PCOM or LECOM?

[osteo564]

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Hey there everyone!

I was hoping somebody could help me with this question. I currently have acceptances at both LECOM and PCOM and am torn between the two. I am a PA resident and these were the schools I really wanted to get in to. I prefer LECOM's rural-ish setting and fact that it doesnt seem to be as "sink or swim" as PCOM. But, I feel like PCOM has a much better reputation and academic program than does LECOM. Eventually, I want to practice Emergency Medicine and was wondering if going to LECOM would have any negative effects on that goal whereas PCOM would not. I realize that PCOM is, objectively, ranked higher than LECOM (if D.O. schools were actually ranked) and so I can't decide if being more comfortable at LECOM is worth passing up a PCOM education.

Thanks in advance for all of your help!

 

[hermione]

By whom is PCOM ranked higher? I'm not trying to start a fight, I'm just not sure I agree with that statement, or where this information comes from. Truthfully, as someone in the process of applying for a "competitive" residency (anesthesia) and as a LECOM student, I personally feel that which (osteopathic) school you go to has little influence on what specialty you match into. I think it has much more to do with 1)board scores, and 2) rotations, and most importantly not being an idiot on said rotations. If you plan to apply to M.D. residencies, it is my experience that to the residency, you are a D.O. student. They really don't care which D.O. school you go to. I DO think that going to D.O. school limited my residency selection in some ways, but I can't say that PCOM students are at any advantage to me when applying for residency. I have had lots of elective time to rotate through hospitals that have M.D. anesthesia programs, which has been, for me, the most important factor in my residency search. Granted, I have not matched yet, but I feel fairly confident that I will be able to match someplace. I don't think going to LECOM will hold you back, and I think you might be better off in a way, if you are, as you said, more comfortable there. You will be able to study more, get better board scores, etc. Just my humble opinion, and in no way meant to slight PCOMers! I rotate with them everyday, and have the utmost respect for them, as I think they do for me! Good luck either way!! 🙂

 

[Dr Trek 1]

Hey there everyone!

I was hoping somebody could help me with this question. I currently have acceptances at both LECOM and PCOM and am torn between the two. I am a PA resident and these were the schools I really wanted to get in to. I prefer LECOM's rural-ish setting and fact that it doesnt seem to be as "sink or swim" as PCOM. But, I feel like PCOM has a much better reputation and academic program than does LECOM. Eventually, I want to practice Emergency Medicine and was wondering if going to LECOM would have any negative effects on that goal whereas PCOM would not. I realize that PCOM is, objectively, ranked higher than LECOM (if D.O. schools were actually ranked) and so I can't decide if being more comfortable at LECOM is worth passing up a PCOM education.

Thanks in advance for all of your help!

Congrats on your acceptances! Can you provide me with your stats? Thanks!

 

[bobo]

Hey there everyone!
I prefer LECOM's rural-ish setting and fact that it doesnt seem to be as "sink or swim" as PCOM.

Not sure where you got the "sink or swim" from. I didn't find PCOM that way at all. Just study hard wherever you go and you will be fine. As a matter of fact unless the attendance policy has changed at LECOM or a PCOM, then I think PCOM is much more student friendly. I rarely if ever went to class at PCOM whereas at LECOM to my knowledge has a required attendance policy that can really cut into your study time.

bobo, DO

 

[DOCTORSAIB]

I'd go with PCOM, anyday. Yes, I'm biased. 😀

 

[bustbones26]

PCOM vs. LECOM will not effect where you match, your performance will. Trust a person who recently has just been in on a meeting with his other residents and faculty pertaining to choosing the incoming class of interns, nobody ever says, "Oh look, this guy got great board scores and straight A's but he went to LECOM, so I guess we have to rank him second to the guy that went to Johns Hopkins and did mediocre".

Sorry, but my pet peeve over about the past year is listening to *****s utter things like , "oh yeah, I went to (fill in the blank), like they aren't going to take me.

I would recommend PCOM, depsite being a LECOM grad, and I don't feel like wasting space here telling you why. But to be honest, you'd be a good doc if you graduated from either school.

Oh, one more thing, medical school is "sink or swim" no matter where you go. Maybe you didn't sense this at LECOM, but trust me, that's the way it is there, and that's the way it is everywhere else too. So this philosophy you will not avoid.

