LECOM and the $1500 nonrefundable

[ArcherM2]

I was accepted to LECOM last week and am very worried about the $1500 deposit. Fifteen hundred dollars is a LOT of money to secure a seat, especially when it is at a school that is not at the top of your list. I was wondering if anyone else is in the same position....One acceptance, no other interviews as of yet....

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[Ypo.]

Due Dec. 14th, right? Have you had any more interviews, do you have any more coming up in the next 2 weeks?

Hang on until the last minute, but ultimately, you will have to put the deposit down if no other schools come up.

(Actually, if it were me in your position, and I had decent stats and ECs and had applied to a good range of schools, I would hold on for one I would feel more comfortable attending). But the safest thing to do of course is to put that deposit down, assuming you would really attend that school if you were not accepted anywhere else this year.

 

[ArcherM2]

Yup December 14th...I think that is what i'm going to have to end up doing. Do you know if they can extend the deadline? I'm going to end up giving them a call. I have average stats (3.1, 27) and good EC's, and most of my advisors feel like I have a 99% chance of getting in at some other places, but still feel that I should play the safest hand. I just feel like I'm being played BIG time 🙁

 

[Ypo.]

When did you apply (primary and secondary). What schools did you apply to/ how many. Did you take August or April MCAT?

How many schools have you actually sent secondaries into?Do you have any more interviews lined up?

Your MCAT is good.

3.1 is cumulative? What is your BCPM, and was it higher or lower in your last two years of undergrad.

Answer me those questions and I will give you my honest opinion.

If you look around here (check out the applicants progress thread) you will see there are plenty of people who got accepted at many schools with similar GPA and MCAT. They applied early.

 

[Docgeorge]

Unfortunately 3.1 is not the average at most Osteopathic shcools. You might want to drop the 1500 bucks on LECOM. Look at it this way if you dont get in this year you'll be saveing that money next year with applications and traveling for interviews.

 

[ArcherM2]

My secondaries were all in by September. My 3.1 does not reflect the past three years of my college career, unfortunately I had a difficult time adjusting to college life and as a result my overall GPA has suffered. Junior and this half of senior year have been around a 3.45. BCPM is a 3.0. I applied to seven more D.O schools, and been offered an interview on LECOM-B, but turned it down because it is ONLY PBL. I applied to UNECOM, PCOM, UMDNJ, NYCOM, NSU but haven't heard from any of them, which I attribute to being an August MCATer.

Look at it this way if you dont get in this year you'll be saveing that money next year with applications and traveling for interviews. -- This is actually the best logical reason I've heard so far. Thank you Docgeorge

 

[livewires]

Don't pay LECOM a dime. I am a medical student there and I hate it more than anything else in the world. The atmosphere is extremely negative. You will not be happy there. GO SOMEWHERE ELSE! If I had it to do over again I would have gladly taken off a year rather than subjecting myself to LECOM's bull@#$#. Please, take this advice.

 

[Ypo.]

My secondaries were all in by September. My 3.1 does not reflect the past three years of my college career, unfortunately I had a difficult time adjusting to college life and as a result my overall GPA has suffered. Junior and this half of senior year have been around a 3.45. BCPM is a 3.0. I applied to seven more D.O schools, and been offered an interview on LECOM-B, but turned it down because it is ONLY PBL. I applied to UNECOM, PCOM, UMDNJ, NYCOM, NSU but haven't heard from any of them, which I attribute to being an August MCATer.

Archer, better safe than sorry. However, you might pay attention to the last person who posted. Could you imagine yourself being happy or at least satisfied at LECOM? If not, I would say don't put down the deposit, you'll be frustrated for years. Check out this thread http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=133673&highlight=applicants+progress it shows peoples stats and where they were accepted

Mainly it comes down to whether or not you can settle for LECOM.

 

[raDiOnut]

Hey everybody,

I may be in the same position shortly as far as making a decision about the LECOM deposit (I'm still waiting for acceptance/rejection after my interview).

So far, I've had LECOM at/near the top of my list. I've also already interviewed at KCOM, but I'm not sure I want to attend if accepted -- it's 10.5 hours from my boyfriend/home and the city doesn't have much to offer. I was really impressed by their program however.

