AZCOM or TUNCOM

[brokeninnosense]

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I've been fortunate enough to receive two acceptances: TUNCOM and AZCOM. The deposit is due next week, and I've still unsure of which school to choose.

Some background info on me:
---Born and raised in Southern California. I don't mind leaving CA for med school, but I would eventually like to settle down and practice in CA. Thus, getting into a CA residency is an important goal for me.
---I want to specialize in emergency medicine.

Midwestern - Arizona:
PROS:
• Name recognition
• Already been assigned LA rotations (#1 choice) – may help getting CA residency?
• Gorgeous community-like facilities
• On-campus apartments
• International opportunities
• Provides opportunities for working with the underserved
• Open door policy w/ faculty
CONS:
• Quarter system – winter break in between classes
• Phoenix – 5 hour drive from home, one hour time difference
• Large class size - 250

TOURO – NEVADA:
PROS:
• Vegas is my second home – family has house in the area, visits numerous times a year
• Close to family – 3 hour drive, 1 hour flight
• Semester system
• Combined exam
• Got a better vibe from the students here during my interview day (might have been b/c i felt more confident after my interview here than at azcom)
CONS:
• Required Dell laptop (I'd prefer to use my macbook)
• Facilities (warehouse)
• No on-campus housing

SAME:
• Tuition
• Weather

Ultimately, I want to choose the school I'll have the best education and opportunities for my goal of becoming an ER doc. Which school would you guys choose?

Also, for any current students... if you can add anything from your own experiences to help me make my decision, i'd appreciate it. 😀

 

[advair250]

Listing using a different laptop as a Con is silly. 🙄

 

[drshark]

dells do suck, I would pick azcom... vegas is too tempting lol

 

[brokeninnosense]

Listing using a different laptop as a Con is silly. 🙄

it may sound silly, but its added expense when i have a perfectly fine macbook that i've been using for 3 years w/ no problem. PCs tend to break down easier IMO

 

[brokeninnosense]

dells do suck, I would pick azcom... vegas is too tempting lol

well, like i said vegas is like a second home to me. Been going at least 6 times a year since i was born. So the whole vegas thing doesn't really phase me. i'm over it. which is why i'm kinda leaning to tuncom...

Are there specific reasons azcom is a much better choice than tuncom?

 

[JeetKuneDo]

well, like i said vegas is like a second home to me. Been going at least 6 times a year since i was born. So the whole vegas thing doesn't really phase me. i'm over it. which is why i'm kinda leaning to tuncom...

Are there specific reasons azcom is a much better choice than tuncom?

They're probably both around the same, with similar opportunities. Seems like you'll be more comfortable in TUCOM-NV, so I would choose that school.

 

[drshark]

I met a guy who went to azcom looking to go into emergency med. He said he really liked the school and was doing 4th yr rotations in socal. Azcom just has a bigger name but that's all i can really tell you. EM is not very competitive so you shouldn't have a hard time getting into it.

 

[Textbookversion]

I met a guy who went to azcom looking to go into emergency med. He said he really liked the school and was doing 4th yr rotations in socal. Azcom just has a bigger name but that's all i can really tell you. EM is not very competitive so you shouldn't have a hard time getting into it.

That is changing... and may not even be very true right now.

 

[NurWollen]

I've been fortunate enough to receive two acceptances: TUNCOM and AZCOM. The deposit is due next week, and I've still unsure of which school to choose.

Some background info on me:
---Born and raised in Southern California. I don't mind leaving CA for med school, but I would eventually like to settle down and practice in CA. Thus, getting into a CA residency is an important goal for me.
---I want to specialize in emergency medicine.

Midwestern - Arizona:
PROS:
•Name recognition
•Already been assigned LA rotations (#1 choice) – may help getting CA residency?
•Gorgeous community-like facilities
•On-campus apartments
•International opportunities
•Provides opportunities for working with the underserved
•Open door policy w/ faculty
CONS:
•Quarter system – winter break in between classes
•Phoenix – 5 hour drive from home, one hour time difference
•Large class size - 250

TOURO – NEVADA:
PROS:
•Vegas is my second home – family has house in the area, visits numerous times a year
•Close to family – 3 hour drive, 1 hour flight
•Semester system
•Combined exam
•Got a better vibe from the students here during my interview day (might have been b/c i felt more confident after my interview here than at azcom)
CONS:
•Required Dell laptop (I'd prefer to use my macbook)
•Facilities (warehouse)
•No on-campus housing

SAME:
•Tuition
•Weather

Ultimately, I want to choose the school I'll have the best education and opportunities for my goal of becoming an ER doc. Which school would you guys choose?

