Choosing schools---Please help!

[leagall]

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Hello,

I am choosing schools to apply to. So far these are on my list:

1) Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine
of Midwestern University

2) Des Moines University
College of Osteopathic Medicine

3) Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences
College of Osteopathic Medicine


4) New York College of Osteopathic Medicine

5) Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine

6) University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey

7) University of New England

8) Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine

9) Ohio University of Osteopathic Medicine

10) Oklahoma State University

11) West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine


Can anyone comment on any of these schools? Or provide input on which schools I should remove or any additional schools not on my list, I should add instead? I am a New England resident so unfortunately there are no osteopathic state schools where I live.

Thanks a lot!

 

[denco88]

Hello,

I am choosing schools to apply to. So far these are on my list:

1) Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine
of Midwestern University

2) Des Moines University
College of Osteopathic Medicine

3) Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences
College of Osteopathic Medicine


4) New York College of Osteopathic Medicine

5) Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine

6) University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey

7) University of New England

8) Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine

9) Ohio University of Osteopathic Medicine

10) Oklahoma State University

11) West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine


Can anyone comment on any of these schools? Or provide input on which schools I should remove or any additional schools not on my list, I should add instead? I am a New England resident so unfortunately there are no osteopathic state schools where I live.

Thanks a lot!

There is really only one thing I question about your list.. And its Ohio. Remember that if you are not an Ohio resident, you have to sign something that says you will stay in ohio and practice for five years. If that's not something that sounds appealing to you, cross it off your list. Other than that, it seems to be a pretty solid list

 

[theone1979]

Hello,

I am choosing schools to apply to. So far these are on my list:

1) Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine
of Midwestern University

2) Des Moines University
College of Osteopathic Medicine

3) Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences
College of Osteopathic Medicine


4) New York College of Osteopathic Medicine

5) Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine

6) University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey

7) University of New England

8) Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine

9) Ohio University of Osteopathic Medicine

10) Oklahoma State University

11) West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine


Can anyone comment on any of these schools? Or provide input on which schools I should remove or any additional schools not on my list, I should add instead? I am a New England resident so unfortunately there are no osteopathic state schools where I live.

Thanks a lot!

Seriously???

I honestly am not trying to be a jerk, but how do you expect anyone to respond to this post?

We know absolutely nothing about you and what you are looking for in a school (aside from the fact you are from New England), and you just rattled off a list of schools asking for comments on them and which you should remove or add.....

I suggest you do some research on these schools and think about what you are looking for in a school and then decide which ones would be the best fit for you.

If you have SPECIFIC questions about schools then fire away, but u can't just throw out a list of schools and expect to get any helpful feedback.

Good luck.

 

[denco88]

Seriously???

I honestly am not trying to be a jerk, but how do you expect anyone to respond to this post?

We know absolutely nothing about you and what you are looking for in a school (aside from the fact you are from New England), and you just rattled off a list of schools asking for comments on them and which you should remove or add.....

I suggest you do some research on these schools and think about what you are looking for in a school and then decide which ones would be the best fit for you.

If you have SPECIFIC questions about schools then fire away, but u can't just throw out a list of schools and expect to get any helpful feedback.

Good luck.

I don't think you need to be mean... I think they just wanted people's personal opinions on the schools, which isn't so easy to find doing research. Of course every schools is going to present itself as the best school to go to.

 

[theone1979]

I don't think you need to be mean... I think they just wanted people's personal opinions on the schools, which isn't so easy to find doing research. Of course every schools is going to present itself as the best school to go to.

Again, I wasn't trying to be mean (in fact the first thing I stated was that I didn't intend to be a jerk).

I just don't know what the OP is expecting. How could we possibly know what schools are right for him and what schools he should add or remove?

 

[DocEspana]

more importantly, if you're from New England and complaining about not having any in new england... why do you have Des Moines listed as 1 and UNECOM (which has new england right in the name and has a bunch of rotations in boston and vermont last i heard) so far down the list?


The only one i can think of, assuming you like the north east region, is TouroCOM-NY should prob be on there so you have the whole north east represented.

 

[Kevin Baker]

You have a lot of schools on there that pick the majority of students from their own region. I'd add some private schools with less of an in state preference.

And scratch off OU. That is a ridiculous contract they force anxious students to sign.

 

[theone1979]

I guess he should also cross of West Virginia since he is out of state and their OOS tuition is vomitously high.

