Comp-nw & unecom

[E24Gose]

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Hello,

I have received acceptances from both COMP-NW and UNECOM in the past week. I have my pros and cons list for both, but was hoping for an outside perspective on this comparison. Im a New Englander, so my family and friends would prefer I stay here, but I love the Pacific Northwest. For this reason, getting a nonbiased view of both schools is impossible with my current support system.

Any insight you all have would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Strateego]

Ask yourself where you want to be after you finished with school. You should go to the school in the area where you want to end up.

 

[Mosonik]

I have grown to have a great respect for COMP-NW. I have a sibling in the area of Lebanon and she interacts a lot with students and some faculty when they do their community service. She thinks they always have a great group and the school is well respected in the community... which to me says a lot about the quality of the institution itself up there.
UNECOM will be hard for you to beat for convenience of location but just thought I'd through in a good word for COMP in Lebanon. Good luck with your decision

 

[hallowmann]

Obviously UNECOM is more established and generally regarded as a "better" school. Really though, what's more important is where you could see yourself being happiest. Obviously you've visited each school for an interview and at least got some feel for the environment/atmosphere at the school. Which did you feel most comfortable in?

You should also, as Strateego mentioned, know where you want to end up. If you go to UNECOM, you will most likely stay on the east coast, whereas if you go to COMP-NW, you will most likely stay out west. Which would you prefer?

Also, take into account the importance/value of family and a support system. Med school is hard, and even a little support can go a long way to changing how you feel from day to day. That being said, being too close to a lot of family could also be a detriment, because you need to be selfish with your time in med school and some family members won't understand that.

If you really want a clear view of each school, look at the match lists from the last 5 years (not really possible for COMP-NW), look at the board pass rates, look at the clinical rotation sites for how many are level 1 trauma centers, how many are established teaching hospitals, how many are big bed university hospitals vs small community hospitals, etc.