Trouble at KansasCom

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notEinstein

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This was posted on another forum. Not sure i’m allowed to link so just copy/pasting. I’m shocked that nearly 50 students from a class are already dismissed/left.

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Poster 1: “What's Happening at KansasCOM/KHSC Needs to Be Talked About

Hello everyone,

I never thought I’d find myself speaking out publicly about my medical school experience, but what's happening at KansasCOM can’t go unaddressed. I know no school is perfect, and medical education is demanding no matter where you go — but some policies don’t just challenge students; they actively set them back. Here’s the reality:

The night before our first comsae practice exam late February our class was told we needed to score a 475 on a COMSAE and maintain an average of 425 to be eligible to take COMLEX Level 1 with the last exam being administered May 16th, 16 days into our dedicated period.

Just yesterday we were informed that the requirement was lowered to 450, likely because a large portion of our class couldn’t meet the original benchmark. Based on four COMSAEs taken over the last few months, I’d estimate — and this is just my personal observation — that maybe 40% of students hit those numbers. We’ve received messages from administration confirming that many of us are now being scheduled to meet with the Student Progress Committee (SPC).

For context, the class before us only needed a score of 400 on any COMSAE to be allowed to sit for boards and were testing well into June. Most of us assumed the same policy applied. Instead, we got an email on Thursday, the night before our first COMSAE on Friday telling us the bar had been raised — a major change delivered at the last possible moment. 475 min and 425 average across all 4 exams to be eligible to sit for comlex 1. Also Tuesday of the same week the school held emergency meetings with all the classes due to a first year passing away due to suicide. I don’t know why they waited until the last second to tell us these new requirements especially during a time where our community was in mourning.

While I support having a target score — we all want to be ready for boards — what’s truly concerning is how the school is treating those who don’t meet the new threshold.

KansasCOM created a course called Clinical On-Ramp. Any student who didn’t meet the 450 score for boards is automatically given an F in this course — a failing grade that appears on their transcript. And we were told the SPC will decide if we are allowed to remediate or not. No dates for remediation have been announced and many of us are still waiting to meet with SPC to learn if we’ll be allowed to remediate by taking the COMAT FBS Comprehensive exam.

But it doesn’t stop there.

Faculty have informed us that failing the remediation means receiving another F — two failing grades without ever having taken the actual board exam. And the school is saying even if you hit 450 it doesn’t mean you’re eligible to sit for boards so we are basically all waiting ducks. And according to what we’ve been told, the school expects at least 40 students to repeat the year. Our class started with 137 students. We’re now down to just over 100.

When I’ve spoken to students at other medical schools, their experiences have been very different. In similar situations, students are often allowed to delay rotations or take a leave of absence. They’re not automatically failed or forced to repeat the entire academic year. But at KansasCOM, those more humane and supportive options seem to be off the table.

It’s especially disheartening given how often the school promotes values like inclusion, integrity, innovation, and support for students. These policies, as they stand, don’t reflect those ideals. Telling high-achieving, hard-working students that their only option is to repeat the year is not support — it’s a setback disguised as structure.

Personally, I’ve passed every block without issue, but I’ve struggled with board prep — a challenge I’ve worked tirelessly to overcome. One student who had been scoring in the 500s was also dismissed (granted she did fail multiple classes but if she’s scoring high enough in boards and passes the remediation exams, doesn’t that speak more about the school’s curriculum?). There are deeper issues here — with curriculum design, with communication, and with how students are supported — but that’s not the purpose of this post.

This is about something more fundamental.

This is about fairness. About transparency. About giving students a real chance to succeed — not punishing them for struggling with one part of an otherwise successful academic journey. We aren’t asking for handouts. We’re asking for a system that values growth, recognizes effort, and treats future physicians with dignity.

Because right now? It doesn’t feel like that’s what we’re getting.”





Poster 2: “Thank you OP for speaking up about what is happening with c/o 2027. Thank you for your vulnerability, honesty, and conviction to speak up when something is unjust, I know you'll become an amazing physician one day.

I want to add this comment so everyone reading this post gets a good idea of the current climate of the school. c/o 2028, started with approx. 201 students, if you check the roster, today, the class count stands at 166, meaning 35 people lost. 35 people who worked YEARS, invested blood sweat and tears into becoming physicians. Kansascom has temporarily ruined the life of 34 of those students and 1 whom we lost to suicide due to the schools rampant neglect and terrible curriculum. Of those 35 people, MOST either academically dismissed or withdrew before the school had the opportunity to ruin their life more by dismissing them. This is not an opinion. This is FACTS.

Of the 166 students left, 15 already confirmed to repeat the year and join the c/o 2029, which may God be with them all because this school is a **** show and I doubt in less than 1 year, this school would have learned anything or taken ANY accountability that they're the problem not the students.

