LECOM-Bradenton Discussion Thread 2010-2011

[swimchick]

hey guys, i was wondering if anyone can help me with this. i'm not too familiar with the area, but i was wondering if there are any recommended colleges around. i really like lecom and have already put my deposit down, but i'm kind of having a hard time finding a school for my significant other. from looking online, it seems as though the local colleges are pretty basic (most of them list about 5 majors...someone please correct me if i'm wrong). we are willing to go as far as tampa, or the same kind of distance in any direction (but are somewhat concerned with price). I was just hoping some locals may have a little more insight!

Thanks so much in advance!!

My sister went to the University of Tampa for a year. She really liked it (and they were very generous with scholarship money) but she left because she changed her career plans.

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[oar2386]

hey guys, i was wondering if anyone can help me with this. i'm not too familiar with the area, but i was wondering if there are any recommended colleges around. i really like lecom and have already put my deposit down, but i'm kind of having a hard time finding a school for my significant other. from looking online, it seems as though the local colleges are pretty basic (most of them list about 5 majors...someone please correct me if i'm wrong). we are willing to go as far as tampa, or the same kind of distance in any direction (but are somewhat concerned with price). I was just hoping some locals may have a little more insight!

Thanks so much in advance!!

There are a couple options for you. There is obviously USF which has branch campuses in St. Pete (Save you a little of a drive).
Also there is St. Petersburg College which has many branch campuses. SPC has several 4 year majors, plus many technical programs like emt, medic, ect.
See ya in July

 

[Jinxgirl]

thank you all so much! university of tampa is the top choice, its just quite a bit more expensive than where we are now, so hopefully we will get enough money to cover it! everyone keep their because i really want this to work out!!

thanks again guys!!

 

[PED05]

thank you all so much! university of tampa is the top choice, its just quite a bit more expensive than where we are now, so hopefully we will get enough money to cover it! everyone keep their because i really want this to work out!!

thanks again guys!!

Eckerd College is in St. Pete and has the coolest campus I have ever seen. It is very expensive though. University of Tampa is really not that close to LECOM. It is about 1 hour and 15 minutes drive no matter how you slice it. I guess it wouldn't be a big deal if your significant other lived there and you lived near LECOM. There is also NEW College of Florida which is in Sarasota and is one of those colleges that don't give As Bs Cs....they just evaluate you and pass you. Anyone ever heard of a college like that? I know it sounds sketchy but I know two people who did very well there and transfered to major universities for grad schools. Then did anyone know that USF has a branch campus in Manatee/Sarasota? Manatee, Sarasota, and Bradenton are the southern cities in the Tampa Bay Area. Bradenton = Manatee county. Sarasota=Sarasota county and is directly south of Manatee. According to mapquest this USF campus is about 15 miles and a 20 minute drive door-to-door from LECOM-Bradenton. Also compared to all the other schools I listed it is about 1/10th of the tuition. Not to mention that the USF Manatee campus is walking distance from some of the best beaches in the country in Sarasota. The campus is right on the coast. It also has grad programs. I would look into this. Sorry for the huge post I grew up in the Bay area. Hope this helps.

 

[oar2386]

I also forgot about Hillsborough Community College. If you SO is looking just to take some classes, its another option in Tampa.

 

[nlax30]

USF is one of our state public universities, and as such will be the cheaper option compared to places like New College of Univ of Tampa. It's also a big state university and will pretty much have opportunities/programs in whichever field your SO would like.

They already mentioned other private universities like Univ of Tampa and New College. Ringling College of Art/Design is also in Sarasota. You'd have to check out their websites as I'm not familiar with what all they offer.

And each county basically has a community college, which recently have begun offering some 4yr degrees and change their names..... seems to be a trend in Florida over the last few years.

 

[HOPINGTOBE]

Does anyone know how filled the class is as of now? I was invited for an interview for March and hope that there are still seats open. Historically, have there been openings that late in the cycle? Thanks for any info and Happy Holidays to all!

