I don’t know where exactly you are talking about but I live in the NW part of KC just below the river (River Market) and it’s pretty safe. Anything east of Troost is bad news. North Kansas City and anything further north is probably even safer.
2018-2019 Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences (Kansas City)
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I don’t know where exactly you are talking about but I live in the NW part of KC just below the river (River Market) and it’s pretty safe. Anything east of Troost is bad news. North Kansas City and anything further north is probably even safer.
medicallytaken
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Are there still interview spots left for the Joplin campus?
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Well, if the school follows what they teach us, you should just need to do an Interferon Gamma Release Assay (like quantiferon) with the CXR. I doubt they will make you go through therapy.
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I actually had the BCG vaccine and they told me I had to do INH. If you want more details PM me.
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As a COB student in 2016 i did the chest x-ray and that was enough then.
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I'm curious too. They said all spots were full in an email but haven't heard anything since then
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medicallytaken
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I think they meant Kansas City campus was full, they did not say anything about Joplin campus. However I would not be surprised if both campuses are now full and that is why I asked to see if anyone has more info.
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No worries; the Admissions office uses incoming year while everyone else tends to use grad year. They were probably expecting 2019.
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I just received an email this morning asking about campus location preference, it said:
“We would like to provide you the opportunity to change your campus preference, if you would like, so you will have more available interview dates to select from as there are currently several interview spots available in Joplin. The survey linked below will allow you to verify if you would like to remain as a “Kansas City” preference or change your campus preference to “Both Locations”.
I assume this was sent to multiple applicants, but hopefully it means there is an II coming my way. Hope that helps.
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How often do yall go to campus? I'm trying to figure out how far away to live as the downtown area is a bit more expensive than places farther away
You will be going to campus at least three times a week(Between OS/PCM/Anatomy) I'm there every day during the week as I find its harder to study at home.
Rarely to never.
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I live 10-25 (with really bad traffic) minutes away from campus, and it's really not a big deal. And I go to class! A lot of people live just as far, or farther, in North KC and the Kansas side. Just depends on what you're looking for!
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Definitely don't need to live downtown, even if you're planning on going to class often. Anywhere in North KC is at most a 25-30 minute drive, and that's with heavy traffic. It normally takes me 10-15 minutes to get to campus.
I received this exact email too. I opted for both campuses (initially I stated my preference for Kansas City), but in all honesty, I'm fine with what admissions see fit. I haven't been accepted anywhere and still anxiously waiting so I decided that it might be in my best interest to expand my options. Hang in there, hopefully this email means good news!
Future Doctor Will
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What is the incoming class's facebook group name?
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kcu-com class of 2023; both the KC and Joplin groups should pop up
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Officially paid my deposit for the KC campus today! Excited to try some bomb barbecue and be part of the amazing Class of 2023!
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Okay guys my deposit deadline is coming up and I’m really bugging about the crime rate of kcu so I may decline my offer for LECOM B. anyone have good resources at comparing schools. I’ve done some research myself on each of their websites obviously but I want to make sure I haven’t missed anything.
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I would count crime rate as the 101st thing to consider for med school
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I honestly felt super comfortable on the campus and I’m surprised this is a concern of so many. Then again my hometown is regularly in the top 5 for crime so maybe my view is warped haha. Even if it’s worse than you’re used to, exercising a little common sense and being aware of your surroundings vastly decreases your chances of being a victim. And even then, you don’t have to live in the neighborhood, just go to class there.
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This isn't a metric I would use to choose a school, but, like others have mentioned it might depend on where you are accustomed to living. Coming from one of the biggest cities in the US, KCU/KC's stats don't bother me. That being said, if it is something that will impact your mental well-being (even if you don't end up getting robbed, etc) then it is certainly something to consider.
After living in said LARGE urban city for years and years without being touched by crime, I moved to the suburbs and had my car broken into and a choice pair of sunglasses taken (they were hidden in the console even). So, stuff happens everywhere I think.
