LECOM-B vs All.

[Back 5]

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I have seen threads where residents have stated to attend the cheapest school and you will be fine regardless of the schools name.

I have seen other threads where people have made the statement to attend the older and more established schools regardless of tuition.

LECOM-B is the least expensive school for a FL resident (excluding Texas, you lucky people you) so would anyone please convince me to attend a different school? I don't know my status at LECOM-B yet (post interview) but I like PBL and I think I would do fine there. I plan to attend other interviews this cycle, so my experience isn't n=1, which will give me a better idea of where I might fit in best.

My point in this thread is to see if we can have a good discussion on whether DO schools are generally all the same (for a motivated student) and if tuition should really be the deciding factor in where you attend.

I have no preference in location. I am old enough to not care about where I live as my life will revolve around school/studies for 2 years. Years 3 & 4 will most likely involve moving around a lot for rotations anyway.

Thanks in advance for your input!

BTW, this post is in no way claiming that LECOM-B is a better school than any other. I am purely looking at who would have the lowest tuition for me.

 

[cliquesh]

DO schools are NOT all the same. Some are good and some are bad. They are all, in general, considered the same when applying for an acgme residency.

 

[NeuroLAX]

I didn't let tuition influence my decision. I went where I felt most comfortable and happy.

If you're considering pros and cons of LECOM-B vs ____, then there are many many threads devoted to this comparison, especially for LECOM-B vs Nova.

 

[darklabel]

EDIT: Thread Hijack previously, sorry.

But I will ask,

Are there any state DO schools where you live?

Also are you open to the idea of allopathic state schools?

 

[Back 5]

I didn't let tuition influence my decision. I went where I felt most comfortable and happy.

If you're considering pros and cons of LECOM-B vs ____, then there are many many threads devoted to this comparison, especially for LECOM-B vs Nova.

This isn't meant to be a LECOM-B versus ____ in terms of quality, I was meaning more tuition. Which is sorta where cliquesh comes into play...

DO schools are NOT all the same. Some are good and some are bad. They are all, in general, considered the same when applying for an acgme residency.

I am a type of person where my physical location has relatively zero bearing on my level of happiness. I have worked enough terrible jobs and just sucked it up (keeping my eye on the future) to have learned how to be resilient.

I have not been accepted to LECOM-B, so I have no idea if I will be going there. But, it got me thinking. Cliquesh did very well in his medical school career despite the school he went to. If he had it all to do again, would he have simply chosen the cheapest school and gotten the same result?

 

[NeuroLAX]

This isn't meant to be a LECOM-B versus ____ in terms of quality, I was meaning more tuition. Which is sorta where cliquesh comes into play...

I am a type of person where my physical location has relatively zero bearing on my level of happiness. I have worked enough terrible jobs and just sucked it up (keeping my eye on the future) to have learned how to be resilient.

I have not been accepted to LECOM-B, so I have no idea if I will be going there. But, it got me thinking. Cliquesh did very well in his medical school career despite the school he went to. If he had it all to do again, would he have simply chosen the cheapest school and gotten the same result?

Fair enough, I'll leave quality out of this discussion. In your original post you wanted to know if all schools are the same and if tuition should be a factor in your ultimate decision. What I meant to convey in my post is that schools are not the same, as cliquesh stated, and tuition is frequently a topic on these ___ vs ____ threads. You may look at these threads and get some perspective on what others think and, more importantly, why they think a certain way (i.e. why tuition should/should not influence decisions). My personal opinion is that tuition should not be a deciding factor in most cases. Despite being a motivated student, it did not influence the decision I had to make. Still, I can think of a couple schools where I would have chosen the cheaper option (namely MSU- that school is outrageously expensive).

 

[Back 5]

Fair enough, I'll leave quality out of this discussion. In your original post you wanted to know if all schools are the same and if tuition should be a factor in your ultimate decision. What I meant to convey in my post is that schools are not the same, as cliquesh stated, and tuition is frequently a topic on these ___ vs ____ threads. You may look at these threads and get some perspective on what others think and, more importantly, why they think a certain way (i.e. why tuition should/should not influence decisions). My personal opinion is that tuition should not be a deciding factor in most cases. Despite being a motivated student, it did not influence the decision I had to make. Still, I can think of a couple schools where I would have chosen the cheaper option (namely MSU- that school is outrageously expensive).

