2019-2020 Des Moines University College of Osteopathic Medicine (DMU-COM)

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Live as close as you can to campus. The parking is something I always heard about but I never had to worry about it because I lived close
 
Parking does suck, but as long as you got there before 8am, I never had issues.
Chibucks15 said:
Live as close as you can to campus. The parking is something I always heard about but I never had to worry about it because I lived close
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zNoodlez said:
Dude some apartments downtown looks cool as hell. I am going downtown too. DM me if you need to an apartment hunting partner 🙂
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I’m going to try for 3000 Grand, since it would be nice to be so close to campus. For the same price you can find better places near downtown tho.

The Des Moines Building seems very cool but it’s expensive lol. Apparently, most of the utilities are included.
 
Chibucks15 said:
Live as close as you can to campus. The parking is something I always heard about but I never had to worry about it because I lived close
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I’m going to try to snag a place near campus, but if they don’t want us then we have to go a bit farther.

Do you think Sherman Hill area would be close enough? There’s some apartments on Ingersoll.
 
Astharia said:
West Des Moines and Waukee is amazing. Maybe more spendy but more amenities and safe, with lots of things to do!
(I'm a local so feel free to pm me to ask questions!)

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How long is the commute with no traffic and with traffic? I used to drive 60-90 mins for undergrad with traffic, so not trying to do that again haha.


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red_tangoes said:
How long is the commute with no traffic and with traffic? I used to drive 60-90 mins for undergrad with traffic, so not trying to do that again haha.


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At least 25 minutes out to Waukee, WDM it depends on what side you live in but usually 15-20. To be honest unless you have a family and need space it isn't worth it. Especially when there are times you have 1 required thing for the day and you have to spend an hour total driving back and forth to home. To each their own though. Just goin off what I was told by classmates

Downtown or Sherman hill will be like 5 min away
 
red_tangoes said:
I’m going to try for 3000 Grand, since it would be nice to be so close to campus. For the same price you can find better places near downtown tho.

The Des Moines Building seems very cool but it’s expensive lol. Apparently, most of the utilities are included.
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I visited 3000 Grand after my interview and I was not very impressed tbh. For the price they gave me, which was around $900/mo, the building was very old and run down, compared to some much newer apartments near downtown which were only a 7-minute drive and are only $50 more a month.
 
Nah, I live in Waukee and I drove daily 20 minutes flat. They added a quick 4 lane road (grand prairie Pkwy) that takes you right to 80, and just following that into DSM is super quick. It would take 25 MAYBE 30 if there was an accident or traffic. But since I have kids that get home at a certain time for school, I timed it perfectly, almost always 20 minutes.
Chibucks15 said:
At least 25 minutes out to Waukee, WDM it depends on what side you live in but usually 15-20. To be honest unless you have a family and need space it isn't worth it. Especially when there are times you have 1 required thing for the day and you have to spend an hour total driving back and forth to home. To each their own though. Just goin off what I was told by classmates

Downtown or Sherman hill will be like 5 min away
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Chibucks15 said:
At least 25 minutes out to Waukee, WDM it depends on what side you live in but usually 15-20. To be honest unless you have a family and need space it isn't worth it. Especially when there are times you have 1 required thing for the day and you have to spend an hour total driving back and forth to home. To each their own though. Just goin off what I was told by classmates

Downtown or Sherman hill will be like 5 min away
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I’ll be living solo the first year and maybe my GF will move in the following year, so I don’t need much space.

Ideally, I’d like to live next door to the school. I think it’ll be great for a number of reasons. Biggest thing is to make friends tho. With so many students near by it would be easier to find people to be social with and explore Des Moines.

However, it all depends on availability. Living 5 mins away on Ingersoll doesn’t sound too bad as long as that area isn’t sketchy lol.
 
samelaryan said:
I visited 3000 Grand after my interview and I was not very impressed tbh. For the price they gave me, which was around $900/mo, the building was very old and run down, compared to some much newer apartments near downtown which were only a 7-minute drive and are only $50 more a month.
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It seems most apartments on Grand around DMU are old. I believe some were built 100 years ago.

$900 is kinda pricey for what 3000 Grand offers, but being able to walk to class and being around other students and new friends justifies the price for me. I wish I was able to visit it for myself tho...
 
red_tangoes said:
It seems most apartments on Grand around DMU are old. I believe some were built 100 years ago.

$900 is kinda pricey for what 3000 Grand offers, but being able to walk to class and being around other students and new friends justifies the price for me. I wish I was able to visit it for myself tho...
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I’ll hang out with you if you end up living in downtown! I’m trying to live in East Village.

