STUMPED: OUCOM vs Wright State University

[misconception?]

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[Amy B]

I would say you need to look at other things such as housing costs, stores in the areas, etc..... Where would you be the happiest for the next 4 years? Where did the students seem more happy with their school? Where did you get that sense... "wow, I am in my school," when you interviewed?

I have been waiting for word from Wright State, but now it is too late. I bought a house in Blacksburg and I am now totally commited to going to VCOM. I was considering Wright because my aging parents live near there.

It is a good school and does focus on primary care. I guess if things weigh out equally it may come down to the old coin toss.

Perhaps you could request to attend a 1st year class at both to see how you like it and how the students and profs interact.

Either way, I wish you luck.

 

[TexPre-Med]

I know this will be of little help, but personally I never much liked OUCOM. I am sure many of these students will come jump all over me, but I would go elsewhere. In the osteopathic world, TCOM is the bomb! (sorry bad pun)

 

[Chronotropic]

Go where you can save the most money.

 

[Amy B]

I am not sure if you are married, so my situation may be different form yours. My husband is the primary breadwinner. We had to get our mortgage this time by leaving me off the loan application. The lender said to me... "You don't bring anything to the table except your student loans. We will leave you off the loan application." Gosh, he basically said I don't contribute anything finacially, which is true, but gosh, wait until I have my doctor's salary, then let's see how fast they try to give me a loan.

Ok, sorry to ramble about that. Bottom line is they won't count your loan money towards paying for a house, so I am not sure how you would handle this except maybe get a loan before you start school based on your salary right now. Or if you are married, have them base it on your spouse's salary and leave you off the loan entirely. You can see have your name on the house deed, though.

Don't know if any of this helped you.

 

[Adapt]

In your situation I would go to Wright St. It seems like all else is equal but from what you said, Wright St. may be better. Wright St. is closer to everything, has its rotations in the local community, you will not use OMM anyway, the tuitions are the same, and you may specialize. Looking at it logically, it's clear that the MD school is for you.

 

[Clemson Doc]

I would choose Wright State if I didn't care about OMM. You get the M.D. and don't have to deal with all of the public's infamiliarity with what a D.O. is (i.e., "Is that an optometrist?" "Is that a bone doctor?", etc.).

Unless you're fully committed to the D.O. approach, in which case the tradeoff is worth it to you, I don't think you would be happy at OUCOM. Just my $.02.

 

[DocWagner]

It sounds that likely you will not be practicing OMT, so why go to a school that places emphasis on that style of treatment?
The WSU students that I work with seem to be pretty good, there obviously is a wide range. While this is not a true university setting, there seems to be pretty good community support for the medical school.
To be honest, OU and WSU are very different despite the "primary care" emphasis. If you are truly seeking to be a PCP then I have always felt DO was the way to go...but for subspecialties, WSU does do quite well in the match and you stay local for ALL rotations and variety of subspecialties.

 

[WillowRose]

Where do you want to live for the next 2-4 years? That's really what most decisions boil down to. OU and WSU are both going to give you the foundation you need. Plenty of schools preach the "primary care doctrine" and still turn out specialists. The letters after your name don't matter to anyone but you and maybe a few people who have nothing better to do. I guarantee you that most patients are not going to notice or care.

Not every student will react the same way to every school. There's plenty of people around here who fell in love with PCSOM; whereas, I walked away quite offended from the moment they started their presentation. (If I never hear "Dueling Banjos" again, it will be too soon). So, just because Tex Pre-Med says don't go to OU-COM doesn't mean a darn thing.

It can't hurt to see how the classes run and see where you think you'd have a better learning experience.

As far as housing, AmyB is right--if you're going to buy property, you're not going to use a student loan to do it. You'll have to have the money & credit on your own to get a mortgage. The new apts in Athens (University something....) appear to be a pretty sweet deal--all utilities included, individual leases, and shuttles to campus. As I understood it, some of the med students live close enough to walk, but finding housing within walking distance may be a problem when you have to fight with the undergrads to get it.

I also applied to WSU, but never heard back from them. Must be nice to be an Ohio resident and have so many schools to choose from!! And doesn't WSU have tunnels that connect the buildings so you don't have to go outside during the winter?

Athens is a lovely town--just got back from there, as a matter of fact--but you're going to be pretty far away from civilization. Then again, after the first 2 years in Athens, you can go pretty much anywhere in the state through the CORE system.

My best friend once told me that if he "had" to go to an allopathic school, WSU would be his choice. Then again, my personal physician (OU grad) said when they had to get cadavers from WSU, they never seemed to be as good. Maybe you can call and ask to see their cadavers before you decide!!

Go where you think you'll be happiest. A happy student is a more productive student.

Good luck to you and congratulations on having to make that tough decision on which school to choose!

Willow

 

[DORoe]

I agree with all things being equal you have to think about location. It seems you are more of a city person so I would say go to WSU. It is a really nice school and Dayton's not a bad city. If you don't like the Athens area don't go there. If you do decide to go to OUCOM let me know (also any OUCOMers feel free to PM me) cause I would like to get us all together on August 30th (day before our orientation). I thought we could go out to BW3's in town there and have a few beers and get to know one another.