best schools

[Zinger09]

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who the hell cares which school is considered the best DO school? Do you ever see MD threads on which is the best MD school? Of course not, bc they are not as insecure. Seriously, you people need to get over it.

 

[slick27]

I'd go with the older more established schools. I don't think you can go wrong with DMU, CCOM, PCOM, Western, NOVA, or UNE.

 

[JaggerPlate]

who the hell cares which school is considered the best DO school? Do you ever see MD threads on which is the best MD school? Of course not, bc they are not as insecure. Seriously, you people need to get over it.

I constantly see threads in pre-allo comparing schools based on reputation alone ... way more than I do over here. What are you talking about??? As far as the original question goes, in my (pre-med) opinion, go established:

PCOM, NYCOM, KCUMB, DMU, CCOM, NSU, Western, OSUCOM, UMDNJ, TCOM, KCOM, UNE etc. However, I've heard nothing but good things about various new schools like LECOM-B, and solid things about TU-NV was well.


edit: I know I'm probably forgetting more great schools, it's not meant to be offensive.

 

[MossPoh]

who the hell cares which school is considered the best DO school? Do you ever see MD threads on which is the best MD school? Of course not, bc they are not as insecure. Seriously, you people need to get over it.

I think using pre-allo as your example of people who are not insecure is probably the worst example possible. A huge chunk of the pre-allo people tell me they rather go allopathic or nothing at all. They scoff at osteopathic schools and one of the first questions they ask me is whether a certain school is "good" or not. Horrible example you gave. You are awarded no points and may God have mercy on your soul.

 

[JaggerPlate]

I think using pre-allo as your example of people who are not insecure is probably the worst example possible. A huge chunk of the pre-allo people tell me they rather go allopathic or nothing at all. They scoff at osteopathic schools and one of the first questions they ask me is whether a certain school is "good" or not. Horrible example you gave. You are awarded no points and may God have mercy on your soul.

YESSSSSSSSSSS .... 👍


Billy Madison quotes make the world go round.

 

[niranjan162]

hahahaha.... i sent in the secondary, but i never heard back... i strongly suspect this is one of those "silent rejection" schools... hehe

That happened to me too. Im thinking about sending them some LOIs, hopefully i'll get an interview soon

 

[Chocolate Teddy]

DMU > Harvard Med

 

[JaggerPlate]

DMU > Harvard Med

Hahahah ... bold.

 

[slick27]

DMU > Harvard Med

I like your excitment and confidence, but I'd have to turn down my DMU acceptance if Harvard Med wanted me. lol.

 

[Dissected]

I like your excitment and confidence, but I'd have to turn down my DMU acceptance if Harvard Med wanted me. lol.

traitor...🙄

 

[235750]

who the hell cares which school is considered the best DO school? Do you ever see MD threads on which is the best MD school? Of course not, bc they are not as insecure. Seriously, you people need to get over it.

I do think allopathic students debate this sometimes in their discussions, but you are right Zinger09 in that I believe a lot of DO students feel a little insecure, and it is annoying sometimes. Like the campaigns to, "get a DO on house MD" or whatever tv shows are out there. It's a little silly

Back to the OP: the newer schools may not have federal funding availible and that is something to remember. In other words, Standford & Perkins loans are not an option which makes school way more expensive. Not always a problem for every new school so you have to research this for schools you are looking at.

plus you won't be eligible for the National Health Service Corps scholarship until they graduate their first class, if that means anything to you. Otherwise you get the same degree everywhere...it's just a matter of personal preference

 

[Chocolate Bear]

Do you ever see MD threads on which is the best MD school?

The only reason said threads might not be that common is because MD schools have published rankings. There's no need for a thread whenever US News has already had the debate.

Of course not, bc they are not as insecure.

I'm not even going to comment on relative insecurity between different groups of applicants. It's biased, subjective, rude, and pointless.

Seriously, you people need to get over it.

While I don't personally subscribe to the need for a "reputation" or some published level of "prestige" behind my medical school's name, can you not understand why an applicant would want to maximize his or her chances of opening all possible doors and ensuring success in the future?

With 4 years of undergrad, 4 years of med school, $200K+ in debt, and 3-6 more years of training, can you really blame someone for asking which schools are "best"? Nobody wants to make a decision in life that could have irreversibly limiting implications at some point in the future.