 

[denco88]

more importantly, if you're from New England and complaining about not having any in new england... why do you have Des Moines listed as 1 and UNECOM (which has new england right in the name and has a bunch of rotations in boston and vermont last i heard) so far down the list?


The only one i can think of, assuming you like the north east region, is TouroCOM-NY should prob be on there so you have the whole north east represented.

They have them in alphabetical order.. not by preference

 

[DocEspana]

They have them in alphabetical order.. not by preference

8-11 aren't alphabetical, i noticed it seemed to be alphabetized, but those arent alphabetized to the rest of the list, nor are they alphabetized to each other. So i figured it must just be his preference. Either way, I would love to know some details about what this person is looking for so SDN can help them out.

 

[theone1979]

8-11 aren't alphabetical, i noticed it seemed to be alphabetized, but those arent alphabetized to the rest of the list, nor are they alphabetized to each other. So i figured it must just be his preference. Either way, I would love to know some details about what this person is looking for so SDN can help them out.

Or just a completely random list that just happens to have an alphabetical trend in the early part of the list.

As future docs we need to watch those assumptions....right?

.....Just messing around😉

 

[neurome]

Hi theone1979,
I see you have been accepted somewhere ( an osteopathic medical school). if it is ok i would like to know where you got accepted to.

 

[marke]

just out of curiosity... how come you are not considering COMP?

 

[leagall]

Hello everyone,

thanks for the input. I've crossed off Ohio University from my list.

Does anyone have any input about:

-Des Moines
-Kansas City Medicine & Biosciences
-Oklahoma State
-Touro NY
-Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine?

I would like to narrow down my list further.

I am definitely applying to:

-New York College of Osteopathic Medicine
-Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine
-University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey
-University of New England
-Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine

Also do any of these schools consider you for in-state tuition after a year?

Thanks!

 

[DocEspana]

Hello everyone,

thanks for the input. I've crossed off Ohio University from my list.

Does anyone have any input about:

-Des Moines
-Kansas City Medicine & Biosciences
-Oklahoma State
-Touro NY
-Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine?

Touro NY: new school. right around the midpoint on the 'how expensive' chart we all have in our head. Great facilities. Low board scores (we've only had two classes take it. so 77% and 88% is clearly showing signs of improving). Teachers are generally amazing since we tend to snipe docs from other NYC allopathic schools. Class day is very very very very very long (8-5). But class is only tues-wed-thurs with a half day (8-12) friday. Deans are unbelievably connected. We've begun hiring out kaplan teachers to work at our school "full-time" so we get to ask Fischer and (sometimes) Barone questions in their office when they are between tour stops for Kaplan which is a pretty awesome perk. Our food is all kosher (yes. thats a negative. i want cheeseburgers). And its in NYC. And its a private school so the in or out of state factor doesnt play in here.

overall, really great opportunities there. Some growing pains. But if you are motivated to get past the fact that the school is working through some kinks that occasionally make you grumble, they are throwing absurd opportunities at us that you cant get anywhere else.

 

[batiste]

Touro NY: new school. right around the midpoint on the 'how expensive' chart we all have in our head. Great facilities. Low board scores (we've only had two classes take it. so 77% and 88% is clearly showing signs of improving). Teachers are generally amazing since we tend to snipe docs from other NYC allopathic schools. Class day is very very very very very long (8-5). But class is only tues-wed-thurs with a half day (8-12) friday. Deans are unbelievably connected. We've begun hiring out kaplan teachers to work at our school "full-time" so we get to ask Fischer and (sometimes) Barone questions in their office when they are between tour stops for Kaplan which is a pretty awesome perk. Our food is all kosher (yes. thats a negative. i want cheeseburgers). And its in NYC. And its a private school so the in or out of state factor doesnt play in here.

overall, really great opportunities there. Some growing pains. But if you are motivated to get past the fact that the school is working through some kinks that occasionally make you grumble, they are throwing absurd opportunities at us that you cant get anywhere else.

Please elaborate on the bolded statement. That is not something I have ever heard.

 

[cliquesh]

Hello everyone,

thanks for the input. I've crossed off Ohio University from my list.

Does anyone have any input about :

-Des Moines
-Kansas City Medicine & Biosciences
-Oklahoma State
-Touro NY
-Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine?

I would like to narrow down my list further.

I am definitely applying to:

-New York College of Osteopathic Medicine
-Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine
-University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey
-University of New England
-Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine

Also do any of these schools consider you for in-state tuition after a year?

