Ranking for podiatric medical school.

[Pochan]

Hello. I am a pre-podiatric student and planning to apply next year. Can anybody tell me the ranking for podiatric school in general? ( the
most difficult to get in...easier to get in ) and also which school offer best scholarships? Thank you.

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[OSUDDS]

oh my god, use the search function.

i wish they had a smiley blowing his brains out with a shotgun.

 

[Dr_Feelgood]

Remember that rankings are subjective but there are a few threads on this topic. If you use the search function on the top toolbar you can find those threads.

 

[Feli]

It's not a hard and fast rule, but the less selective programs are generally the ones that give the better or more numerous scholarships. It makes intuitive sense that they'd be trying to attract better students.

As for ranking, you can search, but the programs wouldn't be accredited if they weren't adequate. If you want to do well, you will. I think the program rep is usually more based on student talent and performance than anything (and that goes back to selectivity and applicant quality). A lot of poor students like to blame their program for their bad results, and a graduating a lot of strong students also tends to get the school the "well that must be a good program" label. The bottom line is that there are strong and weak students at every school; some have more of one group or another...

 

[Pochan]

Thank you all for the advices. Yes, I checked the threads from here and got some idea about ranking.

 

[crhoody12]

I don't know how much this counts for ranking but some professor at Temple told me they were the best pod school

 

[JEWmongous]

I don't know how much this counts for ranking but some professor at Temple told me they were the best pod school

Yea I was told the same thing

 

[Makaveliforever]

This is the worst thread. I hate the question "rank the schools," especially when posted by pre-pod students. You are as good as a student as you want to be and can work hard to succeed at any of the schools. No offense but in my opinion it just tells me that you are worried about the wrong things. That's just my opinion, sorry if it sounds mean. I just wish people would get over the whole "ranking schools thing." It is totally subjective and nobody is right.

 

[Dr_Feelgood]

This is the worst thread. I hate the question "rank the schools," especially when posted by pre-pod students. You are as good as a student as you want to be and can work hard to succeed at any of the schools. No offense but in my opinion it just tells me that you are worried about the wrong things. That's just my opinion, sorry if it sounds mean. I just wish people would get over the whole "ranking schools thing." It is totally subjective and nobody is right.

Yeah and ugly people will tell you that it is what is inside that counts. As a pre-pod they should be asking "where will my road to success start". Some schools make it easier for a student to succeed b/c of reputation, facilities, educational programs, professional connections, academic structure, statistical outcomes, administrative leadership, ect. And when one is asked to rate a school, this is generally what is brought into the equation. While many things are subjective, there are many factors that are not subjective (some of those I listed above.)

Also, I say this in the least rude way, you just started pod school try not to look down upon those who were in your position months prior. Remember these people are going to be your colleagues one day.

 

[gustydoc]

Yeah and ugly people will tell you that it is what is instead that counts.

I am assuming you meant inside that counts. Didn't the dean of the Philly school claim that they were the Harvard of Podiatry schools? equally as funny.

 

[Dr_Feelgood]

I am assuming you meant inside that counts. Didn't the dean of the Philly school claim that they were the Harvard of Podiatry schools? equally as funny.

Yes, very funny. Darn spell check screwed up my joke but it has been corrected.

 

[Makaveliforever]

I was not trying to put anybody down. Ranking schools is just an annoying topic I guess. I agree that if you are interested in the field you should be asking all types of questions, I just think "ranking schools" is a silly one. It is just my opinion, not trying to put anybody down.

 

[Dr_Feelgood]

I was not trying to put anybody down. Ranking schools is just an annoying topic I guess. I agree that if you are interested in the field you should be asking all types of questions, I just think "ranking schools" is a silly one. It is just my opinion, not trying to put anybody down.

That is cool. The wording "especially when posted by pre-pod students" was what I saw as a put down.

I think we see eye to eye on the subject. I would have asked the same question 5 years ago, and I still think it is an important and valid question to be asked. There must be a reason why certain schools have good reputations and others do not. These "reputations" are not just held by the posters on SDN but by the residency and clerkship directors in our field.

 

[Makaveliforever]

I guess it does sound a bit offensive. Anyhow, im glad that you got my point now and everything's cleared up. I agree with what you are saying, and respect your opinion as I know you respect mine.

