DO Schools

[jmiinch]

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I don't really mind if I have to relocate to go to school...I know it's kind of a given. I was wondering if there were specific schools that I should definitely look into applying to since it's not very reasonable to apply to all of them.

 

[jphwki82]

I don't really mind if I have to relocate to go to school...I know it's kind of a given. I was wondering if there were specific schools that I should definitely look into applying to since it's not very reasonable to apply to all of them.

Your post is pretty vague. You might want to try giving a little more info as to what you are looking for in terms of a med school, your stats, where you live, and etc. Plus, the whole point of figuring out where you want to apply involves research on your part. A lot of people invest a little time in researching programs to determine which ones they will apply to. Try going to the AACOM website and looking at the CIB to get some general info on the various D.O. programs.

 

[jmiinch]

I am sorry for being so vague. I am new to this and am trying to get the hang of things. I am currently in undergraduate school at Lindenwood University in St. Charles, MO. I my hope is to matriculate into a DO school in 2013 and take the MCAT in Summer 2012. My brother attends KCUMB and I like what I have heard him discuss about KCUMB. I know I am going to have to do my own research and have started but I was just curious to see if people had a DO school that they liked a lot and recommended I look at more in-depth. Like I said I am new to this and just would like some peoples opinions and viewpoints.

 

[jphwki82]

I am sorry for being so vague. I am new to this and am trying to get the hang of things. I am currently in undergraduate school at Lindenwood University in St. Charles, MO. I my hope is to matriculate into a DO school in 2013 and take the MCAT in Summer 2012. My brother attends KCUMB and I like what I have heard him discuss about KCUMB. I know I am going to have to do my own research and have started but I was just curious to see if people had a DO school that they liked a lot and recommended I look at more in-depth. Like I said I am new to this and just would like some peoples opinions and viewpoints.

No problem, I was just trying to get more info from you.

 

[DoctorJDO]

what are you looking for in a school? I know location doesn't matter, as you said. but what about city/suburban/rural life, cost of attendance, reputation of the school, primary care vs specialty preparation, OMM, etc. there are a lot of schools out there, and it's important to know what you want. if you have an idea already, let us know. if not, search for this thread "pros and cons of your DO school", and see what sounds good to you

 

[MightyMoose]

what are you looking for in a school? I know location doesn't matter, as you said. but what about city/suburban/rural life, cost of attendance, reputation of the school, primary care vs specialty preparation, OMM, etc. there are a lot of schools out there, and it's important to know what you want. if you have an idea already, let us know. if not, search for this thread "pros and cons of your DO school", and see what sounds good to you

You are the man! I have been trying to remember the name of that thread for about a month now!

Thank you!

op, that thread is immensely informative.

 

[jmiinch]

Thank you everyone! I guess I never realized what all went into picking a perspective school. I have always been so concerned at doing what is needed to get accepted somewhere and I am finally worrying about where exactly that "somewhere" is going to be. I will definitely look at that thread that was suggested. I have lived in a really small town (less than 200) and a really large city (St. Louis). I know I would prefer something in between so probably a suburban type setting but wouldn't be opposed to the city if the school was everything I was looking for and more. I realize now that even though people can point me in the right direction I ultimately have to find the school that feels right to me. Thank you again everyone for your help.

 

[megathunder]

You are the man! I have been trying to remember the name of that thread for about a month now!

Thank you!

op, that thread is immensely informative.

You should have asked me, I've been working my way through that thread for weeks now. Solid thread, tricky thing about it is that it's in the osteopathic forum.

 

[jmiinch]

I just read some of the thread and it was very informative. I felt like I was reading a foreign language though with all the abbreviations 🙂. My brother is in KCUMB Class of 2013 and I really like how his school does the curriculum by systems. Can I easily find out from the schools website how they have their curriculum set up? Also my university doesn't have a pre-medicine advising board...will that hurt me? And how important is research? No one at my school can ever give me a clear answer on how to get involved in research.

 

[DoctorJDO]

most curriculum information is in the "pros and cons" thread, but you should also be able to find it on their website, or here:
http://www.aacom.org/resources/bookstore/cib/Documents/2011cib/2011cib-whole.pdf
that's straight from AACOMAS, so the info doesn't get much better than that. not having a pre-med committee won't hurt, but I think on your applications you will have to explain why you didn't use a pre-med committee letter of rec, in which case you can just say that your school doesn't have one. research is one of those things that is not required, but recommended. I got in with research, other people have gotten in without it. whatever you are interested in, look at the bio pages of some faculty members on your school's website, it might show their research interests. if one catches your eye, you can then email them asking if you can help out and gain some experience. some professors will say no, but just keep emailing them one by one and eventually someone will help you out. if you have no website info, look at the course schedule at your school, see who teaches interesting labs, and you can ask them

 

[Aaron Earles]

I am sorry for being so vague. I am new to this and am trying to get the hang of things. I am currently in undergraduate school at Lindenwood University in St. Charles, MO. I my hope is to matriculate into a DO school in 2013 and take the MCAT in Summer 2012. My brother attends KCUMB and I like what I have heard him discuss about KCUMB. I know I am going to have to do my own research and have started but I was just curious to see if people had a DO school that they liked a lot and recommended I look at more in-depth. Like I said I am new to this and just would like some peoples opinions and viewpoints.

