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The 2026-2027 DO School Specific Threads are now available in the School Specific Discussions forum. The 2025-2026 discussions are now available in the prior year discussions forum.
"best" DO schools?
Started by MackandBlues
Serenade College of Superior Osteopathy and Medical Alchemy.
Liberty University
The schools that take me.
Rocky Vista is the best!!
Msu-com, tcom, pcom, kcom, ccom, azcom. Dmu-com, kcumb.
yup
Fixed that for you!
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lol not even. OSUCOM, OUCOM and Western would enter that list before NSUCOM
^Most honest answer. Med school is what you make of it, they all use the same books and teach the same material. Figure out which curriculum/learning style best fits you (mandatory lecture ys. minimal lecture vs. PBL). Figure out if you want to live in/near a big city or be in a small town. IMO also look for which school let's you do the most electives during the beginning of your 4th year or will let you be flexible with your 4th year schedule; this allows you to audition at the most # of places and increases your chances of matching. On my electives, some kids from other schools were only allowed to do 2-3 elective rotations in certain specialties or at all; my school let me do up to 6 in the same specialty.
location, learning style, # of electives. the rest falls on your shoulders.
(if you want to go into something competitive then possibly research opportunities at your school or in your city/town)
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It's hard to objectively rank DO schools (or MD schools). In my mind there are basically 3 tiers of DO schools:
1st tier: Established (20+ years old). These generally have more solid rotations, better residency placement, and a proven track record of success. A few are even public and supported by the state.
2nd tier: Less established (5-20 years old). These have graduated at least a few classes of students. Most have pretty good rotations but infrastructure of the school and curriculum may still be evolving.
3rd tier: New (<5 years) These schools have greatly increased in number in the past few years. Many have not yet graduated their first class. Rotations, curriculum, alumni, and school support may be lacking. Not a bad option if its all you have but there is more risk involved.
1st tier: Established (20+ years old). These generally have more solid rotations, better residency placement, and a proven track record of success. A few are even public and supported by the state.
2nd tier: Less established (5-20 years old). These have graduated at least a few classes of students. Most have pretty good rotations but infrastructure of the school and curriculum may still be evolving.
3rd tier: New (<5 years) These schools have greatly increased in number in the past few years. Many have not yet graduated their first class. Rotations, curriculum, alumni, and school support may be lacking. Not a bad option if its all you have but there is more risk involved.
think LECOM is 20 years old 
Anyways, go to the cheapest school...nuff said. I did and still got the residency I wanted.
Anyways, go to the cheapest school...nuff said. I did and still got the residency I wanted.
👍 The most important things to consider are cost and quality of rotation sites. Everything else is cake.
Survivor DO
What did you think of the ending of DNote? I'm quite sure you could tell it was bound to happen?
Never finished it. Went on vacation for two weeks, when I got back got back arrested development came out. Thanks for reminding me! Will get to it this week!
Sent from my Galaxy S4
Arrested Development...droooooooooooooooooolllllllllllllllll.
I'll try to be unbiased, but TCOM and MSU-COM are probably the "best" D.O. schools.
Minus MSU's ridiculous OOS tuition.
Minus MSU's ridiculous OOS tuition.
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Would higher stats factor into a decision like USNWR for undergrad? What about average pass rates of Step 1/COMLEX? Match rates are tough if you are looking at such a self-selecting group re: family practice. Again, just a pre-med, but reputation seems to also be regional.
think LECOM is 20 years old
Anyways, go to the cheapest school...nuff said. I did and still got the residency I wanted.
Yes, LECOM was started in 1992
Even with its out of state discount scholarship it is too much. Unless they buff it up to be comparable it's very much unrealistic for an applicant to apply unless potentially interested in research or academia.
Yeah realistically i hope to get into one of my low tier state MD schools. They are about 100k for 4 years which I can completely afford.
If thats the case ACOM is 2nd tier with 8-10 year old clinical rotation sites through out AL.
😎
Yah, I wish I lived in a state with multiple state MD schools. My state has one and is ultra competitive.
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Cali and Texas med schools are still ultra competitive though. Grass is always greener on the other side.
Cali premeds have the toughest time getting into their state school than all other residents..
And Texan schools competitive? (barring some top schools) Please, only if you are OOS...
Texan premeds probably have the easiest time getting into their state med schools than all other US premeds.
You mean RowanSOM?
That and perhaps North Carolina.
TX is one of the easiest states to get MD acceptance in if you are in-state.
I'm a former TX resident. Not only are there multiple schools with around a 30 MCAT average, but they are essentially protected for TX residents only. The avg MCAT is 30.2, almost 2 points below the national average.
Oh I see. Thanks for the correction.
I'm a TX resident as well but am torn about going OOS. Makes me feel like I would be throwing away fantastic opportunities if I leave. 🙁
Yeah I hear you on that one.
Being from TX originally, I left my senior year of HS, through college, and now a gap research year. They said I didn't qualify as a resident anymore so I ditched the app. The real positive about TX schools is that they are dirt cheap compared to elsewhere. However, for personal reasons I would have still chosen to live in NYC than TX now any day, but that is just me.
Good luck with your apps!
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Per the AAMC for 2012 the national average is 31.2 and the TX average is 31.0 (virtually identical), California is 32.5
Alabama, Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Carolina, Tennessee, and West Virginia (10 states) all have sub 30 MCAT averages...
https://www.aamc.org/download/321502/data/2012factstable21.pdf
Indeed! Its nice living in New Mexico lol only like 400 people apply to school here.
Ha less than that bro. 207 a couple years ago from instate to UNM (probably most of the applicants from NM), I heard they interview nearly 100%
http://hsc.unm.edu/som/admissions/classStat.shtml
Yes mostly with a few exceptions. Older schools just have reputations in their respective ares, and for the most part their success can be followed and is well known, so therefore they are safer. Newer programs can go through a lot of variability and may not have built up that credibility yet, or even have a good steady track record with matches, therefore they are more risky for students.
Older schools also tend to have a set curriculum that can also help with staying steady on their course. Newer schools are still swaying with ideas and concepts to implement, so from year to year outcomes may vary.
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