URGENT-CCOM vs WMed

[purpleec4]

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Hey everyone! I would love some advice and opinions deciding between these 2 schools. I was accepted to Midwestern CCOM (DO) back in fall 2023 and have pretty much mentally committed to going there...I signed a lease with my S.O., my family is around here, and I'm familiar with the area being I grew up in Chicago and would love to stay here. I never thought it would happen, but I JUST got accepted off the waitlist at WMed (MD) and have 5 days to give them a decision. To me the decision isn't as simple as DO vs MD, but I want to choose a school that will set me up best for my career and my life! Right now I have very little interest in primary care and have a greater interest in areas like surgery or OBGYN.

CCOM Pros:

• close to home and family (huge support system for me)
• get to stay with my S.O.
• familiar with the area
• variety of great rotation sites throughout the whole Chicagoland area
• live in/near a big city with lots of diversity and great hospitals
• majority of matches in IL/Chicago; past match lists show students do match into competitive specialties

CCOM Cons:

• DO might limit my opportunities for competitive specialties?
• not very research heavy, would have a harder time finding those opportunities to make myself competitive
• would need to take both COMLEX and USMLE
• cost of attendance $$$$

WMed Pros:

• MD might give me greater opportunities with competitive specialties or residencies?
• smaller class size
• cost of attendance is less than CCOM

WMed Cons:

• far from family (3.5-4 hours away)
• would need to do long distance with my S.O. (never done this)
• Kalamazoo is a smaller city (not sure how this affects clinical rotation sites)
• newer school so reputation not AS developed and research opportunities may lack here as well?

Overall...I have all my ducks in a row to attend CCOM and I'd love to stay close to home and family, as well as the city of Chicago, BUT I don't want to close doors for myself before I even attend medical school by choosing a DO school over an MD one. I know stigma exists between the two and being a DO might be an uphill battle for a competitive specialty, but I've also seen very successful DO's in specialties alongside MD's so I know it's not impossible. I've talked to surgeons I currently work with (both MD and DO) and the MD's tell me to go MD all the way and the DO's tell me they've never had a problem getting the specialty they wanted...I know everyone has their own opinions but I'm lost and would like as much help as possible.
Bottom line is that I would love to stay near home and go to CCOM, but not if it will ultimately limit my opportunities as a physician. THANK YOU

 

[Bowel-Plumber]

If your goal is for the school that will set you up the best for your career (as you stated in your post), then the answer is as simple as MD vs DO. The MD school will definitely open more doors for you and it isn’t much of a debate to consider if it would or wouldn’t

Now, the real debate is how much you value the proximity to fam/SO vs the path that will set you up better. We are not the people to make that choice for you. But if it helps make your decision easier, I do think the MD will significantly enhance your career prospects. Many programs have a large bias for MD’s over DO’s, and it will definitely be harder (but not impossible) to match into a non-primary care specialty as a DO. Good luck making your decision!

 

[nadalfan22]

WMED is 100% the choice here. A lot of baggage comes with DO schools including taking extra boards, setting up your own rotations, having to travel for rotations. I would try your best to make WMED work, because it’s definitely better for career wise. Obviously if staying close to family and SO is non negotiable than go CCOM.

If you have interest in competitive fields like surgery/ OBGYN go WMED. WMEDs match list is also pretty good for a newer school. DO schools won’t rule out competitive specialties, but matching into one from a DO school is much harder. Remember, things have changed since the doctors you talked to applied to residency. Look at current match rates for each speciality for MD and DO students. Post residency, DO vs MD doesn’t matter, but it matters significantly when applying to residencies and during med school

 

[pigsinacloth]

If you want surgery or OBGYN the answer is MD school every time. CCOM can guarantee you 3.5 years in the Chicago area and nothing after that if you want to do a surgical specialty. It's not that you cant match into one of the chicago programs, but it will be very difficult as a DO.

I will say that some of my friends went to DO schools and matched in surgical fields in a desirable location, but they worked hard, like in the lib from 7-7 daily to have top marks and pump out research.

 

[m1redsox]

Get an MD and save money? Yeah that’s the obvious choice in my mind.

MD will always keep more doors open. It is nearly impossible to match some specialties as a DO like plastics and neurosurgery. Even specialties like ophtho had a DO match rate of 32% vs a USMD match rate of 75%. Take a look at the NRMP match data if you need more information.

For quick reference, in 2024:
- 3/15 DOs matched neurosurgery
- 3/16 DOs matched integrated plastics
- 117/256 DOs matched ortho
- 19/59 DOs matched ophtho

Keep in mind that DOs know there is a bias in surgery, so they self-select for being some of the most competitive students in their class, and yet they still have these terrible outcomes.