DMU vs. Scholl vs. Kent vs. Temple

[PodGirl91]

Hello, all. I know there are similar posts to this, but I wanted a very recent and up-to-date account (2016-2017) on opinions regarding these four schools (Scholl, DMU, Kent, and Temple). For those of you who have/had acceptances to some, if not all, of these schools, and ended up narrowing it down to one choice, do you mind explaining the reasoning behind your decision? I am trying to decide between these four schools, and would love to hear different perspectives as to why one school would be chosen over another. Also, if there are any current students (or even residents/attendings!) lurking in this forum, I would appreciate your input as well. Thanks!

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[skim25]

Hello, all. I know there are similar posts to this, but I wanted a very recent and up-to-date account (2016-2017) on opinions regarding these four schools (Scholl, DMU, Kent, and Temple). For those of you who have/had acceptances to some, if not all, of these schools, and ended up narrowing it down to one choice, do you mind explaining the reasoning behind your decision? I am trying to decide between these four schools, and would love to hear different perspectives as to why one school would be chosen over another. Also, if there are any current students (or even residents/attendings!) lurking in this forum, I would appreciate your input as well. Thanks!

I picked Scholl for a couple reasons:

1) Location - it's close to home so I can visit my parents whenever and eat home cooked meals. I've seen some classmates getting homesick a bit here.

2) All about interprofessionalism - You will be taking classes with other professions, such as anatomy with MDs, histo&physio with Path assists, microbio with Pharmacy, and many more. I like the concept that it won't be just pod students taking these courses (of course, some are just taken by us, like lower anatomy). I believe DMU has a similar concept by studying with DOs.

3) At the time I was applying, the statistics for graduating rate, board passing rate, etc., were a factor for my decision. I don't believe Scholl had the top stats, but for most categories, they were well above average.

4) Research opportunities - Scholl has a decent research program/gait lab here, so if you want to do some research, you have the option and resources to do so.

cons:
There aren't a lot of things to do in the area (which could be a good thing if you don't want to get distracted).
The weather in Illinois isn't always the best.

The clinic is also close to the school. It won't be busy as the clinics in NYCPM or Temple, but there are always opportunities to get some experience there.

 

[LaVaina]

I can't comment on Scholl and Temple since I didn't apply there, but I did get accepted to Kent and DMU and ended up deciding on DMU.

I liked Kent more than I thought I would, but I ended up going with DMU because I liked that a lot of the classes were with the DOs, like skim25 mentioned.

I also really liked their facilities/campus (the anatomy lab was nicer than the one at Kent IMO) compared to what I saw at Kent.

Cost of attendance was also lower than Kent so that was another factor for me (plus I got more scholarship money from DMU than Kent, but that didn't really factor into my decision too much).

 

[bobtheweazel]

For Temple, theres is a lot to do in the Philly area, which is nice. We're also in close proximity to DC, Boston, New York City, etc.

As far as the academics go, we learn on our own as you all know. We have a classroom dedicated to our class and for the most part the professors rotate through that one room. I like that most lectures are recorded and posted online and lecture attendance generally isn't mandatory. That's a huge plus because it gives you the flexibility to learn how you learn best (whether that be in the lecture hall, in the library, from home, etc).

Last I heard we shared 80% of the 1st year curriculum and 50% of the 2nd year curriculum with the Temple MDs. Though obviously we don't sit side by side in class, since we're on different campuses. We have interprofessional workshops once per semester with Temple MD, PharmD, PA, PT, OT, DMD, and nursing.

Our 1st time board pass rates are about average. I wish they were higher but I think because our basic sciences are pretty general (they teach same content at MD and DMD schools) it's not tailored to our boards. The administration also admitted that they put more emphasis on preparing us clinically rather than preparing us for boards.

I like that Temple's professors are helpful and the administration seems open to criticism and is always looking for ways to improve. Schedules change every year due to input of previous classes (they'll add new classes, move classes around, etc), they're about to implement pretests before boards, etc.



