The Official This School VS. That School Thread

[DrapDO]

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Hey Everybody!!
There seems to be a lot of “This school vs. That school” threads starting up so I thought I was start catch all thread.
Also, I was hoping for some advice as well. I have been fortunate enough to be accepted to RVU, PNWU, ATSU/KCOM, DMU, AZCOM, and TURO/NV-COM. I really didn’t expect to be in this position. I thought I would get one offer or maybe two if I was lucky, and now that I can be selective as to where I go my wife and I are finding it a very difficult decision to make. I’m married and have a 2.5 year old daughter and am planning to expand our family soon, so a strong family environment is important to us. Our top two seem to be ATSU/KCOM and DMU. Both seemed like fantastic schools in great family towns. My in-laws are throwing all of their muscle into PNWU because it is closest to home and there is a chance I can do rotations right next to family. However, I just don’t think PNWU being a newer school really compares to ATSU/KCOM, DMU, or AZCOM as far as academics, reputation, and residency placements go. I’m not sure if I want to specialize or not but if I do I was thinking of doing it after an IM residency and don’t plan on it being in anything super competitive. Am I being too critical of PNWU? Also should I be concerned about ATSU/KCOM’s poor COMLEX pass rate they had a few years ago? They really seemed to have completely revamped their system and invested in a lot of technology since then and historically do very well on boards so I’m not too worried about it, but welcome any opinions on the matter. Any advice or special insight about any of these schools and how they compare to one another would be a big help for me and others in similar situations. Also, any tips for how to best deal with people/in-laws who are extremely opinionated about where to go, but less then knowledgeable about the medical education process would be helpful!
Thanks!

 

[ksmajmudar]

Aaand cue FrkyBgStok chiming in to tell you to go to DMU...

But in all seriousness, that's a pretty good list to choose from. The top choices, in terms of overall school quality, are probably are AZCOM, DMU, and KCOM. With a desire for family-oriented environment, I'd probably cut AZCOM.

That leaves you with DMU and KCOM (which you arrived at yourself). I did not interview at either school, so I can't comment on them very specifically. DMU's cost of attendance is $10,000 cheaper than KCOM's though (KCOM is ~$73,000, DMU is ~$63,000), which is probably important when you've got a family to consider.

Either way, I think you will be very successful at either school. My personal choice would be DMU, because it's cheaper (and I generally hear better things about it). How did you feel after the interviews at each place? Which place did you feel that you fit in better at? Where does your family prefer to move? How much of a difference does an extra $40,000 in loans make for your family? These are important factors to take into consideration.

Good luck! And congratulations! You're going to be a doctor 👍

 

[FrkyBgStok]

Go to DMU.

 

[FrkyBgStok]

Hey Everybody!!
There seems to be a lot of "This school vs. That school" threads starting up so I thought I was start catch all thread.
Also, I was hoping for some advice as well. I have been fortunate enough to be accepted to RVU, PNWU, ATSU/KCOM, DMU, AZCOM, and TURO/NV-COM. I really didn't expect to be in this position. I thought I would get one offer or maybe two if I was lucky, and now that I can be selective as to where I go my wife and I are finding it a very difficult decision to make. I'm married and have a 2.5 year old daughter and am planning to expand our family soon, so a strong family environment is
important to us. Our top two seem to be ATSU/KCOM and DMU. Both seemed like fantastic schools in great family towns. My in-laws are throwing all of their muscle into PNWU because it is closest to home and there is a chance I can do rotations right next to family. However, I just don't think PNWU being a newer school really compares to ATSU/KCOM, DMU, or AZCOM as far as academics, reputation, and residency placements go. I'm not sure if I want to specialize or not but if I do I was thinking of doing it after an IM residency and don't plan on it being in anything super competitive. Am I being too critical of PNWU? Also should I be concerned about ATSU/KCOM's poor COMLEX pass rate they had a few years ago? They really seemed to have completely revamped their system and invested in a lot of technology since then and historically do very well on boards so I'm not too worried about it, but welcome any opinions on the matter. Any advice or special insight about any of these schools and how they compare to one another would be a big help for me and others in similar situations. Also, any tips for how to best deal with people/in-laws who are extremely opinionated about where to go, but less then knowledgeable about the medical education process would be helpful!
Thanks!

Sorry. I had to do that previous post. I knew I was obviously excited about DMU but apparently I am fanatical about it. I am strangely ok with it.

Based on your situation, I would choose DMU. Namely because you have a 2 year old daughter. In your time in med school, she will at least do some time in school. Des Moines has areas (Johnston, urbandale, ankeny) with award winning public schools and a huge amount of parochial schools. The education for your daughter is definitely going to be here. We also have the science center, the civic center, plenty of kid activities, safe neighborhoods, the list goes on. In addition to the cheaper living, Des moines is bigger and has more to do with a family.

I am obviously heavily biased, but i do have a family, and I grew up in DES moines. I have thought of the same issues, which is why I hope to never leave the dsm area.