Thanks!

UMD-NJ allows you to apply for instate after a year.

 

[angryazn88]

i think you should just apply broadly because you dont know how many schools will give you interviews. after you receive multiple interviews/acceptances, thats when you should be narrowing down which schools you like the most. its too early to narrow them down right now cause you havent applied yet

 

[theone1979]

Touro NY: new school. right around the midpoint on the 'how expensive' chart we all have in our head. Great facilities. Low board scores (we've only had two classes take it. so 77% and 88% is clearly showing signs of improving). Teachers are generally amazing since we tend to snipe docs from other NYC allopathic schools. Class day is very very very very very long (8-5). But class is only tues-wed-thurs with a half day (8-12) friday. Deans are unbelievably connected. We've begun hiring out kaplan teachers to work at our school "full-time" so we get to ask Fischer and (sometimes) Barone questions in their office when they are between tour stops for Kaplan which is a pretty awesome perk. Our food is all kosher (yes. thats a negative. i want cheeseburgers). And its in NYC. And its a private school so the in or out of state factor doesnt play in here.

overall, really great opportunities there. Some growing pains. But if you are motivated to get past the fact that the school is working through some kinks that occasionally make you grumble, they are throwing absurd opportunities at us that you cant get anywhere else.

Could you comment on that bolded part. What are these opportunities being thrown at you that you won't get elsewhere?

Also, I have a question about the rotations sites at Touro-NY. I have heard that this is a fairly big issue.

The way it has been explained to me is that Touro-NY is a brand new medical school in a city that has several EXTREMELY well established med schools. Consequently, the prime rotations in the area are offered to these established schools, and Touro-NY is left scrambling for decent rotation cites.

Now, I am not stating any of this as fact- it is just what I have heard several people claim, and being perfectly honest, the explanation makes sense. There are obviously a limited number of rotation cites, and why would a brand new school get the desirable sites when other schools have staked their claim in the area already? I know you are still in your preclinical years, but do u have any insight into this issue? Thanks.

 

[TornadoChaser]

OSU states on their website that preference is given to residents of Oklahoma. May not be worth it to apply OOS there.

 

[denco88]

OSU states on their website that preference is given to residents of Oklahoma. May not be worth it to apply OOS there.

At first, I did not apply to OSU because of it. I added it pretty late because the draw I had to the university made me feel it was worth it. I sent in my application at the beginning of october and was interviewed and accepted in November.

What I learned was, unless money is a gigantic issue (and OSU's secondary is only $40) apply where you think you belong, even if its a long shot you will get in out of state!

 

[DocEspana]

Please elaborate on the bolded statement. That is not something I have ever heard.

Our Dean used to be the president of the Medical Society of the State of NY, is currently the chair of the AMA council on Medical Education. Also, this next part is a subjective observation, he is somewhat of a rockstar at the national meetings. Hahah it means we have to deal with his very inflated sense of self-worth, but its not entirely undeserved given his credentials.

then our Assistant Dean is the current president-elect of the American Osteopathic Association.

And our pre-clinical dean currently has a massive grant from the education department to study medical education. I was referring more to the Dean and assistant dean, but I might as well toss the pre-clinical dean in there too.

 

[DocEspana]

[/B]


Could you comment on that bolded part. What are these opportunities being thrown at you that you won't get elsewhere?

Also, I have a question about the rotations sites at Touro-NY. I have heard that this is a fairly big issue.

The way it has been explained to me is that Touro-NY is a brand new medical school in a city that has several EXTREMELY well established med schools. Consequently, the prime rotations in the area are offered to these established schools, and Touro-NY is left scrambling for decent rotation cites.

Now, I am not stating any of this as fact- it is just what I have heard several people claim, and being perfectly honest, the explanation makes sense. There are obviously a limited number of rotation cites, and why would a brand new school get the desirable sites when other schools have staked their claim in the area already? I know you are still in your preclinical years, but do u have any insight into this issue? Thanks.

well the opportunities i was referring to is how they are pretty much giving us the best facilties available to DO students (idk if the few even newer schools are better, but you know what i mean) and the hiring of some of the most famous doctors for board education out there. Touro is not being cheap when it comes to trying to get our students on the map as quick as possible. They didnt quite hit the mark with the 2nd year or 1st year, but they are sparing no expense to get the education as strong as possible for my year (2013) and the years after me.

as for the clinical stuff, i have a *ton* of insight on it. It's really all about the overseas medical schools (St. Georges, Ross, IUA) who have begun a war over the new york city schools with each other and the NY schools (all of them except NYU) have suffered for it. There are a lot of topics on this, on which i talk a ton. The super short version of it is that we had a university hospital (harlem hospital) on contract and a few other hospitals in the bronx, queens and brooklyn also locked up for other spots to travel to. in 2008 St. George signed a contract for $100,000,000 with the public hospitals of NY that gave their roughly 1200 students priority access to the hospitals and exclusivity there if there was a conflict for space.

