accepted to DMU. Should I go to interview in CCOM and KCUMB?

[AvidWeightlifter]

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Hello. I need some help making an a decision. I am wondering if I should attend my interview invites at KCUMB and CCOM even though I already have an acceptance at DMU. For me, what I look for in a medical school is the quality of education and to be in a strong position for residency application. Cost is important, but not a huge factor in my decision. In terms of environment, I was raised in the east cost in a suburban setting and have stayed in that type of environment all my life. Knowing all these factors, anyone have advice for me?

 

[grapp]

Attend your interviews, what's the worst case senario? You get accepted and waste a little money? I can't answer all of your questions, but if I was in the position that's what I would do. Even if you don't choose it, it still gives you options.

 

[AlteredScale]

Hello. I need some help making an a decision. I am wondering if I should attend my interview invites at KCUMB and CCOM even though I already have an acceptance at DMU. For me, what I look for in a medical school is the quality of education and to be in a strong position for residency application. Cost is important, but not a huge factor in my decision. In terms of environment, I was raised in the east cost in a suburban setting and have stayed in that type of environment all my life. Knowing all these factors, anyone have advice for me?

DMU, CCOM and KCU will all give you a good education no doubt. You should look for which has the best 3rd year clerkship quality (what types of hospitals? are they wards based with a resident team or a preceptor based clerkship?). You should also look to see which will provide you with the best access to research opportunities. DMU has a research center from what I'm aware of.

I would drop the deposit to DMU and then decide if you want to interview at CCOM or KCU. CCOM has a great wealth of medical centers and research centers due its being in Chi-town. KCU is essentially in downtown KC and has some great faculty/admin right now. They have UMKC and KU Med Center which are also great resources for KCU students but in comparison to Chi-town I think it pales in comparison (since the have UChicago/Pritzker Med, Northwestern/Feindberg, Loyola, Rush, Rosalinda Franklin/CMS). If you want specifics about KCU you can PM me, @SynapticDoctah , @mamit1001 , @chizledfrmstone , or @Stagg737 .

For CCOM you can PM @ananasmed I believe.

Good luck!

 

[justpedsthings]

I second what @AlteredScale said in addition to a quick comment: if DMU is the only place you have interviewed, I highly suggest going to at least one other school! I honestly think it helped solidify my decisions and will give some comparison besides what can be found online. The only downside to attending another interview is cost, but like I said, the comparison is worth it. In the end, I made a huge pro con chart and it made sure I didn't have any regrets as far as giving another school a chance. Good luck on your decision and let me know if you have specific KCU questions!

 

[TheBoneDoctah]

Hello. I need some help making an a decision. I am wondering if I should attend my interview invites at KCUMB and CCOM even though I already have an acceptance at DMU. For me, what I look for in a medical school is the quality of education and to be in a strong position for residency application. Cost is important, but not a huge factor in my decision. In terms of environment, I was raised in the east cost in a suburban setting and have stayed in that type of environment all my life. Knowing all these factors, anyone have advice for me?

I interviewed at DMU and KCUMB. I definitely would go to the KCUMB interview (and maybe CCOM if you can bite the huge debt bullet). I loved DMU and, at the time, I felt as though KCUMB and DMU were on par with each other and would both offer me a great education. I had a hard time making the choice of where to attend. Also, make sure you know the details. For example, one of the things that drove me towards DMU was their surgical skills lab which is extremely cool. However, the students I know said they haven't even used them and they are mid-second year.

Now I am extremely happy with my choice. I have heard some stories from people who attend DMU now that say that wish they would have come to KCUMB. However, it's totally up to you.

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

Personally I would go to the KCU interview to get a feel for different top programs. I wouldn't go to CCOM unless you like hemhorraging money... That tuition turns me off if you don't absolutely have to go there

 

[Stagg737]

Personally I would go to the KCU interview to get a feel for different top programs. I wouldn't go to CCOM unless you like hemhorraging money... That tuition turns me off if you don't absolutely have to go there

CCOM is a solid school, but this was a huge negative imo, and this is coming from someone who grew up very close to that school. In addition, it is not IN Chicago, it's about 40 minutes away. Close enough where you can go downtown for rotations or for a day on the weekend, but far enough that would make trying to commute downtown not worth your time.

I agree with others though, put your deposit down and go to at least 1 other interview so you have something to compare to. I also know the curriculum at DMU and KCU are very different, so one may seem like a much better fit for your specific learning style.

In terms of locations, Kansas City is a medium sized city, about half a million people. So you get all of the things you would out of a 'little big city' like sports, a decent selection of restaurants/nightlife, some solid concerts, and a decent variety. Des Moines is a little over 200k people, so while it's a 'city' it will definitely be more limited in terms of the things previously mentioned. It's still pretty nice, didn't really have the feeling of a major metro to me. CCOM is in Downer's Grove, which is a suburb of Chicago. It's not that close to the city, but there is still a lot to do in the area and like stated earlier, is close enough to Chicago (by car or train) to easily go downtown for a day. Even considering all this, remember you're going to be in med school, so while you will have some downtime to explore and have fun, you will have far, far less time than you have likely ever had before. So these things should be more of a secondary thought.