 

[Red Head]

Im not in podiatry school or have even interviewed or visited one, but by the looks of various sources on the net, almost every school has an advantage or disadvantage... ranging from scholarships, residency placement, location, board pass rate, volunteering, international aspects, cultural life, class size or number of students, curriculum (either paired with a DO school or not)... etc... even so some of these things are just opinionated

But, I understand that someone wants to be in the best school, who doesnt want the best education and opportunities?!... Just find the the most important characteristic that best fits you. Try to apply for say apx 3 schools, that you think you could like...
for example, for me it's Des Moines, Barry, and Temple (i have likes and dislikes about all of them)

Also, think about it... of course someone from their own school is going to say we are the best, why would you promote another school by saying "well actually this school is better because of this, or that school is better because they do that..."

i doubt there is one school better in all those topics or even most that i listed, it's the same for MD/DO ...

 

[Dr_Feelgood]

Im not in podiatry school or have even interviewed or visited one, but by the looks of various sources on the net, almost every school has an advantage or disadvantage... ranging from scholarships, residency placement, location, board pass rate, volunteering, international aspects, cultural life, class size or number of students, curriculum (either paired with a DO school or not)... etc... even so some of these things are just opinionated

But, I understand that someone wants to be in the best school, who doesnt want the best education and opportunities?!... Just find the the most important characteristic that best fits you. Try to apply for say apx 3 schools, that you think you could like...
for example, for me it's Des Moines, Barry, and Temple (i have likes and dislikes about all of them)

Also, think about it... of course someone from their own school is going to say we are the best, why would you promote another school by saying "well actually this school is better because of this, or that school is better because they do that..."

i doubt there is one school better in all those topics or even most that i listed, it's the same for MD/DO ...

You are definately right all of the schools have strengths and weakness. This just stresses the importance of knowing what you want out of a school and going to visit the schools in question. One also must be aware that some schools are not as honest as others. We have had a whole thread about lies told to prospective students. It may be worth a search..

 

[tleg121]

With OCPM's new facility and staff.....it is positioned as the number 1 podiatry school in America. The others will get better over time I'm sure, now that the bar has been raised.

 

[Dr_Feelgood]

With OCPM's new facility and staff.....it is positioned as the number 1 podiatry school in America. The others will get better over time I'm sure, now that the bar has been raised.

I'm not sure this is a joke but if it is not I respectfully disagree. I have not seen the OCPM new facilities but from what I have heard they are nice. But from talking to most people AZPOD, DMU, and Scholl have the nicest campuses. I say this for a number reasons. One, AZPOD is also brand new. Two, DMU is always replacing everything such as the new labs, gym ,ect, Scholl is also relatively new. But the biggest factor is all three of the schools have the advantage of sharing facilities w/ other programs, so they share the cost. That means new construction and equipment all of the time. If for no other reason than the DO or MD program wants to "keep up."

 

[NatCh]

Who is doing this ranking system? Is there a now a governing body or society that ranks the schools? When I was in school it was a mythical ranking system, pretty much made by the students at each school or someone on staff who was showing prospective students around, but there was no one who actually compared several aspects of each school and ranked them based upon any objective criteria. Is there now such a thing?

Nat

 

[gustydoc]

With OCPM's new facility and staff.....it is positioned as the number 1 podiatry school in America. The others will get better over time I'm sure, now that the bar has been raised.

This has got to be a sarcastic remark! I hate these ranking thread, but I just had to respond to that remark. That is a pretty new building though.

 

[Dr_Feelgood]

Who is doing this ranking system? Is there a now a governing body or society that ranks the schools? When I was in school it was a mythical ranking system, pretty much made by the students at each school or someone on staff who was showing prospective students around, but there was no one who actually compared several aspects of each school and ranked them based upon any objective criteria. Is there now such a thing?

Nat

Gusty and Jonwill do all of the rankings in their basements. Generally they come out every Monday right after the AP poll but lately Gusty has been too busy working in his nail saloon. I'm not sure when then next poll will be out.

What we need is a true championship tournament like other divsions such as dentistry, med schools, and local gangs.

 

[Red Head]

hehe

 

[NatCh]

Gusty and Jonwill do all of the rankings in their basements. Generally they come out every Monday right after the AP poll but lately Gusty has been too busy working in his nail saloon. I'm ont sure when then next poll will be out.

