WesternU VS Midwestern

[blueheart]

Hello everyone,

I recently got into AZCPM and Western U CPM. I really need to choose one over the other. Please help me by telling me which school has better criteria and why I have to choose that school?

I really need your help.

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[TrueWolverine]

I was accepted to both but attended Midwestern. For me it was more of the “x factor” than anything else. Couldn’t tell you any one reason why I chose it over the other schools but looking back I’m glad I did. I can’t speak much to Western but I would definitely recommend Midwestern.

First two years were extremely difficult but it made all 3 parts of boards pretty easy. Gotta be the most nicest pod school campus in the country. Phoenix was also a blast and we came to love it there. Excellent 3rd year rotations- you get to spend most of your time one on one with docs in their clinic and surgery which gives you a huge advantage in the OR come fourth year. The fourth year schedule is one of the best. You get 7 months of externships starting around May and no externships scheduled after interviews in January (that might not mean much now but I promise it’s a good thing and not every school has that good of a schedule). The biggest downside is probably how difficult the basic sciences are over the first two years. Med school is hard everywhere but the curriculum really was ridiculous.

That being said, there are good students at every school and you can get wherever you want to go from any of them. Work hard, be personable, be teachable, and you’ll be just fine.

 

[Othello]

MW and DMU students were the most well rounded I felt during clerkships. Western did not offer much podiatry education to their students, as what my friends have told me so they were stuck figuring things out on their own.

 

[blueheart]

I was accepted to both but attended Midwestern. For me it was more of the “x factor” than anything else. Couldn’t tell you any one reason why I chose it over the other schools but looking back I’m glad I did. I can’t speak much to Western but I would definitely recommend Midwestern.

First two years were extremely difficult but it made all 3 parts of boards pretty easy. Gotta be the most nicest pod school campus in the country. Phoenix was also a blast and we came to love it there. Excellent 3rd year rotations- you get to spend most of your time one on one with docs in their clinic and surgery which gives you a huge advantage in the OR come fourth year. The fourth year schedule is one of the best. You get 7 months of externships starting around May and no externships scheduled after interviews in January (that might not mean much now but I promise it’s a good thing and not every school has that good of a schedule). The biggest downside is probably how difficult the basic sciences are over the first two years. Med school is hard everywhere but the curriculum really was ridiculous.

That being said, there are good students at every school and you can get wherever you want to go from any of them. Work hard, be personable, be teachable, and you’ll be just fine.

What about the administration aspect like how often do students take exams? Are the grades are only based on midterms and finals? Do they tend to change schedules a lot? Do their professors teach well-meaning that you can get 50% of the information in the class?

I really appreciate it if you could elaborate more on those as well.

 

[Weirdy]

What about the administration aspect like how often do students take exams? Are the grades are only based on midterms and finals? Do they tend to change schedules a lot? Do their professors teach well-meaning that you can get 50% of the information in the class?

I really appreciate it if you could elaborate more on those as well.

Please refer to below linked thread and ask your question in each specific school thread.

Help Me Decide: X vs Y Podiatry School

The purpose of this thread is to help future students decide between one program to another. I will do my best to include older posts comparing two programs to this thread. Please use the search function. Thanks.

forums.studentdoctor.net

 

[FutureToeBro]

What about the administration aspect like how often do students take exams? Are the grades are only based on midterms and finals? Do they tend to change schedules a lot? Do their professors teach well-meaning that you can get 50% of the information in the class?

I really appreciate it if you could elaborate more on those as well.

I’m a second year at AZCPM,
So all the basic sciences are taken with the osteopathic students, including exams. The exams are tailored towards the COMLEX/USMLE so the curriculum is more difficult than other pod programs. During my first year it felt like I had an exam every single week.
A majority of classes only have points from exams.
But other classes such as biochem did have workshops that were worth a little bit of points.
Your schedule will come out before the next semester begins and it’s usually set and stone.
Attendance isn’t mandatory for the basic sciences, and all the lectures are recorded. Which allows you to watch them at your leisure if that’s what you prefer to do, so people don’t watch the lectures at all.

 

[podwithryry]

Hey guys! I am a current first-year podiatry student at WesternU. At Western, you take your basic science courses with the DO students, however, it is based on a block system (separated by body system). Rather than having an exam every week/other week, you have an assessment week with 3 exams (anatomy practical, final exam, and OSCE). You are building up that knowledge and can apply it all together. All lectures are recorded and attendance is mandatory for specific lectures (usually just a few). Western is really good at letting you know your schedule ahead of time so that you can plan your studying around it. I also chose Western because of how well-known and supportive the faculty members are. There are so many resources, such as the mentor and "big buddy" programs, and the academic LEAD office.

Feel free to reach out for any specific questions! Although I am just now going into my second year, I can also provide you with some information of our future 3rd/4th-year students.

[email protected]

 

[FutureDPM123]

You will get a lot better clinical exposure prior to rotations at AZCPM compared to Western

 

[Tabasco9]

You will get a lot better clinical exposure prior to rotations at AZCPM compared to Western

Care to elaborate?

 

[FutureDPM123]

Care to elaborate?

It seems the rotations that Midwestern has allows students to scrub in on a lot more surgeries and be a lot more hands on in clinics. However, I think most students at the top of their class from any school perform well, and what school you go to does not make a huge impact as long as you get enough experience in the OR before clerkships.