Medical How do I choose between a rock and a hard place (kinda)?

[GoSpursGo]

Hello. I would greatly appreciate any wisdom or insight that may help inform my current decision process between schools.
I have gotten two acceptances: LUCOM and LMU-DCOM and need to choose one. I am also on 3 other WL all of which I would rather attend but don't want to get my hopes too high, so for now, this is what I am picking between!

LUCOM:
- Closer to family
- seems to have nice and new facilities, scenic surroundings. still relatively rural but has some restaurants and a little bustling town
- They seem to have it all together for curriculum, rotations, lots of resources for students. Not on an accreditation warning which is a plus.
- All the faculty seem kind, nice, and knowledgeable. Students seem cool although I am not sure I would make many friends due to the factors below:
- I am extremely progressive, not at all religious, and a member of the LGBT community. These all go very against the grain at LUCOM. I am passionate about social justice in medicine, women's health, and I am worried that the curriculum is not comprehensive (abortion, trans health, etc) This also worries me because even if I am a good student, I wonder if I would be able to connect with faculty or find good mentors.

LMU-DCOM:
- Super far from my home, would need to fly to see my family
- facilities seem fine, campus is beautiful though. EXTREMELY rural.. lived in a city//metropolitan area for my whole life so this is a huge for me. also have dietary restrictions and I have a feeling that oat milk might be hard to come by in Harrogate, TN lol.
- Despite the fact that they are on accreditation warning, I was really impressed with their presentation during the interviews. Seems like they are doing everything right and I liked how it was set up. But still worried about this accreditation status having a negative impact.
- I think I would make more friends here. doesn't have the religious leaning or conservatism that seems to pervade the school's culture. (although I did hear they fired a dean over supporting students organizing in support of racial justice this past year which is quite disappointing)

more considerations
The rotations at both schools are pretty similar IMO, lots of rural Appalachia (TN, VA, KY, etc)
Both match lists seem pretty similar from what I can tell. Lots of primary care, but that's mostly what I want to do (either FM, IM, OBGYN, psych) so I am okay with it. Just maybe hoping for residency I could return to a more metropolitan area. Each list has a few standouts. maybe somebody who can read a match list better than I can could let me know if they see any important differences.
LUCOM has slightly better pass rates on comlex/step (although still not great for either school)

I feel as though I was a very good applicant despite my cGPA being just below a 3.3 (But I don't think this is reflective of my potential to excel in medical school. my gen-eds were almost all A's. My worse grades come from tech/eng classes that tanked my GPA). 90th percentile MCAT. thousands of clinical hours. lots of service, leadership, outside work experience. unique full time service gap year experience. This cycle is weird and I expected to get more love, but here we are!

I have also considered if I don't get off any WL to apply again and hope for better options. but that also does not seem wise. Esp bc my biggest downfall is the GPA and I do not want to spend money on a post bac. Losing a year of potential salary just to spend more on applying and risking it all over again seems like a poor decision.

okay that's all I guess. I would appreciate any replies, insight, answers, comments, questions, or suggestions. Thank you so much!

Do not decline your acceptances and reapply. You've put your best foot forward, trying again and hoping for a better outcome does not seem wise.

It's trite, but you just have to go with your gut. Talk with your family, your mentors, and other people who are important to you. Make the best decision you can.

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[Goro]

Damn! It is the type of decision that I dread advising on.

Okay, I will swallow hard and recommend LUCOM, as my beef with them is on their ethics and politics.

LMU has some significant structural defects that make it a truly bad school.

 

[Raryn]

If the schools are so unacceptable to you that you would decline an acceptance, you should have never applied. Turning them down makes it that much less likely you'd ever be a doctor - so I don't even consider that an option.

Of the two, I would probably choose LUCOM. Will they have the same focus on social justice that you might get at a big, coastal school? Of course not. But that's a tiny proportion of the material one actually needs to learn to practice medicine, and you can seek it out on your own through national organizations or defer to residency. No medical student anywhere is learning how to do abortions, and for most diagnoses you treat people the same no matter their sexuality, skin color, etc.

Out of 150+ other people a class, you'll likely find a few to be friendly with.

I would personally be hesitant to go to a school facing accreditation difficulties.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Geez... student support and wellness mean a lot more than you can estimate. Without supportive faculty and administration, your journey to get a residency becomes an incredibly difficult stress on you, and the lack of a secure accreditation status should be a real problem in your assessment. I don't care about putting the lipstick on the pig here, you're in danger of putting yourself in career jeopardy.

 

[TheBoneDoctah]

Would go LUCOM with the two choices you have here. This may be your only shot at becoming a doctor. Wouldn't really look into match rates and board scores too hard as YOU are the person that dictates that...not the school.