Help me decide: NOORDA vs Burrell (BCOM)

[Zach123!]

Noorda
Pros

• Provo is beautiful, safe, affordable, plenty of things to do. The area is fantastic. Close to BYU, giving it almost a "college town" feel
• Haven't heard a single negative thing from any student there
• Faculty supports getting into research early on
• Rotations supposedly are all within 40 minutes of campus

Cons

• Haven't graduated a class yet
• Not eligible for FAFSA yet...
• Haven't undergone a match yet

Burrell
Pros

• Match list is pretty solid, they have matched students into very competitive specialties. This is a big one for me!
• Somewhat established

Cons

• Las Cruces doesn't seem on par with Provo
• I've heard many negative things about the school, regarding things such as attrition and test scores. Can anyone speak about this?
• They have a partnership with 3 facilities in Melbourne, FL for 3rd and 4th year rotations. I'm from Florida and ideally would love to be back home for my 3rd and 4th year.

My biggest concern for NOORDA is that they haven't undergone a match yet. I know that individual performance is a bigger factor than the name of the school, but Burrell has a pretty nice match list over the past few years. Can anyone speak on the advantages & disadvantages of attending NOORDA over BCOM, and vice versa?

I am waitlisted at ACOM, and if I were to be accepted there I would attend without hesitation. It's an established school and much closer to home (Florida). But as of right now, that’s not an option (sigh)

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[drthedude]

Bump bc you already know my opinion! Non mormon here

 

[m1redsox]

Full disclosure: BYU grad and can really only speak about Provo

Provo is an awesome place to be if you (1) are very religious, (2) have kids, or (3) like to ski.

Something to consider is that many (if not most) of your classmates will be mormon. Since Noorda's class size is pretty large, I'm sure you could find some non-mormon buddies to go out and drink with you after exams (as is med school custom - if that is your style), but you have to take into account that many of them will be married with kids and would prefer to be at home on a Friday night and at church on a Sunday morning. On top of that, if it is your style, the closest decent bar scene is probably in Salt Lake, which is about an hour drive.

With that said (as a married mormon guy myself), I loved Provo and thought there was a lot to do there. If you end up enrolling, buy an Ikon ski pass and maybe a ROC pass for BYU games (nobody is drunk and everyone is polite, but the whole city shows up and goes crazy).

 

[Zach123!]

@Goro do you have any thoughts on this? I’ve seen you critique BCOM in the past, just wondering which of the 2 you would lean towards.

 

[Goro]

@Goro do you have any thoughts on this? I’ve seen you critique BCOM in the past, just wondering which of the 2 you would lean towards.

Wow! Rock and a hard place. At least BCOM has graduated a class, so they should be knowing what they are doing. ow!

 

[Zach123!]

I really want to get off the waitlist at ACOM. I finished my SMP with a 3.8 so I’m hoping that does the trick.

But in regards to NOORDA, what is your biggest concern there? The curriculum style? From what I hear they let students begin research early on, and all of the clinical sites are ~40 minutes from Provo. I’m just interested in the testing outcomes with their unique curriculum.

 

[deomnibusdubitandum]

I really want to get off the waitlist at ACOM. I finished my SMP with a 3.8 so I’m hoping that does the trick.

But in regards to NOORDA, what is your biggest concern there? The curriculum style? From what I hear they let students begin research early on, and all of the clinical sites are ~40 minutes from Provo. I’m just interested in the testing outcomes with their unique curriculum.

Their "associate dean of research" is a chiropractor. One of the projects available for students to work on is title "Cervical Mechanical Stimulation in the treatment of Alcohol-Use Disorder".
Just figured I'd mention it.

 

[drthedude]

Their "associate dean of research" is a chiropractor. One of the projects available for students to work on is title "Cervical Mechanical Stimulation in the treatment of Alcohol-Use Disorder".
Just figured I'd mention it.

My brother in Christ he has a PhD, I saw this same dumb argument on Reddit lmfao. You’re on every thread downplaying the school for the same stuff that isn’t even factual/relevant

 

[deomnibusdubitandum]

My brother in Christ he has a PhD, I saw this same dumb argument on Reddit lmfao. You’re on every thread downplaying the school for the same stuff that isn’t even factual/relevant

I haven't seen the reddit thread but I did look into the research that Noorda does given I once had a similar question as OP.

