LECOM at Seton Hill Class of 2020

[LSDiVinci]

I'm opening up this page for those of you who have been accepted to the Seton Hill class of 2020, congratulations! There are LECOMERS from SH on SDN that are a wealth of great information; they were a huge help in these awkward months before school starts, so please feel free to ask away about anything from "how much do you have to read for PBL?" to "where should I live?" and "what, dress code?!". Also, a Facebook page has been made specifically for your class. It's titled the same as this thread. If you're not a Facebooker, I'm sorry, but you might need to become one for medical school because it's a major way that we communicate with each other as well as those in other years.

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[TallPreMed]

Creepin as this is my #2 for when I apply in 2 years

 

[MusicDOc124]

I will be going here if anyone would like to get in touch! I may also be looking for a roommate, so if you are looking for a roommate, feel free to get in touch as well!

 

[lmnopqrs]

So I was offered a choice today between LECOM Erie PBL and LECOM Greensburg PBL. I need to decide soon, and there are a lot of things I like about Seton Hill and the southwest PA area. What I need to know is: is there any difference in curriculum, competitiveness, or overall happiness with these campuses?? And if I choose Seton Hill, will there be any difference in my rotations options as an OMS3/4??
Thank you for your input! I'm so excited to start!

I'll also be looking for housing, so if I choose Seton Hill (like, by the end of today) I'd like advice on that too!

 

[MusicDOc124]

From what I understand after speaking to current students of all years, M1-M4, the curriculums are mostly identical. As for happiness, I visited both campuses as well as having talked to other students, and people seemed happy at both places. However, at my interview (at SH), and when I visited a separate time, I spoke with a SH student who was at Erie for a post-bacc. She seemed to be happier at SH than she was at Erie, but didn't seem to complain about either location.

Apparently rotations are shared. Obviously Erie is larger, so there are more seats for them at each location, but there are seats also reserved for SH students as well (i.e. if a rotation has 20 seats, 15 are for Erie students, and 5 are for SH).

Hopefully that helps somewhat, at least until a current student can chime in!

 

[LSDiVinci]

I'm M1 at SH right now, so it's difficult for me to speak to the atmosphere at Erie, but a girl in my class did the post-bac program in Erie and was very relieved to come to SH. From what I understand, the Erie campus is a little more strict with rules since they're so close to the mother ship. I really like our faculty here and we're a tight group. It's easy to get to know them and feel comfortable talking to them with such a small environment. I think that our faculty does a lot to make things work for us and takes the brunt of anything that might come down from Erie, while the Erie students might experience that first hand. As for curriculum and competitiveness, there is no difference. Perhaps the only difference would be that there are times when we use telecommunications to talk to Erie faculty whereas that faculty member might directly talk to the Erie PBL students. We've only had to do this once so far and that was for the Human Sexuality class where he basically gave an introduction via telecom. However, anything that was pertinent to actually taking the class (all the readings) was all online and so material delivery was equal between Erie PBL and SH PBL...i.e. it's not like they had an unfair advantage because they got their course introduction and all the course material face to face while ours was telecom. However, for a significant lecture like EKG readings, the faculty member who teaches it will actually drive to the SH campus to teach. I was just speaking to our physiology faculty today and he said that even though they have cadavers at Erie, the PBL students are not allowed to use them/ don't have access to them. So, it's not like you're missing out on using cadavers. I don't remember exactly, and if I'm wrong someone please correct me, but we recently looked over this past summers first time COMLEX pass and compared them between branches. I'm pretty sure that we were comparable with Erie PBL and there was not an appreciable difference. It's not like if you pick Erie PBL over SH PBL you will get a higher quality or lower quality education. I just looked at the rotation sites in our portal and they're jointly listed for Erie and SH, so those are the same, but like musicdoc said, the slots will be allocated appropriately. The cost of living in the Greensburg area is really, really cheap. I mean, of course if you want to be in the center of town then you're going to pay maybe 600-700$ for your room and more than likely have a roommate, but if you look at craigslist or padmapper you can find places like a 2 bedroom to yourself for 500-600. I'm not sure how much housing is in Erie. Also, the weather here is better. I grew up near Erie and I can say that we don't get nearly as much snow as them. As a final note, it is actually kind of nice to be on an undergraduate campus; you can get involved with intramural sports and we use their fields to play soccer. I hope this was helpful. As far as academia, I think the two are equal. Deciding between them is more a matter of deciding your environment. Lol, your nose will be in a book the entire time so you might not notice either way :-D

 

[lmnopqrs]

Thank you so much for that information! I'm touring Seton Hill this Friday

 

[TallPreMed]

If anyone has any questions regarding the city of Pittsburgh or the Greensburg area I live here and my fiancé is from the Greensburg area, feel free to ask. Best of luck. I'm going back to being a silent fly on the wall now

 

[argle_bargle]

Do you get depressed with the weather? I'm from somewhere down south and not at all used to the snow.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile app

 

[TallPreMed]

Do you get depressed with the weather? I'm from somewhere down south and not at all used to the snow.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile app

I'm from Ohio originally so we have a lot worse things to be depressed about.

