USF vs Belmont vs PCOM philly

[ron_johnson]

Hey guys I'm actually wait listed at USF and Belmont but wanted to get people's thoughts. I feel like the ranking here is probably USF > Belmont > PCOM. Cost will be pretty similar for each option.

USF
- MD
- Established school with affiliated hospital and residency programs
- warm weather
- Furthest from family/friends (I live in VA)

Belmont
- MD
- New school, I would be a guinea pig.
- No home residency programs.
- HCA affiliated?

PCOM
- DO
- Established school with good reputation
- Has some home residency programs (ortho, ENT, plastics)
- Closest to family/friends (also have some friends who are MD students in philly)

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[Bowel-Plumber]

USF without a question. If you get off the waitlist then that’s where you’re going.

As for the other two, I personally would choose PCOM. Not trying to be a guinea pig

 

[Dr.MambaMentality]

USF! MD program would open up far more opportunities for you. And between your two MD schools, USF is more established with a history of great match lists and has a great hospital and home residencies.

 

[Sandman23]

What specialty are you aiming for? Did you get to see how Belmont is?

 

[PhillyW]

USF first because MD, then PCOM otherwise. I like PCOM a lot personally and can’t speak to USF. I got in there and won’t be attending but it’s truly an awesome program from everything I’ve heard. There are plenty of research opportunities, inhouse residencies, well-known name and great match list, and being close to family is a huge bonus. However, idk how grading works at USF but PCOM is standard grading I believe and I’m pretty sure they’re doing a curriculum restructuring right now (correct me if I’m wrong).

 

[ron_johnson]

Hey guys bumping this because I got into Belmont. USF is still top choice, but any more thoughts on Belmont vs PCOM? I feel like the main pro of Belmont is MD and the main pro of PCOM is that it's just a really solid, established school vs Belmont being new. I do worry about my ability to match back to VA if I end up going to PCOM and wanting to do a competitive specialty, but I really don't know what I want to do atm. I get that typically MD>DO is always the advice but this seems like a special case.

 

[Sandman23]

Belmont is doing it's very best. I can tell from every interaction I had with them that they're doing what they can. The curriculum is solid - breaks with "Impact Weeks" between each module. An amazing quiz schedule as well (one quiz a week that's summative and another on the following week that's formative - both of which are on Fridays). So, you essentially have one quiz that matters every 2 weeks. The other one isn't graded / carries little value. Clerkship is P/F but pre-clerkship is letter grade. Seems very backwards but that's probably the only curriculum-related con for me

When I say all this, it definitely reflects the value I have on not being so high stress in med school. And honestly, it's not like it'll be out-of-this-world stress to have pre-clerkship letter grade. A lotta DO schools have it too. Not sure about PCOM so can't honestly compare them. I will say that I honestly struggle to find a MD school that I would choose over any DO schools I'm familiar with (including TCOM). Lmk if you need any more info on Belmont. I do my research with every school so I got a good archive of what the school has to offer

 

[golfer2345]

I would choose USF over Belmont and PCOM for sure. Would open up the most opportunities for you by far. P/F is a big deal to have, and Tampa is an awesome city.

 

[ron_johnson]

I would choose USF over Belmont and PCOM for sure. Would open up the most opportunities for you by far. P/F is a big deal to have, and Tampa is an awesome city.

Yeah usf is my top choice but what about Belmont vs pcom (I’m not accepted at Usf)

 

[golfer2345]

Yeah usf is my top choice but what about Belmont vs pcom (I’m not accepted at Usf)

Oh ok. That's a tough one, but PCOM is an established school w a good rep... we have no idea what Belmont will be like. Personally I think it is a toss up. But given that there are home residency programs and you have friends in the same city, I would go with PCOM

 

[AFilmDoctor]

Congrats on your A at Belmont and PCOM!! I'm a current M1 at PCOM, and I will say that I have really enjoyed my time here. PCOM has been without a doubt one of the most collaborative and inviting environments that I have been in, and it would certainly be a great place to go to. Of course, with any med school, there are some down sides that are experienced (e.g., graded curriculum and restructuring of the overall curriculum). Thankfully, these have not been absolute dealbreakers as of now.

With all of that said, I would consider Belmont. Although PCOM is an established school, has great connections, and has home residency programs for competitive specialties, getting an MD would open up more doors than going to PCOM imo.