WVSOM v. Touro-CA

[svdl]

Hi everyone,

I have already posted on another thread but due to the low response I am going to try my luck here.

I have been agonizing over this difficult decision for the last week, and I've decided to turn to all of you for some help. I am posting in this forum because I thought it would be best to hear it from people who are actually attending either of the schools that I am trying to decide between.

I have until this coming Friday, November 30th, to decide if I want to go to WVSOM or Touro - CA and make my deposit. I have been accepted to both and was extremely impressed with the facilities, atmosphere and resources of WVSOM, but its match list seems to pale in comparison to the places where students at Touro are being placed.

Another factor is the location of the school; by the time I will be attending there I will be married and will need to be somewhere that my husband will be able to find a good job. It seems like there will be more opportunities in California, but it would be nice to hear from somebody if they could point me in any direction at all!

As of now, it really is a dead heat between the schools and all of the deciding factors really seem to come out evenly balanced between the two. If anybody could offer a precious bit of insight, it would be very greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance!

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[superfan56]

WVSOM is all about primary rural care....that would explain the match list

 

[TawMus]

I know this is probably a dead thread, but I am also currently pulling out my hair because of this decision. These are a few things I do and don't like about each of the schools...

WVSOM -

Pros - Amazing Facilities, beautiful area, Great reputation (top 50 med school), great faculty to student ratio, well funded, area has low cost of living.

Cons - Small town (no mall or anything one takes for granted growing up in an urban area), very little to no diversity in the surrounding community and the school itself, high OOS Tuition (51k), Match list, and rotation spots are all in WV in 3rd year.

Touro-MI -

Pros - Great Urban Area, lots of diversity in community and school itself, great Match list, tight knit student body, Cheaper tuition (33k!).

Cons - Seems to be less stability in the faculty(Don't know for sure, just read off someone's review), supposedlly there is some problems with consistent quality rotations?(I may be wrong, feel free to correct), Ugly school lol (Although how pretty the school is doesn't really matter to be, it is kind of funny how ugly it is).


Overall, both schools are reinovated old military bases, but its surprising to me how different they seem from the outside. WVSOM has an old ivy league school look, while Touro definitely doesn't.

Anyways, I am just posting things I read on this forum or heard from other students that attended one of either schools.

Any help would be appreciated guys! Thanks in advance.

 

[MossPoh]

I haven't heard many happy reviews from third and fourth year students that went to Touro-CA. There are TONS of threads on this that talk about touro and wvsom. The pros and cons don't change with relation to the competitor usually. Just check those out.

 

[TawMus]

I haven't heard many happy reviews from third and fourth year students that went to Touro-CA. There are TONS of threads on this that talk about touro and wvsom. The pros and cons don't change with relation to the competitor usually. Just check those out.

Yea, I've read plenty of complaints on rotations for Touro-MI. But what I don't understand is how Touro-MI consistantly places its graduates in competitive residencies if it has so many problems with rotations.. There must be some sort of underlying reason for this discrepancy.

 

[funkymunkytoes]

I know this is probably a dead thread, but I am also currently pulling out my hair because of this decision. These are a few things I do and don't like about each of the schools...

WVSOM -

Pros - Amazing Facilities, beautiful area, Great reputation (top 50 med school), great faculty to student ratio, well funded, area has low cost of living.

If we're thinking about the same WVSOM (the one in Morgantown) you are wrong. The facilities are average at best, Morgantown is Appalachia's armpit, and it is NOT a top 50 school. I go to school here in Morgantown, got accepted at WVSOM, and wouldn't go here for anything. I know this is in the the DO forum, so I'm hoping that you're not refering to WVSOM in Morgantown, because it is far from what you think it is.

 

[TawMus]

If we're thinking about the same WVSOM (the one in Morgantown) you are wrong. The facilities are average at best, Morgantown is Appalachia's armpit, and it is NOT a top 50 school. I go to school here in Morgantown, got accepted at WVSOM, and wouldn't go here for anything. I know this is in the the DO forum, so I'm hoping that you're not refering to WVSOM in Morgantown, because it is far from what you think it is.

No, I think you are refering to WVU in Morgantown. WVSOM is located in Lewisburg and is rated top 50 by US Weekly (MD and DO both rate on same list)

 

[funkymunkytoes]

No, I think you are refering to WVU in Morgantown. WVSOM is located in Lewisburg and is rated top 50 by US Weekly (MD and DO both rate on same list)

Makes sense!

 

[hoopstaahh22]

I know this is probably a dead thread, but I am also currently pulling out my hair because of this decision. These are a few things I do and don't like about each of the schools...

WVSOM -

Pros - Amazing Facilities, beautiful area, Great reputation (top 50 med school), great faculty to student ratio, well funded, area has low cost of living.

Cons - Small town (no mall or anything one takes for granted growing up in an urban area), very little to no diversity in the surrounding community and the school itself, high OOS Tuition (51k), Match list, and rotation spots are all in WV in 3rd year.

Touro-MI -

Pros - Great Urban Area, lots of diversity in community and school itself, great Match list, tight knit student body, Cheaper tuition (33k!).