 

[my alias]

PCOM is by no means sink or swim. There are a multitude of resources available such as study skills workshops, tutoring, professors who are always available outside of class, & upperclass students who are always willing to help. You just need to take advantage of the resources. There is also a mix of students from rural backgrounds & city backgrounds.

 

[doc0875]

He's right, it won't likely make a huge differenct to your future but I would definitely go with PCOM based on there tradition, reputation, etc. I too was accepted at both schools & I chose PCOM.

 

[osteo564]

Hey thanks for the info...it may have been one of the most helpful so far.

Since you didnt want to waste space in the thread, how about explaining why of all people, you would recommend PCOM? Were your experiences after yrs 1 & 2 bad?

Thanks in advance!

 

[osteo564]

Sorry...that last message was for bustbones and was supposed to be a private message...so if you can, would you PM me with the answer?

Thanks.

 

[PCOM_08]

PCOM PCOM PCOM. Yes, I am a student there, but yes I do have 100 reasons to back me up. In addition, I don't think I know a single student in my class that wouldn't recommend PCOM to someone who asked that question. With that said, I think you should highly consider that when a LECOM student is not recommending their school and is recommending another school. I have heard NYCOM students do that as well on SDN, and I must admit that I can't find comfort in that...I think you need to lay everything out especially curriculum and resources available (as named by another PCOM student a few posts ago) before making your decision and truly value suggestions from current students -they are the most accurate, in my opinion. Good luck! 🙂

 

[allendo]

PCOM PCOM PCOM. Yes, I am a student there, but yes I do have 100 reasons to back me up. In addition, I don't think I know a single student in my class that wouldn't recommend PCOM to someone who asked that question. With that said, I think you should highly consider that when a LECOM student is not recommending their school and is recommending another school. I have heard NYCOM students do that as well on SDN, and I must admit that I can't find comfort in that...I think you need to lay everything out especially curriculum and resources available (as named by another PCOM student a few posts ago) before making your decision and truly value suggestions from current students -they are the most accurate, in my opinion. Good luck! 🙂

I'm at Lecom now, Pm me if you have any questions! I love the school and have not had any problems.

 

[hermione]

"I don't think I know a single student in my class that wouldn't recommend PCOM to someone who asked that question. With that said, I think you should highly consider that when a LECOM student is not recommending their school and is recommending another school."


Most LECOMers would recommend LECOM as well. There happen to be a few on here who wouldn't. I wouldn't chose my school based on that. These THIS vs THAT school questions are interesting. It is so much of a personal choice. I go to LECOM and I love it, I would do it again in a second. I too could have gone to PCOM but chose LECOM, for my own reasons. Good luck with your decision. (Also, people are saying PCOM for history, rep etc, but not NYCOM b/c some SDNers don't like it, that seems a little silly to me...NYCOM certainly has great rep, long history etc...thats my point, take things with a grain of salt and go with your gut feeling, and you'll be great!)

 

[Non-Trad DO]

I'm a LECOMer (Erie) and I agree with everything Hermione has said. I've met a lot of great people (profs,students etc.) there and at my rotations sites. In 3rd year we had two electives, 3 if you count the core selective that could be done anywhere but had to be a core IM, Surg, FP, Psych, OB and a lot of affiliated hospitals.
All in all I've rotated at 9 different hopsitals and I still have 2 electives left in my last 6 rotations of medical school. Though 2 of my LOR's came from affiliated hospital sites I've got 4 others that came from non-affiliates. I don't think I'd change anything. I passed both step1 and step 2 on my first attempt and a lot better on 1 than 2 though I only studied for 4 or 5 days on step two and two months on step1 b/c we a good board review and about a month of free time at LECOM.
PCOM has been around longer but I don't know anybody there other than some of the students most of whom enjoyed their time there and a few that hated the place. They were all good students though except one and he was a fouth year who scored in the 99th percentile on both comlex1 and 2 and whom I believe had a bad case of short timers syndrome. I mean when you lie to an attending aboout doing H&P's and are constantly try pimping interns and residents in front of the attending, that pretty much proves your a douche-bag. By the way the interns and residents that he tried to pimp never missed any of his questions in fact I don't think I missed any of them as a third year. He passed but barely. Everybody just wanted him gone b/c he wasn't scheduled to come back there.

