LECOM Bradenton Discussion Thread 2011-2012

[SeminoleVesicle]

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Congrats!!👍 When is your interview date?

2/24, but I'm going to have to reschedule because I have travel plans that weekend.

 

[GenusTide]

2/24, but I'm going to have to reschedule because I have travel plans that weekend.

Good stuff. I have mine a week from tomorrow. Ready for it to done. Best of to you.

 

[05091116]

Hi Guys,
So I'm wondering if anyone on the Alternate List has had any change in their status? I emailed Lecom-B and they said they'll be reviewing Alternate files in Dec/Jan. I'm reallyyy hoping to be accepted but just getting antsy, let me know if you've heard anything please 🙂

 

[gators21]

Received an II today. Extremely blessed and excited.

Any tebow fan is more than welcome! Congrats

Don't stress out too much over the interviews. This interview was by far my most laid back, conversational interview I had.
Couple of suggestions:
1) definately know why DO, why bradenton, why doctor. I know of several people that got the honor code question (myself included)
2) the most impotant thing is to just relax. Besides the questions before, I really wouldnt have anything else "prepared". The interviewers want to get to know you. they have been doing this a long time and can spot the fake answers easily. Just be yourself.
3) If you have more than 1 interviewer, remember to address both of them when you talk. I know some of them like to "stone face" or seem uninterested. They just wanna see how you handle it. Its not that they dont like you. Be confidant and honest.
4) our faculty is awsome. They are here because they WANT to teach, not because they have to. They are not here for prestige or money. They like this whole process and want to help you.

Good luck

 

[Blowflu]

I asked some questions earlier about letters of rec. and I have a follow up to those. Thanks to all those who've responded so far!

So, the DO that I've gotten to know has agreed to write me a letter of rec! Here's where the interesting part comes in: he graduated from LECOM-B about 6-7 years ago! He said that he still might know some of the staff, so my question is this: would it be better to wait until after the interview (so he could write a personalized letter towards my interviewers, IF he knows them), or would it be better to have the letter before my interview next week? The DO suggested the first option to me, and I think that sounds reasonable, but I wouldn't want to hurt my application bid by not having everything turned in on time. Thoughts?

 

[cal1516]

I asked some questions earlier about letters of rec. and I have a follow up to those. Thanks to all those who've responded so far!

So, the DO that I've gotten to know has agreed to write me a letter of rec! Here's where the interesting part comes in: he graduated from LECOM-B about 6-7 years ago! He said that he still might know some of the staff, so my question is this: would it be better to wait until after the interview (so he could write a personalized letter towards my interviewers, IF he knows them), or would it be better to have the letter before my interview next week? The DO suggested the first option to me, and I think that sounds reasonable, but I wouldn't want to hurt my application bid by not having everything turned in on time. Thoughts?

I don't know on terms of content of the letter, but here's my opinion on timing. It's hard to say because you don't know when the committee will be meeting to make decisions. The first option would work if they're not meeting for say, another week. However, they met the day after my interview and if they didn't have all your letters that day they had to put your file on hold until all of them came in. With that said, putting you on hold for a few days won't really kill your chances...granted the DO can write the letter and get it in in reasonable time.

 

[SeminoleVesicle]

Any tebow fan is more than welcome! Congrats

Don't stress out too much over the interviews. This interview was by far my most laid back, conversational interview I had.
Couple of suggestions:
1) definately know why DO, why bradenton, why doctor. I know of several people that got the honor code question (myself included)
2) the most impotant thing is to just relax. Besides the questions before, I really wouldnt have anything else "prepared". The interviewers want to get to know you. they have been doing this a long time and can spot the fake answers easily. Just be yourself.
3) If you have more than 1 interviewer, remember to address both of them when you talk. I know some of them like to "stone face" or seem uninterested. They just wanna see how you handle it. Its not that they dont like you. Be confidant and honest.
4) our faculty is awsome. They are here because they WANT to teach, not because they have to. They are not here for prestige or money. They like this whole process and want to help you.

