LECOM-erie or PCSOM?

michelleDO said:

Hi Everyone,

I just got accepted to Lecom-erie and Pcsom between two days. I really like both schools and hard for me to decide which one I should attend. I know pcsom is a smaller class, family oriented, I would learn better and interact more with the really cool teachers, and definitely get really good clinical training (oh by the way, the students were real cool and down to earth). But, I also like lecom-erie have really nice administrators and living conditions are better (closer to my family about 7 hours, and in between 3 major cities, I mean there is a dunkin donut in town)...

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Buster Douglas said:

Class Size:
LECOM - Big (~250)
PCSOM - Small (~75)

Schedule:
LECOM - Rigid (depending upon pathway). Smaller tests weekly (rarely have a free weekend).
PCSOM - More flexible. Bigger block exams once every 4 weeks. More open weekends.

OPP:
LECOM - #1 Complaint among students (disorganized).
PCSOM - Dr. Stiles is the head of the department and has developed a way of teaching OMT which students find easier to learn and more applicable in practice. Students leave feeling confident with OMT skills.

Town:
LECOM - Erie, PA. Surrounded by 3 universities (decent nightlife). Weather sucks (snow, rain, or overcast). Normal shopping and restaurants. Lots of outdoors stuff (lake in the summer, skiing in the winter).
PCSOM - Pikeville, KY. Walmart, YMCA, and fastfood. Civilization is 2 hours away. Probable cultural shock. Decent golfing (so I hear) and outdoors-y stuff.

Clinical Exposure:
LECOM - Good clinical exposure 1st and 2nd years. Lots of options for rotations 3rd and 4th year.
PCSOM - Some clinical exposure 2nd year. Limited rotation sites (mostly at small community facilities).

Student Body:
LECOM - Mostly from PA, MI, OH, NY, NJ. Avg age ~25 for incoming first years.
PCSOM - Mostly from KY, MI, OH, IN, WV, TN, and other southern states. Avg age slightly older.

Airports:
LECOM - Erie "International" Airport is around 15 mins from anywhere in Erie.
PCSOM - The closest airport is 2 hours away, unless you have a small private puddle jumper.

Money Matters:
Tuition is similar and reasonable. Cost of living is cheap at both.
More is included in the tuition @ PCSOM (i.e. tuition, books, OMT table, etc.)


*These characteristics are neither good nor bad, just simply a matter of personal preference. These are the most striking differences I could come up with, but I could go into more detail on both schools if you have any specific questions.

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judgehopkins said:

More frequent examinations is definitely positive because the amount of information that you need to know for any one exam is diminished.

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Pikevillemedstudent said:

So LECOM is now lax on the dress code? A student I met from LECOM about 3 years ago said that the school had "fashion police" at the classroom entrance. No tie, no admission to class. I hope they have changed.

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LECOM has always been lax on the dress code. if you're a girl, you can wear whatever you want as long as its not open toed shoes (and there's only about a week of warm weather, so its not really a problem). i've worn jeans before. if you're a boy, you have to wear a tie. guys come to class every day dirty, wrinkly, unshowered, and hair uncombed- but they have their tie on so they're good to go. and as far as open toed shoes/ties are concerned, dr ron and security steve only monitor the door for the first class of the day anyway--which no one typically gets up for. so if you come in late, there's no fashion police. and they only single people out randomly (like the day i wore open toed shoes along with everyone else, but i was the only person who got called on it). so basically its a gamble. you can forego the dress code 364 days of the year, but that one day you bump into dr silvia in the hallway, you could potentially be screwed.


but no worries ladies, there are plenty of guys who show up showered, shaved, even ironed, and looking mighty fine, i might add