OP, if you are still trying to figure out if OUWB is a good place for you, I interviewed there and have a slightly negative view of the school (to the point that I would not consider going there even if I got a 4 year tuition scholarship), so maybe this will help.
First, Beaumont is great. The Royal Oak Hospital is beautiful, their sim lab is state-of-the-art, and they have a TON of experience training residents and med students from previous programs. The only thing that turned me off was that you have no other options as to where you can do your rotations - you are basically stuck at Beaumont. As somebody from the Metro Detroit area, it is not as diverse as you would think being 30 minutes away from Detroit (I live north of Royal Oak and it's about as close to the definition of white suburbia as you can get). This may have implications in types of patients you'll be exposed to and the types of physicians you will work with; I find it hard to believe that you would experience the breadth you'd find at Wayne, MSU, etc.
I've also heard some iffy things about the faculty at the school from practicing physicians in my hometown. I'm sure they are technically qualified, but a lot of the instructors' past experiences were not that substantial when asked on interview day (they were implementing PBL heavy into their program after seeing its "success" in a 10 person undergrad summer course at OU with students who were "interested in medicine" - why base a two-year curriculum on that?). To me, the school seemed more like a fun project for the greater OU community than a legitimate attempt to substantiate a medical school (this is solely my impression and probably extremely subjective, but I'm just being honest).
And, obviously, you have the unfortunate (or fortunate, depending on your preference) duty of working out all of the kinks in their program. That means, on top of learning all the material in ALL FOUR YEARS (because you will be the first M1, the first M2, etc.), you are going to be providing feedback and criticism to the OUWB staff in order to help them smooth out their curriculum. That may sound awesome now, but is that something you really want to do during your four years of medical education?
Lastly, as the first class, you are required to share your lecture halls and anatomy labs with undergrad classes as there is no separate facility for med students (other than the lounge/office). OU is a great undergrad program, but I personally would not want undergrads messing with my cadaver, interrupting lectures, etc. You also do not have 24 hour access to any facilities other than the Oakland Den, which is just the undergrad union (and I highly doubt I would get any significant studying done there).
This was my second interview, and I was pretty impressed with the school when I went. However, after visiting a half dozen other MD schools, my opinion took a complete 180. I think it's really important to know exactly what you're getting yourself into, and you are essentially going into OUWB blind. Yes, their adcom is nice and friendly and they definitely give the impression that they really care about their incoming class, but think about the experience you're going to have as a student there for four full years.
Still, consider the pros and cons to the school and make your OWN decision. Picking a school is a lot about personal fit, and if OUWB suits you best, then go there and don't look back. You're going to be a physician no matter where you go, regardless of DO/MD.
First, Beaumont is great. The Royal Oak Hospital is beautiful, their sim lab is state-of-the-art, and they have a TON of experience training residents and med students from previous programs. The only thing that turned me off was that you have no other options as to where you can do your rotations - you are basically stuck at Beaumont. As somebody from the Metro Detroit area, it is not as diverse as you would think being 30 minutes away from Detroit (I live north of Royal Oak and it's about as close to the definition of white suburbia as you can get). This may have implications in types of patients you'll be exposed to and the types of physicians you will work with; I find it hard to believe that you would experience the breadth you'd find at Wayne, MSU, etc.
I've also heard some iffy things about the faculty at the school from practicing physicians in my hometown. I'm sure they are technically qualified, but a lot of the instructors' past experiences were not that substantial when asked on interview day (they were implementing PBL heavy into their program after seeing its "success" in a 10 person undergrad summer course at OU with students who were "interested in medicine" - why base a two-year curriculum on that?). To me, the school seemed more like a fun project for the greater OU community than a legitimate attempt to substantiate a medical school (this is solely my impression and probably extremely subjective, but I'm just being honest).
And, obviously, you have the unfortunate (or fortunate, depending on your preference) duty of working out all of the kinks in their program. That means, on top of learning all the material in ALL FOUR YEARS (because you will be the first M1, the first M2, etc.), you are going to be providing feedback and criticism to the OUWB staff in order to help them smooth out their curriculum. That may sound awesome now, but is that something you really want to do during your four years of medical education?
Lastly, as the first class, you are required to share your lecture halls and anatomy labs with undergrad classes as there is no separate facility for med students (other than the lounge/office). OU is a great undergrad program, but I personally would not want undergrads messing with my cadaver, interrupting lectures, etc. You also do not have 24 hour access to any facilities other than the Oakland Den, which is just the undergrad union (and I highly doubt I would get any significant studying done there).
This was my second interview, and I was pretty impressed with the school when I went. However, after visiting a half dozen other MD schools, my opinion took a complete 180. I think it's really important to know exactly what you're getting yourself into, and you are essentially going into OUWB blind. Yes, their adcom is nice and friendly and they definitely give the impression that they really care about their incoming class, but think about the experience you're going to have as a student there for four full years.
Still, consider the pros and cons to the school and make your OWN decision. Picking a school is a lot about personal fit, and if OUWB suits you best, then go there and don't look back. You're going to be a physician no matter where you go, regardless of DO/MD.
