Liberty University (LUCOM) Discussion Thread 2014 - 2015

[FutureDrSmith30]

Congrats!! When did you interview?

November 17th!

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[thelittlenginedatcould]

Interviewed same day, have not heard back.

have you heard back?

 

[trippenlatin]

Dr swanson likes chocolate...

 

[dreday710]

have you heard back?

Nope

 

[AvrgPreMedKid]

Interviewing with Dr. Swanson and Dr. Leonard. Any current students or ones who have already interviewed have any tips? Thanks in advance!

When I interviewed, Dr. Leonard gave the opening presentation. It was the best presentation I've seen at a medical school, not because of the information presented, but because he is a sharp and engaging individual. I went into my interview right after that feeling like Liberty was the place for me. He is an MD/PhD and a pathologist, as you can see from his bio on LUCOM's site. Having met him personally, though, he seems like a friendly genius that would be awesome to interview. Dr. Swanson was in the anatomy lab when I took my tour. He seems like a funny guy. At the time, he was testing the cameras in the lab, and on the screen were shoppers outside of Dick's Sporting Goods, which had to be a couple of miles away. Those anatomy lab cameras have a pretty good zoom.

The questions I was asked were pretty standard, with the exception of the Liberty-specific questions. If you can portray your motivation to become a physician properly, you will be fine. It will be a great day. Enjoy it.

Best of luck to you, and let me know how it goes after, please. I want to hear what you thought of Dr. Leonard and Mr. Cook.

 

[ItsTime619]

Does anyone have any insight to those who interviewed in October but haven't heard back yet? I know there are people who have been accepted from October interviews, and they told us we would be notified within a week whether we are accepted, rejected, or waitlisted. At this point I'm going to take the fact that I wasn't rejected thus far as a good sign, but it's still worrisome that an acceptance didn't come along yet. Does liberty take the higher, more qualified applicants first without waitlisting the others first? I don't know, just being neurotic.

 

[DO-09]

Does anyone have any insight to those who interviewed in October but haven't heard back yet? I know there are people who have been accepted from October interviews, and they told us we would be notified within a week whether we are accepted, rejected, or waitlisted. At this point I'm going to take the fact that I wasn't rejected thus far as a good sign, but it's still worrisome that an acceptance didn't come along yet. Does liberty take the higher, more qualified applicants first without waitlisting the others first? I don't know, just being neurotic.

I was wondering the same thing! The last time that I talked to them they said that they did not have time to review all the applicants. You would think it should be those who interviewed first get reviewed first. I interviewed at another school and they said that each member of the committee gets a pile of applicants and they present them to the committee, so maybe thats how Liberty does it. The wait is killing me tho!

 

[Wood16]

I was wondering the same thing! The last time that I talked to them they said that they did not have time to review all the applicants. You would think it should be those who interviewed first get reviewed first. I interviewed at another school and they said that each member of the committee gets a pile of applicants and they present them to the committee, so maybe thats how Liberty does it. The wait is killing me tho!

I interviewed October 23 and haven't heard anything either... On November 3rd Barry told me I would know within a week. I agree the wait is awful. Reviewing each applicant in order would be the logical thing to do (regarding their memory of us), but who knows. I'm still hoping for the best!

 

[thelittlenginedatcould]

I interviewed October 23 and haven't heard anything either... On November 3rd Barry told me I would know within a week. I agree the wait is awful. Reviewing each applicant in order would be the logical thing to do (regarding their memory of us), but who knows. I'm still hoping for the best!

Who did you interview with?

 

[impacttyee]

I interviewed November 10th and got the admissions offer November 24th! I'm excited to be apart of this school.

 

[Wood16]

Who did you interview with?

I interviewed with Dr. Pelletier and Dr. Thomson.

 

[dreday710]

I was wondering the same thing! The last time that I talked to them they said that they did not have time to review all the applicants. You would think it should be those who interviewed first get reviewed first. I interviewed at another school and they said that each member of the committee gets a pile of applicants and they present them to the committee, so maybe thats how Liberty does it. The wait is killing me tho!