 

[raspberry swirl]

pick LECOM 😀 i got accepted to both PCOM and LECOM. i chose LECOM simply because it was closer to home and cheaper, and erie offers less distraction. i've been happy here, although im sure i would have been happy at PCOM too. We rotate through many of the same places, same with NYCOM, so im sure we all pretty much get the same clinical experience. as far as the first two years go, i think thats all pretty much based on the individual. but i agree with the poster that said all schools are sink or swim. i think thats true no matter where you go. im always happy to answer questions about lecom if you have specific ones! good luck with your decision 🙂

 

[osteo564]

Thanks again to everyone...

What I meant by "sink or swim" was that at PCOM (and not as much at LECOM) I felt a bit like a number. I don't mean that PCOM students and faculty were unfriendly by any means, but rather that the PCOM administration pretty much leaves you alone to do your thing whereas LECOM has a lot of guidelines to make you perform to their standards (attendance policy, etc.) And I do realize that at either school I can go to the faculty and get help if I need it.

Do any of the LECOMers feel like the attendance policy is not beneficial? I talked to a PCOM grad recently and he commented that not going to class can really help if you need the extra time to study. Any truth to that?

Also, for the PCOMers - how safe is PCOM and the surrounding area and how is traffic? Staying in a hotel close to the school I really couldn't get a feel for either of these.

One more question about LECOM - I have been reading old posts and some of the 3rd and 4th years had some concerns about the administration. Having previously considered a stint in the Marines, I didn't think LECOM was that militant - is it really as strict as people claim? I don't mind the dress code and attendance policy so much (Marines would have been much stricter I'm sure) but I also don't want the administration's quirks to interfere with my education (someone posted that the admin. won't let you take the COMLEX at Bradenton if you're not up to par - which I find hard to believe, but what if?)

Any help, as always, is greatly appreciated. December 15 is closing in and I'm still 50-50 about PCOM and LECOM. 😳

 

[bustbones26]

It sounds like LECOM has changed immensely since I have been there. For one thing, a lot of profs I had moved on to the FL campus, so now the Erie campus has new fresh meat that only the above posters can really tell you about. Now when I was there, I really do believe that going to class and sticking to there policy hurt my performance, I do feel I could have spent better time at home studying on my own. Don't let LECOM make you believe this, YOU are paying them 25K and its your money, there were several people in my class that from day one said, "hey, I am here for me screw your policy", and guess what, they still graduated and placed into residencies.

Now I can tell you that the class behind mine was given plenty of time, they changed things for them, (made me jealous). and it sound like from above posters that they have made more time. I can tell you when I was there that going to class from 8-5, then outside activities at nighttime required as an MS2, and two weeks betwen the end of classes and boards, really hurt.

Consider this when applying to any medical school. The northwestern board review is a course offered by people who write questions for the COMLEX, they reimburse your test fee if you fail,this is how confident they are in their course. To have the course offered at your school you have to call them up and inquire interest and make arrangements. LECOM administration outright refused to allow this board review at your school. (Talk about advocating the student). Instead they offer a course taught my and MD who does not write questions for the COMLEX and doesn't know a lick of OMT, he gave a great review of medicine, but step one comlex is a lot of OMT and a lot of basic science stuff that he did not review. His course would have better suited a person prepping for COMLEX II.

When people make legitimate complaints to the LECOM administration, such as example above, why not offer this great board review course, they simply say "you don't like it, too bad, we run the school".

This is my warning for LECOM, it is a great school, I feel that I am on the same level with other residents, I do not feel that I was jipped of any education. It also sounds like the school has made for free time for students, which is a plus, and it sounds like some of new faculty are nice, but heed this.

The school is a dictatorship. That is not to say that Saddam Hussein runs the school or that school officials are terrible rotten people, but keep in mind that they ultimately decide school policy and will outright ignore students if they feel strongly enough to do so, the "its our school you don't like it too bad" policy really sticks. I have also seen some unfair decision made while there, favors that they do for some students but not for others.

