AZCOM vs CCOM MIDWESTERN battle

[DoHzA]

So I am eagerly expecting acceptances from both AZCOM and CCOM and I was curious as to what you all thought were the good's and bad's of each...there's alot of hype goin around and I thought that maybe as a group we can clear the air.

I'll give examples of advantages and disadvantages of each and i'd love for u all to jump in on this...

AZCOM: awesome board scores, gorgeous brand new facilities, unique workshop and early on preceptorship program, hot weather, on campus housing, no cafeteria, crappy weightroom, still young and apparent in their rotation opportunities within phoenix

CCOM: impressive board scores, nice facilities, barely any clinical exposure in the first two years, deadly cold weather for a good part of the year then unbearable heat and humidity for the rest of the year, have on campus housing, have cafeteria, crappy weightroom, awesome rotation spots

i gathered all this from my tours, interviews, pamphlets, and research online

please feel free to comment on what i've included as well as pluggin in your own new info

THANKS ALOT and good luck to u all!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[LukeWhite]

Do,

I'll stick to AZCOM, since that's mainly what I know. CCOM seems a fantastic place. I miss Chicago especially.

To hit the points you made:

The workshops are indeed fantastic (learning how to analyze lab reports 1st week of class? Neat!) and the preceptorships are out of this world, depending on who you get. I went to my first preceptor meeting last week. I sat talking with the doctor for a few minutes, and a nurse came in with a chart. Dr. Preceptor didn't get out of his chair; he pointed me in the direction of the patient and said, "Take your stethoscope, go talk to him for awhile, and see what's up." I got about 10 minutes of one-on-one with the patient before the doctor made an appearance. Great program.

The on campus housing is excellent also. You can get better apartments for less money nearby, from what I'm told, but I'm very happy with my apartment here on campus, and the commute is unbeatable.

The weightroom is, as you've noticed, lousy, and the outdoor basketball courts aren't anything to write home about. Lots of us have joined LA Fitness, which is open 24 hours on weekdays, has racquetball, olympic lap pools, basketball courts, etc. The membership fees are pretty reasonable and the gym is just a five minute drive away on the main strip.

We do have a cafeteria, actually. It's not open quite yet, though. There are rumblings that it will be soon, but I don't keep up with that too much. I imagine it'll certainly be open by the time you potentially get here, though.

Rotations within Phoenix are a bit more limited than they are at UoA for sure, but I don't consider that a disadvantage. If you want one-on-one experience in your rotations, AZCOM is the place to go. The clinical years were the main reason I chose AZCOM--there's really no other school I know of, DO or MD, that gives you as much hands-on experience as a med student. By the time you graduate, you've got the chance to have as broad and competent a set of practical skills as anyone can expect. I wanted a head start on actually learning how to do things, and if that's a priority for you and you don't mind occasional travel, AZCOM is top notch.

To add a few AZCOM points of my own:

-There's a high degree of integration both within and between classes. Everyone is on the same page as far as what's being taught, and very little ends up coming from an ivory tower: the faculty does a lot of work making sure that you understand the clinical application of what you're learning.

-Notes are comprehensive. This seems like a trivial point, and it's probably more and more common nowadays, but it's nice not to have to sign up for a note-taking service, etc. You more or less know exactly what you'll be tested on in the main courses. I skip certain classes depending on topic, teacher, etc. and never have to worry about missing key points. Makes it easier to sleep at night, and to have the time to sleep at night in the first place.

-Phoenix is spectacular. I grew up around Chicago, and it pained me to leave, but Phoenix dulls the pain nicely. Downtown's not as vibrant as some other cities, but it works. There's a fantastic indie music scene that dribbles off of LA, growing art community, great college town vibe in Tempe, club scene in Scottsdale, etc. Moreover, you can drive two hours in any direction and see nearly every possible terrain. When I was in Chicago escaping to anything vaguely resembling mountains would have taken 6-8 hours minimum.

Let me know if you have any other questions I can answer about the school. I suppose it's not at the top of many lists, but after visiting it, it shot to #1 on mine, and my opinion of it has only grown while here.

 

[DoHzA]

i appreciate your post BIGTIME!

you have no idea how much u helped!

keep this post goin!

 

[bla_3x]

I'd like to add that the instructors at AZCOM are great! Not only that, but I am sure that you were told about the "open door policy" here....it is VERY true, and VERY useful. The instructirs really do care about us, and it makes the medical school experience that much easier.

Well....back to studying for the biochem final

 

[irish79]

Good job Luke--you represent our school so well.

DoHzA,

The nice thing about the rotations at AZCOM is that you can do them where you want. Therefore, if you would like to set up rotations similar to those in Chicago it wouldn't be a huge problem (and probably fairly easy to do). I grew up in Chicago and decided on AZCOM over CCOM and the other MD schools I was accepted to in IL (and am very glad I did--for all the reasons Luke listed). I plan on doing many of my rotations in Chicago and outside of the Phoenix area and from what I hear--that isn't a problem at all.

