LMU-DCOM, UNECOM, or VCOM-CC

[mhorn01]

Hey guys! I have recently been fortunate enough to be accepted to all three schools and would love any help/advice/opinions you could give me to help me decide on which school to pick!

All 3 schools are OOS for me and have comparable tuition rates (UNECOM is a little bit more expensive). I also loved my visit to all three campuses on interview day!

Anyone know of any pros/cons for these schools? Thanks!!

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[SlugMD]

Unless you really hate the cold, UNE is the best option due to its established history. Congrats on multiple acceptances! I hope to be in your shoes this time next year. From now on try to have as much fun as you can before you start school.

 

[mhorn01]

Unless you really hate the cold, UNE is the best option due to its established history. Congrats on multiple acceptances! I hope to be in your shoes this time next year. From now on try to have as much fun as you can before you start school.

I did like UNE, although it is by far the furthest from home and probably around 5-6k more a year. I also didn't like that it didn't have a sim center in the Biddeford campus. On the other side, the match lists make UNE very desirable!

 

[IslandStyle808]

@Mad Jack can help with UNE.
@Mjolner and @Mehd School can help with LMU-DCOM.

 

[Mad Jack]

I did like UNE, although it is by far the furthest from home and probably around 5-6k more a year. I also didn't like that it didn't have a sim center in the Biddeford campus. On the other side, the match lists make UNE very desirable!

Take it from a guy who has used SIM centers both here and in the past- they're glorified toys and nothing more. You'll learn more in a good day in the hospital than in every sim experience you could possibly get at any school. What we do a lot of that is far more useful clinically is interact with standardized patients, starting in the first few weeks of year one, which takes place on campus in the Pett Center. We still do sims during second year, but trust me, they aren't all that fulfilling compared to a SP and can't hold a candle to a real patient.

UNECOM has a very cooperative and friendly student culture- that's why I came here and continues to be my top reason for recommending the school. Our match list is decent, but tend to be heavily weighted toward primary care due to self-selection (we have a VERY primary care focused mission, so they tend to accept people with a strong primary care interest). You can do rotations all over the northeast- NY, NJ, and New England. We're pretty OMM focused during first year, and have an excellent anatomy program with a 4:1 student:cadaver ratio that is a full year in length, followed by six weeks of neuroanatomy in second year. We've got a great reputation in the northeast, largely due to our strong clinical skills focus that has us doing full histories and physicals, as well as full differential diagnoses, in year one.

That's my feelings in it. I really like the school. You'll hate your first two or three blocks though, guaranteed, as block weeks are cripplingly stressful until you adjust. After that, UNECOM is wonderful.

 

[AM508]

I did like UNE, although it is by far the furthest from home and probably around 5-6k more a year. I also didn't like that it didn't have a sim center in the Biddeford campus. On the other side, the match lists make UNE very desirable!

I wouldn't worry about a sim-center, my school has a very robust one but I usually don't go there anyway as there are always more important things to be doing (like studying for block exams with 7 classes on one exam or spending some extra time in the anatomy lab preparing for a practical). I had an acceptance to UNECOM last year, I was very impressed with the school. I ended up going elsewhere mainly because I wanted to escape the New England area (ugh high taxes and too much snow ). As @Mad Jack says, UNECOM has a great reputation in the northeast; I lived in the northeast for over 30 years and can fully attest that. You really can't go wrong there. Out of the schools you listed, UNECOM is clearly the strongest of them.

 

[yeasureyoubetcha]

---Thought this was the UNECOM school thread--apologies

 

[mhorn01]

Take it from a guy who has used SIM centers both here and in the past- they're glorified toys and nothing more. You'll learn more in a good day in the hospital than in every sim experience you could possibly get at any school. What we do a lot of that is far more useful clinically is interact with standardized patients, starting in the first few weeks of year one, which takes place on campus in the Pett Center. We still do sims during second year, but trust me, they aren't all that fulfilling compared to a SP and can't hold a candle to a real patient.