 

[angryazn88]

Does anyone know how filled the class is as of now? I was invited for an interview for March and hope that there are still seats open. Historically, have there been openings that late in the cycle? Thanks for any info and Happy Holidays to all!

you should definitely go and interview. the worst that can happen is you getting onto the waitlist. and its not so bad to be on the waitlist, im sure a lot of people are going to withdraw by that time because they will have gotten accepted to their top choices. im still having a hard time choosing between the schools ive been accepted to.

 

[HOPINGTOBE]

you should definitely go and interview. the worst that can happen is you getting onto the waitlist. and its not so bad to be on the waitlist, im sure a lot of people are going to withdraw by that time because they will have gotten accepted to their top choices. im still having a hard time choosing between the schools ive been accepted to.

Thanks for the advice and it must be great having to have choices. So far I am waitlisted for one school. No word from the rest.

 

[angryazn88]

Thanks for the advice and it must be great having to have choices. So far I am waitlisted for one school. No word from the rest.

Haha, its not as great as you think! I have to decide which program will fit me more and thats really difficult. And I liked all 3 schools. I really liked the fact that LECOM-Bradenton students were so on top of their material during the PBL session I sat in on. I didn't like the security being an ass to the students because they were late and I didn't like the dress code but I could get used to dressing nice

 

[WhocaresMD]

I decided to cancel my interview with WVSOM (high tuition, out of state for me, too much emphasis on primary care). I am pretty set on LECOM for now. Well see what other school pops up

 

[piper19]

I recieved an email notifying me that my supplemental application had been processed. Do they typically send this email to everyone, or were those of you who interviewed just sent an email telling you that you got an interview after submitting supplemental?

 

[ACCSlater]

Hi, I interview on the 10th of January and was wondering who else is interviewing on that day and if anyone that has already interviewed has some advice for me.

 

[oar2386]

Hi, I interview on the 10th of January and was wondering who else is interviewing on that day and if anyone that has already interviewed has some advice for me.

Just read through this thread. There's some great advice in here. Be confident and sell yourself. Good luck

 

[MLT2MT2DO]

I recieved an email notifying me that my supplemental application had been processed. Do they typically send this email to everyone, or were those of you who interviewed just sent an email telling you that you got an interview after submitting supplemental?

You're fine, they are just telling you they finally got around to looking through your supplemental package. Now if they say they've reached a decision instead of giving an interview invite, then that is bad news.

 

[GainesvilleOwl]

I recieved an email notifying me that my supplemental application had been processed. Do they typically send this email to everyone, or were those of you who interviewed just sent an email telling you that you got an interview after submitting supplemental?

Yep, I got this email too. LECOM's portal also told me in so many words that it's being prepared for review by the committee. The LECOM-PA admission status said it's under review, so I assume that's the next step for my LECOM-FL app.

I'd also like to know how full the class is, if anyone knows. I have not gotten an interview yet but am still hopeful

 

[panasonic52]

Filled out my secondary for both campuses sometime in the 3rd week of December.
I just got an email today saying I was invited for interview at Bradenton so now I can send over my rec letters. What I'm confused about is that the PA campus only emailed to ask for my rec letters and such. Their website says they don't ask for those until you've been invited to interview.

 

[piper19]

You're fine, they are just telling you they finally got around to looking through your supplemental package. Now if they say they've reached a decision instead of giving an interview invite, then that is bad news.

I got an interview email today...3/11/11...

 

[MLT2MT2DO]

I got an interview email today...3/11/11...

Congrats and good luck.

Filled out my secondary for both campuses sometime in the 3rd week of December.
I just got an email today saying I was invited for interview at Bradenton so now I can send over my rec letters. What I'm confused about is that the PA campus only emailed to ask for my rec letters and such. Their website says they don't ask for those until you've been invited to interview.

