What have you heard/seen of about RVUCOM-CO? Thoughts?

[Trippin Tryptophan]

Hey all! I just recently got accepted to RVUCOM CO! I am really excited for this school and love what I have seen. I did however just look at some of the school reviews and read the negatives about the school. This does not drive me away since there are negatives with any school but I was wondering if you guys had heard anything about RVUCOM-CO? Positives and negatives about the school are most welcome! I just want to know more about the school for others.

Thank you all and all the best 🙂

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[Trippin Tryptophan]

I am an M1 at CU Anschutz, which is 15 minutes away from RVU. You have the opportunity to network, do research and rotate to CU anschutz. I would go to RVU over quite a few other DO schools.

wow I did not know that! That’s super cool! Do the RVU students do pretty well during their rotations there/get opportunities for residency programs?

thanks for answering my questions btw!

 

[enchantments]

wow I did not know that! That’s super cool! Do the RVU students do pretty well during their rotations there/get opportunities for residency programs?

thanks for answering my questions btw!

Just an FYI regarding rotations at CU:

A nonrefundable application fee of $150 for MD students is due on receipt of an offer for externship. DO and International medical students are required to pay a nonrefundable fee of $4,150 on receipt of an offer for externship.

Extern Visiting Student University of Colorado School of Medicine

medschool.cuanschutz.edu

So unless you got 4k to blow, rotating at CU will be unlikely. And the exorbitant price they charge DO's (as well as lumping them with IMGs) speaks a lot about their institutional bias. To make it clearer, unless I missed anyone on the list, no-one from RVU matched to CU in 2020, apart from a Prelim-Surg match (not a "real" match). Strange considering it's the only other medical school in the area.

I interviewed at RVU too during my cycle, but I did not get the impression they had a great relationship with CU.

 

[Wjldenver]

RVU is a fine school based upon my experience/connections there. But CU Med does charge DO's an exorbitant price to rotate there and their residency programs are not DO friendly. Off the top of my head, only about 2% of CU's residents are DO's.

But you have other residency choices in Denver. Notably, Skyridge and St Joseph hospitals, coupled with other residency positions available around the state.

Another caveat, the cost of living is relatively high here. Everyone from both coasts seem to be moving to Colorado and rent/housing is fairly expensive.

Denver suddenly has one of the most competitive housing markets in America

Denver is experiencing its most competitive housing market in history, largely driven by the new work-from-anywhere culture of the coronavirus pandemic.

www.cnbc.com

 

[Trippin Tryptophan]

Just an FYI regarding rotations at CU:


So unless you got 4k to blow, rotating at CU will be unlikely. And the exorbitant price they charge DO's (as well as lumping them with IMGs) speaks a lot about their institutional bias. To make it clearer, unless I missed anyone on the list, no-one from RVU matched to CU in 2020, apart from a Prelim-Surg match (not a "real" match). Strange considering it's the only other medical school in the area.

I interviewed at RVU too during my cycle, but I did not get the impression they had a great relationship with CU.

Wow I did not know that! Good to know. Are there lots of rotation spots in Colorado? Also any idea on what life over there is like in Parker? Thanks for telling me more about this!

 

[Trippin Tryptophan]

RVU is a fine school based upon my experience/connections there. But CU Med does charge DO's an exorbitant price to rotate there and their residency programs are not DO friendly. Off the top of my head, only about 2% of CU's residents are DO's.

But you have other residency choices in Denver. Notably, Skyridge and St Joseph hospitals, coupled with other residency positions available around the state.

Another caveat, the cost of living is relatively high here. Everyone from both coasts seem to be moving to Colorado and rent/housing is fairly expensive.

Denver suddenly has one of the most competitive housing markets in America

Denver is experiencing its most competitive housing market in history, largely driven by the new work-from-anywhere culture of the coronavirus pandemic.

www.cnbc.com

The cost of living is surprisingly high! I have been looking for apartments around the area and they are mostly ~1200-2000 haha. What is the life like over in Parker/Denver/Englewood? Safe? Good for a young family? Also, do students do pretty well with matching into residencies outside of primary care?