UNECOM has a very cooperative and friendly student culture- that's why I came here and continues to be my top reason for recommending the school. Our match list is decent, but tend to be heavily weighted toward primary care due to self-selection (we have a VERY primary care focused mission, so they tend to accept people with a strong primary care interest). You can do rotations all over the northeast- NY, NJ, and New England. We're pretty OMM focused during first year, and have an excellent anatomy program with a 4:1 student:cadaver ratio that is a full year in length, followed by six weeks of neuroanatomy in second year. We've got a great reputation in the northeast, largely due to our strong clinical skills focus that has us doing full histories and physicals, as well as full differential diagnoses, in year one.

That's my feelings in it. I really like the school. You'll hate your first two or three blocks though, guaranteed, as block weeks are cripplingly stressful until you adjust. After that, UNECOM is wonderful.

Thank you for the great answer!! How did you like the small group practice-based learning as opposed to normal lecture styles? I figure that it must be beneficial since UNECOM always has high board pass rates. Did you like the rotation sites? Do you think the great reputation in the northeast makes a lot of people chose to stay there for residency?

Also, I know that 99% of our time will be spent studying, but do people tend to hang-out/do things together outside of school? I'm only asking because if I attend UNECOM I would be very far away from my family/friends. Sorry for all of the questions!!

 

[Mad Jack]

I have an interview 1/14 and was wondering if the VERY primary care focused mission will make it difficult to secure non-PC residencies. Also, if I do IM, how difficult will be for me to specialize? Does UNECOM have affiliated residency programs and rotation sites?

The focus of the school is in who they select and how they teach. That doesn't limit the options of students, but they tend to pick students with primary care interests from the start, so we have an overrepresentation of primary care at our school because that's what a lot of us are into.

http://www.une.edu/com/predoc/clerkships/clinical-campuses

Those are the clinical campuses. Some have residencies, some do not.

http://www.une.edu/com/opti/members

Those are our residencies. Mostly IM/FM, though we've got an EM program (will definitely survive the merger) and a surgery program at Berkshire (I doubt it will survive the merger though, honestly). UCONN is one of the only university programs that is dual certified by the AOA and ACGME, and will definitely still be there after the merger, so it's a good connection to have. Most of our students do not attend UNECOM residencies, however- we kind of scatter to the winds like students from most medical schools. So far as IM though, you've got the exact same options outside of those that every other DO student has- if you want to specialize, go university if you can, or go to the best community program with a university affiliation if not. I'm very seriously considering pulm down the road, for instance, which shouldn't be all that difficult. Gastrointerology and cardiology would be more difficult, but certainly not impossible if you go to a university program such as UCONN or a program with an affiliated cardiology residency (such as Baystate, where we've sent a lot of people in the past). Plenty of our grads end up specializing down the road, and we practice all over the country.

 

[Mad Jack]

Thank you for the great answer!! How did you like the small group practice-based learning as opposed to normal lecture styles? I figure that it must be beneficial since UNECOM always has high board pass rates. Did you like the rotation sites? Do you think the great reputation in the northeast makes a lot of people chose to stay there for residency?

Also, I know that 99% of our time will be spent studying, but do people tend to hang-out/do things together outside of school? I'm only asking because if I attend UNECOM I would be very far away from my family/friends. Sorry for all of the questions!!

We've actually got a blended curriculum- you get normal lectures that you can either choose to attend or not (most people skip them and watch them at double speed at home), combined with once weekly problem based learning sessions that some people find useful but others do not. You'll also have group objectives that you work on every weekend to be prepared for a group learning session on Monday- this actually worked out really well for me. I had a very motivated group, and we would work together so that each of us was only looking at 1/6th of the material, condensing it into notes, and putting it into a group doc for the rest of the group to read. Basically the school lets you learn however you would like, and provides the resources for both PBL and traditional learning.

