KYCOM vs ACOM

[AlphaDoC87]

---

Members don't see this ad.

So... pretend you get into both KYCOM and ACOM and you are from California. Can any one give any insight as to how these schools compare? I know there is a ton of information on their websites and in the Osteopathic Medical College Info Book such as tuition, mission, etc... which Ill obviously research on my own as well.

Just want some opinion on why you would choose one over the other, or maybe why you would not choose either. Please if you know anything... talk about their curriculum, surrounding area, religious affiliation (if applicable).... just whatever you know! I appreciate any feedback to help guide me 🙂

 

[AlteredScale]

Hmm well KYCOM seems to be a much more "grounded" college in the fact that it was founded a bit earlier (1990's). They have rotation sites in multiple states which is nice. ACOM has sites only in Alabama but I've heard that they are very strong sites as well.

At the end of the day ACOM sounds more appealing to me because I really like the "southern" hospitality feel. I also like that it's fairly near NOLA. I'm all about NOLA right now haha. But that may change in the coming years.

 

[IslandStyle808]

I guess two large factors standout in my mind looking only at education
1) Clinical education - How many training sites do they have? Are they big city or rural? How many beds do they have? How many student rotate per preceptor? These are the questions I ask myself when assessing clinical education
2) COMLEX preparation - Does the curriculum prepare students? Are their extra resources provided by the school? How many weeks of board prep study time do you get?

AlteredScale did a good job mapping out the differences. I have not quite done my research on the two yet, but will get on it soon. I guess the MCAT left me a little burnt out (don't get me wrong I did feel I was in tip top shape going in, but I became a sloth afterward).

 

[ToKingdomCome]

I'd go with ACOM

 

[AlphaDoC87]

Looks like these will be my only 2 acceptances... now I actually have to decide for real!

 

[Mehd School]

I'd normally advocate against going to new schools but in this case I'd vote ACOM.

 

[elam1001]

I'd normally advocate against going to new schools but in this case I'd vote ACOM.

I'm really sick of YOU bashing KYCOM, I went with it over two other schools and I love it! I seen you on COUNTLESS threads advising people to stay away from KYCOM. The faculty here are amazing, they know exactly what they are doing and are great teachers. I would have to say our faculty are the most caring and helpful professors I ever had. The school provides so many opportunities for learning, volunteering and conferences. We are literally getting a free trip, to go to DC for DO on the hill. Our dean is one of the most popular and influential DOs in the nation hands down. Our POM professor is working her way up the ladder and is said to be the next president of the osteopathic medicine organization. On top of that we have a brand new state of the art building. They listen to the student body, we said we wanted more study rooms, guess what is currently being built (almost done in 2 months) as we speak? 25 new study rooms on campus. Our patient care doc is best friends with the PE examiner and our standardized patient exam rooms are literally a copy and paste of the PE exam rooms. We have great rotation sites, including PMC which is part of Mayo clinic, and you are not restricted to KY, we have rotation sites in about 15 other states in different locations. The school also offers clinical experiences in all different fields, not just primary care as people also like to spread. They also give you both the opportunity to set up clinical experiences ANYWHERE AND IN ANY FIELD. On top of all the free equipment, books, laptop, iPad and very cheap tuition I'd say we stand pretty strong. So you need to take a chill pill and stop spreading RUMORS like a high school girl.

 

[AM508]

I would vote KYCOM. KYCOM has been around since the '90's and has had time to graduate a significant number of classes. ACOM is extremely new, and that is something that always makes me nervous. KYCOM does seem to get an unfair bashing on SDN. I interviewed at KYCOM because I am a big fan of schools that are not in big cities (I abhor living in big cities so I tailored my school choices to those in relatively rural settings). I saw nothing on interview day that gave any credence to the panning it gets on this board. The students were friendly, the staff was friendly, the populace that I ran into were exceedingly friendly, the facilities were nice and the curriculum seemed good. I did not like the mandatory attendance and dress code, however. While they seem to have had some weak board performance in the past based on what I have seen in their fact book, they do seem to be dedicating more time to board prep. Also, we go through the mantra on here constantly about boards being more reflective of the students and their effort, so you have to keep in mind KYCOM does take a fair number of fairly low GPA, low MCAT folks so it would stand to reason that they may have some fluctuation year to year in board scores. Overall, I did not end up choosing to attend KYCOM despite my acceptance, however, if I were making the decision between KYCOM and ACOM, I personally would be confident in taking the acceptance from KYCOM.

