MWU or Des Moines

[wahcha]

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Okay guys, I'm in somewhat of a predicament. I got accepted to AZCOM, but I kinda fell in love with DMU (barring the winter, lol). Unforunatley, I'm on the Alternate List at DMU. From what I understand, DMU is the cream of the crop, but how much pull does it have on the west coast? I'm a Cali kid, I want to get out of SoCal for med school, but I'd like to have the option of coming back.

1) Des Moines vs AZCOM? How much of a difference in prestige, education, networking, etc?

2) How are DMU's Cali rotations and residency options? I looked up DMU's match lists, and there are very few Cali matches. Still, I'm thinking that, since the majority fo DMU kids are from the midwest, they opt to stay out there.

3) Bottom line: Career opportunity, DMU or AZCOM?


I know these questions do not have clear cut answers, and my decision should be my decision alone, but any advice from current/former/aspiring students would be very much appreciated. Thanks in advance guys.

 

[FrkyBgStok]

Honestly, I would plan on attending AZCOM. The proximity to Cali seems to be what you want. But more importantly, from what I hear, there is very VERY little waitlist movement. It does happen, but without knowing what quartile you fall, and looking at the past waitlist movement, I wouldn't get too excited about DMU. If it works out, awesome. You can probably get back to Cali as DMU is one of the best DO schools available, so if you want to leave and you do get pulled off the waitlist, you can come.

 

[cougardiver]

Honestly, I would plan on attending AZCOM. The proximity to Cali seems to be what you want. But more importantly, from what I hear, there is very VERY little waitlist movement. It does happen, but without knowing what quartile you fall, and looking at the past waitlist movement, I wouldn't get too excited about DMU. If it works out, awesome. You can probably get back to Cali as DMU is one of the best DO schools available, so if you want to leave and you do get pulled off the waitlist, you can come.

I agree. AZCOM is a good school. DMU may be stronger because of its history, but something is better than nothing. Don't let AZCOM go for a shot at DMU.

Consider the difference in tuition though, AZCOM is 53k+ where DMU is 39k+. Even if you lose your deposit at AZCOM, you'll be saving money by moving to DMU in the future.

 

[wahcha]

Thanks for the advice guys! I feel like I should chase down DMU as it's the better school, and I really do like the small campus feel and the comradery that comes with it. The winters and ability to come back to Cali are what worries me. The money isn't too big of an issue as MWU offers rotations a few miles from my parents' place in Cali.. I'll be saving on two years of living expenses + rent at MWU. I'm really just having problems grasping the strength of DMU's rotations and image amongst residencies in Cali + major cities.

...Am I looking too far into this? I'd be happy at both locations... Phoenix is nice. Des Moines is beautiful. Des Moines' campus is awesome with the nicest people around. I like AZCOM... but the Cali rotations are tough to beat IMO. Dang, some major life decisions to be made.

Again, thanks for the tid bits guys! Anything else y'all got to offer is welcomed!

 

[bsa]

You say that the Cali rotations at AZCOM are hard to beat but you do realize they are preceptor-based and not ward-based, right? Where you do your rotations matters very little. Who writes your LOR will be a key factor for residency.

DMU is the better school because there are more 'big' name physicians there. Networking will be very important from now until you become an attending so choose wisely.

 

[FrkyBgStok]

Ok. Not to be a dick, but there are no big life decisions to be made right as you haven't been taken off the waitlist. And again, DMU generally has almost no waitlist movement. You are going about this wrong. You seem to be going about this the wrong way. You need to decide on AZCOM and get excited about it. If you get accepted at DMU, cross that bridge at that time. You should be pulling away from DMU because if you finally decide on DMU and you don't get in, you won't be happy at AZCOM.

Because of your acceptance and past statistics, you should be trying to explain why AZCOM is better than DMU. Get excited about your acceptance. Congrats.

 

[Druggernaut]

I'd write a letter of intent to DMU, but plan on going to AZCOM. DMU's a more established, cheaper, and arguably better school, though people do say proximity to California is helpful for doing residency there.

But hey, even if you don't get off the waitlist, it sounds like your gut is telling you to go to AZCOM, so be happy about it. From what I've heard, the campus is nice, and Glendale is one of the best places in the country to live. It sounds like this is a win-win situation for you.

 

[dntke1518]

Ok. Not to be a dick, but there are no big life decisions to be made right as you haven't been taken off the waitlist. And again, DMU generally has almost no waitlist movement. You are going about this wrong. You seem to be going about this the wrong way. You need to decide on AZCOM and get excited about it. If you get accepted at DMU, cross that bridge at that time. You should be pulling away from DMU because if you finally decide on DMU and you don't get in, you won't be happy at AZCOM.

Because of your acceptance and past statistics, you should be trying to explain why AZCOM is better than DMU. Get excited about your acceptance. Congrats.

This👍 I am on the waitlist at DMU and have signed a lease elsewhere for housing, because I am more than happy with the school that I ultimately went with. If I get in off the waitlist (which is extremely unlikely), then I will cross that bridge, and still most likely will not be attending DMU.

An acceptance in hand is worth... well more than any number of waitlist spots in the bush.

 

[GimpGenius]

This👍 I am on the waitlist at DMU and have signed a lease elsewhere for housing, because I am more than happy with the school that I ultimately went with. If I get in off the waitlist (which is extremely unlikely), then I will cross that bridge, and still most likely will not be attending DMU.

An acceptance in hand is worth... well more than any number of waitlist spots in the bush.

Amen to that. DMU was my top choice; one of my "tied for a close second" schools accepted me (still waiting on the other). I'd be a fool not to take the sure thing. I think you'd be doing youself a great disservice if you didn't take the AZCOM acceptance.

For the rest of you DMU'ers... BAH! 😛 (seriously though, congrats!)

 

[DrWily]

I'll be going to AZCOM this fall. I've also been placed for Los Angeles rotations. If you haven't already, I would check the AZCOM thread for Terry's email and send one off requesting LA rotations if you want to be in Cali. There's a limited number of spots available, but people do trade with one another over MS1-2. Now, these are preceptor based rotations as mentioned above. There are equal amounts of good and bad with preceptor vs ward-based so I won't get into that. Just know what you are getting yourself into. There's also talk of AZCOM losing Long Beach Memorial Hospital as a rotation site (not sure if true), which would probably make me switch to Phoenix/Tuscon site list if it does happen.

If you want to do elective/away rotations in California, any school will allow you to do that with some work on your end. Go with the campus that makes you happy so that you can study harder, and do your best to score that 99 percentile on COMLEX/USMLE and get that specialty.

 

[physcigirl27]

I'll be going to AZCOM this fall. I've also been placed for Los Angeles rotations. If you haven't already, I would check the AZCOM thread for Terry's email and send one off requesting LA rotations if you want to be in Cali. There's a limited number of spots available, but people do trade with one another over MS1-2. Now, these are preceptor based rotations as mentioned above. There are equal amounts of good and bad with preceptor vs ward-based so I won't get into that. Just know what you are getting yourself into. There's also talk of AZCOM losing Long Beach Memorial Hospital as a rotation site (not sure if true), which would probably make me switch to Phoenix/Tuscon site list if it does happen.

If you want to do elective/away rotations in California, any school will allow you to do that with some work on your end. Go with the campus that makes you happy so that you can study harder, and do your best to score that 99 percentile on COMLEX/USMLE and get that specialty.

When I spoke with adcom and students at one of the med schools I interviewed at in the south and they said the same thing. That having elective/away rotations is doable given that you put in some work to set them up.