ACOM vs PCOM-GA

[mintyrelish]

Hello everyone! I have narrowed my acceptances down to these two schools and am struggling to determine which school is the best fit for me.

PCOM-Georgia:

Pros

• Very close to home (30 min drive).
• Established name.
• Accessible to local research opportunities.
• Has a residency program for derm.
• Impressive matches to competitive specialties (albeit a little less competitive than ACOM).

Cons

• Graded
• Concerning COMLEX II CE pass rate (86.19%), not sure if this is indicative of poor rotation quality.
• Not much board prep material provided (in comparison to ACOM).
• Heard very negative things about PCOM-GA's clinical rotations.
• Matches to derm isn't as consistent, nor promising as ACOM. I do understand derm is earned by student merit and not the school, but it is quite weird to see no PCOM student matching to their in-house derm residency program. Just makes me question whether its even advantageous for me to attend PCOM over ACOM.
• I don't get that independence that I have wanted for so long. Commuted and lived w/ parents all through college, so I feel this is a good time for change. Not a huge con though.

ACOM:

Pros

• Strong COMLEX 1st time pass rates: Level 1 (96.2%), Level 2-CE (93.9%), Level 3 (96.6%).
• They provide a ton of board prep resources for both STEP and COMLEX, which is very nice to see. I love a school that provides uWorld, Amboss, Sketchy, and all the good resources we can get.
• Very impressive matches in competitive specialties.
• I have heard that the school is very good at setting up clinical rotations. Also has a good reputation w/ UAB SOM, which may help with networking for competitive specialties.
• Far enough from home to give me some independence, but close enough to visit family (4 hr drive).

Cons

• Graded curriculum
• Lots of faculty changed within the past year. Some people I have spoken to online have been very disappointed with the new faculty, claiming to also think that ACOM's declining in quality. Idk how much of this is true, but it is something that concerned me.
• Attrition issues?? Apparently only 173 students left out of 210 originally from the class of 2028 after the fall semester. Could this be reaffirming the whole faculty change problem??
• Potential issues finding good research opportunities locally.

Summary: Basically, which school allows me to make the best of my 4 years there (and hopefully match derm lol)?

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[BladeDancerLucina]

173 students remaining out of 210 students is actual insanity after just one semester at ACOM. I don’t know what the retention rate at PCOM Georgia is like but honestly losing nearly a fifth of the class at an established institution like ACOM after just the first semester is a huge red flag. Looks like ACOM also only had one derm match this year while PCOM had none. IMHO, find out PCOM Georgia’s retention rate and make your decision based on that. For most DO students it seems that away rotation performance makes the biggest difference for their match chance unless if they’re from somewhere like MSUCOM.

 

[mintyrelish]

Thanks for the response!

I couldn't find a specific number for PCOM-GA, but they report a 99% retention rate (ig I can infer a low attrition rate from this).

I, too, was super surprised by the 173/210 statistic when I first heard it. To be fair, I would probably take it with a grain of salt because it was a stat I got from a Reddit user who has been dismissed from there recently (due to grades). They could be speaking the truth or just venting out of being salty. Elsewhere, I have seen most people allude to a 10% attrition rate, which is still not the best news to hear.

It's been a really tough choice to make b/c I simply don't know who's exaggerating their complaints for each school. When I personally visited ACOM, I had a really good gut feeling and felt like I would do well there. It's just been these rumors and sidetalk that has had me second guessing ugh.

 

[BladeDancerLucina]

Thanks for the response!

I couldn't find a specific number for PCOM-GA, but they report a 99% retention rate (ig I can infer a low attrition rate from this).

I, too, was super surprised by the 173/210 statistic when I first heard it. To be fair, I would probably take it with a grain of salt because it was a stat I got from a Reddit user who has been dismissed from there recently (due to grades). They could be speaking the truth or just venting out of being salty. Elsewhere, I have seen most people allude to a 10% attrition rate, which is still not the best news to hear.

It's been a really tough choice to make b/c I simply don't know who's exaggerating their complaints for each school. When I personally visited ACOM, I had a really good gut feeling and felt like I would do well there. It's just been these rumors and sidetalk that has had me second guessing ugh.

Yeah honestly I feel that. Visit PCOM Georgia as well to see if you’d like it there then make your choice. Also was going thru previous match data and it seems that PCOM Georgia Students tend to match well into the specialty you want to go into when there’s abundant interest in it (see the 2022 match list) Try to check what the distance is between PCOM Georgia and other academic medical centers than can help you with matching into your specialty of choice. The close proximity to Atlanta should honestly help you have better resources for connections there from my perspective but honestly it’s tough to say until you’ve visited both campuses and make an educated decision there as Dothan seems to be in the middle of nowhere and isn’t close to any institutions at all.

 

[mintyrelish]

I actually had the opportunity to interview in person for PCOM as well! So, I'll be honest, I was kind of not in the best "frame of mind" going into that interview b/c a day before, I got my MCG interview invite and I was so excited about that (Ikkk I got sidetracked). As a result, I probs didn't pay that much attention to certain things, but here's what I noted:

- Dean seemed super nice and went on about how PCOM prioritizes student health (that's something I vibed with).
- I liked how they had clinical rotation sites with Wellstar and Northside. If I were to not pursue derm, EM is the next specialty i'd eye rn and getting to rotate and network in these hospital systems would be really helpful (mainly bc I seriously see myself coming back to work in the ATL area and support my parents when they're older).
- ACOM's got the newer building and clean look. PCOM honestly looked ugly lmao, but I can't evaluate a school based on this for sure. I will say though, ACOM's sim center is a separate building and its pretty cool. However, PCOM-GA has a mock-OR, which is also super cool. I do feel that ACOM uses their sim lab more effectively than PCOM, b/c some of the courses overlap with sim training days (helpful for hands-on learning students like me). I'm not so sure PCOM uses their sim labs like that.