 

[user3]

I'm really sick of YOU bashing KYCOM, I went with it over two other schools and I love it! I seen you on COUNTLESS threads advising people to stay away from KYCOM. The faculty here are amazing, they know exactly what they are doing and are great teachers. I would have to say our faculty are the most caring and helpful professors I ever had. The school provides so many opportunities for learning, volunteering and conferences. We are literally getting a free trip, to go to DC for DO on the hill. Our dean is one of the most popular and influential DOs in the nation hands down. Our POM professor is working her way up the ladder and is said to be the next president of the osteopathic medicine organization. On top of that we have a brand new state of the art building. They listen to the student body, we said we wanted more study rooms, guess what is currently being built (almost done in 2 months) as we speak? 25 new study rooms on campus. Our patient care doc is best friends with the PE examiner and our standardized patient exam rooms are literally a copy and paste of the PE exam rooms. We have great rotation sites, including PMC which is part of Mayo clinic, and you are not restricted to KY, we have rotation sites in about 15 other states in different locations. The school also offers clinical experiences in all different fields, not just primary care as people also like to spread. They also give you both the opportunity to set up clinical experiences ANYWHERE AND IN ANY FIELD. On top of all the free equipment, books, laptop, iPad and very cheap tuition I'd say we stand pretty strong. So you need to take a chill pill and stop spreading RUMORS like a high school girl.

can you confirm for the record whether KYCOM has a mandatory class attendance policy?

 

[student1212]

can you confirm for the record whether KYCOM has a mandatory class attendance policy?

Yes, classes at KYCOM are mandatory. I'm 100% sure of that. But in all honesty do NOT let that be the one reason you decide not to attend KYCOM. Many students actually still don't attend every class every single day.. 95% of the time the lectures are recorded and are posted online within a few hours. We only have two professors that I'm aware of that actually take attendance, and attendance doesn't actually count towards your grade. Is it frowned upon to not attend class? Yes, but it really isn't enforced whatsoever.

 

[Mehd School]

I'm really sick of YOU bashing KYCOM, I went with it over two other schools and I love it! I seen you on COUNTLESS threads advising people to stay away from KYCOM.

Give it up man, that post was over 2 months old.

Quit hunting.

 

[elam1001]

Give it up man, that post was over 2 months old.

Quit hunting.

I'll quit when you grow up. What you are doing is disrespectful not only to the students that attend KYCOM but the faculty that work hard for us. So unless you attended KYCOM and felt that the school did not prepare you for boards, find another hobby.

 

[elam1001]

can you confirm for the record whether KYCOM has a mandatory class attendance policy?

Attendance is mandatory, but nobody actually takes attendance. We are currently revising the attendance policy.

 

[MedNation907]

We are currently revising the attendance policy.

Can you elaborate?

 

[Dr.Jekyll75]

I got accepted there and loved it. I actually declined other interviews I had because the school felt right for me. Honestly if you're not a small town kind of person it's not for you. Just remember what you put in , is what you get out and for 40k a year that's an amazing price. I was told that the policy of attendance is student enforced so it depends on your class. Dressing up may suck for some people but o well

 

[MedNation907]

I may be a lone wolf here, but the dress code is actually in the pro's column for me. I'm tired of the college 'sweat pants and hoodie' atmosphere. I may regret that later lol but for now 👍

 

[IslandStyle808]

Attendance is mandatory, but nobody actually takes attendance. We are currently revising the attendance policy.

Can you elaborate?

Yep same question.

 

[elam1001]

Yep same question.

Basically we are trying to revise it where only 1st semester if required and otherwise attendance is up to the student. But like I said nobody actually takes attendance.

 

[user3]

Basically we are trying to revise it where only 1st semester if required and otherwise attendance is up to the student. But like I said nobody actually takes attendance.

well, thats a huge difference from schools like WCU where attendance is taken and absences tracked. I wouldn't call KYCOM a true "mandatory attendance" school if that is the case.

 

[elam1001]

I got accepted there and loved it. I actually declined other interviews I had because the school felt right for me. Honestly if you're not a small town kind of person it's not for you. Just remember what you put in , is what you get out and for 40k a year that's an amazing price. I was told that the policy of attendance is student enforced so it depends on your class. Dressing up may suck for some people but o well

I would like to add that for first years you only end up dressing up like 2-3 times a week at most, otherwise you wear scrubs. Especially first semester it's 2 days that you dress up.