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Hi all, I'm a longtime lurker and would really love some input, especially from current students at LMU and/or Touro NY Middletown, as I'm really struggling with this decision.
I feel like I've read nearly every thread from the past couple years about LMU and Touro NY (not much about Middletown out there) and it's come down to, really, one main issue:
Clinical Rotations
I think Touro NY Middletown has the edge as the hospitals/clinics on their roster seem decently sized and not so geographically sprawled: http://tourocom.touro.edu/academics/do-program/rotations/rotation-site-map/. Middletown has the affiliated Orange Regional Medical Center which will provide for some ward based clinical education but I don't know how many students would get to do their cores there. This year's class is the first to rotate through and I would very much appreciate any feedback from Middletown students on how it's going.
The rotation sites at LMU seem a bit more worrisome but I really don't know. http://legacy.lmunet.edu/dcom/academics/sites.shtml
These couple posts by LMU students really scare me:
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/clinical-rotations-by-school.1164345/#post-17020385
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/clinical-rotations-by-school.1164345/#post-17022968
Furthermore, LMU has recently increased their class size to 240 (135 at Touro) and it doesn't look like they've proportionally increased spots for rotations. Is this true? I would very much appreciate some input from any 3rd/4th year LMU students on how they feel about the quality of their 3rd year clinical training, in terms of how much they're learning, where they're placed and how fairly they're graded.
I know a lot of the clinical education for both schools will be preceptor based and am wondering if I am justified in basing so much of this big decision based on quality of rotations. I want to match into ACGME EM or Academic IM anywhere. I liked the campus environment and facilities at LMU better than Touro and the students at Touro also seemed more cut throat and stressed (Z-score grading doesn't help). However, this assessment is going off my limited visits. Research opportunities at Touro are virtually non-existent while LMU offers summer research fellowships for medical students and other opportunities that were really appealing (helpful for matching Academic IM). LMUs administration also seems much more caring and helpful than Touro's in my limited interactions with them and per the opinion of some SDNers. Touro NY, however, does have some name recognition on the east coast (if that's worth anything when setting up aways and such). COA for both schools are similar.
Touro NY Middletown
Pros: Clinical Rotations, East Coast relationships and reputation(?), Small Class Size (135)
Cons: New branch campus, more stressed looking competitive students (Z-score grading), No research, Administration (kind of unorganized)
LMU DCOM
Pros: Great Environment, Research Opportunities, Students seem happier, Caring Administration
Cons: Clinical Rotations, Large Class Size (240), Reputation (?)
So really, I liked a lot about LMU and but am slightly leaning towards Touro solely due to worries about clinical rotations at LMU and their larger class size. I believe I can do well on boards regardless of school as I did very well on the MCAT (gpa not so much) and have always been good with standardized tests. Any input from current student at these schools or anyone whose been through decisions like this would be greatly appreciated.
I feel like I've read nearly every thread from the past couple years about LMU and Touro NY (not much about Middletown out there) and it's come down to, really, one main issue:
Clinical Rotations
I think Touro NY Middletown has the edge as the hospitals/clinics on their roster seem decently sized and not so geographically sprawled: http://tourocom.touro.edu/academics/do-program/rotations/rotation-site-map/. Middletown has the affiliated Orange Regional Medical Center which will provide for some ward based clinical education but I don't know how many students would get to do their cores there. This year's class is the first to rotate through and I would very much appreciate any feedback from Middletown students on how it's going.
The rotation sites at LMU seem a bit more worrisome but I really don't know. http://legacy.lmunet.edu/dcom/academics/sites.shtml
These couple posts by LMU students really scare me:
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/clinical-rotations-by-school.1164345/#post-17020385
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/clinical-rotations-by-school.1164345/#post-17022968
Furthermore, LMU has recently increased their class size to 240 (135 at Touro) and it doesn't look like they've proportionally increased spots for rotations. Is this true? I would very much appreciate some input from any 3rd/4th year LMU students on how they feel about the quality of their 3rd year clinical training, in terms of how much they're learning, where they're placed and how fairly they're graded.
I know a lot of the clinical education for both schools will be preceptor based and am wondering if I am justified in basing so much of this big decision based on quality of rotations. I want to match into ACGME EM or Academic IM anywhere. I liked the campus environment and facilities at LMU better than Touro and the students at Touro also seemed more cut throat and stressed (Z-score grading doesn't help). However, this assessment is going off my limited visits. Research opportunities at Touro are virtually non-existent while LMU offers summer research fellowships for medical students and other opportunities that were really appealing (helpful for matching Academic IM). LMUs administration also seems much more caring and helpful than Touro's in my limited interactions with them and per the opinion of some SDNers. Touro NY, however, does have some name recognition on the east coast (if that's worth anything when setting up aways and such). COA for both schools are similar.
Touro NY Middletown
Pros: Clinical Rotations, East Coast relationships and reputation(?), Small Class Size (135)
Cons: New branch campus, more stressed looking competitive students (Z-score grading), No research, Administration (kind of unorganized)
LMU DCOM
Pros: Great Environment, Research Opportunities, Students seem happier, Caring Administration
Cons: Clinical Rotations, Large Class Size (240), Reputation (?)
So really, I liked a lot about LMU and but am slightly leaning towards Touro solely due to worries about clinical rotations at LMU and their larger class size. I believe I can do well on boards regardless of school as I did very well on the MCAT (gpa not so much) and have always been good with standardized tests. Any input from current student at these schools or anyone whose been through decisions like this would be greatly appreciated.
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