Krazykam-
First of all, congratulations on being accepted! That was the hard part, really- everything else is just grunt work. (Says she who is more or less completely unprepared for her three tests on Monday... oy.)
Second of all, there is no offical ranking of osteopathic med schools. People on this board try to assemble an unoffical one every now and then (all right, every week or two), but it usually comes down to a lot of bickering. If you're really interested in them, ignore the actual "rankings" and just look at whatever supporting data that the students offer. You can draw your own conclusions that way.
Third of all, I may be biased... but SOM, definitely. Completely leaving aside the money issue (not that graduating with half the debt of NYCOM is a terrible thing- and keep in mind that housing near NYCOM is _hideously_ expensive) and the class size issue (and yes, it makes a difference), I really feel that I'm getting a fantastic education at SOM.
The curriculum has its problems, but SOM has long been regarded as the most "academic" of the DO schools. Our first two years are very strong, and most of our professors range from good to excellent. The administration is nice (Dr. Wallace is fantastic!), and the atmosphere is about as laid-back as possible for a med school.
Also (and this is definitely something to consider), the classes tend to be friendly and very non-competitive. When I was a first year, there were some rumors about "competitive" behavior within the class, and some of the upperclassmen took the time to talk to us and explain that that was _not_ the way to handle things. (Not that it matters, anyway- we don't have a class rank system, and our grades aren't curved.) We share old tests, and if someone writes up an outline that they think the class might appreciate, they put it in the reserve binder. It's a nice group of people and, just going by what I've heard online and in real life, the student body at SOM is happier than the student body at NYCOM. We don't walk around with dopey smiles on our faces all the time (well, not most of us, at least
), but most people are pretty happy where they are.
I can't say much about rotations yet (I only just picked my rotation track on Tuesday... and I got my first choice, too!), but we have several affiliates in southern NJ, and we also have an affiliate in Jersey City (and possibly one in Burlington... I really wasn't sure about that whole thing). We can do electives wherever we want (I think), including abroad.
Honestly, the only place where NYCOM really comes out ahead of SOM (again, my opinion) is in OMM. They have a strong program, and ours is... well, you _can_ learn, but you need to make the effort to seek out the doctors. (That's not really that much of a problem, though- all of the doctors are very approachable, and they love being asked to go in-depth. Or so I've been told...)
All right... it's getting late. (Not that I was planning on making it into class on time anyway... don't mind me- I'm just a professional bad example.) I hope that this helps a bit. If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to post them or e-mail me.
Good luck!
Paige
Cornell University '00
UMDNJ-SOM '04