You're a texas resident accepted by TCOM (good school dirt cheap tuition) and you're still attending LECOM (good schools for ~ 2x the price) interviews? Am I missing something?

 

[panasonic52]

You're a texas resident accepted by TCOM (good school dirt cheap tuition) and you're still attending LECOM (good schools for ~ 2x the price) interviews? Am I missing something?

I received an interview offer today, but that doesn't mean I'm attending it. I was just confused by their system and why the rec letter stuff seems to contradict what it says on their website.

 

[DaisyB814]

Ok, so it's been over a month and a half and I've still not heard a peep from any of my schools, let alone LECOM.

To backstory - my application was complete in beginning Nov and received an email in mid November stating my application had been placed on hold and would be re-reviewed in 60 days. I've been in contact with Annette since the end of November, who mentioned I should send her my rec letters so the admissions committee could review them in beginning December...December has obviously come and gone and I have still yet to hear anything.

Now I'm trying to be patient, seeing as how I doubt the admissions committees were in session due to the holidays, but finally looking at the threads and seeing people have still be receiving invitations has me a little nervous. How should I go about politely asking what my status and further expressing my interest with LECOM (or any of my other schools for that matter, but LECOM is by far my top choice)?

 

[Badancil]

Interview on monday. Received the invite last week! thats some pretty short notice.

looking forward to seeing what lecom is all about (and its across the street from my highschool)

-BA

 

[MLT2MT2DO]

Interview on monday. Received the invite last week! thats some pretty short notice.

looking forward to seeing what lecom is all about (and its across the street from my highschool)

-BA

I got an interview from a school on a Tuesday for that following Saturday (yes 4 days later). I found this to be a bit of a "slap in the face" as well as indictive of how things were being run and didn't attend. I already had a couple acceptances at this point though.

 

[med10333]

I got an interview from a school on a Tuesday for that following Saturday (yes 4 days later). I found this to be a bit of a "slap in the face" as well as indictive of how things were being run and didn't attend. I already had a couple acceptances at this point though.

I think this is just because of last minute cancellations. If somebody cancels and the school was going to give you an interview anyways, they will just give you the early date. If its too early, I'm pretty sure you can request to push it back. I'm sure they'll understand.

 

[MLT2MT2DO]

I think this is just because of last minute cancellations. If somebody cancels and the school was going to give you an interview anyways, they will just give you the early date. If its too early, I'm pretty sure you can request to push it back. I'm sure they'll understand.

I was already on the fence about whether I was going to attend the interview. The cost of tuition was pretty high and it was a new school. On top of that, I had spoke to the adcom and somehow my paperwork got buried so even though I had a complete app before August I didn't hear anything until November. Truthfully the last minute invite was kind of the straw that broke the camel's back.

 

[FLSarasota]

I have a room for rent in my 3 2 1/2 bath luxury townhouse. Has furniture already, nicely decorated, quiet and very clean place... Very nice location about 10 minutes drive to LECOM school. I am off University Parkway on a very nice location. Gated new condominium with pool. Utilities are included on the $600. I had LECOM roommate before, she's now done with school.

Sabal Bay on the 83rd st E, Bradenton
Text me or call if interested
Flavia
941-585-2854

 

[Badancil]

I got an interview from a school on a Tuesday for that following Saturday (yes 4 days later). I found this to be a bit of a "slap in the face" as well as indictive of how things were being run and didn't attend. I already had a couple acceptances at this point though.

I think that may be a little harsh. but I can understand the frustration (obviously) she told me on the phone that they had last minute cancellations and they usually call other florida residents to fill those spots since its cheaper for them to travel on short notice.

I am grateful for the opportunity, while LECOM-B may have its issues with rotations, its board scores and match list speak for themselves. They were #2 in the nation a year or two ago (I was told by a student) for their average board scores, and the specialties their students match into are impressive.

either way. it is a whirlwind getting my schedules straightened out so quickly.

