PNWU or VCOM-CC?

[ExPsychonaut]

---

Members don't see this ad.

Heyo, this is my first time posting but I've been lurking around forever. 😉

I was recently accepted into VCOM-Carolina and also PNWU (which I wasn't really expecting) and now I'm really torn between them.

I live in North Carolina but I applied to a few west coast schools because I have always wanted to move out west - but now that I have a good (expensive) reason to, I'm having second thoughts.

But I just want to ask you all which one of these two would you, personally, pick and why? They both seem like good schools. The facilities, staff and students were all great to me. I'd love to hear the opinions from current/former students or other perspective students.

Thanks!

 

[sylvanthus]

Which one is cheaper?

 

[scummie]

Which one is cheaper?

Yeah, was about to say to go to the cheaper one.

Plug the numbers into a debt repayment calculator, take some aspirin and look at the numbers. You want to keep your options open.

 

[Escape_Goat]

How well do you get along with your family, assuming they also live in Carolina?

 

[anythingis]

As a PNWU student I agree with the two posters above. If you like both schools about the same highly consider the cheaper option. You can always do elective rotations on the West coast, and even move here post graduation.

 

[ExPsychonaut]

Certainly clears that up. PNWU is definitely the pricier option.
I have family on both coasts so that also made it a toss up.

Thanks all!

 

[dermpathdoc]

Which one is cheaper?

And which one is closer?? Also making the moving component of the money less of a statistic...I would also add which one is closer to your family. Being far Away form your family during the stress of medical school is very very hard....

 

[sylvanthus]

Likely going to be away from family during 3rd and 4th year and also residency. This should not be a deciding factor when one schools tuition is significantly higher than anothers.

 

[bajastapler]

these are just my opinions, so take it with a grain of salt:
as a 1st year i would choose the school that will give you better opportunities to get involved in summer research.
as a 2nd year I would look at the school that gives you better schedules for board studying.
as a 3rd year: i would try to compare core rotation sites and try to see which offers "better" experiences (use wiki, the aoa website, and keep an eye out for the number of beds in the hospitals and what percentage of them are full at any given time)
in regards to 4th year (i know it means jack-didly, but I would try to compare the match lists from the past few years)
money is important, but don't short change yourself. invest in yourself and pick where you think you have the best probability of success. gl and, again, congrats on your acceptances 🙂

 

[JuneBugg]

Did you decide on a school ever, op? I am a rising 2nd year at VCOM CC and can answer any and all questions with 100% honesty about VCOM. To answer the poster on top of me:
1. VCOM's summer is extremely short compared to most of my friend's medical schools (it's only one month which is still long, but most people I know have two months off). You'll want to travel and see family so I don't know if research is possible.
2. Board studying schedule is AMAZING here at VCOM. They let us out in early March to focus solely on boards from March-June.
3. can't answer #3 bc I don't know.

Also I don't know anything about PNWU and I'm sure you've already made your decision by now, but this is future reference for people reading this post!

 

[mke520]

go with VCOM-CC...great price, great faculty, rotations are solid, and they give you 3 months of solid study time for the board prep. spartanburg is an ok area with a lot of amenities but the surrounding areas are great

i was accepted and absolutely loved it there (got into MD so won't be attending) but VCOM-CC was my number 1 choice over all the other DO schools i was accepted to...