LECOM - Erie Discussion Thread 2009-2010

[skibum23]

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I just wanted to give you guys a heads up for the interview. Not to confuse or worry anyone. Amy Rowe said we were the guinea pigs and they would see how we did with the new format and make a decision from there. They did have us fill out a response card at the end of the interview on how we thought the day went. Most of the students thought that group interview was a little less stressful but wondered what the school could learn from them.

 

[SMC123]

Is this how the interview will be on August 25th? Or was August 14th the only day they were trying this group interview out?

Also, you set there were two sets of interview. Do you mean there were 2 groups of 5-7 kids, or are you saying there was a group interview and individual interview?

 

[bleeker10]

I haven't heard anything about the interviews this year since I don't have much need for the admissions dept anymore. Last year they were two faculty members for every interviewee.
If anyone has specific questions about the school or Erie in general let me know. We have a histology final tomorrow, 2 anatomy quizzes, a potential OMM practical Wednesday, and our first anatomy lab practical over the back, upper/lower arm, hand, upper/lower leg and foot on Friday so it may be a little while before I respond. But next week is gonna rock after our first anatomy lecture test. We basically have an easy week with no anatomy at all.

 

[SMC123]

I just called LECOM, and they told me that the interviews will not be group interviews, but could be with a student and a panel Just wanted to clarify.

 

[darwin23]

I was wondering the same thing, i have a good idea of what I want to do but I do not nearly have enough knowledge to decide. I am not sure what they expect from this essay question. how detailed did you get on your answer?

hey would you mind posting the essays please?! thanks!!

 

[swamprat]

any1 know when the next round of interview invites mite be going out? I was complete a little over 2 weeks ago (shortly after the first invites went out).

 

[Diopstepp]

any1 know when the next round of interview invites mite be going out? I was complete a little over 2 weeks ago (shortly after the first invites went out).

Yeah I've pretty much been complete for a couple weeks now. My status says application under review. With the invites that have already been given out, I'm a bit worried. Hopefully we both hear from them soon. Best of luck.

 

[wishintobedoc]

For those of you have an interview on 8/25: I thought we were going to receive a confirmation e-mail to make sure we are still coming 10 days before. Did anyone get this?

 

[SMC123]

I am going to interview on Aug 25th, and I haven't received a 10-day email .

 

[SMC123]

Is anybody staying in the travelodge for the Aug 25th interview?

 

[jfellings]

For those of you have an interview on 8/25: I thought we were going to receive a confirmation e-mail to make sure we are still coming 10 days before. Did anyone get this?

I am also interviewing in the 25th and haven't heard anything since I set the interview. Where did you see the 10 day email thing?

 

[droogdoc]

I am also interviewing in the 25th and haven't heard anything since I set the interview. Where did you see the 10 day email thing?

It says it in the LECOM portal when you check your application status. It also says it for LECOM-Bradenton as well.

 

[bleeker10]

Last year when I interviewed, I didn't get the email until a day or so before I left. It just gave some details on the interview day and asked where I was staying so the school could send me a welcome gift bag.

 

[SMC123]

Has anybody seen the national board rate's on LECOM's website? Or should I ask this question during the interview process?

 

[bleeker10]

They will tell you the board passage rate at the interview. I think they told us it was around 94%. If you ask for the USMLE pass rate, they won't know since not all the students take the USMLE

 

[engineeredout]

I don't think I remember getting a confirmation e-mail before my interview, but I got an actual phone call from colleen a few days before confirming that I was still coming.

 

[Donvb]

Has anybody seen the national board rate's on LECOM's website? Or should I ask this question during the interview process?

Our class and the class above us (2009) have both been above average by about 1-2% points in the COMLEX I and II exams... I know this is a factor that you use in your pre-med selection process, but unless the numbers are far lower than the average (or far higher), I wouldn't put any weight into it... Most DO schools are more or less the same in how they will prepare you for the big exams, it's mostly what you do yourself... Just a thought.

 

[wishintobedoc]

Leaving in the morning for the interview on the 25th. I am really excited and hope it goes well for everyone!!

 

[jfellings]

Leaving in the morning for the interview on the 25th. I am really excited and hope it goes well for everyone!!

Me too, getting to Erie around 5 p.m. Can't wait to get the interview season started!

