School Comparison: DMU vs. KCU

[aspiringskidoc]

Hey everyone just got accepted off Q1/HP waitlist yesterday and super excited!! However, Im trying to decide now between KCU and DMU and I think they both have their pros and cons. Wondering if anyone has any advice current or prospective students about the two? Here are my considerations and wondering which school will set you up better for competitive specialities/has more opportunities...

DMU Pros
- Closer to home (Wisconsin)
- Liveable city but smaller
- Good relationships with Wisconsin hospital systems (where I would like to rotate and end up)
- Brand new campus
- Great alumni network
- 100% match rate past two years
- Only school in town (better access to home rotations)

DMU Cons
- Small city
- Grading system
- Not as many research opportunities (Not super important to me)
- Heard there might be a push towards primary care??

KCU Pros
- Large city with more to do
- Pass/fail and very supportive of students
- high match rates
- Lots of hospitals in KC for rotations and research institutions

KCU Cons
- Lots of competition in KC for research and rotations
- Farther from home
- Less connections to Wisconsin hospitals for rotations
- Not as well recognized as DMU??

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[drpb&j]

Hey everyone, I just got accepted to KCU pretty recently and I am very excited! However, Im trying to decide now between KCU and DMU and I think they both have their pros and cons. Wondering if anyone has any advice current or prospective students about the two? Here are my considerations and wondering which school will set you up better for competitive specialities/has more opportunities...

DMU Pros
- Closer to home (Wisconsin)
- Liveable city but smaller
- Good relationships with Wisconsin hospital systems (where I would like to rotate and end up)
- Brand new campus
- Great alumni network
- 100% match rate past two years
- Only school in town (better access to home rotations)

DMU Cons
- Small city
- Grading system
- Not as many research opportunities (Not super important to me)
- Heard there might be a push towards primary care??

KCU Pros
- Large city with more to do
- Pass/fail and very supportive of students
- high match rates
- Lots of hospitals in KC for rotations and research institutions

KCU Cons
- Lots of competition in KC for research and rotations
- Farther from home
- Less connections to Wisconsin hospitals for rotations
- Not as well recognized as DMU??

Regarding this, I know many classmates who had a similar choice between KCU and DMU. I cannot speak to DMU, but I can say that your KCU cons of competition for rotations and not being as recognized as DMU are incorrect. KCU and DMU are both part of the original 5 DO schools and I would say are of equal recognition within the midwest. There are a select few sites that are competitive to get like Colorado, California, Michigan, and Florida sites just mainly due to being more desirable locations. If you want any other sites you should be able to get them no problem and I don't know anyone who didn't get one of their top 3 sites who didn't list Cali, Colorado, and Florida as their top 3 sites. Overall you cannot go wrong with either school as I know several happy students at DMU as well. For me, it would come down to price, and if the price is not a concern, then id go with your gut!

 

[MateoGM416]

KCU Cons
- Lots of competition in KC for research and rotations

This part aint true most people who want to stay in KC for rotations get it and there are plenty of avenues for research you just have to look

 

[EArlyBirdGetsTheWorm]

Hey everyone, Im trying to decide now between KCU and DMU and I think they both have their pros and cons. Wondering if anyone has any advice current or prospective students about the two? Here are my considerations and wondering which school will set you up better for competitive specialities/has more opportunities...

DMU Pros
- Closer to home (Wisconsin)
- Liveable city but smaller
- Good relationships with Wisconsin hospital systems (where I would like to rotate and end up)
- Brand new campus
- Great alumni network
- 100% match rate past two years
- Only school in town (better access to home rotations)

DMU Cons
- Small city
- Grading system
- Not as many research opportunities (Not super important to me)
- Heard there might be a push towards primary care??

KCU Pros
- Large city with more to do
- Pass/fail and very supportive of students
- high match rates
- Lots of hospitals in KC for rotations and research institutions

KCU Cons
- Lots of competition in KC for research and rotations
- Farther from home
- Less connections to Wisconsin hospitals for rotations
- Not as well recognized as DMU??

It sounds like you want to be closer to home. Other than the night life in KC, DMU would be the better choice. Both schools are great choices.

 

[optulya]

Hey everyone just got accepted off Q1/HP waitlist yesterday and super excited!! However, Im trying to decide now between KCU and DMU and I think they both have their pros and cons. Wondering if anyone has any advice current or prospective students about the two? Here are my considerations and wondering which school will set you up better for competitive specialities/has more opportunities...

DMU Pros
- Closer to home (Wisconsin)
- Liveable city but smaller
- Good relationships with Wisconsin hospital systems (where I would like to rotate and end up)
- Brand new campus
- Great alumni network
- 100% match rate past two years
- Only school in town (better access to home rotations)

DMU Cons
- Small city
- Grading system
- Not as many research opportunities (Not super important to me)
- Heard there might be a push towards primary care??

KCU Pros
- Large city with more to do
- Pass/fail and very supportive of students
- high match rates
- Lots of hospitals in KC for rotations and research institutions

KCU Cons
- Lots of competition in KC for research and rotations
- Farther from home
- Less connections to Wisconsin hospitals for rotations
- Not as well recognized as DMU??

Regarding some of the cons of DMU:

So full disclosure, I'm from Iowa (from the DSM area, actually!). The new campus will be super close to the Jordan Creek area in West Des Moines, which has a lot of shops, restaurants, grocery stores, a nice theatre and mall, and is within 20 or so minutes drive from the downtown area. There are a ton of festivals and whatnot that occur downtown. So it isn't like a huge city, but there's still plenty to do.

Their most recent match rates don't really suggest a "primary care push", with numerous matches in ortho and anaesth, along with some ENT, Rads, etc.

The grading system was one of my concerns as well, but that's been more or less dealt with talking to current students. Program directors care about your rank in med school - this is true of both DMU *and* KCU. KCU is pass fail, but you're still put in a rank. DMU is graded, but you're still ranked. The program directors won't care if you got a B+ vs a B, but they will care where you sit in your class.

Reagrding research, this is actually the one thing I've heard the opposite of (as in DMU has better research than KCU), BUT there might be a difference in Kansas City Campus vs Joplin.

 

[DoctorSparkles]

KCU Cons
- Lots of competition in KC for research and rotations
- Farther from home
- Less connections to Wisconsin hospitals for rotations
- Not as well recognized as DMU??

It seems like you can't go wrong with either one. However, I will speak to your KCU cons since I don't have any experience with DMU:
lots of competition - not really, you might not find an opportunity with KCU directly but the faculty are really great at using their connections within the city if you ask
farther from home - can't change this but KC is a great city and you will get a more well-rounded experience here
less connections - you can set up rotations in Wisconsin if that's what you want
not as well recognized - not true
Hope that helps!

 

[chilly_md]

Either school is good. DMU has a lotto for rotations from what I last remember, so you would have to strategize that for 3rd year. P/F at KCU is a nice bonus.

I do not know much about the new campus, but it seems they invested a lot to have better facilities.

 

[tzuyu&yuqi]

I’ve heard that the preclinical curriculum is really tough at KCU compared to DMU