While I hate to discourage you from KCU, you can use the school's Clery report as a point of comparison:
http://cdn.agilitycms.com/kansas-ci...experience/Annual_Security_Report_KC_2018.pdf
LECOM:
https://lecom.edu/content/uploads/2...-Report-with-Crime-Statistics-9-12-17-PDF.pdf
Scroll to the bottom for the crime stats.
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I put it in with lifestyle and stressors when considering the school. Evaluating what life is going to be like outside of school that you’ll be 2-4 years depending on rotations. Is very important to consider especially when considering schools of similar tier. My metrics also include cost of tuition, cost of living, research, curriculum style, average pass rates and board scores, rotations (academic vs community and amount of moving), types of residencies students have been placed in.
Haha yeah I mean I’ve lived in relatively safe places throughout my life the most dangerous being Orlando Florida. KC is always top 10 with many fun related violences. The problem is it’s not just east of Troost. It’s oretty wide spread through the east side of the city even though most is east of the highway. 90% of my time is medical schools will be spent in the comfort of my home or on campus but that 10% plus my SO’s life is important.
thanks!
Mandatory attendance and dress code
.no thank you
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Dress code, I can see how that could bother someone. But with 50k a year at kcu are you not going to attend class anyway? Mandatory for OMM and TBL applies to Kcu as well but kcu doesn’t have to show up to lectures. Lecom doesn’t have too many lectures after first semester so does it matter? Everyone learns differently though.
LebronDaGoat
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Was in the same situation but didn't really consider LECOM B, was uncomfortable with rotation sites and didn't like the rules.
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If you're choosing between these two, there are (to my mind) much more notable and important differences actually affecting your education and lifestyle. LECOM is wayyy more strict. Of course there is the mandatory attendance and dress code (which isn't that crazy in the realm of professional schools), but I remember when I interviewed there two years back, the students told me you couldn't have any food or beverages in the classrooms that you're in all day every day for PBL. Which brings me to my second point. We barely ever have any PBL content; it's way heavier in 2nd year, and even now, we have like two sessions per system. I knew personally that I could not do well with PBL, and I've been told that people either succeed tremendously with it, or crash and burn. If this is something you feel confident you would do well with, that school might be the right choice for you, regardless of everything else.
Outside of school, you also have to choose the sort of environment you want to live in. Bradenton is basically a suburb of Sarasota, which isn't a very large city to begin with. One of my close friends went to New College in Sarasota, and she liked it for her college experience. I know in recent years, they've developed it more. However, if you want more of a bigger city living experience, you will not find it there. There is also the cost of living to consider. From what I recall, because of the rather limited rental options, it would have been way less feasible to afford to live alone, which I do here in KC in a good neighborhood not far from school for under $800. LECOM's tuition is so much cheaper though, this may not be a factor!
That being said, I know people who have worked in the hospitals that LECOM rotates with, and they all seemed to like it. The people from college I knew who went there also all enjoyed it. The DO who wrote me my LOR actually went there too, and she is a fantastic physician. I feel like I maybe wasn't that helpful, but you should just consider that the crime issue isn't really much of one, especially compared to all of the other major factors delineating the two programs.
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Crime in KC is very divided, and as long as you don't go past the infamous Troost, you'll be fine.
Campus is very safe and there's always police patrolling. Other than that, I don't do anything near where school is, so the crime doesn't bother me. I live in a safe area, shop in a safe area, etc. As long as you know the spots to avoid (there's a very clear line in KC) you'll be fine.
I'm from Florida and I turned down my LECOM-B acceptance for multiple reasons, one of which being that the strictness of not being allowed to have food or beverages in the classroom (as mentioned above) is ridiculous to impose on adult learners. Also, the area sucked....barely a town at all.
I go to class when I like the lecturer. But if it’s lifesized from KC, nahhh
If I said crime wasn’t a concern of mine, I’d be lying. However, here is why I decided it was a relatively low risk. The campus security is great. I have visited the campus on 3 separate occasions and felt very safe every time. Also, they publish their crime statistics on campus. In the past 3 years it looks like there have been 0 events on campus. Also, if you live north or northeast of KCU, you can get directly off I-29 and the campus is right there. There is also an entrance ramp to I-29 right next to campus as well. So, there can be very minimal driving around campus if you’re heading north.
