WesternU MSMS Fall 2014/2015

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has anyone from the April 14th interview heard back yet from the school?
 
They usually let you know 2 weeks after the interview, so you should hear something by the end of next week. I'll see if I can get you guys any information.

Best of luck,

BC
 
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From what I gathered, decisions have been made by the committee already so you guys should hear back very soon.
 
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I'm in as well! Got the email around the same time you guys did but didn't see it until an hour ago! Anyone have advice on apartment complexes? I know people say stay away from campus and stick to wither upland, claremont, Montclair, or Chino hills. How can we join the Facebook page? Please share any specific apartment complex names you can. I am moving from norcal so I need to work on this fast!! Sooo excited!!! Can't wait to meet you all!!!
 
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Sasha143 said:
I'm in as well! Got the email around the same time you guys did but didn't see it until an hour ago! Anyone have advice on apartment complexes? I know people say stay away from campus and stick to wither upland, claremont, Montclair, or Chino hills. How can we join the Facebook page? Please share any specific apartment complex names you can. I am moving from norcal so I need to work on this fast!! Sooo excited!!! Can't wait to meet you all!!!
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I've been looking at listings on Craigs List in the Inland Empire area... found some decent stuff so far
 
femmeenrouge said:
I've been looking at listings on Craigs List in the Inland Empire area... found some decent stuff so far
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When you get access to your banweb account from WesternU, look in the housing section. There, you will find ads for renting rooms or apartments posted by WesternU students.
 
Thanks for that information! How long after you mail in your acceptance do you get your Banweb login information?


mnowlin11 said:
When you get access to your banweb account from WesternU, look in the housing section. There, you will find ads for renting rooms or apartments posted by WesternU students.
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Cool. In the interview guide it says that we have to submit personal competencies, does anyone know anything about that?
 
Alright for those who are current MSMS student, how may people who were placed 'on hold' last year ended up been admitted into the program? OR are there any current 2014-2015 applicants who were placed 'on hold' and have received an admission/or updated status? Please and thank you
 
graduate2be said:
I’m a current student in the MSMS program and would be happy to share my experiences with you so I will give you a run down of how the experience has been so far.



The year, in mid-June, started with the Intensive Summer Anatomy Course (ISAC). This course is taken with a select group of incoming OMS-I students; these students have been selected for the course based on their expertise in anatomy so from the outset, there is some competition in class. Prior to the MSMSers taking classes with the DO students, we spent three days at a camp in the mountains. The purpose was to do team building and learn basic skeletal anatomy. We took a lab practical on the 3rd day and afterwards, we spent a week learning some basic anatomy dissection skills, the brachial plexus, and some basic anatomical land marks/body structures. We took an exam and a lab practical at the end of this week. The whole point of this was to give us a basic knowledge of anatomy as a fair amount of us had never taken an undergrad or graduate anatomy class and were not used to the types of study methods needed to get thru the class.



When we started taking classes with the DO’s, we would typically be in lecture for three to four hours followed by four to six hours in cadaver lab. Once lab was over, we would either study in the HEC or the lab until security told us we had to go; a few of my classmates studied at home. All lectures were based on the PowerPoint and while it was suggested to get the large Grey’s Anatomy tome, I found that there was NO time to read anything other than the PowerPoint’s and the Grant’s Dissector. The amount of material was truly mind-boggling and there is no way that I can convey here what we were expected to learn in 6 ½ weeks. Anyway, all of the lecture exams (3) were on Examsoft and they usually ranged from 120 to 150 questions that covered basic anatomy, radiology, CT scans, ultra sounds, and clinical anatomy. The lab practical’s (3) consisted of 25 questions. From what I understand, there was no curve and while the MSMS students typically scored to within a few points of the DO students, a few of us will have to remediate ISAC. This was truly the hardest class that I have ever taken and I have a whole new appreciation for gross anatomy.



One thing that I didn’t mention is that while ISAC was going on, the MSMS students had a couple of other classes to take: Learning Skills I (Where they helped us to learn how to study like a medical student), Intro to Research (Where we selected our research mentor), and Neurological Integration of Psychosocial Processes Intensive I (Where we learned how to de-stress).