I know the answer to the question, with regards to osteopathic schools. Most of us around here, do. But since most DO applicants learn about the admissions process AFTER becoming familiar with the MD process, I wouldn't just chalk up asking such a question to "insecurity," but more likely just a carryover assumption, since most other aspects of the admissions process have parallels in both worlds.

 

[HealingDoc]

I am currently a first year at Touro - CA, and I absolutely love it. We have an incredible OMM program, and all of the transitional curriculum issues that the class of 2011 had to deal with are entirely resolved. My class (2012) works very hard and has very high averages in both doctoring and basic science courses. The people at Touro- CA are generally very laid back, and as others mentioned we have fabulous weather and we're in a great location. I posted this somewhere else, too, but I just feel like I need to counter some negativity people have posted about Touro - CA on here. Young schools change dramatically each year. Touro - CA is only 10 years old now, and it has never been stronger!

 

[roody41]

So the idea that one school is 'better' than another is in itself HIGHLY subjective, so I'll avoid making any such claims . But here's a few quick highlights on A.T. Still KCOM's 2007 graduate placement. Pretty impressive if you ask me...

Class of 2007 (166 graduates)

-45% of graduates entered Primary care specialties (lowest for all DO schools)

-19 graduates entered Anesthesiology residencies

-1 graduate each went in to Dermatology, ENT, and Opthomalogy residencies (all three EXTREMELY competitive for any graduating medical student, ESPECIALLY DO)

-12 graduates entered Orthopedic surgery and 9 entered Diagnostic Rads (most impressive stats, in my opinion. Again, VERY competitive specialties)

-15 graduates entered residencies at MAJOR academic medical centers, including University of Kansas, University of Utah, University of Iowa, University of Colorado, UCLA, and Yale.



I think there's something to be said for a school that's been around longer than any other program. But more importantly, when trying to determine which school can do the most for you, I think the best place to start looking is graduate placement. In my opinion, KCOM is hard to beat when it comes to putting their graduates in top residencies.

P.S. any idea where I'm going next year 😀?

 

[nascardoc]

I do think allopathic students debate this sometimes in their discussions, but you are right Zinger09 in that I believe a lot of DO students feel a little insecure, and it is annoying sometimes. Like the campaigns to, "get a DO on house MD" or whatever tv shows are out there. It's a little silly

Back to the OP: the newer schools may not have federal funding availible and that is something to remember. In other words, Standford & Perkins loans are not an option which makes school way more expensive. Not always a problem for every new school so you have to research this for schools you are looking at.
plus you won't be eligible for the National Health Service Corps scholarship until they graduate their first class, if that means anything to you. Otherwise you get the same degree everywhere...it's just a matter of personal preference

This is something you should look at. Fortunately, the "Tennessee school" or LMU-DCOM does have federal funding, so getting loans is not a problem. We do not have the National Health Service Corps scholarship yet, but we will after we graduate.

And for what its worth, LMU-DCOM is very solid, so don't be worried about it being a new school. Yes, it doesn't have the reputation of CCOM, PCOM and the other older schools, but we will. You just have to give us a few years.

As this thread has shown, the "best" school is extremely subjective. The thing is, you have no way of comparing schools except for interview days. While slightly helpful, you never know how a school truly is until going thru the daily grind of the curriculum. Plus, you don't have people going from one school to another, so the only perspective they get is the school they are at. So, one is going to say where they are at is the best, or those who haven't even started are going to say the school they were accepted to is the best.

Perhaps the better judge is how happy are the students and faculty? If you are a technology person, how do schools compare? If location is important, how do schools compare? Is the curriculum lecture-based or PBL, and which do you prefer? These are all MORE important than which is the best b/c if you hate PBL but you hear LECOM-B is the best, well, then you are SOL and won't be happy. So, figure out what is important and go from there and remember that HAPPINESS will get you a lot further than some botched ranking system.

 

[GoBuckeyes913]

they are included in the USA today med-school rankings, so they really don't have to warrant a separate category. Besides, who else would rank them? the BCS?

They are included in the USNews rankings as a categorical ranking, i.e. Primary care. There is no formal listing of osteopathic med schools as a whole, like there is in allo world.

 

[Dissected]

They are included in the USNews rankings as a categorical ranking, i.e. Primary care. There is no formal listing of osteopathic med schools as a whole, like there is in allo world.

uhhh, yep. did i say otherwise 😕

and I meant USNews..not USA Today 👍