 

[droogdoc]

Leaving in the morning for the interview on the 25th. I am really excited and hope it goes well for everyone!!

I'm leaving tommorrow morning, should be in Erie around 2 or 3pm. Driving from Chicago.

 

[PeterDO2B]

I was just invited to an interview with LECOM does anyone have any input on the kind of questions that will be asked on the interview?

 

[droogdoc]

I was just invited to an interview with LECOM does anyone have any input on the kind of questions that will be asked on the interview?

Check the SDN Interview Feedback forum for LECOM. The questions all seemed pretty standard, what you would expect from an interview.

 

[bleeker10]

Good luck on the interviews.

 

[droogdoc]

Thought this went pretty well today for my first interview. Also, for everyone who hasnt interviewed yet, they are doing GROUP interviews. But it wasnt that bad, only thing is they didnt get to ask a lot of questions.

 

[SMC123]

I just checked my status on the portal, and noticed that it says... a decision has been made, and that the notification will come in a letter within 30 days...

hmmm... that was pretty quick, in less than one day. Anybody know if we can call them and find out our decision? lol

 

[fattymangox03]

Thought this went pretty well today for my first interview. Also, for everyone who hasnt interviewed yet, they are doing GROUP interviews. But it wasnt that bad, only thing is they didnt get to ask a lot of questions.

So it's a panel of interviewers and a few interviewees all in the same room? Do they ask the same questions to every interviewee then?

 

[jfellings]

So it's a panel of interviewers and a few interviewees all in the same room? Do they ask the same questions to every interviewee then?

Our group had 6 people being interviewed by 2 faculty members. They asked everyone one specific question to get the ball rolling and then they just asked questions generally after that and let people chime in when they wanted. Pretty stress free and enjoyable.

 

[bleeker10]

The letter shouldn't take more than 2 weeks to get to you. I was in northwest Arkansas and received mine in less than a week and a half. Do any of the ppl that interviewed have any specific questions about LECOM?

 

[jfellings]

The letter shouldn't take more than 2 weeks to get to you. I was in northwest Arkansas and received mine in less than a week and a half. Do any of the ppl that interviewed have any specific questions about LECOM?

One thing they didn't talk about due to time constraints is the 3/4 yr rotations. Do students have to move around or travel long distances for rotations or can you do them more locally?

 

[bleeker10]

Rotations can be done across the country at affilliate hospitals or here in town. In the fall of your second year you pick the order of your rotations and where you want to do them. You either specify a location as your first choice or a sequence of rotations as your first choice and they will accomodate that. From what I hear, you will usually get your sequence of rotations and the location you want unless there are a lot of ppl that want that location.

 

[engineeredout]

I just checked my status on the portal, and noticed that it says... a decision has been made, and that the notification will come in a letter within 30 days...

hmmm... that was pretty quick, in less than one day. Anybody know if we can call them and find out our decision? lol

Nah they won't tell you, but I had my letter in hand exactly one week after the interview.

 

[Slane]

Nah they won't tell you, but I had my letter in hand exactly one week after the interview.

Sweet - I don't think I could take thirty days of nail biting when I check my mail 😛

 

[jfellings]

Thought this went pretty well today for my first interview. Also, for everyone who hasnt interviewed yet, they are doing GROUP interviews. But it wasnt that bad, only thing is they didnt get to ask a lot of questions.

Did anyone who interviewed on 8/25 feel like the interview didn't go well? It seemed to me like everyone did well in the group format which makes me wonder how it will all play out.

A couple of things Dr. Moore said gave me the impression that a lot of people there would get accepted but that may have been just his way of relaxing everyone. Anyone else think this too? After interviewing there I would say that LECOM is at the top of my list

 

[SMC123]

Yes, I don't think my interview was a good determination on who would get accepted and who wouldn't. I really didn't get to talk about why medicine, why DO, and why LECOM like I had wanted. I didn't get to talk about strengths or anything. Instead, I had a question on brief tell me about yourself, and what professor you like and why. I don't think that helps them sort who is better than another by just those two questions.

However, since this group interview setting is new, and this was the first day of interviews, I am hoping we all get accepted. Maybe before they assigned us the date, they decided they were going to accept us and just make us guinea pigs. I mean they already made a decision on Tuesday, the same exact day. Not even by friday like Dr. Moore had said.