I completely understand that. I owe $200k in school loans from my previous career, so I am unfortunately looking intently at the cost of attending schools.

In my particular case, I am wondering if my desire to attend ____ institution would be trumped by the cost of _____ institution.

 

[NeuroLAX]

I completely understand that. I owe $200k in school loans from my previous career, so I am unfortunately looking intently at the cost of attending schools.

In my particular case, I am wondering if my desire to attend ____ institution would be trumped by the cost of _____ institution.

Only you can make that call. However I will say that if I was sitting on a mound of $200k in debt, cheaper options would look very enticing over an attraction to another school. Motivated students will be motivated students.

 

[Back 5]

Only you can make that call. However I will say that if I was sitting on a mound of $200k in debt, cheaper options would look very enticing over an attraction to another school. Motivated students will be motivated students.

I will have to attempt to calculate an overall cost of attendance for each school I am interested in and go from there.

 

[gobigorgohome22]

I will have to attempt to calculate an overall cost of attendance for each school I am interested in and go from there.

To make this calculation more valid, I would try quantifying your happiness (I know this is hard).

Something like Happiness = $15,000/semester....

 

[Back 5]

To make this calculation more valid, I would try quantifying your happiness (I know this is hard).

Something like Happiness = $15,000/semester....

Something like happiness would factor in fairly low. I'll only have to trudge through for 2 years of didactics, which is nothing in the long term scheme of things. That is one of the benefits of age I suppose. I'd be absolutely fine studying in Antarctica for 2 years because its just 2 years. End goal is more important. If the cost of attendance is within a close percentage of each other, then I wil absolutely factor in happiness and other intangibles. I'd like to save those for a situation where everything else is equal.

 

[circulus vitios]

I didn't let tuition influence my decision. I went where I felt most comfortable and happy.

If you're considering pros and cons of LECOM-B vs ____, then there are many many threads devoted to this comparison, especially for LECOM-B vs Nova.

I don't know about you, but $80,000 in tuition is a pretty big deal to me.

 

[Ultimeaciax]

In the end, you're going to have to compare for yourself. But if you think saving $5000 a year will make up for having assigned seats, being dehydrated in class, and being talked down to every day of your existence at LECOM then you value money a lot less than dignity and simple human comforts.

LECOM is for those that love being told what to do, how to behave. The people that thrive at LECOM are the ones that ask HOW HIGH after being told to jump. If you think you will enjoy this type of environment and won't mind, then yes, enjoy the cost savings. I can tell you from experience though that I sorely regret going there and if I had to do it all over again I would have happily assumed the extra loan debt to avoid going there.

Read about the place on these forums. You've been warned

username

 

[NeuroLAX]

I don't know about you, but $80,000 in tuition is a pretty big deal to me.

It is a big number. I would be lying if I said it didn't cross my mind. But when it came down to comparing the two on multiple factors I found Nova to be more suited for my interests and left tuition out of the equation, so to speak. Had I graduated undergraduate with debt, I might have thought differently. There are ways to graduate with less debt from Nova than if you just go to LECOM-B. You graduate a year later, but there are tons of perks if you get one of the fellowships.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

I don't know about you, but $80,000 in tuition is a pretty big deal to me.

80,000 less tuition & highest board scores or pass rate. I think it's a pretty good deal.

 

[hallowmann]

In the end, you're going to have to compare for yourself. But if you think saving $5000 a year will make up for having assigned seats, being dehydrated in class, and being talked down to every day of your existence at LECOM then you value money a lot less than dignity and simple human comforts.

LECOM is for those that love being told what to do, how to behave. The people that thrive at LECOM are the ones that ask HOW HIGH after being told to jump. If you think you will enjoy this type of environment and won't mind, then yes, enjoy the cost savings. I can tell you from experience though that I sorely regret going there and if I had to do it all over again I would have happily assumed the extra loan debt to avoid going there.

Read about the place on these forums. You've been warned

You are hilarious. I can't tell if you are joking or just out of touch. You know this guy is considering LECOM-B right? It says it in the thread title. He doesn't have assigned seating. He's not going to be in lecture all day, and given the light PBL schedule, if he wanted to study at starbucks and drink whatever he wants for half the day, he could.