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[Mrbigshot95]

Hey @PodGirl91

I actually made a really really really long-ish personal post about this. I just happened to to attend those 4 schools only and got accepted into all 4 with scholarship. I'm on my phone so it's a bit difficult to link it. But check out the thread "scholl class of 2021" thread by me. Let me know if it (hopefully) helps!

You can also feel free to pm me any other questions you may have. I did visit all 4 a few months ago so I can give you my personal insights.

Good luck!

 

[PodGirl91]

Thank you to everyone who responded! This is definitely a hard decision, so it was nice to get some different perspectives.

 

[GypsyHummus]

When I interviewed at Kent, I was beyond impressed with the facilities. I wasn't expecting much going into it either because Kent didn't strike me as a large school with a ton of resources. I went into the interview thinking they were just a middle of the road or even lower pod program.

I was so wrong.

The staff was amazingly helpful and friendly, everyone seemed to enjoy being there, and students really have a comradery there. This is evidenced by the tutoring for first year students, which I think sets Kent apart. I know I'm gonna need all the help I can get first year.

Also, if ankle recon is ur thing, it's nice to be located so close to the Cleveland clinic. There are a lot of residencies in the Midwest as well, so it would be nice to get a head start of residency.

I also liked how it is soley a podiatry school, meaning all the content u learn is going to Podiatry boards and not to MD or DO boards.

 

[7K584D]

When I interviewed at Kent, I was beyond impressed with the facilities. I wasn't expecting much going into it either because Kent didn't strike me as a large school with a ton of resources. I went into the interview thinking they were just a middle of the road or even lower pod program.

I was so wrong.

The staff was amazingly helpful and friendly, everyone seemed to enjoy being there, and students really have a comradery there. This is evidenced by the tutoring for first year students, which I think sets Kent apart. I know I'm gonna need all the help I can get first year.

Also, if ankle recon is ur thing, it's nice to be located so close to the Cleveland clinic. There are a lot of residencies in the Midwest as well, so it would be nice to get a head start of residency.

I also liked how it is soley a podiatry school, meaning all the content u learn is going to Podiatry boards and not to MD or DO boards.

,

 

[heybrother]

I would be very skeptical about assuming that just because you are close to something ie. a hospital or a specific doctor that you will have any opportunity to interact with them. Don't let someone lead you on with a vague promise of rotating at the Cleveland clinic only to find out you get a 1 month-every-other-day experience there as a 4th year.

Without really getting into it I'd also point out that "ankle recon" doesn't really mean anything - it could mean scopes with stabilizations or pantalar fusions. Those are 2 entirely different patient populations and experiences. What I'm getting at here is - the specifics matter. Sometimes students come to this forum and say "I want to be a surgeon" or "I want to operate a lot" - that doesn't really mean anything. Operating a lot could mean the experience of a student I met on the trail - scrubbing 23 toe amputations in 2 days. That will have you questioning humanity.

Last of all, here's to Kent for their continued atrocious pandering on education and boards. There really is no such thing as podiatry medicine - there's just medicine and a day will come when you wish you knew as much of it as possible.

 

[GypsyHummus]

I would be very skeptical about assuming that just because you are close to something ie. a hospital or a specific doctor that you will have any opportunity to interact with them. Don't let someone lead you on with a vague promise of rotating at the Cleveland clinic only to find out you get a 1 month-every-other-day experience there as a 4th year.

Without really getting into it I'd also point out that "ankle recon" doesn't really mean anything - it could mean scopes with stabilizations or pantalar fusions. Those are 2 entirely different patient populations and experiences. What I'm getting at here is - the specifics matter. Sometimes students come to this forum and say "I want to be a surgeon" or "I want to operate a lot" - that doesn't really mean anything. Operating a lot could mean the experience of a student I met on the trail - scrubbing 23 toe amputations in 2 days. That will have you questioning humanity.

Last of all, here's to Kent for their continued atrocious pandering on education and boards. There really is no such thing as podiatry medicine - there's just medicine and a day will come when you wish you knew as much of it as possible.

