The Osteopathic School Guide (Now with Rankings)

[DOlor]

NEW:

Feel free to join the new reddit sub for all current osteopathic students and physicians at:
www.reddit.com/r/osteopathicmed

***
Osteopathic Rankings added based on board pass rates, research access, quality of clinical rotations, and match lists.


**Please use the key in the top right corner to understand how to interpret the columns and rankings!**

Osteopathic School Guide:

https://docs.google.com/spreadshee...oJX2dFgraTMJ5sIxlgdPbSJZPU/edit?usp=drivesdk

Honorable mentions:

Every year MCAT averages seem to go up. Below are the highest MCAT average schools:

Midwestern CCOM: 509.6: Also the most expensive medical school in the U.S. at $81.9k per year (With all tuition and fees)

TCOM: 508.7: Also the cheapest medical school in the U.S. for in-state residents at $22k per year/$32k OOS (With all tuition & fees)

DMU: 508.5

Touro-California-TUCOM: 508.4

MSUCOM: 508.3

WESTERNU/COMP Both campuses: 508.2




Largest MCAT average jump:

PCOM-South Georgia: 499 to 503.5 between the 2022 to 2023 cycle





The below schools may be more holistic in their review.

Lowest MCAT Average schools:

LMU-DCOM: 498.9

VCOM-Louisiana: 499.2

ARCOM: 501.3



Newest DO Schools:

Orlando College of Osteopathic Medicine- *For Profit Require minimum 500 MCAT/3.2 cgpa/3.2 sgpa/If accepted, you must sign a contract on that you will attend the school. If you breach the contract, they will apparently notify all other schools you applied to. Plus side. No deposit lol 🫠

Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine- Florida- *For Profit- Require minimum 493 MCAT

Duquesne University College of Osteopathic Medicine-Non-Profit* Require minimum 500 MCAT/3.2 sgpa/3.2 cgpa

Baptist Health Sciences University College of Osteopathic Medicine (BUCOM)-Non-Profit *500 MCAT preferred/ 3.0 cgpa/3.0 for all pre-reqs



What are your thoughts on the new D.O. schools and their requirements, the newest MCAT averages, and rising tuition costs?

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[drthedude]

Hi Everyone!

I was getting a little overwhelmed trying to find the answers to my questions about the different osteopathic schools. So I made a spreadsheet about every single school with information such as board pass rates/COL/Tuition/student morale. Some of the categories were more subjective, for example 'Student Morale' which I essentially gathered from talking to students from schools (mostly non-anonymously), reading people's thoughts online, etc.. There is room for error in that so don't make this your only reference, however. Obviously things are constantly changing with schools so if there is any major mistake or if something has changed about a school please let me know!



Last thing not every school has posted their 2023 COMLEX I Pass Rates, (maybe about 50% have), so I will update in October with those and continue to update with any missing information on the sheet. Anyway. I hope it helps you in your journey!

Thanks!

Noorda-COM's updated tuition last cycle was $65,500

 

[Goro]

Hi Everyone!

I was getting a little overwhelmed trying to find the answers to my questions about the different osteopathic schools. So I made a spreadsheet about every single school with information such as board pass rates/COL/Tuition/student morale. Some of the categories were more subjective, for example 'Student Morale' which I essentially gathered from talking to students from schools (mostly non-anonymously), reading people's thoughts online, etc.. There is room for error in that so don't make this your only reference, however. Obviously things are constantly changing with schools so if there is any major mistake or if something has changed about a school please let me know!



Last thing not every school has posted their 2023 COMLEX I Pass Rates, (maybe about 50% have), so I will update in October with those and continue to update with any missing information on the sheet. Anyway. I hope it helps you in your journey!

Thanks!

Interesting! Thanks for the hard work!

What is your criteria for the match list? What is average vs excellent?

Nobody knows what the 2023 pass rates are; they exams are still on going. What you're seeing are the results from the 2022 cycle. I'd love to see which schools aren't posting results for the 2021-2022 cycle, which means they have something to hide.

Also keep in mind that IS bias may simply reflect a large applicant pool, as in CA. A true IS bias would be something like MSUCOM or PacNW, which favors that region.

 

[DOlor]

Interesting! Thanks for the hard work!

What is your criteria for the match list? What is average vs excellent?

Nobody knows what the 2023 pass rates are; they exams are still on going. What you're seeing are the results from the 2022 cycle. I'd love to see which schools aren't posting results for the 2021-2022 cycle, which means they have something to hide.

Also keep in mind that IS bias may simply reflect a large applicant pool, as in CA. A true IS bias would be something like MSUCOM or PacNW, which favors that region.

