Why you should not attend a DO school

[bigmuny]

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Don't you think that the high selectivity of medical schools means that adding another 150 spots/year is not going to "dilute" the pool? What I mean to say is that many qualified individuals are turned down from schools every year - not everyone who is rejected is unqualified. I think certainly the number of qualified people who don't gain a spot at one of the existing schools is greater than 150, or 300.

No such high selectivity exists. As it stands now about 60% of applicants are admitted to either an MD or DO program. Adding more spots just means that schools will start digging even deeper into the applicant pool to fill seats(and unfortunately it will be DO schools doing the digging, not MD).

 

[cooldreams]

so uh... what are you worried about here???

ok.. so more ppl get into med skool... so what. if they cant do the work then they wont pass the classes and then they wont graduate. well lets say some slip through the proverbial cracks... if they are just barely slipping through, then most likely they wont get a good residency. or possiblly even any residency. as it stands right now, there are a huge number of residencies that go unfilled every year. perhaps not in some competitive specialties, but in internal med or other primary care specialties, there are a huge number of spots open that the gov has sponsored. i doubt the gov would sponsor them if there were no need. lol... additionally they bring down the class average and make everyone else look great.

so uh... what are you worried about again??

 

[DrDad]

many Great comments from both sides are existant on this thread... lets not forget that... I mean we are the future of medicine, and we will have to work together and all

 

[bigmuny]

so uh... what are you worried about here???

ok.. so more ppl get into med skool... so what. if they cant do the work then they wont pass the classes and then they wont graduate. well lets say some slip through the proverbial cracks... if they are just barely slipping through, then most likely they wont get a good residency. or possiblly even any residency. as it stands right now, there are a huge number of residencies that go unfilled every year. perhaps not in some competitive specialties, but in internal med or other primary care specialties, there are a huge number of spots open that the gov has sponsored. i doubt the gov would sponsor them if there were no need. lol... additionally they bring down the class average and make everyone else look great.

so uh... what are you worried about again??

Well there are numerous problems with openning the gates and taking all comers. Most significantly, it is unethical and downright sleazy to admit and take money from people who are likely to fail(this is how carribean schools operate). Sure some 2.5/20 mcat folks will make it, but most won't and after a year or two will be out 50K-100K bucks and nothing to show for it. It also perpetuates the idea that DO schools will take anybody, which is something I'd like to see us getting away from.

 

[moo]

so uh... what are you worried about here???

ok.. so more ppl get into med skool... so what. if they cant do the work then they wont pass the classes and then they wont graduate. well lets say some slip through the proverbial cracks... if they are just barely slipping through, then most likely they wont get a good residency. or possiblly even any residency. as it stands right now, there are a huge number of residencies that go unfilled every year. perhaps not in some competitive specialties, but in internal med or other primary care specialties, there are a huge number of spots open that the gov has sponsored. i doubt the gov would sponsor them if there were no need. lol... additionally they bring down the class average and make everyone else look great.

so uh... what are you worried about again??

Most of the people here are worried that if, you keep letting people in, pretty soon, the MD and DO degrees (but more DO) will be akin to a JD degree, where it's not necessarily the degree but the school you went to that matters. Do you want to work so hard for four years only to have people (and I mean residency directors, and not just pre-meds) discriminate you later, based on the fact that you went to a lower ranked school (whatever that means) versus Harvard, Hopkins, or even a low ranked MD school? It doesn't happen now that much but there is the potential, especially if the rate of opening new schools continues.

 

[(nicedream)]

Most significantly, it is unethical and downright sleazy to admit and take money from people who are likely to fail(this is how carribean schools operate).

I'm sorry, but I think this notion is a bit silly. Those people "likely to fail" are choosing to pay their money and take a shot at things - nobody is forcing them to do anything. Are lottery tickets unethical and sleazy because most ticket-buyers will lose?

