BCOM vs. WCUCOM

[Prince_Avocado]

Hello everyone!

I am extremely thankful to get accepted into medical school this cycle and I want to know the community's opinion between BCOM and WCUCOM. I had a very pleasant experience at both campuses and I am not entirely sure which school would be best for me. I already paid my deposit at WCUCOM because the deposit was due last month and it was my only acceptance at the time. My goal is to go into primary care, specifically internal medicine.

Which school do you think is better? I will greatly appreciate the feedback!

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[DrStephenStrange]

BCOM

 

[Prince_Avocado]

BCOM

Is there a specific reason as to why you recommend BCOM over WCUCOM? I am leaning towards BCOM too, however, WCUCOM is cheaper by quite a bit, specifically about $10,000/year cheaper when including the tuition, student services, and technology fees. Plus, Mississippi (where WCUCOM is located) is cheaper to live in than in New Mexico (where BCOM is located). I don't want to be in more debt than I have to, but if BCOM is significantly better than WCUCOM I will consider it. However, if they are relatively the same then I will most likely choose WCUCOM.

 

[ciestar]

I think it’s because WCUCOM is under an accrediation warning? @Goro cautions against it for a reason

 

[DrStephenStrange]

WCUCOM has had very low COMLEX pass rate in the last few year and the lowest residency placement rate amongst DO schools last year (92%). Adding to that they also have no current GME development or affiliations that I know of. BCOM at least has some GME despite being new which is why I suggested it over WCU.

 

[Goro]

WCUCOM has had very low COMLEX pass rate in the last few year and the lowest residency placement rate amongst DO schools last year (92%). Adding to that they also have no current GME development or affiliations that I know of. BCOM at least has some GME despite being new which is why I suggested it over WCU.

I concur. LMU has the accreditation warning.

 

[Prince_Avocado]

WCUCOM has had very low COMLEX pass rate in the last few year and the lowest residency placement rate amongst DO schools last year (92%). Adding to that they also have no current GME development or affiliations that I know of. BCOM at least has some GME despite being new which is why I suggested it over WCU.

Ah, that makes sense. Thank you very much for your feedback!

 

[Prince_Avocado]

I concur. LMU has the accreditation warning.

If WCUCOM has such a low pass rate for COMLEX and a low placement rate for residency, how did they get approved to increase their class size for the upcoming academic years? They were given authorization from COCA a couple months to allow this change. It's going to increase from about 100 to 150 students in the 2020-2021 academic year, 150 to 175 students in the 2021-2022 academic year, and 175 to 200 students in the 2022-2023 academic year.

I would assume that since they aren't doing well overall that they wouldn't get approved to expand their class size. However, they were approved and I am quite confused as to how. Does this mean they are actually doing well?

 

[Goro]

If WCUCOM has such a low pass rate for COMLEX and a low placement rate for residency, how did they get approved to increase their class size for the upcoming academic years? They were given authorization from COCA a couple months to allow this change. It's going to increase from about 100 to 150 students in the 2020-2021 academic year, 150 to 175 students in the 2021-2022 academic year, and 175 to 200 students in the 2022-2023 academic year.

I would assume that since they aren't doing well overall that they wouldn't get approved to expand their class size. However, they were approved and I am quite confused as to how. Does this mean they are actually doing well?

Because COCA is a bunch of lying theiving weasels who only live for the mantra of "More DOs good!"

 

[Prince_Avocado]

Because COCA is a bunch of lying theiving weasels who only live for the mantra of "More DOs good!"

Ah, that's unfortunate. I'll probably choose BCOM then.

 

[Goro]

Because COCA is a bunch of lying theiving weasels who only live for the mantra of "More DOs good!"

EDIT: I believe that the Dean at WCU is now on COCA, but I'll have to double check on that.

 

[D.O._Dude]

I'm in the exact same situation that OP was in, I was wondering if anyone could elaborate on what GME resources are available to BCOM/why it might be a better choice despite being quite new. I've read through multiple threads comparing BCOM's COMLEX data to that of WCUCOM's, and the latter seemed like a far better choice despite some patchy data.

WCUCOM has had very low COMLEX pass rate in the last few year and the lowest residency placement rate amongst DO schools last year (92%). Adding to that they also have no current GME development or affiliations that I know of. BCOM at least has some GME despite being new which is why I suggested it over WCU.

 

[DrStephenStrange]

I'm in the exact same situation that OP was in, I was wondering if anyone could elaborate on what GME resources are available to BCOM/why it might be a better choice despite being quite new. I've read through multiple threads comparing BCOM's COMLEX data to that of WCUCOM's, and the latter seemed like a far better choice despite some patchy data.

BCOM GME programs: https://bcomnm.org/academics/gme/
To answer your question, schools with sponsored GME programs will help you with having a better clinical education experience during 3rd and 4th years that is more or less up to residency standards. Additionally, it will help you perform better in audition rotations and get better letters of rec for residency application. Board scores has more to do with the individual than the school itself.

 

[D.O._Dude]

BCOM GME programs: https://bcomnm.org/academics/gme/
To answer your question, schools with sponsored GME programs will help you with having a better clinical education experience during 3rd and 4th years that is more or less up to residency standards. Additionally, it will help you perform better in audition rotations and get better letters of rec for residency application. Board scores has more to do with the individual than the school itself.

Thanks, I really appreciate it!

 

[Prince_Avocado]

I'm in the exact same situation that OP was in, I was wondering if anyone could elaborate on what GME resources are available to BCOM/why it might be a better choice despite being quite new. I've read through multiple threads comparing BCOM's COMLEX data to that of WCUCOM's, and the latter seemed like a far better choice despite some patchy data.

Hey! I ended up choosing WCUCOM over BCOM. WCUCOM's basic cost of attendance is drastically cheaper than BCOM's basic cost of attendance. This is a huge factor for me because my parents are paying for my medical school. WCUCOM is one of the cheapest DO school in terms of tuition. Plus, the private dorm fee at WCUCOM is about $1,000 per semester. That fee is ridiculously cheap when you compare that to almost any other medical school.

Here's a rough estimate of the basic cost of attendance per year for each school:

	Tuition (Per Year)	Student Activity Fees (Per Year)	Private Dorm (Per Year)	Basic Cost of Attendance (Per Year)
BCOM	$55,000	$1,500	$10,000	$66,500
WCUCOM	$42,000	$0	$2,000	$44,000

As you can see, there is a little over a $20,000 difference per year when looking at just the basic cost of attendance. This is huge!

Also, I genuinely liked WCUCOM a lot more than BCOM. My experience with the faculty and students at WCUCOM was a lot more positive than my experience with the faculty and students at BCOM.