Hello! Yes, it was just something I started putting together when making my application list, and then I decided I would make a spreadsheet. For the match 'rankings', it is based on match rate minus attrition plus residency quality (community vs academic). Many of the residents and physicians I spoke with said most of the time (not always) but most of the time academic residency trained doctors fared better at first in the real world and so I (subjective) truly believe you will get more varied clinical presentations and better quality clinical experiences in academic residencies. Obviously, this can be subjective, but for me, someone who wants to go into academics, it was worth looking into. And yes, I used DO explorer for the state bias info! I went to each schools website to find their posted comlex pass rates. (Or emailed the schools). Please let me know if you may have info that I could adjust or add since I could not finish everything. I just really wanted other students to have some more transparency in this process, but obviously, don't use my guide as the final word and do their own research as well! Thank you

 

[DOlor]

Noorda-COM's updated tuition last cycle was $65,500

Hello! I used do explorer for 2023-2024 tuition rates, so without any additional fees added!

 

[Goro]

Beautiful kitty in the avatar!! Mine approves!

 

[DOlor]

Beautiful kitty in the avatar!! Mine approves!

Hahah thanks! I got her when I was stationed overseas! Loved her gray coat!

 

[drthedude]

Hello! I used do explorer for 2023-2024 tuition rates, so without any additional fees added!

Their base tuition was 65,500! The explorer may not be updated

 

[DOlor]

Their base tuition was 65,500! The explorer may not be updated

Ah I see, so it includes 'Fees and Digital Sources'. Some schools list it as a separate fee, which is why DO explorer is a bit off. I will update it, though, since that isn't an optional cost. Thank You!

 

[gobills123]

Where did you get the info for duqenese? I talked with the dean of admissions, they have enough local spots for 120% of the current class that are within an hour drive for clerkships. So having “very few” is not accurate

 

[Real McCoy]

Where did you get the info for duqenese? I talked with the dean of admissions, they have enough local spots for 120% of the current class that are within an hour drive for clerkships. So having “very few” is not accurate

Take what any Dean says with a bag of salt. They're salespeople for their respective schools.

 

[MedWiseMaven]

Hi Everyone!

I was getting a little overwhelmed trying to find the answers to my questions about the different osteopathic schools. So I made a spreadsheet about every single school with information such as board pass rates/COL/Tuition/student morale. Some of the categories were more subjective, for example 'Student Morale' which I essentially gathered from talking to students from schools (mostly non-anonymously), reading people's thoughts online, etc.. There is room for error in that so don't make this your only reference, however. Obviously things are constantly changing with schools so if there is any major mistake or if something has changed about a school please let me know!



Last thing not every school has posted their 2023 COMLEX I Pass Rates, (maybe about 50% have), so I will update in October with those and continue to update with any missing information on the sheet. Anyway. I hope it helps you in your journey!

Thanks!

Thank you for sharing!

 

[Obnoxious Dad]

This table is a great resource.

After reviewing the cost of attendance at various COMs, I would heartily recommend calculating your indebtedness at every school to which you have been accepted. I just can't understand why anyone would turn down LECOM and go to some school with tuition at $80,000 per year. That $40,000 annual difference will turn into a debt difference of about $300,000 after five years of post-graduate training. Who cares if you have to wear khakis and can't drink water in class? No, I don't work for LECOM.

 

[Ho0v-man]

This table is a great resource.

After reviewing the cost of attendance at various COMs, I would heartily recommend calculating your indebtedness at every school to which you have been accepted. I just can't understand why anyone would turn down LECOM and go to some school with tuition at $80,000 per year. That $40,000 annual difference will turn into a debt difference of about $300,000 after five years of post-graduate training. Who cares if you have to wear khakis and can't drink water in class? No, I don't work for LECOM.

Basically came to say this. It’s absolutely insane how much tuition at these schools has gone up since I matriculated and I’m still a resident. Y’all should expect your tuition to go up a couple grand every year at every other school too even though lecoms doesn’t.

At this point lecom should be considered the top private DO school imo.

 

[Obnoxious Dad]

Basically came to say this. It’s absolutely insane how much tuition at these schools has gone up since I matriculated and I’m still a resident. Y’all should expect your tuition to go up a couple grand every year at every other school too even though lecoms doesn’t.

At this point lecom should be considered the top private DO school imo.

You can find online the annual tax return of the stand-alone private Coms. It's called Form 990. You will see the outrageous salaries these pencil pushing administrators are pulling down. All of that money is coming out of the hide of students. It's ridiculous.

God bless the Silveretti family at LECOM. They could pull down gillions, but they don't.

 

[FootballAndSkiing]

You can find online the annual tax return of the stand-alone private Coms. It's called Form 990. You will see the outrageous salaries these pencil pushing administrators are pulling down. All of that money is coming out of the hide of students. It's ridiculous.

God bless the Silveretti family at LECOM. They could pull down gillions, but they don't.

I know RVU Utah is looking for dean. The job listing states 350-375k. That's seems fair to me. IDK how much the executives/investors at medforth are making though.

