LMU-DCOM vs. TouroCOM-Harlem

[MateoGM416]

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Hello all,

So I got into a couple of DO schools and I think I've narrowed them down to two where the deposit deadline is coming up, and I think I've narrowed down my A's to Touro in Harlem and LMU-DCOM. They were founded the same year so I guess they are equally as established. Both schools have complaints about their lack of quality rotation sites, but LMU-DCOM's recent match looks slightly better than Touro's. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Touro COM NY - Harlem
Pros

• Living in NYC sounds like a blast for a kid who grew up in the South
• 100% match rate this past year, many into competitive specialties
• More geared towards serving underrepresented populations as opposed to geographically underserved populations
• 100% match rate this year
• Better rotation sites(?)
• I learn pretty well in flipped classrooms

Cons

• 60k a year, most students take out 100k in loans per year
• Lectures are mandatory basically (daily clicker grades + flipped classroom)
• Might be distracting living in a such a big city, + the adjustment might be kind of difficult

Lincoln Memorial University Debusk COM - preferably Knoxville
Pros

• Slightly cheaper tuition (52k) and much cheaper to live
• More natural beauty, much nicer people (I grew up in the South)
• Bigger campuses with more amenities, more collaboration between campuses
• Non-mandatory lectures

Cons

• 98% match rate (not bad though)
• Boring locations compared to NYC, although I guess that could also be a positive if I am supposed to be studying all the time anyway

Thoughts? Please correct me if I am wrong about any of this and please add anything worth considering. The hefty Touro deposit is due the 14th 😬😬

 

[petomed]

Start here for last renewed accreditation statuses:
https://osteopathic.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/colleges-of-osteopathic-medicine.pdf

Which should lead you here to see what the definitions mean:
https://osteopathic.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/com-accreditation-standards-8-29-2016.pdf

Medical school is likely to be the largest financial investment of your life and everyone will have their own opinion or anecdotal experiences. If it were me, I'd want it straight from the board that reviews each medical school. Fortunately, these two links get you quite close to that.

 

[BigDOguy]

Start here for last renewed accreditation statuses:
https://osteopathic.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/colleges-of-osteopathic-medicine.pdf

Which should lead you here to see what the definitions mean:
https://osteopathic.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/com-accreditation-standards-8-29-2016.pdf

Medical school is likely to be the largest financial investment of your life and everyone will have their own opinion or anecdotal experiences. If it were me, I'd want it straight from the board that reviews each medical school. Fortunately, these two links get you quite close to that.

Great resources although second link TLDR whats the difference between accredited and accredited with exceptional outcome?

 

[MateoGM416]

Great resources although second link TLDR whats the difference between accredited and accredited with exceptional outcome?

this is what I found on google https://osteopathic.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/coca-glossary.pdf

1. Accreditation with Exceptional Outcome: This indicates that all standards are compliant and all elements are met. For schools with this status, accreditation will be granted for ten years

2. Accreditation: This indicates that all standards are compliant. However, there may be unmet elements that must be addressed via progress reporting. For schools with this status, accreditation will be granted for seven years.

3. Accreditation with Heightened Monitoring: This indicates that fewer than three standards are non-compliant and ongoing monitoring will occur via progress reporting. For schools with this status, accreditation will be granted for four years.

4. Accreditation with Warning: This indicates that between three and five standards are noncompliant and ongoing monitoring will occur via progress reporting. For schools with this status, accreditation will be granted for two years.

5. Accreditation with Probation: This indicates that more than five standards are noncompliant. For schools with this status, the accreditation will be granted for no more than one year.

6. Withdrawal of Accreditation: This indicates that the quality of the educational program is compromised and the school was unable to come into compliance with all standards within the allotted timeframe

Start here for last renewed accreditation statuses:
https://osteopathic.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/colleges-of-osteopathic-medicine.pdf

Which should lead you here to see what the definitions mean:
https://osteopathic.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/com-accreditation-standards-8-29-2016.pdf

Medical school is likely to be the largest financial investment of your life and everyone will have their own opinion or anecdotal experiences. If it were me, I'd want it straight from the board that reviews each medical school. Fortunately, these two links get you quite close to that.

So I guess accredited with heightened monitoring (LMUDCOM) is not as good as being accredited, which Touro is. Unfortunately according to the second pdf the accreditation reports are confidential. But if both schools are having students matching well, does it really make that much of a difference about COCA decisions?

 

[petomed]

this is what I found on google https://osteopathic.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/coca-glossary.pdf





So I guess accredited with heightened monitoring (LMUDCOM) is not as good as being accredited, which Touro is. Unfortunately according to the second pdf the accreditation reports are confidential. But if both schools are having students matching well, does it really make that much of a difference about COCA decisions?

I thought the categorization of statuses were included in the second document but it doesn't look like it is. Here's a link to those definitions.

Accreditation Decisions for Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine

CHICAGO–The American Osteopathic Association’s Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation (COCA) today announced accreditation decisions made at its April 15-17, 2021 meeting. Comprehensive site visits occur at the end of an accreditation cycle. The following comprehensive site visits...

osteopathic.org

Heightened monitoring means that less than two standards (pg. 6) were not met at the time of evaluation, which was 2019 for LMUDCOM. There are several elements within each standard and you can find them fully detailed in that document. Not being judged as able to fulfill entire standards can be concerning, depending upon which particular standard is not being met. We are not privy to that granular level of detail.

By contrast, having status 'Accredited' means enough elements of each standard are fulfilled such that all standards are met. The best would be 'Accreditation with exceptional outcome', where all elements of all standards are met. Few schools have this rating and I think you'll find they are generally more difficult to get into compared the rest.

Keep in mind that a school likely takes immediate steps to correct a sub-par rating once it's received, such that the next review will enable a better accreditation status. It's simply impossible to know what changes haven't or have been made at LMUDCOM since their rating in 2019.

I would read through the various standards and elements before deciding yay or nay for your schools of interest. A high match rate is indeed indicative of the student's ability to be prepared for residency. But we have no idea what they had to endure to get there.

 

[MateoGM416]

I thought the categorization of statuses were included in the second document but it doesn't look like it is. Here's a link to those definitions.

Accreditation Decisions for Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine

CHICAGO–The American Osteopathic Association’s Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation (COCA) today announced accreditation decisions made at its April 15-17, 2021 meeting. Comprehensive site visits occur at the end of an accreditation cycle. The following comprehensive site visits...

osteopathic.org

Heightened monitoring means that less than two standards (pg. 6) were not met at the time of evaluation, which was 2019 for LMUDCOM. There are several elements within each standard and you can find them fully detailed in that document. Not being judged as able to fulfill entire standards can be concerning, depending upon which particular standard is not being met. We are not privy to that granular level of detail.

By contrast, having status 'Accredited' means enough elements of each standard are fulfilled such that all standards are met. The best would be 'Accreditation with exceptional outcome', where all elements of all standards are met. Few schools have this rating and I think you'll find they are generally more difficult to get into compared the rest.

Keep in mind that a school likely takes immediate steps to correct a sub-par rating once it's received, such that the next review will enable a better accreditation status. It's simply impossible to know what changes haven't or have been made at LMUDCOM since their rating in 2019.

I would read through the various standards and elements before deciding yay or nay for your schools of interest. A high match rate is indeed indicative of the student's ability to be prepared for residency. But we have no idea what they had to endure to get there.

I appreciate you taking the time to share this information and clarify. There are so many pros and cons to either school and this is so difficult to make with the limited information that I have been able to attain at this point :-(