LECOM-Erie Overview for those curious

[Slane]

Yeah but the LECOM waiting list moves a lot.

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[hhcass12]

Yeah but the LECOM waiting list moves a lot.

Thank you for the quick response. If I check the portal everyday, will it show if a sooner date becomes available due to somebody cancelling? Would they even let me choose an earlier date since I already chose a date?

 

[Slane]

Thank you for the quick response. If I check the portal everyday, will it show if a sooner date becomes available due to somebody cancelling? Would they even let me choose an earlier date since I already chose a date?

No, your best bet would be to call admissions and see if anyone has cancelled an earlier interview on like a weekly basis. They might let you move it up, but I'm not 100% sure on that.

 

[gunning4surgery]

I will say this. I have not been able to read all the negative posts but there are a few truths to education I have found so far.

1. You teach yourself even in lectures, no one teaches you
2. Motivation is then the key because once you are accepted to a med school/college fininshing and becoming the best you can is again, up to you.
3. Where you go impacts your view in the future: even the brightest most motivated person that goes to a sub par school (LECOM) will see others and the world through that lens, and so even a good doc can be jaded from lack of ancillary support that they paid for.

 

[sparksmarie]

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[AnonymousD.O.]

LECOM-Erie - let me start by saying this - I was happy that they accepted me and am appreciative for being in medical school but being a 2nd year now and looking back at my selection I truly regret picking this school. There aren't too many in depth reviews on LECOM-erie and reason probably being many of the students are probably scared to speak their minds for fear of the administration. alright here ya go...

Education: The education here is taught toward the COMLEX - almost too much so in my opinion. They are EXTREMELY concerned about you passing boards but in comes across more for the appearance of the school's reputation rather than actually caring about their students. Anatomy is VERY well taught here and are some of the best professors at LECOM...physiology is awful, just plain bad, immuno is awful and people still don't know it very well. micro is OK but you miss some of the basics because you are rushed through the first micro course early in core your first semester. pharm. is awful and you are pretty much reduced to learning it on your own and nitpicking a few things here and there from certain lectures. biochem is OK but again I feel it is not taught as well as it should be if you are looking to do well on USMLE (not so much COMLEX). Systems --> Neuro (so-so but too rushed and crammed); cardio --> WELL TAUGHT; respiratory --> not well taught; renal --> so-so (physio is involved a fair amount in renal so hence poorly taught in that regard which affects learning the other aspects); haven't taken GI, derm, or endocrine so can't speak to those yet.

OMM is HIGHLY focused on at Lecom-Erie -- you have lab EVERY wednesday with a POSSIBLE practical usually every other week and its random - which becomes highly annoying for those who don't get called towards the end and very frustrating. but, works out well for those who go first and then don't have to study for the other ones until the next round of people get called...again many students look at this as unfair and a very inefficient way of testing but it is what it is. extremely annoying class and lab when you are barraged with tests and quizzes all the time in your typical classes...you basically waste a night of studying for OMM on tuesday nights if you can get a practical on wednesday.

Administration: The administration is by far my biggest complaint and many student's will agree (not all of course). There is a rift between the administration and students. They say they work for their students but the fact is they care more about their own reputation then they do about their students. It is ALL about the LECOM brandname. They rule with an iron fist and work by scaring their students into doing things out of fear. Don't even get me started on Clinical Ed's lack of helpfulness when it comes to picking rotations...yeh yeh we get to pick our rotations in a lot of different places yada yada...but when you go through the actual rotation picking process -- the process can be an absolute nightmare for some people and becomes very cumbersome.

There is a dress code and its not awful...but does become sometimes annoying especially when you have to change out of your dress clothes into anatomy/lab clothes and then back into dress clothes. just becomes a nuisance on some days.

Security is UNBELIEVABLE! Think badging in everywhere (in and out), no ID badge and a test on that day - SORRY - go get your ID badge. They don't care if they have seen you a million times before. They take their jobs WAY to seriously...whether this from the administration or the security - who knows but it is ridiculous. Oh yeh, studying late at night in the freezer of their cafeteria - you are not allowed to wear your hoodie up even after hours (dress code doesn't apply after 5:30 during weekdays).

Rumors also circulate that they manipulate grades. Some people think that if you are borderline passing but you earn a barely passing grade that they actually will fail you...say you earned a 70 or 71 - barely passing. You get your score report and somehow you failed according to the score report...many people have asked to then see their scantron or quizzes or whatever to review and they are DENIED being able to look at them. Fortunately, I have not cut it this close but this has happened to a few of my friends...there are multiple other occasions where it appears they manipulate grades to their liking...which just unnerves some people. Not saying its definitely true but yeh.