-BA

 

[GainesvilleOwl]

I got an interview email today...3/11/11...

Good luck!

I got the email today to interview on the 19th -- I'm really psyched. Anyone else here interviewing on January 19th?

 

[MLT2MT2DO]

I think that may be a little harsh. but I can understand the frustration (obviously) she told me on the phone that they had last minute cancellations and they usually call other florida residents to fill those spots since its cheaper for them to travel on short notice.

I am grateful for the opportunity, while LECOM-B may have its issues with rotations, its board scores and match list speak for themselves. They were #2 in the nation a year or two ago (I was told by a student) for their average board scores, and the specialties their students match into are impressive.

either way. it is a whirlwind getting my schedules straightened out so quickly.

-BA

It wasn't this school, LECOM-B gave me like 6 weeks notice which was great. The administration lady at the school I'm talking about didn't explain anything (ie last minute cancellation) and just seemed that I should be thankful to have the oppurtunity to rearrange my life on a moments whim...yeah it pretty much just rubbed me the wrong way.

I agree 100% board passing rates for 2 years in a row and PBL sounds pretty awesome to me as well.

GL on your interview

 

[dburr10]

Anyone here interviewing this Friday? I'm looking forward to visiting the school, enjoying the Florida sun, and crossing off my 27th state out of 50.

 

[PED05]

Ok, so it's been over a month and a half and I've still not heard a peep from any of my schools, let alone LECOM.

To backstory - my application was complete in beginning Nov and received an email in mid November stating my application had been placed on hold and would be re-reviewed in 60 days. I've been in contact with Annette since the end of November, who mentioned I should send her my rec letters so the admissions committee could review them in beginning December...December has obviously come and gone and I have still yet to hear anything.

Now I'm trying to be patient, seeing as how I doubt the admissions committees were in session due to the holidays, but finally looking at the threads and seeing people have still be receiving invitations has me a little nervous. How should I go about politely asking what my status and further expressing my interest with LECOM (or any of my other schools for that matter, but LECOM is by far my top choice)?

Perhaps you should give Annette another call to see about getting an interview. Alot of times if you are local and you mention it, they may let you sub in on short notice for someone who cancels. This is how I interviewed six weeks before I had the original interview email. BTW Do you mind sharing your MCAT/GPA/Major. Are you an undergrad? etc.

 

[DaisyB814]

Perhaps you should give Annette another call to see about getting an interview. Alot of times if you are local and you mention it, they may let you sub in on short notice for someone who cancels. This is how I interviewed six weeks before I had the original interview email. BTW Do you mind sharing your MCAT/GPA/Major. Are you an undergrad? etc.

That's probably not a bad idea, but I don't even know if I've even been selected for an interview invitation...should I just re-mention that I'm a Florida resident that's highly interested in attending LECOM and would be willing to interview short notice?

Well I just graduated from Florida State with my Bachelors in Exercise Science this past December. I got a 24 MCAT, a 3.3 cum GPA, and something like a 3.5 science GPA. I've had more than like 4 years experience as a medical assistant and did a bit of volunteer work/shadowing as an undergrad.

 

[oar2386]

That's probably not a bad idea, but I don't even know if I've even been selected for an interview invitation...should I just re-mention that I'm a Florida resident that's highly interested in attending LECOM and would be willing to interview short notice?

Well I just graduated from Florida State with my Bachelors in Exercise Science this past December. I got a 24 MCAT, a 3.3 cum GPA, and something like a 3.5 science GPA. I've had more than like 4 years experience as a medical assistant and did a bit of volunteer work/shadowing as an undergrad.

I hate to say it, but you have a really long shot of being accepted. That 24 mcat is killing your app. Everything I've seen and heard about Lecom is that they tend to emphasize mcat more than grades with about a 28 avg. Even then your gpa is only average. Plus you are a little late in the cycle, so Lecom can afford to be picky. My advice is retake the mcat and make sure, if you reapply, to get your app in in June. You can try a letter of intent, but I don't think it will do much good.

