MU-COM vs. CU-SOM

[NJemt]

---

Members don't see this ad.

Marian University College of Osteopathic Medicine and Campbell University School of Osteopathic Medicine are both new this year.

Assuming one had to decide between these two, can people post pros and cons? How do these schools compare? Does one seem like it will have a more promising future? How does the curriculum compare? etc.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

Marion University College of Osteopathic Medicine and Campbell University School of Osteopathic Medicine are both new this year.

Assuming one had to decide between these two, can people post pros and cons? How do these schools compare? Does one seem like it will have a more promising future? How does the curriculum compare? etc.

It'll really come down to whether or not you like Indiana or North? Carolina.

 

[411309]

Marian*. I don't usually correct grammar but when you email a school you don't want to say "im really excited about marion" lol. And this question would be better suited to people who interviewed at both schools probably. I think both will be good schools.

 

[WildEMDoc]

Its really hard to say either way since both are new, but Marian seemed to have a lot of backing from the state of Indiana and hospitals in Indy. Although I know next to nothing about Campbell. Go where you feel you would be more comfortable.

 

[arfandada]

maybe im biased as well but i heard lots of good things about marian....

 

[DrMeows]

maybe im biased as well but i heard lots of good things about marian....

+1 But I'm totally biased because I've been accepted to Marian and didn't even apply to CUSOM. However, pros in my opinion about MU-COM:

1. In a big city: Indianapolis is pretty awesome and being in a city should afford you more opportunities. Also, the price of living isn't as steep as a lot of places, especially for being a big city.

2. Established connections with Indiana hospitals and a lot of backing from the community. They seem to really care about the school and the physicians that will be produced from it so I really think whoever goes there will have a lot of support in general.

3. Brand new facilities (although - I would assume it would be the same for Campbell right?). 85 million dollars to put into the building of the school and everything will be brand new and high tech. I can't wait to see it!

4. Knowledgeable faculty. Many of the faculty members were hired from other medical schools, so even though it's a new school, the administration has experience in dealing with medical students (major plus!).

5. Curriculum and dean coming from another DO school. This shows that the curriculum works and there is experience with how it is run. This is a major plus because you don't want to deal with a school that's just starting out fresh (again, I know nothing about Campbell, they could have the same thing going on).


However, I agree with the poster above: would you prefer North Carolina or Indiana? It would be my assumption that wherever you choose would give you better opportunities as far as rotations and residency opportunities in that particular region. Possible cons that have been brought up about MU-COM are the lack of supplying iPads/text or something of that nature (I know this is something ACOM is doing). Also the tuition is about 42,000 (the average of private medical schools I believe) so you can take that however you want to when comparing it to Campbell or other schools. Hope that helps, sorry for the novel 🙄

 

[Mosonik]

I'll try to offer something similar to Dr Meows post but on the CU-SOM. Firstly though, I did interview and ultimately took my acceptance there over other ones. At the beginning of the cycle MU-COM was at the top of my list but as the cycle went on and I visited places I was able to get a better feel for what I wanted most in a school and ultimately cancelled my MU-COM interview due to the cost of this process and just feeling like a good fit for the CU-SOM.
So... some of why I chose this school in no particular order....

1. location too. CU is in rural North Carolina (though only about 30 minutes south of Raleigh-Durham). I wanted less distractions and really enjoyed the university community that was created by it not being in a busier city/town. I also like to do some hiking and there's plenty of areas close by to get out in nature and relax in this beautiful state.

2. it's North Carolina and a state with nationally renowned hospitals and research (research triangle) opportunities. CU-SOM is developing great partnernships with some great hospitals (two have ties with Duke med, one has a dual AOA/ACGME residency that is affiliated with Duke too) and they are all over the state for both good city rotations and some rural ones too, which I wanted to get both

3. really excited about Campbell's med building even if it's a very small factor in the end. It's like a massive cathedral in the trees. Wanted some good sim opportunities and Campbell isn't going to disappoint. I know people have differing opinions on sim labs but I can't wait to be able to not only get the basic office one, but also ICU, ER, surgery and delivery (6 total) plus standardized patient rooms. I also like that all the labs are above ground with large windows and light. For some reason a lot of schools have these in the basement but I am looking forward to a 4th floor anatomy lab and 3rd (?) floor OMM lab. These may be small details but given the number of hours we will spend there, I want to be comfortable 😉

4. faculty. This is something I knew nothing about before interviewing but after the day there I realized not only are all the faculty and dean friendly and caring but they have impressive CVs and have proven themselves time and time again as leaders in the field. Our clinical dean is from Cleveland Clinic and was leadership for residency programs there for many years and the dean structuring our curriculum created the preclinical curriculum when LECOM (PA) first opened and helped with VCOM Carolinas as well.

5. lastly, commitment to service. There is no doubt those who attend CU-SOM are going to have endless opportunities for both local missions as well as international ones. The Dean is passionate about this and with my interest in pursuing international medicine, this was important to me. Service and hands on learning is a priority here of both of the faculty and administration.

This is getting long so I will wrap it up. I don't believe Campbell is better than Marian overall or vice-versa. I think there is rather a better fit for each individual. I truly believe both will be strong and I can see the benefits to Marian who has great ties to amazing hospitals and faculty too. The key is both have strong community support. Indiana has only other one (though giant) med school so they have the support of the entire state and North Carolina though it was three other MD programs they are all smaller and most of the students stay in the cities of Raleigh, Durham, Charlotte and a few others. The governor of North Carolina spoke at the ground-breaking ceremony because 80%+ of North Carolina is truly hurting for physicians... not just PCPs but general surgeons, OB/GYN, etc. and I look forward to be an impact maker in the communities here.

