I am wondering if it's pointless to apply both Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine and Chicago College of Osteopathic medicine in the same year cuz both of them are under Midwestern University. Which one is better? AZCOM or CCOM ?.
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I interviewed at both.
CCOM's region is a lot more agreeable in terms of the weather (I'm just not a big fan of extreme heat).
I applied to AZCOM because a gen. surgeon I shadowed for a while is an alum, and he was a great human and a physician, so I figured Midwestern would be a good choice.
I cannot say for you which one is better.. just like a lot of things in the world, it's up to you.
What I can tell you is my personal experience:
The student interaction that I had at CCOM was much better. I felt a more relaxed vibe within the student body at CCOM than I did at AZCOM (just in terms of the D.O. students).
The cadaver lab at CCOM is absolutely fantastic. It is on the 2nd or the 3rd floor and is surrounded by windows. You see trees and Downtown Chicago when you look out, and I don't know... I just felt like it was worth considering (not important enough to base my decision on, of course) since 1st year meds spend a ton of time with A&P. The campus is more beautiful in general.
The curriculum is about the same. Neither records lectures, and both have the usual 2+2 format. The rotation/residency lists were just about the same as well. Though I did think that CCOM presented its data better than AZCOM did; they really gave a full scope of the medical opportunities Chicago provided.
So... based on my experience, I liked CCOM more, but that is not to say that it is a better school; it just seemed to fit me more snugly than AZCOM.
Luckily for me, I am waitlisted at AZCOM and accepted into CCOM, so the decision would be easy.
