Post Your School's COMLEX I Pass Rate (Class of 2006)

[(nicedream)]

So far I've got:

OSUCOM------100%
AZOM---------96.4%
KCUMB--------95%
OUCOM-------94.3%
DMU----------93.7%

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[Fermata]

Whoa.

OSUCOM did really well this year.

 

[Idiopathic]

Ah...the power of fear.

 

[NebelDO]

NSUCOM 94%

i will double check

 

[pafbdoc]

Please. Can I ask how we obtained these numbers? If these are all accurate, and the national pass rate is a 90%, the rest of the country must have done pi$$ poor.

First off, Deans have absolutely no reason to give out this information, and, if they do, they have even less motivation to give out accurate information. Why? Because if the class did crappy, they look bad; if the class did great, they have a helluva standard to live up to next year. Administrators dont like to have a public bar to live up to. It serves them no purpose to make pass rates public and as a member of AACOM once told me, the ones who do tell, lie.

I sat through a report from the NBOME at a conference last year. One of their statistics guru's talked about the validity of the test. Dont get so hyped up on pass rates, because the school that had the highest pass rate actually had like the 11th highest overall mean... hence people passed but didnt do that well overall. The class with the highest mean was like 7th in pass rates to my memory. One school had a 25% fail rate for women. What's better: to have a few people fail while the rest of the class rocks the test, or for everyone to pass, but barely. Of course, the school's names were veiled and hence we could not see what the true rankings were.

Anyway, put little faith in the above values. Until I see it from the NBOME itself, I doubt any second hand info.

 

[DistantMets]

At OUCOM they posted the mean and pass rates for the last 6 years, including to class 2 years ago that was 86 or 88% pass rate. All I know is that class' lack of performance lit a fire under us for the last couple years and scores have gone up. What's the use in lying and by doing so, telling students that they're doing fine and don't need to change anything? Only 6 out of 20-some schools have posted on here, so maybe students on this forum just want to keep it to themselves if they know. Look at the COMLEX and USMLE score threads...not exactly flooded with scores at or below the mean. You'd think the mean was 650 or 250 on these tests. Doesn't surprise me that this thread would be any different.

 

[Plinko]

The Dean of Education at TCOM told my friend that 8 people out of ~126 failed--I'm too lazy to get out my calculator for the exact percent. One guy got caught cheating and is having to repeat second year. I'm assuming that he is included in that figure.

 

[Idiopathic]

The Dean of Education at TCOM told my friend that 8 people out of ~126 failed--I'm too lazy to get out my calculator for the exact percent. One guy got caught cheating and is having to repeat second year. I'm assuming that he is included in that figure.

That is a very respectable ~92.5-93% pass rate.

 

[Plinko]

That is a very respectable ~92.5-93% pass rate.

I would agree Idio. Apparently, the administration here at TCOM doesn't. They're pretty upset and are thinking about reducing the summer vacation after first year from six weeks to four. Sucks for future students. I'm just glad I did well.

 

[Informer]

word around school is that Western University COMP's pass rate was 83%

 

[smgilles]

word around school is that Western University COMP's pass rate was 83%

The word at LECOM is 76%. I hope it is just rumors, but not from what I have heard so far.

 

[Plinko]

Probably already said somewhere else but the national pass rate was 87.2%. Official word came out from our dean at TCOM via email a day ago:

"The mean for the 120 TCOM test takers was 510.

The national pass rate was 87.2% (this is a decrease in pass rates
nationally) and the TCOM pass rate was 93.4%.

15% of our students scored 600 or above on the exam. (2 students
scored above 700 on the exam, I believe that places them in the 99th
percentile nationally)

38% of our students scored between 500 and 600 on the exam.

41% of our students scored between 400 and 500 on the exam (400 is
passing)

There were 8 students that scored below 400 and failed."

 

[Idiopathic]

I would agree Idio. Apparently, the administration here at TCOM doesn't. They're pretty upset and are thinking about reducing the summer vacation after first year from six weeks to four. Sucks for future students. I'm just glad I did well.

I heard from a current OU resident and former TCOM student that the year the new dean got to TCOM, he actually forced out the bottom 25% of board scorers in that year. That doesnt sound legal and it certainly sounds extreme, but where there is smoke, there is fire, and this sets some interesting history as background. Something happened, I bet...

 

[tool]

I heard from a current OU resident and former TCOM student that the year the new dean got to TCOM, he actually forced out the bottom 25% of board scorers in that year. That doesnt sound legal and it certainly sounds extreme, but where there is smoke, there is fire, and this sets some interesting history as background. Something happened, I bet...