So my advice, seek a school that has a history of advocating students and really listening to them when.

 

[NUcat1]

I sent in my stuff to PCOM about 2months ago. I still havent heard back from them. DO they usually take this long to respond? I called and they said they were still reviewing my file. I heard that PCOM is one of those schools that gets back to people late. Is this true when compared to other schools????

 

[drmanyee999]

but rather that the PCOM administration pretty much leaves you alone to do your thing whereas LECOM has a lot of guidelines to make you perform to their standards (attendance policy, etc.)

Indeed the rules and regs at LECOM are quite different, but I would say the admin at PCOM is by no means hands off. The student affairs office is fantastic even if you just go in there to raid the candy basket. Despite being more than 260 in my class I do not feel like a number in the slightest and I am certainly far from extroverted. If anything, I was quite astounded by the level of caring I feel from faculty and staff alike.

Do any of the LECOMers feel like the attendance policy is not beneficial? I talked to a PCOM grad recently and he commented that not going to class can really help if you need the extra time to study. Any truth to that?

Honestly, the class thing is definitely a personal preference. I go to PCOM and I go to class 99% of the time because that's the way I learn. Sure if you're not going to class you have extra hours to study and great if that's the way you learn. In my class we have people who fall into both categories. The one thing I would say and this is in no way meant to demean LECOM, I do like the fact that we do have flexibility in that regard, because when I'm sick I can stay in bed or if I'm really in a crunch pre-exam time I can skip classes in other courses.

Also, for the PCOMers - how safe is PCOM and the surrounding area and how is traffic? Staying in a hotel close to the school I really couldn't get a feel for either of these.

Safety wise, it's fine. Of course keep your wits about you and if you're a female don't go walking around (off campus) by yourself at night. As for traffic, it's Philly so its not great and the Schuylkil's a disaster, but if you live in the surrounding areas (Bala Cynwyd, Manayunk etc..) you wont have a problem, City Ave can get clogged, but since PCOM is so near the beginning of it in relation to I76 it won't make you late to class or anything.

Hope that helps and I would just like to add how much I love PCOM. I am SO glad I chose to come here. We're only a few months in and I have made such fantastic friends, plus the faculty is great. Med school is tough, but I really love it and I think a great part of that is because of the school.

Good luck!!
Claudia

 

[dtn3t]

The only thing I enjoy more than and MD vs. DO debate is a LECOM vs PCOM debate. Can't help but join in. I am a LECOMer.

Yes, PCOM has a better reputation. But with who I have no idea. Bustbones is right, no one cares. Unless the Program director is from PCOM, I really don't think anyone gives a flying fart about PCOM or LECOM outside of PA, or even inside PA. Both schools have their pros and cons. Is PCOM going to say their school is the best? Of course. Is LECOM going to say they're the best? You bet.

If you don't like dress code or attendence policy (I never really went to class by the way), don't go to LECOM. If you like the somewhat rural (and cheap! is there still 25 cent drafts at that one bar?) atmosphere, go to Laycom. If you want to go to PCOM because you think they have a better education, then go there. I have no idea if they do, but I'm sure it's fantastic, and I've met some really great graduates where I am.

Whatever school you go to, you'll be able to end up in the same place. Both schools are actually very similar. They are both run by the Pennsylvania osteopathic mafia it can't be that different!

Bottom line - LECOM got me to where I wanted to be, and I think it got bustbones where he wanted to be, despite the fact he didn't enjoy his time there. Correct me if I'm wrong Bustbones (how's it going out there buddy? How's the family?) If you go to LECOM, I'm sure you'll go where you want to go. If you go to PCOM, I'm sure you'll end up where you want to go. Just look at where you'll be happier. Only you can decide that. Screw what everyone else has to say.

-LECOM 05

 

[osteo564]

Thanks!

I was at LECOM's... well I guess it was an open house...Wednesday and was extremely impressed. Everyone seems really down to earth and I couldn't believe the prof.'s remembered me (I was the 30th person interviewed this year).

Here's a much simpler question for all you LECOMers...

Does LECOM have intramurals? I really want to stay active in med school and it seems like with all the water around they could have a crew team or something. I just don't remember seeing any sports stuff on their website.

