KCU vs. DMU vs Campbell

[Rei02sDinnerParty]

Sort of a braggy post but could use some insight here. I have been accepted to 6 osteopathic medical school (KCU, DMU, CUSOM, Touro NY, touro Ca and MSU). I've ruled out touro NY and Ca. I've also ruled out MSU due to its price. This leaves me with three schools on relatively even footing.

About me: I am a NY resident while my significant other attends a school in Chicago. We are both interested in matching around the NYC area. I'm interested in psych but want to position myself to excel on step 1 and be as competitive as possible so no doors are closed for residency.

KCU
Pros: challenging preclinical curriculum, beautiful campus and facilities, excellent reputation, iPads
cons: the curriculum perhaps?, and maybe the location

DMU
Pros: multiple choice anatomy lab, proximity to Chicago, can rent out white boards in the library, student wellness/seem happy
Cons: I am unsure whether having multiple tests every week would fit my style of learning well, somewhat dated, OMM emphasis

Campbell:
Pros: block system with weeklong breaks, awesome facilities, attendance policy might be a good thing, seems to match students to east coast/ny
Cons: mandatory attendance, rural setting, dress code

I doubt I really covered the pros and cons of these schools very thoroughly.


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[HopefulDoc91]

I would rule out Campbell. I was also accepted there this year, and it seems like an awesome school (with a pretty cool SIM lab). But it is still a fairly new school, and KCU & DMU are much more established. Plus CUSOM is in the middle of nowhere.

Between KCU & DMU I would pick whichever location I liked better. Also, how important is it to be near your SO? Yes DMU is closer but it's still gotta be at least 5 hours from Chicago. I'd say that if you liked KCU a lot more than DMU, I wouldn't let that distance be a factor.

Just follow your gut feeling of which school felt most like home!

 

[Rei02sDinnerParty]

I would rule out Campbell. I was also accepted there this year, and it seems like an awesome school (with a pretty cool SIM lab). But it is still a fairly new school, and KCU & DMU are much more established. Plus CUSOM is in the middle of nowhere.

Between KCU & DMU I would pick whichever location I liked better. Also, how important is it to be near your SO? Yes DMU is closer but it's still gotta be at least 5 hours from Chicago. I'd say that if you liked KCU a lot more than DMU, I wouldn't let that distance be a factor.

Just follow your gut feeling of which school felt most like home!

I had a really great interview day experience at Campbell but tend to agree re its location. I feel less concerned about its relative newness given its first match list, but am definitely concerned about the lifestyle constraints. One thing I thought was nice was the week breaks between blocks, which I could use to visit family or my SO.

B/w KCU and Des Moines, I think I had a much stronger feeling towards KCU. I am concerned about the curriculum though..


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[sab3156]

KCU curriculum is extremely rigorous and some of the physiology so far has been very poorly taught, so if you do come here, make sure you have good outside resources. This is probably the same at other DO schools. OMM is not so hardcore here, and the clinical professors are awesome. If you are like 99% of DOs and are coming to DO school because you missed the cutoff for MD school and have absolutely zero interest in this thing called OMM, you will appreciate the fact that you're not required to do an OMM rotation during clerkships.

Cross Campbell off your list, please.

 

[Rei02sDinnerParty]

KCU curriculum is extremely rigorous and some of the physiology so far has been very poorly taught, so if you do come here, make sure you have good outside resources. This is probably the same at other DO schools. OMM is not so hardcore here, and the clinical professors are awesome. If you are like 99% of DOs and are coming to DO school because you missed the cutoff for MD school and have absolutely zero interest in this thing called OMM, you will appreciate the fact that you're not required to do an OMM rotation during clerkships.

Cross Campbell off your list, please.

mm thx for giving me some more background on KCU! Based on your posts here and elsewhere, im somewhat worried that the extra work that KCU demands from its students doesn't really pay off in terms of step 1 prep. Do you think that's true?

Also, do you mind elaborating a bit on crossing off cusom? The deeper I go into this rabbit hole of comparing schools, the more fickle I become. I'm struggling to get a sense for whether the mandatory lecture would drown me or prop me up and keep me on target. The universal sentiment is that mandatory lecture is bad but I could see myself sitting in the back of the classroom working on whatever material we're reviewing in class, actively learning more independently while passively listening to the lecturer. Or is that me being idealistic about it?

Also, any thoughts on Des Moines? The one thing that turned me off was the fact that the curriculum is changing from traditional to block, but it would be for the following class. Also, the exam pace seems exhausting.


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[Chibucks15]

mm thx for giving me some more background on KCU! Based on your posts here and elsewhere, im somewhat worried that the extra work that KCU demands from its students doesn't really pay off in terms of step 1 prep. Do you think that's true?

Also, do you mind elaborating a bit on crossing off cusom? The deeper I go into this rabbit hole of comparing schools, the more fickle I become. I'm struggling to get a sense for whether the mandatory lecture would drown me or prop me up and keep me on target. The universal sentiment is that mandatory lecture is bad but I could see myself sitting in the back of the classroom working on whatever material we're reviewing in class, actively learning more independently while passively listening to the lecturer. Or is that me being idealistic about it?

