MSU vs. OUWB vs. CMU

[hopefulmed31]

CMU

Pros:
-Community based feel/non-competitive atmosphere
-brand new computers
-Good match rates for a relatively new school
-Strong foundation courses
-high match rate
-MD-MBA dual program that I am really interested in
-CHEAP housing
Cons:
-mostly a rural medicine based school so it would be hard to specialize (which I am pretty sure I want to do)
-not a lot of opportunity for research
-I have lived in Mount Pleasant for five years and would really like to see something different (not a huge con but it does matter)
-relatively new school
-Many students relocate to Saginaw their 3rd and 4th years (I am from the area and really do not want to stay in Saginaw anymore)


OUWB:

Pros:
-strong foundation courses in the first two years
-Beaumont has a great hospital system
-step scores above national average
-pretty much stay in the same area for all four years which is nice because my significant other is already in the workforce
-Relatively cheap housing
Cons:
-Traditional learning style ( first two spent primarily in the classroom and the second two primarily in clinical rotations)
-Required research project (but not huge amount of clinical research opportunities)
-need to go to 70% of lecture to receive Honors (H/P/F preclinical years)
-Cost of attendance is about 84,000 annually
-relatively new school
-The vibe during the interview day was not as friendly or community-based as the other two schools
-Exams are moving away from NBME toward professor-written exams due to outdated questions




MSU

Pros:
-Community feel
-Plenty of opportunities for research ( in grand rapids)
-Great match list for peds which is what I think I want to go into
-School has been established for a much longer time than the other two schools
-This has been my dream school for several years (especially if I end up at the Grand Rapids campus)
-I've worked with MSUCHM physicians and really loved their philosophy as a doctor and the way they interact with their patients
-The early exposure and integration of clinicals
-MD-PH certificate program
-Much more flexible schedule (class is not 8-5 Monday-Friday) which gives you an opportunity to set your own schedule in a way

Cons:
-The flipped-learning approach
-Several of the current medical students say that they feel like their basic sciences are not as strong because there are no foundation courses at the beginning of year one.
-Despite being my dream school, after hearing about their curriculum which is so different than the majority of schools in the U.S., I am a little apprehensive of the style of learning
-If I end up in Grand Rapids, the cost of living significantly increases
-May need to relocate my second two years (though I really wouldn't mind moving to any of their tertiary campuses)
-Primary care heavy

They all have relatively the same, small class size.

Thanks in advance!

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[juicyfruit22]

Peds is considered primary care, so I do not think any of these schools would limit you in your pursuit of that. Regardless, seems like this comes down to OU or MSU. Grand Rapids is an awesome city with great clinical opportunities, but the stability offered to you and your SO by attending OU and knowing you'll be in the same location for four years is definitely not something to overlook. Have you been accepted to the GR campus of MSU? If you have and your SO is okay with potentially moving twice in four years, I'd go there. If not, I'd probably go to OU.

 

[purplecrocs]

I'm a current OUWB student and to speak to some of your concerns:
- I'm currently in a preclinical block that does not require attendance to honor; however, you're right that some blocks will require at least 70% attendance. I do think that because of the attendance requirement, we do have a pretty tight knit community (though I'm sorry you didn't feel that at your interview day!)
- The research project can be as simple or advanced as you'd like it to be. Most people do retrospective chart review but there are some really cool projects too. Because of the Beaumont health system, I think it's actually quite easy to get research. None of my classmates have had any trouble finding a mentor/project. There are also many summer research internships offered by Beaumont only to OUWB students.