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- Feb 13, 2017
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Hello SDN! I am in a bit of a pickle. I was accepted to RVU-CO back in October and put down my $250 deposit on 12/14. The next day, I was accepted to KCU-KC. I have 30 days to decide whether to put down my $1000 deposit at KCU or submit the next $750 deposit to RVU. I was wondering if I could get some advice from SDN about this choice; I know there are a couple of threads on this topic already on here, but most of them are a bit older, before RVU had established itself with an awesome track record.
The things that are most important to me are curriculum (both clinical & pre-clinical), cost, and boards.
As far as the curriculum, KCU has copied RVU's "Dubin curriculum", although there are some rumors that they may be modifying this? Either way, I love this curriculum, so it's a tie either way in this respect. They both also have the same "tracks" for those interested in something particular like global health, rural medicine, or research. Both have minimum OMM requirements.
Regarding the clinical curriculum...it's a bit hard to evaluate. Both seem to have solid experiences, although it seems KCU has more options to stay in KC and not have to move. However, when I interviewed at RVU they said that they were expanding their rotations in the surrounding areas and were planning on having most of the students be able to rotate in CO.
Research opportunities: students from both said they barely have time for research since the curriculum is so challenging...however, KCU does have labs on campus and said that there were opportunities to get involved with research if desired. RVU seemed to actively discourage research.
Both have solid board scores when it comes to the COMLEX. However, I am really interested in taking the USMLE to keep the most doors open. RVU requires all students to take the USMLE, which is a huge pro in my opinion. I am not sure on KCU's stance on this subject, but current students have reported being told that the COMLEX is superior and now post-merger they only need to take the COMLEX. I 100% disagree with this frame of mind, but I understand that I am free to still take the USMLE if I want, so I'm not sure if this even matters.
As far as the area....I really liked both KC and Denver. COL is cheaper in KC. Additionally, my SO has been accepted to schools in both locations, so we are trying to weigh the pros/cons for both and make our decision together (part of the reason for this post). For both of us, tuition alone would be more expensive in CO (~8k a year for me, ~30k a year for him). COL is also more expensive in CO. Both places are far from home, although CO is a little bit farther than KC.
These were my top two choices, and I wasn't expecting to be accepted to both. They are veryyy similar, so any differences or input from you guys would be much appreciated.
For reference, I was also accepted to NSU, which is ~10 mins from my house, and although I would love to stay near home, I would also love to not and am not that excited about NSU overall.
[Gonna tag @Goro in this because he has guided me through like every step of this process lol, although I suspect I may get a "BBQ food vs hot cocoa" response
]
The things that are most important to me are curriculum (both clinical & pre-clinical), cost, and boards.
As far as the curriculum, KCU has copied RVU's "Dubin curriculum", although there are some rumors that they may be modifying this? Either way, I love this curriculum, so it's a tie either way in this respect. They both also have the same "tracks" for those interested in something particular like global health, rural medicine, or research. Both have minimum OMM requirements.
Regarding the clinical curriculum...it's a bit hard to evaluate. Both seem to have solid experiences, although it seems KCU has more options to stay in KC and not have to move. However, when I interviewed at RVU they said that they were expanding their rotations in the surrounding areas and were planning on having most of the students be able to rotate in CO.
Research opportunities: students from both said they barely have time for research since the curriculum is so challenging...however, KCU does have labs on campus and said that there were opportunities to get involved with research if desired. RVU seemed to actively discourage research.
Both have solid board scores when it comes to the COMLEX. However, I am really interested in taking the USMLE to keep the most doors open. RVU requires all students to take the USMLE, which is a huge pro in my opinion. I am not sure on KCU's stance on this subject, but current students have reported being told that the COMLEX is superior and now post-merger they only need to take the COMLEX. I 100% disagree with this frame of mind, but I understand that I am free to still take the USMLE if I want, so I'm not sure if this even matters.
As far as the area....I really liked both KC and Denver. COL is cheaper in KC. Additionally, my SO has been accepted to schools in both locations, so we are trying to weigh the pros/cons for both and make our decision together (part of the reason for this post). For both of us, tuition alone would be more expensive in CO (~8k a year for me, ~30k a year for him). COL is also more expensive in CO. Both places are far from home, although CO is a little bit farther than KC.
These were my top two choices, and I wasn't expecting to be accepted to both. They are veryyy similar, so any differences or input from you guys would be much appreciated.
For reference, I was also accepted to NSU, which is ~10 mins from my house, and although I would love to stay near home, I would also love to not and am not that excited about NSU overall.
[Gonna tag @Goro in this because he has guided me through like every step of this process lol, although I suspect I may get a "BBQ food vs hot cocoa" response
]
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