Good luck

Wow, those seem like some great tips. Thanks!

 

[gatorfann14]

I don't think your interviewers are necessarily on the admissions committee. The 2 interviewers I have im almost certain are not on the committee since they are incredibly busy at the school, and I just can't see them wanting to be involved in anything that wasn't their area of teaching. So sending a personalized letter may just make you look like a tool when no one in the room is mentioned in the letter. Just send the letter in like a normal applicant in all likelihood it won't make any difference. My DO letter was terrible.

 

[GenusTide]

Soooooo..... Interviewing coming up this Friday...... Getting kind of nervous I feel like I have some solid answers to what has been posted previously. Still kind of nervous though. I need to work on my relaxing techniques so I can be 😎

 

[SeminoleVesicle]

Soooooo..... Interviewing coming up this Friday...... Getting kind of nervous I feel like I have some solid answers to what has been posted previously. Still kind of nervous though. I need to work on my relaxing techniques so I can be 😎

Let me know how it goes bro, I'm interviewing here on March 2nd. Best of luck to you,

 

[GenusTide]

Let me know how it goes bro, I'm interviewing here on March 2nd. Best of luck to you,

Will do and thanks!

 

[futuredrhouse]

ACCEPTED!!!! Saw a status change on the portal so I called today and they let me know. This is my first acceptance and I loved the school when I visited - feeling emotionally overwhelmed and totally blessed.

For those curious:

Interviewed 12/2
MCAT: 27R
sGPA: 3.49, overall 3.54
EMT, M.P.H, great LORs

 

[SeminoleVesicle]

ACCEPTED!!!! Saw a status change on the portal so I called today and they let me know. This is my first acceptance and I loved the school when I visited - feeling emotionally overwhelmed and totally blessed.

For those curious:

Interviewed 12/2
MCAT: 27R
sGPA: 3.49, overall 3.54
EMT, M.P.H, great LORs

Congrats! The hard work has paid off.

 

[digitlnoize]

Congrats! The hard work has paid off.

I was just about to tell him/her that now the hard work begins...hahaha.

I'm just NOW starting to feel like the "hard work" has paid off. I look back on my pre-med time as vacation. That was so easy...I wish I had it back. Not that med school isn't awesome, because it is...but undergrad (even Orgo and yes, med school admission) was Sooooo much easier.

I will say that the process of applying to residency is 1000x easier than the med school application process. It still sucks, but it sucks a lot less.

 

[futuredrhouse]

I was just about to tell him/her that now the hard work begins...hahaha.

I'm just NOW starting to feel like the "hard work" has paid off. I look back on my pre-med time as vacation. That was so easy...I wish I had it back. Not that med school isn't awesome, because it is...but undergrad (even Orgo and yes, med school admission) was Sooooo much easier.

I will say that the process of applying to residency is 1000x easier than the med school application process. It still sucks, but it sucks a lot less.

anything that's worth anything in this world requires hard work, right? just happy to be accepted, and I'll take it day by day 🙂

 

[GenusTide]

ACCEPTED!!!! Saw a status change on the portal so I called today and they let me know. This is my first acceptance and I loved the school when I visited - feeling emotionally overwhelmed and totally blessed.

For those curious:

Interviewed 12/2
MCAT: 27R
sGPA: 3.49, overall 3.54
EMT, M.P.H, great LORs

Congrats!!!!! has got to be a great feeling to accomplish such a goal👍

 

[05091116]

Accepted from the Alternate List for Lecom-B Class of 2016!!!!! 😀 Sooooo Excited, and now could someone please explain to me how our clinical years work? I was a bit confused by this at the interview, how difficult is it to have your clinical years all at 1 hospital or in 1 state? I definitely don't want to move one I'm in year 3 and 4 somewhere.