I have an interview scheduled at MSUCOM on 1/13 and OSUCOM 1/6 and am not sure what to do if accepted to LECOM and/or KCOM. My MCAT is on the low end (24Q), with gpa 3.55 (science around 3.0-3.1).

general thoughts?

raDiOnut

 

[Ypo.]

Radionut, in your case I would definitely get that deposit in there by Dec. 14th.

 

[Karina]

I just got my acceptance letter today...My deposit is due Dec. 17th...and even though LECOM is not my first choice. I asked my parents for help and I am sure we'll work something out...it's my future and I'm not gonna let $1500 get in the way..especially after I've come this far.

I would send it in...
Karina

 

[adennis]

I also just got accepted to LECOM-B today. It is a fair amount of money.. but I don't want to chance not getting in to any of the other schools I've applied to. I have 2 other interviews in December.. unfortunately I probably won't know about acceptances/rejections until after the deposit is due.. mine is also due 12/17.

I'll be sending mine in for that safety net at the least.
The school looks good and the faculty is well-respected and I like the PBL program.. so all of that is good.... just something to keep in mind... it may not be your top choice from the perspective that you have now.. BUT... remember what your goal is (to become a doc) and act accordingly..

my .01 (I'm saving the other half for the deposit).

Andrea

 

[Fusion]

Don't pay LECOM a dime. I am a medical student there and I hate it more than anything else in the world. The atmosphere is extremely negative. You will not be happy there. GO SOMEWHERE ELSE! If I had it to do over again I would have gladly taken off a year rather than subjecting myself to LECOM's bull@#$#. Please, take this advice.

Are you at LECOM-Bradenton? If so, please elaborate on your opinions of this school, as I am deliberating on whether to submit my secondary or not.

 

[Ypo.]

Are you at LECOM-Bradenton? If so, please elaborate on your opinions of this school, as I am deliberating on whether to submit my secondary or not.

Don't decide to not send your secondary. I assume you applied there initially because you were interested in the school for some reason? Its better to talk to a range of students at the school during interview day than to just one disgruntled student.

 

[adennis]

I would definitely submit the secondary.
I thought the facilities were really nice.. the faculty and staff were nice as well as very well qualified. I am attracted to the PBL program because of my preferred learning style. If you like PBL.. I'd say go for it... their secondary fee is not high.. and the only thing you have to lose is that.. you could probably schedule a tour or something by contacting the office if you want to do a pre-emptive review. But I'd say go ahead and send it in.

Andrea

 

[(nicedream)]

Are you at LECOM-Bradenton? If so, please elaborate on your opinions of this school, as I am deliberating on whether to submit my secondary or not.

That person is at LECOM-Erie.

I can assure you that the atmosphere here in Florida is very positive. We love our faculty and curriculum, and are excited to go full-on PBL starting after Thanksgiving! 😀

 

[jjmcentee@hotma]

I was accepted to LECOM last week and am very worried about the $1500 deposit. Fifteen hundred dollars is a LOT of money to secure a seat, especially when it is at a school that is not at the top of your list. I was wondering if anyone else is in the same position....One acceptance, no other interviews as of yet....

Archer,

put down the deposit at the last minute.

Last year I was accepted into an Optometry school in Chicago, I had decided that chicago was not for us (i'm married). And Optometry was merely my backup, I didn't expect to get accepted it was kind of a dry run.
But I put down a 1000 deposit for a seat and a 1 year deferment. The best peice of mind I have ever purchase.

I recently got accepted into LECOM erie and I also have a 1500 deposit due, but LECOM was my number one choice. So it all worked out. I think the peice of mind helped me handle the whole process.

Good luck.

jim

 

[Buckeye(OH)]

That's crap that LECOM wants that much. I am sending deposits to the two schools I applied to (CCOM and OUCOM) and it's only going to cost me 350$.

 

[pjc199]

LECOM understands that they are typically a backup school for majority of students and hence, use it to their advantage.

 

[lowMCAT]

I just wanted to say that I am very disconcerted by the large nonrefundable deposits required by a lot of DO schools. I am also applying to MDs and they only require minimal deposits. It's pretty ridiculous to ask for $1500 to secure a seat, in my opinion. Isn't the application process expensive enough? I guess you have to weigh the pros and cons of whether or not to put down the money. Going into the application process, I purposely applied to those DO schools that require a smaller deposit early on, because I didn't want to get stuck putting down $1500 for a school I wasn't particularly interested in.

