ARCOM vs. ICOM vs. LUCOM vs. CUSOM

[Dr Meow]

Second year applying (Applied 30 MD (no DO) secondaries in 2019 and got 0 Interviews) (508MCAT, 3.91GPA). I think med school competition has increased tremendously and even average MCAT score is increasing annually.

This year I decided to apply DO only, I have an acceptance to ARCOM which I am super happy about. Interview day was incredible but of course, I shouldn't only judge a school on this alone but the feeling is great!

Lets say that my goal is to do Emergency Medicine, does my DO pick affect my chances? If it doesn't affect my chances then I love ARCOM. If it does, then whichever school's stats win out.

I have 3 more interviews coming up so far: LUCOM, ICOM, and CUSOM. I'm wondering if I should just cancel them.

LUCOM seems to be a religious school. Growing up in the area, my lifelong impression of them is that they sound very quacky bringing religion to science. But idk if they're actually a good med school.

So my current plan is:

Cancel ICOM interview (ARCOM is a new school and better I think)
Cancel LUCOM
Attend CUSOM Interview

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[lumya]

LUCOM is on @Goro's bad boy list and for good reason. They have a lot of drama related to their administration that you can easily find online.

Your plan seems pretty reasonable. ARCOM is better than ICOM/LUCom and it's worth it to attend CUSOM. EM isn't the most DO-friendly residency but it's also not cardiothoracix surgery. From the NRMP data, in 2020 about 900 DO's applied and 700 matched with test scores being a pretty good predictor.

 

[Goro]

LUCOM is on @Goro's bad boy list and for good reason. They have a lot of drama related to their administration that you can easily find online.

Your plan seems pretty reasonable. ARCOM is better than ICOM/LUCom and it's worth it to attend CUSOM. EM isn't the most DO-friendly residency but it's also not cardiothoracix surgery. From the NRMP data, in 2020 about 900 DO's applied and 700 matched with test scores being a pretty good predictor.

EM is actually very DO friendly. More DOs are in this field except for IM and FM.

 

[Booksandshoes]

First of all, congratulations on the acceptance! This is a solid plan.

 

[Dr Meow]

Thanks You All for your Suggestions!

 

[brockhamptonfanacct]

Nothing to add beyond what's already been said but -- congrats OP! It's great to hear that you loved interview day

 

[m1redsox]

Yes, CUSOM should be considered. You can throw the rest out unless you just want the practice interviewing or you want to see what's out there. You already paid them $$$ to apply, so you have every right to keep your application in play even though they may not be at the top of your list. And you might as well hear their spiel since you don't have to pay hundreds for a flight.

 

[Calizboosted76]

I just want to second what the always intelligent @Goro , of the 4 emergency departments that I scribe at, the abundance of physicians are DO’s INCLUDING the directors of each ED and the head of the physician organization that subcontracts the physicians and scribes to said hospitals.