Acceptance rates of COM schools

[group_theory]

Sometimes while on clinical rotations, you find yourself with lots of free time (especially when on call on the weekend). So to help out those who will be joining the admission game this coming application cycle, here's the Fall 2005 acceptance rate of various osteopathic schools, as reported by USNews (so blame them for inaccuracies, not me). Also, I do not know if the numbers include branch campuses or not.

Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine/Midwestern University (AZCOM)
*This school refused to fill out the U.S. News survey
Acceptance rate: N/A

Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine/Midwestern University (CCOM)
Acceptance rate: 23.2%

Des Moines University Osteopathic Medical Center(DMU)
Acceptance rate: 18.7%

Edward Via Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine (VCOM)
Acceptance rate: 15.3%

Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences KCUMB (formerly known as University of Health Sciences College of Osteopathic Medicine UHS-COM, as listed in USNews)
*This school refused to fill out the U.S. News survey
Acceptance rate: N/A

Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine/AT Still University (KCOM)
Acceptance rate: 14.7%

Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (LECOM)
Acceptance rate: 12.2%

Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine (MSU-COM)
Acceptance rate: 17.2%

New York College of Osteopathic Medicine/NYIT (NYCOM)
Acceptance rate: 16.4%

Nova Southeastern University College of Osteopathic Medicine (NSU-COM)
Acceptance rate: 14.4%

Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine (OUCOM)
Acceptance rate: 6.7%

Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences (OSU-COM)
Acceptance rate: 27.5%


Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM)
Acceptance rate: 10.8%

Pikeville College School of Osteopathic Medicine (PSCOM)
Acceptance rate: 26.9%

Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine/UNTHSC (TCOM)
Acceptance rate: 10.4%

Touro University College of Osteopathic Medicine (TUCOM)
Acceptance rate: 13.3%

University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jershey - School of Osteopathic Medicine (UMDNJ-SOM)
Acceptance rate: 7.9%


University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine (UNECOM)
Acceptance rate: 9.0%

West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine (WVSOM)
Acceptance rate: 19.0%

Western University College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific (COMP)
Acceptance rate: 23.1%

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[poormansDO]

can you provide a definition of what acceptance rate means.

 

[DragonWell]

can you provide a definition of what acceptance rate means.

I would assume it would refer to the percentage of students accepted out of the total number of applications recieved by the school.

A couple schools I interviewed at threw out the ballpark figure that they get about 2000 applications a year (which is pretty close to the available AACOMAS's figures, at least for 2004). Assuming an average acceptance rate is about 15% that would be 300 acceptances...seems reasonable - if around half actually matriculate you end up with a class of ~150.

 

[dr.z]

can you provide a definition of what acceptance rate means.

Percent of students getting accepted.

 

[OSUdoc08]

Sometimes while on clinical rotations, you find yourself with lots of free time (especially when on call on the weekend). So to help out those who will be joining the admission game this coming application cycle, here's the Fall 2005 acceptance rate of various osteopathic schools, as reported by USNews (so blame them for inaccuracies, not me). Also, I do not know if the numbers include branch campuses or not.

Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine/Midwestern University (AZCOM)
*This school refused to fill out the U.S. News survey
Acceptance rate: N/A

Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine/Midwestern University (CCOM)
Acceptance rate: 23.2%

Des Moines University Osteopathic Medical Center(DMU)
Acceptance rate: 18.7%

Edward Via Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine (VCOM)
Acceptance rate: 15.3%

Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences KCUMB (formerly known as University of Health Sciences College of Osteopathic Medicine UHS-COM, as listed in USNews)
*This school refused to fill out the U.S. News survey
Acceptance rate: N/A

Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine/AT Still University (KCOM)
Acceptance rate: 14.7%

Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (LECOM)
Acceptance rate: 12.2%

Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine (MSU-COM)
Acceptance rate: 17.2%

New York College of Osteopathic Medicine/NYIT (NYCOM)
Acceptance rate: 16.4%

Nova Southeastern University College of Osteopathic Medicine (NSU-COM)
Acceptance rate: 14.4%

Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine (OUCOM)
Acceptance rate: 6.7%

Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences (OSU-COM)
Acceptance rate: 27.5%


Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM)
Acceptance rate: 10.8%

Pikeville College School of Osteopathic Medicine (PSCOM)
Acceptance rate: 26.9%

Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine/UNTHSC (TCOM)
Acceptance rate: 10.4%

Touro University College of Osteopathic Medicine (TUCOM)
Acceptance rate: 13.3%

University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jershey - School of Osteopathic Medicine (UMDNJ-SOM)
Acceptance rate: 7.9%


University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine (UNECOM)
Acceptance rate: 9.0%

West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine (WVSOM)
Acceptance rate: 19.0%

Western University College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific (COMP)
Acceptance rate: 23.1%

Note that for public schools, the acceptance rate will most apply to in-state students.

