To all those applying this year, where do you rank...

[NewAgeDO]

Hey pre-meds,

I'm a second year student at COMP/WesternU. Last year as a first year, I have been pro-active at meeting the interviewees/prospective students. This year I am an admissions ambassador and get to spend some time with the interviewing students. I am very glad that I have the opportunity to assist the school and you guys out there to find the best school out there for you, whether it be COMP or not. I have received many mixed feelings about how the prospective students ranked COMP as their school of choice, some very high and some very, very low. I personally ranked COMP very high as I was deciding in which school to attend (3 years ago). Here's the question, if you were acccepted to all 19 osteopathic schools, where does COMP rank in your likelihood that you would attend COMP (1 to 19)? A simple answer would be sufficient, but if you have the time, a short explanation would also be appreciated. Thanks. I just wanted to get a general concensus on how you guys feel about us. I already have an idea from many of last year's applicants and a few of this year's, but I'm wondering about the rest of you out there.

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[Dr Sum Day]

Maybe 6 or 7 b/c of location convenience...don't know about quality b/c I haven't seen any of the schools yet.

 

[Bevo]

my ranking is soley based on finances. TCOM is first because I am Texas resident. After that I have no rankings.

if a school show interest in me then I know that is where I will be going. The greatest DO school is the one you attend.

 

[San_Juan_Sun]

Probably 3rd for me.

I can get half oy my tuition paid for by my state, so financially COMP would be a good choice for me. I know a DO who went to COMP, and said the rotations were kick butt. I would have some concerns about the cirriculum, faculty, and admin (mainly because of things posted on SDN), but I would have checked them out more thoroughly if I was serious about going to COMP.

 

[fadedrebel]

I rank COMP pretty high up because of location and I have a close friend currently attending the school (MSI). Despite all the negative feelings towards COMP and its administration, he says its a great school.. and I trust his opinion on that...

 

[DrQuinn]

4th year NSUCOM here.

From the students I have talked to who have gone there (3rd year students), I would rank it far down on my list.

Granted, it is not FACT that they are telling me, just their information and opinions, but it seemed pretty universal through the 4 students I talked to. Even if 1/3 of it is true, that's not a place where I'd like to be.

 

[Bmblee888]

Hey, I wouldn't be so quick to dog COMP. My bf is a first year at UCSD med and the President of the California Medical Association went to speak to them. Not only did he sing the praises of osteopathic medicine, but he also singled out COMP as a great school, especially for their curriculum. As a person recently accepted to COMP, this news gave me a great impression of my future school.

 

[benogurl]

I would rank it as 2nd since I'm a CA resident and my parents live 10-15 mins from the school (I think). I still need to check out the school, but it would be great to attend there since I wouldn't have to pay rent. I'm still a little apprehensive about the SDN comments re: the administration and how students there may not be happy with their choices in residency (I heard a comment in the lines of "stuck in primary care"). NewAgeDO: can you comment about that in this thread and alleviate some of my anxiety? That would be great!

 

[maysqrd]

I would have to rank in down towards the last 3-4 on my list out of the 19 schools.

 

[NewAgeDO]

Thanks for all your responses...please keep 'em coming. As far as
QuinnNSU's comment is concerned, every class has different dynamics and experiences, which might explain why the Class of 2006 might feel differently from the Class of 2005 or 2004 (the current 3rd years you're referring to) and vice versa.

benogurl

to alleveiate some of your concerns, you make med school out what you want it to be (for the most part). It's all about attitude...I'll leave it at that. Just remember, no med school is perfect, and that includes COMP.

 

[DrQuinn]

Indeed, your comments are correct. You get out of medical school what you put into it...

but in regards to your comment about the differences in class opinions on the school... that needs to be commented on...

When M1st first start, they are VERY pro-their own school... are pretty much blinded by adrenaline and are very lemming-like... as we age temporally and medically... we can see more of the faults in the administration. Some schools have more faults than others.

Case in point... when I was a first year, there was a fourth year DO student attacking NSUCOM's administration on this very website. I was a first semester, first year DO student... and on this website I vehemently defended NSUCOM (looking back, I'm not sure what experiences i based my opinion on). Now... 3 years later, I see his side a little better... and realize my opinions were based on veryyyy little concrete evidence... I was just blind and defending the name of my school to... just defend it.

I hope when you are applying for residency (as I am), that you take a minute to look back on how much your opinion of your school has changed........ but make sure you are honest with yourself...

 

[jd star]

QuinnNSU - how has your opinion of Nova changed?

 

[DrQuinn]

Hmm... JD you are a toughie. Got me in a corner. Nice one.

