What are your opinions based on what you've heard and where you have interviewed?
Osteopathic Schools with Happiest Students
- Thread starter rubisco88
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I can't say where the happiest students are, but I can give an impression of the students at my school, CCOM. Being in Chicago, people probably feel like they are missing out on "life" a lot less than at schools in small towns. Once I got to the clinical years, I was much happier with CCOM, and it seems like that is a general consensus with a lot of my classmates. The Midwestern administration really works hard at making life miserable during your first two years...you almost feel like a prisoner on that campus. None of the faculty or especially the staff respect students...ok that is unture, there are a good number of really sweet staff and faculty, but compared to my undergrad, the staff at MWU treat the students in a very hostile manner. Maybe it is because students who feel like they are being fleeced with our outrageous tuition here are constantly complaining to staff and admins, but either way.
CCOM first two years = overcrowded concentration camp (but who ISNT miserable first two years?)
CCOM second two years = really cool because you are at some sweet rotations throughout Chicago and only seldom have to go back to campus.
CCOM first two years = overcrowded concentration camp (but who ISNT miserable first two years?)
CCOM second two years = really cool because you are at some sweet rotations throughout Chicago and only seldom have to go back to campus.
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We're pretty happy here at DCOM. We had a class event at a restaurant after our most recent exam and a bunch of the docs/professors from the school showed up. One of them bought my group several pitchers of beer and challenged us to a chugging contest (although he didn't follow through yet haha). They keep us busy and work us hard, but there are always examples (like the beer) when the staff lets us know that we're on the same team. Gestures like that are really appreciated, and I think the effect is a largely happy student body. ...Or at least as happy as we can be-- it is MS1, after all.
It seemed like most of us were happy at MSUCOM for first year. Then second year rolled around and it seems like a lot of people are disgruntled, mostly due to terrible exam scheduling, lack of class notes and questionable teaching.
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This.
But I am certainly looking forward to 3rd and 4th year, we have excellent base hospitals as MSUCOM students.
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Talked to enough school to tell you that everyone is roughly equally unhappy with each school at some point. The big exceptions being LECOM-E/A/C/D (aka: whatever campus except bradenton) where students seem to be *more* unhappy and much more vocal about it, than the "average" complain load and Pikeville where students I talk to seem genuinely pissed off at their clinical year education.
Those two (three? four? depending on how you could lecom) are the only ones that stick out in the sea of "everyone complains about 1/4 of the stuff and loves 3/4 of the stuff" that you generally see.
Those two (three? four? depending on how you could lecom) are the only ones that stick out in the sea of "everyone complains about 1/4 of the stuff and loves 3/4 of the stuff" that you generally see.
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I'm a 4th year at MSU COM and I can say I have been very happy throughout the 4 years. Yes, during 2nd year there were some annoying classes that were organized poorly, but overall my experience has been great. The administration is very supportive. I actually chose to attend MSU COM because the students seemed happier here than at other places where I interviewed.
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I wouldn't say that TCOM has students that are happier than the average medical student. It's hard to judge that kind of thing since all of us are only attending 1 school, and everyone has something to gripe about no matter where they're from. Medical education in general is not what I would call a "happy" experience - what you do outside of medical education is where happiness comes from. I'm happy right now because I have good, solid friends at school and a supportive significant other, not because the school makes me happy.
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The majority of students at any med school will in all likelihood tell you that they are happy with their choice, but not with the amount of study they have to do at the moment. The stress level for exams and the boards is probably similar at "Happy Medical School" and "UnHappy Medical School". The true happiness a med student experiences in med school is when they pass an exam.
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i am a second year at CCOM and i have to completely disagree with this.
our class has been completely happy with our first two years and i would not change where i am for the life of me.
this is the absoltel right place for me
OP - i think it has to do with fit and where you are happy. if you are not at the right school for you then you will be miserable.