Not to be ostentatious, but I have stats on the high side for this school and have heard nothing. That being said, there could be something else in my application that is unpalatable, as I did post-bac (had an up and down undergrad), and have a very different outlook on spirituality (yogi). Who knows.

 

[luster]

• Biochemistry or Cellular Biology: One course with laboratory (4-5 semester hours/6-8 quarter hours) *Two semesters of biochemistry or completion of both courses are highly recommended.

Above is listed as a requirement on the LUCOM website. I took biochem without lab and cell bio without lab. Anyone know if I would meet the requirement?
Please & thank you!

 

[MiamiGuy1]

Hi guys, what do you all think regarding men's facial hair for the interview? If it is nice, trimmed, and styled is it okay to have? Thank you

 

[trippenlatin]

Hi guys, what do you all think regarding men's facial hair for the interview? If it is nice, trimmed, and styled is it okay to have? Thank you

Facial hair is fine...there are lots of hairy faces at lucom

 

[MiamiGuy1]

Facial hair is fine...there are lots of hairy faces at lucom

Ok thank you!

 

[JVB1216]

Hi all,
I was wondering if anyone who was invited to interview had to request a different date? I received the II e-mail today, and the only two dates listed to choose from are the 9th (one week) and the 15th. Being that I am from NY and have a full-time job, it is almost impossible for me to schedule a trip there with so little time before the interview. I was hoping to call admissions and ask if I could choose a date in January instead, in order to make the necessary travel arrangements. Has anyone done this before?

Many thanks!

 

[JSensei]

Hi all,
I was wondering if anyone who was invited to interview had to request a different date? I received the II e-mail today, and the only two dates listed to choose from are the 9th (one week) and the 15th. Being that I am from NY and have a full-time job, it is almost impossible for me to schedule a trip there with so little time before the interview. I was hoping to call admissions and ask if I could choose a date in January instead, in order to make the necessary travel arrangements. Has anyone done this before?

Many thanks!

I just did. They said the last interview date for the year was 12/16, and that actually fits my schedule. So I booked it. They will have dates in January if you just call them. The process was painless, I and I got my interview confirmation email in about an hour.

Congrats on the interview invite though.

Anyone else interviewing on 12/16?

 

[JVB1216]

I just did. They said the last interview date for the year was 12/16, and that actually fits my schedule. So I booked it. They will have dates in January if you just call them. The process was painless, I and I got my interview confirmation email in about an hour.

Congrats on the interview invite though.

Anyone else interviewing on 12/16?

Congrats to you as well, and thank you for your help, I'll give Barry a call tomorrow!

 

[bethygean]

Okay so I'm sure it's already been mentioned somewhere in this post, but would those accepted care to share your stats?

 

[Scrumptious]

3.4c 3.3s, 33 mcat. emt, er scribe, alot of volunteer experience. They really value service so if you have experience that shows how you like to/want to help others, i think your set!

 

[JSensei]

I do not yet have a D.O. letter, but I can get one. I have shadowed a few D.Os and I'm married to a D.O. that is finishing her third year of residency. I know most of her fellow residents on both a personal level and on a professional level since I work at the same hospital as a staff pharmacist.

Will a decision be withheld until you get a D.O. letter, or can you get a provisional acceptance?

 

[trippenlatin]

I do not yet have a D.O. letter, but I can get one. I have shadowed a few D.Os and I'm married to a D.O. that is finishing her third year of residency. I know most of her fellow residents on both a personal level and on a professional level since I work at the same hospital as a staff pharmacist.

Will a decision be withheld until you get a D.O. letter, or can you get a provisional acceptance?

Why are you even asking the question? Get the letter.

 

[BorntobeDO?]

The website isnt out of date but that page of the website is. Here you go:

http://www.liberty.edu/aboutliberty/index.cfm?PID=30383


There are also using median not mean. Even that 24 /3.4 is inflated.



Check the link.

