^^ Agree with this totally, although LECOM comes pretty close to matching state tuition.
Ain't that the truth. Tuition for LECOM = 27500. Tuition for my in-state MD school = 22500. The in-state MD school remains my top choice, but only because it I wouldn't have to uproot my spouse and kids from their current lives. I see med students from the state school frequently where I work, and... uh... many of them have made me wonder wtf they're teaching at the state school.
😱
My stats are 39R and 3.24 AMCAS . AACOMAS GPA was--had to look this up--3.59. Had a rough first couple of years in college, then transferred out, and quite a few classes were unique to the first school and couldn't be retaken. But I digress.
My prejudice is that I'd rather be a DO. Largely this is because I'm a non-trad and my role model physician is an awesome DO who chose medicine as a second career. OMM is appealing to me because of the hands-on physical assessment practice, but most DO's will tell you it doesn't change their clinical practice to a great degree.
I only have my state school's process to go by, but I'd also say that the DO process, especially interviews, has been far less adversarial than the MD process.
And about numbers, you could
substantially increase enrollment and still have plenty of qualified applicants, IMHO. And we're going to have to. The primary care physician shortage is real, and is likely to get much, much worse as health care coverage is expanded. AAMC says allopathic classes are expanding, but it's not nearly to the degree that osteopathic schools are doing so.