Accreditation, cost, hands-on training and reviews compared side by side
Advanced eClinical Training and MedCerts both sell online allied health training, but neither carries institutional accreditation from a U.S. Department of Education-recognized accreditor. MedCerts prepares students for third-party certification exams and lists a dental assistant program. ACT's lineup centers on advanced clinical training for medical assistants, with no dental assistant track currently published.
That gap matters more than the sticker price. medical assistant externships, what tuition actually includes, student reviews, and whether your state's dental board accepts the resulting credential are what settle this choice. Where a provider has not published a figure, we say so rather than guess at it.
Both providers offer online, career-focused training for allied health paths such as clinical medical assistant and dental assistant. Where a provider has not published a figure or where details vary by program, we flag it plainly rather than guessing.
| Category | Advanced eClinical Training | MedCerts |
|---|---|---|
| Tuition | Not published, verify with provider | Not published, verify with provider |
| Duration | Not published, verify with provider | Not published, verify with provider |
| Credential / exam prepared for | Varies by program, verify with provider | Varies by program, verify with provider |
| Accreditation | Verify with provider | Verify with provider |
| Externship / clinical hours | Not published, verify with provider | Not published, verify with provider |
| Support | Not published, verify with provider | Not published, verify with provider |
Advanced eClinical Training (ACT) is a clinical-focused online provider, and it does not currently list a dental assistant track. Based on ACT's own program pages, its lineup centers on medical and patient-care roles, with a separate set of pre-health mentorships.
ACT describes its Medical Assisting Curriculum and certification programs as fully online and self-paced. The listed programs are Clinical Medical Assistant (CCMA), Patient Care Technician (CPCT), Pharmacy Technician (CPhT), Phlebotomy Technician, Physical Therapy Technician, and Advanced Clinical Research Assistant (ACRA). The mentorships cover Pre-Med, Pre-Physician Assistant, Pre-Pharmacy, and Pre-Dental. Those are exploratory programs, not dental assistant training.
Durations vary by page. ACT frames the CCMA as an accelerated medical assistant program that can take anywhere from 8 weeks to 12 months, while CPCT and Physical Therapy Technician are listed at 8 weeks and Pharmacy Technician at 12 weeks. Elsewhere ACT describes its healthcare certifications as designed for 8 to 12 weeks, which doesn't quite match the CCMA's upper range. Confirm your timeline with an advisor before enrolling.
ACT says its programs prepare students for nationally recognized certification pathways through bodies such as the National Healthcareer Association (NHA) and PTCB. The CCMA specifically runs through NHA, and students can use NHA CCMA Study Tools to prepare. ACT's pricing page states that the certifying exam cost is included with each medical certification.
ACT's materials are mixed on hands-on training, so read this carefully. The company says it offers Medical Assistant Externship placements and clinicals within its online model, and a 2026 Business Wire release describes simulation-based instruction alongside externship placements through an expanding clinical partner network.1 The Phlebotomy program is described as including hands-on training, and CPCT students get access to clinical experience that is described as optional. Those are ACT's own claims. Ask which programs include a placement, who arranges it, and whether it's guaranteed.
Online allied health training falls into two camps: schools with institutional accreditation and training providers that prepare students for outside certification exams. MedCerts sits in the second camp.
MedCerts is an online training provider, so coursework is delivered remotely rather than on a campus. Its catalog spans several healthcare and related fields, and its public materials point to certifications from bodies such as NHA, PTCB, AAPC, AHIMA, and CompTIA. It also offers a Dental Assistant program, which it presents as a pathway toward the AMT Registered Dental Assistant (RDA) credential. We could not confirm from the material available whether the program currently qualifies students for that exam, so check the current program page and AMT's eligibility rules before paying.
MedCerts says plainly that it is not institutionally accredited, a distinction explained in Medical Assistant Program Accreditation.1 Its help center explains that its programs lead to accredited certifications issued by outside bodies. That is the company's own framing, and it is a different thing from the school itself being accredited. Practically, credits may not transfer to a college, and some employers or state boards may care about where you trained. One program, the Pharmacy Technician track, has received ASHP accreditation, but that applies to that program only.
