Need help selecting schools

[TwoBits]

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Hey everyone,

I am all done with my app, just need to decide on the schools and send it out. I have been doing my own research but can't really find what schools I will be competitive at, or which schools have an in-state bias, etc..

I have a strong upward trend. Right now I have both Florida schools (NOVA and LECOM-B) and that is it. Any other suggestions will be welcomed. Thank you.

 

[FutureDoc1988]

Msu and oucom are really state biased so I wouldn't apply to those if I were you. As far as which schools you should apply to, you should apply to ones where you could actually see yourself going. If you like the big city then wvsom with its 4,000 population town may not be for you.

Your stats are okay, a little lower than the average for some schools but right at the average of others. Apply to all you are interested in because the average means that people with below those stats get in. You should apply broadly though to improve your chances of getting in.

 

[TwoBits]

Thanks FutureDoc!

That was helpful. I crossed both of those schools off the list. Any more information like that would be great.

 

[SeminoleVesicle]

Two bits, four bits, six bits, a dollar! All for the Gators, stand up and holler!

Sorry, I know that added nothing. I'm not really familiar with DO admissions, but you can never go wrong with your (our) state schools.

 

[TwoBits]

Two bits, four bits, six bits, a dollar! All for the Gators, stand up and holler!

That's awesome. First person on here to recognize the name. Go gators! And yes, I hope I can stay in Florida. Thanks

 

[TwoBits]

So here is my list thus far. I left out some schools based on high OOS tuition, strong in-state bias, or evaluation letter requirement (I have science faculty letters, an MD letter, and a DO letter, but no advisor or committee letter 🙁)

Both ATSU-SOM
AZCOM
CCOM
DMU
EVCOM
KCUMB
LECOM
LECOM-B
LMU-COM
NOVA
All 3 Touros
UMDNJ


Should I add/remove and of these schools? Is there anything important I should know of these schools before I submit? (i.e. OU has a requirement for OOS steduents to work in the area for 5 years after graduation)

Thank you

 

[Bravetown]

So here is my list thus far. I left out some schools based on high OOS tuition, strong in-state bias, or evaluation letter requirement (I have science faculty letters, an MD letter, and a DO letter, but no advisor or committee letter 🙁)

Both ATSU-SOM -Had a friend interview at the one in AZ, said he wasn't really impressed, but I interview at the original in Kirksville and it's pretty nice
AZCOM -AZCOM is great, nice area, great facilities, it is fairly pricey though
CCOM
DMU - DMU is nice, small town feel, they like OOS applicants so that might be in your favor
EVCOM
KCUMB
LECOM - I think these are cheaper than most schools don't know for sure, but don't really have much to add other than they expect everyone to be in shirt and tie (if you're a dude) everyday, they also do a pre-board screen so they won't let you take the COMLEX unless they think you will pass
LECOM-B
LMU-COM
NOVA - Liked NOVA, of course your probably aware that it is in FL and that was the reason I declinced my seat, because if I need a heart transplant I want to be able to afford it
All 3 Touros
UMDNJ


Should I add/remove and of these schools? Is there anything important I should know of these schools before I submit? (i.e. OU has a requirement for OOS steduents to work in the area for 5 years after graduation)

Thank you

You might also consider adding TCOM (super cheap)

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

You might also consider adding TCOM (super cheap)

Firstly, while TCOM is in fact a DO school, it is not on the DO application, but rather on the Texas medical system application. Secondly, only about 5% of OOS applicants are granted an acceptance, so applying to TCOM would be a very low yield and wasteful endeavor.

 

[TwoBits]

Thanks Bravetown! that feedback was very helpful. I will keep all that in mind when going through the process.

And thanks Serenade... I always heard Texas schools had an in-state bias, so I wasn't planning to apply.

Well I am going to submit my app tonight... and start working on those secondaries. Does anyone have a link as to where the secondary essays can be found? Or are they located in all the school-specific forums? Thanks!

 

[LifeTake2]

Well I am going to submit my app tonight... and start working on those secondaries. Does anyone have a link as to where the secondary essays can be found? Or are they located in all the school-specific forums? Thanks!