Once ISAC was over, we started our fall courses. Some of my classmates took Head & Neck Anatomy while others of us choose to do an expanded research project (I’m working with HIV and CD4+ T cells). We are all taking Molecular Cellular Basis of Life, Physical & Biochemical Systems, NIPPI-I, Intro to Research, and Learning Skills I. The schedule is very chaotic at times and the only reliably scheduled classes are MCBL and PBS. Changes in the schedules for the other classes are frequent so we’ve all gotten into the habit of checking our calendars frequently. Though the course work is not as hard as ISAC, we are, in some ways, even busier. I put in two, sometimes three eight-hour days in my lab on top of all the other stuff (clinical shadowing, volunteer work, sitting on the editorial board of the Humanism in Medicine magazine, part-time distance learning instructor at my undergraduate alma mater…) Most of my classmates have similar schedules. Some are on the Student Government Association and the ones that took Head and Neck Anatomy just finished serving as instructors for the OMS-I students that took the class. Thankfully, our MCBL final is on Monday and that will be one less thing on our plate.



So, I know that most of you will want to know about the linkage. All I can really say is that they tell us that it changes year-to-year. Last year, all of the MSMS students got into COMP or the dental school. This year, COMP is holding 15 seats for the pre-DO students (I don’t know about dental, optometry, or podiatry though) and we won’t find out who links until December. We have started a new class (as of Friday) called Clinician and Society where we will have the chance to run through some mock interviews, two MMI mock interviews, a couple of simulated patient encounters, and we will all have to do at least 32 hours of clinical shadowing. We also have the help of Jodi Olsen when it comes to working on our applications and personal statements and she is the one that writes our committee letter of recommendation. For those of us that don’t link this year, they are promising us linkage for next year provided that we have at least a 3.0 GPA, 18 MCAT, and have remediated any classes that need to be remediated. If you want to apply open pool, they will help with that as well (There was one student from last years class that really wanted to attend allopathic school so he ended up at Ross and another student ended up at another osteopathic school). Now, please don’t take these words as the gospel; those of you that start the program in 2014 will have to contend with a whole different set of linkage rules; Jodi and the MSMS faculty will advocate for you but at the end of the day, COMP has the final say regarding how many will link, who will link and what criteria they will have to meet (I know of at least one OMS II that linked right after the MSMS program even though she had to remediate ISAC; they have long told us that this scenario is not possible) or even if they will offer a linkage. Again, the linkage agreement has changed each year and from what I understand, prior to the start of this year, COMP considered not having a linkage with the MSMS program. Once the linkages are announced, that info will make its way to SDN but again, don’t hold that to gospel truth. I’ve also heard that there will be some programmatic changes for the new class as far as the course offerings…



So, all in all, the program is solid. The only downside for me is that I gave up my acceptance at Touro-Nevada’s MSMHS program and their guaranteed linkage for this program; I paid too much attention to what was said on SDN and the info on the Western University website was not clear regarding the linkage parameters or whether or not students would have to repeat gross in medical school if they scored at least 80% in ISAC (They are now making students take gross irrespective of how they did in ISAC). Having said that, I do believe that the program, if you perform well, will get you into medical school either here at Western University or some other D.O. program (I have gotten lots of positive feedback from my home state D.O. schools). Just make sure that if you come here, you’ve already taken your MCAT; you will not have any time to study for the MCAT once ISAC starts and you will be hard pressed to find time to do it in the fall as well. If you have to work, try to work as few hours as possible. I have a couple of classmates that work and a few are parents so its doable but its not optimal.



So, I’ll close now (need to study). If anyone has any specific questions about the MSMS interview process or the program, feel free to inbox me.
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Alright for those who are current MSMS student, how may people who were placed 'on hold' last year ended up been admitted into the program? OR are there any current 2014-2015 applicants who were placed 'on hold' and have received an admission/or updated status? Please and thank you
 
Bisonette0808 said:
Alright for those who are current MSMS student, how may people who were placed 'on hold' last year ended up been admitted into the program? OR are there any current 2014-2015 applicants who were placed 'on hold' and have received an admission/or updated status? Please and thank you
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Hey! For my year, I know of at least 3 people that were on hold and got accepted.
 
Bisonette0808 said:
Alright for those who are current MSMS student, how may people who were placed 'on hold' last year ended up been admitted into the program? OR are there any current 2014-2015 applicants who were placed 'on hold' and have received an admission/or updated status? Please and thank you
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I was in the first interview and was placed on hold until my acceptance last Monday. So I was on hold for like 3 months as people that interviewed after me were getting accepted right away. I don't know if that helps but I hope it gives you some kind of hope :-/
 
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Sasha143 said:
I was in the first interview and was placed on hold until my acceptance last Monday. So I was on hold for like 3 months as people that interviewed after me were getting accepted right away. I don't know if that helps but I hope it gives you some kind of hope :-/
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Yes, thanks you for the info. It just makes me anxious since I have neither been denied, accepted, or put on the waitlist. My application feels like it's just on limbo with no exact decision made by the admissions committee.
 