 

[Punchap]

A little nervous about some of those numbers, esp. since my top choice is OUCOM. Oh well. Thanks for the post.
-punchap

 

[mj1878]

Actually, for TUCOM-MI, there were 4,000 primaries, 2,000 secondaries granted, and 400 interviewed for 100 spots(135 total, but 35 were early decision from the previous year)... That makes a 4% acceptance rate.

 

[group_theory]

Actually, for TUCOM-MI, there were 4,000 primaries, 2,000 secondaries granted, and 400 interviewed for 100 spots(135 total, but 35 were early decision from the previous year)... That makes a 4% acceptance rate.

Several problems with the analysis.

First, those numbers seem arbitrary and without outside confirmation. Also, the numbers seem too "round"

In the 2002-2003 application cycle, TUCOM received 1,805 applicants. In the 2003-2004 cycle, TUCOM received 1,942 applicants, a nice 7.6% increase.
Here you are suggesting that for the 2005-2006 application cycle, there were 4,000 applicants, an increase of 106% (compare to the 2003-2004 cycle)

AACOM is reporting (rough figures) a 12.07% increase in applicants (overall) in 2005 compare to 2004. There were 736 applicants from CA in 2005 (a decrease from 2004, where there were 763).

Sources:
Annual AACOMAS update
http://www.aacom.org/data/advisorupdate/index_files/frame.html
2004 Annual Report on Osteopathic Medical Education
http://www.aacom.org/data/annualreport/slideshow/index.html

Edit: The person I'm replying to specifically mentioned TUCOM-MI having 4000 applicants. But the numbers may be more reasonable if you combine the two campuses of MI and NV (although if someone applied to both TUCOM-MI and NV, would you double-count that applicant in the total for TUCOM?)

 

[Nate]

Actually, for TUCOM-MI, there were 4,000 primaries, 2,000 secondaries granted, and 400 interviewed for 100 spots(135 total, but 35 were early decision from the previous year)... That makes a 4% acceptance rate.

This is flawed because medical schools accept many more than their "class size" considering not everyone accepted attends. Many people have multiple acceptances, defer, or decide not to go.

 

[Doc Oc]

Back to another poster's question, what is meant by "acceptance rate" with regards to these stats? What are the percentages a percentage of? % of primary applicants, of those who sent back their secondaries, of those interviewed?

Depending on which group the number is a percentage of, these stats are very misleading. Many people don't send back all of their secondaries or accept all of their interviews. Some of the primary applications could have been withdrawn when other acceptances are received even before there was a chance to send a secondary or iinterview invite. For this reason, it's not really useful to know what % of primary applicants are accepted, since many of them didn't finish trying to gain acceptance. It falsely increases the difficulty of getting into some of these schools.

So once the denominator in the percentage accepted equation is figured out, what was being used as the numerator? Acceptances offered, or acceptances "accepted" by applicants?

Only the OP knows the numerator and denominator of the equation used to calculate these numbers. Anyone can "guess" and "assume" at the definition of "acceptance rate", but what would really make this post helpful would be to post what it means in this instance.

 

[MikeyLu2010]

Actually, for TUCOM-MI, there were 4,000 primaries, 2,000 secondaries granted, and 400 interviewed for 100 spots(135 total, but 35 were early decision from the previous year)... That makes a 4% acceptance rate.

so they only accept the exact number of ppl for seatss available...

 

[group_theory]

Only the OP knows the numerator and denominator of the equation used to calculate these numbers. Anyone can "guess" and "assume" at the definition of "acceptance rate", but what would really make this post helpful would be to post what it means in this instance.

Guess since I'm the OP, I should answer this. I got these numbers from USNews.com. Their definition of Acceptance Rate is "the proportion of applicants to the 2005 entering class who were offered admission."

And yes, you shouldn't read too much into acceptance rate. There are many factors that may have influenced it. Perhaps an out-of-state tuition of $50,000 might decrease the number of out-of-state applicants, thus lowering total applicants, and along with in-state preference, will result in a higher "acceptance rate". Perhaps there were rumors that a school might lose accreditation, so fewer applicants apply, and hence "higher acceptance rate". Perhaps there was a rumor that HOCM (Hawaii Osteopathic College of Medicine) placed 100% of their graduates into pediatric cardiothoracic surgery and subsequently had a 10^23% increase in applicants, thus having an acceptance rate of 6.64 x10^-34%.

I just thought applicants would be interested in knowing the numbers.



[size=-2] Several inside jokes placed in the post. Some are more obvious than others.[/size]

 

[mj1878]

Several problems with the analysis.

