I will start of by saying that I am not a current student, or even accepted student to either school. LECOM was the first DO school I became interested in and the first one that I spent time researching and went up for a tour. My father's family is from Erie so I'm familiar with the area. I'm originally from Virginia (living in North Carolina now). I really started looking into VCOM about a year ago. I've toured both schools, researched them online, and spoke with Admissions for different reasons.
I toured LECOM about 6 or 7 years ago and was my top pick for medical school until I really discovered VCOM. VCOM really quickly became my top pick overcoming a school I'd been planning on going to for a number of years (obviously I'm a non-trad). I recently interviewed the Director of Admissions at VCOM for my blog and really liked the fact that VCOM puts it all out there and doesn't try to hide anything. They tell you what they're looking for and aren't afraid to say that some people simply aren't a good fit for VCOM and VCOM isn't a good fit for some people. When I visited them back in October at the end of the day I felt like I'd found a school that I belonged at (as sappy as it is to say it felt like a place that could be home for my 4 years of medical education). I've lived half my life in smaller cities and the other half in rural areas and like the rural medicine/primary care focus of the school. I'm also intersted in international missions and eventually doing international disaster relief. VCOM seems to promote more of a "family approach" to medical education and Megan (admin director) will tell you that medical students are competitive by nature but they don't want the "supercompetitive, have to be top of the class." It seems like they want everyone to work together and get the most out of their education. I will say though that the rural mission isn't absolutely a prereq, part of medical school is finding your path whether that be primary care in a rural area or interventional cardiology. I asked Megan about those that may be interested in competitive specialties and how they fit in at VCOM and the answer I got was that they view the foundation of family medicine (working with PEOPLE, taking good histories, etc) will benefit physicians in any field.
With LECOM I agree that they are a little more established and I think they have a fine program and that they are one of the best D.O. schools in the country. I do agree that they had more of a "cold" or institutional atmoshpere. The different pathways available for students are definately a bonus as you can tailor your education to your specific learning style. There is also a much larger D.O. support base in Erie (and the north in general).
Obviously I know a little more about VCOM than LECOM as I've spent more time investigating, visiting, and speaking with Admissions at VCOM.
I have to concur with everyone else that choosing a school is personal based on what is most important to you. I will tell you that I'm applying in May of Next Year to VCOM as an early decision applicant and hope to not have to apply anywhere else. But should I not get accepted at VCOM for whatever reason LECOM-Erie will be the very next school that I apply to.
My reasoning for VCOM being my top choice? It's closer to home. I'm American by birth and Southern by the grace of God. I think that's where the atmosphere difference comes in. The North and the South are still vastly different cultures and I feel the southern hospitality at VCOM. As I mentioned earlier I like the aspects of their rural mission and the international mission opportunities and they seem very paramedic friendly to me (my background in EMS & EMS education). I went to a rural school for undergrad in the NC mountains and like that aspect of VCOM and absolutely love Blacksburg & Roanoke. Tuition wise there isn't a huge difference, when I was looking into LECOM they were about 26K a year for out of state and VCOM is about 30K.
My last piece of advice would be if you're really torn, to try and hunt down current students at both schools and ask them about their experiences and specifically about the drawbacks at each school. I have the recording from my interview with Megan at VCOM and would be happy to send it you via email (assuming the files aren't too big) as I haven't had time to get it posted yet. You can email me at
[email protected]
Congratulations on your acceptances and I'm sure whichever school you choose you'll get a great education!
