WesternU (DO) vs Wayne State (MD)

[InvisibleDeck]

Similar situation to the previous thread. The gist:

WesternU:
In my home town where I went to high school and stayed for college/post bacc. 15 minute drive from home, 40 min drive from serious gf (we’re looking at rings), 15 minutes away from grandparents
An hour from the Hollywood Magic Castle (my favorite place ever)
In the area where I eventually want to practice medicine
I’ve shadowed a pediatrician and am interested in peds/family med, also have considerable experience working with kids
My grandparents and girlfriend’s family, as well as my friends want me to stay (gf and I are on the fence)
I’d want to be home if god forbid something happens with either my grandparents or my gf’s grandparents during the pandemic
Not super into OMM and 2 sets of boards suxx
I had super high grades and MCAT scores and could probably do well on step 2
I’m not really into research and would probably be content in life doing a family medicine residency at Pomona valley hospital or internal medicine at Kaiser Fontana, and living near my family in my hometown

Wayne:
More opportunities for learning about specialities I haven’t been exposed to yet
I like the sound of primary care now but I’ve changed my mind a lot (I went into college interested in economics and ended up studying history and foreign languages, then I did a post bacc program)
Easier to apply for residency
Skeptical whether or not it would be easier to apply for family med/peds in CA
Step 1 PF = bad for DOs
More expensive tuition for OOS students + would have to pay for rent
Not sure how feasible monthly flights to and from Detroit would be during a pandemic
I love Middle Eastern culture/Arabic and Dearborn is super close. Getting to work with Arabic speaking patients in their own language would be cool
I’m not that good at adulting and would have to do more of that and learn how to cook (I do all of the household chores but my gf does all the cooking)
Being near academic hospitals = possible better pedagogy on rotations?
No OMM
More student debt
I’d want to go back to CA afterwards so I’m not sure how much I’d be able to keep in touch with classmates
I will never have to think “bUt WhAt If I hAd WaNtEd tO bE a PeDiAtRiC cArDiOlOgIsT”

Yeah that’s it I think. Help

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[A_Knowbody]

I think you’ll get similar advice that you see on any one of these threads. MD > DO. Your medical school is the next step in your career and there are clear, objective advantages to choosing an MD over a DO.

To address a couple of your points:
- Learning how to adult and be independent may be very beneficial for you and your future family.
- Flights will be cheaper to fly home with all of this going on.
- I get wanting to be near grandparents, but if in person curriculum resumes (even partially), would you still visit them during this and risk exposing them once stricter stay at home orders ease up. Emotionally you might want to be close to help, but in doing so you could be putting them in more danger.
- I don’t think you’ll have an issue matching back. You have strong ties to the area and can schedule away rotations in California to develop connections.
- If your girlfriend is planning on moving with you, I think it’s even more in favor of Wayne. If not, the decision is harder.

 

[juicyfruit22]

Disclaimer: I am going to Wayne State.

I'd say Wayne State hands down. No OMM, 1 set of boards, more diverse patient population, and keeps more doors open for residency. My SO and I had a similar dilemma in terms of moving away from family, but if you guys are really serious (which it sounds like you are), moving away from home for just four years during medical school could actually be nice and beneficial for your relationship. You can always move back to home afterwards.

 

[InvisibleDeck]

Disclaimer: I am going to Wayne State.

I'd say Wayne State hands down. No OMM, 1 set of boards, more diverse patient population, and keeps more doors open for residency. My SO and I had a similar dilemma in terms of moving away from family, but if you guys are really serious (which it sounds like you are), moving away from home for just four years during medical school could actually be nice and beneficial for your relationship. You can always move back to home afterwards.

My SO would not be coming with me since she has to finish her PhD. She’d be done by the time I go into M4, and we both want to stay in SoCal where our families are. If she weren’t tied down by her program then it’d be an easier choice.

 

[altblue]

Don't count on your success in undergrad/on your MCAT translating well into med school and boards. They really are different skillsets. I had a very solid 74 LM without caring much and I need to study hard to do well in med school

Even if the skillsets did directly translate, you'd still want to attend the MD school if you were set on something competitive

It comes down to the trade-off between a long-distance relation with your SO and a potential loss of career opportunity. Wish you the best with that decision regardless

 

[jdaniel94]

I’m in the exact same spot. SoCal resident with acceptances at both med schools. I was dead set on western because I’d really like to be by all my friends and family in SoCal and who really wants to live in Detroit, but now I’m leaning more towards Wayne because you’d really have more opportunity there. It’s like a 4 year sacrifice to really up the odds of matching and having to not worry about all of the baggage that comes along with going DO. Anyways, let me know what you end up deciding.

