POLL: WCUCOM, ARCOM, LMU-DCOM Harrogate, BCOM-FL

[chemislovechemislife]

BCOM-FL
Pros -
new school on Florida Tech campus with access to their facilities
opportunity to create new programs and show leadership
P/F pre-clinical,
close to the beach and airport, overall nice city to be in
exams are Fridays no earlier than 10 am (bc of time difference in NM)
small class size - 100 students
2024 accreditation with exceptional outcome (from NM campus that extends to FL)
Full dissection anatomy cadavers
No mandatory attendance
no dress code

Cons -
No solid research set up yet (working to partner with florida tech potentially),
no federal loans,
lectures streamed from NM mostly,
possibility of doing 3rd year in NM if can't be placed in FL hubsite (but all are in large cities)
No opportunity set up for students to volunteer in a clinic

?- inaugural class

WCUCOM
Pros -
P/F preclinical with internal rank
federal loans,
very good community outreach,
good match list,
hubsite in the Northeast for 3rd year clinicals
low COL/tuition
systems based curriculum
High 90s pass rate for comlex level 1

Cons -
Bad weather (potential for hurricanes, tornadoes, etc)
dress code

? - likelihood of matching in the northeast?

ARCOM
Pros -
Biggest DO research facility in the country,
Per the president, highest first time pass on Comlex 1 in the country for this year
good match
Very positive interview experience
Faculty seems very supportive
Low COL
Clinical rotations are in the general region, so don't have to go far
No mandatory attendance
Lax dress code

Cons -
ABCF Graded preclinical
heard that admin is difficult to deal with from others
Comlex level 2 pass rate is 78% per the website?

? - full dissection/prosection for anatomy lab?

LMU-DCOM
Pros -
Family in the area
staff seems to be very supportive and caring towards the students
students there are happy with the curriculum
about a 3rd of those who match in my specialty of choice match into the northeast (1 student matched Brown U EM last year!)
Low COL
No mandatory attendance
lax dress code
Accredited with exceptional outcome in 2022
full dissection anatomy lab

Cons -
ABCF Graded
hit or miss clinical rotation sites from what I've heard (any current students please feel free to pitch in about this!)
Opening up Florida campus, unsure how this would affect TN campuses.
Governing org fired a higher up admin for speaking in favor of a social justice issue.
First time Comlex level 1 pass is low 90s

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[Hollow Knight]

I just came here to say do not under any circumstances go to LMU, that place is terrible and should debatably be closed

 

[chemislovechemislife]

I just came here to say do not under any circumstances go to LMU, that place is terrible and should debatably be closed

Can you elaborate? Are you a student there?

 

[Hollow Knight]

Can you elaborate? Are you a student there?

I've met several students and residents from there, had some old friends go. They were all miserable, complained, and warned me against it.

Their students don't get adequate clinical experience. Imagine being a PGY-1 after not getting to see patients on your internal medicine rotation............

It's just a crappy school that doesn't train their students adequately. You'd be better off literally anywhere else.

 

[chemislovechemislife]

I've met several students and residents from there, had some old friends go. They were all miserable, complained, and warned me against it.

Their students don't get adequate clinical experience. Imagine being a PGY-1 after not getting to see patients on your internal medicine rotation............

It's just a crappy school that doesn't train their students adequately. You'd be better off literally anywhere else.

Definitely a red flag that there are multiple negative experiences. But how did they not see patients on IM? Like, how would a school be accredited with exceptional outcome if something like that was happening?? Also, how recent was this? Is it possible that the school has improved?

I'm only trying to understand as an applicant to make an educated decision. The students I met there were very happy with their experience so far and I'm trying to balance all opinions I'm hearing. I saw their match list for 2023 and they match well in my area of choice in my specialty of choice

 

[Hollow Knight]

Definitely a red flag that there are multiple negative experiences. But how did they not see patients on IM? Like, how would a school be accredited with exceptional outcome if something like that was happening?? Also, how recent was this? Is it possible that the school has improved?

I'm only trying to understand as an applicant to make an educated decision. The students I met there were very happy with their experience so far and I'm trying to balance all opinions I'm hearing. I saw their match list for 2023 and they match well in my area of choice in my specialty of choice

What makes you think LMU has exceptional outcomes? Where is that information coming from?

