USMLE & COMLEX Tutor in Arkansas

Arkansas has two MD schools and one DO school. school list The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) College of Medicine in Little Rock, founded in 1879, is the only public school; the Alice L. Walton School of Medicine in Bentonville (private, 2021) is the newest; and Arkansas College of Osteopathic Medicine in Fort Smith (private, 2014) grants the DO. school list

Class makeup differs sharply between the MD schools. UAMS received 3,337 applications for 174 places in 2025-26, and 83.3% of its entering class came from Arkansas; Walton received 2,021 for 48 places, and 31.3% did. AAMC FACTS Little Rock has five of the state's 20 teaching hospitals. CMS teaching hospital list

Medical schools in Arkansas

Several of these schools teach students at more than one site: University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences College of Medicine also lists Fayetteville, Arkansas.

Schools based in other states also teach in Arkansas: New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine (DO, based in Old Westbury, New York) lists a campus at Jonesboro. DO students on that campus take COMLEX-USA.

School list: LCME and COCA accreditation lists, via the list of medical schools in the United States, checked October 2026.

Teaching hospitals in Arkansas by city

• Little Rock: St. Vincent Infirmary Medical Center; UAMS Medical Center; Baptist Health Medical Center - LR; Baptist Health Rehabilitation Institute; Arkansas Childrens Hospital
• Jonesboro: St. Bernards Medical Center; NEA Baptist Memorial Hospital
• Fort Smith: Baptist Health Medical Center - FS; Mercy Hospital Fort Smith
• Fayetteville: Washington Regional Medical Center
• Rogers: Mercy Medical Center
• Searcy: White County Medical Center
• Springdale: Northwest Medical Center
• Hot Springs: St. Vincent Hot Springs
• Conway: Conway Regional Medical Center INC
• North Little Rock: Baptist Health Medical Center- NLR
• Magnolia: Magnolia Regional Health System INC
• Pine Bluff: Jefferson Regional Medical Center
• El Dorado: Medical Center of Arkansas
• Batesville: White River Medical Center

Facts about Arkansas

Accreditation: LCME directory; applications, places and in-state share: AAMC FACTS, Table A-1.

ABIM internal medicine certification exam by residency program: ABIM residency program pass rates; ABIM says to read rates from under 25 takers with caution.

• NYITCOM's first-time COMLEX Level 2 pass rate for 2025-26 was 92.71%, against 92.48% nationally. (NYIT College of Osteopathic Medicine)
• NYITCOM placed 97.9% of its 2025-26 graduates in residency, counting its Long Island and Arkansas campuses together. (NYIT College of Osteopathic Medicine)
• The UAMS College of Medicine has more than 700 medical students on two campuses, Little Rock and Fayetteville, with a first-year enrollment of about 175, and sponsors 89 ACGME-accredited residency and fellowship programs with 1,529 residents and fellows. (UAMS College of Medicine)
• UAMS puts about 155 students per class on its Little Rock campus and about 20 on its Northwest campus in Fayetteville, and says the campus preference on an application has no bearing on admission. (UAMS College of Medicine)
• UAMS offers a three-year MD track for students committed to family medicine, internal medicine or pediatrics: they take the standard courses and clerkships but skip the mostly elective fourth year, which cuts tuition by 25%. (UAMS College of Medicine)
• UAMS's class of 2030, 172 first-year students drawn from 3,337 applicants, includes 143 Arkansas residents and entered with an average GPA of 3.86 and an average MCAT of 510. (UAMS College of Medicine)
• On April 23, 2025, the COCA granted the Arkansas College of Osteopathic Medicine Accreditation with Exceptional Outcome, its highest status, for 10 years; ARCOM's next review is in AY 2034-2035. (Arkansas College of Osteopathic Medicine)
• ARCOM students spend two years mainly on campus and two at clinical sites, assigned to a core educational center for four-week rotations, including a required month-long rotation in an underserved setting. (Arkansas College of Osteopathic Medicine)
• The Arkansas Colleges of Health Education in Fort Smith, ARCOM's parent, graduated approximately 136 Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine students in its class of 2026. (Arkansas Colleges of Health Education)
• In the 2025 Main Residency Match, Arkansas programs offered 121 PGY-1 positions in internal medicine, 94 in family medicine, 24 in pediatrics, 24 transitional-year positions and 19 in psychiatry. (NRMP)

Sources: LCME, directory of accredited U.S. programs (checked October 29, 2026); AAMC FACTS, Table A-1, 2025-2026 (checked October 29, 2026); NYIT College of Osteopathic Medicine, outcomes (checked October 29, 2026); UAMS College of Medicine, Fast Facts (checked November 1, 2026); UAMS College of Medicine, One Medical School, Two Campuses (checked November 1, 2026); UAMS College of Medicine, Three-Year M.D. Program (checked November 1, 2026); UAMS College of Medicine, UAMS Class of 2030 (August 24, 2026) (checked November 1, 2026); Arkansas College of Osteopathic Medicine, Accreditation (checked November 1, 2026); Arkansas College of Osteopathic Medicine, Academics (checked November 1, 2026); Arkansas Colleges of Health Education, 2026 Commencement (checked November 1, 2026); NRMP, 2025 Main Residency Match by state and specialty (checked October 29, 2026); ABIM, residency program pass rates 2023-2025 (checked October 29, 2026).

