Why the LECOM hate?

[Mad Jack]

I doubt it. Many applicants are more concerned about the last two years of medical school more than the first two, and rightfully so. With good work ethic you can be successful on Step 1 at pretty much anywhere. LECOM's rotation sites are pretty sad and apparently setting up 4th year rotations is a nightmare.

Setting up 4th year rotations is pretty similar at LECOM versus any other DO school. That's just the way 4th year works- you set up your own aways wherever you want. Their 3rd year rotations do leave a bit to be desired though.

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[YOWAT]

I went to a lecom-b interview and just did not like it. Im not insulting the school and this is all my opinion but through the interview i felt like i didnt really matter, lol, just a cog in the machine. When i first walked in the building, I was welcomed by a rude security guard who was a jerk to the interviewees. Great way to start the day. I don't like mandatory attendance..come on im 23 years old paying for my tuition..this isnt high school. Dress code is just a big no no for me. And tbh I couldnt get into PBL. There wasnt really a personal touch,i felt like I just blended in and it didnt seem fun to me. You cant even have water bottles...like some of their polircies are real hardcore, i felt like they were half med school and half military school.

pbl?

 

[j4pac]

Look at yourself in the mirror and ask yourself if you are an entitled child. If the answer is yes...don't go to LECOM.

If the honest answer is no...and you want to get great board scores and land a great residency...go to LECOM.

 

[MightBeACylon439]

Look at yourself in the mirror and ask yourself if you are an entitled child. If the answer is yes...don't go to LECOM.

If the honest answer is no...and you want to get great board scores and land a great residency...go to LECOM.

@j4pac, keep me/us/SDN updated on your PM&R status. I thought it was a bummer that the Navy couldn't match you. Based on your participation here I think the Navy and the military in general will be losing a great physician and officer.

To throw my opinion into this debate, it seems SDN members as a whole just like to have something to bitch about. VCOM gets flack because of opening a third branch, though LECOM has three branches and does get any flack for that- people are too busy bitching about the dress code and other stringent policies. If the tuition is too high than SDN will say the schools "reputation" is bad because of "unjustified tuition costs," though they do not understand finances and therefore have no basis to say any tuition is unjustified. Whatever SDN hates the most about a specific school, thats what they will zero in on.

So really it just comes down to whether you want to believe the very vocal minority on SDN, or do your research into a school and listen to the mostly happy student base there.

 

[j4pac]

@j4pac, keep me/us/SDN updated on your PM&R status. I thought it was a bummer that the Navy couldn't match you. Based on your participation here I think the Navy and the military in general will be losing a great physician and officer.

To throw my opinion into this debate, it seems SDN members as a whole just like to have something to bitch about. VCOM gets flack because of opening a third branch, though LECOM has three branches and does get any flack for that- people are too busy bitching about the dress code and other stringent policies. If the tuition is too high than SDN will say the schools "reputation" is bad because of "unjustified tuition costs," though they do not understand finances and therefore have no basis to say any tuition is unjustified. Whatever SDN hates the most about a specific school, thats what they will zero in on.

So really it just comes down to whether you want to believe the very vocal minority on SDN, or do your research into a school and listen to the mostly happy student base there.

Thank you...and I will. I love the Navy...but there is no question that it presents challenges.

My experience with LECOM Bradenton is that people like it unless they were entitled. They knew about the dress code and the food/water policy...so why complain about it when you get there? The answer is that people are entitled and feel like the rules apply to other people and not them. There is mandatory attendance...for the few lectures you actually have to attend at the college due to PBL. Occasionally someone would try to game the system and stay home...meanwhile people like me were in class trying to make the most of it. Entitlement.

The truth is that the same people who attended LECOM Bradenton and complained are the same people who would complain anywhere. So people just are whiners...and not ready to be adults.

LECOM-Erie is a different ballgame. I have known many people who attended LECOM prep before coming to Bradenton...and it is more malignant than Bradenton. There is sometimes the sense that the administrators are trying too hard to catch students doing something wrong...so students are walking on egg shells. I have never even been to Erie to confirm or deny the complaints...but I have heard enough of the complaints from people I trust to know that the statements likely have validity. But those same students would also tell you that Bradenton is NOTHING like Erie. Bradenton is absolutely beautiful and there probably won't be more relaxing environments to do training.

 

[ortnakas]

Why are so many old anti-LECOM threads bumped right now?