The only accurate way to the secondary prompts is to wait for the school to send to you, they are not public. That said if you look at the school-specific threads you will often find the prompts that someone has posted that they got from the school.

 

[MedIsInMyBlood]

Firstly, while TCOM is in fact a DO school, it is not on the DO application, but rather on the Texas medical system application. Secondly, only about 5% of OOS applicants are granted an acceptance, so applying to TCOM would be a very low yield and wasteful endeavor.

Are you sure that's the correct stat, and you're not talking about how only 5% of their student body is out-of-state?

These two things are stats that people commonly confuse with each other. You may be correct though.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

Are you sure that's the correct stat, and you're not talking about how only 5% of their student body is out-of-state?

These two things are stats that people commonly confuse with each other. You may be correct though.

Good question, would someone like to pull out the CIB and look this factoid up? Anyways, with the combination of a likely low OOS acceptance rate and having to fill out a completely different application just to apply, I simply can't see this being a wise choice for any applicant.

 

[Bravetown]

Ya sorry I didn't know TCOM had such an in state bias, I just had two friends get except there and they are out of state so I just figured they weren't that biased as far as Texas schools go. Hey even with 5% somebodies got to fill those seats might as well be the OP, na but it's true you might just be throwing money away, but you never know.

 

[Mahliah]

Shameless plug for my state DO (nova!) I believe they offer a discount for IS students.😀

 

[SLC]

If I were you I'd take a look at how much you're willing to spend on primary apps, then apply to as many of the schools that you would actually be interested in attending as possible given your budget. I never understood the idea of needing help knowing which schools to apply to. Your stats are good enough that you'll get a fair shake everywhere, and every school is going to look at your grades in the same light. Beyond that it's about how they think you'll fare in their program, how likely you are to actually accept an offer for admission, how they think you'll be as a physician (personality wise), and what your essays and EC's look like.

Apply broadly, isn't that the sage advice here?

 

[SLC]

And Bravetown, what is you comment about your friend's impressions of SOMA supposed to do for anyone? Not trying to be a jerk but are you implying that because your friend wasn't super jazzed after his/her interview that there's a reason not to apply? Perhaps your friend's interview didn't go as well as he/she would have liked?

 

[Bravetown]

And Bravetown, what is you comment about your friend's impressions of SOMA supposed to do for anyone? Not trying to be a jerk but are you implying that because your friend wasn't super jazzed after his/her interview that there's a reason not to apply? Perhaps your friend's interview didn't go as well as he/she would have liked?

Ya I could have been more clear and wasn't trying to offend, he just said he felt like the facilities were not as lets go with nice as some of the other schools he interviewed at and he was extended an acceptance, so this wasn't him pissed off that his interview went terrible. I know enough not to trust peoples opinions when they are venting, but if what I said came off really that negatively I apologize. I hope this clover can be an olive branch of friendship

 

[necronomicon]

No interest in PCOM? From the looks of it and from what I have read, they have pretty good placement stats for residency and their campus looks nice. Plus, they're one of the older schools.

 

[SLC]

Ya I could have been more clear and wasn't trying to offend, he just said he felt like the facilities were not as lets go with nice as some of the other schools he interviewed at and he was extended an acceptance, so this wasn't him pissed off that his interview went terrible. I know enough not to trust peoples opinions when they are venting, but if what I said came off really that negatively I apologize. I hope this clover can be an olive branch of friendship

Yeah no problem, just wanted to make sure that I at least commented. SOMA has some great facilities for what they set out to accomplish in AZ. I can't help but think your friend has a basic misunderstanding of the program. That or he's just not putting it all together.

SOMA is unique in that it makes extensive use of a network of community health centers to train students. The school was built mainly at the request of the NACHC and it's mission is to train community oriented physicians.

Students spend years 2-4 in a CHC away from the Mesa campus. This means that only the first 11 months are actually conducted at the campus where your friend did his interview at. The facilities are accordingly small, but they are very new and high tech.

I was particularly attracted to this program because of the CHC model. I have already invested thousands of hours into the community health center movement and it's something I'm extremely interested in continuing with after graduation.