First, those numbers seem arbitrary and without outside confirmation. Also, the numbers seem too "round"

In the 2002-2003 application cycle, TUCOM received 1,805 applicants. In the 2003-2004 cycle, TUCOM received 1,942 applicants, a nice 7.6% increase.
Here you are suggesting that for the 2005-2006 application cycle, there were 4,000 applicants, an increase of 106% (compare to the 2003-2004 cycle)

AACOM is reporting (rough figures) a 12.07% increase in applicants (overall) in 2005 compare to 2004. There were 736 applicants from CA in 2005 (a decrease from 2004, where there were 763).

Sources:
Annual AACOMAS update
http://www.aacom.org/data/advisorup...iles/frame.html
2004 Annual Report on Osteopathic Medical Education
http://www.aacom.org/data/annualrep...show/index.html

Edit: The person I'm replying to specifically mentioned TUCOM-MI having 4000 applicants. But the numbers may be more reasonable if you combine the two campuses of MI and NV (although if someone applied to both TUCOM-MI and NV, would you double-count that applicant in the total for TUCOM?)

If you consider the admissions director to be a non-credible source, then yes, there is no OUTSIDE confirmation. I got my numbers from his own mouth while AT my interview. Where did you get yours from? A website?

 

[scpod]

If you consider the admissions director to be a non-credible source, then yes, there is no OUTSIDE confirmation. I got my numbers from his own mouth while AT my interview. Where did you get yours from? A website?

Actually, no school has had 4000 primary applications according to the latest figures available from AACOM. Nobody but PCOM has even gotten close. Yes, these figures are from a website and NOT by "word of mouth." In reality, TUCOM had less than 2000 total applications for 2003-2004. I doubt that 2000 secondaries were granted this year.

 

[mj1878]

Actually, no school has had 4000 primary applications according to the latest figures available from AACOM. Nobody but PCOM has even gotten close. Yes, these figures are from a website and NOT by "word of mouth." In reality, TUCOM had less than 2000 total applications for 2003-2004. I doubt that 2000 secondaries were granted this year.

I don't think the words "AACOM" and "Up to date" are synonymous. In addition, using data three years old as "evidence" of your internet-based argument is hardly a smoking gun. I invite you to call the admissions office
(707 638-5270), ask for Dr. Haight (or Lynn Huckle), and fire away. Make sure you mention your "doubts" about their numbers. They'll appreciate that.

 

[Raven Feather]

Also, with these numbers, keep in mind that many applicants decide not to send back secondaries to some of the schools they initially sent their primaries to. I didn't for CCOM and DMU--and declined my interview from PCOM-GA, withdrew from PCOM.

KCUMB, here I come!

 

[CatsandCradles]

For WVSOM 2004

Acceptance rate 18.6%
In-state acceptance rate: 50%
Out of state acceptance rate:14%
Minority acceptance rate:10.8%
International acceptances:N/A

 

[MaximusD]

For WVSOM 2004

Acceptance rate 18.6%
In-state acceptance rate: 50%
Out of state acceptance rate:14%
Minority acceptance rate:10.8%
International acceptances:N/A

Fall 2005 applications and acceptees:

Total: 1635 420 310 104
In-State: 123 77 60 43
OOS: 1,512 343 250 61

Pretty similar to 2003, actually. 250 of the 343 interviewees were accepted...hmm. 73% acceptance rate for OOS and 78% for in-state after interview. The main in-state vs out-of-state screen is made before interview invite. Of 1,512 total OOS applicants, only 343 were interviewed or 22.6%. So overall acceptance rate for OOS is: 16.5%. In-State is 48.8%.

That seems like a good bit of overall in-state pref although once offered an interview, rates are similar.... 78% in-state and 72% for OOS receive acceptances.

Overall rate is published as 19.0% but my calculations put it at 18.6% for both in-state and OOS.

 

[toothless rufus]

So, what happens if they accept twice their class size, and by some odd chance, everybody accepted decides to matriculate?

 

[Kuba]

So, what happens if they accept twice their class size, and by some odd chance, everybody accepted decides to matriculate?

that will enver happen, but they would have to accomadate everyone somehow (maybe by offering a scolarship to those who differ)

 

[Kuba]

I don't think the words "AACOM" and "Up to date" are synonymous. In addition, using data three years old as "evidence" of your internet-based argument is hardly a smoking gun. I invite you to call the admissions office
(707 638-5270), ask for Dr. Haight (or Lynn Huckle), and fire away. Make sure you mention your "doubts" about their numbers. They'll appreciate that.

I trust published information more than I trust Dr. Haight or Lynn Huckle... and TUCOM certainly does not have a 4% acceptance rate.

 

[MiesVanDerMom]

why is this data relevant to applicants? it doesnt tell you what your personal odds are of getting into a school. we know nothing about who else is applying or what a school is looking for beyond the obvious. I would be interested in seeing US News and World Report data on my chances of getting into LECOM, PCOM or UMDNJ-SOM. Perhaps if I pay the $15 online subscription fee they can supply this for me.