I'm Going to Pod School!!

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RockFoot

RockFoot

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  1. Podiatry Student
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I just got my mcat scores, 25R, nothing to really brag about, but good enough to turn my conditional acceptances into solid acceptances!!!

PS this is 2 full points higher than my best practice!!
 
Great job! I'm very happy for you. Have you decided where you want to go?
 
I'm torn between KSUCPM (OCPM) and DMU. Ohio is offering a significant scholarship, we'll see what DMU says when they reply!!
 
thanks I had been working full time until 2 weeks prior to the test, studying part time for o chem and a&p, getting no time to study for mcat. after my first interview I realized I needed more time to prep so with 11 to go I quit my job and studied all day every day. I truly was in doubt that I could make the cut off especially after getting a 16 on one of the practice tests.

Now at least I know that I didn't quit my job in vain!

Sent from my SPH-D600 using SDN Mobile
 
Just a few things concerning scholarships. DMU doesn't offer big scholarships - max size I believe is $4,500. To the best of my understanding the DMU scholarships is renewable each year assuming that you are in the top quarter of your class (with a class size of less than 60 you'll have to be in the top ~15 people). The initial OCPM scholarship is not renewable though they do offer a very generous scholarship for students with 4.0 GPAs.

Comparing DMU and OCPM on finances is not straight forward. If I have time later I'll point out a few reasons its a nuisance, but essentially DMU itemizes personal expenses and OCPM itemizes fees. This introduces significant uncertainty in comparing them. My comparison lead me to believe that DMU is cheaper, but garbage in is garbage out.
 
I understand and agree I am hoping🙄 for a crack at that 4.0 scholarship. I'm heavily leaning ohio, I liked it, its closer to family and the kent state merger really excites me. I really liked dmu too, very nice school and the people were excellent. I would be interested in your full analysis if you get the time. ps I heard dmu is waitlisting now...

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If you don't mind me asking, what was your gpa?
 
Why is the merger exciting? I understand you can pursue other degrees like MBA and PhD but how likely is it that you or any other loss students will do that? Maybe a handful? What else is exciting about it? That's an honest question because I don't know, but would like to....
 
MaxillofacialMN said:
Why is the merger exciting? I understand you can pursue other degrees like MBA and PhD but how likely is it that you or any other loss students will do that? Maybe a handful? What else is exciting about it? That's an honest question because I don't know, but would like to....
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I think I remember reading somewhere on these forums that they are given access to the sports teams?? Not sure, maybe notoriety or better connections? At least these would be my feelings if NYCPM merged with ... let's say Cornell or CSPM merged with Berkeley (these are hypothetical of course)
 
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Yes the sports medicine opportunity is very cool as are the dual degree opportunities. My Gpa was 3.52. I got interview invites at all 6 schools I applied to. I know it might sound dumb but I like the idea that I can say I got my degree from a well known school (Kent state). Plus I personally love northern Ohio in general, weird I know.
 
bmhsacosta said:
I think I remember reading somewhere on these forums that they are given access to the sports teams?? Not sure, maybe notoriety or better connections? At least these would be my feelings if NYCPM merged with ... let's say Cornell or CSPM merged with Berkeley (these are hypothetical of course)
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captaindargo said:
I would prefer NYCPM merge with Columbia or NYU...😀
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I believe it's been posted on SDN (therefore it must be true) that a long time ago NYCPM was offered to merge with Columbia but declined. Also a long time ago, CSPM used to be affiliated with UCSF back when they were known as CCPM (before they split and joined Samuel Merritt).
 
amaprez said:
I believe it's been posted on SDN (therefore it must be true) that a long time ago NYCPM was offered to merge with Columbia but declined. Also a long time ago, CSPM used to be affiliated with UCSF back when they were known as CCPM (before they split and joined Samuel Merritt).
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NYCPM says they are "affiliated" with Columbia CPS
 
RockFoot said:
I understand and agree I am hoping🙄 for a crack at that 4.0 scholarship. I'm heavily leaning ohio, I liked it, its closer to family and the kent state merger really excites me. I really liked dmu too, very nice school and the people were excellent. I would be interested in your full analysis if you get the time. ps I heard dmu is waitlisting now...

