I'm still trying to decide between AZCOM and CCOM, both schools seem extremely attractive and I honestly have no idea how to decide between the two. One of the factors I am considering is match list. At this point I'm leaning towards IM (hospitalist route) and ER though this is subject to change and the Northwest (WA/OR) is ultimately where I would like to practice. Ideally I would like to a residency in this region. It seems that AZCOM has consistently matched more students in this region than CCOM. However, I was wondering if anyone had insight in to whether this is the result of CCOM students simply not applying for residencies in the PNW or if AZCOM has more resources to place students at schools such as OHSU and UW though a residency at any Seattle/Portland hospital would be awesome. Ideally I would return to the PNW for residency however I am considering staying in Chicago (it would be a no-brainer if it wasn't so damn cold) if I end up in a field that has 2-3 year residency and am not interested in pursuing a fellowship.
I felt I got along more with the student atmosphere at CCOM though AZCOM was not bad at all. While AZCOM had a much nicer campus/weather, CCOM is in a major city that has no shortage of recreational activities but it has absolutely horrible weather conditions. Board scores and cost of attendance are nearly identical for both schools. CCOM records lectures, AZCOM does not. I would not have to move around for rotations at CCOM and the rotations are established hospital-ward rotations, while I could end up at a rotation very far from AZCOM for third and fourth year (huge downside for me - personal reasons). Then again I would like to do as many away rotations in the PNW as possible during the fourth year and AZCOM seems to be more flexible towards this.
If there are any other factors that people think I should consider or can shed some light on the match list dilemma please chime in 😀
I felt I got along more with the student atmosphere at CCOM though AZCOM was not bad at all. While AZCOM had a much nicer campus/weather, CCOM is in a major city that has no shortage of recreational activities but it has absolutely horrible weather conditions. Board scores and cost of attendance are nearly identical for both schools. CCOM records lectures, AZCOM does not. I would not have to move around for rotations at CCOM and the rotations are established hospital-ward rotations, while I could end up at a rotation very far from AZCOM for third and fourth year (huge downside for me - personal reasons). Then again I would like to do as many away rotations in the PNW as possible during the fourth year and AZCOM seems to be more flexible towards this.
If there are any other factors that people think I should consider or can shed some light on the match list dilemma please chime in 😀