Research - Noorda College

I don't mean to disrespect your school by any means but I also wouldn't say that their research focus necessitates choosing it over another school. As mentioned, the first two projects listed on their website for students to join are labeled

• Osteopathic Manual Medicine in the treatment of opioid withdrawal and hyperalgesia.
• Cervical Mechanical Stimulation in the treatment of Alcohol-Use Disorder

For what it's worth, they do have some better projects listed on there. I just happen to think that there are certainly better research opportunities at other DO schools and it shouldn't be a deciding factor to go to Noorda. That's all.

 

[drthedude]

I haven't seen the reddit thread but I did look into the research that Noorda does given I once had a similar question as OP.

Research - Noorda College

I don't mean to disrespect your school by any means but I also wouldn't say that their research focus necessitates choosing it over another school. As mentioned, the first two projects listed on their website for students to join are labeled

• Osteopathic Manual Medicine in the treatment of opioid withdrawal and hyperalgesia.
• Cervical Mechanical Stimulation in the treatment of Alcohol-Use Disorder

For what it's worth, they do have some better projects listed on there. I just happen to think that there are certainly better research opportunities at other DO schools and it shouldn't be a deciding factor to go to Noorda. That's all.

I agree with your assessment but I believe the way you worded it the first time was meant to sort of scoff at their research as a whole simply because an individual had a secondary degree to a PhD. Many other schools do have opportunities but it seems and is certain that it is front and center here especially with all the projects listed. That's all.

 

[this_ismyname]

I haven't seen the reddit thread but I did look into the research that Noorda does given I once had a similar question as OP.

Research - Noorda College

I don't mean to disrespect your school by any means but I also wouldn't say that their research focus necessitates choosing it over another school. As mentioned, the first two projects listed on their website for students to join are labeled

• Osteopathic Manual Medicine in the treatment of opioid withdrawal and hyperalgesia.
• Cervical Mechanical Stimulation in the treatment of Alcohol-Use Disorder

For what it's worth, they do have some better projects listed on there. I just happen to think that there are certainly better research opportunities at other DO schools and it shouldn't be a deciding factor to go to Noorda. That's all.

current OMS1 at Noorda COM here. I just wanna say that the list on the website does not include all on-going the research projects. If you dont wanna do a project that is current you can also start your own. Im currently working on two literature reviews and one research project which I started on my own. We get a lot of opportunities for regional poster presentations too

 

[this_ismyname]

Noorda
Pros

• Provo is beautiful, safe, affordable, plenty of things to do. The area is fantastic. Close to BYU, giving it almost a "college town" feel
• Haven't heard a single negative thing from any student there
• Faculty supports getting into research early on
• Rotations supposedly are all within 40 minutes of campus

Cons

• Haven't graduated a class yet
• Not eligible for FAFSA yet...
• Haven't undergone a match yet

Burrell
Pros

• Match list is pretty solid, they have matched students into very competitive specialties. This is a big one for me!
• Somewhat established

Cons

• Las Cruces doesn't seem on par with Provo
• I've heard many negative things about the school, regarding things such as attrition and test scores. Can anyone speak about this?
• They have a partnership with 3 facilities in Melbourne, FL for 3rd and 4th year rotations. I'm from Florida and ideally would love to be back home for my 3rd and 4th year.

My biggest concern for NOORDA is that they haven't undergone a match yet. I know that individual performance is a bigger factor than the name of the school, but Burrell has a pretty nice match list over the past few years. Can anyone speak on the advantages & disadvantages of attending NOORDA over BCOM, and vice versa?

I am waitlisted at ACOM, and if I were to be accepted there I would attend without hesitation. It's an established school and much closer to home (Florida). But as of right now, that’s not an option (sigh)

ACOM has dismissed many of their students for academic reasons.. anyone who gets less than 69.5 during sem 1 in any class needs to repeat the whole semester and go through the rest of med school under academic probation. if you get less than 69.5 again you're out. OR if you fail a course in sem 2/3/4 you are on academic probation and need to take a board exam as remediation... failing that or another class = dismissal. they are not considerate about circumstances that are out of your hands that might have led to poor performance. I have heard of many people whose medical careers are over because of that