ACOM vs CUSOM vs WesternU COMP-NW vs VCOM-CC.

[Hello_There_117]

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ACOM

Status: Accepted.

Pros:

• Board prep resources available include UWorld, Sketchy (I believe), and some others that I can't quite remember from interview day.
• Seemed to have a strong connection to the local community of Dothan.
• 99 or higher percent match rate for the last 3 years.
• COMLEX first-time pass rate was near 95%. I was kind of concerned about the COMLEX Level 2 PE that seemed to drop to like 85% average during this past year but I’m not sure if that’s something that’s just pandemic related.
• Seemed to have fantastic rotation systems and graduates have been placed in some nice residencies.
• The faculty seemed very supportive, and students seemed happy to be at ACOM.
• Location is in a city that compared to where I live now (in a rural area) is an improvement.
• 2 hours from Destin, Fl and Fort Walton Beach.
• Seemed to have an extremely open fourth year for electives/auditions.
• Loved the feel on my interview day.

Cons:

• 60% attendance policy and dress code although I’ve heard the dress code is pretty lax. Also, the other schools I’m considering have used attendance and dress codes in the past/present except COMP-NW.
• Limited Associated GME programs. They have established or are establishing GMEs in Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, Emergency medicine, and transitional year.

CUSOM

Status: Accepted.

Pros:

• Fantastic outreach from what I saw on interview day including mobile health clinics, health screenings, free clinics, other programs to help in the community.
• Research seemed very doable at this institution.
• Fantastic GME with like 22 programs or something like that in surrounding areas and specialties from dermatology to family medicine.
• Rotations seemed as good if not better than ACOM’s.
• Board pass rates are excellent for both the USMLE and COMLEX.
• Resources available to help out on boards which I think I remember included UWorld, but I may be remembering incorrectly.
• 20 weeks of electives for the fourth year and some selectives spread out through the third and fourth year.
• Merit scholarship provided for higher stat applicants including a presidential scholarship (20k every year as long as you meet requirements for renewal) that I may be eligible for.
• The faculty seemed very supportive during the interview and students were super happy to be there.
• Block schedules seemed very impressive and weekly quizzes seemed like a good way to stay on top of the material.
• The location is close to Raleigh.

Cons:

• Location isn’t the greatest and is rural, but I was planning on staying in Fuquay-Varina to help mitigate that and I’m well accustomed to having to commute to school.
• 75-80% attendance policy and dress code.

WesternU COMP-Northwest.

Status: Accepted.

Pros:

• No Mandatory Attendance or a Dress Code.
• Great Match Rates at 100% for every class since 2015.
• Fair Amount of Elective time at around 32 weeks of electives plus some selectives.
• Core rotation sites that I would stay for rotations.
• Research seemed possible and encouraged here.
• Education tracks such as
• Pass rates for COMLEX seem good. 96.5 for level 1, 100 for level 2 PE, 93.3 for level 2 CE, and 98.5 for level 3.
• I believe they encourage taking both the COMLEX and USMLE.
• Faculty, students, and staff were very welcoming and seemed happy on interview day.
• Think there is ample opportunity for community service.

Cons:

• Furthest away from support group by about 30 hours.
• Highest Tuition so far at $60,750.
• I don’t know if they have GME established for the area.

VCOM-Carolinas.

Status: Accepted.

Pros:

• Spartanburg seemed like a very nice city.
• Has a good match rate and match list.
• Seems to have good research opportunities.
• Faculty were very nice and supportive, and students seemed happy to be there.
• Pass rates for COMLEX are good, I think. It is honestly harder to find out than the other two which may be for a reason.
• Good outreach, I think.

CONS:

• Know very little about quality of rotations because I did not hear about them in the admissions day. I mean I know where they are, but I don’t know if students spend the whole year in one area or have to move a lot.
• Dress code I think and they have dropped their attendance policy according to student ambassadors and may plan to keep this for the following years.

Des Moines.

Status: Pending still have group interview to attend in mid-November, hoping for a decision soon after.

Pros:

• Great match list.
• Old institution so seems to know what they are doing.
• Seems to have good outreach.
• I believe they offer GME programs in Family med, Internal med, and gen surg along with a cardiology fellowship.

Cons:

I don’t know too much else about the school to state cons and it seems like a good school.

ATSU-KCOM.

Status: Interview scheduled for early January.

Pros:

Don’t know because I haven’t really researched this school. Living in Missouri does not seem like a place where I would want to live for four years.

Cons:

Don’t know enough about the school to list cons.


Other DO Programs I haven’t heard from:

• WVSOM.
• UNE.
• and KCU. I am on a qualified status which as I understand it is like a hold but I have the potential to come off it.

My current train of thought is to keep the deposit I’ve already made to ACOM (first acceptance so jumped the gun a bit) and then pay CUSOM’s deposit to see how the scholarship turns out and how I feel about these two schools as the year progresses. Then if I am lucky/blessed enough to get into an MD school like Quillen/East Tennessee (interviewed here), OUWB (Interviewing there in early Nov), and EVMS (interviewed here as well) then reevaluate as those opportunities present themselves. Out of these schools, I believe I liked CUSOM and COMP-NW the best with the caveat I haven’t interviewed with Des Moines, KCU, WVSOM, or AT-Still Kirksville yet. Thoughts on which school would be best?

 

[Dr. Bones123]

I’m honestly in the same boat as you and I’m really liking Campbell

If you could explain further what does GME program means to us students?

 

[Hello_There_117]

From my knowledge, GME is graduate medical education, and it means you have a chance of being placed in a Campbell residency. As far as the quality goes and what it brings to a student experience, I'm not sure, but I do know that various MD programs have their own residencies established. I would also imagine that having those GME programs means a stronger investment in students and a better relationship with the school and local hospital systems which sounds like it would lead to more opportunities for research and other benefits. The other schools I know of that have some of the same GME programs are DMU and AT-Still if that says anything.

 

[Dr. Bones123]

Ahh okay makes sense. Did you apply to PCOM/hear anything back from them. That's one of the schools I am waiting back from to hear before I sit down and try to make a decision. Also, do you know why Campbell has a lot of transitional year residency placements, that's the only thing concerning me, but everything else (board exam pass rates and averages, match rates, and clinical rotations) really surprises me

 

[Hello_There_117]

I did not apply to PCOM and I do not know why Campbell has a lot of transitional year residencies but I will say their board pass rates are phenomenal, there are ample opportunities for research, and ample opportunities for service so it may have come down to that student's decision to take a transitional year even though I do not know why a student would do so. Hopefully, someone more knowledgeable on this subject can chime in.

 

[Dr. Bones123]

I did not apply to PCOM and I do not know why Campbell has a lot of transitional year residencies but I will say their board pass rates are phenomenal, there are ample opportunities for research, and ample opportunities for service so it may have come down to that student's decision to take a transitional year even though I do not know why a student would do so. Hopefully, someone more knowledgeable on this subject can chime

That’s exactly what I was thinking!!! Like it doesn’t make sense because they could at least match into internal medicine or family medicine if they could match into something

 

[Hello_There_117]

Right, something I thought of was maybe they were gunners and didn't want to apply to a backup residency.

Also, any opinions on COMP-NW? I wasn't necessarily blown away by this program, I've never been to or lived on the west coast, and their tuition is $60k with no merit scholarships. The only benefit I can see is no attendence policy or dress code.

 

[Hello_There_117]

Coming back to update. I've been accepted to one of my in-state MD schools and could not be happier the way my cycle turned out. For us reapplicants, there is hope. I am thankful for all those who advised me on this site and bid you all a very fond farewell as I take a break from this site, at least until medical school starts.