PCOM-Philly vs. CCOM vs. Des Moines

[MissChris27]

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Hello everyone,

This is my first post on SDN although I'm a long time lurker. I have been accepted to the three schools listed and would like some advice on which one to go to. I'm from PA, and absolutely loved PCOM. That being said, I recently was accepted to CCOM and Des Moines and want to know if I would be doing myself a disservice by not investigating my possibilities at these schools more closely. Can anyone offer more insight into these schools? Is it possible that I would have better residency options at one over the others? Thank you in advance.

 

[DoctorLacrosse]

Hello everyone,

This is my first post on SDN although I'm a long time lurker. I have been accepted to the three schools listed and would like some advice on which one to go to. I'm from PA, and absolutely loved PCOM. That being said, I recently was accepted to CCOM and Des Moines and want to know if I would be doing myself a disservice by not investigating my possibilities at these schools more closely. Can anyone offer more insight into these schools? Is it possible that I would have better residency options at one over the others? Thank you in advance.

where do you ultimately want to do your residency? which location is more conducive to your happiness? how expensive is each?

in my opinion, these are three top notch DO programs. all will provide you what you need to become a great physician. the questions I listed above are what you should be asking yourself. good luck!

 

[cliquesh]

They are all in the same league. Any of them would be fine. I'd go to which ever makes you happy. Ccom is a little too expensive, in my opinion.

 

[MissChris27]

Yes, that was the one thing about CCOM that was a bit of a turn off - that price! The area was pleasant; far enough from the city to concentrate, but close enough to go get a break from studying. I am interested in going to Pediatrics or Internal Medicine.

 

[MissChris27]

This might sound ignorant, but which of these schools will afford me a better chance of landing an ACGME residency? Or is it all based on the USMLE scores?

 

[DoctorLacrosse]

This might sound ignorant, but which of these schools will afford me a better chance of landing an ACGME residency? Or is it all based on the USMLE scores?

probably the latter, but I'll let more informed people respond

 

[DoctorKrieger]

This might sound ignorant, but which of these schools will afford me a better chance of landing an ACGME residency? Or is it all based on the USMLE scores?

100% at all of them. The whole merger thing and all.

 

[th3v3rn]

By the time you go into the match it will most likely be a single match

 

[DrEnderW]

This might sound ignorant, but which of these schools will afford me a better chance of landing an ACGME residency? Or is it all based on the USMLE scores?

Aside from any direct connections with programs bc of location, a DO school is a DO school to most acgme programs and MDs. I don't think that will play a factor.

The transition from AOA to ACGME accreditation will be in the process by the time you're submitting ERAS but there is absolutely no guarantee there will be a joint match by that time.

I'd look at the price of CCOM heavily before making your choice.

 

[cliquesh]

It's all about your usmle scores. Top pediatric and internal medicine programs are not DO friendly, so it doesn't matter too much where you go.

 

[reapplicanthelpme2014]

looks like PCOM took the cookie!

 

[Mad Jack]

It's all about your usmle scores. Top pediatric and internal medicine programs are not DO friendly, so it doesn't matter too much where you go.

Yeah, but you can get where you need to go with mid-tier university programs for the most part. You aren't super ****** by going DO in pediatrics or IM, so long as you keep your performance up in residency and match mid-tier.

 

[Mad Jack]

By the time you go into the match it will most likely be a single match

This isn't super likely, actually. The accreditation is merging, not the match process.

 

[th3v3rn]

This isn't super likely, actually. The accreditation is merging, not the match process.

My Dean and associate Dean are really confident that it will be a single match by then and that those AOA residencies that haven't been accredited yet will just be brought on when they become accredited.
So I guess there will be 2 matches still but the merger will have started already.
It really is anyone's guess but I am planning on it. One of our deans is on the ACGME board for future osteopathic something or other for the few residencies that will still focus on OMM.

 

[Mad Jack]

My Dean and associate Dean are really confident that it will be a single match by then and that those AOA residencies that haven't been accredited yet will just be brought on when they become accredited.
So I guess there will be 2 matches still but the merger will have started already.
It really is anyone's guess but I am planning on it. One of our deans is on the ACGME board for future osteopathic something or other for the few residencies that will still focus on OMM.

The match merging is an entirely separate process. The earliest it could happen is 2018 due to the technicalities of everything that is going on. Most likely, it'll take a few years after that. Yeah, there will eventually be a unified match, but I'm putting my money on 2020 at the earliest simply due to the politics of it and the uncertainties regarding MDs matching to DO positions.

 

[67552931811]

It's all about your usmle scores. Top pediatric and internal medicine programs are not DO friendly, so it doesn't matter too much where you go.

