ACOM vs CUSOM

[Kelso3187]

Hi guys, so I was fortunate enough to be accepted to both ACOM and CUSOM. I’m torn between the two schools currently and hoping someone can give me some advice!

ACOM:
Pros
Much closer to home (FL)
Clinic rotation sites in FL
Enjoyed the surrounding town
Everyone was super friendly

Cons
Board scores are lower (they seem to be improving)
SIM lab isn’t as nice
Newer school (maybe not as much of a reputation as CUSOM?)
No student-run clinic

CUSOM
Pros
Very good board scores
Good residencies
Associated with a well-known university
Great facilities
Student-run clinic

Cons
Further from home
Surrounding area is VERY rural


Basically, I am still very torn between the schools. I want to stay as close to family and FL as possible which is partially why ACOM is appealing. I also like that ACOM has student housing options and pays for you to take your board exams. I am still unsure about how much research these schools offer. I keep hearing people reference the “research triangle” for CUSOM but when I interviewed there I was told to not come there and expect to do research. ACOM at least had a research lab on campus and multiple students have told me they had opportunities set up to conduct clinic research with local physicians.

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[deleted859689]

Hi guys, so I was fortunate enough to be accepted to both ACOM and CUSOM. I’m torn between the two schools currently and hoping someone can give me some advice!

ACOM:
Pros
Much closer to home (FL)
Clinic rotation sites in FL
Enjoyed the surrounding town
Everyone was super friendly

Cons
Board scores are lower (they seem to be improving)
SIM lab isn’t as nice
Newer school (maybe not as much of a reputation as CUSOM?)
No student-run clinic

CUSOM
Pros
Very good board scores
Good residencies
Associated with a well-known university
Great facilities
Student-run clinic

Cons
Further from home
Surrounding area is VERY rural


Basically, I am still very torn between the schools. I want to stay as close to family and FL as possible which is partially why ACOM is appealing. I also like that ACOM has student housing options and pays for you to take your board exams. I am still unsure about how much research these schools offer. I keep hearing people reference the “research triangle” for CUSOM but when I interviewed there I was told to not come there and expect to do research. ACOM at least had a research lab on campus and multiple students have told me they had opportunities set up to conduct clinic research with local physicians.

? CUSOM has mandatory research i think edit: actually maybe I got that mixed up with another school. I believe you must complete a research project before you graduate. Research | School of Osteopathic Medicine | Campbell University I asked about research opportunities in my interview and I heard it is not hard to find.

Campbell undergrad is still a private university and I never heard of it until I applied. However, a lot of people who live in NC know about it.

Campbell is around 45 minutes from Raleigh. While the immediate area around CUSOM is rural, living in Fuquay-Varina might mitigate some of that. Even more so if you live in Fayetteville or Raleigh, but the commute will be around 45 minutes.

I have heard there’s a waitlist for the student run clinic and it’s like once a week iirc. Campbell undergrad campus is pretty nice and I heard they might be building a tunnel to connect the two. Does Campbell not offer on campus housing?

Well anyway if you realllly want to be close to family, go to ACOM. I chose Campbell over ACOM because the faculty and admin are transparent with the students. For a newer school they know what they are doing and have been pumping out health professions (they have a PA school, pharmacy school, nursing program etc) long before they opened their medical school - they know what they’re doing. I trust CUSOM with my medical education.

I turned down my II to ACOM, so I guess I’m pretty biased haha. CUSOM is also closer to me and family so there’s that too, however, being close to family really wasn’t a deciding factor for me. Growing up with them was enough lol.

are you religious at all? Campbell does advertise “education in a Christian environment.” I grew up Catholic and while I kinda lost my faith, I’ve never lost my values and am more than happy to share those values with my classmates.

 

[Kelso3187]

? CUSOM has mandatory research. I believe you must complete a research project before you graduate. Research | School of Osteopathic Medicine | Campbell University I asked about research opportunities in my interview and I heard it is not hard to find.

Campbell undergrad is still a private university and I never heard of it until I applied. However, a lot of people who live in NC know about it.

Campbell is around 45 minutes from Raleigh. While the immediate area around CUSOM is rural, living in Fuquay-Varina might mitigate some of that. Even more so if you live in Fayetteville or Raleigh, but the commute will be around 45 minutes.

I have heard there’s a waitlist for the student run clinic and it’s like once a week iirc. Campbell undergrad campus is pretty nice and I heard they might be building a tunnel to connect the two. Does Campbell not offer on campus housing?

Well anyway if you realllly want to be close to family, go to ACOM. I chose Campbell over ACOM because the faculty and admin are transparent with the students. For a newer school they know what they are doing and have been pumping out health professions (they have a PA school, pharmacy school, nursing program etc) long before they opened their medical school - they know what they’re doing. I trust CUSOM with my medical education.