 

[(nicedream)]

No such high selectivity exists. As it stands now about 60% of applicants are admitted to either an MD or DO program. Adding more spots just means that schools will start digging even deeper into the applicant pool to fill seats(and unfortunately it will be DO schools doing the digging, not MD).

There is very high selectivity. Keep in mind that the vast vast vast majority of people don't apply in the first place - that's self-selection. You can't look at the fact that 60% of people who apply are accepted and say that means it's easy to get in. The average person has no chance of getting into a DO school. If you think DO students had average numbers and EC's than you've been a premed/med for too long. Take a look around you and you'll see hundreds of millions who couldn't cut it.

 

[DireWolf]

There is very high selectivity. Keep in mind that the vast vast vast majority of people don't apply in the first place - that's self-selection. You can't look at the fact that 60% of people who apply are accepted and say that means it's easy to get in. The average person has no chance of getting into a DO school. If you think DO students had average numbers and EC's than you've been a premed/med for too long. Take a look around you and you'll see hundreds of millions who couldn't cut it.

As usual, you are wrong again. 🙄

The average MCAT score of ALL test-takers is ~24. The average MCAT of acceptees at D.O. schools is 24.7

Therefore, most of D.O. acceptees are average people.

As more schools open, even more applicants are gettting accepted with scores below 24.

This means not only is the "average person" getting in, but many "below average" people are getting in.

At this pace, a medical degree will soon be similar to a law degree. People who have no idea what they want to do with their lives will start turning to medicine, as many are using law for this purpose now. And they will be able to get in because, as stated above, you only need below average numbers to get in now.


Hundreds of millions eh? There are about 6,500 D.O. applicants each year. So it would take about 15,000 years to reject 100 million. 🙄

 

[bigmuny]

There is very high selectivity. Keep in mind that the vast vast vast majority of people don't apply in the first place - that's self-selection. You can't look at the fact that 60% of people who apply are accepted and say that means it's easy to get in. The average person has no chance of getting into a DO school. If you think DO students had average numbers and EC's than you've been a premed/med for too long. Take a look around you and you'll see hundreds of millions who couldn't cut it.

This is so amazingly faulty logic that I don't think it is possible to respond in a fashion that you would understand. Please take coursework in statistics and logic. BTW I am not a premed.

 

[bigmuny]

Glad that somebody else had the energy to explain.

 

[cooldreams]

hehe... bad logic yourself there mister direwolf... "all test takers" hmm i guess you are equating that to be mean THE ENTIRE POPULATION. Lets see now how many people took the mcat last year...

http://www.aamc.org/data/facts/2003/2003mcatgpa.htm

well how about that... you learn something everyday... the ENTIRE POPULATION is equal to 34786 last year... you're so smart....

As usual, you are wrong again. 🙄

The average MCAT score of ALL test-takers is ~24. The average MCAT of acceptees at D.O. schools is 24.7

Therefore, most of D.O. acceptees are average people.

As more schools open, even more applicants are gettting accepted with scores below 24.

This means not only is the "average person" getting in, but many "below average" people are getting in.

At this pace, a medical degree will soon be similar to a law degree. People who have no idea what they want to do with their lives will start turning to medicine, as many are using law for this purpose now. And they will be able to get in because, as stated above, you only need below average numbers to get in now.


Hundreds of millions eh? There are about 6,500 D.O. applicants each year. So it would take about 15,000 years to reject 100 million. 🙄

 

[cooldreams]

This is so amazingly faulty logic that I don't think it is possible to respond in a fashion that you would understand. Please take coursework in statistics and logic. BTW I am not a premed.

well maybe you should go back to being one because you are lacking in the ability to correctly and efficiently evaluate logic, obviously, or else you could have responded in a critical and coherent manner representative of a professional in the medical world. good luck.

guys remember... we are not supposed to be here to tear each other down. CONSTRUCTIVE criticism is useful... learn to use it.


and wherever you go and attack someone, there will be another shadow......