The curriculum at SOMA is also very unique, rather than a traditional systems based curriculum, we have a clinical presentation curriculum. Meaning we learn all our basic science in the context of managing a patient. When we learn about non-specified abdominal pain for instance, we learn all the basic sciences in the context of diagnosing and treating this complaint. It's different but it teaches us to think like physicians from the get go, and represents te way the boards are delivered.

I couldn't be more excited to be going to SOMA, and I was much more impressed after the interview than I was going in, and I researched this school to death beforehand.

Sonjust a friendly word of advice, just because a friend didn't like a place doesn't mean it's not a good place for someone else to apply to. SOMA is definitely an oddball school, but for the right student it's an incredible place to learn medicine.

 

[TwoBits]

No interest in PCOM? From the looks of it and from what I have read, they have pretty good placement stats for residency and their campus looks nice. Plus, they're one of the older schools.

I really want to apply to PCOM, especially the PCOM-GA campus since it is closer to home. But I emailed them in reference to their requirement for a pre-advisor/committee LOR (since I don't have one) and they told me it cannot be replaced by science faculty letter... 🙁. All I have are science professors, an MD, and a DO letter. I thought this would be good for all schools, but I guess not..

 

[TwoBits]

Actually, I just called PCOM and they said that I can provide some type of certificate from the Dean at my undergrad university, stating how I finished in good standings with university, etc.. I just contacted my pre-health advisor committee to see what they have to say.

Anyone have any information on this topic? Thanks

 

[TwoBits]

Yeah no problem, just wanted to make sure that I at least commented. SOMA has some great facilities for what they set out to accomplish in AZ. I can't help but think your friend has a basic misunderstanding of the program. That or he's just not putting it all together.

SOMA is unique in that it makes extensive use of a network of community health centers to train students. The school was built mainly at the request of the NACHC and it's mission is to train community oriented physicians.

Students spend years 2-4 in a CHC away from the Mesa campus. This means that only the first 11 months are actually conducted at the campus where your friend did his interview at. The facilities are accordingly small, but they are very new and high tech.

I was particularly attracted to this program because of the CHC model. I have already invested thousands of hours into the community health center movement and it's something I'm extremely interested in continuing with after graduation.

The curriculum at SOMA is also very unique, rather than a traditional systems based curriculum, we have a clinical presentation curriculum. Meaning we learn all our basic science in the context of managing a patient. When we learn about non-specified abdominal pain for instance, we learn all the basic sciences in the context of diagnosing and treating this complaint. It's different but it teaches us to think like physicians from the get go, and represents te way the boards are delivered.

I couldn't be more excited to be going to SOMA, and I was much more impressed after the interview than I was going in, and I researched this school to death beforehand.

Sonjust a friendly word of advice, just because a friend didn't like a place doesn't mean it's not a good place for someone else to apply to. SOMA is definitely an oddball school, but for the right student it's an incredible place to learn medicine.

Thanks for the input SLC. Very helpful

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

No interest in PCOM? From the looks of it and from what I have read, they have pretty good placement stats for residency and their campus looks nice. Plus, they're one of the older schools.

Actually, PCOM has pretty mediocre residency placement and COMLEX-1 test scores as compared to other well established DO schools. Not to mention a bunch of other problems, including an apparently malignant OMM department.

 

[Bravetown]

SLC chill dude, anonymous post on SDN serious business (insert cat pic).

 

[Jnorman1218]

I really want to apply to PCOM, especially the PCOM-GA campus since it is closer to home. But I emailed them in reference to their requirement for a pre-advisor/committee LOR (since I don't have one) and they told me it cannot be replaced by science faculty letter... 🙁. All I have are science professors, an MD, and a DO letter. I thought this would be good for all schools, but I guess not..

That's weird. My school didn't have a committee but I applied to PCOM anyway because all the other schools I looked at said they would allow substitutions so I just assumed they would as well. Are you just SOL with PCOM if you went to a school without a committee?

 

[TwoBits]

Are you just SOL with PCOM if you went to a school without a committee?

I was able to get a "Dean's Certificate" from my uGrad school. I spoke to PCOM and they said that I should be good with this certificate. I'll keep you updated though.