What are top 5 DO schools?

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I'd say Texas,Oklahoma State, and Michigan State are in there....not sure where to rank them or if it matters.
 
I don't really know if there's such a thing. There are no official rankings of Osteopathic schools. What do you mean as in top 5? Location? Selectivity? Average Stats? Research? There's a few schools that are ranked along with the allopathics in the US News rankings... like MSU-COM. The generally more-difficult schools to get into are TCOM (i've heard you pretty much have to be from Texas to get in though), PCOM, NYCOM, MSUCOM and CCOM. These schools also have great reputations. This is by no means all-inclusive or a scientific fact, just my obersvations. You'll have many different opinions on this subject though.
 
Faraaz23 said:
The generally more-difficult schools to get into are TCOM (i've heard you pretty much have to be from Texas to get in though), PCOM, NYCOM, MSUCOM and CCOM.
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The list will only get longer unless you get more specific. sorry.
 
The absolute top 5 schools are PCOM, CCOM, NYCOM, MSUCOM, and TCOM. In that order.
 
This topic comes up every few months, and as others have mentioned there are so many factors that determine "the best" schools. It is personal and different for everyone, but one thing I do know is you shouldn't take advice from those who haven't even had their first med school class yet! Reserach schools, go visit them, talk to admissions directors and the students at those schools, and determine the best school for you. Every school has it's good and bad qualities.
 
stretch210 said:
This topic comes up every few months, and as others have mentioned there are so many factors that determine "the best" schools. It is personal and different for everyone, but one thing I do know is you shouldn't take advice from those who haven't even had their first med school class yet! Reserach schools, go visit them, talk to admissions directors and the students at those schools, and determine the best school for you. Every school has it's good and bad qualities.
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I'm pretty sure there was a thread like this LAST WEEK
 
Like all of you I see this thread every few weeks too, but I think it is a valid question that few have answered. Sure, there are a thousand different categories that you can rank schools by like Hunter said, but why are there still lists for rankings of allopathic schools? I think this topic is valid and osteopathic schools should have a ranking which looks at research, pass rate, selectivity, etc and molds them all together to give each school a score.
 
sekem said:
What are top 5 DO schools
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They don't rank DO schools. You should learn each school and figure out which fits you best. After researching and asking the med students in both DO/MD schools, here is what I learned. Med school pretty much is all about you. Most DO schools will teach you basic science, then clinical rotations. Passing or failing the boards just depends on you. When you apply for residency, they'll most likely look at your board scores first. There's no such DO school that makes the PD say "Wow, he/she is from that school !!!! Get him/her now." So if you look for reputation like Havard, John Hopkins, UCSF, Wash U, etc., there's no such thing in DO.

I agree with Hunter, when researching for DO schools, you should give a criteria. For example, my school is in top 10... of most expensive schools. 🙂

When researching DO schools, I looked at the stability of rotations. Here are some schools that I like: COMP, PCOM, CCOM, KCOM, DMU, NYCOM, NSUCOM. I like MSUCOM, OSUCOM, and TCOM as well, but they don't give much love to out of staters. So I didn't waste my time.

Good luck.
 
laboholic said:
The absolute top 5 schools are PCOM, CCOM, NYCOM, MSUCOM, and TCOM. In that order.
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Ha. No.
 
If location wasn't an issue for me, as it was when I was applying, I'd be looking at CCOM, PCOM, and KCOM...with CCOM being my favorite in the batch.

Make sure you find out what programs arrange your 3rd and 4th year for you--moving all over the country to satisfy your rotation requirements throughout these years, in addition to the headache of setting those rotations up, would be an absolute nightmare.

The academics are going to be roughly the same anywhere you go. Every program that you consider will have academic components that are very strong and yet others that are very weak. As such, place greater consideration on where you think you would most like to live and on which programs work for their students when it comes time for rotations.
 
i think its a little more difficult to rank DO schools like MD schools unless someone comes up with some sort of ranking criteria. i also think that the reason this hasn't been really done for DO schools is that there is larger degree of differences between programs in DO schools vs MD schools.

for instance, one of the ranking criteria, correct or not, that always comes up with the MD schools is the amount of research funding they get. that's why schools that have students match well like NYMC, for example, will still always be considered a lower tier school unless they make some changes about how they view the benefits of research and improve their PhD program.

