There is a student at my school now who xfered from there (PCOM SD) and said he definitely likes ACTCM better but personally I don't know. I do know PCOM is not easy - not that any of them are - but PCOM is rumored to be the most difficult - although very good. Another student at our school xfered from PCOM on the East Coast and said yes PCOM is harder than ACTCM, which is REALLY HARD - however, he did not learn any Chinese pinyin pronunciation at PCOM and used to pronounce the herbs incorrectly. He had to take medical Chinese at our school and can now pronounce the herbs. Sorry I can't be of more help.