DO Schools with regional bias

[AKPreMed]

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Hi Everyone,

I live in Alaska and I'm wondering if anyone has a list of DO schools that have a regional bias to the North West? I know of PNWU in Washington, but so far that's the only one I'm aware of. I plan to apply broadly when my time comes (not for another couple of years) but I'd really like to stay on the West coast if possible because my ultimate plan is to return to Alaska after medical school. Don't get me wrong, I'll take an acceptance anywhere if it's offered to me, it's just a preference of mine to stay on this side of the US.

Thanks in advance!

 

[cabinbuilder]

Greetings fellow Alaskan - I am from Fairbanks!!!!
You are correct that PNWU takes about 75% of their students from the Pacific Northwest.
There is a new DO school in Lebanon, OR
Arizona takes students mostly from their home state
There's the DO school in Pomona, CA - I have heard that is very difficult to get into if you are not from CA
Not sure about the DO school in Nevada.

The rest is really luck of the draw. Good luck. Let me know if you need assistance.

 

[MedPR]

Most, if not all schools have a bias towards state residents, but I'm sure beyond that the bias lies within the region.

All med schools want to matriculate students that they think will stay and practice in the area. I know it's not the answer you're looking for, but you're probably fine applying in the region that you want to practice.

 

[jinobi]

You're fine. Most DO schools are private, so they don't care about in-state preference. Just apply broadly.

Schools themselves might have regional bias due to the sheer amount of in-state applicants to that school however (bias is in applicant pool, not by school policy). For example, WesternU in Pomona will have lots of more competitive applicants just because so many pre-meds in the area want to stay in CA.

 

[Dharma]

AWESOME avatar there AKPreMed! "Frau Blucher!"

Just to add to what the others have said, the state schools are obviously tougher for OOS residents. I have heard that Touro-COM NYC and LECOM-E have students from all over the country. Not sure if the East Coast is your bag, but thought I'd had that in there for ya. Good luck!

 

[cabinbuilder]

AWESOME avatar there AKPreMed! "Frau Blucher!"

Just to add to what the others have said, the state schools are obviously tougher for OOS residents. I have heard that Touro-COM NYC and LECOM-E have students from all over the country. Not sure if the East Coast is your bag, but thought I'd had that in there for ya. Good luck!

this is true about Erie, they like to have students from all 50 states. In my class there were two of us from Alaska

 

[AKPreMed]

Hey Cabinbuilder!

I actually live in North Pole, so we're (sort of) neighbors! How are you enjoying this wonderful cold snap we're having? hahaha!

And Dharma,

I'm glad someone recognized the revered Dr. Frankenstein! I am a huge Gene Wilder fan. I think I've watched that movie hundreds of times! =)

Thank you all for your responses. My first choice for schools will definitely be PNWU as I want to become a family practitioner in a small underserved community. We'll just have to see where the chips fall in 2014 when I'll be applying!

 

[cabinbuilder]

Hey Cabinbuilder!

I actually live in North Pole, so we're (sort of) neighbors! How are you enjoying this wonderful cold snap we're having? hahaha!

!

Well, I live in Oregon now so not experiencing the cold you are. I do follow my aunt though who lives down in Clear. I know it's been below -40 for the last week or so.

 

[AKPreMed]

Well, it's been in the -50's at my house all weekend. Luckily I haven't had the need to go outside for any reason so I've been keeping pretty warm. Lucky you live in Oregon! I bet the winters are much more mild there.

 

[ManBroDude]

PNWU's regional bias is 90%, currently.

 

[poopyhead]

Just to add to what the others have said, the state schools are obviously tougher for OOS residents.

The OP should consider applying to UMDNJ, since the school makes it relatively easy to get in-state tuition after the first year (52K => 32K), saving quite a bit on tuition.

MSU's OOS tuition is just crazy (74K vs 35K IS).

OU has that 5-year contract for OOS students, but the OOS tuition is actually quite reasonable (39K vs 27K IS).

