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Thanks! Still deciding between LUCOM and KCU. But both are great schools and I feel so honored to choose between the two. Don't stress out too much while you wait for the call
Liberty University COM (LUCOM) Discussion Thread 2016-2017
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Interview on 12/02, felt like it went pretty well.
Its a much different school than the other DO schools I've seen. Staff was incredibly friendly, interview was very low stress. Be prepared to answer why osteopathy. Other than that, its mostly just a conversation
Its a much different school than the other DO schools I've seen. Staff was incredibly friendly, interview was very low stress. Be prepared to answer why osteopathy. Other than that, its mostly just a conversation
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Good luck to those interviewing today. Hope you guys and gals hear good news soon.
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My application status has "PV Pending Interview" since 11/18. Does anyone know if this means I will receive an interview invite or do all applications say that after being reviewed? I was complete 11/9. Thanks in advance!
Interviewed a while back and wanted to do an in-depth write-up for folks who might be on the fence about attending their interview!
Location: Lynchburg is pretty sparse, but quaint. There are really pockets of things to do distanced far from one another and requiring a car. Main street itself was kind of vacant, seems like a lot of businesses have gone out due to the recession and not been replaced. Food was quality, folks were pretty nice. One thing that concerned me was a cab driver told me Liberty basically ran the economy and could decide what was built or not, which spooked me a little (I heard they made a Hooters effectively disappear). Beautiful scenery, no real nightlife, I could see this being a negative for people from urban settings.
Facility: The labs were immaculate, easily the most modern anatomy laboratory I've been in. Spacious OMM suite, pretty comprehensive simulation labs. A couple minor drawbacks; there wasn't a big cafeteria, just small student spaces, so the whole class wouldn't be able to eat together (as far as I saw on the tour). Also, the stairwells had a high school feel to them (low lighting, nondescript concrete). Overall though, a really nice facility, comparable to or better than some others I've seen. Also, there's apparently a year-round artificial ski slope, paintball range and equestrian stables accessible by LUCOM students!
Faculty: I was worried there would be a really prominent element of religiosity when I interviewed, but it was more subtle. A couple of questions that had religious implications about ethics (pro-life etc), but mostly just chatted about science. I was surprised by how laid back and conversational the process was. Something that bugged me was that while students weren't required to be Christian, faculty were. Basically meaning if you're of another denomination, your association with the medical school ends upon graduation. We prayed before lunch, but otherwise it wasn't a real part of the interview day.
Students: I spent a good amount of time with a couple of students, who were actually awesome. Really accommodating (one drove me to the interview) and friendly. That said, I got the impression that there's a large variance in religious identity among the students, where some are really devout and others are not. If that is off-putting to you, you may not feel compatible with the community.
Curriculum/Religiosity: For the most part, I found that religion was not forced upon you. There are daily prayers, but they aren't mandatory and rarely the professors integrate biblical text into lecture. Mostly, it's straightforward science. They probably won't teach you how to perform abortions if that's part of your goals. The one thing I really disliked was the ethics class, which according to students sounded like it bordered on conservative theology more than ethics. Apparently (and this may be false) it includes conversion therapy, which I did not like the sound of. If you don't mind that, or feel you won't take offense if it disagrees with your moral standpoint, the rest of the curriculum seems pretty well put together.
TL;DR- The school was actually pretty impressive. Religion is an element, but not overwhelming and really seemed like what you make it. If you're on the fence about attending because of that and haven't been accepted to a non-denominational school you think would suit your personality better, try it out. I don't regret attending and was grateful for how kind the faculty and students were!
Location: Lynchburg is pretty sparse, but quaint. There are really pockets of things to do distanced far from one another and requiring a car. Main street itself was kind of vacant, seems like a lot of businesses have gone out due to the recession and not been replaced. Food was quality, folks were pretty nice. One thing that concerned me was a cab driver told me Liberty basically ran the economy and could decide what was built or not, which spooked me a little (I heard they made a Hooters effectively disappear). Beautiful scenery, no real nightlife, I could see this being a negative for people from urban settings.
Facility: The labs were immaculate, easily the most modern anatomy laboratory I've been in. Spacious OMM suite, pretty comprehensive simulation labs. A couple minor drawbacks; there wasn't a big cafeteria, just small student spaces, so the whole class wouldn't be able to eat together (as far as I saw on the tour). Also, the stairwells had a high school feel to them (low lighting, nondescript concrete). Overall though, a really nice facility, comparable to or better than some others I've seen. Also, there's apparently a year-round artificial ski slope, paintball range and equestrian stables accessible by LUCOM students!