 

[Taus]

PCOM has its own full-size football/soccer field and a pretty nice indoor athletic facilities as well (The 76'ers practice here....)

There are also IM sports leagues for most sports that you may be interested in.

just something to consider...

 

[turbosloth]

i have an interview at lecom on dec. 12th, any tips that i might be able to take with me. also, i'm a fellow erieite, born and raised, so if you have any questions on what there is to do around town let me know. thanks

 

[osteo564]

Um...to be honest...not really.

When I went to LECOM for an interview everyone told me to check studentdoctor and other sites to see the questions they ask during the interview (which apparently stay the same from year to year and are posted somewhere on here). But I chose to be myself because any answer that I would have thought up before the interview would have sounded contrived. I had Dr. Evans for the interview and he was the nicest guy I could have asked for...I can't say who you'll have...but don't worry everyone says the interviews are easy. I was much more comfortable there than at other schools.

This probably didn't help too much but if you know why you want to be a DO (specifically a DO) then you should be fine...everything else sort of stems from there.

PM me if you have any specific q's!

 

[osteo564]

I'm SURE this has been answered in the forum many times but I just need to hear it from someone directly:

Is it possible to send in two deposits by Dec. 15 and then decide over the holiday break? Even though the deposits (to the schools I am sending $ to) are non-refundable, can I eventually withdraw from one of the schools before the 2nd deposit is due??? If this is the case, all I will lose is one of the deposits right? No AACOM rules against that???

Thanks!!! (December 15 is right around the corner so any help would be AWESOME)

 

[Neogenesis]

A relative of mine is a student at LECOM. I went for a visit and the things that really stuck out were:
1) That place is frickin immaculate....I mean it's just nice. But in a very eerie way (no pun intended). I felt like I was entering a cult building.
2) The "security" measures that she needed to go through to just give us a tour (ie give the office our names and date/time of visit way before our visit; check in with security and receive badges) was astonishing.

Other than my impression, I know that she doesn't really like the attendance policy (I know it would drive me nuts). She also told me that they are very strict about things like food in the lab/class and maintaining property. (Now I can understand protecting school property, but sending out an email saying that anyone caught scuffing the floor with their shoe could be dismissed from the school is just weird.) She will admit she has no problems with the dress code however. She also says that she thinks the academic side of things is great and has no complaints in that regard that I know of.

Those are just somethings I have heard. Of course none of this is first hand knowledge and I hope that some of the other LECOMers can either confirm or deny any info. Take from it what you will

NG

PS - I have nothing to say about PCOM

 

[hermione]

That email part is true! But at some point, you just learn that Scuba Steve in the security office is sort of a joke, and you ignore his absurd emails. They end up being sort of entertaining, actually. Believe me, no one is getting dismissed from LECOM for scuffing the floors. Its funny how stuff gets out, though. My classmates and I have been laughing about that email for the last two months, ever since he sent it out! He really is sort of an idiot.

 

[bustbones26]

How about the grand atrium what nobody is allowed to enter. Yes, LECOM has an entrance that nobody is allowed to use. Now, maybe somebody can tell me if the marble carvings of John and Silvia are in the atrium yet, I know they weren't there when I was a student, but the school blocked the website to the construction company contracted for the project as it quickly became a class joke to link up to the website and see these supposed marble carvings

 

[Neogenesis]

How about the grand atrium what nobody is allowed to enter. Yes, LECOM has an entrance that nobody is allowed to use. Now, maybe somebody can tell me if the marble carvings of John and Silvia are in the atrium yet, I know they weren't there when I was a student, but the school blocked the website to the construction company contracted for the project as it quickly became a class joke to link up to the website and see these supposed marble carvings

Yeah, that's right. She showed me the entrance/atrium that we could not step into. That is just weird.

 

[dtn3t]

Yeah, that's right. She showed me the entrance/atrium that we could not step into. That is just weird.

Don't know if this still happens, but when i was there you could easily get into the atrium, but once you're in, it locks you IN. I went in there to make a phone call and couldn't get out.
Guess who the first person to see me was - Sylvia, who else?

