BCOM vs. ARCOM

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I think you should start by adding a pros and cons list for each school to this thread (so people can use their knowledge of the schools and why your pros/cons to give some advice)!
 
I say BCOM simply on the fact they've been around for longer.
ARCOM won't grad thier 1st class in 3 years.
 
Have you decided yet?

I would say with my experience of speaking with students at ARCOM, most feel pretty good about board exams. I have no experience with BCOM but they also look strong academically

Honestly the location of ARCOM is great, with a ton of outdoors stuff to do, especially around summer/fall, plus it’s a reasonable drive from skiing over Christmas.
 
Have you decided yet?

I would say with my experience of speaking with students at ARCOM, most feel pretty good about board exams. I have no experience with BCOM but they also look strong academically

Honestly the location of ARCOM is great, with a ton of outdoors stuff to do, especially around summer/fall, plus it’s a reasonable drive from skiing over Christmas.
Lol where are from that makes you think ARCOM location is great ?!
 
Lol where are from that makes you think ARCOM location is great ?!

Honestly that’s condescending.

We are comparing it to las cruces, NM, so... a dessert city of 100,000 (same as fort smith) that is far away from everything.?

Northwest Arkansas has some of the best outdoor activities (hiking, mountain biking, float trips, cliff jumping) in the nation and it’s right next to Fayetteville, which is a fun city.

clearly, if you are focused on an urban environment with trendy restaurants, a big club scene, and lots of traffic, a midsize city won’t be for you.

To answer your question, I’m from a small town in the rural south and attended college in the city-center of the 4th largest US city. Different values on what you look for in a place will greatly influence your opinion.
 
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Lol where are from that makes you think ARCOM location is great ?!
Once you start med school, you really don't have that much time for all those outdoor activities and/or social events. So for me, I think ARCOM location is great in that it's like 5 hrs or less from 7 major cities with research facilities and big DO-friendly University residency programs that someone could easily get connected to as a DO. We've had a few of those program directors come speak/presented at our school in the past. I'm not saying BCOM isn't a good choice, but I'm saying ARCOM is comparable and not a bad choice either (in this particular case).

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Why would you even consider BCOM? Have you seen their most recent board passage rates? LOWEST PASSAGE RATE OF ANY SCHOOL THAT POSTED. Have you seen how many of their students matched? The article I read said over 120. To me that means less than 130. Assuming a starting class of 162, well that's not an assumption we know that's the number. If 121 students matched that means about 25% of their students never made it. 25%!!!!! 1 in 4 that is atrocious! You would be better off taking a year off and improving your application before taking the risk that BCOM statistically presents.
While I don't condone schools having super low board pass rate and super low 4-year graduation rate. BCOM match list looked really good for a DO school regardless though. Also, they probably admitted a lot of students with low stats for that inaugural class too which would explain those numbers. Plus, most of those in the 25% are probably just delayed 1 or 2 years and will still be able to do at least Family medicine with their degree. I would give BCOM a few more years to see if they improve or not before making a definitive judgment. But for now, I liked the outcome of those that made it. OP if you work hard, you will most likely make it. Just go in eyes open.

Edit: Also don't condone the school for profit status, but RVU is also for-profit and a good school. So I guess we'll see if BCOM improves and keep having decent match list like that in the future.
 
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Why would you even consider BCOM? Have you seen their most recent board passage rates? LOWEST PASSAGE RATE OF ANY SCHOOL THAT POSTED. Have you seen how many of their students matched? The article I read said over 120. To me that means less than 130. Assuming a starting class of 162, well that's not an assumption we know that's the number. If 121 students matched that means about 25% of their students never made it. 25%!!!!! 1 in 4 that is atrocious! You would be better off taking a year off and improving your application before taking the risk that BCOM statistically presents.

Though the recent stats do scare me, I think it's important to realize that this was the first class to graduate. Of the students who did graduate and match, the results were excellent. I anticipate BCOM will make progress in the upcoming years and improve their statistics.
 
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