I agree with everything @hallowmann said on the previous page (which I think I also posted yesterday on a similar thread). No school is perfect, but I feel like I'm getting a solid education at LECOM-SH.

 

[UnoMas]

Why are so many old anti-LECOM threads bumped right now?

I agree with everything @hallowmann said on the previous page (which I think I also posted yesterday on a similar thread). No school is perfect, but I feel like I'm getting a solid education at LECOM-SH.

It's that time of year when people, who have multiple acceptances are weighing their options or waitlisted people trying to "sway" accepted pre-meds away from certain schools. The necrobump can either be a 'strategic' one or that of genuine curiosity.

I find it funny to see pre-meds who interviewed at a school for a few hours or medical students from other DO schools, making disparaging comments about other DO school's 3rd year rotations. Unless someone has done all the 3rd rotations at LECOM and all the 3rd year rotations at another DO school, then that someone is qualified to make comparison between the 2 schools. I doubt such person exists.

Clinical education is the WEAK point at most if not all DO schools, this much is clear. If you frequent the Clinical Rotations and Osteopathic sections, you will see that crappy rotations exist at all DO schools including the established ones. So the way I see it, if I were to get a crappy clinical education regardless of where I attend, I'd rather be paying 32k instead of 50k for it.

What I see as facts is that
(1) LECOM produces 400 something DO physicians every year and they match into a diverse range of specialties and at many different locations.
(2) All 3 branches of LECOM has excellent board pass rates.
(3) And most importantly, graduates and current students at LECOM come on here and post positive things about the school
(4) Most of the negative posts are from interviewing premeds and students from other schools

So yeah, take these advice/comments with about 20 lbs of sodium chloride

I am typing all of this on my phone so it may not be as legible

 

[user3]

Thank you...and I will. I love the Navy...but there is no question that it presents challenges.

My experience with LECOM Bradenton is that people like it unless they were entitled. They knew about the dress code and the food/water policy...so why complain about it when you get there? The answer is that people are entitled and feel like the rules apply to other people and not them. There is mandatory attendance...for the few lectures you actually have to attend at the college due to PBL. Occasionally someone would try to game the system and stay home...meanwhile people like me were in class trying to make the most of it. Entitlement.

The truth is that the same people who attended LECOM Bradenton and complained are the same people who would complain anywhere. So people just are whiners...and not ready to be adults.

LECOM-Erie is a different ballgame. I have known many people who attended LECOM prep before coming to Bradenton...and it is more malignant than Bradenton. There is sometimes the sense that the administrators are trying too hard to catch students doing something wrong...so students are walking on egg shells. I have never even been to Erie to confirm or deny the complaints...but I have heard enough of the complaints from people I trust to know that the statements likely have validity. But those same students would also tell you that Bradenton is NOTHING like Erie. Bradenton is absolutely beautiful and there probably won't be more relaxing environments to do training.

LECOM-B is in a pretty nice location. If it weren't for its rules, dress code, attendance policy, clowns and whatnot, I think it would be one of the hardest DO schools to get into.

 

[darklabel]

@j4pac, keep me/us/SDN updated on your PM&R status. I thought it was a bummer that the Navy couldn't match you. Based on your participation here I think the Navy and the military in general will be losing a great physician and officer.

To throw my opinion into this debate, it seems SDN members as a whole just like to have something to bitch about. VCOM gets flack because of opening a third branch, though LECOM has three branches and does get any flack for that- people are too busy bitching about the dress code and other stringent policies. If the tuition is too high than SDN will say the schools "reputation" is bad because of "unjustified tuition costs," though they do not understand finances and therefore have no basis to say any tuition is unjustified. Whatever SDN hates the most about a specific school, thats what they will zero in on.

So really it just comes down to whether you want to believe the very vocal minority on SDN, or do your research into a school and listen to the mostly happy student base there.

I don't equate "SDN Bitching" to justified criticisms of a school. It's just up to the individual if it bothers them or not. Some people (myself included) don't like the idea of a dress code or attendance policy. I don't see how that makes someone "entitled" to be in their comfort zone while they study which I spend most of my free time doing but some people don't mind and that's perfectly fine. Just doesn't make sense that a student goes there and then complains about some of these things when they knew this going into the school.

As for the new schools popping up, you have to realize that with each new DO school opening, it presents more people going into the match for an already stagnant number of residency positions. LUCOM opened with about ~160 students and VCOM is probably going to have a similar number of students. I (and most people I'm sure) worry about more students (including myself) graduating with a large amount of debt and unable to pay for it back because they couldn't match.