 

[jfellings]

Yes, I don't think my interview was a good determination on who would get accepted and who wouldn't. I really didn't get to talk about why medicine, why DO, and why LECOM like I had wanted. I didn't get to talk about strengths or anything. Instead, I had a question on brief tell me about yourself, and what professor you like and why. I don't think that helps them sort who is better than another by just those two questions.

However, since this group interview setting is new, and this was the first day of interviews, I am hoping we all get accepted. Maybe before they assigned us the date, they decided they were going to accept us and just make us guinea pigs. I mean they already made a decision on Tuesday, the same exact day. Not even by friday like Dr. Moore had said.

I agree that with the group format it was impossible to really express all the reasons you wanted to go into medicine/ attend LECOM. That part was very dissapointing to me. There were definately people in my group that struggled with the group format I think. It seemed they had a hard time expressing their opinions and sharing with the faculty their strengths etc like you mentioned. The two things that caught my attention from Dr. Moore:

"You are all here for a reason....I have reviewed all of your files and you are all qualified to attend medical school"

"There is no reason any of you should not get accepted if you do well in the interview"

He also mentioned that a major purpose of the group interview was to see if you were able to express yourself in a group setting. I think it will work out well for a majority of those that interviewed that day.

 

[Slane]

Everyone in my group did really well. There wasn't any one person really that didn't participate as much the others or anything like that. At times, we had the problem of five or six of us all having something to say at the same time, but we all worked together well, giving everyone a chance to speak their thoughts. I certainly hope that we all get accepted - LECOM's my first choice, so it'd be amazing to know that I had a spot secured for next fall. Definitely would save me a lot of time and money canceling all my other apps and interviews!

 

[swamprat]

with a 3.8 and a 29 mcat i have no clue why they have never invited me for an interview.. i have 7 others. wtf

 

[Slane]

Seriously? I got invited with a 3.2 overall for undergraduate coursework and a 25 on the MCAT... I majored in computer science though and started working on a masters before applying. I spent a lot of time shadowing multiple D.O.'s and building my EC's too. Some schools weigh things like that more heavily than GPA/MCAT.

 

[mooman]

doxy,
doesn't sound right; did you check with them and see what's up?

 

[EckXXX]

I have not heard anything either. My application has been under review for almost a couple months now.

 

[bleeker10]

The two things that caught my attention from Dr. Moore:

"You are all here for a reason....I have reviewed all of your files and you are all qualified to attend medical school"

"There is no reason any of you should not get accepted if you do well in the interview"

He also mentioned that a major purpose of the group interview was to see if you were able to express yourself in a group setting. I think it will work out well for a majority of those that interviewed that day.

Obviously if you are invited for an interview, the school thinks you have a very good chance of being accepted. The interview is to show the type of person you are off paper. If you interview well, then there is no reason you shouldn't be accepted. The group interviews allow the school to see how you interact with other people. One on one interviews are much easier for some people than group interviews because they may get shy and not say much. Medicine is all about interacting with a group of people. There are some people in my class who don't speak up a lot and tend to be shy. It could get very tough for them down the road. We have forums for anatomy where we are given a list of questions to answer. The prof will walk around the class and randomly select peope to answer the questions so you have to be able to speak in front of other people. It's really easy though and a good way to test your knowledge.

Don't worry that you didn't get to say "Why LECOM", "Why DO", etc. Your secondaries should have expressed those thoughts. What did all of you think of the school? Did you get to see the cadaver lab? We didn't get to on my interview.

Doxy, don't worry about not getting an interview yet from LECOM. You never know the reasons why it is taking so long. Maybe the school has a large pile to go through still and you are in it. Maybe the school is waiting on your app for some reason. Also just because you have a great GPA and MCAT doesn't mean you are guaranteed to interview everywhere. This process sucks and is totally random. Congrats on getting 7 interviews though. If you get accepted somewhere early on that you like, you get the opportunity to cancel some interviews and save money. After I was accepted to LECOM, I stopped sending in secondaries bc I knew I wanted to go there. It saved me a lot of time and money.

 

[droogdoc]

Honestly, LECOm has moved up on my list after actually going there. I can definitely see myself going the PBL route, but this was also only my first interview. Overall, if I got accepted here and to another one of my top choices it would be a hard decision.

