VCOM vs. NYCOM

[ajaxro1]

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Hey all,

So I am between two schools NYCOM and VCOM. I am a Long Islander so NYCOm is close to home and it has been around a lot longer. But, some of these posts say negative things about the first two years of NYCOM.

VCOM had a great mission medicine program and an option for a Phd which I loved. But it is in a rural town.

Can anyone give me pros and cons? Has anyone had to make a decision between the two?

 

[DrMom]

moving to pre-osteo since this isn't a class thread

 

[Kuba]

based on everything I have heard - NYCOM NYCOM NYCOM

 

[CollegePark]

I haven't visited NYCOM yet (I'm an out-of-stater), but I've visited VCOM and I was accepted. I have to say VCOM's a new school but seems to have a lot of potential and exciting opportunities for students. I absolutely loved the faculty members' enthusiasm to accommodate students' needs. The school's dual degree (MPH and Ph.D.) opportunity through V Tech and the school's international health focus are also great (through trips they take, esp. in Dominican Republic where they have a permanent clinic. I think they have clinics in other places but I can't remember where - somewhere in South America) . They also seem to have a good sports medicine program. Being able to fully utilize V Tech campus facilities is cool too. So VCOM for me Good luck.

 

[PlasticMan]

Hey all,

So I am between two schools NYCOM and VCOM. I am a Long Islander so NYCOm is close to home and it has been around a lot longer. But, some of these posts say negative things about the first two years of NYCOM.

VCOM had a great mission medicine program and an option for a Phd which I loved. But it is in a rural town.

Can anyone give me pros and cons? Has anyone had to make a decision between the two?

I'm a MS1 at NYCOM. So far, I like it here, and I'm happy with the majority of the education I've been given so far. I'm starting to wonder where all the complaints come from, b/c this year seems to be fine. Of course, there are little things that come up at every school, but overall my friends and I are happy with our first year so far. I think the curriculum for previous years wasn't as difficult, but it looks like they have stepped it up for our class to increase board scores. Don't believe all the hype about NYCOM; come interview for yourself and talk to current students.

Here's my personal pro/con list that I can think of off the top of my head:

Pro's
-Good anatomy lab and good anatomy department
-Really nice OMM lab.
-Video streams of all lectures (I haven't gone to class in a very long time, which allows me more time to read / memorize.
-most lecturers are good (we have alot of teachers that write for the boards)
-Contrary to popular opinion on SDN, the administration actually does seem to care about us. Currently we are right around the national average for Step1 COMLEX pass rate, but they want us even higher, so they are currently testing out Kbit.
-Dean Scandalis addressed us recently and informed us that NYCOM is attemtping to attain our own Univeristy hospital and that this hospital wants to become our hospital. This is very good news, as most DO schools only have affiliated hospitals.

Cons
-New Gym is still under-construction (set to finish January 07)
-Sometimes the OMM department doesn't have our ppt slides printed out for us before OMM lab.
-A couple of bad lecturers(so far this year there has been ~5 ?)
-Keeping us updated (sometimes up to 2 weeks before the next thread, we won't have a lecture schedule for the next thread. We do know which system we will be going to however.)

With all this said, you need to decide for yourself. Being from LI, sounds like you would fit in perfectly at NYCOM - most of us are from LI, Upstate or North Jersey. NYCOM would be especially good if you plan on specializing. Best of luck next year wherever you decide to go.

 

[JasonUD]

I'm a MS1 at NYCOM. So far, I like it here, and I'm happy with the majority of the education I've been given so far. I'm starting to wonder where all the complaints come from, b/c this year seems to be fine. Of course, there are little things that come up at every school, but overall my friends and I are happy with our first year so far. I think the curriculum for previous years wasn't as difficult, but it looks like they have stepped it up for our class to increase board scores. Don't believe all the hype about NYCOM; come interview for yourself and talk to current students.

Here's my personal pro/con list that I can think of off the top of my head:

Pro's
-Good anatomy lab and good anatomy department
-Really nice OMM lab.
-Video streams of all lectures (I haven't gone to class in a very long time, which allows me more time to read / memorize.
-most lecturers are good (we have alot of teachers that write for the boards)
-Contrary to popular opinion on SDN, the administration actually does seem to care about us. Currently we are right around the national average for Step1 COMLEX pass rate, but they want us even higher, so they are currently testing out Kbit.
-Dean Scandalis addressed us recently and informed us that NYCOM is attemtping to attain our own Univeristy hospital and that this hospital wants to become our hospital. This is very good news, as most DO schools only have affiliated hospitals.

Cons
-New Gym is still under-construction (set to finish January 07)
-Sometimes the OMM department doesn't have our ppt slides printed out for us before OMM lab.
-A couple of bad lecturers(so far this year there has been ~5 ?)
-Keeping us updated (sometimes up to 2 weeks before the next thread, we won't have a lecture schedule for the next thread. We do know which system we will be going to however.)

With all this said, you need to decide for yourself. Being from LI, sounds like you would fit in perfectly at NYCOM - most of us are from LI, Upstate or North Jersey. NYCOM would be especially good if you plan on specializing. Best of luck next year wherever you decide to go.

I am also a first year at NYCOM and agree with everything PlasticMan has said. This has been said to death on here but i'll say it again incase you haven't seen it, we haven't gone to both school so we can only tell you ou rpersonal experiences from one. I'm a long islander, left for college, and am now back for med school. I couldn't be happier to be back here and to be able to be around my family and friends. Every school has its problems, but if I could go to any med school I would stay at NYCOM. I'm very happy here.

Also, in 4 years it won't matter where you went to med school. You'll still have your degree. Why not go near home so you can be around the people you love and the things you know? Thats my take on it.