Strongly suggest that you go through the school specific thread and see what the current students are saying about their school. I've noticed that in a good number of threads someone will post a negative, which then gets refuted in detail by current or former students. Some students are also very honest about the plusses and minuses of their schools.
Keep in mind that match lists are like reading tea leaves.
Some of the below I've already mentioned in my post on "guide to your interview questions". I'll have to update it now.
You should also consider:
Location (urban or rural, especially. This is particularly an issue if you're a member of a minority group or GLBT. The school itself might be welcoming, but the locality might not).
Proximity to family/friends/support groups
Cost of living
Type of curriculum: PBL? classic Flexner? systems based
Attendance? Required? (I would shy away from schools like these. Adult learners can figure out their best learning style)
Dress code? Again, you're adults...you don't need prompting for playing the part.
Tuition. There's a reason why people put up with the dress code at LECOM.
Lectures taped?
Grading: P/F? ABCDF? 1/2/3/4.0?
Class size?
Research opportunities? Some schools are definitely better at this than others.
Exam scheduling? Every week? Every other week? Blocks? Midterm + final only?
New school? Students tend to have a harder time on rotations because the Clinical Education people are new at this. Sometimes rotations get lost and students are left holding the bag for rent, or training, and have to scramble. This is less of a problem at established schools. Further, a graduate of a new school may be an unknown commodity to PDs. CCOM is not. However, some people like being pioneers and helping shape something from the ground up. New schools can also change bad policies faster than the older schools, which tend to have the mindset of
"that's how we've always done it"!
Where do their graduates go? For example, How many PCOM grads do residencies in MA???
Step I scores and pass rates? Are they posted anywhere? The DO schools are now mandated to post their 1st time pass rates for COMLEX, FYI.
Board prep time? If you can dig up the school's academic calendar, you can figure out the time for Board prep by looking at when their MS2 class schedule ends. My own students get about 4-6 weeks, depending upon when they schedule their exams. Weaker students take longer.
Here's the most important thing to consider: Rotations. Preceptor or ward based? The former damage the profession because students need to learn how to DO things, not merely sit at the feet of the master and hear how to do things. This poorer training reinforces the poor perception of DO graduates that some PDs have. it's not the "cult of Still" mindset anymore...it's about how ready you are for residency.
I've applied to 26 DO schools but I'm having trouble trying to differentiate them and figure out which ones I like best so I thought I would ask about the schools that other people are attending. I'd like to know why you chose the school and your favorite and least favorite parts about your school. At this point, I have an interest in primary care but I'm also very interested in surgery/surgical specialties so I really want to make sure the school I choose has a good match list and research opportunities but I'm not sure what other factors I should be looking at to decide which schools would be the best for me. Thanks 🙂