So, genuinely curious here but why the peds mention? There have been a few peds threads regarding being a DO and matching at a top tier program--- the consensus in said thread(s) was that top tier peds was not out of the question. One of the threads even broke down the "top" 20-30 peds programs by amount of DOs: the majority of them had DOs.

Seriously just wanting more info. here so I can further educate myself-- not trying to stir the pot.

 

[AlbinoHawk DO]

How is this a question? CCOM is overpriced and PCOM lets you live in Philly. You can probably even land a summer research internship at Penn.

 

[JimmyB123]

How is this a question? CCOM is overpriced and PCOM lets you live in Philly. You can probably even land a summer research internship at Penn.

Chicago > Philly in terms of things to do AND in terms of the amount of medicine being practiced

 

[DloopF2]

Chicago > Philly in terms of things to do AND in terms of the amount of medicine being practiced

There is no way you can prove that. So its absolute nonsense.

Philly is short ride to New York and D.C. There is plenty to do.

 

[ananasmed]

Chicago > Philly in terms of things to do AND in terms of the amount of medicine being practiced

It's flyover syndrome. Coastal people tend to forget about Chicago's existence 😛 But seriously Philly vs. Chicago is probably a personal preference thing.

 

[JimmyB123]

It's flyover syndrome. Coastal people tend to forget about Chicago's existence 😛 But seriously Philly vs. Chicago is probably a personal preference thing.

Philly is a tiny town compared to Chicago but I agree

 

[JPickos9989]

http://greatist.com/discover/highes...=opengraph&utm_campaign=highest-rated-doctors

Chicago over Philly. lol

But seriously, OP has some great options. You get the lucky opportunity to trust your gut instinct with each school and I personally wouldn't discount how you felt when you were ON CAMPUS. Take note of things that felt right and those that didn't feel right and then determine if they are major or minor attributes of the school. Price is also a big one and how you feel about being away from family will play a role as well, do you want to be able to go home if need be? Or is waiting until Xmas break gonna work for you?

In my opinion, your match opportunities aren't going to be drastically different between the three schools, especially with the fields you are interested in.

 

[user3]

sigh, CCOM would be an amazing option if they just lowered their tuition a bit.

 

[JimmyB123]

sigh, CCOM would be an amazing option if they just lowered their tuition a bit.

Public Service Loan Forgiveness is a great option if you have high debt. You only have to pay your student loans for 10 years (which includes residency). And you're paying 15% max of annual income. Yeah, you have to work for a government run hospital or something but I think it's something to consider if you attend s school, like say, CCOM

 

[user3]

Public Service Loan Forgiveness is a great option if you have high debt. You only have to pay your student loans for 10 years (which includes residency). And you're paying 15% max of annual income. Yeah, you have to work for a government run hospital or something but I think it's something to consider if you attend s school, like say, CCOM

-not all residencies are eligible for PSLF.
-As soon as the first wave of highly paid professionals receives hundreds of thousands of student loans forgiven tax free, the media will have a field day-- and the program will likely be changed. The best we can hope will be for no retro-active changes to current borrowers, but even that is not a guarantee.

 

[67552931811]

.

 

[cliquesh]

So, genuinely curious here but why the peds mention? There have been a few peds threads regarding being a DO and matching at a top tier program--- the consensus in said thread(s) was that top tier peds was not out of the question. One of the threads even broke down the "top" 20-30 peds programs by amount of DOs: the majority of them had DOs.

Seriously just wanting more info. here so I can further educate myself-- not trying to stir the pot.

CHOP has taken a few DOs in recent years. What other "top" programs have DOs? I'm not saying a DO cannot match somewhere decent. Rainbow babies and Jeff/DuPont take DOs, for instance. It isn't really a big deal.

 

[AlbinoHawk DO]

Chicago > Philly in terms of things to do AND in terms of the amount of medicine being practiced

Cost.

 

[67552931811]

CHOP has taken a few DOs in recent years. What other "top" programs have DOs? I'm not saying a DO cannot match somewhere decent. Rainbow babies and Jeff/DuPont take DOs, for instance. It isn't really a big deal.

My phone won't let me paste the thread link.

Cinci, Milwaukee, Emory, Denver, Baylor, and Nationwide to name a few.

 

[SkipJunior]

It's silly to say one city is better than the other because there are so many personal subjective factors involved in making such an important life altering decision. For example, if someone has family living at or near Chicago, then Chicago might automatically be the better option and vice versa. If someone has grown up near or in Philly, Philly might be the better decision due to a higher comfort level. Yes, objective factors like cost and match lists need to be considered but one should not discount the importance of subjective factors