What we need is a true championship tournament like other divsions such as dentistry, med schools, and local gangs.

Maybe sudden death ping-pong, or as they says in China, "ping-pong?"

 

[tleg121]

Ha ha, no joke. Independence is one of the great things at OCPM, because the tuition dollars don't go to competing programs. And they have two brand new clinics that opened up, along with the ongoing Cleveland Clinic affiliation. It really has set itself up nicely to be at the top of podiatric education.

 

[gustydoc]

Gusty and Jonwill do all of the rankings in their basements. Generally they come out every Monday right after the AP poll but lately Gusty has been too busy working in his nail saloon. I'm not sure when then next poll will be out.

What we need is a true championship tournament like other divsions such as dentistry, med schools, and local gangs.

Awesome, do nail saloons serve booze?

 

[Feli]

Ha ha, no joke. Independence is one of the great things at OCPM, because the tuition dollars don't go to competing programs. And they have two brand new clinics that opened up, along with the ongoing Cleveland Clinic affiliation. It really has set itself up nicely to be at the top of podiatric education.

I disagree there.^ I'm guessing that you're starting there this fall, and it's not a bad choice. Still, saying that they are clearly the best program or that "the bar has been raised" is pretty naive. I'm normally not one for disparaging any pod school since I think unity among the profession is important, but you are really making some outlandish statements (and apparently believe them to be facts).

OCPM attracts some good students due to location and history, but the program is pretty well known for sharing most of their faculty with other area institutions. Those adjunct profs don't even have an office on the OCPM campus, and that doesn't make them very available to the pod students. I'm not talking about little 1cr classes either; I'm talking about important basic sciences such as anatomy, neuro, biochem, micro, physical diagnosis, etc. Look how many are "assistant" or "adjunct" professors...

OCPM:
http://www.ocpm.edu/departments/academic/pre-clinical/
http://www.ocpm.edu/departments/academic/general_medicine/

CWRU (formerly 1min away, now 13miles away):
http://dental.case.edu/faculty/landers.htm
http://www.case.edu/news/2004/11-04/brainslicer.htm
http://fpb.case.edu/faculty/Wright.shtm
http://casemed.case.edu/administration/admin_bio.cfm?id=14
http://studentaffairs.case.edu/health/about/staff.html

OCPM may have a new facility, and if the faculty has changed and hired more full-time basic sciences profs who will have offices at the school, good. If new full-time hirings were made, those might help to alleviate some of the professor accessibility or old test issues that OCPM has had. However, that certainly doesn't make the school "at the top" right away; it would make them unknown for now due to new facilities and faculty. I don't think any pod program without 100% or very close board pass rate year in and year out or high selectivity in their admissions process before they can really claim to be "the best." Also, you ideally want an affiliation with an MD or DO program and many full-time faculty whose main commitment is to the students of that program. I don't think OCPM has any one of those qualities, and they also do not offere dual degrees or support services (student health, etc) as many of the pod schools do. I'm not saying it's not a decent program, but "number 1 podiatry school in America" is currently quite a stretch.

Again, good students can come out of any program, and they do every year. A lot of the learning is self directed, but having good profs there and available is a key backup and also helpful for research.

 

[Buspar]

I disagree there.^ I'm guessing that you're starting there this fall, and it's not a bad choice. Still, saying that they are clearly the best program or that "the bar has been raised" is pretty naive. I'm normally not one for disparaging any pod school since I think unity among the profession is important, but you are really making some outlandish statements (and apparently believe them to be facts).

OCPM attracts some good students due to location, but the program is pretty well known for sharing most of their faculty with other area institutions. Those adjunct profs don't even have an office on the OCPM campus or being them very available to the pod students. I'm not talking about little 1cr classes either; I'm talking about important basic sciences such as anatomy, neuro, biochem, micro, physical diagnosis, etc. Look how many are "assistant" or "adjunct" professors...

