CUSM vs CUSOM

[watergirl7]

I was lucky to have received acceptances from Colorado University School of Medicine (CUSOM) and California University of Science and Medicine (CUSM).

CUSOM
pros:

• 1 year preclinical, 3 years clinical curriculum (& higher class avg STEP scores)
• many matched into competitive specialties (although I still don't know what I would want to specialize in yet)
• T30 school

cons:

• may be harder to match into Cali for residency (where I really want to be for residency)

CUSM
pros:

• Cali school, (thus more likely to be able to do residency/match back in Cali)

cons:

• not fully accredited yet
• may not be able to match as easily to competitive specialties due to it being less prestigious/newer school
• 2 years preclinical/2 years clinical curriculum (I think I'd prefer the 1year/3years curriculum for my learning style)

Please let me know what you think and if you think there are other things worth considering too about each school!

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[ClashRoyaleKing]

What specialities are you interested in? Have you gotten aid for either yet?

 

[watergirl7]

I honestly don’t know yet. I’m open to so many.

And no I haven’t gotten aid for either yet. From what I’ve calculated so far, they would be similar tuition though.

 

[BarrBodyGuy]

Colorado enrolls A LOT of California students, in fact, it's the state that makes up the majority of the class (yes more than Colorado residents). They do match well into Cali residency programs, a lot of people match at the UCs and Kaiser Programs, im guessing it was Cali people going back home, and it has established a good connection. Having a top peds hospital, academic adult hospital and VA all in the same block is hard to beat. I loved Colorado and its staff, im also kinda biased bc im likely going there, but it's a very good program.

 

[watergirl7]

Colorado enrolls A LOT of California students, in fact, it's the state that makes up the majority of the class (yes more than Colorado residents). They do match well into Cali residency programs, a lot of people match at the UCs and Kaiser Programs, im guessing it was Cali people going back home, and it has established a good connection. Having a top peds hospital, academic adult hospital and VA all in the same block is hard to beat. I loved Colorado and its staff, im also kinda biased bc im likely going there, but it's a very good program.

I agree in that it is an excellent program for sure! I think I’m just latching onto the fact that CUSM has like 67% of their students match in Cali whereas there are only a handful of CUSOM matching in Cali which makes me lean more towards CUSM since at the end of the day that’s where I really want to do residency and they seem to have great instate connections…

But still trying to weigh all the pros/cons so thank you very much for your input!

 

[BarrBodyGuy]

I agree in that it is an excellent program for sure! I think I’m just latching onto the fact that CUSM has like 67% of their students match in Cali whereas there are only a handful of CUSOM matching in Cali which makes me lean more towards CUSM since at the end of the day that’s where I really want to do residency and they seem to have great instate connections…

But still trying to weigh all the pros/cons so thank you very much for your input!

that is something to consider, I agree, specially if you want to go back to Cali. In 2023 CUSOM matched 30/180ish students into cali programs which isnt too bad. Good luck with your choice and congrats having choices is a good problem to have.

 

[watergirl7]

that is something to consider, I agree, specially if you want to go back to Cali. In 2023 CUSOM matched 30/180ish students into cali programs which isnt too bad. Good luck with your choice and congrats having choices is a good problem to have.

Thank you so much! I appreciate all your help!

 

[Ihe2koo]

Go to Colorado. It is a much better school with a lot more opportunities. The only reason they do not match more into Cali is because students there are not as passionate about matching to Cali as compared to CUSM which is a state school.