During trimester 1 roughly 10-12% of the class failed 1-2 classes, which doesn't seem crazy at first, but wait until you hear about trimester 2. Most of those people form Trimester 1 are dismissed or have withdrawn, only a few have been allowed to repeat and its because of threat of legal action. During trimester 2, 46% of the class failed MSK (roughly 85-87 students) and 40% failed Renal (roughly 70-72 students). THIS IS NOT NORMAL. The school will never admit it, but they know and should be embarrassed. This is a reflection of the curriculum not on the intellectual capabilities of the students. Many of the 15 confirmed to be repeating are individuals with multiple failures, and the rest of people who have failed will sit for remediation exams over the summer. We are talking anywhere from 40-60 students AT LEAST still needing to sit for remediation exams (if not more). If those students do not pass remediation exams, they are 100% up for dismissal, and its a damn shame because it is not the fault of the student at this point, it is the fault of the institution, the deans, the curriculum, and the lack of ACCOUNTABILITY.

I never knew becoming a physician would be THIS difficult. Medical school is already hard enough, and to have your own institution holding you back and putting you down is HEARTBREAKING. I doubt the school will ever shut down, maybe get on probation, but probably still going to get accredited, but at what cost and with what disgusting reputation?”


Poster 3: “check again, it’s 48 lost now 👍🏼”


Poster 4: “I go to this school and wish every single day I didn’t”
 
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Jeez, this is Caribbean-tier. Is this a newer school? Are their admissions standards really low? It sounds like this place is run poorly, but having that many students fail seems like a selection issue as well.
 
It may be the school's curriculum and/or very poor management, but it is hard to say without doing a deep dive into this situation. I am not placing blame on the students. But I often see peope post that they got into med school with a sub-500 MCAT. The experts, with years of data to support, recommend an MCAT of 500+ in order to handle medical school. Sure, people have made it through with less than 500 MCAT that we see all the time on sdn, but we never hear about the people that droped out. Either way, this school is failing to serve their students and COCA needs to take action I guess. As more and more MD and DO schools open up, it will be more and more difficult to fill classes with qualified applicants. Adcoms on this board have been saying this for years.
 
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Just want to add some context. The in-house exams focus on minute details and final exams for the first and second year classes are consistently filled with Step 2 material. You have students who struggle on the in-house exams but do well on the COMATs. The blocks are often disorganized (3 exams scheduled during the first week of block) and students would get lecture material late into the evening (I heard for Repro, anatomy material would be released well past 8 pm). The clinical on-ramp felt like it was designed to prevent students from moving forward to take COMLEX, with many students achieving scores that would’ve granted them the ability to sit for boards at more established institutions. Hell, they dismissed someone who was averaging a 500 on the COMSAEs and was a key member of the OMM club. And let’s not forget COCA visiting the school to tell the admin they’re dismissing too many students after a student committed suicide. That thread is like bad comedy, especially with admin going in to dismiss the concerns and the death of a student.
 
Can someone other than the op verify that the Dean of the school actually flies in from California, and is only there something like 2 days a week??

And that students are not allowed to contact said Dean??
I doubt he’s even there that often, and students have been given emails implying that emailing the dean is a professionalism violation.
 
In case it wasn't obvious these are from one or more threads on /r/osteopathic.
 
this is extremely similar to what is happening at LMU DCOM. 54 between both campuses didn't make it to Spring from the current first year class and even more have since dropped or will have to repeat after spring grades were finalized. Historically the attrition rate is pretty high for first year at LMU - over 10% for several years running. people get all over anyone who says anything negative about DCOM but the information needs to get out there so students know before they commit to going there. it cant be ALL of those student's faults. clearly there is an issue with the curriculum and the way they operate. just like kansasCOM, those students spent YEARS and hundreds of thousands of dollars investing in going to medical school only for the school to fail them. LMU even did a master's program this year that was previously not available and only 8 out of the 25 students are being allowed to restart the DO program with the next incoming class. thats a whole additional year of paying tuition for what??? something needs to be done.
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this is extremely similar to what is happening at LMU DCOM. 54 between both campuses didn't make it to Spring from the current first year class and even more have since dropped or will have to repeat after spring grades were finalized. Historically the attrition rate is pretty high for first year at LMU - over 10% for several years running. people get all over anyone who says anything negative about DCOM but the information needs to get out there so students know before they commit to going there. it cant be ALL of those student's faults. clearly there is an issue with the curriculum and the way they operate. just like kansasCOM, those students spent YEARS and hundreds of thousands of dollars investing in going to medical school only for the school to fail them. LMU even did a master's program this year that was previously not available and only 8 out of the 25 students are being allowed to restart the DO program with the next incoming class. thats a whole additional year of paying tuition for what??? something needs to be done.View attachment 404868
That’s a wild attrition rate
 
this is extremely similar to what is happening at LMU DCOM. 54 between both campuses didn't make it to Spring from the current first year class and even more have since dropped or will have to repeat after spring grades were finalized. Historically the attrition rate is pretty high for first year at LMU - over 10% for several years running. people get all over anyone who says anything negative about DCOM but the information needs to get out there so students know before they commit to going there. it cant be ALL of those student's faults. clearly there is an issue with the curriculum and the way they operate. just like kansasCOM, those students spent YEARS and hundreds of thousands of dollars investing in going to medical school only for the school to fail them. LMU even did a master's program this year that was previously not available and only 8 out of the 25 students are being allowed to restart the DO program with the next incoming class. thats a whole additional year of paying tuition for what??? something needs to be done.View attachment 404868
Do you think the very high attrition rates at these DO schools could be a result of them letting in students with weaker scores/GPAs? Or is there something very wrong with their admin/curriculum?
 
