I was fortunate enough to be accepted at both AZCOM and KCUMB. I'm having problems deciding. KCUMB has a new program/Dean with a good reputation. AZCOM has a great campus and reputation. My main focus areas are board success and residency placements. Can anyone shed any light on my dilemma???
AZCOM or KCUMB
- Thread starter DO#1
- Start date
- Joined
- May 10, 2013
- Messages
- 9,049
- Reaction score
- 8,528
The new dean is from RVUCOM and TCOM which have both been very high performing schools. The new program is just a change in the curriculum that is meant to get their students to score in the upper percentile for their board exams. From the information I have gotten from current MS1's is that the program is very intense but you learn a lot. KCUMB almost always matches more than half of their grads into ACGME programs
Also if you look at their website, AZCOM's graduation percentage rates have actually gone down? Not sure if this is just an anomaly but I would be concerned about that.
Can't speak much for either in terms of residency placement as that is highly variable between DO schools and very difficult to make a sound comparison between the two.
- Joined
- Sep 3, 2011
- Messages
- 1,460
- Reaction score
- 628
KCUMB will save you >$100,000. That's the most important factor.
- Joined
- Oct 15, 2011
- Messages
- 217
- Reaction score
- 21
Go to kcumb. It's a great school and tuition is much less.
- Joined
- Oct 5, 2007
- Messages
- 3,347
- Reaction score
- 3,116
I recently spoke to a few friends at AZCOM and heard their USMLE avg went down in the past few years. It's weird.
- Joined
- Apr 24, 2012
- Messages
- 1,062
- Reaction score
- 390
Both are the same in terms of reputation, match lists, and getting you where you want to go. Both have the majority of students dispersed across the country for clinical rotations (both a positive and negative). Ask yourself if you want to practice or live near the west coast; if yes, then AZCOM has the advantage. If you don't care for location during or after med school, KCUMB wins with the tuition.
- Joined
- Oct 5, 2007
- Messages
- 3,347
- Reaction score
- 3,116
The tuition difference is >$15k a semester.
Just think about that when picking a school.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Believe me, I know the impact of high tuition. OP's choices still boil down to tuition vs location. Not knowing his/her background, goals, family, etc, KCUMB is the better choice. However, if they have family or want a residency in the west coast, AZCOM may be the better choice. OP states their main concern are boards and residency placements. Boards are equal. Residency placement may be easier if you go to school in the same region (mainly in terms of convenience in traveling to auditions/sub-i's). Also don't underestimate location when it comes to family and friends. After first year, it gets harder to travel home and visit friends and family. Having them in close proximity can make med school a little less stressful. Just something for the OP to consider.
2nd yr AZCOM here. The basic sciences are great here. The profs are very very accessible and always have an open door policy. Boards? Sorry to say this but your step1 score is what you make it. No school is going to make you score higher passively. I'm in the thick of it right now, and it's all about personal discipline and time structuring.
Having said that. Medical education these days is an enormous bubble and it's going to pop someday, hard. I attend a school that seems to think they are immune to market economics and charge us top dollar tuition, meanwhile we see 1-2 new buildings being erected on campus in the last year for a new vet school, and new admin buildings. Also - there are many many acres of empty dirt flanking the current campus which if used would probably double the size of campus. So basically... it sure smells like the highest priorities are profiteering and expansionism, instead of being focused on providing some cost savings to students in these tough economic times.
tldr:
1) Azcom provides a great pre-clinical education.
2) Boards are what you make it, don't expect a school to boost your score. All about self discipline here.
3) Years 1-2 could be learned by anybody with books, videos, and enough discipline. As long as your school has a decent reputation, go for it.
4) Go where you have the least debt in the end. Medical schools are money making machines, avoid as much debt as possible.
Having said that. Medical education these days is an enormous bubble and it's going to pop someday, hard. I attend a school that seems to think they are immune to market economics and charge us top dollar tuition, meanwhile we see 1-2 new buildings being erected on campus in the last year for a new vet school, and new admin buildings. Also - there are many many acres of empty dirt flanking the current campus which if used would probably double the size of campus. So basically... it sure smells like the highest priorities are profiteering and expansionism, instead of being focused on providing some cost savings to students in these tough economic times.
tldr:
1) Azcom provides a great pre-clinical education.
2) Boards are what you make it, don't expect a school to boost your score. All about self discipline here.
3) Years 1-2 could be learned by anybody with books, videos, and enough discipline. As long as your school has a decent reputation, go for it.
4) Go where you have the least debt in the end. Medical schools are money making machines, avoid as much debt as possible.