Cons - Seems to be less stability in the faculty(Don't know for sure, just read off someone's review), supposedlly there is some problems with consistent quality rotations?(I may be wrong, feel free to correct), Ugly school lol (Although how pretty the school is doesn't really matter to be, it is kind of funny how ugly it is).


Overall, both schools are reinovated old military bases, but its surprising to me how different they seem from the outside. WVSOM has an old ivy league school look, while Touro definitely doesn't.

Anyways, I am just posting things I read on this forum or heard from other students that attended one of either schools.

Any help would be appreciated guys! Thanks in advance.

well when I was trying to decide between two schools, my bf put it in perspective for me: Do you really want to live in a town that you will not be happy in? Let's say you have a crappy day at school, did bad on exam, etc. and you live in a place that you don't like...it's gonna make you even more depressed. At least if you live somewhere you know you will fit in or enjoy more you have one positive thing going for you!

money is also an important factor. though touro has a cheaper tuition, the cost of living in california is a lot higher than in west virginia, so it may not be that much cheaper in the end.

also where do you want to do your residency? east coast/west coast? i know it's a while before we even get to that point but if you even have the tiniest idea of where you want to end up, it may be a factor in your decision.

good luck and congrats on getting in!

 

[TawMus]

well when I was trying to decide between two schools, my bf put it in perspective for me: Do you really want to live in a town that you will not be happy in? Let's say you have a crappy day at school, did bad on exam, etc. and you live in a place that you don't like...it's gonna make you even more depressed. At least if you live somewhere you know you will fit in or enjoy more you have one positive thing going for you!

money is also an important factor. though touro has a cheaper tuition, the cost of living in california is a lot higher than in west virginia, so it may not be that much cheaper in the end.

also where do you want to do your residency? east coast/west coast? i know it's a while before we even get to that point but if you even have the tiniest idea of where you want to end up, it may be a factor in your decision.

good luck and congrats on getting in!

Thanks , does where you attend medical school really have that great of an impact in the location of your residency? For ex. West coast schools showing more preference to West coast graduates and vice versa.

 

[hoopstaahh22]

Thanks , does where you attend medical school really have that great of an impact in the location of your residency? For ex. West coast schools showing more preference to West coast graduates and vice versa.

obviously i am not the most qualified person to answer this question, but from what i have read from medical students, residents, and previous posters on this site, is that if you want to do residency/practice on the west coast, go to a west coast school, same goes for east coast. i don't know why this is or if it's true but that is what people say. if you look at match lists for both schools, that is also a good indicator of where graduates end up. i think it's possible though, if you went to a west coast school to get a residency on the east coast...it just may be a little harder (specialty depending of course). anyone can feel free to elaborate on this as i do not really know if it makes that much of a difference.

 

[TawMus]

::bump::

 

[MossPoh]

Yea, I've read plenty of complaints on rotations for Touro-MI. But what I don't understand is how Touro-MI consistantly places its graduates in competitive residencies if it has so many problems with rotations.. There must be some sort of underlying reason for this discrepancy.

Because you are still an american graduate and if you work your butt off then you can get what you want. There are people that land competitive residencies at every school in the nation; it just depends if you do that despite of the school or because of it. I really wasn't impressed much with Touro. I wanted to like it really really bad but I just couldn't. The students that I talked to the day before just didn't seem excited about their school. They were all excited about the location (being near SF) but not the school itself. There is no guarantee that you will get rotations in California at Touro-CA. I thought that compared to the other 8 schools I interviewed at, their facilities were subpar and then I heard tons of negatives about rotations and what not.

 

[MasterShakeDO]

Because you are still an american graduate and if you work your butt off then you can get what you want. There are people that land competitive residencies at every school in the nation; it just depends if you do that despite of the school or because of it.

That's the key. I tell people... "hey look at all of us Touro students matching in ultra-competitive residencies all over CA!" Reality is that all of them are extremely motivated and had stellar grades and board scores. No matter what school they went to I am confident they would have excelled.
However while we did that we got to be in the Bay Area and enjoy everything that SF and Napa have to offer

There is no guarantee that you will get rotations in California at Touro-CA.

This is one of the biggest complaints from my class. The lottery system did not work out very well for some...with about 5 students being sent to NY without even having it on their rank order list. Others went to Michigan, which quite frankly have better teaching hospitals than the Bay Area, and really enjoyed their clinical years. Over half stayed in CA and I would venture by the time this incoming class reaches 3rd year that number will have climbed to 3/4. Touro is working hard to secure more rotation spots in the Bay Area and have made affiliation agreements with 2 during this past year.
How good they are remains to be seen. Some of my classmates will graduate without having taken one overnight call. That's inconceivable to me.

 

[FlaMedic]

Are you seriously basing your medical school selection on the proximity of a mall?

I would put more emphasis on the education you will get, rotations, match lists and so forth.

I doubt you will have much time in medical school to spend afternoons sipping Pinot in Napa Valley.

 

[TawMus]

Are you seriously basing your medical school selection on the proximity of a mall?