Sent from my SPH-D600 using SDN Mobile
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Here's a few of my comments.

  • At the time I did my comparison Ohio was $31,000 a year while DMU was $28,160 (DMU is now $29,000 and I don't know if Ohio has increased in price).
  • Ohio's paperwork did not account for APMA fees or Loans fees which DMU indicates cost $550 dollars.
  • Ohio itemizes their fees - DMU does not. If anyone hasn't seen the fees yet I'll list them here: $175 student activities, $200 Heb B vaccine, $75 registration, $325 lab fees, $440 parking (unsure if that's 4 years or 1 year - for comparison DMU appears to charge $200), $900 food card. I'll temper my language and just say that I eat leftovers every day and the idea of subsidizing a cafeteria did not sit well with me. I didn't list the health fee as I attempted to account for it later. ($396 - health services).
  • Health insurance has changed: DMU previously indicated $2163, but now indicates $1760. Ohio indicated $1480, but you also had to pay a health services fee of $396. DMU indicates "you and your immediate family members receive free basic health care through DMU clinic."
I'm gonna stop because I'm really just throwing numbers out, but if you make an excel you'll have a lot of comparisons and regrouping to do. I've thrown away all the paperwork I received from non-DMU schools so I can't crosscheck anything now. Long story short - all podiatry schools, even DMU, could put more information into their cost presentations. My very arguable calculations lead me to believe DMU was ~$6K cheaper than Ohio, but hell - the tuition numbers have already changed for DMU since I did them. No matter where you going its going to be expensive.


One small thing about Ohio - I've said this a few times and no one has contested it yet. To the best of my understanding and I was lead to believe this when I asked during my interview - you do have to spend several months in Ohio during your 4th year completing rotations in Cleveland. That may be a plus to you, but I'd like to spend as much time my 4th year down the road in places where I might do a residency. I'm under the impression DMU allows 4th years to spend their entire 4th year abroad if they so choose (I'm sure this is quite expensive, but I still appreciate the opportunity).
 
Unless something has changed Ohio students only get 3-4 months of outside externships during their 4th year. Those months are on top of the required months at local sites. But, like I said that could have changed or there could be plans to change it since the student I talked to wasn't real happy about it and had no problem voicing his opinion. He did match at his top choice so it wasn't like the schedule had a negative impact on his chances, it may have just limited his options.
 
This is the kind of stuff we pre pods should known or ask about at our interviews. 3-4 months during fourth year seems really low...
 
RockFoot said:
I understand and agree I am hoping🙄 for a crack at that 4.0 scholarship. I'm heavily leaning ohio, I liked it, its closer to family and the kent state merger really excites me. I really liked dmu too, very nice school and the people were excellent. I would be interested in your full analysis if you get the time. ps I heard dmu is waitlisting now...

Sent from my SPH-D600 using SDN Mobile
Click to expand...


The Kent State merger would mean more if Kent State had a med school. At DMU we are closely aligned w/ one of the top DO med schools in the country. Your networking opportunities are created by sitting in class alongside DOs who will one day send you referrals, not Kent State undergrads.

The $ numbers quoted so far are consistent with what I came up with a year ago, so I'll summarize ... DMU has the cheapest tuition, is in the least expensive city, and they give you an $1,800 laptop/ext. hard drive (plus think of the money saved by getting free updates and repairs for 4 years) as well as a free ipad. This is new for your class while the rest of us are stuck with ipod touches 🙂

Don't count on getting a 4.0 anywhere, but especially in Ohio since they aren't on a block system. This means you'll have a traditional finals week, so imagine letting a semester worth of med school pile up into 1 week ... at DMU we took our first final in October. FYI, I got an 86% in that class, which was my first B since I was 16 (4.00 GPA 27 MCAT coming into school), so I would have already lost my scholarship in Ohio, but at DMU I still have a chance. And if I'm not in the top 1/4 of my class after this year but move up next year, then I get my $5,000 scholarship back in year 3.

