I actually applied to all three. So far I have gotten acceptances to AZCOM and LECOM while I interview at NSUCOM in about 2 weeks. Here is my .02 on this
AZCOM
I really liked this school. The students were happy and the weather is nice. It was about 96 degrees on my interview day and the sky was blue. If you like to hike or go outdoors its a great place. Phoenix was a pretty neat city and the highways really were not as bad as some major cities. Its nice to have the resources of a bigger city for you. The campus has a lot of technology associated with it as there are plasma televisions and nice buildings since the school was started in 1996. There is on campus housing and for me that was a bonus cause I would be traveling from the east coast and that would be one less thing I would have to worry about.
Downsides to azcom would be the tuition of 32K a year and a little uncertainity in the 3rd and 4tf year clearships. There seems to be question marks when it comes to having rotation in downtown phoenix as the University of Arizona seems to have some props there over azcom but thats not asying you can't go there all together. I also hear going to another smaller town you have an oportunity to do more with out fighting for procedures or patient form interns and residents. This can be a downside or could be awesome as heck. I am up in the air about it. A lot of students use the ability to go all over the US to do their clearkships and the school works with you on that. That is another option.
In all, I loved the enthusiam of the students, faculity, and staff there. It is in a warm climate and has great board pass rates. (a 100% first time on COMLEX step 2 last year!!!) Heck I even got to meet herp there when I interviewed
🙂 seriously I was torn between putting my deposit in between ccom and azcom but I am probably going to put in for azcom.
LECOM
this school is good for some but I will say stright out that it just wasn't for me. There are some great people on these boards that like LECOM (dr. sax and dotobe to name a few).
I like that lecom has some fairly friendly people there. The building was new and the cost of living was decent. The rotations were all around the city and it was the only medical school around for a while so there were plenty of learning opporunities. Also there is easy access to three major cities very close. cleveland, buffalo, and pittsburgh are all about 1.5-2 hours away. Thats is not a bad travel at all to get some city action or sports.
What I didn't like about the school is that the one building felt a little sterile. I come from a big college campus so I like the feeling of that. Also my guide didn't seem to be an advocate for the school....not that he said anything bad but he wasn't overly enthusatic about it. The weather for me is a hugh thing. I HATE snow. I used to live in the northeast and remember scraping my windows all the time and shoveling my driveway. UGH. I just hate snow and honestly it was a MAJOR reason I am probably going to turn down ccom as well. if I am unhappy then I won't study as well...thats just me. Anyway, a few other things that struck me funny at lecom were the dress code, the food code, and the cafertaria (if you call it that). I could work with those but they also closed the library fairly early as well. Also, first years only prosect the anatomy lab and second years actualy disect the cadavers. I know its petty but it was something that stuck with me.
In all, LECOM seems nice for some people just not for me. I think they produce quality physicians but the town, campus, and the weather just weren't for me.
NSUCOM
I have not interviewed there yet but I will say that I am excited about interviewing at this school.
Bonuses for me
-I used to live in Orlando and just moved from there back to knoxville this last summer to get my MPH degree. I want to go back to FL for school or definatly for residency.
- I LOVE the beach (I was born in los angeles)
- I like the required rotations a little better than some other schools. (like azcom requires around 3 months of FP, NSUCOM doesn't require that much I believe)
-its a bigger campus with an undergaduate school, law school, dental school, and more resources.
- its a little cheaper than some others schools 28K a year
-did I say I hate snow????? no snow in Ft. Lauderdale or Miami.
-Decent affiliations with hospitals around the school
this site is older but had some neat info
http://www.nsucom2006.com
Negatives for me
-The dress code
-The attendence policy
-Heard for other students that the administration can be a pain
-28K is still expensive to me
Each school has its pluses and minues. NSUCOM was one of the schools when I first applied that I really wanted to get an interview at. AZCOM, ETSU, and UT memphis were the others. I am excited to see how I feel once I get down there. I am driving from orlando where I'll be living for December so I will get there a little early and get a feel for the area and school. We'll see how I feel after I interview. I hope this helps a bit. I just kinda sounded off on the subject.