 

[gators21]

Soooooo..... Interviewing coming up this Friday...... Getting kind of nervous I feel like I have some solid answers to what has been posted previously. Still kind of nervous though. I need to work on my relaxing techniques so I can be 😎

How did it go genustide?

 

[GenusTide]

How did it go genustide?

I hope it all went very well. The group interview was very laid back. I love the school and the curriculum. I really hope I have the opportunity to go here. I do have some questions for you if I can figure out how to PM you.

 

[Altruist]

now could someone please explain to me how our clinical years work? I was a bit confused by this at the interview, how difficult is it to have your clinical years all at 1 hospital or in 1 state? I definitely don't want to move one I'm in year 3 and 4 somewhere.

Don't feel bad; it's complicated, but I will try to give you some sense of how things work.

Your 3rd year rotations are your "core" clinical rotations, where you learn how to doctor your way out of a paper bag (that's the idea, anyway) by doing IM, Peds, FM, Ob/Gyn, Psych, and Surgery rotations. It's possible to do a year long at various places in Florida (or up north in Pennsylvania, if spots remain after Erie and Seton Hill choose their rotations). You need a B average to get a year-long, and in my class's case, they had us sort out amongst ourselves who got the Florida year-longs however we liked, with the class president submitting the final list of who was going to which year-long location.

4th year is your 2 ER rotations plus various selective and elective rotations. Even if you get a year-long for 3rd year, you have to set 4th year rotations up on your own. Many hospitals are more willing to take 4th years than 3rd years since you should have the basics down, so it's (theoretically) less of a hassle than figuring out your 3rd year rotations. Anyway, 4th year is when you'll try to do rotations useful to what you plan to do in residency; whether that's visiting a residency program you're interested in for an "audition rotation," or just filling in a gap in your knowledge, or exploring a sub-specialty you may be interested in further down the road. It's not a bad time to have this kind of freedom.

It's possible you may be able to set up your 4th year rotations near where you did your 3rd year. It depends on where you are and what you want to do.

Odds are (though there are no guarantees) that an older, more established school would have a less chaotic system for 3rd and 4th year, for what that's worth. That doesn't guarantee a better learning experience, just a little less organizational work on your part. Our system works, in that everyone I know is getting through rotations, learning things, and moving forward towards graduation and residency. I also hope that the new system is easier for the future classes, even if it comes at the expense of some of the freedom we used to have.

Sorry if all this is confusing. How LECOM-B arranges most of its rotations isn't great, but it's not as bad as it may sound. Feel free to PM if you have questions.

 

[dbizzy]

Does anybody have any idea of how full the class currently looks? I've got an interview but not until Jan.

 

[misssciencenerd]

I was told they are only 1/3 full.

@05091116 congrats on getting off the waitlist! I am on the waitlist right now, interviewed early and just sent in my letter of interest. I hope I am in the same boat as you soon!

 

[UTKpremed]

Hello everyone! Congrats to those who have been accepted thus far and good luck to those yet to interview! Just as a reminder, here is the link to the facebook page for LECOM-B class of 2016. Come check us out!

https://www.facebook.com/groups/278062275558285/?notif_t=group_r2j

 

[05091116]

Thanks for all of the details "Altruist"! I really appreciate your help! And thanks "missciencenerd". When did you interview? Best of luck with everything!

 

[futuredoc786]

does pbl prepare you to do better on your boards? Any current students have any regrets for picking PBL as their method of learning ? I have a choice to either go to PCOM Ga or LECOM B, can anyone comment on the pros and cons other either university? Thanks

 

[usgchemengineer]

Accepted! Going to drop my seat at LECOM for KCUMB. Hope this helps someone out! Good luck everyone!

 

[GenusTide]

ACCEPTED!!!

High school drop out to med school. I need to write a book!

