Your School Choise

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Schankey37

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Schankey37 said:
I am currently involved in the interview process and figuring out which school is the best fit for me. I am sure that a lot of the same criteria that I am using to rank my schools is similar( if not the same) as used by other students. However, I am requesting that those who have been accepted post what was/were the mean reason/reasons that they chose their school. I do not intend for this to become a school bashing match about who is best. I just would like to see what were the reason for your choice. I am doing this to see if something that you felt was important, I am overlooking. Thanks in advance!
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there is a sticky that basically covers every school. try looking there.
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=412091
 
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Schankey37 said:
I was just looking to have a little fun with this thread and see what other circumstances other students used in their decisions.
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You're better off using the search function and looking for information that is important for you. If can't find answers, after searching extensively, then go ahead and ask questions.
 
I chose DMU over Scholl and Azpod strictly based on the Iowa sweet corn
 
the underground tunnels at DMU definitely sealed the deal for me
 
DMU also has complimentary moist towlettes at the cafe
 
I chose the School of Podiatric Medicine at Hogwarts because Harry said I should and who can ignore Harry.
 
Chicago deep dish pizza > New York, folding in half makes no sense, pizza

Chicago Italian beef > Philly cheese steak

Wisconsin cheese (very close to North Chicago) > California "happy cow" cheese

Illinois corn > Iowa corn

'nuff said
 
janV88 said:
Chicago deep dish pizza > New York, folding in half makes no sense, pizza

Chicago Italian beef > Philly cheese steak

Wisconsin cheese (very close to North Chicago) > California "happy cow" cheese

Illinois corn > Iowa corn

'nuff said
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So you chose NY?:)
 
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janV88 said:
Illinois corn > Iowa corn
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seriously? everything on your list was fine until this. this is blasphemy. just say Illinois = Not Iowa. You can insult our love of Elk's Clubs/American Legion, our lack of sports teams, and our women, but you can't in all consciousness say illinois sweet corn stacks up to Iowa sweet corn.
 
To get back to the OP's original request... I chose DMU because of the sweet corn.
 
krabmas said:
So you chose NY?:)
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Very funny...

I have to give it to u guys on 1 thing...you guys make one heck of a plain cheese pizza.

air bud said:
seriously? everything on your list was fine until this. this is blasphemy. just say Illinois = Not Iowa. You can insult our love of Elk's Clubs/American Legion, our lack of sports teams, and our women, but you can't in all consciousness say illinois sweet corn stacks up to Iowa sweet corn.
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Ok I admit...the corn thing was quite a stretch but I just thought that bringing up sports teams would be a low blow. :D

Anyways...North Chicago FTW!
 
To give you a serious answer I chose Temple. I shadowed a few doctors and the ones who went there were very happy with it. I visited a few of the schools. Temple has a very nice clinic right next to the class building, and in the long run when you are a practicing podiatrist your clinical knowledge is the most important thing. Temple has a great reputation. It is affiliated with a major university, so it has a lot of resources.
 
Hey, Iowa gave Kurt Warner a chance in the old AFL...I'm 99.9% sure he wouldn't have won a Super Bowl, led the Arizona Cardinals to another, and retired as one of the NFL's all-time good guys had he not played for the Barnstormers.

All Illinois has is Michael Jordan...BFD
 
Really you guys? Really? Really? Corn? Kurt Warner and Michael Jordan? Really? The guy asked a serious question and your giving him chicago deep dish and garlic knots. Yea thats real helpful and some of you i know are actually helpful so lets do it the right way. I chose Barry over temple and OCPM. A few reasons: Barry gave me a scholarship, the admin staff was friendly, the clinical tour was by far more comprehensive and the surrounding area was sweet. Granted the city of miami shores has issues but the nearby areas looked great and I wouldnt mind living there for the next 4 years. I just liked the school and got a great vibe plus I already kinda know 1guyfromFL so that was another bonus of going there and meeting him personally.
 
You're absolutely right Bearsfosho. Sorry about that. Now back to the OP.