 

[cooldreams]

Glad that somebody else had the energy to explain.

you are welcome

 

[DireWolf]

hehe... bad logic yourself there mister direwolf... "all test takers" hmm i guess you are equating that to be mean THE ENTIRE POPULATION. Lets see now how many people took the mcat last year...

http://www.aamc.org/data/facts/2003/2003mcatgpa.htm

well how about that... you learn something everyday... the ENTIRE POPULATION is equal to 34786 last year... you're so smart....

I am so smart. nicedream said average people can't get in. I said average applicants and below average applicants get in all the time. He never distinguished between the entire population and applicants.

 

[box29]

This is just a question and I hope someone would be able to further elaborate:

Of the percentages of acceptanced candidates, how many of them are re-applicants and how many are first-time applicants? I don't know if this makes a difference but I think it would be interesting to see the results.

 

[cooldreams]

I am so smart. nicedream said average people can't get in. I said average applicants and below average applicants get in all the time. He never distinguished between the entire population and applicants.

ah yes, again you are so kind to point out the fact that YOU did distinguish, and are wrong. have a great day.

 

[cooldreams]

This is just a question and I hope someone would be able to further elaborate:

Of the percentages of acceptanced candidates, how many of them are re-applicants and how many are first-time applicants? I don't know if this makes a difference but I think it would be interesting to see the results.

i dont know off hand, you do a google search, or i bet asking the question on the reapplicants forum would help.

 

[DireWolf]

😴

 

[bigmuny]

hehe... bad logic yourself there mister direwolf... "all test takers" hmm i guess you are equating that to be mean THE ENTIRE POPULATION. Lets see now how many people took the mcat last year...

http://www.aamc.org/data/facts/2003/2003mcatgpa.htm

well how about that... you learn something everyday... the ENTIRE POPULATION is equal to 34786 last year... you're so smart....

You are truly frightening.

 

[box29]

I agree that the population of matriculants is very diverse when looking at MCAT averages and the AACOMAS website does give the average MCAT of 24.7 or something. But then how can one generalize and say that DO schools are digging in the pool when some schools such as KCOM, CCOM, OSU-COM, and TUCOM (I don't know of any other schools with higher MCAT averages than the national average) maintain an average MCAT of 26 or 27 for their incoming classes. I know that these are just averages and that there is a broad range of scores with these schools. Some of the matriculants at the above mentioned schools will have below a 24 but I don't think there would be that many. As far as the other schools, I don't know...

It seems as if these schools are choosing to remain slightly more selective in the application process. What are the current opinions and suggestions as to maintaining a selective process while at the same time trying to assess the candidate's ability?

 

[bigmuny]

well maybe you should go back to being one because you are lacking in the ability to correctly and efficiently evaluate logic, obviously, or else you could have responded in a critical and coherent manner representative of a professional in the medical world. good luck.

guys remember... we are not supposed to be here to tear each other down. CONSTRUCTIVE criticism is useful... learn to use it.


and wherever you go and attack someone, there will be another shadow......

Almost forgot, you desperately need remedial work in english composition.

 

[Cowboy DO]

bigmuny, everytime you post I die a little inside.

 

[bigmuny]

I do what I can.

 

[cooldreams]

well , i guess bigmuny and direwolf are unable to see the difference... so lets make it painfully obvious.... starting with the arguement:

nicedream: "Don't you think that the high selectivity of medical schools means that
adding another 150 spots/year is not going to "dilute" the pool?"

Interpretation: High selectivity viewed from the general total population to get into medical school.

bigmuny: "No such high selectivity exists."

Interpretation: Its not hard for a premed who has shaped their entire life and stayed dedicated to that goal to get into medical school, given that 60% of the premeds who apply are able to get in eventually.

nicedream: "Keep in mind that the vast vast vast majority of people don't apply in the
first place - that's self-selection.