OSU also seems quite reasonable (39K vs 20K IS). Alas, my application fell into a black hole there 😴

TCOM is an awesome deal (27K vs 12K IS 😱), but they use a separate application service, TMDSAS, which does NOT have grade replacement.

Like MSU, WVSOM has pretty high OOS tuition (50K vs 20K IS).

 

[2012Aggie]

TCOM, while cheap and a great school, is required by law to accept 90% Texas residents.

 

[poopyhead]

TCOM, while cheap and a great school, is required by law to accept 90% Texas residents.

That still leaves 10% of the spots available for OOS applicants with the stats, sans grade replacement, and patience to fill out yet another application service

The 27K OOS tuition is still lower than all private DO schools, including LECOM, and even most public DO schools. It's crazy that a Texas resident attending TCOM will save ~150K (+ interest) in tuition over someone attending CCOM/AZCOM. Even an OOS student at TCOM will save ~90K.

 

[NurWollen]

With a few very notable exceptions, such as PNWU, I think that DO's schools' class composition reflect not regional bias but rather the demographic makeup of applicants; for example, AZCOM has a high percentage of Arizona residents because the fact that it is located in AZ makes it attractive to residents of AZ and nearby states, while LECOM, for example, doesn't attract more AZ applicants than it would from any other state that's not Pennsylvania.

Also, although PNWU does have a very strong regional bias, it should be remembered that it's not a state school and therefore isn't bound by the state definition of a resident. The bias, as I understand, includes anyone with demonstrable connections to the northwest. Their pacific northwest preference, they say, includes people from other areas who attend an undergraduate school in the pacific northwest.

 

[VA1986]

.

 

[GraceEuphoria]

VCOM likes applicants from Appalachian states, but still draws students from all over the country.

I will ditto this, but for LMU-DCOM. We have a large amount of students from the area (it's usually around 60%), but between the 2 classes on campus we probably have nearly every state represented. Our first year class has an Alaskan native in it in fact, so if you're willing to apply broadly across the country, you should consider applying here. I think they like the idea of admitting people from places that, to TN, are kind of random 🙂

 

[surgeryDO]

Hey guys!
I have no valuable advice to add on this thread but just wanted to give a shout out to AK. I'm from Anchorage!

 

[Cooperd0g]

The new DO school in Oregon mentioned is an offshoot campus of Western University COMP. It is called Western University COMP-Northwest. It has a preference for people from the Northwest with the goal of them staying in the Northwest, but accepts students from everywhere. They define the Northwest as Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, Alaska, and Hawaii per their literature.

 

[AKPreMed]

Hey guys!
I have no valuable advice to add on this thread but just wanted to give a shout out to AK. I'm from Anchorage!

Lucky you! I moved to North Pole from Anchorage about 3 years ago. CANNOT WAIT TO GO BACK. I miss my A-Town. =(

 

[DocMan22]

Something to keep in mind. WVSOM let's you do your entire 4th year wherever you want, they have had students do every 4th year rotation in CA. You would have plenty of opportunities to rotate at your top choices in the NW or Alaska - I know there is a family practice residency in Alaska.

 

[surgeryDO]

Lucky you! I moved to North Pole from Anchorage about 3 years ago. CANNOT WAIT TO GO BACK. I miss my A-Town. =(

What made you move from Anchorage to NP???? 😱

I don't have much room to talk though as I somehow ended up in Ohio and am now finishing up undergrad.

Would love to be able to make it back up there to practice one day.

 

[AKPreMed]

What made you move from Anchorage to NP???? 😱

I don't have much room to talk though as I somehow ended up in Ohio and am now finishing up undergrad.

Would love to be able to make it back up there to practice one day.

haha, I wish I had a really good reason, but I don't. I moved up here to take a job in a field I thought I would enjoy but turned out to be a nightmare (Construction Contract Management --gag) and then I started school and decided it would be best to just finish it out here at UAF and not try to transfer. I fully plan to practice in Anchorage or the valley when I get out of medical school.. it's just my home and I can't picture living anywhere else!