We did get to see the cadaver lab, but didnt really do much besides walk in, get a talk about it for about 10 minutes then leave. I really wish we got to see an ACTUAL PBL session instead of participating in a mock one though. Other than that, no complaints.

 

[nys311637]

I just checked my status on the portal, and noticed that it says... a decision has been made, and that the notification will come in a letter within 30 days...

hmmm... that was pretty quick, in less than one day. Anybody know if we can call them and find out our decision? lol

WOW! Quick!! OMG! I interview Sept 3rd... hope all goes well!!😱

 

[nys311637]

with a 3.8 and a 29 mcat i have no clue why they have never invited me for an interview.. i have 7 others. wtf

Doxy... what ECs have you got? I've spent a lot of time during my time after undergrad to really develop myself as a person beyond the academic classroom.. got involved more with medicine... I'm a paramedic and DO medicine and experience a lot of what you don't initially expect (or know what you'll think or how you'll react)... I don't have the stats you do, but perhaps more balanced? (just trying to provide a little insight)

With 7 are you really worried? Is LECOM your top choice?

I hope the 7 others work out well for you--I am sure they will!! Geez!!🙂

 

[Diopstepp]

with a 3.8 and a 29 mcat i have no clue why they have never invited me for an interview.. i have 7 others. wtf

I thought I'd provide some help for those waiting to hear back from LECOM and don't understand why they have not been offered an interview...I emailed Dr. Moore from admissions on 8/24 and he told me to personally email him back if I do not hear from the school within a week. He said he would personally check on my application and then give me some feedback. Seems like a great guy. He told me that they are getting a ton of applicants early on and that is why there is a long wait to hear back. I'm going to email him sometime next week.

Here is Dr. Moore's email: [email protected]

Best of Luck to everyone.

 

[bleeker10]

Honestly, LECOm has moved up on my list after actually going there. I can definitely see myself going the PBL route, but this was also only my first interview. Overall, if I got accepted here and to another one of my top choices it would be a hard decision.

We did get to see the cadaver lab, but didnt really do much besides walk in, get a talk about it for about 10 minutes then leave. I really wish we got to see an ACTUAL PBL session instead of participating in a mock one though. Other than that, no complaints.

Well the PBL students aren't doing a lot of PBL sessions right now during anatomy. I think they do 1-2 a week. The problem with sitting in on an actual PBL session is you wouldn't get to participate because you would be interferring with their session and learning. It's too much of a hassle to do that to the PBLers. If you are doing PBL then the cadaver lab wouldn't matter to you since you won't get to use it next year if they keep the same style of anatomy as they are doing this year.

 

[droogdoc]

Well the PBL students aren't doing a lot of PBL sessions right now during anatomy. I think they do 1-2 a week. The problem with sitting in on an actual PBL session is you wouldn't get to participate because you would be interferring with their session and learning. It's too much of a hassle to do that to the PBLers. If you are doing PBL then the cadaver lab wouldn't matter to you since you won't get to use it next year if they keep the same style of anatomy as they are doing this year.

Yeah, I forgot that it is still early so anatomy is the main thing now. Obviously I didnt mean interferring with an actual PBL session, but it would be interesting to just see an actual one, but I guess that would be kind of distracting too though.

 

[JRod72]

The letter shouldn't take more than 2 weeks to get to you. I was in northwest Arkansas and received mine in less than a week and a half. Do any of the ppl that interviewed have any specific questions about LECOM?

I love Northwest Arkansas... Are you a Razorback?!

 

[bleeker10]

Yea I am. I just graduated from the University of Arkansas this spring. Are you from Arkansas? I like Erie so much better than Fayetteville

 

[droogdoc]

The CIB says the school follows the AACOMAS guidelines for acceptance, so if you are accepted prior to Nov. 15 you have until mid-december to decide to attend and put down the deposit.

Is this still the case? I was reading through some of last years posts and someone said their acceptance letter said they had 30 days to put down the $1500. Also just remembered that on the interview day Dr. Moore said he wasnt sure what the deadline was but thought it was 30 days, too.

LECOM is a great school but it would be nice to have a little time to be able to wait to hear on decisions from other schools before the 30 days comes around.