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
