AZCOM vs. NSU

[xajtx]

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Hey Guys,

I apologize in advance because I know these threads tend to get very redundant, but I wanted to hear others' input on this. I've narrowed down my acceptances to AZCOM and NSU and have been struggling in deciding which one to attend between the two.

NSU is relatively established, has a nice location, campus and facilities, strong clinical rotations, and is also is the cheaper of the two schools.
Cons: I've heard some pretty negative comments about the quality of the teaching especially during M1 year. I believe AZCOM's students tend to do better on the boards, and the mandatory rural rotation requirements at NSU could potentially interfere with audition rotation season. However, at this point, I am interested in either internal medicine, emergency medicine, or anesthesiology, which aren't too competitive, and I think the importance of doing an audition rotation may be overestimated anyways.

AZCOM is closer to home (I'm from CA) but also very expensive. They also offer rotations in L.A. which might increase my chances of getting a CA residency. The main thing that draws me towards AZCOM is their board scores and quality of teaching. I really feel like this is something that can't be overlooked, but I of course do realize that how a person performs on boards is much more a reflection of their own hard work as opposed to the school they attended. But better teaching means students have a much better foundation to work with in studying. Is the teaching at NSU that bad? This also concerns me because class attendance is mandatory, and if the teaching is that horrible, sitting in class would be such a waste of time. How do students perform on boards? NSU students seem to post a lot more on sdn and I haven't been able to find out much about AZCOM in terms of their quality of clinical rotations. What I do know is that students at Midwestern have a lot more freedom with their electives 4th year and that majority of rotations are preceptor based (not sure if that's a good or bad thing).

Any input would be greatly appreciated, especially some AZCOM 3rd or 4th years that can comment on their rotation experience and the curriculum.

Thanks!

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

As a California resident you'll probably be better off at AZCOM than an East Coast school like NSU. You'll be improving your chances of returning to California for residency.

 

[TriagePreMed]

If you want a California residency, you can still get it by doing enough away auditions. Personally, I'd go for lower cost and nicer campus. That's just me.

 

[IDFsoldierboy]

preceptor based i have heard is bad because it might limit what you do on that rotation and that if you have an unhappy preceptor you will hate the rotation...just what I have heard is the fewer the preceptor based rotations the better

 

[munchymanRX]

In all honesty, if you want to go back to CA from NSU, you can. Most people don't because well...most people out here aren't from cali.

We've already spoken about my opinion of the school, OP. I also got into AZCOM-turned it down because it was too damned expensive.

Listen to your wallet-you will appreciate it later when you have to make monthly loan payments that are barely evening out with the interest.

Oh yeah, and class attendance is NOT mandatory...lol. They just tell that to the interviewees. I think I've been to only a few lectures this month.


Also, glendale is ****ing HOT. No bueno.

 

[ManBroDude]

We've already spoken about my opinion of the school, OP. I also got into AZCOM-turned it down because it was too damned expensive.

Wouldn't it be nice if the only people allowed to respond to these types of threads were the ones who had acceptances to both schools and is currently attending one? So much hot air saved.

 

[Sinfest]

Also, glendale is ****ing HOT. No bueno.

And Ft. Lauderdale is ****ing HUMID. Also no bueno

 

[munchymanRX]

And Ft. Lauderdale is ****ing HUMID. Also no bueno

Only in summer, dude. Right now it's 58% humidity and 76 degrees. That's like SoCal in spring.

 

[xajtx]

Thanks for the input guys. According to the poll so far it seems like Midwestern is the front runner. Only thing that concerns me is their rotations and tuition. I've also heard that preceptor based rotations tend to leave a lot to be desired and aren't very heavy on didactics. It's important to me that I am able to do my rotations at teaching hospitals...something to think about. When I searched sdn on what to consider when choosing a medical school, many people consider 3rd and 4th year rotations to be one of the most important factors and say that the education during your pre-clinical years is pretty much equal for all D.O. schools. Anyone care to comment?

 

[seraphkz]

Based on your preference on location, I'd say go to AZCOM.

But based on everything else, I'd choose NSU. They have top notch rotation sites in Florida.

 

[stefspets]

Thanks for the input guys. According to the poll so far it seems like Midwestern is the front runner. Only thing that concerns me is their rotations and tuition. I've also heard that preceptor based rotations tend to leave a lot to be desired and aren't very heavy on didactics. It's important to me that I am able to do my rotations at teaching hospitals...something to think about. When I searched sdn on what to consider when choosing a medical school, many people consider 3rd and 4th year rotations to be one of the most important factors and say that the education during your pre-clinical years is pretty much equal for all D.O. schools. Anyone care to comment?

