PCOM vs OUWB

[PreMedBud]

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PCOM

Pros

• Location - Philly is amazing and its 30 min drive from my family, which is a really big support system for me
• I'm really interested in primary care, so I don't care much about extra competitive specialties (derm, plastics, etc)
• Strong community
• Reputation - very good reputation especially in PA/DE region
• Age - very old and established school

Cons

• DO school (might hinder options if I end up liking competitive specialty)
• Not P/F
• Price
• Does not have a school hospital but does have strong ties with many nearby ones

OUWB

Pros

• MD school (could open more doors if I decide on not doing primary care)
• Strong community
• P/F
• Location - nice suburban area
• Very good hospital system

Cons

• Very far from home
• Price
• Age - relatively new school
• Ranking - lower ranked school (still MD though)

I'm really having trouble deciding. I'm strongly leaning towards PCOM mainly due to its location (HUGE factor) and strong interests in primary care, but I just don't want to end up regretting turning down an MD school. Any help would be appreciated!

 

[drgoldenboy]

you know what we're gonna say right

 

[Davidfromcali]

OUWB by far.
It’s a solid school with an impressive match list every year.

even if you end up in PC via internal medicine, you can still match at a strong academic program much more easily coming from OUWB

and if you end up really liking derm or ortho, OUWB can put you in a good place to match as well.

 

[DrStephenStrange]

MD over DO

 

[drgoldenboy]

MD over DO

Correct a mundo

 

[popoon]

OUWB

 

[PreMedBud]

OUWB by far.
It’s a solid school with an impressive match list every year.

even if you end up in PC via internal medicine, you can still match at a strong academic program much more easily coming from OUWB

and if you end up really liking derm or ortho, OUWB can put you in a good place to match as well.

My only thing is itll be much farther from family, which is a major support system for me. Theoretically, if I stick with primary care, will it make much a difference which school I attend if I plan to do a residency in Philly anyway?

 

[deleted1066189]

PCOM is great but I'd still choose OUWB.
Class size is another important difference, OUWB is 125 while PCOM is 270.

 

[viralhiker]

OUWB over the DO program in every way. I strongly considered attending and it came off as a strong program. Only go to PCOM if you are certain that you will suffer mentally and be unable to cope with being an ~8 hour drive from family.

 

[PreMedBud]

OUWB over the DO program in every way. I strongly considered attending and it came off as a strong program. Only go to PCOM if you are certain that you will suffer mentally and be unable to cope with being an ~8 hour drive from family.

Will it make a realistic difference if I decide on primary care in the Philly area?

 

[viralhiker]

Will it make a realistic difference if I decide on primary care in the Philly area?

Would attending a P/F MD school connected to a well-reputed teaching hospital be better than a non-P/F DO school? Yes. Could that also translate to opening more doors for residency and job prospects down the line? Yes. Will you likely get better clinical training at Beaumont compared to the locations described on PCOM's website (vaguely stated: "Training sites include hospitals as well as regional and community medical centers")? Also, likely yes.

Again, if you can't cope with being 8 hours from family, go to PCOM. If you can, go to OUWB.

 

[Davidfromcali]

My only thing is itll be much farther from family, which is a major support system for me. Theoretically, if I stick with primary care, will it make much a difference which school I attend if I plan to do a residency in Philly anyway?

You really want to keep as many doors open as possible. With OUWB, you can do that. I think moving further away is worth it in that sense.

you really don’t know how your interests are going to change a few years from now. Better to have as many options on the table as possible

 

[drgoldenboy]

My only thing is itll be much farther from family, which is a major support system for me. Theoretically, if I stick with primary care, will it make much a difference which school I attend if I plan to do a residency in Philly anyway?

You might plan to do a certain thing now, but the reason OUWB is better is because you might change your mind. Who knows what will happen. Having options is good. Plus it’s P/F at OUWB, which will be much more chill.