Best D.O school?

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Apremedkid

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Alright so I know any DO school that takes you is a good school and at the end of the day you get to practice medicine but what DO schools do you guys think is well reputable and has a good program, in terms of match rates, scores, etc. just curious as to how you guys would rank the schools
 
I wouldn’t say any DO school is prestigious and to a lot of residency directors a DO schools is a DO school, but my personal opinion is below:

1. State DO Schools: TCOM, Rowan, MSU, OSU, OUHCOM (Research funding, clinical training at sites most similar to MD)
2. PCOM (home residency programs in competitive specialties)
3. Other OGs: DMU, KCU, ATSU, CCOM (been around for awhile so most of them know what they are doing)
4. Established DOs: Western, NYITCOM, UNECOM, etc. (same as #3)
5. Newer DO schools and branch campuses (less proven, but still might teach well)
6. For Profit DO schools (no explanation needed here; RVUCOM-CO might be an exception here as they seem to match decently every year)
 
djiboutiman said:
I wouldn’t say any DO school is prestigious and to a lot of residency directors a DO schools is a DO school, but my personal opinion is below:

1. State DO Schools: TCOM, Rowan, MSU, OSU, OUHCOM (Research funding, clinical training at sites most similar to MD)
2. PCOM (home residency programs in competitive specialties)
3. Other OGs: DMU, KCU, ATSU, CCOM (been around for awhile so most of them know what they are doing)
4. Established DOs: Western, NYITCOM, UNECOM, etc. (same as #3)
5. Newer DO schools and branch campuses (less proven, but still might teach well)
6. For Profit DO schools (no explanation needed here; RVUCOM-CO might be an exception here as they seem to match decently every year)
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How about schools like ACOM and NSU? where do u think they would fall? Heard great things for ACOM meanwhile not so great things about NSU
 
I think this is a fairly reasonable question. I'm not a DO so I'm not going to give my ranking guesses, but a lot of DOs are interested in semi-competitive/competitive fields and want to maximize their chances so I'm sure people want to know this. I may be biased but I just wanted to come here to say MSUCOM seems very legitimate. There's lots of clinical sites and connections across the state. Michigan as a whole has tons of residencies in all sorts of fields and is pretty DO friendly. I also like their emphasis on OSCE's earlier on as I think it helps integrate clinical skills earlier into the curriculum. They match IM reasonably well for their DO status. Anecdotally from reading mach lists I've seen some impressive matches from Touro, PCOM, etc. I recall a influencer girl my friend knew from a DO school who had a very impressive profile and think she was from a different DO school and she matched integrated plastics. The point of that comment is to say sometimes it's the student that is responsible for the match and not to let schools use their one match to Integrated Plastics (example) as bulletin board material that sways you one way or the other in choosing a medical school.
 
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Apremedkid said:
How about schools like ACOM and NSU? where do u think they would fall? Heard great things for ACOM meanwhile not so great things about NSU
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NSU has horrible match rates last I checked. Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.
 
More established and more GME affiliates > less established and less GME affiliates. Strongly recommend comparing cost. For as good of a reputation CCOM has, it's too expensive.

Beyond that, a DO school is a DO school. We can talk all day about ranks, but the difference is marginal at best (again beyond what I described above).
 
Apremedkid said:
Alright so I know any DO school that takes you is a good school and at the end of the day you get to practice medicine but what DO schools do you guys think is well reputable and has a good program, in terms of match rates, scores, etc. just curious as to how you guys would rank the schools
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Ask 10 people and you're going to get 11 different answers
 
The best DO schools are the public ones with their own teaching hospitals. They’re the only ones that are able to offer a solid clinical education to most of their students.

If only admitted to private schools, a prospective DO student should just go to the school that matches the most students into programs in his or her preferred geographic region.

Board passage rates and match rates don’t matter very much, because they can depend more on administrators’ tolerance of risk (high vs. low COMSAE threshold to be allowed to sit for COMLEX, conservative vs. idealistic match advising, etc.) than on actual academic quality.