They run the school like a business - I know they are not a "for profit" med school but its hard to describe unless you go here the feel you get when you are here. Some people may like that feeling and some may not. You feel like you are being churned out as a "foot-soldier" in the medical field rather than someone who can be different and go above and beyond...that is not to say you can't but sometimes you just get that feeling.

Hmmm, lets see what else - tests are usually every Monday - so pretty much destroys your weekends if your in LDP pathway. LECOM is kind of wasting your time when you could be using that time instead for studying. LDP gets essentially 2 weeks to study for boards without classes being involved...so that sort of stinks for some people.

I could go on and on - there are just too many things to honestly write down...it boils down to the school feels very oppressive and administration is not very friendly. education is so-so - Yes a lot of people PASS their boards -- but I would hope you would PASS...they don't say how well people do on their boards though openly. I would hope the majority don't just barely pass.

I am sure I will get flamed by some people as being a disgruntled med student or whatever but fact is I appreciate LECOM-erie for accepting me and giving me the opportunity...they are oppressive, multiple courses are taught very very poorly, high turnover of staff, administration is not very friendly or helpful (clin ed is almost non-existent in rotation picking and very unfriendly in that regard), run like a business, tests and quizzes basically at least every other day (obviously not all the time but 90%). Again, believe me or not - doesn't matter to me but just wish someone had put this sort of information out there before I had made my decision on lecom because I would have 100% chosen somewhere else or not gone to med school. I will follow this all up with that I feel I have learned a lot and have been taught certain things very well but major holes/gaps in a fair amount of topics/subjects.

again, take my advice for what its worth - i know some people LOVE LECOM and some people absolutely despise it. I am more in the middle but lean more away from the love of LECOM. I just can't take the oppressive feeling of the school and the way many of the classes are taught. Hard to describe unless your here. feel free to ask me a direct question and I can try to answer it.

You Forgot one of the biggest negatives - Its in ERIE Pa

 

[Slevin]

Stop whining. I Graduated from LECOM-Erie and while I hated some of the policies you have to remember medical school isn't like burger king and you can't have it your way.
So sit down. Shut up. Pass your exams and move on. Whining isn't going to get you anywhere and it isn't going to change anything

 

[GlowInTheDark]

You Forgot one of the biggest negatives - Its in ERIE Pa

I can think of quite a few DO school location that are much worse.

 

[AnonymousD.O.]

I go to LECOM-Bradenton, so obviously my experience is completely different and I don't claim to know anything about how things run in Erie... however... I don't understand why you're upset with a lot of this. We have OMM every week, too. Shouldn't we? Everyone I know in lecture-based programs in schools all over the country have exams basically every week if not multiple exams per week. Didn't you know that was going to be the case when you chose to go to LECOM and chose the lecture pathway? You had to know what the curriculum was. Why would you be upset they're trying to get you the best board scores possible? Yes, you need an ID to get in the building... have you ever had your stuff stolen? My grad school in Buffalo had people mugged and assaulted on campus... I'm OK with needing my ID card to get in, now.

You're entitled to your opinion and I see nothing wrong with criticizing the quality of the lectures, nothing wrong with that at all. But on the rest of it... just try pretend you're a residency program director and you're reading these complaints - tested too often, OMM every week, need your ID - what would be your impression of this student?

Do the LECOM clowns freak you out

 

[hckyplyr]

I'll be starting at LECOM-E in July. I had questions regarding the NBME anatomy shelf exams. I heard LECOM makes their OMS1 students take this test, and they must pass it to pass the anatomy course? Not all schools do this correct? Is this curved? A large part of your course grade? Are there a lot of students who fail this, it seems like just another added stressor when most schools don't even require it. Thanks

 

[hallowmann]

I'll be starting at LECOM-E in July. I had questions regarding the NBME anatomy shelf exams. I heard LECOM makes their OMS1 students take this test, and they must pass it to pass the anatomy course? Not all schools do this correct? Is this curved? A large part of your course grade? Are there a lot of students who fail this, it seems like just another added stressor when most schools don't even require it. Thanks

You must take it, and you must pass it to pass the course. I'm in PBL, but for us it was something like 10-12% of the course grade (worth a bit less than a regular exam). Passing it requires you to be within 2 standard deviations of the mean (i.e. better than the bottom 2.5%), which basically means if you're passing the course without it, its very unlikely that you'll fail the exam. Your grade is calculated based on the class curve being around 80-85% (or something like that).

Not all schools (MD and DO) require it to be taken, and many that do don't have it be part of the grade, but LECOM is not the only medical school that does this.