What do you mean exactly when you say "pandering on education and boards"? And then go on to mention about general medicine? Does Kent do a poor job of teaching students general medicine?

 

[heybrother]

I also liked how it is soley a podiatry school, meaning all the content u learn is going to Podiatry boards and not to MD or DO boards.

I've been reading this forum for several years now and there's been an occasional, but continued line from students (predominantly favoring Kent) that it is somehow advantageous to be podiatry only because other schools with various degrees of MD/DO integration waste your time teaching you things you don't need. I don't know if Kent encourages it or its some sort of pre-pod insecurity in which you envision yourself being a second class citizen at more integrated institutions. Regardless, if Kent is encouraging that line of thinking you displayed above they've done you a disservice. Kent has historically been a board underperformer either because of poor teaching or poor student selection.

 

[GypsyHummus]

I've been reading this forum for several years now and there's been an occasional, but continued line from students (predominantly favoring Kent) that it is somehow advantageous to be podiatry only because other schools with various degrees of MD/DO integration waste your time teaching you things you don't need. I don't know if Kent encourages it or its some sort of pre-pod insecurity in which you envision yourself being a second class citizen at more integrated institutions. Regardless, if Kent is encouraging that line of thinking you displayed above they've done you a disservice. Kent has historically been a board underperformer either because of poor teaching or poor student selection.

They (meaning the student ambassadors) explained that it's a good thing to just know about the pod boards. It makes sense too, why waste time with embryology or other extraneous information that isn't going to be on the boards?

 

[bobtheweazel]

They (meaning the student ambassadors) explained that it's a good thing to just know about the pod boards. It makes sense too, why waste time with embryology or other extraneous information that isn't going to be on the boards?

Because embryology is on boards.

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[GypsyHummus]

Because embryology is on boards.

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Why?

 

[bobtheweazel]

Why?

General embryology is a subsection of the general anatomy section of APMLE 1. Lower extremity embryology is a subsection of the lower extremity anatomy section of APMLE 1.

How can you understand developmental defects, distribution of the dermatomes/myotomes, et cetera if you don't understand embryology?



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[quarterpenny]

Hello, all. I know there are similar posts to this, but I wanted a very recent and up-to-date account (2016-2017) on opinions regarding these four schools (Scholl, DMU, Kent, and Temple). For those of you who have/had acceptances to some, if not all, of these schools, and ended up narrowing it down to one choice, do you mind explaining the reasoning behind your decision? I am trying to decide between these four schools, and would love to hear different perspectives as to why one school would be chosen over another. Also, if there are any current students (or even residents/attendings!) lurking in this forum, I would appreciate your input as well. Thanks!

Hi PodGirl91! Current DMU student here. Feel free to direct message me if you have any questions about the decision process!

 

[feetsreets]

I would be very skeptical about assuming that just because you are close to something ie. a hospital or a specific doctor that you will have any opportunity to interact with them. Don't let someone lead you on with a vague promise of rotating at the Cleveland clinic only to find out you get a 1 month-every-other-day experience there as a 4th year.

Without really getting into it I'd also point out that "ankle recon" doesn't really mean anything - it could mean scopes with stabilizations or pantalar fusions. Those are 2 entirely different patient populations and experiences. What I'm getting at here is - the specifics matter. Sometimes students come to this forum and say "I want to be a surgeon" or "I want to operate a lot" - that doesn't really mean anything. Operating a lot could mean the experience of a student I met on the trail - scrubbing 23 toe amputations in 2 days. That will have you questioning humanity.

Last of all, here's to Kent for their continued atrocious pandering on education and boards. There really is no such thing as podiatry medicine - there's just medicine and a day will come when you wish you knew as much of it as possible.

going off of this, I went to interview at Kent this past year. Honestly it was nice, the faculty were very nice, the students were very nice, and the facilities seemed adequate enough. However when I asked about low board rates and the amounts of students dropping out or not graduating, they did not have answers to provide me. They simply said that they were doing all they can and were looking at some ideas on how to better these things, but did not offer any actual plan.

