If quality is the issue, UDM all the way.
I live in Michigan, and have put some time into looking at this school. UDM is decent didactically, but really shines with its clinical training. It's location (with lots of lower income neighborhoods sprinkled with middle/upper-middle class neighborhoods) provides a very large patient base, even for an urban school. The fact the school seems to have a clinical focus probably builds on this. It also has a relatively new, well equipped facility, but most of the schools I visited had this.
I have heard that the range of procedures at UDM is more limited than some schools, but given LECOM's model, their range of procedures will also be limited.
LECOM has no current class at any level (D1-D4), may or may not be able to provide access to federal student loans to cover tuition, and has little more than plans for a clinic. They also informed me, when questioned, that the PBL for the first year will focus significantly more heavily on clinical cases relevant to the medical students' whose classes you will take. This may change for subsequent classes, as they will have their own building. Lastly, I can't imagine that this school would be a good launching pad for entering a specialty.
That being said, because their clinical focus will be on the types of procedures typically included in the treatment plans of medicaid patients, should you want to enter high-volume medicaid clinics, or practice in low-income areas, LECOM might be a good pick.
So, if you live close to LECOM and want to stay near family, go there. If not, go to UDM. Price might also play a role, but I remember the tuition for those schools being similar, maybe with a slight edge to UDM?