DMU has an opportunity for free tuition all 4 years if you practice 4 years in an underserved community. All MD and DO students can do this due to a federal program, but podiatry students are excluded, so said opportunities can only be provided by the individual schools. Lastly, DMU offers tons of extremely easy and flexible jobs (some of which you can study at, publish research in, etc.) that pay over $10/hr, as well as a paid summer research program.

Go where it feels right but keep an open mind about DMU.
 
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Ankle Breaker said:
Actually at DMU their tour guides are paid to promote their school. Everywhere else students do it for free. You won't hear one negative about their school on interview day. They are paid to be positive.
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False.

An unusual display of ignorance from Scholl. 👎
 
Yeah I didn't think that was true either... I visited DMU last fall and the guy showing me around said he was a volunteer. I felt sorta bad because I was on tour with him for nearly two hours, and I know he could have been doing better things with his time. Either way though, he seemed excited about giving the tour even if it was free.
 
To clarify my post though, I was just touring and meeting with a counselor - it was not my interview day, so who knows if that changes anything.
 
MaxillofacialMN said:
Yeah I didn't think that was true either... I visited DMU last fall and the guy showing me around said he was a volunteer. I felt sorta bad because I was on tour with him for nearly two hours, and I know he could have been doing better things with his time. Either way though, he seemed excited about giving the tour even if it was free.
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You are correct. The tour guides (aka student ambassadors are usually 2nd year students, sometimes 1st year students) are VOLUNTEERS. The only form of compensation they recieve is the free food that the students interviewing also get.
 
Had our student ambassadors gotten paid, I would have actually showed some folks around and dropped some insider info on em...ok, well not the insider info part
 
Congrats I take mcat this Saturday, hope I can at very least get a similar score
 
from the way it was described on interview day, at Ohio, its 3 weeks of covering the topics, studying, etc. and 1 week of tests then start all over again. Seems actually pretty cool to me. Not dogging the school, but I have heard rumor that Ohio has had several classes in recent history with more than one student finishing with a 4.0. I know this indicates possible grade inflation, it also however indicates the potential to actually get that scholarship...
 
Madura said:
The Kent State merger would mean more if Kent State had a med school. At DMU we are closely aligned w/ one of the top DO med schools in the country. Your networking opportunities are created by sitting in class alongside DOs who will one day send you referrals, not Kent State undergrads.

The $ numbers quoted so far are consistent with what I came up with a year ago, so I'll summarize ... DMU has the cheapest tuition, is in the least expensive city, and they give you an $1,800 laptop/ext. hard drive (plus think of the money saved by getting free updates and repairs for 4 years) as well as a free ipad. This is new for your class while the rest of us are stuck with ipod touches 🙂

Don't count on getting a 4.0 anywhere, but especially in Ohio since they aren't on a block system. This means you'll have a traditional finals week, so imagine letting a semester worth of med school pile up into 1 week ... at DMU we took our first final in October. FYI, I got an 86% in that class, which was my first B since I was 16 (4.00 GPA 27 MCAT coming into school), so I would have already lost my scholarship in Ohio, but at DMU I still have a chance. And if I'm not in the top 1/4 of my class after this year but move up next year, then I get my $5,000 scholarship back in year 3.

DMU has an opportunity for free tuition all 4 years if you practice 4 years in an underserved community. All MD and DO students can do this due to a federal program, but podiatry students are excluded, so said opportunities can only be provided by the individual schools. Lastly, DMU offers tons of extremely easy and flexible jobs (some of which you can study at, publish research in, etc.) that pay over $10/hr, as well as a paid summer research program.

Go where it feels right but keep an open mind about DMU.
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Its true that Kent state does not have a med school so we can't interact with DOs, however that does not mean that Kent states grads can't refer patients to us. One of the best, simplest and cheapest advertising technique for any practice is to be kind to your patients and build a relationship with them. If you form that relationship, I can guarantee you that when a relative or a friend has any foot problems, YOU will be the person that they refer them to. Also, since we aren't associated with other medical school, it also means that we don't share our resources with anyone else. We do the dissection for the whole body ourselves, not just the foot. Everything at the school is the best of the best for podiatry students.

