I'm a fourth year at COMP. Tuition costs, and location are important, but I honestly wouldn't put board pass rates too high on your selection criteria. And I can be as bitter about COMP as other posters, but I got 90th percentile for the COMLEX Level 1 when I took it before third year, and I beat the mean for USMLE Step 1. I am in probably the top 20% of the class or so. I studied pretty hard but of course, in hindsight I could've studied harder, but I chose to do more extra-curriculars.
I came to COMP b/c I thought the clinical rotations would be good and wanted to enjoy the weather, etc. when I was taking a break from studying. I'll mention a few things that have changed since I was a first year, etc. that might affect or might not affect your decisions, but that concerned me regarding the future education of COMPers.
Unfortunately, the best professor there, one of the anatomy professors left to go to another school. Shame, and I think the department might suffer a little. But I also hear that since the school started taking a few more students, there is less actual disecting time with the cadavers...i.e. its 8 to a cadaver, instead of 4 or 5 when I was a first year. I hear that that is possibly a global issue with physician education, and many medical schools have cut back anatomy......which is truly stupid IMHO....anyways.
Some of the rotations procedures/policies have changed which I think suck compared to how nice I had it, but I think that COMP's rotations selections are a bit better than most schools(i have friends at a few other schools). I wish that the rotations office, and the other department staff were a little more encouraging of students with respect to helping students achieve their academic goals and residency goals. I want to add that personally I haven't had too many problems with the rotations office, but almost everyone else I know has had some.
Go to a school where you will be happy living for four years(or at least about three, since you may be doing away rotations your fourth). I would tell interviewees that when I was giving tours and I still agree. Med school isn't really hard IMHO, but its grueling and physically and mentally just wears you down. If you are from, and want to stay in Southern CA, then probably COMP will fit you just right. I think that the OMM department is pretty strong. As far as becoming a DO, as long as you don't want to do a super competitive specialty, you'll be fine. I don't think that DO students have the highly competitive mentality with each other compared to allopathic students, based on what I've seen on rotations. I don't wish that I had gone to MD school, but it sure would have made residency apps a bit easier. There is some anti-DO sentiment out there and I have no doubt that given the opportunity with respect to residencies, if I get in, I'll turn some opinions 180 degrees. Others in my class will do the same.
Regardless of where you go, don't have the mentality that I've heard from some students.....2.0 = DO, because that does nothing but hurt the school, the osteopathic profession, and medicine in general. Study your butt off wherever you are at so that know your stuff and are well prepared. Personally I thought that the first two years of med school were the easiest to handle. I think that it just gets harder and harder as you go along(others disagree).
I think that board scores vary at COMP. The class ahead of mine didn't have as high of scores as we did, and obviously the class below us didn't do as well as they would have liked. I remember lots of e-mails from that class about parties, get togethers, etc......and I would ask myself "when do they study?" LOL. From what I've seen and heard, the second year class is pretty on top of things.....so hopefully there won't continue to be a downtrend in boards scores. But regardless of the average, there are still people in my class that studied hard, played hard, and kicked butt on the boards. I have no doubt that these students are going to get into top top programs in the specialties that they have chosen. And I would refer patients without hesitation to these people...
(That was a tall soap box....took me a ladder to get down.) Hope it helps.