Past matches into competitive specialities don’t matter, because matching into a competitive specialty depends far more on individual performance and networking than on the school you attend.

Cost of attendance matters less than geography or rotation quality. With a physician salary, you’ll be able to pay off the debt. (Exceptions: CCOM and AZCOM. Their tuitions can only be described as predatory. Graduating with $500K debt as a future primary care doctor is far from ideal. Skip these schools, and apply to more reasonably priced schools in the same regions if you want to end up in the Midwest or Southwest.)

Finally, on the topic of established vs. new DO schools... “Established” doesn’t mean competently run. Whether a school has its act together has more to do with the competence and conscientiousness of the current administrators than with how long ago the school was established.

Summary: Rotations, rotations, rotations (public > private). Location, location, location. Everything else doesn’t matter all that much. CCOM and AZCOM have disgusting tuitions.
 
I disagree that the best DO school is the one that accepts you. There are a few schools on my black list (LUCOM, BCOM, ICOM, for example). These schools will always fill up though because of the abundance of over-eager pre-meds. I would personally never go to a school that is brand new and hasn't graduated a class yet. Some schools have very poor opportunities for clinical rotations and others have lower 1st time board pass rate. In the end, you have to decide if all of that's worth it because there are so many instances of students dropping out because of one reason or another.
 
Mr. Babe said:
I disagree that the best DO school is the one that accepts you. There are a few schools on my black list (LUCOM, BCOM, ICOM, for example). These schools will always fill up though because of the abundance of over-eager pre-meds. I would personally never go to a school that is brand new and hasn't graduated a class yet. Some schools have very poor opportunities for clinical rotations and others have lower 1st time board pass rate. In the end, you have to decide if all of that's worth it because there are so many instances of students dropping out because of one reason or another.
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I would add UNECOM to the blacklist. They used to be good (or at least not half-bad) but since we got a new dean it's taken a nosedive.
 
Doc_Ock said:
I would add UNECOM to the blacklist. They used to be good (or at least not half-bad) but since we got a new dean it's taken a nosedive.
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What has changed? They have been more than not half bad lol
 
Honestly, with the huge increase in applications, you should just be glad you got into medical school.

With that said, focus on outcomes data. Look at match rates in particular (keep in mind that most/all schools report the initial NRMP match results + SOAP and call it their match rate, so you will see a lower number if you check NRMP stats).

First time pass rates...doesn't make any difference. Board exams are self-directed in terms of studying. You will have access to the same Qbanks, First Aid, Pathoma, etc., as everyone else.

I wouldn't care about "prestige" in terms of school choice, unless you have an opportunity to attend a top MD program. Otherwise, it shouldn't make a whole lot of difference in terms of applying to residency.

Keep in mind that there is a massive residency shortage at the moment due to an increased number of US med students and IMGs applying to the Match. A bill was recently introduced to Congress (with bipartisan support) to increase the number of GME positions by 14,000 over the next 7 years (with a heavy emphasis on primary care and rural underserved communities). Due to COVID, this has a reasonable potential to pass, from what I understand. Not that you should necessarily be worried about that just yet, but it is something to keep in mind. The 2021 match was brutal.

One last thing. Make sure you find a program that will be supportive of you as a student. Make sure it is a good fit for you.
 
I graduated from CCOM in 2009. I believe they said they used the higher tuition on funding rotation sites at Olympia Fields hospital and Swedish Covenant hospital. It was possible to do all rotations at these 2 hospitals. I'm not sure if the higher tuition justified it. I did an away elective at NYCOM affiliated LIJ, and at the time I felt NYCOM had a better school. MSUCOM is probably the best, but Larry Nassar issue did tarnish its entire leadership, I feel.
 