Also, for any current students... if you can add anything from your own experiences to help me make my decision, i'd appreciate it. 😀

As much as I love AZCOM, I should point out that TUNCOM is actually 10k/year cheaper tuition-wise. That said, AZCOM is an awesome school!

 

[GUH]

What does the TUNCOM match list look like?

 

[Bacchus]

Moved to SSD.

 

[ManBroDude]

I just messaged you back, but I didn't know you were interested in EM!

UMC is the only level 1 trauma center in the state and also supplies parts of arizona and california as well. They see 110,000 patients a year and it is ABSOLUTELY NUTS to be able to have such a sweet program in our own backyard (TUN student first-year here). The residents are so inundated with more complicated procedures they usually let the medical students put in chest tubes and intubations themselves, something you wouldn't get anywhere else. One of the attendings in the ED is one of our anatomy professors and works with the LV SWAT team as a tactical doctor. (here's a quick vid of him in our lab)

The Dell is actually pretty usable, the extended battery life is absolutely jaw-droppingly long. This coming from a 4-year Macbook Pro user.

Not having exams until every 3rd week has major perks. We do have quizzes every other week or so for some classes, which help keep us up on material.

The 2012 match list can be found here: http://tun.touro.edu/programs/colle...r-of-osteopathic-medicine/match-results-2012/
9 out of 118 matched EM (2 in CA). 12 matched surgery! (3 gensurg, 7 ortho, 1 urology, 1 ophtho). More matches in CA than NV, actually 😉

There is a TON of fun stuff to do around Vegas: world-class mountain biking, hiking, Lake Mead, concerts, world-class DJ's rotating every weekend, and great locals deals everywhere you look. Might go snowboard Mt Charleston this weekend with some classmates, actually.

 

[GUH]

I've also narrowed my acceptances down to these two. Any input in the next couple of days is appreciated! I'm not interested in gunning for a hyper-competitive specialty but would like to keep as many doors open as possible.

AZCOM
Pros:
-Name recognition (but I don't know how much this matters in the DO world)?
-SD rotations, which is awesome
-Campus is nice
-Board scores are solid, as is the match list

Cons:
-Exams every week (maybe this is a pro but my gut says this will make it tough)
-250 students/class. Holy cow

TUNCOM
Pros:
-Only med school in the area, so possibly more likely to get great hands-on experience
(although I would like to know where TUNCOM students do core rotations)
-Also got a slightly better vibe from the students. AZCOM kids were nice but serious; TUNCOM kids seemed more chill
-No class on Fridays first year. sweet

Cons:
-Academic reputation not as solid as AZCOM
-School in a box.

NOT CONSIDERING:
Cost. I've consciously decided not to make this a deciding factor.
Location. I like both areas.

 

[angldrps]

I've also narrowed my acceptances down to these two. Any input in the next couple of days is appreciated! I'm not interested in gunning for a hyper-competitive specialty but would like to keep as many doors open as possible.

AZCOM
Pros:
-Name recognition (but I don't know how much this matters in the DO world)?
-SD rotations, which is awesome
-Campus is nice
-Board scores are solid, as is the match list

Cons:
-Exams every week (maybe this is a pro but my gut says this will make it tough)
-250 students/class. Holy cow

TUNCOM
Pros:
-Only med school in the area, so possibly more likely to get great hands-on experience
(although I would like to know where TUNCOM students do core rotations)
-Also got a slightly better vibe from the students. AZCOM kids were nice but serious; TUNCOM kids seemed more chill
-No class on Fridays first year. sweet

Cons:
-Academic reputation not as solid as AZCOM
-School in a box.

NOT CONSIDERING:
Cost. I've consciously decided not to make this a deciding factor.
Location. I like both areas.

unless you are wealthy, I hope this is a joke.

 

[angldrps]

I've also narrowed my acceptances down to these two. Any input in the next couple of days is appreciated! I'm not interested in gunning for a hyper-competitive specialty but would like to keep as many doors open as possible.

AZCOM
Pros:
-Name recognition (but I don't know how much this matters in the DO world)?
-SD rotations, which is awesome
-Campus is nice
-Board scores are solid, as is the match list

Cons:
-Exams every week (maybe this is a pro but my gut says this will make it tough)
-250 students/class. Holy cow

TUNCOM
Pros:
-Only med school in the area, so possibly more likely to get great hands-on experience
(although I would like to know where TUNCOM students do core rotations)
-Also got a slightly better vibe from the students. AZCOM kids were nice but serious; TUNCOM kids seemed more chill
-No class on Fridays first year. sweet

Cons:
-Academic reputation not as solid as AZCOM
-School in a box.