Also that pretty bad especially considering they are using median. The 3.4 is alright (nothing to be excited about) and the 24 (I suspect its lower) is the lowest of any DO school. The average person going to lucom has an MCAT below the national average. I would bet there are plenty 21/22s walking around. Also please know lucom adcoms are on here. I just want to point out some numbers for you guys.

Median is exactly what you want to know, mean can be skewed by outliers (as you can see by the 10th and 90th percentiles at many MD schools, some have a very wide range). Median gives you an idea of what the middle student actually had rather than how many extremes the school had.

 

[DoctorSynthesis]

Did you take statistics? Median is exactly what you want to know, mean can be skewed by outliers (as you can see by the 10th and 90th percentiles at many MD schools, some have a very wide range). Median gives you an idea of what the middle student actually had rather than how many extremes the school had.

That was an old post. Lol way to reply to that.

And yes I have taken statistics and got an A. From that class I learned how easy numbers are to manipulate. Lucom clearly did that here and still came up with 24. Lmao.

If they had this set of data. 16 17 18 24 25 25 25 a 24 might be the median but that doesn't show a good representation at all. The mean of 21.4 in that scenario would be a lot more accurate to the average data.

If they would have given the 10th and 90th percentile then that would have given a better picture also. They didn't though they gave a doctored number to make them look better and still came up with a 24....

 

[SpartanWolverine]

That was an old post. Lol way to reply to that.

And yes I have taken statistics and got an A. From that class I learned how easy numbers are to mulipulate. Lucom clearly did that here and still came up with 24. Lmao.

If they had this set of data. 16 17 18 24 25 25 25 a 24 might be the median but that doesn't show a good representation at all. The mean of 21.4 in that scenario would be a lot more accurate to the average data.

If they would have given the 10th and 90th percentile then that would have given a better picture also. They didn't though they gave a doctored number to make them look better and still came up with a 24....

*manipulate. Did you also get an "A" in English?

Just messing with you.

Eh, for more representative disclosure, I think schools should report mean and SD... but who really cares.

 

[DoctorSynthesis]

*manipulate. Did you also get an "A" in English?

Just messing with you.

Eh, for more representative disclosure, I think schools should report mean and SD... but who really cares.

I have never ever gotten an A in an English class. I wonder why ...

Mean and SD would be best yea but to just show median is sketch. When it's at 24 that's sketch. Hopefully the first time pass rate is OK.

 

[BorntobeDO?]

Hello Congrats on your surprise II! Im a student at LUCOM so hopefully I can answer your questions.

Clinical rotations - About half of us will stay right in Lynchburg at Centra Lynchburg General. The other half will be split between Virginia Baptist Hospital (also in Lynchburg) and Southside hospital located in Farmville (about an hour away). Basically if you have a family/spouse living in Lynchburg with you, you will most likely have your rotations in Lynchburg. That way you aren't uprooting kids/spouses finding new schools/jobs for them just before you start clinicals. If you are single, you still have a pretty big chance of staying in lynchburg since, at least for our class, only 1/3 or less are married. Worst case scenario, you commute an hour or when your lease is up, move a little closer. Some people are trying to work out rotations back in their home state. I don't know much about this, but from what I understand, if you can find 10 people who also want to go to that same hospital, and all of the logistics are worked out (don't know exactly how that works...) you can have your rotations in another state. This is something that I'd like to do but honestly I haven't spoken with faculty about it yet so I don't even know if its feasible. But if 10 people go to another state, thats 10 more spots potentially right in lynchburg.

Research - it is my understanding that they are working on building a research facility on the bottom floor of the COM. Don't quote me on that lol. I don't expect research at the COM to be available right away, but Liberty sure moves fast and they have a lot of money so you never know lol. Some of my classmates are setting up research opportunities over christmas/summer break back at home.

Extracurriculars - YES! Theres something available during most lunch hours. There are "clinical hours" with our ER guy He's really cool. Plus he used to be the director of an extremely competitive ER residency program where he came from. I think he said he sorted through 1000 applications and had to narrow down to 14 (my numbers could be off but it was somewhere around in there) so needless to say he knows what it takes to land a great residency and he's giving us all the tips. Other clubs have meetings during lunch too, and it seems like they are always adding more opportunities.

