I have a few questions for y'all.
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1) On the budget sheet, the total COA is ~$61,000. If the two fixed expenses are tuition ($38,000) and heath insurance ($2,000), does it really cost $21,000 to live in Des Moines and cover the miscellaneous stuff? (Eg. If you choose to live in those houses next to the school, I think you can get away without a car and save around $3000...)
While I was there, I asked a lot of people (locals and students) about the cost of living there and the overwhelming response is that it is dirt cheap (but this is relative to where you moved from).
Examples:
A downtown studio (in downtown DM) was quoted at ~$350/mo or a 1 bedroom ~$500/mo. This is insanely cheap. One of the student ambassadors was paying $750 for a 3 bedroom 4 bath townhouse. Once again... CHEAP!
So, to answer your question, yes, you can live on 10k a year if you really want to. If you get a roommate, you could probably live on less.
I think they inflate some of these values to help students with families and SO's out.
I think these estimates may be a bit exaggerated so you can get the maximum amount of loans if needed. But, that's just my guess.
What would be actually costs for an average student? Could you get by on $10,000? What if you were to live frugally?
2) Do you need a car for 3rd year and 4th year? Can you just live close by the hospital in your clinical years?
This sounds like a yes. You will most likely need a car to drive between rotation sites.
What about during the 4th year? Is it hectic to go to different locations every 3-4 weeks? Can you end up paying rent potentially for 2 places?
At every school I've been to, they all say some sites cover your living expenses and others don't, so technically, you could get caught up paying rent on 2 different places.
One thing to keep in mind though, is if you do take out a smaller amount that the total COA, you could always request more money if you find that you really need it, up to the total COA.
3) Doing rotations at international sites: I have noticed a lot of schools not just DMU offer this option. How does the school insure that you receive good instruction/training at these sites? Or is it mostly up to the student on what you want to get out of the learning experience?
Someone else will need to answer this, because I have no idea.
I do know that the dean said he only likes to have a few different international locations you can travel to so that you can make a real impact in that location. This way you're not just showing up for 2 weeks, providing meds/treatment, then bailing. Rather these ~3 sites would have a steady stream of students that could provide needed services to the locals and actually work to improve their overall health, so it's beneficial to them as well as to the students. (I thought this was a great point.)
4) Do you get time off between 2nd and 3rd year to study for the board exam?
I recall them saying that you get a little bit of time and you could take one of your elective months to study for it if you want (but I might be mixing that up with another program...). I think someone else could probably provide more specifics. But what I do know is that their pass rate is awesome and their averages are great. So, whatever they do there it works.
