LECOM-Erie vs TouroCOM-Harlem

Started by Lightmare
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Lightmare

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Hi there. Need some weighing in on deciding between these 2 schools I currently have A's at. Posting a poll but please comment on why you chose a certain school.

LECOM - Erie, LDP pathway
Pros
  1. Tuition is cheap ($33k)
  2. Cost of living is cheap
  3. Good match rates
  4. Good COMLEX scores

Cons
  1. Far away from family and SO
  2. Weather is meh
  3. Administration problems
    1. Mandatory uniforms.
    2. Mandatory lectures
    3. No food/drink allowed in lecture
  4. Getting rotations are a bit annoying from what I heard (?)
  5. Not P/F

TouroCOM-Harlem
Pros
  1. Closer to family and SO…better location
  2. I heard they had good rotation sites around NY and the surrounding area
  3. Flipped classroom model (watch lecture first and then attend the class)...I heard that helps?
  4. NYC
Cons
  1. Higher tuition (~$59k)
  2. Higher cost of living
  3. Mandatory lecture
  4. Newer but owns NYMC
  5. Slightly lower board scores
  6. Exams every Monday (could be more than 1)
  7. Not P/F
 
Objectively, both schools aren't P/F which you put as a con but they kinda cancel each other out since both are that way. Being close to family with rotation sites that are known would be a huge pull for me but I can see how the cost of attendance is weighing on your decision. But it looks like the cost of attendance at LECOM is 66k/year and it's 104.5k (!!) at TouroCOM-Harlem and that's a HUGE difference, we're talking 160k more to go to TouroCOM. I'd choose LECOM despite it not being in a favorable location and use the money you save to visit home.

@PapaGuava can you weigh in any on these two?
 
Due to the difference in tuition, LECOM-Erie may be your best bet in this case. Not only that, but both have mandatory attendance as well. Also, I'm not sure if the rotation issues are associated with LECOM-E, but they have been confirmed for LECOM-Bradenton in the past.
 
Objectively, both schools aren't P/F which you put as a con but they kinda cancel each other out since both are that way. Being close to family with rotation sites that are known would be a huge pull for me but I can see how the cost of attendance is weighing on your decision. But it looks like the cost of attendance at LECOM is 66k/year and it's 104.5k (!!) at TouroCOM-Harlem and that's a HUGE difference, we're talking 160k more to go to TouroCOM. I'd choose LECOM despite it not being in a favorable location and use the money you save to visit home.

@PapaGuava can you weigh in any on these two?

Thanks for the reply. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought for LECOM it was $36k/year and for Touro I thought it was almost $59k/year. Even though I think I won't be a huge fan of the administration, my heart tells me that the right choice is LECOM because of the much cheaper tuition and CoL. Using my numbers and doing a very rough estimate, it's $23k/year difference x 4 = $92,000 (just without even factoring in interest). I feel like these two schools are similar and in the same category.

I just would miss my SO since she would be in the NYC area, but I guess sacrifices would have to be made and she would come visit.

You still say LECOM, huh?

Also, I have a follow up question. I'm currently on the WL for NYITCOM-OW. If accepted there, then which school would you think is best?

Due to the difference in tuition, LECOM-Erie may be your best bet in this case. Not only that, but both have mandatory attendance as well. Also, I'm not sure if the rotation issues are associated with LECOM-E, but they have been confirmed for LECOM-Bradenton in the past.

Yeah, I figured that they're both very similar schools (except Erie has the drink/food rule and uniform). I'm thinking graduating with a lot less debt will be better in the long run.

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Also...not sure if it really matters but I feel like LECOM will open up more opportunities for residencies (judging from their past match lists) around the country whereas TouroCOM is mostly in the northeast/NY which I really don't care for staying in...so...I guess that's another positive.
 
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