I’m hoping we get in-person lectures and labs so I can branch out and find a good group of friends.
 
bdjay said:
I’ll hang out with you if you end up living in downtown! I’m trying to live in East Village.

I’m hoping we get in-person lectures and labs so I can branch out and find a good group of friends.
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I was looking at East Village. They have some more affordable options. plus I walked around that area a lot before interview day and liked what I saw.


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red_tangoes said:
I was looking at East Village. They have some more affordable options. plus I walked around that area a lot before interview day and liked what I saw.


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Add me to the East Village/Downtown crew. Really liked that area when I visited for the interview and think it would be a great place to live during the year, don’t mind that commute to school at all.
 
YurrrDO said:
Add me to the East Village/Downtown crew. Really liked that area when I visited for the interview and think it would be a great place to live during the year, don’t mind that commute to school at all.
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Used to work in East Village, it is so nice and fresh looking. Favorite part of Des Moines by far, and it's so close to downtown. Apartments in Des Moines aren't too pricey on either side of the river though, which is nice.
 
Anyone know if classes are moving online? Rather have an answer before I move across the country.
 
xnnsx1 said:
Anyone know if classes are moving online? Rather have an answer before I move across the country.
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When I talked to admissions a few days ago, they said currently they still planned to have us on campus. But that could always change
 
Make sure you all attend the Zoom meeting this Monday 20th with the Dean. I think they will clear everything up and answer all the questions regarding this unprecedented time we are facing.
 
zNoodlez said:
Make sure you all attend the Zoom meeting this Monday 20th with the Dean. I think they will clear everything up and answer all the questions regarding this unprecedented time we are facing.
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Can we attend the meeting even if we’re still on the alternate list? I never got any info regarding a zoom meeting


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samelaryan said:
Can we attend the meeting even if we’re still on the alternate list? I never got any info regarding a zoom meeting


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I am unsure about this. The annoucement is posted within the school's intranet Pulse. You should give the school a call, the worst thing they can say is no.
 
zNoodlez said:
Make sure you all attend the Zoom meeting this Monday 20th with the Dean. I think they will clear everything up and answer all the questions regarding this unprecedented time we are facing.
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Be sure to ask about why 2 deans in the DO program are leaving simultaneously. Our class has gone through 4 deans in 3 years and can't keep upper level leadership in place at our program. This is a huge red flag and shows how toxic the relationship is between DMU admin and the rest of the program's staff and students.
 
temp_account_for_a_q said:
Be sure to ask about why 2 deans in the DO program are leaving simultaneously. Our class has gone through 4 deans in 3 years and can't keep upper level leadership in place at our program. This is a huge red flag and shows how toxic the relationship is between DMU admin and the rest of the program's staff and students.
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Both of these current ones were planned departures due to career transitions. We knew about it a long time ago. While I agree the dean situation has not been ideal, there really was only 1 bad hire and the rest left for other reasons. For example, 3 deans ago (my first year) the guy left to go work for NASA. Then the bad hire. Then the next guy left to go back to private practice because admin work is awful (I worked with him on rotations and it came up). Then this guy currently who's doing fine, I barely know him since I'm on clinical rotations

There are definite issues, but don't read too much into this and get all SDN and apocalyptic about it. Plus he isn't going to tell you anything lifechanging I mean what would you say? If you have specific questions ask me
 
Chibucks15 said:
Both of these current ones were planned departures due to career transitions. We knew about it a long time ago. While I agree the dean situation has not been ideal, there really was only 1 bad hire and the rest left for other reasons. For example, 3 deans ago (my first year) the guy left to go work for NASA. Then the bad hire. Then the next guy left to go back to private practice because admin work is awful (I worked with him on rotations and it came up). Then this guy currently who's doing fine, I barely know him since I'm on clinical rotations

There are definite issues, but don't read too much into this and get all SDN and apocalyptic about it. Plus he isn't going to tell you anything lifechanging I mean what would you say? If you have specific questions ask me
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During the interview session, Dr. Haim seemed awesome! Super down to earth. I got the impression that he was here to stay, but I mean looks can be deceiving!
 
bdjay said:
During the interview session, Dr. Haim seemed awesome! Super down to earth. I got the impression that he was here to stay, but I mean looks can be deceiving!
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There is a new Dean now?
 
red_tangoes said:
How long is the commute with no traffic and with traffic? I used to drive 60-90 mins for undergrad with traffic, so not trying to do that again haha.


