VCOM-CC vs. LECOM-B vs. ACOM

[Throwaway6969420]

If you got accepted to all 3, which would you choose and why?

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[user3]

LECOM-Bradenton. PBL makes for lots of independent study time and minimizes time you have to spend on campus. VCOM and ACOM both have mandatory lecture (and dress code) policies, which will make for much less free time during your first 2 years.

Make sure you are fine with PBL curriculum, though.

 

[67552931811]

Lecom-B: $, location, no mandatory daily attendance or daily dress code.

 

[bajastapler]

go where you have the best opportunity to participate in research as an ms1 and ms2. go where you get the best clinical exposure as an ms3. pro tip: look at number of admits per year by each hospital the school is affiliated. also look at "trauma level". Residencies offered by the hospital.

 

[hallowmann]

go where you have the best opportunity to participate in research as an ms1 and ms2. go where you get the best clinical exposure as an ms3. pro tip: look at number of admits per year by each hospital the school is affiliated. also look at "trauma level". Residencies offered by the hospital.

The thing is, ACOM is brand new and hasn't sent people to sit for Level 1 yet, let alone sent people to clinicals. VCOM-CC is graduating it's first class in the coming summer. No matter what, I imagine any info OP gets in this regard from current students or even the admins at either school, it will be fluid and will likely change by the time they're a 3rd year.

OP, the answer to this is obvious. If you like PBL, then you should go with LECOM-B. It has a very solid track record (pass rates consistently ~100%, good scores, and people seem to match well), it is the oldest school out of the 3 (started in 2004, whereas VCOM-CC started in 2011 and ACOM in 2013), and the price is one of the lowest in the country.

 

[DocWinter]

For overall cost and location, LECOM B is a pretty nice deal.

You can lump VCOM and ACOM together as newer schools.

I'm one of those weird people who can just do a quick pros/cons list and make up my mind. It can be just that easy, decide what you want and don't look back.

I have no idea what baja is talking about...how many schools really offer research in MS1/2? And unless you're going into a specialty, IDK, sounds like a bad way to spend your summer.

 

[Throwaway6969420]

LECOM-Bradenton. PBL makes for lots of independent study time and minimizes time you have to spend on campus. VCOM and ACOM both have mandatory lecture (and dress code) policies, which will make for much less free time during your first 2 years.

Make sure you are fine with PBL curriculum, though.

I thought LECOM had a business casual dress code?

The thing is, ACOM is brand new and hasn't sent people to sit for Level 1 yet, let alone sent people to clinicals. VCOM-CC is graduating it's first class in the coming summer. No matter what, I imagine any info OP gets in this regard from current students or even the admins at either school, it will be fluid and will likely change by the time they're a 3rd year.

OP, the answer to this is obvious. If you like PBL, then you should go with LECOM-B. It has a very solid track record (pass rates consistently ~100%, good scores, and people seem to match well), it is the oldest school out of the 3 (started in 2004, whereas VCOM-CC started in 2011 and ACOM in 2013), and the price is one of the lowest in the country.

VCOM-CC did start in 2011, but everything was based off the Virginia campus, which has been proven to work. Is it safe to assume the CC COMLEX averages and matching to be somewhat similar to VC?

Thanks for the posts everyone!

 

[hallowmann]

I thought LECOM had a business casual dress code?...

I guess its kind of like business casual, but that doesn't usually include a tie. LECOM dress code includes a tie. For women, there's isn't a big difference.

...VCOM-CC did start in 2011, but everything was based off the Virginia campus, which has been proven to work. Is it safe to assume the CC COMLEX averages and matching to be somewhat similar to VC?

Thanks for the posts everyone!

No way to know. VCOM started in 2003 (only 1 yr before LECOM-B), first class in 2007. By the same logic, LECOM started in 1993, so its got 10 yrs more proof.

Honestly though, its hard to say. Even though the system is the same, there are going to be differences. The faculty is different, the facilities are different. It would be like comparing PCOM to PCOM-GA. They are built on the same model/record, but they are different. LECOM-B for example has had a consistently higher COMLEX pass rate than LECOM-E, but PBL in general seems to confer better/higher scores for the COMLEX.

LECOM-B in its own right has a solid track record, which is almost as long as VCOM-VC (only 1 yr shorter). It also has consistently demonstrated a 99-100% board pass rate for the last few years.

Again, if all else is equal to you and you like the curriculum, I'd go with LECOM-B. If you honestly believe you'll be much happier at VCOM-CC, and that is worth the extra $40k+ ($10k/yr) increase in tuition, then that's also fine. In the long run, I doubt it would matter much.

Whatever decision you make, don't look back. There's no point playing what-if.

 

[MLT2MT2DO]

Lecom-B: $, location, no mandatory daily attendance or daily dress code.

Mandatory attendance and dress code while on campus first year 4/5 days second 3/5, though these are rarely full days.

 

[67552931811]

Mandatory attendance and dress code while on campus first year 4/5 days second 3/5, though these are rarely full days.

I knew you had to go in from time to time, but I didn't know the exact prevalence-- just knew it wasn't daily. So, gracias.

 

[cylondoctor]

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[nlax30]

LECOM-B grad here.... Good location (hard to beat costal Florida), I enjoyed PBL as I can't sit in lectures all day.

There is the dress code but it isn't a big deal, if that's an issue for you then so be it.

All in all no matter you go most of your success depends on you and what you make of it so pick a place where you'll be comfortable with the style and culture of the school.

The first two years there will give you what you need to do well on boards. The clinical years can be hit or miss like most private DO schools without an attached dedicated teaching hospital. During the clinical years I would say they don't always offer that much help when you need it so you may be scrambling at times to find a rotation if you're looking for something specific or in a specific area, but I hear that about a lot of schools.

 

[Mehd School]

Not a huge fan of LECOM's policies or reputation, but Bradenton is the obvious choice here.

 

[Supermanwife]

Any recent grads that would like to talk about this topic???

 

[MiamiBoyy]

Bump. Id like to know what people think of when comparing VCOM-Virginia and LECOM-B.

 

[makehealthprimary]

I work with 4th year LECOM-B students during their rotations in the ER. I have yet to hear anyone say anything good about the school. Every single student I've talked to (about 20-25 or so) talks about how horrible the administration is and how frustrating it is that they do not do much (or anything) to assist in setting their students up for 3rd and 4th year rotations. One girls response to my question about her experience at LECOM was, "I mean I really did learn medicine but everything else was horrible." She just matched dermatology after a 1 year medicine internship so it clearly worked for her.


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[Supermanwife]

I work with 4th year LECOM-B students during their rotations in the ER. I have yet to hear anyone say anything good about the school. Every single student I've talked to (about 20-25 or so) talks about how horrible the administration is and how frustrating it is that they do not do much (or anything) to assist in setting their students up for 3rd and 4th year rotations. One girls response to my question about her experience at LECOM was, "I mean I really did learn medicine but everything else was horrible." She just matched dermatology after a 1 year medicine internship so it clearly worked for her.


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Thanks for replying.

 

[crazyboi1993]

As a current LECOM B student, you make what you want of the school, a lot of it is independent work, and PBL is great, location is awesome for me too. I study at home, and have awesome flexibility. Yeah administration has some disconnect, but stay out of trouble, and pass, you will have no problem. I can't common on rotations but I heard they are starting to pay hospitals