In terms of comparing the schools, idk much about LECOM-B besides what my friend who interviewed there a few years ago told me. He said their rotations were horrible and the school makes you set up your own rotations. That’s enough to turn me off. I don’t know if this is still true, though. I will say that rotations were a pretty big deciding factor in my decision. I hope you feel confident in your decision! If anything post in the school X vs Y and get some answers. Good luck!
So I went to high school at the building literally right next to LECOM-B. Calling it Bradenton is a little confusing it’s actually Lakewood Ranch, which is a pretty wealthy town that’s really up and coming. With that being said though in my personal opinion KCU blows LECOM-B out of the water. When I went on my LECOM-B interview they literally told us that attending the school was a risk due to third year rotations(which is super bad when administration admits that ON INTERVIEW DAY). The students who I know that go there either love it and have a great experience or absolutely despise it and regret their choice. I may just be an isolated case, but I was really dissapointed with LECOM. Now with KCU I felt like rotations were great and assured, rotation hospitals were much higher quality, and the students wanted to be there. The difference in tuition seems like a lot, but I just feel like the pros of KCU are so much greater and the potential connections are extraordinary!
I’m offended LECOM-B is in my hometown and it is so nice, not that that makes it a good school haha
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Hello! Does anyone know what the rules are for someone besides faculty to present you the white coat? I work for a DO and I’m wondering if I can request for her to present it 
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I have only heard of this with graduation. If someone has a physician parent, they get to hood their child at graduation. I have never seen it at white coat ceremony.Hello! Does anyone know what the rules are for someone besides faculty to present you the white coat? I work for a DO and I’m wondering if I can request for her to present it
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Could you elaborate on the potential connections? just what experience do you have that says the connections made at KCU will be more beneficial than ones made at LECOM?
Others who justify KCU over LECOM because the rules against dress code and food/water can't criticize someone because they justify the reverse due to weather, location, and crime. To me those are on equal grounds and subsets of the decision making process.
I'll continue by saying I appreciate everyone's feed back thus far. It is very helpful. I haven't fully decided on one vs the other, but KCU does have more established rotation sites, especially compared to LECOM B. During my interview day LECOM B just said that the rotations they have listed now may not be the ones they have by the time you get to third year but all the necessary rotations would be there. Yes, that is a risk because you don't know what kind of hospital you'll be rotating at, but credentialing does require rotations to meet a minimum standard and there is no guarantee you'll get one of the better ones that KCU offers. Someone above mentioned that you establish your own rotation sites. That is not true anymore. They set up third year and the first half of fourth year for you, but allow you to set up your own rotations if you wish to travel and audition to specialist rotations or whatever. This info is from both a third year student I personally know and the admissions office. They both have similar residency matches despite the worry of core rotations with both matching similar numbers in ACGME internal med, EM, neuro, urology, gen surg, and PM&R. so i guess it comes down to what region do you want to live and do residency? east coast vs midwest? what do you think?
EDIT: I would like to add that i'm just playing devil's advocate and this conversation is more suited for x vs y but KCU forums is much more active than that and I am really liking KCU besides the winter and crime, but want to make an educated decision
I mean ultimately it is your decision and my experience is limited to what I know about LECOM-B(Because I live here). KCU is a much more established school, with many more graduating classes and will inevitably have a more reputable name due to this. LECOM-B sounds like they could make you a GREAT doctor, it’s just in my opinion KCU could make me personally a better doctor with wider access to Midwest residencies due to the location of the school and a better track record for actual board scores(instead of just first time pass rates which KCU also does excellent with). Now if you want to practice in Florida by all means go to LECOM, if you want a program that is solely PBL than that is the perfect fit for you. I would never pick a medical school based on crime though as there’s crime everywhere. Trust me when I say Lakewood Ranch may be a rich area, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t crime here. Manatee county has the one of the highest(if not the highest) cases of heroin overdose in the US and as a med student you won’t be living in the rich area of town, you’ll be living in Parish or just outside of Lakewood ranch where the drug problems are real. You have to also realize you’ll be in Lakewood ranch for two years and then you’ll have to move to a yet unknown area for your third year clinicals where crime might be higher than even KCU.