This was this year. that person is a current student there. On IM, they just shadowed the attending like a premed would.

Edit: also, of course the students on your interview day told you they liked it, they probably would get retaliated against for trashing their school

 

[chemislovechemislife]

What makes you think LMU has exceptional outcomes? Where is that information coming from?

This was this year. that person is a current student there. On IM, they just shadowed the attending like a premed would.

Edit: also, of course the students on your interview day told you they liked it, they probably would get retaliated against for trashing their school

They're accredited with exceptional outcome by COCA as of 2022

 

[Ellesandra319]

arcom and bcom are pretty new, have some attrition issues, and haven't matched as many classes. i can't speak for LMU but as an OMS2 almost 3 with friends at LMU i can also say i have heard some pretty nasty horror stories out of LMU with respect to rotations, etc. also the "dress code" at WCUCOM is so lax hahaha like literally as long as you adhere to business casual for your patient encounters you can wear class color scrub pants and a tshirt/sweatshirt/etc all the time. like the "dress code" is basically hospital-style pajamas hahahah

 

[drthedude]

I promise you the WCUCOM dress code is not a con, it's legit scrubs minus some business professional days

 

[chemislovechemislife]

@Ellesandra319 @drthedude is Hattiesburg dangerous? Seems like the crime rate is high online but i dont know how that translates to real life lol

 

[Ellesandra319]

@Ellesandra319 @drthedude is Hattiesburg dangerous? Seems like the crime rate is high online but i dont know how that translates to real life lol

where are you from? hattiesburg is just as safe as anywhere else in the south

 

[Ellesandra319]

also "accreditation with exceptional outcome" does NOT mean students have "exceptional outcomes" lolol 90% of accreditation has to do with admin level initiatives that dont affect student experience unfortunately

 

[chemislovechemislife]

where are you from? hattiesburg is just as safe as anywhere else in the south

Northeast by NYC. Went to school in an urban area, just trying to gauge what its like in comparison to what I know from up here

 

[chemislovechemislife]

also "accreditation with exceptional outcome" does NOT mean students have "exceptional outcomes" lolol 90% of accreditation has to do with admin level initiatives that dont affect student experience unfortunately

I didn't know that! Good to know.

 

[drthedude]

@Ellesandra319 @drthedude is Hattiesburg dangerous? Seems like the crime rate is high online but i dont know how that translates to real life lol

I am from a big midwest city, hattiesburg is just as safe as anywhere! Just don't be stupid and walk alone late at night like anywhere else tbh

 

[m1redsox]

Just here to tell you not to attend a school that does not offer federal loans. Do NOT take out private loans. They are not eligible for PSLF, which you will likely be pursuing if you match into EM (because you'll be hospital-employed and most hospitals tend to be non-profit). Attending BCOM-FL could be a mistake worth hundreds of thousand of dollars.

 

[Ellesandra319]

Just here to tell you not to attend a school that does not offer federal loans. Do NOT take out private loans. They are not eligible for PSLF, which you will likely be pursuing if you match into EM (because you'll be hospital-employed and most hospitals tend to be non-profit). Attending BCOM-FL could be a mistake worth hundreds of thousand of dollars.

THIS THIS THIS THIS THIS THIS THIS THIS THIS i didn't know this about BCOM but if any of those schools don't offer federal loans WOOF avoid

 

[SmoggyAidi]

LMU-DCOM
Pros -
Family in the area
staff seems to be very supportive and caring towards the students
students there are happy with the curriculum
about a 3rd of those who match in my specialty of choice match into the northeast (1 student matched Brown U EM last year!)
Low COL
No mandatory attendance
lax dress code
Accredited with exceptional outcome in 2022
full dissection anatomy lab

As a current OMS-4 with LMU-DCOM, this isn't necessarily true. When I was in the didactic years, they had certain classes that mandated attendance.

As for the individual who kept talking about students not getting to present or see patients, that's simply not true. Your rotation experience will definitely be determined by your rotation site. Perhaps it's true that some of the sites do that. I didn't have that experience. But it's a bit odd to generalize that to every single clinical site the school has rotations with.

Now, it's not that I don't have my own reservations about the school, but it's not because of whatever they were saying.