To qualify my post, I am comparing kcom and DMU. I know nothing of the rest.

 

[DrWily]

DMU. Just do it.

 

[Iliketoytles]

Go to DMU.

LOL. Oh man, I'm looking forward to meeting you next year.

 

[DrapDO]

Aaand cue FrkyBgStok chiming in to tell you to go to DMU...

Go to DMU.

I would have been disapointed if Frky said anything else!!

I felt really comfortable at KCOM I left the interview day thinking I found a wonderful place to go to school and bring my family. KCOM just seems to have an edge for families. they provide child care once a month for a date night, as well as a 1.5 hour child care 4 days a week at the rec center in exchange for 1 day your spouse helps watch children for 1.5 hours. Plus a lot of students I saw on interview day had families with them. Kirksville felt a lot like the town I grew up in so I felt right at home. my wife really liked the town as well.
I went into DMU was extremely extremely high expectations(partly due to Frky's excitement/attitude about DMU) and I think was expecting too much and therefore was too critical of them. I really did like the school and Des Moines feels nearly identical as the town I'm living at now. The students were great but I just didn't see as many people with families as there were at KCOM and they didn't seem as family friendly. However my wife's brother lives 1.5 hours away (5 hrs from KCOM) so she would have extra support from him and his wife. I know my wife would live in either town comfortably and $40,000 is a lot of money to turn down.

 

[DrapDO]

Des Moines has areas (Johnston, urbandale, ankeny) with award winning public schools and a huge amount of parochial schools. The education for your daughter is definitely going to be here. We also have the science center, the civic center, plenty of kid activities, safe neighborhoods, the list goes on. In addition to the cheaper living, Des moines is bigger and has more to do with a family.

Thanks FrkyBgStok Just the type of info I was looking for!

 

[FrkyBgStok]

LOL. Oh man, I'm looking forward to meeting you next year.

I will be the one with the DMU tattoo on my face.

 

[Iliketoytles]

I will be the one with the DMU tattoo on my face.

I'll keep an eye out.

 

[DocEspana]

Aaand cue FrkyBgStok chiming in to tell you to go to DMU.

wasn't that long ago the comment would be cue docE to tell you to go touroNY. Too bad he isn't interested in the east coast.

But seriously, go dmu. It fits what you claim to want.

 

[drgioiadds]

I say SABA or ROSS. Your kid will love the beach.

 

[AP gooner]

Seems like the last Q was solved so I'm going to take over this thread with my situation!

I'm Canadian. I got into Nova and MSU. MSU is a bit more expensive per year (58k vs 44k) but it is a very established school with good rotations etc and Canadian support due to their Canadian initiative of taking 20-25 per year. The general "feel" of the campus was nicer/friendlier than in NSU but I was still very happy with both campuses. Downside is that I'm trying to complete my Masters and MSU starts in June. I may not be able to finish. Also, being in school for both summers is a bit tough- wanted to use some of this time to do some "observerships (shadowing) in Canada.

NOVA is in Florida, so weather is always amazing. The facilities are very nice and it is also an established name, especially in the FL region. I think the rotations are set in our third year and most (or mostly all) are primary care?? So if I wanted to try to specialize or do something else (surg etc) it would be very hard to match since residency applications are due in early 4th year.

I've asked a few different people and have gotten the same "go with what you want" answers so I was wondering if anyone has had to make a similar choice before or can tell me a few more pros/cons for each school?? 😕

Thanks everyone! I have to put in a deposit soon and I'd really like to be happy with my choice before it's due... Dec 1 I believe! 🙂

 

[ManBroDude]

Based on my very limited research on the two schools, plus agreeing with you on everything you said, I'd say: Go to MSU if you want to specialize.

 

[poopyhead]

Seems like the last Q was solved so I'm going to take over this thread with my situation!

I'm Canadian. I got into Nova and MSU.

If tuition isn't a concern, I would strongly suggest MSU.

 

[DrWily]

^^ +1 for MSU. Just do it.

 

[Mbeas]

Bumping b/c people keep making threads on this topic

 

[GlimmerGlass]

If tuition isn't a concern, I would strongly suggest MSU.

If tuition is a concern, I recommend pulling together a spreadsheet of ALL estimated costs and then compare. I did this with two schools I am deciding between, one of which costs significantly less than the other. The facinating thing is that when I considered travel and cost of living expenses...the schools ended up costing the same in the end since one was easy driving distance from my homebase and the other required me to fly.

 

[ManBroDude]

Bumping b/c people keep making threads on this topic

You know, I actually don't mind those threads on the front page. Usually, the applicants are in a time crunch and wouldn't get the exposure that the front page gets otherwise.

 

[DrWily]

You know, I actually don't mind those threads on the front page. Usually, the applicants are in a time crunch and wouldn't get the exposure that the front page gets otherwise.

I have a ton of time at work to kill so I also don't mind seeing the front page filled up with new threads. Gives me more things to look.