Kidding. Definitely get a bit of the SADs but I stay pretty involved with playing sports and I take a supplement. In that area you aren't getting much from the snow belt like how you get hammered up in the Erie area (my grandmother lives in the Erie area and it is awful). The city of Pittsburgh is really beautiful and has a fantastic skyline. If you ever have time make sure you go see a Pirates game at night. You won't regret it!

 

[LSDiVinci]

Do you get depressed with the weather? I'm from somewhere down south and not at all used to the snow.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile app

Not a lot of time to get depressed about the weather. I think actually that it's more depressing to sit at my desk studying and look out my window at the weather I don't have time to enjoy. We have a couple people that aren't used to snow and some that have actually never seen it. Aside from missing the awesomeness that is the beach, they actually don't seem to mind it. I think we're so depressed/consumed by the never ending studying that we don't notice the weather as much.....not that it doesn't still suck when you can't feel your face, just that on the list of things that make my day feel like the 7th circle of hell, the weather is at the bottom.

Also, I think the weather in this area was pretty amazing during the summer and fall- kind of making up for the nonsense that we go through in the winter.

 

[kp123104]

If anyone has any questions regarding the city of Pittsburgh or the Greensburg area I live here and my fiancé is from the Greensburg area, feel free to ask. Best of luck. I'm going back to being a silent fly on the wall now

Hi! I was wondering how safe you would say Greensburg is in your opinion? also where do most SH students tend to live? Thanks

 

[TallPreMed]

Hi! I was wondering how safe you would say Greensburg is in your opinion? also where do most SH students tend to live? Thanks

Greensburg is pretty safe. There are some iffy spots but you get that anywhere. Not sure where most SH students live bc as I stated earlier I don't go here yet- but Greensburg is right off the turnpike and so is very accessible by car. Some very nice areas that range from a 20-40 drive and are closer to the city are Murrysville, North Huntingdon, North Irwin (or Norwin as its called by the locals), and Monroeville- Monroeville is definitely the most urban area and has more access to a mall, target, gyms etc plus it's right off the turnpike and the parkway. These areas are fairly cheap for housing too- most places are below $800 a month, can find a lot around 500 a month for a 1br. North Huntingdon is even cheaper.

Whatever you do though, DONT LIVE IN MCKEESPORT OR TURTLE CREEK. OR WILKINSBURG/PENN HILLS.

 

[LSDiVinci]

Hi! I was wondering how safe you would say Greensburg is in your opinion? also where do most SH students tend to live? Thanks

Most of us live within 10-15 minutes of campus, though there are some that live further out, closer to Pittsburgh and they say that traffic isn't bad because they're usually going in the opposite direction. I know a couple people who also live in Monroeville and Jeanette (though I'm not sure how I personally feel about Jeanette). I hear Monroeville is a nice area and was looking at nice apartments there myself, but if you're going to choose based on amenities, the area less than 10 minutes west and east of Greensburg also has Walmart, Target, mall, gyms...etc. I live in South Greensburg, a lot of students live just a couple minutes west and east off of St. Rt. 30 and a lot of students live in central Greensburg. I personally chose to live so close to the school because driving on St. Rt. 30 drove me nuts. Sometimes throughout the day traffic is really heavy and there are red lights everywhere. Granted, you generally should be going the opposite flow of traffic, but we have some odd schedules so this is not always the case. Again, though, the people I know who live further out aren't bothered by the distance or traffic....it just drove me nuts. I walked from a bar in central Greensburg to a friends further east at 2 am (distance maybe a couple miles) and I felt perfectly fine, though I was with people. The next day I walked from south Greensburg through the city to central Greensburg by myself and it was perfectly fine (for reference, I'm 4'10 and not a threatening looking individual, so It's not like I scared all the bad people away; it legit feels like a safe area). If you're looking for places, craigslist and Padmapper are great sources. Also, keep an eye on the class Facebook page and your email because info goes out on the outgoing M2s looking for ppl to take over their place, the incoming M2s looking for roommates, and people in your own class looking for roommates.

