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[temppg428]

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This might be my first thread on SDN, otherwise it's been a really long time.

Anyway, I'm very fortunate to have been accepted to 3 DO schools--WesternU (Pomona), Touro-CA, and Midwestern-AZCOM. I know the basics you can find on admissions websites, like curricula, board pass rates, etc, etc. I'd really appreciate advice/insight on key differences between these schools, especially from current students at these schools.

If you're a current student at one of these schools, would you choose to attend it again? Or would you choose a different school (maybe one of the other ones on my list)? Why?

Some info on me if it helps:
SF Bay Area native. Lived here my whole life. Went to college in NorCal. Multiple family members in medicine (not sure this is relevant, but it might apply to something). I have family members (support) close to all 3 schools.

Thanks!

 

[Im76at711]

all three are great schools in my opinion. i personally would choose Touro if I was in your shoes because it would be close to home, you are familiar with the area and all that jazz. least on the list would be western. Their OMM lab requirements are too much. they like OMM too much. AZCOM would be great. I actually also got accepted there.

 

[deleted610572]

Go to Touro if you can stay at home and save money on rent. If not, then Western because its cheaper than AZCOM. All 3 will get you where you want to go. Go for the cheapest option. Touro CA has the weakest rotations out of the 3 reputation wise

 

[Im76at711]

Could you give a little more info on the OMM requirements at Western vs. at these other schools? I thought Touro-CA was big on OMM.

In terms of location, Touro-CA is about 1 hr driving from my house. Obviously it would be "easier" to transition to med school knowing I could easily drive home when I wanted to and being very familiar with the Bay Area. However, since I've been in the Bay Area my whole life, part of me really wants to move away. Pomona and Glendale/Phoenix really aren't too far away for location to be a big concern.

Btw, congrats on your acceptance! Will you be going to AZCOM?

I interviewed at western and the students told us that they do more OMM than is what is normally required. I am not sure but I think they have a 3 hour lab weekly instead of only one hour. i am not sure about the touros I didn't even apply there lol. No. I will not be going AZCOM. It was an awesome school just to steep of a price tag for me :/

 

[redhope]

Could you give a little more info on the OMM requirements at Western vs. at these other schools? I thought Touro-CA was big on OMM.

In terms of location, Touro-CA is about 1 hr driving from my house. Obviously it would be "easier" to transition to med school knowing I could easily drive home when I wanted to and being very familiar with the Bay Area. However, since I've been in the Bay Area my whole life, part of me really wants to move away. Pomona and Glendale/Phoenix really aren't too far away for location to be a big concern.

Btw, congrats on your acceptance! Will you be going to AZCOM?

You're too far to commute from home with Touro, so you'd be stiffed with about the same COL as the other two schools. My vote is for AZCOM if money isn't an issue and COMP if it is. AZCOM blows them both out of the water in terms of board scores and has the least OMM out of the three. Touro and COMP are obsessed with OMM and have huge time sucks, but COMP makes up for that with much better rotation sites.

91% COMLEX first time pass rate at Touro with a 31 MCAT average is beyond me (national average is 93.86%).............................

 

[gerges]

Touro vs. Western

They both have more than typical OMM requirements. They're both in pretty bad areas crime rate wise, but directly comparing online stats, Vallejo is noticeably worse than Pomona. I have heard bad things about rotations at Touro CA and Nevada in general, but I think those claims may be outdated. Touro CA's students and Western students both rotate at Arrowhead which is regarded as a good teaching hospital. But its worth considering that since it is in So Cal, you'll likely have to do much more moving around if you go to Touro. The one thing I personally find strange about Touro is that their pass rates are far from impressive despite the fact that their curriculum somewhat emphasizes board preparation.


In the past few years Western's board scores seem to have taken a dip, but I think that has to do with the fact that it combines the pass rates from the Pomona and Lebanon campuses (the dips takes place in the 2012-2013 which would be the first testing year for Lebanon campus students). I suspect that the Lebanon campus suffers from typical new school problems and have lower pass rates making the overall pass rate of both schools combined lower (purely speculation).

Touro vs AZCOM

I think AZCOM wins in most regards except for maybe cost. AZCOM definitely has less OMM requirements, but whether that's a good or bad thing is up to you to decide. Also, not too sure about rotations for either school. I can confirm reading about issues regarding Touro rotations, but more recently people said those issues are outdated.

Touro-CA might be better if you have prospects of staying in California.

Western vs AZCOM

More OMM at Western than AZCOM. As others have said, AZCOM is more expensive tuition, but Glendale has a much cheaper cost of living (especially for housing) than Pomona so I think it ends up balancing out.
I know Western has great rotations, but not sure about AZCOM. From what I know about friends of mine that attended AZCOM the rotations seemed to be a bit more all over the place, but that doesn't say much about the quality. AZCOM is also transparent about their board averages and they seem to be pretty good. Can't say too much about how pass rates compare to Western for reasons I mentioned above. Just like Touro, Western is better if you have prospects of staying in California for residency/practice. This is not to give you the idea that its hard to come back to California if you go to AZCOM considering you can rotate in California.


