NSU KPCOM (Davie) vs WVSOM

[idkwhattocallmyself?]

I have 3 more days (Friday) to decide between the two schools and still can’t decide. I think they’re both good options. Talked to current students from both schools (3 from wvsom, 2 from nsu) and they of course all had good things to say about their respective schools.

More about me to consider:

• I’m from the northeast. Large suburban area and went to a similar area for undergrad.
• I am an HPSP recipient, so cost of attendance is not that important to me as it will be covered. Match is also not as huge of a factor as I’ll be doing military match, but definitely still considered. (Hoping to end up at walter reed!!)
• I like the focus more on underserved communities (nsu) vs rural med (wv). I believe I’d be unlikely to stay in WV following grad (due to military duty as well). Neutral on staying in FL.
• I have a s.o. who would consider moving with me if there’s good jobs (none in wv, some in fl).

NSU KPCOM

PROS:

• beautiful campus and a great location on the coast w other major cities (I love the four seasons, but don’t mind the weather of the sunshine state. It’s super easy to take a flight out of FLL home and usually cheap)
• Seems to match into more competitive specialties at more well known hospitals/med centers
• ? COMSAE ? (In theory a pro, not sure how well it’s benefitted the students as it is still relatively new, but really good to be able to have a practice run before the real thing)
• Student ambassadors at interview day seemed really happy (love for the school seemed genuine, they all almost fought to be able to say things about the school. honestly turned my opinion around on the school after the negative stuff I read online. Mentioning this bc I did meet with student ambassadors from other schools who were brutually honest about what they didn’t like, which led to me declining offers at other schools.)
• Early clinical experience
• You don’t move as much during rotations and really great rotation sites (which could be nice to not have to constantly find new housing and life situations for almost 2 years but it happens at a lot of schools)

NEUTRAL:

• dress code (I really don’t mind it, makes my life easier, and would likely just wear scrubs)
• No cadavers, all digital tech (I’m not sure if the traditional or new way would be more beneficial to me so I can’t weigh if it’s a pro or con — not sure if they still have optional cadavers or if they’re all digital now??)
• Campus shared w undergraduate and other graduate programs (could equal more resources and research, but could also spread it. Professors teach at both campuses = shared resource)
• Mandatory rural rotation (don’t mind this, so I’m neutral on it)

CONS:

• worried about how I’ve seen some things online about school “blacklisting” students for negative feedback (current students that I talked to said the school is receptive to feedback though, have deans hours - dean seemed great during the interview day)
• Multiple professors teaching the same course (= different teaching styles and content taught, can be advantage or not depending on the professor)
• COL in florida (rent from ~$800 to 2700)

WVSOM

PROS:

• Seems to be very receptive to student feedback
• Everyone I talked to seemed to really like their experience and promote the school (I talked to 3 ppl at different points in their journey, I only talked to 2 at nsu)
• COL way less (rent ~$300 to $1200)

NEUTRAL:

• block/systems based curriculum (leaning towards it being a pro but I’m not sure. Would love if people could comment on if they think it’s better than other types of curriculum)
• Just a med school, no undergrad (no sharing resources, but I think it’s harder to do research here)
• Match (so I only talked to one graduate but she said she did her own thing for applying for residency. School wanted to help her match, but she said she put in extra leg work to make it happen, this does lean towards pro though bc they’ve been 99-100% rate the most recent years. comparing match lists, again nsu seemed to match across more specialties in more well known spots, so we’ll leave it as neutral)
• Cadavers (see above)

CONS:

• middle of nowhere (honestly what scares me the most. hard to travel home to at any point, nowhere near an airport. It’s a 6+ hr drive for me. Could be less distractions? But I can get anxiety feeling like I’m isolated)

****Applies to both:

Comlex scores seem to be about the same. The two schools offer different amount of help (told WVSOM has kaplan and hosts weekly board prep sessions, NSU has comsae and gives pathoma + uworld), but I do understand it’s mainly individual.

Both have equipped simulation labs, which is definitely a pro.

Seems like professors are always willing to help where they can at both schools.



Still very torn between the two. I’m sure I would be fine at either, but really just hoping to have an epiphany on which is a better fit for me.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[chilly_md]

WVSOM. Avoid Nova. The only real pro you listed that NSU has is it’s location (which is a con for WVSOM). It’s probably best to avoid the school that’s had problems or negative opinions even if a few ambassadors said they’ve been happy. I sort of expect them to be happy, that’s why they volunteered to do that.

It makes more sense to not risk it considering you won’t gain much if your gamble on Nova turns out to be fine. The atmosphere at WVSOM is very collaborative and supportive, and I don’t think I’ve read anything negative about the school in the past