I don't know if you are a resident or just someone bitter who got dismissed, but a lot of people already get that the admin at LECOM is cold and overbearing. That said they get results. And if you don't like people telling you to jump, welcome to the real world. Medicine (and most other professions) is built on a hierarchy. Expect to be asking "how high?" until at least you're done with your training.

Keep your head down for 2 years, do well on exams and rotations, and you'll be fine at pretty much any school.

 

[NuttyEngDude]

Keep your head down for 2 years, do well on exams and rotations, and you'll be fine at pretty much any school.

4 years right? exams first 2, rotations last 2?

 

[Back 5]

4 years right? exams first 2, rotations last 2?

I'm assuming I will travel a bit for year 3 and choose my elective rotations wisely (ie all over) for year 4.

 

[NuttyEngDude]

hmm.... tough call. Others are right, it's a personal choice so I cant answer for you but if i had your debt I'd probably go with the cheapest option. Having said that, if i had the choice I'd trade the extra debt to be in s. fla as opposed to bradenton, yolo and such.

 

[whatbout2morrow]

Don't mean to hijack your thread, but I'm interested to see what people say about this as well. I am a TX resident, and the LECOMs are the only OOS DO schools I'm applying to simply because I feel I may be better off reapplying to TX schools next year than attending a school with a higher COA.

 

[dudeliness]

After reading OP's comments here, I would recommend going with the cheaper option.
If you really don't care if you have to deal with some bureaucratic issues and rules like no drinking water in class, professional dress, etc. then go with the cheapest option. Note that there will be SOME of those same issues wherever you go; there is no perfect medical school.
You sound motivated enough to make the most of your education despite the shortcomings of whatever particular school you go to. Be proactive in your education and you'll do fine wherever.


tl;dr
Go with the cheap option, I think you'll become a doctor either way.

 

[SurgeDO]

tuition should be a contributing factor in deciding which medical school you attend...but it should not be the only thing you consider.

the first two years of medical school are pretty much going to be the same wherever you go.

for me, the main factor that i considered when deciding on a medical school were base rotations.

rotations.

rotations.

look at the rotation hospitals where you will be doing your base rotations at.

for the love of god, look at the rotations.


you want to pick a school with rotations that will give you a good balance between autonomy and case variation.

 

[cliquesh]

tuition should be a contributing factor in deciding which medical school you attend...but it should not be the only thing you consider.

the first two years of medical school are pretty much going to be the same wherever you go.

for me, the main factor that i considered when deciding on a medical school were base rotations.

rotations.

rotations.

look at the rotation hospitals where you will be doing your base rotations at.

for the love of god, look at the rotations.


you want to pick a school with rotations that will give you a good balance between autonomy and case variation.

I agree. I know as a pre-med it's nearly impossible to tell which rotation sites are good and which are bad. I'd recommend taking a look at the schools affiliated hospitals and see which ones are 1) greater than 300 beds and 2) which ones have residencies. I personally feel that the education is better at larger places with residency programs, but I know that some will disagree.

You can use http://opportunities.osteopathic.org/ and https://freida.ama-assn.org/Freida/user/viewProgramSearch.do to quickly search if they have a residency and bed size.

 

[dudeliness]

I agree with you guys that rotation quality is one of the few things that can really set a school apart from others and is arguably the single most important factor in deciding where to attend.
I ALSO agree that it's extremely difficult for a premed to figure out what's a "good" rotation. Some of it is personal preference and nearly always schools have some rotations that are good and some that are not so much.
Lastly, I believe that one's education can be top notch even without the "best" rotations. You just have to be even more proactive in your education to make sure you don't miss out on learning opportunities.

 

[circulus vitios]

tuition should be a contributing factor in deciding which medical school you attend...but it should not be the only thing you consider.

the first two years of medical school are pretty much going to be the same wherever you go.

for me, the main factor that i considered when deciding on a medical school were base rotations.

rotations.

rotations.

look at the rotation hospitals where you will be doing your base rotations at.

for the love of god, look at the rotations.


you want to pick a school with rotations that will give you a good balance between autonomy and case variation.

Realistically, how are you going to find this? It's such a subjective measure, and it varies from student to student. Surgical attendings A & B might think Student #1 is an idiot and treat him like a child. Surgical attending C might think Student #1 is competent, and let him do real work. Net result is that "omg that rotation sucks because most of the time they don't let you do anything."