I turned down my II to ACOM, so I guess I’m pretty biased haha. CUSOM is also closer to me and family so there’s that too, however, being close to family really wasn’t a deciding factor for me. Growing up with them was enough lol.

are you religious at all? Campbell does advertise “education in a Christian environment.” I grew up Catholic and while I kinda lost my faith, I’ve never lost my values and am more than happy to share those values with my classmates.

? CUSOM has mandatory research. I believe you must complete a research project before you graduate. Research | School of Osteopathic Medicine | Campbell University I asked about research opportunities in my interview and I heard it is not hard to find.

Campbell undergrad is still a private university and I never heard of it until I applied. However, a lot of people who live in NC know about it.

Campbell is around 45 minutes from Raleigh. While the immediate area around CUSOM is rural, living in Fuquay-Varina might mitigate some of that. Even more so if you live in Fayetteville or Raleigh, but the commute will be around 45 minutes.

I have heard there’s a waitlist for the student run clinic and it’s like once a week iirc. Campbell undergrad campus is pretty nice and I heard they might be building a tunnel to connect the two. Does Campbell not offer on campus housing?

Well anyway if you realllly want to be close to family, go to ACOM. I chose Campbell over ACOM because the faculty and admin are transparent with the students. For a newer school they know what they are doing and have been pumping out health professions (they have a PA school, pharmacy school, nursing program etc) long before they opened their medical school - they know what they’re doing. I trust CUSOM with my medical education.

I turned down my II to ACOM, so I guess I’m pretty biased haha. CUSOM is also closer to me and family so there’s that too, however, being close to family really wasn’t a deciding factor for me. Growing up with them was enough lol.

are you religious at all? Campbell does advertise “education in a Christian environment.” I grew up Catholic and while I kinda lost my faith, I’ve never lost my values and am more than happy to share those values with my classmates.

Okay I’ll have to look into the research more. I had asked at my interview about research as I did it in undergrad and the faculty member interviewing me told me “Campbell isn’t a research school so don’t come here if you’re interested in that.”
I was raised Christian but it is not a priority for me to go to a school that is religious. I would actually prefer a school that isn’t overbearing with religion.
Since you attend Campbell, what are your impressions of the clinical rotation sites? I am not from the NC area so I’m not familiar with the hospitals and still have some research to do.
I don’t want my deciding factor to be how close to family I am as FL is still driveable from NC. At this point I think I would choose CUSOM hands down if I wasn’t just a little homesick haha

 

[deleted859689]

Okay I’ll have to look into the research more. I had asked at my interview about research as I did it in undergrad and the faculty member interviewing me told me “Campbell isn’t a research school so don’t come here if you’re interested in that.”
I was raised Christian but it is not a priority for me to go to a school that is religious. I would actually prefer a school that isn’t overbearing with religion.
Since you attend Campbell, what are your impressions of the clinical rotation sites? I am not from the NC area so I’m not familiar with the hospitals and still have some research to do.
I don’t want my deciding factor to be how close to family I am as FL is still driveable from NC. At this point I think I would choose CUSOM hands down if I wasn’t just a little homesick haha

I might have gotten the research part mixed up with another school lol. My interviewer told me it’s easy to do clinical study research, but actual biomedical research is more difficult.

 

[deleted859689]

Okay I’ll have to look into the research more. I had asked at my interview about research as I did it in undergrad and the faculty member interviewing me told me “Campbell isn’t a research school so don’t come here if you’re interested in that.”
I was raised Christian but it is not a priority for me to go to a school that is religious. I would actually prefer a school that isn’t overbearing with religion.
Since you attend Campbell, what are your impressions of the clinical rotation sites? I am not from the NC area so I’m not familiar with the hospitals and still have some research to do.
I don’t want my deciding factor to be how close to family I am as FL is still driveable from NC. At this point I think I would choose CUSOM hands down if I wasn’t just a little homesick haha

I definitely do not attend Campbell yet. Matriculating there or if the MD II turns into something I’ll have to choose MD > DO, even though I probably like Campbell more. I’ve only heard good things about their rotation sites and Campbell already has sponsored residency programs which are ACGME accredited. I believe ACOM has some in the works.

 

[Kelso3187]

I might have gotten the research part mixed up with another school lol. My interviewer told me it’s easy to do clinical study research, but actual biomedical research is more difficult.

I’ll definitely look into this more because I am more specifically interested in clinical research. I didn’t particular like how one of my interviewers was very gruff and dismissed the concept of research. Thank you for answering some of my questions!