Can't decide

[coinflip]

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Ok, so I narrowed my choices down to Touro-CA and WVSOM - I just can't make the final decision. Help!

Touro
+ive: location, better clinical years vs. WVSOM, better post-grad opportunities, more flexible
-ive: old shipyard, an 8.2 earthquake from drifting out to sea

WVSOM
+ive: facilities, friendly folk, faculty
-ive: location (where is the dang Best Buy???), restrictive 3rd year rotation, +$16k/yr, admin always has their eyes on you

 

[Dissected]

Ok, so I narrowed my choices down to Touro-CA and WVSOM - I just can't make the final decision. Help!

I say Touro, its cheaper by a lot. That $16g's adds up over 4 years!

 

[MedicalSonata]

Well...as WV resident I can tell you this:

1 - The WVSOM location is crappy. Best Buy? Ha. I think the closest big city is Beckley. It has a huge movie theatre, Starbucks, a few upscale restaraunts, mostly chains, a few shopping centers, Wal-Mart, 2 malls, etc. That's about it. No Target, no Best Buy. Lewisburg, however, is fairly nice. It's a little left-leaning despite being in a conservative area. Lots of vegan cafes, art gallerys - stuff like that. Someone had it listed on the "1000 places to see before you die" or something like that.

2 - WVSOM has an EXCELLENT reputation in West Virginia. Almost everyone in WV resident knows about the school, and everyone thinks they graduate the best doctors. That's rare when the general public usually views D.O's as "inferior".I don't know about the out of state rep. (hence my other thread on it)

Hope that helps.

 

[Sandlot13]

tough decision, but I often find that the tough decisions I have to make I already know which one I would prefer but for some odd reason am trying to convince myself otherwise..... go with your heart and dont worry about the details

 

[cliquesh]

Ok, so I narrowed my choices down to Touro-CA and WVSOM - I just can't make the final decision. Help!

Touro
+ive: location, better clinical years vs. WVSOM, better post-grad opportunities, more flexible
-ive: old shipyard, an 8.2 earthquake from drifting out to sea

WVSOM
+ive: facilities, friendly folk, faculty
-ive: location (where is the dang Best Buy???), restrictive 3rd year rotation, +$16k/yr, admin always has their eyes on you

Should be an easy decision.

WVSOM mission, btw, is to create primary care doctors for WV, so if that's not what you are interested in, you probably shouldn't go there. Not fair for you or the school.

 

[PunkmedGirl]

Should be an easy decision.

WVSOM mission, btw, is to create primary care doctors for WV, so if that's not what you are interested in, you probably shouldn't go there. Not fair for you or the school.

The mission for all medical schools is to create more primary care doctors not just WVSOM. You choose what area of medicine you want to practice in not the school.

 

[French MD]

I would say Touro less money good program, plus you get california weather and word on the street is you have a slightly better chance of getting a CA residency... but what is your gut telling you?

 

[schussboarder]

Ok, so I narrowed my choices down to Touro-CA and WVSOM - I just can't make the final decision. Help!

Touro
+ive: location, better clinical years vs. WVSOM, better post-grad opportunities, more flexible
-ive: old shipyard, an 8.2 earthquake from drifting out to sea

WVSOM
+ive: facilities, friendly folk, faculty
-ive: location (where is the dang Best Buy???), restrictive 3rd year rotation, +$16k/yr, admin always has their eyes on you

it seems like you've already made up your mind. I would say better clinical years + a better location in your opinion far out shadows the 8.2 earthquakes...if you compare both of the schools negatives that you listed, the more serious ones are noted under WVSOM (restrictive 3rd yr rotations, etc..). While I don't doubt that WVSOM is a great school, it just doesn't seem like you would choose it over Touro.

 

[aliDO]

unless you're super rich or going the military route, definitely touro-ca. WVSOM's tuition is outrageous! how do they expect their graduates to go into primary care? I know one graduate from there, and she is starting dermatology residency. She actually wanted to be an OB/GYN but didn't think she could afford it.

 

[MedicalSonata]

I know one graduate from there, and she is starting dermatology residency. She actually wanted to be an OB/GYN but didn't think she could afford it.

Afford what? You pay for residency?

WVSOM's oos tuition is high...I never knew it was that high until I looked just now. It's not the worst though - have any of you guys looked at MSU's oos tuition? A little over 60K

 

[cliquesh]

The poster meant that her friend was worried she wouldn't be able to pay off her debt or live comfortably as an OB. An OB makes like 150k while a derm makes 300 something.

 

[jp104]

Food for thought:

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=582536

 

[MedicalSonata]

Wha?

There's no way derms make more than OBs....and...i thought OB's made quite a bit of money.

 

[singinfifi]

I had a similar choice to make before I got accepted to NSU, I ultimately decided to put my deposit at WVSOM. While I liked touro, the students there didn't seem...i don't know, as happy. The campus was depressing looking and I found their anatomy lab to be far worse then WVSOM's (which is freakin amazing).

the students at WVSOM were all friendly and happy, the campus was beautiful and the staff was top notch. Also, they were ranked by USNews (i think, someone correct me if I'm wrong) as one of teh 10 best primary care medical schools in the country.

I'm was a big fan of WVSOM.

 

[MedicalSonata]

Sing...you sent your deposit to WVSOM...but you didn't go? You said you WERE a big fan of WVSOM...and you also have the NSU-COM c/o 2012 thread in your sig...XD

Also - expand on WVSOM's anatomy lab being "freakin amazing" - I don't know anything about that. What's special about it?

 

[PunkmedGirl]

Wha?

There's no way derms make more than OBs....and...i thought OB's made quite a bit of money.

Derms can make buttload of money if they do a lot of cosmetic work. 150k is actually the low end of what OBs make, the median range I think is about 250-275k a year, but this figure is also dependent the location of your practice as well. The OB I shadowed here in Las Vegas makes around 275K and he has only had his practice for about four and half years now.

 

[cliquesh]

Wow, I was wrong. I just looked at the numbers for OB-gyn and the average is 250k, I always thought it was a lot less. But maybe malpractice hurts them?

 

[mrjay]

trying to decide between pcom philly and nova - 2 totally different schools that i really like. deposit due next week and i'm torn. any thoughts?

 

[Dissected]

Wow, I was wrong. I just looked at the numbers for OB-gyn and the average is 250k, I always thought it was a lot less. But maybe malpractice hurts them?

can be in the range of $100g's depending on where you practice

 

[PunkmedGirl]

Wow, I was wrong. I just looked at the numbers for OB-gyn and the average is 250k, I always thought it was a lot less. But maybe malpractice hurts them?

If I'm not mistaken I believe the OB told the hospital pays for his malpractice insurance because his practice is attached to the hospital. I have to email him to make sure but I think that's what he told me.

 

[Dissected]

If I'm not mistaken I believe the OB told the hospital pays for his malpractice insurance because his practice is attached to the hospital. I have to email him to make sure but I think that's what he told me.

hmmm sounds like he's got a pretty sweet deal there!

 

[PunkmedGirl]

Yea I think so too.