 

[gatorfann14]

does pbl prepare you to do better on your boards? Any current students have any regrets for picking PBL as their method of learning ? I have a choice to either go to PCOM Ga or LECOM B, can anyone comment on the pros and cons other either university? Thanks

Now that I am in PBL full time and really get to experience it there is no way that I could ever go back to doing lecture based classes. They are the biggest waste of time in education and very ineffective at teaching you things. PBL allows you to be an active learner and prevents you from just fading into the background.

 

[digitlnoize]

does pbl prepare you to do better on your boards? Any current students have any regrets for picking PBL as their method of learning ? I have a choice to either go to PCOM Ga or LECOM B, can anyone comment on the pros and cons other either university? Thanks

I can't really comment on PCOM-GA, which I do think is a good school, but most everyone has enjoyed their time at LECOM-B. Some people will always nitpick a few things, but I don't think that the education is one of them. We have enjoyed the highest (or almost highest) board scores and pass rates in recent years, and our graduates tend to get very good residency positions.

I think PBL might be worse for someone with ZERO self-motivation, but those people rarely make it to medical school anyways. There have been one or two who appear to have gone to med school only to make mom/dad happy, but they tend to either flame out, or get their act together pretty quick.

The only complaints people tend to have usually center around the small-town nature of Bradenton (not great for single people looking to date, although I'd argue that Tampa is VERY close and there's plenty of inter-class dating usually), the dress code (you'll have to do this in hospitals anyways usually), the "food code" (no food or drink except in the cafeteria...which isn't a big deal to me since you're rarely on campus...~2 hours per day)...and that's about it.

I also think LECOM-B has lower tuition, but I'm not 100% sure. If I were you, that'd be a HUGE factor. Go to the cheapest place, unless it's absolutely horrible and you HATE it.

 

[Blowflu]

ACCEPTED!!!

High school drop out to med school. I need to write a book!

How'd you find out? All I see is that I'll get a letter in 30 days.

 

[GenusTide]

How'd you find out? All I see is that I'll get a letter in 30 days.

I called Annette. She will tell you your if you were accepted or not. Did you interview on the 9th as well?

 

[futuredoc786]

thats what i found to be so exciting about pbl. I felt like I was apart of the case and I still remember some details from sitting in on a pbl session during my interview. Another question: what happens if you get a not so smart/ lazy group, will that be a detriment to your own education at lecom ? or is it entirely up to you even if you group is lazy and is not pointing out important topics to study ? Also, how have you or classmates of your done on the boards compared to some counterparts at other schools? I would assume that the clinical context and board style format of the tests in class give you prior exposure to question sytle and format on comlex 1 /usmle 1 ? thanks

 

[futuredoc786]

can you comment on the rotations setup ? im confused , alot of people have their own things to add. Since you are a current student... Will i have to travel all over florida to do my 3rd year rotations? will i have an opportunity to do my rotations in erie ? Is going to erie and enrolling in pbl there more beneficial because they have the established rotation sites? thank you so much for your help. all the other details are inconsequential to me because you education should be everyone's top priority.
Thanks

 

[TwoBits]

Accepted off the alternate list!! I am extremely excited, and so it my family. LECOMB is my second choice among all schools I applied to, so a lot of stress has been taken off my shoulders. However, my dilemma is that I was recently invited to interview at my top choice. I don't believe I will hear from my top choice until after my 30 day window ends to send LECOMB the deposit.

Does anyone know if LECOM will grant an extension to the 30-day window? This is my first acceptance and I am not too sure on how the logistics of all this works.

Could I retract my matriculation agreement after it is sent in (even if I lose the deposit)?

Thanks and good luck to everyone applying!

 

[futuredoc786]

im sure that you can retract your agreement, but you will be out 1500 bucks, they may or may not grant you an extension on the date listed on your letter. I would pay the 1500 and know that you will be going SOMEWHERE, you dont want something to go wrong in the process and find out god forbid you dont get into your top choice, take the sure thing right now and pay the money for lecom B. I am in a similar situation right now, but i know ill be down some money at the end of this cycle due to decision making factor. hope this helps. mind sharing your top choice ?