OCPM:
http://www.ocpm.edu/departments/academic/pre-clinical/
http://www.ocpm.edu/departments/academic/general_medicine/

CWRU (formerly 1min away, now 13miles away):
http://dental.case.edu/faculty/landers.htm
http://www.case.edu/news/2004/11-04/brainslicer.htm
http://fpb.case.edu/faculty/Wright.shtm
http://casemed.case.edu/student_affairs/haynie.cfm
http://casemed.case.edu/administration/admin_bio.cfm?id=14

OCPM may have a new facility, and if the faculty has changed and hired more full-time basic sciences profs who will have offices at the school, good. If new full-time hirings were made, those might help to alleviate some of the professor accessibility or old test issues that OCPM has had. However, that certainly doesn't make the school "at the top" right away; it would make them unknown for now due to new facilities and faculty. I don't think any pod program without 100% or very close board pass rate year in and year out and be highly selective in their admissions process before they can really claim to be "the best." Also, you ideally want an affiliation with an MD or DO program and many full-time faculty whose main commitment is to the students of that program. I don't think OCPM has any one of those qualities, and they also do not offere dual degrees or support services (student health, etc) as many of the pod schools do. I'm not saying it's not a decent program, but "number 1 podiatry school in America" is currently quite a stretch.

Again, good students can come out of any program, and they do every year. A lot of the learning is self directed, but having good profs there and available is a key backup and also helpful for research.

Thanks for the info

 

[AlleghenyPOD]

Hello. I am a pre-podiatric student and planning to apply next year. Can anybody tell me the ranking for podiatric school in general? ( the
most difficult to get in...easier to get in ) and also which school offer best scholarships? Thank you.

Dude, search the threads. Its not that hard..

 

[tleg121]

You're right it was an excellent choice when I started, but you're wrong about me just starting. Once I was a first year pod student, and once I was pre-pod, but that is all in the past. I respect your opinion, however I know that most of us in the community have seen the changes as very positive for OCPM as they lead the board on podiatric education.

 

[Dr_Feelgood]

YoI respect your opinion, however I know that most of us in the community have seen the changes as very positive for OCPM as they lead the board on podiatric education.

What did you mean by this statment? I'm confused by the wording.

 

[gustydoc]

I'm not sure what he meant, but I hope it wasn't that they lead at taking the boards.

 

[dns3110]

I just thought that I would let you know that those professors do have offices there. The professors are actually there a lot since the school has moved to the new facility. But I will agree, in the past, that was not the situation. They were all over the place.

I disagree there.^ I'm guessing that you're starting there this fall, and it's not a bad choice. Still, saying that they are clearly the best program or that "the bar has been raised" is pretty naive. I'm normally not one for disparaging any pod school since I think unity among the profession is important, but you are really making some outlandish statements (and apparently believe them to be facts).

OCPM attracts some good students due to location and history, but the program is pretty well known for sharing most of their faculty with other area institutions. Those adjunct profs don't even have an office on the OCPM campus, and that doesn't make them very available to the pod students. I'm not talking about little 1cr classes either; I'm talking about important basic sciences such as anatomy, neuro, biochem, micro, physical diagnosis, etc. Look how many are "assistant" or "adjunct" professors...

OCPM:
http://www.ocpm.edu/departments/academic/pre-clinical/
http://www.ocpm.edu/departments/academic/general_medicine/

CWRU (formerly 1min away, now 13miles away):
http://dental.case.edu/faculty/landers.htm
http://www.case.edu/news/2004/11-04/brainslicer.htm
http://fpb.case.edu/faculty/Wright.shtm
http://casemed.case.edu/administration/admin_bio.cfm?id=14
http://studentaffairs.case.edu/health/about/staff.html

OCPM may have a new facility, and if the faculty has changed and hired more full-time basic sciences profs who will have offices at the school, good. If new full-time hirings were made, those might help to alleviate some of the professor accessibility or old test issues that OCPM has had. However, that certainly doesn't make the school "at the top" right away; it would make them unknown for now due to new facilities and faculty. I don't think any pod program without 100% or very close board pass rate year in and year out or high selectivity in their admissions process before they can really claim to be "the best." Also, you ideally want an affiliation with an MD or DO program and many full-time faculty whose main commitment is to the students of that program. I don't think OCPM has any one of those qualities, and they also do not offere dual degrees or support services (student health, etc) as many of the pod schools do. I'm not saying it's not a decent program, but "number 1 podiatry school in America" is currently quite a stretch.

Again, good students can come out of any program, and they do every year. A lot of the learning is self directed, but having good profs there and available is a key backup and also helpful for research.

 

[Feli]

I just thought that I would let you know that those professors do have offices there. The professors are actually there a lot since the school has moved to the new facility. But I will agree, in the past, that was not the situation. They were all over the place.

