lecom vs. touro-ca

I am fortunate enough to be accepted by two medical schools. Now which one to choose? I paid the deposit for lecom-erie already because they interviewed me way back in november. Touro-ca interviewed me a lot later and I recently found out that I've been accepted. Its now a matter of whether I should pay another $2000 for touro and I have two weeks to decide.

So here are the factors that are important to me (in order of preference):

1. Being able to match into a california residency

Will Touro-ca give me a significant advantage when it comes time to matching into a residency program in california with everything else being equal? I am a california resident btw.

2. Quality of clinical rotations/school in general

I have read such negative reviews about touro's clinical rotations on sdn. But since i'm from socal I would most likely come back to socal for the rotations if i go to touro. I've read positive things about the rotations in socal such as the one at Arrowhead regional. Does anyone know anything about clinical rotations in lecom? Lecom does have its own hospital, Millcreek. From what i skimmed through on sdn, people have noted getting dropped on rotations, but this was a few years back. And there seemed to be positive comments about the rotations in erie.

3. Location

Touro wins on this factor. No snow in Touro + bay area. I will also be much closer to home if I go to Touro. 5hrs away vs. thousands and thousands of miles away.

4. Cost
Lecom wins. $28K vs. $40K


So my gut feeling coming out of both schools is that overall I felt lecom was the more solid school. I really don't mind lecom's dress code and mandatory attendance (i went to class everyday during undergrad). I wasn't too impressed with touro-ca coming out of the interview. I felt like they didn't do as good of a job selling me the school. They gave vague descriptions about their cirriculum and rotations. It felt a little disorganized. But with lecom I felt like they were much organized and they really described the school to me. Then again this was my impression after spending half the day at each school. The ability to stay in cali for 4 years is pretty tempting.

Any comments/suggestions much appreciated 🙂 Thanks in advance guys!

Hmm...choices. I am much more concerned with the quality of a school's rotations than staying in a particular state.

If you go to LECOM I would do all of my elective rotations/any rotation that you can set up in CA. That way you increase your chances of getting a residency out that way. CA, from what I have read on SDN, is very competitive for residencies. It seems everyone wants to stay there and everyone who left for school wants to return.

I'd go with my gut. Good luck!

Thanks for your reply beckhunter. For anyone who wanted to know which school I chose, I went with my gut feeling and chose lecom over touro. I asked the doctor who i shadowed and he also agreed with my decision. He said that "Touro does not have enough large hopsital support for now. It is still having growing pains and does not have the community profile that is needed."

LECOM is a good school. You will get a good education here. We actually have a good sized crowd from CA in my class. I know people that are doing their rotations in CA next year so it is definitely possible. I know people that aren't even from CA that are doing rotations in CA next year too.

The latest list for Touro CA's residency matches is out and they have had several great matches in California residency programs.

I interviewed at Erie PA and Erie FL and was accepted at Touro CA and Touro NV.

Personally, I like the environment at Touro CA. It seems less hierarchy based, and more like we're all in this together. Erie PA felt a little snooty to me, but that's just personal experience.

I chose Touro CA and feel great about the decision, but ultimately you have to think about what school is a better fit for your learning style.

Things I loved about Touro CA are that anatomy takes two years, they don't rush you through it. And you get to see 60 cadavers. I also love that it's systems based. and that they do block exams, which means if you have a test in one class you have a test in all of your classes that week. This keeps you from falling into the trap of spending most of your study time on the class you have a test in, and falling behind in your other classes. It also means that you are guaranteed at least a few study free weekends each semester, because you'll have a few weeks where you've taken all of your tests, and will be starting new material on Monday. Also, Touro CA is a Jewish affiliated school, which means you get a few extra holidays, you make up for this time by starting earlier in August, but having time off of school when no one else does means cheaper plane tickets home to visit friends and family (we all know ticket prices skyrocket near major holidays and spring break, but have you ever heard of a ticket price raise due to rosh hashanna?).

I think that all LECOM schools offer PBL, Touro doesn't offer a PBL pathway but you do have a few classes that are PBL.

I say Touro CA but obviously you know what is going to work best for you!

If you do go the Touro CA route, be sure to join our Facebook group, we have about 1/3 of our future classmates as members already.

Danimjo, thank you for your opinion. Definitely, Touro's location was a huge drawing point for me when I was deciding. And yes, i agree with you that lecom did feel somewhat hierarchical with the extra security when trying to access the school building. But overall i felt lecom was the better school for me and I went with lecom. To each his own. Now I just need to learn how to deal with the annual 126 inches of snowfall at erie 😱 I wish you the best of luck at touro. It seems like school was right for you and you'll be happy there.

bleeker, do you know how much time we get to do away rotations during our 4th year?