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Any opinions about the quality of med school life at TCOM, Western, or AZCOM? I'm surprised to hear about the "hostile environment" at CCOM.
i disagree with the former poster. i love it here. all of my classmates love the school and are very happy here.
the faculty here are outstanding and i have never had a bad experience with one. hard to believe things could change that much in two years (esp since i did my masters here and am quite well versed with the school)
but i think beauty is in the eye of the beholder applies here.....it depends on what color glasses you are looking at things from
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I agree, I think it is all about your perspective. I have the unique experience of being a part of two different classes at CCOM and I've gotta say it's been interesting to see the admin is actually much more receptive to student feedback than I initially thought. That being said could it be better, sure. But it could be A LOT worse. Over all I'm happy with the school and VERY pleased with the faculty. Admin can have a B rating.
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can we just adopt you as one of our own??? your humor is going to be one of the sole things that gets me through this year
and agreed, it could be a lot worse....i for one could not imagine having to wear business casual to class everyday.
and trust me when i say you do not want to see this in a sports bra and shorts after three kids and a gastric bypass
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I'd be happy if I had a hot gf. I do not foresee how any school faculty or admin can help me with that.
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Ah I miss my old stomping grounds!
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The trouble with LECOM-E is that a number of students seem to frequently make comparisons to Bradenton, and LECOM-E has a more strict set of rules by comparison (or such is my understanding). The rules that are made most apparent to everyone up-front (dress code, no eating or drinking allowed in most school areas) tend to rub people the wrong way but make sense to me; however, there are further rules and regulations that aren't as well-known and that seem almost hostile to students, in my opinion. For example, students with a GPA lower than 3.0 are barred from holding any leadership positions in student organizations - I understand the likely reasoning behind it ("these students need to focus on studying, and this will block out some distractions"), but it's possible handicapping them come time to apply for residencies (when residency programs will wonder why a student seems to have a lack of leadership involvement). There are a few other rules like that, too.
On the whole, though, I don't get the sense that the class is miserable. People seem fairly happy overall, actually, although I don't know that there's much school pride compared to other institutions.
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My comment is a bit off-subject, but according to data, P.D.'s give such positions very little value when selecting residents. These students with subpar G.P.A.s should be in the library studying instead of organizing the next bake sale for the old folks at the home.
I'm glad your happy, but this is false.
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we have definitely had some bumps and some frustrations, but no more than you are going to find anywhere else
and i have been on the receiving end of my fair share. if anyone is in a position to say they are unhappy where they are or what they are doing it is me without a doubt. i would trade anyones year last year with mine in a heartbeat. things were piled on me at the worst possible time by people who made no attempt to understand who i was or where i had come from. so if anyone has a gripe with unhappiness it is me, and it would be entirely justified.
but i am happy with how things are handled, i am happy with the administrations willingness to change, i am happy with my choice and i am happy with my classmates. and all of this is despite the sheer heck i endured from jan-may of first year. i am pursuing my dream and that makes me happy, and the people i seem to talk to are happy as well.
i am sorry if your experience is different, but as i said i think everything is relative in the eyes of the beholder. as is evident by the fact that i am happy here despite everything i have been through and been subjected to and you are not.
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I think people like to bitch about their schools in general. I have some classmates that do not stop bitching, it is constant. Always thinking tests or admin is unfair, but in reality other schools are not much different. People just like to bitch.
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SERIOUSLY. I never knew people could find so many things to complain about. Then I ran for class leadership. Quite possible the worst best idea I've ever had
Ditto on this one...I legitimately think that 99% of the students at DCOM, even at their highest points of frustration, are quite happy being here. Honestly. And having that environment makes a world of difference when you're about to lose it the night before an exam- support is everything.
Once again I truly am glad that you are doing well, and I'm sorry about whatever went wrong for you last year.
But you don't speak for anyone else so you just can't say that everyone is completely happy with this school.