 

[Wjldenver]

The cost of living is surprisingly high! I have been looking for apartments around the area and they are mostly ~1200-2000 haha. What is the life like over in Parker/Denver/Englewood? Safe? Good for a young family? Also, do students do pretty well with matching into residencies outside of primary care?

We live only 10 minutes from the RVU campus and the area is very safe, great for families and excellent spots are available for close by skiing/snowboarding/outside activities if you are so inclined.

RVU would be a very solid choice. Look around their web-site and last years match results are posted there. Like all DO schools, the majority of matches are in primary care. But you will learn that match-wise, it is all about individualized performance.

Get involved with research, do great on your COMLEX/USMLE exams, etc., and your potential to match in a non-primary care position will be possible.

 

[Meowster007]

Interested in this campus too!

 

[Trippin Tryptophan]

@Goro I, and many others, always appreciate your feedback and knowledge with other schools. What are your thoughts on Rocky Vista Colorado? What are the biggest pros/cons you've seen with this school? Thanks for your time in advance.

 

[Goro]

@Goro I, and many others, always appreciate your feedback and knowledge with other schools. What are your thoughts on Rocky Vista Colorado? What are the biggest pros/cons you've seen with this school? Thanks for your time in advance.

Con: for profit status; expensive tuition
Pro: requires Step I, showing thier serious about their student success.

Don't know much about thier matches. Their for-profit status is offensive to me, so I don't recommend them when I give lists, BUT, they are not on my Bad Boy list.

 

[Goro]

Con: for profit status; expensive tuition
Pro: requires Step I, showing thier serious about their student success.

Don't know much about their matches. Their for-profit status is offensive to me, so I don't recommend them when I give lists, BUT, they are not on my Bad Boy list.

 

[Trippin Tryptophan]

Con: for profit status; expensive tuition
Pro: requires Step I, showing thier serious about their student success.

Don't know much about thier matches. Their for-profit status is offensive to me, so I don't recommend them when I give lists, BUT, they are not on my Bad Boy list.

Good to know! Yeah the for profit hurts. And the overall COA is ~95k a year which hurts...

thank you for your input

 

[acapnial]

Good to know! Yeah the for profit hurts. And the overall COA is ~95k a year which hurts...

thank you for your input

Jesus h christ has it gotten that bad? It's a fine school but if the opportunity arises to go somewhere cheaper I would take it.

 

[Trippin Tryptophan]

Jesus h christ has it gotten that bad? It's a fine school but if the opportunity arises to go somewhere cheaper I would take it.

Did you attend this school? The price definitely scares me. But I am also reassured with how well their curriculum is and their board scores/residency placements. Either way, I am grateful I got into this school.

 

[acapnial]

Did you attend this school? The price definitely scares me. But I am also reassured with how well their curriculum is and their board scores/residency placements. Either way, I am grateful I got into this school.

I did. It's great, happy I went there, nothing to complain about beyond minor random things you'd get at any school. If all the schools you get into have similar price tags I'd go to RVU and never look back, but if you were debating between this and somewhere with like 20-25K less COA, I might really consider the cheaper one.

 

[Trippin Tryptophan]

I did. It's great, happy I went there, nothing to complain about beyond minor random things you'd get at any school. If all the schools you get into have similar price tags I'd go to RVU and never look back, but if you were debating between this and somewhere with like 20-25K less COA, I might really consider the cheaper one.

How much was the COA when you went there? I'd say one of the main reasons I am interested in RVU is the fact that they are not just focused on only primary care but are interested in helping their students land into any specialty they desire.

 

[acapnial]

How much was the COA when you went there? I'd say one of the main reasons I am interested in RVU is the fact that they are not just focused on only primary care but are interested in helping their students land into any specialty they desire.