 

[Loudster]

Agreed. 2nd choice is pretty good too 😉 I don't think they'd be willing to give you an extension past your 30 days, especially when there are plenty of other people waitlisted that would love your spot if you don't take it.

Bird in the hand...

 

[digitlnoize]

what happens if you get a not so smart/ lazy group, will that be a detriment to your own education at lecom ? or is it entirely up to you even if you group is lazy and is not pointing out important topics to study ? Also, how have you or classmates of your done on the boards compared to some counterparts at other schools? I would assume that the clinical context and board style format of the tests in class give you prior exposure to question sytle and format on comlex 1 /usmle 1 ? thanks

When you have a lazy/stupid person (and it's very rare), it really doesn't affect too much. PBL groups are large enough (7-8 when I was there, maybe up to 10 now, I'm not sure) that they can handle 1 or 2 slackers without much effect. It's not like they're leaving extra work for you, since everyone has to learn everything. You get a new PBL group each semester, so I had 4 during my basic science years, and of those 4, I can say that I only had 1 group which had ANY slackers at all, and there were 2 "slackers" in that group of eight.

The only real issues occurred when it came time, at the end of case, to vote on which chapters we wanted to be tested on. We had some real gunners in our group who wanted to be tested on every case, even if it was loosely related to the topic at hand. We had people like me, who wanted to be tested on the pertinent case topics, but learn those well, and not go overboard with minutiae. And we had the slackers who wanted to pick 2-3 chapters per case. Usually not an issue because most groups do a "majority rules" type of thing, so the slackers are outvoted. If, by some strange chance they aren't, the admin *might* step in and say you're picking too few topics compared to the other groups (or too many). I've never known this to happen though. It usually works out fine.

How have we done on boards? I think I answered this, but again, VERY well. LECOM-B, aside from our first year open, has been #1 or #2 in board pass rates every year. Our average is consistently well above the national mean, if not the best in the country also (but they don't show us the data on that, so it's mostly guess work). Most of my friends did very well. I am an average student in my class and did >550, if that helps (500 is comlex mean, 400 is passing). I have MANY classmates who broke 600, and a few crazy people who broke 700.

Of those who I know that took USMLE they all did very well. The lowest USMLE score I heard about was around a 225 for an average student similar to myself. Most of my USMLE taking friends got >230. I know of 2 guys in our class who got >270 😱 and I think one of those was a 279. These people are insane and can make you feel a bit inadequate as a student sometimes.

can you comment on the rotations setup ? im confused , alot of people have their own things to add. Since you are a current student... Will i have to travel all over florida to do my 3rd year rotations? will i have an opportunity to do my rotations in erie ? Is going to erie and enrolling in pbl there more beneficial because they have the established rotation sites? thank you so much for your help. all the other details are inconsequential to me because you education should be everyone's top priority.
Thanks

I think this was also done recently, but basically, rotations are your oyster. If you want to stay in the Bradenton-Sarasota (and maybe Tampa-St. Pete) area, that can usually be arranged. I wouldn't have had ANY problem doing that if I had wanted to. Many of the year long sites in other parts of Florida are very good, and my classmates enjoyed their experiences there (Largo, West Palm), and basically just moved there for 3rd/4th year and stayed put.

You'll also be able to do rotations up in Pennsylvania, but we get choices from what's left over after the Erie campus registers up there. We get first choice in FL, they get first dibs on PA. Seems fair. There's so many sites that there's always tons of stuff left. I didn't bother.

I was able to set up most of my rotations back in my home state, so I don't know a ton about the other sites. I can say that Psych in Bradenton is freaking awesome, IM is typically VERY hard work in that area (but a good "boot camp" experience, I learned a lot from the couple of rotations I did down there). Surgery in Bradenton is much better than at most other places I've heard about. Hours weren't too bad, surgeons weren't too malignant.

