Help me Choose!! KCU vs. DMU vs. Nova

[neuro5599]

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Hi everyone! I am fortunate enough to have been accepted into KCU (main campus), Nova and DMU and am having trouble deciding which school to go to.

I’m from Florida, and Nova would be a three hour drive from my family, so my heart is telling me to go to Nova, but the 2018-2019 class has a 91% complex pass rate. I know they are restructuring their curriculum this year to make it board focused. I also loved Nova's staff, students and the culture there.

KCU’s pass rate of 98% is the only thing that has me wondering if I should reconsider my decision of Nova.

I didn’t love DMU when I toured so I think I’ve definitely knocked that out, but which school would you chose and why?

 

[Med.School.Hopeful]

Also think about clinical rotations and research opportunities. I got accepted into Nova too. It’s a nice campus and their boards scores have gotten better over the last couple of years. Their curriculum change and the Patel family giving money to the school is big for the program. If you’re strictly looking for the best program it would be Des Moines or KCU with Des Moines probably getting the edge. But if location and being near family is important to you then go Nova. Just be mindful that 2/3rds of Nova grads usually go primary care.

 

[deleted936470]

I think you should reconsider DMU but I understand the importance of a gut feel and being close to family. NOVA's internal issues, high pre-clinical failure rate and erratic board performances are concerning. The poor board performances are a symptom of a larger issue.

DMU > KCU >> NOVA

 

[PapaGuava]

I would not attend NOVA over these two other schools because of their board scores trending downwards, however, if you feel being away from family will be too hard on you then you need to sit and think about that before deciding which school to attend moving forward. I'd vote for DMU first, and then KCU, but both of these institutions are great!

Also, your thread was moved to the appropriate forum.

 

[DrStephenStrange]

DMUCOM

 

[Capecodder]

Nova is great too - If you like nova and want to go there, don’t let people who only know what they’ve read on SDN make you feel like the school is not good enough. Their board scores have struggled in the past because they were allowing students to take COMLEX without taking (and passing) a practice version, which I’m sure you heard about during the interview and is not the case anymore. Maybe they didn’t stress this in your interview, but, with the curriculum change, M1s start systems in the second semester of first year, which is actually not too dissimilar from MD curriculums and means you’re not still learning 1 or 2 systems while doing comprehensive reviews for boards. As you said, the curriculum is more board focused... They provide board style questions weekly that you can review with professors if we want. They also bought Pathoma and Lecturio (a B&B type board prep program) for every M1 and M2 student.

If you haven't guessed, I’m an M1 at Nova. While that may make you think I’m biased, I applied to Nova as a safety because it didn’t require a secondary. And after interviews at Temple, Drexel, PCOM, and Touro... I was pretty upset (you might even say devastated) that I ended up sending a deposit to Nova. But now that I’m here and in the trenches, I don’t know why I stressed so much. This school is just as good as the next. I’m about a third of the way through my zanki cards and already feel pretty comfortable with board style questions. Most importantly... I attribute that preparation to the school. If you come to Nova, you will be fine. You will pass the board and you will get into a residency program. If being close to your family is important, Nova is a great option. If you have questions and want to reach out... please do!

 

[deleted936470]

Nova is great too - If you like nova and want to go there, don’t let people who only know what they’ve read on SDN make you feel like the school is not good enough. Their board scores have struggled in the past because they were allowing students to take COMLEX without taking (and passing) a practice version, which I’m sure you heard about during the interview and is not the case anymore. Maybe they didn’t stress this in your interview, but, with the curriculum change, M1s start systems in the second semester of first year, which is actually not too dissimilar from MD curriculums and means you’re not still learning 1 or 2 systems while doing comprehensive reviews for boards. As you said, the curriculum is more board focused... They provide board style questions weekly that you can review with professors if we want. They also bought Pathoma and Lecturio (a B&B type board prep program) for every M1 and M2 student.

If you haven't guessed, I’m an M1 at Nova. While that may make you think I’m biased, I applied to Nova as a safety because it didn’t require a secondary. And after interviews at Temple, Drexel, PCOM, and Touro... I was pretty upset (you might even say devastated) that I ended up sending a deposit to Nova. But now that I’m here and in the trenches, I don’t know why I stressed so much. This school is just as good as the next. I’m about a third of the way through my zanki cards and already feel pretty comfortable with board style questions. Most importantly... I attribute that preparation to the school. If you come to Nova, you will be fine. You will pass the board and you will get into a residency program. If being close to your family is important, Nova is a great option. If you have questions and want to reach out... please do!

As a biased MS1 at Nova, your opinion is actually less helpful than an uninvolved stranger on the internet.
Problems at Nova go beyond board examples; if 20% of the first year class fails anatomy, there a is a serious issue.

It isn't a "bad" DO school, but even with what you wrote, DMU > KCU >> NOVA .

 

[Capecodder]

As a biased MS1 at Nova, your opinion is actually less helpful than an uninvolved stranger on the internet.
Problems at Nova go beyond board examples; if 20% of the first year class fails anatomy, there a is a serious issue.

It isn't a "bad" DO school, but even with what you wrote, DMU > KCU >> NOVA .

Idk where you heard that but that must to be an exaggeration. The average course grade was an 80% before a curve and they only curved final grades like 3-5%, which is on par with (or lower than) what I hear from other schools.

 

[deleted936470]

Idk where you heard that but that must to be an exaggeration. The average course grade was an 80% before a curve and they only curved final grades like 3-5%, which is on par with (or lower than) what I hear from other schools.

try the search function. If the 2023 class has higher pass rates, then good! Things are improving, but we will value the numerous negative reports over your preliminary anecdote pending any real proof. Even if true, DMU > KCU > NOVA.

 

[Capecodder]

Look, I’m sorry if my ‘preliminary anecdote’ sounded sappy, but my point to @neuro5599 is that, regardless of pass rates, you can be successful at Nova if staying in Florida is important to you. No matter where you go, its up to YOU to study hard and pass the boards. Just because you go to a school with a 98% pass rate doesn’t mean you dont have to work as hard. Statistically, there is a correlation between MCAT and board scores - irrespective of institution. Med school is very testing... go where you think you’ll be happy.

 

[andiii07]

Hi! im in a similar situation right now and I was wondering what school you ended up choosing ? im from miami fl so nova is very close for me, but im also interested in dmu and kcu.