I am a WVSOM student. We are publicly funded. They have a “statewide hospital connection” implemented for 3rd and 4th year rotations. So you are rotating at the same hospital sites that WVU and Marshall students are rotating at. This seems like a good thing, but I am yet to experience it so I cannot give any further input.
 
MSUCOM OOS here. I love it. Plenty research opportunities, especially if you are on the main campus in East Lansing. Great community outreach, consistently good match, diverse population in Detroit, international experience, about 8 weeks of dedicated board prep time, anatomy is with 2 other classes over the summer so you have plenty of time to crush it, and they make decent efforts to reduce OOS tuition and have OOS scholarships. Also some of the teachers/faculty go through admirable extents to support us
 
Also from WVSOM, we have some pretty solid matches (cardiothoracic surgery at Kentucky, Ortho at Cleveland clinic, emergency medicine at Ohio State - first DO ever - etc). I wouldn't focus on board scores as a point to determine what's good or bad - our pass rates are relatively low but that's because the school tries to take a lot of in-state WV residents and from my experience they're the ones who don't last or don't do as well thus bringing down the scores.

Overall I would use residency match lists and how well established the school is to determine which is "good." Look at match lists and see what schools have consistent matches in what specialty you think you may be interested in.

You also need a place where you feel comfortable and know you can succeed.
 
MightBeACylon439 said:
Went to ATSU. Matched into the specialty of my choice. Soon I'll be cashing fat checks doing cool ass **** in a specialty that I love doing.

Is ATSU the best? Given my experience I could care less.
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What dropped ATSU for me was they lost ENT, Gas, IM and Surgery at their "home" hospital with the merger and the school apparently didn't even seem to care.

Granted from what I've heard, Kirksville isn't the most desirable place to live for an extra 3-5 years but if you are gunning for one of those specialties it could have helped.
 
Surgeon D.O. said:
What dropped ATSU for me was they lost ENT, Gas, IM and Surgery at their "home" hospital with the merger and the school apparently didn't even seem to care.

Granted from what I've heard, Kirksville isn't the most desirable place to live for an extra 3-5 years but if you are gunning for one of those specialties it could have helped.
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“Didn’t seem to care” is probably dramatic and unnecessarily unkind to the administration. “Couldn’t do anything about it within reason” is likely more accurate.

The second paragraph is more apt- not only is it not ideal for those specialties as far as location but also in terms of breadth of cases and clinical experience. The programs closed because they weren’t quality programs and needed to go.
 
MightBeACylon439 said:
“Didn’t seem to care” is probably dramatic and unnecessarily unkind to the administration. “Couldn’t do anything about it within reason” is likely more accurate.

The second paragraph is more apt- not only is it not ideal for those specialties as far as location but also in terms of breadth of cases and clinical experience. The programs closed because they weren’t quality programs and needed to go.
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I only heard this from students who have attended there so overall I'll try and take it with a grain of salt.
 
djiboutiman said:
I wouldn’t say any DO school is prestigious and to a lot of residency directors a DO schools is a DO school, but my personal opinion is below:

1. State DO Schools: TCOM, Rowan, MSU, OSU, OUHCOM (Research funding, clinical training at sites most similar to MD)
2. PCOM (home residency programs in competitive specialties)
3. Other OGs: DMU, KCU, ATSU, CCOM (been around for awhile so most of them know what they are doing)
4. Established DOs: Western, NYITCOM, UNECOM, etc. (same as #3)
5. Newer DO schools and branch campuses (less proven, but still might teach well)
6. For Profit DO schools (no explanation needed here; RVUCOM-CO might be an exception here as they seem to match decently every year)
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How about LECOM? They churn out almost 500 students each year from their 4 campuses. And claim a match rate of 98-99%.
 
MightBeACylon439 said:
“Didn’t seem to care” is probably dramatic and unnecessarily unkind to the administration. “Couldn’t do anything about it within reason” is likely more accurate.

