Cental Michigan vs MSUCOM

[hiyahus]

So I know this has been done soooo many times but just hear me out because I am really struggling. SOO I do understand that the unspoken (or highly spoken) rule of thumb is that MD schools will give you more opportunities when it comes down to residencies vs a DO school and with the new merger...it's going to get crazy but who knows. My concern though is not that CMED is a new school, it's that it's heavily based on a rural philosophy. So all the 3rd/4th year rotations are pretty much in rural sites..so even though it's MD i'm scared I am going to be forced to do rural medicine even if I don't love (I am passionately about underserved populations but I want to learn stuff from hospitals like DMC as well and going to MSUCOM just gives so much more opportunities to rotate at bigger hospitals.) I know CMED does offer a few select students to be able to rotate in Detroit but it's only like 12 spots (or less) so a little risky to just bank that I will get that. I am just worried that I won't really have seen as much as I want to or should with all the rural rotations.

CMED:
Pros:
Absolutely wonderful campus
AMAZING STUDENT BODY
Amazing faculty who truly truly care
Positive vibes all around
Innovating curriculum (really excited about)

Cons:
Small town (but this actually doesn't bother me that much)
All rural rotations (my main worry/concern)

MSUCOM:
Pros:
Well known school so better rotations set up! (such a huge network!)
Global health opportunities for both rotations and mission trips (pretty big thing I was excited about!)
A lot more research/clinical opportunities

Cons:
Campus is not as great
Love DO philosophy but may want to specialize which would be more difficult (not impossible)
Don't love east lansing (but really close to home)

Any feed back would be great, sorry for my novel~

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[Kingsmen2018]

MD is superior to DO.

 

[814965]

CMED for sure

 

[TurtleyReady4Med]

Pick what feels right to you. Either choice is a good option.

 

[libertyyne]

This is an interesting predicament to be in. Do you think you will like spending time on OMM? Are you ok with preping for two boards Step and Comlex? I would personally go to CMU because I would not want to spend time in OMM lab or sit for an additional board.

 

[star.buck]

Current CMed student (M2): just a heads up that the rotations are not all rural. The only truly rural rotations you'll likely have (and some may not even have that rural of rotations) are your 6 month Community Clerkship (some match this to Saginaw (larger midwest city with very diverse population), Mt Pleasant (smaller midwest city with mostly white, some native American population), Detroit, as well as a new location in I-don't-remember-which larger city in Ohio. I've also heard there are rotations in Traverse City and Holland, Michigan - both larger tourist cities), and 2 "away" rotations during your 3rd/4th years. The rest of your 3rd/4th year rotations will be in either Saginaw or Detroit, neither of these is at all rural (so, 16-17 months of your clerkships will not be rural).

The reason for the rural community clerkship and rotations is because those areas are deeply underserved, and the medicine of rural America is a bit unique compared to urban. CMed's mission is to train and interest more future doctors for potential service to these areas, however you are by no means limited to a future of just rural medicine if you choose to come to this school. I've had profs encourage me to be a hospitalist, pathologist, even oncologist; and our first graduated class matched to some highly competitive fields such as vascular surgery, emergency medicine, and radiology.

Hopefully this helps your decision a little! Best wishes to you!