 

[DOlor]

This table is a great resource.

After reviewing the cost of attendance at various COMs, I would heartily recommend calculating your indebtedness at every school to which you have been accepted. I just can't understand why anyone would turn down LECOM and go to some school with tuition at $80,000 per year. That $40,000 annual difference will turn into a debt difference of about $300,000 after five years of post-graduate training. Who cares if you have to wear khakis and can't drink water in class? No, I don't work for LECOM.

Thank You! Just want people to think about their choices and know what to expect. So many students go in blind!

 

[Obnoxious Dad]

I'll wait for Duquesne to officially announce their rotations because my sources say there will be a spread for rotations. I will change it accordingly as their website was very vague as well.

I will say one thing for Duquesne. Pittsburgh has to be America's most under rated city. I recently visited it for the first time and was astounded.

 

[themountain123]

Is there a reason William Carey is in red/heightened monitoring??

 

[drthedude]

Is there a reason William Carey is in red/heightened monitoring??

low research opportunities but it's fixed now, just need recheck

 

[chacothefish]

VCOM doesn’t have federal loans? Oh wow

 

[Angus Avagadro]

I'll wait for Duquesne to officially announce their rotations because my sources say there will be a spread for rotations. I will change it accordingly as their website was very vague as well.

Duquesne hasn't accepted its first class. I believe they are taking applications now. Although the medical care is quite good in Pittsbugh, I would only attend a new school if I had no other options. They haven't worked out the kinks with their curriculum or faculty yet. Other med schools from Phila send med students there for rotations, along with LECOM, so rotations might be tight. I seriously doubt they have worked out rotations yet, with that being 3 yrs away.

 

[CajunMedic]

I'll wait for Duquesne to officially announce their rotations because my sources say there will be a spread for rotations. I will change it accordingly as their website was very vague as well.

I'm an attending at one of their rotation sites. We got the faculty recruitment presentation at our medical staff meeting last night. I'll post the list we got at the meeting when I get home

 

[DoctingDoc]

You should probably include SHSU in the newer DO schools. They have an average MCAT of 506 and tuition is 26k.

 

[purkinjekitty]

Thanks for putting this together. Super interesting! Midwestern being $82k blows my freaking mind LOL that’s such a scary amount to be in debt.

 

[purkinjekitty]

You should probably include SHSU in the newer DO schools. They have an average MCAT of 506 and tuition is 26k.

Agree! I’m excited to see their first class match because they seem to really have things figured out. Their first time comlex pass rates have been near 97% for both classes that have taken it now. Crazy good for a new school!

 

[DOlor]

You should probably include SHSU in the newer DO schools. They have an average MCAT of 506 and tuition is 26k.

I am only including newer schools that opened this cycle. Otherwise I'd have to include the other new schools like kansascom/noorda/etc. But yes, I've heard good things about the school, and they are opening up several affiliated residencies as well now that they are state funded.

 

[chilly_md]

I have merged the threads to keep the discussion together.

 

[DOlor]

Where did you get the info for duqenese? I talked with the dean of admissions, they have enough local spots for 120% of the current class that are within an hour drive for clerkships. So having “very few” is not accurate

Hello I just got their official rotation list and have updated it accordingly!

 

[DOlor]

VCOM doesn’t have federal loans? Oh wow

It's only the Louisiana campus that doesn't until they graduate a class?

 

[chacothefish]

It's only the Louisiana campus that doesn't until they graduate a class?

I meant VCOM Louisiana, should have put that. That’s the only one I applied to!

 

[DOlor]

I meant VCOM Louisiana, should have put that. That’s the only one I applied to!

I'll double check to see if anything has changed but I don't believe it has.

 

[Cornfed101]

You should ask at interviews what your tuition covers. RVU pays for almost nothing but our tuition is over $60k a year. I had to pay for my flu shot and n95 mask fit out of pocket. They have pretty decent rotations and the match stats are good so It’s not the end of the world, but it’s demoralizing to have to pay for everything on top of my tuition

 

[Ho0v-man]

You should ask at interviews what your tuition covers. RVU pays for almost nothing but our tuition is over $60k a year. I had to pay for my flu shot and n95 mask fit out of pocket. They have pretty decent rotations and the match stats are good so It’s not the end of the world, but it’s demoralizing to have to pay for everything on top of my tuition

This is literally every school. You’ll get rejected if you ask this.

 

[AlbinoHawk DO]

This is literally every school. You’ll get rejected if you ask this.

I don't think you'll be rejected for asking, but you can always get accepted first then ask

 

[Isoval]

Finally looked through. This is a pretty solid guide. There's a couple things that are probably ambiguous (e.g. listing student morale), but based on my working knowledge of the schools listed I feel you've done a great job representing them regardless of how we arrived to the conclusion.