Also, any thoughts on Des Moines? The one thing that turned me off was the fact that the curriculum is changing from traditional to block, but it would be for the following class. Also, the exam pace seems exhausting.


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I'm an M1 at DMU. Honestly the exam schedule isn't so bad. You get used to it fast and overall it helps you stay on the material. PM me with any questions you have best of luck

 

[sab3156]

mm thx for giving me some more background on KCU! Based on your posts here and elsewhere, im somewhat worried that the extra work that KCU demands from its students doesn't really pay off in terms of step 1 prep. Do you think that's true?

Also, do you mind elaborating a bit on crossing off cusom? The deeper I go into this rabbit hole of comparing schools, the more fickle I become. I'm struggling to get a sense for whether the mandatory lecture would drown me or prop me up and keep me on target. The universal sentiment is that mandatory lecture is bad but I could see myself sitting in the back of the classroom working on whatever material we're reviewing in class, actively learning more independently while passively listening to the lecturer. Or is that me being idealistic about it?

Also, any thoughts on Des Moines? The one thing that turned me off was the fact that the curriculum is changing from traditional to block, but it would be for the following class. Also, the exam pace seems exhausting.


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I don't think any DO school adequately prepares students for Step 1, because none of the faculty really understand what's on the Step 1.

The exam pacing at KCU is WAY more hardcore than one exam per 2-3 weeks. I'm not sure if we've ever had more than 2 full weeks between exams, and that is rare. We had our first Biochem exam the Monday of second week. We then had the final exam on Friday of the third week, with quizzes mixed in randomly. But it's not that bad. Taking more tests is good because it makes you feel pretty strong about taking them in the first place. To give you an idea of our last couple of weeks of this semester - Renal quiz, renal midterm, renal final, clinical medicine final, OMM practical, OMM quiz, OMM final. Yep.

If KCU's classes were mandatory, I think it would be hell on earth. I think you'd be happy at either DMU or KCUMB, but if you really like not having to do a required OMM rotation, pick KCU.

 

[Rei02sDinnerParty]

I'm an M1 at DMU. Honestly the exam schedule isn't so bad. You get used to it fast and overall it helps you stay on the material. PM me with any questions you have best of luck

Do you mind elaborating a bit on the nature of the exam pace and the amount of content covered in these frequent exams? I think my fear is studying for one exam at a time and cramming without enough room to learn. The way it was presented on my interview day made me think this might become an issue for me.


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[statlin98]

I would rule out Campbell. I was also accepted there this year, and it seems like an awesome school (with a pretty cool SIM lab). But it is still a fairly new school, and KCU & DMU are much more established. Plus CUSOM is in the middle of nowhere.

Between KCU & DMU I would pick whichever location I liked better. Also, how important is it to be near your SO? Yes DMU is closer but it's still gotta be at least 5 hours from Chicago. I'd say that if you liked KCU a lot more than DMU, I wouldn't let that distance be a factor.

Just follow your gut feeling of which school felt most like home!

Remember CUSOM is near Raleigh. Raleigh's a solid city, and a lot of CUSOM students live in Fuquay Varina, which is even closer to Raleigh.

 

[Chibucks15]

Do you mind elaborating a bit on the nature of the exam pace and the amount of content covered in these frequent exams? I think my fear is studying for one exam at a time and cramming without enough room to learn. The way it was presented on my interview day made me think this might become an issue for me.


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Essentially its about 10-11 lectures per exam so usually every two weeks. Except anatomy which is bigger. If you just stay disciplined and cover the material every day you'll make it through easy. There's more than enough time to get a grip on the material well enough

 

[Rei02sDinnerParty]

I don't think any DO school adequately prepares students for Step 1, because none of the faculty really understand what's on the Step 1.

The exam pacing at KCU is WAY more hardcore than one exam per 2-3 weeks. I'm not sure if we've ever had more than 2 full weeks between exams, and that is rare. We had our first Biochem exam the Monday of second week. We then had the final exam on Friday of the third week, with quizzes mixed in randomly. But it's not that bad. Taking more tests is good because it makes you feel pretty strong about taking them in the first place. To give you an idea of our last couple of weeks of this semester - Renal quiz, renal midterm, renal final, clinical medicine final, OMM practical, OMM quiz, OMM final. Yep.

If KCU's classes were mandatory, I think it would be hell on earth. I think you'd be happy at either DMU or KCUMB, but if you really like not having to do a required OMM rotation, pick KCU.

I'm definitely attracted to the block model (Campbell,KCU) vs. the traditional model (Des Moines) because you can devote yourself wholly to a topic before moving onto the next one.


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[Rei02sDinnerParty]

Remember CUSOM is near Raleigh. Raleigh's a solid city, and a lot of CUSOM students live in Fuquay Varina, which is even closer to Raleigh.

I'm not sure whether I'd consider it close to Raleigh based on the drive but I think being in a more rural setting might be conducive to focusing. I'd love to hear from some CUSOM students on my predicament.

Over the last 12 hours, I've changed my mind no fewer than 5 times.


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[Blanky]

Final choice?

 

[Rei02sDinnerParty]

Final choice?

I decided on KCU!

 

[DO_or_Die]

I decided on KCU!

Are you happy with your choice to KCU? I just got accepted and am trying to think of the pros and cons. I am kind of scared of the curriculum.