This ended up displacing quite a few students from every NYC school (NYMC, Einstein, Columbia, Cornell, Downstate) with NYU being the only one left mostly untouched by it and Touro being the worst off since our contract with Harlem hospital was bought out. It then got worse as Ross and IUA began to fire back at St Georges by setting up exclusive contracts with as many private hospitals in the five boroughs as possible. This has left every school (again except NYU) scrambling for places since it really did displace tons of students everywhere from their cores. We ended up with north jersey, queens, staten island and a few spots in westchester. I think considering that our entire 'original clinicals' were all but wiped out we've gotten some really good spots in the end and didnt have to go to anywhere father than 30 minutes from campus. (yes, this was the short version. its SO much more complex than this)

Do I wish we still had harlem hospital and bronx-lebanon? Definitely. But we actually have some really promising places in Jersey, and the queens and long island sites are well known DO rotation sites. I'll go back to manhattan for my 4th year electives, I have no doubts. We've been having elective rotations all over the country with ease. The anecdotes i've heard have been that the NYC hospitals that displaced NYC students are streamlining the process back into them as 4th year elective spots and we're benefitting, finally, a bit there.

 

[cliquesh]

Our Dean used to be the president of the Medical Society of the State of NY, is currently the chair of the AMA council on Medical Education. Also, this next part is a subjective observation, he is somewhat of a rockstar at the national meetings. Hahah it means we have to deal with his very inflated sense of self-worth, but its not entirely undeserved given his credentials.

then our Assistant Dean is the current president-elect of the American Osteopathic Association.

And our pre-clinical dean currently has a massive grant from the education department to study medical education. I was referring more to the Dean and assistant dean, but I might as well toss the pre-clinical dean in there too.

I don't think that is true. Not that it really matters. The AMA doesn't have much power. The AOA does, however.

 

[DocEspana]

I don't think that is true. Not that it really matters. The AMA doesn't have much power. The AOA does, however.

yea that is completely backwards. But not the first time ive heard it. The AOA has power and does wield it over DO schools, the assumption that because the AMA doesnt wield that power over the allopathic schools it must not be powerful is wrong.

the AMA is absurdly influential. much much much more so than the AOA. They just work directly with state governments to make their opinions law rather than "academic policy". Haha, sorry to be somewhat blunt about this, but I'm pretty deeply involved in the AMA and its ridiculous how much they do control so much in medicine, but never get credit for it because the things they do come in the forms of so many clauses in different federal, state, and local laws. And then other portions of their work come out as policy made by organizations that people seem to not realize are under the AMA.

generally speaking, if an organization exists for doctors and is not specific for the AOA, it is likely a branch of the AMA somewhere down its organization ladder. Because they have influence at every local level down the line the "big" AMA deals with washington DC and state capitals and never gets credit for all the local things that their subsidiaries do.

okay rant over. This is getting way off topic of what they guy was asking for. my bad.

 

[cliquesh]

yea that is completely backwards. But not the first time ive heard it. The AOA has power and does wield it over DO schools, the assumption that because the AMA doesnt wield that power over the allopathic schools it must not be powerful is wrong.

the AMA is absurdly influential. much much much more so than the AOA. They just work directly with state governments to make their opinions law rather than "academic policy". Haha, sorry to be somewhat blunt about this, but I'm pretty deeply involved in the AMA and its ridiculous how much they do control so much in medicine, but never get credit for it because the things they do come in the forms of so many clauses in different federal, state, and local laws. And then other portions of their work come out as policy made by organizations that people seem to not realize are under the AMA.

generally speaking, if an organization exists for doctors and is not specific for the AOA, it is likely a branch of the AMA somewhere down its organization ladder. Because they have influence at every local level down the line the "big" AMA deals with washington DC and state capitals and never gets credit for all the local things that their subsidiaries do.

okay rant over. This is getting way off topic of what they guy was asking for. my bad.