Then when i was leaving after the day, a 3rd year student called me over to talk. What he had to say about the school was not exactly inviting. He feels like after his first year, the school begins to gradually stop helping you and that he feels in his 3rd year there isn't much help or guidance offered. He also was complaining about the school not having affiliations in places where he wants to do rotations for his 4th year and felt limited. Now this was just one student, but all the other students I had talked to were first years or starting their second year and obviously still a bit more gung ho. I also feel that they pushed the idea that the podiatry school is not integrated with another professional school and showcased that as a positive, but the whole time I felt like it was a negative, for various reasons. Now I'm sure kent is still a good school. I'm sure that you can get a great education there, and enjoy all 4 years, and still get a great residency, but these were just some of my impressions and experiences from Kent when I visited.

I have also interviewed at DMU, Midwestern, and Scholl if anyone is interested in that, and will be attending DMU this fall.

 

[PodGirl91]

I have also interviewed at DMU, Midwestern, and Scholl if anyone is interested in that, and will be attending DMU this fall.

Do you mind me asking what made you choose DMU over Scholl?

 

[feetsreets]

Do you mind me asking what made you choose DMU over Scholl?

Sure! It will probably be a jumbled mess of my own thoughts but ill try to keep it flowing. I really liked both a lot. DMU and Scholl ended up being my #1 and #2 respectively. I think I may be biased a little bit as well because I have a friend that is a 2nd year student at DMU.

Scholl has a great reputation. The three podiatrist I shadowed (one in Hawaii, California, and New York) all thought Scholl was a great school. Now that sort of reputation all over the country no matter where I go is pretty dang impressive to me. Whereas for DMU the podiatrists in Hawaii and New York didn't have an opinion as they didnt know much about DMU. (though two of them told me not to apply to New York Podiatry school but that's another story)

Buuuut I liked DMU's facilities better. It was newer, and brighter on the inside. When I got to interview there at Scholl I was there an hour early and ended up walking around the campus. I just think Lighting makes such a big difference and the halls and such weren't very bright or inviting. I dont remember the library there, but I do remember the library at DMU so I think either I didn't see their library, or it just didn't stand out to me for whatever reason. I think that it came down a lot to that and how I felt and was convinced that Scholl was a great school, but nothing when I was there really stood out to me. The faculty at scholl seemed great, the students seemed great. I also saw a bit more Diversity there at Scholl than I did at DMU and that actually was something that I liked better.

When I got to DMU, everything just seemed to click with my emotions and how I envisioned the next 4 years of my life. Going through the school, the students knew all the professors and faculty, and had some sort of relationship with them. Everyone was super friendly. I also liked how the pod students and DO students were also very friendly with each other and how they study together and help each other out. I met with some DO students (not part of the tour really) but they see you and come up to you and wish you good luck and stuff. I think the family friendly environment really caught my attention and the fact that everyone from other professions is helping everyone out. My friend that goes there says some of his closest friends there are in the DO program and they all struggle together in the same classes the first year. At scholl I didn't meet any MD students and as far as I know, they have separate classes from the pod students although they are the same classes basically the first year. Though I could be wrong on that. The facilities at DMU were amazing, there are so many different places there where you could find a secluded place to study. Couches and comfortable places everywhere. The library was super nice. I mean, everything was nice as a lot of it is very new. I looooove their gym. The midwestern gym is this tiny little room thats smaller than my bedroom but thats off topic. Scholl's fitness area was also unimpressive. When a school has nice facilities like that it just makes me think that they care about their students and want to provide them with the best (while attracting the best students, though DMU accepted me so idk about that!). Ultimately, DMU also was offering more money in scholarships than Scholl was.

I definitely have more thoughts on why I like both schools, but I'm going to cut it here for now.

