Northeastern DO Schools

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NJHopeful

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I live in Jersey and am interested in applying to schools that are in the general area. Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine seems like a terrific place from what I read on their website. Has anyone else visited this school and others in the area (UMDNJ School of Osteopathy, NYCOM). How competitive is PCOM?

I think I would prefer an osteopathic education but I may also apply to allopathic schools. What about the other med schools in the Philly area, especially Hanemann - how competitive are they and any impressions about them?

Thanks!
NJ Hopeful

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Dear fellow New Jersian,

Two years ago I interviewed at UMDNJSOM, PCOM, and NYCOM. Here are some of my impressions/opinions of each.

UMDNJ-SOM - the school is located in a suburb of Camden, campus is nice but small, there's a hospital on campus
Good: brand new building, small class size, general reputation is good - it is part of the UMDNJ schools and that automatically earns a bit of respect, low in-state tuition, gives preference to NJ residents.
Bad: doesn't have much of an OMM reputation - don't really know why, I've met quite a few students there that are really into it.

PCOM: located on the outskirts of the city of Phili. Nice campus, easy access to city life, hospital next door not owned by PCOM.
Good: Excellent reputation, tons of affiliates, brand new athletic center
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, systems based learning (sorry I don't remember the teaching approach of the other two schools),
Bad: Class size is huge ( I went to Ramapo - so this was a bit of culture shock for me), again - not much of an OMM reputation but the people and info is there if you want it - but the OPP classes sometimes leave something to be desired.

NYCOM: located in Long Island - if you interview there make sure you allow yourself twice the amount of travel time that you think you are going to need - there is always traffic on the LIE - the day I interviewed there was a car fire and I just made it in time - STRESSFUL! The campus is part of the NYIT campus which is beautiful, but the buildings NYCOM uses were old and depressing - since I was there they added a new building so maybe it's better.
Good: they have lots of affiliates - from Brooklyn to NJ to the catskills, lots of focus on OMM
Bad: the buildings, another one with huge class sizes, test EVERY monday, I just didn't find it to be a particularly friendly place.

In the long run what really matters is
A) where you get accepted
B) where YOU feel most comfortable

My order of preference was UMDNJSOM, PCOM, then NYCOM. I was waitlisted at NJ (and NY) and accepted to PCOM - made that decision really easy. By the way my stats were 3.4 gpa and a 27M on the MCAT. I am very happy at PCOM and feel that I am getting an excellent education.

If you have any other questions or get an interview at PCOM email me at [email protected]

sorry no info an the allopathic schools
 
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