Faculty: I was worried there would be a really prominent element of religiosity when I interviewed, but it was more subtle. A couple of questions that had religious implications about ethics (pro-life etc), but mostly just chatted about science. I was surprised by how laid back and conversational the process was. Something that bugged me was that while students weren't required to be Christian, faculty were. Basically meaning if you're of another denomination, your association with the medical school ends upon graduation. We prayed before lunch, but otherwise it wasn't a real part of the interview day.
Students: I spent a good amount of time with a couple of students, who were actually awesome. Really accommodating (one drove me to the interview) and friendly. That said, I got the impression that there's a large variance in religious identity among the students, where some are really devout and others are not. If that is off-putting to you, you may not feel compatible with the community.
Curriculum/Religiosity: For the most part, I found that religion was not forced upon you. There are daily prayers, but they aren't mandatory and rarely the professors integrate biblical text into lecture. Mostly, it's straightforward science. They probably won't teach you how to perform abortions if that's part of your goals. The one thing I really disliked was the ethics class, which according to students sounded like it bordered on conservative theology more than ethics. Apparently (and this may be false) it includes conversion therapy, which I did not like the sound of. If you don't mind that, or feel you won't take offense if it disagrees with your moral standpoint, the rest of the curriculum seems pretty well put together.
TL;DR- The school was actually pretty impressive. Religion is an element, but not overwhelming and really seemed like what you make it. If you're on the fence about attending because of that and haven't been accepted to a non-denominational school you think would suit your personality better, try it out. I don't regret attending and was grateful for how kind the faculty and students were!
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Does LUCOM have mandatory attendance? Also, how do they weigh MCAT/GPA? Than you guysand good luck to everyone this cycle!!
I'm a current LUCOM OMS-1. Most lectures do not have mandatory attendance. The majority of our lectures are recorded through our "lecture capture" technology and posted online (typically) within the hour after the lecture. That being said, there are certain courses that have required lecture weekly: OMM lecture is every Monday and is required, as well as our weekly Patient-Centered Medicine lecture.
However, I strongly recommend coming to lecture as much as possible. Technology sometimes acts up (as technology likes to do) and you don't want to shoot yourself in the foot by sleeping in and then not having the lecture available to you if you need it.
Concerning your MCAT/GPA question - no one talks about their actual MCAT/GPA in undergrad once they're accepted into medical school. I can't speak for my fellow classmates, but my personal MCAT/GPA scores weren't the strongest part of my application, let's say that. But once you're in, you're in! LUCOM and the faculty, in my opinion, do a great job at looking at the whole applicant rather than focusing on one part in particular.
Good luck!
OMS-1 Student Doctor
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If anyone has any questions about interview day, first year, or medical school in general, we're wrapping up our first semester here at LUCOM, so I can try to answer any questions you throw my way.
- 1/8 Future Doctor
- 1/8 Future Doctor
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Hey there - current LUCOM OMS-1. You can PM me with any questions you have; I'll do my best to answer them.
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I asked this exact question, and yes. A few. Specifically, I know that centra in Lynchburg is a a level 2 trauma center, chest pain and acute MI center, and a highly rated CT surgery hospital.
Nick, thank you kindly my friend. I'll be interviewing there in about 2 hours. Everyone enjoy your day!
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No problem. Good luck with your interview, they are a nice group of professors and admissions staff. Go in with no stress and be yourself, it's the easiest interview day around.
We were told if you are chosen to be there for an interview they no longer care about your grades or MCAT (so forget all that), they just want to know YOU.
Again,
best of luck
-Nick
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Nick couldn't have said it better! Good luck!
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Great post. I fell in love with LUCOM when I went for my interview a few weeks ago. Still waiting on a call. Does anyone know what time or day they generally do the acceptance calls on?
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I did mine a week and a half ago; still waiting on the call as well. So anxious! I've seen in previous posts that the calls usually go out on Mondays and Thursdays.
They told us that they call towards the end of the day....so stay close by! I'm guessing they call Thursday or Friday since the committee meets on Wednesdays.
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Received my acceptance call!! So glad to be joining the rest of the group!
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So thankful. Got the acceptance call recently and I wanted to give some feedback to the thread group!! Just for others out there I had a 500 mcat and 3.3 gpa. The interview was so amazing and laid back. They really just wanted to get to know who the applicant was as a person apart from the stats on paper. I think the way liberty does admissions is how all medical schools should. They do not waste your time unless you have a very good chance of actually being accepted. The interview is really to see if you personally fit with the school, not to grill you on your resume. Best of luck to the others who are still waiting. Keep your head up!
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I can vouch as well. MCAT 500, cGPA 3.0, sGPA 3.3
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Congratz to you both.
D
deleted739757
Can anyone comment on the dress code?
