has demonstrated that it will provide continued support to the new school.
They have a new state-of-the-art campus (with a large research complex) that was donated to them by MPI research, and which was renovated using $100m from an anonymous donor. The building is the very building in which Motrin, Xanax, Halcion, and other drugs were discovered, indicating that the region has a long history of research.
WMed already has an established residency training program in Kalamazoo, which demonstrates that the area has a strong history of medical education.
They are a private school that is not obligated to give preference to IS applicants (with the exception of the two local colleges) and so they have the ability to pick strong applicants from a national applicant pool.
They are new school that is full of energy, and they have made it clear that they are not afraid to change how medical education is delivered (which may be good or bad).
DISADVANTAGES
It is very expensive, with tuition currently set at 50k a year, which may deter some bright students from accepting an offer of admission.
It is a new school without a reputation, which may make it difficult if you want to match into a competitive residency. The first few classes will also have to be patient as the school settles down and works out its kinks.
Students are expected to take USMLE step 1 during their third year, which may either be advantageous or disadvantageous depending on the student. Most other schools take the USMLE step 1 after their second year.
Currently the school only holds preliminary accreditation with the LCME, meaning that students are ineligible to take out federal loans. They expect to become accredited within the next two years, and students are expected to take out private loans during this time.
There are obvious advantages and disadvantages with this school, but it seems to me that this school is well positioned to succeed. I thus expect that 10 years from now WMed will have earned a name for itself. I will definitely be applying to this school! Does anybody else have any other thoughts?