 

[TallPreMed]

Most of us live within 10-15 minutes of campus, though there are some that live further out, closer to Pittsburgh and they say that traffic isn't bad because they're usually going in the opposite direction. I know a couple people who also live in Monroeville and Jeanette (though I'm not sure how I personally feel about Jeanette). I hear Monroeville is a nice area and was looking at nice apartments there myself, but if you're going to choose based on amenities, the area less than 10 minutes west and east of Greensburg also has Walmart, Target, mall, gyms...etc. I live in South Greensburg, a lot of students live just a couple minutes west and east off of St. Rt. 30 and a lot of students live in central Greensburg. I personally chose to live so close to the school because driving on St. Rt. 30 drove me nuts. Sometimes throughout the day traffic is really heavy and there are red lights everywhere. Granted, you generally should be going the opposite flow of traffic, but we have some odd schedules so this is not always the case. Again, though, the people I know who live further out aren't bothered by the distance or traffic....it just drove me nuts. I walked from a bar in central Greensburg to a friends further east at 2 am (distance maybe a couple miles) and I felt perfectly fine, though I was with people. The next day I walked from south Greensburg through the city to central Greensburg by myself and it was perfectly fine (for reference, I'm 4'10 and not a threatening looking individual, so It's not like I scared all the bad people away; it legit feels like a safe area). If you're looking for places, craigslist and Padmapper are great sources. Also, keep an eye on the class Facebook page and your email because info goes out on the outgoing M2s looking for ppl to take over their place, the incoming M2s looking for roommates, and people in your own class looking for roommates.

I agree with all of this... Especially the part about rt 30. It's terrible.

 

[kp123104]

@LSDiVinci @TallPreMed Awesome thank you so much this is super helpful !

 

[ortnakas]

Here's the Facebook group for LECOM-SH Class of 2020:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1298635936819239/

Also, I know some students in your class are already anxious about buying books-- there is NO NEED to buy anything quite yet! Wait until the final book list comes out in case they make any edition changes. And even then, all you really need right away before loan money comes in are anatomy, embryology, and histology (and OPP, I suppose).

 

[argle_bargle]

Submitted my deposit, declined my other schools, very excited to be going here! But anyone else worried about the course load for first semester?

 

[MusicDOc124]

Submitted my deposit, declined my other schools, very excited to be going here! But anyone else worried about the course load for first semester?

Why worry if you can't change it? =P

 

[littleblackbear]

Can a current student tell me about the dress code? I've read the description in the matriculation packet and it sounds very draconian, but I've also read some posts that said it's not that strict. Help? I know that med students don't have to abide by the dress code when on the undergraduate campus, and can go home and change after classes.

I really don't like the idea of a dress code and this is the one thing that bothers me about attending LECOM, so clarification would be nice. Thanks!

 

[LSDiVinci]

Can a current student tell me about the dress code? I've read the description in the matriculation packet and it sounds very draconian, but I've also read some posts that said it's not that strict. Help? I know that med students don't have to abide by the dress code when on the undergraduate campus, and can go home and change after classes.

I really don't like the idea of a dress code and this is the one thing that bothers me about attending LECOM, so clarification would be nice. Thanks!

The dress code is not bad. I agree that it sounds a little stuffy, but I promise it isn't so bad. In the beginning of the year it feels like your in code all the time bc you'll be in histo and embryo, but as time progresses, you'll be in code for a couple hours a day monday/wednesday/friday, and then you'll be in OMM attire on Tuesdays and Thursdays (which is gray shorts and shirt and you're allowed to wear sweats over it). I would say that the guys can't get away with as much as the girls. The guys HAVE to wear a tie of some sort. With the girls, we can get away with wearing things that are actually really comfortable, but they're dressy. Honestly, I've seen girls wearing leggings every single day. I thought it would drive me crazy at first, but it's kind of nice being and looking professional. They don't much like plunge necklines our tight pencil skirts....but honestly, if you have to sit in lecture all day, I wouldn't want to be wearing those anyway. I'd go somewhere and get yourself a couple dress slacks and just regular/nice shirts and you should be golden. I hope this helps.

 

[LSDiVinci]

Submitted my deposit, declined my other schools, very excited to be going here! But anyone else worried about the course load for first semester?

