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First of all, I know what you're thinking - "DO vs MD, this is a no brainer!" Maybe I just need a slap in the face, but I'm truly torn about this.
I was accepted to MUCOM back in November, and since it is only 1 hour from my SO of 5 years (she is contractually bound to a post-doctoral research position), I was pretty on board with them and recently signed a lease for a house in Indianapolis. Just last week, I was accepted off the waitlist at IUSM, but they placed me at a satellite campus 4 hours away from my SO. There is a chance that I can move to another satellite campus in the town where my SO is, but that would be after the first 1 or 2 years. At this point in time, I'm not interested in non-DO friendly specialties - right now I'm thinking ER, anesthesiology, or ob/gyn, which are all pretty DO friendly.
So, pros and cons.
MUCOM
Pros:
IUSM
Pros:
I was accepted to MUCOM back in November, and since it is only 1 hour from my SO of 5 years (she is contractually bound to a post-doctoral research position), I was pretty on board with them and recently signed a lease for a house in Indianapolis. Just last week, I was accepted off the waitlist at IUSM, but they placed me at a satellite campus 4 hours away from my SO. There is a chance that I can move to another satellite campus in the town where my SO is, but that would be after the first 1 or 2 years. At this point in time, I'm not interested in non-DO friendly specialties - right now I'm thinking ER, anesthesiology, or ob/gyn, which are all pretty DO friendly.
So, pros and cons.
MUCOM
Pros:
- There is something about the DO philosophy that really resonates with me. Though I know DOs and MDs clinical practice is like 99.9% the same, I think I would enjoy learning about osteopathy
- I really liked the campus environment and had already been in contact with a lab on campus researching something I'm truly interested in
- It's a newer school and I'd be able to spearhead some cool clubs (LGBTQ alliance, street med, wilderness medicine, etc.)
- Located in Indianapolis - a large city with lots of teaching hospitals, and it has good ties with them, so I'd learn a lot
- Much closer to my SO
- Small, tight-knit community
- It's a newer school and not very well established yet
- Though it sucks, there is still some prejudice about DOs that may hold me back if I later decide I want to go into a specialty that is more competitive. How this will play out in the coming years after the merger, I'm not sure. I also don't like the idea of taking both STEP and COMLEX
- They're a graded system, not pass/fail
- COA is ~75k
IUSM
Pros:
- I was placed at a campus near Notre Dame, so research opportunities are abundant
- Pass/fail system
- COA is ~60k
- As an MD, it will be less of an uphill battle if I decide to do something competitive
- 4 hours from my SO. She's said that she would drive to see me every weekend, but that doesn't seem very realistic, specially in winter months
- Though research opportunities are abundant, I spent most of yesterday looking through the labs on campus and none of them spark an interest like the one at Marian
- IUSM is huge - the biggest medical school in the country. I've heard a lot of people say that it is easy to get lost in the shuffle here.