It was around 70 when I started

 

[Goro]

These SOBs are going on my Bad Boy list for this:

No matter what RVU tells you, don’t apply Caribbean

With all due respect to those attending and applying to RVU, because it has a solid track record academically, I believe it’s unethical for the school to give leads to Caribbean programs. Though St George seems to be one of the better ones, there are still high attrition rates making it a risky...

forums.studentdoctor.net

 

[Trippin Tryptophan]

These SOBs are going on my Bad Boy list for this:

No matter what RVU tells you, don’t apply Caribbean

With all due respect to those attending and applying to RVU, because it has a solid track record academically, I believe it’s unethical for the school to give leads to Caribbean programs. Though St George seems to be one of the better ones, there are still high attrition rates making it a risky...

forums.studentdoctor.net

Ouch... I did not know about this... that's rough.

 

[Cornfed101]

It’s a good school. A lot like any other med school I’d imagine. It’s nice that most of the students are able to stay in Denver for rotations. COL is very high, but tuition is pretty average for DO schools. I’ve got a wife and 2 kids and there are a ton of people here with families. In my clinical medicine group 3 out of the 4 people (myself included) also have 2 kids so that’s cool.

the SGU thing that Goro posted is lame, but honestly we are so far removed from the owners of the school that it never comes up

 

[8YearsLate]

Good to know! Yeah the for profit hurts. And the overall COA is ~95k a year which hurts...

thank you for your input

Just a note - because I thought this was really high as well...

I noticed in their COA summary sheet they allocate a lot toward housing/living expenses which is a good thing in terms of securing loans that will actually allow you to live in non-poverty. Yes, more debt, but the alternative is a school like another I'm reviewing where they allocate half that to living expenses, yet the rent is probably only 20% less. So, I think RVU does its students a service in a way by posting the MAX possible COA estimate rather than BS'ing them into thinking they'll get the cheapest place in town right next to the school and forgetting to mention they have to get their own insurance etc. My guess is most schools are underestimating the student indebtedness projection, so I'd rather have a school highball it, be eligible for max loans, and take less based on what my living situation ends up looking like when I get there. Hope that makes sense.

 

[Cornfed101]

Just a note - because I thought this was really high as well...

I noticed in their COA summary sheet they allocate a lot toward housing/living expenses which is a good thing in terms of securing loans that will actually allow you to live in non-poverty. Yes, more debt, but the alternative is a school like another I'm reviewing where they allocate half that to living expenses, yet the rent is probably only 20% less. So, I think RVU does its students a service in a way by posting the MAX possible COA estimate rather than BS'ing them into thinking they'll get the cheapest place in town right next to the school and forgetting to mention they have to get their own insurance etc. My guess is most schools are underestimating the student indebtedness projection, so I'd rather have a school highball it, be eligible for max loans, and take less based on what my living situation ends up looking like when I get there. Hope that makes sense.

this is what most of my classmates who don’t have kids do. For me it’s perfect because it’s a nice safety net for my wife and 2 kids. Will I have a ton of debt at the end? Yeah probably, but I’d rather have a nice place to live than a little less debt. Just something the think about

 

[Trippin Tryptophan]

Just a note - because I thought this was really high as well...

I noticed in their COA summary sheet they allocate a lot toward housing/living expenses which is a good thing in terms of securing loans that will actually allow you to live in non-poverty. Yes, more debt, but the alternative is a school like another I'm reviewing where they allocate half that to living expenses, yet the rent is probably only 20% less. So, I think RVU does its students a service in a way by posting the MAX possible COA estimate rather than BS'ing them into thinking they'll get the cheapest place in town right next to the school and forgetting to mention they have to get their own insurance etc. My guess is most schools are underestimating the student indebtedness projection, so I'd rather have a school highball it, be eligible for max loans, and take less based on what my living situation ends up looking like when I get there. Hope that makes sense.

Make lots of sense. Also brings lots of reassuring feelings! So are you a current student at RVU?

 

[8YearsLate]

Make lots of sense. Also brings lots of reassuring feelings! So are you a current student at RVU?

I PM'd you!