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I am from the Des Moines area originally, and if you are willing to commute, the suburbs like Ankeny and Altoona are also great options! Altoona is about 15-20 minutes east of Des Moines and has some very affordable apartments. Ankeny is a little bit further but has a TON of restaurants and shopping, also with some cheaper housing. Johnston and Grimes are also pretty close and have super affordable housing!
 
For current DMU students, how well organized do you think DMU is compared to other schools? Do they actually try to help you do well on COMLEX and provide you with adequate rotations? I know these are problems for many DO schools. Also it is kind of scary to know that DMU has a high turnover rate for deans. Does this reflect the organization of the school or was the moves due to family personal issues? I am putting a lot of money down on this school and am kind of worried that they did not state much of this at the interview(they glossed over it). Should I get used to this as a DMU student?
 
BTR41 said:
For current DMU students, how well organized do you think DMU is compared to other schools? Do they actually try to help you do well on COMLEX and provide you with adequate rotations? I know these are problems for many DO schools. Also it is kind of scary to know that DMU has a high turnover rate for deans. Does this reflect the organization of the school or was the moves due to family personal issues? I am putting a lot of money down on this school and am kind of worried that they did not state much of this at the interview(they glossed over it). Should I get used to this as a DMU student?
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1) I felt like they did a good job preparing us. Our board averages are usually top 3 in the country for DO schools. Rotations are good for the most part, there are always some that fall through the cracks but I honestly haven't heard THAT many bad experiences, even the ones not at the big hospital centers seem to work a lot with the hospitals and definitely have some good ones.
2) The dean turnover thing I talked about earlier. There was one bad hire made, but the rest were due to career decisions. One went to work for NASA, one went back to private practice, the bad hire is currently a program director at an EM residency somewhere, and now we have a new one who seems solid. The associate deans leaving are mostly just career moves. I don't think its anything to worry about because I have literally never spoken one word to a dean and I'm getting a fine education, the admins really don't make that much of a difference unless they unilaterally put some crazy policy in (which doesn't happen). So no need to be scary
3) Why would they bring it up at the interview? It doesn't have bearing on current state of education and there's no need to highlight it. Everything is fine here, there are the same problems every medical school has (that get amplified by SDN cuz neurotic medical students). There are top matches every year into great specialties. It'll get you where you wanna go if you put the work in

Compared to other original DO schools I interviewed at I'm 100% happy with my DMU choice for many reasons, and while there is always room for improvement at every school, there isn't that much that I feel like is glaring needs for changes. And I have zero connection to administration or anything. I'm just a more laid back (almost M4) who doesn't buy into the doomsday stuff you see on here
 
I know at a lot of other schools there are opportunities to sit on residency didactics while in med school to help get your foot in the door, learn, and make connections. Does DMU have similar opportunities? Specifically interested in Emergency Medicine.
 
GaudiestMango4 said:
I know at a lot of other schools there are opportunities to sit on residency didactics while in med school to help get your foot in the door, learn, and make connections. Does DMU have similar opportunities? Specifically interested in Emergency Medicine.
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Not with DO schools since almost all of them are without in-house residency programs.
 
zNoodlez said:
Not with DO schools since almost all of them are without in-house residency programs.
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Yeah I get that, but when asking this on other school specific DO threads there have been opportunities to do this. Hoping DMU had a similar setup w/ Iowa or something of the sort.
 
GaudiestMango4 said:
Yeah I get that, but when asking this on other school specific DO threads there have been opportunities to do this. Hoping DMU had a similar setup w/ Iowa or something of the sort.
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Iowa doesn't love DOs. Doesn't let any rotate there 4th year. (EDIT: They do take us for residencies though. Super weird they dont let us 4th year) Plus there are no EM residencies in the area and Iowa City is 1.5 hours away.

Theres plenty of EM opportunities around though you just gotta work for em. Usually rather than ER residents you can do stuff with actual attendings

The residencies in DSM are FM, IM, Gen Surg, Cardiology fellowship, Pediatrics, Psych
 
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For those of you who couldn't make it to the Zoom meeting and for those on the WL interested in what was said, it was basically this.