 

[GypsyHummus]

going off of this, I went to interview at Kent this past year. Honestly it was nice, the faculty were very nice, the students were very nice, and the facilities seemed adequate enough. However when I asked about low board rates and the amounts of students dropping out or not graduating, they did not have answers to provide me. They simply said that they were doing all they can and were looking at some ideas on how to better these things, but did not offer any actual plan.

Then when i was leaving after the day, a 3rd year student called me over to talk. What he had to say about the school was not exactly inviting. He feels like after his first year, the school begins to gradually stop helping you and that he feels in his 3rd year there isn't much help or guidance offered. He also was complaining about the school not having affiliations in places where he wants to do rotations for his 4th year and felt limited. Now this was just one student, but all the other students I had talked to were first years or starting their second year and obviously still a bit more gung ho. I also feel that they pushed the idea that the podiatry school is not integrated with another professional school and showcased that as a positive, but the whole time I felt like it was a negative, for various reasons. Now I'm sure kent is still a good school. I'm sure that you can get a great education there, and enjoy all 4 years, and still get a great residency, but these were just some of my impressions and experiences from Kent when I visited.

I have also interviewed at DMU, Midwestern, and Scholl if anyone is interested in that, and will be attending DMU this fall.

Ehhh, Idk if that is a super fair assessment. That could happen at any DO school too, some 3rd year pulling you aside saying he wished he would have gone to an MD school, etc. Pushing the idea of OMM and then third year not liking it.

 

[dorsiflexor]

I'm a 2nd year at Scholl. So if anyone has questions feel free to ask.

Just want to clarify a couple things mentioned. At Scholl we do take quite a few classes with the MD students (General anatomy, ECR, Pathology) 1st and 2nd year but we also take classes with other programs. First year we take Neuro with PT, Micro with PharmD and Histo/Physio with Path assistants. 2nd year we take Pharm with the PharmD plus Path and ECR with MD students. The school itself is BIG on interprofessionalism. For the most part the only classes that we take with just Pod students end up being our Podiatry specific classes like Radio, LEA, Surgery, Medicine, Sports Med, Derm etc. A big reason why we don't take every basic science with the MD students is because they take combined exams and it would be really difficult for us to fit in all of our pod specific classes in with their schedule. Have to keep in mind that Scholl finishes classroom work in 2 years compared to 3 at most other schools? Honestly I don't remember what the other schools schedules look like. But if I remember correctly Scholl is a bit faster which allows us to start clerkships earlier. If I'm wrong feel free to tell me I interviewed quite a while ago and a lot more has been crammed in my brain since then.

Feetstreets comment about the lighting is pretty spot on though I must say. The newer section of the school (library, cafe, some classrooms) is plenty bright with big windows but the older part of the school (main classroom area) could use some brighter lighting lol.

 

[PodGirl91]

@feetsreets Thanks for the detailed response!

 

[feetsreets]

Ehhh, Idk if that is a super fair assessment. That could happen at any DO school too, some 3rd year pulling you aside saying he wished he would have gone to an MD school, etc. Pushing the idea of OMM and then third year not liking it.

Well it wasn't that he stated that he wished he went to MD or DO or anything like that, he expressed discontent with his school, with the help in getting clerkships and the general help and guidance he was recieving there. He didn't express any regret from picking podiatry, rather he expressed regret from picking that school. I know it's only one persons opinion, and obvisously I do not know everything that goes on there, but I'm just sharing what was expressed to me from the only 3rd year student i met there. I'm sure there are plenty of opinions and most biased one way or another, but I think it's important to see all sides of any picture presented.

 

[Greenpod17]

What do you mean exactly when you say "pandering on education and boards"? And then go on to mention about general medicine? Does Kent do a poor job of teaching students general medicine?

@PodGirl91 and @GypsyHummus there seems to be a lot of confusion surrounding Kent preparing students for boards and the responses have not been coming from Kent students themselves.

Yes, KSUCPM has not been performing the highest of all the schools on boards. What is key to also acknowledge our class size in comparison to other classes.