I know several medical students and residents that attended KCUMB. They seem to be a great medical school and their students come into the wards prepared. They also seem to do quite well on Boards.

 

[jmiinch]

I know several medical students and residents that attended KCUMB. They seem to be a great medical school and their students come into the wards prepared. They also seem to do quite well on Boards.

My brother loves it at KCUMB and that is my number one choice school for many reasons. One it is in Missouri where I have grown up and two the school is taught by systems which I think I would prefer over PBL. I know I need back up choices so I have gone to ACCOMAS website and looked through the curriculum of all the DO schools to find which ones have system based learning and here is my list:

Des Moines
GA-PCOM
KCUMB
MSU-COM
PCOM
Pikesville
Rocky Vista
Touro-NY
University of North Texas

Any suggestions on which to definitely apply to or are there any you have heard horror stories about? Just want some feedback to use in helping make my decision. Is it unrealistic to apply to them all?

 

[Hottpants89]

My brother loves it at KCUMB and that is my number one choice school for many reasons. One it is in Missouri where I have grown up and two the school is taught by systems which I think I would prefer over PBL. I know I need back up choices so I have gone to ACCOMAS website and looked through the curriculum of all the DO schools to find which ones have system based learning and here is my list:

Des Moines
GA-PCOM
KCUMB
MSU-COM
PCOM
Pikesville
Rocky Vista
Touro-NY
University of North Texas

Any suggestions on which to definitely apply to or are there any you have heard horror stories about? Just want some feedback to use in helping make my decision. Is it unrealistic to apply to them all?

VCOM also has systems based. MSU-COM requires its own format for letters so you would have to have all of your letter writers do an extra copy to apply there and Texas requires a whole different primary application also with letters sent specifically to them. So its kind of a pain to apply to those along with all the others if you are studying for the MCAT at the same time, but if you start early its no problem. I would take Touro-NY off the list, but that's just my opinion.

 

[jphwki82]

VCOM also has systems based. MSU-COM requires its own format for letters so you would have to have all of your letter writers do an extra copy to apply there and Texas requires a whole different primary application also with letters sent specifically to them. So its kind of a pain to apply to those along with all the others if you are studying for the MCAT at the same time, but if you start early its no problem. I would take Touro-NY off the list, but that's just my opinion.

You should note that MSU COM does NOT require an interview to be accepted. Hence why they have the lengthy secondary app. They base their acceptance off of the primary & secondary. Despite it being a pain to fill out, that is one less interview that you would have to concern yourself with.

Does Rocky Vista still have the issue of their students not being able to apply for federal loans and aid? According to their website, you would still need to rely on private/alternative loans until they have full accreditation http://www.rockyvistauniversity.org/loans.asp. Also, CCOM is a very good program, if you were looking to add a school.

 

[jmiinch]

Thank you for the advice. I took off Tour-NY and Texas and added CCOM and VCOM. I was wondering if anyone had any advice on the Touro campus in Henderson, NV? It is also systems based and I have family in that area.

 

[PunkmedGirl]

Thank you for the advice. I took off Tour-NY and Texas and added CCOM and VCOM. I was wondering if anyone had any advice on the Touro campus in Henderson, NV? It is also systems based and I have family in that area.

As far as I know, Touro-NV ranks higher (again this is an opinion and I live here LOL) than the other Touros.

 

[Hottpants89]

Thank you for the advice. I took off Tour-NY and Texas and added CCOM and VCOM. I was wondering if anyone had any advice on the Touro campus in Henderson, NV? It is also systems based and I have family in that area.

I don't know if they are systems based or not but LMU-DCOM and KCOM are worth looking into. It is really going to depend on your stats. When you have your final GPA and MCAT scores you will have a better idea of how many you need to apply to.

 

[Aaron Earles]

My brother loves it at KCUMB and that is my number one choice school for many reasons. One it is in Missouri where I have grown up and two the school is taught by systems which I think I would prefer over PBL. I know I need back up choices so I have gone to ACCOMAS website and looked through the curriculum of all the DO schools to find which ones have system based learning and here is my list:

Des Moines
GA-PCOM
KCUMB
MSU-COM
PCOM
Pikesville
Rocky Vista
Touro-NY
University of North Texas

Any suggestions on which to definitely apply to or are there any you have heard horror stories about? Just want some feedback to use in helping make my decision. Is it unrealistic to apply to them all?