Rotations are done in 4 week blocks. Currently, the blocks 3rd year are: IM (3), Surgery (2), OB (1), Peds (1), Psych (1), FM with a DO (1), Core Selective - must be IM, Surg, OB, Peds, or Psych (1), Electives (2), and Vacation (1).

4th year FOR ME (this could all change, so who knows) is: Board Study Month (1), Vacation (1), Rural/Underserved (1), Electives (3), Primary Care Selective - Must be FM, Peds, OB, IM, Pyshc (1), Medical Selective - Must be some type of "medicine", tends to end in -ology, pretty flexible though (1), Emergency Med (2), Surgical Selective - you have to cut something, flexible, and Ambulatory Medicine - FM outpatient (2).

The order of these blocks is variable depending on what group you wind up in, but it's not a huge deal. It all works out pretty well regardless of what group you're in. I think they've done a very good job of making rotation years fair for everyone. At least that's been my experience.

 

[Blowflu]

I called Annette. She will tell you your if you were accepted or not. Did you interview on the 9th as well?

Yup, interviewed that day.

 

[Prncssbuttercup]

For those of you who have interviewed recently, what were the options given? Acceptance/alternate/rejecton or acceptance/alternate?

 

[GenusTide]

When you have a lazy/stupid person (and it's very rare), it really doesn't affect too much. PBL groups are large enough (7-8 when I was there, maybe up to 10 now, I'm not sure) that they can handle 1 or 2 slackers without much effect. It's not like they're leaving extra work for you, since everyone has to learn everything. You get a new PBL group each semester, so I had 4 during my basic science years, and of those 4, I can say that I only had 1 group which had ANY slackers at all, and there were 2 "slackers" in that group of eight.

The only real issues occurred when it came time, at the end of case, to vote on which chapters we wanted to be tested on. We had some real gunners in our group who wanted to be tested on every case, even if it was loosely related to the topic at hand. We had people like me, who wanted to be tested on the pertinent case topics, but learn those well, and not go overboard with minutiae. And we had the slackers who wanted to pick 2-3 chapters per case. Usually not an issue because most groups do a "majority rules" type of thing, so the slackers are outvoted. If, by some strange chance they aren't, the admin *might* step in and say you're picking too few topics compared to the other groups (or too many). I've never known this to happen though. It usually works out fine.

How have we done on boards? I think I answered this, but again, VERY well. LECOM-B, aside from our first year open, has been #1 or #2 in board pass rates every year. Our average is consistently well above the national mean, if not the best in the country also (but they don't show us the data on that, so it's mostly guess work). Most of my friends did very well. I am an average student in my class and did >550, if that helps (500 is comlex mean, 400 is passing). I have MANY classmates who broke 600, and a few crazy people who broke 700.

Of those who I know that took USMLE they all did very well. The lowest USMLE score I heard about was around a 225 for an average student similar to myself. Most of my USMLE taking friends got >230. I know of 2 guys in our class who got >270 😱 and I think one of those was a 279. These people are insane and can make you feel a bit inadequate as a student sometimes.



I think this was also done recently, but basically, rotations are your oyster. If you want to stay in the Bradenton-Sarasota (and maybe Tampa-St. Pete) area, that can usually be arranged. I wouldn't have had ANY problem doing that if I had wanted to. Many of the year long sites in other parts of Florida are very good, and my classmates enjoyed their experiences there (Largo, West Palm), and basically just moved there for 3rd/4th year and stayed put.

You'll also be able to do rotations up in Pennsylvania, but we get choices from what's left over after the Erie campus registers up there. We get first choice in FL, they get first dibs on PA. Seems fair. There's so many sites that there's always tons of stuff left. I didn't bother.