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LECOM-E (including SH) and LECOM-B are apples and oranges. Aside from the name, they are no more similar than TCOM and NYCOM. But with regards to LECOM-E, remember there is PBL vs Lecture vs Independent. Completely non-scientific observation = PBL seems to be much happier than lecture. Probably due to just more time to ourselves. Bradenton is all PBL. Something to think about.
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4th year at TCOM here. What is making me happy right now? Awesome rotations, good attendings, edible hospital food. And in a few months I'll get to escape med school and go to... residency (hopefully near where I want to live)! 
Seriously, TCOM has great powderpuff and BBQ parties. It's pretty chill overall. Nothing worth complaining about really...
Seriously, TCOM has great powderpuff and BBQ parties. It's pretty chill overall. Nothing worth complaining about really...
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SERIOUSLY. I never knew people could find so many things to complain about. Then I ran for class leadership. Quite possible the worst best idea I've ever had
Ditto on this one...I legitimately think that 99% of the students at DCOM, even at their highest points of frustration, are quite happy being here. Honestly. And having that environment makes a world of difference when you're about to lose it the night before an exam- support is everything.[/QUOTE]
Couldn't have said it better myself. So happy I ended up here.
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nah. i dont have a big sample size, but ive heard just as vociferous complaints from PBL kids as IS and lecture based. The issues tend to be with the rules, perceived favoritism and special treatment for few (both benign and malevolent special treatment), and the general environment.
with that said. small sample size, only met about 4 PBL kids, 6 lecture based and 3 independent if my memory is right.
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As a 2nd yr. PBL student at Erie I can say that in my experience most everybody (LDP,ISP, PBL) here is happy. Complaining about the school happens everywhere and maybe with our unique set of rules we have more to talk about, but in the end we're mostly just joking around for the fun of it. Personally, I would not want to do LDP, but they all seem to manage class well enough and I don't see a bunch of zombies walking out of the lecture hall at 5pm.
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Well again, im not really bashing LECOM. My original comment is I have run into enough DO students from all the schools to see that pretty much everyone has the same amount of complaints (usually on identical things). LECOM, happy as the students likely are, just seems to always have *more* complaints across the board. Not a lot more, nor are they really worse, they just seem slightly more annoyed by them. But thats also solely my subjective experience.
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I am a first year at WCUCOM (the second class of the school!) and am very pleased. The faculty is great and very experienced, the facilities are awesome, and Hattiesburg is not a bad place to live (not the best, but it's not bad!). Also, intramurals are great. Being right there with an undergrad school, we compete with them in all the intramural sports and dominate. I mean, that's the most important thing about med school, right?
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I'm sorry, but I think there is a significantly smaller number of students truly happy with their experience at LECOM as opposed to the brown nosers that are "happy with their experience at LECOM". I'm sure I'm considered an "extremist" having gone rounds with the administration last year (which got me nowhere), but I absolutely hate the place. The administration doesn't care about what you want to get out of school, and they don't care about helping you get through in a way that works for you. They care only about getting you through with a passing grade on the boards so they don't lose their reputation, and you have to do it their way or the highway. Rotation selection is quickly becoming a nightmare. Clinical education is full of arrogant *******s that refuse to answer questions and just direct you to your group leaders and the class president, who usually know even less.
I'm honestly usually pretty tolerant of things, but LECOM has just been an overall horrible experience for me. And there's no way I could ever even begin to recommend the school (Erie campus at least) to anybody else. Yeah we're the cheapest school, blah blah blah, and we have great board passing rates, blah blah blah, but you get what you pay for.
Rant over. Sorry. That one's been stewing since May...
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4th year at TCOM here. What is making me happy right now? Awesome rotations, good attendings, edible hospital food. And in a few months I'll get to escape med school and go to... residency (hopefully near where I want to live)!
TCOM is a lot of things, but "chill" is not how I would describe it during the pre-clinical years. Glad you're loving rotations, though. I can't wait to get out of the classroom.