 

[SurgeDO]

I agree with you guys that rotation quality is one of the few things that can really set a school apart from others and is arguably the single most important factor in deciding where to attend.
I ALSO agree that it's extremely difficult for a premed to figure out what's a "good" rotation. Some of it is personal preference and nearly always schools have some rotations that are good and some that are not so much.
Lastly, I believe that one's education can be top notch even without the "best" rotations. You just have to be even more proactive in your education to make sure you don't miss out on learning opportunities.

Realistically, how are you going to find this? It's such a subjective measure, and it varies from student to student. Surgical attendings A & B might think Student #1 is an idiot and treat him like a child. Surgical attending C might think Student #1 is competent, and let him do real work. Net result is that "omg that rotation sucks because most of the time they don't let you do anything."

-medical schools usually share their base hospitals via the school's website. check out these hospitals. how long have these hospitals offered clerkships? do other medical schools have clerkships at these hospitals? how many beds? what's the population draw? do these hospitals have established residencies? is research available? these were some of the questions that were important to me when choosing a medical school.

-talk to 3rd and 4th year students on these sites to learn about rotations of their medical schools. in addition to this, there are a lot of posts on this site that talk about LECOM's rotation sites specifically.

 

[MedGrl@2022]

After reading OP's comments here, I would recommend going with the cheaper option.
If you really don't care if you have to deal with some bureaucratic issues and rules like no drinking water in class, professional dress, etc. then go with the cheapest option. Note that there will be SOME of those same issues wherever you go; there is no perfect medical school.
You sound motivated enough to make the most of your education despite the shortcomings of whatever particular school you go to. Be proactive in your education and you'll do fine wherever.


tl;dr
Go with the cheap option, I think you'll become a doctor either way.

What is LECOM issue with drinking water? Don't we all need to hydrate ourselves? Is the LECOM up north in PA exactly the same?

 

[dudeliness]

What is LECOM issue with drinking water? Don't we all need to hydrate ourselves? Is the LECOM up north in PA exactly the same?

Yeah both campuses have the same policies.

 

[Back 5]

Well, I don't have to make this decision after all, but I feel this is a valuable topic for students this year so let's keep the discussion alive 🙂

 

[NuttyEngDude]

Well, I don't have to make this decision after all, but I feel this is a valuable topic for students this year so let's keep the discussion alive 🙂

sorry to hear it 🙁 back5

continuing on the topic, money is pretty important if you are older because your career is shorter than the typical trad. the idea is you have to enjoy your life too so it boils down to what price the happiness is worth (and how much happiness there is, if any). when you're younger it matters too because those are indeed the best years of your life and working them away and under debt-stress kind of sucks. it all boils down to personal choice and circumstances

 

[hallowmann]

What is LECOM issue with drinking water? Don't we all need to hydrate ourselves? Is the LECOM up north in PA exactly the same?

Yeah both campuses have the same policies.

You are not allowed to have water bottles, drinks, or food anywhere on the LECOM-E and LECOM-B campuses except for the cafeteria, and since these campuses are essentially single building standalone structures, there isn't much way around it. LECOM-SH has a bit of a break in this regard, because its on the Seton Hill University campus and the LECOM rules (drink/food, dress code, no smoking, etc) are limited to LECOM property, which only includes two buildings (on a multi-building undergraduate campus) and the parking lot.

Well, I don't have to make this decision after all, but I feel this is a valuable topic for students this year so let's keep the discussion alive 🙂

Tough break man, sorry to hear that. Its crazy how much of a crapshoot this process is.

 

[HopefulReapp]

You are not allowed to have water bottles, drinks, or food anywhere on the LECOM-E and LECOM-B campuses except for the cafeteria, and since these campuses are essentially single building standalone structures, there isn't much way around it. LECOM-SH has a bit of a break in this regard, because its on the Seton Hill University campus and the LECOM rules (drink/food, dress code, no smoking, etc) are limited to LECOM property, which only includes two buildings (on a multi-building undergraduate campus) and the parking lot.



Tough break man, sorry to hear that. Its crazy how much of a crapshoot this process is.

That's insane! I have a certain medical issue and because of that I pretty much have to always carry a water bottle with me. Regardless of accommodations, I would be the only one allowed to have water?