Originally posted by Ponderer:
leotiger,
do you have an email address so i can ask you more personal questions?
i'm deciding among chicago med, western, touro (wait-list). i have taken many factors into considerations, at this point, i still haven't made up my mind. i would like to obtain more feedback from people who have attended these schools.
if u don't mind, can i get more insights and info on tucom? why did you choose tucom over comp at first place since you probably didn't have any info on tucom back then?
thanks••
Ponderer,
I have an unusually high number of friends and family who have applied to medical school this year. This is the same advice I would give to them. This is also assuming they live in California.
A) If you get into an allopathic school in CA, GO!!! No matter where it is
B) If you get into an US Allopathic school in a major US city, GO!!!
C) If you get into a US Allopathic school in Booney Hell or have a significant other in CA, go to a US Osteopathic School in CA
D) If you go to an US Osteopathic School go to Touro unless you have a significant other in SoCal who doesn't want to move.
E) I don't feel I am biased because I really have NO Loyalty to my school at all. I've had to earn everything I got. Many of the most successful students in our class feel the same way. This is a common theme throughout osteopathic medical schools, you've got to help yourself and be independent, especially if you want to go through the allopathic match. I've talked to many people at KCOM, CCOM, PCOM, and NYCOM, and they aren't all too pleased about their education either. The ones I saw at Yale, Harvard, Columbia, etc.... were the ones who setup all their own rotations. Take that for what it's worth. Anyway, I'm probably gonna get slammed by any administrators at osteopathic med school now, so I'm gonna shut up.
F) When I said my school was flexible, it could also mean that they don't have enough of their own quality rotations. Let's be honest, no DO schools have the rotation that UCSF, Stanford, and UC Davis has.
G) What were our school's rotations like?
Some sucked the big one but they have been dropped. The ones that are left are decent but you need to know what to get out of them. The ones at Doctor's Medical Center and Sutter have no interns or residents. What does this mean? This means that you are first assistant on surgeries, deliveries, etc.... Basically you get a lot of experience. The drawback? No teaching at all. You get pimped but you don't get taught. No lectures etc... I had to do a lot of studying on my own to shine. Doing rotations at UCSF, and UCD also helped with my knowledge base because there were always lectures going on. But, having no interns around and residents to compete with for "hands-on" experience really helped. I knew how to manage patients on the wards, suture, put in lines, etc....
H) In a vacuum, COMP is a better school. Unfortunately, in reality things aren't that way.
I) Another thing, UCLA and UCI are too far (with traffic) and aren't very DO friendly. At UC Davis, there are Ortho/Trauma Fellows who are DOs, DO is Anesthesia, IM, FP, Neurosurgery, etc...
J) If you do go to COMP, be sure to go to Hacienda Heights for some good Chinese food !!!!
Try Little Bean on Colima/Fullerton Road and order the Tapioca Iced Tea.
MTY,
I'll email you. I've been on the Adcom, have several family and friends applying, met several DO and MD students on the interview trail, and thus know what the typical gripes and questions are.
Don't sweat where you are going to go. Make sure you choose a location that will make you happy. If you are away from friends and family or live in a DUMP, you'll never be successful because you'll be unhappy. You just won't be as motivated too study. You can be successful no matter where you go DO or MD, COMP or TUCOM. If you are a DO, and want to go through the allopathic match, get letters and do rotations and allopathic institutions. I got a total of 7 letters. 4 from MDs and 3 from DOs. I used whichever ones fit the situation. If you want to do an Osteopathic FP or IM residency in SoCal go to COMP. Trust me, they will blatantly favor you. By the way, TUCOM has several Ortho, GenSurg, IM, FP, and TI spots in NY. Unfortunatley, none of us wanted to go. As I said before, all but 10-15 people went through the allopathic match. Those that did, went into EM, Ortho, or GenSurg.
By the way, our school will be opening up residencies in SF, San Pablo, and Vallejo. The residencies will be in IM, FP, and TI. Just to give you an idea of how competitive they will be, there are only four Prelims and no Transitional Internships in the Bay area. There are none at UC Davis. I believe there are some at UCSF programs but you will be competing with UCSF students who are going into Ophtho, Radiology, Anesthesia, etc... Something to consider if you want to go to the Bay are for residency. If you don't think Touro will favor Touro students, then you are foolish. DO programs (unfortunately) still work through the Good'ol Boy network. Especially, in light of how our students were shunned from the Downey, Pacific, and Arrowhead programs for Internships. My classmates and I were just laughing at how many of us who have interviewed and accepted specialty spots at Harvard, Yale, Columbia, UCSF, etc... couldn't even get get a spot in Long Beach, San Bernandino, or Downey for internship. Especially since no one even wanted to go there since they didn't fill. I for one didn't want to go to Long Beach or Downey. I guess we'll just have to SETTLE for a spot at Yale, Columbia, or UCLA. Darn.....
I think someone asked me how I knew about the school since it was new. The answer is: I didn't. I wanted to be in the Bay area. I saw more potential and opportunity, and I was right. I didn't want to do FP or IM and I lived in LA so I wasn't exactly fond of moving to Pomona. No offense to anyone. Moving to SF sounded a lot better than moving to Pomona.
Anyway, I'm not trying to start a rivalry because we are all DOs and need to support each other. I just think it was foolish for the Program directors to shun the TUCOM students because the people you are hurting is future COMP students who apply to TUCOM residencies. It's not like you were taking spots away from COMP students, your own students didn't even want you. Every single COMP program went unfilled. HELLO !!!! Please, don't give me that crap that there was no favoritism. NOT ONE TUCOM STUDENT matched in a COMP program. I'd say that if we are getting interviews at top ten allopathic schools, we are competitive !!! Same old crap going on at DO schools and residencies.
Get what you can from whatever school you go to. Go to the place that makes you happy and has the most opportunities.
I will post Allopathic match results as they become available. That is, if I can get my hands on them.
I'll at least let you know where my friends/classmates match so you can look them up if you want to go to the same specialty.
