UHS vs. DMU

[rwright21]

I have been accepted to UHS and DMU. I'm really not sure which school to attend. UHS has nicer and newere facilities but because DMU is in a smaller city, I think it offers a better studying environment. I also feel sketchy about the new curriculum at UHS. It sounds great, but what if it's not an improvement from the tradititional curriculum. Can anyone help?

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[ewagner]

Well, I can understand why you may be tentative about the new curriculum at UHS.
I am not thoroughly convinced the move is a good move, nor do I understand the reasons for it. Our class had the highest scores EVER in pharmacology at UHS, and each class seems to be improving on the previous class's board scores (that should be the measure of successful teaching). Our school had in the range of a 98% pass rate on step 1 of the boards the first time around...that is impressive. So, why change? I have not heard a convincing argument yet.
So, I understand why you may be tentative. University of Kansas went through a similar change 2-3years ago and their failure rate on step 1 of the boards skyrocketed to 15 students (normally it is around 5).

What I can say , is UHS has been a good school with continued improvements in the physical facilities. They hire people with impressive resumes and seem to be forward thinking in their goals. But...is change for the sake of change good??

Regarding KC. This is still a fairly sleepy town. I don't think the town will provide a distraction, I would hope you are more disciplined than that!

 

[Diane Ev]

The new curriculum at UHS is geared towards helping students on the USMLE. I believe it will. UHS is a great school, like you I had other offers and chose this school based on its dedication to its students. That is important! You will need all the reassurances you can get the first year.

UHS has a built in faculty mentor program, a big sister/big brother program (2nd year guides you through the first year), plus tutoring and counseling services.
Compare this to other choices it's hard to beat! As far as being distracted in Kansas City... I never has the time.
Good luck. Feel free to email me further questions
Diane Evans
2003

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[bDOc03]

rwright21,



CONGRATS on being accepted to both schools!!

Advice is good but in the end you need to make the decision on where you want to go. I agree with ewagner and Diane. UHS is a great school and I have really enjoyed this past year. However, you need to go where that 'gut feeling' was the best at the end of the interview day. Either way, it will be the right decision and you will be happy with your choice!

Congrats again and have a good summer!

bDOc03

 

[rtk]

rwright21;

Thought I'd give my 2 cents about DMU. I was faced with the same decision and I chose DMU (UOMHS at the time).

I can't compare curriculum, but I went to DMU because the school offers other health care degrees and I figured that'd probably mean greater access to faculty, facilities, revenue and research. Maybe that's true, who knows... I do feel the curriculum is excellent at DMU (systems in year two is excellent prep for the boards). Third and fourth year: you're on your own to find good rotations (but that's true of both schools).

DMU also offers an opportunity to get a dual degree (DO/MPH or DO/MHA). I got a DO/MHA degree.

Also Des Moines is a nice town with low cost of living and low crime ...and not many distractions from studying. I now live in KC and it's more fun than DSM but still not really big city-ish (except for the crime).

Good luck with your decision: either school is a good choice.

 

[UHS2002]

There I go again to dispel circulating rumors about the rotations at UHS:

YOU ARE NOT ON YOUR OWN IN CHOOSING YOUR ROTATIONS!!!!!

As a matter of fact, you CANNOT choose your own rotations, with the exception of the electives in your 4 th year.

There are many rotations sites across the country, to satisfy all kinds of taste, from big medical centers to small rural hospitals. The down part of it is that you are "matched" to your site, which means, you turn in a list of 3 choices for where you want to go and then the computer runs a lottery and tries to "match" as many students as possible with their first or second choice. This year, the majority of people who went unmatched still managed to get assigned to a spot of their liking. The rotations office has been working very hard to fix problems that occurred in previous years and accomodate everyone.

 

[reddog]

DMU is a good school as well as UHS. I'm at DMU and I think it's fine. I too had to choose between schools. Go with your heart! You know deep down inside where you will be most comfortable. If your surroundings are more important than where you get your degree, use that as your basis. If it is the school facilities that you are drawn to, then go with that. I can only speak for DMU. We as med. students here in Des Moines are very respected. This is a very strong osteopathic community. Also,we are the only "gig" in town so we kind of get all the attention! That's nice. I know as a first year, I was seeing patients in free clinics as often as I could, and going to Des Moines Gen. every week giving OMM treatments to patients. No competition with M.D. students in a town is nice. Yes, we do have other programs here, (DPM,PA,PT,MPH). That can be good and bad. It makes for a larger campus with more diversity. On the other hand, at UHS, your program(D.O) is the only one, so all of the resources are focused on you. Something to consider maybe. Plus, the flights in and out of K.C. are a whole lot cheeper than in and out of D.M.! The town of D.M. is great though. You can live right across the street and walk to class and be totally safe! I wouldn't live across the street from UHS! Even if you don't want to live close to campus, your drive time to school in the morning will take about 10 min. from anywhere in the D.M. area and is traffic free! I really am glad I came here. You'll pretty much hate life anywhere you are your first year anyway! It's not like med. school gives you much time to stop and smell the roses! I here the BBQ much better in K.C. though! I guess the pork and corn is better here? Well, I hope this helps.

 

[UHS03]

I agree with ewagner concerning the new curriculum. I feel they are fixing a system that doesn't need to be fixed, and I definitly pick up a vibe from most of the faculty that they resent the curriculum change (that is PURE speculation!) I love being at UHS, but I am very relieved that I will not have to go through the new curriculum, as that will only be implemented for the class of 2004 and subsequent classes. I also resent paying a 6% tutition increase when the top budget priority is the new curriculum and my class (2003) as well as the classes of 2002 and 2001 will not benefit at all from the extra tution money.

 

[alpha1phi]

Sounds like there is some great feed back about both schools - any ideas and which way you are leaning towards?

I am planning to attend DMU in the fall - but am still on the waiting list at LECOM and UHS...I am very excited about attending DMU, but am not positive what I would do if accepted to either of the other schools.

I found strong positives and negatives about each school - it's difficult to weigh them out and determine which school is best for you. As for now - no real decisions for me to make!

Good luck deciding!