The second paragraph is more apt- not only is it not ideal for those specialties as far as location but also in terms of breadth of cases and clinical experience. The programs closed because they weren’t quality programs and needed to go.
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As a KCOM alum, I agree. I remember hearing that their gen surg had to send people out of state for like 8 months or something to get their numbers/breadth of cases. Sucks that students who opt to stay in Kirksville after second year lost the opportunity to work with residents though.

Our sites in in AZ, TX, and the MSU network are really good though.
 
Bonefish said:
No love for KYCOM here?
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Outside of the top 5 the rest are pretty much all the same. It used to be decent for the price but they’ve raised tuition significantly. The onus is on the individual to network and succeed in spite of the school, not because of it.

Many of my friends went here here and none had anything good to say other than “it gave us a chance when no other school would”. The quality of rotations is non-existent (several sites shut down without notice and students scrambled to diff sites hours away or even in diff states).
Admin tried hard to push primary care and works against anyone wanting to specialize. My buddy matched rads but essentially had to distance himself from 90% of the student body and admin, and do his own thing (self study, research at a diff institution, etc.)
 
I go to ACOM. Starting my 4th year next week. Not from AL but took advantage of the opportunity to go to med school. I feel like no matter where you go, you’re only going to do as well as you want to. If you dedicate yourself and study really hard, you’ll get the board scores and grades to help you overcome the hurdle of being a DO applicant.
ACOM apparently had a 100% match rate this year, which is impressive during a pandemic. The main hospital affiliated with ACOM in Dothan has IM and EM residencies (EM is new- starting 2022). Lots of opportunities to leave Dothan for clinicals(3rd and 4th year)- PCB, Pensacola, Tallahassee, Mobile, Birmingham, Huntsville… to name a few of the bigger, more desirable cities to choose from.
every school has its flaws but I think ACOM continues to improve upon their short comings and admin really want their students to do well and match great specialities.
 
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Seems legit.
 
Apremedkid said:
Alright so I know any DO school that takes you is a good school and at the end of the day you get to practice medicine but what DO schools do you guys think is well reputable and has a good program, in terms of match rates, scores, etc. just curious as to how you guys would rank the schools
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Go to the cheapest school with decent clinical roation (this goes for MD schools too0, you will thank me for it after residency.
 
the best DO school is undeniably the one in texas, because you graduate with significantly less debt compared to the others and they seem to have a good track record. For the reduced tuition alone they far exceed the others, I seriously wish i had been a texas resident in my med school days.

after texas, i would just rank them in terms of cost, as most MD residency's have no idea what a "good DO school" is. My med school just served as a building that gave me a degree, i learned medicine from self study, clinicals and primarily residency
 
Nevergiveupok said:
NYITCOM had an absolutely terrible pass rate for Class of 2020 (88% for COMLEX Level 1). Class of 2021 did fair better and so did Class of 2019. Granted, I'm aware that at least our class of 2019 had more than the usual amount of superstars in the class (240/250+ Steps, even one 270+). Class of 2021 had a pretty brutal curriculum in pre-clinicals and most likely the reason why they outperformed Class of 2020 (don't know of any superstar per say but as a class, they seemed more competent than 2020's class tbh).

Agreed with others, lost their LIJ affiliation to Hofstra. This is a huge deal, LIJ which is now North Shore probably has the "best" hospitals to work at in terms of prestigious residencies and supposedly as attendings they have a pretty lucrative RVU structure (North Shore Manhasset/Lennox Hill does take some NYITCOM students every year but they are the above average type of applicants in their specialty, not the norm. I know we send an ortho or two every year or so to one of the smaller hospitals within their system, Plainview). Aware of a Head of a surgical dept here that makes 7 figures.

After graduating, I'd consider them an overrated program. On rotations, I felt a lot of our Carib counterparts were better prepared (granted, a lot of us tried leaving early on every rotation and had a reputation of doing that at a few MS3 rotation-heavy hospitals).
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"lost their LIJ affiliation to Hofstra" -- That is big loss.
 
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