Trying to decide between Loma Linda and NYCOM. Any thoughts?

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DaVinciCantPaint

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Loma Linda was the only MD school I was accepted to, but I'm not so comfortable with its religious affiliation. I love everything about NYCOM though. What are your thoughts between these two?
 
See the multiple other threads asking the identical question on both the pre-osteo and pre-Allo forums. You're not going to get a ton of meaningful answers because it's been discussed to death lately. The names of the schools don't matter.
 
I've lived in Loma Linda my whole life and I'm an Sda. I have a bunch of friends that attend the school of medicine so I know a bit about it. If attending chapel weekly, and praying before class on occasion doesn't bother you, then pick Loma Linda. There's also the issue of the drug and drinking policy that they take super seriously. Where do you ultimately want to practice?
 
I want to do Internal Medicine. I have no issue with the drug/drinking policy. I just have never been a regular churchgoer and wouldn't like that to be a part of my life.
 
DaVinciCantPaint said:
I want to do Internal Medicine. I have no issue with the drug/drinking policy. I just have never been a regular churchgoer and wouldn't like that to be a part of my life.
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Nyit is a great school. If you aren't comfortable with the SDA stuff go to nyit
 
DaVinciCantPaint said:
I want to do Internal Medicine. I have no issue with the drug/drinking policy. I just have never been a regular churchgoer and wouldn't like that to be a part of my life.
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Well, sounds like your mind is already made up. For internal medicine the MD/DO thing doesn't matter too much - if you're set on IM choose the school you'd be happier at.
 
dansanity said:
I've lived in Loma Linda my whole life and I'm an Sda. I have a bunch of friends that attend the school of medicine so I know a bit about it. If attending chapel weekly, and praying before class on occasion doesn't bother you, then pick Loma Linda. There's also the issue of the drug and drinking policy that they take super seriously. Where do you ultimately want to practice?
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Do they really have mandatory chapel? What do you do if you're Muslim/Hindu/etc?
 
Start thinking about cost of tuition, location, distance from family, match lists, your "fit" to the place, how the current students like it and why they went there, and can you see yourself being happy there for the next four years.

If the religious angle of an SDA school is worrying you already, trust your gut.
 
Imnotfromjersey said:
always take MD over DO. even if the distance means your marriage will end in a divorce.
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First of all, no and second, if the religious affiliation and required chapel - if that's a thing - will be that big a problem, OP holds that NIT acceptance and they have a good program from what I read.

Also, @Seth Joo, the more I hear this "so much more opportunity" stuff thrown around recently, the more skeptical I get because more often than not there's not a whole lot of evidence being provided aside from a few residency programs that straight up don't take DOs.
 
J Senpai said:
First of all, no and second, if the religious affiliation and required chapel - if that's a thing - will be that big a problem, OP holds that NIT acceptance and they have a good program from what I read.

Also, @Seth Joo, the more I hear this "so much more opportunity" stuff thrown around recently, the more skeptical I get because more often than not there's not a whole lot of evidence being provided aside from a few residency programs that straight up don't take DOs.
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nope. When an osteopathic applicant has to score 10 points higher than an MD on the usmle and still have more uncertainty when it comes to the match, MD>>>>>DO.

An the fact that osteopathic students drool over ONE match to a rad onc or dermatology program while allopathic match lists are riddled with them, what does that tell you?
 
Imnotfromjersey said:
nope. When an osteopathic applicant has to score 10 points higher than an MD on the usmle and still have more uncertainty when it comes to the match, MD>>>>>DO.

An the fact that osteopathic students drool over ONE match to a rad onc or dermatology program while allopathic match lists are riddled with them, what does that tell you?
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Skepticism ≠ saying something is untrue. When something becomes a mantra like "DO gives you less opportunity", it makes me suspicious.
 
J Senpai said:
Skepticism ≠ saying something is untrue. When something becomes a mantra like "DO gives you less opportunity", it makes me suspicious.
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I see. Well, look up the nrmp charting outcomes, pd surveys, look at the match lists, and you can make your own conclusions.

I've done that and my conclusion has come to DO being fine for primary care, but for specialties, it sucks immensely compared to Allo.
 
Imnotfromjersey said:
I see. Well, look up the nrmp charting outcomes, pd surveys, look at the match lists, and you can make your own conclusions.

I've done that and my conclusion has come to DO being fine for primary care, but for specialties, it sucks immensely compared to Allo.
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The mission of DOs is primary care. That being said many still specalize
 
Micro-managing rules and a vegetarian cafeteria? Seems like an easy decision to me.

Did I mention no meat?
 
J Senpai said:
First of all, no and second, if the religious affiliation and required chapel - if that's a thing - will be that big a problem, OP holds that NIT acceptance and they have a good program from what I read.

Also, @Seth Joo, the more I hear this "so much more opportunity" stuff thrown around recently, the more skeptical I get because more often than not there's not a whole lot of evidence being provided aside from a few residency programs that straight up don't take DOs.
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I am a third year at a DO school, I can tell you the opportunities that MDs have are far greater than DOs, its a fact.
 
DaVinciCantPaint said:
I want to do Internal Medicine. I have no issue with the drug/drinking policy. I just have never been a regular churchgoer and wouldn't like that to be a part of my life.
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Do you want general IM or might you consider a fellowship someday? Do you want to go somewhere specific (i.e. CA, NYC, etc.)?

