MSUCOM vs. CCOM

[funfriendlyfiller]

Hello everyone! I am torn on this decision and would very much appreciate any guidance/advice you all can offer.

CCOM
Pros

• Close to family (I am an IL resident and will have two siblings within 30 minutes each from campus)
• Girlfriend (almost fiance) is also 30 minutes away and in her first year of dental school
• Precision Medicine research (I have multiple research projects as well as a master's degree in this field)
• Strong religious population/community (Muslim)
• Nice campus and I am familiar with the town/ location as I have lived in Illinois for the past 11 years
• I have connections across Chicago and rotations are all within Chicagoland
• I would ideally like to match into a competitive Internal Medicine Program, then Cardiology Fellowship within Chicago\
• Has the NIH research program I currently work with
• Good match list

Cons

• Tuition is insanely high (83k); when you add living expenses that's around 120k per year
• Graded ABCF and ranked
• Frequent Exams (like every week or two)

MSUCOM
Pros

• Cheaper (but not sure how much the tuition is exactly); I think it would be 44k for tuition and with all expenses around 70k yearly)
• Strong NIH research funding (I conduct research with the NIH currently through a specialized program)
• Bigger campus (I indicated East Lansing as 1 and Detroit as 2); I attended UIUC for undergrad so I imagine it would be a similar vibe
• Have siblings and aunts/uncles nearby
• Pass/Fail for preclinical; over 70% is a Pass (ranking is in tertiles)
• Good match list

Cons

• Not Chicago; not my hometown; everything would be new to me
• Multiple hours away from my girlfriend/ closer siblings
• Less connections in Michigan
• Rotations are spread out and not as concentrated (to the best of my knowledge
• Most students match and stay in Michigan

Summary: I have two weeks to decide. I was halfway through the HPSP Application for the VA because I was unsure of how to justify the cost for CCOM; I am trying to make the least financially burdensome decision possible, but CCOM and MSUCOM seem to be tied in terms of prospects.

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[irishdoc28]

I think if you can commit fully to doing HPSP (and therefore no debt) I would say CCOM. My uncle did the navy HPSP program after he also attended CCOM for medical school, and he says it was the best thing he had ever done. He said a military residency really helped him get involved in a lot of unique opportunities, and is the reason he is a trauma surgeon today (was quite unheard of 30 years ago for D.O.’s to do surgery). Yes the CCOM curriculum appears to be more intense due to frequent exams and grading policies (that is intimidating), but you could also look at it as more chances for you to keep consistent with learning material and demonstrate your knowledge for distinguishing yourself in residency apps. I think being close to home, with a strong Muslim community, with people you love, and in a city that is familiar will also help keep you grounded in stressful times.

That being said, without a scholarship like HPSP, I don’t know how such a steep cost difference ($50K a year) could be justified. Given that they both have good match lists, research you’re interested in, some family nearby, etc., I’d have to go with MSUCOM. You could literally use the $200K you save to take you and your fiancé on vacation 40 times lol. That would def make up for being long distance for 4 years too

I would definitely look into the HPSP program further and decide if it’s truly for you or not. It’s a great program, and it helped my uncle a lot in his professional goals and finances, but it’s best to look up other opinions on it—maybe specifically for those that ended up pursuing cardiology. There are a lot of HPSP testimonials on YouTube you could look into.

 

[funfriendlyfiller]

I think if you can commit fully to doing HPSP (and therefore no debt) I would say CCOM. My uncle did the navy HPSP program after he also attended CCOM for medical school, and he says it was the best thing he had ever done. He said a military residency really helped him get involved in a lot of unique opportunities, and is the reason he is a trauma surgeon today (was quite unheard of 30 years ago for D.O.’s to do surgery). Yes the CCOM curriculum appears to be more intense due to frequent exams and grading policies (that is intimidating), but you could also look at it as more chances for you to keep consistent with learning material and demonstrate your knowledge for distinguishing yourself in residency apps. I think being close to home, with a strong Muslim community, with people you love, and in a city that is familiar will also help keep you grounded in stressful times.

That being said, without a scholarship like HPSP, I don’t know how such a steep cost difference ($50K a year) could be justified. Given that they both have good match lists, research you’re interested in, some family nearby, etc., I’d have to go with MSUCOM. You could literally use the $200K you save to take you and your fiancé on vacation 40 times lol. That would def make up for being long distance for 4 years too

I would definitely look into the HPSP program further and decide if it’s truly for you or not. It’s a great program, and it helped my uncle a lot in his professional goals and finances, but it’s best to look up other opinions on it—maybe specifically for those that ended up pursuing cardiology. There are a lot of HPSP testimonials on YouTube you could look into.

Wow thank you so much for this response! Can I PM you to discuss the HPSP?

 

[irishdoc28]

Wow thank you so much for this response! Can I PM you to discuss the HPSP?

yes of course