Why Choose LECOM?

Medical school can look like a locked door when you’re staring at tuition costs and wondering if you’re “the kind of person” who can actually make it through. We sit down with Katie Raymer, a third-year medical student currently rotating in the ICU, to talk honestly about what it’s like to pursue medicine from a low-income background and why the price tag can feel terrifying at first glance.

Katie explains why LECOM stood out to her, starting with affordability, but going deeper into something many applicants overlook: how you learn. We dig into the different curriculum pathways available, including problem-based learning (PBL), lecture-based learning, and directed study, and why having options can make medical education feel more realistic and more humane. If you’re a high school student considering healthcare, a parent trying to map out costs, or a pre-med comparing schools, you’ll walk away with clearer questions to ask and a better sense of what “fit” can mean beyond prestige.

We also talk about the non-traditional path, because not everyone goes straight from college to medical school. Katie shares her unexpected academic background in art history, what it’s like being older than most of her class, and why she believes it’s never too late to commit to something you can’t stop thinking about. If this conversation sparks something in you, subscribe, share the episode with a student or parent, leave a review, and tell us: what’s the biggest barrier keeping you from medicine right now?

Transcript

Meet A Third-Year Med Student

SPEAKER_00 0:00

I'm joined by Katie Raymer. She is a third year student, a medical student at Mercy Jefferson. You're currently doing your rotation in the ICU. You're from Arizona.

SPEAKER_01 0:12

Yep.

One Big Question For Students

Affordability And Flexible Learning Paths

SPEAKER_00 0:13

So I did summarize that. So the question, we're going to start with just one question here. If you're a high school junior and you're thinking about the medical field in the sense that maybe you're worried about expense, maybe you're worried about the confidence, can you do it? Why call LeeCom?

SPEAKER_01 0:29

That's um, yeah, I mean, that's a great question. I know for myself, I'm a non-traditional student. Um, I come from a very low income background. Uh so medical school seemed extremely daunting for me. The just, I mean, the price tag. Terrifying. Um, but I think what made LeeCom stand out, number one, of course, is affordability. That was a huge thing for me. Um, but I think some of the other things that really stood out was that they have so many different pathways that you can go down for learning. So I personally did the problem-based learning pathway, there's um lecture-based, there's directed study. Um, so they really kind of cater to where the student is at. And I think that that is such a huge thing that kind of sets LeeCom apart. And I know even when I was looking at other medical schools, a lot of medical schools are currently going to PBL or problem-based learning. And for me, I was like, well, I want to go with somebody that's established. I don't want to be the anything for that. Yeah.

Non-Traditional Background And It’s Not Too Late

SPEAKER_00 1:29

So once you entered Leecom, though, it is as advertised, like early entry, here's the path, and you just follow the path.

SPEAKER_01 1:37

So I did not do early entry. Um yeah. So I actually, yeah, I I have a master's in art history. So I have kind of a weird background.

SPEAKER_00 1:44

I would say it's pretty weird. Yeah. No, but you know what? It speaks to if you're if you're a student, that there's a lot of different ways to get there.

SPEAKER_01 1:53

Oh, 100%. Yeah. It's never, and I don't think it's ever too late. I mean, I was 10 years older than most of my class, which also very daunting. Um, but I don't think it's, you know, it's it's never too late to do something that you're really passionate about. And I encourage, you know, people to keep it into consideration. And if, you know, later on you're like, oh man, like this kind of keeps coming back into my life, go for it. I think it's it's such an incredible opportunity and it's been life changing.

How To Learn More And Next Steps

SPEAKER_00 2:22

So we're going to take a little deeper dive into it. So if you're interested in this, please take a take a look at the longer podcast. And again, if you're a student or a family, contact your counselor who will connect you to LeeCom to at least explore the process. But thank you for being here for the today. Thank you.