I'll be honest with you, I love the DO degree, but it has limitations when it comes to residency options. 30% of ACGME PDs don't rank or consider DOs. Who knows how many more consider them, but don't consider DOs on equal footing with MDs, so while they'd interview an MD with a 220, they might only interview DOs with 240+. This happens, even in IM, and especially in IM in a competitive region or program. By the way
to stay competitive you'll have to take both the COMLEX Level 1 and the USMLE Step 1 exams if you go DO.

If you can stomach the brief chapel requirements of Loma Linda (God knows there will be many inconveniences no matter what med school you go to), and there aren't really any other good reasons not to go (like a significant cost difference, being far away from sick family, etc.) except a vague feeling of discomfort, then you should pick Loma Linda.

I also want to say that while you might be all over IM right now, a lot changes in med school. Most people change their minds multiple times. When you start getting exposed to all the different possible things a doctor could do/be and you start seeing what actually takes up your time as a physician, you start questioning your initial aspirations.
 
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hallowmann said:
Do you want general IM or might you consider a fellowship someday? Do you want to go somewhere specific (i.e. CA, NYC, etc.)?

I'll be honest with you, I love the DO degree, but it has limitations when it comes to residency options. 30% of ACGME PDs don't rank or consider DOs. Who knows how many more consider them, but don't consider DOs on equal footing with MDs, so while they'd interview an MD with a 220, they might only interview DOs with 240+. This happens, even in IM, and especially in IM in a competitive region or program. By the way
to stay competitive you'll have to take both the COMLEX Level 1 and the USMLE Step 1 exams if you go DO.

If you can stomach the brief chapel requirements of Loma Linda (God knows there will be many inconveniences no matter what med school you go to), and there aren't really any other good reasons not to go (like a significant cost difference, being far away from sick family, etc.) except a vague feeling of discomfort, then you should pick Loma Linda.

I also want to say that while you might be all over IM right now, a lot changes in med school. Most people change their minds multiple times. When you start getting exposed to all the different possible things a doctor could do/be and you start seeing what actually takes up your time as a physician, you start questioning your initial aspirations.
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I want to do a fellowship in Heme/Onc eventually. Based on what you said it sounds like DOs face a lot more challenges than MDs so I'm seriously considering just going to Loma Linda and toughing out whatever religious requirements there may be.
 
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DaVinciCantPaint said:
I want to do a fellowship in Heme/Onc eventually. Based on what you said it sounds like DOs face a lot more challenges than MDs so I'm seriously considering just going to Loma Linda and toughing out whatever religious requirements there may be.
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"A lot more" is a subjective statement. More is accurate. The amount more is variable and depends on a person's individual situation. If I were you, I'd go to a US MD school (to be clear, we're only talking US MD, foreign/Carib MDs would be worse when it comes to the match than a US DO degree). Its not that getting Heme/Onc is impossible as a DO, but its that it will be much easier for you to match mid-high tier academic ACGME IM residencies as a US MD than as a DO. That will make it easier for you to get a lot of research under your belt and easier for you to match into a moderately competitive fellowship.
 
Dumb question. Is the Chruch thing mandatory? Do they only accept applicant from a certain religion or denomination? What happens if you follow a different religion or none?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Go to Loma Linda. Jump through whatever religious hoops they require then forget about it when you graduate with an MD.
 
chizledfrmstone said:
Dumb question. Is the Chruch thing mandatory? Do they only accept applicant from a certain religion or denomination? What happens if you follow a different religion or none?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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From their website:

"The School of Medicine is owned and operated by the Seventh-day Adventist Church; therefore, preference for admission is given to members of the Church. However, it is a firm policy of the Admissions Committee to admit each year a number of non Seventh-day Adventist applicants who have demonstrated a commitment to Christian principles and are best suited to meet the educational goals of the School. No candidate is accepted on the basis of religious affiliation alone."

http://www.llu.edu/medicine/admissions/selection-factors.page?

Also, I found this short documentary that features some of their students if anyone's interested.


 
I would say Loma Linda for two reasons, you get an MD, and its in Southern California, the weather is a lot nicer there, they have a blizzard in NY and all over the Northeast right now.
 
Seth Joo said:
I would say Loma Linda for two reasons, you get an MD, and its in Southern California, the weather is a lot nicer there, they have a blizzard in NY and all over the Northeast right now.
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NYC doe
 
DoctorSynthesis said:
Fixed. And a Boston guy complaining about NY cold?
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I have been living in Phoenix for the past for years where the weather is near 100 F on average day. LOL. Got used to warm weather. NYCOM is not even in NYC.
 
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Seth Joo said:
I have been living in Phoenix for the past for years where the weather is near 100 F on average day. LOL. Got used to warm weather. NYCOM is not even in NYC.
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Its fairly close though.
 
CardiacLion said:
That's a pretty bold statement.
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My wife was New York born and raised, so I know a lot about the mentality of New Yorkers, they think they and that city is the center of the entire universe, its not. The fact she remains in Boston over a decade after leaving NY speaks volumes.

One thing I noticed about NY is that it has become very gentrified and yuppified, more so than any city in America.

I don't even live in the Northeast these days anyway, I am more partial to the Southwest and West Coast.
 
One of my doctors is a Loma Linda grad. He is exemplary! Can't go wrong with Loma Linda.
 
Seth Joo said:
My wife was New York born and raised, so I know a lot about the mentality of New Yorkers, they think they and that city is the center of the entire universe, its not. The fact she remains in Boston over a decade after leaving NY speaks volumes.

One thing I noticed about NY is that it has become very gentrified and yuppified, more so than any city in America.

I don't even live in the Northeast these days anyway, I am more partial to the Southwest and West Coast.
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We are the capital of the world doe.
 
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