Regarding academic medical centers, I would honestly say ACOM may beat PCOM in this regard, even though PCOM is close to ATL. The reason is that ATL really has 1 major academic center (Emory). As far as I know, PCOM does not have rotations set up for students at any of the Emory hospitals, so you're really going to spend most of your time at privately owned medical centers. ACOM has a pretty good relationship w/ UABSOM, which is honestly amazing if you get lucky enough to get placed there for rotations (St. Vincent’s East). Here, you'd have the best chance to network and maximize chances of matching a competitive specialty. However, given its a match system for rotations, idk how I feel placing all my cards on getting a UAB rotation spot lol.

 

[BladeDancerLucina]

I actually had the opportunity to interview in person for PCOM as well! So, I'll be honest, I was kind of not in the best "frame of mind" going into that interview b/c a day before, I got my MCG interview invite and I was so excited about that (Ikkk I got sidetracked). As a result, I probs didn't pay that much attention to certain things, but here's what I noted:

- Dean seemed super nice and went on about how PCOM prioritizes student health (that's something I vibed with).
- I liked how they had clinical rotation sites with Wellstar and Northside. If I were to not pursue derm, EM is the next specialty i'd eye rn and getting to rotate and network in these hospital systems would be really helpful (mainly bc I seriously see myself coming back to work in the ATL area and support my parents when they're older).
- ACOM's got the newer building and clean look. PCOM honestly looked ugly lmao, but I can't evaluate a school based on this for sure. I will say though, ACOM's sim center is a separate building and its pretty cool. However, PCOM-GA has a mock-OR, which is also super cool. I do feel that ACOM uses their sim lab more effectively than PCOM, b/c some of the courses overlap with sim training days (helpful for hands-on learning students like me). I'm not so sure PCOM uses their sim labs like that.

Yeah I feel that. From everything you’ve said so far I can understand why this is such a huge choice. Good news for you is that in med school most learning for preclinical is mainly done at home so learning at both institutions should be a net neutral at best. Definitely a tough choice but either way wish you the best and I hope you hear back from MCG soon as that should be your number one clear cut choice if you get in.

 

[mintyrelish]

Yeah I feel that. From everything you’ve said so far I can understand why this is such a huge choice. Good news for you is that in med school most learning for preclinical is mainly done at home so learning at both institutions should be a net neutral at best. Definitely a tough choice but either way wish you the best and I hope you hear back from MCG soon as that should be your number one clear cut choice if you get in.

Yeah, i may have to go to a tiebreaker through family and ultimately choose my gut here. But yes, MCG without a doubt is my #1 dream school. I am literally praying that a miracle happens cuz idk WL movement here is very unpredictable ugh. I think they start pulling off the WL after the CTE deadline, so 5/1?

 

[BladeDancerLucina]

Yeah, i may have to go to a tiebreaker through family and ultimately choose my gut here. But yes, MCG without a doubt is my #1 dream school. I am literally praying that a miracle happens cuz idk WL movement here is very unpredictable ugh. I think they start pulling off the WL after the CTE deadline, so 5/1?

Yeah I believe so. It should continue through May so it should be moving by then

 

[BladeDancerLucina]

But definitely go to second look days at PCOM and ACOM either virtually or in person. I’m still shocked ACOM lost so many students after just one semester

 

[mintyrelish]

But definitely go to second look days at PCOM and ACOM either virtually or in person. I’m still shocked ACOM lost so many students after just one semester

Yeah I’m definitely gonna try to attend events to get a better idea on stats. Idk where else i can find specifics like attrition rates, etc, w/o the school reporting them itself.

Hopefully the ACOM attrition stat isn’t true, but if it is, I’m seriously reconsidering it as my #1. Although ACOM’s been known as a really promising school, exceeding expectations, I can’t help but wonder if this new faculty is putting a dent to all of that hard work by prior faculty. I sure won’t get any stats in time to make an educated choice, so all I can really bank on is the current class performance and attrition rates I guess.

 

[BladeDancerLucina]

Yeah I’m definitely gonna try to attend events to get a better idea on stats. Idk where else i can find specifics like attrition rates, etc, w/o the school reporting them itself.

Hopefully the ACOM attrition stat isn’t true, but if it is, I’m seriously reconsidering it as my #1. Although ACOM’s been known as a really promising school, exceeding expectations, I can’t help but wonder if this new faculty is putting a dent to all of that hard work by prior faculty. I sure won’t get any stats in time to make an educated choice, so all I can really bank on is the current class performance and attrition rates I guess.

The attrition stat is the main thing you gotta fact check for sure. If that’s true then the new faculty have truly messed up the school beyond repair

 

[Real McCoy]

ACOM Graduation and Retention Rates

 

[mintyrelish]

ACOM Graduation and Retention Rates

Thanks for providing this. So yeah, this aligns with the 10% attrition I saw for ACOM. However, a user from Reddit has specified that 178 remain out of 210 after completion of the Fall 2025 semester. That would be a 15.24% attrition rate within the first semester, which was concerning for sure. Not sure if it’s a reliable stat, and I know it probably includes people who left for non-academic reasons too.

 

[mintyrelish]

But definitely go to second look days at PCOM and ACOM either virtually or in person. I’m still shocked ACOM lost so many students after just one semester

I asked the user online who provided this stat for clarification and they corrected themselves and said 178/210, but still that’s a little concerning. They’re not sure if that number encompasses all withdrawals (non-academic).