u couldn't use such a criteria (research funding) for DO school rankings b/c some schools don't have a branch with a research component (PhD programs). plus someone would also have to come up a competitiveness scale for DO residencies prob as one of the factors...and also some schools have alot of students trying/matching into MD residencies while others do not and this doesn't nec have to do with their program or whether MD/DO, one or the other type of residency is better or not - could be the school recommends their students to do this since there r not many DO residencies in their state or sth like that - it just skews the numbers in a way that is hard to qualitatively make any statements about.

it really dep on what u want from the school so do ur research 🙂 . i wanted a school with a DO/PhD program and a strong commitment (and funding) 4 research since i come from a heavy research background and want 2 remain so and so my state DO school (UMDNJ) is the perfect fit 4 me.
 
Can someone help me now? Please read the question one more time!
 
sekem said:
What are top 5 DO schools to match into MD residencies??????????????/
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Sorry, but there really isn't an answer to this. Unless you're coming from an Ivy League med school or something of equal prestige, your school will have minimal effect in landing you a residency. Your individual performance in clinicals, on the boards, and your LOR's will be far more important.

In this case, the best DO school is the one you get into.
 
1)whichever

2)one

3)you

4)get

5)into!
 
mj1878 said:
1)whichever

2)one

3)you

4)get

5)into!
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I dont know why people keep saying that. Thats literally one of the worst concepts Ive ever heard of.

Say I apply to Harvard and a Community College but only get into the CC.

Apparently, now the CC is the best school?


Hardly.


Additionally, this concept appears to be based on the fact that you only got into one school. What do you do if you get multiple acceptances. Certainly they all can't be the 'best' Otherwise, 'best' would cease to exist.
 
Buckeye(OH) said:
I dont know why people keep saying that. Thats literally one of the worst concepts Ive ever heard of.

Say I apply to Harvard and a Community College but only get into the CC.

Apparently, now the CC is the best school?


Hardly.


Additionally, this concept appears to be based on the fact that you only got into one school. What do you do if you get multiple acceptances. Certainly they all can't be the 'best' Otherwise, 'best' would cease to exist.
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settle down buckeye, obviously nobody would argue a CC is better than Harvard.. nice example..

some people work really really hard to get into medical school and only end up getting into one.. some of those same people end up really excited and honored to be accepted by that one school and in turn have a lot of pride in where they attend, hence the previous poster's comments.

by the way, michigan is better than ohio state, and i have the "best" family, the "best" cat, and the "best" car.
 
UM is a better school.

OSU has better athletics.

I got into OSU, but I never applied to UM. By your logic, OSU should be better than UM.
 
I think NYCOM, PCOM, CCOM, OSU-COM...are great DO schools. I used to think MSU-COM would be a great school until I heard that they had to put a nix on interviews because of the admissions committee being biased against a certain group of people...although high on US-News, MSU-COM does not meet my standards for a great DO school.
 
sekem said:
Can someone help me now? Please read the question one more time!
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u can look at match lists 2 c where DO students end up - if any go 2 MD residencies - but that doesn't mean that that particular DO gets alot into MD residencies or more than another school.

4 instance, i have a friend at western and he tells me that 98% of their 3rd yr class this year is taking the USMLE and trying 4 MD residencies but that is b/c there rn't that many DO residencies in CA compared some other states. if u were 2 just look at their match list, u'd say, wow, why did so many go 2 MD residencies? and they usually get someone in northwestern 4 PM&R (which is one of the top 3 schools or close in that specialty). its not nec that western/comp is better but maybe that more ppl try 2 match into MD residencies from there. at some schools, the students want 2 go DO or stay local if their med school has a large network of affiliated hospitals 4 residencies so the match list can only tell u so much. its really a personal question that requires some research on ur part (there's no simple list of answers here), and maybe knowing a little bit more about what MD specialty u'd like 2 try and match into - then u can look at the schools and c how they do with respect 2 that.
 
the alchemist said:
u can look at match lists 2 c where DO students end up - if any go 2 MD residencies - but that doesn't mean that that particular DO gets alot into MD residencies or more than another school.

