I'm curious myself at the comparison. Maybe could start a KCUMB v TOUROCOM-NY thread? (and I guess leave out stuff you really don't feel comfortable putting online?)
My impressions from the visits:
The Settings:
The locations are, as expected, entirely different, with Harlem and Kansas City on opposite ends of the spectrum. Midwesterners and small town people will have to adjust to the fast-paced, public-transportation-dependent big city life, which isn't for everybody. I know many people who live for this, and others who abhor having to stand face-to-face in a packed subway everyday.
On the other hand, you're one hop/skip/jump away from the center of the world, whereas in Kansas City, well...you're one car ride to nowhere (compared to NYC). In terms of things to do, downtown KC doesn't hold a candle to Manhattan. If you're not from the midwest and are thinking about KCUMB, make sure that you can absolutely handle living here for at least two years. Things are much slower paced than in the big cities.
Both schools are located near low socioeconomic neighborhoods. KCUMB is directly to the west of some questionable parts of town. One thing that was constantly touted was their security, which will personally escort you back to your apt if you wish, but understand that crime does exist here. TouroCOM is in Harlem, but Harlem really isn't bad as you may think as long you've got at least some street smarts. I feel perfectly safe here, but one of the small-towner interviewees was having a heck of a time trying to convince her parents that her life wouldn't be in danger in Harlem.
Cost of Living:
Huge difference. Most of the KCUMB students live in the complex across the street, where one-bedroom apartments start at $615, utilities included. You get much more options in NY, but also understand that living costs in Manhattan will easily be 2-4 times as much, depending on which area and type of living situation you decide on. One-beds are especially expensive here, and foot per foot, you pay much more for less.
The Campuses:
The campuses are aesthetically quite distinct. Compared to Touro, KCUMB is an impressive school, especially in the newer parts of campus. The auditorium is grand, the library actually resembles a library, many of the classrooms have with multiple flat screens, etc. The campus is spread across a bunch of buildings and you do have to do some outdoor walking to traverse from one side of the campus to the other.
Real estate obviously comes at a premium in NYC, and TouroCOM is located in a multi-level building, with DO students spending most of their lives on one floor, PharmD students on another. Walking down the hallway past the study rooms gave me the feeling an 80's hospital. The study rooms are modest sized and don't have windows (the Pharm ones rooms do), but this isn't a problem if you do most of your studying at home. There is no dress code and the building can be accessed 24 hours a day, which is convenient. One thing that irked me is that students have to pay to use the sim man, though they were supposedly trying to get this changed.
Overall, the differences in school size are somewhat negated when you realize that you will spend most of your 1st and 2nd year lives in only a handful of rooms, regardless of what DO/MD school you choose. KCUMB gives you more of a "university" feel, whereas TouroCOM is more intimate, but also the least impressive campus of all the places I've interviewed at.
The Interview Day:
As for the interview day and tours, I felt that KCUMB definitely put their best foot forward. It was the most professional and well-organized interview I attended. I don't know if the school hand-picked the most well-rounded students and trained them to do everything right, but they were organized, professional, and basically spent their entire day babysitting us. Everything seemed very well-put together, but at the same time, this can also give a sense of artificial-ness. There was very little student interaction, except at lunch, and most of the students seemed neutral if anything.
TouroCOM's interview day was, well, no-frills. You spend most of your morning sitting in a conference room with fellow interviewees, with different deans and coordinators coming in to talk to you one by one. I felt the staff at Touro was more willing to connect on a personal level. After the interviews, a pair of student ambassadors split you into two groups and take you for a quick tour. It was finals week and the school was bustling, so we actually got to see the students in action. Most of them were friendly, said hi, and traded jokes with the ambassador. The overall experience at Touro was much more informal, but also more real.
Student Body:
Very different between the two schools. Although neither school has any significant regional biases, KCUMB's students are mostly from the midwest, where as TouroCOM's students are from all over the damn place. Also, look up the AACOM CIB and check out the demographics of each school. I'm not going to get into race, but understand that there are big differences in that pie-chart as well, if it matters to you.
In the end, the schools are so different that it's all about personal preference. I have a feeling that those of you who interview at both schools will quickly get a feel for which one is for you. Hope that helped.
