AZCOM vs DMU vs NSU vs TCOM (Texas) vs Western (Pomona)

[milkycow]

---

Members do not see this ad.

I am having a hard time picking between the schools. I know that AZCOM has a USMLE step 1 avg of 220, how are the other schools doing in these regards?

 

[Bacchus]

Tcom.

 

[guidedwaves]

TCOM for financial and reputation reasons. Living in TX isn't as bad as non-Texans believe . Also it seems like the other MD texas schools treat UNT:TCOM as one of their own so if you wanted to do an allopathic residency at a TX MD school, I would imagine it would help you.

 

[DoctorJDO]

one thing to keep in mind is that some schools have higher MCAT entrance averages than others. some students might be better at standardized tests now and when they take the COMLEX/USMLE. Think about your undergrad school and the other kids applying with you. I'm sure some did well on the MCAT and some did horrible. did they do horrible because the school poorly prepared them, or was it their own fault? same with medical school. it has a lot to do with how hard YOU work and not your school. you are not going to rock the USMLEs because you go to DMU or PCOM, and you are not going to fail if you go to Pikeville.
http://www.springerlink.com/content/k131130487125756/fulltext.pdf
CCOM and DMU are the two oldest schools, and TCOM is very respected as well, with the other two opening in the 70's. so DMU/CCOM/TCOM are more likely to be well known, and have solid rotation sites. check out the match lists, they are on most websites, or on SDN. see if people tend to go to areas of the country you would want to live, or into fields you would want to match into. if you see at least a few, then you can do it, too. also, if you really care...I got a packet from my DMU interview and they have 220-225 for the past 3 years. most schools will probably be the same

 

[DbDan]

You really can't go wrong with any of these schools IMO. If you are in state though, TCOM is just too good a deal financially to pass up IMO.

Then again I have problems with having debt so I'm sweating over the money I'm going to have to spend as it is.

 

[TriagePreMed]

If you don't care about location, choose the cheapest school. If you do care, still choose the cheapest school. If you don't care about money or location, still choose the cheapest one.

 

[PunkmedGirl]

You really can't go wrong with any of these schools IMO. If you are in state though, TCOM is just too good a deal financially to pass up IMO.

Then again I have problems with having debt so I'm sweating over the money I'm going to have to spend as it is.

I believe even OOS tuition is still on the low end for state DO schools.

Edit: OOS is 26K Not bad at all. I might need to apply there and pray for a miracle LOL

 

[JuliaJulia]

Does Tx DO school take many OOS? Basically asking what are my chances...I'm a competitive applicant but not from TX.

 

[PunkmedGirl]

Does Tx DO school take many OOS? Basically asking what are my chances...I'm a competitive applicant but not from TX.

10% of their class is OOS, currently that's about 20 students.

 

[milkycow]

If you don't care about location, choose the cheapest school. If you do care, still choose the cheapest school. If you don't care about money or location, still choose the cheapest one.

So what you are saying is that I should not base it off of how expensive the tuition is? 😉

 

[JaggerPlate]

Tcom.

 

[seap3]

If you don't care about location, choose the cheapest school. If you do care, still choose the cheapest school. If you don't care about money or location, still choose the cheapest one.

Do you think this still applies if you have a family and need to think about the location for them?

 

[DoctorJDO]

location vs putting your family into possibly unmanageable debt? it's your call, and will be specific for each person's situation

 

[milkycow]

location vs putting your family into possibly unmanageable debt? it's your call, and will be specific for each person's situation

I guess I am leaning towards any Texas schools heavily. I was just wondering if anyone thought that any of these other schools were worth taking on more debt for maybe better opportunities or better resources.

Just got a Texas A&M interview so now I have to choose potentially between a Texas MD or a well respected TCOM DO school if I get an acceptance of course.

 

[TriagePreMed]

Do you think this still applies if you have a family and need to think about the location for them?

especially if you have a family. Anything to get away from those basta... I mean, who would put their family in deep debt just for location?

 

[seap3]

especially if you have a family. Anything to get away from those basta... I mean, who would put their family in deep debt just for location?

Well, because when looking at location I also need to think about the job prospects for my husband and the quality of the local schools for my children. If my husband is able to find decent work, I wouldn't need to take out as much for living expenses. And if the COL is lower in one location than the other, that can also offset higher tuition.

I'm not talking about location looking at whether there is a nice beach or some other frivolous thing.

The main thing drawing me to AZCOM right now is the low cost of housing and the ability to stay in one place for 4 yrs. Having my husband be able to keep the same job may end up being better financially than having him potentially unemployed or underemployed if we have to move for rotations.

DMU is probably my top choice right now. But if I get into my state school, the tuition is much cheaper. However, nobody in my family wants to live there, and I am not as impressed with their facilities or curriculum when compared to DMU.

I am just really confused if tuition is really the most important thing to look at.

 

[EBAMom]

Hi, Seap. I'm in a similiar position, except between DMU and Western. The facilities and program at DMU were pretty amazing, and the school felts so welcoming. I truly felt right at home at DMU and would be thrilled to go there. The cost of living in Iowa is particularly low compared to where I live in Southern California.