Interpretation: approx 30-35000 people take the MCAT each year. that compared to the general population in the USA of more than 291million indicates that the "vast vast vast" majority or about .012% of the general population even took the MCAT. This would indicate "self selection" from the general population.

direwolf: "The average MCAT score of ALL test-takers is ~24. The average MCAT of
acceptees at D.O. schools is 24.7. Therefore, most of D.O. acceptees are
average people. "

Interpretation: The ave score from the 30-35000 who take the MCAT is approx 24. The ave score at DO schools is 24.7, therefore DO acceptees are an average selection from the general population. It should be noted that you said that nicedream lacked distinguishing of the general population from premeds, and here, you did not lack that as you said "ALL test-takers" versus "average people".

bigmuny: "This is so amazingly faulty logic that I don't think it is possible to respond in
a fashion that you would understand. Please take coursework in statistics
and logic. BTW I am not a premed."

Comment: well some people can respond, but i guess some cant??

cooldreams: "hehe... bad logic yourself there mister direwolf... "all test takers" hmm i
guess you are equating that to be mean THE ENTIRE POPULATION."

Comment: I think i explained an interpretation of this above, so i will not repeat.

direwolf: "I am so smart. nicedream said average people can't get in. I said average
applicants and below average applicants get in all the time. He never
distinguished between the entire population and applicants."

Comment: oh... hmm is that what you said now??

 

[Cowboy DO]

Thats pretty much what I got out of it.

 

[bigmuny]

This needs to stop now because I'm about to cry.

 

[gioia]

Cry or Pee. It's taken me so long to read this new string of drama that I think I'm going to pee. 😀

 

[doc erica]

Cry or Pee. It's taken me so long to read this new string of drama that I think I'm going to pee. 😀

holy moly, i was thinking the same thing...off to the restroom i go....

 

[(nicedream)]

Thank you cooldreams - it was obvious that I was referring to the total population when talking about high selectivity. Indeed this is the relevant issue. It's fitting that direwolf and bigmuny think only of MCAT test-takers as the "population" - in the bubble that premed/meds live in, EVERYONE has at least a 3.0 and takes the MCAT. The hundreds of millions I was referring to was the US population. Get off the computer for awhile and go outside (off your campus) - you will see average people, none of which had any chance of getting into any medical school.

 

[bobo]

Yaay, another pissing match. The matriculant pool is obviously becoming more diluted, for the worse. Way to up the standards of our profession. yay!

 

[r90t]

http://www.amsa.org/meded/tuition_FAQ.cfm

Check out this link. It discusses that the average private medical school is about $30K/year and this is a couple of years old. It does not differentiate between allopathic and osteopathic programs. This was from a quick google search on medical schools and tuition.

We complained about the tuition back when I was a student enrolling in 98. Being out, not such a big deal.

 

[dr...dr...]

I read the tuition article, and here is part of it for those that did not read it: "Allopathic medical schools generally derive a very small percentage (10% or less) of their total revenue from tuition. However, osteopathic medical schools depend more on tuition (15% to almost 50% of their revenue).(6) This is because osteopathic medical schools generally do not receive as much grant money (research funding), government funding, or hospital revenue as allopathic institutions..." Why doesn't osteopathic schools receive grants, government funding, or hospital revenue? In my opinion, it is because the vast majority of the population do not even know about osteopathy. Who is going to sink money in a virtually unknown discipline? We need to educate John Q. Public a little more about osteopathy.

 

[gioia]

http://www.amsa.org/meded/tuition_FAQ.cfm

Check out this link. It discusses that the average private medical school is about $30K/year and this is a couple of years old. It does not differentiate between allopathic and osteopathic programs. This was from a quick google search on medical schools and tuition.

We complained about the tuition back when I was a student enrolling in 98. Being out, not such a big deal.

Good post, r90t, can you clarify what was not such a big deal?

 

[merlin17]

The tuition for private DO schools is the same as private MD schools such as Temple, Drexel, Finch, SLU, LLU, Tufts, Boston, Northwestern, etc.