 

[hermione]

The newest rumor is that somebody (AOA?) told them they couldn't have the statues until after they were dead. It was really just a little inapropriate. Right when I was leaving at the end of 2nd year they had stationed a secretary out in the atrium, not sure why, but they did end up using it, maybe as a visitors entrance or something?

 

[DOtobe]

Don't know if this still happens, but when i was there you could easily get into the atrium, but once you're in, it locks you IN. I went in there to make a phone call and couldn't get out.
Guess who the first person to see me was - Sylvia, who else?

Hey, how are you doing? Had to think for a second who you were with the different sdn name. And I think I know who bustbones is, though I'm not completely sure...

I had heard the thing about them not being to build those statues until they were dead too. I was disappointed - when I came back for graduation I really wanted to get my picture taken next to a huge Dr. John/Dr. Sylvia statue...

 

[Dr. Yanknpull]

I was torn between the same schools as you are. I choose PCOM and have never looked back. PCOM is the best osteopathic school in my mind. I love PCOM because I am not all that into OMT - I am looking at surgery or Emergency Med. PCOM is great because the style of learning is very allopathic if you want it to be. The OMT is all seperate from the core courses like cardio, renal/pulm., gastro, etc. Plus, OMT does not hurt your GPA at PCOM even though most of the class eats it on the OMT exams (we are all too busy studying for core courses and boards!) However, if OMT is something you like, then there are great lectures, labs, and even fellowships available.

Moreover, and this is very important! PCOM has some of the best rotation sites in the country. Philly totally blows little Erie out of the water in this department. For example, PCOM very own surgical residents go to one of the top CA centers in the country (NY, NY). PCOM has made the right connections for its students. You would have to be drunk and/or on drugs to pass that up.

Plus, it snows all the time in Erie. Have fun trudging through snow in a shirt and tie on your way to class.

 

[hermione]

Not all of LECOMs rotations are in "Little Erie". That was a silly statement, and it could be argued that some of LECOMs sites are also world class, especially in the bigger cities such as Pittsburgh, Cleveland, PHILLY, NYC, etc.

But the snow part is true. Sad, but true.

 

[Bill_Brasky]

pick PCOM

-Bill Brasky
"Third: Did you know Bill Brasky is the godfather of my son?

Fourth: Bill Brasky?

First: He's a big fella!

Second: Oh yeah, he's a big guy! Goes about 6'7", 385.

Third: Well, anyway.. he shows up at the church in his golf pants, caked in mud. Well, ol' Bill Brasky pushes the priest aside and says, "I'll baptize that piece of calamari!" Then he pours Scotch all over my baby son and says, "There! You're baptized!"

Fourth: And your son is blind to this day!

First: Yeah, he makes brooms somewhere in Georgia, doesn't he?

Third: I have no idea. [ pause ] To Bill Brasky!

Together: Bill Brasky!!"

 

[dtn3t]

PCOM is the best osteopathic school in my mind. I love PCOM because I am not all that into OMT - I am looking at surgery or Emergency Med. PCOM is great because the style of learning is very allopathic if you want it to be...

PCOM is the best DO school because it is the least osteopathic! I love it!

 

[Taus]

If you don't wanna pay attention to the OMM/OPP labs and just try to coast through and forget it all after 2 years......you can probably pull a passing grade in that and will definitely still have a quality medical education....but if you actually put the time and effort (and practice into OMM), as you would any other class, our OMM/OPP program is solid and you will learn a lot. It is all about how much you care about that aspect of your training. To each his/her own.

And yes I'm extremely biased, but I say PCOM hands down. Why? because I go there and love it. Why not LECOM? no reason in particular...i just haven't been a student there so I couldn't give it a fair assessment....

Unless someone here has spent a decent amount of time at both schools you are going to get very biased answers here on SDN about this kind of topic

 

[DO Sigma Nu guy]

I would choose PCOM. Just like Taus said..i'm biased

 

[cornellmedic]

The whole thing about not being allowed in the atrium stems from some prior student making phone calls at the receptionist's desk when she wasn't there. There is also a problem with sound traveling from the atrium up to the "sacred" ground of the 5th floor where the big wigs reside. Too many people chatting in the atrium were disturbing their work.
What about the closing of one of bathrooms because a student vandalized it?
From what I heard something broke and we are all to blame.
And that big fish is a little to physcadelic for my tastes.