I think another added benefit of AZCOM will be evident when we all take the PE exam for Step II boards. Our school historically does well on Step II to begin with (100%) but the fact that we start clinical experience (preceptorships, intro to clinical medicine, clinically applied workshops in Biochem, one-on-one rotations in 3rd/4th year, etc.) so early will only help us when we get there.

If you have any questions about AZCOM, feel free to ask any of us--we are always happy to talk about our school (as you can see from the replies of Chuck and Luke).

Good luck with your decision.

 

[referee]

No one told me there was a battle between AZCOM and CCOM. We are SSSSOOOO going to whip up on those CCOM'ers

 

[DoHzA]

there's no battle but i wanna know the pro's and con's of each

please provide some insight

 

[referee]

Oh no, the battle royal is on.

 

[DoHzA]

let's do this!

 

[referee]

Big talk from a HOPEFUL, POSSIBLE MS-1. I didn't think you could get much lower than an MS-1, but you can. The minute you step on AZCOM turf your mine. No holds barred, in the steel ring. And I'm sure you saw the steel ring we have around our campus now. They put it up to keep students like me in; I'm gonna avulse you a new anal canal.

 

[DoHzA]

this thread took a wrong turn somewhere or maybe u'r just not gettin' any lately.......hmmmm

 

[referee]

I think the wrong turn came when you started this AZCOM/CCOM battle. Don't worry, I'll finish it.

And about getting any, plus your interests include women, they are much better here. Being from IL, the women have to put on the layer winter fat to stay warm. But what woman would like a Pre-Med, that's right...your still Pre-Med, with a black-eye?

 

[DoHzA]

what's this guy trippin on???

 

[referee]

If you can't have a little fun, you wouldn't like it here.

 

[NewAgeDO]

DOHZA,

Relax, I got your back. I'm quite a few steps ahead of referee. Guess he's being just that. It's all in good fun.

 

[scubadiva]

Hey referee,

I got your back on this one buddy. And let me tell you, I bigger than both DoHzA and NewAgeDO combined! yeah that's right, you heard me. I've got the physical size with the strength and attitude to match. I think CCOM wins on this one.

So referee, what do the men of CCOM look like? Unfortunately, I am not interested in other women. Tell me that CCOm is more aesthetically pleasing than AZCOM, and I promise I'll back you up on this one

scubadiva

NewAgeDO and DoHzA....you better step down and let the big dog (or Cat as in this case) take OVA!

 

[DoHzA]

oh comon

i can flick u off like it ain't no thang!!!

scuba we're goin to azcom if i'm in

no doubt


then i'm gonna hunt this ref down and show him how we do it here on the westside

new age let's do this

 

[irish79]

Referee goes to AZCOM!

 

[referee]

You won't have to hunt, I'll find you...IF your in

Till then, I'll just call you BULL-DoHzA cause thats all your full of.

 

[DoHzA]

bulldohza your a$$ all over campus

 

[referee]

This from a bulldohza that has tonka stamped on the side.

 

[scubadiva]

Oops. my bad.

Sorry ref, I DID have your back up until I found out you went to AZCOM!

Guess I'm gonna be taking on TWO people, not just DoHzA.

That's alright cuz DoHzA needs all the help he can get to fend me off. Ref, I just don't think you're tough enough to help out DoHzA.

You are both gonna get whipped if you run across me.

And, yeah, DoHzA, you know I could kick your silvered kamel hump any day of the year with my eyes closed and my hands tied behind my back!

Go CCOM!!! woohoo!!!

 

[DoHzA]

AZCOM ALTERNATE LIST'S SUCK A$$

 

[scubadiva]

that's exactly how I feel and how i look too!

that totally blows!

 

[kissacefan1978]

This thread is so stupid.

 

[scubadiva]

bump

 

[irish79]

DoHzA,

You were put on the alternate list? If so, don't worry. I think we have a couple people who were pulled from the alternate list in our class (2007).

 

[DoHzA]

ya unfortunately so now ccom looks like a spot

 

[scubadiva]

so you are gonna be joining me at ccom after all

as long as i get in...guess we know where we'll be at for next year

fingers crossed....i hope we both get in!

i am tempted to call them on monday
actually what if you called them today, DoHzA, since you didn't call yesterday, and if they tell you today, let me know. I think they are mailing them out today.

 

[DoHzA]

i would but i want to have at least 1 nice surprise in my mailbox

plus what if it's bad news over the phone i wouldn't be able to work all day

i think waitin for the snail mail is the choice

don't u?

 

[scubadiva]

You're right. When I was on hold with AZCOM, it was the longest 3 minutes of my life. I felt my stomach chruning left and right.

Although I am tempted to call, I think the secretary would recognize my voice. I'll wait. If I don't get anything by Tuesday of next week. I'm calling.

I would love a surprise I my mailbox, but everyone beats me to that damn mailbox.