MI med program leading to cards fellowship

[subtle1epiphany]

Okay, I know a million people keep asking these questions, but I usually try to help those with analogous queries in the pre-DO/MD forums...so maybe you'll take pity on me...

I'm a first-year at MSU-COM and I've been putting much thought into a career in cardiology. (as everyone seems to these days)
I've always been intrigued by cardiovascular physiology and pathology, not to mention electrophysiology. What I'm wondering is how I should go about "securing" an excellent IM residency in Michigan (a must, due to tuition discounts for non-residents remaining in MI). I know that Univ. of Michigan would be one of the top, as I'd have a great chance at almost any Cards fellowship, but does anyone know if they take many/any DOs?
Otherwise, I've been leaning towards Kalamazoo's medical centers, which have solid reputations. I want a residency that will provide me with huge amounts of pathology that will provide me with a wealth of experience whether I end up deciding upon Cardio or anything from General IM or another fellowship. Furthermore, MSUCOM has affiliations with Kalamazoo, which would make it easy for me to go there as a third year (select it as my base hospital) and then attempt to match into their IM program through the AOA internship they've recently created. Other hospitals I'm considering include Pontiac Osteopathic, Botsford (both have cardio programs), and Henry Ford Wynandotte and hoping to get a residency at Henry Ford's main medical center.
Would the AOA residency path be an "easier" one? (with less competition) I guess I'd rather an ACGME fellowship following any residency (AOA or ACGME), but most impt is the quality of the education. Moving anywhere for the fellowship would not be any problem, anywhere in the US would be fine during the fellowship, just getting to that stage and getting into the best cards program is the goal.
I know this is a considerable question, and I'm likely either not providing enough info or laying it out in a convoluted manner, so please let me know if I need to explain anything. Any information, websites, resources, opinions, or even just words of advice/encouragement are more than welcome. Let me know if I can do likewise in the future.

p.s. In case you're wondering about these hospitals, I have some info available here: http://www.com.msu.edu/scs/hospitals/
Also, I've looked at http://www.scutwork.com but please point out anything I've missed.

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[Mumpu]

What tuition discounts? You get paid in residency and you get paid about the same no matter where you go.

I'm glad you are this motivated as a first-year, but it is WAY early to worry about these things. If you believe statistics, you have something like a 50% chance of changing to a different specialty (and then again a 50% chance of changing back) before you graduate. I was 100% convinced I was going to be a surgeon when I was at your point.

In the meantime, do well in your classes and get as much first-hand experience as you can (hopefully your school has a preceptorship program that starts in the preclinical years).

 

[subtle1epiphany]

What tuition discounts? You get paid in residency and you get paid about the same no matter where you go.

I'm glad you are this motivated as a first-year, but it is WAY early to worry about these things. If you believe statistics, you have something like a 50% chance of changing to a different specialty (and then again a 50% chance of changing back) before you graduate. I was 100% convinced I was going to be a surgeon when I was at your point.

In the meantime, do well in your classes and get as much first-hand experience as you can (hopefully your school has a preceptorship program that starts in the preclinical years).

Oh, tuitions discounts are a MSUCOM thing actually. I'm a non-resident and aside from the scholarship I received the other way to reduce my tuition is to sign a contract with an in-state intership program. Once I have the signed contract, the state or university/college will retroactively reduce my 4th year tuition to that of an in-state student. It's a final way for me to make sure I'm not over 200k in debt. Sorry for not being too clear on that.
Thanks for the info. Is there anything I could be doing at this point aside from classes and perhaps shadowing while awaiting our second-year preceptorships? I'm currently looking for some research also.