Not sure what you mean by "forced out"......do you mean kicked out??? No dean can expel a student that passed the boards even if it was 400.....lawsuit waiting to happen, lol.

 

[Idiopathic]

Thats what I am saying...the story sounded shady, but it rings true with other things i have heard about the TCOM dean. If it is part of the student 'moving on' and this was explained to the student, then it could be legal, but not likely.

 

[Plinko]

Thats what I am saying...the story sounded shady, but it rings true with other things i have heard about the TCOM dean. If it is part of the student 'moving on' and this was explained to the student, then it could be legal, but not likely.

I have not heard anything about that. You would think that kind of news would make it around campus pretty fast. Although I haven't been there much since rotations started so who knows.

The new dean is actually the Dean of Education, not the College of Osteopathic Medicine. He is a pretty intense guy (but fair in my experience), and seems serious about making TCOM as reputable as possible. But even that sounds extreme, even for him.

 

[Idiopathic]

How new is the current 'new' dean? Maybe this was the last 'new' dean. The individual I talked to is a resident now.

 

[(nicedream)]

I called LECOM and straight-up asked and was told 92%.

 

[smgilles]

I called LECOM and straight-up asked and was told 92%.

and you were blatantly lied too.

 

[(nicedream)]

and you were blatantly lied too.

Do you think they would blatantly lie? Where would they get "92" from? That's 16 points over the rumored one you heard.

 

[Dr_sax]

After having been here for a year: yes, at LECOM they blatantly lie. Board pass rates here are always kept a secret. I wish the pass rate was 92%

 

[Cowboy DO]

I heard here at NYCOM it was 80%, not so hot. The problem is its only a rumor. The administration wont tell us, even though we specifically asked the dean at orientation, her answer was "I dont know"...bologna. Its so frustrating, I pay too much to have them keep vital statistics like that from me. We do have a huge class though, so im not worried.

 

[Plinko]

How new is the current 'new' dean? Maybe this was the last 'new' dean. The individual I talked to is a resident now.

He's only been here for a year.

 

[Su4n2]

Cowboy,
i know what u are saying. it is sad for them to say they don't know. people never keep the good news to themselves. it's a little scarry b/c i know lots of second years (oops that's us now) and they are definatelly not slackers.

 

[Cowboy DO]

Very true. Ive also noticed a few in our class now that must be repeating the year, but its nowhere near 60. So my question is are you allowed to go on rotations having failed Step I? If so when do you have to pass it by?

 

[Su4n2]

well, i know a lot of people in the 5 year program, people in the combined degrees program. i think they pull u out of rotations till u pass.

 

[JP2005]

nycom has waaaaaaaaaaay too many ppl in the school......

 

[BrooklynDO]

Nah i doubt my class had an 80%pass rate... ofcourse this is rumors, but i just dont see 60 people failing that test. Despite how rediculous it was.
Last year tho we finally got the dean to tell us the previous class's pass rate (yes JP, thats YOU)

also, failing comlex doesnt affect your ability to go on to third year. I know of several people who passed the board but falied some credits during second year so are now having to repeat it.

~Brooklyn, ms3, nycom
backcracker extraordinaire

 

[Cowboy DO]

If you dont mind me asking what was the class of 2005's pass rate?

 

[stomper627]

Im curious as to why this matters?

If youve taken the test you know that the COMpLEX is such a poorly written test that its not really testing you on what you know....but on how well you can decipher questions.....
If you havent taken the test, its not the school thats taking the exam, its YOU, the individual. And we all study from the same books....regardless of the school attended.

 

[Ypo.]

I'm wondering how one discovers the national pass rate? I did a google search and its like the search for the holy grail. The only thing I've seen so far is the post from the student at TCOM who said he recieved an email from the dean-and since other people say schools lie about their own pass rates...

I can't believe that the dean from any school would say he did not know the school's pass rate-that is just negligent. It does matter!! ANd they should know, even if it doesn't. If it doesn't matter, why the heck does everyone have to take it?

Does anyone know if its harder for DO students to pass the USMLE? I read something that was horrible-like around 70% for first timers-this was on SDN site (not one of the forums-it came up on a Google search). I thought osteopathic school prepared you for the USMLE. Statistics, please- or personal experience. Help!

 

[Idiopathic]

Does anyone know if its harder for DO students to pass the USMLE? I read something that was horrible-like around 70% for first timers-this was on SDN site (not one of the forums-it came up on a Google search). I thought osteopathic school prepared you for the USMLE. Statistics, please- or personal experience. Help!

