I am debating between my acceptances to DMU and COMP-NW. Honestly, COMP-NW seems...
I got accepted into COMP-NW as well! I'm not too familiar with DMU so I'll only comment on COMP-NW.
Addressing your potential cons:
1.
Addressing new school issue: COMP-NW is a newer school, but they seem to have the same reputation built off of WesternU in CA, which has been established for about 40 years. Because COMP-NW basically operates the same in terms of curriculum, etc., they have a really good reputation that falls under the umbrella of WesternU as a whole. Their residency matches, especially back into CA are great. More than a handful of students get into really competitive residencies at UC medical schools, USC, Scripps/Sharp in San Diego, etc.
2.
Addressing lectures that aren't in house: In terms of the lectures that are streamed from Pomona, I heard this was about 50/50, not sure how true that is. Meaning, 1/2 of the time we are streaming to them, and 1/2 of the time they are streaming to us. I did find this to be a potential negative, but it seems that many students in med school don't mind it since students prefer having their lectures online to re-listen to or listen to it on their own time. I guess it depends on your study style!
3.
Study space: I also think that at COMP-NW, lack of study space is a negative, but I think that with apartments that are really close by to the campus, perhaps students spend most of their time studying with the set-up they have at home. I think that the down-side of not having enough on-campus study space is alleviated by the fact that home can be close to campus if you choose.
4.
Lack of resources: I would semi-agree with you here. I don't recall them showing us the anatomy lab either, but I wouldn't think that it's too bad. WU in COMP-NW offers a significant amount of research (especially with their new research track), and because they are a new campus they have state of the art facilities (like the OMM rooms and patient practice rooms, study rooms and lecture halls are new, etc.) I'm sure that because the building is new, their anatomy labs should also be equipped quite nicely. However, I do agree that lack of study space/library, among other neat things that other schools may have (opportunities to use cut-suits, surgery centers, etc.) are lacking.
5.
Not much to do: Although this could be a concern, while I interviewed I talked to the students and they seemed very happy and close knit. It seems that with the very little time that they have off, they explore Oregon. Oregon may not have all the main-stream things to do, but Oregon is known for its beautiful nature! Also, for those good ole city experiences, there is Corvallis and Portland, which isn't too far away (I'm not from OR I'm from southern CA lol, just learned all this stuff during the interview).
6.
Price: Can't say much here lol, it's expensive
Benefits:
1.
Close knit community: During such a tough process like medical school, it's important to be surrounded by others that you can see yourself with. I generally saw that students knew each other, were supportive of each other, and were overall quite happy.
2.
Good relationship between students-faculty: I think this is a huge plus. These are our mentors. Students at COMP-NW say they have a great relationship with faculty. And of course when its time to utilize those connections in order to get recommendations, etc., I feel this is invaluable.
3.
Research: If you are into research, both COMP-NW and Pomona offer great opportunities for this. They have basic science and clinical research available at COMP-NW. This track has some cool requirements that prepare you for life in research, like being able to work on your own project, setting up journal clubs to discuss relevant/current research, facilitating the research club, being a part of poster presentations and potentially research conferences, and going through research rotations during year 3 and 4. According to a COMP-NW student, this also greatly benefits you when applying to residency since these experiences will be included in the Dean's Letter.
4.
Patient care sims: I think in any specialty, this is important. WU seems to do so many that by the time you're done, you'll be yawning at the fact that you have to talk to patients. It'll come to you easy (at least I'd hope so after doing it so many times).
5.
Community support of COMP NW/Community service: If I remember correctly, the history of COMP-NW was that the community really wanted this med school built there. As a result, the local community reveres and supports COMP NW. This also opens up many opportunities to be a part of the local community, perhaps be involved in teaching others about common illnesses, or setting up basic clinics, etc. In a way, this may fall in-line with having more patient care interactions, or just having interactions overall with the local community.
6.
Reputation: I feel like COMP-NW has a great reputation since it falls under the very established Western University of Health Sciences. I think the best way to back this up is to look at those residency matches. I'm sure a lot of Pomona CA students match into those competitive CA residencies, but I'm sure OR students do as well since the overall match list doesn't show too many students matching in OR, along with the fact that WesternU is simply WesternU. Both campuses have the same curriculum and almost do the same thing.
7.
Rotation sites: I agree with you on this one. You get to rotate at some of the top 10 hospitals in OR, pretty neat!
8.
Facilities: It's a new building, and while touring, i noticed that the lecture hall, OMM labs, patient sim rooms, study rooms, etc. were really nice.
9.
Admin support: From what I've heard, administration does a good job of helping you pick those rotation sites, getting you prepared, doing what they can to help you advance so that you can focus on your studies.
10.
Curriculum: WesternU's hybrid PBL/lecture system is unique. I think this is a great plus at WesternU since PBL is a great way to develop critical thinking skills while enabling us to engage with the material. However, I like that instead of having you solely read tons of books on your own, PBL is supplemented with lectures. One thing people bring up is that WU's curriculum may not be Step 1 friendly, but I've read on recent threads that they're changing their curriculum (while still maintaining the hybrid style i believe) and as a result they're seeing increases in board scores. Also, according to their academic calendar, it seems like they give a nice 2 month chunk of time to prepare you for studying, and supplement that time with resources. In any case, even before the changes, I like the PBL/lecture hybrid, and WU still has above average board scores and pass rates, along with that great residency match list.
That's about all I can think of for now. I'm sure DMU may have lots of pros as well, but in any case, I hope this helps!
