I would like to have some feedback on these two school designations. I have already been accepted at LECOM, upcoming interview at NSU. 😕 🙂
LECOM-Bradenton vs. NSU
- Thread starter gadiel
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Really depends on if you want to do PBL or lecture.
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Wait until you've interviewed and been accepted in both places. Then, make the decision on your own, based on your personal criteria-- not those of anyone else. What's good for one person, won't necessarily be good for another.
One poster suggested you should go to the older school. That would have been ridiculous advice for me because I actually made the choice between the same two and I would have been miserable at the older one. I disliked it entirely. You, however, may find that the opposite is true.
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When chosing between a school that has had 25 graduating classes vs a school that has had none (or only 10 or so if you count the main campus) I will chose the more established school every time.
Better known.
Proven curriculum.
Established hospital affiliations.
Established community name.
You can go to LECOM-FL, Debusk, Joe Schmo DO Factory...wherever. But the plain and simple truth is that the older schools tend to be the schools people consider as "stronger"...not necessarily because of curriculum, but because of roots and reputation.
And reputation will get you a long, long way in the medical community. Clinicals, residencies...all matter based on name recognition.
If someone says to you in an interview "I didnt know that school existed" or "I didnt know they had a DO program", or anything like that...its usually not a positive sign.
Again...not to bash newer schools...but IMO you are taking a chance anytime you decide to be part of the "test cases" of students.
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That makes sense when you try to logically figure things out, but the truth is that it means more "who you know" than "where you go." It's nice to think that "established" schools will give you an advantage, and in some cases it may be true, yet relying on "name-brand recognition" is a lot poorer strategy than a few years of networking.
I will go back to my original comment, though, because I think attending a "name-brand" school is a dumb move if you are miserable there. I don't care what kind of "prestige" the school may have. Each person has to decide on his or her own what will be the best for them.
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scpod--
what is your sense of the opportunities you and your classmates are going to have of getting allopathic residencies on the eastern seaboard or elsewhere--has anyone gone to New York or Boston or DC or are most going to practice on the west coast of Florida? Thanks.
what is your sense of the opportunities you and your classmates are going to have of getting allopathic residencies on the eastern seaboard or elsewhere--has anyone gone to New York or Boston or DC or are most going to practice on the west coast of Florida? Thanks.
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Keep in mind that the school is still young and they aren't really even interviewing yet. That should start soon for the 1st class, though. Maybe we'll have an answer after that. But, I would say that most of them don't want to practice in Florida at all. My class has students from like 34 different states (even Alaska). Those that I know well, for the most part, want to go back to their part of the country.
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in my humble premed opinion - if you think you will be miserable at the more established school, by all means go to the newer school if you feel you would be happy there. BUT if you think you could be happy at both, the older school wins every time in my books( I am not saying choose AT Still over DMU because it is a few years older, im saying a Touro versus a CCOM sort of thing.) I think JP is right that you are taking a risk with the newer school. Not so much Lecom as you are with Debusk since LECOM as a whole has graduated some classes.
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Right...you wouldn't do it, but that doesn't mean that everyone will put the same value that you do on "established" schools. I really do believe that you are giving far more credit to the reputation of your school of choice than it deserves. If all medical school students were created equal, then the value of a "respected" institution would have more weight when it came to finding residencies...but students aren't the same. The individual has far more to do with it than his or her choice of school. Keep in mind that the OP was looking for a comparison of NSUCOM and Lecom-B. Chances are that if you are trying to get into an allopathic surgery residency, that the PD has never heard of either of the schools-- so, it's not likely that one of them will give you an advantage over the other. Nor is it likely that attending PCOM, or DMUCOM or any other COM is really going to give you an advantage, assuming the PD has heard of them either.
Four or five years of medical school really teaches you nothing more than how to be a good medical student. It doesn't teach you about business, the real world, or life in general. Those things have to be learned over a long period of time. My decisions are based on life experience. I had the opportunity to go other places, but chose the school I did for some pretty damned good reasons. I'm quite proud to say that the reputation of the school had absolutely nothing to do with my decision to attend. Why? Because reputations are based on things that other people did before me and I really don't give a damn about them. I have the ability to make my way in the world without relying on somebody else's past. After you've practiced in your chosen field for 15 or so years, let's sit down and see if you think you would have made the same choices. I spent 18 years in another career and things in my hierarchy began to change after a while. I learned that store-brand maccaroni and cheese will feed just as many starving mouths as Kraft will...and at 1/3 of the price.
Regardless of where I go, I am still the one who is ultimately responsible for my education. "Roots and reputations" are nice things to talk about, but talk is cheap. No, I haven't invested in an unproven product because the only product I've invested in at this point is me.
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This is where the school can be VERY important.
Larger more established schools have a wider network of hospitals that they are affiliated with.
There is a better chance of another student from that school having been to that institution, gone to the residency program, or is an attending on staff. Certainly in large cities with DO schools this is true.
I agree with you that the student makes their education, but when it comes to wanting a competitive residency I think you need to take advantage of everything.
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scspod, what did you do before med school? your posts are always very persuasive.
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Brilliant post scpod. I really understand where you're coming from as a person. My hesitancy to make those kind of bold moves is that I'm trying to position myself so that my wife can do her work. I am really curious to know how things work out for you in Bradenton and afterwards. That's my home town, and to be next to family especially my aged grandmother would be excellent but I just can't make a career there for aforementioned reasons.
Your post really resonated with me and I think I'm capable of making my own way as well through concerted effort to jam on the boards. I would be happy in
internal medicine but would really like to be in a larger city with likely higher competition--i'm really waiting to see how your class and others do at placing in residencies in other cities before I make a real effort to apply to your school. Thanks for your advice and perspective and please keep us up to date with your story if you don't mind.--Ben.