While you're going through it, it does seem like a heavy course load, but we all made it through, and all the students before me made it through, so it's definitely possible. In the beginning, you're going to get a lot of Anatomy, histo, and embryology. It's a lot of work, but as long as you set a study schedule and don't fall behind, you'll be fine. Histo and embryology are only 1 credit each, even though they both actually took a considerable amount of work. Anatomy takes a lot of work, but it's also a lot of credits. At some point, you may want to decide where you should spend your time depending on how many credits the class is worth. It's hard to give advice on these courses because you guys are going to have all new faculty teaching them, aside from the actual written Anatomy exams. For anatomy, you have to know the book inside and out. There really is no shortcut around it. The LECOM faculty writes the quizzes so your quiz questions will come straight from the book. The guy that runs the course from Erie writes the actual written exam, so your questions are going to come from the book, but they'll also come from a high yield clinical supplement they'll give you that will be clutch for the written exam. For histo and embryology, both of which I got As in, I rarely ever opened the books and I just focused on the lecture notes. I opened histo to look at slides and looked through the clinical boxes in the embryo book. Again though, you'll have different faculty, and while I'm assuming the course will be structured the same for the first couple years, take my experience with a grain of salt bc the new teacher could change it. At the end of your first semester you'll have your first PBL exam. You don't really focus a lot of your time in the first semester on PBL bc of anatomy, but you'll still be given and choose the page numbers to read throughout the semester. A lot of us didn't start reading PBL until after we finished the anatomy course. This gives you exactly two weeks to study for PBL. My own personal experience: so far I have got an A on every single PBL exam, except for that first one we took two weeks after anatomy, I got a C. Now, this could just be me, I think the class average was relatively normal.....but I personally recommend that if you have any free time throughout the semester, just take a look at the PBL readings. You don't have to go crazy and read everything and burn yourself out, but maybe if you have time, just knock out some of the easier readings. I wish I would have done this.

lol, this is way more info than you asked for, but I just want to be helpful. See you in a couple months!

 

[Element515]

How is living near the Youngwood area? It looks to only be 15ish minutes from campus.

Excited to be going here soon.

 

[hallowmann]

How is living near the Youngwood area? It looks to only be 15ish minutes from campus.

Excited to be going here soon.

Any particular reason you want to live there? Like do you already have housing/family there? I know some people that lived down towards New Stanton, but its really not in the direction of anything. Most people lived immediately around the campus, in south Greensburg, between the school and the mall, or somewhere between Pittsburgh and Greensburg (Irwin, Jeannette, Monroeville, etc.). I personally wouldn't choose to live in Youngwood if you don't have a real reason to. There's tons of housing in Greensburg, and even if you are desperate, you can find a decent place within a week, so I would recommend going and checking out the places and their distance from campus.

 

[Element515]

Any particular reason you want to live there? Like do you already have housing/family there? I know some people that lived down towards New Stanton, but its really not in the direction of anything. Most people lived immediately around the campus, in south Greensburg, between the school and the mall, or somewhere between Pittsburgh and Greensburg (Irwin, Jeannette, Monroeville, etc.). I personally wouldn't choose to live in Youngwood if you don't have a real reason to. There's tons of housing in Greensburg, and even if you are desperate, you can find a decent place within a week, so I would recommend going and checking out the places and their distance from campus.

No particular reason. Just found a decently priced place to live. I'll be taking a look at different places soon.

 

[hallowmann]

No particular reason. Just found a decently priced place to live. I'll be taking a look at different places soon.

You'll get a good idea when you go. The layout and better vs. worse places are pretty obvious. Most people tried to stay close to campus (within 5-10 min), or they had another reason to go a bit further away (e.g. spouse in Pgh, hard to find a place that allowed pets, etc.).

 

[Element515]

You'll get a good idea when you go. The layout and better vs. worse places are pretty obvious. Most people tried to stay close to campus (within 5-10 min), or they had another reason to go a bit further away (e.g. spouse in Pgh, hard to find a place that allowed pets, etc.).

Okay, I'm hoping to be able to find a place when I go down. Had to take the place in youngwood off my search anyway. They won't take people without an income or loans, which I fall into.

 

[NessunDOrma]

Hi everyone,

I interviewed on April 19th, and was contacted by the addcom and told they needed my spring transcripts to make a final decision. They received all my letters and grades 2 weeks ago and I was just wondering if they had set dates where they sent out letters or if it rolling? I really liked Seton Hill, it was a totally different experience to Bradenton, and a much better fit for me. I am just a bit stressed since classes start in less that 2 months. I was told that they take into consideration when you are notified of your acceptance and therefore I don't have to worry about any set deadlines, if accepted that is. Hope to be joining you all in Greensburg this July!

 

[eberge3]

If any current LECOM SH student is still active on sdn, please PM me I would really appreciate talking about your time there!