Lecom-b vs nova

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member59x92

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Hello!

I have been fortunate enough to already be accepted to LECOM Bradenton, so am currently debating whether or not I should interview at NOVA in early February.

I am leaning towards not interviewing at NOVA mostly because I think I would be better suited for PBL and would like to obtain a residency in the Northeastern US (and would assume that it is easier to do so through LECOM due to the location of their clinical rotations sites).

Although price is not a deciding issue for me, it also obviously makes a difference.

From what I have read, NOVA's greatest advantage over LECOM is its rotation sites. How much better are they?

I have long been interested in primary care, but have recently been very much attracted to surgery as well as international medicine and would like to go to the school that would best allow me to explore these interests also.

Does anyone have any advice on what I should do? Thank you!
 
DOs don't really have trouble getting into IM residencies. Not sure how much of an advantage you will have going to the NE through LECOM or NSU, but I wouldn't be surprised if LECOM's connections at least get you in the door up there with some of their connections.

I was accepted to both and chose Nova. I liked PBL a lot, I just wasn't sure I wanted to gamble on a new platform of learning. One could argue that Nova has more connections with rotation sites than LECOM-B, simply because the LECOM-B campus is not even ten years old so they are still branching out and building relations. Meanwhile Nova has been around in one form another (used to be SECOM) for decades and is well connected in South Florida.

I would consider interviewing at Nova to get a feel for how different it is from LECOM-B, that way you can make an informed decision.

Lastly, go to the school-specific forums of pre-osteo/osteo and search for "LECOM-B vs Nova (or NSU)." This will give you more than a few threads exactly like this, since this question is asked at least once every year.
 
Personally the prospect of going to the school with the highest USMLE and COMLEX scores is enticing.
 
NeuroLAX said:
search for "LECOM-B vs Nova (or NSU)." This will give you more than a few threads exactly like this, since this question is asked at least once every year.
Click to expand...

Do this. I had to make the exact same decision when my interview date for NOVA was coming close. The information from LECOM-B vs. NOVA threads along with the fact that it was costing me >$500 to fly all the way to Florida led me to decide against interviewing at NOVA.
 
Nova is one of the best, established DO schools. You'd be crazy to miss that interview.
 
I've read many other forums but still am having trouble deciding whether or not I should go to the NOVA interview.

I know the basic strengths and weaknesses of both schools but am still trying to gauge which school would be better at helping me obtain a competitive surgical specialty residency in the Northeastern US and which would give me more opportunities to practice medicine internationally.

If there is no substantial difference between the two schools in promoting these interests, I would obviously go for LECOM due to the price.

Based on what I've read, I'm sure ill like the NOVA campus environment better than LECOM'S. I'm just looking for a solid reason to attend NOVA over LECOM based on my interests. If I chose to interview at NOVA, I would theoretically be choosing to attend NOVA over LECOM assuming I got in.

Thank you all for any advice. I really appreciate it.
 
here is a recent quote by a DO who posts on pre-osteo forums frequently that may help you:

cabinbuilder said:
Residency is like applying to medical school. You pick those you are interested and apply to them. They interview who they think is a good fit for their program and rank applicants and your rank your top picks. The match is a computer trying to make both sides happy based on rank lists. It has nothing to do with where you go to school.
Click to expand...
 
darklabel said:
Great match list, was 2012 your class NeuroLAX?
Click to expand...

Er... it actually seems like a pretty bad match list compared to other years. I mean very few specialty matches and the majority were in osteopathic programs.
 
darklabel said:
Oh, that is disheartening then. Well hopefully we'll see a better match list for the coming year.
Click to expand...

Or maybe not, if the first choice match rate is high then it might be just that the students choose to artificially aim low.
 
Mehd School said:
Nova is one of the best, established DO schools. You'd be crazy to miss that interview.
Click to expand...

This I understand, but in comparison to LECOM, I am still yet to find anything that really stands out (besides the more established rotation sites, which is an "advantage" with implications that to me still seem unclear) that is worth spending an extra $20,000 per year. Even the residency match list, to my knowledge, looks to be no better than LECOM's.

Please correct me if I am mistaken...
 
member59x92 said:
This I understand, but in comparison to LECOM, I am still yet to find anything that really stands out (besides the more established rotation sites, which is an "advantage" with implications that to me still seem unclear) that is worth spending an extra $20,000 per year. Even the residency match list, to my knowledge, looks to be no better than LECOM's.

Please correct me if I am mistaken...
Click to expand...

As far as I know from reading on SDN, match lists are not the be all end all of what kind of doctor a school can put out. Where a student matches is dependent on the student alone, although I can't help but think that school reputation can also help too.

I was in your position at one point choosing between both schools, and yes while Nova is much more expensive than LECOM-B, I am comfortable and happy with my decision on Nova, and I know I made the choice best for me.