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I agree that its about finding the best fit for you. Well put. I am from a close area to lecom B as well, do you prefer to get those midwest residencies over east coast and NE residencies? If so why?
just to touch on a few things you said. I do believe the average for LECOM B is much higher than the national average as well, I wish I still had that paper that showed they average 530ish comlex 1, but it is lower than the 2018 scores of kcu which were phenomenal.They have been back and forth in years prior.
I agree there is crime everywhere, but that doesn't mean its at the same level everywhere. It isn't drug pandering or theft crimes that bother me its the ones that include firearms or violence. KC has more 3x higher than Bradenton (per 100k) violent crime which is also more than atlanta, cincinnati, and oakland. Sure you could respond " the school has great security" or "just live north of the river", but the crime isn't isolated to northeast KC and I want to be able to walk my dogs at 6pm without looking over my shoulder or grab a drink or food with some classmates after an exam and not have to be away from downtown after 9pm. Maybe, just maybe it isn't as bad as I imagine; and if it isn't then it comes down to PBL vs double pass over lecture style, 35k vs 50k, midwest vs east coast, and established midwest rotations or random east coast rotations. I do believe that KCUMB is one of the best DO schools with a well established history of 200 years of medical education, vs LECOMs 25 years, but is there a rate of diminishing returns on that? I don't know, but let me know what you think. especially about your opinion on the midwest residencies
Honestly, residency location also has to do with self selection. I personally was living in Arkansas and hope to get a residency close as I'd like to stop renting my house out.
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Just looking at the clerkship sites alone, having more breadth and depth available (which seems to be what KCU offers) is more attractive to me. Ultimately, you have to make the personal choice taking all of these factors into consideration. It's definitely not easy.
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If those are your concerns, you have nothing to worry about. I've never felt unsafe downtown. I routinely walk around by myself in my neighborhood (not in the burbs) all times of day, even into the night. Just stick to residential and/or busy areas in the neighborhoods people have already mentioned, and there's nothing to worry about.
Premed02952
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Hi everyone! This might be a pretty dumb question but how realistic is it to have a dog during med school? I’ve had him since he was a puppy and he’s seven now, and so he’s really attached to me. I really want to live alone so I think bringing him along would be a prefect way to not get lonely or a good way to de-stress. But how reasonable is it with time? He’s not super active/hyper anymore, he pretty much just sleeps all day when he’s alone. My other option is just for my parents to take him and if Years 3-4 are too too busy I know they’d come pick him up to live with them. I just really want him to live with me lol but not if it’s like unreasonably hard or just won’t work with time commitments/restraints.
I’d appreciate any input!!
(Also, I’ve been accepted to the Joplin campus if that makes any difference)
Edit: also he’s only like 11 pounds
I’d appreciate any input!!
(Also, I’ve been accepted to the Joplin campus if that makes any difference)
Edit: also he’s only like 11 pounds
I’d say it really depends on how often you go lecture/where you’re studying! If you’re just going to watch lecture at home and study at home then I don’t see any reason why a dog would be a terrible idea. It might make your life a little harder in terms of travel, but shouldn’t be impossible. Now if you plan on attending lectures every day and studying on campus a lot then a dog would most likely not be feasible.
Premed02952
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Makes sense. Thanks for the input!
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Do most people wait to find roommates after Accepted Students Day? I was accepted to the Joplin campus and am wondering when is a good time to start looking for people to live with!
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Have they said when Accepted Students Day is?
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I emailed this week.
We are still working on finalizing the exact date and agenda for the Kansas City Accepted Student Day, but it is tentatively set for the end of the first week in April. Our office will be sending additional information over the next few weeks.
If you have any additional questions, please let our office know.
If you have any additional questions, please let our office know.
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Awesome thanks!
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Just gave up my seat (KC-campus), hopefully, it goes to one of you on the waitlist/ waiting to interview. Best of luck everyone!
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