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Do you think the very high attrition rates at these DO schools could be a result of them letting in students with weaker scores/GPAs? Or is there something very wrong with their admin/curriculum?
DCOM's attrition rates over the last few years are terrible and there are a lot of students unhappy there

link: Student Outcomes

just something to be aware of. click on cohort grad rates at the bottom
 
Do you think the very high attrition rates at these DO schools could be a result of them letting in students with weaker scores/GPAs? Or is there something very wrong with their admin/curriculum?
Probably both
 
Do you think the very high attrition rates at these DO schools could be a result of them letting in students with weaker scores/GPAs? Or is there something very wrong with their admin/curriculum?
Yes to both, plus a potential lack of support services for struggling students.

A ten year med school should have figured out how to med school by now.
 
Yes to both, plus a potential lack of support services for struggling students.

A ten year med school should have figured out how to med school by now.
I wish more people talked about this. There have been a lot of problems with DCOM and a lot of students who invested years into getting into med school who are ultimately dismissed and left with what??… and anyone who tries to speak about it gets crapped on and told that they are “disgruntled students who couldn’t hack it”. Even when there is clear evidence that the school doesn’t listen to the students and despite “completely redoing” the curriculum several times, continues to let students struggle. Even worse, blaming them for failing when they aren’t providing the resources and support
 
I wish more people talked about this. There have been a lot of problems with DCOM and a lot of students who invested years into getting into med school who are ultimately dismissed and left with what??… and anyone who tries to speak about it gets crapped on and told that they are “disgruntled students who couldn’t hack it”. Even when there is clear evidence that the school doesn’t listen to the students and despite “completely redoing” the curriculum several times, continues to let students struggle. Even worse, blaming them for failing when they aren’t providing the resources and support
Opening more branch campuses when the school still hadn't figured out how to run a med school shows you where their priorities lie.

This is why LMU is still on my Bad Boy list.
 
Yes to both, plus a potential lack of support services for struggling students.

A ten year med school should have figured out how to med school by now.

Another KansasCOM student just posted today that they will have to remediate the entire year because they did not meet the schools comlex benchmark.

They didn’t fail a single class, but kcom is making them redo the year. No loa available.

This is caribbean school level of bad.
 
Another KansasCOM student just posted today that they will have to remediate the entire year because they did not meet the schools comlex benchmark.

They didn’t fail a single class, but kcom is making them redo the year. No loa available.

This is caribbean school level of bad.
That’s wild
 
Another KansasCOM student just posted today that they will have to remediate the entire year because they did not meet the schools comlex benchmark.

They didn’t fail a single class, but kcom is making them redo the year. No loa available.

This is caribbean school level of bad.
If true, this is educational malpractice.
 
Wow. This is appalling. It's amazing to me how much ego schools have and how they never accept responsibility and are willing to destroy students like that.

The med student suicide breaks my heart 🙁
 
Another KansasCOM student just posted today that they will have to remediate the entire year because they did not meet the schools comlex benchmark.

They didn’t fail a single class, but kcom is making them redo the year. No loa available.

This is caribbean school level of bad.
This is the most absurd thing I've ever heard. This is also why I think repeating a year should not be seen as a red flag compared to other things like board failures, professionalism, etc. because schools will do stupid **** like this.
 
Update from a current student: The class started with 137 people. Only 60 of those 137 are moving on to M3.
 
Update from a current student: The class started with 137 people. Only 60 of those 137 are moving on to M3.
Thats insane. I would need to see some sort of proof...that is an unbelievably high attrition rate. What is the 6 year graduation rate?
 
Update from a current student: The class started with 137 people. Only 60 of those 137 are moving on to M3.
This can’t be real. What a disaster of a school if this is true. COCA needs to act now and shut this place down. Have other DO schools in the region absorb these students and shut this down.
 
Update from a current student: The class started with 137 people. Only 60 of those 137 are moving on to M3.
yeah, so the school needs to put out some sort of statement if that is true. this is worse than Caribbean schools. These new schools are ruining what an attending once told me- "the hardest thing to do is get into medical school, the second hardest is to flunk out"
 

I heard they already markteted the program to nurses.
What the ****?
I hope the nurses and EMTs do their research before biting.
 
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