It's honestly not a big deal, and its a good way to get used to the NBME and standardized exams. They give us 0 time to study for it (I think it was the day after our Head & Neck) exam, but even with that, I don't think anyone in the class that wasn't already failing anatomy failed the shelf. So bottom line, pass anatomy and it won't be a huge deal.

Also, as a tip, study the clinical supplement and that high-yield for boards document on the portal.

 

[GlowInTheDark]

I'll be starting at LECOM-E in July. I had questions regarding the NBME anatomy shelf exams. I heard LECOM makes their OMS1 students take this test, and they must pass it to pass the anatomy course? Not all schools do this correct? Is this curved? A large part of your course grade? Are there a lot of students who fail this, it seems like just another added stressor when most schools don't even require it. Thanks

It's not a stressor and is easier than the course itself.

 

[deleted245139]

I will say this. I have not been able to read all the negative posts but there are a few truths to education I have found so far.

1. You teach yourself even in lectures, no one teaches you
2. Motivation is then the key because once you are accepted to a med school/college fininshing and becoming the best you can is again, up to you.
3. Where you go impacts your view in the future: even the brightest most motivated person that goes to a sub par school (LECOM) will see others and the world through that lens, and so even a good doc can be jaded from lack of ancillary support that they paid for.

As someone on the other side (graduated 2013), I can promise you that if you embrace the 'self-motivated' philosophy early, it will benefit you. We are striving to be professionals - having a sense of ownership in your education and career and knowing early on that nothing will be spoon-fed to you is beneficial. I'll agree that you are paying for an education so sometimes the frustration sets in that LECOM is overly paternalistic, but I promise you that being self-propelled is a skill you will learn sooner or later. Embrace it and it will serve you well.

 

[user3]

Stop whining. I Graduated from LECOM-Erie and while I hated some of the policies you have to remember medical school isn't like burger king and you can't have it your way.
So sit down. Shut up. Pass your exams and move on. Whining isn't going to get you anywhere and it isn't going to change anything

Students with legitimate complaints about their school should not be written off as whiners. I think students absolutely should speak up when they feel something is not acceptable. Schools are not always deserving of respect.

 

[ortnakas]

Students with legitimate complaints about their school should not be written off as whiners. I think students absolutely should speak up when they feel something is not acceptable. Schools are not always deserving of respect.

I am a current student at LECOM and I feel like I'm getting a good education. Granted, I have some complaints, but I've had complaints at every institution I've ever attended. The complaints brought up on the Internet (I have to agree with Slevin that these tend to mostly be whining) are often not the same as the complaints we bring up in real life.

 

[AnonymousD.O.]

You must take it, and you must pass it to pass the course. I'm in PBL, but for us it was something like 10-12% of the course grade (worth a bit less than a regular exam). Passing it requires you to be within 2 standard deviations of the mean (i.e. better than the bottom 2.5%), which basically means if you're passing the course without it, its very unlikely that you'll fail the exam. Your grade is calculated based on the class curve being around 80-85% (or something like that).

Not all schools (MD and DO) require it to be taken, and many that do don't have it be part of the grade, but LECOM is not the only medical school that does this.

It's honestly not a big deal, and its a good way to get used to the NBME and standardized exams. They give us 0 time to study for it (I think it was the day after our Head & Neck) exam, but even with that, I don't think anyone in the class that wasn't already failing anatomy failed the shelf. So bottom line, pass anatomy and it won't be a huge deal.

Also, as a tip, study the clinical supplement and that high-yield for boards document on the portal.

Even though anatomy by itself is pretty low yield for boards its obviously a very important class. Ya its an extra stressor but I wish my school would've done this. Sounds like a great idea to make sure you are up to speed on the important anatomy. Plus, I hear from other posts that LECOM is very strong with anatomy, so I'm sure this test won't make or break the vast majority of LECOM students.

 

[nanie91]

I go to LECOM-Bradenton, so obviously my experience is completely different and I don't claim to know anything about how things run in Erie... however... I don't understand why you're upset with a lot of this. We have OMM every week, too. Shouldn't we? Everyone I know in lecture-based programs in schools all over the country have exams basically every week if not multiple exams per week. Didn't you know that was going to be the case when you chose to go to LECOM and chose the lecture pathway? You had to know what the curriculum was. Why would you be upset they're trying to get you the best board scores possible? Yes, you need an ID to get in the building... have you ever had your stuff stolen? My grad school in Buffalo had people mugged and assaulted on campus... I'm OK with needing my ID card to get in, now.

You're entitled to your opinion and I see nothing wrong with criticizing the quality of the lectures, nothing wrong with that at all. But on the rest of it... just try pretend you're a residency program director and you're reading these complaints - tested too often, OMM every week, need your ID - what would be your impression of this student?

this is very nicely put