confused! Info please in choice of a school

[websurfer]

i feel bad asking this question, as everyone else has posted similar ones, but i feel the need to do it again.

I have been accepted at TUCOM, and have read almost everyones postings about pro/con for TUCOM. I also have interviews set up at Kirksville, chicago and PCOM. THe thing is that i'm having a hard time choosing. I know that there are no rankings fore the schools, and i don't really want to specialize. So I'm hoping that anyone that has been through this already can just give some info about a plus or minus they may have about these schools, or why not to pick one over another.

Any help would greatly appreciated.
Good luck to everyone with everything that you are doing.

fred

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[prefontaine]

When one has been accepted to one school, what is difficult about making a choice? From my observations, none of the schools make it a pleasant experience, ie few students are very positive about the four years. San Francisco sounds a hell of a lot better than the last 3 1/2 miserable years I have spent in appalachia.

 

[Billie]

Tell us some of your experiences. Are you at Pikeville or WVSOM?

 

[ana]

I would attend the very best school that accepts me where I feel I can also live comfortably. I would be hesitatant, however, about TUCOM because it is so new. A DO I know once told me the same thing about ACOM when I was applying there. No matter how good they say the curriculum is (that they are "modelling" it after another successful program etc), it is always best to go somewhere that is established.

The questions is, which is the best school? Depends on your criteria. Try to figure out what is most important to you.

When I was applying two years ago, CCOM had an outstanding reputation for being able to get high board scores. PCOM is also considered to be one of the better DO schools. And of course, Chicago and Philly are both extremely cosmopolitan cities with lots to do and see. You will not be bored living at either place. I do not have too much info re. Kirskville.

Also, I don't know if you are interviewing there, but TCOM's teaching hospital is rated as one of the best in the country. That would be another place to think of, though it will be hotter than heck in tx in the summer!

Good luck to you and best wishes.

 

[danny]

To Ana,
I read your response and was wondering if you had any info on the reputation of the teaching hospital(s) at CCOM?Thanks and happy new year!

 

[Jack DOe]

Kirksville is a great school. The students are not cut throat as some other schools. The faculty is well received among their peers. One bonus or draw back of Kirksville is that the third and fourth years are done in Arizona, Michigan, or Missouri. Fourth year can also be done in other sites possibly Utah, Ohio, Florida, and Texas. Post if you have specific questions in regards to this school.

 

[websurfer]

dear Jack DOe,

i am going for an interveiw in kirksville in 1 week. Do you go there. Are there certain things that you enjoy more about the school, or know how the students fair on the on the national tests/placement into residency. If you do go there now, was there a reason that you picked Kirksville over any other school that you may have been accepted to. Anything that i should know before i go out there that i may not find out on my own? Any help would be great.

Thanks and have a great nwe year.

fred

 

[Jack DOe]

Fred,
Things that I enjoy about KCOM are the small town life, support of the student and spouses, and the excellence of the school. The population is only about 17,500. This does not include the influx of students for Truman State University (~7,000). KCOM is family oriented. Spouses and significant others are not only welcomed but are catered to. The spouses and significant others have their own clubs and activities. At the interview your spouse or significant other is included and goes on a tour and answering session. Every effort is made to help them find employment. Housing is also made easy to find by the school collecting info on good rentals around town. Medical students are preferred customers when renting, so a variety of housing is available. The school is very interested in the success of the students. Every effort is made by the faculty and administration to ensure success. The board results can be seen at this site:
http://www.kcom-sga.threadnet.com/misc/boards.shtml
These results are a direct reflection of the faculty?s excellence and commitment to their students. Students from KCOM are well received among both allopathic and osteopathic communities. This school has a well-established reputation for turning out good physicians. I had a choice between AZCOM, UHS-COM, and KCOM. The main things to know are that you will most likely do only 2 years here in Kirksville. This may be a blessing or a curse. Your rotations can be done in the areas mentioned in my previous post. Other things to know are that the school is in somewhat of a transition on curriculum. Such as moving to a more clinical presentation of the basic sciences and not requiring laptop computers. These changes are being made for the benefit of the student.



[This message has been edited by Jack DOe (edited 01-03-99).]

 

[eehkar]

Hello everyone. I am having a similar problem. I was accepted into UNECOM and CCOM and I am having a difficult time deciding where to go. I really liked UNE but CCOM is near a big city. Is that really important when it comes to getting a residency? Does anyone have any advice?

 

[Kristen]

Hi eehkar

I was accepted to UNECOM and Kirksville - I decided on UNE primarily due to proximity to family, and I know a recent graduate and a couple of students who are all very happy with their education and classmates. My friend who graduated in June got her first choice residency. As far as being close to a city, I'm not sure it makes much difference. At UNE you would most likely leave Maine for most of your rotations, and one of the options is in NJ (I think near NYC) which is very metropolitan. I know that both schools have excellent reputations. It's a tough decision - Good Luck!

 

[eehkar]

Thanks for the advice Kristen-did you find out about their reps through a specific source or did you hear about them from other people? I am having a hard time finding a reference that has evaluated both programs and environments. If you do know of such a source, could you please forward it to me? Thank you-its nice to hear people were satisfied with their education there.

 

[Kristen]

eekhar - I haven't beenable to find any official or unofficial ranking of various programs. During my interview at KCOM, they said they were the top program, and at UNECOM, they said they were second. Supposedly a faculty member told the students at UNE this information.

As far as reputation, a DO I talked with about a year ago mentioned about five schools as having good programs including, Chicago, and New England.

I know New England has a good reputation in Maine where my parents have talked with physicians (mostly MD - several of whom have worked with UNE trained residents) in the community and have only heard positive remarks. If you come up with any more information, let me know!
k

 

[prefontaine]

UNECOM has a program in the Newark, NJ area...St Michael's, I think.

Generally speaking, UNECOM graduates are much fonder of their school than KCOM grads, that seem to harbor some resentment and animosity.

These are my observations from speaking with many students and alums from both schools over many years. Take it for what it is worth...free. If I was still in the market, I would seriously consider UNECOM. It is probably overlooked and underappreciated by many pre-DO students. Interestingly, one can go about five miles away from the school and find that many of the locals are not aware of the school's existence.

STEVE