This is 100% true, statistically. DO's pass USMLE at ~75%, according to the published NBME data. Of course, it depends on your teaching, also. I would say that, on the whole, the osteo schools do not prepare you for the USMLE...why should they?

 

[JP2005]

Im curious as to why this matters?

If youve taken the test you know that the COMpLEX is such a poorly written test that its not really testing you on what you know....but on how well you can decipher questions.....
If you havent taken the test, its not the school thats taking the exam, its YOU, the individual. And we all study from the same books....regardless of the school attended.

agree with above......for all you ppl taking these NBOME tests (if thats what you want to call them) in the future.....stop worrying about the pass rate of the class before you....just study and focus on passing for yourself......the exam is a crapshoot....therefore, read the top rated review books, and i would consider taking USMLE......

also....we learn the same material as MD students (plus OMM) in the first 2 yrs of med school.....therefore it is very possible to score well on usmle.....I, as well as many DO students i know, blew that test away....

on the other hand, i am curious to see how MD students would do on the comlex (minus the OMM questions).....

 

[Ypo.]

This is 100% true, statistically. DO's pass USMLE at ~75%, according to the published NBME data. Of course, it depends on your teaching, also. I would say that, on the whole, the osteo schools do not prepare you for the USMLE...why should they?

Because- I thought that you had to take the USMLE to do an MD residency-and I want to keep that option open because I've heard a lot of comments that DO residencies can be very limited.

 

[Ypo.]

agree with above......for all you ppl taking these NBOME tests (if thats what you want to call them) in the future.....stop worrying about the pass rate of the class before you....just study and focus on passing for yourself......the exam is a crapshoot....therefore, read the top rated review books, and i would consider taking USMLE......

also....we learn the same material as MD students (plus OMM) in the first 2 yrs of med school.....therefore it is very possible to score well on usmle.....I, as well as many DO students i know, blew that test away....

on the other hand, i am curious to see how MD students would do on the comlex (minus the OMM questions).....

Who cares how the MD students would do on COMLEX? They wouldn't be able to use OMT without the special training, anyways. This is superfluous. The fact is that DO residencies are a long ways behind MD residencies-and that many DO students take the USMLE so they can do MD residencies, right? Technically, we should be able to do just as good as MDs on the USMLE-since we recieve training equivocable to MDs. This is why I don't understand the much lower pass rate. I detest saying this, but either the medical education isn't as rigorous for DO students, or DO students don't study as hard, or they just don't have the same ability at taking standardized tests as our MD student counterparts (explaining lower overall MCAT score as well). I really don't want to believe this at all-OPEN TO BETTER SUGGESTIONS HERE! I don't care about being dumber-I care about limiting my options to recieve excellent training and the quality of education I will recieve. Could care less at proficiency in standardized tests

 

[Idiopathic]

Because- I thought that you had to take the USMLE to do an MD residency-and I want to keep that option open because I've heard a lot of comments that DO residencies can be very limited.

USMLE is not required for osteopaths, although a few programs may not consider you without it. In general, it is not needed for most specialties, simply because PD's are learning how to better interpret the COMLEX.

 

[Idiopathic]

Who cares how the MD students would do on COMLEX? They wouldn't be able to use OMT without the special training, anyways. This is superfluous. The fact is that DO residencies are a long ways behind MD residencies-and that many DO students take the USMLE so they can do MD residencies, right? Technically, we should be able to do just as good as MDs on the USMLE-since we recieve training equivocable to MDs. This is why I don't understand the much lower pass rate. I detest saying this, but either the medical education isn't as rigorous for DO students, or DO students don't study as hard, or they just don't have the same ability at taking standardized tests as our MD student counterparts (explaining lower overall MCAT score as well). I really don't want to believe this at all-OPEN TO BETTER SUGGESTIONS HERE! I don't care about being dumber-I care about limiting my options to recieve excellent training and the quality of education I will recieve. Could care less at proficiency in standardized tests

As far as the USMLE goes, there are a few reasons why performance would be down:

1) students arent as smart (i dont believe this)
2) training is subpar (this is possibly more likely)
3) learning disciplines are not geared towarde USMLE (more likely)
4) extra stresses/material (very likely).

In my mind, the USMLE was harder than the COMEX, but certainly doable. However, it was difficult taking it so close to the COMLX, and trying to flush OMT and store up on biochem. Obviously, DO education can be fairly weak on the research-based subjects (cel bio, biochem, genetics), but these barely account for 5-8% of the exam. I think the real trouble comes in preparing for, and sitting for, two completely different exams testing over the same information, for the most part. Very difficult to hop from one to the other without at least a few weeks in between for a change in mindset.

