Hello, this is my first ever post... I'm a long-time lurker... I've seen people get a lot of constructive feedback for making topics like these, and I'm looking for advice.
About me:
-In the Northeast. I'm interested in Radiology, Anesthesiology, and Gastroenterology.
-In the future I eventually want to practice medicine in the Northeast (PA, NY, NJ preferably).
-I've been fortunate to have had many interview invitations and several acceptances (6). I declined to go to many of my other interviews due to some acceptances to schools that I like.
-I'm currently waitlisted and have a delayed decision to my top two schools where I interviewed. Thus, I'm not sure if I'll be able to matriculate into either of these two. Therefore I want to be sure of my alternate option as some deposit due dates are coming..
I've narrowed down my acceptances to three great schools: RVU, KCOM, and Touro NY Middletown. While I do have several factors I look for in medical schools, some are more important than others.
Most important factors I look for in a medical school:
Proximity from home-- I'm very close to my family and girlfriend.
Curriculum- I want a curriculum that I would thrive in and would best prepare me for boards. In highschool and college I've done very well with my GPA and just decent in standardized tests (SAT & MCAT).
"impressive" residency match lists.
Some pros and cons about the following schools (tuition is not a factor):
RVU
-Location: Far from home which is a major con. However, I loved the surrounding area (my favorite of the three).
-Curriculum: I love the curriculum design. RVU has among the highest board exam's average and passing rates.
-Environment: This was my favorite environment of the three. VERY friendly atmosphere. The students seemed very comfortable and happy. The faculty and staff were very nice too.
-Prestige: I assume it's good (not really factoring in the "for profit" status).
-Clinical Rotations: Not too sure about the "quality" of the rotations. However, a con is that there are no clinical rotation sites in the Northeast.
-Faculty: They seem great!
-Match list: Very impressive (from my evaluation..?). Furthermore, they had a lot of matches for Radiology!
-Research Opportunities: Decent--seems like there is opportunities nearby, but not on campus.
KCOM
-Location: Far from home which is a major con. The surrounding area is too rural, which I don't like (but not too much of importance to me).
-Curriculum: Seems decent... but board exams are near the national average in the recent years.
-Environment: Very friendly.
-Prestige: Excellent--The oldest DO school and well established.
-Clinical Rotations: Not too sure about the "quality" of the rotations. However, they have a few clinical rotation sites in the Northeast, which is good (PA and NJ).
-Match list: Seems very impressive too.
-Research Opportunities: Great--you can even take research as an elective during the semester.
Touro Middletown
-Location: Within ~2ish hours away from home and very close to my girlfriend's home, both of which are very ideal.. I enjoyed the surrounding area too.
-Curriculum: The flipped classroom idea seems ok. However, taking quizzes everyday in almost every class and essentially mandatory attendance are cons. Touro Harlem's recent board exam pass rate was high with the new flipped classroom method. However, there are no board exam scores for Middletown even though the deans said that they expect Touro Middletown's to match Harlem's.
-Environment: Very friendly.
-Prestige: Not sure what to think. I would imagine its decent with the "Touro" name. However, it's a newer school and has not graduated a class.
-Clinical Rotations: Not too sure about the "quality" of the rotations, but the rotations are very close to home and around Middletown, which is ideal.
-Match list: Has not graduated a class, so there is no match list. However, Touro Harlem's match list seemed impressive.
-Research Opportunities: Not too sure about this. I was told that students can go to Touro Harlem's campus in the summer for research.
Any feedback & advice is greatly appreciated! I'm currently leaning towards RVU...Thanks!
About me:
-In the Northeast. I'm interested in Radiology, Anesthesiology, and Gastroenterology.
-In the future I eventually want to practice medicine in the Northeast (PA, NY, NJ preferably).
-I've been fortunate to have had many interview invitations and several acceptances (6). I declined to go to many of my other interviews due to some acceptances to schools that I like.
-I'm currently waitlisted and have a delayed decision to my top two schools where I interviewed. Thus, I'm not sure if I'll be able to matriculate into either of these two. Therefore I want to be sure of my alternate option as some deposit due dates are coming..
I've narrowed down my acceptances to three great schools: RVU, KCOM, and Touro NY Middletown. While I do have several factors I look for in medical schools, some are more important than others.
Most important factors I look for in a medical school:
Proximity from home-- I'm very close to my family and girlfriend.
Curriculum- I want a curriculum that I would thrive in and would best prepare me for boards. In highschool and college I've done very well with my GPA and just decent in standardized tests (SAT & MCAT).
"impressive" residency match lists.
Some pros and cons about the following schools (tuition is not a factor):
RVU
-Location: Far from home which is a major con. However, I loved the surrounding area (my favorite of the three).
-Curriculum: I love the curriculum design. RVU has among the highest board exam's average and passing rates.
-Environment: This was my favorite environment of the three. VERY friendly atmosphere. The students seemed very comfortable and happy. The faculty and staff were very nice too.
-Prestige: I assume it's good (not really factoring in the "for profit" status).
-Clinical Rotations: Not too sure about the "quality" of the rotations. However, a con is that there are no clinical rotation sites in the Northeast.
-Faculty: They seem great!
-Match list: Very impressive (from my evaluation..?). Furthermore, they had a lot of matches for Radiology!
-Research Opportunities: Decent--seems like there is opportunities nearby, but not on campus.
KCOM
-Location: Far from home which is a major con. The surrounding area is too rural, which I don't like (but not too much of importance to me).
-Curriculum: Seems decent... but board exams are near the national average in the recent years.
-Environment: Very friendly.
-Prestige: Excellent--The oldest DO school and well established.
-Clinical Rotations: Not too sure about the "quality" of the rotations. However, they have a few clinical rotation sites in the Northeast, which is good (PA and NJ).
-Match list: Seems very impressive too.
-Research Opportunities: Great--you can even take research as an elective during the semester.
Touro Middletown
-Location: Within ~2ish hours away from home and very close to my girlfriend's home, both of which are very ideal.. I enjoyed the surrounding area too.
-Curriculum: The flipped classroom idea seems ok. However, taking quizzes everyday in almost every class and essentially mandatory attendance are cons. Touro Harlem's recent board exam pass rate was high with the new flipped classroom method. However, there are no board exam scores for Middletown even though the deans said that they expect Touro Middletown's to match Harlem's.
-Environment: Very friendly.
-Prestige: Not sure what to think. I would imagine its decent with the "Touro" name. However, it's a newer school and has not graduated a class.
-Clinical Rotations: Not too sure about the "quality" of the rotations, but the rotations are very close to home and around Middletown, which is ideal.
-Match list: Has not graduated a class, so there is no match list. However, Touro Harlem's match list seemed impressive.
-Research Opportunities: Not too sure about this. I was told that students can go to Touro Harlem's campus in the summer for research.
Any feedback & advice is greatly appreciated! I'm currently leaning towards RVU...Thanks!
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