When I chose Scholl I made that decision based on where I thought I would succeed the most. I looked at things like entering stats, curriculum, location, clinicals, externships, etc. I asked myself questions like...did I like the way classes would be taught? How about class schedule? Number of externships? could I live here for the next 4 years? And I also looked past the "numbers". I looked at my gut feeling. Where did I feel most comfortable? In my opinion, this is the most important aspect of a school. If you are comfortable, you will be more likely to enjoy your time and succeed.
 
Obviously bears has never had iowa sweet corn before....

Listen, the reality is you go with your gut. If a president can do it, so can you. As pre-pods, you guys (and me a year ago) only know stuff via school propoganda and second hand knowledge. Those are the facts. You can trust some opinions more than others, but you go where you feel most comfortable. If you feel the need to talk yourself into believing that your clinic is better, integrated schools are better or you got scholarships, go ahead.
 
I chose AZpod for a few reasons over DMU and Scholl:

1. Been in the Midwest for 5 years - felt like experiencing new scenery/lifestyle/environment/atmosphere/people/weather
2. Grew up in New England - willing to trade harsh winters for a few years of harsh summers (DMU and Scholl obviously don't help with the winter aspect)
3. Never lived in the Southwest
4. Program is new and built from the ground up with Vision 2015 in mind by Dr. Page
5. Faculty and current students made me feel exceptionally welcome (the same can be said for Scholl and DMU)
6. I got the vibe that I just "fit in" at AZpod (I felt very comfortable at DMU as well) - many students were about my age (27) and married with kids/kids on way/kids in mind
7. Family considerations - Larger city makes it easier for my wife to find work than at Des Moines; real estate is abundant, cheap and attractive; direct flights to family.

After talking things over with my wife, AZpod just seemed to be the better fit for us. Granted, I had to turn down scholarship offers from DMU and Scholl, but that was the choice we made. Personally, I really enjoyed my interview at DMU very much. However, Arizona has more job openings for attorneys than Des Moines, so that was an important deciding factor. Family/spousal considerations may not be in the cards for all pre-pod/pod students, but it was for me.

Honestly, I think I would be getting the same quality of education at any of the three schools I interviewed and was accepted (DMU, Scholl and AZpod). The students and faculty I met at each place were all very motivated, very accomplished, very hard working, and very successful. Everyone's circumstances are different, so take into consideration what matters most to you, go where you feel most comfortable and where you think you will thrive/succeed the most, make a choice, and be happy with what you choose. Best of luck!:)
 
and there you have it folks. 2 good examples of people doing what they felt were the right decisions for them personally, for the most part not based on awesome clinics. I think you can get a good education at most if not all schools. How much you put into depends on how much you want it. If you are miserable in your personal life/lack there of, you are not going to want to succeed, regardless of great your school is. Do what's right for you. Thus, visit as many schools as possible. Perspective is great. I appreciate DMU more after having visited other schools because I know it was the right fit for me, just like i appreciate my wife more in comparison to all the crazy girls before her. I am sure I could have been successful at other schools, I felt like it would be easier for me to be successful by being close to home and friends and not needing to deal with change when there was already so much coming.
 
Before interviewing I asked the podiatrists I shadowed their opinions about the current podiatry schools. They knew recent graduates, and had attended some conferences where some students had done presentations. Basically the consensus was that all schools would give you a decent podiatric medical education, but there are other factors that make some schools stand above the rest. After considering some of those factors like clinicals, curriculum, affiliations with medical schools, actual integration with medical schools, and location. I decided that I would only apply to schools affiliated with medical schools. I only accepted interview invites to WesternU, AZPOD, and DMU. After my interviews I realized that AZPOD was the perfect fit for me. I loved the facilities, and Dean Page was really cool and personable. This was the location my wife wanted to come to the most as well. We have family there, and it is a direct flight for our other family members. The integration is another reason I chose AZPOD even though DMU and WesternU are integrated I felt like AZPOD focused more on the team approach. After interviewing at Western I decided that it wasn't a good fit for me. Location wasn't what I wanted, and I also didn't want to be a part of the growing pains associated with the pre-accredited program only a single year old. DMU blew me away, but in the end I couldn't convince myself it was any better than AZPOD. I have grown up in Canada, lived four years in Idaho and now I need a little Vitamin D. Bring on the sunshine!
 