I realize that the AMA is a lobbying group and they have political power, and the AMA does indeed have more political power than the AOA. However, when I said "power" I should have been more specific. I don't think having a Dean that is a member of an AMA committee would matter much in terms of helping his students. For example, I doubt it would provide his students with, "absurd opportunities that you can't get anywhere else."

On the other hand, having a Dean that is the president of the the AOA, which controls all osteopathic residencies, would be, to some degree, beneficial.

Anyway, you can only be the AOA president for one year and your dean, Goldberg, isn't a member of that AMA council, so this topic doesn't really matter.

 

[DocEspana]

I realize that the AMA is a lobbying group and they have political power, and the AMA does indeed have more political power than the AOA. However, when I said "power" I should have been more specific. I don't think having a Dean that is a member of an AMA committee would matter much in terms of helping his students. For example, I doubt it would provide his students with, "absurd opportunities that you can't get anywhere else."

On the other hand, having a Dean that is the president of the the AOA, which controls all osteopathic residencies, would be, to some degree, beneficial.

Anyway, you can only be the AOA president for one year and your dean, Goldberg, isn't a member of that AMA council, so this topic doesn't really matter.

was referring to the various hirings and expenses being put forward as the opportunities. being able to study under Barone and Fischer regularly is a real honor.

and for goldberg being on the AMA council, that wasn't my point. That was just an add on. Its his old position leading MSSNY that gets us opportunities that stem from other docs doing him favors and taking care of his students. personally i've taken advantage of it and have been pulled aside by the dean a few times to meet with people he knows and benefitted greatly from it. But this isnt about my school or my deans. I just had to clarify my point cause I agree that being on an education council really only gets so much. Its the other connection that turned dividends, and i didnt want to sound like i was selling the weaker of the two connections.

 

[Bacchus]

Those big appointments aren't going to help the little man. Getting to know another attending/administrator will yield just as good of results. Its just so the school can show off and doesn't hold much weight.

 

[leagall]

DocEspana, would you recommend Touro NY to someone applying there?

 

[DocEspana]

DocEspana, would you recommend Touro NY to someone applying there?

I'd say that I'd put a few schools ahead of it (PCOM, CCOM, prob others if i sat down and really figured out who is 'the top' ones) because they have a long history of putting out a very good product. hehe doctors = product But i'd def put us in the middle of all DO schools. Yes even with the fact that we're brand new. NYC itself brings a lot to the table and the school is bending over backwards to maximize our potential, so I'm putting it up there a bit.

but we're so much better than the haters put us at (and we had some haters in our second year class), so i'd definitely recommend people apply and check it out on a tour. The opportunities are definitely worth it. Its hard to turn down when you've seen the school, the dedication to get a great reputation/education and the area.

yea i said it. Harlem brings in more people than it scares off. I wont judge you if it scares you off, but the area of harlem its in is crazy tourist friendly with an old navy, h&M, gamestop right next to the school, bill clinton's office right down the road and starbucks at every corner. People forget Columbia university is 3 blocks away. I get people not liking the name harlem on principle and hearsay, but the area just never bothered me in the least once I saw it. Spanish harlem is the bad area, but it and 125th & 7th harlem are far apart (in manhattan terms) and two different worlds.

 

[MLT2MT2DO]

Hello,

I am choosing schools to apply to. So far these are on my list:

1) Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine
of Midwestern University

2) Des Moines University
College of Osteopathic Medicine

3) Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences
College of Osteopathic Medicine


4) New York College of Osteopathic Medicine

5) Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine

6) University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey

7) University of New England

8) Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine

9) Ohio University of Osteopathic Medicine

10) Oklahoma State University

11) West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine


Can anyone comment on any of these schools? Or provide input on which schools I should remove or any additional schools not on my list, I should add instead? I am a New England resident so unfortunately there are no osteopathic state schools where I live.

Thanks a lot!

OSU- Extremely Friendly, small class size, and seems very family oriented. Loved it.

LECOM- Mondo cheap tuition, PBL and ISP are excellent. LDP seems huge and "overly organized" imo.

DMU-everyone has nothing but good things to say about it, unfortunately due to personal reasons I couldn't attend my interview.


As mentioned with Ohio make sure you want to commit 5 years to the state. Also West Virginia has ridiculously high tuition so I would take a good look to make sure it is worth it for you.