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OUWB all the way. It has a great affiliated hospital system, offers lower tuition, and is overall a well established school with plenty of opportunities. CNU has way too many issues to be worth considering unless it was your only option (and it isn't).
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California Northstate University College of Medicine(CNUCOM): Avoid this school at all costs!
The LCME has recently denied CNUCOM full accreditation status and instead placed them on "provisional, on probation" status. I have been researching this school for months after multiple students and hundreds of Elk Grove residents were affected by this institution. I am posting this for the...
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While there's a risk that you would not get a residency slot in California if you go to a school out-of-state, at CNU there's the risk that they lose accreditation and you're out many thousands of dollars with no degree and no way to get any residency slot.
How much do you value location vs opportunity?
The only thing CNU offers you is a California residency. I could argue that isn't a guarantee either, given the shaky ground it's been on. If you are 100% certain that staying in California is what you need to thrive, then consider CNU.
Otherwise, OUWB is better in everyway. In fact, if you make the most out of the opportunities there, you would be a more attractive candidate then someone from CNU.
Also, it's not like going to OUWB will erase any prior connection you had to California... You were born there. You have family there. It's pretty clear there is a legitimate reason for someone like you to apply for residency from out of state. You can also pursue away rotations there to build connections and further cement your intention returning.
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Subsidized loans and lower tuition.
Hey, I'm from the Sacramento area and made essentially the same decision about 4 years ago to come to the east coast for med school. I would highly recommend OUWB for the reasons most people have stated above: private loans do not qualify for PSLF, so if you happen to work for a non-profit hospital for 10 years (including residency), then attending CNU could be a mistake worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. Additionally, federal loan income based repayment plans (ie the SAVE plan) are FAR superior to anything that a private loan company can offer.
For example, I have accumulated about $260k of federal loans, so interest is accumulating at about $1200/month at my low federal interest rate of 5.5% on average. When I start residency next month, I will begin making $0 monthly payments based on my 2023 $0 income. This is nice because these $0 payments qualify for PSLF and all interest that would have accumulated is forgiven while I am making payments. Once I report my 2024 income, I will start making payments of about $150/month. So, I will be saving over $1000/month in interest all 4-5 years of residency just because I have federal loans (to add up, this will be somewhere in the ballpark of $50-60k in interest).
At the end of the day, if you choose CNU, I am not a doomsday-ist who is going to tell you that you will lose your spot at med school, and I think CNU has actually had a decent match. However, based purely on money, you will save hundreds of thousands of dollars by attending OUWB and avoiding predatory private loans.
Additionally, having home residency programs is a game changer. It helps a ton with research, networking, and LORs. You are always most likely to match at your home program. CNU will not have their hospital and residency programs up and running by the time you graduate, if ever. If you want dermatology (in any state), the name of your school matters, and CNU's name is not good. OUWB has multiple associated derm programs. Meanwhile, CNU has never matched a derm applicant into a CA residency position, even though they are in CA.
For example, I have accumulated about $260k of federal loans, so interest is accumulating at about $1200/month at my low federal interest rate of 5.5% on average. When I start residency next month, I will begin making $0 monthly payments based on my 2023 $0 income. This is nice because these $0 payments qualify for PSLF and all interest that would have accumulated is forgiven while I am making payments. Once I report my 2024 income, I will start making payments of about $150/month. So, I will be saving over $1000/month in interest all 4-5 years of residency just because I have federal loans (to add up, this will be somewhere in the ballpark of $50-60k in interest).
At the end of the day, if you choose CNU, I am not a doomsday-ist who is going to tell you that you will lose your spot at med school, and I think CNU has actually had a decent match. However, based purely on money, you will save hundreds of thousands of dollars by attending OUWB and avoiding predatory private loans.
Additionally, having home residency programs is a game changer. It helps a ton with research, networking, and LORs. You are always most likely to match at your home program. CNU will not have their hospital and residency programs up and running by the time you graduate, if ever. If you want dermatology (in any state), the name of your school matters, and CNU's name is not good. OUWB has multiple associated derm programs. Meanwhile, CNU has never matched a derm applicant into a CA residency position, even though they are in CA.
I would say it makes more sense from a financial perspective and a planning for your future perspective. There are simply more doors open to you at OUWB (or I guess no door is really *closed* at CNU since it’s still USMD, but maybe the door is substantially less open by comparison), especially in dermatology. The nice thing is that the Detroit airport has solid flights. When I interviewed there for residency, I think I saw that they fly direct into Sac, if that helps you at all.
Like I said, I came out east, and it has been a really positive experience. It is very doable to match back into California, and many of my classmates did, but it really depends how competitive you are for your specialty. CA derm literally could not be any more competitive haha.
Is the ouwb tuition based off a scholarship?
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You might want to check into what happened to San Juan Bautista seniors when their school lost accreditation.
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CA resident here, avoid CNU. Close to family is overrated. My n=1 is in east coast and doing fine.
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