I do not think it is unrealistic to apply to all of these programs. I would make sure that you really like the area the schools are located. For example, I am from a small rural community in southern WV. I attended PCSOM about an hour away and loved it. It is a small town without a lot of distractions. If you are used to living in a larger, metro area, I would think twice about attending PCSOM. It is a good school, but a lot of people in my class had a sort of culture shock because there is not as much to do there unless you love the outdoors. Des Moines has a good reputation from what I hear, as does PCOM. Rocky Vista is really expensive if it is the school I am thinking of.

 

[Aaron Earles]

I forgot to mention that I have been impressed with NOVA graduates as well. That might also be an option for you.

 

[PunkmedGirl]

I do not think it is unrealistic to apply to all of these programs. I would make sure that you really like the area the schools are located. For example, I am from a small rural community in southern WV. I attended PCSOM about an hour away and loved it. It is a small town without a lot of distractions. If you are used to living in a larger, metro area, I would think twice about attending PCSOM. It is a good school, but a lot of people in my class had a sort of culture shock because there is not as much to do there unless you love the outdoors. Des Moines has a good reputation from what I hear, as does PCOM. Rocky Vista is really expensive if it is the school I am thinking of.

I didn't realized RVU was so expensive...geeze!!!

 

[MightyMoose]

I do not think it is unrealistic to apply to all of these programs. I would make sure that you really like the area the schools are located. For example, I am from a small rural community in southern WV. I attended PCSOM about an hour away and loved it. It is a small town without a lot of distractions. If you are used to living in a larger, metro area, I would think twice about attending PCSOM. It is a good school, but a lot of people in my class had a sort of culture shock because there is not as much to do there unless you love the outdoors. Des Moines has a good reputation from what I hear, as does PCOM. Rocky Vista is really expensive if it is the school I am thinking of.

RVU is 42k, it's about mid-range for cost. It's 38k if you live instate.

I didn't realized RVU was so expensive...geeze!!!

It's not. 😉


OP, be aware that DMU is not systems based until the second year. The first year is overlapping classes, that are not necessarily interrelated in the curriculum.

 

[jmiinch]

Ok this is kind of off the topic that I began this thread with but I figured I would put it here and see if you all have some advice. Right out of high school I was accepted to Saint Louis College of Pharmacy and finished one year. My dad was diagnosed with cancer the summer off my second year and within 2 weeks of beginning the Fall 09 semester he passed away. I took a semester off and with in that semester I decided to switch and do medical school instead. So I had to change schools and was required to take biology over again since it is my major and had to do Anatomy & Physiology since STLCOP has Anatomy in one semester and Physiology in a second and my school now has A & P I and A & P II. DO schools will take the grade from the most recent completed class, right? Also my Gen Chem I and II were both pharmacy based and I did poorly in (C and C-) I am worried about doing well in Organic I and II. Is it worth retaking both this summer to prepare me for Organic Chem next Fall? Sorry this is lengthy.

 

[PunkmedGirl]

Ok this is kind of off the topic that I began this thread with but I figured I would put it here and see if you all have some advice. Right out of high school I was accepted to Saint Louis College of Pharmacy and finished one year. My dad was diagnosed with cancer the summer off my second year and within 2 weeks of beginning the Fall 09 semester he passed away. I took a semester off and with in that semester I decided to switch and do medical school instead. So I had to change schools and was required to take biology over again since it is my major and had to do Anatomy & Physiology since STLCOP has Anatomy in one semester and Physiology in a second and my school now has A & P I and A & P II. DO schools will take the grade from the most recent completed class, right? Also my Gen Chem I and II were both pharmacy based and I did poorly in (C and C-) I am worried about doing well in Organic I and II. Is it worth retaking both this summer to prepare me for Organic Chem next Fall? Sorry this is lengthy.

YOu don't have to if you don't want to but Chem II needs to be retaken because you need a grade of C or higher for all medical schools. But there are some schools that will let you sub that class with Biochem or something like that.

 

[nascardoc]

My brother loves it at KCUMB and that is my number one choice school for many reasons. One it is in Missouri where I have grown up and two the school is taught by systems which I think I would prefer over PBL. I know I need back up choices so I have gone to ACCOMAS website and looked through the curriculum of all the DO schools to find which ones have system based learning and here is my list:

Des Moines
GA-PCOM
KCUMB
MSU-COM
PCOM
Pikesville
Rocky Vista
Touro-NY
University of North Texas

Any suggestions on which to definitely apply to or are there any you have heard horror stories about? Just want some feedback to use in helping make my decision. Is it unrealistic to apply to them all?

You can add LMU-DCOM to your list of systems-based learning.