UAMS: one school, two campuses, a three-year option

UAMS is by far the state's largest medical school: more than 700 students on two campuses, a first-year enrollment of about 175, and 89 ACGME-accredited residency and fellowship programs with 1,529 residents and fellows (UAMS fast facts). About 155 students per class are in Little Rock and about 20 on the Northwest campus in Fayetteville, and the school says the campus an applicant prefers has no bearing on admission (UAMS two campuses).

The class of 2030, 172 first-year students drawn from 3,337 applicants, includes 143 Arkansas residents and entered with an average MCAT of 510 and an average GPA of 3.86 (UAMS class of 2030).

UAMS also runs a three-year MD for students committed to family medicine, internal medicine or pediatrics. They take the same courses and clerkships as the four-year class but skip the mostly elective fourth year, which cuts tuition by 25% (UAMS three-year MD). With no fourth year there is little slack for a delayed Step, and Arkansas's three-attempt cap leaves less room for a retake than the USMLE program's four, so we plan both Steps with three-year students from the first semester.

ARCOM in Fort Smith

The Arkansas College of Osteopathic Medicine holds the COCA's highest status, Accreditation with Exceptional Outcome, granted on April 23, 2025 for 10 years; its next review is in AY 2034-2035 (ARCOM accreditation). Its parent, the Arkansas Colleges of Health Education, graduated approximately 136 DO students in its class of 2026 (ACHE commencement).

ARCOM students spend two years mainly on campus and two at clinical sites, assigned to a core educational center for four-week rotations that include a required month in an underserved setting (ARCOM academics). A four-week rotation is a natural unit for COMLEX Level 2-CE review, so we tie each week's question sets to the rotation the student is on.

Residency positions in Arkansas

Arkansas programs offered 370 positions in the 2025 Main Residency Match. Internal medicine led with 121 PGY-1 positions, then family medicine with 94, pediatrics and the transitional year with 24 each, and psychiatry with 19 (NRMP). Internal medicine residents later sit the ABIM exam.

Which board exams Arkansas students take

Both Arkansas MD schools, the Alice L. Walton School of Medicine and UAMS College of Medicine, send students through the USMLE, from Step 1 and Step 2 CK to Step 3. USMLE UAMS has held LCME accreditation since 1944, while Walton holds preliminary accreditation from 2024, a new school's step before full accreditation, with its next survey in 2026-27. LCME

Arkansas College of Osteopathic Medicine in Fort Smith grants the DO, so its students sit COMLEX-USA. NBOME So do DO students on the Jonesboro campus of the New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine. The college's first-time COMLEX Level 2 pass rate for 2025-26 was 92.71%, against 92.48% nationally. NYITCOM outcomes

ABIM's internal medicine exam follows residency. In 2023-2025, 92% of 59 first-time takers from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Program in Little Rock passed it, as did 89% of 35 from the Baptist Health-UAMS Program in North Little Rock. ABIM

Arkansas licensing rules that affect your exam plan

Arkansas caps attempts below the USMLE program's own limit: three per USMLE Step and three per COMLEX Level, with no time limit on either. FSMB Training before a first license is one year, or three for international graduates unless they are currently enrolled in a training program through UAMS. FSMB

Source: FSMB state licensure requirements, checked October 2026; confirm with the board before relying on them.

What Arkansas's rules mean for how you study

• Arkansas allows three attempts per USMLE Step, one fewer than the USMLE program's own four, so plan to pass each Step within three sittings. FSMB USMLE eligibility rules
• The same cap of three applies to each COMLEX Level, so a retake at Level 1 does not use up attempts at Level 2-CE or Level 3. FSMB
• Arkansas lists no time limit, so the three-attempt cap counts sittings, not years: waiting for a stronger practice score uses none of your attempts, while an early sitting that fails uses one. FSMB

Many Arkansas students rotate, interview or match next door. Arkansas's neighbors on our list: Louisiana (3 MD, 1 DO), Mississippi (1 MD, 1 DO), Missouri (4 MD, 2 DO), Oklahoma (1 MD, 1 DO), Tennessee (5 MD, 2 DO), Texas (13 MD, 3 DO).

How much Arkansas searches for board prep

Arkansas ranks 2nd of 51 for COMLEX searches on Google Trends over the five years to October 2026, its best result, in a state with osteopathic students in Fort Smith and Jonesboro.

No other term gets near it: the next best is USMLE Step 2 at 15th, then USMLE and Step 1 at 17th. Shelf exam is lowest at 31st.

Source: Google Trends, United States, past 5 years, retrieved October 2026; ranks show relative interest, not student numbers.