Now looking back on Nova... I don't agree with some of the administrative issues. I believe we do a LOT more paperwork during our rotations, we are very limited in our electives... compared to other schools (MD and DO) we get very little time off during our 3rd or 4th year. I know Univ of MD students get like 3 months off. We get ONE if we want to. I don't agree with a lot of little things, like letting one of the new faculty hood recent graduates who have never met this person or know who this person is... I think it would have been nicer to let them pick a member of the faculty that they had known...

Very small things. Nothing too big (or nothign I want to say since my name is in my screenname, and I am still a student at NSUCOM... )

 

[jd star]

ok quinnNSU - those seem like reasonable gripes. but if you had to do it all over again, would you still have chosen to go to Nova? do you regret your decision at all?

(sorry... i'm not trying to "corner" you in these questions. all of this is just input for the decisions that i have to make really soon. thanks for all of your shared thoughts.)

 

[NewAgeDO]

QuinnNSU

I do understand your point, and I agree with you. I know how I feel about my school, and I do not consider myself a hardcore COMP defender, but at the same time I will also not bash my own school. I definitely see everything from an objective perspective and can understand why some pre-meds have reservations about COMP. From the comments I have heard from interviewees (mostly last year's), they range from "how did you know that" to "who gave you that idea" about COMP. I know being in med school is a rumor mill, but sometimes I just wonder where some people get these ideas. I was asked by a prospective student about a specific incident I didn't even know about and I had to actually ask the President if this were true just in case someone asked me about it again. No one wants to share their weakside, and I think the same holds true for a medical university. All schools want to have the best reputation, and right now I just want to see where COMP fairs. I know three years ago, I thought COMP was the %#@! So what do you guys think...is COMP still the @#%! or has its reputation changed somewhat? Keep posting (1 to 19...hopefully more 1 than 19 )

 

[Bevo]

as far as reputations go, I think PCOM has the best. At least when I talk to friends the only osteopathic school they know is PCOM, and these are people who would never go the osteopathic route but would go to PCOM.


I personally dont feel the same way. A school is a school and the education you receive is the education you give yourself. I learned that the hard way.

 

[deleted6669]

#1 TUCOM
#2 UNE
#3 NOVA
#4 AZCOM
#5 COMP

WOULD NOT CONSIDER ANY OTHERS DUE TO LOCATION. PCOM IS A GREAT SCHOOL BUT I HATE PHILLY HAVING GONE TO PA SCHOOL THERE, SO NO WAY IN HELL I AM EVER GOING BACK THERE(I FEEL THE SAME WAY ABOUT NYC AND NJ).OF THE CALIFORNIA PROGRAMS TUCOM SOUNDS MUCH FRIENDLIER AND HAS A SMALLER CLASS SIZE. ALSO THE MANDATORY USE OF PDA'S AT COMP TURNS MY STOMACH AS I AM NOT A TECHIE AND WILL USE POCKET GUIDES AS LONG AS THEY STAY IN PRINT.I KNOW PEOPLE WHO HAVE ATTENDED COMP AND LOVED IT BUT IT DOESN'T SEEM LIKE THE PLACE FOR ME ALTHOUGH I WILL PROBABLY APPLY THERE AS MY LAST CHOICE/BACKUP

 

[DrQuinn]

JD star-
No problem bub, I'll answer your question. And I was joking about putting me in a corner. I juts knew with my previous post that I had stuck my neck out and someone was sure to take a swing...

I would whole-heartedly go to NSUCOM again.
A) Its in FL. Who can resist going to FL for medical school?
B) They do have some great hospitals you can rotate through... Broward General, Mt. Sinai, Palmetto, etc... I did my 3rd year in Tampa, FL, and rotated at several big big hospitals... also did some rotations at a small osteopathic hospital, so I got a good taste of both...
C) Its in FL.
D) Tuition is pretty much the same so that was not an option.
E) I believe I have been trained very well. Example...
Even though I am a DO student, and applying to Emergency Medicine (one of the more competitive residencies... very few unfilled spots... none after the scramble), I am a very competitive applicant... and as I rotate through big MD facilities, I am holding my own and often surpassing. Now, don't get me wrong... the school didn't MAKE me this way... its probably innate in some of us... but it probably helped. NSUCOM is a big school with a decent # of alumni throughout the nation... 200+ people a class, so people are going to know the graduates.
I didn't take the USMLE (just the DO boards) and have gotten interviews in EM in big name places like Cleveland Clinic, Univ of MD, and Univ of FL (bunch of others). So there is no reason for me to switch with what good I've gotten, I would go back to NSUCOM.

My rank:
1. NSUCOM
2. Des Moines (UHS?)
3. Ed Via COM in VA (jsut cause I'm from VA)
4. Kansas City
5. TUCOM
6. PCOM (hesitantly)

rest are all ranked 19 to me.

 

[jd star]

QuinnNSU - thanks for your input. It's nice to hear positive comments from people about their school (especially Nova).

Good luck on your interviews! Thanks again