 

[bustbones26]

Don't know if this still happens, but when i was there you could easily get into the atrium, but once you're in, it locks you IN. I went in there to make a phone call and couldn't get out.
Guess who the first person to see me was - Sylvia, who else?

Similar story, I was got locked out there to make a phone call too. So I walked out that front door and went around to the side of the building to come in the handicapped entrance. It just so happened that Silvia was at this door. Now, it was the dead of winter and here I am coming through this door without a coat and she ask me if I am crazy for being outside without a coat in subzero weather. So I kindly explain to her what happened.

Shortly thereafter, her eyes bugged out her head and I watched her run toward the security front desk screaming "Oh no oh no, you probably set off an alarm and the fire deparment is on their way, somebody call them to tell them it was a false alarm!"

Gotta say, I won points that day

 

[osteo564]

I recently heard of two people failing out of LECOM and both talked about the administration. I'm not saying that either person was directly blaming the admin., but it makes me wonder. Aside from being a little weird as mentioned above, what is it about the administration that people don't like so much?

Also, do any LECOM students feel that they were not adequately prepared for the COMLEX? I've heard quite a few people mention that as well.

Lastly, just like undergrad, I'm sure medical schools tweak their pass rates considerably. For instance, my undergrad boasts that it's rate is well above the national average for medical students. This is true, but only because so few people make it through the program that the ones who do are stellar students and would have made it anywhere. Is LECOM like this?

 

[allendo]

I recently heard of two people failing out of LECOM and both talked about the administration. I'm not saying that either person was directly blaming the admin., but it makes me wonder. Aside from being a little weird as mentioned above, what is it about the administration that people don't like so much?

Also, do any LECOM students feel that they were not adequately prepared for the COMLEX? I've heard quite a few people mention that as well.

Lastly, just like undergrad, I'm sure medical schools tweak their pass rates considerably. For instance, my undergrad boasts that it's rate is well above the national average for medical students. This is true, but only because so few people make it through the program that the ones who do are stellar students and would have made it anywhere. Is LECOM like this?

The board pass rate is right at the national avg.. A little higher for PBL. I think if people are failing who else can they blame, their not going to blame themselves right. And the thing about scuffing the floor and the email. Personally the scuffing was pissing me off b/c it showed how immature people can be. They were scuffing the entrance to the school and it was on purpose, you cant put that many scuffs on the floor by accident. The janitors were trying to remove scuffs all day, and it makes our school look bad when people visit. Most people that have problems with our school are immature and can't deal with rules.

 

[smgilles]

I recently heard of two people failing out of LECOM and both talked about the administration. I'm not saying that either person was directly blaming the admin., but it makes me wonder. Aside from being a little weird as mentioned above, what is it about the administration that people don't like so much?

Also, do any LECOM students feel that they were not adequately prepared for the COMLEX? I've heard quite a few people mention that as well.

Lastly, just like undergrad, I'm sure medical schools tweak their pass rates considerably. For instance, my undergrad boasts that it's rate is well above the national average for medical students. This is true, but only because so few people make it through the program that the ones who do are stellar students and would have made it anywhere. Is LECOM like this?

The board pass rate is inflated. When I was a MSI (class of 2007) I was told the school's pass rate was around 91%. The director of PBL, since I am a PBL student, showed me the pass rates for the class of 2006 and they were right around 76%. Rumor was it was the lowest in AOA history. I don't know how much truth there is to that, but I have seen the 76% with my own eyes.

LECOM then got the Kaplan COMLEX/USMLE course to try and help my class (2007) to substantially raise the board pass rate. Unfortunately, our class didn't do much better. So I am sure the class of 2008 is paying the Piper because of it. Like I have said before, study hard, take the USMLE and mind your own business and you can/will succeed at LECOM.

 

[disque71]

pcom
pcom
pcom

 

[sddoc]

Sorry, I have to disagree with a previous poster. I am in the 2006 PBL class, and I saw the step 1 scores after we received them. 39 out of 40 PBL students passed Step 1 on the first try. I heard that 87% of LDP students passed on the first try, although I have no other way to verify this except that the former head of Erie PBL told us this information. We had Kaplan come in for our class as well, in order to boost our scores. Time and again, I have done well in clinical rotations. I attribute a great deal of this success to the education I received at Lecom.