When talking about getting 4.0, as long as you work hard and get help when you need it, you can get a 4.0. I don't mean to be a show-off, but I was able to keep a 4.0 for 3 years, and all i did was work super hard. I still went out with friends and had fun, so its not like I gave up my social life to get the grades. At OCPM we have 3 exam weeks, meaning that each class has 3 exams per semester so you have 3 opportunities to get that A!! 🙂

Regardless of which school you choose, you will always have all the opportunities you need, but its what you make out of them that matters.

My intent wasn't to be rude in my response, I just wanted to make sure that the prospective students have accurate information regarding OCPM.
 
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The Kent State merger with OCPM is significant in that it allows students at OCPM to access the Kent State facilities. This includes a substantial library (OCPM already has a large library as is, but it is still a major increase in resources) as well as research opportunities at Kent State.
Kent State has a great exercise medicine program, so in addition to exposure to tremendous athletes on their sports teams, their research is cutting edge and well funded.
 
I saw a lot of posts regarding rotations at OCPM so I thought I would let you guys know since I am currently a student there.
We start rotation at local clinics during 3rd year. We start in the July after our 2nd year (so right around the time you are taking part 1 boards). Our 3rd year is only about 8 months long. Each month we are at different clinic. We have 2 school clinics and you spend 1 month at each location. We also have a rotation at the Cleveland VA, Emergency Medicine rotation, Surgery, Radiology, Surgical Skills, and Simulated patient rotation. We are clinic 3 days a week and in class the other 2 days. We have 2 exam weeks for each of these courses. These rotations, personally, helped prepare me for externships. By the end of the year I was more efficient in working up patients, treating them and writing my notes.
Fourth year starts in the following March. We have 6 core rotations and 6 elective rotations. The 6 electives are programs you want to choose. The 6 core rotations include the 2 school clinics, community medicine, senior medicine, VA. For the senior medicine rotation, you have the option to choose from about 6 different hospitals (some are out of state). For the VA rotation, you can either choose the Cleveland VA or a VA in Salem, Virginia where housing is usually provided. And if you wish, you can also to choose to take clerkship month off and visit more programs and study for boards. Some students visit 4 programs in 1 month this way. I do wish we had more clerkship months, however I know that I can visit those programs on my own time. Depending on what hospital you choose for the core rotation, you can visit some programs during those months too. And just an fyi, this year we had a lot of students match at programs they didn’t extern at, so obviously the students at OCPM are not necessarily at a disadvantage with only have 6 elective months.
 
SK2013 said:
Also, since we aren't associated with other medical school, it also means that we don't share our resources with anyone else. We do the dissection for the whole body ourselves, not just the foot.
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You've mentioned this a few times now. What program is only dissecting the foot?
 
dtrack22 said:
You've mentioned this a few times now. What program is only dissecting the foot?
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I thought most programs split anatomy lab focus into upper and lower body for different semesters..unless I am mistaken.. I am also curious what program is being referred to.
 
dtrack22 said:
You've mentioned this a few times now. What program is only dissecting the foot?
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None. You will eventually be dissecting the whole body no matter what pod school you attend. I think he's just conjecturing to make his own program sound better. People on here do it all too often. This is how completely false information gets slung around.

We all need to stop being insecure. There's nothing wrong with being loyal, but there's no need to pump up your school by putting down other schools.
 
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amaprez said:
None. He's just conjecturing to make his own program sound better. People on here do it all too often. This is how completely false information gets slung around.