 

[surgeryDO]

haha, I wish I had a really good reason, but I don't. I moved up here to take a job in a field I thought I would enjoy but turned out to be a nightmare (Construction Contract Management --gag) and then I started school and decided it would be best to just finish it out here at UAF and not try to transfer. I fully plan to practice in Anchorage or the valley when I get out of medical school.. it's just my home and I can't picture living anywhere else!

Well then maybe we'll be colleagues up there someday. 😎
Good luck to you in your journey.

 

[Zoopeda]

The new DO school in Oregon mentioned is an offshoot campus of Western University COMP. It is called Western University COMP-Northwest. It has a preference for people from the Northwest with the goal of them staying in the Northwest, but accepts students from everywhere. They define the Northwest as Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, Alaska, and Hawaii per their literature.

I spoke with a Western University - Lebanon, Oregon admissions person today, and she stated that they give no preference to in-state or Northwest residents. She claimed the average stats for in-state and out-of-state applicants are similar and that the reason for their 65% OR resident matriculation stat is simply that they receive a lot more applications from residents of the Pacific Northwest...

 

[capazzo22]

I am from Michigan, currently a Utah resident, but my wife is from Oregon. Does anybody think that PNWU would even look twice at my application?

 

[Temperature101]

How about A.T SOMA schools in AZ and Missouri? Do they have regional bias? I am compiling a list of 15 schools to apply to next cycle and I would like to avoid schools that have strong regional bias... Is there a list on SDN? My search turned up nothing... I am a FL resident.

 

[WildEMDoc]

How about A.T SOMA schools in AZ and Missouri? Do they have regional bias? I am compiling a list of 15 schools to apply to next cycle and I would like to avoid schools that have strong regional bias... Is there a list on SDN? My search turned up nothing... I am a FL resident.

I don't think that KCOM does at all. Everyone in the FB group is from all over the US.

SOMA I don't think does either. Just be sure you are comfortable with their system (1+3)

 

[Temperature101]

I don't think that KCOM does at all. Everyone in the FB group is from all over the US.

SOMA I don't think does either. Just be sure you are comfortable with their system (1+3)

What is the (1+3) system?...1 year basic science and 3 years of rotation.

 

[WildEMDoc]

What is the (1+3) system?...1 year basic science and 3 years of rotation.

Basically, after M1 they send you to a CHC to begin rotations. I don't know a whole lot about it though as I turned down my interview at SOMA.

Maybe this will help:
http://www.atsu.edu/soma/prospective_students/academic_fastfacts.htm

But KCOM is a traditional 2+2, the two campuses are completely different.

 

[NurWollen]

Basically, after M1 they send you to a CHC to begin rotations. I don't know a whole lot about it though as I turned down my interview at SOMA.

Maybe this will help:
http://www.atsu.edu/soma/prospective_students/academic_fastfacts.htm

But KCOM is a traditional 2+2, the two campuses are completely different.

This is incorrect. While SOMA does send you to a CHC (community health center, essentially a clinic focusing on the under served) after 1st year, the majority of time during 2nd year is still pre-clinical... they do about 4 days of class and one day of clinical experience a week during second year. 1st year is longer to compensate for the clinic time during 2nd year. Real rotations don't start until 3rd year, some of which are done at your CHC, some of which are done elsewhere.

 

[manotter]

ATSU-SOMA does have a slight bias if you are from the area where one of their CHC's are located. For example if you are from Ohio and you express interest in practicing medicine in Ohio then they will look more favorably towards this.

In response to the original question of schools in the Northwest ATSU-SOMA's Portland location serves Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Alaska. They have several rotations set up in Alaska if that is what you are interested in. There have even been a couple of people who have done most of their third and fourth year entirely in Alaska.