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This is just the fallacy of division here. You can't dispute his argument by showing it doesn't apply to thing he never said it applied to. He is simply saying in the DO world he feels they have the lowest tuition and highest pass rate, but you still get what you pay for. While your comments on the price gouging of certain fringe elements of academia is worth noting for its own merits, its not actually a good argument against his comment.
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.brown-nose.
.   [broun-nohz] ..
..Show IPA verb, -nosed, -nos·ing, noun Slang . ..verb.. (used without object) .
.1. .
.To disagree with or have a differing opinion from other blatantly biased posters who use insults as logic. .
.Pardon my ignorance but, I was under the impression this was an anonymous forum and that I would not receive credit for any positive comments I make about LECOM. Could you please point out the portal link where I can sign up for the Touch Points or extra credit that I have rightfully earned? Seriously though, I never said I love LECOM unconditionally or have no complaints, its just I dont see the negative outweighing the good. I am happy with the way school has gone for me and I havent seen any evidence that I am anything but an average student in all respects. I guess we will just have to agree to disagree since we both have a right to our opinions. Im sorry your experience has been so different from mine and I wish you the best of luck in the future. .
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if you know who i am, and it is not that hard to figure out, then you know i was falsely accused of some things on top of having major family issues during the latter part of last year. it made what is a very stressful situation more stressful than it needed to be. yet despite all that, i am happy here. and i should not be, i have every reason not to be, but i am.
i am sorry you are unhappy here or have had difficulty with the school. as others have said, and as i have said it truly is the eye of the beholder....as we are well showing. different people can have very different opinions and views on a school based on their experiences.
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Kindly remove PCOM-PA from your signature. You got into PCOM... Philadelphia College of Ostoepathic Medicine. People who get into PCOM-GA get to add the suffix, not you. There is only one philadelphia, after all, and it's in PA.
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LECOM-B FTW. I think we're pretty happy. There are a few people who dislike the fact that Bradenton-Sarasota is a "small town" (fyi, the metro area population is ~670,000, not that small), but otherwise we're very very happy.
The school is good, we're only there 2 hours a day (yay PBL), you have the rest of your day free to read and study however you see fit, the weather is perfect, and we have the #1 beach in the country (if not the world).
There is 100% no better place to go to medical school, at least for me. I could not be happier with my choice. I have no idea how the rest of you do it.
The school is good, we're only there 2 hours a day (yay PBL), you have the rest of your day free to read and study however you see fit, the weather is perfect, and we have the #1 beach in the country (if not the world).
There is 100% no better place to go to medical school, at least for me. I could not be happier with my choice. I have no idea how the rest of you do it.
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School at the beach <<<< school 5 miles from unpredictable shootings, stabbings, and insane drivers
You haven't lived until you've seen a guy getting punched out in the middle of an intersection in front of a drinking establishment simply called "BAR" at 7 PM on a Thursday.
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what is their definition of unfair? if everyone is treated the same there is NO unfair.
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Get out of here, screw the beach.
I rather have drunken disorderly people around me, builds more character
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Yeah, but I experienced all that stuff BEFORE medical school. I had someone shot and killed right outside my bedroom window during undergrad. I've been in bar fights (and was glad I had drums/guitars to shield me or wield as weapons...YOU haven't lived until you've knocked a guy out with a Fender Strat. I think I got 100 EXP and 10 HP for that.
)I'll take my beach, thank you very much.
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Yeah, but I experienced all that stuff BEFORE medical school. I had someone shot and killed right outside my bedroom window during undergrad. I've been in bar fights (and was glad I had drums/guitars to shield me or wield as weapons...YOU haven't lived until you've knocked a guy out with a Fender Strat. I think I got 100 EXP and 10 HP for that.
I'll take my beach, thank you very much.
I assume immediately afterwards you heard this?
[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3suGfhnT2Sg[/YOUTUBE]
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