 

[altblue]

I’m in the exact same spot. SoCal resident with acceptances at both med schools. I was dead set on western because I’d really like to be by all my friends and family in SoCal and who really wants to live in Detroit, but now I’m leaning more towards Wayne because you’d really have more opportunity there. It’s like a 4 year sacrifice to really up the odds of matching and having to not worry about all of the baggage that comes along with going DO. Anyways, let me know what you end up deciding.

MI resident... Detroit isn't all that bad though. There's a lot to do in midtown and downtown, and housing is fairly cheap for a bigger city. It's not a nice Cali city for sure, but it isn't also out in the figurative middle of nowhere like Central Michigan or OUWB. The area around Wayne State is also relatively safe.

Hope that helps you in your decision-making!

 

[djiboutiman]

One of my mentors actually went to Western, but later did residency in Detroit. She picked Western because it was the only CA school she got into. She told me she always regretted going the DO route instead of MD, even though she matched an incredibly competitive specialty. Take that for what it’s worth.

You can always return to CA later. Unfortunately going DO will limit you a bit for residency choices, even though as a DO you can be just as good of a doctor, even better than your MD counterparts.

 

[InvisibleDeck]

One of my mentors actually went to Western, but later did residency in Detroit. She picked Western because it was the only CA school she got into. She told me she always regretted going the DO route instead of MD, even though she matched an incredibly competitive specialty. Take that for what it’s worth.

You can always return to CA later. Unfortunately going DO will limit you a bit for residency choices, even though as a DO you can be just as good of a doctor, even better than your MD counterparts.

Yeah that makes sense. What I’m worried about mainly is that everyone in my family (my grandparents who I’m very close to, my girlfriend’s family, my friends, etc) seems to want me to go to Western, and I’d feel bad leaving them. And I’d worry about the possibility that I go to Michigan and then decide I want to go do kaiser IM in Riverside all along, and then why did I spend 4 years out of state away from the people I love while spending extra on rent when I could have lived at home.

 

[InvisibleDeck]

I’m in the exact same spot. SoCal resident with acceptances at both med schools. I was dead set on western because I’d really like to be by all my friends and family in SoCal and who really wants to live in Detroit, but now I’m leaning more towards Wayne because you’d really have more opportunity there. It’s like a 4 year sacrifice to really up the odds of matching and having to not worry about all of the baggage that comes along with going DO. Anyways, let me know what you end up deciding.

Will do. My gf and I are hoping to come to a decision by the end of the weekend.

 

[djiboutiman]

Yeah that makes sense. What I’m worried about mainly is that everyone in my family (my grandparents who I’m very close to, my girlfriend’s family, my friends, etc) seems to want me to go to Western, and I’d feel bad leaving them. And I’d worry about the possibility that I go to Michigan and then decide I want to go do kaiser IM in Riverside all along, and then why did I spend 4 years out of state away from the people I love while spending extra on rent when I could have lived at home.

It’s totally okay to prioritize family over career! People all over SDN want different things out of life. If you know you’d be fine being any type of physician then go ahead and go to Western if you want to be close to the family. Just know it will limit you in ways and you’ll have to jump through extra hoops like OMM and Complex. In all honesty competitive specialties and programs will be tough to match no matter if your DO or MD too, so even with MD there is no guarantees. Your happiness needs to come first!

 

[SkyloRen]

I’m totally with fatherofdragons too. It sounds like you will be a lot happier at Western where you will be able to spend time with your immediate family and girlfriend. There’s no real replacement for that kind of support. It all comes down to your professional goals and whether or not you will be happy. Congratulations on both acceptances! You will become a great physician at either school and I totally understand the dilemma you’re in. Best of luck deciding!!

 

[Coffee&Scrubs26]

I’d go with Western given you’ll be closer to family and your SO

 

[jdaniel94]

MI resident... Detroit isn't all that bad though. There's a lot to do in midtown and downtown, and housing is fairly cheap for a bigger city. It's not a nice Cali city for sure, but it isn't also out in the figurative middle of nowhere like Central Michigan or OUWB. The area around Wayne State is also relatively safe.

Hope that helps you in your decision-making!

I appreciate that!

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

As a DO student I can tell you that there really isn't ever a good situation for choosing DO over MD. The opportunities available to an average MD are significantly better than those available to an average DO.