Also, in regards to the student saying that genetics is not important for boards, I believe you were lead astray. As a first year myself, I hear almost in every class at some moment "Now remember this, you might see it on boards." A lot of our professors write boards questions and I would go as far to say that the majority of our professors are on committees for podiatric and dental boards (Kent basic science professors often teach at Case Western Reserve, as well.)

As like DMU, and I'm sure other schools, we have an academic resource department. You're required to take various learning style quizzes before orientation. They file these so that when you need assistance, they are more apt in their response. We have a tutoring schedule every week with multiple sessions for each class we take. You can be assigned private tutors and join small group tutoring outside of the large scheduled sessions. Also, the resource department sends out old notes and practice quizzes/tests just about everyday. At times I even feel inundated by the amount of resources they send our way.

I really hated seeing Kent being walked all over on this post. Everyone at every school will have a different experience. I'm sure every school is amazing to someone and you just have to find that school for you. It's not always a numbers thing. I was offered interviews to Kent, Scholl, DMU, Arizona, and Barry. I only went to my Kent interview and knew it was the fit for me that day. Yes, I could have gone to another institution with better statistics but, Kent felt right. I know it's hard to base decisions off of feelings and not hard facts. I hope you find your school and you make your decision off of your own opinion.

 

[ruggersb94]

Sure! It will probably be a jumbled mess of my own thoughts but ill try to keep it flowing. I really liked both a lot. DMU and Scholl ended up being my #1 and #2 respectively. I think I may be biased a little bit as well because I have a friend that is a 2nd year student at DMU.

Scholl has a great reputation. The three podiatrist I shadowed (one in Hawaii, California, and New York) all thought Scholl was a great school. Now that sort of reputation all over the country no matter where I go is pretty dang impressive to me. Whereas for DMU the podiatrists in Hawaii and New York didn't have an opinion as they didnt know much about DMU. (though two of them told me not to apply to New York Podiatry school but that's another story)

Buuuut I liked DMU's facilities better. It was newer, and brighter on the inside. When I got to interview there at Scholl I was there an hour early and ended up walking around the campus. I just think Lighting makes such a big difference and the halls and such weren't very bright or inviting. I dont remember the library there, but I do remember the library at DMU so I think either I didn't see their library, or it just didn't stand out to me for whatever reason. I think that it came down a lot to that and how I felt and was convinced that Scholl was a great school, but nothing when I was there really stood out to me. The faculty at scholl seemed great, the students seemed great. I also saw a bit more Diversity there at Scholl than I did at DMU and that actually was something that I liked better.

When I got to DMU, everything just seemed to click with my emotions and how I envisioned the next 4 years of my life. Going through the school, the students knew all the professors and faculty, and had some sort of relationship with them. Everyone was super friendly. I also liked how the pod students and DO students were also very friendly with each other and how they study together and help each other out. I met with some DO students (not part of the tour really) but they see you and come up to you and wish you good luck and stuff. I think the family friendly environment really caught my attention and the fact that everyone from other professions is helping everyone out. My friend that goes there says some of his closest friends there are in the DO program and they all struggle together in the same classes the first year. At scholl I didn't meet any MD students and as far as I know, they have separate classes from the pod students although they are the same classes basically the first year. Though I could be wrong on that. The facilities at DMU were amazing, there are so many different places there where you could find a secluded place to study. Couches and comfortable places everywhere. The library was super nice. I mean, everything was nice as a lot of it is very new. I looooove their gym. The midwestern gym is this tiny little room thats smaller than my bedroom but thats off topic. Scholl's fitness area was also unimpressive. When a school has nice facilities like that it just makes me think that they care about their students and want to provide them with the best (while attracting the best students, though DMU accepted me so idk about that!). Ultimately, DMU also was offering more money in scholarships than Scholl was.

I definitely have more thoughts on why I like both schools, but I'm going to cut it here for now.

I was just wondering what were the reasons that they told you not to apply to NYCPM if you don't mind sharing