DO grads from private schools along with MD grads from private schools CAN afford to go into primary care. A simple analysis shows this:

A doctor who enters into family practice now will probably start at 120K a year. Assume that after loans, the student owes 220K a year once he starts practice (this will be my situation). After state and federal taxes that 120K become about 75K net or about 6K a month.

You would pay 2K a month for 10 years leaving you with 4K for all other expenses which is enough to live comfortably. If your spouse also earns money, that adds to the 4K a month net.

The caveat is in 7 years, the starting salary of an FP may be about 140K due to inflation. The good thing is your debt won't increase but your salary will. Thus that 6K a month can go up to 7K or even 8K a month.

What this means that IT IS POSSIBLE TO MAKE A DECENT LIVING AS A PRIMARY CARE PHYSICIAN WITH A 200K DEBT.

Hi everyone, I saw this post awhile back and I think that it is really important to respond to it for people who are thinking about taking out large loans (like I have 🙂 )

This is horrible horrible math right here...the OP has taken the total loan amount (220k) and divided it by ten years and that by twelve months in a year to get a 2k payment per month. Your debt does increase...unless there are special loans that DOs take out that I don't know about.

You have forgotten interest!!!!!!!!!! A person who takes out 220k does not pay back 220k. You need to assume that if you are taking out unsubsidized loans you will pay back 1.5-2 x your original loan amount.

I remember being at a great interview session at an allopathic school where they explained to us in detail what this meant (they had a high tutition). This could mean that you are in fact paying closer to 3500-4000 per month and making 6000 per month. Living on 2k is much different from the above calculations of living on 4k. If you happen to live in NYC...it just isn't going to cut it without a supplemental income.

I am not in any way trying to discourage anyone...I just want to make sure that people know what they are getting into. You can extend loans to longer than 10 years and get help from other sources...it just is a little more complicated than paying back 220k over ten years 🙂

 

[r90t]

Underserved areas have student loan payback programs. A rural hospital that I rotated at would pay off loans and give a guaranteed salary of X amount of dollars on top of it.

Military has the FAP program or HPSP. Blood money for being debt free. It's a gamble, but if you want to serve your country in the post 9-11 climate for a few years and be debt free it is a great way to do it. I went the military route and have about 20k of debt that I took so my wife could have time off from work after our baby was born.

For the primary care people who won't make the huge amounts of money that specialists make....People who do manipulation, which I don't, can add on about $50/pt they manipulate at medicare reimbursement rates. Crack 2 pts/day, 10 pts week, 40 pts/month and you have your student loan payment for the month. Manipulation is a procedure that medicare reimburses. I could justify doing OMT on 2 pts/day and probably would if I was reimbursed for the extra time spent with a pt.

Have a billing expert to collect on what you bill for. The amount that physicians lose per year would easily cover their annual student loans.

Don't take loans out to live an extravagant lifestyle. Our med school parkng lot looked like a combination of a lexus/honda and sport utility lot.

 

[Adapt]

Hi everyone, I saw this post awhile back and I think that it is really important to respond to it for people who are thinking about taking out large loans (like I have 🙂 )

This is horrible horrible math right here...the OP has taken the total loan amount (220k) and divided it by ten years and that by twelve months in a year to get a 2k payment per month. Your debt does increase...unless there are special loans that DOs take out that I don't know about.

You have forgotten interest!!!!!!!!!! A person who takes out 220k does not pay back 220k.

I'm sorry but my math was basically correct. Of course there is interest that accrues. The $2K a month was an estimate. It is most likely about 2.2K to 2.3K a month. Use the following calculator.

http://salliemae.wiredscholar.com/financing/lt_financial_planning/ltfp_monthrep.jsp

If you plug in a loan amount of 220K at a 4% interest rate and a loan term of 10 years, you will end up paying 2.2K a month for a total payment of 267K in total. If it is at a 5% interest rate you will pay 2.3K a month for a total of 280K. However currently interest rates are at an all time low at around 3% so your monthly payment would be closer to 2K a month right now.

