Last edited:
Hello everyone.
I was recently accepted to both CUSOM and LMU-DCOM and having some trouble deciding between the two schools.
CUSOM
Pros:
I really like the facilities. Everything was so new
Raleigh and the Research Triangle Park are only 1 hour away
Faculty, staff, and students were so welcoming and nice. It seems to be a really supportive environment
Cons:
New school. Not really sure if the clinical rotation sites are going well for the third years. There are only 5 hospitals that the students can choose to rotate at.
No residency matches
LMU-DCOM
Pros:
More established school than CUSOM, so there is a residency placement list. This also means that LMU-DCOM has more established relationships with more hospitals
Also, a friendly environment
Cons:
The closest big city is Knoxville which is about 2 hours away
I did not get to see most of the school's facilities as the PA were using them for testing on the day that I interviewed.
I would like to hear what you all have to say about each school
I interviewed at both and was more impressed by DCOM. Non mandatory lectures were big, and the freedom to go anywhere for all those electives. Also if I'm not mistaken the person that was doing such great work building residencies and connections at cusom recently left and is the dean of DCOM.
Honestly, I didn't like CUSOM's borderline big brother attitude towards attendance. I don't feel it's appropriate to also require me to validate why I skipped with some sort of excuse. If I want to lay on my back and sleep 13 hours after a long day and am not missing any labs, then that's my own choice.
I think though they'll probably change the policy. Most medical schools fully comprehend now that attendance polices are negatively correlated with board performance. You simply cannot commit a student to listen to lectures at 1x speed for 4hours a day, give them labs, and also on top of that expect them to be reading through first aid and or pathoma.
Anything in particular make you choose CUSOM over DCOM other than a gut feeling?