4 instance, i have a friend at western and he tells me that 98% of their 3rd yr class this year is taking the USMLE and trying 4 MD residencies but that is b/c there rn't that many DO residencies in CA compared some other states. if u were 2 just look at their match list, u'd say, wow, why did so many go 2 MD residencies? and they usually get someone in northwestern 4 PM&R (which is one of the top 3 schools or close in that specialty). its not nec that western/comp is better but maybe that more ppl try 2 match into MD residencies from there. at some schools, the students want 2 go DO or stay local if their med school has a large network of affiliated hospitals 4 residencies so the match list can only tell u so much. its really a personal question that requires some research on ur part (there's no simple list of answers here), and maybe knowing a little bit more about what MD specialty u'd like 2 try and match into - then u can look at the schools and c how they do with respect 2 that.
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I stopped caring about rankings...it is hard to get into any med school these days, MD or DO. It is even hard to get an interview, let alone getting accepted.

But if you are still interested, MSUCOM and WVCOM, and the Texas DO school are usually within the TOP 50 med schools when it comes to primary care according to USNews.
 
Buckeye(OH) said:
UM is a better school.

OSU has better athletics.

I got into OSU, but I never applied to UM. By your logic, OSU should be better than UM.
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you obviously misinterpreted the irony/sarcasm in my previous post... i was trying to demonstrate that "best" can sometimes be subjective (i guess i failed to do so)... that's why i can have the "best" cat for example, but then so can someone else..

ahhh buckeyes.. so much explanation is needed!
 
Corrupt200 said:
I stopped caring about rankings...it is hard to get into any med school these days, MD or DO. It is even hard to get an interview, let alone getting accepted.

But if you are still interested, MSUCOM and WVCOM, and the Texas DO school are usually within the TOP 50 med schools when it comes to primary care according to USNews.
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This would be helpful if the question was "What are the top 5 DO schools for primary care?"

Of course that wasn't the question.
 
Sir Toalie said:
you obviously misinterpreted the irony/sarcasm in my previous post... i was trying to demonstrate that "best" can sometimes be subjective (i guess i failed to do so)... that's why i can have the "best" cat for example, but then so can someone else..

ahhh buckeyes.. so much explanation is needed!
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No, I understood and I knew where you were going. 🙂
 
Buckeye(OH) said:
UM is a better school.

OSU has better athletics.

I got into OSU, but I never applied to UM. By your logic, OSU should be better than UM.
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The way I see it, UIowa has better academics AND athletics; therefore, the University of Iowa is the best.
 
laboholic said:
The way I see it, UIowa has better acedemics AND athletics; therefore, the University of Iowa is the best.
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You really are clueless.
 
laboholic said:
The way I see it, UIowa has better acedemics AND athletics; therefore, the University of Iowa is the best.
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I guess they didnt teach you how to spell either 🙁
 
The best school is the one that is the best fit for you. For some folks, that NYCOM. For me, NYCOM is about the bottom of the barrel. You're asking a question that is a personal preference kind of question.

For example, I went to a very prestigious college 20 years ago. It wasn't a good fit for me, and I left after 2 years of abysmal grades (mainly because I wasn't motivated to go to any classes - the ones I actually went to I did very well in). I went back to college a few years ago to a little no-name state college and thrived. The classes were just as tough as the prestigious college, but I learned so much more. It was a better "fit" for me, and thus the best for me. The same goes for med schools - you have to find the right one for you, regardless of the name on the diploma.
 
Buckeye(OH) said:
No, I understood and I knew where you were going. 🙂
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its not enough you have to give our football team a hard time, now you're being difficult to us wolverines on SDN!!

go blue (57-39-6) vs osu 🙂
 
Sir Toalie said:
its not enough you have to give our football team a hard time, now you're being difficult to us wolverines on SDN!!

go blue (57-39-6) vs osu 🙂
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I mean if you want to bring up the past, when was the last time you were national champions?

I gave you credit for having the better school. IM sorry, but thats the best I can do.
 
Buckeye(OH) said:
I mean if you want to bring up the past, when was the last time you were national champions?

I gave you credit for having the better school. IM sorry, but thats the best I can do.
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It's a good thing football status is directly proportional to quality of education.