 

[chizledfrmstone]

I think you should take a long in-depth look at what each school has to offer. Look at the curriculum and how 3rd-4th year rotations will work. Don't pick a school based on the small shiny things they throw at you. Be willing to accept the fact that things can change.

AZCOM was too expensive and Western U was too busy. The tuition for AZCOM was higher than the COA for KCU and DMU. At that time the facilities at DMU looked spectacular and honestly the surrounding location is better than KCU. The tuition was also a bit lower. I remember when I interviewed it was snowing so the view from the OMM room was amazing.

Eventually I chose KCU because of the genesis curriculum. Here's a big life lesson, things can change pretty quickly.

2 months after I got my acceptance at KCU a new dean came in and the curriculum was revamped. The facilities were upgraded and the tuition was decreased for that year. For me, the curriculum has worked out really well with the way I like to learn. Over time I've learned that the shiny facilities probably wouldn't have added anything substantial to my education. The tuition at KCU is now lower than DMU. There is no way I could have predicted these changes would happen but I'm glad they did.

 

[ortnakas]

Pay the deposit at DMU, for sure. And if you can afford to go the the other interviews, go because options are nice. If it puts you in a financial hardship to interview more, DMU is a good school so take the acceptance and be happy.

 

[AvidWeightlifter]

Thanks everyone for their advice. Can anyone comment on how DMU students are portrayed when it comes time to apply for residency?

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

Thanks everyone for their advice. Can anyone comment on how DMU students are portrayed when it comes time to apply for residency?

Like any other DO applicant, people say what they want about different programs but a DO is a DO in the eyes of PDs. Except maybe a boost when it comes to regional programs who have a lot of experience with DMU grads.

 

[redPastel]

Like any other DO applicant, people say what they want about different programs but a DO is a DO in the eyes of PDs. Except maybe a boost when it comes to regional programs who have a lot of experience with DMU grads.

Tiers do exist among DO schools as with anything in life.

https://medicine.umich.edu/medschool/education/visiting-students

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

Tiers do exist among DO schools as with anything in life.

https://medicine.umich.edu/medschool/education/visiting-students

If students from these schools start matching competative specialties at Michigan I will be more inclined to believe it. And this isn't a tier system, this is just the older DO schools or ones in the same state that the UMich is familiar with. Personally knowing individuals who have been or are currently PDs I can tell you that they don't know the difference between PCOM and LUCOM. They just see a DO. It's wishful thinking that because I went to KCU I will be given more preference over someone from BCOM, everything else being equal. The only time your school matters can be with programs in the same region or ones that have extensive experience with a certain school's grads.

 

[AlteredScale]

Tiers do exist among DO schools as with anything in life.

https://medicine.umich.edu/medschool/education/visiting-students

Despite this, not a single DO from these selected schools have ended up doing IM, surg, Derm, at UMich. The only thing I've seen happen thus far is that a student from KCU when a very prestigious Sarnoff award which is essentially a year long grant to do heart research.

 

[redPastel]

Like I said, tiers do exist. And that includes our allopathic colleagues in the match process.

 

[mathnerd88]

Like I said, tiers do exist. And that includes our allopathic colleagues in the match process.

Tiers exist, but I'm surprised DMU isn't on that list. It just seems that these schools just signed contracts with UMich or reached out to UMich.

I wouldn't consider KCOM better than DMU.

Also, you're only a DO. Don't expect the school name to really affect much during the match.

 

[AlteredScale]

Like I said, tiers do exist. And that includes our allopathic colleagues in the match process.

It wouldn't be the same. Tiers exist with medical schools on the MD side because of things like NIH funding, amount of nobel laureates teaching at their school, outcomes of their academic hospital. DO schools have very minimal in the way of this. IMO, there are DO schools with more resources and are "better". but there's no tiers outside of that.

And when it comes to the match process here's the "tier" choice for DO's: It's called an IMG and DO filter that's used to only select MD applicants. There is no "select the top 5 DO schools", there's no such thing in the match process.

 

[redPastel]

Tiers exist, but I'm surprised DMU isn't on that list. It just seems that these schools just signed contracts with UMich or reached out to UMich.

I wouldn't consider KCOM better than DMU.

Also, you're only a DO. Don't expect the school name to really affect much during the match.

I agree and nowhere I said your school name would be a game changer. I just said tiers do exist.

It wouldn't be the same. Tiers exist with medical schools on the MD side because of things like NIH funding, amount of nobel laureates teaching at their school, outcomes of their academic hospital. DO schools have very minimal in the way of this. IMO, there are DO schools with more resources and are "better". but there's no tiers outside of that.

And when it comes to the match process here's the "tier" choice for DO's: It's called an IMG and DO filter that's used to only select MD applicants. There is no "select the top 5 DO schools", there's no such thing in the match process.

I never said anything about the match process.
I agree with the bold.