Before you accuse my math of being horrendous, back it up with evidence. I used this calculator to do the math and it is correct although I estimated it by $200. Big deal.

 

[daveyboy]

I'm sorry but my math was basically correct. Of course there is interest that accrues. The $2K a month was an estimate. It is most likely about 2.2K to 2.3K a month. Use the following calculator.

http://salliemae.wiredscholar.com/financing/lt_financial_planning/ltfp_monthrep.jsp

If you plug in a loan amount of 220K at a 4% interest rate and a loan term of 10 years, you will end up paying 2.2K a month for a total payment of 267K in total. If it is at a 5% interest rate you will pay 2.3K a month for a total of 280K. However currently interest rates are at an all time low at around 3% so your monthly payment would be closer to 2K a month right now.

Before you accuse my math of being horrendous, back it up with evidence. I used this calculator to do the math and it is correct although I estimated it by $200. Big deal.

Oh, how I truly wish you were right. Believe me, with all my heart and wallet, I really wish you were right. Unfortunately......

If you are borrowing 220K then you are a bit over the 60K limit that can be borrowed from federal loans. This means you are borrowing from a private source, which means that you ain't gettin' any 3% rate.

Reality sucks sometimes.

 

[Adapt]

Oh, how I truly wish you were right. Believe me, with all my heart and wallet, I really wish you were right. Unfortunately......

If you are borrowing 220K then you are a bit over the 60K limit that can be borrowed from federal loans. This means you are borrowing from a private source, which means that you ain't gettin' any 3% rate.

Reality sucks sometimes.

I'll explain it to you. I'm borrowing 40K in stafford loans a year, 32K in unsusidized, and 8.5K in subsidized. The subsidized doesn't accrue through my 4 years so it will be 34K in total. The unsubsidized total will be 132K before interest. Using the following accrued interest calculator, at a 5% rate after 54 months of borrowing 132K, it will accrue plus interest to be $161,700.

http://salliemae.wiredscholar.com/financing/lt_financial_planning/ltfp_accint.jsp

Then I would file for econonmic hardship deferment for 3 years and I will qualify, my subsidized won't accrue during this but my unsubsidized will. It will reach up to $181,500 using the calculator again.

Now if you add the the 34K from the subsidized that will give you about 215K after 3 years of residency. If the interest rate I used was at 4%, I would have owed less than 215K especially when interest rates are this low.

DaveyBoy, fortunately my math is pretty much correct. Reality is beautiful. 😀

 

[Chronotropic]

Dude how are you living on 40K(around 6K a year after tuition) a year in med school and in socal no less?

Anyway I read somewhere in the financial aid forum that the federal loans will be locked into a 6.5% interest rate in 2006. Even then though you could pay back about 2K a month and pay the whole thing back in 11 years.

 

[box29]

The aggregate limit on Federal Staffords, both subsidized and unsubsidized, is $189,125.

 

[Robz]

COMP Tuition - $33,230.00

I'm assuming that he is staying at home and only needs the extra money for books and supplies. Hense a real good reason to want to go to school in Socal.

 

[Adapt]

The aggregate limit on Federal Staffords, both subsidized and unsubsidized, is $189,125.

This is true. By borrowing 40K a year in Stafford loans, I would have borrowed 160K in total. The added interest is not taken into account in that limit. Also I'm not certain but I think that figure also includes loans from undergrad. The max a med student can get in stafford loans in one year is about 40K I think.

Robz, you are partially right. I'm still going to have an apartment so the 50K a year for the total cost at COMP still applies to me (Although after figuring it out it should really closer to 47K). I have other sources of money so I only need to borrow just the stafford portion.

 

[merlin17]

My apologies, I read your post as saying that you were borrowing 220k (as many people do). It sounds like you are originally borrowing significantly less and that is what you will owe after medical school.