We all need to stop being insecure. There's nothing wrong with being loyal, but there's no need to pump up your school by putting down other schools.
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So very true, with all the negativity I've been finding it hard to get excited about CSPM, even though it's a top choice.. Although I hear Dr. Tran is pretty awesome so I'm pretty excited nonetheless, anyone have anything to say about CSPM (sorry don't mean to hijack) don't really see many of their students on here. I've perused the interview surveys, but any personal feedback would be greatly appreciated.
 
bmhsacosta said:
So very true, with all the negativity I've been finding it hard to get excited about CSPM, even though it's a top choice.. Although I hear Dr. Tran is pretty awesome so I'm pretty excited nonetheless, anyone have anything to say about CSPM (sorry don't mean to hijack) don't really see many of their students on here. I've perused the interview surveys, but any personal feedback would be greatly appreciated.
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Do you have a specific question at all? But yes I agree they don't have many representatives on SDN. I hope that changes in the future.
 
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zaxy said:
The Kent State merger with OCPM is significant in that it allows students at OCPM to access the Kent State facilities. This includes a substantial library (OCPM already has a large library as is, but it is still a major increase in resources) as well as research opportunities at Kent State.
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That's all great, but being on two different campuses, do you really think many students will take advantage of the Kent State facilities? Kind of like Temple...and they are closer.
 
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guess I'm wrong then....😳😳😳😳😳 or not😀
 
amaprez said:
None. You will eventually be dissecting the whole body no matter what pod school you attend. I think he's just conjecturing to make his own program sound better. People on here do it all too often. This is how completely false information gets slung around.

We all need to stop being insecure. There's nothing wrong with being loyal, but there's no need to pump up your school by putting down other schools.
Click to expand...

Good post. As one of the newer DMU cheerleaders on SDN, I hope my positive attitude about my school doesn't come off as condescending to other students in different programs. The "Harvard of podiatry schools" is silly and we all know there is no such thing, but I like to make prospective students aware of all that DMU has to offer being that it is easy to put us on the backburner due to the fact we're in Iowa. I practically wrote a book on how Des Moines is actually a decent city (and perfect given how poor and busy we are), but the school is the main reason people come here being we have more resources than I even have time to take advantage of.
For the record, I'm not paid :laugh: and neither are our ambassadors who give tours (one of 2 lies started on this thread alone in the past 24 hours), but you can get a paid job sitting in the gym watching people come and go (you study your whole shift), you can TA just about any class and get paid, you can work in the library (and study) for money, you can get paid to do research, etc. Our surgery TAs for next year are trained this year as first years, so they get paid to learn surgical skills a year ahead of everyone, and then get paid for every hour they spend teaching their classmates the next year. I know a second year who pays her rent every month doing this.
Regarding the second lie, we take gross anatomy with 5 students to a cadaver. My group had 2 DPMs and 3 DOs, which is perfect, and we dissected the whole body. Next year we take lower limb anatomy, which is pods only, and I believe we get our own leg (Dtrack will correct me on this if I heard wrong). So we will dissect a leg twice but in much more detail the 2nd time, of course.
 
Ankle Breaker said:
Actually at DMU their tour guides are paid to promote their school. Everywhere else students do it for free. You won't hear one negative about their school on interview day. They are paid to be positive.
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No, I was specifically told by an OCPM student tour guide that he got paid. As far as DMU tour guides go, they mentioned several negative things people say about their school as well as the many positive aspects of DMU. I was very impressed with their transparency.
 
I didn't want this to be an ocpm vs dmu thread. While interviewing I really liked both a lot. I paid my deposit at ocpm which I chose in part for personal reasons. I do believe I would be Just as happy and satisfied at dmu.
 
To reiterate for the sake of clarity, DMU students are not paid to give tours, or told to tell only positive things. They volunteer to guide prospective students around campus, and the "positions" (if you want to call them that) are open to any students who want to take part.

I'm saying absolutely nothing about any schools, and don't want to get into a hot-dog measuring contest, I'm just making sure nobody who interviewed here thinks the students were paid to tell them nice things. That's a type of rumor that starts up and just won't stop...

Anyway...to the OP....CONGRATULATIONS! Welcome to hell 🙂 Work hard and you will do fine!

Now let's lock this already...I think this thread was about as necessary as The Decision.
 
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