RVU-SU vs. KCOM vs. CCOM (waitlist)

[kuzy]

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Hey everybody! I've been fortunate to be accepted to two great schools, waitlisted at another, and now the time has come to make some decisions.
Also just in case it matters, I'm an IL resident and interested in EM, internal medicine, or general surgery.

ATSU - KCOM
Pros:

• More established, larger alumni network, history
• Facilities: teaching hospital right there (pre-clinical year exposure, can do research), large sim center (but from what I can tell, students don't use the sim center much anyway), more spread out >> feels like a campus
• Curriculum: systems-based, block schedule, lots of academic support, more dedicated time to study for boards
• Rotations: don’t have to move 4th year, sites in MI, IL, AZ all have established residencies >> probably more ward based rotations, more structured so less to set up on my own
• Location: closer to home, cheap COL, state park right there

Cons:

• Curriculum: numerical grading, 4 hours of OMT per week, don't require the USMLE >> seems like they are not being as realistic about merger, more emphasis on primary care
• Rotations: less electives
• Facilities: older, students said they were trying to get more study areas, the library was kind of meh
• Location: hard to get to, very rural

Overall Impression: Seems like a great place, and it's hard to ignore the history it has the founding DO school. I also like that I would be able to rotate at hospitals with established residencies. The fact that it's just a 5 hour drive from home is nice as well. What gives me pause though is their board score passing rates seem to be less than RVU, the emphasis on OMT, numerical grading system, and some of the facilities were a little run down.

RVU - SU
Pros:

• Curriculum: systems-based, block schedule, Honors/P/F, high board scores, USMLE required, less primary care emphasis, 2 hours of OMT per week
• Facilities: everything is new, lots of study rooms
• Rotations: more electives, more flexibility, can do more auditions/research electives = more competitive matching
• Location: the area is amazing, national parks nearby, outdoor activities

Cons:

• Curriculum: long, rigorous, short summer break, less time to study for USMLE but it does taper off
• Facilities: Sim lab not complete, all in one building, some classes broadcast from Colorado campus >> less connection with some faculty, no research
• Location: Further from home, higher COL, LDS presence in Utah, stoopid alcohol laws
• Rotations: would have to move after 4th year, some sites have good hospitals but probably have more preceptorships, hospitals only have family medicine residencies so no home programs

Overall impression: Really liked my interview here. It felt like I clicked pretty well with both my interviewers/fellow interviewees, and I was also really impressed by the dean. He seemed really sincere about wanting to ensure that we match into our first choice for residency. The facilities also blew me away, everything was new and there were plenty of study rooms. With this, though, comes that fact that it is only 2 years old. It's impossible to know what the rotations sites are like or how successful the students at the Utah campus will be since their inaugural class is only finishing their second year. IF they are able to follow the success they've had at the Colorado campus, then I think it could be a great place. Also Honors/Pass/Fail would be sweet. Oh, and it's an hour away from Zion 😍


CCOM
I'm only on the waitlist at this point, so I don't want to jinx anything by doing a formal pros/cons list haha I live about 30 minutes away from the campus so I've always known about the school, and think it'd easily be my top choice if not for the $$$. Seriously, it's kind of crazy. Even if I lived at home the first 2 years, it would still be about $50K more over 4 years than either RVU or KCOM. It does have a lot that I like about both though: history, alumni network, solid rotations, and awesome facilities.

TLDR: Should I value history and strong rotations more (KCOM) or a solid curriculum with proven success on boards, less emphasis on primary care, but more unknowns (RVU)?

 

[Pdazzle11]

I would eliminate atsu because of the letter grading from the get go, you will thank yourself later.Between the other two it’s up to you. If it was the main RVU campus then it would be an obvious choice but I’m not too familiar with this new campus. Seems like you’d be happier at ccom and family is there plus it’s a stronger program but that price is absurd. I would personally probably go to RVU because of the price and it’d be cool living in a new place for 4 years.

 

[DrStephenStrange]

RVU