Deciding between Anschutz Colorado and Western Michigan

[cheetoman21]

Hi all,

I'm a non-trad pre-med that applied this last cycle and was fortunate to get interviewed for two pathway programs with linkage to these two schools.
I didn't submit a secondary to CU, but they reached out and said they liked my primary application and wanted me to interview for their pathway program.
I applied to the Western Michigan MS program after my advisor told me about it.

For CU it would be 24 credit hours at the undergraduate school downtown. I would need to maintain a 3.5 GPA each semester and then start med school fall 2024.
For WM I'd need to complete the MS program and then start med school fall 2024.

I will preface by saying, I went to a prestigious top 10 undergrad and now that I'm older prestige isn't as important to me. I value my well-being more than anything. My undergrad had like 8 suicides during my 4 years there and 2 of those were people I knew, so a friendlier and more supportive environment means more to me. My school was also massive, so I think I would benefit from a smaller class size.

Here are the pros/cons for both:

Colorado pros:

• Already live here; wouldn't need to move
• The more prestigious school?
• Greater research opportunities
• From working here, I already have established relationships with MDs who would want to mentor me/let me join their research
• In-state tuition is ~45K

Cons:

• I dislike living in Denver (1 yr program is downtown); for med school Aurora sucks
• I HATE driving in Colorado
• Would need to take out loans for the one year pathway program. I only get 7k for the year to use on books and other necessities. - This isn't that big of a deal since I graduated undergrad with no debt
• 24 credit hrs undergrad and grad classes - no classes taken with med students
• High COL
• Can only be in the program if you are committed to CU (can't apply elsewhere)
• Lack of community at CU
• Program has little mentorship and support throughout - it's kind of like sign up for classes take them and with a 3.5 gpa start med school in the fall
• Large med school class size >150
• LIC model for clinical rotations seems kinda weird
• Curriculum also seems cumbersome

Western Michigan pros:

• Fully funded 1 year program with a stipend for living expenses
• I like the idea of earning an MS degree
• Mentorship through the program
• Take med school classes with med students
• Closer to family and friends in Chicago
• Lower COL
• Likely better scholarships since they are putting a lot of the 300M donation they got in 2021 toward need based scholarships
• Small class size
• Not binding - I can choose to apply elsewhere if I don't want to join the med cohort in 2024
• Admin was friendly and the program seems very intentional
• Students seem happy
• Decompressed schedule seems nice

Cons:

• Moving to a new state - unfamiliar with Kalamazoo
• Winter is harsher there and driving in the snow seems more dangerous there compared to Denver
• It seemed like there were less research opportunities
• Less prestigious?
• MS degree so no bump in GPA if I wanted to apply elsewhere

Other consideration:

• Tuition is ~67k, but COL is so low compared to CO that the difference in total attendance is very small between the two schools

I had a really good feeling during my WM interview and I am leaning that way, but I don't want to make a decision until I talk to a student who did the MS program and is now enrolled in the MD program (I've set up a call for tomorrow), visit the school ( booked flights for next weekend), and talk to financial aid about the likelihood of need based scholarships.

But based on this information, what school would you choose? Is there anything about WM I should know that might make me question going that direction?

Thanks!

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[deleted1158770]

You clearly want to go to WM, so go there. Especially since your well-being is your top priority!

 

[chilly_md]

Moved to Post-Bacc forums.

Get numbers for how many people actually matriculated to the med school through the linkage.

It is better that you don’t get to 2024 and then decide to apply out. The Western Michigan program sounds like an SMP. It is not meant to increase your undergrad GPA, but show you can handle medical school level courses. The caveat is that they would be very difficult, and the passing cut-offs (since you didn’t say a GPA requirement) might be higher for the MS students.

The Colorado one sounds like more of a sure-thing but you will have to double check.

 

[cheetoman21]

Moved to Post-Bacc forums.

Get numbers for how many people actually matriculated to the med school through the linkage.

It is better that you don’t get to 2024 and then decide to apply out. The Western Michigan program sounds like an SMP. It is not meant to increase your undergrad GPA, but show you can handle medical school level courses. The caveat is that they would be very difficult, and the passing cut-offs (since you didn’t say a GPA requirement) might be higher for the MS students.

The Colorado one sounds like more of a sure-thing but you will have to double check.

That's a great point! WM 5/5 of the MS students matriculated last year. For CU 3/5 matriculated. The 3 CU students also said they had a hard time adjusting to the pace of learning their first semester, but the WM student took the same classes as the med students and said she hasn't had any difficulty in her first year so far. It seems WM would be a better bet for me.

WM is also not binding, so if I wanted to re-take the MCAT and apply after the MS program to other med schools I would be able to, although, I'd probably just go with the A at WM at that point.