Your post really resonated with me and I think I'm capable of making my own way as well through concerted effort to jam on the boards. I would be happy in
internal medicine but would really like to be in a larger city with likely higher competition--i'm really waiting to see how your class and others do at placing in residencies in other cities before I make a real effort to apply to your school. Thanks for your advice and perspective and please keep us up to date with your story if you don't mind.--Ben.
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I'm not meaning to start any flame war or anything, but this is my view. First of all, if you are gonna be absolutely miserable somewhere, then its not worth it. But if you're open to both, go NSU. As others have mentioned, its established and has been around. And it is true about reputation. For example, last year the #1 ranked internal medicine match spot at Yale-New Haven went to an NSU grad. Assuming he is a good resident and the PD is pleased with his performance... and you have two DO's apply there... one from LECOM-B and one from NSU... other things being equal, they are going to take the NSU grad because they have first-hand experience with an NSU grad and have proof that there are at least some good quality graduates coming from there. And since NSU has been graduation students for over two decades, there are going to be plenty of both allopathic and osteopathic residencies out there who'll recognize NSU grads. School reputation DOES matter. My sister is an attending at an allopathic institution and says she looks at quality of the medical school when deciding which resident applicants to "vote in" when they are having a resident-picking-meeting sorta thing.
We recieved 23 cadavers this year, LECOM-B does anatomy lab using prosected sections.
Also, you have to look at clincial rotations. NSU has been around longer and has more established clincial rotations. There are always glitches when setting up clincial rotations for the first time, and I presume they have been worked out here. Also, NSU has its own residencies and is in the process of creating more.
NSU also belongs to a large, established university with undergrad, graduate, law, dental, pharmacy, and other schools. They have much more political pull and reputation in the region. They are also trying to put up their own hospital (if the certificate of need is granted from the state) or alternatively is looking to make Broward General the official NSU hospital. This will open the door up to more residency programs and funding to come in.
Someone from LECOM-B should comment on this better, but I have a friend in the '09 class there and said the results of the first group of students to take the boards wasn't as well as hoped for, so they are going to change the curriculum around a bit more. As I said, a LECOM student can comment on this and if I am wrong please correct me.
These are the reasons that when I was making the choice between the two schools, I picked NSU.
Good luck in your decision!
We recieved 23 cadavers this year, LECOM-B does anatomy lab using prosected sections.
Also, you have to look at clincial rotations. NSU has been around longer and has more established clincial rotations. There are always glitches when setting up clincial rotations for the first time, and I presume they have been worked out here. Also, NSU has its own residencies and is in the process of creating more.
NSU also belongs to a large, established university with undergrad, graduate, law, dental, pharmacy, and other schools. They have much more political pull and reputation in the region. They are also trying to put up their own hospital (if the certificate of need is granted from the state) or alternatively is looking to make Broward General the official NSU hospital. This will open the door up to more residency programs and funding to come in.
Someone from LECOM-B should comment on this better, but I have a friend in the '09 class there and said the results of the first group of students to take the boards wasn't as well as hoped for, so they are going to change the curriculum around a bit more. As I said, a LECOM student can comment on this and if I am wrong please correct me.
These are the reasons that when I was making the choice between the two schools, I picked NSU.
Good luck in your decision!
QofQuimica
Seriously, dude, I think you're overreacting....
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If you are a traditional-aged student, it may be difficult to comprehend the hugeness of the chance that non-trads take by going to medical school. scpod was in an established career and gave it all up with no guarantee of success to apply to medical school. Would most people with so much to lose be willing to risk a major life upheaval like that? When you consider the magnitude of the chance that ANY non-trad student who quits his or her career and goes back to school, ANY medical school, is taking, the "riskiness" of attending a brand new program might not seem quite as scary by comparison. Going to medical school anywhere as a non-trad is not for the faint-of-heart or the risk-averse. 🙂
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Are you kidding with this? Sorry, I don't mean to sound like a B- but you, and only you, have to make that decision. Having said that, I interviewed and was accepted at both, in the end, I chose Bradenton- loved the people, the facilities, and PBL...
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I am a non trad and gave up a very comfortable career as a RN to attend LECOM-B. sure it's scary as hell leaving a career for many years then entering med school but it never phased me that it was any worse being at a "new, unknown" school.
unlike PBL, studying and passing the boards is an individual thing, you put the time in, you'll pass. (I know, I Know.....easier said than done) I don't know the official individual break down of board scores but we were told there were failures and the staff was not happy about it. it's going to happen at wherever you go. so things will change....and change.....and change.....
in choosing between NSU, PCOM, WVSOM...etc, all the schools had very friendly staff members, students, and relaxing interviews, but I chose Bradenton mainly for PBL (main criteria) and location (I didn't want to live in the city/snow). regarding going to a known school/residency...etc. board scores, board scores, board scores. that's what matters, max those and opportunities open
good luck everyone! 👍
unlike PBL, studying and passing the boards is an individual thing, you put the time in, you'll pass. (I know, I Know.....easier said than done) I don't know the official individual break down of board scores but we were told there were failures and the staff was not happy about it. it's going to happen at wherever you go. so things will change....and change.....and change.....
in choosing between NSU, PCOM, WVSOM...etc, all the schools had very friendly staff members, students, and relaxing interviews, but I chose Bradenton mainly for PBL (main criteria) and location (I didn't want to live in the city/snow). regarding going to a known school/residency...etc. board scores, board scores, board scores. that's what matters, max those and opportunities open
good luck everyone! 👍