MedCerts has advertised financing and payment options, but we could not verify the current 2026 terms or how those options interact with Medical Assistant Loan Forgiveness. Refund rules were also not confirmable from our sources. Ask for the written enrollment agreement, including the refund policy and any exam fees, before you sign. Treat any promise about job outcomes or exam pass rates as a marketing claim until you see documentation.
Advanced eClinical Training holds a career school license from the New Hampshire Department of Education, but it does not hold institutional accreditation from a U.S. Department of Education-recognized accreditor. That is the short answer. It is a private postsecondary career school with state approval, not a traditional degree-granting college with regional or national institutional accreditation.
New Hampshire's Office of Career School Licensing authorizes the school to operate and offer career training. That is not the same as programmatic accreditation from CAAHEP or ABHES, which are common in medical assisting but not listed for ACT. ACT describes its status as state licensing and alignment with workforce frameworks, not conventional institutional accreditation.
ACT's approvals page lists alignment with NHA, PTCB, AMCA, ACE, DOL Registered Apprenticeship, and ETPL/WIOA. Many of those are not accreditors. NHA, PTCB, and AMCA certify; ACE reviews credit recommendations; ETPL/WIOA and apprenticeship are workforce recognitions.
For clinical training and medical assistant externship requirements, the school's authority to operate in your state can matter more than an accreditation label. ACT also appears as a Vermont State Approved WIOA program, which supports workforce funding eligibility there, but that is not institutional or programmatic accreditation.1 Before enrolling, verify the credential required by the employer or state with the relevant certifying body, and check the New Hampshire Department of Education's licensing page plus NHA's CCMA eligibility rules directly.
Prices change often, so treat every figure below as a snapshot and confirm the current price on each provider's own site before you commit. Competitors rarely publish Advanced eClinical Training (ACT) pricing, so the figures below come from ACT's own CCMA course page and cost guide, both checked for 2026.
ACT describes its programs as all-inclusive and priced under $4,000. Its CCMA page currently lists tuition at $3,300.
I could not find a published MedCerts dental assistant price or payment policy in the research behind this comparison, so I won't put a number on it. Rather than guess, check MedCerts' program page or ask an advisor, and use the same checklist for both providers:
As you collect quotes, write down the date and the source for each figure. That makes a true side-by-side comparison possible, and it protects you if a price shifts between your first inquiry and enrollment day.
Advanced eClinical Training advertises a broad set of career services, including coaching, resume and interview prep, job matching, employer connections, job boards, networking events, ongoing support, and an extern-to-hire pathway. It also claims a healthcare partner network of more than 1,000 facilities and reports about 95 percent job placement within two months, but that figure is self-reported and no independent audit or methodology is shown. MedCerts' current career-services and employer-partnership claims cannot be verified from the sources available for this article.
| Occupation / Provider | Advertised Placement Support | Reported Outcome / Earnings (2025) | Verification |
|---|---|---|---|
| Advanced eClinical Training | Career coaching, resume and interview prep, job matching, employer connections, job boards, networking events, ongoing support, and an extern-to-hire pathway; claims a 1,000+ healthcare partner network | About 95% job placement within 2 months (self-reported) | Self-reported; no independent audit or methodology shown in available sources |
| MedCerts | Not shown in available sources | No placement rate published in available sources | Current claims cannot be verified |
| Medical Assistants | Not applicable (occupation-level data) | Median pay $45,690; 25th to 75th percentile $38,470 to $49,180; total employment 817,870 | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2025 |
| Dental Assistants | Not applicable (occupation-level data) | Median pay $48,070; 25th to 75th percentile $44,340 to $58,090; total employment 387,790 | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2025 |
Dental assisting rules vary enough that a program can meet one state's standard and miss another's. Confirm these points with your state dental board before enrolling.