EDIT: I wanted to make this thorough because it appears Campbell won't have an overabundance of SDN-love (at least so far) this year so felt it was important to highlight their benefits which are many

 

[DrMeows]

I don't believe Campbell is better than Marian overall or vice-versa. I think there is rather a better fit for each individual. I truly believe both will be strong and I can see the benefits to Marian who has great ties to amazing hospitals and faculty too. The key is both have strong community support.

👍 nicely worded. I totally agree

 

[Mash43]

Both Mosonik and Dr. Meows make excellent points. They have given the pros for both schools and all the reasons you would attend either so let me give you my perspective on my decision between the 2. I have been to both schools and am deciding between the 2. However, I am leaning towards MU-COM over CUSOM. They both have great opportunities. NC has an extremely low cost of living but it is in a rural area. Indianapolis has a very low cost of living for a big city so cost of living was not a huge play for me. Opportunities will be equal in both places. Both places want physicians in their state but NC is on the verge of a health crisis so it is more in need. NC has already enough rotation sites set up for all of its student and even some residency spots soon enough. The opportunities for research are endless with all the other medical schools in NC and Indianapolis is the 'life sciences hub' so research will not be a problem. Both are associated with great undergrad universities so there is good affiliation. Funding does not seem to be an issue for either one. Both have raised more money than they need. Faculty is again spectacular. Both have faculty from some of the best schools around who have done it before. CUSOM will have PA students with the med students and MUCOM will have nursing students with the med students so not much difference there. For me, location was a huge issue. I really felt more comfortable in a bigger city of indianapolis compared to CUSOM's rural location. I come from a suburban environment and the lifestyle at MU-COM was more to my liking. I can see myself there, as a student and possibly as a doctor. The only thing I did not like is how MU-COM did not have its curriculum ironed out. CUSOM gave you everything in detail from year 1-4. MU-COM is still in the works. Also, MU-COM is 2500 more per year and CUSOM provides more of the necessities to its students. So in the long run, CUSOM will be cheaper. I liked the climate of NC so much more but that is a given. But at the end of the day, it boiled down to the location for me. Let me know if you have any specific questions

I also want to say that I have not done an in depth analysis between the 2 side by side yet, this is just my gut feeling as of now. I am still waiting for and looking at other schools.

 

[arfandada]

Both Mosonik and Dr. Meows make excellent points. They have given the pros for both schools and all the reasons you would attend either so let me give you my perspective on my decision between the 2. I have been to both schools and am deciding between the 2. However, I am leaning towards MU-COM over CUSOM. They both have great opportunities. NC has an extremely low cost of living but it is in a rural area. Indianapolis has a very low cost of living for a big city so cost of living was not a huge play for me. Opportunities will be equal in both places. Both places want physicians in their state but NC is on the verge of a health crisis so it is more in need. NC has already enough rotation sites set up for all of its student and even some residency spots soon enough. The opportunities for research are endless with all the other medical schools in NC and Indianapolis is the 'life sciences hub' so research will not be a problem. Both are associated with great undergrad universities so there is good affiliation. Funding does not seem to be an issue for either one. Both have raised more money than they need. Faculty is again spectacular. Both have faculty from some of the best schools around who have done it before. CUSOM will have PA students with the med students and MUCOM will have nursing students with the med students so not much difference there. For me, location was a huge issue. I really felt more comfortable in a bigger city of indianapolis compared to CUSOM's rural location. I come from a suburban environment and the lifestyle at MU-COM was more to my liking. I can see myself there, as a student and possibly as a doctor. The only thing I did not like is how MU-COM did not have its curriculum ironed out. CUSOM gave you everything in detail from year 1-4. MU-COM is still in the works. Also, MU-COM is 2500 more per year and CUSOM provides more of the necessities to its students. So in the long run, CUSOM will be cheaper. I liked the climate of NC so much more but that is a given. But at the end of the day, it boiled down to the location for me. Let me know if you have any specific questions

I also want to say that I have not done an in depth analysis between the 2 side by side yet, this is just my gut feeling as of now. I am still waiting for and looking at other schools.

thanks for the insight.... i had a similar feeling where i was really impressed with acom but i leaned more towards mu-com simply because its in a bigger city.... i have lived in big cities all my life (NYC and Houston) so i feel it would be hard to adjust in a rural area. Dont know if big cities = better rotations/residencies though...

 

[411309]

thanks for the insight.... i had a similar feeling where i was really impressed with acom but i leaned more towards mu-com simply because its in a bigger city.... i have lived in big cities all my life (NYC and Houston) so i feel it would be hard to adjust in a rural area. Dont know if big cities = better rotations/residencies though...

nah, considering acom has some pretty legit rotations in line. but im the opposite of you i couldnt picture myself in NYC id get lost the first day.

 

[Mr Kenobi]

thanks for the insight.... i had a similar feeling where i was really impressed with acom but i leaned more towards mu-com simply because its in a bigger city.... i have lived in big cities all my life (NYC and Houston) so i feel it would be hard to adjust in a rural area. Dont know if big cities = better rotations/residencies though...

nah, considering acom has some pretty legit rotations in line. but im the opposite of you i couldnt picture myself in NYC id get lost the first day.

...and ACOM didn't seem that rural to me...especially after I visited LMU-DCOM. (I am from a big city as well)