That's good, but are they the same faculty or all new? If they're the same, are they now full-time at OCPM or still part-time adjuncts and assistant or associate profs?

If they're the same and full-time now, I'm quite surprised that OCPM was able to outbid Case Western's med and dent programs for those faculty. If they're new profs, that's good, but they can't automatically be claimed as good as that poster above was doing.

 

[GoldenGustie]

I guess I just don't understand what the point of "ranking" our schools is, maybe someone can explain the relevance to me. The schools wouldn't be allowed to graduate students if they didn't pass accredidation standards and it can be argued to the end of days which school is better than the next. I just look at these posts and giggle to myself b/c most of it is pointless. Everyone will find that they fit best at a particular school and therefore that school is for them. If you want to talk about school rankings, go argue with the MD students and you'll probably make their day

Of course this is just my opinion and some people really care about rankings. As for me, I'm just happy to be where I am

Cheers all

 

[efs]

It might be helpful to have a little insight into why some choices were made.

Good students come out of all of the schools, and some poor students come out of all of the schools. That should make it clear that to at least some extent it depends on what you are bringing to the table and what you are putting into it.

I matriculated in 99, so Western wasn't an option then. I probably would consider it if I were applying today.

I ruled out California, too far from family etc. No ties out there. I ruled out Scholl and NYCPM as being too much in the "Big City" for me. Not really much more than that. I considered Barry, but decided against it based on some of what I was told by people I shadowed. Chalk that one up to reputation, deserved or not. Might have been personal bias, but that was what I had to go on.

Therefore I had narrowed it down to 3 schools to apply to, and I was granted interviews at Temple, DMU and OCPM. At that time only DMU and Temple were affiliated with other MD/DO programs and that put them a bit higher on my list, though I have family in OH, so that weighed in as well.

Some of it comes down to luck as well as what your impression is during interviews/visits. I scheduled interviews/visits with Temple on Monday, DMU on Friday and OCPM the following week.

Temple seemed OK, but while I was there it was cloudy, gray and ugly weather. I also noticed people seemed a bit on edge about security. Key cards to get in/out of a lot of doors, looking over shoulders, warnings about not wanting to bring a car into downtown, police station across the street and still having issues. Academics/facilities/etc seemed OK, but nothing to judge against.

DMU seemed almost a polar opposite. It was bright and sunny with clear blue skies the whole time I was there. Everyone was friendly, very safe environment. I left everything open in the back of my truck without a second thought. A couple of comments were made that keyed this in as well. Someone mentioned that if you left your wallet on the table and came back in an hour it would probably still be there. If not, someone was probably bringing it by your house, having gotten the address from your driver's license. Someone else remarked later that if you were lost and asked for directions, more likely than not the person would just stop what they were doing and take you there if they thought the directions might not be clear or you might have trouble finding it. The old building was kind of run down (but is no longer there.) The new facilities were top notch, and we were told we would probably have most of our classes there. (Turns out most of our first year classes were in the old building, but this shouldn't be an issue anymore.)

A lot of thinking on the drive home, but the two struck me as so different that DMU seemed the obvious choice. After getting home Monday, I called OCPM and canceled my interview. I was called back in less than 15 minutes and told that I would be accepted there without an interview if I wanted. I declined. I was called back a second time in less than 15 minutes and was told that not only would they grant me an acceptance, but could also offer a scholarship. This made me wonder a bit, and I declined again. I was called later that day by both DMU and Temple and offered acceptances.

Based on all of that, the choice seemed pretty clear to me. If I had it to do over today it might look a little different. I would probably still apply to DMU, Temple and OCPM but also consider Midwestern for all the same reasons. Probably also base my decision on what my perceptions were after the interviews/visits. Overall I thik I would still end up at DMU or probably OCPM, but as you can see there are more individual factors involved than just a schools reputation or location.

The best school will be different for each student depending on location, family issues, general impressions, etc.

I still feel you could get a good education at any of the schools, and for some one might be better than another, but generally for reasons other than the schools reputation.

Trying to "rank" the schools is an almost impossible task. What do you take into consideration?

At best I think you might be able to divide the 8 schools into 4 top tier schools and 4 bottom tier schools based on reputation and academics, but where each school would fall within that tier is up for grabs.