I was able to set up most of my rotations back in my home state, so I don't know a ton about the other sites. I can say that Psych in Bradenton is freaking awesome, IM is typically VERY hard work in that area (but a good "boot camp" experience, I learned a lot from the couple of rotations I did down there). Surgery in Bradenton is much better than at most other places I've heard about. Hours weren't too bad, surgeons weren't too malignant.

Rotations are done in 4 week blocks. Currently, the blocks 3rd year are: IM (3), Surgery (2), OB (1), Peds (1), Psych (1), FM with a DO (1), Core Selective - must be IM, Surg, OB, Peds, or Psych (1), Electives (2), and Vacation (1).

4th year FOR ME (this could all change, so who knows) is: Board Study Month (1), Vacation (1), Rural/Underserved (1), Electives (3), Primary Care Selective - Must be FM, Peds, OB, IM, Pyshc (1), Medical Selective - Must be some type of "medicine", tends to end in -ology, pretty flexible though (1), Emergency Med (2), Surgical Selective - you have to cut something, flexible, and Ambulatory Medicine - FM outpatient (2).

The order of these blocks is variable depending on what group you wind up in, but it's not a huge deal. It all works out pretty well regardless of what group you're in. I think they've done a very good job of making rotation years fair for everyone. At least that's been my experience.

Great explanation, thank you! 👍

 

[GenusTide]

For those of you who have interviewed recently, what were the options given? Acceptance/alternate/rejecton or acceptance/alternate?

I believe they stated Accept/wait-list/rejection at the interview last Friday. but those of you on the wait-list, they also said that they are only 1/3 full right now. Just FYI

Blowflu, a wait-list is certainly better than a rejection, I would say since you interviewed this early, your chances are still pretty good.

 

[Blowflu]

I believe they stated Accept/wait-list/rejection at the interview last Friday. but those of you on the wait-list, they also said that they are only 1/3 full right now. Just FYI

Blowflu, a wait-list is certainly better than a rejection, I would say since you interviewed this early, your chances are still pretty good.

Guess I'm being premature here since I haven't heard a yes or no, but man this would be disappointing. Would be my 5th waitlist, just once I'd like a school to say 'yes' immediatly!

 

[Gator1988]

Yup, interviewed that day.

Called Annette this morning and was told to call back this afternoon....

I can smell the waitlist from here, goddamnit

I hear you...I interviewed that day as well and got the same message when I tried calling for my status update. Got to love when admissions tells half of the people and not the other ones..

 

[octupus]

I called this morning! First interview, first acceptance! 😀

 

[illegallysmooth]

When you have a lazy/stupid person (and it's very rare), it really doesn't affect too much. PBL groups are large enough (7-8 when I was there, maybe up to 10 now, I'm not sure) that they can handle 1 or 2 slackers without much effect. It's not like they're leaving extra work for you, since everyone has to learn everything. You get a new PBL group each semester, so I had 4 during my basic science years, and of those 4, I can say that I only had 1 group which had ANY slackers at all, and there were 2 "slackers" in that group of eight.

The only real issues occurred when it came time, at the end of case, to vote on which chapters we wanted to be tested on. We had some real gunners in our group who wanted to be tested on every case, even if it was loosely related to the topic at hand. We had people like me, who wanted to be tested on the pertinent case topics, but learn those well, and not go overboard with minutiae. And we had the slackers who wanted to pick 2-3 chapters per case. Usually not an issue because most groups do a "majority rules" type of thing, so the slackers are outvoted. If, by some strange chance they aren't, the admin *might* step in and say you're picking too few topics compared to the other groups (or too many). I've never known this to happen though. It usually works out fine.

How have we done on boards? I think I answered this, but again, VERY well. LECOM-B, aside from our first year open, has been #1 or #2 in board pass rates every year. Our average is consistently well above the national mean, if not the best in the country also (but they don't show us the data on that, so it's mostly guess work). Most of my friends did very well. I am an average student in my class and did >550, if that helps (500 is comlex mean, 400 is passing). I have MANY classmates who broke 600, and a few crazy people who broke 700.