 

[hallowmann]

...Just doesn't make sense that a student goes there and then complains about some of these things when they knew this going into the school...

You'd be surprised how many people don't understand or even know about rules or even general knowledge about how medical school, residency, licensing exams, etc. before they start med school. It blows my mind. I don't get how someone can commit to a 4-7 year minimum road that will cost them >$200k without doing any research ahead of time.

 

[baknapp]

I am one of those students who was very happy with LECOM. Why?

1. They gave me the chance to be a doctor when no one else did
2. It was close knit like family
3. The dress code is not that bad, they just expect you to be professional since you are going to be a doctor, running an office, etc. Might as well get used to it now. Every job I worked at before going to medical school had a dress code - its just part of life.
4. I got a great education
5. And Yes, the tutition is low.

For those students out there who don't have a lot of options or maybe don't have the greatest stats but have a great story and a overall interesting package you won't think twice about what others say about any specific school because once you get that acceptance letter, all the naysayers will still be waiting, and you will not think twice about all the issues that you thought would bother you.

thanks cabinbuilder! i have a very good friend who is in her 3rd year at LECOM - Erie campus and her experience at LECOM has also been one she has really enjoyed. I'm interviewing at the Bradenton campus next week

 

[zero0]

It seems like most of the hate seems to be directed at the Erie and Seton Hill campuses. Bradenton seems to be getting good reviews though. I mean, check out that 2014 match list. It's putting some allo programs to shame.

It's hard to make heads or tails of it since they mix up the matches from all three schools, but click and scroll to the bottom.
http://www.fcbc.net/archangel/woa/m...ublic_admissions/2014 LECOM Match Summary.pdf

 

[becomingdoctor]

pbl?

Haha I like your profile pic

 

[hallowmann]

It seems like most of the hate seems to be directed at the Erie and Seton Hill campuses. Bradenton seems to be getting good reviews though. I mean, check out that 2014 match list. It's putting some allo programs to shame.

It's hard to make heads or tails of it since they mix up the matches from all three schools, but click and scroll to the bottom.
http://www.fcbc.net/archangel/woa/mgServeFile.php?fn=0_49_public_admissions/2014 LECOM Match Summary.pdf

Most of the hate seems more directed towards the Erie campus and specifically the LDP pathway. They're the ones that have to stay on campus 5-8hrs a day and have to deal with the rules on an almost excessive basis.

There's barely any info about Seton Hill out there, because it's only graduated 2 classes so far, and most people in Erie PBL or DSP seem to really like it.

Also, looking at the published match list in terms of specialties, Bradenton & Seton Hill campuses have a similar proportion of matches, with the exception of a bit fewer percent going into FM at Bradenton and bit more going into Peds, PM&R and Gen Surg, which is probably mainly due to different class preference that year (for example last year's Seton Hill match list looked very different - you can see the last couple years matches on the LECOM website). Erie's match list is a bit more skewed towards primary care, but I wouldn't be surprised if their PBL match list was similar to Bradenton & Seton Hill's.

In any case, match lists aren't a good metric, because for the most part it tells you about the individual class's interest more than anything else. You may be able to extrapolate info from multiple years (3-5 ideally) to get an idea of where people from each campus lean, but looking at a one year snapshot isn't really useful.

pbl?

Just realized this was a question... PBL = Problem Based Learning. It's one of the curriculum pathways that LECOM offers. Both the Bradenton and Seton Hill campuses are exclusively PBL campuses.

The curriculum is based on a small group meeting process where groups of 7-8 students plus a faculty member meet and go over real medical cases (one student interviews the patient, you review physical exam, review what labs and imaging you want, get results, etc. until you reach the diagnosis). At that point (and throughout the case) you as a group select learning issues (page runs/chapters of your medical books) that the entire group will read and study. Sessions last ~2hrs and occur 3 days a week (that's pretty much the only time you're on campus those days).

Each block (4-5 week sections followed by a large exam) is comprised of about 700-800 pages of material from the textbooks. Questions can be derived from anything in those pages, but generally tends to be primarily the high yield material. A lot of the studying is done on your own, so self motivation and time management is essential. It's suggested to read the material 2-3 times in each block, but different people have different reading styles. Some people do 2-3 quick reads, others do a focused read followed by a review, etc.