NOT CONSIDERING:
Cost. I've consciously decided not to make this a deciding factor.
Location. I like both areas.

When it comes to DO schools, a school's reputation hardly matters in terms of making you competitive for residency. As long as you have the stellar board scores, clinical grades, LORs, you will be at equal footing with someone who goes to the best DO school (whichever one that is). The weekly exams at AZCOM was a negative point for me as well. For me, this testing style would be more binge and purge instead of helping me with long term retention. I have read comments by current students on here who have expressed similar sentiments. I interviewed at both schools as well and I would advice you to do further research on clinical rotations at both schools to come to a final decision.

 

[GUH]

unless you are wealthy, I hope this is a joke.

When I crunched the numbers the differences for tuition plus living expenses were not substantial enough between the two for me to give this factor significant weight.

When it comes to DO schools, a school's reputation hardly matters in terms of making you competitive for residency. As long as you have the stellar board scores, clinical grades, LORs, you will be at equal footing with someone who goes to the best DO school (whichever one that is). The weekly exams at AZCOM was a negative point for me as well. For me, this testing style would be more binge and purge instead of helping me with long term retention. I have read comments by current students on here who have expressed similar sentiments. I interviewed at both schools as well and I would advice you to do further research on clinical rotations at both schools to come to a final decision.

Thank you

 

[GUH]

So I'm going to place my deposit in the next day or so. I am thinking TUNCOM now despite having leaned towards AZCOM up until this point.

The main pros for me are the smaller class size and the fact that there aren't many other medical students in the area to worry about competing against for interesting spots and tasks during rotations.
The fact that they don't have exams every Monday at 7 AM and the cost is somewhat lower are side issues but also tilt in favor of TUNCOM.
The main drawbacks are the slightly lesser-known reputation in terms of scores and match lists (but this might not really matter if it's up to the individual student) and the campus (which also doesn't really matter in the long run).

Is this reasoning sound?

 

[angldrps]

So I'm going to place my deposit in the next day or so. I am thinking TUNCOM now despite having leaned towards AZCOM up until this point.

The main pros for me are the smaller class size and the fact that there aren't many other medical students in the area to worry about competing against for interesting spots and tasks during rotations.
The fact that they don't have exams every Monday at 7 AM and the cost is somewhat lower are side issues but also tilt in favor of TUNCOM.
The main drawbacks are the slightly lesser-known reputation in terms of scores and match lists (but this might not really matter if it's up to the individual student) and the campus (which also doesn't really matter in the long run).

Is this reasoning sound?

absolutely. 👍

 

[Mattinthehat250]

So I'm going to place my deposit in the next day or so. I am thinking TUNCOM now despite having leaned towards AZCOM up until this point.

The main pros for me are the smaller class size and the fact that there aren't many other medical students in the area to worry about competing against for interesting spots and tasks during rotations.
The fact that they don't have exams every Monday at 7 AM and the cost is somewhat lower are side issues but also tilt in favor of TUNCOM.
The main drawbacks are the slightly lesser-known reputation in terms of scores and match lists (but this might not really matter if it's up to the individual student) and the campus (which also doesn't really matter in the long run).

Is this reasoning sound?

I actually thought their match lists for the past few years were quite impressive. Also I've heard from unofficial sources that their scores, especially on the USMLE, were very high. But as you said, I think this has a lot more to do with the individual student rather than the school.

Make sure to join the facebook group if you do end up deciding on TUN: http://www.facebook.com/groups/517559061629759/

 

[Xenoblade]

When it comes to DO schools, a school's reputation hardly matters in terms of making you competitive for residency. As long as you have the stellar board scores, clinical grades, LORs, you will be at equal footing with someone who goes to the best DO school (whichever one that is). The weekly exams at AZCOM was a negative point for me as well. For me, this testing style would be more binge and purge instead of helping me with long term retention. I have read comments by current students on here who have expressed similar sentiments. I interviewed at both schools as well and I would advice you to do further research on clinical rotations at both schools to come to a final decision.

Which one has better rotation sites?

Which one has more research?

The ortho match for azcom in 2013 was steller (12!). But I know this wildly fluctuates.