In regard to our board scores, they're typically good, but the curriculum has changed a lot in recent years, so who knows where they'll end up. I think we'll be fine though.

 

[Mad Jack]

Thank you for the great answer!! How did you like the small group practice-based learning as opposed to normal lecture styles? I figure that it must be beneficial since UNECOM always has high board pass rates. Did you like the rotation sites? Do you think the great reputation in the northeast makes a lot of people chose to stay there for residency?

Also, I know that 99% of our time will be spent studying, but do people tend to hang-out/do things together outside of school? I'm only asking because if I attend UNECOM I would be very far away from my family/friends. Sorry for all of the questions!!

Oh, and I haven't started rotations yet. As to staying in the northeast, 90% of us are from the northeast, so it's kind of natural that we'd stay here lol. And we've actually got a ton of free time, believe it or not, and people go out all the time. Portland is a great little city, and people go out damn near every weekend. Hell, my roommates surf literally 2-3 hours every day on top of having fun on the weekends and they're still here and haven't had any academic issues.

 

[mhorn01]

@Mad Jack Does UNECOM do a lot of board prep? I know some schools end the 2nd year in April to give students time to study for COMLEX. How does UNECOM compare? Thanks!

 

[6crew]

Congratulations on your acceptances!!!
I have applied to LMU and am hoping for an interview coming up soon!
LMU is actually in state for me, and my cousin was actually accepted and going to attend until he was offered a seat at another MD school.
In all the encounters I have had with the staff there, they seem extremely warm and friendly! (My cousin said the same thing)
One thing to consider though is that Harrogate is super tiny (I am sure you noticed whilst there for your interview) so there isn't too much to do unless you are really into the outdoors. Knoxville is about 1.5 hours away and it offers a BUNCH of things since its a big ole bustling town, so that could be like a weekend a month outing possibly? (I say this bc you said you will be away from home!) I also know that LMU is pretty good about involving students in research (Had quite a few present at the same conference as myself), but I have seen that UNECOM has larger opportunities and is really involved in research, so it might be better if that is important to you?
Is there a school you felt more comfortable in with the atmosphere, the resources, the study areas (I know i love a change of study scenery from my bedroom), the staff, the med students you interacted with? How important is the distance from your family?

Hope this helps in some way!
Would love to talk to you about your LMU interview!

 

[mhorn01]

Congratulations on your acceptances!!!
I have applied to LMU and am hoping for an interview coming up soon!
LMU is actually in state for me, and my cousin was actually accepted and going to attend until he was offered a seat at another MD school.
In all the encounters I have had with the staff there, they seem extremely warm and friendly! (My cousin said the same thing)
One thing to consider though is that Harrogate is super tiny (I am sure you noticed whilst there for your interview) so there isn't too much to do unless you are really into the outdoors. Knoxville is about 1.5 hours away and it offers a BUNCH of things since its a big ole bustling town, so that could be like a weekend a month outing possibly? (I say this bc you said you will be away from home!) I also know that LMU is pretty good about involving students in research (Had quite a few present at the same conference as myself), but I have seen that UNECOM has larger opportunities and is really involved in research, so it might be better if that is important to you?
Is there a school you felt more comfortable in with the atmosphere, the resources, the study areas (I know i love a change of study scenery from my bedroom), the staff, the med students you interacted with? How important is the distance from your family?

Hope this helps in some way!
Would love to talk to you about your LMU interview!

Hey! Thanks for your answer! I decided to turn down LMU for VCOM-CC or UNECOM. I really liked LMU and had a great experience during my interview day. It was actually the option that was the closest to home for me. But, the other two schools had smaller class sizes, more research/clinical opportunities, and had better 3rd and 4th year rotations. I definitely felt comfortable at all 3 schools, but loved the environment in Maine (beaches, great scenery). I also liked VCOM-CC because it was in a little bit of a bigger town. VCOM-CC is by big hospitals in Spartanburg and has some great research centers. UNECOM has a few research buildings and also is associated with a health clinic on campus, which is cool. Both schools seem to have great facilities, staff, students, and clinical rotations. But, VCOM-CC is newer, has mandatory attendance, a mandatory dress code, and lower board scores. So, still trying to decide between those two haha!