Just my take on it.

 

[Dr_Feelgood]

I guess I just don't understand what the point of "ranking" our schools is, maybe someone can explain the relevance to me. The schools wouldn't be allowed to graduate students if they didn't pass accredidation standards and it can be argued to the end of days which school is better than the next. I just look at these posts and giggle to myself b/c most of it is pointless. Everyone will find that they fit best at a particular school and therefore that school is for them. If you want to talk about school rankings, go argue with the MD students and you'll probably make their day

Of course this is just my opinion and some people really care about rankings. As for me, I'm just happy to be where I am

Cheers all

Why do people want you to rank the schools? Schools do have reputations in the residency world. I have talked to residents that jokingly don't "claim" were they graduated from b/c the school is "that bad."

Can you be successful at all of the schools? Yes. Can you get whatever residency you want if you work hard enough? Probably. But people will expect certain things from graduates of each program, probably b/c that is what they are used to.

• If program A has lower admissions standards, they may have more lower level students. So you maybe fighting a reputations when you get to a program not matter who you are.
  
• If program B has a very high admissions standards, programs may expect highly educated students, and therefore, a person may get the benefit of the doubt.

Some schools also have much higher expectations of their students, also adding to higher board pass rates. If a student is worried that they may be a marginal student and want to ensure they will pass the boards. They could attempt to get into a higher demand program.

So, why do people worry about rankings? Generally they are pre-pod students that want their education to be the best.

 

[GoldenGustie]

I totally agree with you Feelgood, but I just hate to see pre-pods (and Pre-Med students alike) put so much emphasis on school rankings. Yes they are important and may ultimately lead to a better residency, but I would hate to see a student make a decision based on school ranking rather than if they actually liked the school and thought it was a good fit for them. There are obviously many variables to be considered.

It is just one of those ugly things that will never go away and unfortunately either will the attempt to rank residency programs (which I am guilty of wondering and posting about myself).

Cheers all!

 

[NatCh]

During the course of my 3rd and 4th years, I roamed the country for different rotations and met students from every school. I did not notice much of a difference other than the ones from New York talked funny and the ones from Barry dressed funny. Seriously, there was not much of a noticeable academic difference. The basic core of podiatric didactic knowledge seems to be the same. That was 1994-1998, but back then there was also an unofficial heirarchy of schools, but depending on to whom I spoke, that ranking was different. Of course each student's own school was in the top tier somehow.

Personally I chose my school (DMU) based on how comfortable I felt on the campus and in the city. I ruled out Scholl because it was in such an urban setting (not my comfort zone) and ruled out CCPM because California was sure to fall into the ocean right when I got there (honestly, I ruled it out because the Admissions guy with whom I spoke was rude to me). My whole life I've been one to make decisions based on my gut feeling, so that's how I enrolled.

Nat

 

[Feli]

...At best I think you might be able to divide the 8 schools into 4 top tier schools and 4 bottom tier schools based on reputation and academics, but where each school would fall within that tier is up for grabs...

I think I agree with this. It makes the most sense and is discussed.

The consensus top teir is probably DMU, Scholl, Temple and AZ while that leaves NY, OCPM, Barry, and Cali lower. Where each school falls in its teir in the eyes of a residency's director and attendings probably depends a lot on who you ask or how good/bad the program's recent visitors from that pod school did. I'm sure it can't hurt you if your school matches the director's alma mater or the it's the school where he's found high quality residents in the recent past.

In the end, each program has their strengths and weaknesses and their hard working students and lazy ones. I agree with what was said above about the fact that residency directors know might know roughly what to expect from various programs based on academics, board pass rates, and general reputation of a school... those exist for a reason.

 

[Feli]

...the ones from Barry dressed funny...

Hey... just because music, fashion, etc trends might take 5 years to filter from Miami or NYC all the way to Iowa doesn't mean it's "funny."



Let's see... Lacoste, A/X, and Diesel have been popular here for 5+ years now, so they should start being the hot new thing in Des Moines any day now. There's these guys named Timberlake and Akon that should also be coming onto your local radio soon

 

[GoldenGustie]

Aren't wranglers and cowboy boots cool everywhere though...hmm

 

[NatCh]

Hey... just because music, fashion, etc trends might take 5 years to filter from Miami or NYC all the way to Iowa doesn't mean it's "funny."