 

[robo77]

Why would LECOM in Florida be a back up school for many? Nice location, reasonable tuition, good rotation sites, nice and friendly faculty. Maybe there are better known schools out there, but Michigan charges 50K of tuition for out of state and West Virginia is over 40K just for tuition. Many DO schools are located in the areas that are way too rural. I think that PCOM and NYCOM are very nice.

 

[tag_do]

Why would LECOM in Florida be a back up school for many?

I really liked LECOM-FL when I interviewed there in October. The PBL curriculum is a great model, and I'd guess we'll be seeing more and more schools migrating that direction. The big hang up for me is the 3rd and 4th years of the program since no one has went through them yet. All in all, I'm still undecided. Just my $0.02USD.

 

[cooldreams]

Don't pay LECOM a dime. I am a medical student there and I hate it more than anything else in the world. The atmosphere is extremely negative. You will not be happy there. GO SOMEWHERE ELSE! If I had it to do over again I would have gladly taken off a year rather than subjecting myself to LECOM's bull@#$#. Please, take this advice.

lol

 

[cooldreams]

I just wanted to say that I am very disconcerted by the large nonrefundable deposits required by a lot of DO schools. I am also applying to MDs and they only require minimal deposits. It's pretty ridiculous to ask for $1500 to secure a seat, in my opinion. Isn't the application process expensive enough? I guess you have to weigh the pros and cons of whether or not to put down the money. Going into the application process, I purposely applied to those DO schools that require a smaller deposit early on, because I didn't want to get stuck putting down $1500 for a school I wasn't particularly interested in.

the money goes to your tuition. i personally find it very bad work on the students' part to put down deposits all over the place. obviously you can only go to one school, pick one and go there. when you reserve your seats all over the place you take away another students chance that REALLY WANTED TO GO THERE. you are not losing the money, it goes to your tuition... what is the problem??

"i got accepted here, but i want to got there, should i put a deposit down or not?" reexamine the point of the deposit - basically saying you promise to go there, to remove that seat from the vacant list, you are going there. the high cost? who cares, it goes to tuition so its not lost, and it weeds out the ppl who dont really want to go there anyways. this discussion comes up alot... very sad...

 

[Buckeye(OH)]

the money goes to your tuition. i personally find it very bad work on the students' part to put down deposits all over the place. obviously you can only go to one school, pick one and go there. when you reserve your seats all over the place you take away another students chance that REALLY WANTED TO GO THERE. you are not losing the money, it goes to your tuition... what is the problem??

"i got accepted here, but i want to got there, should i put a deposit down or not?" reexamine the point of the deposit - basically saying you promise to go there, to remove that seat from the vacant list, you are going there. the high cost? who cares, it goes to tuition so its not lost, and it weeds out the ppl who dont really want to go there anyways. this discussion comes up alot... very sad...

Blah, blah, blah. Get off your soap box dude. As you have just said, one can only go to one school. Since such is the case, what is the problem holding multiple acceptances...obviously those acceptances will open up at some point. It's not like holding multiple acceptances keeps anyone from getting into school.

Additionally, a deposit, most certainly, is NOT a promise. If such were the case then A) there would not be decision deadlines and B) some schools would not have refundable deposits (CCOM does, I asked them, don't argue.)

I worked hard for my acceptances. No one standing on a golden pedestal is going to try and force me into a decision.

If someone REALLY wanted to go to school X, Y, or Z, perhaps they should have worked hard enough to get an outright acceptance, no?

What is the problem you ask? Its my money and they are my acceptances and I will do as I please with them.

Trying to force people into a decision, in a condescending tone, is only going to make them hold on to their acceptances longer.

Furthermore, some of us, such as myself, honestly don't know where we want to go and we aren't prepared to make that decision yet. For Christ's sake, it is only December 1st. Deal with it.

 

[cooldreams]

Blah, blah, blah. Get off your soap box dude. As you have just said, one can only go to one school. Since such is the case, what is the problem holding multiple acceptances...obviously those acceptances will open up at some point. It's not like holding multiple acceptances keeps anyone from getting into school.