 

[bbcnp]

Kinda bored at work today...tired of checking portals with no updates, ha.

So what do you guys find attractive about LECOM-B? Maybe we can learn more about the school this way and I feel like it's helpful to weigh pros between schools.

Me?

Tuition: $29,200 OOS aka The Low Low!

Boards: Earlier someone posted 100% pass rate on COMLEX Step 1 with highest average score, and 12/41 got 99th percentile on USMLE Step 1. This is a big one for me.

Very Flexible Rotations (I don't mind setting up my own, prefer it really)

Publix: 2 very close to the school, Whole Foods 30 mins away (shush, this matters to me, I like to cook and I've been in a Wal-Mart only city way too long )

Beaches (and good scuba sites possibly??)

I dug this up from page 8 of this thread. Can anyone confirm if the bolded statement about the USMLE is true? If so, that is very impressive.

 

[Altruist]

I dug this up from page 8 of this thread. Can anyone confirm if the bolded statement about the USMLE is true? If so, that is very impressive.

That is what we were told at an admin hour earlier in the fall, I think before they were even sure about the 100% 1st-time pass rate deal on the COMLEX.

I am pretty sure they said it that way, but after learning a little more about the USMLE I'm almost positive they misstated this. My guess is that 12/41 got a 2-digit score of 99 on the USLME. That's still impressive, but, confusingly, doesn't mean the same as being in the 99th percentile. From what I understand a 2-digit score of 99 equals about the 87th-ish percentile.

Another thing they told us... out of 150 people, 41 took the USMLE Step I, and 40 of 41 passed it. The 1 who failed had been warned by the administration that taking it wasn't a good idea, judging by her exam average, but that student took the test anyway. Dr. Krueger is very proud of his ability to predict how you're going to do on boards.

 

[oar2386]

Has anybody received any packet besides the intial matriculation agreement? Last years was sent in Jan. Just want to get a head start

 

[nlax30]

That is what we were told at an admin hour earlier in the fall, I think before they were even sure about the 100% 1st-time pass rate deal on the COMLEX.

I am pretty sure they said it that way, but after learning a little more about the USMLE I'm almost positive they misstated this. My guess is that 12/41 got a 2-digit score of 99 on the USLME. That's still impressive, but, confusingly, doesn't mean the same as being in the 99th percentile. From what I understand a 2-digit score of 99 equals about the 87th-ish percentile.

Yea, I'm pretty sure this is the case. Still impressive though as I think a 2 digit score of 99 roughly means a 3digit score of 230 and up.

Here's a site that has some sort of interactive graph to give you an idea of 3-digit/2-digit scores and percentiles. USMLE does NOT report percentile score so another reason why those are most likely the 2-digit scores.

Another thing they told us... out of 150 people, 41 took the USMLE Step I, and 40 of 41 passed it. The 1 who failed had been warned by the administration that taking it wasn't a good idea, judging by her exam average, but that student took the test anyway. Dr. Krueger is very proud of his ability to predict how you're going to do on boards.

All those diagnostic tests maybe a pain and get annoying but it will give you a rough idea of where you stand. I was one of the 41 who took USMLE step 1 and if I recall correctly, the diagnostics were fairly accurate. If anything I did much better on COMLEX than predicted.

 

[CapnCrunch]

Interview on monday. Received the invite last week! thats some pretty short notice.

looking forward to seeing what lecom is all about (and its across the street from my highschool)

-BA

I have an interview on Monday as well. See you there!

 

[Badancil]

I have an interview on Monday as well. See you there!

Who were you, I was the in town guy there.

Id have to say that the building is BEAUTIFUL. and the pbl session was awesome.

hopefully well get good news in the mail next week.