 

[Ypo.]

As far as the USMLE goes, there are a few reasons why performance would be down:

1) students arent as smart (i dont believe this)
2) training is subpar (this is possibly more likely)
3) learning disciplines are not geared towarde USMLE (more likely)
4) extra stresses/material (very likely).

In my mind, the USMLE was harder than the COMEX, but certainly doable. However, it was difficult taking it so close to the COMLX, and trying to flush OMT and store up on biochem. Obviously, DO education can be fairly weak on the research-based subjects (cel bio, biochem, genetics), but these barely account for 5-8% of the exam. I think the real trouble comes in preparing for, and sitting for, two completely different exams testing over the same information, for the most part. Very difficult to hop from one to the other without at least a few weeks in between for a change in mindset.

Yes, that does make sense.

So, you are saying that most MD residencies don't require a DO to take the USMLE? But does it give you a better chance of getting accepted at an MD residency, anyway?

If you don't mind me asking, what were your reasons for taking the USMLE?

 

[Idiopathic]

Yes, that does make sense.

So, you are saying that most MD residencies don't require a DO to take the USMLE? But does it give you a better chance of getting accepted at an MD residency, anyway?

If you don't mind me asking, what were your reasons for taking the USMLE?

No, I dont think that just taking the USMLE (or even passing it) gives you a better chance @ allo residency. I think that performing above the mean (actually ~230 or over) gives you an excellent shot at putting yourself on the same statistical level as most allo students competing for most residency spots. If you score 190 or so (no offense to anyone who did) on USMLE, you would have been better off putting that effort into doing better on the COMLEX, since probably 98% of residency programs understand how to interpret the COMLEX, and they even have gotten help from the NBME to set up a 2-digit score, comparable to the USMLE 2-digit (in addition to the percentile score.)

I took the USMLE because I want to apply to a very competitive specialty, and I cant run the risk that these programs will look at me any differently just because I only supply COMLEX scores. If I was applying IM, ER, FP, Peds, etc. I would not take the USMLE, unless I was pretty sure I could blow it away. Just my personal opinion.

 

[Ypo.]

No, I dont think that just taking the USMLE (or even passing it) gives you a better chance @ allo residency. I think that performing above the mean (actually ~230 or over) gives you an excellent shot at putting yourself on the same statistical level as most allo students competing for most residency spots. If you score 190 or so (no offense to anyone who did) on USMLE, you would have been better off putting that effort into doing better on the COMLEX, since probably 98% of residency programs understand how to interpret the COMLEX, and they even have gotten help from the NBME to set up a 2-digit score, comparable to the USMLE 2-digit (in addition to the percentile score.)

I took the USMLE because I want to apply to a very competitive specialty, and I cant run the risk that these programs will look at me any differently just because I only supply COMLEX scores. If I was applying IM, ER, FP, Peds, etc. I would not take the USMLE, unless I was pretty sure I could blow it away. Just my personal opinion.

What about if you were applying orthopedic surgery?
Thanks.

 

[VentdependenT]

If you take studying seriously you will pass both the USMLE and the COMLEX. Personally I thought the USMLE was a much better test.

 

[Ypo.]

If you take studying seriously you will pass both the USMLE and the COMLEX. Personally I thought the USMLE was a much better test.

"Better?" In what way?

 

[DrMom]

The COMLEX is not exactly well-written.

 

[VentdependenT]

The USMLE actually tests logical application of medical knowledge. The COMLEX...well you'll see.

 

[Idiopathic]

What about if you were applying orthopedic surgery?
Thanks.

What I say holds true. If you arent confident that you can beat the mean, dont take the test. Just some advice. Get QBank, read a lot, study hard, and give yourself some time between COMLEX and USMLE to reset everything. Dont fall apart the last week (most common mistake, I think) and do the NBME assessments for a realistic test experience.

 

[Idiopathic]

The USMLE actually tests logical application of medical knowledge. The COMLEX...well you'll see.

Sadly, its true. USMLE is much more intense question preparation, also. Those questions test third and sometimes fourth order logic, whereas the COMLEX is fairly superficial...esoteric, but superficial.

 

[Ypo.]

Thanks for the heads up.

 

[VALSALVA]

I can't tell you what KCOM's pass rate was, but I can tell you that our class' average score came out to 522. So, I thinkin' most of us probably passed.