I would put more emphasis on the education you will get, rotations, match lists and so forth.

I doubt you will have much time in medical school to spend afternoons sipping Pinot in Napa Valley.

Please take the time to read the entire post before posting immature comments like this. I stated the whole mall issue as one example of certain luxuries one enjoys in a large metropolitan area vs. a small country town. Even medical students find themselves with some free time. I don't plan on spending mine to dissect other people's posts in order to find a way to bash them. Find something more contructive to do with your time.

That being said.

That's the key. I tell people... "hey look at all of us Touro students matching in ultra-competitive residencies all over CA!" Reality is that all of them are extremely motivated and had stellar grades and board scores. No matter what school they went to I am confident they would have excelled.
However while we did that we got to be in the Bay Area and enjoy everything that SF and Napa have to offer




This is one of the biggest complaints from my class. The lottery system did not work out very well for some...with about 5 students being sent to NY without even having it on their rank order list. Others went to Michigan, which quite frankly have better teaching hospitals than the Bay Area, and really enjoyed their clinical years. Over half stayed in CA and I would venture by the time this incoming class reaches 3rd year that number will have climbed to 3/4. Touro is working hard to secure more rotation spots in the Bay Area and have made affiliation agreements with 2 during this past year.
How good they are remains to be seen. Some of my classmates will graduate without having taken one overnight call. That's inconceivable to me.

Wow, great post and great info. If you don't mind me asking, where did you end up rotating and how was your whole experience with it?

 

[MasterShakeDO]

Wow, great post and great info. If you don't mind me asking, where did you end up rotating and how was your whole experience with it?

Thanks! I spent my third year cores at Arrowhead, where I'll be going on for my internship. Great teaching hospital and the students are worked. 25 students in my class got to spend the entire third year there, but that number has since dropped to 12! It's a shame because IMHO Arrowhead is the best teaching hospital we have.

I am of the camp that thinks you get the best education from being at hospitals with a hierarchy or med student -> intern -> resident -> chief resident -> attending. Others in my class said they learn better one on one with attendings. It's personal preference. At Touro, more than half of the students are at places where the teaching is one-on-one with the attending so you have to figure out what style works best for you.

 

[TawMus]

Thanks! I spent my third year cores at Arrowhead, where I'll be going on for my internship. Great teaching hospital and the students are worked. 25 students in my class got to spend the entire third year there, but that number has since dropped to 12! It's a shame because IMHO Arrowhead is the best teaching hospital we have.

I am of the camp that thinks you get the best education from being at hospitals with a hierarchy or med student -> intern -> resident -> chief resident -> attending. Others in my class said they learn better one on one with attendings. It's personal preference. At Touro, more than half of the students are at places where the teaching is one-on-one with the attending so you have to figure out what style works best for you.

Yea, I've heard about Arrowhead. What sucks about figuring out what style works best for me is the fact that if I choose the wrong one, its not like I can switch back =/ . Is it true that the reason Arrowhead spots is reduced is because some of the spots were granted to WesternU?

 

[MasterShakeDO]

I believe that the spots were to allow more outside students to spend cores there and Western did not gain spots. I seem to recall more AZCOM students from CA.
Also there are plans to make Arrowhead UC Riverside's flagship hospital for training its students when it eventually opens (2012?). It won't affect you but it will be a shame if both Touro and Western get pushed out when a UC opens in town.

 

[JanikeyDoc]

Hi everyone,

I have already posted on another thread but due to the low response I am going to try my luck here.

I have been agonizing over this difficult decision for the last week, and I've decided to turn to all of you for some help. I am posting in this forum because I thought it would be best to hear it from people who are actually attending either of the schools that I am trying to decide between.

I have until this coming Friday, November 30th, to decide if I want to go to WVSOM or Touro - CA and make my deposit. I have been accepted to both and was extremely impressed with the facilities, atmosphere and resources of WVSOM, but its match list seems to pale in comparison to the places where students at Touro are being placed.

Another factor is the location of the school; by the time I will be attending there I will be married and will need to be somewhere that my husband will be able to find a good job. It seems like there will be more opportunities in California, but it would be nice to hear from somebody if they could point me in any direction at all!

As of now, it really is a dead heat between the schools and all of the deciding factors really seem to come out evenly balanced between the two. If anybody could offer a precious bit of insight, it would be very greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance!

I am beginning the application process this year for entry in 2010, I pray to God in heaven that I wind up with your predicament of being accepted to two medical schools. I could not tell you which one to go to but I have heard quite a bit of WVSOM with regards to rural care, which is something that interests me deeply as a hopeful future doctor.

 

[Delphine]

I believe that the spots were to allow more outside students to spend cores there and Western did not gain spots. I seem to recall more AZCOM students from CA.
Also there are plans to make Arrowhead UC Riverside's flagship hospital for training its students when it eventually opens (2012?). It won't affect you but it will be a shame if both Touro and Western get pushed out when a UC opens in town.

Eh?
Why would this happen?
How would this happen?

Forgive me if this is a stupid question.