 

[smgilles]

Sorry, I have to disagree with a previous poster. I am in the 2006 PBL class, and I saw the step 1 scores after we received them. 39 out of 40 PBL students passed Step 1 on the first try. I heard that 87% of LDP students passed on the first try, although I have no other way to verify this except that the former head of Erie PBL told us this information. We had Kaplan come in for our class as well, in order to boost our scores. Time and again, I have done well in clinical rotations. I attribute a great deal of this success to the education I received at Lecom.

We are going to have to respectively disagree sddoc 😉 I am just stating what I was shown by W.K. You are correct PBL had the highest passing rate, but the overall for everyone in the class was only 76%. I have SEEN it with my own eyes. He was showing me to prove his point of how much better PBL is compared to the other pathways. Secondary to the pass rates we were provided the entire Kaplan course, live lectures, video lectures for path, phys, biochem, micro, pharm, immuno and all the books, Qbook, and Qbank.

In my PBL class 4 people weren't "allowed" to sit for the boards, 1 failed and the other 35 passed. Again, PBL had the highest passing rate of 88%. It's kind of funny I can go through my year book and mark off the failures this year for all of LDP, ISP, PBL, and see we don't touch 80%. I think a lot of this falls on the student and not on LECOM. We were provided the Kaplan course and got 2 weeks to prepare for the COMLEX.

On the bright side PBL had one of the highest COMLEX scores in the nation of 850+. Five others had 600+ scores. ISP and LDP had high scores too. So, you can see what hard work and determination will do.

I am simply saying don't drink from the kool-aid. You will do fine if you study hard and don't expect things to be spoon-fed to you, as they shouldn't, since it is a medical school. What I find the most ironic, is if LECOM was forth-coming and just made it public knowledge what the pass rates and averages were we wouln't even be having this conversation.

I am not stating you will not receive a good education from LECOM. The quality of education for 3rd-4th years is for another conversation. I am just saying numbers are inflated and the veil of secrecy makes things difficult to "swallow" when I have SEEN otherwise.

Don't even get me started on match lists 👎

Did you match sddoc? Or did you go allopathic? You wanted anesthesia, right? Good luck either way 🙂

 

[FutureDocDO]

Don't even get me started on match lists 👎

What about the match list?

 

[smgilles]

What about the match list?

Have you ever seen one from LECOM? This is another thing that they will not release and I have no idea why. We were finally shown the class of 2005's match list after a huge stink was made and a petition went around. There were quite a few good matches too. U. of Michigan, U. of Florida (gas), John Hopkins (PM&R), etc.

I just don't understand why we as students of the school or prospective students are not allowed to see these things. I think it would erase a lot of trepidation about LECOM if applicants were shown match lists, board pass rates, and so forth.

Am I crazy for think these things?

 

[FutureDocDO]

Have you ever seen one from LECOM? This is another thing that they will not release and I have no idea why. We were finally shown the class of 2005's match list after a huge stink was made and a petition went around. There were quite a few good matches too. U. of Michigan, U. of Florida (gas), John Hopkins (PM&R), etc.

I just don't understand why we as students of the school or prospective students are not allowed to see these things. I think it would erase a lot of trepidation about LECOM if applicants were shown match lists, board pass rates, and so forth.

Am I crazy for think these things?

I've seen the 2005's match list. It looks good but yeah I had a heck of a time tracking it down! There's also something about not being able to post it on SDN. I had to email an SDNer to obtain it. Now, if I could get the "real" pass rate for COMLEX that would be golden 👍 .

 

[Donvb]

I've seen the 2005's match list. It looks good but yeah I had a heck of a time tracking it down! There's also something about not being able to post it on SDN. I had to email an SDNer to obtain it.

At my interview I asked why I could not find the match lists for LECOM, because I had searched everywhere. The guy who gave us the Erie information, can't remember his name!, said that it was because of confidentiality issues with the students and they didn't want to release the "personal information" of these students. If the students wanted to do it on their own they could, but the school would not publically release them... It sounded somewhat valid, especially since the lists that have surfaced are fairly decent.