Great work. I hope this list is used for many cycles to come.

 

[DOlor]

Finally looked through. This is a pretty solid guide. There's a couple things that are probably ambiguous (e.g. listing student morale), but based on my working knowledge of the schools listed I feel you've done a great job representing them regardless of how we arrived to the conclusion.

Great work. I hope this list is used for many cycles to come.

Thank You, it really means a lot to me! I don't want to do any schools a disservice, so I continue to update it as I speak with (verified) students.

 

[BrettMontana]

Hi all! I went through and did an overhaul as I realized the DO Explorer website was updated with new MCAT averages and a few other things. I also decided to add a minimum GPA column as several people asked if I could do that!

**Please use the key in the top right corner to understand what the columns and rankings mean!**

Osteopathic School Guide:



Honorable mentions:

Every year MCAT averages seem to go up. Below are the highest MCAT average schools:

Midwestern CCOM: 509.6: Also the most expensive medical school in the U.S. at $81.9k per year (With all tuition and fees)

TCOM: 508.7: Also the cheapest medical school in the U.S. for in-state residents at $22k per year/$32k OOS (With all tuition & fees)

DMU: 508.5

Touro-California-TUCOM: 508.4

MSUCOM: 508.3

WESTERNU/COMP Both campuses: 508.2




Largest MCAT average jump:

PCOM-South Georgia: 499 to 503.5 between the 2022 to 2023 cycle





The below schools may be more holistic in their review.

Lowest MCAT Average schools:

LMU-DCOM: 498.9

VCOM-Louisiana: 499.2

ARCOM: 501.3



Newest DO Schools:

Orlando College of Osteopathic Medicine- *For Profit Require minimum 500 MCAT/3.2 cgpa/3.2 sgpa/If accepted, you must sign a contract on that you will attend the school. If you breach the contract, they will apparently notify all other schools you applied to. Plus side. No deposit lol 🫠

Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine- Florida- *For Profit- Require minimum 493 MCAT

Duquesne University College of Osteopathic Medicine-Non-Profit* Require minimum 500 MCAT/3.2 sgpa/3.2 cgpa

Baptist Health Sciences University College of Osteopathic Medicine (BUCOM)-Non-Profit *500 MCAT preferred/ 3.0 cgpa/3.0 for all pre-reqs



What are your thoughts on the new D.O. schools and their requirements, the newest MCAT averages, and rising tuition costs?

I think there might be an error for KansasCOM federal loan availability

 

[DOlor]

I think there might be an error for KansasCOM federal loan availability

Hi, there isnt. They are eligible for FAFSA/ Federal loans. And students who graduate will be eligible for fed loan forgiveness programs as well.

 

[BrettMontana]

Hi, there isnt. They are eligible for FAFSA/ Federal loans. And students who graduate will be eligible for fed loan forgiveness programs as well.

Thank you. Absolutely correct. I just thought that schools needed to have a graduating class who match first before there able to get federal funding. Im completing there secondary at the moment.

 

[deleted1170743]

Potential update for BUCOM (Baptist University)

Classes will be GRADED
Attendance MANDATORY

This is information I heard at the interview.

 

[DOlor]

Thank you. Absolutely correct. I just thought that schools needed to have a graduating class who match first before there able to get federal funding. Im completing there secondary at the moment.

Hello, that is actually not the case. The two newest schools BUCOM and Duquesne are both non-profit and will have federal loans available. That rule usually only applies to for-profit schools.
Goodluck!

 

[DOlor]

Potential update for BUCOM (Baptist University)

Classes will be GRADED
Attendance MANDATORY

This is information I heard at the interview.

Awesome thank you for the update.

 

[nontradgogetter]

Burrell is not a new medical school, like the others you have listed. They have had multiple graduating classes already.

 

[DOlor]

Burrell is not a new medical school, like the others you have listed. They have had multiple graduating classes already.

I am aware the original Burrell in New Mexico is not new. But their new Florida campus is indeed new and has not graduated a class yet.

 

[Sidus1011]

I am aware the original Burrell in New Mexico is not new. But their new Florida campus is indeed new and has not graduated a class yet.

HCA is going to be happy

 

[DOlor]

Osteopathic Rankings added based on board pass rates, research access, quality of clinical rotations, and match lists.

 

[onestep_05]

Hello, that is actually not the case. The two newest schools BUCOM and Duquesne are both non-profit and will have federal loans available. That rule usually only applies to for-profit schools.
Goodluck!

Is BUCOM non-profit? On AACOM it is listed as for profit.

 

[DOlor]

Is BUCOM non-profit? On AACOM it is listed as for profit.

No, it is non-profit and eligible for federal loans. It's possible you may be looking at Burrell and not Baptist.

 

[chipeachi]

Hi! I believe ATSU-SOMA has mandatory attendance