VCOM-Auburn vs. ACOM

[Benjamin Dover]

VCOM-Auburn
Pros

• ~$40,000 cheaper
• Good chance of staying for 3rd year rotations
• Low COL
• Lecture attendance is no longer mandatory

Cons

• Not associated with a hospital
• Newer campus

ACOM
Pros

• Affiliation with Southeast Health and Internal Medicine residency
• Good rotation sites
• Option for joint MBA or MPH
• Low COL

Cons

• ~$40,000 more expensive
• Might have to move for 3rd year rotations
• Cheap COL
• Required attendance

Summary: VCOM seems like the clear winner when considering COA and attendance, but I want to make sure I'm not missing something.

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[Real McCoy]

Strength of match, board scores, availability and diversity of rotation sites, frequency of testing in curriculum, clinical exposures in years 1/2, research opportunities, length of dedicated study, and whether board review resources are supplied by school or paid for by the student are all things you should consider when comparing the two schools.

 

[Benjamin Dover]

Strength of match, board scores, availability and diversity of rotation sites, frequency of testing in curriculum, clinical exposures in years 1/2, research opportunities, length of dedicated study, and whether board review resources are supplied by school or paid for by the student are all things you should consider when comparing the two schools.

I've definitely tried to learn about those areas as well. Their match lists, board pass rates, locations of rotations seem similar. I appreciate the questions.

 

[Type2Fiber]

Strength of match, board scores, availability and diversity of rotation sites, frequency of testing in curriculum, clinical exposures in years 1/2, research opportunities, length of dedicated study, and whether board review resources are supplied by school or paid for by the student are all things you should consider when comparing the two schools.

I've bolded the things you listed that actually should be considered when evaluating schools. Considering whether a school pays a few hundred bucks for BnB when you're dumping tens of thousands for tuition is silly

OP, from what you've written, I'd go VCOM. It sucks it doesnt have an affiliated hospital but the lower CoA especially and non-mandatory lectures is nice. Your best move would be to talk to current 3rd/4th years at VCOM and see if they're happy with their experience getting rotations and the quality of them

Edit: i was a bit snarky. apologies

 

[Benjamin Dover]

I've bolded the things you listed that actually should be considered when evaluating schools. Considering whether a school pays a few hundred bucks for BnB when you're dumping tens of thousands for tuition is silly

OP, from what you've written, I'd go VCOM. It sucks it doesnt have an affiliated hospital but the lower CoA especially and non-mandatory lectures is nice. Your best move would be to talk to current 3rd/4th years at VCOM and see if they're happy with their experience getting rotations and the quality of them

Edit: i was a bit snarky. apologies

Thanks for the reply. I did some more digging, and it appears that EAMC, one of the hospitals near VCOM-Auburn, is opening an internal medicine residency. Although it isn't affiliated with VCOM, lots of their students rotate there.

 

[Real McCoy]

The message I was trying to communicate is that cheaper tuition doesn’t always equate to cheaper cost of attendance by the time you factor in the nickel and dime (not published) costs over 4 years of attendance.

 

[Benjamin Dover]

Thanks for the replies all who posted. I'm going to go with VCOM because they don't have required attendance and they're cheaper.

 

[SkyHighMig25]

• No mandatory attendance - this is a huge positive factor. This is in line with other, established MD schools. This gives you the autonomy you need as a graduate student. This really cannot be stated enough.