However, I really liked Western too. I felt very comfortable and at home, and its not too far from where I live now. Since I am married and have 2 small children, it would be great to have family nearby...but the cost is a bit different because the cost of living in California is so much higher (not to mention that Western's tuition is about $8,000 higher than DMU's). On the other hand, it might be easier for my husband to find a job near Pomona just because he could start looking now and just drive up there for interviews. Not only that, but if I ultimately want to stay in California, is that easier from Western?

So, its really a toss-up. As of right now, I'm so glad to have choices and have a little time before I have to decide....but I'm totally conflicted.

 

[milkycow]

Hi, Seap. I'm in a similiar position, except between DMU and Western. The facilities and program at DMU were pretty amazing, and the school felts so welcoming. I truly felt right at home at DMU and would be thrilled to go there. The cost of living in Iowa is particularly low compared to where I live in Southern California.

However, I really liked Western too. I felt very comfortable and at home, and its not too far from where I live now. Since I am married and have 2 small children, it would be great to have family nearby...but the cost is a bit different because the cost of living in California is so much higher (not to mention that Western's tuition is about $8,000 higher than DMU's). On the other hand, it might be easier for my husband to find a job near Pomona just because he could start looking now and just drive up there for interviews. Not only that, but if I ultimately want to stay in California, is that easier from Western?

So, its really a toss-up. As of right now, I'm so glad to have choices and have a little time before I have to decide....but I'm totally conflicted.

As long as you do some auditions in California residency areas I think you will be able to work in Cali after your residency.

 

[StayOnTop]

Not to hijack the thread, but how is NSU-COM?

 

[seap3]

Not to hijack the thread, but how is NSU-COM?

You should go check out the NSU thread in the school specific forum. I posted a little about my interview day, and there is also a lot of other info about the school.

 

[randomusername]

TCOM, by far.

 

[wolverinepwns]

all of those schools are great, you need to sit and really think where you will by HAPPY, its doest really matter which one has a slightly higher usmle average that mostly depends on your personal performance which will be directly related to how HAPPY you are being where you are.

 

[milkycow]

milky milky milky

 

[seap3]

milky milky milky

😕

 

[theli]

The main thing drawing me to AZCOM right now is the low cost of housing and the ability to stay in one place for 4 yrs. Having my husband be able to keep the same job may end up being better financially than having him potentially unemployed or underemployed if we have to move for rotations.

As far as I know, your third year rotation spots at AZCOM in Phoenix is limited and you might have to go to LA, Modesto, Tucson, or other rotation sites, then move again for your fourth year depending on location. Look into that before you make your decision, hope this helps.

 

[wudabum]

As far as I know, your third year rotation spots at AZCOM in Phoenix is limited and you might have to go to LA, Modesto, Tucson, or other rotation sites, then move again for your fourth year depending on location. Look into that before you make your decision, hope this helps.

i dont think this is an issue anymore

 

[randomusername]

i dont think this is an issue anymore

Nah, it is (we just did our regional spin this week). The class-size is 250 (not including ~10-15 people in the decelerated program who were originally 2013 and are now 2014), Phoenix (West Valley and East Valley regions) takes up to 160, LA takes up to 45, Modesto/Turlock takes up to 15, Tucson up to 22, Ohio up to 10 (not an option for 2015 or later as of right now), and Champagne-Urbana (IL) takes up to 22. The Phoenix and California sites all filled up in the first round. Now people who were hoping to stay in Phoenix for whatever reason are either A) hoping somebody is willing to switch with them or B) is having to figure out if they'd rather live in southern Arizona, Ohio, or Illinois. Certainly this is a small minority of the class, as the first-choice match rate was something like 92% I think I'd heard. Certainly it sucks that a number are potentially going to have to uproot their families and/or figure out what to do with the houses they own and whatnot, however, this is a possibility that is well-known in advance (as AZCOM students aren't shy about talking clinical sites and such risks) and they have two years to figure out a solution/plan.

As far as fourth year goes, you can rotate pretty much wherever you want most of the time (there are something like 20-24 weeks of electives). I'm not even sure if the required fourth-year rotations have to be done in your region...

 

[seap3]

As far as I know, your third year rotation spots at AZCOM in Phoenix is limited and you might have to go to LA, Modesto, Tucson, or other rotation sites, then move again for your fourth year depending on location. Look into that before you make your decision, hope this helps.

The reason I believe I may get to stay in one area is that this year we were told accepted applicants get to pick their rotation site right away. I have already emailed my preference (west valley), and if I was able to get it, it would be a big plus for AZCOM. It sounds like we will find out our rotation site soon.

 

[JamesLMT]

milky milky milky

I just got back from teaching, today was a tad bit stressful... but this post just caught me so off guard.. I laughed, t'was a good laugh.

 

[milkycow]

I just got back from teaching, today was a tad bit stressful... but this post just caught me so off guard.. I laughed, t'was a good laugh.

That is me trying to break the serious atmosphere so that people can relax a little. I just finished all the interviews I have so far. The only thing left I can do is pray for more Texas interviews or pray that I get a pre-match. If those don't happen than I will probably go to AZCOM. (choose east valley for rotations)