And the decision is

Most of us DO interviewies have a big decision to make before Decembeer 15th, so I thought I would start the I am going to thread.


My decision is not 100% made. I haven’t heard from Louisville yet, but as far as DO schools go I will be in Des Moines next fall. In the end I just felt that DMU was the best choice of all of my acceptances. They are just a really awesome school that I am really excited about. If you want me to go on about my process I can, I am also thinking I will do MD applicants fallow up thing next spring, that will lay out my process.


As far as UofL goes if they accept me I will have to give them some consideration, but at this point I don’t think it will be an issue. (see interview experiences) If I do get accepted staying close to home would be great, but I got the vibe from the MD schools I interacted with that they aren’t as up on the non-trads as the DO’s.

I read your interview experience, but I think it isn’t wise to base the decision of which school to attend purely on your interview experience.


Louisville is in your backyard, it is an MD program, and as a current DO student, I would strongly encourage you to pursue an MD school if given that acceptance. It is very true that an MD=DO, and there is essentially no difference between either degree, however, going to an MD school will avoid many of the loopholes that DO students have to go through (I’m sure other DO students can vouch for this also).


I interviewed at DMU also, and it is indeed a fantastic school, but at the end of the day, med school is just med school, and academic and social support will be available at any American medical school.


Not trying to be offensive, just giving you another perspective.

As many OPM’ers know, my heart was set on DMU but I got rejected. I was offered interviews at LECOM-Erie, WVSOM and Touro-CA.


My major deciding factors were school facilities (particularly anatomy lab and clinical simulation or exposure/prep), cost of living, level of faculty support, level of competition/cooperation among students, and small perks such as weather, typical testing days, gym facilities, cafeteria and study spots.


What wasn’t a concern was tuition (loans are loans, are loans, and most schools I was looking at were all in the same range ±5k).


Final decision? WVSOM.


WVSOM’s only negative was the small size of the town. For me, that is a huge perk. I love the family atmosphere on the campus, with the personalized seats in lecture halls, camaderie between students & faculty, extremely awesome anatomy lab and really nice student gym - with free access for spouses. The fact that we can rent a small house for $600 a month is GREAT, and the low cost of living overall makes up for the “high” tuition. I will miss decent Mexican food and sushi, but we’ll survive.


LECOM was out pretty quickly. While it’s cheap and has a great gym, I didn’t get a good vibe from any of the staff or students, and it felt like no one wanted to be there. Also, the sky was slate gray the entire time I was there. Depressing. Finally, I am just not interested in paying a small fortune to a school, which then has a mandatory dress code while attending lectures. I’m not going to show up to school in pajamas, but I’d rather be in a comfortable hoodie and t-shirt, than wearing business casual attire in weather that freaking cold. /end rant/


TUCOM-CA was really impressive, with the only major negative being the cost of housing, and the high chance that I’d have to drive in traffic to live in a decent size apartment, or smoosh my husband and myself into a studio for 1k a month. Had they accepted me I’d still be wrestling with the decision, because they have a great curriculum, large yet cozy library and really great student-faculty rapport. Their gym is a closet, but I’m sure there’s regular gyms all around town. It felt a lot like the camaderie at WVSOM, but also had opportunities for clinical experience and volunteer work all over the Bay Area. And it would’ve been great to be closer to my family, and living only 30 minutes from my cousin and her new baby. However, they put me on the medium waitlist.


My decision is 100% made, both because I was leaning towards Lewisberg in almost every TouroCA/WVSOM pro-con list, and because I have no interest in doing anymore interviews anywhere else. It’s just not worth the hassle now that I have an acceptance at such a great school. I’m actually sending in the deposit this week, which makes it all seem more real/official.

I did my best to win you over!! You have my preemptive permission to grumble at me or burn me in effigy when first year gets tough

Now we are so happy we do the dance of joy!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfPg5LjGYz8


Kate

Breathe a sigh of relief! Congrats on making your final decision. I haven’t been to WVSOM, but of all the DO schools, I’ve heard the best things about that one. And the town is beautiful! It’s small, yes, but will you really have that much time for “going out on the town?” Just keep your Dune movies handy for entertainment

  • In reply to:
I read your interview experience, but I think it isn't wise to base the decision of which school to attend purely on your interview experience.



Louisville is in your backyard, it is an MD program, and as a current DO student, I would strongly encourage you to pursue an MD school if given that acceptance. It is very true that an MD=DO, and there is essentially no difference between either degree, however, going to an MD school will avoid many of the loopholes that DO students have to go through (I'm sure other DO students can vouch for this also).

I interviewed at DMU also, and it is indeed a fantastic school, but at the end of the day, med school is just med school, and academic and social support will be available at any American medical school.



Not trying to be offensive, just giving you another perspective.



My interview expereinces was/is not the only thing that I am basing my decision on, and in some ways I feel that going to UofL would be taking a step down in quality of school. UofL's avg MCAT is 27 while DMU is 27.5. Avg GPA UL C3.65 BCPM 3.56 , DMU C3.68 BCPM 3.68. Boards Pass Rate UL 94% Pass Avg 222, DMU USMLE 95.6 Pass Avg Around 240, Comlex 90% Avg 504. Tuition at UL 32,478 Tuition at DMU 39,900. Their match lists are almost identical. I know that stats aren't everything thing but I started looking at them after I made my choice of DMU and realized that I am kind of choosing b/t what appears to be a Top of the line DO school or a second tier MD school.

Like I said earlier there are alot of things that UL could do that would influnce my decision, but like I said earlier it will probably be a moot point.


  • Kate429 Said:
Now we are so happy we do the dance of joy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfPg5LjGYz8



Wow, I used to watch that show when I got to stay home sick from school. My deposit is in and now I'm just focusing on working like mad for the next few months.

Switz - I'm excited. After visiting SF and DC I am very, very sure that super-cosmopolitan cities are *not* for me, so Lewisberg is going to be fantastic.