If you have any other questions let me know

Thanks for this, this is a big part of my decision to apply.

 

[BorntobeDO?]

I had gotten a secondary but hadn't heard anything since. I was afraid of not getting in anywhere so I applied and was accepted to the Jan. term at St. Georges and I was weeks away from hopping on a plane. I emailed basically asking if I should take this "good" opportunity (realizing now - DEFINITELY not good lol) or if I should wait for something "great". Barry emailed me back saying I could come in for an interview and they bumped me up to the closest opening since anything later than mid Dec. Id be out of the country. I felt like he went well out of his way to accommodate me. I fell in love with the school when I got there and Ive loved every minute of being here ever since. Its not just Barry who bends over backwards to help students, its every faculty and staff member here. I might sound like the LUCOM cheerleader lol but Im just being honest. I hope you get an invite!

Wow, you were really close to making a mistake that could of haunted you for years. Going to the Caribbean with an intent to come back to the states is becoming a less and less viable option. Good call on going to Liberty.

 

[BorntobeDO?]

If possible I would at least go for the interview and check it out for yourself. Right now, they are provisionally accredited and are up for full accreditation in 2018. I don't think that will be an issue as they have very experienced faculty on board and lots of money from Liberty to help too. They already have rotations in place with a number of hospitals in southern and central Virginia as well. I was nervous reading all of the studentdoc posts about this school, but when I finally saw it myself, I became very interested in this school.

The faculty and staff really seem to care about the students and want to make sure this school succeeds. They will literally bend over backwards to make sure their students are comfortable. During my visit, I got the impression they are very family oriented as well. Many of the current students I met have started families, and there is a tremendous support system for them. Also, the facility is really state of the art and beautiful - probably one of the nicest campuses I have seen.

The religious aspect made me nervous at first, and they really emphasize that they are a Christian school. I'm a pretty liberal guy from the Bay Area in California so you can imagine how much of a culture shock this was for me. I think that people can be pretty passionate about their beliefs and it is pretty evident here on studentdoc as well. Yes, Liberty University has strict rules it places on their undergrads (i.e. no drinking under 21 and so on) but these are not enforced on their medical students. They continuously expressed that they have people from all sorts of religious backgrounds attending their medical school and I met some other students from California who were not evangelical christians. I think the main belief of the school that they try to instill in the medical curriculum is having a servant's heart like Jesus. I'm not very religious but I can definitely be behind a school that is passionate about serving people. (It is also a requirement to do service during one of your breaks either through their mission trip or in a local community in need.) If you have any questions about the school or the interview process, PM me and I can try to help more.

Hmm, seems like that 'strict rule' might not be unique to just liberty....

 

[BorntobeDO?]

That was an old post. Lol way to reply to that.

And yes I have taken statistics and got an A. From that class I learned how easy numbers are to manipulate. Lucom clearly did that here and still came up with 24. Lmao.

If they had this set of data. 16 17 18 24 25 25 25 a 24 might be the median but that doesn't show a good representation at all. The mean of 21.4 in that scenario would be a lot more accurate to the average data.

If they would have given the 10th and 90th percentile then that would have given a better picture also. They didn't though they gave a doctored number to make them look better and still came up with a 24....

Fair point, but the example your giving isn't likely at all with 162 students. I agree that the 90th and 10th would be useful also, but I wish every school would give the median. MCATs do not come out as 21.7, they are whole numbers. This would be very useful to me if I was a lower scoring applicant.

P.s.- I read the whole thread. I need to know if I want to fill a secondary out without a D.O. letter. I have my answer.
Also apologies about the statistics dig, it was not necessary.

And I will mention that although I found most of your responses distasteful in regard to this schools religious affiliation, I agree that having a median of 24 could be somewhat concerning for a provisionally accredited program as having a score less than that is not associated with medical school success (and therefore further accreditation could possibly be in doubt). I understand the faculty might be qualified, but if the school is accepting lots of under-performing students, I can't see how that won't play in.