Of those who I know that took USMLE they all did very well. The lowest USMLE score I heard about was around a 225 for an average student similar to myself. Most of my USMLE taking friends got >230. I know of 2 guys in our class who got >270 😱 and I think one of those was a 279. These people are insane and can make you feel a bit inadequate as a student sometimes.



I think this was also done recently, but basically, rotations are your oyster. If you want to stay in the Bradenton-Sarasota (and maybe Tampa-St. Pete) area, that can usually be arranged. I wouldn't have had ANY problem doing that if I had wanted to. Many of the year long sites in other parts of Florida are very good, and my classmates enjoyed their experiences there (Largo, West Palm), and basically just moved there for 3rd/4th year and stayed put.

You'll also be able to do rotations up in Pennsylvania, but we get choices from what's left over after the Erie campus registers up there. We get first choice in FL, they get first dibs on PA. Seems fair. There's so many sites that there's always tons of stuff left. I didn't bother.

I was able to set up most of my rotations back in my home state, so I don't know a ton about the other sites. I can say that Psych in Bradenton is freaking awesome, IM is typically VERY hard work in that area (but a good "boot camp" experience, I learned a lot from the couple of rotations I did down there). Surgery in Bradenton is much better than at most other places I've heard about. Hours weren't too bad, surgeons weren't too malignant.

Rotations are done in 4 week blocks. Currently, the blocks 3rd year are: IM (3), Surgery (2), OB (1), Peds (1), Psych (1), FM with a DO (1), Core Selective - must be IM, Surg, OB, Peds, or Psych (1), Electives (2), and Vacation (1).

4th year FOR ME (this could all change, so who knows) is: Board Study Month (1), Vacation (1), Rural/Underserved (1), Electives (3), Primary Care Selective - Must be FM, Peds, OB, IM, Pyshc (1), Medical Selective - Must be some type of "medicine", tends to end in -ology, pretty flexible though (1), Emergency Med (2), Surgical Selective - you have to cut something, flexible, and Ambulatory Medicine - FM outpatient (2).

The order of these blocks is variable depending on what group you wind up in, but it's not a huge deal. It all works out pretty well regardless of what group you're in. I think they've done a very good job of making rotation years fair for everyone. At least that's been my experience.

This is pretty much still the case. We are choosing our 3rd year rotations now, and if I wanted I could have done a year-long spot in several locations. Many people I know chose to do certain rotations up north, taking spots that weren't filled by Erie. I elected to stay in the Tampa Bay area and it looks like I'll be able to do that. I got my first choice of rotation group, which means the sequence of my rotations is the sequence I chose.

I will say that they could have made a the process a little clearer, especially since they changed things a little bit from last year. We did have meetings and administrative hours where they explained the process, but it was disjointed and the information came in parts. The only thing that's changed is that we cannot rotate with adjunct affiliates until all our core affiliate spots (the hospitals or physicians that guarantee us a certain number of rotation spots per month) are full.

 

[octupus]

I hear you...I interviewed that day as well and got the same message when I tried calling for my status update. Got to love when admissions tells half of the people and not the other ones..

They might have told me because I told them I was leaving the country in two days... maybe? good luck to everyone else

 

[GenusTide]

I called this morning! First interview, first acceptance! 😀

Congrats! I was the same. 1 interview = 1 acceptance

 

[octupus]

Congrats! I was the same. 1 interview = 1 acceptance

Congrats! I'm so happy I chose Bradenton over Erie

 

[Blowflu]

I'm forgetting my manners today, congrats to the the two new LECOM'ers! I feel *slightly* better seeing that it took some people an extra few days to find out their acceptance status, even after calling. Here's hoping I'm in that boat, I love the school and felt great about my interview!

 

[gators21]

Congrats! I was the same. 1 interview = 1 acceptance

All that worrying for nothing Congrats man!