LECOM Vs. NOVA

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.

SJonathan

Full Member
10+ Year Member
15+ Year Member
Joined
Oct 16, 2007
Messages
127
Reaction score
1
I'm (finally) finishing my primary applications and have to choose one more school. Help me to decide between LECOM and NOVA. Tell me what you like about them.

Members don't see this ad.
 
I'm (finally) finishing my primary applications and have to choose one more school. Help me to decide between LECOM and NOVA. Tell me what you like about them.


Look into PBL and see if it sounds like something you would work well with. The difference between PBL and traditional should be enough info to sway your opinion towards one of the schools

Also Tuition is heavily in favor of LECOM whether your IS Florida or not

Edit: I'm guessing you're talking about LECOM-Brandenton
 
Last edited:
Edit: I'm guessing you're talking about LECOM-Brandenton

Actually, I'm talking about LECOM in PA. I know, an odd comparison. Its just that these two were the last on my list of possible schools.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
I'm (finally) finishing my primary applications and have to choose one more school. Help me to decide between LECOM and NOVA. Tell me what you like about them.

Hey SJon. I applied and was accepted to both schools last fall. Here is why I made my decision.


NSU-COM
The school is really nice when you visit. The medical school sits inside NSU's sprawling campus, and it all looks beautiful. The facilities inside are equally as nice, and the admission's staff were fantastic. They have an extremely nice Library and on-campus Gym facility. The dress code was very nice, allowing their students to wear scrubs to class. Although attendance was required and monitored by a sort of key-card mechanism, I think it is good. There was also talk of an extremely helpful note service that all students have access for after a nominal fee.

When I started learning about the inner-workings of the school, however, I became less impressed. First of all, all of the medical professions (nursing, optometry, medicine, etc) reside in that singular facility. I had heard there was talk of expansion to a larger facility, and that would help, but I had the feeling of being cluttered while on the tour. The student schedule that was presented to us left a lot to be desired. According to our tour guide, students are required to attend class Monday through Friday, 8AM to 5PM, with lectures in the morning and labs in the afternoon. On top of that, every Monday was "exam day," with written exams in the morning and practicals in the afternoon.

Overall, the school fell 2nd on my list. It was a solid school and would have provided a great education. I would recommend this to anyone.

LECOM-Bradenton
I would assume since you mentioned NSUCOM, you're also talking about LECOM-Bradenton. LECOM is located in a singular facility in a newly developed and growing area of Lakewood Ranch. The facutly are more than helpful, and the students aren't anything less. The "selling point" to many people who interview at LECOM-B (or the "turning point," however you view it) is their teaching method Problem-Based Learning (PBL). Since I cannot explain it in full (yet), I would recommend this link for you to look at if you think PBL might be something you're interested in. PBL demands a lot on the student to be self-motivated and hard-working outside of the classroom. I also liked the fact that, after anatomy ends, students begin PBL "full-time." On days where students have PBL, that is all they have: class from 8AM to 10AM, or 10AM to 12PM. After that, they are excused for the day and allowed to study their hearts out. Again, I would stress that you read over that link, as it provides some great information about PBL.

The are a few turning points to LECOM-B, however. First of all, students do not dissect cadavers. All cadavers are prosected for their students by other students that work in the lab over the previous summer. People who have their hearts set on dissection would have the opportunity to do so during the summer between their first and second years, but I do not know how that works at this time. Another turning point is the fact that the building that the school is located in is all that there is. It is not a small building at all, but it isn't extremely large either. The facility contains the library, cafeteria, lecture halls, classrooms, and laboratories. It is small in comparison to NSU. Next, there is a required dress code of "business." Men are required to wear slacks, a button-up, and a tie, and women are required to wear a pantsuit or other formal female attire. It may sound rather stupid, but as a fellow student stated, "you're going to be wearing that under your clothes during your 3rd and 4th years, so you might as well get used to it now." Just a thought. Lastly, the traffic. The speed limit on the road the school is on is about 40 MPH (if I remember correctly), and there is also a high school on the same road. The morning commute could take you a bit longer than you had expected to fight the parents and students that are driving to their school.

I chose this school over NSUCOM because of the PBL, and I felt that the negatives of the school were minute and tolerable. I felt that this school would offer me the best education.

I hope that helps you out a little bit. Good luck with your application.
 
You're talking about LECOM-E? Well.. I gave you a synopsis of LECOM-B. I can't help you for LECOM-E. Good luck.
 
Actually, I'm talking about LECOM in PA. I know, an odd comparison. Its just that these two were the last on my list of possible schools.


Well then you also have weather and culture to take in to consideration. About the only constant you'll find that every student wants is lower tuition which favors LECOM...you have to decide for yourself whether 7k (for IS FL)-11k more a year is worth the differences that Nova offers over LECOM.
 
Thanks for all your help guys - I applied to both.
 
Top