With that being said, do board pass rates/match rates play a role in a school getting full accreditation? I feel like this is an obvious yes, but I would prefer an answer from someone who actually knows.

 

[DoctorSynthesis]

Fair point, but the example your giving isn't likely at all with 162 students. I agree that the 90th and 10th would be useful also, but I wish every school would give the median. MCATs do not come out as 21.7, they are whole numbers. This would be very useful to me if I was a lower scoring applicant.

P.s.- I read the whole thread. I need to know if I want to fill a secondary out without a D.O. letter. I have my answer.
Also apologies about the statistics dig, it was not necessary.

I was just pointing out that the mean is likely lower then 24. If it was higher you can bet your ass they would show that.

 

[Knickstape21]

.

 

[dreday710]

Got a letter in the mail today. I was rejected. My first rejection. I figured that would happen from them, as they like a high acceptance rate (of those offers they give) and I was definitely not going to this school. I think they pick really cool, service based individuals (at least at my interview). However, they truly are saturated in Christianity and for those who are moderate Christians, or of other faiths, don't expect them to keep it on the back burner or be accepting of your love of your own (different) spirituality/faith. Blessings to each!

 

[Dr. Zombie]

Got a letter in the mail today. I was rejected (3.46 c 3.62 s 29 mcat). My first rejection. I figured that would happen from them, as they like a high acceptance rate (of those offers they give) and I was definitely not going to this school. I think they pick really cool, service based individuals (at least at my interview). However, they truly are saturated in Christianity and for those who are moderate Christians, or of other faiths, don't expect them to keep it on the back burner or be accepting of your love of your own (different) spirituality/faith. Blessings to each!

So they rejected you because your grades were too good for them...and they may have overlooked your good stats if you professed how strongly Christian you could be....interesting.

 

[dreday710]

So they rejected you because your grades were too good for them...and they may have overlooked your good stats if you professed how strongly Christian you could be....interesting.

That is how I feel, although there could be other things. Maybe I didn't interview well or they didn't like some other aspects of my app? It was my first interview.

 

[SpartanWolverine]

That is how I feel, although there could be other things. Maybe I didn't interview well or they didn't like some other aspects of my app? It was my first interview.

Probably just not a good "fit". I feel like applicants with stats substantially above the mean have a high burden of proof when it comes to making a school feel like you really want an acceptance.

 

[user3]

Probably just not a good "fit". I feel like applicants with stats substantially above the mean have a high burden of proof when it comes to making a school feel like you really want an acceptance.

not for Goro's school. in his words, "the higher the better".

I was just pointing out that the mean is likely lower then 24. If it was higher you can bet your ass they would show that.

I actually like median since it gives you a value for a "typical" student. >=50% of an incoming class scoring X is useful information.

 

[BorntobeDO?]

I was just pointing out that the mean is likely lower then 24. If it was higher you can bet your ass they would show that.

I don't necessarily agree, it seems like they want service oriented individuals, and per their own office put a higher weight on GPA. Its clear from even this thread that they are truly looking for more than just stats.

 

[BorntobeDO?]

not for Goro's school. in his words, "the higher the better".

I actually like median since data at the extremes do not alter it easily. >=50% of an incoming class scoring X is useful information.

You and me are on the same boat partner. Luckily I can avoid all those stat stuffin' schools since I was blessed with rather unimpressive stats. Now someone will have to accept me based on the content of my app rather then the percentile of my MCAT

 

[radkat101]

That is how I feel, although there could be other things. Maybe I didn't interview well or they didn't like some other aspects of my app? It was my first interview.

If this is true, it would prove that people at this school are truly out of their minds if they are prioritizing faith, or even service over potential to succeed. Not only do better stats improve the school's reputation but they also indicate an applicant's ability to do well in school and eventually the boards. I hope/assume this isn't the case, but if it is, it's probably for the better because it means this school won't be around for very long.

 

[DoctorSynthesis]

I don't necessarily agree, it seems like they want service oriented individuals, and per their own office put a higher weight on GPA. Its clear from even this thread that they are truly looking for more than just stats.