Additionally, a deposit, most certainly, is NOT a promise. If such were the case then A) there would not be decision deadlines and B) some schools would not have refundable deposits (CCOM does, I asked them, don't argue.)

I worked hard for my acceptances. No one standing on a golden pedestal is going to try and force me into a decision.

If someone REALLY wanted to go to school X, Y, or Z, perhaps they should have worked hard enough to get an outright acceptance, no?

What is the problem you ask? Its my money and they are my acceptances and I will do as I please with them.

Trying to force people into a decision, in a condescending tone, is only going to make them hold on to their acceptances longer.

Furthermore, some of us, such as myself, honestly don't know where we want to go and we aren't prepared to make that decision yet. For Christ's sake, it is only December 1st. Deal with it.

blah blah blah... gee do u really think i just want to argue?? hehe

im not forcing you to do anything, i am just siding with that of the schools to do a higher deposit. sure, some schools will refund, but i wouldnt rely on that, and i still feel it takes away from the students who do actually know where they want to go.

i am sure you have worked hard for your acceptances, as we all have, but since you have interviewed at a school and supposedly done extensive research on them before interviewing, how long do you need to decide??

"For Christ's sake..." so you believe in Jesus? hey that is great... 😀

 

[EMTLizzy]

i am sure you have worked hard for your acceptances, as we all have, but since you have interviewed at a school and supposedly done extensive research on them before interviewing, how long do you need to decide??

This beings up an interesting point. Why is it so hard to decide which school you want to go to after having so much time to research your options?

In my case, when people asked me which school I wanted to go to my answer was always "Which ever one accepts me." I never expected or anticipated getting more than one acceptance. I didn't want to set myself up to be disappointed so early in the application process. I would be greatful to any school that saw something in me that would make a good physician.

WVSOM was probably one of my last choices when I sent out my primary applications. It ended up being my first interview invite and my first (and so far only) acceptance. But after my interview it skyrocketed to one of my top 2 or 3 choices. I had my heart set on going to a school really cose to (or in) Jersey, and then I fell in love with a school I thought I had minimal interest in.

If I get another acceptance it will be a very tough choice. A choice I once thought would be very easy.

There are many things that change during your application process. An interview can make or break your impression of a school and a place that you weren't really excited about is suddenly a rival for your number 1 choice.

 

[Ypo.]

The issue of holding multiple acceptances while others are still waiting to get one acceptance is always a hot topic.

IMO osteopathic schools put down those deposits so that the admissions process doesn't get jerked around so much-both for the school and the applicants. I think the deposits of upwards of $500 are a little ridiculous as well as unnecessary. However, the MD deposits are generally less than $100 and refundable up until May--and I think that is too lenient. It makes it easy to put down deposits at a whole bunch of schools, then withdraw at the last moment. This is unfair to the other applicants on the waiting list who don't find out until May where they will be living in August, which really doesn't leave a whole lot of time.

The truth is that MD schools don't have any problem filling their seats no matter how late in the season it is, and so they don't need to charge the high acceptance deposits. But AAMC probably should have stricter guidelines (ie-not holding more than 2 acceptances past January, etc..) in order to ease some of the duress applicants go through.

Anyone that holds onto multiple acceptances at DO schools is either rich enough to throw away thousands of dollars, or else they have a very good reason for waiting to make their final decision.

I understand the frustration of waiting and hoping for an acceptance, but understand just as much that if you were in their shoes, you would probably hesitate as well. For me, the decision was easy-my in-state school was cheaper and more convenient. But for someone who lives in Arkansas, and has to choose between living in Kirksville and Des Moines, it will take more time to decide, ESPECIALLY if that person has a spouse or children to consider.

 

[(nicedream)]

I really liked LECOM-FL when I interviewed there in October. The PBL curriculum is a great model, and I'd guess we'll be seeing more and more schools migrating that direction. The big hang up for me is the 3rd and 4th years of the program since no one has went through them yet. All in all, I'm still undecided. Just my $0.02USD.

As far as 3rd and 4th years - the clinical years are done the same as LECOM-Erie, same sites and everything. Only diff. is they are adding ten or so more Florida sites for people that want to stay in-state.