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In the code of conduct stuff it says business casual. No jeans. Guys wear collard shirts and khakis. doesn't have to be button up. No tie everyday, just if you are doing something special.
When I went to the interview all the students looked nice, but comfortable.
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Just the code of conduct, vaccine stuff, and physical paperwork at this time? Why? You have a specific question in mind?
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Same. Read the whole code of conduct. Ditto on the last question.
I read the whole thing today preparing questions for my interview. I was just chuckling to myself thinking that all the other biology majors at my university would have choked at the no non-marital sexual relations policy. (I'm married and have conservative values but I have only attended state universities so haven't seen those kind of regulations.) If people attend without having read every word, that could be a surprise.
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Yeah, I haven't seen those types of regs either. But I'm married too and conservative, so it doesn't bother me any.
W
woodca3
All of this stuff was discussed in depth at my interview because they said they actually had 2 students attend once who did not realize it was even a Christian school. I realized that before interviewing, but I didn't really realize how strict it was until my interview day.
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They told us about that too... Not sure how that is remotely possible to not know that LU is a Christian school.
I like how they are strict about their beliefs and rules. I'm glad to be going to LU next year, the atmosphere and overall feel was one that I had never felt at a college before.
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They said the same thing with our interview group, but more to show how humble they are AND how they try not to force anything down our throats. Can't wait to start either! Anyone know if a Facebook group for our class has been made yet?
I'm so excited about my interview there. It's my #1 choice even though it is completely across the country for us. The rules cracked me up though when thinking what my current classmates would say to them.
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There is a 2021 group. But it seems to be controlled by the admitions staff and they don't seem to be accepting members at the moment.
I don't know of any other groups at this time. Still pretty early.
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They'll start accepting people into the Facebook group within a couple of months I'm sure. Definitely within plenty of time for everyone to post questions and get answers before y'all start in August! Happy to hear about everyone's acceptance calls!
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For those accepted: Does anyone know when the second deposit is due?
Also had an AMAZING experience interviewing. I loved the school so much.
Also had an AMAZING experience interviewing. I loved the school so much.
I submitted my primary on 11/2 and received confirmation on 11/30 stating a secondary may be given to me within 30 days. If I do not hear back should I assume a rejection or will they send me a rejection email rather than a secondary? thanks!
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I think you could check mylu.liberty.edu for the status of your application.
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I *believe* it's 1/14/17 or a date close to that. If you look in your liberty account admissions check list you'll see it
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Just as a note, Liberty's websites are apparently down right now for anyone who needs them.
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Yeah, been down for a bit. Probably for holiday maintenance
Congratulations on your acceptance! How soon after the interview did you find out ? I am so excited for my interview on the 13th!
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Congratulations on your acceptance! Sorry it wasn't the right fit. Did you have a chance to visit with students? (My info doesn't mention a Meet-up the day before like some other schools.) How long after the interview do they usually decide on your acceptance? Thank you!
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Thanks! I actually reached out to a couple students via SDN and met up with them for lunch the day before. They were awesome, it was more Lynchburg and the religious nature of the parent institution that I felt I didn't fit in with. Still, super glad I went and met some great folks! It took about 3 weeks for me to hear back, some heard back as soon as 3 days later, others probably 6 weeks depending on holidays etc.
Thanks! Congratulations on all your acceptances!!! How do you hold off on your decision while waiting for other schools' decisions? Did you have to put down deposits? I will probably hear back from others before LUCOM.
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Hey everyone! First off, congrats to all of you who were accepted! I hope to be in your same shoes sooner than later haha. Anyways, I haven't sent in my application yet. I plan on doing so by the end of December. I know the final deadline is March 2017, but I read somewhere that it's good to get the apps in sooner. Can anyone vouch for this and whether I'm too late to the game? I'm a former Liberty Law grad and loved the community. Thanks!
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When I interviewed at the end of November they said the class was not full yet and that we were competing for a active slot and not a waitlist slot. I'm not sure about now though.
The benefit of applying soon is that you are in the first pile of student files to hit their desk. So, if you apply now you may be competing for a waitlist slot.
I don't know though. Since you are a previous LU student and have a JD would probably put you pretty high up in terms of potential acceptance.
Apply as soon as you can. That's the general recommendation of most schools.
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I think if you're confident in your app then go for it. One thing you should consider is that if you don't get in this year, have something in mind that you can do to have a difference to include in your app that shows you're a stronger re-applicant next year. That being said, the last time I applied 2 years ago, I turned in a secondary in December and one in January, and got interviews to those 2 schools. The odds may be higher against you applying this late, but as cheesy as this sounds, I would say follow your heart. The right school will recognize you in due time.