I would still make the choice between these schools based on how much it will cost you. I agree if Touro allows you to avoid paying rent altogether I would go there especially if that's where your greatest support group is. The differences between any of these schools are not great enough to override the consideration of cost of attendance. I am also a firm believer that having a good support group will play a greater role in your success than what school you decide to attend.

 

[AlbinoHawk DO]

As a WesternU student, I can't in good conscious advocate for you to choose my university. Unfortunately, despite having many people that care about our education, the curriculum is simply terrible. We didn't cover at least 1/4 of FA while covering many things that weren't in it. We have too many BS classes like IPE and have to deal with "small group" and "large group." We have a ridiculous amount of OMM. Please don't pick your university on polls from undergrads that don't understand our university. Seek out the feedback from real students which can be seen through many threads if you search them.

 

[gerges]

As a WesternU student, I can't in good conscious advocate for you to choose my university. Unfortunately, despite having many people that care about our education, the curriculum is simply terrible. We didn't cover at least 1/4 of FA while covering many things that weren't in it. We have too many BS classes like IPE and have to deal with "small group" and "large group." We have a ridiculous amount of OMM. Please don't pick your university on polls from undergrads that don't understand our university. Seek out the feedback from real students which can be seen through many threads if you search them.

I've been waiting for you... Have a look for yourself OP: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/western-comp-reviews.1147050/page-2 . You can see how much disagreement there is on this matter. AlbinoHawk is WesternU's biggest critic at least if we're talking about the past 2-3 years of discussion on SDN. I don't think his opinions are disingenuous because he also gives praise where its due, but you'll find there are definitely a lot of people who disagree with more than one of the criticisms he's put forth. I also recommend you read the two most recent reviews on Pros/Con DO school thread by bonsaipalmtree (2014) and Kevin Baker (2015): http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/pros-and-cons-of-your-do-school.407104/page-25 . There may be other recent threads I'm not aware of, but these threads helped me make my decision when it came down to it.

 

[TheaterOfTheme]

I voted for Western solely based on rotations. Please, anyone, correct me if I am wrong. However, I know that AZCOM is moving towards only preceptor based while the plurality of Western's rotations are wards based.

 

[redhope]

I've been waiting for you... Have a look for yourself OP: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/western-comp-reviews.1147050/page-2 . You can see how much disagreement there is on this matter. AlbinoHawk is WesternU's biggest critic at least if we're talking about the past 2-3 years of discussion on SDN. I don't think his opinions are disingenuous because he also gives praise where its due, but you'll find there are definitely a lot of people who disagree with more than one of the criticisms he's put forth. I also recommend you read the two most recent reviews on Pros/Con DO school thread by bonsaipalmtree (2014) and Kevin Baker (2015): http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/pros-and-cons-of-your-do-school.407104/page-25 . There may be other recent threads I'm not aware of, but these threads helped me make my decision when it came down to it.

Don't tell us you gave up RVUCOM for WesternU...

 

[gerges]

Don't tell us you gave up RVUCOM for WesternU...

It wasn't easy because I liked the Denver area and the people at RVU, but yah I did. Is this the part where you tell me board pass rates/scores and match lists are everything?

 

[deleted610572]

It wasn't easy because I liked the Denver area and the people at RVU, but yah I did. Is this the part where you tell me board pass rates/scores and match lists are everything?

Nah Denver is just a boss town

 

[Rekt]

I've been waiting for you... Have a look for yourself OP: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/western-comp-reviews.1147050/page-2 . You can see how much disagreement there is on this matter. AlbinoHawk is WesternU's biggest critic at least if we're talking about the past 2-3 years of discussion on SDN. I don't think his opinions are disingenuous because he also gives praise where its due, but you'll find there are definitely a lot of people who disagree with more than one of the criticisms he's put forth. I also recommend you read the two most recent reviews on Pros/Con DO school thread by bonsaipalmtree (2014) and Kevin Baker (2015): http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/pros-and-cons-of-your-do-school.407104/page-25 . There may be other recent threads I'm not aware of, but these threads helped me make my decision when it came down to it.

Sorry, but you don't really get a say yet. Until you're actually sitting down wasting multiple hours in OPP lab learning ridiculous OMM with constantly impending exams. You'll quickly realize how important completely minimizing the amount of OMM time is. Pair this with your anatomy labs block (which is also a giant waste of time and only wows the premeds) along with clinical skills bull**** = constant scramble just to get by.

Op,

All three are good schools, but here's my N=1.

Azcom > Touro >>> Western