:laugh:
 
Inversly proportional. Thats why UofM is the better school.
 
sekem said:
What are top 5 DO schools to match into MD residencies??????????????/
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If you want an MD residency that bad, go to an allopathic school. Otherwise, work your ass off and any DO school becomes the "best to get an MD residency." Much to the shock of steelforce and other LECOM bashers, the fate of your medical career lies in your hands. Go to the school you can see yourself attending for four years, work your ass off and get the residency you want/deserve.
 
West Coaster said:
has anyone seen this post of the Princeton review... it says it was updated this year .... I know it has nothing to do with the residency match....🙂 ... ( or football for that matter)

http://www.kcom.edu/faculty/chamberlain/ranmcat.htm
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That's a pretty useless study, considering the fact that I was accepted to #3 AZCOM with a 24 April MCAT and rejected from #4 TCOM with a 28 August MCAT.

Another reason it is useless is that MCAT scores have nothing to do with the quality of a school whatsoever.
 
they are averages, you are only one case. no study, just reported figures. use is determined by the user, I just thought it was interesting.
 
OSUdoc08 said:
That's a pretty useless study, considering the fact that I was accepted to #3 AZCOM with a 24 April MCAT and rejected from #4 TCOM with a 28 August MCAT.

Another reason it is useless is that MCAT scores have nothing to do with the quality of a school whatsoever.
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That goes without saying. Some schools have got to fill a quota. :laugh: ROFL!!! I'm just playing lol.
 
OSUdoc08 said:
That's a pretty useless study, considering the fact that I was accepted to #3 AZCOM with a 24 April MCAT and rejected from #4 TCOM with a 28 August MCAT.

Another reason it is useless is that MCAT scores have nothing to do with the quality of a school whatsoever.
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Although interesting, I too find this to be a useless study. I was also accepted to AZCOM with a 24 (april mcat). I have a friend who is a second year that has informed me that the avg MCAT of the 2010 class is a 31. Keep in mind that this score will more than likely fall as some students get into their state schools and we go further into the waiting list.

Many applicants interpret a schools avg MCAT score to be indicative of rank which I feel to be misleading. I agree with you 100% that the MCAT scores have nothing to do with the quality of a school. It really does depend on what criteria one is measuring(mcat scores, board scores, match list, research$$, etc). I think that the OP should do some research on the schools that he/she is looking at applying to and make an informed decision based on criteria that he/she deems important.
 
azcomRob said:
I have a friend who is a second year that has informed me that the avg MCAT of the 2010 class is a 31.
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I find this very hard to believe.
 
At the "meet and greet" they said the 2010 class had the highest avg GPA and MCAT of any previous class, but I just figured they said that every year. I highly doubt that it is a 31 though.
 
i was told at my interview that the avg mcat for the 2009 class was 28 ...but i also dont think the 2010 class is as high as 31..
 
West Coaster said:
has anyone seen this post of the Princeton review... it says it was updated this year .... I know it has nothing to do with the residency match....🙂 ... ( or football for that matter)

http://www.kcom.edu/faculty/chamberlain/ranmcat.htm
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but what about WLers? i got off the WL after the date (3/06) of this PR post and my mcat was 33, so i assume that would bring up UMDNJ's avg mcat (like it matters). like others have said, mcat scores/gpa don't really indicate the quality of the school. someone also told me that avgs released at the end of the year r not the average of the matriculated class but of the accepted class (includes ppl who went elsewhere and may have had high stats, so if this the way some schools do it, the numbers r padded anyways).

i think the best thing 2 do is 2 figure out what u think u want, research the schools 2 c which will b the best 2 help u achieve ur goals, which 4 the OP seems 2 b 2 get into an MD residency. but like i warned b4, bware of just looking at the match lists and deciding off of that b/c u really need 2 ask deeper questions why the match results r the way they r - it might b that a school that has not many ppl matching into MD residencies was due 2 the fact that not many tried to, not that they were unsuccessful in doing so. good luck
 
laboholic said:
At the "meet and greet" they said the 2010 class had the highest avg GPA and MCAT of any previous class, but I just figured they said that every year. I highly doubt that it is a 31 though.
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admissions standards for all medical schools is going up as the number of applicants go up, it won't be long before many DO schools surpass some MD schools w/ higher avg MCAT scores as some already have 🙄 there is becoming less of a discrepancy between MD/DO admissions stats it seems, and that's where I see it going in the future. :luck:
 
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