Bisonette0808 said:
Yes, thanks you for the info. It just makes me anxious since I have neither been denied, accepted, or put on the waitlist. My application feels like it's just on limbo with no exact decision made by the admissions committee.
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Good luck! I hope you hear back really soon
 
Bisonette0808 said:
Yes, thanks you for the info. It just makes me anxious since I have neither been denied, accepted, or put on the waitlist. My application feels like it's just on limbo with no exact decision made by the admissions committee.
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That is a very strange situation to be in, especially now that we have no more interview scheduled... I suggest you contact the admission office to find out what's going on.
 
Do you recommend I contact a specific person in admissions? I did reach out to them at the end of April when I received the email with the status, and I was told I should hear back around mid-May. I'm just been impatient. I have gotten into two other schools for the SMP programs, but Western has Def become my top choice.
 
Were we supposed to get an update off a hold status at any point? Because the last correspondence I received was the same "hold" message. Does this mean my application was not evaluated or that the admissions committee simply couldn't come to a decision?
 
They couldn't come to a decision and absently didn't send you further correspondences updating you after classes started on June 2 to update you further.
 
edit: posted question in a different thread, not sure if this one was correct
 
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Hey guys,

First of all, thank you for all the helpful info that you shared in this thread.

From what I understood, there will be no DO linkage to Pomona campus, right?

Also, when do you get the interviews for the linkage?
 
graduate2be said:
One thing that I didn’t mention is that while ISAC was going on, the MSMS students had a couple of other classes to take: Learning Skills I (Where they helped us to learn how to study like a medical student), Intro to Research (Where we selected our research mentor), and Neurological Integration of Psychosocial Processes Intensive I (Where we learned how to de-stress).
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Did you have to write a paper and defend your thesis?

Assume you put in a lot of studying and got better grades, is this MSMS program better (more guaranteed or less riskier) than other certified post-bacc program? Thanx
 
lakers2009 said:
Did you have to write a paper and defend your thesis?

Assume you put in a lot of studying and got better grades, is this MSMS program better (more guaranteed or less riskier) than other certified post-bacc program? Thanx
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1/ In general, we did not have to write a paper and/or defend our thesis. The only thing required is a poster presentation of your research at the end of the year. With that said, your chosen research/ principal investigator may want you to present your research outside of class curriculum, but that is rare.

2/ For pre-dental, I personally think this program is really good in terms of building a relationship with the dental school here at WesternU, and the prospect of being linked into the dental school is really good. I do not have any opinions on any other post-bacc programs though.
 
I applied to DO school and still haven't heard anything back. Yet, Im interested in the MSMS program at Western because I believe in its values and mission, plus I would love to link here. Since I applied to DO school, do you think it is ok to use the LOR's I already have for the MSMS program, or do I need new ones talking specifically about that program? Please and thank you!!!!
 
cedarjet said:
I applied to DO school and still haven't heard anything back. Yet, Im interested in the MSMS program at Western because I believe in its values and mission, plus I would love to link here. Since I applied to DO school, do you think it is ok to use the LOR's I already have for the MSMS program, or do I need new ones talking specifically about that program? Please and thank you!!!!
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When I applied, I did ask one of my writers to change the letter for the MSMS program specifically, but my other two letters are for medical school in general. However, that was 2 years ago, so I would contact the counselor for a more definitive answer. (http://prospective.westernu.edu/medical-sciences/contact-4/)
 
Has anyone applied this cycle? I have yet to submit my app and I'm a little weary considering that the website says it's best to submit apps before Feb 1st :/
 
@sparksfly21 - there is a thread for the 2015/2016 year. The deadline was February 1st. I think if you submit late, they only review your application if there are spots left after they review every one who submitted before the deadline. Good luck!
 
Hi,

I am wondering if any of you MSMSers from this past year would be willing to share if you got linked to westerns medical school for this up coming fall? From my understanding there were 32 people in the program, 8-10 dental or optometry and the rest DO with 3 people trying to link from last year… so did you all make it or did some not make it… considering they said they only have 15 spots I'm assuming some didn't make it.. but for those that did and did not make it did you all reach the minimum requirements of 3.1 gpa and minimum 18 mcat? Thanks!
 
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