 

[6crew]

Hey! Thanks for your answer! I decided to turn down LMU for VCOM-CC or UNECOM. I really liked LMU and had a great experience during my interview day. It was actually the option that was the closest to home for me. But, the other two schools had smaller class sizes, more research/clinical opportunities, and had better 3rd and 4th year rotations. I definitely felt comfortable at all 3 schools, but loved the environment in Maine (beaches, great scenery). I also liked VCOM-CC because it was in a little bit of a bigger town. VCOM-CC is by big hospitals in Spartanburg and has some great research centers. UNECOM has a few research buildings and also is associated with a health clinic on campus, which is cool. Both schools seem to have great facilities, staff, students, and clinical rotations. But, VCOM-CC is newer, has mandatory attendance, a mandatory dress code, and lower board scores. So, still trying to decide between those two haha!

Yay! I am glad that you were able to eliminate one choice! I can imagine this decision process is intense! (Picking out what type of cereal I want for breakfast is a big enough challenge as is!) If you don't mind updating us on what you decide I would love it! Both schools really seem like wonderful options, and I wish you luck on becoming a future doctor! YOU ARE ON YOUR WAY! I haven't heard anything back from schools, and am, as you can imagine, freaking out! I can only pray I am in a similar situation as you in a month or so! CONGRATS AGAIN!

(I am actually working on my secondary for Edward Via right now, and had a quick question-- I received my secondary application email from VT, but in the application itself it asks you to list the campuses in order of preference. Is this the one secondary for all of the campuses? I was confused since they were each separate during the initial AACOMAS application! Thank ya!)

 

[mhorn01]

Yay! I am glad that you were able to eliminate one choice! I can imagine this decision process is intense! (Picking out what type of cereal I want for breakfast is a big enough challenge as is!) If you don't mind updating us on what you decide I would love it! Both schools really seem like wonderful options, and I wish you luck on becoming a future doctor! YOU ARE ON YOUR WAY! I haven't heard anything back from schools, and am, as you can imagine, freaking out! I can only pray I am in a similar situation as you in a month or so! CONGRATS AGAIN!

(I am actually working on my secondary for Edward Via right now, and had a quick question-- I received my secondary application email from VT, but in the application itself it asks you to list the campuses in order of preference. Is this the one secondary for all of the campuses? I was confused since they were each separate during the initial AACOMAS application! Thank ya!)

Haha will do! Yes, there is one secondary for all 3 campuses, but all of the email correspondence comes from the VT campus. I think I didn't rank the campuses and just asked for the first interview available!

 

[doctorinthehouse_]

First off, congrats! I say VCOM-CC! Your only difference between UNECOM and VCOM is board scores and the board pass rate for VCOM is above the national average and when compared between schools may seem lower than UNECOM but board prep is very much independent and partly comes from teaching but the majority of your performance and success on test day is self preparation. Best of luck in your decision!

 

[mhorn01]

First off, congrats! I say VCOM-CC! Your only difference between UNECOM and VCOM is board scores and the board pass rate for VCOM is above the national average and when compared between schools may seem lower than UNECOM but board prep is very much independent and partly comes from teaching but the majority of your performance and success on test day is self preparation. Best of luck in your decision!

What do you think about the mandatory class?

 

[doctorinthehouse_]

What do you think about the mandatory class?

I personally like that. I've heard phenomenal things about the professors at VCOM-CC and I am lecture-based learner. I like the interactiveness of asking questions and seeing cases presented and discussions based on those. That's not for everyone though. And about the dresscode...you're going to be a doctor, you should start getting used to dressing professionally in any academic/clinical setting. That's just my view though