Let's see... Lacoste, A/X, and Diesel have been popular here for 5+ years now, so they should start being the hot new thing in Des Moines any day now. There's these guys named Timberlake and Akon that should also be coming onto your local radio soon

Please tell your Barry classmates that is is NOT okay to wear bikinis and heels to clinic.

 

[jonwill]

Please tell your Barry classmates that is is NOT okay to wear bikinis and heels to clinic.

I KNEW I should have gone to Barry!

 

[dns3110]

For the most part, they are the same faculty as they were last year. As far as I know so far. There were a few changes, but that occurred "in house". Different DPM's taking the spot of others. I would still say that some of the basic science teachers are still adjuncts, but I would say it is more 75% to us, and 25% to the other school.

I'm not going to say that our school is the best out of all schools. I don't think that it is. But I went where I knew I would be happy. And I'm extremely happy here. People can go by rank all they want, but if they aren't happy at the school, then their grades will most likely suffer. So forget ranking, go where you think you will be happy. You're gonna spend at least 4 years there. Just throwing in my opinion.

That's good, but are they the same faculty or all new? If they're the same, are they now full-time at OCPM or still part-time adjuncts and assistant or associate profs?

If they're the same and full-time now, I'm quite surprised that OCPM was able to outbid Case Western's med and dent programs for those faculty. If they're new profs, that's good, but they can't automatically be claimed as good as that poster above was doing.

 

[Dr. Gangrene]

Now that I am offically in Pod school, it is confirmed. Azpod is definetly one of the top 8 pod schools.

 

[Cheetos]

Now that I am offically in Pod school, it is confirmed. Azpod is definetly one of the top 8 pod schools.

I second that! Azpod sure does rock

 

[Dr_Feelgood]

I think I agree with this. It makes the most sense and is discussed.

The consensus top teir is probably DMU, Scholl, Temple and AZ while that leaves NY, OCPM, Barry, and Cali lower. Where each school falls in its teir in the eyes of a residency's director and attendings probably depends a lot on who you ask or how good/bad the program's recent visitors from that pod school did. I'm sure it can't hurt you if your school matches the director's alma mater or the it's the school where he's found high quality residents in the recent past.

In the end, each program has their strengths and weaknesses and their hard working students and lazy ones. I agree with what was said above about the fact that residency directors know might know roughly what to expect from various programs based on academics, board pass rates, and general reputation of a school... those exist for a reason.

I would dare to say that the tiers are changing again. From my experience out and about, many feel that the split is more of a 3/5 with Temple falling hard and fast. Which makes a lot of older attendings unhappy b/c lots of big wigs came from the Penn College of Podiatric Medicine.

I agree w/ the alma mater comment but this is quickly changing for a few reasons. One, if the residency requires a state license, the student must be able to pass part 2 and 3 of the boards; so board pass rates are important even in residency. Two, residencies also have an ebb and flow. Most residents and podiatrist will agree that new programs are up and coming while some older programs are not in the same esteem any longer, this leads told loyalties being cast aside.

 

[PODonny]

I would dare to say that the tiers are changing again. From my experience out and about, many feel that the split is more of a 3/5 with Temple falling hard and fast.

So why the fall from grace (if such a fall has taken or is taking place)?

 

[NatCh]

So why the fall from grace (if such a fall has taken or is taking place)?

Fewer Temple students talking up their school on SDN perhaps?

 

[Dmayor22]

From the pods I have talked too, Temple has not/is not falling from grace. The majority of advice I have heard is that Des Moines is outstanding for your first two years and will more than likely put you well above your other school peers in the basic sciences. Temple has a strong slant on podiatric surgery and has strong residency connections and would be a solid chance from that perspective. The other schools (Scholl, Ohio, Barry, etc.) are okay and produce successful doctors but in general temple and des moines seem to have a stronger rep. The docs I have talked to, wouldn't/couldn't comment on AZPOD b/c it was so new but things seem to be fine. They also said the only schools that would avoid are Cali and NY.

Thats mostly what I hear from the Pods I talk with in my area. I will just now be applying to schools this coming up cycle and will hopefully have my personal experience to input but I thought for now I would share the advice I have been receiving. I also wanted to defend Temple a little since it seems like the students from that school do not frequent the board anymore.