OP, I had some of the same feelings regarding DO schools' size (and their students' professionalism) when I started my osteopathic interviews last year. The smallish size of some DO schools surprised me at first; after all, my undergrad school was Case Western, and its medical school seemed absolutely enormous in comparison to many DO campuses. However, one important thing to keep in mind is that a large portion of the "floor area" of many allopathic campuses is strictly devoted to research. In fact, if you were to take a map of most allopathic campuses and cross out all the facilities devoted to research (i.e., basic science labs, professors' offices, scientific equipment rooms, etc.), I'd think you'd find that the portions of the school devoted strictly to training new physicians are roughly comparable to similar facilities at most osteopathic campuses. Additionally, size isn't everything, and I personally feel that the newness and quality of the facilities at many osteopathic schools meets or even exceeds that of many allopathic campuses. DMU's facilities, for instance, aren't especially large but are very clean, seem new, and have a fantastic level of technology integration that many allopathic medical schools don't have.
As far as the whole "professionalism" bit goes...yes, I was initially surprised by how some students at the osteopathic campuses seemed unfocused, fratty, occasionally disrespectful, academically unserious, etc. In fact, it really worried me at first because unprofessionalism among doctors is one of my biggest pet peeves and I wondered just how well I'd be able to fit in with people like this if I was accepted to an osteopathic school. However, as time went on and I came into contact with more medical students from various allopathic campuses, I came to realize that many allopathic medical students seemed to have that same degree of "unprofessionalism" also. (It's not just my perception, either; I have a friend at UMDNJ who lives in Philly and often takes the train into Jersey to get to school, and he feels that many of the UPenn medical students he's encountered on the train are "total douchebags" (his words, not mine). So, I think it's safe to say that the variety of "unprofessionalism" you noticed is somewhat widespread among both allopathic and osteopathic medical students; it's a bit disappointing, and I wish something could be done about it. However, it's also worth pointing out (a) appearances can be deceiving, and behind the scenes some of these people may be great students that will make fine doctors and (b) that not everyone at any given medical school is going to act that way. I've encountered plenty of sincere, serious, hardworking, professional students at UMDNJ-SOM, and I think you'd find a cadre of students like this at any other medical school in the country. After all, there are a lot of different ways to get through medical school, and you certainly don't have to partake in some students' unprofessional behavior if you don't want to.
