Michigan State CHM vs University of Colorado

[premed_5656]

I am a CA native deciding between Michigan State CHM and the University of Colorado SOM. Leaning towards Colorado but any insight would be appreciated. If there are any current students who can speak to the stress level or curriculums, that'd be helpful. My main reasons for leaning towards Colorado are:
- stronger match list (IMO)
- better weather, more opportunities for outdoor activities
- large medical campus with lots of research opportunities
- closer to home

Colorado: Pros

• Reasons above as well as:
  • Surrounding patient population

Colorado: Cons

• OOS cost of attendance is higher (by about $12,000)
• More tests than MSU (potentially more stressful)

MSU CHM: Pros

• From talking to students on interview day, they didn't seem super stressed and had good things to say about less # of tests in their curriculum
• Slightly lower COA

MSU CHM: Cons

• Weather
• Far from CA
• Match list for 2020 was 42.6% primary care and 43.7% will remain in MI (not interested in either)

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[ihoop24]

I vote Colorado (maybe a little bias because its my state school lol)

 

[DrSnowman]

It looks like COA isn't too different between the schools, and Colorado sounds like where you want to be! So I'd say go with Colorado!

One Q I have: Are both schools' grading systems pass/fail? If so, the number of tests might be a little stressful but should be manageable overall.

 

[premed_5656]

It looks like COA isn't too different between the schools, and Colorado sounds like where you want to be! So I'd say go with Colorado!

One Q I have: Are both schools' grading systems pass/fail? If so, the number of tests might be a little stressful but should be manageable overall.

Thank you for your response! Yes, both are pass/fail. That's a good point. I appreciate it!

 

[Wolvvs]

Is that 12K per year or 12K total for the difference in COA? If it's per year, that ends up being a substantial difference. Given the rest of what you've written, especially location and the fact you're not interested in matching in MI, it sounds like Colorado might be the right choice. But make sure you're considering the difference in cost--after interest and 3 years of residency, that turns into $60K, or an additional year of paying off debt at $5K per month.

 

[mcatstudent1]

Is that 12K per year or 12K total for the difference in COA? If it's per year, that ends up being a substantial difference. Given the rest of what you've written, especially location and the fact you're not interested in matching in MI, it sounds like Colorado might be the right choice. But make sure you're considering the difference in cost--after interest and 3 years of residency, that turns into $60K, or an additional year of paying off debt at $5K per month.

Just graduated from my state med school. Most on your list do not actually matter. Definitely choose Colorado for locale. Lots of current and former students and friends of mine from CA went to Colorado med school and matched back to California/ were happy. For residency look like they also got some Texas/ southwest interviews for residency like New Mexico/Texas which also has nicer weather. Med school in Michigan would likely result in interviews in Michigan/Midwest if you wanted that for residency. Midwest winters suck! So cold! Colorado is a solid state school with good departments for competitive specialties like ortho, derm for research/ letters. 12k is a difference but I think it’s small enough to not matter in the scheme of things. Number of tests is not something you should consider, lol. I barely remember the tests at this point. Only the Steps truly matter.good luck!!!

 

[mcatstudent1]

Just graduated from my state med school. Most on your list do not actually matter. Definitely choose Colorado for locale. Lots of current and former students and friends of mine from CA went to Colorado med school and matched back to California/ were happy. For residency look like they also got some Texas/ southwest interviews for residency like New Mexico/Texas which also has nicer weather. Med school in Michigan would likely result in interviews in Michigan/Midwest if you wanted that for residency. Midwest winters suck! So cold! Colorado is a solid state school with good departments for competitive specialties like ortho, derm for research/ letters. 12k is a difference but I think it’s small enough to not matter in the scheme of things. Number of tests is not something you should consider, lol. I barely remember the tests at this point. Only the Steps truly matter.good luck!!!

For certain perks, 48k more may be worth it if your med school experience is better just make sure to get a roommate, drive a beater car, and limit the vacations. If you come out as an attending making 300k on average, it should be ok. If you were going into family medicine/pediatrics, that might be a consideration, but being on the other side, I now can see why that 40k is less of a deal than when I was in your shoes.