this is a new med school but what is the general opinion? what kinds of schools would it be similar to?
I interviewed here this past cycle and just recently withdrew from the waitlist so I can give you some info. It is difficult to say which schools TCMC would be similar to as it is still in it's developmental stage. The new medical sciences building looks great and I would recommend you to check it out on their website. Unfortunately I wasn't able to tour it as it was still in the process of being built. It will, however, be ready for the 2011-2012 academic year. The curriculum seemed promising with less emphasis on lecture and more on PBL. I also like that for clinical rotations you don't focus on just one specialty (ex: pediatrics) for a month and then move on to the next one. You basically do a different rotation every day. Students also said that the faculty were very receptive to any feedback they received about the curriculum and classes. Students have a voice there and can help change any aspects of the curriculum that they feel are problematic.
However, whenever I talked to the second years, they weren't very enthusiastic about their school. They weren't displeased with it by any means, but when I asked "why tcmc over other schools?" they couldn't really give me a reason.That was only several students, however, and so I don't know what the general consensus there is. Hopefully a medical student from TCMC can give you more insight on here. I personally felt like I would be content here.
Also, be forewarned, as this was a big deal for many (including myself) for the 2010-2011 cycle (see TCMC's 2010-2011 application thread), that TCMC is
not expanding their class size from 65 students to 100-115 like they said they were. LCME denied their request for expansion and the explanation that was given was that they wanted to wait until the first class (which will now be entering their third year) graduates.
Finally, keep in mind that while they are a private school, preference is given to PA residents.
In the secondary for last year one of the prompt q's was "Also, if you have any special connection to Northeast Pennsylvania, please include this information here. Please answer using the space provided." If you get this question I think that you should mention that while you don't have family specifically in the NE region, you do have family here in PA. Something is better than nothing. 
). So you can imagine how stressful this entire year has been (including those horrible questions like "Should I retake the MCAT?")
Read above. 