You really got to fit lucoms mission in order to go there IMO.

not for Goro's school. in his words, "the higher the better".

I actually like median since it gives you a value for a "typical" student. >=50% of an incoming class scoring X is useful information.

I agree its useful but not that most useful IMO

 

[JSensei]

Asking this again, does anyone know if you can be accepted before you get a D.O. letter. I will be getting mine ASAP, but I only currently have an MD letter on file.

Also, from where are you getting your data, @DoctorSynthesis? I do not see any official listings of average MCAT of the school.

 

[BorntobeDO?]

Asking this again, does anyone know if you can be accepted before you get a D.O. letter. I will be getting mine ASAP, but I only currently have an MD letter on file.

Also, from where are you getting your data, @DoctorSynthesis? I do not see any official listings of average MCAT of the school.

You can get interviewed, but not accepted. Per admissions office, CIB, and this thread.

 

[Knickstape21]

.

 

[EH123]

If this is true, it would prove that people at this school are truly out of their minds if they are prioritizing faith, or even service over potential to succeed. Not only do better stats improve the school's reputation but they also indicate an applicant's ability to do well in school and eventually the boards. I hope/assume this isn't the case, but if it is, it's probably for the better because it means this school won't be around for very long.

I think that prioritizing service also prioritizes potential to succeed. DO schools are looking for people who want to serve, especially in primary care. LUCOM is no different in that aspect. Where LUCOM differs is that they specifically choose students who have a passion for serving the underserved and looking for a servant's heart is truly the goal of LUCOM admissions. LUCOMs stats were pretty normal for a new school. No one can really be surprised that the average MCAT was a 24 or 25, which is less than a standard deviation from some of the other DO schools. What is surprising though is that of the students who had an offer extended to them, most of them chose LUCOM over other schools. If you get a chance to interview here, you will see why. Also, specific MCAT scores do not directly correlate with board scores or overall success. I do agree that very low scores may indicate an inability to succeed, whereas very high scores may show that you have efficient study habits. Most students, however, fall within a certain range. Within that range, one or two point differences between students does not correlate with who does better in class. As I mentioned before, one of my classmates with a low MCAT is at the top of our class, and some of those with very high scores are closer to the bottom. Its just the way it works. So if you see 3400 students all within a range that indicates potential success, you can narrow them down by the type of people you are looking for. Some schools look for researchers, others put a lot of focus on community service. It just depends on the school's mission and vision. LUCOM looking for people who love to serve is a great idea. We will all graduate not only as competent physicians, but as people who are integral parts of their communities because they like to be involved. I think LUCOM will be around for just as long as the other schools. People who feel this school shouldn't exist, don't apply. That simple. But when LUCOM is graduating 160 doctors a year that go into primary care and other specialties, helping to decrease the physician shortage, you shouldn't complain. We are all a team! You are not my competition. Or at least thats the way I see it.

 

[JSensei]

You can get interviewed, but not accepted. Per admissions office, CIB, and this thread.

Thanks. I thought that was the case, but I wanted to check. I'll talk to my primary tomorrow. Hopefully, she will just write me a letter since we've worked together in the hospital. If not, I'm sure she'll let me shadow a day so she can have something extra to talk about. I just hate that it has to be on a rushed time schedule.

 

[JSensei]

Just asking this again: To anybody who got ii or knows this stuff, is it standard not to hear back w/in the 7-10 timeframe mentioned in the email sent after you're complete? Was complete Nov 11th and just wondering.

That's 7-10 business days. It doesn't help that there was a holiday in there too. That kind of jammed things up a bit. I'd say give them a couple more days.

 

[Knickstape21]

.

 

[DoctorSynthesis]

Asking this again, does anyone know if you can be accepted before you get a D.O. letter. I will be getting mine ASAP, but I only currently have an MD letter on file.

Also, from where are you getting your data, @DoctorSynthesis? I do not see any official listings of average MCAT of the school.

http://www.liberty.edu/aboutliberty/index.cfm?PID=30383