 

[christoferreeve]

I was wondering if LECOM-B will allow the use of a Mac computer on its campus. I have heard that Macs are not compatible and that you have to have a pc? Just trying to figure out if this is true or not?

 

[devlyyn]

I'd say at least 30% of the 2nd year class has a mac. Only thing you need is powerpoint, word, and a web browser. No worries.

 

[med10333]

I was wondering if LECOM-B will allow the use of a Mac computer on its campus. I have heard that Macs are not compatible and that you have to have a pc? Just trying to figure out if this is true or not?

I got the matriculation packet yesterday and they were pretty clear that only windows computers were allowed. Then later in the packet it says you can have a mac at your own risk, whatever that means. So my understanding is that they strongly prefer you have windows.

 

[nlax30]

I got the matriculation packet yesterday and they were pretty clear that only windows computers were allowed. Then later in the packet it says you can have a mac at your own risk, whatever that means. So my understanding is that they strongly prefer you have windows.

We had a good number of macs in my class and no one really had any issues as far as I know.

I think part of the thinking is that their "in house tech support" guys only handle PC/Windows issues and so there's no official mac support. And unless they changed anything, there was not any windows-only software that we had to use, just the basics of powerpoint, word, web browsing, etc... And even if there was you can always run windows on a mac so I can't see how it will be a problem.

 

[Altruist]

I think part of the thinking is that their "in house tech support" guys only handle PC/Windows issues and so there's no official mac support.

This is my guess, too. They only started pressuring the current first years to all get Windows computers. Someone called the tech department in Erie about this last year, and from what they posted on here, the person they talked kept repeating that they needed a PC, without giving any rationale; and it was clear from the conversation that the tech person didn't know anything--literally, nothing--about the Mac.

I have a Mac. I've never had a problem using it at school.

I wouldn't push anyone hard towards the Mac, given the price difference; but the school's "lack of support" for the Mac has been a non-issue for me. My relationship with our school's tech department ended when they told me the wi-fi password.

 

[DrBOshkosh26]

Yea, I'm pretty sure this is the case. Still impressive though as I think a 2 digit score of 99 roughly means a 3digit score of 230 and up.

Here's a site that has some sort of interactive graph to give you an idea of 3-digit/2-digit scores and percentiles. USMLE does NOT report percentile score so another reason why those are most likely the 2-digit scores.



All those diagnostic tests maybe a pain and get annoying but it will give you a rough idea of where you stand. I was one of the 41 who took USMLE step 1 and if I recall correctly, the diagnostics were fairly accurate. If anything I did much better on COMLEX than predicted.

Where is the site? Thank you!

 

[yidao]

I have an interview soon. But I don't have a DO recomd letter, instead of a MD recomd lttr. Can the DO lttr be replaced with my MD lttr? Thanks.

 

[swimchick]

I have an interview soon. But I don't have a DO recomd letter, instead of a MD recomd lttr. Can the DO lttr be replaced with my MD lttr? Thanks.

LECOM requires a DO letter, it cannot be replaced with an MD letter.

This is directly from their website:

"If you are accepted for admission, LECOM will also require a letter of recommendation from an osteopathic physician to complete your application. We cannot accept a letter from an allopathic physician (M.D.), to satisfy this requirement."

 

[nlax30]

Where is the site? Thank you!

I'll have to PM it to you, for some reason SDN is blocking the address when I try and post it. Is SDN censoring/block certain links from being posted?

 

[MusicIsLife]

Good luck!

I got the email today to interview on the 19th -- I'm really psyched. Anyone else here interviewing on January 19th?

I am! Looking forward to meeting another SDN-er there
(Silly question, but did you go to UF as well?)

 

[FutureDoctor127]

So just checked the portal today, and this is what it says:

The Admissions Committee has made a decision on your application. You will receive an official letter in the mail within 30 days.

This is a rejection, right? Because it seems the trend is you get a phone call if they want to interview you.