I still contend that those taking 50k per year will not have an easy time paying that back on a primary care salary. But I do apologize for criticizing your personal math. I also think you are being pretty optimistic about the loan rates during the repayment period. Our school has projected much higher rates than you are using for our calculations for unsubsidized stafford when we are in repayment but I hope for all our sakes it works out 🙂

 

[DrBMX]

guys,
I'm wondering if the tution at WVSOM is okay. 75k per year x 4 = 300k debt. Could anyone comment about this? Compare to other schools, this is a HUGE tution.

 

[DOctorJay]

especially for a place that graduates like 86% of it's class into Family Practice. (nothing against Family, just that if you're going that deep into debt you better be able to pay it back).

-J

 

[UserNameNeeded]

However, in the DO medical education system, your third and fourth year attendings are VOLUNTEERS. It is against the AOA philosophy to PAY the attendings. So, your school still collects the same tuition that the MD institutions are charging (that they use to pay the attnedings), and POCKETS the difference. This is a HUGE money maker.

I don't think that's true in all cases. For my application process to UNT HSC-TCOM, I had to shadow a doctor in a distant, rural setting and the doctor implied that he gets paid for teaching students like me (and those that do rotations). He didn't say it outright because that would be tacky, but he did give me his card which stated that he was a "faculty" of one of the school's departments, even though he's a full-time, private rural practitioner. I don't even understand how practicing physicians would be willing to take on students without financial support.

Maybe the profiteering you mention only applies to private schools? From my bitter experiences at a private undergraduate institution that I delusionally matriculated into because of it's alleged "good reputation," I've pretty much concluded that private education really is best suited for the privileged and/or the very desperate. For all of their cons (including sub-par marketing, compared to private institutions), state schools generally are just more student-friendly for most normal students.

 

[JakeHarley]

This thread is two years old. 👎

 

[UWM01]

I agree with the initial statement of this forum. Money hungry AOA and schools! I'm a little bitter and I will not be giving a dime to the AOA or my school when I start making some duckets baby! MD ALL THE WAY!

 

[Huntr]

I do not have much insight to all that is being said here, as I have not started med school yet, however, I must say that the school I will be attending this year DMU has spent several million dollars(~20 million I think) over the past three years or so to drastically improve their facilities, and I highly doubt all of these funds came from private donations or investors. Anyone that is currently attending DMU or has interviewed there can confirm this. Eventhough I will be spending 30K for tuition/yr. the facilities, the laptop, pda, and other benefits somewhat make up for that fact. (yes I know a laptop and pda do not add up to 30K), however, the overall mitigating factor is that education is expensive! Becoming a physician is not only a mentally, emotionally, and physically demanding endeavor, but is also a huge financial INVESTMENT. The rewards you will recieve during your years after medical school will FAR outweight the 200K debt you will accrue during school. A side note, I know that DMU is only one example, however, the overall point is that spending 200K for your education is all part of the sacrifice (i.e. 4 yrs of undergrad, mcat, interview and application expenses, volunteer work, research, etc.) when your done, I seriously doubt any of you will regret spending that money, because you will have the license and opportunity to not only help others in ways no one else can but also be doing something you love (hopefully), unfortunately a vast majority of working individuals cannot say this.

 

[Pharmgurl07]

I want to open the eyes of pre-meds and current medical students into the apparent "rape" from our tuition. Why should I allow a "family" who runs a medical school to get rich off my hopes and dreams? To allow them to start up a second school in sunny Florida so they can retire and continue to rape us financially, all the while taking away our individual freedoms and scaring us that they'll put in our Dean's Letter we missed one class or didn't wear light blue scrubs to class?

Where do these people think they have the right to do this to us?

Or should we atleast find out where all our money is going to?

Uhmmm...... It's called America!!

Welcome to the free market economy. People say the same things about Microsoft, GE, Disney, the government.....

It's their money, let them do as they want! If you don't like it, speak up, make a website, join a group, start a protest!

If it is a true non-profit group, you can get all their filings from the IRS and they have to send out a prospectus if you call and request it. If it's private, then you can only get info from the IRS thru Freedom of Information Act.

Good luck!!! 🙂