  1. DMU is prepared to start the school year as scheduled if conditions warrant it, but they are also prepared to do remote learning until students can be on campus while maintaining safety guidelines.
  2. No firm date on when they will make that decision, however if they have to do remote learning they plan to let us know 6-8 weeks before orientation.
  3. Trying to find ways to teach OMM remotely
  4. Still going ahead with block scheduling
  5. Grading will remain as letter grading for each course. No plan for P/F for incoming class.
  6. 150/220 of the rotation slots are at year long sites whereas the remaining 70 are at non-year long sites. They are hoping to add more year long sites in the next few years.
  7. As of now, class of 2020 has a match rate of 96% with a few more students still interviewing/awaiting decisions.
  8. Anatomy lab is the biggest challenge for the upcoming semester. Anatomy department looking to deliver remotely via software. Goal is to still have cadaver dissection to occur. Possibly will have prosection that will be performed by TA's.
  9. Something about PA program starting remote learning for new class in June. DO program will monitor their experiences.
  10. White coat ceremony is an important celebration and they want to continue with it, but it all depends on the safety guidelines at the time.
I really hope we have a white coat ceremony some time in first year. I know some people may not care for it, but, as first-generation student, I find it really important. I won't be standing up there for myself, but for my parents and the rest of my family who supported me throughout college and my gap years.

I did miss some things they went over, but I found these 10 points to be the most interesting.
 
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red_tangoes said:
For those of you who couldn't make it to the Zoom meeting and for those on the WL interested in what was said, it was basically this.

  1. DMU is prepared to start the school year as scheduled if conditions warrant it, but they are also prepared to do remote learning until student cant be on campus while maintaining safety guidelines.
  2. No firm date on when they will make that decision, however if they have to do remote learning they plan to let us know 6-8 weeks before orientation.
  3. Trying to find ways to teach OMM remotely
  4. Still going ahead with block scheduling
  5. Grading will remain as letter grading for each course. No plan for P/F for incoming class.
  6. 150/220 of the rotation slots are at year long sites whereas the remaining 70 are at non-year long sites. They are hoping to add more year long sites in the next few years.
  7. As of now, class of 2020 has a match rate of 96% with a few more students still interviewing/awaiting decisions.
  8. Anatomy lab is the biggest challenge for the upcoming semester. Anatomy department looking to deliver remotely via software. Goal is to still have cadaver dissection to occur. Possibly will have prosection that will be performed by TA's.
  9. Something about PA program starting remote learning for new class in June. DO program will monitor their experiences.
  10. White coat ceremony is an important celebration and they want to continue with it, but it all depends on the safety guidelines at the time.
I really hope we have a white coat ceremony some time in first year. I know some people may not care for it, but, as first-gen I find it really important. I won't be standing up there for myself, but for my parents and the rest of my family who supported me throughout college and my gap years.

I did miss some things they went over, but I found these 10 points to be the most interesting.
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Thank you so much for this. Answered many of the questions I had.


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bdjay said:
Is everyone waiting until April 30th to pay the final seat deposit?

@red_tangoes did you end up completing the financial aid loan request form?
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I am waiting until the 30th as I am waiting for possible in-state WL acceptances.

Haven't sent the loan request form yet. I'll probably send it the first week of May.
 
When should we be sending in those loan request forms? Is there a deadline for them or is it just before school starts?
 
FutchaDocta111 said:
When should we be sending in those loan request forms? Is there a deadline for them or is it just before school starts?
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Technically it’s like a week prior to school but just get them done now since it takes like 10 minutes and it’s easy to forget about
 
red_tangoes said:
I am waiting until the 30th as I am waiting for possible in-state WL acceptances.

Haven't sent the loan request form yet. I'll probably send it the first week of May.
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Me 2, I hate being waitlisted =.=". Also, did anyone get their award letter? Most of the apartments are requesting to my letter of award as proof for income and I don't know when I will get it.
 
zNoodlez said:
Me 2, I hate being waitlisted =.=". Also, did anyone get their award letter? Most of the apartments are requesting to my letter of award as proof for income and I don't know when I will get it.
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no award letter here. Hoping to get off the waitlist before April 30th. Save me some money!
 
Current students, does DMU give Microsoft Office for free? Looking at laptops and wondering how much I'll have to spend, including software and accessories. My undergrad gave us office so I'm wondering if DMU does.

I'm looking at the MacBook Air 2020 i5 w/ 512 GB SSD for those interested. Never owned a Mac before but I want to make the change.
 
red_tangoes said:
Current students, does DMU give Microsoft Office for free? Looking at laptops and wondering how much I'll have to spend, including software and accessories. My undergrad gave us office so I'm wondering if DMU does.

I'm looking at the MacBook Air 2020 i5 w/ 512 GB SSD for those interested. Never owned a Mac before but I want to make the change.
Click to expand...

I'm using my Mac and DMU credentials and have office access!
 
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