I guess its my turn.
I love NYCPM because its in NYC. For dinner, I think I'll have garlic knots, a regular slice, and a snapple from the place right below me.
If you need me, I'll be downtown in the greatest city on earth.
PS School is cancelled tomorrow!
 
there you go. we all get similar educations, but some of us want to get lost in a sea of people and some of us want to get lost in a sea of corn.
 
What is everyone's opinion on Barry University?
 
DrBello said:
What is everyone's opinion on Barry University?
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Click on the link that someone posted, up a few comments. THere were some good comments in there about Barry and living in Miami. As far as the program and facilities, it is not the same as it was 3 or more years ago. Changes include:
Facilities- New POD/PA building that the 3rd and 4th years use. In the new building are the labs for Pod Med, biomechanics, Radiology, and Physical Diagnosis. The anatomy lab has had a huge face lift and is a lot better. The two lecture halls for the 1st and 2nd years received new tables and chairs (much, much better).
Curriculum- With the new interim dean and new academic dean, many changes have taken place and some more are coming. There are also a few teachers they replaced, who are much better. Clinical curriculum is being revamped right now. So they are improving upon their weaknesses.

Like everyone has said, Go where you will succeed. Make an excel spreadsheet or something where you can compare the pros and cons. Give a ranking to each pro and con and tally up the results. That's why I am in Miami. Things have worked out great so far. Could I have done well at other places? sure.
 
I chose Temple because I want to do prosthetics, and they offer the only DPM/PHd in biomedical engineering. I liked the environment in AZ better, but I'm sure Philly will be an adventure, since I'm from the West. The other deciding factor for me was the massive clinical exposure Temple's clinic offers - I believe that clinic sees about as many patients as all the other school clinics combined. Plus, 11,000 scholarship! :luck:
 
BlueMerlin said:
Temple's clinic offers - I believe that clinic sees about as many patients as all the other school clinics combined.
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Really ??? Is this excluding New York and Barry clinics?
 
382872931.jpg
 
yeah but on the flip-side, the the excruciating heat sucks in the summer. Who wants a summer of 100+ average temps? At least in the cold you can put more layers on. There is only so much you can take off in AZ or FL.

0809statewidetempranks.gif
 
catchburns said:
yeah but on the flip-side, the the excruciating heat sucks in the summer. Who wants a summer of 100+ average temps? At least in the cold you can put more layers on. There is only so much you can take off in AZ or FL.
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I'll take hot summers over cold winters. :thumbup:

Shorts + flip flops + beach on Christmas Day = my kind of place.

For what it's worth, I have lived in FL for over 10 years and the heat and humidity in July/August did take some getting used to.
 
Fairly recent and you even made wiki, congrats.
About the hot weather, true there is only so much you can take off...but then again the miami girls aren't afraid to challenge that statement (schwing!). Recently we've had a "cold front" though. Besides father's day I've never seen so many Miami people confused.

map.jpg
 
sorham said:
hurricane%20map%20of%20florida.jpg
C:%5CUsers%5CSorensen%5CDesktop%5Cnamed-hurricane-fran.gif
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What year was this from? I havent experienced anything close to this yet...knock on wood. My 2 years here have been mild with no threat of a hurricane. I could sneak out of here with no hurricane. I grew up right near the faults in the bay area (California) without feeling an earthquake. So the "nuff said" really doesn't mean anything with this pic, sorry dude. Next?
 
Lets see what research says about the happiest states. dated a few months ago. Instead of taking a small sample of SDN students, we'll look at larger studies.
http://www.livescience.com/culture/091217-happy-state-list.html

3. Florida
5. Arizona
31. Iowa
41. Pennsylvania
44. Ohio
45. Illinois
46. California
51. New York (51 states because D.C. was included)

There are actually lots of these kind of surveys and they differ, but I liked these results.
 
To quote Ari Gold..."Nobody's happy in this town except for the losers. Look at me. I'm miserable. That's why I'm rich."

:D

Edit: All kidding aside...I wonder how that happiness research was done and how accurate they really are.
 
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That list of "Happy" states is bogus. Look how happy air bud looks in this picture...I mean this is a man who lives and breathes sweet corn

august2009-thumb.jpg
 
Paulywog, I think Duane Reade is having a sale on Senses of Humor. Perhaps you could pick one up.
 
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