If you want to attend LECOM because it is cheaper, then by all means do it. I would think that being regretful, even the smallest amount, during medical school will be a hindrance to your performance, which is something that can't be afforded. (No pun intended 🙄 )
 
tennischamp822 said:
I agree with the general idea of your post.

However, I did expect a slightly stronger match list from NOVA for some reason.
Click to expand...

I don't think one year sets the trend for the rest of the years. In this thread http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=977232, PCOM only had an 80% pass rate in one year. But no one would say that PCOM is a bad school just because of that. It's still widely considered one of the best DO schools to get into. Sometimes stuff like that happens from time to time.
 
DolFAN said:
Solid informative post. Would read again.
Click to expand...

I'm surprised people actually think that's true. Better schools TCOM, OSU, OU, MSU, UMDNJ, WVSOM, CCOM, DMU, PCOM, COMP, KCOM, and KCUMB. There's no tiers in DO schools but I'd put NSU with the Touro and LECOM crowd.

Back to the thread, I'd choose LECOM-B because I'd save 80,000+ in tuition.
 
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serenade said:
Er... it actually seems like a pretty bad match list compared to other years. I mean very few specialty matches and the majority were in osteopathic programs.
Click to expand...

I don't go to NOVA, but I know the majority of my classmates applied only to local AOA programs. I Many didn't even apply to the local university programs. I don't know why.
 
cliquesh said:
I don't go to NOVA, but I know the majority of my classmates applied only to local AOA programs. I Many didn't even apply to the local university programs. I don't know why.
Click to expand...

Who knows. Is the difference between University and community or AOA v.s ACGME programs stressed all that much outside of SDN? I mean I've heard DO schools tell their students to avoid taking the USMLE because the COMLEX is enough when it really isn't.
 
Using match lists to decide on what school to attend = amateur move. Seriously. Almost as bad as folks saying how good a residency is based off of some US News ranking.
 
serenade said:
Who knows. Is the difference between University and community or AOA v.s ACGME programs stressed all that much outside of SDN? I mean I've heard DO schools tell their students to avoid taking the USMLE because the COMLEX is enough when it really isn't.
Click to expand...

Community vs university and prestige is not stressed at my school. People actually give you looks if you mention that you're interviewing at university x, y, and z. Most people at my school, as I said previously, only apply to local aoa programs. My school said the comlex is good enough. I have many classmates that wished they took the usmle.
 
Bnmakr1 said:
I'm surprised people actually think that's true. Better schools TCOM, OSU, OU, MSU, UMDNJ, WVSOM, CCOM, DMU, PCOM, COMP, KCOM, and KCUMB. There's no tiers in DO schools but I'd put NSU with the Touro and LECOM crowd.

Back to the thread, I'd choose LECOM-B because I'd save 80,000+ in tuition.
Click to expand...

So you say there are no tiers in DO schools then proceed to put NSU/LECOM and Touro into a separate tier.
 
cliquesh said:
Community vs university and prestige is not stressed at my school. People actually give you looks if you mention that you're interviewing at university x, y, and z. Most people at my school, as I said previously, only apply to local aoa programs. My school said the comlex is good enough. I have many classmates that wished they took the usmle.
Click to expand...

Interesting... Looks like envy is a green bitch.
 
Bnmakr1 said:
I'm surprised people actually think that's true. Better schools TCOM, OSU, OU, MSU, UMDNJ, WVSOM, CCOM, DMU, PCOM, COMP, KCOM, and KCUMB. There's no tiers in DO schools but I'd put NSU with the Touro and LECOM crowd.

Back to the thread, I'd choose LECOM-B because I'd save 80,000+ in tuition.
Click to expand...

Bnmakr1 said:
I will be attending a school in Appalachia. Thanks for asking.
Click to expand...

I have another question for you.

What kind of outstanding and unique experience have you completed that has given you such insight in regards to the standing of various DO schools all over the country? You must be a very traveled person.
 
Mehd School said:
I have another question for you.

What kind of outstanding and unique experience have you completed that has given you such insight in regards to the standing of various DO schools all over the country? You must be a very traveled person.
Click to expand...

No qualifications. I just thought that was pretty much known.
 
The trainers for the Dolphins yell at us if we look over the parking garage for too long. Why have a training facility and pro shop on our campus if we aren't allowed to spectate? 😕
 
Dmr6186 said:
So a top-ranked school and a top-tiered school are separate?
Click to expand...

The NFL and College Football are on different tiers. We can rank them within their individual tier. We don't consider Alabama the 20th best football team or the Chiefs the 40th.
 
Bnmakr1 said:
The NFL and College Football are on different tiers. We can rank them within their individual tier. We don't consider Alabama the 20th best football team or the Chiefs the 40th.
Click to expand...

I think I see what you're trying to get at. Thank you.
 
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