MCO (or MUO)

[waterlily]

I've been filling out secondaries left and right and I'm at a point where I feel like I need to be more selective with filling out my remaining secondaries b/c of the money factor. I got MCO (or MUO) secondary, and I'm debating if I should fill it out or not. If anyone is familiar with the school, can you share about what are the pros/cons of the school?

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[hot hot heat]

I have a friend that goes there. From what I know:

Pros:
1. New school with generally new facilities.
2. Prepares students well for the USMLES
3. Good overall matchlist. (People matching into hard specialties in impressive places)
4. USMLE testing site on campus.
5. Students are very friendly and helpful and no one seems overly competitive.
6. Good teaching/learning environment.

Cons:
1. Toledo is an avg city.
2. Since school is young, it doesn't have a national repuatation but that has not hindered students from matching.
3. Graded during first 2 years.
4. Can qualify for OH residency after first year.

Overall: Solid school. I would give it a chance. It is what I feel a sleeper pick among various medical schools.

 

[mspe22med]

It's not that new. Been around since 1964. Fairly new I guess, as it was our 100th med school. Facilities are nice, some are new. Excellent teaching and close knit atmosphere. OH res. after one year is a Pro right?

 

[crys20]

I am pulling for it because I'm an OH resident and it has lower average numbers, so I feel like it's a good shot for me. I do think Toledo is a below average city to live in, but then again I have never lived there! Why not go ahead and fill it out, if I recall it's not a bad secondary to do. You and I both my love the school more if we interview. If you are a stellar applicant I know they have been known to give full ride type scholarships.

 

[angietron3000]

I'm tempted not to send it because I can't figure out what to write about cultural competence!

 

[reedgw]

I did an early admissions program into MUO cause I like it so much - here's some info for ya... kinda biased but I've thought my decision over a lot!

MUO is an outstanding school known for producing top-notch clinicians. It is only around 40 years old, so all of its facilities are fairly new and well kept, and thus it's still building its national rep. MUO is very solid in matching students into top residencies. Last year they had a 99% Step 1 passing rate - among the highest in the nation of all medschools. The atmosphere is very non-competitive and teachers really focus on the students.

There are 3 teaching hospitals on campus (combined capacity of 300 beds), and MUO teaches out of two 700-800 bed hospitals downtown toledo (St. Vincent's and Toledo Hospital) and two seperate 300-400 bed childrens hospitals (MCO/Mercy Childrens and Toledo Childrens Hospitals). MUO's focus is medical education, not research, so consider this before applying. That being said, it is not strictly a primary care school, as it matches very well in all fields and into competitive specialties. It's about middle of the road in terms of difficulty of getting in - traditionally the avg MCAT is 29 - 30, GPA 3.6, but you are eligible for an interview with anything 27 and over. They basically look for students of a certain type of character... MCAT and grades are important, but they tend to let a wide range of students in with scoes ranging from 26 - 37 or higher.

I shadowed an orthopaedic surgeon out of the Cleveland Clinic today who went to MUO, and I asked him about it. He said "I had some friends who went to other medical schools and were brutalized... my years spent at MUO were the best of my life." From what I hear MUO takes good care of their students, and people are happy there.

Again, the cons are basically the name recognition (not well known yet), the fact that it's in Toledo (which really isn't that bad), and the grading the first 2 years (which is not on a bel-curve, so really not that bad either). If you're shooting for academic medicine, MUO is probably not your best bet, but it does produce outstanding docs who are at the top of their fields!

Best wishes, let me know how things turn out!

Grant