AZCOM vs KansasCOM

[cl75]

Hey y'all! I am thankful to be holding acceptances from two schools currently, one that is much closer to home and one that is much more established. I am from Missouri, and my partner will be finishing up their fourth year of professional school there while I am beginning medical school, so being close to home would be great. However, I would like to keep my options for residency as open as possible, as I am currently interested in specialties of higher competitiveness (think anesthesia and DR).

AZCOM

Pros:

• More established school/clinical rotations
• Proven record of placing students in competitive specialites

Cons:

• More expensive (~20k per year more/80k more total, not including COL difference between Wichita and Phoenix)
• Much farther from home, will definitely turn my relationship long-distance for a year
• Traditional letter grading system

KansasCOM

Pros:

• School seemed very student-focused during interview
• P/F grading system
• Much closer to home/partner
• 80k cheaper

Cons:

• Newer school, would be in 3rd class
• Curriculum/clinical rotations likely not as cemented

Obviously this question is fairly simple. Is the more established school worth the almost 100k difference in total cost of attendance, plus being separated from my partner for a year? I know that the usual advice is to get a medical education at the lowest cost possible, but I did not know if that advice still applied with a school this new. Any help that I could get from those that know more than me would be greatly appreciated!

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[chilly_md]

Do you have other interviews scheduled or that you are waiting to hear back from? Are you on a time crunch regarding deposits?

 

[cl75]

Do you have other interviews scheduled or that you are waiting to hear back from? Are you on a time crunch regarding deposits?

I am currently on waitlists at both KCU and the University of Kansas. I would take an acceptance at either of those programs if it was offered, but I am trying to get a decision made between AZCOM and KansasCOM, in case I do not make it off the other waitlists. I currently have an interview scheduled at ATSU-SOMA for next month, but I do not believe that I am going to keep it, as I believe that I would choose AZCOM over it if I were going to end up leaving the Midwest region. The two deposits have already been taken care of, so there are not currently any issues there!

 

[chilly_md]

I am currently on waitlists at both KCU and the University of Kansas. I would take an acceptance at either of those programs if it was offered, but I am trying to get a decision made between AZCOM and KansasCOM, in case I do not make it off the other waitlists. I currently have an interview scheduled at ATSU-SOMA for next month, but I do not believe that I am going to keep it, as I believe that I would choose AZCOM over it if I were going to end up leaving the Midwest region. The two deposits have already been taken care of, so there are not currently any issues there!

AZCOM for better chances at the specialties you indicated, but hopefully you hear good news from those other schools in the coming months.