The student in my interview told me that he'd done a lot of rotations at the county hospital (and they have plenty of residency programs there). Plus fourth year you have a lot of freedom so you can rotate pretty much wherever you want. I wouldn't worry about the quality of their clinical education. AZCOM has a good reputation here.

Personally my opinion on preceptor-based clinicals (from the POV of shadowing such a preceptor and being married to a DO who did primarily preceptor based rotations) is that if you have a good preceptor, then you learn a ton because you get to do a ton. If your preceptor sucks, then the month is pretty awful. My guess is that the experience is more standardized in ward based rotations, and they're used to teaching so the teaching is more formal/better, but you might not get to do as much if there's a bunch of residents there.

 

[xajtx]

Based on your preference on location, I'd say go to AZCOM.

But based on everything else, I'd choose NSU. They have top notch rotation sites in Florida.

I agree with you 100% on this. I was actually looking through Midwestern's match list and was surprised at how little people matched into a residency at CA.

 

[Rollo]

NSU...hotter undergrad and allied health girls

 

[munchymanRX]

NSU...hotter undergrad and allied health girls

I can vouch for this 😎

 

[ksmajmudar]

Seems like this poll hasn't really helped your decision much, hmm?

 

[corpsman33]

NSU...hotter undergrad and allied health girls

If you are going to go based on girls, then LMU-DCOM alllll the way. Their undergrad population is 70% female. I know LMU-DCOM wasn't on the list between AZCOM and NSU, but hey........70% female.

 

[xajtx]

Seems like this poll hasn't really helped your decision much, hmm?

Afraid not lol such a tough decision!!!

 

[TriagePreMed]

If you are going to go based on girls, then LMU-DCOM alllll the way. Their undergrad population is 70% female. I know LMU-DCOM wasn't on the list between AZCOM and NSU, but hey........70% female.

Florida women >>>>>>>>>> TN.

 

[IDFsoldierboy]

Florida women >>>>>>>>>> TN.

california women trump all thats why we got The Beach Boys "California Girls" and Katy Perry's "California Gurls" hahaha

 

[munchymanRX]

california women trump all thats why we got The Beach Boys "California Girls" and Katy Perry's "California Gurls" hahaha

There are plenty of 'california gurls' out here in South FL. Also latin women. They don't call Miami the sexiest place on earth for nothin'. 👍

 

[athadam]

AZCOM is 70% males btw, your chance for romance is minimal here. Good if one wants to focus on school 😀

 

[xajtx]

AZCOM is 70% males btw, your chance for romance is minimal here. Good if one wants to focus on school 😀

Haha I probably should have mentioned this earlier, but I'm a girl lol. What year are you at AZCOM?

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

AZCOM is 70% males btw, your chance for romance is minimal here. Good if one wants to focus on school 😀

Elaborate further.... I'm listening....

 

[athadam]

Elaborate further.... I'm listening....

Well, our males consist of many different races, ages, body builds, religions, fashion senses, body odors, hair colors and thickness, etc... So if you are a girl, you will have a lot options for "study" partner to choose from hehe JK.

On top of that, we share majority of our classes with Podiatry class (about 40 of them I believe), which has 90% male 😱

@xajtx, Im a first year male, so Im invisible here haha

 

[Kuba]

I feel I have to put in my two cents... .. About the girls. NSU all the way. God bless south Florida.

 

[xajtx]

Wow is everyone voting for NSU all of a sudden because of the girls? lol

 

[ManBroDude]

This thread quickly devolved into forever alone nerdy premed fantasy stock. AZCOM is mostly guys, but if you date more than one fellow DO student word will travel very fast and you'll probably be called less-than-nice things.

If you *had* to date a fellow student, I'd stick with dating the allied health or PA students. Otherwise save yourself the headache.

And if you're already taken, well, I'd have a laugh anyway and put up some fake hot girl avatar and mess with all the preemies here 😀

 

[munchymanRX]

This thread quickly devolved into forever alone nerdy premed fantasy stock. AZCOM is mostly guys, but if you date more than one fellow DO student word will travel very fast and you'll probably be called less-than-nice things.

If you *had* to date a fellow student, I'd stick with dating the allied health or PA students. Otherwise save yourself the headache.

And if you're already taken, well, I'd have a laugh anyway and put up some fake hot girl avatar and mess with all the preemies here 😀

There's lots of class-cest here. Pretty awkward at times.

 

[drtolyak]

I'm actually making a very similar decision between NSU, AZCOM, and KCOM. So girls aside, can anyone add anything else especially with KCOM in the mix? I'm from St. Louis, Missouri but I'm not that set on being back here for residency. I probably will want to specialize so one school might be better for that than others potentially? Another thing that's interesting is the match rate into allopathic vs osteopathic residencies. Not sure if it's important or why it's different for different schools but if someone knows anything about that, I would be interested to know.